A streak of azure light came to a stop in front of Kiana, the long trail of comet-like particles behind it fading into nothing.
"A-Ah, Nagami! What was that just now?"
With wide eyes full of wonder, Kiana flew to Nagami's side, naturally looping her slender, pale arms around his as she asked with curiosity.
"I'll explain that later. What's your situation right now?"
The six-pointed star glowing faintly in his pupils shimmered with a pure light. Nagami reached out and tapped her smooth forehead with a finger.
"Why weren't your two sisters in your inner world? Didn't Sirin try to take over your body?"
The moment he saw the tuna Kiana, that is—Nagami had noticed something off.
The vast and steady flow of Herrscher energy… Did she seriously become a perfect jinchūriki?
Sirin didn't stir up any trouble?
Impossible.
"I don't really know either… When that other-world version of me explained the plan to us, Sirin suddenly appeared and tried to take over," Kiana said, scratching her head with a strange expression.
"But after onee-chan used that feather to enter my consciousness, she came back out not long after and then I could use the Herrscher of the Void's power freely."
"And then somehow, I just knew how to use it. Like the knowledge popped into my head. I think... Sirin is… um, helping me?"
Her expression grew subtly conflicted as she hesitantly voiced her suspicion.
"She's helping you?"
Nagami's eyes widened in disbelief as he locked eyes with those diamond-shaped blue pupils.
"Ehh? You're awake now?"
Kiana's surprised expression made it clear she wasn't talking to him.
Her face showed a mix of delight and confusion.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Come on, say something, Sirin!"
Nagami frowned slightly.
He noticed something unusual flickering in Kiana's right eye—a glint of gold. And in that glimmer… he felt something complicated.
"Sirin, you… huh?"
But the moment he spoke, the gold vanished without a trace.
Sirin's odd behavior left Nagami baffled.
Wasn't she always that troublemaking pufferfish, constantly causing chaos the moment she had a chance?
"Wait… What is that?"
He instinctively activated his Alpha Stigma Eyes to scan Sirin's soul and investigate—only to be stunned by what he saw through the unique vision.
A brilliant feather, shining like a sky full of stars, floated within the consciousness space.
It looked like it was just about to burn out completely.
Nagami immediately recognized it—it was one of those special Feathers of Fenghuang Down.
It radiated a familiar energy, somewhat similar to the Void's powers, but with a distinctly different fundamental structure.
What truly shocked him, however, was its mystery.
Its arcane nature rivaled that of time and soul energy.
The Alpha Stigma Eyes could analyze it—but it would take a long time.
As a transmigrator planning to use the power of the Twelve Bullets to travel back in time soon, Nagami couldn't help but wonder—Could it have been… his doing in the future?
No, wait—that can't be right!
A wave of shock flooded Nagami's gaze.
The strange scene in Kiana's mental space filled his heart with a tide of questions.
The power from the feather bore a similarity to his, yes—but Nagami was certain: this was not his own power.
With the Alpha Stigma Eyes, he was an unquestionable authority in this area.
Besides, while he had been away in the other world, C.C. had spent her time in St. Freya and Schicksal learning everything she could.
Schicksal's entire database had been opened to her—aside from a few records Otto deliberately hid.
From secrets and scandals to top-secret research, she could browse it all freely.
Otto had granted her clearance just one step below that of the Overseer himself.
If Nagami had truly used the Twelve Bullets to alter the past, there would've been some deviation between Schicksal's records and her memories of the game's original plot.
So what was going on here?
After a moment, Nagami pressed a hand to his forehead and gave a small shake of his head.
Now wasn't the time to get lost in this mess.
Answers would come when the time was right. No need to overthink it.
If it really was something his future self had set in motion, then it could only help him—not hurt him. In that case, why worry?
He withdrew the Alpha Stigma Eyes's special vision from Sirin's soul and refocused it on analyzing the Herrscher of the Void's authority.
Nagami had been waiting forever to get access to this ability!
