"Let the expert explain it to you."
The Great Magician made it clear that this wasn't her department—she wasn't handling it. Just wait a moment.
Then, a switch-over. A warm-up.
After a good while…
The expert finally gathered her thoughts. She looked at Kiana, admittedly feeling a little frustrated.
"What can I say? It's precisely because the data stored by Fire Moth and other nations was too simplistic, filled with terms like 'containment,' 'elimination,' 'purge,' and 'experimentation,' that I ended up misunderstanding."
"But now that you know the truth… what do you think?" Kiana smiled.
Expert Vill-V fell silent for a moment, then nodded seriously. "Although my opinion of those higher-ups hasn't changed much, now that I understand the truth about the Honkai, I definitely won't just sit back and do nothing."
She looked intently at Kiana.
"I want to follow you, Miss Kiana."
"Oh? Do tell." Kiana was slightly surprised.
"You're the Herrscher of Finality—resources aren't an issue for you. And you want to save this world too, right? I may not be anyone particularly amazing, but there are still plenty of things I can do."
Expert Vill-V spoke with a hint of restraint. "With me by your side to help, I could even take care of many, many tasks for you. Wouldn't that make things easier for you?"
She knew.
Kiana liked delegating work but disliked doing it herself.
She enjoyed planning things out and assigning them to others, but she never got her own hands dirty.
Unless, of course, something caught her interest. Otherwise, it just wasn't happening.
Even though Mobius had been called a member of Kiana's so-called "harem," her role was probably more like… a tool.
But it wasn't the same.
Kiana must need a real tool, right?
Vill-V humbly offered herself for the position. She believed she could handle it.
And most importantly!
Mobius was, after all, Kiana's future wife.
No matter how much of a tool she became, Kiana wouldn't bully her too badly.
But Vill-V? Perfect.
Not her wife, and highly capable.
She probably wouldn't refuse, right?
"I accept!" Yet before Kiana could even speak, Elysia jumped in and decided for her.
Kiana couldn't help but roll her eyes, slightly exasperated.
But she didn't really mind.
Because, like Elysia, all other considerations aside, the most important thing was—Vill-V was an incredibly beautiful girl.
Having her was like having many-in-one.
Even if Expert Vill-V hadn't said anything, Kiana would have found a way to keep her.
Now, wasn't this even better?
She'd walked right into the bowl herself.
Sure, it took away a bit of the satisfaction of winning her over, but… it was still great, right?
After some light conversation, Expert Vill-V grew curious.
In an inquisitive tone, she asked Kiana, "Miss Kiana, you're the Herrscher of Finality. Elysia told me you possess the authority of every Herrscher—is that true?"
"Hm? Yeah… that's right."
Kiana nodded, taking a sip of water. "To be precise, aside from Origin, every Herrscher is a reflection of me. Their authorities are all fragments of my own. Even Elysia came into being because of me."
"So that means you have all the abilities of the Herrschers shown on the Sky Screen?" Expert Vill-V was clearly still amazed.
A big reason she'd stayed was precisely because she—or rather, they—were deeply fascinated by Kiana.
A Herrscher of Finality right here, and a Herrscher of Origin right beside her.
In this world, could anyone possibly be more unique than them?
Even if she did nothing else, just being around them, learning from them, would reveal so many secrets.
For Vill-V, there probably couldn't be anything more fulfilling than that.
Right?
Her curiosity was burning, her thirst for knowledge intense.
The things she couldn't learn elsewhere—here, she could simply ask.
Wasn't that perfect?
Of course!
There was another, even more important reason…
Being near the Herrscher of Finality and Origin likely meant safety.
If she built a good relationship with them, her survival would pretty much be guaranteed.
Even Vill-V was a little afraid of death. Then again, fearing death was just human nature.
If she could live, why wouldn't she?
She was still young.
As long as she stayed on good terms with Miss Finality and the others, if she ever ran into trouble, they definitely wouldn't just stand by and watch.
She couldn't guarantee that she might not suddenly get infected by Honkai energy or even turn into a Herrscher herself.
Sure, becoming a Herrscher might mean she could keep her humanity.
But that was only a maybe.
After talking with Elysia, Vill-V knew all too well that she had no confidence in that outcome.
If that happened, getting "chlorinated" would be pretty much the same as dying.
Better not risk it, right?
Actually, Elysia was also really curious about the power of Finality.
In theory, Kiana had told her that Finality's authority was about samsara, resetting, and time.
But since it encompassed almost all Herrscher authorities, she definitely wasn't that simple.
Or rather, it was almost like she was omniscient and omnipotent—as long as she had enough energy, she could do anything.
That was probably the best way to understand it, right?
The original fourteen Herrschers.
Aside from Origin and Finality…
There was Reason, Void, Thunder, Wind, Ice, Death, Flame, Sentience, Earth, Domination, Binding, and Corruption…
Just like how Kiana had used the authorities of Void and Sentience before.
Those were naturally two of them.
Kiana even gave Expert Vill-V and Elysia a little demonstration of some other authorities right then.
It left both girls utterly dazzled, their eyes shining with awe.
Knowing was one thing.
Seeing it with their own eyes was something else entirely.
Having more authorities didn't mean she was spread too thin.
Sometimes, it was just a symbol of immense power.
Right?
Kiana explained openly,
"The Sky Screen revealed these fourteen Herrschers, so when I use the power of Finality, I sometimes break it down and use their authorities as a reference."
"Like an anchor, or a template."
"These fourteen authorities are quite representative—they cover almost everything. Even if there were other Herrschers or authorities, there wouldn't be much need for them."
"These are already more than enough."
"…"
She went on.
It was like something once vague and nebulous now had a frame of reference.
Breaking it down actually made it easier to handle.
It wasn't that she lacked other authorities—she just didn't need them.
Even if this world, influenced by the projections, didn't necessarily produce Herrschers in the same order or with the same authorities,
it didn't really matter.
It was almost like divide and conquer.
Maybe once she mastered all these authorities completely, her power would become even more whole.
Otherwise!
Right now, she was pretty much just relying on brute force.
Ask her to blow up the moon? No problem. But ask her to perform delicate operations? That would give her a headache.
Fundamentally, this was also a way of training herself~
--+--
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