Waltz of the Night. (cont.)

Although the frequency of Honkai events increased during this period, after Anti-Entropy produced the mass-produced Moonlight Throne, some small and medium-sized Honkai were no longer able to cause any trouble under the suppression of the Quantum Teleportation System and the mass-produced Moonlight Throne.

For the grassroots members of the three organizations, things are undoubtedly moving in the best possible direction.

With all the Herrscher already assisting, and Kevin, the Venerable Lord of World Serpent, having determined that the Stigmata Plan was no longer necessary, and with the Honkai phenomenon now being quickly suppressed by Anti-Entropy members using remote control of the Moonlight Throne, these lower-level members naturally had no more worries.

But for some who know the truth, the situation is not so good now.

For Jackal, who had been working hard to prepare for the Stigmata Plan, even though Kevin was her respected Venerable Lord, the decision Kevin made at this moment could not convince her.

For the scientist who was unaware of the specifics, Kevin's sudden termination of the Stigmata Plan undoubtedly deprived humanity of its last means of victory.

Unfortunately, in the current World Serpent organization, Kevin has decided to implement the Stigmata Plan, and the few Flame-Chasers Memories who remained in World Serpent have no intention of continuing the project.

Even though she knew that Gray Serpent was just as dissatisfied as she was, with the bigwigs having all chosen to reject the Stigmata Plan, these two so-called high-ranking officials had no means to continue implementing the plan.

As for the higher-ups at Anti-Entropy and Schicksal, they are actually busier than expected.

The current Anti-Entropy -Entropy organization claims that its ultimate plan is to use a sufficient number of Moonlight Throne to launch a counterattack against the Cocoon of Finality.

This is why, although the mass-production Moonlight Throne Project has shown initial success, it still falls short of the quantity and quality of the final Anti-Entropy plan.

As for how many people actually believed that...

Anyway, Bianca, who has now reunited with her family, doesn't believe it.

She didn't understand the Anti-Entropy plan, but her intuition told her that this matter wouldn't end so easily.

Admittedly, due to various unforeseen circumstances, the predecessors of the Previous Era were unable to create a sufficient number of Moonlight Throne. Therefore, after finally dealing with the Herrscher of Finality's 30% energy depletion, they were unable to keep up with the output and ultimately failed to defeat the opponent.

The problem is, if simply building the Moonlight Throne would solve the problem, why is Lin Yu pretending to be relaxed and taking it easy?

After his trip to the World Serpent headquarters, Lin Yu seemed like a completely different person, appearing utterly relaxed.

Although he hasn't gone so far as to openly indulge in pleasure-seeking, the fact that he's no longer a swindler in private suggests that, in the eyes of Chen Tianwu and a group of people who don't know him very well, Lin Yu is now completely 'at ease'.

If we only look at the surface, Bianca might also think, like Chen Tianwu and the others, that Lin Yu is already at ease, so the Anti-Entropy plan must be fine.

The problem is that when she wasn't on missions, she lived with Lin Yu for two whole years.

Even if Bianca is not attentive to details, the girl, who had been deceived once by Lin Yu with the excuse that "I have given up on revenge," clearly noticed this time that Lin Yu's state was similar to his state after lying in the past.

He deliberately put on a nonchalant attitude, but in private he still hadn't given up on his original ideas.

If the Moonlight Throne were useful, he definitely wouldn't be acting this way now, so...

"So, tomorrow is A'yu's birthday, I think you should seize the opportunity, Bianca- sama."

Bianca, who had been tricked into the clothing store by Rita for some reason, only came to her senses after hearing Rita's voice.

"Seize the opportunity?"

Hearing Bianca's slightly puzzled words, Rita whispered something almost inaudible in Bianca's ear.

Upon hearing this, Bianca was as if struck by lightning, and suddenly took a few steps back, saying to Rita with utter shock.

"You, you, you—the two of you actually?!"

"You are—"

"We are family."

After interrupting Bianca with these words, Rita smiled and said to Bianca.

"If a family member has emotional problems, then it's not so strange to try to help them through this kind of emotional support."

"But, this..."

"Sigh, in the end, it's all because you, Lady Bianca, have been procrastinating too much."

Seeing that Bianca was still clearly a little shocked, Rita suddenly said helplessly.

"Originally, my plan was to bring you and A'yu together..."

"So-and-so wants to be with him—"

"Look me in the eyes."

Under Rita's calm gaze, Bianca, who had been panicking, finally exhaled a deep breath, finding herself with nowhere to retreat.

Then, the girl, forced to see her own heart clearly, said helplessly.

"Okay, I admit it, I do—like that guy, is that a problem?"

"Of course, no problem."

Looking at her close friend who was openly facing her inner thoughts, Rita smiled and said to Bianca.

"Everyone has the right to pursue happiness, and you, Lady Bianca, are no exception."

"A'yu has clearly let go of her inhibitions. If you don't work hard to secure your future at a time like this, what are you going to do...?"

"—Do you want Xiao Yi to call you 'Aunt Bianca' for the rest of your life?"

Although Bianca felt that Lin Yi's way of addressing her was perfectly fine, at this moment, she was incredibly surprised to find a slight... restlessness rising within her.

Seeing the girl's expression, Rita knew that her words had touched the girl's heart.

"Alright, tomorrow is A'yu's birthday, everyone will celebrate for him."

"But, in the very end, I'll try my best to distract the others, so..."

"—Lady Bianca, you could prepare a gift to give him an unforgettable night."

"... Okay, I understand."

This feeling is...!

Suddenly feeling a little unwell, Bianca spoke to Rita with a strong and calm demeanor.

