At that moment, Su, who was being chased down by the Herrscher of Sentience, and Welt, who was trying to coordinate with Su to control her, both thought *'this is bad'* when they heard the commotion from the other side.
Ordinarily, Welt, who knew Kiana's identity, would have been on high alert the moment she appeared.
But now...
*So, after all that, the only reason the Honkai was helping me was to make the Herrscher of Sentience mistake me for a bad guy—a running dog on the Honkai's side?*
And now...
Feeling the conversion speed of the core within him plummet from 100% to below 50% in an instant, Welt truly felt that the Honkai's micromanagement skills had improved significantly over the past fourteen years.
In the past, the most the Honkai did was toss a few Herrscher Cores to Sirin after she escaped, helping to boost her power.
But now, whether it was the support his own core received or the way the Herrscher of Sentience was deceived by this uncontrollable event, it was all, to put it bluntly, to prevent him, Mr. Su, and Fu Hua/the Herrscher of Sentience—the three remaining combat-capable individuals—from being able to stop Sirin from seizing the Herrscher Cores.
Thinking a layer deeper—Knight Leo Ash became the Herrscher of Binding and defeated Kevin, a warrior who could have threatened the Honkai. Was this also part of the Honkai's plan?
The Honkai's evolution wasn't just in the speed at which Herrschers appeared; even its strategies were becoming more meticulous.
"Mr. Su, I'll have to leave Miss Fu Hua to you!"
After tossing out that sentence, Welt unhesitatingly unleashed the power of the Star of Eden at Sirin.
"Oh? It's you, the traitor."
Feeling the gravitational waves appear beside her, Sirin gave a frivolous smile and instantly used her own authority to depart from Welt's attack range.
"You don't actually think you have a chance of taking me down in this situation, do you?"
"Sirin, you—"
"You're a Herrscher, and you dare get distracted in front of me?!"
Seeing Welt ignore her to attack another opponent, the Herrscher of Sentience's eyes flashed with anger. She bypassed Su, who was trying to intercept her, and slammed a fist into Welt's abdomen.
Welt, who had never been good at close-quarters combat, was sent flying, clutching his stomach.
Normally, when in good physical condition, Welt wouldn't have been hit so easily.
But the problem was, in that split second, although Welt hadn't seen those colorful feathers he despised, he felt as if he had momentarily zoned out.
Because of that temporary lapse, Welt didn't even have time to defend or dodge, let alone activate his Imaginary Shield. That was how the Herrscher of Sentience had sent him flying so easily.
As he flew backward, Welt remembered that the woman before him was not only a Schicksal Valkyrie but also a Herrscher who controlled consciousness.
Facing a Herrscher who could manipulate the minds of others and possessed exquisite martial arts, if he didn't maintain his distance...
Welt felt that if she hadn't hit him so hard and sent him flying, he'd probably be getting pummeled black and blue just like Su.
As for Su, who was now forced to face the Herrscher of Sentience directly, his condition was far from good.
It was true that Su was a MANTIS of the spirit type, 'born' to counter the Herrscher of Sentience, but he could only counter her authority.
The Previous Era's Herrscher of Sentience had been cornered by Su because she lacked a physical body, but the Current Era's Herrscher of Sentience...
She not only possessed the authority of the Herrscher of Sentience but also Fu Hua's strength as a combat-type MANTIS, along with Fu Hua's martial arts, honed to perfection over a long period.
Under these circumstances, for a research-type talent like Su to go head-to-head with her and not be immediately slammed into the ground was already a testament to his effort.
If there was any way to break the stalemate now, it would be for Su to use his MANTIS form.
But Su, who was currently being beaten, hadn't been hit so hard that he'd lost his reason.
He knew very well that if he activated the power of his MANTIS form now, a Su who had lost his sense of self fighting a Herrscher of Sentience deluded by the Honkai would only bring harm to the innocent people around them.
