BOOM—!
The huge explosion shook the entire square. The hardy people of the USA, with their reaction speed and leg strength trained on the daily PUBG battlefields, reacted in an instant.
Residents without firearms sought sturdy cover, hoping this disturbance would end quickly; those who carried guns were a bit braver, but they too dared not act rashly before the situation became clear.
In this country, more people died each year for various reasons than in a war.
When others died, it could be a source of amusement, but it wasn't so wonderful when that amusement came knocking on your own door.
The space around Brian and the others was instantly cleared. The girl who had just uttered the threat had to force an awkward smile under the gazes of the other two.
"I think you'll believe me when I say this wasn't my doing."
She was just making a verbal threat. How could her words have the power to cause a violent incident?
If she really had that ability, she would first kill the Inner World Protagonist next to her and Otto, who had put her in this situation. She wouldn't do something as boring as venting on ordinary people.
But Li Sushang's action and the chaos happening at the same time made it difficult not to connect the two.
Seele's delicate little face showed worry: "Although I know Sister Sushang isn't a bad person, I think these two things... might have some underlying connection."
Such an obedient and cute girl believed that this incident was caused by her, which almost sent an arrow straight to Li Sushang's knee, making her nearly unable to stand up straight.
Because of this coincidence, even Li Sushang couldn't deny that there was no potential connection between the two.
This was...
Brian: "I believe it wasn't Sushang who did it."
"..."
Finally, someone believed her.
But Li Sushang immediately reacted: "Who needs your trust, you lecher!"
With that, not wanting to stay with this man any longer, Li Sushang rushed out and found the source of the commotion.
A Titan!
After the existence of the three major organizations came to light, countries around the world made similar moves.
The USA, which dominated North America, quickly passed a bill, putting Commissioner Smith in charge of purchasing a large number of Titans from the Anti-Entropy organization to protect cities from the Honkai.
For several months, the Titans manufactured by the Anti-Entropy organization had not had any problems, but today, the first incident occurred.
The moment her gaze locked onto the out-of-control Titan, the perceptive Li Sushang sensed something unusual in her surroundings.
Although there was no one else around, and the Titan was driven by artificial intelligence, she had a feeling of being watched.
"Who is it!?"
It disappeared.
"Is someone playing tricks?"
A towering shadow loomed larger. The tall Titan unhesitatingly brought its fist down, as if to smash the girl in front of it into a pile of unappealing mush.
The sword's edge hummed lightly, and the battle ceased.
A smooth, diagonal line was drawn across the giant combat weapon's body, causing the upper half of the Titan to fall heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The decisive girl turned and left without any hesitation.
Returning to Brian's side, Li Sushang explained her recent discovery, and the members of the Anti-Entropy organization subsequently recovered this special Titan.
And in that gloomy Theater of Domination, the silver-haired girl had naturally become the center of the stage.
"This... is how you retaliate against the world?"
Two puppets pulled out a curtain behind her. The petite and powerful Valkyrie and the tall and weak combat weapon formed a stark contrast.
Someone among them had used their Herrscher ability to control a Titan, but it served no purpose other than to let Li Sushang show off her swordsmanship once again.
And even...
"You even let that woman notice the problem, almost letting her discover our existence!"
The puppets that Bronya's gaze swept over all lowered their heads, submissive under the girl's powerful aura.
The Honkai was already known to the world, so it went without saying what the fate of a Herrscher would be.
There couldn't possibly be a naive person who thought... they could survive just by surrendering, right?
Bronya, a master of psychological warfare, unhesitatingly seized this opportunity: "You don't really think that just because we're hiding in the Theater of Domination, no one can find us, do you?"
"Can you tolerate those who have harmed us enjoying a good life in the outside world, while we can only live in this dark and cramped place?"
"No!"
A puppet stood up.
More puppets stood up!
The Herrscher of Domination, Bronya Zaychik, revealed a satisfied smile: "I thought you guys were all useless bugs, and that being with you, I wouldn't know when I could get revenge on this pathetic and hateful world."
"Now it seems you're somewhat useful after all."
At this moment, the wolf from the Siberian snowfields had already seized the power she deserved among the Thousand-strong Herrscher.
But!
