Shigure Kira used to be an idol, too.
Now that she had lost her "good friend," her only option was to find some fun in life on this new Earth.
Besides seeing all sorts of humans on the streets, she also saw a rather famous idol in Academy City.
"Benares...?"
"Salome? Niggurath?!"
Seeing Benares living such a happy life, even becoming a famous idol on the stage of this new era, the fire of hatred suppressed in Shigure Kira's heart couldn't help but ignite.
The entire Snow Wolf Squad had been wiped out by Benares. For Shigure Kira to let go of such a deep-seated hatred was utterly impossible.
"Are you kidding me! Are you KIDDING me!!! Why is she still alive! Why is she living so well!"
Shigure Kira couldn't accept it. The cruelest scar in her memory had been ripped open by a simple idol poster, making it almost impossible for her to maintain her composure.
No, she had already lost it. She was on the verge of a complete breakdown. Her body trembled uncontrollably with the flames of hatred.
At this moment, Shigure Kira's mind was in chaos, with questions bubbling up like boiling water.
'Why can the humans of this new era live in peace with a Honkai Beast that has slaughtered so many?'
'Why? Why is it as if they've forgotten the hatred of the past?'
'Where are the Valkyries? How can they openly accept a Honkai Beast standing on a human stage like this?'
This wasn't just about her hatred; it was deeply tied to the honor of her past.
Shigure Kira didn't understand. What happened to Schicksal's long-proclaimed mission to defeat the Honkai?
Why was a living, breathing Honkai Beast allowed to live right before her eyes?
She had only been back on Earth for a few days and had no idea that the title of "Valkyrie" had become a historical memory with the dissolution of Schicksal.
Although there were still people who persisted in Valkyrie training and upheld the honor of the Valkyries, these things had long since lost their connection to defeating the Honkai.
Just like how St. Freya High School claimed to be training Valkyries, but it was more of a high-quality talent development base. It would never arrange for Valkyries in battlesuits to fight the Honkai again.
Many people simply treated Valkyries as a kind of "model idol," something to admire and learn from.
Shigure Kira couldn't accept such an outcome. So many comrades had been sacrificed, only for their past hatred with a Honkai Beast to be cast aside, allowing them to stand on the same stage together?
She couldn't accept such a result.
If she hadn't been deeply affected by what Noldrei had said about Honkai Herrschers, it was because she had never actually met them. But now, seeing the very target her teammates had sacrificed their lives to defeat living and thriving right before her eyes...
At this moment, Shigure Kira finally felt an oppressive, unsettling feeling.
She began to feel a sense of doubt about the people on the street.
Were these beings walking on the street really human? Were they the same humans as before?
Could they have been replaced? Could their memories have been taken and replaced in some device? Were they a kind of alien she had never seen before, transferred here?
Shigure Kira's heart pounded in her chest. She even suspected that Noldrei, who had taken "Niggurath," was also an alien. Otherwise, why would Niggurath accept Noldrei so easily?
It must be because they were all from the same alien family!
Shigure Kira currently had no friends on Earth, and she couldn't find a single one of her old friends. Durandal was on Venus, and Rita had her own work and no time to spend with her.
She could only explore this new, completely different city on her own.
With a critical attitude toward this world, Shigure Kira began her new adventure.
But before that, she needed to see a "person."
Though it wasn't really a person. At least in Shigure Kira's eyes, such a being could never be classified as human.
She was a Honkai Beast. She was the Honkai.
Benares was still unaware that her nemesis had come looking for her. Her current problem was that human aesthetics were changing too quickly, and a simple idol could no longer satisfy people's needs.
Androids could certainly let people experience the fun of human interaction, but that couldn't compare to the fervent atmosphere within an idol group.
After a brief period of idol selection and immersion, the new idols also underwent some strange changes.
Some were pursuing a certain atmosphere, a special kind of identification with broader characteristics.
This sense of identification was something that a single android couldn't provide.
Some even wanted to turn this sense of identification into a force that could transcend physical aesthetics.
But such promotions always lacked a certain power, always leaving people with a strange sense of emptiness.
"It seems idols are becoming less and less popular... Sigh, I wonder how the Olenyeva sisters are doing. They have even fewer fans than I do. They're probably even worse off than me."
Seeing fewer and fewer people left under her stage, Benares began to feel a sense of weariness for this job.
But she couldn't bring herself to abandon the few fans she had left. After all, they were genuinely supportive. But if she continued like this, she would definitely be exhausted.
Not physically, but an idol who lacked support simply lost her meaning.
'I don't get it. If only I could be like those idols who can just throw away their fans like trash.'
Benares suddenly felt that maybe she had been around humans for too long, to the point where she now had such high moral standards.
She thought of Noldrei, that person with no moral rules, and felt a pang of envy.
As a Judgment-class Honkai Beast, Benares was far too moral.
As she was packing up backstage, she heard an unexpected knock on the door. It was a bit hurried, as if someone was in a rush.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Benares continued her work. Her makeup artist had already found another job, so of course, she had to do it herself.
"Just a moment, I'm just packing up. If you want an autograph, you can sit on the side..."
A biting chill washed over her. Benares instinctively opened an Imaginary barrier to block the visitor's attack.
"It's you?!"
Benares remembered this woman. She remembered her very clearly.
Before her core was shattered, it was this woman and her friends who came to stop her from finding Sirin.
"Damn Honkai Beast! I'll take your life!"
Without a Valkyrie battlesuit or a weapon, Shigure Kira charged at Benares with a fruit knife she had picked up from the side of the road.