"Aunt Himeko!!! Sob—Aunt Himeko!!!"
When the battle was finally over.
Kiana had overcome the disturbance from the Herrscher personality and regained control over her powers.
She ran forward and threw herself into Himeko's arms, crying like a child who had just found their mother.
"Sob sob sob—I'm so glad you're okay! I thought... I thought I'd never see you again... Aunt Himeko—Ow! That hurts!"
Though the reunion was touching, Himeko's expression darkened with irritation.
A throbbing vein appeared on her forehead as she delivered a sharp karate chop to Kiana's head.
"I told you—don't! Call me! Aunt!"
'Thud!'
"Wah! That hurt! I get it, I get it! Himeko-sensei!"
Kiana clutched her head, but the storm clouds on her pale face had quietly lifted.
The rampaging Honkai energy had been suppressed by her own will.
The Herrscher of the Void's voice had temporarily vanished from her mind.
With the guidance of Kagura, she had finally learned how to control her power.
Kiana Kaslana—lively, cheerful, a true Valkyrie—had at last returned to her true self. (Good ol' Tuna~)
However, her joy was short-lived.
A sudden memory surged up from the depths of her mind, vivid and painful.
Worry clouded her expression again.
"Himeko-sensei… This isn't a dream, right? This is real, isn't it? I'm not just going to wake up and find you gone again… right?"
"Don't worry, Kiana," Himeko said softly, pulling her into a gentle embrace. "It's all real. Every bit of it."
"Mmm! Mmm!" Kagura, standing nearby with hands on her hips, grinned in satisfaction. "What a heartwarming reunion! A happy ending for everyone—how wonderful!"
"By the way, Aunt Himeko… who's she?"
Kiana pointed at the unfamiliar silver-haired girl beside them—only to earn another chop to the head from Himeko.
"This is Kagura Hitomi," Himeko explained. "She saved my life. If not for her, I wouldn't have made it out of the Sea of Quanta and back to the real world."
Hearing that, Kiana stepped forward and extended her hand.
"I'm Kiana. Kiana Kaslana! Thank you, Kagura. Thank you for saving Himeko—and for teaching me how to control my powers. You're my lifesaver too. I really… really mean it!"
"Oh, think nothing of it~" Kagura chuckled, taking Kiana's hand with a friendly shake.
"I just have this bad habit, you know? I hate seeing tragedies unfold right in front of me. So, I do what I can—if it's within my power. Hehe!"
"You make it sound so noble, I'm almost starting to believe you," Himeko quipped as she walked over, vigorously ruffling Kagura's hair.
"Alright, you've helped me out again, Kagura. So, how much do you want this time? Honkai energy? Valkyrie armor schematics?"
"Ehh, let's talk about that later!" Kagura quickly smoothed out her now-messy hair.
"Don't make me sound like some greedy merchant!"
"Hahaha! I didn't mean it like that," Himeko laughed. "I'm just worried that if this keeps up, I won't be able to afford the reward I promised you."
"Oh, don't worry! That won't happen," Kagura said with a wave of her hand. "I know how to pace myself.
And if I really want some top-tier data or samples, I'll go find someone even more resource-rich. For now, let's focus on the situation at hand."
Indeed, Kagura's reasons for coming to this world of Honkai included both sightseeing and forging connections—but acquiring technological data was a big part of it too.
As the captain of the Hyperion under Schicksal, Himeko had access to Honkai energy, Valkyrie equipment, and plenty of valuable intel.
As far as Kagura was concerned, she had already gained a substantial haul.
Of course, if she wanted even more powerful "spoils"—like remnants of the Previous Era's advanced technology—then she would need to approach someone higher up in the chain.
For example, the head of the Schicksal organization—Otto Apocalyse.
"Still," Himeko said with a frown, "the scale of this Honkai disaster is way too extreme for one city. Something about it doesn't feel natural at all."
She turned to Kiana.
"Kiana, what's the situation in Sky Dome City right now?"
"Hmm… it's extremely complicated. It feels like there's a much deeper conspiracy behind all this," Kiana answered, her expression turning serious.