"Then, Rita, please help me pick out a few evening gowns that suit me."

Okay~

Watching Rita turn her back and walk towards another area, Bianca finally turned around, revealing a pained expression.

After Lin Yi and Kiana had their accidents, Bianca had already secretly sensed that something was wrong with her body as well.

Unlike Lin Yi and Kiana, Bianca, who is even stronger than the two, did not fall into either the state of being unable to move or the state of rapidly increasing Honkai Energy intensity.

However, during this period of time, she gradually understood the source of this unusual restlessness.

After secretly consulting a lot of materials that she couldn't understand most of, Bianca finally understood what her situation really meant.

According to the information transmitted to Schicksal / Anti-Entropy by veterans like Kevin and Sue, the Cocoon of Finality is the kind of being that will not choose anyone Herrscher of Finality.

However, the fact that it will not be selected does not mean that the Cocoon of Finality will do anything unexpected at a specific point in time.

He will not designate who the Herrscher of Finality, but that does not mean He will not offer an entry ticket to those who are qualified.

Bianca, who has already experienced this unusual feeling multiple times, can almost certainly confirm, based on the available information, that she...

Perhaps, like Kiana and Lin Yi, she has the qualifications to become Herrscher of Finality.

Becoming Herrscher... From the time before until that day, Bianca had never imagined that she would have such a thought one day.

But now, after realizing that Lin Yu's publicly announced plan was clearly problematic, she felt that rather than letting Lin Yi or Kiana suffer the pain they shouldn't have to endure, it would be better for her to become the Herrscher of Finality herself.

After becoming Herrscher, I might not be able to maintain my self-awareness anymore.

Moreover, the Power of Finality is far greater than that of other Herrscher. Even Lin Yu, who has a perfect record against Herrscher, would not be able to suppress the Finality as he had done before.

However, if she were the one to become the Finality, Bianca would at least be confident that, while becoming Herrscher, she could fight against the Honkai and thus weaken some of the power from the Finality.

If humanity can weaken even a portion of the Finality's power, then humanity, now better prepared than it was 50,000 years ago, will have a greater chance of defeating the Finality.

Now, that day is coming sooner and closer.

Only by leaving no regrets can I give my all to fight against the Finality.

At least until that day comes...

Perhaps I should indeed speak my mind, just as Rita suggested.

The next day, the Schicksal Headquarters

On Lin Yu's birthday, most of the affairs at the Schicksal Headquarters did not stop because of this incident.

Lin Yu hadn't planned anything grand, and to avoid affecting everyone's work, only a small number of his closest friends knew about his birthday.

Even seniors and elders like Welt, Sue, Siegfried tacitly chose to inform Lin Yu that they had real reasons for not being able to attend the birthday banquet, and instead offered their birthday wishes while expressing their apologies.

Of course, Lin Yu knew very well that although they were very busy, the real reason they didn't come was mainly because...

—Apart from Lin Yu, the only other visitors at today's banquet were the girls who were familiar with him.

Perhaps it was to avoid disturbing the young people's conversation, or perhaps it was to give Lin Yu and the girls enough space, that's why these people didn't arrive at the scene.

Of course, there were two unexpected things at the scene, considering the age difference.

For example, Fu Hua, who had already had in-depth exchanges with Lin Yu, still chose to attend this banquet.

Elysian Realm Elysia, who has known Lin Yu a short time but has a good relationship with him, also attended the banquet today as a representative of Flame-Chasers.

No one did anything strange at the banquet.

Singing birthday song, blowing out candles, making a wish, cutting the cake...

Looking at the crowd laughing and wishing him well, trying to make the birthday party as lively as possible, Lin Yu's thoughts suddenly drifted far away.

These were all very ordinary birthday procedures, but at this moment, Lin Yu felt that his own emotions were completely out of place with the atmosphere.

This is arguably the first time Lin Yu has celebrated his birthday since regaining his memories.

But now, the beautiful scene before him reminded Lin Yu of...

—A few years ago, when he wasn't an orphan, his family celebrated his birthday in the same way.

Everyone is doing this for my happiness.

But now...

Ha, my mind has become so twisted. Even though it's something that should make me happy, I still find myself thinking about things that I shouldn't be thinking about at this time.

"What's wrong, A'yu?"

Seeing that Lin Yu was clearly distracted, Rita asked Lin Yu in a low voice.

"Are you not satisfied with the cake your sister made?"

"... That's not true."

After suppressing the memories in his heart, Lin Yu smiled and said to Rita.

"Thank you, sister, and everyone else."

"I'm really happy today."

"Well, as long as you're happy, then..."

"It's getting late, I should go back and rest soon."

Rita, who had just said that, smiled and waved at Lin Yu.

"See you tomorrow, A'yu."

Having said that, Rita was the first to leave the scene as the banquet was about to end.

"Hey, Rita, you—"

Bianca, who had changed into an evening gown and was made even more beautiful than usual by Rita and Yuno, felt a slight sense of panic when she saw one of her supporters leave.

"Ah, that's right, we have a mission tomorrow."

After seeing Rita give her a suggestive look, Yuno, who had been hoping that Lin Yu would have more people with him, grabbed Lin Yi, who clearly still wanted to play around, and waved to everyone.

"Xiao Yi also needs to go to bed early, so I'll take her back to her room first."

"Ah, wait for me, Yuno."

Seeing that Yuno and Lin Yi had caught up with Rita, Kiana, who had just been playing around happily, immediately hurried to catch up with them.

Just as she brushed past Bianca heard her sister speak to her in a barely audible voice.

"Go, sister!"

Wait, Kiana, what do you mean by this??