Among the people here, aside from Welt who had only taken one hard punch, the Herrscher of Death, Yuna, and the Herrscher of Thunder, Mei, had not only had their cores stolen but also had their hearts directly damaged by 'Kiana's' brutal actions.
Durandal herself was still combat-capable, but the energy in her Divine Key, Abyss Flower, was more than halfway depleted.
Facing a Herrscher with three cores...
No, wait. The Thousand Worlds was originally left at Schicksal HQ.
Miss Kiana was also at Schicksal HQ before she became the Herrscher of the Void, who was supposed to be dead.
That means control of the Thousand Worlds is in her hands!
A Herrscher of the Void with three Herrscher Cores and control over the Thousand Worlds.
Was the Honkai's entire plan, from start to finish, aimed at facilitating her awakening and empowerment?
"You're distracted, too?"
Even though Su was barely fending off the Herrscher of Sentience's attacks, her authority was now automatically radiating outwards with the Honkai's support. She easily sensed that Su's attention was no longer on her.
Overwhelmed with agitation, the Herrscher of Sentience forcefully suppressed Fu Hua's personality, which was attempting to regain control, and threw an incredibly vicious punch at Su.
"Are you looking down on me, too?!"
"One-Inch Punch: Heaven Splitter!"
If Su still had access to the Key of the Void, he could have used the Seed of Sumeru to open the Karma Cycle, blocking the attack's energy and reflecting it back at his enemy.
But now, with his Divine Key stolen, Su could only use Honkai Energy as a shield against the Herrscher of Sentience's attack, trying to mitigate the damage Fu Hua would inflict upon him.
"Mr. Welt, I'll hold Hua off! You use the Quantum Teleportation System—"
"Still talking!"
Seeing Su still being chased down by the Herrscher of Sentience, Welt knew the situation was out of control. He immediately did a combat roll to where Sirin had just been and picked up the Abyss Flower from the ground.
At that moment, holding the Abyss Flower, Welt saw the spot where he'd just been standing get pierced by a Lance of the Void and could only think...
Ah, the nightmare from fourteen years ago is back.
Back then, facing a Sirin who possessed the cores of Void, Death, Thunder, Wind, and Flame, Welt, with his broken body, had only lasted for a minute.
Of course, the situation now was different from back then.
At that time, Welt, who had been ambushed by Otto, was judged by Sirin to have 'less than half the power of our last meeting'. And Welt, who had never even reached 50% mastery over his core in this life, had his mastery halved to a mere 25%. Facing a five-core Sirin, it was a miracle he lasted even a few seconds before being killed.
But now, Welt was at least at his peak strength, and while Sirin had more than one core, three was still less than five.
The current situation, just as Mr. Su sensed, was likely unwinnable.
But unwinnable doesn't mean we can't escape!
Of course, if Welt wanted to take down Sirin here and now, it wasn't entirely impossible.
After Leo Ash vanished, the Blank Key on him disappeared as well, but the Seven Thunders of Retribution and the Oath of Judah were still in the area.
Welt, having obtained the blueprints for all the Divine Keys from Su, couldn't perfectly create all of them yet, but he had memorized the release methods for the Zeroth Power of several key Divine Keys.
If he could get his hands on the Oath of Judah and unleash its Zeroth Power, [Divine Grace Field], a Sirin unable to escape might be turned into a helpless little girl.
But at the same time, once the Divine Grace Field was deployed, Mei and the other Herrscher girl, who were already severely injured and near death, would almost certainly have their injuries worsen due to the field's power, and they might die here.
Mei was, after all, the daughter of his subordinate, Raiden Ryoma. To ask Welt to gamble the life of his subordinate's family on such a low-probability chance...
As he tumbled across the ground dodging the Lances of the Void, Welt ultimately chose to suppress that insane idea. He quickly moved to Mei and Yuna's side and channeled the Honkai Energy squeezed from his core into the Abyss Flower.
"Miss Durandal, please buy me some time!"
"I understand!"
