A young boy walked through a flurry of black and red feathers.
He strolled unhurriedly through the laboratory known as Babylon, his gait irresistibly bringing to mind an arrogant Tsar surveying his domain.
But he was merely an intruder.
The incessantly blaring alarm lights were the best proof of that. He possessed no qualifications whatsoever to enter or leave the Tower of Babel.
By ignoring Schicksal's authority and forcing his way into Babel, he was an out-and-out outlaw, a villain whose existence Schicksal would never permit.
Waiting for him should have been nothing but a relentless pursuit by mecha units and Valkyrie squads.
That was how it should have been, according to common sense.
According to common sense...
The researchers, who had always been high and mighty, cold and ruthless, were now gazing at him with the fawning subservience of eunuchs from Rome or Shenzhou.
"Have a pleasant workday, everyone."
Wearing a flippant smile, the boy patted a nearby mecha that was supposed to be hunting him down, then addressed the researchers whose minds had been seized and reawakened in the same instant.
Almost synchronously, the sycophantic look on the researchers' faces deepened. They looked as if, at any moment, they would prostrate themselves on the floor to lick the soles of the boy—the one who, for some inexplicable reason, felt like one of her own kind.
The scene made Sirin hold her breath.
What was unfolding before her was simply too bizarre.
These researchers, who once held the lives of test subjects in their hands like cold-blooded demons or gods, were now instantly cast down into the dirt.
Humble and twisted.
They didn't even seem to realize how ridiculous they looked.
Sirin finally understood why the boy who called himself her future husband had no fear of Babel's forces.
He was so strong.
So incredibly strong.
The girl, who had once prayed to the gods for power, felt her heart fill with shock as she watched the boy so effortlessly turn the tide.
If I also had power like that...
The girl, who had struggled through agonizing experiments and helplessly watched her best friends die, silently clenched her fists.
"Curious how I did it?"
As the black and red feathers around him began to fade, the boy looked at the stunned girl and asked.
Almost instinctively, her thirst for power compelled her to nod.
"Fenghuang Down. It's the Divine Key of the apostle of God corresponding to the mental domain—the Herrscher of Illusion. Its effects are memory reading, cognitive alteration, and memetic infection."
"For various reasons, its power has fused with that of the Key of Erosion, Jizo Mitama, and has been enhanced to an extremely high degree."
The boy, who had long since completely absorbed Fenghuang Down and Jizo Mitama, spoke of these terrifying matters with casual ease.
"I can effortlessly destroy any being's worldview and spiritual core, and then rebuild them."
The description was delivered matter-of-factly, yet it was filled with a horror that made one shudder.
To annihilate a person's psyche in an instant and then remold it into whatever form he desired.
No matter how you looked at it, that kind of ability was terrifying beyond measure. To call it the power of a devil would be no exaggeration.
At this thought, the girl's body couldn't help but tremble. Her intuition screamed at her that this boy, who felt so inexplicably close and familiar, was at his core something utterly terrifying.
"Oh, by the way, can I ask you a favor?"
Without warning, the boy's face appeared directly in front of hers.
Miss Sirin jumped in shock.
"Wh-what is it?"
"You must, under any circumstances, keep this a secret from the other you."
"I promised her I'd use the powers of Jizo Mitama and Fenghuang Down less often. If she finds out I used them in a non-essential situation just to save myself some trouble, she'll definitely take the opportunity to inflict some domestic violence on me."
The boy, whose abilities always brought to mind terrifying things, now wore a pitiful expression, like a husky about to get a beating.
How could one describe that smile? It was handsome, but also cheeky and smug, like a husky that looks deceptively like a wolf.
That smile, combined with the mention of "domestic violence," created such a stark contrast with his earlier terrifying image that a sense of absurdity welled up in the girl's heart, making her inexplicably want to laugh.
"Excuse me, could you elaborate on this so-called 'domestic violence'?"
Feeling a strange sort of magic from him that calmed her nerves, a small smile touched the corners of the girl's lips.
At her question, a polite but embarrassed smile appeared on the handsome boy's face.
Then, he began to explain.
"For various reasons, under the excuse of 'looking for a thrill' and 'trying new things,' I initiated some... plays... that the other you isn't particularly fond of."
"She's been fed up with me for a while now and is just looking for a reason to punish me. If you tell her about this, I'll really be in for it."
Just what kind of 'plays' would make the so-called 'other me' want to beat this guy up?
Miss Sirin suddenly pictured a white-haired girl with a furious expression, chasing this guy around with a feather duster. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to laugh.
Her beautiful eyes curved into crescent moons.
What is this? I thought he was some powerful warrior, but it turns out he's just afraid of his wife?
That certainly changes my perspective.
Still, he was undeniably strong.
Recalling how the boy before her had effortlessly dealt with the mecha squad and brought the demonic researchers to heel, the girl couldn't help but clench her fists.
If she had been that strong, then Bella and the others wouldn't have died.
An image of her dearest friend dying in agony flashed before her eyes, and a wave of sadness washed over the girl's delicate little face.
If I had that kind of power, I...
I could have done so much more.
"Excuse me... can I become as strong as you?"
She watched the boy as he ordered the enthralled researchers to go and free the other captive girls. She took a step forward and tugged on the corner of his clothes.
She looked up at him, her golden eyes filled with desperate longing.
"Become strong?"
The boy frowned as if faced with a matter that required deep consideration.
Is it impossible?
The girl vaguely remembered all the experiments the researchers would conduct just to make the so-called "Valkyries" a little bit stronger. Her expression immediately fell.
Then, the boy's hand, full of warmth, rested on her head.
Miss Sirin looked up and met his gaze.
"I don't know why you want to become strong."
"But you can just leave that sort of thing to me."
The boy said it so simply.
Leave it to him?
Completely unable to understand why Li Zihan would say such a thing, Miss Sirin stared into his eyes in a daze.
"Letting my future lover throw herself into a mire of hatred just to chase power over some trivial matters... no matter how you look at it, that's just ridiculous, isn't it?"
"You just need to be a happy tsundere little queen. That's all."
The boy gazed into the girl's eyes as he spoke.