"Eh what? I already introduced myself. Basic manners—what's your name? And who's that shorty beside you? What's with that fierce glare?"
With a light beat of her dragon wings and a flash of lightning—whoosh!—Arisa shot forward, stopping right in front of Kiana. Her gaze burned intensely enough to make even Kiana feel embarrassed.
"My name is—"
"Kiana, be careful..."
Spreading her arms, Theresa stepped in front of Kiana like a mother hen shielding her chick, staring warily at Arisa hovering before them.
But...
For some reason, Arisa found it a little amusing.
With those short legs, whether Theresa blocked her or not made no real difference. Even with the strange golden cross-shaped weapon behind her, Kiana still awkwardly showed more than half her body from behind (Theresa: 145 cm).
Tsk. That height really hurts to look at. Did she not eat well growing up?
Under Selene's rule, the Holy Selene Empire inherited from the millennial empire had no strange degenerate trends. Preferences for men or obsession with little girls were severely cracked down upon by Selene.
Hmm... there were special preferences, perhaps. But does building grand spectacles count?
A trace of pity flickered through Arisa's eyes as she sized up the figure before her.
This seemed to be a girl? A little girl?
More than half a head shorter than Arisa. Long white hair tied into a ponytail draped over her left shoulder. Deep blue eyes. She wore a pure white nun's uniform trimmed in gold, with the Apocalypse family's eye crest pinned at her collar.
Her gaze locked onto Arisa with a sharp intensity.
That feeling made Arisa feel oddly nostalgic.
Wasn't this just like those Danger Beast cubs captured and brought to Shanglin Garden in the Imperial Palace? Always acting fierce despite being tiny.
Still, Arisa's attention remained fixed on Kiana.
She desperately wanted to figure out what exactly Kiana's connection to Selene was.
From the complicated expression Selene had shown when mentioning this world, to the emotional instability when speaking of Otto, Arisa knew this world was special—deeply tied to Selene.
She might react slowly, have a jumpy personality, seem a little silly, and even be a poor student—Sebas' arranged exams often left her failing—but Arisa was actually very clever.
She just didn't like thinking.
"You shorty, who are you? Step aside. Big sis isn't interested in tangling with you right now."
"Who are you calling short?! You little brat—!"
Theresa exploded instantly. Almost reflexively, she raised the Divine Key—Oath of Judah—ready to smash it down.
Crackle—!
Meeting force with force, Arisa caught it single-handedly. Lightning flickered as her purple-gradient claws dug deep into the golden shell of the Divine Key—Oath of Judah, resisting its binding power head-on.
Then, extending her other hand, she followed Theresa's momentum, grabbed her arm, and yanked hard forward—flinging both Theresa and Oath of Judah aside with a look of disdain.
Bang!
"Theresa..."
Kiana called out blankly, but she did not move.
Because she sensed no malice from Arisa. The attack had merely been a simple physical throw.
Dusting off her hands, Arisa looked at Kiana's complicated, nostalgic expression and asked softly,
"All right. The irrelevant one's been cleared out. Now can you tell me who you are?"
"What's your name? Who are your parents? Do you have an older sister? Why do you carry traces of the Queen's power?"
Faced with Arisa's rapid-fire questions, Kiana—K—423—felt fear flash across her face.
Simply put, she misunderstood.
Connecting everything Arisa had said, Kiana filled in the gaps herself.
Why was she so eager to confirm my name? Why ask about my parents? Why ask whether I have a sister?
What did she mean by traces of the Queen's power? Who is this Queen she keeps mentioning?
As these thoughts spiraled, a speculation that Kiana both long pursued and deeply feared surfaced in her mind—and once formed, it refused to fade. Instead, it grew ever more vivid.
Covering her face, Kiana's body swayed weakly.
Everything felt unreal. As if the world had shifted completely. Her chest tightened. Breathing became difficult.
"Kiana Kaslana..."
