An operation to exterminate Honkai Beasts, originally scheduled to last the entire day, was wrapped up before noon in Sienna’s hands.
“Meow!”
Sienna snapped a few branches from the nearby trees and built a fire by the riverbank.
Vanilla, having returned from her task, was busy catching fish in the water.
“That’s enough. Come up and eat.”
One by one, salmon were tossed from the water onto the shore by Vanilla.
Using a small knife, Sienna slit the bellies of the fish, cleaning out the scales and guts.
She then skewered the prepped fish on small twigs and propped them up by the fire at just the right angle for roasting.
“Eat some of this Schicksal emergency food first.”
Sienna pulled two pouches of high-energy rations from her gear bag and handed them to Vanilla, who sat across from her.
“Meow?”
Taking the offering, Vanilla stared at the long, rectangular package, looking entirely baffled as to how to approach it.
It wasn’t until Sienna demonstrated how to tear the packaging that she learned how to get to the food inside.
“With the way you are, I’m terrified you’ll be kidnapped the moment you’re out on your own.”
Having a cute cat-girl in front of her was certainly a treat for the eyes, but Sienna was currently preparing her to handle business solo.
This classic “clumsy-cute” anime trope made Sienna worry that someone could lure her away with nothing more than a few dried sardines.
“Cecilia, you must have learned a thing or two about education, right?”
If she were discovered by an ordinary person, it wouldn’t be much of a problem.
As a Honkai creature, Vanilla wouldn’t harbor any affection for humans even if she followed orders not to attack them.
With her strength, she’d likely detect them long before they saw her.
What actually worried Sienna were the other Valkyries conducting sweeps in this same area.
Sienna wasn’t cold-blooded enough to have Vanilla kill them just to keep her presence a secret.
“In the two years I spent looking after Kiana, I did learn a bit about early childhood education. But you’re being far too overprotective.”
Sienna had funneled all the Honkai Energy she and Vanilla had gathered during this mission to Cecilia. This story is hosted at g.com.
By now, Cecilia was capable of briefly projecting her soul outside of the Core.
Now, there were three of them sitting around the campfire.
Compared to a B-rank Valkyrie like Sienna, Cecilia was a veteran of countless battles.
She knew that high-level Honkai creatures like Vanilla weren’t just powerhouses; they were capable of using tactics and coordination.
The “adorable cat-girl” in Sienna’s eyes was a killing machine in the eyes of anyone else.
“Our numbers will only grow, and eventually, there will be those among us who aren’t fighters. Thinking of safety measures now will prevent losses later.”
By the time they finished the rations, the roasted fish was ready.
After getting a nod of approval from Sienna, Vanilla reached out and stuffed a whole fish into her mouth.
Sienna only had a bit of salt for seasoning, making the flavor of the roast rather plain.
She took a few bites and set it aside.
After becoming a Herrscher, she didn’t actually need to eat as long as there was sufficient Honkai Energy; these mundane meals were mostly just to satisfy a lingering sense of habit.
“Can you return to the Theater of Domination?”
“Meow?”
“Give me your hand.”
The Honkai Beasts in this sector had been cleared out, and the transport plane picking her up likely wouldn’t arrive for a while.
Before leaving, Sienna wanted Vanilla to master her own abilities.
A personal pocket dimension was, after all, standard equipment for any protagonist.
Gently grasping Vanilla’s clawed hand, a rift leading to the Theater of Domination shimmered into existence between them.
“No one enters but us.”
Leading Vanilla inside, Sienna explained that this space was exclusive to them as Herrschers of Dominance.
Thinking back to the original story, those puppets had actually used such a magnificent space as a mere battlefield.
Even more nonsensical was their attempt to use it to trap the Herrscher of the Void.
They practically begged Kiana to use her powers to warp the Hyperion right into their faces for a point-blank orbital strike.
Even if that failure was “part of the plan,” it still looked pathetic. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
The Thousand Herrscher spent months building that theater; if they had just equipped every member with heavy artillery after stealing Bronya’s Herrscher of Reason powers, they could have maintained enough firepower to suppress the main cast even after funnelling their strength into that giant puppet.
“Do you remember how to use this power?”
Once inside the space, Sienna let Vanilla practice on her own.
“Meow~”
“Take your time.”
Watching Vanilla wave her hands at the air trying to tear open a rift, Sienna let her practice at her own pace.
“What are you thinking about?” Cecilia asked, following them into the space.
“I’m thinking about what kind of factory I should turn this place into.”
Sienna looked up at the vast expanse.
It would be a crime against her “cheat code” not to use it.
Since every Herrscher of Dominance could open an entrance, it meant she had a global deployment system.
If she entered the space in Antarctica, she could step out of a rift opened by another Herrscher in the North Pole.
Once mastered, it would be even more efficient than Sirin’s teleportation.
“Something like the Anti-Entropy Titan production lines?”
“Purely technological weapons require lines too massive for this place to handle.” Sienna hadn’t seen a Titan line, but she had seen car factories; she knew the scale required for parts and assembly was beyond this single dimension.
“Besides, Anti-Entropy’s weapons aren’t even that impressive.”
The Titans that Anti-Entropy had spent decades developing couldn’t even keep up in battles involving A-rank and S-rank Valkyries.
“Then what do you plan to build?”
Cecilia had sparred with Anti-Entropy mechs before.
Those Titans, representing the pinnacle of human engineering, were still only good for dealing with low-to-mid-tier Honkai Beasts.
“Mass-produced fodder can be manufactured in mundane factories across the world,” Sienna said.
“We’ll use this place to manufacture our spare bodies.”