Veliona Moment of Social Death

"The Herrscher of Dominance's powers are definitely unusual," Mei said, putting a hand to her chin, "but it shouldn't be able to completely take away other Herrschers' powers."

Mei placed her right hand near her mouth, frowning in thought. "If that were truly the case, it would be too terrifying."

Fu Hua added, "I don't remember the Herrscher of Dominance from the previous era having that kind of ability. Of course, back then, there weren't any Herrschers fighting on our side. And I've never heard of this 'Theatre of Dominance' before..."

She looked around the room, her voice softer now.

She understood their concerns too. After all, apart from her, everyone else in the room was a Herrscher... well, Himeko wasn't, but she was still in the room nursing a hangover.

"Are you suggesting that the boss's game and reality don't completely match up?" Kiana's eyes sparkled at the thought.

If they faced the Herrscher of Dominance now, she was sure they'd be wiped out!

Kiana reminded herself that they couldn't just assume their enemies would have the same abilities as in the game. After all, hadn't their boss always told them not to rely solely on game information?

Fu Hua shook her head, gently correcting Kiana's hopeful idea. "It's a bit more complicated than that," she explained. "Herrschers emerge alongside civilization, so their powers can adapt and change depending on the situation. It's actually quite remarkable that their core powers remain consistent, rather than the fact that some abilities might be different."

Fu Hua turned to the Herrscher of Sentience and said, "Little Senti, if you were to encounter the Herrscher of Dominance, you would also need to be..."

Fu Hua trailed off as the Herrscher of Sentience shot her a look filled with resentment. For a moment, Fu Hua couldn't quite understand the meaning behind that look.

The Herrscher of Sentience remained silent, not bothering to mock Bronya like the others had.

After all, she had been tricked and deceived out of her own powers too. Making fun of someone else in the same boat would only come back to bite her later.

And who was ultimately responsible for this whole mess? old antique's, of course!

"Thinking back, Little Senti," Fu Hua began, "you must have fought against the Herrscher of Dominance before, haven't you? How did you manage to win in the end?" She adjusted her imaginary glasses, trying to hide her slight embarrassment.

After all, the Herrscher of Sentience should already be well aware of that power; it was probably unnecessary to remind her.

The Herrscher of Sentience replied curtly, "It was Kiana who defeated them. Well, not without my help, of course!"

Seeing that the Herrscher of Sentience wasn't in the mood to elaborate, Fu Hua turned her attention back to the screen, feeling a bit helpless.

She thought to herself, "This child... always so easily annoyed for no reason. What were they teaching in class these days?"

A sudden memory flashed in Fu Hua's mind. "Stick it on while sleeping..." she recalled, a teaching method from a textbook. Shocked, she mentally marked it with a big X.

How could there be such a strange teaching method?

-----

In the bloody red light, Veliona' s face became more and more sickly. That smile seemed to be mixed with a yandere, evil, and bloodthirsty flavor. When paired with the remaining innocence on Seele's face, it created a contrasting beauty.

She smiled coquettishly in a crazier and more violent tone than those Puppets, and her laughter filled the theater, making it even scarier than the original laughter of the Puppets.

"Run quickly, or else~ I'll eat you up~"

"Come on, you can do better than that!" she urged, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Give it your all and entertain me!"

"If you break, you'll be tossed away like trash!" Veliona cackled. "Hahahaha!"

Refusing to be outmatched, one of the puppets twisted its head around in a full circle. "We won't be defeated," it declared. "There are many more of us!"

"The fee for my performance is very high—you'll need to pay with your lives!"

Veliona looked at the other party coldly, but the corners of her mouth curled up in excitement.

Blood, shattered bodies, broken pieces... oh, come quickly, she thought. I can't wait any longer.

"Hehe—"

With a creepy chuckle, the Puppets jerked and twitched, their movements like a broken marionette. They called forth a horde of monsters, shadowy quantum figures, hijacked machines, and grotesque Honkai beasts, all surging forward in a chaotic rush.

But Seele, now fully Veliona, only grew more bloodthirsty. A wild grin spread across her face as she swung her enormous scythe, her laughter echoing through the theatre as she fought with abandon.

Her fighting stance was terrifying, making her seem more like the villain than the Puppets.

"Please me to your heart's content!"

As the final strike fell, the battle neared its end.

The Puppets body lay scattered on the ground, marked with numerous slashes.

Its head, torso, and limbs had become true fragments, no longer moving.

But as it had said, there were many of them.

The Puppets and monsters in the theatre seemed endless, charging at the black and red figure.

-----

[Dark Seele, transform! Help me out, other me! ]

[The other Seele is so dominant. She's Tsundere towards Seele, but towards enemies... she's a bit terrifying. Evil meets its match. ]

[It's hard to tell who the real villain is here, but remembering those earlier words... it's true, the best puppets are the ones that stay still on the ground.]

[It's clear that Seele is going to be the star of the next version. Why? Because the key to getting stronger isn't what it used to be. It used to be all about saying, 'I can't do anything!]

"Is this... the same Seele from the beginning?"

Kallen 's eyes looked a little strange and she scratched her cheek, feeling a little weird.

Today's young Valkyries are all like having twins, they either have schizophrenic dual personalities, or if one of them can't beat them, the other one takes over.

As a Valkyrie from 500 years ago, Kallen was both surprised and amazed by how much things had changed.

Or maybe they're just swamped with homework at the academy, and that's why everyone seems to be having issues? Wait, no, these problems started way before they even got to the academy, so that's not it.

At least Theresa isn't messing up the students' learning experience like this. If she were, and her grandma found out, Theresa would probably faint on the spot from the stress of being blamed again.

"Dark Seele is like this: Whenever Seele can't handle something, she just jumps in and takes over the account. She doesn't even change anything, and she never gets banned!"

Luo Mo sighed in a gaming tone, reminiscing about how he had silently shouldered the burden of the Gem of Serenity back in the day.

She sure is ruthless, but as long as she doesn't come back for revenge later, it's all good.

Right now, he figured, it's time to use that "Seele's One-Day Adventure" footage that Su Lu directed as a distraction. As the saying goes, the best way to quiet down a scandal is to start an even bigger one.

Or, to put it another way, the best way to get people to forget about you is to give them something else even more interesting to focus on.

Luo Mo secretly praised himself and gave a mental thumbs-up to his excellent employees.

"Are all those voice actors your employees?" Kallen asked, closing her eyes as she tried to place some familiar voices.

Anna, Susanna, Raven... did they take part in this too?

"Of course," Luo Mo replied smoothly. "I always make sure to give my employees plenty of chances to express themselves."

"...So, how about I offer your company some additional benefits?" Kallen asked cautiously, a hint of hesitation in her voice.

Luo Mo blinked, looking at her with a puzzled expression. "?"

"The voice acting seemed a bit too real," Kallen explained. "Like they actually have split personalities. It makes me worry they might become the next Herrscher of Domination..." she added with a nervous chuckle.

"...Don't be silly! It's just acting... right?"

Luo Mo's eyes darted back and forth, a sense of unease settling over him. Was he about to be betrayed by one of his own employees?

Which character did Su Lu voice again? He racked his brain, trying to remember... Lily?

Maybe it was time to give her a vacation. Her performance had been a little too convincing.

-----

It seems that she still doesn't give up on Veliona, and the Puppets continues to stir up her mood.

wanting to be her friend... Because they're both monsters.

"You're right about some things," Veliona said, "but I really don't want to be friends with you. And do you know why?"

She continued, her voice dripping with malice. "Because I hate you. Because you're annoying. Because the way you talk is stupid, and your squeaky voice makes me sick."

"Your colours are ugly, your joints are creepy, that eye patch is gross, and those things on your head are even worse—maybe you'd look better as a cabbage!"

"Just looking at you makes me feel disgusted. So, do yourself a favour and disappear from my sight right now. That's the best thing you could do."

Veliona's words were even harsher and vicious than anything the Puppet had said, leaving it momentarily speechless.

a deep voice came, suddenly rang in the ears of the Puppets.

"Grab you ~ ~ ~ ~"

" Are you ready for your last words? My little Puppets..."

The Puppets smiled, and the eyepatch trembled with her laughter, as if the eyes hidden behind it were turning sinisterly.

"Lily is not a puppet," it insisted. "'We' are not puppets..."

"We are human. Living humans...! All humans... are 'we'...!"

The puppet was broken, under the huge chain claws, but there was no trace of fear in the malicious eyes, and the lips that were still moving seemed to silently say that they would eventually come back.

Meanwhile, Veliona encountered Bronya by chance and, after facing a series of challenges and dangers, they managed to escape through a crack in space.

[Dark Seele is right! Absolutely right. Those puppets are disgusting in every way, especially their mouths.]

