[In the Babylon Tower training room, Siegfried questioned whether his choice had been correct. If he had chosen not to save Theresa first, but to stay and fight alongside Welt, would the Second Herrscher have escaped? Would those tens of millions of people have died?
Exchanging one life for tens of millions. Siegfried was trapped in a corner, blaming himself for the deaths of tens of millions. His mind in turmoil, he could only take his frustration out on a water kettle.
Welt Yang walked into the training room, told Siegfried the meeting was over, and informed him to prepare to go to the moon with him. Siegfried looked excited. "I've made up my mind. No matter the cost—"
"—I will stop her!"
Welt was noncommittal. Without a second glance, he turned and walked away.
The scene shifted to Anti-Entropy's Yellowstone Base. A young man with purple hair saluted Welt. After returning the salute, Welt led Siegfried into the base. Siegfried and the purple-haired young man exchanged a look.
"Hmph, Schicksal's Siegfried. I hear he's a slacker. I really don't know why the Sovereign thinks so highly of him."
"I think I just got glared at. He seems like a very strict person... Did I offend him somehow?"
Welt led Siegfried into the base. Looking at the familiar giant humanoid mecha, the general-purpose mecha Arahato, Siegfried's jaw dropped. It was his childhood dream. He excitedly recited a famous line from the final episode to Welt, who just smiled faintly.]
"Ryoma?!!" Mei was stunned. Wasn't that her dad's name? When she first saw the purple-haired young mother holding a little girl, she had been thinking how much she resembled herself as a child.
Kiana was still engrossed in the movie.
Bronya gave Raiden Mei a meaningful look.
...
"They really have Arahato!" Kevin was surprised. As a groundbreaking special-effects show, most people their age had grown up watching it. The line, "Oh, tyrant in the heavens, witness the stars themselves be shattered!" was practically a household phrase.
"Piloting a mecha is truly a man's romance!" Su, for once, was even more excited than Kevin. Medicine was his interest, but mecha were his dream.
A man's... romance? Pardofelis thought for a moment. The audacious cat actually went and asked Kalpas, "Then, Brother Kalpas, do you also like mecha?"
"Hmph!" Kalpas turned his face away. "You're asking the obvious."
"Won't this be copyright infringement?" MEI asked.
"Not at all. This movie is a collaboration between Schicksal and Anti-Entropy," Yàqīng said with a smile. "You can think of it as a special crossover between Honkai and Arahato. After all, what man isn't interested in mecha?"
"That's right, that's right!" Kevin nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes, yes!" Su nodded excitedly.
"..." Kosma seemed to say nothing, yet he said everything.
"Hmph, it's alright," Kalpas 'reluctantly' agreed.
The women looked on in confusion at the men, who were acting as if they had been injected with adrenaline.
[Not wanting to waste any more time, Welt interrupted Siegfried's excitement and explained the upcoming lunar mission: After arriving on the moon, they would first hide the Arahato. Then, he would draw the Second Herrscher's attention while Siegfried took the opportunity to collect Soulium samples. Afterward, Siegfried would pilot the Arahato to rendezvous with him.
Welt Yang wasn't sure if he, Siegfried, and the Arahato could defeat the Second Herrscher. They only had one chance, so he also set up a Plan B.
The screen suddenly went black, making Pardofelis's heart leap into her throat. When the picture returned, Siegfried slammed his fist into a wall, leaving a deep dent in the metal.
"Hmph, so this is your Plan B?"
"Which plan you choose is your freedom."
Welt left, leaning on his cane. 6 hours until launch. 57 hours and 50 minutes until the meteor impact.
On the bridge, Welt Yang leaned silently against a railing, watching Tesla perform the final tests on the Arahato. He was speechless for a moment. When he called out "Dr. Tesla," her heart trembled. She knew Welt was going to his death on the moon, but she couldn't stop him.
"Do you remember when you were a child, you said you'd dance with me when you grew up?"
Tesla's smile was strained.
Time until launch: 4 hours and 50 minutes.
Welt came to a spacious room. Warm sunlight shone on him. Looking at the old-fashioned piano before him, he felt as if he could see his younger self playing at it.
"The piano... how long has it been since I touched it... I remember, I loved it as a child. I kept begging Ein to teach me..."
"Sometimes I wonder, if I wasn't me, what kind of person would I have become... Maybe a pianist, a teacher, or..."
"But, ever since I received the name Welt..."
"I lost my father, I lost the hero who saved me, I lost my original identity, I lost my own life..."
"The Herrscher's power tore apart every cell in my body. Every night of my childhood, I couldn't sleep..."
"I never once held a grudge, because this is Welt's mission."
"And besides, when I was in pain..."
Welt suddenly turned around. Tesla, now in a beautiful gown, was walking towards him with her hands behind her back. He smiled from the bottom of his heart, knelt on one knee before her, and extended his left hand like a gentleman.
"Miss Tesla, may I have this dance?"
Sunlight streamed into the empty room. Tesla's smile dispelled the sorrow in Welt's heart. She curtsied slightly.
"Don't disappoint me, Mr. Joachim."
Hearing his birth name, which he hadn't heard in years, Joachim Nokianvirtanen was taken aback. As they danced elegantly, Welt recalled the past, as if seeing his former comrades watching them, smiling brightly.