Though she never thought she'd one day fight alongside the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, Durandal, facing the 'Kiana' who had harmed Mei and Yuna and already knowing her identity, immediately chose to summon her other weapon, [Helir of Serene Solitude].
After Rita's weapon [Skadi of Eternal Frost] was PRI-ARMed into [Skadi of Celestial Frost], Schicksal HQ, now with some experience in weapon enhancement, naturally took the first opportunity to upgrade the other S-rank Valkyrie Durandal's Pantheon-class weapon [Helir of Eternal Silence] into [Helir of Serene Solitude].
This enhanced Pantheon-class weapon, forged from Soulium, was still far inferior to Abyss Flower in terms of overall power, but as a weapon against the enemy before her, Helir of Serene Solitude was sufficient.
If there were no injured on the ground right now, Durandal would have certainly chosen a more aggressive approach to attack the Herrscher of the Void.
But now, Mei and Yuna were on the verge of death, and...
*Isla, she's still in this area.*
*Seeing her mother suddenly turn into a villain and try to kill her other mother, on top of her father just disappearing before her eyes... the child must be so devastated that she can't face this reality.*
*The Sovereign of Anti-Entropy... he's been on our side from the beginning, and his actions now are clearly to use Abyss Flower to save them.*
*I'll trust him for now and hold off Sirin.*
"Oh? And you are..."
Looking at the valiant female knight before her, Sirin stopped her attack on Welt, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"You remind me of a woman."
"Fourteen years ago, there was a Valkyrie, just like you, who possessed 'Abyss Flower'. She, too, appeared before me as an enemy."
As if reminiscing about a certain time, a hint of warmth appeared in Sirin's otherwise cold eyes.
"She truly treated me like a daughter, and I did indeed have a warm time with her."
"...If you truly felt kindness from her, then you shouldn't be doing this."
Facing a Sirin whose killing intent had subsided, Durandal's mind raced, trying to think of how to persuade the Herrscher before her to return the body to Kiana, all to buy more time for Welt to unleash Abyss Flower.
"That Valkyrie certainly wouldn't want you now to..."
"You seem to think that I'm saying these things because I want a truce?"
Facing the girl who was about to lecture her, Sirin's expression suddenly turned cold again, and she clenched her fist.
Sensing the killing intent flare up from her opponent once more, Durandal immediately leaped back, leaving her original position.
As a Lance of the Void pierced through Durandal's afterimage, a look of resentment crossed Sirin's face.
"Wrong."
"That Valkyrie was indeed a very gentle person, but such a gentle person was still killed—killed by her superior."
"Even someone as gentle as her was persecuted. It just makes me feel all the more—that this filthy world truly has no reason to exist!"
*Strange.*
*The 'Valkyrie who possessed Abyss Flower' she's talking about should be the S-rank Valkyrie from fourteen years ago, Senior Cecilia Schariac.*
*But... didn't Senior Cecilia fight the Herrscher of the Void and have HQ launch a Honkai Fission Missile to take them both out?*
*Why would the Herrscher of the Void personality dwelling in Kiana's body think that Senior Cecilia was killed by her 'superior'?*
"You seem to have many questions in your heart, even thinking that I'm trying to sow discord, but..."
"It doesn't matter!"
"Today, all of you must—"
"Mom!"
Just as she was about to utter a threat, Sirin was stopped short by a voice calling out to her. She froze for a moment.
Then, turning her gaze to Isla Ash, whose face was filled with sorrow but held back tears, she spoke with a somewhat complicated expression.
"...You're still willing to call me Mom, my good daughter."
"No matter what, Mom is Mom!"
As if having made a decision, Isla Ash ignored Yuna, who was trying to say something, and walked toward Sirin step by step.
"I don't know why Mom is doing these things, but I believe Mom isn't a bad person."
"If something is troubling you, Mom, you can tell me, tell Auntie Bianka, tell Grandma Theresa."
"Everyone is a good person. If Mom would just talk about what's upsetting her—"
"I'm afraid not, my good daughter."
