NOVEL WEB Chapter 257 – Wasn’t she supposed to be influenced by Honkai Will??
Her biological daughter lost her parents at the age of two.
From then on, she grew up in a cold laboratory, suffering a kind of emotional neglect and constant experiments no ordinary person could endure...
He gave Kiana's name to Sirin, planting seeds of hostility between two girls who should never have been enemies...
He avoided facing Sirin, leaving her side—forcing an eight-year-old child to wander alone...
Cecilia could hardly believe these things were done by her husband, Siegfried.
With not a hint of deception, C.C. transmitted the truth of Kiana and Sirin's past directly into Cecilia's mind using the Authority of Sentience.
Sirin's dreams, where she cried out for her father in endless, abyssal nights.
Kiana's trembling figure, sitting alone beneath the stars, tears streaming down her face.
Loneliness clung to them like an unshakable shadow.
For Cecilia, who had only just become a mother, whose maternal instincts were already fully awakened by young Kiana—this alone was enough to plunge her into despair.
"... What should I do?"
Suddenly rising from the sofa, Cecilia rushed toward C.C., clutching the girl's shoulders with trembling hands.
Her blue eyes locked desperately onto her, filled with confusion and helplessness.
In that moment, Cecilia was not the proud, commanding S-rank Valkyrie.
She was simply a mother—of two children who had suffered far too much.
Feeling the woman's hands tremble, C.C. fell silent for a long while before speaking.
Her tone was calm, though laced with clear disapproval of Siegfried:
"If I were just an outsider, I would absolutely support you severing ties with that man."
"…I see."
Cecilia lowered her head, trying to hide her face in the shadows.
Tears streamed down endlessly, like a broken dam.
"But…" C.C. gently wiped Cecilia's tears away. Staring into her eyes—eyes filled with pain and despair—her own expression grew conflicted.
"If I were speaking as someone standing on Kiana and Sirin's side, I wouldn't want to see their family completely destroyed…
Neither Kiana nor Sirin has ever truly known a father's love.
Yes, Siegfried has made countless mistakes, but... he is still their father.
If he could somehow earn their forgiveness, maybe... just maybe, something could change."
It was undeniable: Siegfried was an idiot. An irresponsible father.
And yet, deep down, he had never truly abandoned Kiana, he tried his best, but fate decided to make him a joke.
He had loved her in his own flawed way.
He had risked his life to rescue Kiana.
He had secretly protected K-423 during her years of wandering.
But because he was such a fool, all of this was overshadowed—making him appear, and indeed be, a failure as a father.
Still, he wasn't beyond redemption.
For Kiana's sake, so she might one day experience real fatherly love, Nagami wouldn't take an extreme stance on this.
Of course, he wouldn't help Siegfried gain Kiana's forgiveness either.
If he intervened, Kiana would forgive her father even against her own true feelings.
That wasn't the ending Nagami wanted.
Whether Kiana chose to cut ties forever or to accept her father again—that decision had to be hers alone.
Whatever she chose, Nagami would stand by her side.
The one who suffered the most from Siegfried's actions, though, was undeniably Cecilia.
"…Thank you, Nagami-chan."
Sensing comfort in C.C.'s words, Cecilia finally stopped crying and gently embraced the green-haired girl.
"What a kind child you are. Kiana, Sirin… they're in good hands."
Her voice grew softer.
When she thought back on it, the cruel visions of the future had shaken her so hard she'd nearly lost herself.
And yet—thinking carefully now—she realized… both of her daughters had somehow been "stolen away" by the same girl standing before her.
Among Valkyries at Schicksal HQ, complicated relationships weren't rare.
But for both her daughters to fall for the same girl? That was...
"…Mother-in-law, is something wrong?"
Cecilia's sudden hug startled C.C. for a moment, but she didn't feel strongly about it.
After all, this was her mother-in-law. With her usual standards…
Well, if Nagami was here, he might not have been so calm about it.
"I'm fine…" Cecilia's emotions were too tangled for her to settle on an expression.
But as soon as she thought of Siegfried again, her brows furrowed.
Slowly, she clenched her fists, and her icy-blue eyes flashed sharp as blades.
This wasn't something that could be resolved with a kneeling apology on a washboard.
