"BOOM!!!"
The wide plaza was razed to the ground.
After holding off the Honkai Emperor and its subordinate beasts for a full two minutes, the force of over a hundred Honkai Beasts was finally cut down in a single sword strike by Himeko, who descended from the sky.
"Patter."
Soil and rubble rolled across the ravaged land.
"Hah..."
"Teacher Himeko, couldn't you have been a little faster?" Kiana gasped for breath, wiping her forehead with the back of her gun-wielding hand.
"You think everyone is like you?" Himeko turned around and removed her tactical goggles. "It takes a lot of time for a girl to change clothes."
"...But you're not a 'girl'..."
"Haah!?"
"What did you just say, Kiana?"
Himeko strode toward Kiana in just a few steps, the crimson glow on the sides of her greatsword not yet fully extinguished.
"N-n-nothing!"
"I said nothing at all!"
The greatsword was plunged straight into the ground as Himeko forcefully pinched Kiana's ear.
"Teacher Himeko."
As Kiana desperately begged for mercy, Bronya's voice came from the side. Having been saved, Kiana began to yelp "Ow, ow, ow," while gently touching her reddened earlobe.
"What is it?"
Bronya slowly raised her arm, showing Himeko the signal on the life detector.
"Those Honkai Beasts just now."
"They must have been the culprits interfering with the detector's function."
The portable equipment had returned to normal.
"Teacher Himeko said that these Honkai Beasts came from the Oceania base..."
"..."
"That's right."
Himeko casually pulled the greatsword from the ground, sending black carbon ash and acrid green smoke into the air.
"The moment we detected them, the Oceania Branch lost its communication signal."
"..."
"Teacher Himeko."
"Honkai Beasts deliberately attacking Valkyries... that's never happened before in history, has it?"
Mei, having sheathed her blade, walked over and asked Himeko, who had been silent for a moment.
"No."
"All of civilization is their target for destruction. For Honkai Beasts, there's no need to differentiate levels of importance."
Then, Himeko's tone shifted. "However, when a certain 'existence' is involved, the actions of Honkai Beasts are no longer so pure."
"..."
At her words, the gazes of Kiana and Bronya fell on Mei.
"Is there a Herrscher here, or something related to one?" Mei asked, her expression calm, showing no reaction to the implication.
"..."
It was Himeko who was taken aback for a moment.
"Compared to how you were in Nagazora,"
"You've become much more composed, Mei."
Faced with Himeko's praise, Mei's expression remained unchanged as she gently placed a hand over her chest.
"Perhaps,"
"It's because of its presence."
Mei had the [Gem of Conquest] inside her. In Nagazora, she had triggered the Third Honkai Eruption and heavily damaged the Hyperion. During the process of being "captured" and taken to St. Freya Academy, a miniature bomb was installed near her heart to prevent her from turning into a Herrscher again... at Mei's own request.
---o---
"..."
"Yes."
After much hesitation, Himeko decided to set aside Theresa's instructions.
"Just like you, who fused with the [Gem of Conquest] to become the Third Herrscher, the Oceania Branch also has an A-rank Valkyrie who fused with the [Gem of Desire]: Wendy."
"However, her adaptability to Honkai energy is far weaker than yours."
Natural stigmata are found in only a small minority of Valkyries; the vast majority possess artificial stigmata created by Schicksal.
"The fusion didn't grant Wendy control over the Gem of Desire. In fact, it caused her to lose the power she should have had as an A-rank Valkyrie. Because the [Gem of Desire] was transplanted into her shin bone, her leg bones, along with the surrounding muscles and nerves, have all lost their physiological function."
"Schicksal thought they would have a fourth S-rank Valkyrie."
"But unfortunately..."
"Why not just take the gem out?"
As someone who also had a gem implanted within her, Mei knew all too well the "inhuman" feeling of being treated this way by society... It was a torment to the spirit far worse than any physical pain.
"Because of the nature of the [Gem of Desire]."
"In almost any medium, the Gem of Desire cannot maintain a stable form. The excess Honkai energy released during its transformation once killed every person in an entire research institute during a leakage incident."
"The only thing that can suppress this transformation is..."
