Chapter 350: Erosion
Albert leapt onto the rooftop, tearing away the dangling sleeve of his missing right arm. His face was smeared with scratches and grime. His voice was steady, but heavy:
"Leader, the people are mostly safe. We evacuated in time, so casualties among civilians and soldiers are minimal. I can't give an exact count yet, but by the looks of it, losses should be limited. The real problem is our mechanical forces. Every single machine from both our side and Schicksal's has been absorbed. This thing seems designed specifically to counter mechanical constructs. Even my arm lost control—I had to forcefully detach it, only for it to be consumed as well. In short, we're completely on the defensive. The only option is long-range suppression, but even then, it won't die."
"Mm. I've tested its vitality for myself."
Welt's voice was calm as ever. He swept his hand, and a barrage of heavy weaponry materialized in the air, driving back the monster that had lunged at them. Then, a black sphere formed in his palm.
"Star of Eden—ten thousandfold!"
Rumble—!!
The overwhelming force of gravity slammed down, dragging the massive monster deep beneath the earth. The ground shook violently. Buildings collapsed as the entire city's terrain buckled and flipped.
After a long moment, Welt released the gravity field. He looked down to see the creature flattened into countless sheets of metal. For a time, nothing stirred.
Knocked off his feet by the quake, Albert climbed back up, brushing the dirt from his face with little concern.
"Leader… is it over?"
"It should be. The strange Honkai reaction has vanished. But what exactly was that thing? A new form of Honkai beast? …Albert, contact Command. We need a contingency plan for enemies like this. Half of our strength is mechanical. If this wasn't just an isolated case, we're going to be in serious trouble."
"Yes, Leader!"
Albert snapped a sharp salute—then hesitated, staring at Welt expectantly.
"What is it?" Welt asked.
Scratching his head, Albert replied with a deadpan expression:
"You know as well as I do—most of the mechanical equipment in the city was devoured. I don't have a comm device anymore. So… Leader, could I trouble you to work your magic?"
"…My mistake. I nearly overlooked that."
Intricate geometric lines shimmered into existence around Welt's hand. A moment later, two disc-shaped communicators materialized in his palm.
Albert took one and immediately began reporting to HQ, while Welt sat down on a slab of stone and activated his own.
Bzzt—zzzt!
"Ein, this is Welt. Can you hear me? Is there a problem with the comm network?"
Zzzt!
"Yang, this is Einstein."
Static crackled on for a long while before Einstein's cool, steady voice finally came through. Welt let out a relieved breath.
"Whew~ you made me worried. I thought something happened to you too."
"The Moonlight Throne's force-field radiation has played a major role here. Unfortunately, it's not that nothing went wrong—only that the problem happened to be resolved in my location. Right now, the only regions still functioning normally are the Far East, where the Moonlight Throne network is fully deployed, the HQs of both Anti-Entropy and Schicksal, and a few other bases with complete installations. Everywhere else has gone dark."
"What kind of problem are we dealing with?"
"A virus. Not a biological one—this is a pseudo-virus that targets mechanical constructs. We discovered it too late, and now things are looking grim. Suffice to say, Dr. Tesla is… less than pleased. Since you're able to contact me, that means either you haven't encountered the anomaly yet, or you've already dealt with it. Which is it?"
"The latter. But that can wait. Has Otto sent over any intel?"
Before Einstein could answer, Welt's eyes shifted. On a ruined platform bathed in sunlight, he saw two figures.
One had golden hair that gleamed like the sun, a pristine parasol in her hand, and a bewitching smile tugging at her lips as she gazed down upon him. The other was clad in sleek black armor, her voluptuous form accentuated by every curve of the plates. Her face was striking, framed by cherry-pink hair, and atop her head twitched a pair of long, matching pink beast ears.
Welt's lips parted, then closed again. He sighed.
"Hera. Do you have news for me? Things must be serious—otherwise, you wouldn't have shown up in person."
