Just as Durandal had explained, the reason she chose to eliminate the Herrscher's persona in reality—allowing Miyuki to take control of the Core within her—was because she could personally intervene if anything went sideways.
But in this Dungeon, that safety net didn't exist. Durandal couldn't stay here forever.
Listening to the explanation, Elysia finally understood. She nodded, her objections fading away.
With Elysia's memories restored, the last of Durandal's lingering worries vanished.
She urged Krishna forward, galloping toward the location of the Third Herrscher and Śeṣa.
--+--
"Are we out?"
Elysia watched as the scenery shifted around them. The ruins of Nagazora City had reverted to their original state; though it remained a ghost town, the buildings and streets were at least intact.
"Yes, we're back."
Durandal felt a wave of nostalgia. After all, the Nagazora in the Dungeon and the one before their eyes were worlds apart.
However, restoring the city to its former glory would take more than just purging the Herrscher's will from the Core and getting Miyuki to keep her companion beast, Śeṣa, on a short leash.
The current concentration of Honkai energy was a lethal fog. Forget ordinary people; even most members of Schicksal would suffer catastrophic side effects from long-term exposure.
Fortunately, Durandal had prepared a contingency plan. Now, she just needed to find Vill-V to put it into motion.
But before Durandal could lead Elysia to the inventor, they were found first. The person approaching was none other than the Third Herrscher, Miyuki.
Because Durandal had erased the Herrscher's consciousness and replaced it with her own "brand," Miyuki had essentially become something of a familiar to her—much like Śeṣa was to Miyuki.
Such a bond allowed a familiar to sense their master's presence.
The moment Durandal appeared, Miyuki felt the connection and rushed over.
When Durandal's aura had vanished earlier, Miyuki had been frantic. Yet, she had followed her instructions, joining the other Schicksal members to hunt down Honkai beasts within the city limits.
Seeing Durandal and Elysia standing there unharmed, Miyuki let out a long, shaky breath of relief.
Truth be told, she was still haunted by the memory of nearly losing her body to that alien will.
That cold, hollow indifference toward the world—that cruel, spiraling madness—was a nightmare she never wanted to relive.
"Lady Durandal, Lady Elysia! Oh, thank goodness you're both alright!" Miyuki cried out, her face lighting up with genuine joy as she reached them.
"We can catch up later. What's the situation in Nagazora? And what about Sapphire City—has Dystopia contacted Connie yet?"
Durandal didn't have the luxury of explaining where they had been. She was far more concerned with whether things had gone south in their absence.
Miyuki's report was, thankfully, optimistic. Since the most dangerous threats—the Herrscher and her companion beast—had essentially switched sides, the threat level of the Third Honkai Eruption had plummeted by ninety percent.
The only real issue was the lingering Honkai energy. As for the remaining ten percent of the threat, Schicksal's logistical might and preparation were more than enough to handle it.
"Miyuki, get back to clearing the beasts. If you run into the others, let them know Elysia and I have returned safely. If anything urgent comes up, tell them to find me at the Spiral Workshop."
It wasn't that Durandal didn't want to use her phone, but the electromagnetic fields near the epicenter of the Herrscher's awakening were still a chaotic mess.
Between that and the high Honkai concentration frying electronics, they were stuck using messengers until Vill-V could build some hardened comms gear.
"Understood!" Miyuki nodded and hurried off.
As she disappeared, Elysia leaned in close, her voice tinged with a playful hint of jealousy. "My, my... you two have a rapport that even I can't compete with."
"You'll have a similar connection in the future," Durandal replied instinctively.
The moment the words left her mouth, she saw Elysia's peculiar expression and realized she'd slipped up.
She opened her mouth to fix it, but Elysia just shook her head.
"I told you, didn't I? You don't need to spell out the truth. I'll find it myself inside the Dungeons. Come on, then. You're headed for the Spiral Workshop and I need to get to Mobius's lab. We're going the same way."
"Right."
Durandal followed, relieved to drop the subject. It wasn't a lack of trust; she just feared that speaking too much of the "future" would invite unwanted variables.
If this were fifty thousand years later, under the gaze of the Will of Honkai, she wouldn't have breathed a word.
To do so would only allow that entity to prepare.
In this era, the Will of Honkai seemed absent—its authority even briefly usurped by Durandal herself—but she knew better. The Will was merely a servant of the Imaginary Tree.
If she got too "arrogant," who was to say the Tree wouldn't get annoyed and drop an unknown 'God' into the mix just to ruin her day?
Both the Spiral Workshop and Mobius's Laboratory were built on the site of an old human experimentation base.
They were part of the under-construction Schicksal Headquarters, located right in the old city district where they currently stood.
It wasn't long before they reached their destination. Upon entering the unfinished grounds of the headquarters, the two split up. Durandal turned left toward the Spiral Workshop, while Elysia veered right toward the lab.
In a city paralyzed by the Third Eruption, these were likely the only two places still buzzing with activity.
Outside the workshop, the sight of Durandal immediately revitalized Fuxi and Nuwa, who had been waiting for some time.
"Leader! You're finally here. Dr. Vill-V has been expecting you," Nuwa chirped, her mannerisms carrying a hint of Shenzhou flair that made Durandal feel right at home.
"Lead the way."
It wasn't Durandal's first time at the Spiral Workshop, but given her complete lack of a sense of direction, she would never find Vill-V in that architectural maze on her own.
Even Fuxi and Nuwa, who worked there, couldn't navigate the shifting layout by memory. Though they appeared to be leading, they were actually following a small guide-bot trundling along in front of them.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL