Chapter 170
"Came here to deal with the problem," Raven shrugged. "Just like you guys, some Imaginary Singularity popped up here. If it's not dealt with, it'll be very troublesome."
"So the Sovereign came to resolve it, it's that simple." Raven took a sip of coffee. "Oh, if you guys want, you can also go find the Sovereign."
"After the singularity opens, there will be a massive amount of Honkai energy. It should be quite capable of satisfying your needs."
"Understood, thank you for your cooperation." Irene nodded. "But speaking of which, what do you plan to do about those children? You're raising them, but you can't possibly intend for them to stay here forever, right?"
"What did you think I bought that small island for?" Raven looked at Irene and rolled her eyes. "I was even fooled by you into spending a lot more money to get an island over by Coral Island."
"How can you call it fooling you?" Irene looked straight at Raven, her face not revealing the slightest hint of guilt. "I made that suggestion out of genuine goodwill at the time."
"Besides, there's no use talking about it now, is there? Haven't you already bought it?"
[Coral Island, huh.] Wendy quietly popped up at this moment. To her, the words 'Coral Island' were fresh in her memory. After all, she had died there.
[Miss Raven's island is probably beyond saving.]
When the Herrscher of Ice awakened, the entirety of Coral Island, along with a massive area of the surrounding sea, was completely frozen over. The temperature plummeted directly to a level where mortals could not possibly survive.
It was an extreme cold that could freeze earth and steel into powder. Although the surrounding islands might not be that cold, they absolutely couldn't be called safe either.
[I genuinely didn't expect her to go looking for an island in the Coral Island area back then.] Irene cried out her innocence in her heart. She truly hadn't expected Raven to turn around and seek out an island at Coral Island.
Moreover, at the time, she indeed hadn't yet gone to resolve the problem with her own mind. Naturally, she wanted to advise Raven to avoid the island that disappeared due to the Queen's descent.
How could this be blamed on her? This could only be called the inevitability of fate, just like the Destined Death of others. Raven was simply destined to lose an island once.
"I didn't say your advice was bad either." Raven took a sip of coffee. "So what exactly do you want to do? If you have something to say, just say it. I don't believe you brought up the children out of nowhere."
"Ah, it's nothing much." Irene looked at Raven. "Do you know where Kevin is?"
"I don't know, I'm just here to pick the kids up and leave." Raven frowned, but still continued, "Where the Sovereign is right now? How would I know?"
"Alright, but I figure you should have a way to contact him." Irene snapped her fingers lightly, then pointed outside. "I definitely won't take your help for free."
"I can help those children break free from their current awkward predicament, and of course, absolutely without any side effects."
"You mean?!" Upon hearing this, Raven's eyes instantly lit up. Right now, those children were indeed in a very awkward predicament, just as Irene had said.
During the Honkai eruption, these children were both fortunate and unfortunate. Fortunately, they possessed decent Honkai Resistance, and had even awakened Stigmata.
But they were also unfortunate, because their Stigmata hadn't fully awakened; instead, it only awakened halfway, leaving them in a Semi-Stigmata state.
This state offered no benefits whatsoever. Not only did they not gain the combat strength a Stigmata Awakened should possess, they even had to stay in environments with a certain concentration of Honkai energy just to maintain their physical condition.
Once they left a Honkai energy environment, their bodies would quickly experience withdrawal reactions, even endangering their lives. There was no relatively quick treatment method; they could only be slowly guided.
This was also why Raven could only leave them in Nagazora City, precisely because this place had consistently maintained a relatively high concentration of Honkai energy.
When their island villa was finished being built, she would still have to figure out a way to resolve this issue. For example, asking Gray Serpent for help to set up a room in the basement or somewhere that could store or release Honkai energy.
Or perhaps pressuring Jackal to hurry up and make that medicine for her, instead of keeping her hanging.
Until they fully awakened their Stigmata, only then would they be able to break free from the Honkai energy environment. But now, it seemed a more effective method had appeared.