After saying this with infinite gentleness, Sirin suddenly vanished from her spot.
Durandal, who had been secretly commanding King and Queen to manifest near Sirin for a surprise attack, clicked her tongue in frustration when Sirin reappeared with a hint of mockery in her eyes.
*This one...!*
*Her vigilance is a bit too high.*
On the other side, Welt, who had finished the initial treatment for Yuna and Mei's injuries, felt his headache worsen as he looked at the current Sirin.
In the past, although Sirin possessed greater power than Welt, she tended to get arrogant when she had the upper hand.
It was precisely because of this trait that she was outmaneuvered by Welt several times during the Second Eruption and suffered for it.
But now, the Sirin 'revived' by Otto was clearly much more cautious than she was during the Second Eruption.
Sirin's greatest weakness was getting cocky and letting her brain shut down when she had the advantage. Now that this weakness was gone...
*My head hurts.*
*Otto, you bastard. Tricking me and Siegfried wasn't enough for you; now you've revived the Herrscher of the Void.*
Just thinking of that detestable face made Welt wish he could manifest Jizō Mitama and plunge the tachi deep into Otto's body.
But unfortunately, Otto wasn't here.
And now, he had to figure out a way to get all his allies away from a three-core Sirin.
"Ah, Welt, it looks like you're scheming something again."
At that moment, Sirin walked over to Isla Ash, gently picked up her daughter, and then gave a small wave towards Welt.
"I won't give you another chance to plot against me, traitor!"
"Mom!"
Isla, held by Sirin, didn't struggle. Instead, she threw herself into Sirin's embrace and shouted.
"Stop it! This isn't right, Mom!"
"The Kiana-mom I love is a little clumsy, but she's an incredibly kind woman! The mom you are now isn't like the mom in my heart at all!"
"If Dad saw you like this, he'd be sad too!"
*Dad... Leo Ash... Senior...*
Amidst the girl's cries, Sirin, who had been about to continue her attack on Welt and Durandal, suddenly released her arms from around Isla and clutched her head in pain.
"Damn it... damn it... damn it! You fake, why are you getting in my way at a time like this!"
Realizing that the other personality within her had not been completely silenced, Sirin instantly teleported far away, putting distance between herself and the others.
Durandal, who was about to give chase, could only position her body between Isla and Sirin, shielding Isla behind her.
"Isla, get back. She isn't Kiana anymore."
"That's right, my good daughter. I'm not who I used to be."
Feeling a splitting headache that prevented her from using her full power, Sirin clutched her face and looked at everyone present, then spoke coldly to Isla.
"For your sake today, I'll spare these wastes of space."
"But the next time we meet, my good daughter, I hope you... will make a choice that pleases me."
After saying this, Sirin activated the authority of the Herrscher of the Void and vanished from sight.
After confirming Sirin wasn't just faking a retreat, Welt and Durandal both let out a sigh of relief.
Regardless, not having to face a Herrscher with three cores was a good thing for the two of them, who had to protect the injured.
As for Su, who was still being hunted by the Herrscher of Sentience, he grit his teeth and, at the risk of being grievously wounded, condensed a massive amount of psychic energy into his right palm.
"You bastard, give me back my disciple!"
"Hua, it's about time you woke up."
Completely abandoning his defense, Su took a blow that pierced his body, but in exchange, he landed a palm strike on the Herrscher of Sentience's forehead.
Under the interference of Su's powerful psychic energy, Fu Hua finally managed to reclaim control of her body, even with the Honkai strengthening the Herrscher of Sentience.
"Su, I... I... I..."
Immediately pulling her blood-stained hands from her comrade's body, Fu Hua looked at Su's resigned face and took two steps back, at a loss for what to do.
"Hua, listen to me, this isn't your fault..."
Seeing Welt jog over to his side, Su said to Fu Hua with a wry smile.
"Everything that happened today was all part of the Honkai's plan."
"Including you, me, Leo Ash, Kevin... even everyone present was played by the Honkai."
