Tesla was fuming. The android network had successfully brought about the Herrscher's descent, yet Noldrei showed no intention of stopping the fight.
It was as if he was determined to let them fight to the death.
The people of Academy City who had never witnessed a Herrscher battle had no real understanding of their power. The newcomers were even less aware of the impact Tesla herself had once had on the city's citizens.
Even now, a few scattered individuals believed Dr. Tesla was a star descended from the heavens, clearly different from mere mortals, a goddess from legend.
The current battle with Sirin was creating a similar effect.
Twisting, colorful ribbons of light danced wantonly in the air. Accompanied by flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder, the sky above Babylon Labs writhed and contorted like a living, breathing aurora.
The iridescent light, like molten glass, was dazzling and mesmerizing. It was impossible to discern what kind of power was hidden within it.
Durandal was starting to feel a chill run down her spine. It wasn't that she couldn't just tank the attacks with her physical strength, but such a brute-force approach was completely meaningless here.
In the past, Durandal's battles had always been against tangible things like Honkai Beasts and humans.
But this new style of combat was making Durandal's CPU short-circuit.
She had no choice but to withdraw, joining Rita and Misteln to gaze up at the sky.
"Lady Durandal, what's the situation in there?"
Rita's question was one Durandal couldn't answer.
Durandal pondered for a moment before saying, "It's different from what I imagined. It's like being in a maze of shifting cuts, impossible to navigate. And then... this hallucinatory scene appeared. It must be a gravity issue. See how those floating rocks and dust are being pulled in? And the wind is constantly blowing toward those twisting ribbons of color."
"Gravity?" Rita had a moment of realization. She nodded. "That's not surprising. Space-time and gravity have always been intertwined. Gravity can cause space-time to warp, and the superposition of space-time can also distort gravity."
"As Sirin continues to stack and manipulate Imaginary Space, the gravity distorted by the warping space will collide under her control. Then, light will be refracted by this viscous, substance-like material. It could also be a transformation similar to plasma phenomena like the aurora."
"So, what we're seeing is just the light, but what's actually inside is a structure of layered, twisted space. If gravity has changed, then the magnetic field will change as well, making the appearance of a thunderstorm a natural consequence. And those floating rocks and dust being drawn in is just..."
"Lady Durandal, can you help me escape? I don't want to die under the Director's intense work schedule."
Rita unhesitatingly chose the option to flee.
The Herrscher up there had suddenly advanced to a level she couldn't comprehend. Who knew if she'd taken some kind of power-up drug?
If one day Sirin decided she didn't like the look of this former Valkyrie and came to kill her, Rita would have nowhere to even cry for justice.
"This fighting style... is... really something."
Durandal didn't know what else to say. She even felt that the Honkai's method of using Honkai Beasts to kill people was too low-tech. It couldn't compare to the speed of Sirin's large-scale cleansing.
"But, I heard she used to just pick up rocks from the ground and throw them down from the sky. Is this still the same person?"
Durandal's question made everyone's composure crack. Not only did Rita almost burst out laughing, but even the people watching the live broadcast were nearly dumbfounded by her question.
Is this really the time to be discussing such things? Has she even grown to a point where she can still be called human?
The students of Academy City watching together didn't know what to say.
Everyone knew Herrschers were powerful, but this was the first time they had seen one utilize space-time, gravity, and electromagnetism all at once.
The universal interconnectedness of things was being successfully applied by Sirin to the abilities of the Herrscher of the Void.
This time, she was willing to risk her life to take Otto down with her.
It was unclear how Otto was managing to hold on, but the entire area was enveloped in the twisted, colorful light, making it impossible for anyone to see his situation.
Everyone was discussing how long this gravity storm created by the Herrscher's power could last and how much destruction it could cause. This level of combat had completely surpassed Academy City's predictions for Sirin. No one had expected that with the android network, Sirin could become this powerful.
Even Kiana was looking at Sirin with new respect. This showed that Sirin had truly gotten what she needed from the android Cecilia.
"No, why?! Why don't I get this kind of special treatment?!"
"Don't be so jealous over something like this. Bronya is still wondering why she's the only one who's always working." Bronya felt Kiana's jealousy was completely unwarranted. She even wanted Kiana to take a break.
Unfortunately, little Bronya didn't know that Kiana had to randomly sample the organs sold in Academy City.
"But, what should we do next?" Kiana muttered, looking at the situation, feeling a bit troubled.
Kiana didn't know what to do, and now Durandal didn't know how to intervene either. Sirin clearly wanted Otto dead, and it was unclear why Otto had been on the defensive for so long.
Unless...
"Could Otto be trying to make a Herrscher Core descend upon himself? But he doesn't look like someone with enough suffering."
Raiden Mei felt that Otto might indeed be considering the Herrscher Core, but she didn't know how he would communicate with the Will of the Honkai.
Mei's Herrscher personality also found it strange. According to the Will of the Honkai's selection criteria, it wouldn't choose someone like Otto.
Unless Otto could contact the Will of the Honkai, or he had already received its affirmation of his suffering.
But no matter which possibility it was, the final result would not be good for Sirin.
Sirin most likely wouldn't be able to judge Otto. Other than killing him, she couldn't make him willingly accept his punishment.
And right now, Tesla was arguing with Noldrei about how to deal with Otto.
Noldrei, in China, was having too much fun to think about the Far East.
He was currently fishing at sea with some strangers he had just met. Whether he would catch anything was another matter.
Anyway, he just liked fishing.
And Tesla was constantly lecturing Noldrei through the communicator until she was exhausted.
But Noldrei hadn't told Tesla the true purpose of the android network. The real meaning of Sirin and Otto's battle was yet to come.