Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

For the first time, Sirin found revenge and killing to be utterly boring.

No one remembered her, and no Valkyrie wanted to be her enemy.

The ones who had hurt her had been thoroughly cleansed, and the number of those who had suffered her wrath as collateral damage was countless.

After parting ways with Ana and her group of Valkyries, Sirin began to reflect on what she truly wanted.

Of course, she could continue killing.

Noldrei wouldn't stop her; he would only give other humans a chance to retaliate in kind.

I need to find other Herrschers, others who will help me destroy humanity.

But... after humanity is destroyed, then what?

New creatures will become the new humans, and then the cycle will repeat. There will be a next Herrscher to destroy the next humanity.

What's the meaning of this endless repetition?

It was already a remarkable feat for Sirin to have reached this point with her limited knowledge.

I can't get what I want, and others... will still have what they have.

For the first time, an emotion called jealousy consumed her heart.

We're all Herrschers!

Why are some Herrschers born in a lab, their entire lives filled with scars?

And why do some Herrschers get rescued the moment they awaken?

They have countless kind people helping them along the way, and even when they accidentally find a gem, a man from the future descends from the heavens to save them!

The gap between Herrschers was even greater than the gap between a human and a dog.

Sirin frowned, feeling that fate had been incredibly unfair to her.

They all came from labs, but their outcomes were worlds apart.

"I'll look again tomorrow..."

Weary and traumatized, Sirin had only one desire: to go back and taunt Kiana relentlessly. Only that could save her lost and confused soul.

---||---

Kiana had no time to deal with someone who had just finished being jealous of someone else being jealous of her.

This Young Lady is caught in one of the most troublesome crises of this era.

Why was there a person inside the black box?!

If I had known, I would have opened it sooner! I just tossed it in my stomach and forgot about it. And the result was me putting on a bizarre show of a pregnant woman turning into a slime for all to see.

Humiliated, Kiana scooped up the woman with long rabbit ears and scurried back home.

"What am I supposed to do with her?"

"She has ears, and she's even carrying a sword. Her clothes look like they're from ancient Far East..."

"Could she be a youkai from ancient Far East? Or maybe... I can't believe the ancient Far East people were conducting human experiments like this! That's horrible! Those sinful primitives! They should all be shot!"

Kiana was filled with righteous indignation. If she could travel through time, she would definitely kill all those ancient Far East people who conducted human experiments.

How could a normal person have rabbit ears? It had to be the result of human experimentation.

As she spoke, she began to knead the girl's ears.

And you know what? They were actually quite nice to touch. They had an unusually comfortable feel. Kiana couldn't quite describe the sensation, so she decided to keep touching them a little longer to really appreciate it.

And then...

She opened her eyes.

They were a beautiful pair of cyan eyes, and in their pupils reflected the goofy image of the white-haired fluffball.

The white-haired fluffball was still rubbing her ears with a look of pure enjoyment, drool practically dripping from the corner of her mouth.

"Oh?! You're awake!"

The lying girl froze for a moment, then immediately tried to leap up.

But Kiana's tentacles were faster. A single strike hit the sakura-pink rabbit-eared woman, making her legs go weak and her eyes glaze over. Her whole body trembled and twitched as she collapsed to the ground.

No wonder Noldrei looks down on ordinary humans. They can't even handle this level of pleasure?

The sakura-haired girl gritted her teeth and looked at Kiana, speaking...

Words Kiana couldn't understand.

It was the language of the Far East from centuries ago, very different from the modern version. It was normal not to understand.

Kiana suddenly understood how Noldrei must have felt when he was struggling to learn her language to talk to her.

Right now, she desperately wanted to know what this woman was saying.

Maybe I can directly graft our sensory systems to transmit my thoughts and language to her?

Kiana's instinctive thought turned into action. Just as her tentacles were about to touch the girl, she remembered that Noldrei hadn't used this method on her back then.

That guy held back even then?

The white-haired fluffball was conflicted. If Noldrei could hold back against her, then she had no reason to treat this girl this way.

I should just knock her out.

The sakura-haired girl had just started to struggle, but it was all in vain.

Several tentacles struck in unison, knocking her out cold, leaving only a puddle of sweat and some strange mucus on the floor.

Her ancient Far East clothes were completely ruined.

"How did I get so strong?"

Kiana lamented how she was becoming less and less human. She now thought that the Noldrei of the past was a truly great person.

He could have killed her outright, taking all the memories and abilities from her mind. But out of respect for human life, he had given her so many benefits and so much help.

"It's a shame his brain is a bit scrambled. He always thinks those weird, grotesque things are beautiful."

Kiana picked up the sakura-haired girl. She decided to put the girl in what she considered the safest place in the world—Noldrei's bedroom.

Her Highness the Crown Princess didn't trust Noldrei with much, but she had absolute faith in his aesthetic sense.

There was no safer place than Noldrei's bedroom.

---||---

Meanwhile, Noldrei was "directing" Bronya's work. He had arranged for her to come to the security team's office center.

"Bronya-oneechan, I'm so glad you're okay."

Seele, Seele is still the best to me.

Bronya basked in the gentle treatment of the Seele from her memories, pouring out her heart with a straight face.

"Seele, I will definitely go to the Sea of Quanta to save you."

"It's okay. As long as Bronya-oneechan is happy, that's all that matters. Everyone from the orphanage is so happy in Academy City. You have to protect everyone, okay?"

Seele's worried expression and words were like a shot of adrenaline for Bronya.

Academy City is my home! Anyone who dares to touch Academy City will have to go through me, Alloy Bronya!

Noldrei felt Bronya was getting more and more out of hand. The girl seemed to realize that the more she slacked off, the more he would reward her with these "Seele substitute" meetings.

She was becoming a second Tesla!

Seele was Noldrei's mouthpiece. He was using Seele's form to give Bronya her work instructions.

Bronya wasn't simple either. She was always getting handsy with "Seele."

Noldrei decided it was time to talk business. He had "Seele" ask, "Bronya-oneechan, has anything been off in Academy City lately? You have to be careful!"

Bronya nodded seriously. "Even if I have to sacrifice myself, I will protect the world you once had, Seele."

Noldrei rolled his eyes.

Do you even see what you're protecting?

Bronya suddenly remembered something. "I have noticed some problems in Academy City. Our energy supply might be too reliant on the outside..."

Just as the words left her mouth, a crackling sound of electricity filled the air.

And then, Academy City was plunged into darkness.

That's right. Academy City's power grid still relied on the Far East's power company for electricity.