As the "battle time" for Dark Seele's consciousness officially began.
The Honkai Energy conversion rate of Lunelle's body, which had originally been stuck at a one-to-one ratio, suddenly skyrocketed.
This was triggered by the crimson, bewitching, and strangely alluring glow that erupted from the blood-red sigil etched onto her lower abdomen.
Fortunately, while Lunelle's clothes were somewhat "battle-damaged" from being slammed into the wall moments ago, the fabric covering her lower abdomen and above had miraculously not torn open.
Otherwise, if anyone passing by caught a glimpse of this inexplicably 'way-too-suggestive' scene and word got out, Lunelle would have surely died of embarrassment right then and there!
And if it were seen by someone with less than honorable intentions towards her... well, let's just say the kinds of 'plot developments' the underworld loves to gossip about might become a reality the very next day.
After all...
"Miss Seele, you wouldn't want anyone finding out about that strange glowing pink pattern on your stomach, now would you?"
As the Stigmata flared with heat and light, Lunelle's physical capabilities underwent a terrifying enhancement in an instant, just as the simulator's general description of its talent effect had outlined—a boost of roughly a hundred times!
This Stigmata was no ordinary mark.
It was a "Herrscher of Death-exclusive Stigmata," directly imprinted on Lunelle by Dark Seele herself, the true Herrscher of Death, who had poured the vast majority of her power into it.
Naturally, it could effortlessly outclass those low-budget artificial Stigmata produced by Schicksal, which were mere imitations of the Previous Era's technology.
Even the innate Stigmata possessed by those rare, one-in-ten-thousand Natural Stigmata Awakeners seemed 'just-a-tiny-bit' inadequate in the face of this selfless gift from an exceptionally powerful Herrscher of the Previous Era.
Dark Seele, operating on the principle of not shortchanging her darling Seele-wife, had promptly and decisively branded her beloved with the most overpowered Stigmata configuration possible.
However, not being deeply versed in the field of biotechnology, Dark Seele failed to realize that her well-intentioned act wasn't entirely a good thing for the still-incompletely-grown Lunelle.
After all, the true nature of "Stigmata" was, as the Current Era's research suggested, a database containing vast amounts of genetic information.
The genetic data recorded within these Stigmata were precisely the collected and cataloged genes of individuals from the Previous Era of Honkai who possessed a natural, powerful resistance to Honkai Energy.
The original purpose of developing these Stigmata was to use these highly Honkai-resistant genes as a source, fostering a new generation of humans with innate, exceptional resistance to Honkai.
This initial plan, therefore, skirted rather close to the taboo of "human cloning."
It wasn't until the Previous Era of Honkai faced a true life-or-death crisis that this rather forbidden project was brought back into the light, to be passed down as a genetic treasure for the next era's humanity.
However, even though the genes of the Current Era now contained such a concentrated pool of powerful Honkai-resistant genetics, genes are things that express themselves selectively.
Only a minority ever managed to unearth the "treasure" buried deep within these Previous Era genes.
But for those natural Stigmata Awakeners who successfully unlocked a Stigmata from these "genetic vaults," their innate Stigmata were without exception perfectly matched to them on a genetic level.
Naturally, there was no awkward situation of the Stigmata itself being incompatible with the Awakener's own body.
Yet, Dark Seele's forceful Stigmata imprinting had bizarrely created a situation where the Stigmata's inherent quality far exceeded the physical limits of the body it was inscribed upon!
Thus, what should have been a core medium for a Valkyrie to freely channel her physical strength became, to some degree, a "death warrant" for Lunelle!
It was only thanks to Lunelle's rather 'prickly cat' of a simulator, which seemed to have anticipated this scenario and imposed a set of restrictions on the effects of this god-tier Herrscher Stigmata.
Otherwise, even without any enemy intervention, Lunelle might have performed an impromptu act of dropping dead on the spot, her body simply unable to bear the Stigmata's immense power.
"Tch! Seele's body really is still too frail right now, huh? It can barely handle me using this little bit of power, and it's already about to give out?"
