"Durandal… are you alright?"
Standing at the edge of the enormous crater, Himeko looked at Durandal—who was struggling to get back on her feet—with clear worry in her voice.
When she arrived earlier, she had deliberately kept Bronya and Mei at a distance so she wouldn't interfere with Durandal's battle.
But she had never imagined the Fourth Herrscher would be this overwhelmingly powerful. Even Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie had been utterly crushed.
And worst of all… Kiana had been taken.
"I'm fine."
Durandal shook her head, though her expression looked anything but fine.
It had been a long time—perhaps never—since she had suffered a defeat so complete. And what made it sting even more was that even Black Abyss White Flower had been snatched from her.
And… the opponent might not even have been serious.
How humiliating…
"Durandal, return to HQ immediately."
Otto's voice came through her communicator.
"Yes, Overseer."
Calming herself, Durandal prepared to depart. Before leaving, she turned to Himeko.
"I leave them in your care."
"Don't worry."
Himeko nodded firmly.
Why is the Fourth Herrscher that strong? It shouldn't be possible…
And why did she take Kiana? Damn it…
As Durandal's figure vanished into the distance, Himeko's expression darkened. Thinking wouldn't help—right now, the priority was locating the Fourth Herrscher and getting Bronya and Mei to safety.
Schicksal HQ
"I saw everything. Report your impressions."
Otto didn't look up, hands flying across his keyboard as he pulled up Oceania Branch's old experimental records on Wendy.
Though he had read these files many times, what happened today forced him to scrutinize them again.
"The Fourth Herrscher's Honkai output isn't exceptionally high… but her combat strength is overwhelming. And…"
"And?"
He gestured for her to continue.
"She didn't seem to be fighting seriously. It felt more like… she was playing with me."
Durandal wasn't entirely certain if her judgment was accurate—but her instincts rarely failed her.
"And you fought seriously?"
"Against a Herrscher, I always go all out."
She offered no excuses. A loss was a loss.
"But you still lost… miserably. Even Black Abyss White Flower was taken."
Otto finally looked at her, deep in thought.
He had finished re-reading all experimental data from the last three years—but none of it explained today's events. In fact, it only made the mystery deeper.
According to the data, Wendy's fusion rate with the Gem of Desire was extremely low. That meant even if she did become a Herrscher, she would be an incomplete one—nowhere near strong enough to defeat Durandal outright.
Yet reality disagreed.
Otto had several possibilities in mind.
Possibility One: The data was falsified.
But that would require the cooperation of many lab personnel—not likely.
Possibility Two: Even with low fusion, the Gem of Desire could still produce a strong Herrscher.
Also unlikely. The fusion rate was crucial—he understood that better than anyone.
Thus only one possibility remained:
Possibility Three: The Fourth Herrscher can freely suppress or conceal her Honkai energy, to the point that even instruments cannot detect it.
This explanation aligned with the biggest mystery—Schicksal satellites couldn't detect her Honkai signature at all.
Which meant her energy readings were too low, impossibly low for someone of her strength.
As for why she hid her power for so long… Otto theorized she had been weak at birth and spent years developing—coincidentally doing so at Oceania Branch, one of the densest Honkai environments available.
But several questions still plagued him:
Why didn't she kill Durandal?
How powerful is she actually?
Why K423? Was it "companionship"—or was she after the Herrscher core inside Kiana?
And why didn't she take the Third Herrscher as well?
If it were a simple case of hunting Herrscher cores, she wouldn't stop at one.
Unless…
…Did she—or perhaps "that one"—discover my experiment?
The Gem of Conquest… could it be…
The thought made Otto's expression tighten.
He even briefly considered a terrifying possibility:
That God had intervened directly.
If so… everything made sense.
But… would that being truly meddle in this world?
"I'm sorry, Overseer. I failed you."
Durandal lowered her head.
"This isn't your fault. Herrschers aren't foes one can defeat casually. Prepare the Valkyrie forces.
Find the Fourth Herrscher."
Even if she possessed one core, Otto refused to believe she could surpass the six-core Sirin he once faced. Schicksal survived that calamity—he still had cards left to play.
"Yes, Overseer."
Hyperion
I never thought… the Fourth Herrscher would be this strong…
Even Durandal…
After reviewing the footage and Himeko's report, Theresa fell into heavy silence.
"Headmistress! Schicksal has detected the Fourth Herrscher's location!"
Himeko rushed over.
"What? Where is she?"
"In Canghai City."
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/pikachu614