OHDOM 251-275 (Patreon)

OHDOM 251-275

Chapter 251: Wendy, Break

Wendy and [Saint Freya]Angel were not that familiar with each other.

But at least they were friends and comrades who had fought side by side.

The sudden bad news left her uneasy all afternoon.

So there was no choice. She had no intention of training. She simply stayed at home and cleaned the house and the yard.

Delta: "OvO..."

The Salted Fish Tower just kept watching, only occasionally moving.

"Alas, how could this happen to Angel? She's obviously a good person, hardworking and talented. I thought I would be promoted to S-rank with her sooner or later."

"Last time when you called her to ask for our kissing photos, you didn't seem to say that."

Pop!

Wendy grabbed the apple on the table and threw it, hitting Delta on the head.

Then Wendy, with a dark expression, picked up the mop and the dirty bucket, and said, word by word.

"Eat more... fruits! Humph!"

With a coquettish voice, it was unclear whether it was more out of shame or anger, and then the sanitation worker girl walked away from the salted fish, with a mouth full of flowers, without looking back.

However, after cleaning the house, when the sun was setting in the west, the hardworking and kind former Herrscher of the Wind came back with a dark expression, pushed Delta from the yard into the house, and then carried her into the bathroom.

As usual, she turned the salted fish over and rinsed it, rubbing it clean, and her skin, as white as milk, flushed with an attractive blush. Then Wendy carried Delta to the bed.

"It's almost time. I'll massage your muscles, and then eat and sleep."

Except for the few days when she overtrained, massaging Delta's muscles had become Wendy's daily routine.

Although she knew very well that Delta's paralysis was caused by the heavy burden of the Gem, and the excessive Honkai energy had damaged her muscle function, she knew the massage would basically have no effect.

But, what if, right?

Even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, Wendy was willing to stick with it as long as it could improve Delta's physical condition.

Wendy was seen rubbing essential oils in her hands and preparing for the massage, her eyes a little dazed, as if she were distracted.

"You won't break a few of my bones later, will you? Do you care that much about Angel?"

"...Heartless! How can I not care!?"

After all, Delta was also a Herrscher transformed from a human, so it's hard not to make associations.

What exactly did Angel go through, and what kind of pain did she suffer to become a Herrscher?

And what was Delta's feeling at that time?

Wendy thought about these questions, and the more she thought about them, the more she couldn't let go.

"Actually, I think she's quite similar to you, Delta."

"Huh?"

"To describe it in one word: clear likes and dislikes. You do your best to protect the people you care about. You also settle scores with the people who hurt you and never suffer any loss."

"How did you... figure that out?"

Delta almost broke out in a cold sweat.

No, [Saint Freya]Angel is so hardworking and motivated, while Delta is so lazy. With such a sharp contrast in personality, how could you say they were "quite similar"?

Wendy blinked her crystal-clear, beautiful eyes, tilted her head, and replied uncertainly:

"Intuition... right?"

"Ahaha, then you're really amazing."

Luckily, she didn't say "Delta is not Angel," otherwise it would have scared hundreds of Herrschers to death.

Delta laughed dryly and wanted to change the subject. "Well, how about we talk about something else?"

"Hey! Although I know your personality, you are too cold-blooded, aren't you?"

Wendy placed her hands on Delta's shoulders, kneading them, and said dissatisfiedly.

No one cared about anyone except Wendy—such treatment certainly made Wendy secretly happy, but if she put herself in Delta's position, Wendy thought this was not okay.

"The world is big, and life is long. Isolating yourself from the world and the crowd, ignoring others, such life is not complete at all."

"Uh..."

"Delta, there are many interesting things in this world, and there are many beautiful things worth feeling and having. I know you may not think so, and it's unrealistic to ask you to love the world all of a sudden, but... try it. Start by trying to care more about people you don't hate. How about it?"

Wendy's eyes flickered with expectation.

At this moment, Delta had a thousand dirty words that could break the warm atmosphere and turn Wendy into a steam girl. However, she couldn't say a word, and could only bury her face in the pillow, letting out a sound that was either shy or touched.

"Hmm~~"

"Actually, I used your authority to check Angel's experience, and there are many related materials. After thinking about it carefully, I feel like I can understand why she was bewitched by Honkai."

"Oh~~"

"She lost everything in the Nagazora City incident, and found warmth again in Saint Freya. However, Sister Mei is the Herrscher of Thunder, who detonated Nagazora City, and Sister Bronya and her mother are also indirect murderers... Put yourself in her shoes: the hatred runs deep. The people responsible are around, and not only can she not take revenge, but she also has to pretend to know nothing and fully maintain the warmth of Saint Freya."

Wendy's expression dimmed. "She's so strong..."

"Why are you paying so much attention to Angel? Do you have other ideas? Have you been digging into everything?"

Wendy took a deep breath and didn't answer the question. She just continued her massage, moving from Delta's shoulders to her curvy waist and back.

"Ah! It hurts!"

"If it hurts, that means you can still feel it. Maybe you can still be saved."

Wendy said with a smug expression, not stopping her hands.

Seeing Wendy's dangerous eyes, Delta didn't dare retort. To avoid being beaten, she could only lower her head, lie still, and remain silent.

"We... we've been through so much. Why do you still ask that kind of... that kind of question? Am I that annoying?"

"Eh? Wendy, you..."

"Shut up! I didn't say anything! You didn't hear anything!"

The shy A-rank Valkyrie exerted her hand strength as if she could crush steel.

Delta clearly felt something wrong with her spine, but she just smiled innocently and didn't care. She was just wondering if she could find some special teaching materials for the naive Wendy.

---

Chapter 252: Forget it!

Let me tell you a little thing that is not very important.

Recently, Wendy has been paying attention to information about niche love groups on the Internet.

For example, a user with the nickname "The Strongest Queen."

"Although it is quite common in Schicksal, it's still uncommon in the world, right? Delta is so annoying. Do you know that I’m also a normal girl? How can I be indifferent to these strange things... Oh, forget it. If she were considerate, she wouldn't be Delta." Wendy sighed tiredly to her best friend, whose relationship with her was becoming increasingly unclear.

Then she continued to follow the homepage of "The Strongest Queen."

"Wow, the number of followers exceeds 10 million; it's super popular. But it’s true—who doesn’t like watching a love comedy between a tsundere middle school student and a black-bellied lady?"