"After becoming Welt, I lost a lot..."
"But I have never regretted it."
"Because you all showed me the beauty of humanity."]
"Sob, sob, so sweet! Miss Elysia wants to find someone to dance with too!" Elysia's eyes sparkled. She scanned her surroundings, her gaze finally landing on Mobius.
"Professor Mobius..."
Before Elysia could finish, Mobius immediately cut her off. "Elysia, don't even dream about it. I can't dance, and even if I could, I wouldn't dance with you."
"Aww, what a shame." Elysia wasn't the least bit discouraged. "Looks like I'll have to wait for Eden to come back. Eden, my dear Eden~ ♥"
"Yàqīng, you spent so much time describing the beauty before the battle. You've raised all the death flags," MEI said, feeling she could already predict the outcome.
"This is no different from 'Wait for me, I'll marry you when I get back'," Kevin joked.
"He's definitely going to die," Kalpas said coldly.
"Don't be a bad influence on the kids, Kalpas," Sakura chided.
"Hmph, he won't survive," Kalpas rephrased, more diplomatically.
"It is precisely this courage to face disaster and death, one after another, that truly demonstrates the strength of humanity," Yàqīng said. "The anthem of humanity is an anthem of courage. The greatness of humanity is the greatness of courage."
In the story, Otto viewed humanity as ants, yet he respected Welt, because Welt possessed the courage and determination to die for those ants—the very qualities his revered Saintess possessed.
[Meanwhile, Siegfried was on a video call with his wife and daughter. The adorable little Kiana told her daddy to come home soon. Siegfried's thoughts were unreadable, but his face was full of smiles as he agreed, promising to bring back a moon rock as a gift for her.
Perhaps sensing that Siegfried was hiding something, Cecilia picked up little Kiana and took her away from the screen, letting her play on her own, leaving just Cecilia and Siegfried facing each other.
Siegfried reassured his wife that the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy had arranged everything. Looking at his wife's worried face, he wanted to speak several times, but no sound would come out. He could only hang up helplessly.
Siegfried sat on a packing crate, seemingly shrouded in darkness. Cecilia, in a white dress, walked up behind him like an angel.
"Honey... I can feel that you're facing a difficult choice."
Cecilia leaned against Siegfried's back, her hands on his shoulders.
"All these years, we've known that not every problem has a perfect solution. To achieve certain goals, something always has to be sacrificed."
"That's why you, who wants to protect everyone, are in so much pain."
"But I believe that the choice you make will be the right one."
A montage of Siegfried and Cecilia's memories began to flash by.
"Because I know that the justice in your heart has never changed. No matter what choice you make, no matter what pain it brings..."
Cecilia took Siegfried's clenched hand.
"...I will bear it with you."
The screen went completely black.
"With love, Cecilia."
Time until meteor impact: 51 hours and 50 minutes.]
"Hmph, this one won't survive either."
Kalpas's words made Sakura sigh and rub her forehead.
"Cecilia is so gentle. Miss Pink Elf♪ really wants to get to know her."
Yàqīng could see Elysia winking at him, but he could only pretend not to see.
"Elysia, do you just want to 'get to know her'? I'm almost embarrassed to call you out," Mobius said, directly exposing her.
"Professor Mobius, what are you talking about? Elysia has no idea."
Faced with Elysia's cute act, Mobius played along. "Gag!"
Siegfried hugged Cecilia. "Honey, I'll love you forever." He couldn't imagine what he would do if he ever faced such a difficult choice.
Cecilia sensed Siegfried's vulnerability and stroked his hair.
"Eww, stinky old dad, acting like a baby at your age?" Sirin shivered.
Siegfried grabbed Sirin in a hug. The rough stubble on his face was very uncomfortable for her. She pushed his face away and shouted, "Get off me, your stubble is so prickly, stinky old dad!!! Bella, save me!"
"Let go of Her Majesty!" Bella rescued Sirin with a super headbutt.
Sirin patted Bella's head. "Well done, Bella!"
"Mama..." Kiana muttered to herself, then sidled up to Mei and copied the line. "Mei, no matter what happens in the future, I will bear it with you. With love, Kiana!"
Mei blushed. "Kiana, don't say silly things."
Watching Kiana and Raiden Mei's interaction, Bronya's lips curved into a smile.
Theresa felt her phone vibrating nonstop in her pocket. She took it out curiously and saw that the main Schicksal group chat was flooded with the same message:
Cheng Lixue: "I will always love Cecilia!"
Salome: "I will always love Cecilia!"
Patrick: "I will always love Cecilia!"
Shab: "I will always love Cecilia!"
Shigure Kira: "I will always love Cecilia!"
Rita: "I will always love Cecilia!"
Bianka: "I will always love Mama!"
Susannah: "I will always love Cecilia!"
It seemed a strange title had slipped in there. Theresa didn't have time to think and quickly sent a message as well.
Theresa: "I will always love Cecilia!!!!!!"
Join my patreon For Early access to Chapter : patreon.com/TheWorldGod
Tiamat 160 Chapter
Honkai 110 Chapter
Lobotomy 110 Chapter
MushokuTensei 40 Chapter
'Pure Evil' Simulator 50 Chapter