"Four meteorites have fallen from the moon. Global casualties are approaching one hundred million."
"At present, the United Nations has not issued any statement on the matter."
"We do not yet know if more meteorites will fall."
On the large screen at the end of the street, a news anchor was broadcasting the latest report to the world.
"Is this the Herrscher who obtained the [Authority of Man]?"
"Hmm..."
"She is indeed a little different than I imagined."
Sirin and Bella were walking side-by-side down the street. Their act of eating ice cream in the cold weather didn't seem to attract any particular attention.
"Sugar is converted into thermal energy, thermal energy is refined into Honkai energy, and then condensed to produce Imaginary energy."
"This conversion efficiency is far too low."
Bella was complaining about the ice cream in Sirin's hand.
Although the Empire had similar foods, most were directly "constructed" from Imaginary energy. In terms of taste, they were no different from "real desserts," and they boasted extremely high conversion efficiency.
But what Sirin held now was completely different.
This was a "real" sugary food, something almost impossible to find within the Empire's borders.
"Ah!?"
"Bella, how dare you say that without putting down the cone in your own hand?"
"..."
"Slurp!"
Bella used "Devour." It was super effective!
"Sugar conver—"
"Bella, you're cheating!"
Sirin's loud shout interrupted Bella.
Of course, Sirin couldn't be as extravagant as Bella. Stranded in a foreign land, being penniless meant you couldn't get anywhere!
When Bella wanted to eat, she could conjure money out of thin air.
But as for herself... the one in her hand was precious enough. Sirin couldn't bring herself to commit such an extravagant act as devouring it in a single bite.
What's that you say? "Zero-yuan shopping?"
That was absolutely out of the question.
Although the Empire possessed overwhelming military might, and its legions were filled with brutes, the concept of "looting" simply did not exist in its society. Even when two civilizations declared war and entered a state of hostility, the Empire would just go "Boom," blow up the opposing planet, and then slowly begin mining its resources. They never engaged in undeclared wars... From the individual to the collective, such a mindset had no soil in which to grow.
"The [Authority of Man] did have an effect after all."
"Otherwise, that Herrscher who shares your name could have just carried out the 'test' by frantically hurling meteorites at the ground."
"It's estimated—"
Bella blinked her eyes rapidly.
"It's estimated that she could have directly eliminated 93.71% of the civilization's population."
"Compared to the current figure of less than 2%... you could even say the [Authority of Man] played a significant role."
"That's true."
"Crunch."
Sirin reluctantly ate the last piece of the crispy cone.
"But back to the original question, what are we going to do now?"
"Hmm..."
"Before the [Divine Sword of Taixu] severs the link between the 'Pufferfish' and the 'Consciousness,' we should try to remain inactive and avoid interacting with the main participants."
"Hey!"
"Bella, you just said 'Pufferfish'—"
As Bella casually pointed a finger toward the moon, Sirin, who was just starting to puff up with indignation, immediately deflated.
"...Alright, I knew it. There's no way 'Pufferfish' could be referring to me."
"..."
Sirin was completely oblivious.
She didn't notice the look of "profound wisdom" Bella was giving her.
---o---
"Any changes in outer space?"
The moment the topic turned to serious matters, Sirin immediately forgot the finer points of their previous conversation.
"Yes."
"Within 72 hours."
"A total of four spacecraft were launched from Earth, all with trajectories aimed at the moon."
When it came to the potential of the [Authority of Thunder], Sirin was quite formidable.
The amount of relevant knowledge one possessed directly influenced the application level of an Authority. However, within the Empire, there were already several effective methods for parents to pass down such knowledge through their "bloodline (genes)." This form of inheritance, remarkably similar to the dragons in Western fantasy stories, was the very source of so-called "talent."
For example:
One can be a master of computer software without necessarily knowing how to manufacture a microchip.
"What about the large-scale electromagnetic pulse?"
"It was indeed observed."
"Is that so..."
Anti-Entropy had launched three [Silver Bullets (high-yield nuclear bombs)] at the moon.
The Herrscher of the Void possessed the ability of spatial transfer, so the nukes couldn't be aimed directly. Instead, they were designed to be remotely detonated as they approached the moon.
Unfortunately, it was all for naught.
