"Eh?" It wasn't just Yuno who was astonished by the girl's transformation; even Theresa, drowsy from the poisoning, wore a look of sheer amazement.
However, Theresa was not merely surprised by Irene's change in appearance. She was even more stunned by the peculiar cross resting beside Irene's new form.
It was a cross that appeared entirely golden. The ornate reliefs upon it seemed abnormal in that instant, and the streams of light flowing endlessly across its surface seemed to declare its extraordinary nature.
It was identical to the cross the girl carried on her back—a second Judah. Compared to Theresa's Judah, this one lacked a sense of solemnity and instead carried an air of slaughter.
The light spears that should have been sealed inside the cross extended directly from within, deforming and wrapping around the Judah like specks of starlight encasing the weapon.
Under the sunlight, the cold glint flashing from those stars made it clear: those light spears were no simple decorations.
"A second Judah?!" Theresa stared at the weapon standing beside Irene. She had never seen Judah display such a form.
If her own Judah was a solemn holy light, then the Judah before her eyes looked, to Theresa, like a cross entangled in thorns.
Theresa didn't know why she thought that. Clearly, the form of that Judah was more like a cross wrapped in starlight, yet she felt that 'thorns' was a more fitting description.
Perhaps it was because the barbed thorns attached to the chains extending from that Starry Judah were currently wrapped around Irene's arm, even tearing her clothes?
"May I cleanse your sins." Irene grabbed the chains extending from Judah, clenching them in her palm. The thorns on the chains immediately sliced her skin, but strangely, not a single drop of blood fell from Irene's hand.
Binding · Blood. Using the Power of Binding within Judah to constrain the blood inside her body, ensuring it would not flow out due to the wounds.
And this proficient mastery of the Power of Binding belonged to Kallen Kaslana, the Nun of Atonement.
"Everything I do is the will of God! I am the chosen one!" After her initial shock, Yuno immediately mobilized a massive amount of vines to sweep toward Irene.
"That is why it is called Judah!" Irene gripped the iron chain tight, ignoring the barbs digging into her palm. She suddenly whipped it forward. With terrifying force, she yanked the Starry Judah from the ground and swept it horizontally like a meteor hammer.
The thorns, which were exceptionally hard under the catalysis of Honkai energy, were crushed as easily as firewood before Judah.
Watching the cross smashing toward her, Yuno frantically urged the vines to lift her higher. But in the next moment, the lunging Judah smashed the rapidly growing thorns to pieces.
Just as Yuno had said, if Herrschers and Pseudo-Herrschers were God's choice—messengers chosen to destroy human civilization—then the Oath of Judah was the oath to forsake the gods and protect humanity.
The heavy Judah smashed into the earth, embedding itself deeply. Immediately, the chains pulled taut, dragging Irene directly toward it.
Yuno hurriedly urged thorns to spring up from the ground.
The sharp thorns stabbed straight at Irene's chest. They scraped open her clothes and tore her skin, but then they stopped. No blood flowed out, as if the wounds were permanently fixed at the level of a minor scratch.
Binding · Stasis. A wound is the phenomenon of flesh being torn. By binding that tearing force and binding the deformation of muscles, no matter how powerful the damage, it could not harm her body.
As for the toxins on the thorns, Binding · Blood could do more than just prevent blood from leaving the body; it could also stop the flow of blood within.
Since they were only surface wounds, binding the blood flow in those specific areas would not affect her body's overall function.
Irene stepped heavily onto the ground, spinning her body. With immense power and centrifugal force, she yanked Judah from the ground and swept it toward Yuno in the air.
Yuno watched the horizontal sweep of Judah, her soul nearly leaving her body in fright. She could only pour out massive amounts of Honkai energy to spawn thorns, forming a sturdy shield in front of her.
But the sharp light spears protruding from Judah, combined with its massive weight and the force of being wielded like a meteor hammer, tore directly through that sturdy barrier. It slapped Yuno right in the face, sending her flying.
