After classes.
"Hey, Miko! Let's go to that new pastry shop near the station," says Hana cheerfully.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Hana. I can't today; I have to pick up my brother from the elementary school section," says Miko apologetically. "Maybe tomorrow?"
"Is that so? Well, alright then! I'll wait for you tomorrow so we can go to the pastry shop," says Hana, undeterred.
Hana waves goodbye, holding her hand high as she runs toward the school gates.
Miko calmly waves back.
Once Hana is out of sight, Miko lowers her hand.
Without saying a word, Miko walks toward the elementary school section.
"Brother, is the Apostle of the Outer God *really* in the elementary school section?" Miko asks with concern.
"Yes. My superiors gave me the location, and indeed, he is located in the elementary school section. Furthermore, don't be surprised, Sister; it's actually quite normal for some Apostles to manifest as children—perhaps utilizing a 'succubus system' or appearing as a male succubus—in order to engage in sexual relations with older individuals and satisfy certain *shotacon* fetishes," I say indifferently.
Miko blushes at my lewd remarks.
"*Brother*!" Miko thinks, mortified.
"Although, that's just one possibility. Those types of Apostles are a minority; most just want to build a harem, as if they were collecting Pokémon."
Miko sighs in relief.
"So, what do you think the actual situation is?" Miko asks.
"Most likely, he reincarnated ahead of schedule, or simply reincarnated into a 'shota body' that will transform into an adult overnight. I don't know; this is the first time I've dealt with an Apostle of an Outer God," I say, sounding somewhat serious. After all, this *is* my first time dealing with a Reincarnated individual of this type.
And with all my experience reading fanfics, I know just how absurd the "systems" granted to Reincarnated individuals can get. If you don't kill them within the span of a single day, they can destroy the world in fifteen; and, in extreme cases, in just twelve hours, they become immortal, invincible gods.
"Are those Apostles really that unpredictable?" Miko asks, her tone somewhat cautious.
"Those Apostles are always like that; they might even dress up as women just to accelerate their progress in acquiring knowledge."
"But remember: most Apostles awaken their systems in one of these three ways."
"First, when they encounter people of great importance to the world—such as manga protagonists—though it is primarily women who trigger this."
"Second, when they find themselves in extreme danger or on the verge of death."
"And third, at the precise moment they reincarnate. These are the most dangerous ones."
"But *all* of them are dangerous; none is any less so than the others," I concluded gravely.
"I understand, brother."
Shortly thereafter, we arrived at the elementary school section.
"Excuse me," Miko said politely.
"I'm looking for my younger brother; his classroom is 4-B."
"You're the girl from this morning," the security guard observed.
"That's right. Do you know what time classes end?" Miko asked.
"It won't be long now; it's almost time... only five minutes left," the guard replied.
"Thank you. I'll wait here, then," Miko said.
"Don't worry, you can go right in. Since you're a student at the school, you have permission to enter and look for your brother in his classroom," the guard said kindly.
"Thank you very much." —Without hesitation, Miko walked toward the elementary school building.
—"Brother! That was terrifying! That man had so many evil spirits swirling around him!" Miko exclaimed, panic-stricken.
—"Didn't you notice anything strange about those evil spirits?" I asked.
—"I was so scared that I didn't pay attention," Miko said apologetically.
—"Sigh... It's alright. It's perfectly normal to overlook things when you're afraid. Let me tell you something: that man is not a good person. The evil spirits surrounding him number more than thirty, and every single one of them is a teenage girl under the age of sixteen."
—"And they are all nearly naked. He is likely a pedophilic rapist who murders his victims," I said in a grave tone.
Miko trembles with fear and runs even faster.
"So, what do we do?" Miko asked, her voice filled with concern.
"Don't worry. That man will be at the school for at least another two to four hours; we have plenty of time to deal with him," I said, trying to reassure Miko.
"Phew!" Just as Miko was about to let out a sigh of relief, she crashed head-on into someone.
Miko looked down and noticed a small boy with black eyes and hair.
"Are you okay, kid? I'm so sorry; I wasn't paying attention while I was walking. Did you hurt yourself?" Miko asked as she helped the boy up off the ground.
