Herrscher of Ice – Esdeath

Honkai Dimension, Imperial Standard Calendar Year 1030 (as calculated by the Akame ga Kill world's calendar), five years later, midwinter.

...

At the Empire's South Lake Military Camp, flurries of snow floated gently down, drifting over the snow-covered earth, lending a thick layer of white to the imperial capital's streets and draping them in wintry splendor.

The capital's orderly, towering buildings looked all the more magnificent under the snow's blanketing effect. Heaven and earth blended as one, an endless silver sea, as if the entire world were adorned in pure silver.

"Fuu, it's been such a long time, hasn't it...?"

Walking through the South Lake Military Camp, which had now been encircled by the expanding inner city, a blonde woman among the high-ranking Sisters of Battle paused to take in her surroundings. A complicated expression of nostalgia crossed her face.

She was no longer the timid girl she once was, the one who'd tremble under the gaze of Astartes soldiers. The "Cursed Children" had finally grown up.

A year prior, the restructuring of the Sisters of Battle had been completed, and, by Selene's command, they had entered the Empire's battlefronts for foreign conquests. Over the course of a year's ceaseless warfare, they had been forged anew.

The traces of youthful naivety had all but vanished from them.

Now, per orders from the Ministry of War, the Sisters of Battle were beginning a rotational deployment, withdrawing to the capital for rest and replenishment of troops, as well as outfitting with new weapons.

Naturally, troop replacements and weapon resupply continued as needed at the frontlines, but not on the same scale or speed as this central recruitment at the capital.

These three were the very same children Selene had once received in the Grand Palace, who had passed Sebas's rigorous selection standards.

That day, each had chosen, without hesitation, to ingest the mixture of Tyrant's super-danger beast cells and Honkai Crystals that Selene had crafted.

Some had been eliminated due to the excruciating pain from the enhancements; others had succumbed to the Honkai Energy's corrosion, losing their qualifications as warriors and were later transferred to the palace as attendants.

In the end, only three of them withstood the potential-releasing process. Their Gastrea-induced genetic defects were healed, and their red eyes returned to their natural colors.

Now, though nominally part of the Sisters of Battle, they were, in effect, Selene's hand-selected elite Imperial Guard members.

Though five years had passed, the depths of their potential had yet to be fully tapped.

Having been recognized by Alyssa, they had undertaken exhaustive training in combat tactics, command skills, and beyond, formally receiving their ranks and assisting Alyssa in managing the Sisters of Battle.

"Yes, after four long years of unceasing training, we were thrown directly into the frontlines. And now, in the blink of an eye, another year has passed."

The three of them were outfitted in specially crafted female command-style power armor, each with unique color schemes. The silver-haired woman in purple armor, known as Fuu, answered.

"Lai, now that we're here, does this place remind you of our Guard Captain?" she asked her blonde-haired companion.

"It's just the way of things. Now that we're part of different military units, let's not overstep. If fate allows, we can thank him if we meet again."

With a shake of her head, the blonde woman in black armor adjusted her power sword, magnetically fastened at her side.

Returning to this place, she saw how much had changed. Never before had she dreamed, as one of the "Cursed Children," that one day she would be able to walk freely under the sunlight, receiving cheers and admiration.

The mortal auxiliary forces who had once disregarded them now halted in their tracks to salute. Truly, life changes—one moment high, another low; their circumstances had completely reversed.

"...Huh? Ann, what are you doing?"

Noticing something unusual with their otherwise silent companion, the two leading women turned back to see her standing still, staring ahead.

Wearing brass-colored, masterfully crafted power armor, she was taller and more muscular than the others, with black hair tied in a ponytail and a red emblem marking her forehead.

"Huh? Oh, I was just looking at the inscriptions... These talk about the Astartes, don't they? In Her Majesty's eyes, our Sisters of Battle are still a tier below them," replied Ann, the black-haired, brass-armored woman, a hint of competitiveness in her voice as she pointed to the grand engravings on the inner city wall.

Hearing her words, the two others turned to look in the direction she pointed. Beneath the golden double-headed eagle of the Empire, the script scrawled in proud strokes bore the words of their great Empress, Her Majesty Selene.

"I have forged these warriors—those I am most proud of, willing to lay down their lives in my name. They are like pure ore, sent by me into the furnace of war, refined by iron will and bodies of steel."

"I will clothe them in unbreakable armor, arm them with weapons beyond compare. No plague or disease shall harm them. They shall master the arts of war and the wonders of science; they shall be unstoppable."

"They are the bastion against fear, the guardians of the Empire. With their blades, they will carve new realms for us. These are my Astartes, and they shall know no fear."

The blonde woman in black armor, Lai, recited the lines softly.

"Isn't it obvious? How many Astartes are there compared to us Sisters of Battle? Besides, we don't qualify to compare ourselves to those original generals," said the silver-haired woman in purple armor, Fuu, as she straightened up and reverently regarded the inscriptions.

Unlike the Sisters of Battle, whose forces mainly consisted of recruits from the conquered Black Bullet world, the current twenty Astartes Legions were primarily composed of veterans from Selene's original Imperial Guard Corps.

Not counting their attached mortal auxiliary forces, the Astartes Legions alone each numbered in the tens of thousands, with the Second Legion, The Enforcers, led by Great General Budo, being the largest, boasting over two hundred thousand.

Generals Alex and Leiva closely followed; the First Legion, Dark Angels, and the Third Legion, Black Templars, each exceeded one hundred and fifty thousand.

In contrast, the Sisters of Battle currently only had a force of around seventeen thousand, and their recruitment world was not even under their sole control, remaining under the supervision of the Dark Angels First Legion. Comparisons were indeed impossible.

