Schicksal Headquarters.
Huuu——
Letting out a long breath, Otto watched the images on the giant screen with a blank expression.
He didn't know how long he had been standing there, nor what his next step should be.
He simply stared at the footage, doing nothing.
Even his brilliant mind seemed to have stalled.
The Divine Grace Barrier had absolutely no effect on the Fourth Herrscher—
It wasn't difficult to draw that conclusion.
One glance at the screen was enough.
And yet…
For some reason, it took Otto a long time to accept it.
He finally sat down in his chair.
Looks like this is… harder for me to swallow than expected…
A faint, self-mocking smile tugged at his lips—rare for someone like him.
This newly birthed Fourth Herrscher had already far exceeded his imagination.
He couldn't understand how such a Herrscher could exist.
Where have things gone wrong?
Could it be… that God had specially created a new kind of Herrscher?
A new possibility formed in Otto's mind.
Perhaps that being—whoever or whatever it truly was—
had grown disappointed with the Herrschers of the past.
The First and the Third had betrayed Honkai.
The Second had followed divine "guidance" only to fail miserably.
Otto imagined, if his own Valkyries were that incompetent…
He probably would've intervened personally ages ago.
It was only a conjecture—
But one he found increasingly plausible.
It explained why the Fourth Herrscher took K423 and Black Abyss White Flower,
but ignored the Third Herrscher.
K423 was vital to his Herrscher Control Project.
And Black Abyss White Flower was a powerful anti-Honkai weapon.
As for the Third Herrscher…
Perhaps simply too weak to bother with?
Even so, Otto would not give up.
He could not give up.
Every Herrscher had a weakness.
He just hadn't found this one yet.
But if Judah's Divine Grace Barrier was completely ineffective…
Could the God-Slaying Spear do anything?
And my old friend…
Will you be able to surprise me?
With that thought, Otto looked back at the screen.
The upcoming battle would determine his next move.
He knew—
If Judah had failed so thoroughly,
then Xuanyuan Sword would likely fare no better.
But still—
It was worth trying.
Canghai City.
"Theresa, I cooperated with you earlier, didn't I?
So now it's your turn to cooperate with me."
As the golden gears faded into motes of light, Wendy walked toward the collapsed Theresa with anticipation.
This Herrscher… what is she… huff…
Theresa sat on the ground, gasping heavily.
Inside the Divine Grace Barrier, the Fourth Herrscher had shown zero reaction.
Theresa could hardly believe it.
Even the Second Herrscher—equipped with six cores—could not fight inside Judah's barrier.
If not for Sirin's possession of the Core of Death,
Theresa would've killed her back then.
But this Fourth Herrscher…
She was completely unaffected.
Why?!
What is different about her?
She only has one core!
"Hey? Are you listening?
It's your turn to cooperate, you know?
I cooperated earlier."
Theresa: "?"
The Fourth Herrscher's voice snapped her back to reality.
"What… are you talking about?"
"Ugh… was my acting earlier not convincing?
I worked hard to look like I was in soooo much pain.
Whatever. I cooperated.
Now it's your turn—
Where can I buy ice cream in this city?"
Theresa: "…"
"More humans…?
You people really are like flies.
Endlessly annoying."
Wendy sighed.
At the same time—
A black shadow flashed past her, whisking Theresa away.
She didn't stop.
"Fu Hua, you—"
Seeing the red armor, Theresa was stunned.
"Headmistress, this isn't the time.
The Fourth Herrscher is still here.
We'll talk later."
Fu Hua placed her safely on a rooftop, never taking her eyes off Wendy.
"Lady Theresa, please come with me to safety."
From behind came Durandal's voice.
"Durandal…?
Fine."
Theresa had countless questions—
But she knew now wasn't the time.
Her energy was spent.
Staying here would only be a burden.
"You humans…
are seriously as annoying as flies.
Enough already…"
Wendy looked upward, visibly losing patience.
Her relaxing post-work routine should've been simple:
Ice cream.
A movie.
A peaceful evening.
Instead, humans kept interrupting her.
She was starting to regret not killing them earlier.
Will Xuanyuan Sword work on her…?
Fu Hua remained silent, gaze hard.
She had already seen the previous battle through Schicksal's satellites.
This Herrscher… was unlike any she had ever encountered.
A terrifying thought flashed through her mind.
If the true Herrscher of Restraint had once nearly annihilated entire fusion-warrior legions…
What would a being who was immune to such power look like?
The Last Herrscher…?
No. Impossible.
It isn't time yet.
She immediately shook the idea away.
The Last Herrscher represented the end of a civilization.
Her appearance meant total annihilation.
Unless defeated—
the world would be drowned in Honkai.
Fu Hua tightened her grip on the Xuanyuan Sword.
Please—
Xuanyuan Sword…
I'm counting on you.
"Hm?
An illusion?
Interesting…
Fine, I'll play along."
Wendy plucked an ethereal red feather from the air, examined it briefly, then tossed it aside with a shrug.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/pikachu614