Thanks to Imhotep's superb—or rather, wild—driving skills, the Night City... wait, Arc City traffic cops could only eat the supercar's exhaust fumes as they chased futilely behind. As for the two involved, Imhotep was happily humming a tune, legs crossed, lounging on the sofa. She watched Rita and Irene bustling in the kitchen, wisely deciding not to get in their way.
Her passenger, Miss Cioara Natasha, wasn't faring nearly as well.
"Hey... Ms. Island Bomber, you okay?"
Kiana, also barred from the kitchen, looked worriedly at Raven, who was completely sprawled out on the sofa. The World Serpent mercenary's soul seemed to have been scattered to the winds during the 420 km/h joyride, leaving behind nothing but a dazed, empty shell.
"Guh... guh..."
The only reply the Knight Princess received was a simple, repetitive babble.
"Imhotep... what did you do to her?"
The Knight Princess immediately shifted her gaze to the culprit, Miss Imhotep, who was casually waiting for dinner.
"Me? I didn't do anything. It's just that this generation of Underworld mercenaries has weak nerves—"
"You're scared of riding in a supercar at 420 km/h? Bronya would have been screaming for more."
Imhotep glanced disdainfully at Cioara, who still hadn't recovered, and shook her head. You mercenaries are a disgrace to your predecessor, the Silver Wolf of Siberia.
"...I think any normal person would react this way after weaving through heavy traffic at 420 km/h with a swarm of cops wailing their sirens in hot pursuit."
"In short, she's a rookie—"
"A mercenary who can't handle a high-speed chase... Valkyries can ride supersonic aircraft like skateboards."
The culprit remained unrepentant, curling her lip.
"But still, that's just a theoretical lesson, right? Who in their right mind would actually ride a supersonic aircraft like a skateboard?!"
Kiana stared at Imhotep, speechless.
"Black Tiger Fu, of course~"
Imhotep stated the name as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Class Monitor..."
Kiana froze, her mind flashing back to the dream where she'd seen Black Fu Hua riding a missile to chase Bronya.
"...This, um... Miss Imhotep, even I wouldn't ride a missile to get around. That's far too dangerous."
Hearing herself suddenly brought into the conversation, Fu Hua could no longer stay put. She leaped out of Fenghuang Down.
"Ah... you're out. We weren't talking about you, but your daughter—that certain troublemaker."
Imhotep waved her hand dismissively, completely unfazed, seemingly oblivious to the bombshell she had just dropped on Fu Hua.
"Daughter? My daughter...?"
Fu Hua's face hardened, her expression screaming, If you don't explain yourself right now, you're not leaving without a beating and a lecture.
"Who says you need to get married to have a daughter—Whoa!"
Before Imhotep could finish her sentence, an iron fist slammed into the sofa right where she'd been sitting.
"You scoundrel! Do not tarnish my good name!"
Seeing the furious Fu Hua, who had clearly misunderstood, Imhotep dodged aside and turned to Miss Kiana, who was thoroughly enjoying the drama.
"Kiana, dear—you never explained it to Fu Hua?"
Imhotep hopped onto an undamaged sofa, shifted into a new pose, and deftly passed the pressure onto the spectator.
"Uh... I guess not..."
"Then hurry up and tell her!"
With her reputation and honor on the line, the usually composed Fu Hua could no longer remain seated. She glared at Kiana, daring her to spin some ridiculous tale.
"Well... you remember your body, Class Monitor? Your physical one."
"That body should have been dead, devoid of consciousness. What about it?"
Fu Hua's mind raced, and her face instantly darkened.
"Otto?"
"Uh... yeah, Otto had something to do with it..."
"Hmph! What did he do with my body this time?!"
A tangible black aura erupted from Fu Hua, so intense it seemed she might transform into a Herrscher and transcend humanity at any moment.
"Actually, Otto isn't the main one to blame this time... In a way, he had good intentions that went wrong?"
"Otto and you are old friends, right? He knew the secret to your immortality, so he took your body back to Schicksal's medical bay to heal it... His original plan was just to take you off the board temporarily. Once his grand scheme was a done deal, he figured he'd let you beat him up and call it even."
"And then...?"
A terrible premonition crept over Fu Hua. That body was supposed to be without consciousness, yet this girl, Imhotep, claimed Fu Hua would have a daughter in the future... and a troublemaker at that...
"Then, the Honkai Will nurtured a brand-new consciousness within that empty shell... A new Herrscher, the Herrscher of Sentience, was born."
"What—!!!"
"Kiana, we need to return to Schicksal immediately! The Herrscher of Sentience caused catastrophic losses to humanity in the Previous Era—we absolutely cannot let her be born!!!"
"Kiana?!"
Fu Hua stared at the unresponsive Knight Princess, her voice rising at least eight octaves, her words overflowing with anxiety.
"None of us are panicking... Fu Hua, what are you so worked up about?" Imhotep drawled lazily from the sofa, utterly unconcerned by the Herrscher of Sentience's emergence.
"But—"
"Uh... Class Monitor, there's a reason we called her your daughter..." Kiana interrupted the lengthy lecture Fu Hua was about to launch into.
"What reason?!"
"That silly consciousness the Honkai Will stuffed into your body... inherited all fifty thousand years of your memories... and now thinks she is Fu Hua... the kind who fights against the Honkai."
"This..."
Fu Hua was utterly stunned. In her fifty thousand years as an immortal, what kind of stunt hadn't she seen?
This one. She had never seen this one.
"A Herrscher... was brainwashed by the memories I left in my body... and had her own mind and perception scrambled???"
"Exactly. Why else would we call her Silly Senti? The only downside is that, for you, Fu Hua, she might not just be a bit of a handful... she's a real handful."