As expected, Otto launched ten Honkai fission bombs.
In the distance, Siegfried, who had barely regained consciousness, felt his butt dragging across the snow.
He turned his head to see Theresa dragging him by the collar through the snow.
The pain in his butt was a clear indicator of how long he'd been dragged.
"Theresa, where's Cecilia?"
"...Cecilia went to hold off the Second Herrscher. And I think Father is about to make a decision soon."
"A decision? What decision?"
Siegfried's heart sank.
"Schicksal has a weapon called the Honkai fission bomb. It's comparable to a nuclear weapon but specifically designed to counter Honkai. Even a Herrscher wouldn't fare well against it.
But its range is vast, so Cecilia must've realized this and told me to get you out of there while she..."
Even without Theresa finishing, Siegfried could guess the rest.
"No, why? Why didn't they use such a weapon earlier? Why did they have to send us to our deaths?"
Siegfried was on the verge of breaking down.
If they had such a weapon, why didn't they use it sooner? Why did they have to sacrifice them?
"You have to consider whether the Herrscher would escape. She has spatial powers. Someone had to stay behind to hold her off."
Seeing Siegfried's despair, Theresa wanted to punch him.
Cecilia was her friend too. Did he think she wasn't worried?
And if it were truly a suicide mission, would her father have sent her?
There must be something she didn't know.
Theresa decided to ask her old man about it later.
At that moment, ten trails streaked across the sky. Theresa immediately recognized them as Honkai fission bombs.
"Ten of them at once? What is Father thinking? Does he not even want to leave a body behind?"
Seeing that ten bombs were being used against the Second Herrscher, Theresa couldn't help but click her tongue.
She then quickened her pace, dragging Siegfried away.
Siegfried could only watch in despair as the ten Honkai fission bombs descended.
Meanwhile, at the center of the battlefield, Sirin knew the act was almost over.
She glanced at Cecilia, who was still trying to hold her off, and said, "Alright, it's over. Come with me."
"Trying to escape? I won't give you that chance. Even if it costs me my life, I won't let you escape."
Cecilia prepared to burn the last of her Saint's Blood.
But the next moment, Sirin threw a communicator at her, interrupting her.
"Cecilia, I know you're confused, but come with Sirin for now. Someone will explain everything to you when you return to the Babylon Tower."
"...Understood, Lord Bishop."
Seeing the familiar blond man and hearing his voice on the communicator, Cecilia, though still puzzled, chose to obey.
Sirin then opened a spatial gate and teleported away.
Back at the Babylon Tower, Sirin dropped her cold demeanor and pitifully tugged at Hua's sleeve.
"Big brother, can't we change the script? I really want to be the savior and the protagonist."
"...No."
No matter how many times Sirin asked, Hua's answer remained a flat refusal.
After being rejected multiple times, Sirin didn't have a meltdown. She just sighed and went to seek comfort from her mother.
Cecilia, meanwhile, noticed Hua, the representative of Shenzhou who had a close relationship with Schicksal.
"Senior Hua, can you tell me what's going on? What's happening here?"
"Actually, it's like this. Sirin—"
"Captain Cecilia! You're alive!"
Before Hua could explain, a blue figure rushed over and hugged Cecilia.
Cecilia recognized her immediately—it was Shigure Kira, a member of her squad whom she had thought died in battle.
"Shigure Kira, please don't interrupt. Let me finish."
"Sorry, sorry, Senior Hua. I was just so excited to see the captain alive. Hehe, you go ahead. I won't disturb you."
After hugging Cecilia, Shigure Kira obediently stepped aside.
Hua then proceeded to explain the script and what would happen next.
"So, I can't reveal myself yet, right?"
"That's correct. At least until the script is fully completed, you can't appear in front of her."
"I never expected that the new life born from that child and Kiana's genes would be the future protagonist."
"Exactly. But to make Siegfried resent Schicksal and defect, thus starting the next part of the story, you can't reveal yourself yet. Please stay here a little longer."
"Understood. For the future."
Cecilia understood the gravity of the situation and didn't insist on finding Siegfried.
Meanwhile, while Siegfried and the others were away, Otto had visited Kiana and taken a small vial of her blood.
True to the Kaslana bloodline, little Kiana didn't cry or fuss. She had met Otto before and didn't think he was a bad person.
After obtaining Kiana's blood, Otto quickly left and began his homunculus project.
Several months later, during this time, Siegfried, though heartbroken, continued to care for Kiana. However, he never told Kiana where her mother had gone.
He only told her that her mother was on a mission that would take a long time to complete, so she wouldn't be back for a while.
The naive little Kiana believed him.
Meanwhile, the homunculus was completed, matching Kiana's current age.
"So this is the future protagonist? She doesn't seem that special. Why can't I be the protagonist?"
"Sirin, give it up. The protagonist can only be her."
"Chang Yuan, you're so mean! Hmph~☆."
Over the past few months, Sirin had gotten to know Chang Yuan, the man who had predicted the future.
But she was still dissatisfied that Chang Yuan hadn't predicted her as the protagonist.
"Alright, it's time to extract your memories of hatred and fuse them with part of Kiana's memories. Oh, and don't forget the Herrscher core."
"Fine, fine. Geez, I really wanted to be the protagonist. By the way, do I still have a role in the future?"