Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

Kevin slurped his noodles as he watched the news on the television.

Right now, every station in the world was broadcasting Cocolia's press conference. The few that weren't were showing coverage of the conflicts in Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine.

'So this is peace? It seems the people of the Current Era have a rather different understanding of the word.'

"This is great! Academy City is finally going global! Now we can promote the Kengan Association to the whole world!"

A man who was clearly a Kengan Association supporter declared that this was fantastic news. All they wanted was for the world's greatest fighters to gather for the ultimate showdown: the "Kengan Omega Tournament."

As for what Cocolia had done, or whether she was selling weapons of mass destruction around the world—that wasn't their problem.

After all, Cocolia was from the North American branch of Anti-Entropy. What did that have to do with Academy City? She was just one of the directors. Besides, the European faction, Schicksal, hadn't even made a move yet. To call Academy City a "city of sin" was a bit of a stretch.

The people of the Far East probably never imagined that they would one day make the world tremble again, given that they made up the largest portion of Academy City's population.

At some point, Welt Yang had sat down nearby. He wasn't slurping noodles in the little restaurant. He was just watching the news with tears streaming down his face, lamenting Anti-Entropy's miserable fate as the designated scapegoat.

Dammit! Anti-Entropy had nothing to do with this! Anti-Entropy did indeed possess Honkai Fission Bombs, but they'd never once considered selling them for profit.

'So that's why a huge sum of money suddenly appeared in Anti-Entropy's accounts a while back, with a big cut even going to me, the Sovereign.'

Anti-Entropy had so many operatives. Who knew which one of them had used a small, unknown bank to send him the money? Welt was utterly dejected.

"Joyce... Joyce! I've failed you! The Anti-Entropy of your ideals has completely become like North America! It's no different from those profit-driven corporate entities!"

Welt wiped away his tears of grief and, using the money earned from selling Honkai Fission Bombs, paid for everyone's meal.

"Boss! I'm covering everyone's tab today!"

The patrons were shocked that someone was throwing money around so wildly. In truth, Welt was just trying to get rid of the cash to ease his conscience.

Seeing such a hospitable resident of Academy City, Kevin immediately ordered two more large bowls of noodles for himself. He gave Welt a solemn look and a slight nod to express his gratitude.

Welt was initially shocked by the man's striking resemblance to Noldrei, but he was in no mood to dwell on it. His heart and soul were grieving the final dissolution of the idealistic Anti-Entropy.

"Damn it! I'm such a useless Herrscher! How am I supposed to save humanity like this?! Humanity is completely destroying itself!" he roared, slamming his fist on the table and chugging a large bottle of beer.

Kevin, meanwhile, was even more stunned. He never thought a Herrscher of this era could be so thoroughly tamed by the warriors of the Current Era. The wisdom of future generations was truly formidable!

Lost in his grief, Welt felt utterly helpless. The internal conflicts of humanity were far worse than he had ever imagined. For a moment, he even considered transforming into his Herrscher form and using his power to force humanity toward a future of peace and unity.

'No, that's not right. I shouldn't be thinking this.'

The Sovereign's liberal ideals were in turmoil. He began to question whether his long-held principles were still correct.

'Could it be that the only way to truly change this miserable human world is to become a part of it?'

"My friend, why so sad?" Kevin asked. "I see humanity in this era is thriving, seemingly preparing to usher in a new social order. Humanity is finally moving into the next age... Isn't that a good thing?"

Kevin's tone was admiring. He certainly didn't see the crisis of Israel and Palestine launching Honkai Fission Bombs at each other as a major issue. Similar conflicts had occurred in the Previous Era. So what if they were just throwing nukes at each other? A small matter, not a big deal.

What was most important was that Kevin saw a new path for humanity to resolve its internal conflicts. He was deeply impressed by the wisdom of the Current Era's people.

'This truly is a wonderful era! If this new breed of humans had existed back then, perhaps the Previous Era would have had different choices.'

After discovering the flaw in the Stigma Will, Kevin had paused Project Stigma to observe the results. If possible, he was thinking of stealing the power of the Herrscher of Finality and entrusting it to Noldrei.

As the saying would go: the emperor passes down the throne from generation to generation, and every generation is a Kaslana. In the future, the name "Kaslana" would become a title of imperial authority, just like "Augustus" or "Caesar."

Welt looked up at this younger version of Noldrei who had called the situation a "good thing." He suspected Noldrei was playing some kind of joke on him.

"They're selling that kind of weapon to other countries... Isn't that wrong? As someone who grew up in North America, I was raised with pacifist ideals. How can I accept this? When will humanity finally stop fighting like this?"

'A North American?' A flurry of questions popped into Kevin's head.

Kevin knew a little about the current state of the world, thanks to Noldrei's bragging about how peaceful human civilization was under his "emperor's" rule, with a particular focus on North America's role as the world leader.

"That can't be right," Kevin said. "I remember you North Americans are the ones who actively sell weapons over there. You've sold so many small arms, you've probably made enough money to fund the sale of a weapon like this many times over. Why are you getting so worked up now that Academy City is selling this weapon? Did you try to stop your own people in North America back then?"

Kevin may be honest and straightforward, but that didn't mean he was a fool. Welt's argument was far from convincing.

"How can you compare them?" Welt protested, explaining that selling machine guns, tanks, and cannons was just business. Compared to a superweapon that could change the entire global strategic landscape, those were small potatoes.

"I see," Kevin's overly calm demeanor seemed to break through Welt's defenses. "Small arms that don't affect your interests are just tools for making money, while things that affect your international standing and interests are strategic superweapons. So that's how it is. What you North Americans want is a peace that suits your own position and needs."

Welt fell silent, unable to offer another word.

He increasingly began to suspect that there was something wrong with his own mind. That's right. He hadn't said a thing when the United States sold weapons, so why was he so agitated now that his own subordinates had betrayed Anti-Entropy to do the same?

'Am I... really just a disgusting hypocrite?'

Welt's spirit and morals were being subjected to a merciless interrogation.

Kevin saw that this fellow's moral standards were a bit too high, causing him to become dispirited.

'No wonder the Honkai was able to take advantage of him and turn him into a Herrscher. This is a clear sign of a weak will.'