This was the best possible scenario for humanity.
At least, that was what Welt Yang was convinced of.
He was ecstatic!
He’d finally found another kindred spirit.
A Herrscher on humanity’s side!
“Or well…
one specific human.”
Welt idly muttered as he stared at the boy sitting across from him, a crease forming between his brows.
Seiya, having finished recounting his tale—carefully omitting the whole reincarnation business—had begun absentmindedly fiddling with his hair.
Upon noticing Welt’s gaze, he smiled innocently and waved despite the man being barely a few meters away.
Using his angelic appearance to its fullest.
Welt immediately softened.
Of course, in the Siberian tundra, in a forgotten settlement like Belarus, modern conveniences such as satellite television and the internet had yet to properly take root.
This child before him—though perhaps already twenty years old—appeared wholly untouched by the uglier aspects of humanity.
Or so Welt believed.
In that case…
He had found a true saint!
Uninfluenced by modern media and grand depictions of heroism, Seiya remained extraordinarily kind.
Bringing him to Anti-Entropy was no longer merely desirable.
It was mandatory.
Seiya perfectly embodied the vision of humanity that Welt Yang—no, Joachim Noachvarten—had always admired.
Combined with the information Seiya had shared with him (Seiya wasn’t foolish enough to lie to someone carrying a Divine Key, thank you very much.
Besides, he’d always liked Sit-Up King Welt before getting reincarnated.)
It became imperative that he be brought over to Anti-Entropy.
And wherever Seiya went, Sirin would inevitably follow.
Anti-Entropy would finally gain the strength required to stand on equal footing with Schicksal, the organization that had dominated the world for centuries as humanity’s foremost force against the Honkai.
If Sirin joined that is.
With two Herrschers.
He had to bring Seiya to their side.
At any cost.
If necessary, he would offer him a position equal to an Enforcer such as Raiden Ryoma.
His morality held no ambiguity!
His will was iron!
Sirin descended back toward Earth from the moon, eager to return to Seiya’s side.
She now wielded five Herrscher authorities.
Void.
Thunder (Gem of Conquest).
Wind (Gem of Desire).
Death (Gem of Serenity).
Flames (Gem of Haste).
She had successfully cajoled all of them from the Will of the Honkai, which had willingly granted them to her in preparation for the coming conflict against Schicksal.
The Will of the Honkai had noticed something peculiar.
Sirin had repeatedly stated that if the individual known as Seiya were dead, she would annihilate humanity.
The Will of the Honkai could not sense Seiya anywhere in the world.
Every soul born upon the planet was ultimately connected to the world itself.
Bathed repeatedly in Finality’s radiance throughout countless eras, the Earth had become incomparably more resilient than any ordinary celestial body.
Attacks capable of destroying entire galaxies could not completely annihilate it.
While portions of the planet could still be destroyed, any attack intended to devastate the world as a whole would be heavily mitigated, its area of effect condensed into a far smaller region.
The Earth itself had been strengthened by the Cocoon of Finality.
It longed for humanity to one day survive its embrace.
Such a thing could not occur if humanity’s home world were destroyed.
And so, it had unconsciously fortified the planet’s structure.
As a by-product, every soul born upon it could be sensed by the Will of the Honkai while alive.
The Will of the Honkai could not sense Seiya.
Thus, it arrived at a simple conclusion.
Seiya had been completely annihilated.
Perhaps during the Honkai eruption that had preceded the birth of the Herrscher of the Void.
And so, believing Sirin would soon fulfill her promise to exterminate humanity, it handed over the Herrscher Gems without resistance.
Sirin descended toward Earth.
Then immediately had a blast of fire hurled at her.
Caught off guard, she teleported outside the attack’s range, leaving several hundred meters as a margin of safety.
Only then did she peer downward to identify the insolent pest responsible.
She found the Snowwolf Squad.
Leading them was the S-rank Valkyrie Cecilia Schariac.
Beside her stood the S-rank Knight Siegfried Kaslana, wielding the unsealed greatsword form of Judgement of Shamash.
Alongside them stood Theresa Apocalypse, carrying the Oath of Judah.
Sirin’s gaze settled on Theresa.
Recognition flashed through her eyes.
Theresa promptly looked away and blushed.
“And after I graciously spared your life when you confronted me earlier, this is how you repay me?”
Sirin’s voice was cold.
Using the Gem of Desire, her words carried effortlessly across the battlefield.
“As expected, every human except him is exactly as terrible as you insist they are.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Tell me.
As heroes of justice who claim to fight for everything beautiful in this world…
do you possess no shame?”
Theresa immediately looked down sheepishly.
Then raised her voice in protest.
She couldn’t just allow herself to be slandered!
“It’s not my fault!
Valkyries are required to report threats back to headquarters!”
Theresa shouted toward the sky.
Cecilia smiled wryly.
Siegfried chuckled.
Neither of them knew she had already encountered the Herrscher previously.
They intended to question her about that later.
For now, however, both were confused.
The Herrscher wasn’t behaving anything like Otto had claimed.
She wasn’t mindless.
She wasn’t feral.
Most importantly…
She looked young.
Far too young.
Cecilia’s heart tightened involuntarily.
The girl reminded her of Kiana.
Maternal instincts flared immediately.
“You’re not worth my personal attention.”
Sirin spoke dismissively.
“I have more important matters to attend to.”
Her expression grew colder.
“If you truly fought for everything beautiful in this world, then you would be fighting to protect him.”
She raised her hand, intending to summon Dragon Seiya.
Then remembered she’d left him behind to guard her brother.
A far more important responsibility than dealing with insects.
So instead, she opted for a different solution.
Golden portals erupted across the battlefield.
From them poured hundreds of Chariot-class Honkai Beasts.
Individually, they posed little threat.
To Cecilia and Siegfried, they were little more than cannon fodder.
But their sheer numbers demanded immediate action.
Even a single escaped Chariot-class beast could devastate a nearby settlement.
Sirin was gambling on their heroic instincts.
Either they would abandon pursuit and protect civilians…
Or she would eliminate the beasts herself afterward.
Either way, nobody would die.
Seiya would approve.
Feign evil.
Prevent actual harm.
A perfect strategy.
Thus, Sirin felt no moral conflict whatsoever.
The gamble paid off.
The Valkyries immediately dispersed to intercept the Chariot-class beasts.
Sirin vanished through a portal.
Cecilia noticed.
But gritted her teeth.
There was nothing she could do.
Not while innocent lives remained at risk.
Moments later, Sirin emerged beside Seiya.
Without saying a word, she wrapped her arms around him.
Welt nearly jumped out of his chair.
Star of Eden immediately rose into his grasp.
Dragon Seiya let out a delighted yelp upon sensing his queen’s return.
Before Welt could react—
She thrust her hand into her own chest.
Welt’s eyes widened.
The dragon froze.
Seiya blinked.
Sirin tore the Gem of Serenity from her body.
Then gently pressed it into Seiya’s chest.
The Herrscher of the Void had just given away one of her own authorities without a second thought.