Just like this body, this natural stigma, suspected to be connected to the previous civilization's Herrscher of Death, also completely belonged to Caelus-Seele.
She could feel the immense power contained within it, yet she couldn't directly wield it.
It was as if the New World, hiding the great treasure One Piece, had been locked from the inside.
As the stigma's owner, Seele's more intuitive feeling about this situation was that she hadn't gained the stigma's approval.
But then the question arose.
This stigma was merely a stigma, a part of "Seele." The character card provided by the system didn't come with any soul or will.
There was no "Dark Seele" in Seele's Wonderland—how could an unconscious, inanimate object actively "approve" of her?
The solution to this problem was actually quite simple: if there was no Dark Seele, then just find one~
A crimson hue bloomed here.
Her gradient indigo-blue hair was dyed a deep black-red by the stigma's energy, and the pupils of her sea-blue eyes suddenly spread with a scarlet tint.
"Armor, unite!"
The rhythmic declaration caused the frenzy in those crimson eyes to pause, replaced by a hint of bewildered confusion.
"Huh?"
What armor?
What unite?
No, wait!
[Where... is this?]
The scene shifted as if frames were being skipped. Just moments ago, she had been panicking and restless due to losing contact with Seele, frantically shouting and searching like an ant on a hot pan in a world bubble on the verge of collapse.
But the next second, she abruptly found herself in a completely unfamiliar world.
Before her, monsters shrouded in a sci-fi particle-like black mist were closing in—clearly nothing good.
[The connection... is restored!]
[Seele! Seele! Are you okay?]
Since her birth, this was the first time Dark Seele had been separated from Seele.
Even if it was only for a few minutes, every second felt like an eternity, a true torment of counting every moment.
The joy of regaining what was lost made it impossible for Dark Seele to conceal her concern.
[The other me!?]
This familiar feeling was undoubtedly "the other me"!
[I'm fine!]
[I'm okay.]
The simultaneous responses echoed, deepening the confusion in Dark Seele's eyes.
[Seele? Two... Seeles?]
The connection, like stems of twin lotus flowers, was reestablished, but the original two flowers had now become three!
Was it an illusion caused by her excessive worry for that crybaby and her agitated emotions?
Dark Seele silently tried to sense these two connections, but both connections were real and undeniable!
After repeatedly confirming the authenticity of the two connections, her bewilderment and shock gradually transformed into delight.
Though she didn't know what had happened, she now had two Seele's!
[Seele, what exactly is going on?]
Masking the surging joy in her heart with coldness and disdain, she feigned an attitude of "it was all an illusion, I wasn't worried at all," and spoke through the unique mental communication she shared with Seele.
[I... I don't know either.]
A faint, mosquito-like voice intertwined with confusion.
[The situation is a bit complicated, and there's no time to explain in detail. Other me, you only have three minutes. Deal with these guys in front of us first.]
Caelus-Seele's plan had succeeded.
By forcibly impacting the stigma with her power and instantly switching to auto-battle mode, she could summon Dark Seele to take over the fight.
But Dark Seele's control over the body, like a friend's assist in a game, had a time limit!
She had actually anticipated this situation.
After all, the character card she drew was the A-rank "Phantom Sea Butterfly," not the S-rank "Other Shore Twins."
The voice was just as soft and delicate, but the calmness and courage within it were something the "crybaby" didn't possess.
Thus, Dark Seele almost immediately determined which of the two Seele was the one she was familiar with.
But...
*Heh~! Useless coward!*
The unfamiliar Seele was still Seele!
Hiding instinctively in the face of danger and silently begging for her help in her heart—this was exactly what "Seele" would do!
*Ahem*, it wasn't that Dark Seele felt protective or wanted to shield her; it was just that bullying Seele meant bullying her.
And bullying her...
A pale, delicate hand rose, catching the massive black scythe spinning down from the sky.
The speed of their mental exchange far surpassed spoken words. The three Seele completed their communication in their minds, while less than two seconds had passed in the outside world.
Slowly raising her head, her black hair fading into dark red swayed, revealing crimson eyes like boiling blood.
"Have you thought about how you want to die?"
Swinging the scythe, she sliced through the monster charging at her like a sharp arrow.
Crisp shattering sounds accompanied the scattering of negative particles as Dark Seele's lips curled into an increasingly frenzied smile.
"Come play with Seele~!"
Like a blooming red mandala flower, dark red energy petals, thick as ink, spread out—each one a slash, intense and tragically beautiful.
The red-black scythe cleaved through the energy rays and the body of the Corruptor.
Cries of agony mixed with enraged roars as the Voidwalkers scrambled to tear her to pieces.
"Hahaha~!"
Amidst the maniacal laughter filled with murderous intent, the black scythe gleamed with a crimson light, like a blood moon blooming in the darkness.
The Voidwalkers were sliced apart and exploded into pieces.
