Hope

Enoshia knew without even looking that Shigure Kira's dream had definitely succeeded in transforming her from the "Herrscher of Deathly Sound" into the "Herrscher of Celestial Sound." Once Shigure Kira had fulfilled her wish in the dream, Enoshia pulled her out.

As Shigure Kira returned to reality, everyone outside discovered that the black fog in the area ahead had thinned considerably, and the figure within it gradually became clear.

"That's... the Herrscher of Frost?"

An astonished voice echoed over Siberia. Behind the thin mist, standing atop that flower was a monster with a snake's head and a human body, though without a forked tongue—quite unlike Nuwa and Fuxi.

"A Herrscher is supposed to look human, isn't it? What... what's going on? Let alone a Herrscher, Schicksal has never even heard of a Honkai Beast like this."

Besides that, the gravity throughout the battlefield was only about twice normal. To these Schicksal elites and Sirin and Bella, it was essentially nothing.

Before long, the communicator rang again.

"Hello, Theresa? You were absolutely right. Bird's Nest Head and I spent so long analyzing this strange Herrscher, and we finally got results. It actually, actually..." During this extraordinary period, communications between Schicksal and Anti-Entropy had remained open at all times so they could exchange intelligence immediately.

"Dr. Tesla, don't get too excited. Ms. Theresa, and everyone from Schicksal, let me explain. The results of our energy analysis match Ms. Theresa's conclusions. This strange Herrscher can use more than just Honkai Energy. Whether it's devouring energy, creating illusions, or that terrifying regenerative ability, everything comes from this mysterious energy."

"Since we only have observational data and no actual samples, our research is extremely limited. Many of our findings are merely conjectures. After comparing all the data we observed, we discovered that no substance or life-form on Earth can emit this kind of energy. Therefore, we can conclude that the carrier of this Herrscher is an extraterrestrial."

"Based on this assumption, many questions have been answered. Because it's an extraterrestrial, it can use a second type of energy different from Honkai Energy. And because its bodily structure is vastly different from that of life on Earth, it can withstand far more Honkai Energy than humans can. That's also why it can become a Herrscher possessing two Herrscher Cores at once."

Although Einstein's words provided reasonable explanations for many questions, they did little to solve the problem at hand.

"Furthermore, the energy inside that Herrscher has already fallen into a state of disorder. We suspect this is related to the Oath of Judah in Ms. Theresa's hands. Although the Zeroth Rated Power of the Oath of Judah earlier was less effective than hoped, it successfully disrupted the flow of energy within her body. Judah's chains were like a fish bone—even after being spat out, they still scraped her esophagus."

"Based on this, we believe we should actively allow her to absorb energy until she exceeds her limit, thereby triggering a self-detonation. Although this method contains many uncertainties, it's currently the best way to circumvent her terrifying regenerative ability."

"Without a doubt, if we do this, the Herrscher of Frost will continue growing stronger until she exceeds her limit. But we don't know the critical amount of energy she can absorb. We can only calculate from the fact that 'the Oath of Judah affects her,' along with the other parameters, that if she absorbs more than 8,000 HW of Honkai Energy in an instant, it will trigger an explosion. But as I said earlier, her carrier isn't a life-form from Earth. Therefore, the theoretical maximum energy tolerance we calculated using other Herrschers as references may not be accurate."

"Second, after absorbing 8,000 HW of energy, the Herrscher of Frost will self-detonate. Not to mention that the Honkai Energy will spread across the globe and have immeasurable effects on the entire world, everyone at the center of the explosion will absolutely... have no chance of survival. But if we can teleport her somewhere else just before she explodes..."

Before Dr. Einstein finished speaking, everyone's eyes fell on Sirin.

Whether it was producing 8,000 HW of power or teleporting away something so dangerous, she was crucial. Einstein had already made her meaning clear.

Hearing this plan, Bella immediately looked displeased. There was no doubt that Sirin would not only have to contribute greatly but also face tremendous danger.

Sirin, however, wasn't angry. She slowly walked over to the others and said calmly,

"I can cooperate with you, but only if you agree to one condition."

Everyone swallowed. They were worried that the condition Sirin proposed would be something they simply couldn't fulfill.

Her gaze swept across their faces before finally settling on Cecilia's. Her eyes softened considerably.

"I want her to live with me forever."

To Sirin, revenge was certainly important, but receiving love was clearly more important than revenge.

"Huh?!"

Other than Cecilia herself, who knew the whole story, and Siegfried, who knew some of it, everyone else widened their eyes at Sirin's condition.

However, before Cecilia could explain, Theresa understood first. The look Cecilia gave Sirin was nothing like what certain people had assumed. It was exactly the same as the look she gave Kiana—the look of a mother toward her daughter!