Himeko paused for a moment before continuing.
"Wendy, as an A-rank Valkyrie."
"So you're saying..."
"You're saying that Schicksal is using Ms. Wendy's body as a container to store the [Gem of Desire]?"
"That's too cruel!"
Kiana's loud voice instantly drowned out Mei's somber expression.
"This is not something you or I can decide."
Faced with Kiana's shouting, Himeko, for once, did not chop her on the head.
"Even the Principal has no authority to intervene."
"In fact, Theresa never intended for you to know about this."
Himeko spread her hands in a gesture of helplessness.
"But whether from the perspective of a teacher and her students or as comrades-in-arms, I believe you all have the right to know."
"The rifts caused by lies and concealment..."
"It's better not to have them at all."
---o---
Kiana didn't argue with Himeko any further, but she was still visibly fuming.
"Teacher Himeko,"
"Go on, Mei."
"Our mission this time..." Mei asked uneasily.
"The idea that Honkai Beasts don't set traps and that this was just a simple support mission... has clearly deviated greatly from reality."
Himeko glanced at the information on her portable computer.
"The Oceania Branch has completely lost contact."
"The Hyperion's receivers haven't picked up any Valkyrie communications either."
Himeko's expression grew increasingly serious.
"The worst-case scenario is..."
"Wendy has been controlled by the Honkai Consciousness, unleashing the power of the Gem of Desire to become the Fourth Herrscher."
"I'm afraid the Oceania Branch is now history."
"..."
"We can save her!"
Kiana, who had been silent, suddenly shouted, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on Mei beside her.
"Teacher Himeko."
Mei gave Kiana a slight nod, then shifted her gaze to Himeko.
"We should save her."
"Just like you told me, just like... when Kiana pulled me out of my loneliness."
Mei's voice became firm.
"Sister Mei is right."
"According to what we were taught in class, if Wendy can stand on her feet again, perhaps the 'temptation' of the Honkai Consciousness will lose its effect. The Bronya also lost her legs, but she regained the ability to walk with an exoskeleton."
"As long as we find the right method..."
"Then you'd better hurry up."
The conversation between Bronya and Himeko was interrupted by a sudden incoming communication.
On the screen floating in mid-air was Theresa, hands on her hips, trying her best to appear imposing.
"Auntie!?"
"Himeko, I believe I told you not to tell them about this!"
As Kiana blurted out, Theresa was already interrogating Himeko.
"Eh?"
"Did you say that?"
"...Playing dumb won't work. I'm confiscating all the bottles of wine you've hidden in your room!"
"EHH!?"
After Theresa brandished the [Oath of Judah], which had shrunk to the size of a bracelet, Himeko let out a sound identical to Kiana's. The "Hunt Mode" of the [Oath of Judah] wasn't just for finding people.
"That's enough idle chatter."
Theresa's triumphant expression vanished.
"The intel was sent directly to the Far East Branch, that's true, but Grandpa clearly already knows the whole story."
"Although this stone is a nuisance,"
"Its importance to Schicksal is self-evident. An S-rank Valkyrie will be dispatched directly from Schicksal's European HQ. She is expected to arrive at the Oceania Branch in fifteen minutes."
"Eliminate the Herrscher, retrieve the Gem of Desire."
"She is absolutely the type to carry out her orders to the letter."
"If you want to save Wendy..."
"Principal!"
"Don't interrupt me! And don't stick your face to the screen!"
After a brief scuffle...
"Ahem."
Theresa cleared her throat again.
"In short!"
"On the condition that you ensure your own safety, you have fifteen minutes to do what you can."
"..."
Himeko hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Principal."
"Are you going to defy Overseer Otto's orders?"
Theresa glanced discreetly at Kiana.
"If I listened to everything Grandpa said..."
"I would never have founded St. Freya Academy."
---o---
Following the markers on their detectors and under the cover of the Hyperion, the four-person squad advanced rapidly toward the Oceania Branch base, where the high Honkai energy readings were concentrated.
