First Herrscher and Fourth Herrscher

The two teachers chatted quietly for a while longer in the library management center. Seeing that it was about time, Teacher Himeko bid Walter farewell and led Xina out of the Library.

"Teacher Himeko, are you really not going to criticize me?"

Following Himeko out of the Library, Xina tilted her head and asked somewhat guiltily.

Himeko placed a hand on Xina's shoulder and let out a soft sigh. "Silly child, everyone in this world makes mistakes! But what matters most is whether the person who made the mistake can recognize it and correct it!"

"Is that so..."

Under Himeko's gaze, Xina suddenly lowered her head and stared fixedly at her toes. No one knew what she was thinking.

For the entire afternoon afterward, Xina looked dejected. Kiana assumed that Xina had been caught skipping class by Himeko and subjected to some inhumane punishment, leaving her mired in endless self-reproach.

In truth, Xina spent the whole afternoon considering the relationship between a Herrscher's duty and humanity. Or rather, she did not know what attitude she should take toward her responsibility as an Apostle of God.

In the end, she decided to find a chance to speak with the First Herrscher. She hoped to understand how this traitor saw things, and how his views differed from her own.

That night, in Xina's darkened room, a figure stood by the window, quietly watching as the lights in several nearby windows went out.

"Everyone went to bed rather early today." Xina drew the curtains and slowly walked to her bed, using a fruit knife to cut a small slit into her fingertip.

Then, using the Herrscher of Death's power, she extracted her DNA from her blood.

Using her palm as a culture dish, she continuously used Herrscher power to stimulate the growth of the materials required to form life: cells, tissues, organs...

Until, at last, an unconscious human puppet retaining only the most basic biological traits lay on Xina's bed.

"If I mess this up, I'll probably have to live under another identity." Xina sat on the edge of the bed, expressionlessly changing the living specimen that looked exactly like her into pajamas. She then returned to the window and watched the bright white moon through a gap in the curtains.

Only after the entire villa had fallen silent did Xina gently open the balcony door and silently leap down from one corner of the balcony.

After a few bounds, her figure vanished into the night.

In the darkness, she naturally used Black Mist to break down part of her body tissue, then stimulated new tissue to grow in its place.

When she emerged from the darkness, her height, figure, and appearance had all changed.

Xina condensed a mirror from ice in her hand and examined the face she had sculpted for herself with great satisfaction:

Smooth, thick Blue-Purple Hair; a figure as tall and slender as Himeko's... yet with the voluptuous curves of a mature woman.

A cold, domineering beauty's face paired with such a fiery body—what a unique charm!

"Ah~ This is the good thing about being the Herrscher of Death. You can sculpt yourself into whatever you want."

With a flick of her finger, Xina shattered the ice mirror in her hand. She raised her right hand and lightly tapped the center of her brow with her index finger. Pale blue frost patterns spread outward from between her brows until they completely covered her face.

Inside the teaching building.

After avoiding the academy guards patrolling outside, Xina followed the markings on Kiana's map and silently arrived at the faculty office.

At this hour, only one office on the entire floor was still lit. Judging from the sensation, the First Herrscher—the man who had abandoned his position as Anti-Entropy's leader to become a history teacher—was inside.

Knock, knock, knock!

Slowly raising her right hand and curling it into a fist, Xina tapped the door three times with the knuckle of her middle finger, at a very steady rhythm.

"Come in!"

A few breaths later, Walter's calm voice came from inside the room.

Knock, knock, knock!

Xina did not push the door open. Instead, she continued knocking.

Hearing the second round of knocks, Walter put down his book and looked at the door in confusion. Who would come looking for me at this hour?

After thinking for a while, Walter's tone became somewhat stiff. "The door isn't locked. Come in!"

Knock, knock, knock!

The person outside seemed unable to hear Walter and stubbornly continued knocking.

Left with no choice, Walter got up and walked to the door. He wanted to see just who could be this stubborn.

Click!

Just as Walter placed his hand on the doorknob, a thick blue-white ice spike instantly shattered the door and shot straight toward his chest.

"What!?"

Caught off guard, Walter only had time to construct a strange field-like shield around himself. After colliding with it, the sharp ice spike was deflected within seconds and smashed into the wall behind him.

"Who are you?" Walter pushed up his glasses with his left hand and glared darkly at the woman before him... a woman with quite an impressive figure. In his right hand, he had already constructed a strange-looking Dark Sphere.

"..." Ignoring the strange object clenched in Walter's hand, Xina casually pulled over a chair and gracefully sat down. "I'm not anyone. I'm merely a Herrscher... seeking answers."

"You refuse to show your true face and attacked first. I don't see you as someone seeking answers." Walter coldly watched the woman whose face was covered by a Frost Mask, his eyes filled with distrust.

"Ha ha ha ha..."

Hearing that, Xina could not help laughing. One hand covered her stomach while the other braced her waist as she laughed as though she had heard an especially hilarious joke.

After a long while, Xina raised her head. Her golden pupils glinted coldly through the mask's eyeholes. She lightly tapped the tabletop with her index finger, and in an instant, frost covered the entire room.

"Actually, that strike just now was merely a test, to see how capable you were." Xina tilted her head toward Walter, who seemed to be deep in thought, and could not help teasing him. "If you couldn't even take one move from me and died, then there'd be no point in wasting my time here, right?"

"So what answer did you get?" Walter asked coldly.

"You're a little stronger than I expected. Perhaps I can get my answer from you!" Xina sat up slightly straighter and stared directly at Walter... and the strange sphere in his hand.

"If I refuse to give you an answer, what will you do? Fight me to the death?"

"How could that be? I don't enjoy doing something as stupid as risking my life!" Xina stood up and earnestly explained her thoughts. "If I can't get an answer... then I can only work hard to fulfill a Herrscher's mission: melt the poles, freeze the ocean currents, and destroy the world!"

"Lord Herrscher of Reason, you wouldn't want me to do that, would you~"