"Ha—what was that thing you slipped Welt Yang after your private chat?"
The next morning, Kyuusyou and Snow, who hadn't returned home all night, stood yawning before their dormitory, which had been ransacked beyond recognition.
From inside the dormitory, Headmaster Theresa's furious curses at a certain Anti-Entropy "vixen" echoed endlessly.
"You mean the data disk?" Snow glanced at the dormitory building, nearly half of which had been excavated.
"What else would I mean?" Kyuusyou rolled her eyes at her companion.
"Oh, that... that's the blueprints for the Brilliant Covenant."
Snow's nonchalant delivery made Kyuusyou's hand tremble slightly.
"Who are you planning to bomb with that thing? The queen? Your own dad? Or your World Serpent ancestors?"
"Think bigger! Bomb them all—just say the word! You make me sound like some unfilial, traitorous brat."
"Oof... I don't think they deserve that."
"Maybe not."
-
"This warship's firepower, based on the blueprints, far exceeds what's needed to deal with Herrschers or Judgment-class Honkai Beasts... I don't understand, Miss Snow, why you wanted us to build such a super-warship."
"Or rather, what exactly do you intend to fight...?"
Welt Yang gazed at the young woman before him, his eyes filled with bewilderment.
"To fight myself."
Her words carried not a trace of hesitation, so resolute that Yang thought he might be hallucinating.
"Fight... yourself?"
Yang savored the weight of her words, his expression shifting to stunned disbelief.
"But why?" Welt Yang, having grasped her meaning, was now consumed by even greater confusion.
"This is the answer... Now, look into my eyes."
Yang turned his gaze to her face. Moonlight filtered through the treetops, scattering shards of light across her form and adding to her already icy aura.
Yet even colder were her eyes. The clear azure had deepened into a profound indigo, and merely looking into them made Yang feel as if he were sinking into the boundless depths of the sea—frigid and bone-chilling. Her pupils blazed with arrogance and savagery, not directed at any specific person or thing, but a disdain that seemed to encompass the entire world.
It was contempt for the world, a mockery of the very existence of the universe.
"Merely a branch on a tree, merely a leaf on a branch—"
"You...?!" Welt Yang stared at the girl before him, his expression a mix of shock and uncertainty.
"Leaves will inevitably fall... into the boundless sea, shattering into bubbles and fading away. Branches will wither, be pruned, stripped of all potential, and reduced to dust."
"The world is approaching its end, but this is not merely the end of this world. It is the doom of everything born upon the Golden Tree—a cycle of mutual competition, waxing and waning."
"Why should I care about the rise and fall, the fate, of these leaves? Their destinies are already sealed."
Her indifferent gaze shifted to Welt Yang beside her, devoid of arrogance or scorn, mockery or ridicule.
She doesn't care.
In a daze, Welt Yang thought this—until the girl's voice snapped him back to reality.
"Do you understand now?" The divine aura that had enveloped the girl vanished without a trace.
"...What was that?" After a long silence, Mr. Yang looked at the girl.
"The Imaginary Authority... or the World Pillar. It's also the most essential condition for resurrecting them—"
"It could be the final enemy you'll face—different from the 'God' you call the Honkai..."
"But a God above Gods—"
"I can't maintain this state for long, but rewriting history from five hundred years ago to the near future... is inevitably not something that can be accomplished in an instant."
"To put it in more game-like terms—my 'Humanity' can't sustain this form for long. If I forcibly maintain it, my 'Divinity' will begin to dominate my consciousness, ultimately transforming me into a true God."
"Yet humans... they don't need such a God—"
A man and a woman, one old and one young, spoke in unison, their voices converging in agreement.
"So... now we have to worry about its power being insufficient... Or rather, can something like this truly harm you in that state?" Mr. Yang's brow furrowed.
"You needn't worry about that—as the core of this battleship's main cannon and the vessel's energy source... I will bring you a branch from the Imaginary Tree..."
"It will become the spear piercing destiny... the gun that slays the divine... the weapon that brings down the earthly gods—"
"Oh? It's almost dawn. I should be going." Snow glanced at the sky; the moon was already sinking, its light fading, while a pale, dawn-like glow began to emerge on the eastern horizon.
"I have one last question..." Welt Yang called out, stopping Snow as she turned to leave.
"What is it?"
"Initially, I was skeptical—why would Anti-Entropy trust you? Now, I'm puzzled—why would you... trust me?"
"Because you bear his name... and carry on his will—"
"You are idealists, upholding the naive belief that the Honkai can be eradicated without harming humanity itself—you won't indiscriminately wield the destructive power I've granted you."
"You are also the perfect 'sword-wielder'—by choosing to bear the name Welt, you will never hesitate, never falter."
"I know what you must do next: the Serpent prowls the Quantum Sea, eyeing the world... and you will be too preoccupied to manage Anti-Entropy."
"The World Serpent is destined to return. I have no intention of judging your current actions... but please inform the two Doctors... to be wary of Cocolia."
"And... that warship must absolutely not fall into the hands of the radical faction led by her..."
"The two Doctors' political maneuvering is not particularly astute... What if the warship ultimately fell into Cocolia's hands? I mean, hypothetically?" Yang glanced at the golden-haired Valkyrie.
"I would kill her without hesitation. That is not something she should possess, something she should never have coveted."
"Therefore, on this matter alone, there can be no 'what if'..."
"And if that warship is ever truly needed..."
"Do not mistake my deified self for the one you know now. Harbor no illusions, Welt Yang. You... will—die—"
A brief silence settled between them.
"I understand... Then, as the warship's patron, shall we give it a name?" Yang finally broke the silence.
"Call it the Brilliant Covenant."
"Remember our agreement, my ally."
"And... don't tell Kyuusyou the true purpose of this warship."
-
"You're nothing like your father, Snow Apocalypse," Mr. Yang murmured, watching the Valkyrie disappear into the forest.
"Who do you think she resembles, then? Kallen?" On Schicksal Floating Island, a man stroked a photograph of the two together.
-
"That girl... she seems utterly indifferent to her own life?" Einstein remarked, walking over.
"I don't know. She even took the time to name the weapon that would kill her..."
"No, this warship itself was her suggestion..."
"It's as if her death... is just another step in some grand scheme."
"Just like her father... utterly incomprehensible," Einstein muttered, pursing her lips.
"At least the outcome she's provided... we can accept. Let Otto proceed with his plan for now. Our focus should be minimizing the losses..."
"What about Cocolia...?" Einstein asked, turning to Mr. Yang.
"Use the Moonlight Throne as a smokescreen... to conceal the construction of the Brilliant Covenant..."
-
"What twisted irony... A warship shaped like an upright cross... A spear to nail oneself to one's fate..."
"Do you truly believe you can be reborn after your fall, Snow Apocalypse?"
"...We don't have the power to resurrect you."
Mr. Yang sat at his computer, meticulously examining the blueprints before him, muttering to himself.
-
It will kill it—the Divine persona born from stealing the Imaginary Authority—and I... will replace it and truly ascend the Pinnacle Throne.
Snow gazed at the projected blueprints of the Brilliant Covenant on her palm, a satisfied and gleeful smile spreading across her face.
—Just as her surname itself symbolized: conspiracy, political machinations, and a terrifying ambition.