Chapter 246 – Two Joys Overlapping…
The space before them suddenly blazed with a blinding light that swallowed everything.
The once-clear sounds turned into chaotic noise before fading away, like the tide receding from the shore.
Mei instinctively raised a hand to shield her eyes.
When she opened them again, a familiar figure came into view.
Kanami had only vanished after burning through every last drop of his energy.
By now, Nagami, C.C., and the "tuna" had naturally reverted from their Herrscher states, standing atop a platform of Honkai energy conjured by Fu Hua.
Behind the green-haired girl rested a dark-gold sword inlaid with six gemstones.
Yet, aside from the rock and ice cores, the other temporary gems that created by Honkai consciousness had already shattered.
In her slender, pale hand, she clutched the Herrscher of Domination's core, now almost devoid of light.
It was only thanks to this core's rampage that Kanami had been able to borrow its power to temporarily open a spacetime channel.
Without this singularity, just crushing the core and creating that feather alone wouldn't have given him enough energy.
"Nagami!"
Unable to hold back her relief, Mei threw herself into the boy's arms, finally letting go of the fear she had been carrying.
Nagami only felt something soft crash against his chest, his body instinctively swaying backward as the wind swirled around them, carrying with it a faint, refreshing fragrance.
"All right, all right, Mei—I'm fine."
Nagami wrapped an arm around her slender waist, his other hand gently stroking her silky amethyst hair.
The smoothness beneath his fingers was almost addictive.
Himeko, watching the passionate embrace, let out a soft sigh, her expression a mix of helplessness and resignation.
Then, a subtle movement beside her caught her attention.
She turned—and her face shifted into an utterly strange expression.
She and Kanami had been the only ones to enter that other spacetime.
So how, exactly, was there now a green-haired beauty standing here with a sheepish smile and slightly evasive eyes?
C.C. had been revived the instant the Spirit Fusion activated.
Kanami himself was a being formed from two souls and three bodies fused together.
His image—white-haired, born from Nagami and Kiana's fusion was deeply imprinted in her mind.
But then… how did that explain the green tips in his hair?
The boy's eyes were green as well.
From a purely color-mixing standpoint, gold and blue blended into green.
Kiana's eyes were blue, and as for gold…
Himeko's brow furrowed.
This wasn't simple.
Locking eyes with C.C.'s dazzling golden gaze, she rubbed her chin, a curious spark lighting in her expression before a sudden realization struck.
Things were about to get very interesting.
'Could it be that this woman…?'
Meanwhile, the "tuna" Kiana stood frozen ever since appearing, her long curled lashes trembling slightly.
The wind swept aside her bangs, revealing a pair of icy blue eyes shimmering with a strange light.
A Kaslana by blood, the original Kiana had never imagined she would fall for Nagami.
Back then, she'd wavered endlessly between Mei and C.C., even entertaining the ridiculous idea of wanting both.
But after living together in the dorms for so long, she gradually realized she stood no chance with Mei.
So she shifted her focus entirely to C.C. only to be confronted, under pressure from the heiress and true Kiana, with the undeniable truth: she had also fallen for Nagami.
For the first time in her life, Kiana had both a boy she wanted to marry and a girl she wanted to wed.
And now… they turned out to be the same person!
Two joys overlapped, merging into something even greater—a near-dreamlike bliss that made her feel as if her life had reached perfection.
Her sky-blue eyes shone so brightly it was almost blinding.
And not long ago, Nagami had even accepted her confession.
Which meant… she didn't just have a husband now—she had a wife, too!
Kiana's mind was already racing ahead, imagining a future where she could hold both in her arms.
Overwhelmed by the sheer, dizzying happiness, she momentarily couldn't tell whether what she was seeing was reality or a dream.
Only after a long moment did she "wake" from this bliss, blinking in mild daze—only to find her best friend hugging the boy she loved.
Her swirling thoughts vanished in an instant.
Puffing out her cheeks, she was about to wedge herself between them—yet her hand froze midair.
Forget it. She'd let Mei hug him for now.
After all… victory was already hers.
Still, some vague sense of wrongness tugged at her, something she couldn't quite name.
With one last glance at the embracing pair, she finally darted into C.C.'s arms, finding a sliver of comfort there.