[Dark Seele, the expert at silencing those foul-mouthed puppets, is surprisingly charming. Super effective!]

[Ran into Bronya? What happened then? Why didn't you do it? Why didn't you?]

-----

"Cabbage?" Kallen wondered out loud. "Are you talking about... Ai-Chan?"

The word "cabbage" instantly brought a certain image to Kallen's mind: the often-criticized Ai-chan.

If she heard someone compliment her on the beauty of her proud headdress, she would definitely be very happy, right?

Even though compared to these Puppets.

"Yes, that's right," Luo Mo confirmed. "Ai-Chan, the one who steals electricity in the game."

"However, more than that, I'm curious about what it meant by 'human'..."

Kallen expressed her confusion. She had thought that those turned into Puppets had no chance left, but now they referred to themselves as human?

Whether there was salvation or not, that concerned her more.

As for Veliona words, she found them insightful. The Valkyrie whose mind was disturbed by the words of the Herrschers was already too inexperienced and needed more training.

"As for the whole 'human' thing, I'm not sure what to make of it either," Luo Mo admitted.

"In the main story, we haven't seen anyone save another 'human' from being turned into a Puppet... and from what I know, it was the same in the previous civilization." He then added more about the situation in the previous civilization.

He paused, lost in thought for a moment, before continuing, "Maybe the Puppet meant that even though they're filled with malice, they still have human memories and emotions. So, in a way, they could still be considered human."

"...," Kallen fell silent. The most challenging part about the Herrscher of Dominance was identifying them, and the next step was figuring out how to deal with them.

She hadn't found the answers she was looking for, but she had gained some valuable insights.

"Maybe there will be answers at Flame-Chaser's place..." Luo Mo furrowed his brow and said.

-----

Even after escaping, Veliona still wanted to pretend to be Seele to fool others.

But Bronya saw right through her disguise almost immediately. Within just a few words, Bronya knew she was talking to the "other her" that Seele had mentioned when she crossed the Sea of Quanta.

Bronya remembered every detail of Seele's story.

The two began a formal meeting and conversation, and Bronya seemed to have answers to many of Veliona's earlier questions.

It was clear that sometimes Seele didn't act like Seele...

"For example," Bronya began, "Seele never picks at her food, but you only eat what you like. You secretly give the things you don't like to Sin Mal."

"For example," Bronya began, "Seele never picks at her food, but you only eat what you like. You secretly give the things you don't like to Sin Mal (read it as HATE IT)."

Bronya paused, then added, "And Seele loves to read, but you fall asleep as soon as you open a book. You even doze off on top of them, getting the pages all wet..."

"Huh?!" Veliona exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise. "H-hold on! What exactly have you been keeping track of?" She stared at Bronya, who continued speaking calmly, a giant question mark appearing above her head.

Could Bronya... be a stalker? It seemed like she had been meticulously observing Seele's every move, though Veliona was sure Bronya could never match her own level of attention to detail.

Seeing this, Veliona no longer denied anything and directly admitted that she was the other self, born from the stigma within Seele. She enjoyed the feeling of blood and destruction.

"Soo..." Veliona concluded, "if anything bad happened, it was me who did it. It has nothing to do with her."

With that, the mission was declared a success. The Herrscher of Reason's powers had been stolen and taken over by the Puppets, but thankfully, everything had ended safely, and they had gathered valuable information about the Herrschers.

That night, in Seele's room, the two Seeles discussed the day's events.

After a brief recap, Seele still held onto the hope that Veliona could come out and make some friends.

"Hehe—, yes, yes, you're not afraid..."

Veliona had a bad smile on her face and said half intimidatingly and half jokingly.

"Maybe I'll suddenly get the urge, seize control of the body, stand on the table, and start doing the Cossack dance while shouting 'I am Seele!' Just imagine what your friends would think."

"Uh, if you really want to... it would be best to change clothes."

"Hey, you don't actually think I'd do that, do you?" Veliona exclaimed, surprise. "Only Rozaliya would do something like that!"

-----

"Slander... this is slander. We Vodka Girls would never do such a thing!"

Rozaliya, who had just woken up with Liliya and came to see Bronya's sister, said dissatisfied that such a hot day made her tremble with anger.

When had she ever done such a thing?

But... was Bronya a bit too obsessed with Seele? It seemed like she had recorded every tiny detail!

"That's right... I can testify, my sister would never shout 'I am Seele!'"

Liliya, rubbing her eyes, followed behind, half-asleep, half-awake.