Wendy’s mouth unconsciously curved upward.

This middle school user who calls herself the Queen is an active participant in the circles of anime, games, and novels. Her personal profile is full of ACG (anime, comics, and games), and she’s part of the game and novel circles. She’s a bit of an otaku girl.

But none of that is important. What is important are the posts she shares.

From the initial request for help on how to deal with her sister's obsession, to how to counterattack, to the various back-and-forths between being the attacker and being attacked, people laughed at the Queen's persistence and failures, but they couldn’t help but sigh—does such a sweet and enviable relationship really exist in the world?

It’s not that no one has questioned the truth, but the information the Queen reveals is too dreamy. Such a perfect sister, such a dramatic daily life—it’s almost too outrageous to be real.

In Wendy’s opinion, the plot is already so interesting, so she just follows it online. Whether it’s true or false isn’t that important, right?

"Huh? What new character is this... Bella... a maid?"

Wendy's eyes lit up as she flipped through the updates she had missed over the past two days. Reading these simple, straightforward words, she could sense the warmth of the relationship and the sweetness of the middle school girl, who, despite being unwilling to be frank, couldn’t fully hide her feelings.

"This is great, it’s written so well..."

Her mood, which had not been the best, suddenly became much brighter.

Wendy sighed sincerely and, at the same time, sincerely hoped that Delta could learn some virtues from the sister or Miss Bella. She wasn’t asking her to take care of people, just not to cause trouble for others and raise their blood pressure.

However, that seems impossible, right?

...

"A-choo!"

"Princess, do you need the room temperature raised?"

Bella, who was adding ice cubes to the Coke with her bare hands, suspected that the low temperature she created had made her master feel uncomfortable, so she asked seriously.

Although she was not used to it at first, since the Queen had approved it, Angel became the object of Bella's service, and she needed to offer loyalty that was only slightly less than what she gave the Queen.

In short, the Queen's will is everything!

[Angel]Tachibana Yuki raised her soft arm, then tapped her chin, shaped like a delicate petal, with her white index finger, and wondered aloud.

"Although this body is indeed not well-trained, I’m still a Herrscher, so I shouldn’t be unable to handle this temperature difference, right? Well, it should be fine. Hurry up and send the iced lemon cola, otherwise, my sister will start urging me again."

"Yes, Princess."

Bella's serious expression resembled the exquisite and beautiful characters that could only come from a comic book.

Tachibana Yuki looked at Bella as she left the kitchen and smiled.

"She’s a little silly, but she is indeed loyal and pleasing to the eye."

The plot is the plot, but the actual situation can only be judged after personal interaction and understanding.

So far, Angel has approached everything this way.

Based on her current observations, Bella could be trusted. She wasn’t controlled by Honkai, had clear self-awareness, and was extremely loyal to Sirin—or, more accurately, to Angel. She was someone who could be trusted to stay by her side.

"That’s good. This way, I won’t have to waste a core."

Tachibana Yuki smiled lightly, took out a red gem she had prepared earlier, placed it in her palm, and watched it slowly melt into her hand.

Meanwhile, in the lively Theater of Domination, which was already as vast as the world of Shanhaijing, another cute Angel appeared.

Bella didn’t know about Angel’s secret preparations, nor did she think of the possibility. In fact, if Angel really needed it, Bella would have integrated the Dominance Herrscher core into her body without hesitation—she didn’t care about concepts like life and death or freedom, so naturally, she wouldn’t care about being controlled by Angel.

Compared to these insignificant things, the Queen’s needs were far more important.

"Hahaha!"

Before entering the house, Bella heard the Queen’s wild laughter.

There was a bit of cuteness in her arrogance, and, in that cuteness, she also seemed a bit... stupid.

But for Bella, that voice was the most reassuring.

"Haha! Over 10 million followers? I'm really the queen! Mere humans can't resist the majesty of the queen! Tremble, bow down, mortals! Hahaha!"

Sirin had lived a serious life from a very young age, and her experience and perspective remained at the level of experimental material. So, she knew nothing about human nature’s desire for attention and was completely unable to resist it.

In short, the fact that the account, which was originally used to ask for help, had unknowingly become that of a well-known creator made Sirin super proud.

"Hahaha!"

"My Queen, your drink."

"Oh, it's Bella... did you hear everything just now?"

"Yes, the Queen laughed very happily."

Bella replied honestly, her eyes as clear as the sky and sea, staring directly at Sirin’s face, unwilling to look away for even a second.

Sirin’s eyes, with their golden cross-shaped pupils, suddenly sharpened, and she casually hooked her arm around Bella’s neck and whispered in her ear.

"Forget what you've heard!"

"Yes, My Queen."

"Especially don’t let her know, understand?"

"Yes, My Queen."

Bella’s obedience made Sirin give up her plan to silence her.

How could Angel know that she had laughed like a fool just because of the follower milestone?

It would bring shame to the Herrscher of the Void!

Sirin patted Bella's head with satisfaction, drank the cola she had just received, and her eyes narrowed with pleasure.

Until she saw the half-exposed face at the door and Tachibana Yuki’s innocent eyes.

"Pffft!!!"

"When did you get here?"

Sirin quickly wiped the corner of her mouth and asked loudly, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Tachibana Yuki's eyes curved with a teasing smile.

"Hey! When did I get here? How about you guess, sister?"

"Forget it! Stop!"

Seeing Tachibana Yuki turn and run away, leaving behind that annoying smile, Sirin chased after her angrily, determined to use physical means to make her forget that silly laughter.

"Sister, come and catch me~~"

"Stop! Don’t run! Don’t climb the ceiling, are you a monkey!?"

Bella stood at the door, watching the Queen and the Princess chase each other, and suddenly twisted her fingers in melancholy.

"I didn’t even have time to say it... Bella also wants to... sleep with the Queen..."

This was probably Bella’s only personal wish at the moment.

As an intelligent life created by Sirin, her loyalty and love for her master had already surpassed everything.

If she could sleep with the Queen and drift off in her scent, it would be the ultimate reward. Unfortunately, the Queen always slept with the Princess and refused to let Bella sleep even at the door.

So why is that?

Is it because Bella smells bad?

Bella raised her hand and sniffed herself. With the keen senses of a Judgment-class Honkai Beast, she only detected a faint fragrance from the toiletries she had been using—nothing else.

