"Ugh..."
Kiana's sobbing hiccuped. She sniffled, looking at Su Yu through tear-blurred eyes.
Images of the past surged up uncontrollably.
The Herrscher of the Void standing in Imaginary Space, her golden pupils looking down upon all living beings, tearing open space with a wave of her hand to summon an army of Honkai Beasts.
Anti-Entropy's mech army was like mere toys before her.
Even Mei, who had reached a cooperative agreement with the Herrscher of Thunder, was defeated by her hands—not only strangled and humiliated but having her Herrscher Core gouged out.
And after that.
It was the Vermilion Knight, burning her own body into flames to illuminate the way home for that disappointing student.
For Kiana Kaslana.
Every awakening of the Herrscher personality was accompanied by soul-tearing pain and an uncontrollable desire for destruction.
The Herrscher of the Void, Sirin.
Her existence meant disaster. Her awakening meant disaster would descend once more, meaning the world would become unfortunate again because of her.
She feared that power, and feared even more the consciousness filled with resentment and madness hidden behind that power.
That was supposed to be an invincible monster.
However, just a few minutes ago, that high-and-mighty Queen was defeated by Su Yu.
He was clearly nearly strangled to death just moments ago. He was clearly just an ordinary person who couldn't carry heavy loads and would pant just from changing a water jug.
But...
It was precisely this ordinary person, whom she could have previously sent flying ten of with one punch, who actually defeated the Herrscher of the Void—the one who once nearly destroyed half the world, caused the death of Teacher Himeko, and forced Kiana to wander like a stray dog?
No, it wasn't just that.
Not only did he defeat the Herrscher of the Void, but he also used such an unreasonable, even completely reckless method—a headbutt—to seize back control of her body.
After realizing this.
The halo of the God that had once startled her awake from countless nightmares shattered into pieces on the ground. What remained was nothing more than a pitiful wretch who had failed to throw a tantrum.
"See? She's not scary at all."
Su Yu reached out, not minding the tears and snot on her face, and roughly rubbed her head of white hair.
"As long as you strip away that halo, she's just a... chuunibyou with a bad temper."
Kiana dazedly allowed him to rub her head.
The mountain in her heart named 'Fear' seemed to truly be chipped away, bit by bit, by Su Yu's off-beat roasting.
That insufferably arrogant Herrscher turned out not to be as insurmountable as imagined.
At least, just as Su Yu said, the Herrscher of the Void in this world...
Wasn't much stronger than herself.
"Heh, foolish..."
Deep in her mind, that cold voice sounded again.
Though it carried a weakness born of exasperation, it was still filled with vicious curses.
"Kiana, do you think this is over?"
The Herrscher of the Void's voice hissed in her consciousness like a lingering venomous snake.
"So what if there is no Honkai energy? This body still flows with the blood of a monster! As long as I wish, I can still control your hands to kill people, I can still turn this fragile world upside down!"
"After all—you are a monster to begin with!"
"As long as you let your guard down, as long as you dare to sleep, I will crawl out again... and destroy everything you care about, all of it!"
If it were before, if it were a few minutes ago, Kiana might have trembled under such threats, perhaps even choosing to flee again.
But now.
She was still trembling.
That was physiological fear, a trauma carved into her bones.
But this time, for some reason.
Maybe it was because the large bump on her forehead, still throbbing with pain, was too real.
Maybe it was because Su Yu's headbutt just now was simply too satisfying.
Or perhaps...
Looking at this man collapsed on the ground before her, clearly in a wretched state yet still desperately finding reasons for her to live on.
Kiana felt that the voice in her head didn't seem so scary anymore.
Compared to that kind of high-and-mighty God who wanted to destroy humanity at the drop of a hat, that guy who was just rolling on the ground clutching his head and crying out in pain... really did look more like a chuunibyou who hadn't grown up.
Slowly, firmly, she clenched her fists.
Her fingernails dug deeply into her palms, bringing a slight stinging pain, but that pain made her incomparably clear-headed—this body belonged to Kiana Kaslana.
In the concert venue below, countless glow sticks merged into a dazzling sea of stars.
That was the expectation of tens of thousands, the love of tens of thousands, the purest beauty of this peaceful world.
Eden's singing echoed within this sea of stars. Every note was like a dancing flame, illuminating every corner, and also illuminating the ruins in Kiana's heart.
[On the rooftop.]
Kiana Kaslana opened her eyes.
In those heterochromatic eyes, the shadow of fear still lingered, but beyond that, in the depths of that blue, a ball of fire had ignited.
A flame ignited by Su Yu's clumsy headbutt, awakened by Eden's song, and inspired by the resolve of Mei in her memories... the fire of hope.
"A monster...? Maybe."
"But... even an idiot like Su Yu said that the way you looked just now really resembled a little brat throwing a temper tantrum because they haven't grown up."
The voice in her mind seemed to choke.
"I won't... let you act willfully anymore."
Kiana's voice was very light, still carrying the nasal tone from crying, so light it was almost scattered by the wind.
But every single word was like an oath carved onto her soul.
"Oh?" The Herrscher of the Void chuckled lightly, as if she had heard an amusing joke.
"I want to live."
Kiana abruptly sat up, ignoring the dizziness in her brain, and stared dead at the brilliant starlight filling the sky.
"I will definitely live on! No matter how many times you appear, no matter how you torture me..."
"I will absolutely never hand this body over to you! I will absolutely not let you hurt anyone here! Especially Su Yu!"
She struggled, using all her strength to stand up from the ground.
Although her body was still going soft, although her knees were still bleeding, her back was straightened perfectly upright.
The wind messed up her white hair. She was like a blade of wild grass standing stubbornly upright in a gale.
So wretched, yet tenacious to the extreme.
Below, countless golden points of light converged into a sea, illuminating the entire night sky.
Eden sang the final high note—
"May that spark set the plains ablaze."
At that moment, the dome arena below erupted with the night's most enthusiastic cheers.
Countless ribbons fell from the sky like rain of splendor.
And outside that glory watched by ten thousand people, on this unknown dark rooftop.
Kiana clenched her fists. Blood flowed down through the gaps in her fingers, dripping beside Su Yu, yet she felt no pain.
"This is... Kiana Kaslana's resistance in this world!"
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