HI3: I Don't Want to Be a Valkyrie

After a brief scuffle between Serenade and Kallen, their bond grew stronger, as they were essentially the same person.

"Huh?"

A moment later, Kallen suddenly remembered something and hastily felt her empty bosom, then froze.

"Your nun outfit was completely ruined, so... I already threw it away. And since we're exactly the same size, from now on you can wear my clothes..."

But before Serenade could finish her sentence, Kallen wasn't even listening; instead, she was frantically looking around, searching for something.

"How could it be... gone?" Kallen murmured, as if she had lost her soul.

"Is this what you're looking for? Is it something important to you?"

Seeing Kallen's distress, Serenade suddenly remembered something and took a strange black box from a nearby cabinet.

The jet-black box, adorned with star-like patterns, emitted a chilling aura.

"Give it to me, quickly!"

Kallen snatched the box, cradling it tightly to her chest. A bitter expression crossed her face. "It's not so much 'important'..." as it was dangerous.

This object was far too perilous. She had initially thought she could disappear forever with it, but against all her expectations... it had followed her here as well.

"Look at you, so flustered. Why, do you know what exactly this thing is?"

Seeing Kallen's obvious anxiety, Serenade sat down on the edge of Kallen's bed, her fingers hovering over the black box nestled in Kallen's embrace. The former Phantom Thief hesitated briefly before sharing its name.

"It is indeed a box that seals Honkai," Serenade mused, her voice barely above a whisper, "but... could it truly be just a Honkai crystal?"

Kallen flinched at this revelation. With a puzzled expression, she stared at Serenade. How could it be anything else? she thought. Kallen had always believed the black box contained a powerful orb of Honkai energy, similar to those found in Honkai crystals. If this Honkai energy were to leak, every living creature in a city would be infected and transformed into either Honkai Beasts or Zombies.

However... from the tone of Serenade's voice, it seemed as though she understood this box very well. It appeared that what was sealed inside wasn't merely a crystallized form of Honkai energy.

Something even more dangerous...

"The seal within this box is no ordinary Honkai energy crystal, but rather... that legendary thing..." Serenade gazed at the box in Kallen's hands. This box could not be preserved by Kallen alone, even with her status as the most powerful Valkyrie. Without the Oath of Judah, she was incapable of controlling the Herrscher.

"What do you mean?"

"Give her to me first... You cannot control this entity, despite being the Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie." Serenade extended her hand towards Kallen.

"..." Kallen didn't respond, instead choosing to look at Serenade with caution.

"Even as the most powerful S-rank Valkyrie, there are opponents you cannot face alone. Give it to me! I am an SSS-rank Valkyrie," Serenade said, seemingly undeterred by Kallen's suspicious expression.

"What?! An SSS-rank Valkyrie? How is that possible...? Where would an SSS-rank Valkyrie come from? The most powerful Valkyries are only S-rank," Kallen was astounded by Serenade's claim.

An SSS-rank Valkyrie?

What the hell?

An SSS-rank me?...

I've never even heard of an SSS-rank Valkyrie before!

The destined Valkyries have a maximum rank of S, and I... Kallen Kaslana, am the strongest among the S-rank Valkyries. Okay... Although I've now betrayed the Valkyrie Corps and renounced my fate, I still remain the most powerful Valkyrie.

Although at present, within my fate, there seems to be only one S-rank Valkyrie... me, Kallen...

And now, the Serenade before me claims to be an SSS-rank Valkyrie... Kallen was utterly speechless.

"Don't believe me?"

Seeing the look on Kallen's face, with disbelief written all over it, but... Serenade didn't seem to care at all.

Because she was in truth, a genuine SSS-rank Valkyrie!

"You're not serious!"

"Let me say it again, I'm not joking. I... Kallen Kaslana... Sixth Serenade, Valkyrie rank... SSS grade!" Serenade stated earnestly to Kallen before her.

"...Um..."

Serenade's introduction stunned Kallen, speaking with such seriousness about her name...

" I am Kallen Kaslana..."

Even trying to take my name away!

"I've already told you, I am you... Don't get hung up on these details. People who worry about details are just idiots," Serenade replied nonchalantly.

Kallen fell silent; this shameless person couldn't possibly be herself! How could someone like this be Kallen Kaslana?

"What do you mean by 'Sixth Serenade'? Explain further..." Kallen continued questioning, as she hadn't heard much about this 'Sixth Serenade'.

"That's the difference between us. Although our bodies are identical—I am you—I represent only your dark side, the side of the Phantom Thief.

To distinguish us, even though our names are the same, you can call me the Sixth Serenade or just Serenade..."

It was merely a name; Serenade didn't dwell on it. There was no need to usurp Kallen's name, and besides... although she now inhabited the body of Kallen Sixth Serenade, the Valkyrie, it wasn't like she had truly become that soul, right?

Serenade, Ice Kallen... these were all nicknames captains used for the Sixth Serenade. Using "Serenade" would be fine too...

It'd just be a matter of explaining things clearly to the Yae sisters.

After all, she had been calling Kallen "Kallen-nee" for so long, she wondered... if it would be easy to change.

But... those were minor details.

"The Sixth Serenade..."

Kallen gazed at the Serenade before her, and with some effort, managed to accept... this supposed darker aspect of herself.

"What... is it, truly?"

Kallen gazed into Serenade's eyes, those eyes identical to her own, holding no trace of concealment. Thus, Kallen chose to believe in Serenade.

She trusted herself, and by extension, the Phantom Thief within her. Regardless of which side she wore, her commitment to justice and the protection of the people remained unwavering.

Only the exterior had changed...

-

However... what Kallen didn't realize was that although this "herself" had her own body, the heart... belonged to another person entirely.

"It holds... sealed within this box is... the Herald of Honkai, the Herrscher who 50,000 years ago, during the previous epoch, destroyed the last bastion of human civilization!"

Serenade took the black box without hesitation...