In mid-air, Yuno tried to grow thorns to catch herself and form a defense. But just as she tried to act, she found several thin chains wrapped around her body.
The Honkai energy throughout her body seemed to disobey her commands, flowing sluggishly.
The final image left in Yuno's eyes was the white-haired girl leaping high, holding that savage cross, and smashing it down toward her.
Sharp starlight pierced Yuno's body, pinning her to the ground. Chains composed of light bound her entirely, suppressing her pain and simultaneously suppressing her resistance.
This was the final mercy the nun could offer. Irene looked at the impaled Yuno, her eyes filled with pity. "May I cleanse your sins."
Yuno's body gradually dissipated. The chains extending from the starlight slowly retracted into Judah, and Irene hoisted the cross back onto her back.
Theresa stared at the girl who carried Judah on her back just like she did. Her eyes were a bit dazed, as if another voice was calling out in her mind.
"Kallen?"
"Eh?" Irene, having sharp ears, looked at the dazed Theresa. "...What did you just call me?"
Hearing Irene's voice, Theresa shook her head as if waking from a dream. But her body felt increasingly heavy. The weakness caused by the poisoning made her breath hitch uncontrollably, and each breath brought more toxins into her body, making it impossible to muster any energy.
After recovering slightly, Theresa looked at Irene with a mind full of questions. Why did her appearance change? Why did she have another Judah?
Why did her Judah look like that? Why did she seem to use Judah even more fluently than Theresa herself? But all these questions clumped together, and in the end, she only squeezed out one inquiry.
"Who are you?"
"A survivor." Irene looked at Theresa. At such a close distance, even with zero proficiency, she could sense the active Honkai energy behind Theresa.
And at this range, Irene could feel the emotions transmitting from that Honkai energy. Those emotions were filled entirely with longing.
[Sakura...] Kallen also identified the true nature of that Honkai energy, her tone becoming somewhat low. [In the end, did I fail to save anyone? Not even you?]
Irene said nothing, nor did she offer comfort. In that dream, she had already learned why this Kallen had become the way she was, and she knew exactly how she had transcended her Destined Death.
In that timeline—or in the terms of the Honkai worldview, on that branch of the Imaginary Tree—Otto did not arrive a step too late. He came. At the final moment, he pushed Kallen away, and his own abdomen was pierced by the Honkai Beast.
Kallen, her hands now free, watched Otto's body being casually discarded by the Honkai Beast. Rage swallowed her reason. By the time she came to her senses, the Honkai Beast's body lay on the ground, torn to shreds by brute force.
Beside it lay Otto, breathing faintly. Through Otto's intermittent narration, Kallen's mind became clearer than ever before. She understood. Why did the Honkai Beast appear? Why had this town turned into such a tragic state?
It was all because of her. If she had been willing to trust Otto a little more, if she had used a more appropriate method to deal with that black box in the very beginning...
None of this might have happened. After understanding everything, Kallen retrieved Judah. The Saintess Kallen died there, replaced by the Nun of Atonement.
"A survivor?!"
Irene glanced at Theresa's Judah nearby. After hesitating for a moment, she reached out and placed her hand on it. "This might make you a bit uncomfortable, but you'll feel better soon."
After a moment of silence, Judah seemed to be confirming the identity of this master it hadn't seen in a long time.
Then, Judah opened on its own, revealing the chains hidden inside. A single chain popped out. Irene caught it and wrapped it around Theresa's body.
The Power of Binding driven by Irene quickly took effect on Theresa, suppressing her breathing and blood circulation to slow the spread of the toxin.
As for why she didn't just bind the toxin's spread directly? It wasn't that Irene couldn't do it, but rather that Kallen, the source of her power, didn't know such delicate operations either.
The Kaslana bloodline didn't allow for such detailed research. That Kallen could channel Judah's power to this extent was already a result of her IQ getting activated after losing her 'external brain'.
"Ugh!" Theresa, her bodily functions suppressed, felt even more uncomfortable. But after a short while, she felt her body heating up.
