Schicksal HQ
Within Schicksal HQ, Durandal frowned slightly as she looked over the recent intelligence reports compiled by the staff.
In the days since Leo Ash's disappearance, Sirin, who had taken both the Gem of Serenity and the Gem of Conquest, had not actually taken any further action.
Before her sudden attack today on a Valkyrie whose existence Durandal was completely unaware of, everyone had assumed that the person in control of that body was Kiana.
It was because Kiana controlled the body that she was able to suppress the Herrscher who hated humanity and prevent her from causing trouble everywhere—this was the judgment Theresa had made based on past experience.
But now it seemed that Sirin had suppressed Kiana long ago.
Her choice not to surface and wreak havoc during this period was likely because...
—she was scared, so she chose a more cautious strategy.
To be honest, this was a headache for everyone, including Durandal.
A three-core Herrscher of the Void was troublesome for the combined forces of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, but only troublesome.
If Sirin were as reckless as she was fourteen years ago, the current combined forces of the two organizations could have easily dealt with her in a frontal assault.
But now, Sirin was no longer reckless. The ordinary civilians of the world were temporarily safe.
But the Herrscher of the Void's ability to teleport anywhere, if used by a cautious person, meant that even if that person was inferior to the Schicksal-Anti-Entropy joint forces in a direct fight, the joint forces would have no way to counter her.
If this dragged on, Kiana's personality would sooner or later be further suppressed by Sirin's.
And once Kiana's personality was suppressed by Sirin to the point of complete dissipation, then at that time...
Just thinking about this possibility made Durandal feel an anxiety that exceeded her own expectations.
Leo Ash had disappeared after his deathmatch with Kevin. Isla Ash was now putting on a brave face, and Yuna was in a poor state and still afraid to face this sudden kinship.
Under these circumstances, if something really happened to Kiana, Isla Ash would surely feel even worse.
Moreover, now that Durandal knew she was also part of the 'Kaslana' clan, she had already begun to investigate her own origins.
Even if Durandal didn't consider Isla Ash's feelings, or the inexplicable sense of closeness she occasionally felt towards Kiana, she couldn't possibly allow her own kin to continue being persecuted by a Herrscher personality.
It was for these reasons that Durandal now felt...
—troubled.
Back when World Serpent had the Quantum Teleportation System, Schicksal, in order to guard against this unscrupulous, anti-human enemy organization, had spent a lot of unnecessary energy just to prevent the enemy from using this ability for sneak attacks.
And now, the authority of the Herrscher of the Void could be said to be a perfect superior version of the Quantum Teleportation System.
Now that Sirin had started acting with caution and a brain, if she continued to choose to lurk in places and create Honkai Beasts...
Just thinking about such a scenario made Durandal's head throb even more.
And right now, she didn't even have the time to deal with the Herrscher of the Void.
There were very few people in the world like Durandal who could enter the Sea of Quanta and maintain their ability to act independently through their own power.
In order to find Leo Ash, who was very likely in the Sea of Quanta, Durandal simply couldn't spare the time to do anything else.
"Lady Durandal, please do not worry too much."
Seeing the deep frown on Durandal's face, Rita said softly to her.
"Please have a little more confidence in everyone at Schicksal HQ. If Miss Kiana were to return here with malicious intent, Lady Theresa would lead everyone to protect the headquarters."
"That's easy to say, but..."
*But what!*
Just as she was about to say more, Durandal suddenly realized where her problem had been recently.
Because of Leo Ash's disappearance, Durandal, who was now temporarily Schicksal's strongest combatant, had subconsciously put herself in Leo Ash's position and started thinking about things she normally wouldn't.
Before becoming a Schicksal Knight, Leo Ash had first acted as a Schicksal agent for a period of time.
So as an agent, he would analyze existing intelligence from multiple angles, and after thinking, make a relatively reasonable judgment before taking action.
This was of course an excellent mode of operation, but it wasn't very suitable for Durandal.
Whether in terms of intelligence analysis ability or strategic thinking from a big-picture perspective, Durandal was far inferior to Leo Ash.
Under these circumstances, Durandal, who usually spent most of her time hunting Honkai Beasts and training hard, was not suited to act according to Leo Ash's methods.