"She actually managed to redeem a Herrscher. As expected of Cecilia." Theresa repeatedly nodded as she watched the harmonious pair.

When the others saw that Siegfried had no objections either, they realized they had misunderstood. Siegfried was broad-minded and tolerant, but he clearly had no intention of becoming a cuckold. If there were really something between them, even if one of them was a Herrscher, Siegfried would still have taken Divine Fire Judgment and challenged her without hesitation.

Of course, the others couldn't be blamed for imagining things. After all, Cecilia was only twenty-four this year, just ten years older than Sirin. In this world full of lesbians, it was hard not to misunderstand Sirin's words.

Though it was a strange misunderstanding, this little incident relaxed everyone, who had been tense all along.

In fact, the only ones who had overthought things weren't just these people. Sirin had too. Once they understood what she truly meant by her proposal, the others actually had no objections. Sirin had only said she wanted to live with Cecilia; she hadn't said Cecilia couldn't fight.

From a rational perspective, if placing some restrictions on an S-rank Valkyrie could control a Four-Core Herrscher, it was undoubtedly a profitable trade.

Theresa had even begun considering their future life:

"Once this is over, I'll talk to Grandpa and see if he can let Cecilia stay in the Far East for a while... We can say it's for her recovery. It would be best if she could remain in the Far East indefinitely. That way, Sirin could spend some time at St. Freya Academy too, and experience a normal school life like other girls her age. I just wonder what Kiana will think when she wakes up one day and discovers she suddenly has a sister more than ten years older than her."

A scene appeared in Theresa's mind: a sunny morning beneath a clear sky. Cecilia held Sirin's hand as they arrived at the gates of St. Freya Academy, gazing timidly at the unfamiliar surroundings. Kiana, meanwhile, refused to let anyone hold her hand, running around the academy entrance and asking curiously what everything was for. Theresa would have to patiently explain it all in words Kiana could understand while also making sure she didn't fall. Siegfried, instead of helping, would encourage Kiana to exercise from a young age.

A decade later, Kiana, now old enough, would also attend St. Freya Academy. Beneath the setting sun, she would walk to the gate with her schoolbag on her back, where her sister would already be waiting and would hand her a cup of her favorite drink. The sisters would walk and chat, discussing everything from their studies to daily life, from what had happened at school to what they would eat that evening. Before they had finished talking, they would discover that they had already reached home.

Back at home, Cecilia would personally prepare a table full of delicious food. That evening, Sirin, Kiana, Cecilia, Siegfried, and Theresa—the family of five—would sit together and enjoy a happy dinner... A future like that didn't seem so bad, did it?

At that thought, Theresa and Cecilia exchanged a smile. Cecilia then nodded seriously. "Sirin, I agree. Once this is over, I'll set aside a room for you at home. Just like in the dream, it'll be your bedroom."

"Oh, and unlike in the dream, you'll also have a younger sister named Kiana. You can tease her when you're bored, and when I'm busy, you can help me look after her. In short, I'm sure you'll be satisfied with your new life."

Although Cecilia was only ten years older than Sirin, Sirin seemed to see her mother's figure once again in Cecilia's warm words.

Seeing the happiness on Sirin's face, Bella smiled. To her, compared with destruction and killing, seeing Sirin happy was the greatest happiness of all.

"Darn it, I forgot to include her too." Theresa slapped her forehead as she looked at the smiling Bella.

"She seems to be a Judgment-class Honkai Beast born because of Sirin, and her relationship with Sirin doesn't seem to be a simple master-servant one... Hmm, if she could go to the Far East with them too, Sirin would probably be even happier."

"Oh, everyone's here. What... is going on?" The person who arrived was Nicholas, the last one to awaken from the dream. The moment she arrived, she saw the Herrscher of Void, who had been so imposing earlier, throw herself into the captain's arms like a child. She was completely at a loss.

She was just about to ask the others what had happened when she realized that the tears at the corners of her eyes had yet to dry.

"Honestly, I clearly held it in when I saw her in the dream. Why am I crying now...?"

In the dream, she and Salome had gone together to the dessert shop Salome had recommended when she first visited France, and eaten another parfait exactly like the one they had shared back then. Even after realizing it was a dream, and knowing that they had already been separated by death in reality, Shub still smiled and bid her farewell one last time.

Just as she had done for the others, when Nicholas had fulfilled her wish in the dream and wanted to return to reality, Enoshia brought her out.

"Nicholas, you..." When Shigure Kira saw her somewhat melancholy expression, she immediately realized that she must have dreamed of Salome.

"Kira, I'm fine. Now that everyone's all right, I'm relieved."

When the last person escaped the dream, the black fog surrounding the Herrscher of Frost completely disappeared. Everyone understood that the moment of the final battle had arrived.