February 16, 2000 – 12:00 PM, Novosibirsk
"Hm-hmm~ When the sun's out, I bask in the sun; when the moon's out, I bask in the moon~"
Hu Tao stretched lazily as she sat cross-legged in midair, her eyes glistening with traces of tears.
In the aftermath of the Second Honkai Eruption, details such as the death toll, the appearance of the Herrscher, and the extent of destruction everything recorded in human memory—could be tampered with.
With the power of Fenghuang Down's feather, almost no one in the world had the means to restore those memories on their own.
But… if people whose memories had been altered saw a perfectly intact city, their recollections would inevitably clash with the truth buried in their minds.
Naturally, suspicious organizations would only need to investigate a little—without even coordinating with one another, to deduce fragments of the real events of the Second Eruption.
Someone as cunning as Otto would certainly realize his own memories had been tampered with.
That's why it was necessary to inflict actual destruction on the cities that were supposed to have been devastated, to leave behind ruins and rubble as evidence.
"But really, this is getting a bit boring~"
Lying on the head of a massive, tank-class Honkai beast, Hu Tao rapped her knuckles lightly against its silicon skull.
Its eyes rolled like marbles spinning on a platter—left eye drifting to the lower right as the right eye swung up to the upper left—giving it a strangely "intelligent" look.
"Oh my, customers! One customer, two customers~"
As if sensing something, Hu Tao's plum-blossom-shaped eyes lit up with interest.
She stood on the beast's head, adjusted her hat, and spread her arms theatrically.
"Dear Valkyries! The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor is now holding both a grand opening sale and a going-out-of-business clearance!
Two promotions for the price of one! Don't miss out—this deal is too good to pass up! Act now before it's too late!"
Her delicate, pale hands overflowed with the aura of death.
A violent gale swept forth, carrying a thick, black mist of suffocating death straight toward the Valkyries.
"Or, if you're too shy to act, I can lend a hand!"
If one looked closely at that black mist, they would notice faint specks of white light within—it was the power of Creation.
Which meant Hu Tao wasn't just "dealing damage"; she was also secretly healing her opponents.
Only by doing both could she sell the illusion of being "stalled" by the Valkyries, unable to carry out her "slaughter."
It also ensured that the scene looked tragic enough, the battle fierce and desperate.
Now that's professionalism!
"Why? Why would you become a pawn of the Honkai?"
Amber darted nimbly aside, her large Honkai-energy rifle blasting beams that pierced through the mist.
At this point, she was still only a somewhat unusual A-rank Valkyrie—not yet Otto's personal secretary.
Amber could tell from Hu Tao's voice—there was no hatred for humanity in her tone.
So then… why had she become a Herrscher?
"Now, now, no need to sound so harsh. Business has been slow lately, so the Funeral Parlor is making house calls~"
Hu Tao narrowed her eyes playfully, studying the Valkyrie who looked exactly like Kallen.
But her gaze soon slid past Amber—toward a different direction behind her.
Her real customer had arrived.
Under Hu Tao's control, the black mist coalesced into the shape of a spear.
Like a bloodthirsty serpent, it shot forth from her hand, piercing straight through Amber's right arm.
The power of accelerated cellular necrosis caused black particles to scatter from the wound.
If left unchecked, Amber's entire body—synthetic as it was would disintegrate into nothing but dust.
"Well now, Herrscher-sama, this Funeral Parlor of yours… what exactly does it specialize in? My own humble enterprises may not be much, but I imagine I could be of some assistance."
A warm smile, a kind voice.
The golden-haired man appeared beside Amber as if conjured from thin air, golden light blooming in his hand to form a unique spear.
A copy of Abyss Flower.
He raised a hand, silencing Amber before she could speak.
With the same power of Creation, Otto easily restored the parts of her body that had already been corroded by Hu Tao's Decay.
"If I can be of help, then that's wonderful. You see, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's specialty is sending the dead on their way. And if someone isn't dead yet…"
Hu Tao smirked, "well, I can arrange that too."
The black-mist spear whirled into place at her back.
Otto stepped forward, his dignified aura pressing against her.
The Valkyrie in his arms gazed at him with reverence and admiration.
In those sky-blue eyes, he could glimpse the tenderness she tried to hide deep inside.
But alas…
Even if she bore the same face, even if she carried all of Kallen's memories—she was not the saint who lived in his heart.
"You've done well enough. Leave the rest to me."
