"I didn't expect Anti-Entropy to choose to join my Far East Branch. Though it's all thanks to Shun's efforts." In the St. Freya Academy Principal's office, Theresa, who had just finished handling the personnel list for Anti-Entropy's merger into St. Freya, said with some emotion.
Speaking of which, ever since she met him, their Far East Branch had truly been thriving!
"I always feel like I never get the chance to do anything for him… Sigh." Thinking of this, Theresa couldn't help but sigh.
Ever since that incident happened, Shun had been deliberately keeping some distance from her. The opportunities for playful roughhousing like before no longer existed.
Sure enough, once some things were made clear, it was hard to take them back. For the past few months, Theresa had been restless, but she could only remain restless.
At this moment, a rapid knocking sound interrupted Theresa's thoughts. She quickly straightened her appearance and used the most serious tone her cute voice could produce.
"Come in. The door isn't locked."
"Reporting to the Principal, um…" The girl who entered was holding a document in her arms and looked somewhat reserved, perhaps unsure how to report this bad news to Theresa.
"Relax, your Principal is right here. There's nothing that can't be said." Theresa patted her chest in assurance.
"In short, please take a look, Principal. This is a set of Honkai energy reaction data we observed in Nagazora City yesterday." The girl carefully handed over the data to Theresa.
"This is… this is… what does it mean? Can you explain?" Theresa looked at it several times and only noticed that the Honkai energy index was high, with nothing particularly special. After all, she wasn't researcher material, so it was normal that she couldn't understand the data.
"Principal, here." The girl pointed to the highest data point on the document. "The Honkai energy reaction here has already surpassed that of a normal Emperor-level Honkai beast. Combined with the fact that Nagazora City once gave birth to the Thunder Herrscher, we cannot rule out the possibility that the residual Honkai energy there was siphoned by some powerful entity. It's possible a new Herrscher might be born!"
Listening to the girl's anxious words, Theresa realized the severity of the situation. Her first thought was to ask Shun what to do. After all, Shun had been her external brain for more than half a year; it was definitely best to trouble him when there was a problem.
But at this moment, Theresa thought that she seemed to have never done anything for him. An inexplicable confidence made her feel that it was time for her to solve a problem without relying on Shun once.
Hmph, it's just a Herrscher, right? More than ten years ago in Siberia, I nearly soloed a six-core one. Could I possibly not handle some unknown entity suspected to be a Herrscher?
"Come here! Bring me my Judah. Stop playing Three Kingdoms Kill there every day!" Speaking of Judah, Theresa was also annoyed. Ever since Shun had played cards with Judah back then, Judah seemed to have awakened.
It often sneaked out to help students "restore the Han" when she wasn't around and even used her money to top up for gacha.
However, once Theresa realized that the AI installed in Judah was quite intelligent, she didn't impose too many restrictions. After all, Judah had been her old friend accompanying her for a long time.
Now that she was heading to Nagazora City to subjugate the newly born Herrscher, she naturally had to bring her old comrade along.
Hmph, anyone who offends my Far East Branch will be struck down by me!
Thus, Theresa, like an old general on a stage, skipped her Principal duties and flew alone toward Nagazora City aboard a transport ship from the helipad.
"Eh, this is…?" Theresa followed the Honkai energy reaction and landed at the mountaintop of a site with many damaged torii gates.
Sensing the place where she had left a seal with Judah not long ago, Theresa then remembered that this might be the location where Shun had borrowed her Judah a few months ago to handle some matters.
"Was this seal left by Shun?" Theresa looked at the golden array beneath the huge cherry blossom tree. She could sense Judah's aura on it; it was clearly left not long ago.
Since it was left by Shun, there must be a reason for it. She could ask him what it was for when she got back. However, this seal seemed to be damaged? Sensing the surging purple Honkai energy beneath the seal, Theresa didn't dare to be careless.
Mm, better not act rashly. I'll use Judah to reinforce the seal first and then go find Shun!
Theresa naturally wouldn't act blindly. Although she didn't want to rely on others for everything, this seal obviously wasn't something to mess with casually, especially since it was related to Shun. She just happened to have a legitimate reason to go find him.
"Mm, it's decided. But this seal seems a bit damaged. It would be bad if something goes wrong while I'm away. I'll use Judah to temporarily reinforce it!"
For insurance, Theresa felt she couldn't just leave the seal like this, so she summoned Judah.
"Judah, deploy!" Following Theresa's command, the golden cross unfolded, shooting out thirteen light spears—just like the scene when Shun had previously reinforced this seal.
If nothing went wrong, after Theresa reinforced the seal, she could let Shun handle this matter. Of course, provided nothing went wrong.
Along with Judah's deployment, what fell was not only the light spears but also a Three Kingdoms Kill card printed with God·Cao Cao that landed on the seal together. It seemed Judah had been using God·Cao Cao to play Army Eight earlier.
Of course, it was precisely because of this variable that everything changed. God·Cao Cao covering the array just happened to destroy the array's integrity.
A crisp shattering sound rang out. The seal set by Kallen five hundred years ago, which sealed the Herrscher of Corruption and the pseudo-Herrscher Yae Sakura, was broken.
At the same moment, a huge void appeared beneath the massive cherry blossom tree and swallowed Theresa into it.
All that remained on the ground was Judah, which had just backstabbed its master. It looked around in confusion with its sword drawn, wandered in place for a bit, then chose to continue reinforcing the seal and returned to St. Freya to get reinforcements.
...
"Uh, so you're saying that when you and Theresa were reinforcing the seal I set up at the Yae Shrine a few months ago, the God·Cao Cao card that fell out from inside you landed and destroyed the array, causing a black hole to suddenly appear and suck Theresa in?"
Shun listened to Judah's report and for a moment didn't know what to say.
"Wait a second, let me give Three Kingdoms Kill a bad review first."