The gap in strength was obvious to anyone who wasn't a fool.
Jackal said, "If you plan to keep going, don't drag me along. I'm just a researcher."
Otto frowned. The script unfolding before him was completely different from what he had imagined.
If they went again, they would only be killed once more—then thrown back and revived.
He had naturally investigated Bronya's background, yet no matter what they said, she still killed them all.
Now, the only hope was that World Serpent's Misteln could play a role and persuade Bronya.
Su, Fu Hua, Kallen, Siegfried, Raven, Welt Yang, Prometheus, Misteln—and himself.
Even with every method they possessed, they had still been effortlessly crushed by Bronya.
There were also those planetary-scale megastructures, and that incomprehensible resurrection technology.
Otto felt a trace of panic.
He was not afraid of death.
He was afraid of dying and still being dragged back.
The feeling that even life and death were controlled by someone else—
It was truly unbearable.
Worst of all, he was a villain. Hated by Sirin.
If she ever felt like it, she could torture him to death—revive him—then torture him to death again.
Having lived for so many years, Otto naturally understood the countless methods of human punishment.
With such resurrection technology, every single form of torture could be used on him.
Human fear of death was often more about the fear of pain and the unknown.
...
On the other side, the battle had ended.
Misteln, who had been left behind, let her gaze flicker slightly.
"You—"
Before she could speak, Bronya spoke first.
"Misteln. You're nothing special."
"???"
Misteln tilted her head in confusion. Why did that tone sound so familiar?
"The Stigma's archetype… Your existence is somewhat interesting."
Bronya descended in front of Misteln. White tables and chairs materialized. She sat naturally on the white chair, crossing her legs. Two teacups appeared on the table.
"Sit. Let's talk."
Misteln did not treat herself as an outsider and sat across from Bronya. But inwardly, she felt uneasy.
"What do you want to talk about?"
"Let's talk about my biological mother."
Bronya's calm words made Misteln's body stiffen.
"You already know."
"Yes. With our capabilities, tracing the past and calculating the future is a very simple matter."
Bronya lifted the teacup and took a sip.
"This is wine from the Heavenly Court of an immortal world—called Jade Nectar. The taste isn't bad."
Misteln glanced at the milky-white liquid in the cup.
"For someone who killed your biological mother, don't you resent me?"
"Do you want me to resent you?" Bronya set the cup down.
"…"
Misteln fell silent.
"Resentment solves nothing. If hating you could bring my mother back to life, then I would resent you."
Bronya looked directly at Misteln. The latter lowered her head, unable to meet her gaze.
"The Schariac Stigma crystal… To be honest, I don't want to deal with anything connected to the Previous Era. They went mad fighting the Honkai."
"From a human perspective, I understand why they became that way. But I don't want to be influenced by them."
"…"
Misteln opened her mouth, yet found nothing to say in rebuttal.
Kevin truly was obsessed beyond reason.
Bronya stood up and walked to Misteln's side.
Feeling the hands placed on her shoulders, Misteln's body tensed.
"We travel through different worlds, gathering technology and studying the rules and powers of other worlds."
"Reviving a dead life is effortless for us."
"Then why don't you revive her?"
Misteln asked in confusion.
"What do you think revival is?" Bronya replied. "I could dig up a dead person's remains and use the power of another world to restore fresh flesh to the bones and reactivate consciousness.
"I can guarantee that the consciousness carries the same memories.
"But would that truly count as revival?
"Before I fully understand it, I don't want to casually revive my biological mother.
"How about helping me complete the research on revival?"
Bronya extended an invitation to Misteln.
"What help could I possibly offer in reviving your mother?"
Misteln did not agree immediately.
"None," Bronya said honestly. "You knew my biological mother. And you're beautiful. So I'd like to keep you by my side."
Misteln was somewhat speechless.
Wasn't that just asking her to stay as a decorative vase?
But their plan this time had been to understand the Will of Ruler and her forces.
Perhaps this was an opportunity.
"Fine. I accept."