A powerful electromagnetic pulse instantly turned the nuclear warheads into space junk.
All of the above matched the information provided in their briefing perfectly, which meant that the "mainstream of time" had not been significantly affected in this era.
The "Consciousness" they needed to be most wary of had already given the Herrscher Gems to the Pufferfish—the EMP was a manifestation of the [Authority of Thunder].
"We can't just sit around and wait, can we?" Sirin asked Bella.
Shopping in another world was certainly interesting and fit the daily life of a "high school girl," but the problem was that the current world was anything but peaceful. By the time the Pufferfish used the pseudo-Herrscher Cores to create pseudo-Herrschers and send them to Earth... people would be too busy fleeing to be in the mood for setting up market stalls.
"Going to the moon is definitely not an option."
"If we absolutely have to do something... Oulu in Finland, Astana in Kazakhstan, and Novosibirsk in Russia—"
"Let's pick a place."
"Two places."
"?"
Bella tilted her head, slightly confused.
"According to the 'Imperial Legion Code of Conduct,' when a non-hostile civilization is threatened by Honkai or a higher-dimensional civilization, members of the Empire are obligated to render aid, provided they can ensure their own survival."
"..."
"That's the 'Legion Handbook.'"
"The two of us aren't members of a legion."
"And as students of St. Freya, we should be following the 'Student Handbook,' which says, 'Evacuate dangerous areas in an orderly manner and maintain uniformity in action,' right?"
"..."
"Sirin, don't tell me you've never even read the 'Student Handbook'?"
"Ahahahaha!"
"How cou—"
"..."
"Fine, you're right."
Under Bella's steady gaze, Sirin, who had been about to laugh her way out of it as usual, ultimately succumbed to the sharpness of the other girl's eyes.
"Sigh."
Bella let out another heavy sigh.
"As you said."
"The St. Freya 'Student Handbook' has been in effect for a thousand years."
"The strength of the current student body is nowhere near the level it was when the rules were first established. Back then, a graduate who reached the [Primordial Species] rank was already considered a rare talent."
Bella was clearly very knowledgeable about the history of St. Freya.
"The ones accompanying us on this mission are all major figures like Chamber Heads, Legion Commanders, and even Apostles. It wouldn't be out of line to follow the 'Legion Handbook'—"
"Bella!"
"Stop!"
Bella quickly held up a hand to stop Sirin, who was about to charge over and hug her.
"You're definitely looking for a fight. No, wait, you simply want to pick a fight with someone!"
The mission issued by His Majesty the Emperor.
Aside from a few specific time nodes, the missions generally grew more difficult the further into the future they were set. The fact that Kiana, Mei... and even the team of Bronya and Project Bunny were assigned missions "later" in the timeline than her own was something Sirin was clearly quite unhappy about.
It was a roundabout way of saying that her team was weaker than the other two.
Of course.
This was still a top-tier mission personally issued by the Emperor and involving Apostles. Such dissatisfaction could at most swirl around in her mind for a bit; she wouldn't even dare to mumble a complaint aloud. In fact, even letting it swirl in her mind was dangerous, especially given Sirin's lack of proficiency with the [Authority of Sentience].
So, how does one vent a bad mood?
By picking a fight with someone, of course!
"That being said," Bella continued.
"According to the known timeline, the three pseudo-Herrschers are ultimately dealt with by 'Celestial Immortal Chiyuan,' 'Tianming's Strongest Valkyrie,' and the 'Tianming Bishop,' respectively."
"Excluding the 'Tianming Bishop,' who is the highest risk."
"The Apostle's counterpart or Aunt Cecilia... I'm guessing you've already decided where you want to go, Sirin?"
"Yep."
"Alright then—"
"I want them all!"
"???"
"Did you not hear my analysis just now?"
"Of course I did, Bella."
Sirin lifted her chin slightly, patting Bella's shoulder with a hint of pride.
"You mentioned their ultimate fates, right?"
"Which means..."
"They weren't immediately taken out by those three big shots right from the start."
Sirin drew a triangle in the air with her finger.
"With my speed."
"Taking out three in a row is no problem at all!"
"..."
"You're always so sharp in these weirdly specific moments."
Bella sighed.
"From the sound of it, are you planning on leaving me behind in the end?"
"..."
