Kiana nodded as if she half-understood: "Mm… so that's how it is. Fully awakened Stigmata… looks like I need to work even harder too."
"…?"
Hearing her say that, both Durandal and Seele looked somewhat puzzled.
But Seele quickly realized: "Kiana… could it be that your power hasn't fully recovered yet?"
Kiana said: "How would I know something like that without trying?"
She once again mobilized the core power of the Herrscher of Flamescion within her body, condensing the Flamescion greatsword.
Looking at the sword in her hand.
She still felt like something was missing, but… in her current state, she could still fight against the Herrscher of Constraint.
"How about it? Not bad, right? Recovered about 70% or so."
Durandal asked worriedly: "You're not pushing yourself too hard, are you?"
Kiana said: "Although it's definitely not my best condition, it's not really pushing myself either. It's still better than all of us just watching you challenge Otto alone."
Seele was also thinking that if she had more power, she could help them together…
But before she could say it.
Kiana and Durandal had already seen through her.
They both comforted her: "It's okay, Seele. You've already helped everyone a lot."
Durandal: "Fighting Otto will definitely be extremely dangerous… and protecting the rear is just as important a job."
Seele lowered her head: "I understand. It's just… I feel a bit unwilling. Bronya-neesama, Theresa, Fu Hua… they all put everything on the line to open up the current situation for us."
"I want to be able to give my all too, and fight side by side with you in a more direct way."
"But I also know—protecting them with my own hands is already something I can be proud of and take pride in."
"Seele…" Durandal hadn't expected her to have such awareness.
Kiana said: "See? Isn't she stronger than you thought?"
"Mm!" Durandal admitted directly and said: "Then, the rear is entrusted to you, Miss Seele."
Dark Seele said: "Hmph, just make sure you don't die in there. Otherwise Seele will be really sad."
Durandal laughed: "Haha, understood."
Kiana also immediately contacted the Hyperion to report the situation here.
Tesla said: "You've already said this much, so what else can we do except support you 100%?"
Einstein also said: "Amber has already taken the Immortal Blades team to the church side. She should be able to help Seele share some of the workload."
"Of course, we'll do our best to gather energy and ammunition, and prepare to continue fighting."
"If it becomes necessary to summon the Hyperion like we did against the Herrscher of Domination, feel free to teleport us over."
Nagamitsu also spoke up: "Good luck! I know you have the ability to defeat Mr. Otto and end his plan—I believe in you!"
Durandal said in surprise: "Nagamitsu? Didn't you say you were going to find a sufficiently safe place to take shelter?"
Nagamitsu said: "Yeah, I think the Hyperion is a very safe place. But since you're going to take another trip into Imaginary Space… shouldn't I also share the results of that previous world bubble connection experiment?"
Tesla immediately turned to stare at her: "Huh? Hey, hey, at a time like this, you still have something you've been hiding from us?"
Nagamitsu said: "Oh come on, I just never had the chance to mention it. Listen up, Bianka, and Kiana—"
"If Mr. Otto really can establish some kind of connection with the Imaginary Tree, then the Honkai energy he possesses could be said to be nearly limitless."
"Although as an individual, he will inevitably still have a limit to his output power, that will definitely make him extremely persistent and hard to defeat."
"In short, if you really encounter that situation, perhaps one of the experimental results I recorded can give you some inspiration—"
"Previously, in the instant when the holy sword Durandal connected the world bubble to the Imaginary Tree, the Second Divine Key recorded a peculiar phenomenon."
"In that moment, on the Imaginary Tree, the points originally corresponding to finite and infinite underwent random property exchanges near the connection point."
"In other words, when the space connected to the Imaginary Tree changes, in the area surrounding that change—"
"Part of what we originally saw as finite turned into infinite."
"And another part that we originally saw as infinite turned into finite."
Durandal asked: "What does that mean? How can these two concepts transform into each other?"
Einstein thought for a moment, and after understanding what Nagamitsu meant, she said: "No… in terms of the statement itself, it is indeed possible."
"Imaginary renormalization—it is a special transformation that can be defined in Imaginary Space, and its basic property is exactly as Nagamitsu described."
Tesla said: "Yes, theoretically there does exist such a mechanism that can allow the two to convert into each other… it's just that Anti-Entropy has never truly observed its existence."
