[The Herrscher of Finality]
[Real Name: Kiana.]
[...]
[Her birthday is December 7, 1998.]
[And she's a proper young lady from a wealthy family, you know.]
[...]
You could see it clearly—
The chibi-style girl up on the screen had turned unusually solemn.
Almost as if she were reciting a poem, she read out the information she knew.
"Quick, quick!"
"Write this down, now!"
"…"
All over the world—
Every organization, every nation, whether it was high-ranking officials, scholars, or ordinary people—everyone immediately grabbed pen and paper, craning their necks and frantically scribbling as if taking dictation.
If this really was from the old calendar era, and if it was their own timeline…
No matter whether that girl had been born yet or not, or where she was now, they'd have to turn the whole planet upside down to find her.
Because—in the future, she would save this world.
She was born during the Previous Era.
Closest to the present—maybe even right now.
The more they knew, the more details they had, the more accurate their search would be.
[According to historical records,]
[the young lady came from an extremely wealthy family. Though their main estate was in Northern Europe, their influence and businesses spanned the entire world.]
[Their reach was global.]
[...]
[Even the precursor to the current Stellar Alliance—Fire Moth—had seats controlled by her family, swayed by their influence.]
[...]
Alright then.
That settled it!
Now they didn't even need to go looking.
Because, although Kiana kept a low profile, she was all too familiar to those in higher circles.
The direct heiress of that family.
Even if they hadn't met her personally, most had at least heard of her.
In one particular place, an elderly man glanced at his good friend beside him.
"That's your granddaughter, isn't it…?"
"About that marriage alliance between our families—maybe you could reconsider? My grandson's not so bad, eh?"
"…"
"Piss off!"
--+--
Carole listened as the virtual host continued, her eyes widening in disbelief.
"Huhhhhh? She's from a rich family?"
"Our young lady is the Herrscher of Finality?"
"…"
The same shock rippled through her classmates in Sapphire City.
But after a moment's thought… how could that be?
It had to be someone else with the same name.
Even if they were both wealthy young ladies named Kiana, their world didn't have Honkai. Otherwise, how could they have missed seeing even a single massive Honkai beast?
It had to be fake.
Some, convinced of their own cleverness, speculated—this must be a parallel world!
Yeah…
If it was a parallel world, then it all made sense.
The celestial projection had to be showing them scenes from a parallel world.
What was there to overthink?
As more and more information about Kiana was revealed, people everywhere reacted in different ways.
Those on good terms with her family were overjoyed, already thinking of ways to get closer to the young lady.
Those hostile to her family wondered—maybe they should just have her killed?
After all, the celestial projection had exposed Kiana's future role as the savior.
That would undoubtedly have a massive impact on the current balance of power.
Even if it was false, countless others believed Miss Kiana was worth investing in.
Even many neutral fence-sitters would lean in her family's direction.
Whether in reputation or influence, the situation was looking grim for her opponents.
As for the Honkai crisis?
Sorry…
Plenty of people still thought, what's that got to do with me? Once I'm dead, let the floodwaters rage.
Men die for wealth, birds die for food—nothing new under the sun.
However, before anyone could make a move, the V-tuber on the screen finished reciting the basic details about the Herrscher of Finality.
Then, as if struck by a thought, she couldn't help venting to her audience.
[Honestly, ya know? I, Yuzu, have always felt like the Herrscher of Finality isn't even the same species as the other Herrschers.]
[Think about it—the other Herrschers were chosen, transformed from humans into Herrschers. They gained immense authority and power, but if you kill them, they die. The Honkai wouldn't even bat an eye.]
[...]
The fact that Herrschers were transformed from humans was a conclusion Fire Moth had only recently reached through research.
Now, it was all but confirmed.
This left many feeling conflicted—like they'd finally solved a difficult problem, only to realize the answer was common knowledge elsewhere.
How utterly ridiculous.
[But the Herrscher of Finality is completely different.]
[She was born a Herrscher—she just hadn't awakened yet.]
[...]
"Huh?"
[In fact, the Honkai's gaze was always on her.]
[If she were to die tragically before awakening fully, the Honkai would use her body as a template to create a Herrscher of Finality.]
[And from what I've heard, that version of Finality would be absolutely maxed out in strength.]
[...]
"???"
[But if the Herrscher of Finality is well-protected and awakens successfully when the time comes, she'll retain most of her sense of self, even resisting the Honkai's corruption, and become the Finality who belongs to humanity.]
[...]
"…"
[In fact!]
[It's precisely because our Goddess ultimately conquered herself that the final challenge was considered cleared.]
[Otherwise, it's hard to imagine how humanity in that era, already exhausted from fighting the Honkai nonstop, could have mustered any strength to face Finality.]
[...]
[They would've been doomed for sure, right?]
[...]
"Mmm…"
[Let's be real here!]
[Even now, some people believe Finality is an unbeatable foe. They say the best way to clear the final stage isn't to face Finality head-on.]
[...]
"Wait, hold up—"
"Sis, can we back up a sec? Let's sort this out."
"…"
Some were utterly baffled.
Others who had been plotting to assassinate Kiana were now sweating bullets.
If Kiana died, would Finality just spawn instantly and wipe everyone out?
But if she lived until the end, wouldn't that give them a chance to, well, skip the final boss?
Even though everyone understood—if these images were truly historical, then the future must have succeeded.
That made it even clearer!
They might not know when exactly "Finality" would arrive, but if Kiana died before then, they'd all be doomed. Keeping her safe meant a chance at a future.
Life or death hinged on this.
This was just downright unfair, wasn't it?!
They couldn't kill her—they had to protect her?
"Boss, are we still making a move?"
"Move where? Shut your mouth."
"…"
If the only problem was the Honkai destroying the future, that was a problem for later.
They could still enjoy life in the meantime.
But if they got everyone killed now—what enjoyment would there be? None at all!
The richer and more powerful people were, the more they clung to life and feared death.
No Kiana? The future might be doomed.
Kill Kiana? Everyone dies now.
Those were two entirely different things.
They saw the situation clearly.
"Let's open negotiations with that family. We'll agree to whatever terms they propose, as long as it's reasonable."
Even though Kiana's family probably wouldn't push things too far,
just having to do this was… so damn frustrating.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.