"Yuno, time for school. Don't sleep any longer, or you'll be late."
"Hmm? Mama..."
Yuno groggily opened her eyes and saw her mother standing by her bedside, smiling gently at her. A smile couldn't help but spread across her own face.
"Alright, little sleepyhead, you're finally awake. You're so big now, and you still need Mama to wake you up. Hurry and get dressed, finish your breakfast, wash up, and then go to school, or you'll really be late."
Her mother's voice was still so gentle. Truly, her mother was the best mother in the world.
"I know, Mama!"
Yuno watched her mother leave, then sat up in bed. She felt as though she had just had a very long nightmare, dreaming of many bad things, many things she was unwilling to accept. Although she couldn't recall exactly what she had experienced in the dream, it was certainly a nightmare not worth remembering.
But that was fine; the dream was over now.
Yuno took off her pajamas, changed into her school uniform, and then went to the dining table outside. Looking at the exquisite breakfast and the bento box placed beside it, she knew it must contain the lunch her mother had prepared for her.
Yuno happily finished her meal, washed her face, brushed her teeth, packed the bento box into her school bag, and went to the doorway.
"I'm heading out!"
"Okay! Be careful on your way! And study hard at school."
"I know, Mama!"
Yuno smiled and bade her mother farewell, then left home and hurried towards school.
Along the way, Yuno met the friends she had made at school. They chatted and laughed all the way, talking about new albums released by their favorite celebrities, sharing interesting anecdotes from school, and complaining together about various unlucky and unreasonable things they had encountered.
At school, Yuno diligently took notes and listened to the teacher's lecture. She was a good student, and in the future, she would study hard to get into Toudai, to give her hardworking father and her mother, who took care of her every day, a perfect answer.
When lunchtime arrived, Yuno took out the bento her mother had prepared for her. Opening the bento box, she found it filled with exquisitely prepared dishes. They looked incredibly appetizing, and she could even smell an enticing aroma. This fragrance drew everyone closer, and a few of her close friends sighed with envy, remarking that Yuno truly had a wonderful mother.
Yuno demurred, saying it was nothing, but her face was full of happiness and a touch of pride. Yes, she truly had a wonderful mother.
However, the young girl clearly hadn't considered why the bento prepared in the morning was still hot at lunchtime.
After school in the afternoon, the girl named Yuno participated in her club activity: the Kendo Club.
Yuno had never imagined her talent in this area would be so strong. Even the renowned "Queen of Thunder" of the school, Miss Raiden Mei, was full of praise for her kendo talent!
Hmph hmph! Every time she went to the Kendo Club for training now, she could spar with senior Raiden Mei. Senior Raiden Mei was very strong. But every time, she made progress from their spars. She believed that one day, she too could become as strong as her senior!
"I'm home!"
"Welcome back!"
After finishing her club training and returning home, Yuno saw her father sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper, and her mother busy in the kitchen. This warm, family atmosphere always filled the young girl's face with a happy smile.
If only it could last forever.
Just as this thought crossed the young girl's mind, she suddenly heard an extremely loud noise in her ears, accompanied by an intense tearing sensation—a feeling like being in a dream and, upon the verge of waking, realizing one was dreaming.
"No! Don't!"
Yuno cried out, seemingly trying to reject this sensation. She wanted to hug her mother, but she suddenly found that the gentle smile was gone from her mother's face, replaced by an extremely familiar indifference.
This indifference reminded Yuno... her mother had never been so gentle with her. She had never had so many friends at school. She wasn't some genius who excelled at studying, nor did she possess any formidable kendo talent. She had never even spoken to that senior, Raiden Mei.
She had merely been dreaming.
......
Reality. Theresa swung the Oath of Judah in her hand, shattering the barricade of vines and rubble blocking her path. After the obstruction was broken, she saw a young girl lying in the abandoned classroom, nestled among flowers and vines, deep in slumber.
"So this is the Pseudo-Herrscher? My apologies."
Just as Theresa unfurled the Oath of Judah, preparing to use its lances to end the Pseudo-Herrscher's life, the sleeping Pseudo-Herrscher suddenly opened her eyes.
"Why... why won't you even grant me a beautiful dream! Why? Why did you come to disturb me!!!"
The girl shrieked, and then countless thorns shot up from the ground, piercing through the reinforced concrete as if it were tofu.
Theresa, caught off guard, sustained several cuts from the thorns.
At the same time, the thorns that had grown out sprouted colorful flowers, from which a visible smoke began to emanate.
"Poison!"
Theresa had originally intended to use Judah to destroy all the surrounding vines and thorns, but a numbing sensation from her wounds made her pause. In that instant of opportunity, the spreading poisonous mist had already surged into Theresa's mouth and nose, making her body even more numb and her senses duller.
However, as Schicksal's former S-rank Valkyrie, Theresa did not completely lose her combat capability because of this. The Oath of Judah was fully activated, and countless lances formed from light swept around like a storm, tearing apart all the thorns attempting to bind Theresa, and simultaneously exposing the Pseudo-Herrscher surrounded by plants.
"Die!"
The Pseudo-Herrscher merely roared in anger, wielding her innate authority, manipulating countless thorns and vines that surged towards Theresa like a tidal wave.
At the same time, the surrounding air began to fill with spores, invisible to the naked eye.
"Hmph!"
Theresa had initially wanted to show off her strength to her niece, but she hadn't expected to end up in such a sorry state. She couldn't hold back any longer.
"Judah! Deploy!"
Theresa drew a spear wreathed in light and lightning from Judah, then, relying on her own monstrous strength, hurled it forward.
The Pseudo-Herrscher watched the spear hurtling towards her at high speed, knowing she could no longer dodge or block it.
Ultimately, she was an ordinary girl with no combat experience. Even if she possessed power beyond ordinary people, she simply didn't know how to use it.
The spear pierced through the Pseudo-Herrscher's body, leaving a massive wound.
In the final moments of her life, she recalled everything she had experienced in her dream. It was so wonderful!
This time, no one can wake me.
Pseudo-Herrscher, deceased.
The surging plants before Theresa quickly withered and died, finally turning into dry, shriveled vines that fell to the ground. Theresa, meanwhile, knelt on the ground, gasping for breath. She could feel something within her body destroying her internal organs. Although it was faint, combined with the earlier poison, the two effects made Theresa's body exceptionally weak and powerless at that moment.
"I was careless."
Theresa panted heavily, just about to take out her communication device from her pocket to call the Hyperion for backup, when she suddenly saw green plant vines, like writhing snakes, extend from the Pseudo-Herrscher's corpse.
It wasn't dead!
Theresa stared in disbelief at the corpse, now propped up by vines.
"Damn it... my consciousness is getting blurry!"
Theresa felt her vision darkening. The corpse, reanimated—no, controlled by the plants—once again manipulated the thorns, lashing out towards Theresa.
Just as Theresa thought her body was about to be struck, in the next second, the thorns that should have landed on her instantly transformed into fluttering sakura petals.
And amidst the scattering sakura petals, a young man in a black windbreaker stood, having appeared there at some unknown moment.
"Good, I wasn't late."
The young man crouched down, looking at Theresa, who was red-faced and panting as if she had a fever. Upon seeing her face clearly, his expression became somewhat trancelike, as if he were seeing another person in his eyes.
Theresa looked at this suddenly appearing strange young man. In the end, she said nothing, her consciousness completely slipping into oblivion.