Chapter 115: At Least I Won't Regret It
Irene looked calmly at Sirin. She knew her choice would inevitably lead to massive changes later on, potentially causing the entire plot to spiral completely out of her control.
After all, without the 'Descent of the Queen' node, a whole slew of subsequent events might not even occur.
However, Irene remembered the series of issues triggered by the Great Eruption caused by the Queen's descent, as described in the plot, as well as what happened to Himeko.
Yes, Kiana, after experiencing the Queen's descent and the Final Lesson, eventually grew into the Herrscher of Flamescion, and later even became Finality.
It could be said that the Final Lesson, brought about by the Queen's descent, allowed Kiana to achieve a transformative growth, but at the same time, it brought unforgettable regret.
Indeed, only unforgettable regret could spur transformative growth. But if given the chance, who would actually want that kind of agonizing regret?
Furthermore, the series of catastrophic consequences caused by the Great Eruption was something Irene did not want to see happen. No one wanted it to happen. Therefore, even if it meant she would completely shatter the original narrative structure...
She accepted it. Whether it would lead to a total collapse of the subsequent plot, she didn't know, nor could she make any guarantees. But at least right now, Irene felt that she would not regret her decision.
Sirin, who was clutching tightly to Irene's clothes, also fell silent at this moment. "Why? Why do you want to help me? Am I not a Herrscher?"
"Well about that." Irene, lying on the ground, reached out and pointed at Little Corruption. "This one is also a Herrscher, the Herrscher of Corruption."
Finally, Irene pointed toward Klein, who had been recording something off to the side. "That one over there is the Herrscher of the Legion, and there's also the Herrscher of Thunder living in the villa."
"Being a Herrscher of the Honkai really has no future." [Irene] also walked over. "You'll just end up getting beaten to death. But I'll educate you on that matter in a bit."
Irene reached out and pinched Sirin's face, forcing the girl to look at her. A faint green light flickered in Irene's eyes. "Alright, Miss Sirin, I just want to ask one question: Did you truly awaken because of hatred?"
"Within that endless darkness of death, just what kind of dreams were you having?"
Sirin looked at Irene and fell silent. Did she remember? She remembered it very clearly. What else did [Sirin] remember in that darkness?
In that boundless darkness where she could sense nothing, Sirin was curled up in a ball, seemingly trembling. Yet, what Sirin felt in the darkness wasn't just the freezing cold.
She could also feel that final trace of warmth coming from behind her. What echoed in her mind were not words of revenge, but Cecilia's final words lingering by her ears.
[Who did you think of in the end?]
"That person who wasn't my mother..." Sirin took a deep breath. Finally, she exhaled slowly, as if setting down a heavy burden. She opened her eyes within the darkness, looking at the pitch-black expanse before her, while a gentle white light faintly radiated from behind her.
Immediately after, Sirin felt a warm embrace, along with a few strands of white hair drifting before her eyes in the light, within arm's reach.
Looking at that white hair, Sirin felt a sense of security spreading through her heart. Even when facing the surrounding darkness, Sirin's body no longer trembled.
[Then, if possible, what is your wish?]
[If possible...] Sirin opened her mouth. [I want to become an ordinary person. I want to live happily together with her.]
[If I were given another chance, I would want to hear her say 'Ich liebe dich' one more time...]
Sirin looked down at Irene, whom she had pinned beneath her. The golden light in her eyes was no longer sharp, but instead carried a faint trace of helplessness and sorrow.
"But what use is that now?" Sirin perfectly understood that the memories she had just seen, or rather recalled, were Irene's doing. But just as Sirin said, what use was it now?
Seeing Sirin soften and let go, Irene rolled out from under her and sat beside her. Sirin naturally sat up as well, but made no attempt to run away or attack Irene.
"Cecilia is already dead. I can no longer hear her voice..."
"But at least right now, you still have the chance to obtain new warmth." Irene patted Sirin's head. "I'm not very good at comforting people, so I'll put the ugly truth out there first."
"I know exactly what happened in Sirin's past. I believe Sirin's revenge in killing the people of the Tower of Babylon was completely justified. I have no right to criticize that, but I cannot agree with Sirin's subsequent actions."
"So, what are you trying to say?"
"My meaning is very simple. If you are willing to seek new warmth..." Irene looked at Sirin with a serious expression. "I cannot guarantee that I will do better than Cecilia. After all, a dead 'White Moonlight' is always remembered flawlessly."