So, what went wrong? Could it be that her loyalty wasn’t enough and the Queen was still unsatisfied?

Bella felt she had found the answer. She clenched her fist, cheered herself on, and resolved to show even more loyalty.

...

That night, the temperature in the master bedroom rose.

"Sister, please be mindful of the noise, Bella has very sharp hearing~~"

"Hmm... hiss... shameless!"

"Hmm? Sister is always so tough, but on the other hand, not so tough? Does mentioning Bella make you happy? Don’t worry, I won’t touch Bella, I only like you~~"

"If you dare to touch that child, I will... no, don’t... mmph!!!"

Sirin couldn’t help but roll her eyes, tears filling them—whether from anger or other reasons. She covered her mouth tightly, but no matter how hard she tried, the trembling sobs still leaked from her throat.

Angel narrowed her eyes happily and began considering moving Bella’s room closer.

"...Just now... forget everything...!"

After the storm subsided, Sirin, caring about her dignity as always, made her usual emphasis, but her voice was so soft and weak it sounded like a sigh. Then, she drifted off into a deep sleep.

---

Chapter 253: I'm such a big cat bug?

"You're really playing around..."

Deep in the dream space, which was neither real nor imaginary, the Honkai Queen, Angel, was holding up her long legs like a white cat bug, muttering something, and bluntly criticizing herself for bullying a simple child.

What they are doing now is simply shameless!

"But it's exciting to think about it," Angel added.

Then she put aside those distracting thoughts and began to focus on her work.

Every Angel has her own responsibilities. Even Delta, who seems to be a slacker, is constantly developing new fighting styles using the Gem of Desire while persistently teasing little Wendy.

There is no such thing as a peaceful life. Every Angel carries a heavy burden!

Angel, the Herrscher of the Void, was conceiving various dreams, helping Kiana accumulate combat experience and adapt to the power of the Herrscher, while exploring other possibilities within Kiana. For example, the sacred Kaslana stigmata connect every Kaslana, including genuine Kaslanas like Siegfried and Dudu, as well as hybrid Kaslanas like Theresa and Kiana.

"I'm going to die!"

"I found it, but how do I get to it?"

"I'll just rub it, but I won't insert it. Will Kevin come out and hit me?"

Relying on her increasingly profound knowledge and various abilities, Angel did find the access path to the stigmata.

But she didn't dare go in and find out.

First, the stigmata are one of the ultimate measures to resist the Honkai, and they may not have a good impression of the Herrscher.

Although there is a story that Yae Sakura and Rin reached a reconciliation in the stigmata space in Theresa's body, it proves that the power of corruption is enough to affect the power of the stigmata space. But after all, it has not been truly verified, and Angel has always been a coward who avoids risks—of course, to put it nicely, she is cautious.

Second, the stigmata exist in Kiana's body. If something unexpected happens during the test and affects Kiana, who still knows nothing, it will be too late for Angel to cry.

"However, let's wait a little longer?"

"But Kevin will implement Project Stigma as soon as he comes back. After all, it is the final backup plan, and I can't undo it at the start. If I don't begin to understand the stigmata now, will it be too late?"

Angel was a little conflicted.

Either surpass Kevin and prove that she has the qualifications to defeat Finality, or accept the arrangement of the previous era. This is fine in Angel's opinion.

After all, Angel herself cannot say with certainty that she can create a better future. If she accidentally causes things to go in a worse direction, then Kevin's backup plan may at least provide human civilization with a decent ending.

At most, she will take the people she wants to save in advance and wander among the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta sea together!

The world is so big; if this leaf can't be saved, can't she go somewhere else?

"Kiana's safety is still the most important..."

"But the entrance is here; it seems to be the holy place of Kiana and Sister Himeko. It's tempting me!"

Angel crouched with her head in her hands, falling into a mental dilemma for who knows how many times.

...

At the same time.

Kiana, with the huge hollowed-out shell of the Honkai Beast, sneaked past the vigilance of a large number of patrolling soldiers and came to the side of a long upward bone passage. She then threw away the shell used to cover her body and strode up.

"Hey! Stinky dad, the days of you opening portals at will are over. Give me Angel's cat ears!"

Reaching the platform that looked like a fossil section with strange and distorted colors and shapes, Kiana strode forward and spoke to the silver-haired man sitting on a cheap plastic chair.

But Siegfried, holding the Cleaver of Shamash in one hand and the cat headband in the other, stood up, and the plastic chair turned into black particles and drifted away in the wind.

"If you want it, then you have to take it. You know the rules."

"... I only said half of it in English, but do you think I haven't played D** 5?"

Kiana's mouth twitched, and her favorite street dance sword appeared in her hand, which she carried on her shoulder with a domineering air.

On the other side, Siegfried continued to deliver the set lines with a villain-like confident smile.

"How many times have we fought?"

"It's hard to say. In my childhood memories, there were quite a lot of duels during training. I can't remember clearly. By the way, are you staying in Anti-Entropy? Have you eaten on time? Have you recovered? Ah, I know it's a dream, why am I asking you these questions? You can't answer them."

"I won't lose to you, daughter!"

"I know, your really nagging. The big boss of the dream world will fall to me!"

The two were on the verge of fighting, and the flaming sword and the red sword collided with a powerful force that shattered the platform.

"Bang!!!"

Kiana's eyes lit up.

She felt the endless power in her body, and a sense of pleasure about to burst out made Kiana understand that this was a welfare dream.

In short, to prevent Kiana from becoming frustrated and self-destructive after being defeated many times, Angel arranged a welfare dream after a certain trial dream. In this dream, Kiana would get Herrscher-level Honkai energy, use extremely powerful abilities to control and defeat gods, and experience the pleasure of being invincible.

Kiana certainly didn't know the truth. She just saw the welfare dream as natural sweetness and enjoyed it every time.

This time, of course, was no exception.

"Hahaha! Stinky dad, let me try the sword!"

Kiana's clear, flawless sky-blue eyes turned into a dazzling golden color under the influence of the huge amount of Honkai energy. She laughed a few times, and the powerful giant sword overwhelmed Siegfried, whose face changed drastically.

Then, with lingering resentment toward Siegfried, Kiana slashed and beat her father violently.

"Hahaha!"

"That's it? Dad, your Judgement of Shamash is just that?"

"I really want to laugh! Poor, weak, weak, too poor!"