"You really have a way to cure them?" Out of concern for the children, Raven couldn't help but ask an extra question. "You know, I need to be responsible for those kids."
"Of course I can, I am the Herrscher of Death after all." Irene patted her chest. "This is my specialty, and also my Authority. You should know about Welwitschia, right?"
Raven nodded. Naturally, World Serpent would possess intelligence of this level. "Of course I know. Isn't the reason those Doctors from Anti-Entropy have managed to live this long and remain so young precisely because they used the Welwitschia cast by the Abyss Flower?"
"So there you go. If you need me to help them manifest their Stigmata, I will help them awaken their Stigmata." Irene looked straight at Raven. "If you need me to turn them back into ordinary people, I can do that too."
"Talking so much is pointless." Raven crouched down and picked up the throwing knives and weapons she had just thrown on the ground. "First complete the commission, then we can talk about the payment."
"Then, if you please." Irene looked at the sensible Raven and nodded, raising her hand to point outside. Raven pulled up her hood and walked out, looking down at Mei, who was currently staying with the children below.
Looking at the lollipops Mei was distributing to everyone, she turned back to look at Irene with some confusion. "When you Valkyries of Schicksal go out, do you also bring lollipops?"
"Ah, no, we don't have that habit." With a flip of Irene's palm, a lollipop reappeared in her hand, and she handed it to Raven. "I just made this. After all, they're kids, they can't refuse candy."
To put it plainly, aren't lollipops just sugar? If she could even make flowers, why couldn't she make sugar? With a shift in perspective, it was something she could create very quickly.
However, developing this thing, [Irene] was probably just bored, having nothing else to research before coming up with this, right?
"Is this how you use your Authority?" Raven's mouth twitched as she looked at the candy Irene handed over. "If the Will of the Honkai found out, she'd cry, wouldn't she?"
"Who cares about her~" Irene smiled, then waved at Mei, who was looking their way. "It's settled. Miss Raven is willing to lead the way for us."
"Mhm." Mei nodded, stuffing the remaining lollipops in her hand to a relatively well-behaved-looking child. "Make sure to share them properly with everyone."
"Mhm, mhm." Sora nodded after taking the lollipops, then briefly counted the number of lollipops in her hand. It should be enough to give another one to all the children.
Kevin landed silently on the rooftop holding the Judgment of Shamash. He first glanced at Raven, who had just put her communicator away, and then looked at Irene and Mei before him.
"What is it?" Kevin forced a smile and looked at Irene. "Are you asking about Griseo?"
"Oh, I'm not that bored. You definitely must have sent Griseo to the Realm already." Irene waved her hand. Where else could Kevin send Griseo? It was nowhere else but the Realm.
If he didn't send her to the Realm immediately, Irene's messages would be blown up later. The Realm group wouldn't let Kevin wander around with Griseo.
And the fact that there were no echoes in her current information channels proved that Kevin had already sent Griseo to the Realm, so naturally, she didn't need to concern herself with it anymore.
"You're here to resolve the matter with that singularity, right?"
Kevin first glanced at Raven. Raven shrugged, but Kevin didn't say anything either. This matter couldn't be hidden for long anyway. Irene was also half one of their own, just with a slightly different stance.
Telling Irene wasn't a big problem, but he would have to say a few words to Raven later about this act of selling information.
"Mhm, that's right." Kevin nodded. "I am here to resolve that singularity. If we let it open here, a lot of trouble will arise."
"Oh, then let me have that singularity." Irene patted Mei's shoulder beside her. "I need the Honkai energy from that singularity to help us deal with something."
"To help this Herrscher of Thunder awaken?" Kevin saw through Mei's situation at a glance. It truly was a bizarre tale; a Herrscher sealing her own account, and even looking a bit like she hadn't completely evolved.
"That's right, any other opinions?"
"No, that singularity can do it." Kevin shook his head. Since it was a Herrscher favorable to humanity awakening, it meant one more combat asset for them. There was no reason to object.
As for that singularity, the biggest troubles were the overflowing Honkai energy and the Imaginary Construct that would be born. He could let the Herrscher handle the Honkai energy, and as for the Imaginary Construct, he would just go take care of it.
