"Hey, I was kind enough to summarize your pathetic life for you. You're not even going to say thank you?" the puppet said, dissatisfied.
Perhaps because Bronya didn't get angry at its sarcastic taunts and instead remained completely calm, the puppet felt like it was the one being made a fool of. It was starting to get angry from the embarrassment.
Bronya smiled faintly and said softly, "You're right. Bronya should indeed thank you."
"Thanks to you, Bronya has figured many things out. However, I can't give you this core yet. Bronya needs it."
"Besides, you don't need a Herrscher Core to tell jokes, do you?"
"What?!"
Bronya was completely unaffected by the exchange; instead, it was the puppet whose composure was starting to crack.
It gritted its teeth and, throwing all caution to the wind, summoned several puppets that charged toward Bronya.
Bronya didn't rush to use her Herrscher powers. Instead, she calmly engaged the puppets in guerrilla warfare, trying to gather more intelligence.
"Eh? Why aren't you riding your precious little car? Watch me drag you off that motorcycle, just like the Herrscher of Sentience did!" the puppet started its sarcastic commentary again, trying to disrupt Bronya's focus.
Bronya ignored it, continuing her hit-and-run tactics while analyzing the space and her enemies.
After a while, Bronya felt she had gathered enough information and directly activated the power of the Herrscher of Reason. Azure energy cannons instantly filled the entire space, and Bronya mounted her motorcycle.
The puppet's slender body was struck by the shockwave from the cannons and sent flying.
It struggled to get up from the ground, a triumphant, scheming smile on its face.
"Heehee, Bronya, you fell for it!"
The next second, countless fine golden threads burst from the puppet's body. Like a torrent, they surrounded Bronya, finally forming a golden cage.
"...What?!" Bronya was stunned. She could feel the power of the Herrscher Core rapidly draining away, as if a thread was wrapped around her, constantly siphoning her power to the other side.
"Dear audience members, with my sacrifice, I will now bring down the final curtain—Announce... the death sentence of the Herrscher of Reason!"
"The... End!"
As the puppet spoke its final words, a sharp pain shot through Bronya's body. She let out a muffled grunt, and the blue energy that had filled the space vanished in an instant. Her beloved motorcycle fell apart, and Bronya, reverted to her normal Yamabuki Armor form, fell heavily to the ground.
With that, the vision ended.
---o---
Everyone: "..."
It was hard to say, but after watching the video, everyone's emotions were quite complex.
Especially Bronya's.
Watching her future self get so thoroughly owned, Bronya really wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
This was just too embarrassing.
If the loss against Kevin was understandable, this time, getting her "driver's license revoked" was truly outrageous.
And the things that puppet said...
Was she, Bronya, really that much of a failure? She couldn't win a single fight?
"Bronya... well, it's okay. Everyone fails sometimes. Just learn from it and don't make the same mistake next time," Theresa said, the corners of her mouth twitching as she tried to comfort Bronya. After all, she was the Principal.
"Hahaha, Bronya, you're so lame! That was hilarious!" Unlike the others who were trying to be tactful, Kiana showed Bronya no mercy, clutching her stomach and roaring with laughter.
"Idiot Kiana...!"
Bronya ground her teeth. If looks could kill, Kiana would have already been diced into a million pieces.
"Ahem, alright Kiana, stop laughing. Let's analyze the information from the vision," Himeko coughed lightly and gently tapped Kiana on the head, stopping her ridicule. Bronya was her student, after all. How could she just stand by and watch her be humiliated in front of everyone?
"From the conversation between that puppet and Bronya, we can tell that the puppet also seems to be a Herrscher. And before that, Bronya had fought the Herrscher of Sentience," Raiden Mei said thoughtfully.
Theresa frowned. "Why are so many Herrschers appearing all of a sudden? It's so strange."
In the past, Herrschers appeared decades apart. Why did it feel like so many were popping up at once now?
Could humanity really hold out?
"From the vision, we can tell that this suspected puppet Herrscher's ability seems to be stealing the power of others. As soon as Bronya used her Herrscher power, it was immediately taken away," Fu Hua said calmly.
"If I'm not mistaken, she should be the Herrscher of Domination."
"The Herrscher of Domination?"
The others looked thoughtful.
"Well... since we know her ability in advance, everyone will have to be careful if we face her in the future," Theresa said, glancing meaningfully at Bronya.
The corner of Bronya's mouth twitched in annoyance.
She was clearly a calm and intelligent person.
It was obvious from the vision that the future Bronya had been very careful. But there was nothing she could do! Who could have predicted that the puppet could snatch the power of the Herrscher of Reason?
Could she really be blamed for that?
No!
Speaking of which, now that she knew the future, could she still become the successor to the Herrscher of Reason?
The thought only circled in Bronya's mind for a moment before she dismissed it.
It wasn't an important question.
Whether or not she became the Herrscher of Reason, she was definitely going to the Sea of Quanta. How else would she save Seele?
However, this did give her a reminder.
Since Welt was in the Sea of Quanta, could it be that her chance to enter it lay with Anti-Entropy?
If that was the case...
"Bronya, it seems your usual training isn't enough. You're paralyzed without your Herrscher powers. That won't do," Himeko suddenly wrapped an arm around Bronya's shoulders, grinning at her.
"Looks like I'll have to increase your training regimen."
"...Bronya isn't weak."
Bronya pouted. Even without being a Herrscher, she was still strong, okay?
"Then if you fought Kiana right now, do you think you could beat her?"
"...Bronya doesn't want to be compared to a muscle-brained idiot. Bronya fights with her brain."
"Hmph, but you still lost, didn't you?" Kiana stuck her tongue out and made a face at Bronya.
"..."
Damn it. The day I truly get my Herrscher powers, I'm definitely going to ride my motorcycle right over Kiana's face!