"Then I'll first remodel your body."
Bronya swiftly reshaped and reconstructed Misteln's body.
Then she brought her back to Academy City.
...
At home.
Stare—
Sirin stared at Misteln, who was sitting on the sofa and bore an appearance extremely similar to Cecilia.
Bronya sat beside Misteln, looking at a blue holographic panel before her.
Nearby, Zofia noticed that her Lady Sirin's gaze had been fixed on the white-haired woman Bronya had brought back.
She curiously sized her up from head to toe.
It seemed she understood something.
She resembled Kiana Kaslana.
So this was Lady Sirin's preferred type.
Misteln found everything here fascinating.
Seeing Misteln's face stirred up old memories in Sirin, leaving her irritated.
Misteln's origins and identity were known to her.
As the archetype of the Schariac Stigma, the fact that Misteln could manifest in human form had much to do with her.
How did Bronya end up bringing her back here?
Sirin felt increasingly restless.
Misteln sensed that the atmosphere in this home was somewhat strange.
As for the purple-haired Sirin staring at her, she could not tell whether this was the Sirin from her own world—or one from another.
In this city, Pseudo-Herrschers and Herrschers were everywhere.
Stigmata were the most basic thing here. Everyone possessed three Stigmata and could freely switch between different ones.
Humans with Stigmata were called Stigmata Users. Herrschers were a new evolved race born from Stigmata Users.
Humans were humans. Herrschers were Herrschers.
Academy City made the distinction very clear.
And humans were only one of the foundational races capable of evolving into Herrschers.
There were many other races as well.
For them, even one's foundational race could be altered.
The only common point was that all Herrschers were female—and all of them were beautiful humanoid women who perfectly matched human aesthetic standards.
Even if their original forms were not human, they would evolve into humanoid bodies.
From the atmosphere in Academy City, Misteln sensed that among the Will of Ruler's faction, women who became Herrschers did not marry men. Instead, they preferred to live together with their own kind…
Herrschers possessed extremely long lifespans. Leaving aside whether ordinary humans could even reproduce with Herrschers without being eroded by Honkai—if a race with such longevity, where no one had ever died of old age, reproduced endlessly like humans did, the population growth would be exponential.
For any race, the inability to reproduce would eventually lead to extinction.
But the Will of Ruler increased her population by selecting outstanding and special individuals from other races and transforming them into members of her own.
So far, aside from the obvious preference for women over men, everything else on the Will of Ruler's side seemed acceptable to Misteln.
From the information Otto shared based on Kallen's account of the Finality Empire, the Divine Emperor Kiana Kaslana there did not favor women over men. Instead, she was excessively theocratic and autocratic, fond of playing with religious faith.
It was almost "All are equal beneath Finality."
Almost—because a very small number of individuals who had direct or indirect ties to Divine Emperor Kiana Kaslana held extremely high status and power, forming a pyramid of authority from top to bottom.
Misteln was still young since her birth, but she had recorded vast amounts of Stigmata data from countless people. Her theoretical knowledge was extremely rich.
However, theory did not equal practice.
"Miss Sirin, you've been staring at me since the moment I walked in. Is there something you'd like to say?" Misteln asked with a smile.
Sirin snorted and turned her head away. "Nothing. I just didn't expect the big-boobed duck to bring this one back."
At that moment, Bronya looked up. "Purple pufferfish, are you jealous? After all, you barely have any friends."
Sirin scoffed. "Who's jealous? I don't need friends. Having Mom is enough for me."
Bronya replied flatly, "Your tsundere setting is a bit outdated."
The moment she heard that, Sirin bristled. "Are you looking for a fight?"
Listening to their childish bickering, Misteln couldn't help but laugh. That earned her a fierce glare from Sirin.
Bronya paid no attention and continued looking at the holographic panel. "Misteln is my person. You're not allowed to bully her."
"You have too many people. I can't keep track," Sirin muttered, turning her head away.
At that moment, Vita suddenly appeared behind Sirin's sofa, wrapping her arms around Sirin from behind with a smile. "Little V is back~ What are my two big sisters talking about? Tell Little V all about it."
