Obsidian Concord's Backup: Delta

While Anti-Entropy was still discussing how to deal with the Herrscher of Dominance, in a small town in northern Mexico, a figure staggered along the concrete road. Crimson blood dripped from his clothes, trailing back towards a distant factory.

Looking into the distance, one could vaguely see thick black smoke billowing from the factory, whose purpose was unclear, suggesting a fire was spreading within. Judging by the ever-widening pool of blood flowing from the factory entrance, an unimaginable massacre had undoubtedly occurred inside.

This was Mexico, home to the world's largest cannabis plantations. What the factory processed was self-evident. As the thick smoke rose, the entire town seemed enveloped in a strange odor. Even the man walking down the street, initially lifeless, gradually broke into a crazed, twitching smile.

Fortunately, the town no longer housed any normal residents. Rampant gangs and plantation farmers had long since replaced anyone seeking a normal life. Just like Ren's fifth puppet, Chris, living in this nation controlled by narcotics was itself a mistake.

And clearly, this man had chosen the same path as Chris: setting the world ablaze, burying sin and death together.

"Not enough... Still not enough!"

The man muttered under his breath, letting out occasional bizarre laughs. He clenched his fists. His once weak body, now chosen by a Herrscher of Dominance Core, pulsed with immense power.

This power granted him the means for revenge. Yet, even after personally killing the one responsible for ruining his family, the craving for slaughter remained unsatisfied. Only after massacring the entire town did the restlessness finally subside, albeit barely.

But for someone consumed by hatred, once they taste power, stopping becomes nearly impossible. He swayed, step by step, heading towards a city further away.

However, just as he was about to leave the town, his steps suddenly halted. He stood rooted, cocking his ears, listening intently for something.

The next second, a grotesque smile bloomed on his face, and he walked straight towards a particular house.

He smashed the door open with a single punch, revealing only an empty room. After all, most residents here were gang members, and they had all been drawn to the factory during his earlier massacre.

He didn't give up, smashing through door after door until finally, in a corner of a bathroom, he found a baby carriage.

"Why do scum like you still get to have children?" Thinking of how his own drug addiction had driven his wife and child away, the man's face filled with venomous resentment. He eagerly approached the carriage and snatched the baby, barely a year old, lifting it by its head.

A crazed smile twisted his lips. His fingers gradually tightened, ready to crush the infant. But just then, a flash of pale pink light appeared in his peripheral vision. He instinctively dodged, and the next second, the bathroom mirror shattered.

When he regained his senses, he found a young girl standing before him, somehow holding the baby he'd just had in his grasp.

The girl looked thirteen or fourteen at most. Apart from a strange tail behind her, she seemed completely harmless.

The man's crimson eyes gleamed with even greater excitement. "Didn't expect any stragglers. What a pleasant surprise."

He clenched his fist, surging Honkai Energy erupting from his body. He lunged forward, his body charging like a rampaging tank. As he closed the distance in an instant, he could almost picture the girl's head exploding like a watermelon.

But the scene he envisioned didn't happen. Instead, he saw a look of disgust on the girl's face. Then, he realized this petite girl had single-handedly lifted a greatsword, taller than herself, that had been resting nearby.

The next moment, the man found his vision flying past the girl, getting further and further away. Although he had clenched his fists, why couldn't he exert any strength?

Only when his head hit the floor did he realize his body was still standing where it was.

---||---

"Tch, is it really okay to make a kid like me do such disgusting work? Even in movies, this would be R18 rated, right?"

Delta, having dealt with the Herrscher of Dominance puppet, couldn't help but complain. With a flick of her right wrist, blood and tissue splattered from the greatsword onto the floor. Fortunately, the HoD puppet's structure wasn't quite human, so there wasn't too much messy gore.

Glancing down at the baby cradled in her left arm, the twelve-year-old couldn't help but frown.

"So this is what babies look like? Was Liliya this wrinkly and ugly when she was little too?"

She muttered to herself, not expecting an answer. After all, she was here to eliminate this out-of-control Herrscher puppet.

That's right, she was here to eliminate the Herrscher of Dominance puppet.

As Ren's power grew, his Authority of Dominance was gradually slipping out of control. Specifically, he could no longer control the increasing number of puppets, nor could he precisely access the past experiences of each puppet through the hive mind.

In a way, the current Herrscher of Dominance was closer to its depiction in the original timeline.

However, being unable to control their proliferation didn't mean he couldn't guide them.