"You weren't in a good state, and the core inside you just happens to be the Herrscher of Sentience's, which can suppress consciousness. That's why you keep finding yourself unable to control your own body."
"But just now, I poured all my remaining psychic energy into your head."
"Coupled with our efforts on Mount Taixu, you should be able to completely suppress the Herrscher of Sentience's personality in a while and return to the front lines."
"...I understand."
Fu Hua, who had wanted to apologize, saw the comforting look in Su's eyes and knew her comrade didn't want her to make such a futile gesture right now.
However, besides the guilt she felt towards her comrade, another emotion remained in Fu Hua's heart.
Sorrow.
The Herrscher of Sentience had gone on a rampage because of Leo Ash's passing. How could Fu Hua, whom Leo Ash called 'Master', not be affected at all?
She, too, felt immense grief over Leo Ash's 'death'...
No, perhaps it was precisely because she couldn't contain her emotions that a vulnerability appeared in her heart, allowing the Herrscher of Sentience to instantly gain the upper hand and seize control of her body again.
At this moment, a deeply uncomfortable atmosphere permeated the finally quiet scene.
"Kiana, what on earth happened to you..."
Mei, whose injuries were slightly less severe than Yuna's, was still conscious.
Recalling everything that had just happened, she still couldn't bring herself to believe...
—to believe the facts that had unfolded before her very eyes.
Leo Ash had disappeared, and Kiana's Herrscher personality had awakened.
For Mei, who cherished them both dearly, the blow was greater than what she had felt when her father, Raiden Ryoma, had been betrayed by Cocolia.
Raiden Ryoma going to prison was just that—prison.
But Leo Ash disappearing and Kiana's body being taken over... was basically equivalent to declaring their deaths, one in existence and the other in personality.
"Auntie Mei, Auntie Bianka, and Auntie Fu Hua."
Looking at the three of them lost in sorrow, Isla Ash spoke to them calmly.
"Don't look so sad. Before Dad left, he told us to wait for him, that he would come back."
"My dad is definitely a man who keeps his promises, so..."
After a brief pause, Isla Ash smiled at everyone.
"Please believe in my father. He will definitely come back."
Whether it was Welt, who had just met Isla, or the others who had spent the last few days with her, everyone could feel that Isla, who had just lost her father, was clearly forcing a smile to comfort them.
But facing the young girl, not a single person was tactless enough to point out the smile she used to mask her sorrow.
"I'm sorry, Isla."
Looking at the little girl who was clearly in deep sorrow yet putting on a brave face for everyone's sake, Fu Hua, feeling she had performed extremely poorly today, whispered these words and walked away.
"Until I'm completely 'stable', I don't have the right to stay by everyone's side."
"Auntie Fu Hua has made her decision, so I won't ask you to stay, but—promise me, once you're 'well' again, you have to come back."
Watching Fu Hua's receding figure, Isla Ash shouted after her.
"Dad cares about Auntie Fu Hua a lot too. If you're not here when he gets back, Dad will be very lonely!"
Moreover, among everyone present, there was one person who had practically no connection to Leo Ash.
And because of that, possessing certain information, he was able to make some deductions more calmly.
"Ladies of Schicksal, I believe my actions today have proven that I did not come here to start a war."
Welt, who had used his Divine Keys multiple times today, said to the group, sounding slightly weak.
"So now, could you all please calm down and listen to what I have to say?"
Upon hearing Welt's words, Mei looked towards Durandal, who outranked her.
In response to Mei's questioning gaze, Durandal nodded slightly and said to Welt with great solemnity.
"Please speak, Sovereign of Anti-Entropy."
"Mm. I know you are all grieving for Mr. Leo Ash, but I was observing his condition when he disappeared."
After tapping a few times in the air, Welt pulled up a video from an information screen and displayed it for everyone to see.
"One of our Anti-Entropy Executors, Cocolia, conducted a human quantization experiment behind my back, codenamed X-10."