"While my top speed isn't as fast as yours, for long-distance flight, it's more energy-efficient for me to carry you, isn't it?"
"...How about you stay here, Bella?"
"?"
Faced with Sirin's cautious proposal, Bella's face was a mask of question marks, and she already looked ready to throw a punch.
"It's not that you'd be in the way!"
Sirin quickly waved her hands, though her words seemed to be making things worse—
"???"
"No."
"What I mean is, this should be the Pufferfish's main line of attack, right?"
"Although we're both [Primordial Species], as a [Native Species] who advanced, you're definitely better at 'rank control' than I am as a [New Species]. If you help out here, you can surely reduce the number of casualties."
"..."
Bella's silence wasn't because Sirin was being unreasonable.
On the contrary, it had been a long time since she had heard Sirin say something so logical. After more than a year of systematic training and having learned five Authorities simultaneously, Sirin's strength had clearly surpassed Bella's by a significant margin.
But in certain areas of talent—like battlefield command and coordination—the results were completely reversed.
"Alright."
After some thought, Bella finally agreed to Sirin's plan.
The "Consciousness" was primarily focused on the Pufferfish. As long as she didn't make any mistakes on her end, it wouldn't matter if Sirin ran into those troublesome figures.
Of course, the most important reason was the absence of the pressure of death, so Bella didn't need to worry about Sirin encountering any real trouble.
"Then I'll leave this place to you."
"Rustle."
In an empty alley beside the street, Bella once again materialized a handful of various banknotes and stuffed them all into Sirin's hands.
"Go shopping only if you have ample time!" Bella reminded her with great solemnity. "The time span for our team's mission is quite large. It's very likely we'll have to return right after finishing. We don't know what His Majesty the Emperor will decide to do in the future."
"When you have a moment..."
"It must be when you have plenty of time, only then can you spare a moment to go shopping!"
"Aiyah, I know, I know~"
Sirin casually took the money from Bella and, with undisguised glee, stuffed it all into a spatial ripple beside her.
"I won't forget to bring you back a souvenir!"
"Don't you worry~☆"
---o---
Watching Sirin fly away at high speed, waving back as if afraid Bella would change her mind, Bella let out a soft breath.
"Phew."
The white mist didn't dissipate in the cold air; instead, it crystallized into fine slivers of ice that fell to the ground.
"I finally managed to trick Sirin into leaving."
That's right.
Although Sirin had initiated most of the ideas, Bella had subtly nudged her from the sidelines.
As for the reason...
A mission.
A mission personally issued by the Monarch. For the middle-ranking members of the Empire, or even the scions of great families, it was precious but certainly not a ticket to soaring success.
But!
For Bella, it held a completely different meaning.
She and Sirin were childhood friends.
Even though the Empire revered martial strength, and Sirin couldn't care less about Bella's status, one fact remained unchangeable: Bella's family were indeed servants to the Schariac family. Even with a well-mannered master who treated them exceptionally well, it couldn't alter the reality of the vast class disparity between them.
This was the most practical consideration.
And on an emotional level... Bella wanted to stand on equal footing with Sirin. While that wouldn't change the way they interacted, it would completely erase that tiny bit of "inferiority" in the depths of Bella's heart, which was also her biggest personal obstacle.
To achieve this, Bella needed to perform exceptionally well on this mission.
If Sirin were by her side, then when looking back at this mission, everyone in the Empire would naturally focus their attention on the "Schariac family's child." Even if she herself received any recognition, it would merely be a small flower adorning the Schariac family's glory.
Bella didn't dare to speculate on His Majesty the Emperor's thoughts.
She could only do her absolute best. As a [Primordial Species] who had advanced from a [Native Species], Bella believed that, compared to humans, Honkai Beasts were more like the true subjects of the Empire.
Moreover, their actions would not conflict with the purpose of the "test."
The Honkai Beasts in Siberia, whose numbers were about to swell from 10,000 to 500,000, may have been obeying the Pufferfish, but that didn't mean they would obey her forever.
To save these "cubs" born from Imaginary Space—
Considering His Majesty had made no secret of his intention to establish a "time origin," doing so would indeed align with his wishes.
And as for facing her own counterpart as an opponent...
She certainly had enough time before Sirin returned.