Still smiling warmly, Otto placed a gentle hand on Amber's head, ruffling her hair before turning to face the spear-wielding girl before him.
She was his hope for reviving Kallen…
"Wait—Herrscher-sama, I assure you, I mean you no harm whatsoever!"
When it came to lying with a straight face, there was no one in the world better than Otto.
If he claimed to be second, no one would dare claim first.
"I believe you~"
Hu Tao hurled her black spear once more.
The choking black mist surged toward Otto—yet the white flower in his hand bloomed with gentle light, fending off the tide of death.
Because Otto was channeling the power of the White Flower, the gilded feather that had begun forming in his other hand faltered—and was promptly severed by Hu Tao's black spear.
"Well then, if you really mean no harm, why not obediently become my customer? After that, we'll have all the time in the world to take things slow."
The words had barely left her lips before Hu Tao blurred forward, covering dozens of meters in an instant.
Her seemingly delicate little fist came crashing down toward Otto's head.
After copying and analyzing the Herrscher of Sentience's power.
Nagami had already accounted for tricks like Otto's use of Fenghuang Down, which once allowed him to detect the identical consciousness waves of Nagami and C.C., thereby exposing their dual existence.
But now? With shielding, or by simply altering the consciousness waves of one body, such exposure could easily be prevented.
So even if Otto managed to activate the Feather again, he would never realize that the girl before him was the same individual as the Second Herrscher he had encountered before.
So those earlier lines? They weren't just jokes—Nagami had literally rewritten part of this clone's consciousness into "Hu Tao."
Otto's fake smile finally cracked.
He raised his arms in a cross guard before him, bracing for the blow.
But Hu Tao's soft-looking fist carried far more force than he anticipated.
With a sonic crack as the air itself ruptured, Otto was blasted off his feet like a cannonball, crashing through two solid walls before coming to a halt.
For Nagami, the Second Honkai was the most exhausting "stage play" of his life.
He had to act as the lead, the supporting roles, and even create the extras himself.
So pummeling Otto into the ground? That was his idea of workplace recreation.
Playing Sirin before had been all long-range power spam, which frankly felt unsatisfying.
This time, as Hu Tao, he was going for a good old-fashioned fistfight—blow for blow!
———————————————————————
February 16, 2000 – 12:00 PM, Kazakh Steppe, near the Aral Sea
Cheng Lixue hoisted an injured Valkyrie onto her back, leaping toward the evacuation zone.
As she moved, her gaze lingered on a certain Honkai beast within the swarm—one whose expression looked strangely… off.
That beast had just shoved aside its own kind as they were about to deliver the killing blow to a Valkyrie.
And now? It was slamming its head into the ground over and over.
Compared to the rest of the horde, it was like a wolf pack with a husky mixed in.
'A dumb husky,' at that.
'Wait, can Honkai beasts even get mental illness? Or neuroses?'
'They're supposed to be silicon-based lifeforms!'
The question hovered in her mind as she swung her sword—Ruoshui—its blade shimmering with rippling blue light like waves.
Water surged along its edge, cleaving through a charging assault-class Honkai beast with ease.
Ruoshui was one of the mas produce of Xuanyuan the Ten Divine Keys, its power controlling the flow of water.
And with Fu Hua having personally taught her the Taixuan, Cheng Lixue knew there was only one true enemy on this battlefield.
Handing off the wounded Valkyrie to reinforcements, she looked upward.
Floating quietly in the air was the Herrscher of Flames, lazily tossing fireballs from her fingertips.
Clutching the mass-produced Divine Key, Cheng Lixue strode forward without hesitation.
The Taixuan Sword Heart had four realms: Still Water, Dustless, Bright Mirror, and Taixu.
With her talent, she should have long since reached the Dustless realm.
Yet because of the heart demon born from Fu Hua's sudden disappearance, she had been unable to break through.
Her impression of Fu Hua had shifted so many times—at first, a silent, expressionless older sister.
Later, a master who poured her very soul into training her, who only wished to make her proud, to see her smile.
And only now did she realize—in those gentle smiles, there had always been hidden sorrow.
She wanted to close that distance with her master, even if just a little.
And it would begin here.
Her eyes burned with determination as Cheng Lixue raised her blade toward the Herrscher of Flames.
"Not bad spirit. To be fair, Fu Hua is quite good at teaching martial arts."
Nagami's voice carried an odd note.
"But…" He sighed. "She's really not fit to raise kids."