At Schicksal HQ, Otto looked at the monitor with a grim expression. On the screen, Fu Hua remained as expressionless as ever.
Looking at the new intelligence report submitted by Fu Hua, Otto put a hand to his forehead and shot a sideways glance at her.
"My old friend, the report you gave me said that Hiyokumaru was completely harmless, an ordinary person...
I trusted you so much, and now you come running to me telling me she's the Herrscher of Corruption! And that her condition is unstable, her whereabouts are unknown, and her threat level is unknown!"
Faced with Otto's questioning, Fu Hua adjusted her glasses. As expected, she was not suited for lying; one lie had led to such big trouble.
Fu Hua said firmly, "I believe in Hiyokumaru. She's a good child. Besides... she has restraints placed on her by Dr. MEI, so the danger shouldn't be too great."
Otto let out a laugh at Fu Hua's determined look. "Believe? My old friend, the Void Archives record that someone once tried to believe in a Herrscher. And the result? The result was that a continent was gone!"
Fu Hua took off her glasses and stared intently at Otto. "If the Void Archives can tell you that, did it also tell you not to mention it in front of me?"
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about it. After all, my Soulium body can't withstand a certain someone's Inch-Punch: Sky Opener." Otto raised his hands, changing the subject.
"But, Fu Hua, I must tell you something. I can try to believe that K-423 can create miracles because I have already planned everything! It's because the Herrschers of our era are different from those of your era!
A Herrscher that has survived from your era to the present! She once brought your civilization to ruin, and now, she is about to make a move on my civilization. The Herrscher of Corruption... tsk, we don't have the level of defense that your era had."
"I will take action this time." Knowing the severity of the problem, Fu Hua was no longer planning to hide.
But it was clear that Otto was not buying it. He was well aware of Fu Hua's current condition.
"How many more times can your Fenghuang Down burn? In your current weakened state, you might not even be guaranteed a win against Durandal."
Otto ended the communication with Fu Hua. There was no time to chat with her about these things now.
"Lord Overseer."
"Amber, release the information about the Herrscher of Corruption. Mobilize all branches to defend every weapons base around the world. In any place where there are traces of the Herrscher of Corruption, issue an air raid warning and have the people take shelter in bomb shelters. Schicksal is to enter Level One combat readiness. Now, the war has begun."
As Otto's orders were issued one after another, the world's largest organization began to operate at a frantic pace. Schicksal's anti-Honkai squads forcefully took control of various countries' militaries.
Schicksal also disseminated the news to all organizations that openly fought against the Honkai. If it were any other Herrscher, Otto wouldn't be so concerned, but with the Herrscher of Corruption, Otto had to prepare for the worst. Because while an individual might be able to stop the Herrscher of Corruption's offensive, a civilization could not afford to...
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With every minute that passed without news of Hiyokumaru, the torment in everyone's hearts grew heavier.
Although Cortana had taken over the global network, she couldn't find any information about Hiyokumaru. But the more this was the case, the more something felt wrong. Cortana could clearly feel that not only the network, but she herself seemed to be having problems now.
As the scope of her search expanded, Cortana gradually realized she had fallen into a logical loop, her thoughts fixed in a certain direction.
She seemed to be trapped in the network...
After several failed attempts to break free, Cortana hurriedly began to split herself, but...
"You noticed a bit late... Cortana."
A voice echoed from within Cortana's mind. Then, patches of garbled code began to appear on Cortana's body.
The speed of the data corrosion was completely beyond Cortana's expectations. In less than a second, Cortana was completely corrupted by the garbled code.
Finally, Cortana looked at the crimson and white fox that had appeared before her and sighed helplessly.
"Well, I'm done for..."
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In the operations room of St. Freya High School.
*Zzzt—*
With the sound of an electric spark, Ryn removed Cortana's main body from the back of his neck. But the chip had now turned completely black, overloaded and burned out.
"Cortana... Cortana?!" Ryn called out in a panic, but no one responded.
"Cortana, she..." Kiana covered her mouth in disbelief. It had all happened too suddenly.
Tears welled up in Mei's and Kiana's eyes. Cortana was an inseparable part of their family, but now...
"This is the authority of Corruption. She can switch between a data form and a physical form, corrupting and controlling data networks... Cortana may now have already..."
Fu Hua carefully examined Cortana's chip. There were clear traces of corrosion on it.
"I suggest destroying this chip immediately, otherwise the Herrscher of Corruption is very likely to use it to invade St. Freya High School."
"Impossible. If we destroy the chip, Cortana will be completely finished. I can't just give up on Cortana, and... I won't give up on Hiyokumaru either." Ryn directly stored the chip in his Stigmata Space, which was enough to block the Herrscher of Corruption's attack.
After securing Cortana's main chip, Ryn gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger and grief, and continued to analyze the situation.
"If Hiyokumaru wanted to invade St. Freya High School, she could have done so long ago. There's no need to wait until now. The most likely scenario now is that Hiyokumaru is being controlled by the will of the Honkai... and the fact that she's only attacking now means that Hiyokumaru is still holding on!"
At this moment, Bronya walked over, her expression serious. "The Herrscher of Corruption has launched an all-out attack. The number of Honkai incidents around the world is constantly increasing. Also, our communication with headquarters has been cut off."
"The Herrscher of Corruption is launching an all-out attack?! Then... has Hiyokumaru completely disappeared?" Yae Sakura muttered distractedly.
"We need to see a person if she's alive and a body if she's dead! Sakura, don't give up so easily." Kallen supported the wavering Yae Sakura, comforting her.
Theresa stood on the Faux Oath of Judah, slapped the table to get everyone to calm down and stop arguing, and motioned for everyone to look at her.
"There's no time for grief. A Herrscher has descended, and this time it's not a large-scale Honkai Eruption like before. It's an invisible war."
"Yiselian, Himeko, and Bronya... build a defense network as quickly as possible and search for the Herrscher of Corruption's location. Also, if you can't build defensive measures, then sever and destroy all the networks!"
"Ryn, Kiana, Kika, Kallen, and other combat personnel, be ready for battle at any time. Whether it's a possible Honkai Beast attack or a long-range weapon strike, you might also be needed for aerial interception in other parts of the world... and once the Herrscher of Corruption appears, she must be killed as quickly as possible!"
"Yae Sakura, Mei, Judah, and Fu Hua, assist me in commanding and analyzing the battle situation, and prepare for logistics."
"And so-and-so, and so-and-so, focus all your efforts on defending the academy's laboratories, Honkai reactors, and armories. These places must not be captured by the Herrscher of Corruption."
As Theresa issued one command after another, St. Freya High School also began to operate at full capacity. At this moment, everyone was prepared to fight against the Honkai to the very end.