"Did I ever hurt you in the past?"
Shiraha's voice was quiet. He crouched down beside Sirin, who had collapsed into the snow, and reached out a hand to pull her up.
"If I wanted to kill you," Sirin said with a cold laugh, "you'd have died a thousand times over by now."
Shiraha didn't argue. He just watched her in silence.
"So, Siegfried hurt you." It wasn't a question, more like a statement.
Sirin was quiet for a moment, letting the heavy snow settle on her shoulders. "Something like that."
She didn't really want to revisit those memories. Because any time she did, she couldn't avoid thinking about that woman, Cecilia, so unbearably gentle and Theresa, that foolish nun.
"Anyone else?"
Shiraha seemed to be genuinely taking notes.
"Why are you asking this?" Sirin shot back, her golden eyes narrowing as she studied him.
"If you turn over a new leaf someday then why should the people who hurt you get away without paying a price?"
Shiraha had already taken hold of Sirin's arm, gently leaning her against his side.
Sirin froze. Her golden pupils widened for just an instant, this wasn't the answer she'd expected.
An eye for an eye. She'd never heard anyone else say it like that before. It suited her tastes.
"And what if they turn over a new leaf too?"
Sirin lifted her gaze. Her golden irises were already growing unstable. She could still hold onto this world if she kept drawing on the Sea of Quanta but she wanted to hear how Shiraha would answer.
Shiraha's answer was simple: "Then I'll go kill them for you. And after that, I'll go kill you for all the people you've hurt."
Sirin was deeply satisfied with this answer. She smiled, the blood at the corner of her mouth slowly drying. "I'll be waiting for you to change your mind. Waiting for this world to change you."
When that day came, she would show no mercy. The slap and the punch she'd received today, she would repay them a hundredfold.
But her current body was far too frail. There was nothing Sirin could do right now. Even as a test subject, her physical stats were nearly off the charts for someone her age, but her age was simply too young.
She had to wait. And to survive, the other consciousness needed to blend into the crowd.
She needed Kiana.
She needed that test subject, the one who had just been given a name and still didn't know who she was, to live in this world in her place. To watch this filthy world for her. To wait for the day Shiraha changed his mind.
And then, Sirin wrapped one arm around Shiraha's neck. Before Elysia could do anything but watch, powerless, Sirin bit down hard on his neck.
"Don't die."
Sirin's final voice was muffled.
Shiraha answered immediately: "I promise."
Sirin probably heard him. The gold slowly drained from her pupils, fading back into their original sky-blue. Little Kiana's gaze went hazy, heavy with exhaustion, and soon her eyes fluttered shut.
Shiraha raised his right hand thoughtfully, studying his still-reddened knuckles.
"As I thought, Talk-no-Jutsu only works after you've beaten them to the ground first. Even if it's a relay fight, beat them down and it'll work."
From this day forward, he could add a new line to his résumé: Defeated the Second Herrscher, Sirin, in two moves.
Sure, it was a relay battle. Sure, he wasn't entirely sure why Sirin hadn't kept fighting for control of the body. But tell me this: did Sirin get solo-killed by Shiraha or not?!
"Nee-chan, did you see that? A Herrscher who saw humani— Nee chan?"
Elysia was crouched beside him, stone-faced, wiping the blood from his neck with her hand. Every so often, she'd grab a fistful of snow and scrub at the spot, hard. The icy water trickled down his skin. She kept at it until there wasn't a single trace left on Shiraha's neck.
Shiraha's little face tensed up. He pulled his neck in slightly. "Nee-chan, this isn't really the time to worry about that, is it?"
Elysia's voice came out low and mournful, but her hands didn't stop. "That Herrscher was so weak, the moment she emerged, that Siegfried guy pinned her down and beat her senseless. Aside from wrecking a bunch of buildings, I barely sensed any casualties."
She paused, grabbed another handful of snow, and her voice turned even more plaintive. "If I don't worry about it now, should I wait until she's left a mark on your heart to do something about it?"
Sigh. Shiraha. Sigh. This little man of hers.
Sirin really wasn't that strong, at least not in 2008. Having just regained consciousness inside K-423's body less than a year ago, she was pitifully weak.
Shiraha had no choice but to indulge his nee chan.
He lifted his chin on his own, giving her better access to scrub. But the moment he did, Elysia lost interest.
What was the fun in teasing a child if they didn't resist?
"Forget it." She stood up and brushed nonexistent snow from her skirt. "Let's figure out how to get back first."
The Siberian tundra was vast. With Shiraha's small frame, there was a very real chance he'd freeze to death out here.
Shiraha looked troubled. He propped Kiana up with one arm, letting her limp arms stay draped around his shoulders.
The girl's head rested against him, her breathing even, warm puffs of air brushing rhythmically against his neck.
"Nee chan."
"I'm here."
"Can you jump up into the air for a moment?"
Elysia blinked, her starry eyes fluttering. "What do you mean?"
"See which direction has signs of people."
Oh, that really was simple enough. Elysia stepped lightly onto a nearby tree trunk and launched herself high into the air, her body arching backward at the apex, long hair billowing in the wind. It was less about scanning the surroundings and more about, well, letting her maidenly heart run wild.
She landed gracefully on the snow, not so much as a ripple disturbing its pristine white surface. She blew a strand of hair from her forehead. "I didn't spot any signs of people, but I did see the trail left by the Shamash's release. If we head that way, we're bound to be found pretty easily."
She held out her hands. "Give Kiana to me. You can hold onto my arm, it'll save you some energy trudging through the snow."
Shiraha glanced at Kiana, hovering somewhere between half-conscious and half-asleep, and decided to refuse.
"No. I have a feeling, if Kiana wakes up during the journey, me supporting her will earn a ton of affection points."
Elysia: ….
"Who taught you to win over girls like this?"
Shiraha looked at his Nee chan, all smiles.
Elysia sighed in exasperation and reached out, her slender fingers curling slightly. She gave Shiraha a light flick on the forehead, then opened her palm expectantly.
Left with no choice, Shiraha handed Kiana over, while his other hand latched onto his Nee chan's arm.
"Good thing I have you, nee-chan."
He spoke softly.
The physical conditioning over the past two years had been decent, true but finding signs of civilization in the middle of a frozen tundra was still a painfully long endeavor.
Without Elysia, that idiot Sirin probably wouldn't have even considered that she and Kiana might end up stranded out here to freeze to death.
Sigh. The Second Herrscher. Sigh. Inflatable pufferfish.
---
Meanwhile, the atmosphere back at the Anti-Entropy base was heavy. Ragnar glanced at Siegfried and excused herself with impeccable politeness.
One Siegfried alone, the assault squad could probably take him, but only if he went berserk like he did during the Second Eruption.
But the Overseer's orders had been clear: Any operative encountering the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy while on an external mission is authorized to retreat unconditionally. No penalties for mission failure.
Welt glanced at Ragnar and let her go. Years ago, his intelligence agents in Schicksal had given Ragnar a very high appraisal: She is a good person.
His voice came out tired. "Siegfried, you really made us search hard for you."