Having successfully descended, Dark Seele naturally felt the various powerful limitations Seele's body imposed on her.
At this moment, she felt that if she used even a bit more force, she'd have to constantly worry about accidentally—in a very physical and literal sense—"breaking her darling, delicate Seele for good"!
Still, Dark Seele couldn't help feeling a bit exasperated.
How could her Seele-wife's sweet, soft body be even 'squishier' now than during their last contact?
She remembered clearly, back when she'd last found her adorable "Little Seele"...
That "Little Seele" hadn't been able to handle her full power either.
But her Seele now looked a bit older than that "Little Seele" had been.
So why was her body's adaptability to Honkai Energy actually so much worse?
'Whatever. I haven't unlocked much power, but as long as it's enough, it's fine. Hurting Seele's body would be no good!'
After roughly calculating the maximum power she could safely draw from her Seele-wife's body, Dark Seele temporarily set aside her curiosity about the strange, severe decline in her wife's Honkai Energy adaptability.
Because while she'd been pondering how much force she could use, Seele's body was on the verge of being captured by that damnable man!
Given how much Dark Seele cared for Seele, even letting her precious girl be slightly touched by such a disgusting man was utterly unacceptable!
In Dark Seele's mind, even if some unavoidable circumstance forced her to accept Seele having contact with someone else...
At the very least, it would have to be as that damnable pink-haired homewrecking fairy once said... it would have to be a beautiful young lady scoring 95 points or above!
The reason Dark Seele was slightly less averse to her Seele interacting with beautiful girls stemmed from the true Previous Era timeline.
There, the initial Dark Seele hadn't been like in the simulator's storyline, able to secure her position as the "legal wife" right from the start.
In the real timeline, Dark Seele's appearance and entry into the... competition... had actually been relatively late.
Although, in the end, she did manage to come from behind and successfully become the most important person in "Seele's" heart.
But even after Dark Seele truly became the most important one to "Seele"...
That had only happened because a certain pink-haired fairy lady had essentially self-destructed, giving Dark Seele a prime opportunity to swoop in.
So, after firmly securing her position as the "legal wife," Dark Seele came to the realization that her precious Seele's heart had already been carved up and claimed in advance by quite a few beautiful young ladies.
Even though she occupied the largest piece of her beloved's heart, the one known as Dark Seele had no power to drive all her rivals out of Seele's affections.
In the end, she was forced—bitterly and reluctantly—to accept the painful reality that she could never truly have "her Seele" all to herself.
Though it's worth mentioning, this Dark Seele, whose possessiveness over Lunelle was so fierce, actually did try to turn Lunelle completely and utterly into a darling that belonged to her alone.
It's just that the plan back then ultimately failed, partly because Dark Seele couldn't watch over her precious Seele twenty-four hours a day, and partly because of a certain meddling "duck's" forceful intervention.
In the end, not only did Dark Seele's grand scheme to monopolize "Seele" go bankrupt, but due to the huge limitation of being unable to excessively interfere with "Little Seele's" thoughts and actions at the time, that little duck actually managed to weasel her way in and become an existence in "Little Seele's" heart almost as important as Dark Seele herself!
The most infuriating part was that this duck even had the nerve to linger like a vengeful spirit in the Sea of Quanta and make some outrageous promise with her precious "Little Seele"!
That's why, having had her plans ruined and in a sense even cucked by that little duck right before her eyes, Dark Seele had a particularly strong opinion about a certain duck that rubbed her the wrong way in every possible aspect the moment she made her appearance this time!
And for this creature who dared to lust after her precious Seele's body right in front of her, Dark Seele decided to respond with direct action—delivering a wave of physical "girl power" with her fists!
So now, "Lunelle," whose entire aura had somehow become both dangerous and bewitching, suddenly raised her small, seemingly soft and powerless pink fist.
Then, following the direction her body was being pulled by a powerful suction force, she threw a fierce punch through the air!
BOOM!!!
A terrifying physical strength, measuring over 9,000 points, erupted instantly from "Lunelle's" utterly incongruous little fist.