This time, she was truly, utterly furious.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Cecilia asked, "So then, Nagami-chan… what should we do now?"
"For now…" C.C. smiled faintly. "You still have some time to yourself, Mother-in-law. As for me—I need to take care of something important first."
She raised her pale hand.
A crimson feather appeared in her palm, glowing faintly as its aura wrapped around Cecilia.
"This way, it's as if I'll always be by your side. When it's time to act, I'll let you know."
A voice echoed in Cecilia's mind, making her start slightly.
"This is…?"
"The Eighth Divine Key—the power of Fenghuang Down."
Answering her doubt, C.C. waved lightly in farewell as a portal rimmed with flickering thunder opened before her.
Without hesitation, she stepped through.
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In Siberia – Within the Imaginary Space Nagami Created
"Insignificant ant—come, feel the power of a god☆!"
Nagami in from of Sirin's lips curved into an inflated, mocking smile, her tone dripping with the authority of a queen.
It was the kind of theatricality only a true professional actor could pull off.
With the power of the Herrscher of the Void, "Sirin" conjured a storm of subspace spears, hurling them relentlessly toward Otto, who scrambled desperately along the ground, barely evading.
"Human, do your best to entertain me~"
In the Honkai comics, the reason "Mr. Clown" Otto could suddenly jump onto the stage and taunt Welt so viciously wasn't because his mechanical body was particularly strong.
It was because Welt had overused the Herrscher of Reason's power in his battle against Sirin, leaving his body gravely wounded.
Not that Otto was completely weak, of course.
With the Void Archives at his disposal, he could even use a mimicry of Fenghuang Down to toy with Siegfried.
But before "Sirin", even with the Void Archives' support, Otto had no chance to resist.
"Joachim—I never thought you would cooperate with the Second Herrscher. Your descendent is crying at you!"
His voice had lost its usual frivolous, mocking cadence.
The jester's mask he wore was long since shattered into fragments.
A scarlet-black pillar of energy lanced toward him, radiating killing intent.
Otto furrowed his brow and twisted his body, barely avoiding the incoming spear.
His once-elegant suit was now in tatters.
He quickly realized words were useless.
The Second Herrscher ignored every attempt at persuasion.
The only effect his taunts had was to make her attacks even fiercer.
The response he expected never came.
The Herrscher before him acted as if she hadn't heard a word, continuing her relentless assault.
'Wasn't she supposed to be influenced by Honkai Will??!?!'
Every probe, every provocation he tried fell into silence as though dropped into the sea—without a ripple in return.
Was she being controlled? Corrupted by Honkai? Or had she truly entered into some kind of cooperation?
Otto was undeniably a brilliant man.
But the more clever one is, the more possibilities they can imagine.
Even so, not even he could conceive of something like time travel.
Without that key piece of knowledge, the questions swirled around his mind like storm clouds that refused to disperse.
Meanwhile, as she toyed with Otto, "Sirin" calmly explained her plan to Welt.
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[When we leave this space, I need you, as the leader of Anti-Entropy, to make the United Nations issue an urgent notice.]
[Soon, meteors will strike several locations: Moscow, Los Angeles, the Mariana Trench coast… and other cities.]
[You must ensure the immediate evacuation of the people there.]
———————————————————————
[What… Is that something that was supposed to happen in the original timeline?]
———————————————————————
Welt's voice grew heavy. Hearing such news robbed even a brutal victory over his enemy of any satisfaction.
———————————————————————
[Yes. In the original history, at least thirty million people died from the Second Herrscher's meteor strikes.]
[But—what about the butterfly effect? If we change that, won't it unravel everything?]
———————————————————————
Anyone who had ever considered time travel knew how catastrophic the consequences could be.
[Don't worry. Before I leave, I will forcibly alter the memories of everyone who knows.]
[In their recollection, this event will always have been part of history. And the same goes for you—I'll erase it from your memory too.]
———————————————————————
Welt's pupils widened in shock as he stared stiffly at the purple-haired girl, who was casually making a finger-gun gesture at Otto.
It wasn't the thought of losing his memories that rattled him.
It was the realization that… she—no, he was actually capable of rewriting the memories of everyone involved.
Something even the true Herrscher of Sentience couldn't do!