The power of the gem of serenity reacted with Seele's Stigmata, not only affecting Inaba Tsukiyo but also the soul-state Seele, who was also influenced by the gem.
Under the gem's influence, everything before Seele and Inaba Tsukiyo changed. This was a world full of skyscrapers, clearly a futuristic, high-tech world.
If human civilization continued to develop, it would eventually become like this, wouldn't it?
But human civilization couldn't always remain peaceful. A dark power enveloped the city. Whenever this energy touched machinery or living beings, they would turn to dust and vanish from this world.
This was the power of the Sixth Herrscher—the Herrscher of Death.
This was the memory of the Herrscher of Death from the previous civilization era. Under the erosion of Honkai Energy, a girl with the same appearance as Seele became a Herrscher.
To save the world and prevent it from being destroyed by the Herrscher, a warrior named Kevin kaslana stepped forward and eliminated the Sixth Herrscher.
"I never thought... humanity would have an existence like you."
The Sixth Herrscher knelt on the ground. She no longer had any power to resist, only helplessly watching Kevin's gun point at her.
"A warrior protecting humanity? No, what I see in your eyes is not protecting humanity; you only wish to protect a select few. You are different from other hypocritical humans; you truly possess the conviction to protect."
Kevin ignored the Sixth Herrscher, coldly cocked his gun, aimed it at the Sixth Herrscher's head, and prepared to pull the trigger.
"Really, not a gentleman at all. Or is it because I am a Herrscher, so you don't need to be a gentleman to me? Clearly... clearly I am also human, why must you treat me as a monster? Why?"
Amidst these questions, the Sixth Herrscher's core was pierced by the gun in Kevin's hand, and the Herrscher of Death of the previous civilization era died.
As the Sixth Herrscher died, the world before them began to dissipate. Seele, as an observer, was brought to a world full of purple.
"I didn't expect to still find my power, even though I only appeared in this world as a memory of the Stigmata. There's even a chance to awaken as a Herrscher."
Seele's second personality... No, it was the memory carried by the Stigmata on Seele's body, the memory of the Herrscher of Death from the previous civilization era.
The power Seele awakened during Cocolia's experiment did not make her the Herrscher of Death. Her current state could at most be called a Pseudo-Herrscher.
Furthermore, the birth of a Herrscher must strictly follow time regulations and also require a large amount of Honkai Energy. So, as the Sixth Herrscher, even with the energy of the gem of serenity, she had no way to emerge.
"Hello, Seele. It seems you've been very happy since leaving the Sea of Quanta."
"Yes, thanks to Sister Tsukiyo's help, I've been very happy. Besides being with Sister Tsukiyo every day, I can also read books I haven't read before inside Sister Tsukiyo."
"Originally, I thought we had already become one, but it seems that's not the case."
Cocolia's experiment allowed Seele to successfully reach an agreement with the will of the Stigmata. Seele originally thought they had become one, but she didn't expect the other party had merely fallen into slumber.
"No, in fact, we are one. Even if I am a memory carried by the Stigmata, this is your inherited Stigmata, so this is also your power, Seele. We... are one. It's just that there are many things I truly envy you for."
Yes, she envied Seele, envied that when Seele lost everything, she could meet Bronya and Inaba Tsukiyo, two people who cared about her.
Unlike her in the previous civilization era, she could only be killed by humans under the pretext of protecting the world, although her existence indeed affected the world.
"You don't need to be envious, Seele. Whether you are Seele's second personality or not, you are both the most important people to me."
Just then, the Little Loli's voice came. Seele and the others turned around and saw the Little Loli slowly walking towards them.
The Little Loli held Seele's hand and the hand of the other Seele. Their three hands were tightly clasped together. This was the first time the other Seele's hand had been held so tightly by someone.
Ever since she became the Herrscher of Death, no one dared to touch her, because touching her meant the body would be disintegrated.
"Not as a so-called divine being, but as the older sister who has always taken care of you. Although your power cannot awaken yet, I need your power to help me. Okay, Seele?"
"...Mm, since this is what Sister-sama needs, how could I, Seele, refuse?"
'Seele' said with a smile. Like the true Seele, that pure smile made Seele and the Little Loli laugh.
The light of the gem of serenity instantly brightened, and at the same time, a large magic circle appeared on the ground beneath Inaba Tsukiyo.
With the power of the gem of serenity as a guide, the black mist of death continuously merged into the magic circle. As the black mist was continuously absorbed, the range of the magic circle continuously expanded.
While the power of the gem of serenity continuously generated Honkai Energy, the Honkai Energy reaction was also detected by Schicksal, who was monitoring the area.
"Lord Otto! The Honkai Energy levels in the city center are constantly rising! The value has already reached 4000HW!"
"How is that possible? With Kallen's ability, she shouldn't fail to retrieve the gem. Did Kallen react with the gem? But... that's impossible."
