When Durandal arrived on the scene in her transport aircraft, she saw, as expected, that Leo Ash seemed completely unharmed.
Leo, on the ground, was chatting idly with Mike, who had already disembarked from the aircraft.
"Ah, Lady Durandal has arrived."
Seeing Durandal's stern expression, Mike wisely stepped aside.
His action wasn't because he thought Durandal would do anything to him.
Although Durandal was one of Schicksal's four S-rank Valkyries, she was usually quite approachable with her colleagues.
But now, seeing the obvious displeasure on Durandal's face, Mike certainly wasn't going to get on her bad side.
"Ah, Bianka."
Seeing the displeasure on Durandal's face, Leo waved at her with a grin.
"You're just in time. Take this unlucky kid back to Schicksal HQ."
"Wendy? I'll take her back, but before that..."
Looking at the grinning man before her, Durandal suddenly threw a punch at Leo's face.
However, just as her fist was about to make contact, Leo, who had already activated his Royal Guard ability, precisely caught Durandal's fist in his hand.
"..."
Seeing the speechless look on Durandal's face, Leo dropped his frivolous smile and said to her calmly.
"Relax, Bianka."
"I'm really fine this time."
In response to Leo's words, Durandal wanted to say something.
But during her surprise attack, Leo had not only reacted in time to defend without activating his Stigmata's power, but had also easily neutralized the force of her punch.
Under these circumstances, Durandal had to admit that she had worried for nothing this time.
"You're indeed fine. I'm relieved."
"However, I suggest you still come back to HQ with me."
Looking at the Soulium storage case beside Leo, Durandal said with a sense of helplessness.
"Although you have prior combat experience with a Divine Key, the requirements for using the Grips of Taixu are, after all, on a different level from the Seven Thunders of Retribution."
"Even if you seem to be in good condition now, I still hope you'll get a proper physical examination."
"And for Wendy, who was captured by World Serpent, to become a Herrscher..."
"I think she must know some things we don't."
Listening to Durandal's persuasion, Leo didn't argue this time.
"Alright, let's go back to HQ together."
"Although the Herrscher born from the Fifth Eruption has been subdued by my God-Slaying Spear, there are still many things that need to be handled by HQ."
Seeing that Leo truly had no intention of being stubborn this time, Durandal, very satisfied with his performance, suddenly had a thought.
*Hmm, Leo's attitude seems a bit gentler compared to the past?*
*Could it be because of Isla? As a new father, does he want to show a more mature side of himself?*
After entertaining this thought, a playful smile appeared on Durandal's face.
"Oh, so that's how it is."
"Huh?"
Seeing the usually goose-like Durandal give such a rare, mischievous smile, Leo felt that something was off.
"Are you thinking about something strange?"
"Ha, forget it. I'm just a little girl who doesn't know anything."
At the thought of how she had been completely fooled by this guy in the past, the smile on Durandal's face vanished.
Then, the resentful girl said to Leo peevishly.
"I'm not as cunning as you, ace agent, Brother Leo Ash."
Seeing Durandal's expression change so suddenly as she walked towards the transport aircraft, Leo still couldn't figure out what she had been thinking to make her show such expressions.
As for Mike, who was standing to the side watching their exchange, he could only think...
*Sigh, if it were anyone else, I would think this was a young couple flirting.*
*But since it's Leo, it's different.*
*Leo is a man destined to have a harem.*
*So, with that in mind...*
Seeing Mike also suddenly adopt a thoughtful expression, Leo felt that the people around him were all rapidly improving their ability to overthink things.
[Oh, my dear Host, don't you think—their thoughts are completely correct?]
*I can't even guess what they're thinking without using Phantasmagoria. How am I supposed to judge if their thoughts are correct or not?*
[Oh, that's a good point.]
[But on the beach before, you had a great epiphany and declared you were going to be a harem king.]
[Why is it that after just a few days, it feels like your epiphany has vanished, and you've reverted to your old self?]
*The epiphany hasn't vanished. I'm still the same me.*
*But is it possible that—since your rewards have all been delivered, it's a clear sign that danger is imminent?*
*With danger on the horizon, if I let my second brain control my body, I could end up dead somewhere with no one to tell.*
[So you're still afraid of dying.]
*What else?*
*Am I supposed to, with a life-or-death crisis looming, go and foster relationships with the girls who've come to HQ, and even find time for a big D-O session?*
[...Oh, so you do have such thoughts.]
*...Isn't that obvious?*
*I'm human too.*
*And they are all genuinely outstanding in every way.*
*If I weren't so busy I couldn't spin, why wouldn't I make a move?*
[Sigh, that's true, but... well, never mind. This System won't butt in too much today.]
*That's rare—and you've already talked enough today.*
*Besides, I just remembered something.*
*Who was it that told me before, 'This System can guarantee that the next one will definitely not be the Herrscher of Sentience'?!*
[That was indeed an accident, but it's not this System's fault.]
[The blame lies where it's due. The reason Fu Hua, who shouldn't have become a Herrscher so soon, turned into the Herrscher of Sentience ahead of schedule is mainly because...]
[Otto's scheming, and she really cares about you.]
*Ah, so I'm part of the reason?*
[Isn't that obvious? Both the Herrscher of Sentience and Fu Hua care about you a lot.]
[So when her body recovered and she found out Otto still wasn't going to let you go, isn't it easy for her to get angry?]
[With a shared goal, it's very easy for the Herrscher of Sentience to use her own nature to erode Fu Hua's consciousness, making her mistake those impulses as 'Fu Hua's own thoughts'.]
