When Inaba Tsukiyo's consciousness returned, she found herself on a street in a certain European country.
The air was thick and muggy, and the flying crows and dark clouds drifting across the sky made Inaba Tsukiyo frown uncomfortably.
In this peculiar place, her senses seemed to have recovered, allowing her to clearly perceive the surrounding anomalies.
Although it was on a main street, there was no sign of liveliness; even though this was supposed to be a bustling city, no sounds could be heard, as if it were a dead city.
"Wait… wait a minute, I remember, I remember this place. And this, could it be… the Black Death?"
After walking for a distance, Inaba Tsukiyo saw many paupers leaning in the alleys along the street, their faces revealing a sickly pallor.
There were men, women, even old people and children, and almost all of them had black spots on their bodies, while also emitting a foul stench.
This feeling, it was as if some special disease was devouring the lives of the city's people, this was the Black Death that once swept across Europe! In just six short years, it had already claimed the lives of tens of millions of people.
In Inaba Tsukiyo's original world, the Black Death ended almost entirely because everyone in the infection zone died, as no accurate treatment or control methods were found.
However, the Black Death in this world was different from the original history; the cause of the Black Death in this world was the Honkai.
Humans in such a disaster were too fragile; they had no way to cure this disease, and could only watch their lives enter a countdown, watching their loved ones and family die before their eyes.
For a moment, Inaba Tsukiyo felt a tightness in her chest, a little breathless, and it took her a great effort to calm down, clutching her chest.
This feeling, it must have been what Kallen once felt, a kaslana, as a Guardian of the people, could only watch her people suffer.
As Inaba Tsukiyo continued forward, she saw a huge cross in the center of the road, which was Theresa's oath of judah.
But… why would the oath of judah appear here? Even if it wasn't being used, it shouldn't be placed in such a location.
A puzzled Inaba Tsukiyo approached the oath of judah, reaching out to touch its surface.
The familiar sensation she felt when touching the oath of judah at Senba Academy returned, as if the oath of judah recognized her.
Suddenly, the oath of judah directly pulled Inaba Tsukiyo inside, and the surrounding world once again transformed into a digitized space.
Just then, the Stigmata on Inaba Tsukiyo's back reacted again, and at the same time, Inaba Tsukiyo's body began to change under the influence of the Stigmata.
Her body grew taller, and her clothes began to change, transforming into a highly mechanical, modern armor. Apparently to enhance kicks, the lower body armor was minimal, while the upper body's protection increased.
As the armor clad her body, a white hooded robe draped over her, and Inaba Tsukiyo appeared in a small town.
Unlike the city ravaged by the Black Death, the streets of this town were filled with noisy sounds, and people walked bustlingly on both sides of the street.
"This feeling… this isn't my original body."
Not only was her height significantly greater than before, but even her voice wasn't her own. What exactly was happening?
Completely unaware of what had happened to her, she only felt that the voice she was making sounded familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before.
Noticing a small puddle by the roadside, Inaba Tsukiyo came to the puddle and crouched down, only then seeing her current appearance.
"This… this face, isn't it Kallen's!"
Why had she become Kallen? What exactly was going on? Did this virtual world even have a character customization feature?
Completely taken aback, Inaba Tsukiyo stared blankly at herself in the puddle until someone approached, causing her to pull down her hood, completely obscuring her face.
"Why did you make me like this? What do you want me to do? Or do you want me to witness something?"
Inaba Tsukiyo was a bit confused, but even though she had taken on Kallen's appearance, she wasn't too anxious.
Anyway, she was only like this in this strange world; as soon as she left this world, she would return to her original self.
Through Kallen's memories, Inaba Tsukiyo had witnessed many historical events, but now, being able to observe more, Inaba Tsukiyo wanted to see what kind of event served as the background for this world.
Thus, with her hood concealing her, Inaba Tsukiyo walked through the streets, staring at Kallen's face.
Soon, she noticed a loud commotion coming from the largest square, and at the same time, the surrounding people seemed to notice something and rushed towards that area.
"Hmm? What's going on? Did something else happen there?"
Inaba Tsukiyo was a bit puzzled, but she still blended into the crowd and followed them to the square.
There, Inaba Tsukiyo saw an execution platform in the middle of the square, where several people in black cloaks and masks had seized Kallen.