Feeling the soft weight pressing down on her head, Sirin vanished instantly. Zofia followed right after her, disappearing as well.
"Sirin-sis, why did you leave the moment I arrived?"
Vita pouted, looking aggrieved. She turned to look at Bronya—who also disappeared in an instant.
Misteln looked at Vita curiously.
Why did Sirin and Bronya both run the moment this person showed up?
Vita flashed onto the sofa beside Misteln. "Nice to meet you. I'm Vita. You're new here, right?"
"Hello. I'm Misteln." Misteln smiled.
"Misteln—what a lovely name. You should be careful. There are a lot of bad women here."
Misteln replied with a smile, "Thank you for the reminder. But I believe everyone won't target me maliciously."
Vita leaned closer, a wicked smile spreading across her face as she lifted Misteln's chin with a finger. "That's not necessarily true. You're so beautiful—I'm quite tempted myself."
Faced with Vita's teasing, Misteln blushed slightly, but quickly regained her composure. "Miss Vita, thank you for the compliment. You're very beautiful as well."
At that moment, Bronya reappeared in the living room, bringing along an older Griseo. "She's yours."
Griseo placed her hands on her hips angrily. "Vita, are you saying you don't want the little Vitas anymore?"
Reluctantly, Vita let go of Misteln and walked toward Griseo, muttering under her breath, "That's not fair…"
Griseo grabbed Vita and disappeared.
"Why are you avoiding her?" Misteln asked curiously.
"It's nothing. Just remember—if someone like that approaches you proactively, be careful not to get deceived," Bronya reminded her.
"What happens if I get deceived?"
"Don't be curious. And as for some of the strange shops and free services in Academy City—don't be too curious about those either."
Bronya looked at Misteln, who only half understood.
"I'm considering whether I should send you to kindergarten."
Although Misteln looked like an older sister, her mentality was more like that of a carefree child.
"Huh? You want me to go to kindergarten? The kind I'm thinking of?"
Misteln failed to understand Bronya's meaning.
Bronya sighed. The combination of Misteln and Prometheus gave her the feeling that Prometheus was a worried mother.
Misteln was completely childlike.
She truly needed a guardian.
"Come with me."
Bronya grabbed Misteln and teleported instantly to a resplendent palace in the heavens.
When Man Sui saw Bronya arrive, a smile appeared on her face. But when she noticed Misteln, her smile gradually faded, and she said in a faint tone, "Bronya… is this your new little sister?"
"Don't misunderstand. She's just my friend."
Misteln felt the scrutiny in Man Sui's gaze.
Man Sui muttered softly, "How many friends is that now…"
"Ahem. Man Sui, I have something to ask of you."
"What is it?"
"Her name is Misteln. I'd like to arrange for her to stay here with you."
Bronya pushed Misteln forward.
If Misteln stayed alone in Academy City, Bronya truly feared she would be lured away.
Many people in Academy City were not so innocent.
"Oh, that's no problem," Man Sui nodded.
"Bronya, are you treating me like a child?" Misteln crossed her arms, displeased.
"You're not familiar with our environment."
Given Academy City's current situation, Bronya did not even know how to describe it. Any intelligent being with emotions would have desires—even mechanical lifeforms.
"Forget it. Just be careful yourself. I can't watch over you all the time. Go out alone for a few days, and you'll understand."
"???"
Misteln did not understand.
Over the next few days, she went out alone. Her appearance and graceful figure immediately attracted a great deal of attention. Being a new face only made it worse.
More and more people approached her to strike up conversations.
Misteln had not expected herself to be this popular. It was just that the girls here were… a little too enthusiastic.
It left her somewhat bewildered.
However, while wandering through Academy City, she encountered several people who were both familiar and unfamiliar.
As expected of a parallel world. How marvelous.
On the street, Misteln looked at the small group not far away—Elysia, Raiden Mei, Mobius, little Bronya, and Seele standing together.