The overconfident Kiana no longer had any scruples, and using Angel's customized version of Rebellion, a combo was gorgeously performed, beating Siegfried to the ground many times.

"Haha! How am I so strong? I can do anything! Whether it's Honkai or Herrscher, what's Otto? Look, I'll beat you all to pieces, and then save the world, hugging left and right!"

Kiana laughed wildly.

At the same time, she relentlessly beat Siegfried.

After enjoying herself for a long time, she gave Siegfried, who had no will to fight, a fatal blow.

"Goodbye, stinky dad, and my cowardice!"

Kiana thrust the greatsword into Siegfried's chest and, with a cool expression, kicked him to the ground.

Then she triumphantly held up the cat headband that Angel had worn.

It was a weekend before the exam when Angel rewarded Kiana with a cat headband that anyone could touch to motivate her to push herself before the test. Kiana was fooled and narrowly passed the exam.

And this cat ear headband that Angel had worn is now Kiana's treasured possession in her closet.

Even if it was a dream, even if it was her stinky dad, Kiana would never tolerate it being taken away!

"Yoshi, I'll have Angel wear it as a gift for our long-awaited reunion next time we meet!"

Kiana imagined that scene and Angel's "meow~~," and hot air blew out of her nose, temporarily ignoring the melancholy that Angel was still missing.

...

At the same time, deep inside the stigmata, after experiencing numerous calculation errors, a certain screening judgment logic came to the conclusion.

"Object: Kiana Kaslana... Beep... Error... Error..."

"Beep... Kiana Kaslana... Beep... Error..."

"Beep... Kiana Kaslana, passed the test qualification, excellent quality, and is about to enter the final assessment stage of Kaslana's stigmata."

After a difficult logical judgment, the screening mechanism of Kaslana's stigmata locked on those welfare dream scenes where Kiana demonstrated her power and defeated various monsters and demons, then submitted the conclusion to the execution mechanism.

...

At the same time, Angel, who was struggling with whether to touch Kaslana's stigmata, was suddenly stunned.

She stood up, cleared the space in front of her, and half of her body was inserted into the empty welfare dream world.

Looking left and right.

Looking up and down.

Her head and eyes turned around flexibly.

After a moment, Angel was furious.

"Where is my Kiana?"

"Where is a cat bug as big as me?"

"Who did this when I was here just now?!"

At this moment, even if Diabolic Kevin stood here, Angel would risk her life to tear off a few wings. No one could be safe after stealing Angel's cat bug—no one!

--

Chapter 254: Most of the Time I Am Very Smart

"What kind of place is this? Is the dream is not over yet?"

Although the scene suddenly changed and she fell into a magnificent and dreamy crystal palace, Kiana was not panicked when she landed lightly.

She had long been accustomed to the ever-changing dream world.

However, due to this change, Kiana always felt that she would find it very easy to master skills such as space transfer in the future.

Kiana stood up straight, subconsciously patted the skirt behind her, and suddenly felt a strong and burning breath.

"Who!?"

The combat instinct inherited from the Kaslana had long been activated in many dream experiences. At this moment, it conveyed an extreme sense of threat to Kiana's mind, making her scalp tingle instantly.

Kiana looked back and saw a handsome and indifferent silver-haired young man standing there, looking at her with eyes as cold as ice, holding a flaming sword that distorted the air.

"!!!"

Kiana felt her scalp tingling more and more intensely. The extreme threat made her subconsciously pounce, roll, retreat, and hide behind a crystal shelter.

Kevin, or the incarnation of the will of the stigmata, quietly observed Kiana's alert reaction. However, in his heart, he was communicating with the screening mechanism of the stigmata space.

"Although her alertness and reaction speed are not bad, with this kind of body and energy intensity, are you sure she is qualified to accept the trial?"

The trial of Kaslana's stigmata is both a huge opportunity and a huge crisis.

Those who pass will gain the immense power accumulated in the stigmata for thousands of years, and surpassing the Herrscher will not be a problem.

Those who fail will either leave in a panic with their consciousness damaged or be trapped in the stigmata space from then on, gradually becoming food for the stigmata in despair and powerlessness.

The original intention of the creator of the stigmata was obviously not to turn countless Kaslana descendants into easy fodder, so the screening mechanism is extremely harsh and will not easily admit people.

There have been very few trialists since the beginning of the current civilization. Even Siegfried, who had obtained the S-rank title, was allowed to enter the trial only after being injected with the ICHOR, continuously strengthened, and with the intervention of the original, Kevin.

And now Kiana, under the observation of the stigma Kevin, had not yet reached the standard.

"This individual has abilities above the standard and has repeatedly defeated high-threat hostile units, so it is judged to be qualified to accept the trial."

The screening mechanism responded, providing many battle scenes in the welfare dream.

Kevin had no choice but to believe it.

Everyone is part of the stigmata, each with their own duties.

Kevin clone is the trial execution mechanism; he is only responsible for testing the selected candidates, not for judging the accuracy of the screening mechanism.

"This is Kaslana's responsibility. Stand up, use your strength and will to gain the recognition of the stigmata."

The tip of the sword pointed at Kiana, who had half of her head sticking out of the crystal shelter, and Kevin exuded an extremely terrifying aura.

It was as if a black hole had appeared there, making Kiana unable to look away. She could only be overwhelmed by the indescribable, enormous threat and struggle to breathe.

She's going to die! This looks much stronger than her half-baked Dad who came to the trial last time. At least he is very energetic, worthy of being the descendant of the strongest soldier.

Then Kevin raised his sword and moved toward her at a speed Kiana could not comprehend, sweeping with the flaming sword.

"I'm going to die, I'm going to die!!!"

The wild instinct, combined with the intense fear of impending death, made Kiana instantly realize that this was not a welfare dream at all, but a monster that was impossible to fight, though acting seemed too late.

At the critical moment, in the instant of one ten-thousandth of a second, Kiana had no spare energy to think. Her eyes suddenly turned into a dazzling golden color, and her figure abruptly disappeared and moved to another corner of the distant hall.

"Plop!"

After getting away from the enemy, Kiana's knees buckled, and she sat down on the ground. Her limbs shook instinctively, and she couldn't muster any strength.

It’s embarrassing to say, but Kiana knew that her tears were falling uncontrollably.

"What should I do, what should I do..."