Resentment, despair, pain – these were the nutrients for the Herrscher of Dominance's birth. Those harboring deep grudges and strong anti-social tendencies were undoubtedly the best hosts. And indeed, under Ren's deliberate guidance, the Herrscher Cores primarily chose such individuals.

But as the old saying goes: Give a man power, and the urge to kill arises.

In most cases, these HoD puppets, fueled by hatred, wouldn't stop after achieving their revenge. They would continue to attack innocent people.

To Ren, these puppets were defective consumables that needed to be purged. And Delta's job—was to eliminate these uncontrollable puppets.

So, Welt's assumption was actually wrong. It wasn't that the Herrscher of Dominance wouldn't attack ordinary people, but that Ren had been secretly restraining their actions from behind the scenes.

"But aren't you Liliya's twin sister? If Liliya was that ugly, shouldn't you look the same?"

Just as Delta was wondering how to handle the baby, a voice suddenly spoke from behind her. Her eyes sharpened. As she spun around, her thick black tail whipped fiercely behind her.

However, her agile tail missed its mark this time, leaving only a whistling afterimage before landing heavily on the ground.

"Who are you?" Turning fully, Rozaliya warily eyed the boy before her. Gray hair, golden eyes... he felt vaguely familiar, yet she couldn't place him.

"Hmm, perhaps you'll recognize me better like this?" The boy smiled faintly. His appearance began to shift, and the next second, a green-haired boy stood before Rozaliya.

The transformation left the girl dumbfounded. It took her a moment to react. "It's you! Seashell Sprite!"

"...Seashell Sprite? Didn't I tell you my name?" Ren's mouth twitched involuntarily, slightly exasperated by the girl's whimsical thinking. Although he had initially contacted the twins through a seashell, it didn't warrant such a strange nickname.

He changed back to his original form and shook his head. "It doesn't matter if you don't remember. I told you The Obsidian Concord then, but my real name is Ren. And this is my true appearance. The green-haired look belongs to a boy named Kosma."

"So you're actually the boss of our organization?"

"You could say that."

Upon confirmation, Delta's eyes instantly lit up. Just as Ren thought she was about to ask when she could reunite with her sister, she suddenly blurted out, "When does the organization pay salaries? I know I'm technically child labor at my age, but you still have to pay me, right?"

"..."

Before Ren could answer, Rozaliya started rambling, "I promised Liliya back then, once I make big money, we'll go to the amusement park together, for three whole days and nights! If she knew I was earning money, she'd definitely be so envious."

Ren silently sent a message to Himeko: 「Did you not sort out Delta's pay?」

A message came back almost instantly: 「We have salaries in this organization? How come I've never seen any?」

Alright, so The Obsidian Concord indeed didn't have salaries. Puppets didn't need them, after all.

Thinking for a moment, Ren pulled a card from his pocket. "Of course, you get paid for working for the organization. It's just that your teacher thought you were too young, so she said she'd save it for you first. I've already scolded her for you. This card will be your salary card from now on. There are two hundred million in it right now, you can use it freely. The PIN is your birthday."

"Teacher? You mean that red-haired auntie who trained me last time?"

"Mhm."

Elsewhere, Himeko, busy handling Obsidian Concord Group affairs, sneezed twice in a row, completely unaware she'd been made the scapegoat and called an "auntie."

"How much is two hundred million? Is it enough for the amusement park?"

Although Rozaliya had matured considerably after becoming Delta, she was still fundamentally a child with little concept of money.

"Should be enough, I think," Ren replied, slightly unsure, as he hadn't been to an amusement park either.

"Awesome!" Rozaliya happily took the salary card. After a brief moment of joy, she asked cautiously, "So... reuniting with Liliya?"

"Soon. But before you go back to your sister, don't you want to bring your friends along?"

"Friends?"

"Like your companions from Nagazora City? And your mother, Cocolia?"

"!" Rozaliya's eyes widened, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I thought... the organization didn't know."

"Don't be nervous," Ren reassured her, leaning into the "mysterious organization" persona he knew Rozaliya likely imagined from manga and novels. "I know you've been secretly contacting Bronya, and also Raven from World Serpent. But since you haven't betrayed the organization's secrets, we naturally turn a blind eye."

"I know where those children are. So, your next mission is to rescue them."

"What should I do?"

"Simple. You just need to launch a surprise attack on Schicksal HQ."

"Raid Schicksal? Me?"