While he was busy thinking, Kiana continued calling out to Sirin, trying to get her to respond.
Nagami gently took her soft hand and shook his head. "Leave her alone for now. Open a spatial gate toward the explosion site."
"Got it! Just leave it to me~!"
Clearly thrilled to be helpful, Kiana's delicate face lit up with barely contained excitement and joy.
With a crisp snap of her fingers, the space in front of them began to warp and twist, colors intensifying as a radiant portal gradually took shape.
Throughout the entire process, the six-pointed star in Nagami's eyes continued to spin.
In this state, the analysis process was undoubtedly much faster.
Also… has the finger snap gesture been imprinted into this body's DNA or something?
Or was that just how Sirin's beginner tutorial explained it?
Lost in thought, Nagami was pulled into the Imaginary Gate by Kiana, her hand firmly gripping his.
————————————————————————
"…That guy sure knows how to make an entrance."
With a molten-gold greatsword resting on her shoulder, deep crimson flames coiled around the blade.
The scorching wind stirred Himeko's bangs, lifting them in the air, revealing a face full of bold, composed confidence.
"So this is the power of the Herrscher of Reason… I didn't know it could reach this level."
The soft murmur came from Durandal.
As an S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal, she had naturally reviewed the data from the Second Eruption.
Back then, the Herrscher of Reason had also been Welt—the same person who led Anti-Entropy.
His use of the Herrscher's power wasn't weak, yet compared to what C.C had just displayed, the gap was staggering.
Fu Hua remained silent, simply looking up, quietly watching the direction in which the Ji Lin clone's core had flown.
When C.C. detonated herself and triggered that tri-phase energy explosion—enhanced by the Herrscher of Sentience's authority.
The Ji Lin clone that had been fighting Fu Hua suffered the most damage.
Because Fu Hua had been holding back before, the sudden outburst of full power didn't give the clone's core a chance to gather enough energy to resist.
It had nearly been a fatal blow—nearly enough to annihilate that entire fragment of power.
Unfortunately, in the end, the dim core still managed to escape.
If even the clone that faced Fu Hua—whose power jump was the most extreme—could get away, it was no surprise the others couldn't be completely defeated either.
It wasn't exactly a wasted ultimate move—but more like the opponent barely survived several critical hits, just enough to avoid death.
Also floating in midair, Yae Sakura shifted slightly toward the edge of the group as she noticed the curious glances directed her way.
While they had technically fought together just now, that connection only existed thanks to Nagami.
Having spent all this time inside C.C.'s body observing the outside world, Yae Sakura had a basic understanding of who these people were.
But the others didn't recognize her at all.
At best, they had heard the name "Herrscher of Corruption" from Nagami.
Beyond that, she was a complete mystery to them.
The thunderclouds in the sky had been blown apart entirely.
Sunlight now streamed down in golden rays, and the sea below surged with towering waves under the howling wind.
It was easy to guess this was Nagami's doing—but even knowing that, seeing someone like her teacher suddenly become a Herrscher still left Mei feeling unsteady.
She and someone else were in the middle of discussing how this all began.
"Huh?! Class Rep? You're a Herrscher now too? And… Himeko…? Wait, why is everyone turning into Herrschers?!"
Before the figures even emerged from the spatial portal, a familiar voice rang out.
Kiana stepped through the Imaginary Gate, holding Nagami's hand, and looked around in complete confusion at the people before her.
What had happened during the time she and her other sisters were off punching "Dad"?
Actually… maybe the better question now was: Who isn't a Herrscher at this point?
Kiana had never felt much burden over being a Herrscher herself—but now?
That weight was completely gone. This felt… normal.
"Kiana-san? This form is…"
Fu Hua held a cautious tone.
After all, everyone still vividly remembered the Second Herrscher.
But the vibrant blue eyes and familiar way of speaking clearly showed who was in control now.
No need to think twice—this was definitely Nagami's doing.
Is this guy… actually capable of everything?
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