"Alright, let's not be in a hurry to talk about other worlds and the future right now."
While the 'Dull Goose' young lady was pondering just what kind of mindset one must have to make such a Vow, the young man's voice rang out.
"Next, the more important matter is how to deliver the four gems to Schicksal and Anti-Entropy in the original order as much as possible."
The young man sighed. If it weren't for Sirin, he would have actually preferred to just flip the table and start trouble with the Second Honkai Eruption as a fresh starting point.
"Are we preparing to move to the next step now?"
As if she had encountered something very surprising, Durandal looked at the guy who had reportedly just KO'd Welt and Siegfried, and then sent the Anti-Entropy people to the moon.
"To be precise, in three days, I will let Welt—and Siegfried, whose genes have been activated—kill me."
Through Clairvoyance—Future Sight, the young man shrugged. He had easily seen that the members of Anti-Entropy had successfully found the potential for the so-called "Siegfried Beast-ification" and "Welt's Recovery."
"Then, I should toss the Gem of Conquest to Anti-Entropy, and give the Gem of Desire, Gem of Haste, and Gem of Serenity to Schicksal. After that, I'll change my identity and prepare for my wedding with Mei."
Mei's wedding?
Durandal recalled the mission Li Zihan had given her earlier.
Miss Mei seemed to have invited me to be a bridesmaid, didn't she?
Because Raiden Mei's method for inviting bridesmaids was strictly "better to invite the wrong person than to let one slip away," the girl, who had also received an invitation, suddenly felt a bit unhappy deep down.
If it were before, she would have probably been very happy.
But—
Now, she really couldn't bring herself to be happy.
The girl looked at the young man whose aura was extremely similar to Rita's—someone who felt like an old acquaintance despite them having just met—and fell into silence.
The Captain is a scumbag.
But, he is a scumbag that makes me want to get close to him.
For some reason, Durandal suddenly felt that Raiden Mei was a bit annoying.
"Captain, is it really okay to be thinking about being lovey-dovey with your fiancée before the mission is even completed?" Durandal asked, looking at the young man.
"...That is true."
As if contemplating something, Li Zihan pursed his lips, paused, and then spoke.
"In these three days, we still have to properly deal with that old bastard Otto who bullied my Sirin and Kiana."
Sirin...
Kiana...
Does this guy only have women in his life?
Inexplicably annoyed, the girl glared at a certain someone before dragging the topic back to serious matters.
"So, Captain, how do you plan to arrange the combat plan?"
"The combat plan is actually quite simple."
The young man, who fully intended to give away the four gems, shrugged and said:
"I will have Bella, Avrora, and Agata become Pseudo-Herrschers, and then send them to designated locations to accept challenges from Schicksal and Anti-Entropy."
The Demonic Dragon — Herrscher of Thunder, Bella.
The "Herrscher of Wind," Avrora.
The "Herrscher of Flame," Agata.
The "Herrscher of Death," Galina.
These were the names of Sirin's subordinates from back then.
A certain someone, who had already acquired the souls of these children, simply turned these four into Pseudo-Herrschers. He would have them wait as the 'challenged' for the people of Anti-Entropy and Schicksal to come and fight.
"Otto is the person most obsessed with 'resurrection' in this world. If he discovers that among the Pseudo-Herrschers, there is one whose Authority corresponds to the 'life and death' of the Herrscher of Death, he will definitely mobilize personally."
"When that time comes, you will be responsible for disguising yourself as Galina."
---o---
Schicksal Headquarters.
Located in the skies above Austria in Europe, the Schicksal HQ exists physically as a series of artificial floating islands, capable of hovering thousands of meters in the air.
This massive cluster of floating islands above the Mediterranean is Schicksal's administrative hub and the organization's core research facility. Charged with the mission of fighting the Honkai, it operates day after day without pause.
The man named Otto Apocalypse, in his capacity as the master of Schicksal, has resided on this island for a long time, watching over all living things from a bird's-eye view.
"So, my old friend, the First Herrscher Welt, has already been killed? And Siegfried and Cecilia, who were sent out earlier, are also missing and likely met with misfortune?"
Today, this high-and-mighty man had, for a rare occasion, taken off his bishop's vestments and changed into a snow-white suit.
He stood leisurely at the highest point of the floating island, listening to the report from the woman beside him known as "Amber."
"The Second Herrscher is likely terrifyingly powerful. Lord Bishop, if you intend to confront her, please be extremely careful."
The voice of the masked woman contained fear.
This was unavoidable.
The Second Herrscher's battle record was simply too illustrious.
In just one day, she had directly crushed the First Herrscher and beaten Schicksal's two greatest aces to the point where their survival was unknown.
With that level of combat power, combined with the Herrscher Authority that had been confirmed as "Space," destroying the entire Schicksal organization within three days wouldn't be a difficult task for her, right?
Even more terrifying was that she wasn't even in her complete form yet.
She was an apostle doted on (and strangled by) the Will of Honkai.
Aside from the Authority of Space, she had been granted a total of four additional Authorities.
If she were to get completely serious...
That scene would be too horrific; Amber didn't dare to imagine it.
"No, the Second Herrscher is easy to deal with."
The man's magnetic baritone voice drifted into Amber's ears, causing her expression to shift slightly.
"Amber, you must remember: Weakness and ignorance are not barriers to survival, arrogance is."
The man, who at some point now held a white clown mask with a smiling face in his hand, chuckled lightly as he spoke.
"She is too arrogant."
Yes, the Second Herrscher was too arrogant.
Simply because she felt that fighting strong enemies would be interesting, she chose to entrust the Authorities granted by God—powers meant to end humanity—to her kin, letting these dependents issue challenges in different regions.
Once humanity defeated those Pseudo-Herrschers, they would be able to obtain the power God granted her. This would not only weaken her Authority on one hand but also allow humanity to obtain a massive amount of Honkai energy.
With one side waning and the other waxing, how much longer could that Second Herrscher smile?
The man, whose own body contained a carrier not weaker than that of the First Herrscher, had a smile filling the corners of his mouth.
The Grace Field, Honkai Fission Missiles, Divine Keys, and his own power—all of these could deal fatal damage to a Herrscher.
So, let her be arrogant for a little while longer.
The man, who had already marked the Second Herrscher as prey, placed the clown mask onto his face.
However, before that, there was a character he cared about even more that needed to be dealt with.
Otto—no, Joker α—stretched his body, then turned his head to issue a command to his subordinate.
"Next, let me go and witness that apostle who holds the power of Death."