"Sigh… Yuno's matter can be set aside for now. Even the Herrschers of Domination can wait."
Theresa exhaled heavily, then straightened her gaze…
----------------------------------
"What have you all observed about Godzilla?"
After hearing Theresa's question, everyone looked at each other in confusion.
"He's looking for a place." Mei suddenly spoke, and looking into her brightly glowing pupils, it was the Herrscher of Thunder speaking.
"Even I, as a Herrscher, cannot reach that place. There, exists a power so vast that even I find it unbelievable."
At the moment of Godzilla looking at the Imaginary Tree, the Herrscher of Thunder vaguely felt a majestic force, imperceptible to ordinary people, being poured into her body, so overwhelming that even those of her kind could not resist it.
In that instant, the Herrscher of Thunder's heart became calmer than ever before.
When confronted with a being beyond her imagination, she once resented it, believing she could surpass it.
But when such beings kept appearing one after another, she realized that perhaps there was no need to compete.
Peace is a blessing~~~
It's good being inside Mei.
Theresa's expression shifted, then grew heavy.
If even a Herrscher felt powerless, what was the point of worrying as just an S-rank Valkyrie?
Such trouble should be left for her grandfather to handle.
She now cared more about another problem...
"The strange man wielding [Judgment of Shamash]."
Her face grew solemn. In her mind, two words struck hard.
There was no way Himeko wouldn't recognize Siegfried. Without a doubt, that weapon had changed owners.
"Auntie, Himeko, how's that bastard dad now?" Kiana hurriedly asked.
Although Siegfried was silly, bad at raising children, always acting suspicious, and disappeared without a word, whether dead or alive unknown, he was still her bastard dad.
Though he was unreliable, with his strength, he shouldn't have gotten into trouble... right?
But thinking about Kevin wielding Judgment of Shamash, Kiana felt uneasy.
That man seemed far stronger than Siegfried.
"Don't worry. According to what you said, Siegfried wasn't seen in that space, and the support staff also found no trace of him. He should be fine, just lost the Judgment of Shamash."
Theresa shook her head lightly, speaking softly.
Compared to the divine key, Judgment of Shamash, Theresa valued Siegfried himself more.
A divine key was just a weapon at most. If Siegfried was gone, Kiana would be devastated.
Hearing Theresa's words, Kiana's restless heart was slightly comforted.
That's good.
Since there were no traces of Judgment of Shamash's destructive attacks nearby, that likely meant Siegfried had escaped an overwhelming enemy.
With her knowledge of that stupid dad, against such foes, a mere weapon wouldn't decide his fate.
If anything, fleeing for his life was what he did best.
"Hmph!" Kiana snorted unhappily at the thought.
As expected, bastard dad, when it comes to running away, he's the strongest.
"Headmistress, actually..." Yuno carefully raised her hand.
There was still another matter.
"Yuno, you..." Theresa hesitated.
A faint sense of helplessness overwhelmed her.
'Who could understand the feeling of waking up to find another Herrscher at the academy?'
"Just act as usual, but Yuno, your courses need to be adjusted." Theresa sighed and made her decision.
Becoming a Herrscher wasn't Yuno's choice, she was innocent. In fact, it could even be said the world owed her.
Every Herrscher's birth gathered countless negative emotions, which was why they hated humanity.
When Yuno became a pseudo-Herrscher, she was scared back by Godzilla before she could cause trouble, then Himeko brought her back.
Now, although she was a true Herrscher, she hadn't lost control. Theresa thought it best to treat her like a normal student.
But her schooling was still a problem... Fu Hua always had good grades and could supervise during critical times.
As for daily life,
"Mei, I'll leave Yuno in your care."
Decision made!
Since she's a Herrscher, I'll treat her the same!
Theresa felt a weight lift from her heart. This should be fine, right?
...
"... "
"... "
"Mm."
"Mm."
Awkward silence.
Einstein and Tesla frowned deeply, saying nothing.
"Ahem, so, what exactly did you find out? At least give me a clue."
Welt coughed lightly, breaking the deadlock.
He had to, the atmosphere was too strange. With two world-famous scientists staring at him with such eerie eyes, he couldn't lower his guard.
Einstein pondered for a moment before speaking slowly: "Based on the information you provided, I can reach a conclusion."
Welt listened intently.
"Godzilla has seen the source of the Honkai."
"Pah!" Welt almost choked.
He truly could not see through the wisdom of top scientists.
"The source of the Honkai, the god behind Honkai?" Welt suddenly understood.
For Herrschers, the being that gave them power was no different from a god.
Few Herrschers questioned what it really was. Even those fighting the Honkai only knew their enemy was something called Honkai.
Perhaps it was a natural phenomenon. Perhaps it was some unimaginable monster.