Kiana asked curiously: "But… how exactly does this abstract concept help us in the upcoming battle?"
Nagamitsu said: "Didn't I mention it earlier? If you happen to discover that Mr. Otto has somehow entered the domain of the infinite…"
"Then you might be able to distort the space around him, draw him into the process of Imaginary renormalization, and force him back into the finite world."
"For someone with the power of the Herrscher of the Void—this is not an impossible thing to do, right?"
Kiana said: "I'll remember these words literally."
Nagamitsu nodded: "Mm, that's enough. Herrschers are beings capable of causing miracles—"
"As long as the correct direction exists in your mind, the rest… there will be a way when the cart reaches the mountain, right?"
Tesla said helplessly: "Maybe this is her unique way of cheering you on. It can't be called useless knowledge… but too many assumptions, and it doesn't seem to have much connection to the current situation."
Nagamitsu said: "Oh no… was I seen through… Then I'll just repeat my original words! I know you have the ability to defeat Mr. Otto and end his plan! I believe in you! Bye-bye—"
Without saying goodbye to the two Doctors of Anti-Entropy, this strangely moody person simply hung up the communication between the Hyperion and Kiana.
Probably.
On the other end of the communication, those two Doctors were also exchanging looks of bewilderment just like Kiana, Durandal, and Seele at this moment.
Durandal felt a little embarrassed: "…Sorry for letting you see that."
Seele also said: "She… really is a very special scientist."
Kiana nodded: "Yeah, maybe her real purpose was just not wanting us to be too nervous."
"But with that, our preparations before the decisive battle are all complete. Seele, the rear is entirely entrusted to you."
Seele said: "Don't worry, Kiana. I will definitely protect everyone."
"So… you two have to come back safely too, okay?"
"Mm, it's a promise!"
"It's a promise, Seele."
The two of them walked toward the church together.
This was already the final decisive battle.
Just as they were about to step into the church.
Kiana stopped and asked Durandal beside her: "By the way, Durandal."
"What is it?" Durandal looked at her.
Kiana looked at the church doors, her mood actually very complicated: "Once we open this door, we'll have to settle things completely with Otto."
"You know too—it was Otto who created me in an experiment."
"He was the one who brought me into this world, and he treated me as nothing more than an experimental subject, a vessel for reviving a Herrscher."
"Experimental Subject K-423… that name was the entirety of the dignity he was willing to give me."
"Back then, I was still a blank slate. I didn't understand what a person born into this world should receive or what they should give—"
"It was Dad who led by example, telling me what kindness is, what sincerity is. He gave me the simplest love in the human world and gave me the name Kiana."
"Then, he disappeared."
"I began wandering in this world, to find Dad, and also to become someone who could help others like Dad did, becoming a righteous wanderer."
"At that time, I thought the past was over, but Otto appeared once again, awakening the malice of the Herrscher and taking away everything from St. Freya."
"I could only start wandering again… carrying the sin of the Herrscher of the Void, the pain of losing my teacher, and the guilt that tormented my companions."
"It was in that state that I first met you. Naturally, with our opposing positions, we immediately parted on bad terms."
"A lot happened after that… and I've come to understand that relationships between people aren't simple. They're far more complicated than we initially imagined."
"But precisely because of that, Durandal, at this moment I must ask you one question—"
"With what identity have you now chosen to fight Otto?"
Before the decisive battle, trust in one's comrades is extremely important.
Durandal said: "That really is a good question."
"I could act as a vengeful avenger seeking retribution, as a revolutionary rising against tyranny, or simply as a guardian fighting for the fate of the world."
"But none of those are the identity I want to claim for myself at this moment. At least when facing him again, I believe I am still a Valkyrie of Schicksal."
"I know Schicksal is not a perfect organization. I know the work of Valkyries is far from the ideals proclaimed in the slogans."
"That's why, when we each must make a choice in the face of this dilemma, I must take back the right to define Schicksal, to define Valkyries…"
"From the hands of that Bishop who does whatever he pleases."
"Schicksal is a militarized organization. Of course, soldiers take obedience to orders as their foremost duty."
"But that does not mean the members of Schicksal should all be puppets on strings controlled by their superiors, or mere gears in some grand destiny."
