Chapter 237 – Himeko… Sensei?
A dozen Emperor-class Honkai Beasts gathered together like a true natural disaster made flesh.
Steel buildings crumbled under deafening roars, dust blanketed the sky, and the very ground trembled in a slow, ominous rhythm.
Beastly howls rattled the air as Rita and Theresa—wielding the power of Judas—found themselves surrounded.
Standing back-to-back, they fended off the tightening encirclement.
With Theresa's strength, they could just barely hold the line… but without reinforcements, the deadlock wouldn't last.
"Looks like those two could use a hand. Silver Wolf Unit One, time to move out!"
Without giving Bronya a moment to question, Kanami snapped his fingers.
The blue core in his hand unfolded into shimmering butterfly wings that drifted gently to Bronya's chest.
"Now then, Bronya—activate Super Transformation Mode!"
With his spirited declaration, the butterfly erupted in a blaze of azure light, engulfing her in a torrent of dazzling energy.
Countless motes of light and shadow swept over her, forming a warframe of blue and white—the armor of a Herrscher.
Azure particles slithered across her skin like living serpents, weaving into the sleek patterns of her battle attire.
A gust of energy blew away the last swirling debris, revealing her ash-gray hair flowing like a silver river, adorned with a gleaming trident hairpin.
A pure white skirt flared like a blooming lotus, paired with slender legs sheathed in white silk, creating a flawless "absolute territory."
Her midriff, bare and soft, was exposed to the cool air.
"Rejoice! The one who knows all, who commands the art of war, who shapes the tides of battle, the King of Reason descends! Bronya Zaychik!"
Almost as if unable to endure such ridiculously dramatic words, a pair of silver-gray eyes slowly opened.
A strange pattern, like the targeting crosshair of some great gear aimed at the stars, flashed and vanished.
"This… this is… the Herrscher of Reason?!" Bronya murmured, looking down at the ornate dress, genuine shock flickering across her usually expressionless face. "What is going on?"
The girl who was supposed to be utterly emotionless now showed unprecedented turmoil.
Kanami simply smiled faintly.
"I told you—it's a gift from Nagami."
Dropping his playful tone, he waved casually toward the horizon.
A Judgement-class Honkai Beast, which should have been born alongside the arrival of a Herrscher, didn't even get a chance to lay eyes on the world before being crushed in its cradle.
"Well then, Miss Newly-Born Herrscher of Reason, the rest is up to you. Until we meet again~"
Waving cheerfully, his figure began to fade.
"Don't thank me if you're going to thank someone, thank Nagami. Oh, and one last good piece of news: he's found Seele's coordinates in the Sea of Quanta~"
For someone like Kanami, who possessed authority over space itself, finding a single person in the Sea of Quanta was child's play.
If not for dealing with the temporal anomalies, he could've pulled Seele out right then and there.
"Wha—?!"
At the mention of that name, Bronya's eyes widened.
She stared at the spot where Kanami vanished, her face stiffening.
Confirmed—this infuriating habit of speaking halfway and leaving the rest hanging… no one could learn that without spending far too much time around Nagami.
"Seele… Bronya can finally save you."
She whispered to herself, placing a slender hand over her chest as she replayed the white-haired boy's words.
"Nagami… thank you."
No longer calling him "partner," she said his name directly.
Her lips curved into the faintest of smiles—a smile beautiful enough to stun the world, her eyes filled with a rare tenderness.
Just like that final smile from the Angel Rebuild short film.
But in the next moment, the warmth vanished, replaced by a solemn focus.
The silver-gray eyes beneath her bangs grew still and cold once more.
She broke into a run toward the embattled pair, azure motes swirling around her silk-covered legs.
A set of wheels manifested beneath her feet.
"Heavy Bunny!"
At her call, the steel beast emerged from the void—now perfectly integrated with her Herrscher armor in matching blue and white.
In the blink of an eye, it shifted into a sleek, futuristic motorcycle.