As her body heat rose, she actually felt more comfortable. The grogginess began to fade. However, her previously tense body lost all tension due to the relief, causing Theresa to faceplant onto the ground.
"Eh!" Irene watched Theresa fall and quickly stabbed her own Judah into the ground to prop Theresa up, only to sense Theresa's breathing becoming increasingly even.
"Scared me." Irene sighed in relief, feeling Theresa's vital signs stabilizing. It was as if the toxin was gradually dissipating. "This is..."
"Eh? Could it be that because Yuno died, the poison started to fade?" Irene tilted her head, then looked down at her own leg, which had been scratched by Yuno's thorns.
The poison there hadn't dissipated. It seemed Theresa's recovery wasn't due to Yuno's death.
"So, it's Vishnu?" Irene turned her head, thinking of another possibility: the Honkai Beast genes sleeping within Theresa's body.
[Eh? Isn't that A-Mo's thing?] Pardo spoke up in confusion as she listened to Irene's muttering. Then, suddenly realizing Irene might not know who she was talking about, she hurriedly added, [Ah, I mean Kosma.]
"Yeah, I know." Irene nodded. She had previously wondered why Theresa, possessing Vishnu genes, was so easily taken down by Yuno's poison. It turned out she just needed to hang on a little longer to digest the toxicity.
In that case, would Yae Sakura count as...?
Thinking of this, the corner of Irene's mouth twitched. Though, it seemed a bit late for that now.
[Let's take this child to a safe place first.] Kallen spoke up at this moment, seemingly having adjusted her emotional state.
"True enough." Irene set her sights on the roof of the school building. She hoisted Theresa's Judah onto her back.
Then, Irene reached out to her own Judah. It automatically extended chains to bind itself to Irene's arm, dropping a chain into her palm.
Irene swung the chain forcefully toward the rooftop. Once it hooked on, Judah pulled the two of them—and the other Judah—up to the roof.
By now, the moonlight had arrived. Gentle moonlight illuminated the city that had returned to dead silence, also sprinkling over the two girls sitting on the rooftop.
Under the moonlight, Theresa gradually woke from her stupor. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw a silver-haired girl holding her.
Sensing movement in her arms, Irene looked down at Theresa. "Hmm, you're awake. Feeling better? Anywhere still uncomfortable?"
Theresa looked at the girl. She recognized her features as the form between the cat-girl and the Judah-carrying nun—the intermediate state.
Which meant this was the person who saved her. But realizing she was being held in the other's arms made Theresa suddenly shy. She tried to roll over and break free from the embrace.
Theresa tried to roll, only to be hugged even tighter by Irene.
"Eh." Feeling the sudden increase in force, Theresa's cheeks flushed red. She wanted to open her mouth to say she was fine and ask to be let go, but Irene explained first.
"Don't roll that way. If you roll off that side, you'll fall all the way down."
Theresa turned her head to look in the direction she had tried to roll, only to realize that Irene was holding her while sitting on the edge of the roof. The direction she had tried to roll led straight to a drop off the building.
Irene turned and hopped down from the parapet. She had originally just wanted to hold Theresa and admire the 'Holy Land' before her—or rather, the High Ground of Origin. Though, currently, this Holy Land hadn't taken shape yet.
At most, it could only be called the High Ground of Origin. The Crater of Finality had not yet appeared below, and the wire fence nearby certainly didn't have a wormhole in it yet.
After hopping down, Irene naturally let go of Theresa. Theresa rolled to her feet and straightened her nun habit. While doing so, she observed Irene.
Theresa still remembered the other party claiming to be a survivor. But what kind of survivor could solo a Pseudo-Herrscher in near-peak condition?
Were the standards for being a survivor this high nowadays? And how could a survivor possess a Judah almost identical to hers?
Harboring these questions, Theresa looked at Irene and asked, "Thank you very much for your help. But may I ask who you are? You are definitely not a survivor, so..."
"Who are you?"
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