*...So in short, it's still Otto's fault, right?*
[Sodayo. That man truly possesses that level of destructive capability in this regard.]
*I give up.*
*He's supposed to be reviving Kallen, so how did he inexplicably max out his skill in dragging everyone down?*
After hearing the System's explanation, the unease in Leo's heart grew.
Otto's scheming was one thing, but he was already mentally prepared for that.
What truly worried him was that after discussing this matter, the System actually fell silent on its own.
Even the usually talkative System had restrained itself at this moment, not using its trash talk to disturb Leo's thoughts.
This was enough to show that even the System, his 'companion' who usually seemed clueless but was reliable when it mattered, could already see the immense crisis looming before Leo, which was why it didn't continue to interfere with his thoughts.
With that in mind... in mind, my foot!
*Kevin won't kill me, so why do I still have a survival crisis to overcome?*
*What a pain.*
*Forget it, I need to ask Su when I get back.*
*He couldn't even guard the prison gate of Abyssal City, which means the problem must be very serious.*
*I was originally thinking of letting Schicksal and Shenzhou continue to analyze Chiyou's corpse to enhance the equipment of the Valkyrie units and martial artists.*
*Now, forget it.*
*If Kevin eats the Chiyou sashimi and recovers some of his power three years ahead of schedule, then when we face a Kevin who can use his Chimera powers, we'll all get beaten up.*
*The Stigmata Project... no matter how I think about it, I can't possibly like it.*
*Tsk, could it be because of this thought that Kevin won't let me go?*
*When it's necessary, I should just play dumb.*
*If playing dumb doesn't work against that man...*
*—Then I'll just have to improvise when the time comes.*
......
Meanwhile. World Serpent Main Base
Inside the World Serpent's main base, after listening to the administrator Gray Serpent describe the recent situation, even Kevin felt a bit dazed.
From February of this year, when Anti-Entropy's executive Cocolia started creating artificial Honkai Eruptions, to now, less than three months had passed.
And in these three months, Chiyou was awakened by World Serpent for Kevin's sake, but the other events...
Otto used a more sophisticated method than Cocolia to artificially induce the Fourth Eruption.
After that, the Fifth Eruption occurred just a few days ago, with less than a month in between.
And, more critically, the Herrscher Host chosen this time was Kevin's comrade, Hua.
In Kevin's view, the Honkai had reached an extreme point.
And what he found even more extreme was that just a few days after Hua became the Herrscher of Sentience, that girl named Wendy also became a Herrscher.
Hmm, a total of four Herrschers had appeared in less than three months.
Even if two of them were artificially created, this was a bit too intense.
Kevin was a battle-hardened veteran, that was true, but in their era, Herrscher manifestations at least had some time in between.
In Kevin's era, from the birth of the Third Herrscher to the defeat of the Sixth Herrscher, about three years had passed.
And in this era, from the birth of the Third Herrscher to the defeat of the Sixth Herrscher, it had been... three months???
*According to our plan, the people of this era, with the legacy of the Divine Keys and the data left from the Previous Era, should have been able to suppress the Honkai more smoothly.*
*And logically speaking, with No. 17 'suppressing' the Honkai, the timing of the Herrschers' appearance shouldn't be this chaotic.*
Kevin hadn't forgotten that his beloved Dr. Mei had once told him and the other Flame-Chasers of Fire Moth—no matter what, the people of this era would not be able to activate the Herrschers prematurely.
Mei was one of the people in the world who understood the nature of the Honkai best, so Kevin had never doubted his lover's opinion.
But now, with the facts before him, no matter how much Kevin trusted Mei, he had to face reality.
"My Lord, the Honkai is accelerating. This is an undeniable fact."
At this moment, the administrator Gray Serpent, who had been thinking frantically for several minutes, spoke to Kevin after figuring out what to say.
"And during this time, we have discovered a person."
"We suspect that the acceleration of the Honkai is very likely related to that person."
After saying this, Gray Serpent tapped lightly in the air a few times, displaying the data and intelligence he had already organized in front of Kevin.
"Schicksal's S-rank Knight, Leo Ash. The Herrscher of Thunder, Chiyou, and the Herrscher of Death were all defeated by him."
"Oh?"
Seeing this information, Kevin's eyes narrowed slightly.
Although he had already resolved to carry out the Stigmata Project, even now, Kevin still hoped to see some warriors with hope in their hearts strive to resist the Honkai.
And this young man with an impressive track record, in Kevin's eyes, was clearly such a person.
"But this subordinate suspects... My Lord, please wait a moment."
At this moment, the administrator Gray Serpent noticed a very important piece of intelligence coming through the Gray Serpent network and immediately began to check the message.
Then, Kevin, looking at the silent administrator Gray Serpent, asked calmly.
"What is it, Gray Serpent?"
"My Lord, you may not believe this, but our comrades who have infiltrated Schicksal just told me something."
"Just a few minutes ago, Leo Ash defeated the Sixth Herrscher, the [Herrscher of Wind], Wendy."
"And the time they fought, according to Schicksal HQ's news..."
"...should not have exceeded three minutes."
At this moment, hearing Gray Serpent's words, Kevin, who had just finished reading Leo Ash's personal file, finally understood why his subordinate had fallen silent.
"If I'm not mistaken, this Schicksal member named Leo Ash has been active for no more than three months, right?"
"Yes, you are not mistaken."
At this moment, Gray Serpent saw on Kevin's face an expression he absolutely did not want to see right now.
Kevin, who had always been indifferent to everything...
—Now, the corners of his mouth were slightly turned up.
...