Dr. Mei's earpiece echoed with Expert's voice. "Mm, understood. The Honkai energy reaction coefficient has not exceeded the critical threshold. No need to initiate the Level-Three Honkai Disaster Response Plan."
"Understood," Dr. Mei replied from the experimental control room, her tone tinged with resignation.
In truth, the control room itself was already sufficiently safe. Vill-V was being a little overly cautious.
To prepare for any possible accidents involving the Herrscher Core, Expert and Dr. Mei had drafted five separate Honkai disaster response plans.
The Level-Four plan currently in effect would cause some damage to the base, but it would remain repairable.
The Level-Three plan, however, entailed large-scale destructive cleansing of both the base and the experimental subject. Personnel casualties were also possible.
The Level-Two plan meant immediate evacuation of all staff, followed by nuclear leveling of the base.
As for the Level-One plan... that would be Pure Evil's responsibility...
...
This was the first time Vill-V had seen Elysia fight.
Holding her pink rifle, Elysia gracefully leapt over the massive voids torn open in the ground by spatial rifts and entered the testing field.
The moment the imaginary creatures noticed someone had entered, they lunged at her with reckless ferocity.
Yet in the face of their sudden assault, there was not a trace of fear on Elysia's face—only a mischievous smile.
"We can't let cute girls get hurt, now can we~"
She swept the rifle across her chest, blocking the creatures' violent strikes.
"One must remain elegant, even in battle."
Planting the rifle's butt against the ground, she spun swiftly. Her pink-tinged ankle lifted as her legs crossed midair, kicking into a creature's abdomen and using the rifle as leverage to knock it backward.
The imaginary monsters were like a pack of vicious demons. Their grotesque limbs sliced through the air with each swing, producing a hissing sound.
"I see your openings~"
Elysia flipped lightly, evading a claw that slashed toward her. She planted her feet against the wall, rotated her rifle, and deftly fired, striking the vital points of several creatures in one fluid motion.
Their imaginary seeds were fully exposed as a result.
"What a pity. If only you were as obedient and adorable as kittens, perhaps we could have been friends."
Pink streams of energy gathered around her like countless drifting petals, converging in her hands.
"You must accept this bouquet with gratitude~"
Bursts of flame bloomed among the imaginary creatures like flowers—beautiful and dazzling.
The creatures surrounding the Herrscher's corpse were swiftly eliminated by Elysia, and yet not a single instrument in the laboratory was damaged by her attacks.
After all, this was merely the reactivation of the Herrscher of the Void's Core—not the true deployment of the Herrscher of the Void's authority.
The rifts were merely byproducts of data leakage, and the imaginary creatures... were nothing more than redundant data drawn in by those fluctuations.
These creatures had not even fully formed their own imaginary seeds. Or perhaps their shells themselves were the seeds—fragile and easily shattered.
Having concluded the battle in short order, Elysia swung her pink rifle idly, closed her eyes, and stretched as though she had not yet warmed up sufficiently.
Spotting Vill-V emerging from the safe house, she immediately beamed. "Well? Vill-V, it's your first time seeing me fight, isn't it? What do you think?"
As usual, Expert could not produce anything flowery. She answered succinctly, "Mm, Elysia, you're truly impressive."
A gleam of satisfaction flickered through Elysia's eyes.
Although Expert had not praised the beauty of her combat, at least the sentence had grown longer. When they first met, Expert's compliments had only been two words. Now they had increased fivefold.
That meant Expert's feelings for her had doubled as well~
Heehee, our friendship is clearly growing deeper and deeper.
She brushed dust from her rifle and smiled smugly. "After all, I am an experienced combat expert~"
Declaring oneself an expert in front of Expert...
Still, Expert had to admit Elysia was not wrong. Even a thousand Experts would not be enough to defeat one Elysia.
And a thousand Experts might not even win a debate against a single Elysia.
Gazing at the golden, resplendent gem suspended within the flow of Honkai energy before her, Expert let out a breath.
The Herrscher of the Void's Core had finally been extracted.
"Wow, so this is a Herrscher Core? It's so beautiful." Elysia's eyes sparkled as she clasped her hands together in delight. "So flawless and radiant, like the afterglow of the setting sun."
Elysia seemed quite fond of the Core. She even gave it a name—Gem of Morningglow.
Of course, that held no practical meaning. Expert certainly was not going to present this Herrscher Core to Elysia as a gift. It would soon be forged into a Divine Key.
She wondered whether Elysia had ever seen her own Herrscher Core.
Though the thought was admittedly impolite... this was Expert.
Expert had never concerned herself with politeness. In fact, she almost wanted to ask directly. That would be the most efficient method.
Expert was extremely curious to know what color the Herrscher of Humanity's—and the Herrscher of Origin's—Cores were...
Elysia, let me take a look at whether your Core is healthy!
Not long afterward, Elysia hurriedly departed. It was not because she sensed Expert's prying thoughts, but because she had received communication from MOTH.
"I truly hate to leave you, Vill-V. I'll handle this as quickly as possible and come back to you. Forgive me for leaving halfway, will you?"
Vill-V knew a bit about the situation. Across the world, irregular Honkai phenomena were spreading, and signs of imaginary invasion had already begun to surface.
The Fifth Herrscher was about to appear. The time left for humanity was dwindling.
Elysia would likely be heading out to assist in disaster relief before confronting the Fifth Herrscher—the Herrscher of Ice.
With Elysia no longer at her side, Expert suddenly felt a wave of emptiness and fatigue.
Elysia withdrawal symptoms...
"Sigh. Better focus on work. Dr. Mei and Newton are watching."
Spreading out the jointly designed Second Divine Key · Key of Infinity Blueprint created with Conductor, Vill-V formally began constructing the locomotive.
This time, even if the Herrscher of Ice descended, she would finish forging the Divine Key before stepping onto the battlefield.
Only with a Divine Key in hand would Vill-V possess sufficient confidence to face a Herrscher.
Previously, even though Expert had full confidence in her creations, whenever she stood before a Herrscher, no matter how many anti-Herrscher weapons she built, she felt a trace of unease.
After all, Expert's confidence was rooted in surpassing humanity's technological level.
But against a Herrscher—an existence that transcended not only human technology but even human cognition—no matter how much money or time she was given, no matter how many anti-Herrscher weapons she constructed...
Expert could never guarantee victory.
Once the Divine Key was complete, however, Vill-V would fear neither heaven nor earth.
Herrscher?
She would blast them all to pieces.
Inflated. Absolutely inflated...
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