The Gem of Desire in Lierre's hand emitted a cyan fluorescence, radiating a high concentration of Honkai energy comparable to deadly poison.
Ana observed Lierre and Mobius. Their conversation was far too shocking, treating the Authority of a Herrscher like common trade goods. Was there truly someone in this world who could easily seize a Herrscher's Authority and gift it to others?
That was a living, walking natural disaster!
"What a blunt refusal. I wanted to give you a cheat so you'd have a better chance of winning when you face Kevin." Lierre shook her head in regret, adding, "Also, don't make me sound so terrifying. I'm just a scientist; I don't have powerful strength like you all."
Mobius wasn't angry to see Lierre using her own rhetoric to feign weakness. Instead, she followed along, saying, "Hehehe, then my frail great scientist, since we're on the subject, why don't you use the Authority of the Fourth Herrscher yourself to arm yourself?"
After a year of spending time together, Mobius wouldn't say she knew Lierre inside and out, but she knew that Lierre's small head contained a treasure trove of knowledge that far surpassed the Previous Era.
To exchange for the knowledge she needed from Lierre, she had agreed to Lierre's excessive demands time and time after again—one of which was even caught red-handed by Pardofelis.
Therefore, Mobius knew very well that Lierre wanted to rapidly increase her own strength. With the resources of Schicksal at her disposal, she had plenty of ways to make herself stronger.
Yet, she hadn't done so.
What was the reason?
"If I obtained the Authority of the Fourth Herrscher, wouldn't I have to go to the battlefield?!" Lierre's eyes were full of rejection, appearing very unwilling.
Once she personally took the field, who wouldn't be a one-shot kill except for The Tree and the Sea?
Even relying solely on the Divine Power of the Herrscher of Wind, she could beat everyone down with one hand.
Her Status was too high; even a simple water ball spell in Lierre's hands could be used as The Great Flood.
"Don't tell me you're afraid of death. It's not like I don't know what a terrible personality you have. My dear former Acting Overseer, is dancing on a knife's edge fun?"
Mobius brushed a strand of long green hair, her bright snake pupils giving Lierre a meaningful look, pointedly emphasizing the words "former Acting Overseer."
Afraid of death?
If she were truly afraid of death, Lierre should have stayed obediently in Schicksal, married that Theresa in a few years, and inherited the position of Overseer.
She wouldn't have slipped out of Schicksal headquarters, risking assassination by other factions or even Schicksal itself.
"It can't be called dancing on a knife's edge. Now that I have you all by my side, what is there to worry about?"
"The truth?"
"Prying into someone's secrets is a point-deduction, Dr. Mobius." Lierre's tone suddenly shifted as she said seriously, "The truth is, I just want to enjoy the feeling of being protected!"
In her previous two worlds, she had been the one diligently protecting others. In this world, to protect the masses of people on Earth, she had also worked very hard to make decisions.
Now that she had finally finished everything and could cause trouble without any scruples, Lierre didn't want to be a warrior charging on the front lines!
She only wanted to be a support who gave her own people cheats and occasionally added positive buffs on a whim.
When Finality arrives, that will be the day of the Descent of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
To overturn the entire world and completely end the Honkai!
But before Judgment Day arrives, Lierre just wants to be a gang leader, a "useless person" protected by a group of people.
"Enjoy the feeling of being protected..."
What an absurd reason.
But Mobius knew Lierre wasn't lying this time; she truly had that purpose.
"As expected of the Boss. For the sake of the experience, she doesn't even deign to increase her own strength. Truly a role model for our generation!" Pardofelis looked full of admiration.
However, Pardofelis only guessed half of it.
Lierre indeed did it for the experience. She was the boss, while Mobius and the others were the Enforcers.
She was worried that if she showed too much strength, and they encountered enemies in the future, Mobius and the others might be slow to reinforce her, not feeling urgent at all.
Simply because Lierre was too strong and the enemies happened to be too weak.
"Lady Lierre, is this also a part of your plan?" Ana looked at Lierre's back from behind, speculating in her heart.
To completely end the Honkai, she had to cooperate with Lady Lierre!
