Leaving aside the farcical scene in the Schicksal Garden, the entire Schicksal Floating Island was now on high alert, with the tension thickest in the Second Schicksal's Command.
"Any spare forces available? The Valkyrie Squad guarding East District Line 1 is requesting urgent reinforcements!"
"We don't have any Valkyrie forces to spare! Send the Titan Mecha and the Branch's reserve Valkyries to assist them."
"If they can't hold, order a retreat! Let Dr. Tesla direct the Titan Troops to bombard that area! No pointless sacrifices."
-
"Has anyone seen Headmaster Theresa?!"
One of the tactical analysts looked up and urgently called out to his colleagues.
"Headmaster? Headmaster Theresa went out to provide support too! The Honkai Beast Horde is overwhelming. Even with Schicksal's continuous sniping and the three-layered Defense Satellite network surrounding Headquarters, how are so many still breaking through?"
"Stop complaining. At least that Judgment-class Honkai Beast has been temporarily driven back—but to repel a dragon-type Judgment-class beast single-handedly... Lady Fu Hua's power is truly formidable."
"Wait, Lady Theresa went out to provide support. Who's in command of the Command Center?"
"...It's me. Tell all squads that if necessary, they can temporarily withdraw, call in artillery strikes for a cleansing, and then resume their advance."
Without anyone noticing, Kyuusyou had already stood before the Command Center's virtual tactical map. She frowned deeply as she stared at the red dots marking the engagement zones on the map.
"How long did Headquarters' third-tier Defense Satellite Network hold out?"
The purple-haired Valkyrie looked up at the Command Center's Intelligence Analyst.
"Lady Kyuusyou, based on the database records of the Satellite Defense Network's engagement with the Honkai Beast Horde and the time the Honkai Beasts breached the defensive line, the third-tier Defense Network lasted less than twelve hours."
"Twelve hours... Schicksal's third-tier Defense Satellite Network is nicknamed 'The Last Bulwark.' Its design accounted for the possibility of being besieged by Honkai Beast Hordes led by Emperor-class or even Judgment-class Honkai Beasts. With sufficient energy supply, this final layer of defense should have been able to withstand the assault for at least three days..."
"Do we have data on the energy supply status of the East District's Honkai Energy Reactors?"
Kyuusyou turned to an Intelligence Officer, a sudden thought striking her.
The officer lowered their head and tapped the screen to pull up the recent supply logs for the East District's Honkai Energy Reactors.
"The fluctuation indices for all Honkai Energy Reactors in the East District remain normal. There was a slight increase during the Honkai Beast Horde's assault, but it stayed within the predicted peak values."
"...Then it must be the West District, right?"
-
"Lady Kyuusyou! We've just contacted Miss Amber, the acting commander of the West District. She reports that the Honkai Reactors there are also functioning normally."
"Amber? Where's Otto...?"
"Uh... according to Vice Captain Rita of the Immortal Blades...? Overseer Otto was chased all the way to the edge of the Floating Island by someone and then... jumped off..."
"However, Miss Rita says Overseer Otto's body is rather special, so we needn't worry."
"Chased into jumping off a cliff, huh... I think I know who did it."
Kyuusyou smirked, her expression turning intrigued.
"So, Lady Kyuusyou, who was it?"
"Who else could it be? Your knight in shining armor, your dream lover, Mr. Welt Joyce himself—"
"These past few days, he's either been holed up in the simulation training room or engrossed in a manga called "Jojos". If that Schicksal Overseer hadn't jumped into the sea, he'd probably have been pinned down and forced to endure a stand rush.
"Cough, cough, cough—wrong topic! Amber said the West District's Honkai Energy Reactor is also functioning normally?!"
"Yes, Lady Amber confirmed that the reactors in the West District are operating within normal parameters, with no anomalies detected."
The adjutant nodded, confirming the information to Kyuusyou.
"Hiss... Deploy drones to inspect the status of the Defense Satellites on the third layer of the Schicksal Floating Island! Alert all combat units to maximum alert—prepare for engagement with the Second Herrscher! All B-rank Valkyries are to immediately converge with the nearest A-rank Valkyrie Squad."
-
A silver-white drone sliced through the sky, hurtling toward the final layer of the Satellite Defense Network. The peculiar network of Defense Satellites, arranged in a tetrahedral formation, continued to fulfill their mission, relentlessly bombarding the approaching Honkai Beast Horde.
The last layer of the Satellite Defense Network remained intact, yet reality contradicted this facade—the Honkai Beasts on the Headquarters' Floating Island continued to multiply relentlessly.
"...Lady Kyuusyou?"
The Tactical Intelligence Officer glanced between the drone's feed and the images streaming in from the front lines, looking bewildered at the sole S-rank Valkyrie present in the Command Center.
"Tch... All Schicksal combat units, be advised: the Second Herrscher, Herrscher of the Void, has been confirmed to have awakened! Execute Herrscher response protocols immediately!"
The moment Houraiji Kyuusyou's words fell, a piercing alarm blared through the entire Command Center:
Warning! Twelfth-level Honkai energy fluctuation detected. The Second Herrscher has returned!
"Command authority is now transferred to you all. Establish defenses and hold the line—don't worry about the Herrscher. That's my problem."
Houraiji Kyuusyou turned and strode out of the increasingly chaotic Command Center. Her Valkyrie Battlesuit materialized directly onto her body via quantum transmission, fully armored in an instant.
"Ninti, let's go see your Aunt Rita..."
"...It's Sister Rita," Ninti corrected, trying to correct her guardian's slip-up.
"Same difference. Just call anyone older than you 'sister' or 'aunt,' and you'll be right every time."
-
In Schicksal's West District, a squad of Immortal Blades Valkyries stood guard around the perimeter after clearing out the surrounding Honkai Beasts. At the center, the Immortal Blades' Captain and Vice Captain confronted Fu Hua.
"Rita, step aside! I must stop that Herrscher."
"Lady Fu Hua, Lord Overseer has ordered us not to interfere with the Second Herrscher's actions."
"I said, step aside, Rita!"
The tension between them grew palpable, thick as drawn steel.
"If we don't suppress the Second Herrscher immediately, Rita, do you want to see the tragedy of the Second Eruption sixteen years ago repeat itself?"
Anxiety sharpened Fu Hua's tone.
"With all due respect, Lady Fu Hua, Lord Otto's plan must have its reasons. Since the Lord Overseer has explicitly forbidden us from interfering with the Herrscher, we should refrain from rash actions that could disrupt his plans."
Ah, of course... and Lady Snow's plan too.
"Foolishness! Allowing the Herrscher even a single second could cause irreparable damage!"
"It seems we can't reason with you. Let's settle this with our blades—"
The battle between two S-rank Valkyries was about to erupt.