"What else? You think I came here on vacation?"
"Enough games. The sooner we solve this, the fewer people will suffer."
Hera twirled a slender white finger in the air, her lips curving into an adorable smile that was far too amused for the words she spoke.
"Sigh~ so impatient. Fine, I'll be honest—I'm a little troubled myself. This time, our opponent is a Herrscher… the Herrscher of Corruption of our era."
The moment the words left her lips, silence fell. Everyone present, as well as those listening in through the communicator at Anti-Entropy HQ and Einstein on the other end, froze at once.
After a pause, Einstein's voice came through Welt's device, calm but edged with tension.
"I suspected as much. Destruction on this scale—only a Herrscher makes sense. In the previous era, most combat power was focused on modified soldiers, so the Herrscher of Corruption expressed its power through biological corruption. But in this era, our large-scale combat strength is concentrated in machines. That it manifests now as mechanical corruption… is perfectly logical."
"That's right, Dr. Einstein." Hera's parasol tilted shut as she spoke, though the smile on her face never faltered. "But don't assume it can only erode machines. The reach of its power is vast. Perhaps for now it prioritizes targets, or perhaps it is still evolving. Either way, if we leave it unchecked, it's only a matter of time before humans—and even Herrschers like us—become its prey."
"…So the key is to strike quickly?"
"That's the problem." Hera lifted her shoulders in a helpless shrug. "The Herrscher of Corruption may not even have a true body. We can't assume the situation mirrors the last era. So far, I haven't found evidence of a central core. If it's just an intangible pollutant, then cleansing it becomes… troublesome."
Welt sank into thought, while on the other side of the line, Einstein replied after a brief silence:
"In that case, it's fortunate Sigurd's drones have been dormant since his departure. Otherwise, the scale of this disaster would've escalated beyond measure. …What's your strategy, Hera?"
"Thus far, we've identified clusters of core points—the kind Welt just flattened. Those mechanical conglomerates. Destroying them purges mechanical corruption for hundreds of kilometers around, though the principle remains unclear. As for effective countermeasures—there are two. One: overwhelming force, like Durandal or Herrscher-class destructive power. Two: the Moonlight Throne and my little Theresa's anti-Honkai energy field. Violence may lose effectiveness as the enemy evolves, but the latter will always work. After all, no matter the mutation, its foundation is still Honkai energy."
"Reasonable. Continue."
"The Far East's chain-linked Moonlight Throne installation can theoretically cover the entire globe. But for efficiency's sake, my plan is this: mark every corrupted cluster in the Eastern Hemisphere using non-mechanical tech, then target them one by one with the Moonlight array. For the Western Hemisphere, we dispatch elite strike forces to wipe them out manually. We may not be able to annihilate this bizarre Herrscher completely, but at the very least, we can restore global order and communications. Sigurd will be returning soon. On such an important day, we should tidy the house, don't you think?"
Hera's smile lingered as she laid out her plan.
After a short silence, those listening each gave their approval.
Then Hera's eyes slid sideways to the figure beside her. The smile faded.
"Well then… our volunteer. It's time for you to move. You command the same corruptive power yourself—your black-armored constructs can still function where others fail. Just… don't die. Reviving you isn't difficult, but using precious resources on you would be an utter waste."
"…Yes, Archbishop."
Yae Sakura bowed, and in the next instant, vanished.
Welt too, after a brief exchange with Einstein, departed from the ruined city.
Only Hera remained amid the empty ruins. She tilted her head back, gazing straight at the blazing sun without so much as a blink. A soft sigh left her lips.
"As Sigurd's founding day draws near, the Honkai will not sit idly by… another proof that, behind it all, some manner of will exists. And that young lady's power… every time I witness it, it grows more terrifying. This world's depths… only deepen. Sigurd, can you truly see the road to victory?"
Her whisper drifted away with the wind. And then, in a blink, Hera's figure dissolved into nothingness.
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