"No... wait a minute, Liliya! I wouldn't do that other thing either!"

Rozaliya shot a glare at her sister for causing trouble and then hurried over to defend her reputation in front of everyone.

It was obvious that everyone's attention was fixed on the two sisters sitting on the sofa.

Bronya's face flushed slightly, and her normally calm eyes flickered with a hint of panic. But as the Herrscher of Reason, she quickly regained her composure, clearing her throat twice to break the awkward silence that had fallen over the room.

"That little dwarf... always plotting something!"

Kiana glanced at Bronya and muttered. She had to admit that Bronya was much more observant than she was.

Mei took a quick look at the sisters before turning away. Fu Hua, on the other hand, didn't even glance in their direction, choosing instead to focus her attention on the screen.

The Herrscher of Sentience stared intently at the two of them, as if she had found something amusing, occasionally glancing at Fu Hua.

"Hmm... Sister Bronya, did you know about this all along?" Seele asked shyly, leaning into Bronya's embrace and speaking in a soft voice.

[Wow! Seele, your sister Bronya is clearly up to no good. Quick, let me take over!] Veliona inside said anxiously.

"...I wasn't completely sure until Seele mentioned it," Bronya confessed. "But there were definitely some habits that were very different... it was quite obvious."

Bronya felt the game had given her a perfect assist, and the atmosphere around them was practically bubbling with pink hearts.

Recognizing her immediately, Seele... was she this happy?

"You're amazing," Seele murmured, snuggling in even closer. "Just as I'd expect from my sister!"

[Let go of Seele, let go! Let me take over!] Veliona, still unable to come out, could only shout loudly.

Unfortunately, upon hearing this, Seele silently reinforced the barrier, now was definitely not the time for her other self to come out.

Meanwhile, the Herrscher of Sentience, who had also heard the loud internal shouting, casually cleaned out her ears and continued to watch the scene with great amusement.

The two girls grew closer, with Seele's chest pressing firmly against Bronya's arm as she nestled into a gentle curve.

Of course, in such a public setting, they wouldn't take things any further.

It's just that Seele felt a little distressed listening to the thoughts of her other self in her mind.

Sister Bronya was clearly so thoughtful, remembering every detail about both her and her other self's preferences. Why couldn't her other self simply accept Bronya?

[Let go of Seele, Bronya! This isn't over between us! Let go, she's mine!]

Herself and herself? That didn't make any sense. Seele decided to ignore the protests.

Bronya couldn't help but straighten her posture, basking in Seele's affection. Inwardly, she was overflowing with joy, but she maintained a composed exterior.

----------

(Captainverse Events? Side story 4)

Irene smiled elegantly at Luo Mo, then slowly poured him a cup of tea.

Propping one hand on the table, she looked at him so gently, as if he was the only person in the world.

"... Rita? "

"To spare the captain any trouble, please call me Irene," the woman interjected, a warm smile gracing her lips. "It's a rather lovely name, don't you think?" Her voice was soothing, like a gentle melody.

"Is something on your mind, Captain?" she asked, her tone light and playful. "Could it be that you're pondering where Irene might fit into your... collection?"

"Pfft—!" Luo Mo choked on his tea, sputtering and coughing as he hastily corrected her. "Absolutely not! Don't be ridiculous!"

"Is the Captain feeling guilty?" Irene smile grew wider, her face slightly closer, the scent of rosemary wafting over, rich and enveloping his senses.

" No... no, why would I think about such strange things? " Luo Mo looked away slightly. He really didn't think that way.

But under Irene offensive, he still couldn't help but retreat.

"Remember when Rita pretended to be me? It took you a whole two hours to realize it," Irene said with mock resentment, her warm breath brushing against Luo Mo's skin. "That really deserves a good scolding, don't you think? You should have known right away~"

"Ahem— I heard that Durandal took an entire day to notice, and even then, it was during a battle..." Luo Mo helplessly defended himself.

He still couldn't understand why Rita and Irene had suddenly decided to pull that stunt. Afterwards, both he and Durandal had found it laughable and frustrating.

"That's no excuse~ Captain~" Irene gently extended her index finger, turning Luo Mo head to face her. Her captivating eyes stared into his, as if she could never get enough of looking at him.

Luo Mo felt himself drawn in, the moment growing more intimate.

"Hey, you two, in broad daylight..." Kongming happened to walk out, pointing her feather fan at them, her excitement making her words come out jumbled.