She murmured soundlessly—not referring to herself, but to the origin of all K-series experimental vessels.
Yes.
After everything she had experienced—after Himeko's final lesson—she had gradually stepped out of the shadows of her past. She chose to shoulder her responsibilities and face tomorrow.
Her bonds with Mei, Bronya, the principal, the class monitor... with everyone—those were not things that a clone identity could erase.
Those were hers.
Her own happiness.
With everyone's encouragement, she had come to accept that she was Kiana's clone—K—423.
She could face herself. Face the Herrscher of the Void. Complete herself.
But when it came to facing the original—
Kiana was afraid.
Afraid that everything she had would be taken back.
Afraid that as a counterfeit standing before the real Kiana Kaslana, she was the one who had caused that girl's childhood family tragedy.
"Hm? What's wrong with you?"
Hovering before her, Arisa had been carefully observing Kiana's features. She immediately noticed the emotional shift.
There's definitely a connection. She looks too much like the Queen. Hehehe... and it's like a softened version of the Queen's temperament. This is double the happiness—ahh...
With that thought, Arisa's attitude toward Kiana grew noticeably gentler.
The semi-draconic claws on her hands receded. She beat her wings lightly and landed, purple high heels touching down on the scorched earth.
She even stepped forward to support Kiana.
Reaching out, she said with concern,
"Are you feeling unwell? If this isn't a good place to talk, once I finish what the Queen instructed me to do, I'll take you somewhere safe and ask properly."
"Do you need me to deal with them?"
"No... I'm fine."
Shaking her head, Kiana felt a pulse of bloodline resonance the moment her fingers touched Arisa's still-warm hand.
It wasn't just the Herrscher Core responding.
Her heart—every inch of her flesh—rejoiced at the reunion with kin.
The Herrscher Core. Sirin's DNA. Kiana's DNA.
A triple resonance calling out to one another.
And then, hazily, behind Arisa, Kiana saw the silhouette of a gorgeous, white-haired beauty.
"Cecilia..."
Seeing that figure so strikingly similar to her mother, Kiana could no longer hold back. She cried out, tears streaming down her flawless face.
"Mom... Kiana... I'm sorry."
She touched the damp tracks on her cheeks, tugged at the corner of her mouth, forcing a smile. It twisted into something self-mocking.
Taking a deep breath, she looked at Arisa and said firmly,
"My name is Kiana Kaslana. And at the same time... I am K—423."
"After this incident ends... can you let me see her?"
She lifted her head, her voice filled with longing—and humility.
"Of course. No problem."
"Kiana, what did you mean just now by Cecilia? Could it be..."
Patting the scorched dust from her clothes, Theresa hurried back. She had heard the name she cared about most.
At that moment—
Humm—!
A sacred white beam shot down from the gradually dispersing thunderclouds. Unlike Arisa's lightning, it carried no sense of threat.
If anything... it felt reassuring.
In Theresa's memory, she had only ever seen such holy radiance from one person.
"Cecilia..."
Lowering Oath of Judah, Theresa stared blankly at the descending light.
Before Arisa could even turn to look, the urgent sound of hoofbeats rang out, accompanied by a strong, heroic female voice.
"Apologies. I was delayed for a moment, Theresa-senpai..."
The Palatinus Equinox, returning from Imaginary Space, descended slowly from the sky.
"Y-You... Durandal?! How is that possible?"
Theresa pointed in shock at the figure in midair, her thoughts tangled.
A pitch-black steed wreathed in faint blue flames—like a demon horse from hell—carried a holy maiden whose presence was dazzling.
Black and white. Contradictory colors symbolizing contradictory powers—yet unified perfectly upon the strongest Valkyrie.
"Ah, you mean this outfit?"
At Theresa's astonished gaze, Durandal gestured to her white-and-gold Valkyrie armor accented with touches of dark hues.
"I've obtained new power... Theresa-senpai, what happened here? Where's Otto? And who is she?"