The strong desire to survive drove Kiana to find a way to escape, but her brain seemed to be locked up at this time, and she couldn’t move at all, just continuously breeding more and more fear.

"Space... the ability of the Herrscher?"

Kevin's sword missed. The Will should have praised Kiana's reaction speed, but it was difficult to have a positive view of the Herrscher.

Kevin hesitated for a moment, turned to face the weak-footed Kiana sitting on the ground, waved his sword, and said:

"No matter what kind of power you control, since you come here as a trialist, I will treat you equally. Stand up and prove your qualifications to me, Kiana Kaslana."

Kiana had no ability to understand these words at all and could only tremble in fear.

This was the first time in her life that she felt such an absolute power gap, just like a human suddenly seeing the sky pressing down; it was too early for the still immature Kiana.

...

At this time, Angel's eyes lit up.

She unlocked her control over the power of the Herrscher to a great extent, allowing it to flow naturally to Kiana, in order to protect the vanished Kiana and to track her whereabouts.

"I found it, it’s you who is behind it!"

The Queen of the Void, Angel's strong killing intent appeared in her eyes.

"It's just a stigmata space. I don't want to affect Kiana that much in her dreams, but don’t think I’m afraid of you?!"

Is Kiana being captured to undergo that dangerous stigmata trial?

The question is, is it your turn to do this? Kiana is under my protection now!

Angel couldn’t calm down, nor did she want to. At this time, power from other individual Dominance clones continued to be added to this spiritual body. The Queen stepped into the dependent area of the stigmata space, raised her hand, and tore the space apart.

...

Kevin walked towards Kiana step by step.

This was his tolerance for the trialists.

Fear is okay; as long as you overcome it in time, you can still become a qualified warrior. Of course, if the other party still can’t get up by the time he reaches the trial, then she can only pay for her failure. This is how Kaslana's stigmata works, and it has not changed for too long.

And Kiana did not disappoint him. After a brief period of fear, the courage she had trained in these days returned and supported her to stand up.

However, Kiana did not face Kevin. Instead, she immediately distorted the surrounding space, teleported to a farther position, and tried to find an exit.

"I can't beat him. The me now can't beat him no matter how I think... It’s different from the previous dreams. This time it’s very dangerous, too dangerous."

Kiana’s lips trembled as she kept trying to break through the space or search for an obvious entrance and exit.

However, it was useless.

The stigmata space can only be entered but not exited. Even a true Herrscher of the Void would be trapped for a while, not to mention Kiana, who had just temporarily have its abilities.

Kevin was already approaching the panic-stricken Kiana. When he got serious, his strength and speed were beyond Kiana's comprehension.

The flaming sword slashed down from the air, and the golden luster in Kiana’s eyes flickered strongly, but she had no way to avoid it.

"Bang!!!"

The huge Sub-space lance suddenly appeared, lying between Kevin's sword and Kiana.

They both looked up at the same time and saw the long skirt fluttering like petals blooming.

The cold and arrogant Herrscher of the Void[Angel] stepped on the steps in the sky made out of Honkai energy and descended step by step.

At the same time, the silver-white spears in the sky slowly emerged from the void.

"Ant, you..."

Angel wanted to use Sirin’s tone to euphemistically ask Kiana if she had suffered something, but her voice stopped abruptly.

Because she saw with her own eyes that the silly girl’s eyes turned into gold and she took advantage of Kevin’s momentary daze to tear open the space, drill into it, and disappear in an instant, fleeing from both of them.

"Everyone says I’m stupid, but I’m not stupid at all. I’m very smart most of the time!"

The proud Kiana thought so, while leaving the huge threat to the Void Queen Angel who was chasing after her, and went to find a safe place with peace of mind.

---

Chapter 255: Diagnosed as Split Personality

Kiana the trialist ran away and disappeared from the battlefield. At this moment, the most confused person were not either Angel and Kevin, who were speechless, but the screening mechanism of Kaslana's stigmata, which was supposed to wait for self-checking and bug fixing after completing the task.

'Identifying the object...'

'Genes are determined to be Kiana Kaslana.'

'Electroencephalogram frequency detection... error... personality matching... beep... error...'

'Beep... error... beep... deep call to database, data retrieval...'

Since the Herrscher of the Void, Angel, and Kiana temporarily share the same body, the genetic test conducted by the screening mechanism in the first step is a perfect match, so the initial conclusion is—this is Kiana.

However, a bug arises; although the genes match, other characteristics are inconsistent.

Even with a serious Herrscher, the imaginary portal and Herrscher power would be clearly presented in the stigmata space, making it impossible to make a mistake.

So, now it’s very awkward. Have you ever seen a Herrscher being pulled into the Stigmata Space for a trial? Anyway, the Kaslana Stigmata itself has never seen it, and this situation is not included in its logical judgment program.

The screening mechanism is stuck, and thus the thinking circuit of the Stigmata Will is also stuck.

Kevin clone is a bit overwhelmed.

'Hello?'

'What happened?'

'Can the trial objects be plural? I don't remember this being in the systema?'

After a series of inquiries, he did not get any response from the screening mechanism.

Kevin frowned for a long time and decided to make his own judgment.

"Although I don’t know what went wrong, how could there be two trialists? And it doesn’t seem to make sense for a Herrscher to come here. But anyway, since it has been screened by the Stigmata, then..."

'The search is over. According to the personal file data of Dr. Vill-V in the previous civilization database sequence 107, this situation is determined to be a split personality phenomenon. The updated result of the trial evaluation method is communicated to the execution mechanism: Multiple personalities working together to complete the trial, or a single personality completing the trial independently, can all be judged as successful. All personalities are judged as failures if they lose their resistance.'

The Stigmata Will did not completely fail, despite dragging a series of logical bugs, and affirmed Kevin's judgment at the critical moment.

Kevin was determined in his heart and raised the burning flaming sword.

"Then accept the test!"

"I'm busy, don’t bother me!"

Angel waved her hand to summon a large number of sub-space lances.

At the same time, she twisted her hands in the void, as if she was forcibly pulling the surrounding space, constantly twisting and folding the things around her.

These arrangements temporarily isolated Kevin, who rushed over ten steps away, and then Angel concentrated on looking for the direction of Kiana.

'The Stigmata space is an independent domain, neither virtual nor real. To some extent, it can be defined as a man-made finite imaginary space, and its existence is even more abstract than the spiritual domain.'

