"Lynelle, Lynelle, Kiana's been inside the data space for over half an hour now without a single sound… You don't think something's wrong, do you?"
"Relax, Wendy. You're a sniper, after all—you ought to have a little patience."
Back in the dorm, Lynelle, who was monitoring the situation through Wendy's sensors the whole time, didn't seem the least bit worried.
"See, even Otto hasn't made a move. If he's not worried, why should we be?"
"Even though he can't monitor what's happening inside the data space of the Central Dogma Zone, he can sense the Honkai energy turbulence around Kiana. And this is also the trickiest part of the plan."
"Sirin not only has to make Kiana, who knows nothing about the plan, act like she's lost control, but she also needs to get her to resonate with the core to some extent—to produce that uncontrollable, Herrscher-like rampage similar to when she lost control as a child."
"That way, Fu Hua will agree to step in… Don't be fooled just because Fu Hua's technically on Otto's side now; her principles are still very clear."
"So, originally, I was planning to hypnotize Kiana using the Herrscher of Corruption's authority, but Sirin refused. She said it wasn't necessary. Who knows how that little one plans to pull this off…"
"Uh…"
Listening to Lynelle's explanation, Wendy felt her brain starting to itch.
After all, Wendy was a Herrscher herself.
Even though she'd never experienced the kind of core miscontrol Lynelle described, she had managed a last-minute breakthrough during that incident back in Oceania.
Considering she'd only transformed like that after seeing Lynelle badly injured, and now Sirin needed to make Kiana spiral into an even worse state of going out of control…
Wendy couldn't help but look at Lynelle with a touch of pity.
No proof, but she had a feeling Lynelle was about to become a human fountain again.
"What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Sensing Wendy's complicated gaze, Lynelle tilted her head in confusion.
"Nothing… I just wanted to say, it looks like Fu Hua's making a move."
"...Really?"
Lynelle perked up. "Then Sirin must be almost done over there… Wendy, get ready."
"Get ready? But I thought we were letting Otto take Kiana back to Schicksal first?"
"Silly!"
Lynelle gently tapped Wendy's head. "That was what I said earlier, back when only Rita and Fu Hua were involved."
"But since Otto himself showed up with one of his Soulium bodies, we might as well take the shot. In a bit, I'll fire an arrow to pretend we're probing for his position."
"Then you put two rounds right into Otto—make sure he's down for good. Don't give him a chance to fight back."
--+--
"This should be the place…"
Fu Hua, already suited up in her Shadow Knight armor, stood at the periphery of the Central Dogma Zone, poised and ready for action.
It was no wonder she was being so cautious. After all, the urgent message she'd received from the Overseer in the middle of the night had described Kiana's condition in the gravest of terms.
His wording was so severe that Fu Hua almost thought the Second Honkai Eruption was about to break out again, right there at St. Freya Academy.
But since Otto had gone to the trouble of warning her so seriously, Fu Hua couldn't just ignore it.
Whether it was due to the contract she'd signed with Otto back then, or the agreement they'd both reached regarding Kiana's condition, it was clear: if Kiana showed any signs of irreversible Herrscher transformation, she had to be taken back to Schicksal headquarters for treatment.
"The Honkai energy density here really is rising steadily… It's a precursor to Herrscher core breakout. But… that's strange. Why are the Dogma Zone's servers still running? The data space is active?"
After arriving at the Dogma Zone, Fu Hua didn't rush straight to find Kiana.
Instead, she took a moment to survey the situation. But this quick check immediately revealed a problem.
"Wait, what's running in the data space…? This is—the historical records of the Second Eruption? Oh no!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Fu Hua cranked her Shadow Knight armor to maximum output.
Not bothering to navigate the maze of corridors level by level, she simply slammed her fist into the wall beside her, blasting a direct path through.
As someone who had lived through the Second Eruption—even if her own memories of it had been burned away—the details Lixue had filled in afterwards had left her with a clearer understanding of what happened than she'd had before losing her memories.
She didn't need to think twice about the cause of Kiana's "Herrscher transformation."
So, she chose the most direct approach.
One punch to clear a straight path to Kiana's location. Another punch to disable the Dogma Zone's main server. Then go check on Kiana. Simple as that.
However, those two punches ended up causing quite a stir for another little lady who'd been fast asleep.
"!"
Theresa, who'd been sleeping soundly in her office, bolted upright. All around her, alarm bells were blaring.
"W-What's going on? The Central Dogma Zone's been breached, severely damaged?! Did the Anti-Entropy radicals attack again?"
Without time to process the situation, Theresa grabbed the Oath of Judah beside her, smashed through the window, and leaped out.
After all, the Dogma Zone being destroyed was one thing, but it also held some of the cloned experimental data related to Cecilia.
If that information got out… it would spell real trouble.
"Talk about stirring up a hornet's nest…"
Watching Otto, Fu Hua, and Theresa all converging on the Dogma Zone from three different directions, Lynelle couldn't help but click her tongue.
"By the way, Wendy, shift the sensor focus over to Kiana's location. Looks like Otto got there first. I also want to see how Kiana's… uh…"
On the sensor display, the white-haired girl who had been kneeling on the ground moments earlier now seemed to have gone completely berserk the instant she spotted Otto, attacking him as if she wanted to tear a chunk out of his flesh.
Lynelle fell silent.
"Wait… What did Sirin do to her? Kiana's acting… and it doesn't really look like acting, does it?"
--+--
"Oh, long time no see, old friend… I see even you've grown rather… spirited, after spending so much time at a place like St. Freya, full of young ladies."
Watching Fu Hua, who had literally bulldozed her way here, Otto's cheek twitched slightly.
Even though this laboratory had largely outlived its purpose, its hardware was still among the top three in Schicksal.
Honestly… Otto felt a pang of loss watching it get wrecked.
"Enough talk. What's Kiana's condition?"
Fu Hua's voice was cold as she eyed Kiana, now unconscious and suspended in the air behind Otto, wrapped in golden chains.
"Here."
Otto flicked his wrist, and a single golden feather drifted into Fu Hua's hand.
"See for yourself, old friend. It's practically a confirmed case of an out of control core. She was throwing around Void Lances like they were free, and her aggression toward me was off the charts."
"If Rita hadn't been here to protect me, a mere civilian like me might have met my end today. It's hard to imagine how many casualties St. Freya would have suffered if I, who just happened to be nearby, hadn't been the first to arrive."
"…"
Seeing Fu Hua's silence, Otto smiled faintly.
"So, you've seen the situation for yourself. As agreed, I'll now take Kiana back to Schicksal headquarters for treatment, to prevent her from posing a greater threat to the students here…"
"You have no objections, do you, old friend?"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.