There were always Herrschers who dared to face the might of the Russian loli.
"Bronya Zaychik, you're just a pathetic worm who can't even protect the people around you. What right do you have to lead us!?"
Who was it!!!
Who dared to interrupt while the great Lady Bronya was speaking!
Those puppets without a sense of self, who only followed the crowd when others spoke, glared at the one who had spoken, but naturally, it had no effect.
Everyone here was a Herrscher of Domination, right?
Even if they acted recklessly, these guys had no right to comment on their actions!
Everyone here was an equal Herrscher, one of the thousand!
The theater was divided into several distinct factions.
Those conquered by Bronya's charisma became the girl's loyal followers, while those who felt nothing about these matters had no reaction.
The remaining small portion were arrogant, thinking that if Bronya could do it, so could they.
"That's right! You, Bronya, are just a loser who can't even protect your own sister. You have no right to order us around!"
Another puppet stood up in agreement, and a few puppets stood up sporadically, spontaneously forming their own small groups.
To this, Bronya just sneered: "Since you think you can, then go ahead and do it. I can compete with Schicksal's S-rank Valkyrie. If you can do the same, I'll acknowledge your ability!"
When faced with a threat that could destroy the entire group, humans will unite to face the crisis together.
But once the external environment relaxes slightly, the seeds of internal strife will take root and sprout, causing the organizational structure to begin to fall apart.
The Theater of Domination was located in the mysterious Imaginary Space.
Although it was very close to the Real World, it was difficult to find without coordinates.
The three major organizations on Earth couldn't find this place, so the Herrschers active here naturally felt an indescribable sense of security.
The existence of a sense of security is the breeding ground for internal strife, enough to plunge the Thousand-strong Herrschers into endless quarrels.
In fact, Bronya believed that if it weren't for the fact that the Thousand-strong Herrschers were all connected, these guys might even fight to the death.
The puppet who had spoken earlier was exceptionally confident: "We'll do it! Not only will we defeat an S-rank Valkyrie, but we'll even capture one alive to show you!"
Capture one alive... how ambitious.
Even after countless battles under the Inner World Protagonist's jeans, Bronya didn't dare to be confident that she could capture an S-rank Valkyrie alive.
That was Rita Rossweisse, the weakest of the S-rank Valkyries.
"Then I'll be waiting with bated breath."
"You just wait and see!"
A few puppets gathered together and left the Theater of Domination under various gazes. It was unknown how these guys intended to fulfill the boast they had made.
A puppet behind Bronya twisted its body irregularly: "Is it... okay to let them act on their own like this?"
It was as if it had already accepted Bronya as its temporary leader.
As Herrschers transformed from humans, they were born with a rebellious streak, but also with a blind herd mentality.
Regardless of whether Bronya was right or wrong, as long as they weren't the ones sticking their necks out, it was fine.
"Don't worry, they can't defeat an S-rank Valkyrie."
Puppet: "..."
That's not what she wanted to ask!
But forget it. It was better to let these guys who had become arrogant after obtaining the power of a Herrscher suffer a little, so as not to have everyone pay for their foolish actions.
...
Anti-Entropy Salt Lake Base...
"Sushang, you said you sensed a strange aura in the surrounding environment when this Titan went out of control?"
"Yes, it felt like some petty villains were watching me."
After answering the question, Li Sushang suddenly noticed that the damned Inner World Protagonist had come to her side uninvited again.
The girl's pretty eyebrows furrowed, and she subconsciously dodged backward, leaning against the cold steel wall.
"What are you doing so close to me!?"
Her eyes were filled with killing intent, as if in the next moment, she could pull out her greatsword from behind her back and chop off the root of trouble that the other girls both loved and hated.
Young Brian, seemingly oblivious to this, compiled all the known information and roughly guessed what was at play.
"Perhaps it's just some small bugs peeking into the Real World from Imaginary Space."
"Small bugs?"
The red-haired, twin-tailed Tesla, who was examining the Titan's wreckage, held a different opinion: "This isn't just some ordinary small bug."
"No matter how we inspect it, we can't find any malfunction or abnormality on the Titan. It's as if this Titan was naturally supposed to cause a riot in Times Square."