Whatever it was, it endlessly sought to destroy their world.
And now, someone told Welt that an existence had directly faced the true nature of the Honkai.
"So... what exactly is the Honkai?" Welt asked dryly.
"Don't know." Einstein looked at Welt strangely, speaking as if it was obvious.
"???"
"I only deduced from the information you gave me. If the conclusion is wrong, that's your problem. Frankly, being able to deduce even this much from so little information is already rare."
"On this point, I agree with bird's-nest head." Tesla nodded in agreement.
"That's true, it was my assumption." Welt nodded.
The two before him were world-class scientists. But if they alone could reveal the true nature of the Honkai, then all the scientists and predecessors before them would be ashamed in their graves.
"But, if chicken-head is right, then Godzilla's power far exceeds our expectations." Tesla said seriously.
Even facing Honkai Herrschers left them in disarray, yet Godzilla directly confronted the source of Herrscher power. The difference was indescribable.
Still, those things were far beyond their reach. Their task now was to resist, to overcome the Honkai.
As for the rest, they would wait for tomorrow's sunlight.
"By the way, I want to find someone."
"Who, that white-haired guy you mentioned?"
"Yes." Welt nodded gravely.
"When fighting the Herrscher of Domination, I saw Siegfried defeated in a single move by that man. Barehanded, he had such strength. With Judgment of Shamash in hand, I can't even imagine what power he would wield."
Welt had never seen someone like that, using sheer physical strength to defeat Siegfried, who rivaled an S-rank Valkyrie, in one strike, even seizing his weapon.
If that man hadn't only been interested in Judgment of Shamash, Siegfried might not have survived.
"We'll pay attention to that. Based on your intel, I already know who they are."
"A serpent lurking in the shadows, the World Serpent." Tesla's words stunned Welt.
"World Serpent, huh."
He wasn't unfamiliar with them.
As an underground organization, whether in medicine or influence, they had left their mark.
Their Pharmaceuticals was world-famous.
Thinking about their expertise, Welt fell into contemplation.
...
The Imaginary Tree.
At that moment, the eternal, unmoving Imaginary Tree began to stir its branches, attempting to drive away the threat ascending toward its peak.
Yet, endless wars with the Sea of Quanta had drained much of its power.
And like the Sea of Quanta, the Imaginary Tree's response was an immense and overwhelming attack.
The power of attraction cannot drive out outsiders, and itself is not yet capable of fine work.
If the Imaginary Tree were anthropomorphized at this moment, it would surely be steaming with rage.
Meanwhile, Aha was still singing loudly toward the problem.
"Why did you still come to me first!"
Up ahead, when Aha was about to open the passage to the Imaginary Tree, relying on its long familiarity with the Sea of Quanta after years of struggle, the Imaginary Tree manipulated the passage so that its other side connected to the Sea of Quanta instead.
Such a small-scale intrusion was everyday routine for both sides. In the endless years of struggle, this kind of small attack had happened countless times, and then…
Then the Sea of Quanta realized it had been tricked.
But the Imaginary Tree's smile did not last long.
As it turned out, diverting disaster to the east was ultimately drinking poison to quench thirst.
Godzilla swished its tail, picked a suitable tree branch, and lazily leaned on it.
Entering in the form of a dream, it feared no risk.
Advance without restraint, retreat without concern.
It was indeed a fine show.
Along with it, there was also a chatterbox whose mouth would not stop.
"Aha is standing from this perspective for the first time, the scenery is beautiful~~~"
"La la la la! La la!"
Taking advantage of the Imaginary Tree having no time to pay attention, Aha sang wantonly.
If it thought that was music.
…
Apart from World Serpent welcoming back its master and St. Freya gaining a new Herrscher, the Imaginary Tree had a 'lazy bug' lying on it that only ate without working.
All was peaceful.
The people of Seaside City didn't even know that in the flow of a single day, they nearly met the sages of the previous civilization.
"Not peaceful at all!!"
Heaven knew what Fu Hua felt when she suddenly saw a Herrscher appear in the academy, she nearly struck out with a heart-attack!
If it hadn't been for the model student Mei standing beside her, she would never have held back.
"Otto!"
"Old friend, don't be so impatient."
The elegant handsome man laughed lightly, as if even colossal matters were trivial.
"Two Herrschers, appearing with no trace at all, doesn't that deserve attention?"
Fu Hua said seriously.
"Of course not, old friend. They are only Herrschers. All past experiences tell us that Herrschers are just slightly stronger individuals. They are not invincible. Besides, hasn't St. Freya already had a case before?"
Otto chuckled.
"…That's different."
But no matter what Fu Hua said, she couldn't change the fact that everything was normal with Mei.
"Don't worry, old friend, Theresa knows very well what she's doing." Faced with Otto's persuasion, Fu Hua could only nod and let it go for now.