A flash of determination crossed Ana's eyes.
At this moment, the group led by Cecilia was walking quickly toward them.
Lierre and her companions stopped their conversation.
"Auntie!!!"
Dual white ponytails fluttered in the air as Kiana rushed up like the wind.
Ana dutifully prepared to step forward to stop Kiana, but she was caught by the arm and held back by Lierre.
Seeing this, Pardofelis and Mobius also stopped their next actions.
The reason they, the dead from the Previous Era, could move in the Current Era was entirely dependent on Lierre.
So, not only for Lierre's sake but even for their own, they wouldn't let Lierre fall into danger.
"Kiana..."
Lierre was about to greet Kiana, whom she hadn't seen for days, when her vision suddenly went dark. Her cheeks were buried between two soft, warm masses, and the girl's fragrance wafted over.
With no one to stop her, Kiana grabbed the petite Lierre and hugged her, feeling the soft-as-silk loli in her arms. She said with great joy:
"Where have you been lately? We were worried to death! After hearing the news of your disappearance, Auntie Theresa has been drowning her sorrows in bitter melon juice every day, worrying about what might happen to you."
"Mmph, mmph, mmph..."
Lierre, her feet off the ground, reached out to pat Kiana's back, wanting her to let go.
However, Kiana didn't understand Lierre's meaning and thought Lierre was comforting her, so she hugged even tighter.
"Careful, don't smother my Boss to death!" Pardofelis reminded her, feeling distressed.
"Huh?"
Kiana blinked innocently; she hadn't used that much force.
Perhaps truly worried she might accidentally smother Lierre, she released her and carefully placed her on the ground.
"Phew..."
Lierre took a deep breath of fresh air. It was a good thing she wasn't an ordinary person; if that hadn't smothered her, her slender waist would have been aching from Kiana's monstrous strength.
"Sorry, I was too excited and didn't control my strength..." Kiana's eyes darted around awkwardly, not daring to look at Lierre's speechless gaze.
Bronya followed closely behind. She scanned Mobius and the others one by one. After seeing Lierre's familiar face again, she greeted her with a complex gaze: "Mama Lierre, come back to St. Freya with Bronya. Everyone has been worried about you lately."
"Ma... Mama... ?!"
The gold flower in Pardofelis's hand almost slipped. Looking at Bronya, who was half a head taller than Lierre, her pupils shook.
"That's the daughter adopted by Lady Lierre and Lady Theresa. It's recorded in the Schicksal archives," Ana explained.
"I see. You scared me; I thought it was born from the Boss and Overseer Otto's granddaughter..."
Pardofelis breathed a sigh of relief. Before she could finish, she caught the look Lierre shot her and hurriedly stopped. "Nothing, nothing, pretend I didn't say anything."
Bronya: (ᗜ ˰ ᗜ)
Mobius had known about their relationship for a long time, so she wasn't that surprised.
She sized up Kiana and Bronya, then turned to suggest to Lierre: "Your niece and daughter are here to fetch you. Aren't you going back with them? If I recall correctly, your old flame is still waiting for you in the Far East Branch."
"Auntie, come back with us!" Kiana struck while the iron was hot, grabbing Lierre's hand and trying to pull her toward the Hyperion.
After taking a step, Kiana found that Lierre had no intention of moving.
Seeing this, Bronya thought "as expected" in her heart.
Facing Kiana's confused gaze, Lierre gently shook her head and said, "I won't be going back with you this time."
"Why? You have to give me a reason."
"A reason..."
Lierre found it difficult. she couldn't exactly say she wanted to run around the world and was afraid of hindering Kiana and the others' studies.
She thought for a moment and spoke again: "I want to travel all over the world and save it along the way. If I continue to stay at Schicksal headquarters, I'll either be monitored or restricted to the interior of the Schicksal floating island. There's simply no freedom to speak of."
"If I go back to St. Freya... haha, Theresa would likely tie me to her side for fear I'd run away. She's such a possessive woman, so I'm not going back."
"I don't want to step into the grave of marriage!"
Everyone: "..."
Although the reason for freedom was plausible, why did it sound so strange?