Neither Tesla nor Einstein could find the problem.
If it weren't for Li Sushang's discovery, which provided a guiding light for the two of them, they would have almost gotten stuck in a dead end on this problem, with no telling when they would get a result.
With a direction for the investigation, the rest was simple.
"If you ask me, this incident was definitely the work of a Herrscher!"
The fiery-tempered, red-haired, twin-tailed Tesla didn't hesitate to blame it on the Herrschers.
The few Herrschers present didn't feel offended, but instead began to think about it.
"According to Sushang's description, that feeling might be related to the Herrscher of the Void. After all, it seems only she has the ability to hide without being discovered."
This guess was very reasonable, but the other consciousness in the snow-haired girl's body just snorted coldly and didn't offer any explanation.
Raiden Mei smiled: "Kiana, are you saying you sleepwalked?"
Theoretically, the most likely suspect was the Herrscher of the Void, but Kiana, the suspect, had a solid alibi, successfully clearing her name.
Fu Hua: "Could it be... a new Herrscher?"
Herrscher abilities are strange and varied, so it wouldn't be surprising if something unexpected appeared.
In the previous era, there had never been a Herrscher like Sirin with multiple Herrscher Cores, but this era had seen several similar beings appear at once.
When you say it can't be done, the Honkai slaps you in the face and says It can!
"Among the remaining Herrschers, the one most likely to affect the Titan is the Herrscher of Corruption. Only that one's abilities could allow it to go undetected by us."
The yet-to-appear Herrscher of Corruption was inexplicably stabbed in the back, with a black pot flying from nowhere to land on its head.
Everyone present gathered for a brainstorming session, discussing all the possibilities.
But they all came to nothing due to a lack of decisive evidence.
After a small gathering caused by the incident, the crowd began to disperse.
At this time, Seele Vollerei finally noticed that she hadn't seen her sister Bronya at all.
"Where did Sister Bronya go? I haven't seen her at all."
As soon as she said that, the silver-haired girl appeared behind her, as if she had heard her sister's call.
"Seele, did you miss me?"
"Sister Bronya, you seem to have changed somehow..."
For some reason, Seele felt that today's Bronya was full of confidence and sunshine.
It was as if she had found her direction in life and was forging ahead on this path, overcoming all obstacles.
"Changed?"
The Russian loli's expression was cool, as if she had discovered a treasure behind her friends' backs. "No, I've just found the correct future!"
The correct... future?
Tilting her head, Seele didn't understand what Bronya meant by that.
Could it be... that her sister Bronya had finally faced her true feelings and decided to change?
Seele's little face turned slightly red.
In the past, every attempt for the cabbage to be eaten by the pig had failed because of Bronya's obstruction. Now, all she had to do was give her sister Bronya a little push, and she would be on the path to happiness.
Thinking of this, Seele Vollerei excitedly grabbed Bronya's hand and held it to her chest.
"Sister Bronya, Seele has always believed in you!"
"Seele, you can always believe in me. I'm your Sister Bronya, after all!"
The wolf from the Siberian snowfields was just that confident!
The other consciousness in Seele's body pouted, having long seen through this girl Bronya's true nature.
What 'wanting to protect her sister'? It was just because of her own twisted thoughts that she didn't want her sister to get ahead of her.
Bronya Zaychik was nothing more than a greedy bratty imp.
Thinking this, 'Seele' said, "Little idiot, don't be fooled by her current act. This girl has never been honest!"
Seele: "Other me, did you discover something?"
"Maybe. I just have a creepy feeling about this girl. I feel like she's up to no good with us!"
Up to no good?
A flash of inspiration struck Seele: "Are you saying that Sister Bronya wants to steal Brother Brian from us?"
"Who! Who likes that guy!"
The young man's delicate face turned red with anger, and he almost became incoherent.
Seele smiled knowingly: "I understand, other me."
Seele and 'Seele' communicated in their hearts while also talking to Bronya.
The two of them slowly walked along, eventually parting ways at a fork in the road because they each had different tasks.
But what Bronya didn't notice was that after she left her sister, a dark shadow from the Imaginary world quietly followed Seele.
"Let us drag you completely into the abyss of losers, Bronya Zaychik!"
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