"What is right, what is wrong, what is justice, what is evil, what is Schicksal—these are not things decided by any single person."
"They should be the choices of every individual, the paths of every person, the lives of every person, collectively painted as scenery on the canvas called the world."
"So at this moment, I want to take back this painting from Otto's hands together with you, to preserve for everyone the right to freely paint upon it."
"This is the color and line I myself, as a Valkyrie, leave upon this canvas."
Kiana asked: "Is this Durandal's will?"
Durandal said: "To me, this is the will of Bianka Ataegina."
"No matter from what angle you look at it, Otto is someone who forever changed the trajectory of my life. If we were to compare him to a Shakespearean play—"
"He is not merely a Caesar, not merely a Macbeth… he is also Claudius, Othello, even Hamlet."
"He is like a beautiful yet cruel, great yet evil work of art—we will ultimately defeat him, and leave his history to be judged by the people of the future."
"I think… this is also his own wish."
Kiana said: "In your heart, he is still a senior, a complex and contradictory person."
Durandal admitted: "Yes. But that does not prevent us from fighting side by side, nor does it prevent me from seriously defeating him—even killing him."
Kiana nodded: "Mm, I've fully understood that now. Then, Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie—"
"Before we officially enter battle, would you like to give me a team-spirit high-five?"
When Durandal heard this suggestion, she froze for a second. She really hadn't expected the other to face such a fateful decisive battle with such a positive attitude.
But… indeed.
This was the real Kiana Kaslana.
This was what the daughter of Siegfried and Cecilia should be like.
Whether ten years ago—or ten years later.
Smack!
A clear and crisp high-five sound encapsulated all the trust that didn't need words to convey.
I've got your back—even without deliberately saying it, they could both understand the other's unshakable will to fight. They were not motivated by the same reasons, nor driven by the same emotions.
But none of that mattered—
What mattered was that their paths had fully converged at this moment today.
What mattered was that the stars representing their fates were shining together in the sky at this very instant.
The two pushed open the church doors and walked inside.
Looking around, the place was completely empty.
Kiana said puzzledly: "How is there nothing here?"
Durandal reminded her: "No, look over there."
Right in the middle of the church was a rift in reality leading to Imaginary Space.
The two came to the front of the rift.
Durandal asked: "How is it? Can you sense the space behind it?"
Kiana nodded: "Mm, just sensing it is no problem. What's flowing behind it really is the same power Otto used before."
"It's just… if we want to open it wide enough for us to pass through freely…"
Durandal quickly asked: "Is it difficult?"
Kiana shook her head; she wasn't completely confident either: "…Let me try. But after all, this is Herrscher power—you'd better keep some distance from me to avoid getting caught in it."
Durandal stepped back a few paces, leaving enough space for Kiana.
Kiana, bearing the authority of the Herrscher of the Void, held her breath and focused, attempting to apply her power to the unstable rift.
"Sever all delusions, gather the breath…"
"…Know nothing, feel nothing."
To contend with the power on the other side of the rift, Kiana had to control her Herrscher authority to be used in a specific space and direction.
Although she had already tried this way of using power once in the recent Herrscher collision experiment—
At this moment, her own power was no longer what it was then, and the object she was trying to control was far more complex than the Herrscher core fixed to the device.
She could sense that behind the rift, a massive palace had already risen from the ground, and all the Honkai energy scattered throughout Imaginary Space was converging toward that direction.
She had to be extremely careful—
The slightest mistake, and her power might instead be stripped away or devoured by something there.
The opportunity was fleeting; she had to accumulate as much energy as possible and tear it open in one go…
But with her current condition, ordinary control seemed unable to provide sufficient explosive power.
She could only push herself to her limits.
Thus, Kiana decided—
She would challenge the extreme of sword aura alone.
She would attempt to cross this illusory heart lake and bring herself into a higher realm.
"The divine is the ultimate of change, wondrous in all things and expressed in words—"
A violent wave of dizziness struck her.
The authority of Constraint had left faint scars in her core, multiplying the burden at this moment and nearly causing her to lose her balance.
But… she could not retreat…
She had to stop Otto, stop him… from doing something insane to this world…
"Hold on, Kiana."
Mei's voice suddenly entered her mind: "Just a little more, and I can help you."