At this moment, "Lunelle," relying purely on her immense power and a straightforward, unadorned punch, managed to produce a terrifying effect akin to an air cannon directly through the air.
In an instant, a fierce blast of air erupted, violently blowing away everything in sight, including Welt Joyce, sending them all flying into the courtyard outside the dorm.
Luckily, though, this Welt Joyce had been standing near the doorway when he started trouble.
So even though Dark Seele's first punch while in control created a terrifying commotion, the actual damage to the dorm itself wasn't too severe.
Otherwise, if Himeko, having just recovered from her injuries, came back to find her home flattened by what was supposed to be an ally—"Lunelle"...
Well, Lunelle, who couldn't possibly scrape together enough money to cover the losses, would probably have no choice but to repay the debt with the only thing she had to offer...
Anyway, you know what I mean.
Watching her dear sister Seele suddenly transform right before her eyes into a "berserker loli" in the most physical sense possible...
'Huh??? What just happened? Is this really our sweet, delicate, soft, and adorable sister Seele?'
The little duck, who had been knocked aside and was now spectating this scene with intense focus, felt a genuine sense of existential doubt from the bottom of her heart!
"Cough! Cough!!! How is this possible!!!? Weren't they supposed to have just a measly A-rank Valkyrie stationed here? Could Schicksal have ambushed me with a hidden S-rank Valkyrie?"
But compared to the duck, whose face was a picture of shock even as she internally reeled, Welt Joyce, who had taken this "girl power" punch head-on and was now hanging on by a thread, was clearly experiencing existential doubt on a whole 'nother level!
After all, in the eyes of this ordinary yet overly confident Welt Joyce, he was the First Herrscher, who commanded the very laws of physics!
He was a god!!!
Unforgivable!
This is utterly unforgivable!!!
"It's all because of that damned brat injecting me with something... Otherwise, how could a god like me end up in such a pathetic state?"
"Damn it! That damned little brat!!! I will have you, enjoy you to the fullest, and then after I'm done, I'll—"
But before the self-proclaimed god could continue his vile rant targeting Lunelle...
"Tch! So noisy!"
Swish!!!
A sharp, blood-red gleam flashed through the air.
In the very next moment, just as the cursing Welt Joyce realized what was happening, he was horrified to discover that his tongue—and even his entire lower jaw—had been cleanly sliced off by some unknown sharp weapon before he could even react!
Just like that, in a simple and brutal fashion, Welt Joyce's unfinished words were physically silenced.
"So pathetically weak, yet you dare call yourself a god? Is this all the power a deity amounts to?"
As the dying Welt Joyce followed the voice in terror, trying to lift his head to see the dangerously alluring girl holding a massive blood-red scythe blade…
Dark Seele, gripping the huge crimson scythe, swung down once more with precision, instantly gouging out Welt Joyce's eyes on the spot!
After all, Dark Seele was roughly aware that from her current lofty, superior position, if she let this scum keep his sight, her skirt might just grant him a final panty-shot treat before he died!
At this moment, it was hard for Welt Joyce to imagine that this terrifying being who had just defeated him without any chance to fight back was, mere seconds ago, a seemingly soft, cute, and easily bullied delicate girl.
"Hmph! A weak and clueless piece of trash like you actually dared to lay hands on my Seele? You've got some nerve!"
"If I had more time, trash like you would absolutely regret ever being born into this world! Now die!!!"
Knowing full well her five minutes weren't as reliable as one might hope, Dark Seele carefully avoided imitating a certain show-off like Miss Mei, who could clearly win but would hold back at the last second to step on the enemy's face, flaunt her strength, and then deliver the killing blow.
Instead, she swung her blade down a third time, cleanly giving this damned piece of work a vertical "one slash, two halves" treatment!
And so, Comrade Welt Joyce, who from beginning to end never even managed to touch a single hair on Lunelle's hand, was instantly killed by the substitute player Dark Seele in what was probably less than a minute combined.
'Next, it's your turn, JO—no... Bronya!'
With a bit of time still left, Dark Seele quickly turned her gaze toward a certain duck who had watched the whole thing from start to finish!
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 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.