Human forces from various nations sent representatives to negotiate, but the only response they received was: they had been given a mission solely to save the Cursed Children. The fate of humankind had nothing to do with them.
They understood all too well what this world's ordinary humans had done to the Cursed Children.
None of them had even the slightest intention of saving humanity along the way.
The humans of this world—those still alive—were, for the most part, cowards clinging to life and bullying the weak. Pathetic trash.
Saving them would only disgust themselves.
Just as this world discriminated against the Cursed Children, the girls of the Honkai faction despised these discriminatory humans.
The Cursed Children they brought back to the base were given a fusion medicine by Sirin—one that could counteract the high infection rate of the Gastrea Virus, preventing them from mutating into Gastrea beasts.
The fusion drug had been developed by Mobius, aided by the Astral Quantum Computer, the omnipotent Honkai energy, and universal nanomaterials.
It took less than an hour to complete the research, and she even made it available in various candy flavors.
When humans learned that these alien-looking girls would not be saving them, they began to obstruct them from taking the Cursed Children away.
Some extremists even vented their resentment by beating or killing the Cursed Children.
That only deepened Sirin and the others' disgust and anger.
You refuse to be saved—and then you turn your violence toward innocent children?!
Very well.
It seems you all need an early trip to hell.
Sirin was the angriest of all. The vile humans of this world reminded her of those Schicksal researchers.
They had to be purged.
Otherwise, the mere thought of their existence left her heart unsettled.
This world's technological level was higher than that of an average modern era, but its civilization had already been devastated by Gastrea beasts—barely surviving on the edge of extinction.
With an entire world full of Gastrea that could withstand Honkai energy,
Kiana Kaslana quickly stabilized the channel, allowing Sirin to send a fragment of herself through spatial magic—an avatar barely capable of crossing over—to deliver a dimensional strike.
Originally, not even an avatar was needed.
The world's Gastrea beasts were already being continuously assimilated by Honkai energy, turning into Honkai creatures. By controlling these evolved entities, immune to the anti-Gastrea metal Varanium, she could have easily wiped out the remaining humans clinging to life.
The only reason she refrained was because the Cursed Children were still being used as tools by ordinary humans—instant annihilation would cause too much collateral damage.
Thus, Kiana Kaslana first dispatched Honkai squads to rescue the Cursed Children.
After descending into the Black Bullet world, Sirin's avatar unleashed magic that rewrote the minds of all ordinary humans.
Those who harbored hatred and sought to harm the Cursed Children found their aggression redirected inward—each attempt to harm a child would instead turn against themselves.
Within moments, countless people were harming themselves.
...
Tokyo.
"Stop!"
Satomi Rentaro had been about to intervene as a man raised his hand against a Cursed Child.
But before he could act, the man suddenly punched himself hard in the face.
One punch wasn't enough—he struck himself again and again.
"?"
Rentaro froze in bewilderment.
"Rentaro, what's wrong with him?" Enju Aihara asked, confused.
Had the man gone insane?!
Why was he hitting himself?
"Stop! You'll kill yourself!"
Coming to his senses, Rentaro rushed forward to restrain the man, whose face was already swollen and bloody, several teeth knocked loose. The sight was pitiful.
Pain throbbed across his face and hands.
Terrified, the man stared at his own hands, unable to understand what was happening.
Rentaro and Enju exchanged glances, both filled with confusion and unease.
"It's that monster! She did this to me!" the man suddenly screamed hysterically, pointing at a white-haired girl with one eye wrapped in a white bandage. "She's controlling my mind!"
The crowd around them began to echo his cries, their faces filled with fear and panic.
Satomi Rentaro frowned. He didn't believe what these people were saying. Trying to calm the situation, he shouted, "Everyone, please calm down! There must be some kind of misunderstanding here!" But the crowd's panic only grew more intense.
At that moment, the blind white-haired girl spoke softly, "It's not me..."
Before she could finish, Sirin's voice echoed inside everyone's minds:
"If you dare to harm those children again, I will send every last one of you to hell for punishment. Consider this a small warning."
"Don't think death will free you. Defy us, stand in our way—and even in death, I will drag your souls into hell."
Rentaro tensed, glancing around warily, trying to locate the source of the voice.
Sirin's warning filled the air with terror. Some people, however, became even more convinced that the blind white-haired girl was the cause of it all.
"Don't be fooled! She's a demon!" one man shouted hysterically.
Rentaro immediately moved to shield the trembling girl behind him, feeling the hostility rising all around.
"Another poor child," a soft, teasing voice said.
Vita approached gracefully, her every step deliberate and elegant.
She glanced at Rentaro's guarded stance, then at the shivering white-haired girl behind him, and chuckled lightly. "What a bunch of foolish humans."
Rentaro's gaze sharpened. "Who are you?"
"Rentaro, she's dangerous," Enju warned, readying herself for battle.
Vita smiled faintly. "Me? I'm just a passing Venusian."
"Venusian?!"
Everyone froze in shock. Was there alien civilization on Venus?
They knew about the sudden appearance of these alien girls, but no one had ever known where they came from.
To think—it was Venus.
Vita smiled at their reactions. Even without telepathy, she could guess their thoughts.
She wasn't lying—she really was from Venus.
Just not from this universe's Venus.
"You should hand that child over to me," she said gently. "Only we can protect her."
"What's your purpose in taking them away?" Rentaro demanded.
"Our purpose?" Vita tilted her head. "I suppose our divine lady pitied these children. The voice you all just heard belongs to that very lovely goddess."
"If your goddess truly exists, then why didn't she appear earlier to save humanity?" Rentaro shouted.
"There's no need to yell," Vita replied lazily. "I can hear you just fine. The lives and deaths of this world's humans have nothing to do with our goddess. Why should she save you? Her command was simple—rescue the children who've been infected, discriminated against, and harmed. Everyone else is irrelevant."