After all, Seele was equipped with a badge!
"Auto-battle" didn't affect the equipment's effects.
Dark Seele, on her killing spree, soon noticed something unusual.
Caelus-Seele's body was a perfect, quark-level replica of the original Seele's body, so Dark Seele hadn't even realized she had switched bodies.
Yet, this body was significantly stronger than before!
"Huh?"
Both Stelle and March 7th were dumbfounded.
Just moments ago, she was a gentle, adorable girl like a spring breeze, but after that strange action, she had turned into a bloodthirsty, frenzied beauty.
And her combat power had skyrocketed! Exploded!
"Caelus, wh-what's going on?"
March 7th turned her confused gaze to the gray-haired young man who had just stepped out of the cabin.
"I don't know!"
Caelus wore a completely clueless expression, sticking to his amnesiac persona.
Whether for the sake of safety, like having a hidden second life, or to avoid the inevitable flood of questions later, he didn't want to reveal his relationship with Seele.
"Huh? Really?"
March 7th narrowed her eyes. "Then what did you mean by 'armor fusion' earlier?"
"Oh, that."
Caelus's expression relaxed. "Seeing that girl's movements reminded me of something."
"Back in my hometown, there were righteous warriors who fought against evil. They could summon legendary armor and transform into Armored Warriors."
"One of them was called 'Dark Seele Warrior.'"
"Dark Seele Warrior?"
Stelle scratched the back of her head, lost in thought, vaguely recalling something from her "subconscious."
Upon hearing this, Caelus glanced at Stelle with a strange expression and nodded. "That's right."
"This girl didn't summon any armor, so it seems she's not one of our people."
Starry shook his head with a hint of regret, while Caelus narrowed his eyes.
Given his special connection with Stelle, a moment's reflection was all it took for Caelus to guess how Stelle knew.
[System, to what extent are we mentally linked?]
[In the reality dimension, it's not too high, but not too low either. Starry can access some of the host's unguarded memories and knowledge through his subconscious and dreams.]
Seeing that even Stelle had recalled the relevant memories, March 7th finally let go of her suspicions.
Frowning, she looked at Caelus, who was panting as if he had just been in a fight, and asked with concern, "Did you run into a Void Grunt in the cabin?"
"...Yeah, one sneaked up on me, but I took care of it," Caelus hesitated for a few seconds before answering.
That was a lie.
The truth was, he wasn't used to controlling two bodies at once.
It was even more bizarre and unsettling than suddenly having two extra hands.
Even now, he hadn't gotten used to it. If it weren't for the "auto-battle" mode, his body would occasionally mimic Seele's subtle movements in sync.
That was also why he hadn't followed Seele out immediately to join the fight.
A nimble figure, trailing crimson streaks, darted like a phantom among the enemies—Black Seele was on a rampage.
"Stelle, March, let's go!"
Caelus forcefully threw the yo-yo, and the moment it left his hand, his wrist jerked rapidly.
This motion gave the yo-yo a horizontal acceleration, creating an arc—this was Gun-Kata... ahem, Yo-yo Combat!
Of course, such a technique required the practical support of Honkai energy or Imaginary energy to succeed.
The yo-yo, trailing its string, wrapped around the Trampler's legs, binding and restraining it.
"Whoa!"
Before Caelus had even finished speaking, Stelle was already charging out with his bat.
With Black Seele joining the fray, the battle went smoothly, completely one-sided.
Just before the three-minute time limit expired, Black Seele landed another blow on the Trampler, and with the trio's combined efforts, they shattered the Trampler completely.
The half-human, half-horse monster let out a mournful cry and collapsed to the ground.
...
Three minutes earlier.
Aboard the Astral Express, parked near Herta Space Station.
A brown-haired, bespectacled middle-aged man, exuding an aura of "reliability," stood beside the conductor.
"What's going on?"
For some reason, chaos had suddenly broken out in the space station. Noticing the abnormality, Welt and Pom Pom discussed it and decided to dock the train at the station's platform to investigate.
His gaze sternly fixed on the explosions erupting across Herta Space Station, Welt frowned slightly and habitually raised his hand to adjust his glasses.
At that very moment, Black Seele's armor assembled, and the release of the Stigmata triggered intense Honkai energy fluctuations.
Sensing a familiar yet unfamiliar energy wave, Welt's hand, raised to his face, abruptly froze. His composed expression flickered with confusion before rapidly shifting to horror.
"This energy... this energy is!"
Honkai!
The word sprang to his mind. Combined with the explosions and disasters he witnessed, it was as if he suddenly understood what was happening. Old Yang shuddered.
"Mr. Welt, what's wrong? Hey! Don't touch the throttle lever!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey, so you probably noticed that today's chapter is only one
and this is because I noticed that I don't have any money to buy the extra chapters
so it'll be one chapter per day until I get a stable income or I make a patreon which I'm iffy about