‘I can still rely on my knowledge of stigmata theory and space theory to forcefully open the portal to escape.’

‘But Kiana can’t.’

‘She knows nothing about the stigmata space. Not to mention escaping, she can’t even accurately locate the space here. She can only bump around. We must speed up, otherwise, she might end up in a dangerous place.’

Angel was a little anxious. But the more anxious she was, the calmer her mind became. The power of space expanded and explored unscrupulously in the entire stigmata world, and finally connected to Kiana’s location.

Angel breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, Kevin had already rushed in front of her.

“Finally found it... Aren't you annoying? Do you really think I’m afraid of you!”

Angel’s face was cold, and a rare violent aura flashed in her eyes. She held a spear in her hand and slashed at the other party with a force of ten thousand pounds.

“Boom!!!”

…

The stigmata Kevin is benchmarked to the original Kevin from 50,000 years ago. The Kaslana Stigmata has accumulated the power of Kaslana's descendants generation after generation, but these descendants obviously failed to surpass their predecessors. All the generations combined are far inferior to the original Kevin.

This resulted in Kevin’s full power being enough to shake the entire Stigmata world.

And now there is an equally irritable Angel.

Kiana could feel the strong vibration from a distance, as well as the terrible oppression of the two huge forces.

"...Is the Herrscher of the Void so powerful? Did my stinky dad and his team win back then? Unbelievable! Fortunately, I ran fast!"

Kiana hid behind a boulder, with a bit of lingering fear in her clear, big eyes, and patted her chest with relief.

"Just like how you appear here in a form that fully conforms to the power of reality, she may also be the strongest. After all, she once contained six cores, and her heyday was naturally far superior to ordinary Herrschers."

Angel leaned next to Kiana and explained calmly.

Kiana blinked blankly.

Three seconds later, the cat was shocked.

"Angel!!"

"It's me."

"How did you appear here... Oh, it's a dream, or in a dream! Angel, I'm so worried about you. I miss you so much!"

Kiana hugged Angel fiercely, squeezing her into her arms in a venting manner.

Angel’s face was covered with the warm and soft milk fragrance, and she felt a little suffocated, with some helplessness and amusement in her eyes.

After letting Kiana vent for a while, Angel broke free from Kiana's powerful arms and said.

"I'm not the real Angel, but the data recorded in the stigmata space because of your experience and memory, which is similar to a dream."

This is a lie.

This is a clone that Angel which Herrscher of the Void[Angel] specially pulled over to protect Kiana. It's the real Angel, but she couldn’t tell the truth.

Kiana smiled foolishly and scratched her head, not caring about Angel’s statement. Just as she said, this is a dream, and anything that happens in the dream is normal. There is no need to worry about whether it is true or not, just treat it as the real Angel.

So Kiana took Angel’s hand, put her index finger on her lips, and made a hushed gesture:

"Shh! Keep your voice down! Although the monster is temporarily blocked by the Herrscher of the Void, if they discover us, they might join forces to attack me. Let's find a way out quietly and then get away with it!"

Obviously, Kiana has not yet realized the seriousness of the problem.

In fact, it’s not her fault. It’s mainly because Angel has too many dungeon dreams, and Kiana is used to encountering new bosses. She just thinks that the difficulty of this dream is too high, and the Herrscher of the Void is also involved. Although it’s not normal, there’s nothing to be afraid of.

Anyway, when you wake up from the dream, these difficulties will disappear, and you can just work hard to conquer them next time you dream.

Compared to the dream threats that have no impact on reality, Kiana cares more about the reunion with Angel.

"I'm sorry, Angel."

The white-haired girl suddenly seemed to wilt, her hair drooping dejectedly, and tears flashing in her eyes.

Angel instantly forgot the little depression she had just experienced.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I'm so useless. I know you’ve been suffering all the time, but I can't help you at all. If I were smarter or stronger, you wouldn’t have had to encounter that kind of thing and be taken away by others."

The uncomfortable and self-blaming kitten lowered her head and pressed against Angel’s chest like a spoiled child, habitually ignoring the size difference and expressing her dependence.

Angel’s heart softened.

"It's okay, how could I blame you? Kiana, you made my life in Saint Freya very happy and helped me a lot. I think the real me must think so—and don’t take the opportunity to be a hooligan and move your hands off my butt."

"Hehe! It’s not rare to dream about Angel, I just want to try... Don’t hit me, I’m wrong!"

Kiana raised the French military salute after getting hit and smiled like a flower, with sparkling tears in the corners of her eyes.

It’s hard to figure out whether she is sad or happy.

Angel laughed and shook her head, and then her expression became serious.

"Although I have a lot to ask you and want to talk about everyone’s situation, time is tight now. Let’s talk about business. First of all, this is not your dream, but the stigmata space of the Kaslana clan. The so-called stigmata space is..."

Angel used the most rigorous and concise words to describe the nature of the stigmata space.

As expected, Kiana’s eyes quickly turned into a swirling mosquito coil.

"...In short, you must get out as soon as possible, or find a way to pass the test. Otherwise, it will be very dangerous. The last person who failed the test was your father. He almost didn’t return and has been marked by the stigmata space since then. If you lose your mind next time, I’m afraid you’ll be pulled in and can never leave."

"What!?"

"Don’t worry, I just want you to understand the current situation. I’m thinking of a way. Besides, the Herrscher of the Void may not lose."

Angel patted Kiana’s back soothingly, her eyes penetrating the complex space where the real and the unreal intersected, and gradually became solemn.

---

Chapter 256: I Have a Little Doubt

Being number one in the world for 50,000 years is no joke.

Kevin held the sword in one hand and froze the countless sub-air whips that [Void]Angel swept over like a fishing net with the other hand. Then he swung the sword, and the flames, so huge that they could not be measured, engulfed everything.

At this time, Angel made a gesture of drawing a bow and arrow, and the power gathered at the tip of her hand. She released the arrow, and the invisible rain of arrows that pierced through space broke through the sea of fire and gathered to kill Kevin.

"Boom!!!"

The space was broken into narrow and long black cracks. As far as the naked eye could see, the chaotic black energy escaped from the cracks, forming a hellish death zone.

Kevin held the sword and slowly walked out from the most densely shattered space.

Angel stood high in the sky, looking down with golden eyes, like a lonely and indifferent king.