*I...*
*Sigh, I'm just like Mei and Yuna. Ever since Leo Ash disappeared, I've been a mess.*
*It's because I have this thought in my mind, 'What would he do if he were at HQ right now,' that I can't stop myself from trying to see things from Leo Ash's perspective, trying to think through every single aspect of the situation.*
*But adopting this thinking model that doesn't suit me will only lead to me becoming hesitant and indecisive, which in turn lowers my operational efficiency.*
"Rita, I'll leave things at HQ to you and Bishop Theresa, then."
"I've explored many areas in the Sea of Quanta recently. Leo Ash... maybe if I try for a few more days, I'll be able to bring him back."
Seeing the distress on Durandal's face suddenly vanish, Rita smiled and said.
"Of course. I will await your good news here at HQ, Lady Durandal."
After a slight nod to Rita, Durandal used the Quantum Teleportation System to go directly to Abyssal City.
Su and Welt, who had long since grown accustomed to Durandal's visits, naturally didn't say much about it.
To be honest, after multiple interactions with these two, Durandal's impression of them wasn't bad.
Even though one was the former leader of a rival organization and the other was an old man Leo Ash couldn't stand, Durandal, having interacted with them many times, could clearly feel...
—these two were definitely not bad people.
The point of comparison, of course, was Otto Apocalypse, who had now been missing for a long time.
Mr. Otto, who compared himself to the witch Medea, had always been open with Durandal, his subordinate and disciple.
And now, Otto, the self-proclaimed Medea, hadn't contacted HQ for so long.
Meanwhile, the two people Durandal had originally thought were no good were now not only not taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble but were even assisting her in searching for Schicksal's strongest combatant, Leo Ash.
At a time like this, Durandal felt it was completely unnecessary to still suspect them of having ill intentions.
But today, upon seeing Su, Durandal suddenly felt that the expression on his face seemed slightly different from usual.
"Mr. Su, is there something you want to say?"
"...No, you're overthinking it, Miss Bianka."
Hearing Durandal's question, Su gently shook his head and said.
"Actually, after Shenzhou handed that report to Schicksal, Bishop Theresa also forwarded it to us."
"And now, the fact that the Herrscher of the Void isn't causing trouble is, in my opinion... quite a troublesome matter."
"The Honkai's previous scheme successfully made Kevin and Mr. Leo Ash fight, while also agitating the Herrscher personalities of the Herrscher of the Void and the Herrscher of Sentience. Not only did this turn our potential allies into a scattered mess, but because they were provoked, they even began to turn on each other."
"If I were the Honkai, then with Mr. Leo Ash missing right now..."
"You mean, the Honkai will definitely start a new scheme during this period?"
Hearing Su's speculation, Durandal said thoughtfully.
"That's not right. If there were any movements during this time, the intelligence department, which has been working around the clock, would have found some clues by now."
"Yes, but with our combat strength compromised, the fact that the Honkai hasn't made a move is the biggest problem."
"If we can't identify the problem, we can't counter it. And once the Honkai's scheme is completed in secret, we'll have even more things to worry about."
"Mmm... then I won't ask any more questions."
Looking at the already activated Eye of the Deep, Durandal, who had given up on overthinking, jumped directly into the entrance with a determined look in her eyes.
"Anyway, we don't know what cards the Honkai will play now, so..."
"—bringing Leo Ash back as soon as possible is what I should be doing right now."
Watching the girl's body being enveloped by the entrance, Su slowly let out a sigh of relief.
In fact, while the issues he had mentioned were among the things he had been pondering, the reason Su had looked at Durandal strangely was for another reason.
To this day, Siegfried has been missing for a long time after being captured by Kevin.
And Durandal, as Siegfried's daughter, had the right to know that her father was in danger, in Su's opinion.
But right now, Durandal was the most suitable 'lifeguard' for the two major organizations. If her mind was in turmoil, it could lead to her encountering dangers she wouldn't have had to face while rescuing Leo Ash.
After much thought, Su decided it would be better to tell her about this after she had fished Leo Ash out.
Moreover, Su and Welt weren't just idling in Abyssal City.