The most powerful Honkai Emperor had already been dealt with by Himeko's ultimate attack. Although many Honkai Beasts remained, they were quickly cleared out by the Hyperion's cannon fire. The Herrscher's birth relied mainly on the power of the [Gem of Desire]; the connection to the Honkai energy rift had ultimately not surpassed the "medium-sized" category.
The group soon reached the surface level of the Oceania Branch.
Their impression of the clean and intact surface buildings was completely shattered the moment the four of them stepped out of the underground elevator—
"Ugh!"
Himeko caught Kiana, who stumbled beside her. Mei's pupils trembled violently.
Unlike Bronya, who had experience as a mercenary, Kiana and Mei, despite having witnessed and even experienced many life-and-death situations, had never seen such a bloody scene.
Gore was splattered everywhere like a painter's pigments. Severed limbs were strewn casually in corners and along the paths.
"Look at them, Kiana."
Even with her own reluctance, Himeko continued to gently pat Kiana's back while speaking in a firm tone next to her ear.
"Whatever the reason,"
"Whether she was controlled by the Honkai Consciousness or not,"
"This is the crime committed by the person you want to save."
Kiana didn't react much to her teacher's words, but Mei's gaze was the first to dim.
The Third Honkai Eruption in Nagazora.
The total number of rescued personnel... was just the three people standing here.
"We have to..."
"?"
Kiana, who Himeko thought would take much longer to recover, used her slightly trembling fingers to push away the arm supporting her.
"We have to save her."
Kiana's blurry gaze was as determined as it was in Nagazora, the moment she caught Mei as she fell from the building.
"If this is a mistake she made,"
Kiana began to look directly at the "clutter" she hadn't dared to glance at just moments ago.
"Then she can spend the rest of her life atoning for it."
"With a Herrscher on humanity's side... the next time a Honkai Eruption like that happens, we should be able to save more lives."
"Right, Teacher Himeko?"
"..."
Kiana's words left Himeko momentarily stunned.
Anyone could have said those words, but for Kiana, whose intelligence was comparable to a flea's... no.
"You're right."
Only Kiana could say those words.
"We're going to make her atone for this sin while she's still alive."
"Clap, clap."
Just as Himeko finished speaking, a sudden round of applause came from deeper within the base.
"If I didn't know your skill level,"
"I would have almost thought this was a deliberately staged play."
A gentle breeze passed by the four of them. When they blinked and their vision cleared, someone had already appeared before them—
"Wendy?"
"But why..."
"Are there two of them!?"
---o---
Thirty minutes earlier.
Wendy had sent the support request to the Schicksal Far East Branch.
Although the scene underground was "a mess," the view from above could be described as clean and tidy. The sea breeze blowing from the deep ocean had swept away the unusual stench and the excessive, vibrant colors.
Wendy hated everything about Schicksal—from Overseer Otto who gave the order, to her former teammates who looked down on her as a burden.
This was the key to the birth of her Herrscher consciousness.
However, Wendy had not yet become a complete Herrscher.
Like Mei, who had triggered the Third Honkai Eruption in Nagazora, the catalyst for both of them becoming Herrschers came from the Authority of their gems. Mei, at that time, had an ample supply of Honkai energy. Here, the Honkai energy concentration wasn't even enough to birth a Honkai Emperor.
Coupled with the help of a certain "everyone knows" special power, Wendy still retained a degree of her humanity. Before destroying the entire Oceania Branch and the Schicksal base, Wendy had deliberately leaked a small amount of Honkai energy to trigger an alarm, forcing all the local civilians to evacuate the cities on the surrounding islands.
This was why Kiana found the "designated coordinates" completely empty.
"S-rank Valkyrie, Otto's granddaughter..."
After pressing the final "ENTER" key, Wendy had confirmed her target: take control of the Valkyries from the Far East Branch, force the "goody-two-shoes" Theresa to come here for a rescue, and then capture her to blackmail Otto.
The success rate was not high, but it was the best plan Wendy could come up with.
Just as she was about to get back into her wheelchair and use herself as bait to execute the plan—
"Whether it's strength, mentality, or strategy," a somewhat disdainful voice echoed in the void.
"Who's there!?"
"As a counterpart, you're a bit too pathetic, aren't you?"