Scanning the devastated surroundings, Durandal frowned. She had only been trapped in Imaginary Space briefly. Yet upon returning, Kolosten Town had become ruins—clearly ravaged by massive lightning strikes.
And Arisa's appearance felt extremely familiar.
She had seen it in Schicksal's operational archives.
Benares.
"Ah, you know me? And you—Durandal, was it? You give me a feeling... similar to the Queen. Why?"
Standing beside Kiana, Arisa looked up, brows furrowed in confusion.
Today truly had her utterly bewildered.
First someone who looked like her. Now someone who felt like her.
In her mind, she automatically replaced Durandal's golden hair and blue eyes with Selene's white hair and crimson eyes.
No way.
It was like a thunderclap in her head.
Instantly, Arisa grabbed her head and let out a cry.
"Th-This—what is going on?!"
She shook her head vigorously, forcing herself to focus.
Not exactly the same.
They resembled her—but only in form. The resemblance lacked depth.
In physique, Selene was far more imposing.
In temperament—that icy dominance, that suffocating aura capable of stopping one's heart—none of them possessed even a fraction of it.
No. I have to confirm this myself.
"All of you. Come with me."
Arisa beat her wings and rose into the air, her expression sharp and unquestionable.
Another resemblance had already made reality feel unreal. She almost wondered if she had fallen under some illusion.
"What do you mean?"
Meeting Arisa's sky-blue vertical pupils, Durandal subtly glanced at Kiana, who seemed lost in thought.
"To confirm bloodline. And also—to save you."
Arisa nodded.
"Come with me to meet the Queen. When war arrives, I will protect you. Even your family and friends—I can guarantee they won't be harmed."
"War?"
"Yes. War. A war to conquer the entire world! The Empire's fleet is about to arrive!"
As she spoke, violent Honkai energy erupted from her body.
BOOM—!
"But remember—if you are fakes, if your appearances are illusions meant to deceive me—I swear, every one of you will die. I will tear you apart."
"As for Otto—he is prey personally designated by the Queen."
"Did you catch him?" Arisa suddenly shouted.
Amplified by Honkai energy, her voice carried clearly even to the Hyperion over ten kilometers away.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
"Yes, Lady Arisa. The target has been secured."
With the heavy sound of something hitting the ground and a metallic, hoarse female voice, Otto's nearly charred soulium body was thrown out, crashing violently onto the earth.
Almost instantly, Theresa and Durandal found themselves surrounded.
Towering golden-armored giantesses formed a circle around them.
Theresa's height barely reached their thighs.
Their magnificent golden power armor was lavishly engraved—greatswords and double-headed aquilas carved into breastplates, pauldrons, helmets, even kneeguards.
Crimson cloaks trimmed with gold draped from their shoulders.
Each held an enormous two-handed greatsword, faint violet light shimmering along the blade.
Upon the scorched earth, they shone with terrifying authority.
Durandal instinctively raised her lance, cold light flashing. She had no doubt of those blades' sharpness.
But what troubled Theresa and Durandal most was this—
With the arrival of the Sisters of Silence, all surrounding Honkai energy was suppressed.
"Why... do they possess the authority of the Herrscher of Binding?"
Gesturing for a squad to pursue the fleeing Hyperion and assault craft, Arisa continued,
"Imperial Royal Guard. You don't need to know more for now. I'm going to verify the truth."
...
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
At a corner of the World Serpent ritual grounds, a dim corridor twisted and turned, leading deep underground toward a massive facility long buried beneath the earth.
Every World Serpent executive had once undergone baptism here, completing their own transformation.
In this abyssal underground chamber, the memories of the final thirteen MANTIS warriors of the Previous Era—the Thirteen Flame-Chasers—were sealed.
Now, a new visitor had arrived.
An unwelcome one.
"Remnants of the Previous Era's civilization. The Finality that belonged to you—she failed to finish you. You've dragged this out for so many years. Today, I will not repeat the same mistake."