During this time, the Herrscher of the Void had taken the Key of the Void and could have caused a great upheaval.
But she didn't act.
And considering the micromanagement No. 17 had been doing after infiltrating the enemy's ranks, Su felt that No. 17 must have already begun a new scheme.
With humanity's current combat strength, the five Herrschers who had yet to emerge—Ice, Star, Flame, Corruption, and Domination—were more than capable of changing the tide of battle if they were awakened by the Honkai at the right time.
And among these five Herrschers, there were Domination and Corruption, who, upon awakening, could act in a subtle and insidious manner.
If it were like the Previous Era, where the Herrschers came one by one to throw their lives away, Su wouldn't be having such a headache.
But in this era, No. 17, who was supposed to lower the difficulty, had started micromanaging while locking in the Herrscher authorities.
Compressing the awakening time of Herrschers, stimulating the rotation of their cores, micromanaging the amplification/suppression of their core operations, luring potentially rebellious Herrschers to fight against strong enemies to make both sides suffer heavy losses...
If his old friends were here, Su would really like to ask them what kind of stimulating algorithms they wrote into No. 17's operating AI to turn the originally less threatening Honkai into this hell-mode difficulty.
In the past, Su had worried that Kevin would implement the Stigmata Project after he emerged.
But now that things have come to this, Su suddenly had an epiphany.
He felt that the next time he met Kevin, he might have to persuade him to change his approach.
Besides the main reason that Su himself really disliked the Stigmata Project, there was another, more important reason.
The Stigmata Project required enough time to be completed, but now...
—with the Honkai being micromanaged by No. 17, would it really give them enough time?
......
Sea of Quanta, a certain World Bubble.
At the exit of a certain World Bubble, Seele looked at Leo Ash, who was stretching his muscles, and felt that this scene was somewhat different from what she had imagined.
After learning that they had found the exit of the World Bubble, Seele had originally thought that they would need to gather everyone's strength at the exit to blast open a huge gap for them to get out safely.
But when the day came to leave the World Bubble, Seele found that only she and Leo Ash were actually at the scene.
Oh, counting her other self, that would be three people.
As for the others, according to Leo Ash, they had all returned to his personal Stigmata Space.
Yae Sakura, Ji Lin, Cecilia, and Rin all now had physical bodies thanks to the power gathered within the World Bubble.
But even so, that didn't prevent the Stigmata Space from being able to absorb the four of them into it.
"Um, Brother Leo Ash."
Looking at the young man before her, Seele asked timidly.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Oh, there is."
Stopping his movements, Leo Ash materialized the Blank Key and said to Seele with a calm expression.
"Keep a good watch on your dear sister. Tell her not to move a muscle."
"If I get angry later, I can't say what will happen."
[*This guy—!*]
*Other me...*
[*Alright, I get it. I won't cause any trouble.*]
[*At least, not right now.*]
Hearing the resignation in Seele's voice, the other Seele said to her fiercely.
[*I'll settle the score between him and me once we're out!*]
*Um, I think even after we get out, the power gap between you and Brother Leo Ash will still be huge.*
[*Hmph, you don't understand these things at all. Besides—I never said I was going to settle things with him through strength.*]
[*Seele, you need to understand one thing. Fighting...*]
[*—has always been about using your brain!*]
To be honest, Seele didn't think for a moment that her other self could outsmart Leo Ash.
She didn't know much about Leo Ash; after all, they had only known each other for less than a week.
But from their interactions over this week, Seele could see that Leo Ash's observation and deduction skills were very strong.
The other Seele hadn't had much direct contact with Leo Ash, but on many occasions, her thoughts were clearly guessed by him.
Under these circumstances...
*Even if you use your brain, you don't have much of a chance, other me.*
Of course, Seele would never say these words directly to her other self.
After wandering in the World Bubbles of the Sea of Quanta for so long, she had long wanted to leave these damn places and return to her family.
When hope appeared before her, Seele truly felt that many things were no longer important.
*Mama Cocolia, Sister Bronya, and everyone at the orphanage, please wait just a little longer.*
*After today...*
*—I'll be able to see you all again!*
......