…
Otto's mood was better than ever before.
Unparalleled. Beyond everything.
Not long ago, time had proven that the Imaginary Tree could indeed be climbed.
This meant his wish was not unreachable.
The time that had stopped for him on the day of her death, had once again began to flow.
…
Schicksal.
Valkyrie gym.
"Bang bang bang!"
The special sandbag rapidly deformed under the golden-haired girl's punches, until finally,
"Boom!"
The connection of the sandbag snapped, flying out and slamming heavily onto the ground.
"Clap, clap, clap."
Applause sounded at just the right time. The golden-haired girl looked toward Rita, who was smiling and clapping softly.
"Lady Durandal didn't break the sandbag today, what great progress."
"Cleaning up afterwards is troublesome, after all." Durandal spoke.
This level of training wasn't even enough for a warm-up for her. If Rita hadn't been nearby, she would have kept going.
"Is Lady Durandal still thinking about the mission in Seaside City?" Rita observed and asked.
"Mm, the Seaside City mission is unclear in every sense. Though there were similar situations before, none were as utterly puzzling as this one."
Regarding the Seaside City mission, Durandal kept her doubts to herself.
She walked at the front line of fighting against the Honkai.
Always charging forward. But that didn't mean she was a simple-minded creature… her academic grades were good after all!
Rita placed her hands flat, her beautiful face always carrying a faint smile.
Between breaths, Durandal suddenly made her decision.
"I've decided! Rita, come with me to St. Freya!"
"Lady Durandal won't eat breakfast first?" A dangerous look.
"…Then after breakfast."
…
That day, such an eye-catching battleship cut across the sky, Durandal would never overlook it.
In her view, since St. Freya was involved, Theresa must know something.
If St. Freya, Schicksal, and Anti-Entropy were all stirred, Durandal would never believe they were just civilians.
"According to the schedule, Lady Theresa should now be in the headmistress' office grading papers. Shall we go straight there?"
Standing at St. Freya's gates in casual attire, Rita smiled.
"Time waits for no one, hesitation is pointless." Durandal nodded slightly and spoke.
…
Meanwhile, in the headmistress' office.
Himeko looked at Theresa, who was holding her head and scurrying around, and said helplessly:
"Is it really that serious?"
"Serious? You call this serious?! You don't understand how terrifying that Rita woman is."
Theresa looked like a deflated balloon, face full of distress.
To her, Rita was a good person, an excellent maid, and a fearless warrior.
But in Theresa's eyes, that bad woman had another identity!
In short, Theresa absolutely did not want to see Rita!
"No matter how serious you say it is, they're already at the door. Ignoring them is one thing, but you can't keep hiding forever, right?"
"Even so, I don't want to see her."
Just then,
"Knock knock knock."
A polite knock at the door.
With Theresa looking as if facing death, Himeko opened the door.
"Lady Theresa, Major Himeko, good afternoon."
"Theresa, Major Himeko, long time no see."
The elegant maid slightly bowed, her face carrying that eternally polite smile, her posture flawless.
Beside her, Durandal also smiled at the two.
"Hah, it has been a while. Um, what brings you suddenly to St. Freya? Did my grandfather stir up some trouble again?!"
No matter what, as long as the topic shifted to Otto, the emotions would naturally flow.
"It's my personal request, sorry to disturb." Durandal shook her head slightly, speaking solemnly.
"I want to know what exactly happened in Seaside City."
Direct and straightforward, that was the strongest Valkyrie's way.
No beating around the bush, just one strike to break through.
"Seaside City… didn't Grandpa tell you?" Theresa frowned slightly, momentarily ignoring the bad woman's threat, and asked in puzzlement.
Durandal shook her head.
"What happened in Seaside City…"
Theresa couldn't understand why Grandpa hadn't told Durandal. What happened there wasn't some unspeakable secret, was it?
Or had he simply forgotten?
Knowing Otto's character, Theresa was willing to suspect the worst of him.
It always felt like he was holding back something bad. Rita was also curious.
But as a maid, she wouldn't ask directly. If Otto truly wanted her to know, then even if she didn't want to, she couldn't avoid it.
As an S-rank Valkyrie, she was well aware of her gap with other S-rank Valkyries.
Not to mention Lady Durandal, even compared to Theresa, she was far weaker. After all, she didn't have such solid backing.
Her level was barely enough to handle the ordinary workload.
Theresa didn't hesitate and directly let Himeko recount what had happened that day.
During it, Himeko gave Theresa a look, asking whether to hide Yuno's existence.
But Theresa did not.
As long as Durandal was in St. Freya for even a minute, Yuno's exposure was a risk.
Theresa fully recognized the strength of this strongest Valkyrie of Schicksal…