"If I remember correctly, it was Auntie who enticed Auntie Theresa to sign the marriage application, right? And sent it to Overseer Otto immediately after it was signed," Kiana recalled.
"I regret it!" Lierre crossed her arms and said righteously.
What a scumbag girl!
Everyone was speechless at Lierre's shamelessness.
Bronya knew Lierre was determined not to go back with them. After a helpless sigh, she said, "Bronya understands the traveling part, but is the 'saving the world' part a joke?"
She felt that this was the main point.
"It's not."
"...Eh?" Bronya's eyes widened, her face full of surprise.
Lierre had put away her playful attitude and said seriously, "I saw your battle just now. Your performance was quite good, but it's far from enough. Facing the Honkai, your strength isn't even worth looking at, even with Cecilia added."
As soon as these words were spoken, Bronya fell silent.
But Kiana clenched her fist and shouted defiantly, "We might be weak now, but just give us enough time, and we'll definitely shock you! Don't look down on us!"
"I never doubted your potential. It's just that the path of growth is too arduous. The heavy burden of saving the world doesn't need to be borne by you 'children' alone."
Lierre said, "So, leave troublesome matters like saving the world to us 'adults.' Things like the Honkai are no big deal to me."
Lierre's goal was a happy ending. With her current abilities, there was absolutely no need for Kiana and the others in the protagonist group to grow up along the old path of near-death experiences.
With her, God, here, why play with your life? Everyone, go wrap some dumplings!
Mobius glanced over repeatedly. If it were anyone else, she might mock them for overestimating themselves, but it was Lierre saying these words.
This forced her to suspect that Lierre might already have a solution for the Honkai.
"But..."
"Alright, Kiana, don't say any more. Mama Lierre has already put it this way, so we naturally must accept this kindness."
At this point, Bronya's voice paused, and an imperceptible curve appeared at the corner of her mouth. She said, "However, Bronya has reached her rebellious age. If no one is watching, she might make decisions that disappoint Mama Lierre in the future."
A genius! If I say it like that, isn't there a reason to take Lierre back?!
Thinking this, Kiana immediately echoed, "Me too!"
Lierre chuckled, not feeling the slightest bit of surprise.
If the protagonist group could be persuaded with just one sentence, the villains would have woken up long ago.
"To prevent rebellious children from doing dangerous things while their guardian is away, as your guardian, I'm going to give you a gift."
Lierre looked toward the Hyperion and whispered to herself, "The reason Raiden Mei and Cecilia didn't come is that they are escorting Wendy to the Hyperion, but it's not too much trouble."
As she spoke, she raised the Gem of Desire held in her hand.
A bad premonition rose in Bronya's heart, and she hurried to ask, "You had someone snatch the Gem of Desire. What do you plan to do?"
Lierre chuckled and said something that made both Bronya and Kiana unable to sit still: "It's simple. Naturally, it's to make someone become the Fourth Herrscher."
Mobius instantly perked up, watching Lierre's every move closely.
She wanted to see exactly what Lierre was planning.
The next second!
White flames engulfed all of Oceania. The entire world fell silent instantly; everything ground to a halt.
The Fuzetsu that isolates cause and effect unfolded abruptly.
"Is this the Fuzetsu the Principal mentioned?!" Bronya, seeing the Fuzetsu for the first time, hadn't even processed it before Lierre moved again.
An imperceptible divinity lit up in the depths of Lierre's eyes as she softly uttered the Divine Mantra:
"I say, Wendy shall become the Herrscher of Wind!"
"I say, Wendy shall become the Herrscher of Human!"
"I say, Wendy shall resolve her inner conflict!"
As the three mantras were uttered, the Gem of Desire erupted with a dazzling light. In an instant, it vanished from Lierre's hand, turning into a cyan light that flew toward the Hyperion.
The wind suddenly blew everyone's clothes.
BOOM!!!
The Fourth Honkai Eruption suddenly broke out within the borders of Oceania. Honkai Beasts followed, born from the Honkai, roaring and destroying everything in sight!
At the same time, the urgent and oppressive Rank 3 alarm suddenly blared at Schicksal headquarters!