The engine roared, azure flames bursting from the exhaust, shards of icy crystal forming ahead.
The streamlined frame cut through the air like a blade, shooting skyward.
"Target locked. Heavy Bunny—Ride on!"
As her voice fell, a feminine, mechanical tone responded:
[Ride on.]
The trailing exhaust condensed into floating cannons that hovered in the air, locking onto the Emperor-class beasts below.
"What's that sound?"
Theresa froze for a moment, instinctively tilting her head up.
In the distance, at the edge of her vision, a ghostly-blue motorcycle tore across the sky, its path tracing a scorching arc through the air.
Floating cannons followed in its wake, firing searing beams of energy.
'Boom!'
…
In the imaginary space—where size, distance, direction, and even the concept of "place" held no meaning—
"Mhm, mhm… what a rare scene I managed to record. A shame I wasn't there to see it myself."
Kanami shook his head with exaggerated regret.
Then, in his mind, he replayed Bronya's radiant smile, enhanced it as if polishing a photograph, and tucked it away in a special corner of his soul… neatly labeled For Nagami.
"And now… for this little thing!"
In the dark void around him, countless stars shimmered.
Particles of stardust swirled into Kanami's palm, condensing into shape.
"I knew there was no way that feather was something Sirin could've made. Turns out it was my handiwork all along!"
As the light dimmed, a crystal-clear feather appeared in his grasp—identical to the one he had seen deep in Sirin's soul earlier.
The moment Kanami appeared, the feather within Sirin's soul completely dissipated.
At the same time, his mind was flooded with the memories of everything Nagami had done during the Second Eruption.
Now he understood why Sirin was willing to lend the Herrscher of the Void's power through the "tuna" and help Nagami.
This feather was born from a fusion of Void Authority and the power of Fenghuang Down—could alter memories, seal them away, and even unlock them upon sensing a specific energy.
Its range was absurd.
It could rewrite the memories of every witness to the Second Eruption.
Satisfied, he tossed this feather into the depths of his soul as well, tagged it, and took a single step—appearing above the vast Pacific Ocean.
"Yo! I'm back! Did you all miss me~?"
His voice rang bright and clear, his smile dazzling as ever.
But no one answered.
The air felt heavy, and a faint awkwardness lingered.
Everyone's attention was fixed not on him, but on a patch of space nearby—where a fractured void screamed with a sound like shattered glass and broken dreams.
"Alright, fine… seems like you're all more interested in that mystery box than me."
With a shrug, Kanami raised his right hand toward the twisted rift in space.
"Guess I'll crack it open and see what's inside!"
The moment he spoke, a blinding gold light flared from within the spatial fracture.
"This is your idea of opening a mystery box?! That's just violently prying it open! Hey!"
That was Himeko's voice, sharp with exasperation.
"I knew it… sigh." That was Fu Hua's resigned sigh.
Raiden Mei, Durandal, and Yae Sakura said nothing, but the twitch at the corner of their eyes spoke volumes.
The golden glare swallowed their vision, and the static buzz of distorted sound filled their ears.
"This is…?!"
For the first time since appearing—always acting like 'Do as you like, I'm invincible'—the boy's voice carried genuine surprise.
"Well… is this luck? Or misfortune?"
As the light faded, everyone froze at the sight before them.
The surrounding space looked like it was built from a massive holographic projection.
Here and there, patches of static bloomed—like the grainy snow on an old television screen.
"This place… is the Heimdall Laboratory?"
Durandal, as an S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal, was the only one who recognized the scene.
But the others weren't stunned by the setting—they were frozen because of a person.
Himeko stared ahead, blinking rapidly, her expression full of bewilderment.
Standing before her was…
A woman with hair like blazing flame and skin pale as porcelain—beautiful beyond words.
"Himeko… Sensei?"
The shocked voice came from Raiden Mei, spilling out before she could stop herself.
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