Otto, who possessed knowledge from the previous civilization, clearly understood the patterns of Herrscher births. If Kallen truly reacted with the gem of serenity, she shouldn't have been born as the Herrscher of Death.
Could it be that due to the excessively high concentration of Honkai Energy, Kallen descended as the Fourth Herrscher?
"Bishop, what should we do now? Should we dispatch the S-Rank Valkyrie Theresa?"
"...Have all S-Rank Valkyries immediately head to Russia. A-Rank Valkyries should not go and cause trouble. If they really go, not only will they not help, but they might even just add to the chaos."
"Yes! Eh? Bishop, the Honkai Energy is rapidly decreasing, it has already reached 2000HW."
"What?"
On the other side, Tesla and Einstein, who were also monitoring the area, also noticed the increase in Honkai Energy.
"Chicken Coop Head! Didn't we already send that man Siegfried with the box made of soul steel? Why is the Honkai Energy still rising to such an extent?"
4000HW of Honkai Energy, and this is without an outbreak. At this level of Honkai Energy, those Honkai Beasts have probably already gathered here.
"Calm down, Dr. Tesla. I also don't know why this is happening. Logically, Siegfried should have completed this task properly. Why exactly..."
Einstein was also very surprised. They had clearly given the box to Siegfried, so why did it still turn out like this?
In fact, what Einstein found even stranger was that although the Honkai Energy had risen to 4000HW, there was no large-scale Honkai outbreak.
What's going on? Can the newly appeared Herrscher control the power of Honkai Energy, compressing it together?
"Hmm? The Honkai Energy is decreasing? What's going on? Is this a joke from the newly born Herrscher, or is the instrument broken?"
At Inaba Tsukiyo's side, Kallen's form had disappeared, and what reappeared there was a girl with golden twin tails, holding a lantern in one hand and a spear in the other.
The Goddess who governs the Underworld—Ereshkigal.
The Goddess of the Uruk Underworld, although her alignment is Chaotic Evil, she is easier to talk to and more adorable than Heroic Spirits of the Lawful Good alignment.
Since birth, she has held the position of administrator of the Underworld. Although she is a goddess, she has lost her freedom. Although she desires a beautiful encounter, anyone who knows her identity will make her disliked by others.
"Thank you for summoning me first, Master. You made me appear by your side faster than that idiot Ishtar, I truly thank you."
Eresh touched her chest. She knew that she was currently descending into this world in the form of possession.
The death aura of the gem of serenity had a very high compatibility with her, which is why she was summoned under the ritual of Heroic Spirit summoning.
Or perhaps, it was because her strong desire to see Inaba Tsukiyo was realized?
Eresh understood that Inaba Tsukiyo was not Rin, whom she had met before. She had already realized this when she was at Chaldea in Gensokyo.
But as the Goddess of the Underworld, she was very clear about reincarnation.
Even if Inaba Tsukiyo wasn't the person with whom she had formed a deep bond, what did it matter? Besides him, there was no one else who could look at her without caring about her identity as the ruler of the Underworld.
Eresh placed the gem of serenity back on its original instrument. Most of its power had already been absorbed by her, and it would take a long time for it to fully recover its original strength.
After placing the gem of serenity back on the instrument, Eresh turned and prepared to leave the room where the gem of serenity was kept.
Suddenly, the room door was opened, and a white-haired girl she hadn't seen in a long time appeared in the room with an old man.
"Who are you?"
Kiana glanced at the gem on the instrument and looked at Eresh warily.
"Me? Hehehe~ I am a goddess, you know."
"...A Valkyrie? Are you also a member of Schicksal?"
"No, I'm a goddess, not a Valkyrie. I'm not one of Odin's Valkyries, don't misunderstand."
Speaking of Odin, Eresh recalled Chaldea's Odin. Unlike the elderly Odin in myths and legends, Chaldea's Odin was a Little Loli with an eye patch.
Don't think that just because Odin became a Little Loli, everything is fine. This guy is just like the Odin described in external myths; to put it simply, she's a perverted old man in a loli's skin.
She was not one of his Valkyries; she was the Goddess who governed the Underworld.
"...Crazy?"
For a moment, Kiana looked at Eresh as if she were looking at a Chuunibyou Girl.
To be honest, she also had a period of chuunibyou, and she didn't expect to see someone claiming to be a goddess here.
However, Eresh's appearance could indeed be called that of a goddess, especially her current attire, which made Kiana involuntarily swallow.
"Hmm?"
Noticing Kiana's small movement, Eresh looked down and found that the other party was constantly looking at that spot. Her expression darkened, and she waved her hand, changing her clothes from a dress to ordinary attire.
"Then, can you tell me your purpose for coming here, human?"
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 40 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
👉 patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!