"At first, I thought the Honkai beasts were rampaging through Sky Dome City because of me—because the Herrscher of the Void had appeared, awakening the Honkai Will in the surrounding area. But… that's not actually the case…"
Kiana pulled out a few data chips.
"While I was battling the Herrscher consciousness within me, I managed to gather some information.
From what I can tell, someone is pulling the strings behind all this—someone is manipulating the Honkai!"
"Oh? Manipulating the Honkai? That's quite the feat..." Kagura's interest was clearly piqued. "You're saying someone's trying to control the Honkai—and using this entire city as an experiment?"
"That's one possibility." Kiana nodded seriously. "And if my investigation is correct, the organization behind it all is called—World Serpent."
"...Huh?" Kagura blinked, scratching her head with a confused expression. "Wait… seriously?"
"Huh?" Kiana frowned at Kagura's odd reaction. "Miss Kagura, do you know anything about this organization that calls itself the 'Serpent'?"
"Aha… ha… ha…" Kagura's smile turned a little awkward. Even Himeko's expression seemed to shift slightly.
"Well, um… Miss Himeko and I just… kind of beat up their boss in the Sea of Quanta a little while ago..."
Kiana: "...Wait, what?"
"She's right," Himeko added calmly. "The leader of World Serpent is named Kevin Kaslana. From the name, he might even be one of your ancestors—he claims to be from an ancient civilization that existed 50,000 years ago."
"But even though we defeated Kevin, it seems his subordinates are still carrying out the Serpent's agenda, continuing to cause chaos."
"Then… what should we do now?" Kiana asked. "If the boss of World Serpent is out of the picture, shouldn't we go after the remaining members and wipe them out?"
"Exactly. I completely agree with you on that," Kagura replied, stepping in. "If they really are doing such terrible things—threatening innocent civilians—then we have no choice but to destroy them completely!"
"By the way, Kagura," Kiana suddenly asked, her curiosity sparked by something she'd remembered, "Are you a Valkyrie too? The way you fought earlier… it was so cool! You must be an S-rank Valkyrie, right? Someone super powerful like my mom was?"
"Eh? Oh my…" Kagura looked away, brushing a hand through her hair in slight embarrassment. "Comparing me to Cecilia—the strongest S-rank Valkyrie of her time—that's a bit much. Besides… I'm not even a Valkyrie."
"Huh?!" Kiana's eyes widened in shock. "You're not a Valkyrie?! But you're so strong! Wait a minute... are you a superhero? Like the kind in comic books? The all-powerful kind?!"
"Ahem... please stop imagining weird things..." Kagura cleared her throat. "In truth, I'm a traveler from another world. In my world, the rules of power work very differently.
I use something called the Power of Infinity—it lets me interfere with reality across six different dimensions."
"Whoa! So you really are a superhero! A psychic powerhouse, right?!" Kiana stared at her with sparkling eyes, clearly in awe. "That's so awesome! Kagura—no, Kagura onee-chan—let's be sisters!"
"…Eh?"
Kiana then grabbed Kagura's hand, eyes full of hope.
"Please? Please? Let's be sisters! And then you can teach me how to fight like you do! If I train hard, I'll become just as strong as you someday!"
"Hmm… sure, why not." Kagura smiled. "I like people who stay true to their path and always strive to become stronger."
"Yay! Then from now on, we're sisters!"
"Mm-hmm! I'm so happy, Kagura onee-chan!"
"But just so you know..." Kagura added teasingly, "If the little sister gets too naughty, she'll be getting a smack on the head. Got that, Kiana-chan?"
"Ehh?!"
———————————————————————
—Sky Dome City, Rooftop Nearby—
Moonlight spilled across the rooftop, casting a soft glow.
There, seated serenely beneath the night sky, was a figure as elegant as she was deadly.
With an alluring face and a mature, flawless figure, the woman's presence was enough to make anyone lose themselves in awe.
"Ara... looks like we've got some special guests arriving."
She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, a playful smile tugging at her lips.
"As a maid, it seems I'll have to give them a proper welcome..."