"Towards the end of this experiment, her adopted daughter, Seele Vollerei, was one of the test subjects, and her body was quantized as a result of the experiment."
"Furthermore, in the final X-10 experiment, Cocolia's other adopted daughter, Bronya Zaychik, acquired a tactical mech from this experiment, which she named [Project Bunny]."
After showing these images to everyone, Welt pushed up his non-prescription glasses and continued.
"Based on this data, I strongly suspect that Mr. Leo Ash may not be dead, but rather that his body underwent quantization due to his power running rampant."
"This..."
Remembering the sight of Bronya summoning Project Bunny, a glimmer of hope gradually appeared on Mei's face.
"You're right! Does—does this mean Leo is still alive?!"
"It's only a possibility."
[Mr. Welt.]
At that moment, Su, having recovered a bit of his strength, immediately used the last shred of his psychic power to ask Welt a question in his mind.
[What you're saying...]
*Of course it's all true. I'm not telling some kind lie.*
Listening to Welt's words, Su felt truly exhausted today.
As a researcher from the Previous Era, Su had some understanding of the Sea of Quanta.
Because the scene had been so chaotic, Su, despite having a lot of information, had been too tied up with the Herrscher of Sentience to observe some of the details...
*Sigh, have I used too much psychic energy, causing my mind to become scattered?*
"So, in order to rescue Mr. Leo Ash, I hope that in the time to come, our two organizations can set aside our past differences and temporarily join forces."
After saying this, Welt added a supplement for the group.
"I know that even if I say this now, Miss Durandal cannot make the decision, so..."
"—Please contact Miss Theresa. After I meet with her, she should be able to make the right choice."
Just then, Durandal's communicator suddenly rang.
After Durandal immediately answered it, she heard a voice she least wanted to hear right now.
"Lady Durandal, please, is Lady Kiana at Jiuyou?"
"Rita..."
Taking a deep breath, Durandal spoke to Rita on the other end of the communicator with mixed feelings.
"Calm down and listen to me."
"...Did Leo get reckless again?"
"Leo wasn't reckless."
After hearing Rita's sigh of relief, Durandal said with utter helplessness.
"But after a battle with a powerful enemy, he has temporarily gone missing."
"Right now, I need to get in touch with Bishop Theresa. After all, now that Leo has disappeared..."
"—The Herrscher of the Void took Yuna's and Mei's cores and swaggered off, disappearing from right in front of us."
.....
At the same time, in Shenzhou.
After hearing rumors from Schicksal's secret base about the 'Immortal Red Kite's return', Li Sushang, who had her doubts about Otto's actions, immediately chose to leave a handwritten letter and temporarily bid farewell to him.
It wasn't that her doubts had made her completely brand the Raksha as a villain, but sometimes...
*Sigh, those indescribable thoughts in my heart led me to leave that place on impulse.*
*Even though the Schicksal pilot flew me to Shenzhou in this big iron bird, I don't know if I should go see Martial Ancestor Red Kite right now.*
*Besides, what happened today was just too strange.*
*The people at Schicksal all say the Raksha is the pillar of the fight against the Honkai, but he's so smart. How could he not know that the enemy was colluding with the beasts?*
*That guy is definitely hiding something from me.*
*Although meeting with Martial Ancestor Red Kite might not answer my questions, still...*
*One lives but once; one should always follow one's heart.*
*I'll act on my instincts, and if problems arise, I'll figure out how to solve them then.*
After bidding farewell to the pilot, Li Sushang, having just arrived in Shenzhou, suddenly felt a drop of water fall from the sky onto her face.
Watching the sudden downpour, Li Sushang muttered to herself helplessly.
"Sigh, I heard someone at the base mention today was supposed to be sunny."
"I guess this so-called 'weather forecast' isn't very accurate after all."
As she lowered her head, Li Sushang failed to see a figure leap over her.
And Fu Hua, her mind in turmoil, certainly couldn't have noticed...
—that someone who shouldn't have been in this era had already appeared in her homeland.
.....