"Where is the location?"
Kevin casually tossed a device to Irene. "It's at the location shown on this. It will open very soon. Are there any other questions?"
Mei, standing to the side, was almost dumbfounded. Didn't they say they were enemies? Sister Irene chatting so familiarly with him, was this really okay? Moreover, no matter how she looked at it, this didn't look like enemies at all, did it?
"No problems here." After Irene looked at the device in her hand, she handed it to Mei. "Mei, go head over to the address shown on this first. Remember to call the others over. Kevin and I have a few more things to chat about."
"Oh, okay." Mei nodded in confusion. She glanced at Kevin, then back at Irene. "Sister Irene, is this really okay?"
Chatting so happily with someone who was bound to become their enemy, was it really okay? It had been described so seriously in the previous meeting. This really left Mei at a loss.
"Alright, there were never any real enemies here to begin with." Irene patted Mei's shoulder. "To put it plainly, Kevin's goal and my goal are the same, we just took different paths."
"The path to saving the world is a narrow one, and we can't even walk it side by side." Kevin looked at Mei. "Irene should have already told you guys about what I'm going to do."
"If you still have doubts in your heart, then I can also tell you that everything Irene told you is true."
Kevin could roughly guess what Irene would tell others. It was nothing more than what Project Stigma aimed to do and what would be sacrificed. He had once explained these things to Welt as well, although not in too much detail.
But he knew what this would sacrifice. He knew this was the worst possible plan, and he knew what kind of outcome this represented. But if there were no better alternatives, this was the final solution.
He had a clear conscience.
The path to saving the world was narrow and rugged. There might even be only one way to squeeze through that crack and lead everyone further.
"But..."
"If there is no way to cross Finality, then there are no 'buts'." Kevin looked at Mei. "If you are unwilling to accept it, then go find a better method than mine."
"Or defeat me, order me to step aside, and prove to me that you can save this civilization better."
"Otherwise, save your breath. In the face of the falling star of Finality, words are meaningless."
"..." Mei took a deep breath. Looking at the man standing tall before her, she suddenly felt a sense of defeat in her heart, but what surged up immediately after was an indescribable emotion.
Irene patted Mei's shoulder. "Go do what you need to do right now. From Nagazora City until now, saving everyone you have... I imagine you didn't rely on so-called reasoning."
"It's the same now. Go do what you need to do, starting with grasping the power you were always meant to have."
"Mhm, Sister Irene." After Mei nodded, she glanced at the device and then leaped down from the high building. Only Irene, Kevin, and a somewhat idle Raven remained on the rooftop.
Raven tossed the small knife in her hand, looking up at Irene. "Irene, if they have to rely on you dragging them along every time, they won't be able to go very far."
"I never thought about relying on myself to drag them along." Irene shook her head. "They have already completed countless missions to protect people. From that moment on, they haven't needed anyone to drag them along."
"For the sense of justice and love in their hearts, they will seek out what they can do on their own."
"Justice and love, huh." Raven leaned against the railing and shook her head. "Only you guys would put so much trust in such things."
However, Raven didn't say anything further. This was their conviction, and the Valkyries had indeed persevered until now relying on this conviction.
No one would actually believe the Valkyries fought this hard because Schicksal's salary was very high, right?
Without that hint of hatred for the Honkai and the sense of justice to protect everyone in their hearts, how could they have fought until now? How could Schicksal have become the world's largest anti-Honkai organization?
Kevin didn't say anything either, merely looking at Irene. "Is there anything else you want to ask?"
"Oh, it's nothing major." Irene waved her hand, her gaze sliding toward the Judgment of Shamash in Kevin's hand. "Siegfried should be with you, right?"
"He is." Kevin nodded. "He is a decent warrior, and his talent is also very good. So I had him undergo a trial. Is there a problem?"
"Mhm, it's good that he's there. Can you let him out? With his current state of mind, I'm afraid it'll be very difficult for him to pass that trial."
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