When C.C. looked down at her with a faint smile, Kiana rubbed against her chest in a way that was somewhere between affectionate and playfully sulky.
Any ordinary girl would have long since felt uncomfortable from such closeness, but for C.C., not even her face reddened.
Kiana's behavior only made Himeko more certain of the suspicion rising in her heart, the corner of her mouth curling into a sly arc.
'So… it really was like that.'
But what happened next left both Mei and the "tuna" completely stunned.
The normally composed Fu Hua, who had been standing quietly to the side like a bystander, suddenly broke into a smile that didn't match her usual demeanor at all.
Nagami had just let go of Mei when, without even having time to react, he felt as if his head had slammed into a steel plate.
A shadow rushed in, wrapping him in a fierce embrace, and the next thing he knew, he was sent flying backward, tumbling several times in midair before finally stopping.
"Papa! Papa!"
Two small arms clung tightly around his neck, and a delicate face rubbed hard against his cheek.
The lively, energetic voice of the Herrscher of Sentience rang out beside Kiana and Mei's ears like a thunderclap.
Durandal's expression was pure 'What the hell?,' though Himeko, knowing the truth, managed to stay relatively calm.
"Don't be surprised—that's not Fu Hua. That's the Herrscher of Sentience, who carries Fu Hua's memories." Noticing the way several faces shifted like a demon change, Himeko coughed lightly and began explaining. "Here's what happened…"
"W-wait—let go, let go! You're choking me!" Nagami's head was pinned tightly against her chest, but unlike with other girls.
There was no suffocating softness—though, strangely, there was a faint and entirely inappropriate thrill.
His outstretched hands trembled slightly.
"Aw~" Reluctantly, the Herrscher of Sentience let go, her tone carrying the same pitiful edge as a child upset that their parent wouldn't play with them.
"All right, all right, no sulking. You'll get to have plenty of fun in a bit."
Ruffling her messy gray hair, Nagami turned to the others.
"The Honkai incident should be considered completely over now. All that's left are the few Honkai beasts lingering in the coastal cities of Shenzhou. Once we take care of them, it's officially over."
Even though they were "stragglers," the level of this Honkai eruption meant most of them were high-tier beasts—opponents that would be extremely difficult for ordinary Valkyries.
But for multiple Herrschers gathered here? Child's play.
"No problem! Leave those Honkai beasts to me!"
Her confidence was as fierce as it was unrestrained, pride straightening her slender waist as if to say watch me.
"Then I'll head out first."
With the battle's conclusion all but certain, Durandal wasted no time.
She activated the God-Slaying Armor, her skirt armor flaring with dazzling light before she shot off like a meteor toward Shenzhou's coast.
Kanami had restored everyone here to full strength.
"Let's go too."
By now, Nagami had recovered enough energy—after all, the Void Genome's core was no ordinary thing.
"Mm."
Yae Sakura's form dissolved into a bewitching crimson glow, returning to C.C.'s side.
She still hadn't fully decided whether to use the power of the Jizo Mitama to "resurrect."
Kiana's recovery, of course, couldn't match Nagami's level, but that suited her just fine—after all, it meant she could keep enjoying the warmth and softness of the green-haired girl's arms.
"Honestly, Durandal's way too quick to act," Nagami said with a note of helpless amusement before casually snapping his fingers.
At his thought, an ornate portal with circuit-like patterns flared into existence.
"Hey—wait a second, that's my power! Nagami, you're way too sneaky!"
Kiana's protest earned an approving nod from Mei.
If Nagami could copy any Herrscher's authority just by meeting them, then really—what was the difference between him and the Finality itself?
Maybe only in raw power levels.
In truth, if Nagami were given enough time to fully digest the authorities he'd recently analyzed, he might be able to take on Ji Lin alone.
The problem was simply that he'd obtained them too recently—so in that fight, he'd relied only on the familiar powers of the Herrscher of Thunder and Herrscher of Reason.
Leading the group through the portal, C.C. glanced down at the Herrscher of Domination's core and the Ice Gem in her hands, the corners of her mouth curling upward.
The former?
Perfect for Kurumi and combining it with her Thousand-Man Army and clones would be flawless.
As for the Ice Gem, there was no question. That one was Rita's.