Two more days had passed, and Sirin’s optimism had hardly waned.
She remained utterly convinced that Seiya would arrive to save her soon.
There was no reason to worry!
Her beloved brother would come and save all of them!
In the meantime, she set about trying to lessen the sadness of the others.
Whenever crying girls were escorted past her cell, Sirin would greet them with a radiant smile—a beautiful expression enhanced by the delicate grace of her slowly maturing features.
‘Big Brother Seiya would’ve probably saved them all by now if he were here.
Unfortunately, I’m not as incredible as Big Brother yet… But I can still make them laugh!
To spread joy and happiness—that’s what Big Brother would do.’
And so, she greeted girls older than herself with cheerful smiles to lift their spirits, while making funny faces at the younger children until they burst into giggles.
Over time, however, as the experiments progressed, some of those girls stopped appearing altogether.
That…troubled her.
Sirin wasn’t naïve.
She was simply incredibly trusting of Seiya, leaving most things to him whenever he was nearby.
Like a certain paramecium relying on an external brain—except Seiya acted less as cognitive support and more as a moral compass.
Still, she wasn’t as shocked by death as a normal thirteen-year-old girl might have been.
Her parents had died when she was eleven and a half.
She was no stranger to the cloaked reaper.
These thoughts occupied her mind as she made her way toward the experiment chamber.
Cooperating to avoid unnecessary pain, she still couldn’t stop a grimace from appearing on her face.
Once the scientists had confirmed her abnormally high Honkai resistance, they had gradually begun injecting larger and larger quantities into her body.
As she entered the chamber, she overheard one scientist mutter quietly to another.
“It’s a shame, really.
I don’t know where we’ll find another guinea pig this durable.
But for the sake of advancement, sacrifices must be made.”
Sirin wondered who they were talking about as she was strapped onto the operating table, her long purple hair spreading across the cold metal surface like a river delta spilling into the sea.
Her golden eyes narrowed against the harsh fluorescent lights burning into her vision.
The experiments had become worse and worse recently.
Privately, Sirin thought she could probably endure another week at most while waiting for Seiya.
It hurt.
It hurt so much.
But she had to believe in the person she loved most.
So she gritted her teeth and remained still in her white hospital gown as the machinery descended toward her.
Strange.
There were no masked men holding scalpels this time.
Instead, enormous machines closed in from both sides, thick tubes filled with swirling pink-purple liquid connected to them.
Sirin had no idea what any of it was.
But she would endure.
“Beginning Honkai Energy injection equal to the previous experiment.
Starting at 500 HW.”
The cold, mechanical announcement echoed through the room as one of the scientists pulled a lever inside the control chamber, safely isolated behind reinforced glass.
Sirin’s body twitched violently.
This was painful.
But nothing she couldn’t endure for her Seiya.
An older man stepped into the observation chamber beside the scientists, peering through the glass at the restrained girl below.
Sirin recognised him instantly.
He was one of the mercenaries who had captured her.
The moment she saw him, anger stirred within her chest.
The scientists immediately noticed the emotional spike and increased the output.
It was well documented that Honkai energy reacted positively to extreme emotional states—particularly negative ones such as hatred and rage.
“Output increased to 1000 HW!”
“Keep going.
Extract as much data as possible from this one.
She’ll die from corruption after this experiment anyway.”
“Honkai Energy Output at 1500 HW!”
Sirin visibly writhed in agony.
The old mercenary had been brought in specifically for this purpose.
The scientists had carefully tracked which mercenary pair had kidnapped which child before arranging for every inconvenient loose end to disappear.
They had offered obscene sums of money to individual mercenaries in exchange for assassinating one designated target each.
No names.
No recognisable faces beneath helmets.
Slowly, the mercenaries slaughtered one another—whether through direct betrayal or self-defense.
Hiring separate groups instead of a single unified force had proven to be a brilliant decision.
Eventually, only one remained.
The old man standing beside them now.
Never underestimate the elderly in a profession where most die young.
The reasoning behind it all was simple.
They had saved an extraordinary amount of money this way.
Otto certainly hadn’t granted them an unlimited budget.
Besides, the scientists had thoroughly enjoyed the bloodbath.
Sadistic creatures that they were.
“Ah, this one…” the old mercenary muttered.
“She had a brother who looked exactly like her.
Purple hair.
Golden eyes.”
Sirin’s eyes widened.
She scrambled desperately against the restraints until she locked eyes with the old man through the glass.
The fear on her face caused the lead scientist to raise an eyebrow.
She had shown no fear whatsoever during days of torture and experimentation, yet a single mention of her brother had thrown her into panic.
Interesting.
Useful data.
“Increase the output.
Inject every remaining Honkai vial we have.
This is our most resilient subject.”
“H-Honkai Energy increasing to 2700 HW!”
Sirin strained against the chains so violently that her wrists turned red and raw.
At her pleading expression, the old mercenary finally spoke.
Perhaps age had softened him slightly.
Or perhaps he simply saw no reason not to answer a dying child.
“Your brother is dead.
My…temporary associate likely killed him.
I saw blood around your cabin afterward.
The woman herself was missing, though.
She probably went to indulge herself once she learned she had permission to kill.”
Sirin froze.
Her expression became completely blank.
‘Brother… is dead…?’
‘No… he can’t be.
He wouldn’t leave me here alone… Right?’
The emptiness lasted only a moment before it transformed into rage.
Pure.
Absolute.
All-consuming rage.
Orange X-shaped marks ignited within her golden irises as Honkai energy erupted around her like twisting serpents.
Alarms screamed throughout the facility.
“Honkai Energy levels exceeding critical thresholds!”
“3000 HW—4000 HW—5000 HW and still rising!”
The scientists immediately began trampling over one another in their desperation to flee.
‘If Brother is dead… then…’
The machinery restraining her crumpled into twisted scrap metal as the liquid Honkai surged violently into her body.
“THEN THERE’S NO POINT TO THIS WORLD EXISTING ANYMORE!”
Her scream was swallowed by blinding white and violet light.
Seiya drove as fast as he possibly could.
The sight of Babylon Labs in the distance had filled him with renewed determination.
He was close now.
He could reach her.
Bella, Agata, and Galina slept quietly in the back seat.
He allowed them to rest.
Then suddenly—
The earth shook violently.
The sky itself seemed to split apart as Seiya watched a supernova erupt in the distance ahead.
A colossal pillar of purple-white energy exploded upward as the towering structure that once pierced the heavens was annihilated instantly by the birth of a goddess.
Seiya slammed the accelerator down as far as it would go.
A burning sensation erupted across his back as the Void Stigmata glowed at its absolute limit.
More than three hundred scientists died that day.
No one would mourn them.
But an angel had undergone apotheosis—
And Seiya wanted his goddess back.
The Second Great Honkai Eruption had begun.
The Herrscher of the Void had descended.