The moment she finished, Rentaro was struck by an invisible force from a Klein field and sent flying backward.
Seeing this, Enju instantly launched her attack.
She leapt high into the air, both legs kicking toward Vita.
But Vita didn't move. Arms crossed, she stood calmly as a turquoise barrier appeared before her.
Enju's kicks hit the barrier with a sharp thud but couldn't penetrate it.
Rentaro drew his handgun and fired several shots, yet the bullets bounced harmlessly off the same shimmering field.
Vita watched their futile resistance, then activated her gravity field. The invisible pressure pinned both Rentaro and Enju to the ground, rendering them immobile.
Rentaro gritted his teeth, frustration boiling within him—but his body couldn't break free from the overwhelming force.
"Please... please spare him. He's a good person," the blind white-haired girl pleaded timidly. Though she couldn't see, she could hear the chaos well enough to understand what was happening.
Vita deactivated the field and approached the girl. "Will you come with me? I can heal your eyes—and remove the virus inside you."
"Really?" The girl's face lit up with hope.
"Of course."
"I'll go with you."
Vita took the girl's small hand in hers.
"W–Wait!"
Rentaro struggled to his feet.
"You still intend to stop me?" Vita paused, turning slightly.
"Can you really cure them?"
"What does that have to do with you?" Vita replied, her voice cool and unbothered.
Rentaro dropped to his knees and bowed deeply. "Please... save Enju."
Vita turned to look at Aihara Enju. "And you? Are you willing to come with me?"
"No! I don't want to leave Rentaro!" Enju shook her head repeatedly, tears forming in her eyes.
"Enju, listen to me," Rentaro said gently, placing his hand on her head. "As long as you can heal, we'll meet again someday."
He knew that the inhibitors could only suppress the Gastrea virus for a short time. Eventually, mutation was inevitable.
With humanity's current condition, developing a true cure for the Gastrea virus was impossible.
Their only hope lay with these aliens.
He could feel it—these aliens truly wanted to save the Cursed Children.
"If you're done talking, we should leave. We still need to regroup," Vita said calmly.
"Go with her," Rentaro urged, patting Enju's shoulder.
"Mm..." Enju nodded reluctantly.
She walked toward Vita, glancing back several times as they left.
...
Far East Honkai Base.
The base's main defense wasn't aimed at the Gastrea—but at this world's humans. The Gastrea, to them, were not a threat at all. They were like Honkai Beasts—soldiers to be controlled and commanded.
Sirin's manifested avatar stood beside Diana.
Others might not know, but Diana did. This "Diana" was actually her mother's alternate account.
"Sirin, why didn't you just kill those humans outright?"
Diana was curious. She knew her daughter's personality well.
Why show mercy now?
"They still have their uses."
Sirin had marked all the adults who harbored hatred toward the Cursed Children.
"What kind of use?"
"Their existence will make the children more willing to come to us."
Sirin had considered simply exterminating all humans, but if she did, only those humans who accepted the children would remain.
The Cursed Children might then hesitate to leave, moved by humanity's sudden change in attitude.
There was no need to make things harder for herself.
A swarm of ants—she could erase them whenever she wanted.
Hearing this, Diana couldn't help but feel emotional. After so many years, her daughter had finally grown up!
In the past, Sirin would've killed first and thought later.
Now, the conflict between the Cursed Children and humanity had only worsened since their arrival.
Those who hated the Cursed Children felt even more bitter—seeing the children rescued by aliens while they themselves were left to die.
The more humanity despised the children, the easier it became for the Honkai squads to take them away.
Of course, they could take them by force if needed.
But doing that too often would cause unnecessary complications later.
The Cursed Children of this world, shaped by their harsh upbringing, were, for the most part, mature and understanding beyond their years.
The governments didn't want all of them taken away by aliens. To them, the children were useful tools—expendable weapons to fight the Gastrea.
But after a few failed confrontations, they gave up resisting. These aliens were utterly unyielding—immune to persuasion, intimidation, or even hostage threats. If the children's lives were used as leverage, they would simply kill everyone involved and reclaim the bodies.
The officials couldn't comprehend it. Why retrieve corpses?
Could they somehow resurrect them?
...
Time passed.
Each day, more and more Cursed Children were taken from human territories by the Honkai squads.
Most of the world was soon under Honkai control, leaving only a small portion for humanity.
The Cursed Children, after joining the Honkai faction, were renamed the Fusion Children—a new Honkai-born race.
The world's Gastrea were gradually converted by Honkai energy into Honkai creatures. Some even evolved to the fifth stage, gaining humanoid forms and intelligence.
"Ah, I'm exhausted..."
Griseo collapsed onto her bed after logging out from the Black Bullet world, eyes blank with fatigue.
She finally understood why Elysia's mom had said their enemies were human.
The humans of that world were far worse than she had imagined.
Just because unborn children were infected, they turned their hatred for the Gastrea onto those innocent souls.
Even though those children fought to protect humanity, humans vented their rage and fear upon them instead.
It was incomprehensible.
Fortunately, the faction she had joined was full of good people—though admittedly, a bit extreme and quick to kill.
But the results were good.
The children had been saved. They now lived new lives, free from being treated as tools or suffering discrimination and abuse.
"How are you feeling?"
Vita appeared beside her bed and sat down.
"Just... tired."
Every day was spent searching for Cursed Children and handling the endless troubles that came with it.
"That's because you push yourself too hard."
Since only her nanite body was sent to that world, her power and resources were limited. It took much more effort to get things done.
Vita had seen how hard Griseo worked—always out searching for children or caring for them.
And she already had seven to look after herself. That alone was exhausting enough.