"But I am willing to be the first to show you my goodwill."
"So, human, I'm guessing your next sentence is going to be a 'but', right?"
"That's right." Irene nodded. "If you still want to exact revenge on all of humanity, then I'm sorry, but I will absolutely stop you. Besides, you've seen it yourself—you can't beat us, right?"
"And that's not all." [Irene] also walked over. "Hey Irene, could you lend me the right to use that Bodhi imprint?"
"I want to show our senior something interesting."
"Sure." Irene nodded, temporarily transferring the Bodhi imprint to [Irene]. Subsequently,[Irene] sat down next to Sirin, wearing a wicked smirk.
Then, utilizing the Bodhi imprint, she began to materialize Irene's memories, forming images to display to Sirin. Upon seeing the white-haired figure displayed in the imagery, Irene immediately knew what [Irene] was planning to do.
"Pay close attention. This man is called Kevin Kaslana. Senior, you absolutely must remember him."
"Hah? Why would I care about a mere human?"
"Well, you should still remember Siegfried, Cecilia's husband, right? The guy with that world-destroying strike of Judgment of Shamash."
Hearing [Irene]'s words, a flash of fear crossed Sirin's face. True to [Irene]'s words, she definitely remembered Siegfried's terrifying attack from back then. "So? What are you trying to say?"
"Kevin Kaslana, or rather, Kevin, is the original owner of Judgment of Shamash. He is a MANTIS from the Previous Era who has lived until the present. That garbage ultimate move of Siegfried's is merely a basic attack to him. Every single one of his strikes is at least at that level."
"Huh???!!"
Before Sirin could even react,[Irene] displayed the image of the next person, which was exactly the figure of Fu Hua. "I think this one should have left quite a deep impression on you."
"I know her!"
A smile graced [Irene]'s face. "That makes things easy. Then you should also know exactly what her ultimate move is capable of. Although she isn't in a good state right now, when she is at her peak, that Taixuan Sword God is practically no different from a basic attack for her."
Afterwards, [Irene] continued to show Sirin several other big shots she would encounter in the future. Meanwhile, the original Irene shuffled over to Lixue's side.
"I'm sorry. You must think I'm being very willful," Irene said, looking at Lixue. "After all, in this world, the two of you could be considered to have a rather visceral, life-and-death history."
"It wasn't much different in my world either." Lixue held the Ruoshui Sword in her hand. "But... I am willing to trust your judgment. Furthermore, in my world, I actually... knew a thing or two about what they went through."
"You knew?"
Lixue nodded. "Yes. In the very beginning, Sirin merely killed all the researchers at the Tower of Babylon. As for those children who were treated as experimental subjects, she carefully protected them."
"In fact, to ensure the safety of those children, not a single trace of Honkai energy could be found in the areas where they stayed. All of the Honkai energy was extracted and blocked by Sirin using her Authority."
"We also learned from those records exactly what kind of brutal methods the people at the Tower of Babylon used to obtain their research data, and Overseer Otto was highly disdainful of it."
"Sounds like a cat weeping over a mouse?" Pardo had quietly crept over after seeing the fight was finished. The last time Irene talked about what Otto had done, she had listened to everything loud and clear from the side.
This man wasn't a good person; he could be considered a hypocritical villain. However, for the sake of civilization, this kind of person was a necessary evil. She had seen plenty of such people in the Previous Era. As for the things Otto had done...
Pardo felt she had no right to judge. Looking purely at the surface, this civilization had indeed been protected up until now by the Schicksal established by Otto. Those who had been hurt by Otto had the right to judge his evil.
But the ordinary citizens who were protected by the Schicksal he created could, at most, only offer condemnation.
Of course, there were no saints in the Previous Era either. Behind the scenes, they did things far more excessive than Otto. Otherwise, how did the Poison Chrysalis come to be?
Klein also held her tablet without speaking. Over these past few days, she had gained a slight understanding of the organization known as Schicksal. After all, Mobius had tasked her with gathering a massive amount of intelligence from the outside world.
Therefore, the most famous anti-Honkai organization in this world, Schicksal, was naturally within the scope of her investigation.
As for her opinion, Klein could only say that they were doing much, much better than her era did. Currently, the vast majority of ordinary citizens didn't even know what the Honkai was.