The boy didn't answer; he simply stood there, his gaze lost in the void, looking dazed.
"Hey... Kid?"
*Miko! That's our target!* I shouted loudly inside Miko's head.
Miko seemed unable to hear my voice.
It appeared that something was blocking our communication.
"Shit. I guess I'll have to use today's Binding Vow," I muttered, feeling slightly annoyed.
[Perspective Shift]
Reincarnate's Point of View
My name is Luo Chen... or rather, in this life, my name is Kenji Luo Chen. Two years have passed since I reincarnated into this parallel world, here in Japan.
I still haven't received my "System," which is incredibly frustrating. I'm an orphan; my parents left me a fortune large enough to last me the rest of my life. I have a house and a car—both inherited from my parents—but I don't have a little sister.
Oh, how I wish I had a little sister.
Just as I was leaving school a little earlier than usual—one of the perks of being the top-ranked elementary school student in all of Japan—I crashed head-on into someone. "Ugh!" I grumbled in complaint.
Just as I was about to get annoyed, a screen suddenly materialized right in front of me.
[Congratulations, Host! You have stumbled upon one of this world's Heroines!]
[The Registration System has been activated!]
[Would you like to register?]
*System... Do you have any idea how I've spent these last two years? Do you know what I've been through?*
"Register me," I said without a moment's hesitation. [Congratulations on your first registration!]
[For your first successful registration, your reward will be multiplied by 5, and we will utilize your starter gift package to enhance your registration.]
[Congratulations, Host! You have obtained the Core of the Herrscher of Reason and the Core of the Herrscher of the Void—with no side effects!]
Hearing the system notifications filled me with joy.
After all, these are the Herrscher Cores with the greatest potential in the world of *Honkai Impact 3rd*.
[The Host wishes to merge with the Cores.]
No need to ask; merge them.
Suddenly, two Cores appeared before me.
The person standing in front of me took a step back, startled.
"System, can that person see the Cores?" I asked.
[Host, be realistic; the Cores must be physical objects—of course other people can see them.]
"Why didn't you tell me that sooner?" I exclaimed furiously.
[I was about to tell you, Host, but you were too impatient.]
I was left speechless.
Stop the merge.
[That is impossible, Host. Once the merge begins, it cannot be stopped.]
Just as I was about to accept my fate...
I heard a voice. [Shift.]
Before I could react, the person I had collided with vanished in a blur of speed and touched my head.
[Warning: Someone is attempting to touch the Host's soul. Initiating emergency protection.]
[Halting other system functions to protect the Host's soul.]
Immediately thereafter, an immense pressure descended from the heavens and the earth.
[Warning: The planet's consciousness is counterattacking.]
[The system is experiencing interference from the planet's consciousness; the system...]
All of this transpired in barely half a second.
General Viewpoint: A mouth appears on Miko's cheek.
[Shift.]
The mouth speaks, devoid of any emotion.
Closing in at high speed—while controlling Miko's body—Rin approaches the Apostle of the Outer God.
Without hesitation, Rin seizes its head and activates [Latent Transfiguration] in conjunction with the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, focusing them upon its soul.
"Bosses, help me," Rin says through the mental link she shares with her superiors.
An immense pressure descends from the heavens and the earth, interfering with the Apostle's system.
Without hesitation, Rin completely destroys his soul.
Time—the world itself—grinds to a halt, and Rin is the only one left capable of moving.
Two figures materialize, one on each side of Rin.
"Hello, Bosses," Rin says, his tone slightly nervous.
"We have observed your memories; you may call us Gaia and Alaya," they both declare in unison.
"Alright," I reply, accepting the situation.
Gaia extends her hand toward the fallen Apostle, grasping his system along with the remnants of his soul, and pulverizes them into dust.
A golden light returns to the planet.
It is the energy that the system had siphoned from the world.
A blue light lingers in Gaia's hand—the last vestiges of the Apostle. With a sudden flash, the Apostle's remains cease to exist.
"You have done excellent work, Yotsuya Rin," says Gaia.
With a simple wave of Gaia's hand, the two cores—which had halted just before fusing with the Apostle—appear before me.
"As a reward, I shall fuse the energy system of these cores with the energy system of the Cursed Energy."