"Hmph, one day we'll prove to Her Majesty that we're no less capable than they are!"

Hearing this, the black-haired, bronze-armored woman called Ann rubbed her temples in mild frustration, speaking with a tone of disappointment.

"This time, in our campaign, we really got unlucky. We conquered three and a half worlds in a year—a good efficiency overall—but none of them qualified to be recruitment worlds!"

"One was a primitive beast world; another, a slave society still in the Bronze and Iron Age; and one had reached modern society, with decent technological levels. But by their social system, it couldn't be used as a recruitment world."

Her dissatisfaction deepened as she continued.

According to Her Majesty Selene's standards for recruitment worlds, those that had entered modern society, especially with developed communications, networks, and relatively peaceful conditions (like Earth in the twenty-first century), were generally ineligible to become recruitment worlds.

The reason was simple: the people in such worlds knew too much, and their ideas were too active. Prone to resistance and rebellion, they had a high potential for causing trouble. For an imperial ruler like Selene, making them loyal would be too costly.

"Though we did capture some of those hidden human-eating types that could produce flesh tendrils and blades… mm… what they called 'Ghouls,' and the 'Kagune' organs… unfortunately, they feed on humans."

Feeding on ordinary humans was one thing, but consuming them as a regular necessity was an entirely different concept, making them fall under the category of heretical or alien.

"Even new recruits in the Empire's auxiliary forces, trained only briefly, could easily outmatch them. Ultimately, they're just samples for the Imperial Science Bureau's experiments—a slight gain at best."

Limited in potential, enhanced by Honkai energy—either way, ghouls as a species had a low upper limit and, with such a huge flaw in their biology, weren't worth much consideration.

"Hehe, didn't we just find a new, suitable life-sustaining world? It's one largely covered by oceans. Through observation, it's teeming with life, with massive differences in individual power levels and uneven technological development."

"It might just be a promising recruitment world."

Throwing her arms around her two companions' shoulders, the blonde woman in black armor spoke with a playful grin, her tone childlike and merry, in stark contrast to her otherwise mature appearance.

"But Ann, you know we're not the only ones who have discovered this world. Rumor has it that on our next deployment, not only will an Astartes Legion be involved..."

"But also the Empire's assassination squads and elite 'Jaegers' special unit."

"Fuu, you're such a worrywart… Let's just hope that Lady Alyssa can win us more chances with Her Majesty for the Sisters of Battle."

...

Imperial Capital, Great Palace, Fountain Palace.

"Lion, Fulgrim, Angron…"

Lounging comfortably on the luxurious red and gold couch, Selene murmured as she reviewed the reports Alyssa had submitted.

"It seems they've passed the test, so the contingency can be canceled."

After a year of warfare, the Sisters of Battle had proven themselves capable, and with that, Selene had no reason to disband them without cause.

And their new names had been whimsically bestowed by Selene, inspired by their original names but with a hint of her own private amusement.

Swiftly flipping through the illustrated reports, Selene was satisfied with the Sisters of Battle's achievement of conquering three small worlds in one year and discovering a new world.

Of particular interest was the modern world populated by ghouls with unique "Kagune" cells, and the details of the koukaku, ukaku, rinkaku, and bikaku kagune types brought back familiar memories.

And as for the newly discovered world...

"Three happy surprises in one, hm?" Stirring her crimson tea in a crystal glass, Selene couldn't hide the smile that tugged at her lips.

Not long ago, the Astartes' Ninth and Thirteenth Legions had almost simultaneously reported the discovery of new worlds. The Ninth Legion, advancing in the same direction as the Sisters of Battle, had stumbled upon the same world.

The Thirteenth Legion, however, had found another new world—one brimming with technology, civilization, population, and supernatural powers.

With worlds featuring vast seas, immense creatures, Euro-Asian spatial cataclysms, spacequakes…

Upon reading these details, Selene briefly wondered if her forces would be able to handle it all. But with Esdeath's recent awakening, all the pieces were falling into place.

Selene knew that, even if she didn't assign Esdeath anything specific, the newly transformed Herrscher of Ice would be eager to test her powers.

It was like dangling a carrot in front of a donkey—by presenting Esdeath with these two challenging new world-conquest missions, Selene knew she wouldn't be able to resist. The only question was which one Esdeath would pick.

And just then, the palace doors creaked open.

Clack, clack, clack…

Speak of the devil.

The grand palace doors slowly opened under the push of two gold-armored Imperial Guards, and a crisp staccato echoed in the vast hall as heels clicked against the gilded tiles.

The ice-blue woman strode confidently, taking in the palace's opulent decorations with interest, unfazed by the imposing presence of the gold-armored guards, until her gaze fell upon the one to whom she pledged loyalty.

"Your Majesty! I have succeeded in the transformation into a Herrscher," Esdeath announced, her posture radiating absolute obedience, her respect evident despite her newly gained strength.

Selene scrutinized her carefully, noting the significant transformation in Esdeath's appearance. Her hair was still the same shade of ice blue, but her former white military uniform had been replaced entirely.

She now wore a white crown and a veil of deep blue; her upper body was dressed in black and blue adorned with white hexagonal designs. Her forearms darkened into deep blue, and frost-laden spikes encircled her hands.

A deep blue cloak with a gradient to white hung behind her, fastened with twin chains of ice. Two icy candles hovered at her sides, and she wore thigh-high white stockings with blue patterns and high heels.

She appeared absolutely stunning

Snap.

Closing the report and placing it on the table, Selene rose from her seat.

"Esdeath, you've arrived at the perfect time. I have two tasks—pick one. Consider it your trial as the Herrscher of Ice."