There was no widespread societal panic, and the overall situation remained stable. No particularly severe Honkai disasters had occurred, aside from the recent Nagazora City incident, but that was a Herrscher's descent, after all.
If her Previous Era were to be hit by something like that, they wouldn't have been able to withstand it either.
As for the fact that Otto had taken the legacy of the Previous Era, Klein felt that even if one took it, they still needed the brains to use it. The world wasn't a game; it wasn't as if you just obtained technology, clicked a button, and it instantly took effect.
It was just like handing the notes of a top-tier scientist to an ordinary person and telling them to research it. Would they be able to use it? Would they know how? Could they even understand the formulas written on it?
The fact that Otto could hold onto it and utilize it was his own capability. At least for now, Klein's evaluation of the organization Schicksal was practically a perfect score.
"Perhaps." Lixue shook her head. "But as a swordswoman who has cultivated Taixuan Sword Qi to its highest level, I could sense that Overseer Otto was indeed extremely disdainful of it in his heart."
"As for whether he harbored any other emotions, I had no way of knowing."
"However, Otto definitely would feel disdainful toward such methods." Irene pondered Otto's personality for a moment. "If it were him, I'm guessing he would find a way to make those children believe that their sacrifice was a contribution to all of humanity."
"After all, he is very well aware that sometimes, hatred can burn oneself. What happened to those children afterwards?"
"They were taken in by Principal Theresa." Lixue looked at Sirin across from her. "It's said that she went to great lengths to help them regain their trust, and she never made them fight as Valkyries afterwards."
"It wasn't until that moment that I felt Principal Theresa's words about wanting the Valkyries to live happy lives weren't just empty talk."
Irene smiled as she looked at Lixue. "It sounds like your relationship with Principal Theresa is quite good?"
"She is another S-Rank Valkyrie, after all." Lixue looked at the scene of Irene and Sirin before her, ultimately choosing to sheathe her Ruoshui Sword. "Regardless, she is a pitiful child."
"It was the hell of the Tower of Babylon that turned her into this. As for what comes next... I have no right to speak on behalf of others."
"Sirin is dead. As for what she will ultimately do, that's up to her." Irene patted Lixue on the shoulder. "In the end, we are fighting for humanity. As long as our stance remains unchanged on this point, that's enough."
If the Queen was willing to change and pursue new warmth alongside Kiana, Irene would support it with both hands and feet. But if the Queen remained stubbornly unrepentant, then Irene couldn't be blamed for delivering the killing blow.
On the other side, [Irene]'s educational session had finally concluded. Wearing a satisfied smile, she retreated back to Irene's side and returned the Bodhi imprint.
"How is the situation?"
[Irene]'s face bore the grin of a successful prankster. "She's probably in the stage of doubting her entire existence right now. Theoretically speaking, a Six-Core Herrscher is invincible in this world, but alas, our side genuinely has players using cheat codes."
"Furthermore, considering Senior's current state, if the conditions are right, I feel like she might even get messed up by Rita first."
"Don't underestimate Sirin too much; it won't be to the point of getting beaten by Rita." Irene waved her hand dismissively. No matter what, she was still a Herrscher. Besides, Sirin was also a player using cheat codes, just that her cheats weren't as hardcore.
As she spoke, Irene walked over to Sirin and sat down cross-legged, patting her on the shoulder. "How is it? What are your thoughts? Anything to say?"
Sirin's eyes were glassy, filled with a sort of stupor that came from being overloaded with information. "...Was all of that true?"
"Words can be lies, but memories and the heart cannot." Irene shrugged. "You should have used the Key of Consciousness before, right? Could it be that you don't know this?"
Sirin opened her mouth. How could she not know? She knew, but it was precisely because she knew that she was doubting her existence. Were those things even something humans were capable of doing?
"That's why I said being an evil Herrscher has no future." Irene stroked Sirin's head. She had to admit, it felt surprisingly nice to pet. Plus, Sirin was currently in a state of existential doubt.
Did she not react to the petting? If it were normally, it probably wouldn't be this easy to pet her. She had to take advantage of the opportunity and pet her a little longer.
"So, what's your verdict?" Irene looked at Sirin with a smile on her face. "At the very least, don't let the second chance [Sirin] fought so hard to obtain be overshadowed by hatred again, alright?"
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