"The Herrscher of the Void in this era seems to be more terrifying than 50,000 years ago. You are pretty good, descendant of Kaslana."

"... Humph!"

Adhering to her character, Angie said nothing, snapped her fingers lightly, and the huge sub-space lance fell straight down.

Mainly, there was nothing to say.

She had almost figured out the current situation. Either she defeated Kevin and make a bug in the Stigma Trial to make it recognize Kiana's victory, or she found a way to break this closed world and forcefully break out with Kiana.

Otherwise, The Will of Stigma would not let Kiana go, just as it would not let Siegfried go.

"Pay the price for your transgression, mortal."

"... The power is good, but the personality seems to be worrying."

Listening to Angie's arrogant and Chunnibyou-like lines, Stigma Kevin looked at the huge weapon that fell head-on and at the descendant of Kevin while frowning in disapproval. He always felt that she was similar to Kalpas, but even then she didn't laugh so much as him.

In Kevin's eyes, Kalpas is not worth imitating. It should be said that most of the Thirteen Flamechasers have problems and are not suitable for imitation.

"Bang!"

The scorching flames first burned the tip of the spear red and then penetrated through the center of the giant spear. The extreme high temperature transformed from the amount of Honkai energy quickly melted and decomposed this behemoth, easily resolving the crisis.

Then Kevin knelt, instantly crossed the distance between the ground and the sky, and rushed straight to Angel with a sword.

Angel sneered, grabbed two golden spears in the air with both hands, and after spinning a few circles in a chic and neat manner, she faced Kevin's impact without dodging or avoiding, and hit him head-on.

"Bang!!!"

The two extremely powerful Honkai energies collided and chased on the battlefield, like two constantly entangled comets. Each collision spread out a terrifying energy aftermath, making the already cracked space even more shaky, like fragile glass under the impact of a typhoon.

Angie felt the pressure.

And Kevin felt the same.

…

"Oh god, it's falling, run!"

The collapsing of the entire space spread even to the distant Kiana.

Looking at the space fragments falling from the sky and the impact aftermath coming from the space cracks, Kiana grabbed Angie's little hand and ran for her life.

Because of Kiana's speed, Angie's body swung behind her like a light cloth strip.

"Angie, do you know which side will be safer?"

"In that direction."

Angie pointed to a relatively stable area in space.

Then, regardless of Kiana's meaningless escape, she let her run with her body, and her attention sank into Angel's network.

'The situation is not good. The Herrscher of the Void superimposed a lot of power before coming in, but it was too hasty. This body obviously cannot perfectly accommodate these powers.'

'The more difficult problem is that the stigmata space seems to limit the energy supply of the imaginary portal. Now it is almost pure consumption without replenishment. If it continues like this, Void Angel may not be able to survive Kevin Will who has the energy supply of the stigmata space.'

'Have you noticed that his power seems to be increasing? Did he not exert his full strength at the beginning, or did the stigmata space make dynamic adjustments and increase the support for Kevin in order to deal with me?'

'Winning or losing itself does not mean much to us. After all, we can only use the form of the Herrscher of the Void, and he is not the real Diabolic Kevin. Winning or losing does not prove anything. But...'

'But it is very important to Kiana. If we lose, she will not be able to defeat Kevin now and will be left behind by the stigmata space.'

Angie had a reason not to lose.

Then Angel looked at Kiana, who was running forward and looking back from time to time to pay attention to Angel's situation, and sighed silently.

‘Try to win as much as possible, but you can't put all your hopes on fighting. What does Yae Sakura say?’

‘It’s almost there. I just came out of Mr. Otto’s office. I will be back in the room soon and give you the power of Jizo Mitama.’

This is the disadvantage of dispersing power everywhere.

Sometimes, you can’t gather all the power with just a thought, unless Angel doesn’t want to play in the chessboard anymore.

Fortunately, Yae Sakura's actions were quite quick. Not long after, when Kiana found a stable space to stop, Angel also received the erosion force.

“Kiana, I…”

“Angel, you…”

The two spoke almost at the same time.

What Angel wanted to say was that she found a loophole in the stigmata space and planned to use it to send Kiana out.

But what Kiana wanted to say, Angel didn’t know.

After the two looked at each other, Angel said:

“You speak first.”

“Well, I just want to say that it seems to be quite safe here. Otherwise, Angel, you stay here first?”

“… Huh?”

Angel blinked in confusion. After a long time, watching Kiana scratching her head and laughing silly, Angel asked tentatively.

"You, you don't want to help the Herrscher of the Void do you?"

"Hehe, you guessed it, you are worthy of being Angel."

Kiana smiled embarrassedly.

Angel was speechless for a moment.

And Kiana explained.

"Well I don't like her very much. Although she always refuses to communicate with me properly and is unwilling to help you when you are in trouble, But after all, she has a close relationship with me, and I am not at ease to let her bear it alone."

"Don't be soft on her. It will hurt you."

"That's not necessarily the case. What if I help her, and she will be a little better in the future?"

"Let's not talk about how your silly and optimistic idea came up. The important thing is that you can't help at all. You still need time."

Angel didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

But Kiana's expression suddenly became serious, and the golden eyes that were still stained by the power of the void were filled with the determination to melt the ice.

"But danger comes unexpectedly, and I can't keep preparing. I know I can't beat them, but I now have some of the power of the Herrscher of the Void, so it's okay to help a little on the side. Maybe with my help, she can beat that monster."

"Listen to me, Kiana..."

"Listen to me, Angel! One of the most important creeds my father taught me is to move forward courageously! This may be a rare opportunity for me to reconcile with her... More importantly, that monster has set its sights on my stupid father, right?"

Kiana is eager for power because she has lost Angie once due to her powerlessness. For this reason, she must strive for any opportunity to reconcile with the Herrscher of the Void.

Kiana is even less likely to sit back and watch the hidden dangers of Siegfried and watch him be swallowed by the stigma one day.

The girl's eyes are like gold, burning with a fiery light.

And Angel understands that this proves Kiana has decided to rush in, regardless of the consequences and not afraid of any danger.

"Can't you not go? It's really dangerous. I may not be able to protect you."

"What are you talking about? Wait and see. I will definitely protect you in the future, Angie!"

"Heh, you don't know how high the sky is and how deep the earth is."