'This… is this the real Kallen? I remember, Kallen's final fate seemed to be…'
Recalling Kallen's final fate, Inaba Tsukiyo, hidden in the crowd, lowered her head.
Such an end should not be suffered by a hero like Kallen, or rather, should every hero face such an end?
At this moment, one of the members in the center was loudly announcing Kallen's verdict to the surrounding commoners who had gathered.
Most of the gathered commoners did not believe Kallen's guilt; after all, during her time as a Valkyrie, Kallen had eliminated countless Honkai Beasts and saved countless lives.
Many people present regarded Kallen as their saint; the vast majority of these people were commoners whose lives Kallen had once saved.
So, even though this was a judgment by a Church member, they did not believe that Kallen would commit such a thing.
Facing the doubts of countless people, the Schicksal member standing above directly threatened them, saying that if they continued to question, they would be arrested as heretics.
In this era, Schicksal's power was extremely high; at least, dealing with ordinary commoners was very easy, and they could crush them effortlessly. Even national kingdoms could not directly command Schicksal.
This was also because Schicksal possessed the power to resist the Honkai, which gave them such great authority.
Below the execution platform, all the commoners nervously watched Kallen on the platform. Kallen did not resist, and the Schicksal member very easily placed the circular noose in his hand around Kallen's slender neck.
"This… are they really going to hang her? Even if I stop Kallen's death, there's no way to change the reality that she has already died. But I must at least do something."
Seeing that the rope was already around Kallen's neck, Inaba Tsukiyo's eyes under her robe gleamed, and she drew the Hell's Bow from where it hung on her legs.
This was a weapon that had been on her body since she transformed, like equipment that came with this valkyrie armor, seemingly obtained from another program of the system's valkyrie armor.
'Perhaps, it was an armor Otto researched for Kallen.'
Only Otto, the person most familiar with Kallen, could design an armor so perfectly suited for her.
Just as Inaba Tsukiyo was about to make her move, a series of continuous explosions suddenly erupted near the square.
Appearing on the execution platform with the explosions was Kiana, who had been out of sight until now.
While others were distracted by the explosions, Kiana jumped down from a nearby building, easily knocking out two members.
"Although her intelligence isn't top-notch, her physical abilities are quite good."
Inaba Tsukiyo nodded. While Kiana's academic performance was frustrating, she was indeed a reliable classmate in battle.
Kiana took out a pre-prepared dagger from her waist to untie Kallen, her eyes warily watching the last remaining member.
"Sigh… Since you're here, then take her and leave."
The masked member pointed at the laughter beside them and said to Kiana and Kallen,
"You can take Miss Kallen down this alley to find the port and leave here. I've already prepared a ship for sea; you should see it when you get there."
"G-Grandpa Arthur! If you let me escape, you will…"
Kallen looked at him with some confusion. As a former Schicksal Valkyrie, she knew very well what kind of punishment one would receive for privately releasing a prisoner, especially a prisoner like herself.
"Haha~ It's fine. At my age, there are no regrets even if I'm punished. I know very well that you did nothing wrong, Miss Kallen."
The old man, with his back turned, said softly. Of course, he knew what would happen if Kallen escaped.
However, he had watched Kallen grow up since she was a child. Compared to him, an old man who didn't have many years left to live, Kallen was still very young, and a much brighter future awaited her.
"Please, you must protect Miss Kallen well."
Looking at Kiana helping Kallen leave, the old man said softly.
Watching Kallen, successfully rescued by Kiana, Inaba Tsukiyo, hidden in the crowd, couldn't help but smile, preparing to slip away from the square unnoticed among the people.
Just then, before Kallen and Kiana had gone far, a violent explosion echoed from afar again. This time, the explosion was accompanied by terrifying roars.
Giant Honkai Beasts suddenly appeared in the city, and ordinary civilians, powerless, lost their lives under the Honkai Beasts' slaughter.
In just a blink of an eye, the streets were stained red with blood.
"Sure enough… it still came?"
PS: Book recommendation "Today Blank Has Never Lost", a book by Greedy Slime.
Making Blank the male and female protagonist is quite a challenge, but it's very well written.
Starting from the Fourth Holy Grail War, unlike other novels, the heroic spirits that appear are completely different.
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