"Lululu! I don't understand! Anyway, you stay here, don't take risks, and wait for me to come back and declare victory for you!"

Kiana made a naughty face and her figure disappeared into the void.

Angie was too late to stop her. Or rather, she didn't want the light in Kiana's eyes to be dimmed by her desire to protect her.

Then Angel inserted the Jizo Mitama into the empty space and began to invade the will core of Kaslana's stigmata with all her strength.

At the same time, the Herrscher of the Void also gave up the consideration of saving energy, drew her bow and arrow, and shot out an overwhelming amount of Sub-Void Whips.

'Forget it, witnessing the high level of combat power in advance may not be a bad thing for Kiana.'

'Kevin, Kevin, you are the best in the world for 50,000 years, but I am also proficient in all kinds of martial arts, and I have never shown my full strength.'

'During this period of time, I have a little doubt about whether you are really stronger than me.'

The Herrscher of the Void[Angel] raised a faint smile, holding a spear, and rushed towards Kevin.

---

Chapter 257: I'm Going to Sneak Attack

Since her rebirth and the merging of memories and emotions from two worlds, Angel had been planning too many things all day long.

Relying on her foresight and incredible actions, she played with the highest-level people in this world, manipulating the three anti-Honkai organizations with ease.

All of these plans were for her continuous transcendence and strength until she could control her own destiny and even the future of the world.

Angel knew she would surpass Kevin sooner or later.

So, she didn't care about this sudden duel because victory or defeat at this point meant nothing. When Project Stigma was launched, and Kevin stood on the moon as a demon, that would be the moment to decide everything.

It should have been like this. As long as Jizo Mitama cracked the Will of Kaslana Stigmata, eliminating the hidden danger of the Stigmata space targeting Kiana, and then safely taking her away, that would be enough.

But Kiana really appeared at the edge of the battlefield as she said, silently watching and ready to act.

"Are you kidding me? You don’t really want to attack him, do you?"

After landing a full-strength blow that shook Kevin's body, Angel looked in a certain direction, feeling a strange sense.

It was too early and too reckless for Kiana.

But how could she say it? Was it some kind of bias toward Kiana? Angel felt she couldn’t blame her, much less hate this recklessness.

"Even I, a fool, don't want to die. It seems I have to teach you a serious lesson..."

"Descendant of Kaslana, what are you muttering to yourself?"

The burning sword and the solid spear collided. Both sides held their weapons in one hand, appearing as if they were lifting heavy objects with ease. However, the spreading heat waves and space distortions burned and tore apart the entire battlefield, and the hellish scene expanded outward in circles.

Even the will of the Stigmata was sending Kevin twelve consecutive warnings:

'Trial execution mechanism, please control the output power or terminate the trial. The trial has caused continuous damage to the Stigmata space. If it continues, the database will be at risk of being destroyed.'

'Repeat, please terminate the trial.'

'Terminate the trial...'

Kevin's response was a refusal.

'She has proven her strength, but I have not yet seen her awakening. The trial must be thorough, especially with her potential, which is enough to become a key factor in defeating the Honkai. We can take some risks.'

Fortunately, the Stigmata will, as the core artificial intelligence of the database, could neither feel fear nor possess selfish desires. So it agreed with Kevin’s judgment instead of calling off the battle and deleting the general’s account "for no reason."

Thus, the pressure fell on Angel.

“Bang!!!”

The surging heat and impact pushed Herrscher of the Void[Angel] away from the clash. Her pale hand tightly gripped the spear, trembling slightly, with blood dripping from her fingers.

"Stronger again?"

With a whisper, Angel did not wait for Kevin to explain, nor did she think of showing weakness; instead, she increased her output.

Angel knew the key to victory.

In terms of combat intuition and skills, Kevin was undoubtedly a monster without equal. Angel was far less experienced, but she had a sharp mind and more than a thousand thinking circuits to assist her, making her not too far behind.

As for power, the power of space was convenient, but it was insignificant in front of Kevin. Honkai energy itself was an omnipotent force that transcended the physical framework. When energy levels reached their magnitude, it didn’t matter whether it manifested as space, light, or heat. The only thing that mattered was the intensity of the energy itself.

So, whoever output more energy won—it was that simple.

Angel gripped the spear with both hands. The physical strength of Chiyou and Su, the Honkai energy of the Herrscher of Wind and the Herrscher of Void, constantly concentrated and expanded under the control of the Edge of Taixuan, which she had cultivated day and night, transforming into stronger and more powerful forces in her hand.

Her figure grew slightly more slender, and each strand of her fluttering snow-white hair radiated an irrepressible energy brilliance. The overwhelming energy fluctuations tore apart the surrounding space, facing off against Kevin, who was scorching the earth.

"Bang!!!"

The two locked eyes in the air, and the collision of their energies turned into a loud blast that shattered space. A scene of world destruction unfolded and continued to expand.

...

"So scary..."

Kiana huddled in the corner, poking her head out, teeth chattering.

She had seen Chiyou’s boundless body across the East Shenzou Sea, and she had also witnessed the peak duel between Delta, Durandal, Welt, and Ninti.

There had been countless powerful enemies defeated in her dreams.

But today, she truly saw the power of the highest level.

"I can't... No, I can do it! I already said that to Angel. If I run away from the battlefield now, wouldn’t that be a huge embarrassment?"

Kiana shook her head violently, shaking off the idea of retreat. She decided to put aside her resentment toward the Herrscher of the Void for now. If they didn’t work together to defeat the so-called Stigma Trial, Kiana couldn’t escape by herself, and Siegfried would eventually be captured and punished.

There was no room for retreat.

Kiana gathered her courage in the face of the unprecedented terrifying power, then cautiously made her way toward the center of the battlefield with the power of the Void she had just acquired.

"Bang!!!"

Kiana found an opening and waited for a violent collision that shook the earth.

Seizing the moment when the two figures recoiled, Kiana's eyes lit up as she appeared behind Kevin.

She summoned the sub-space lance from the void without hesitation and aimed to stab Kevin in the kidney from behind.

"I'm going to strike~~"

First, a sneak attack, then speak—all in one smooth motion.

However, Kevin's combat instincts were razor-sharp. In a flash, he swung his sword backhand sweeping Kiana away.

But Kevin couldn't pursue her, as Angel was already in front of him. Her cold golden eyes and immense power put pressure on him, making it impossible to split his focus.

"Bang!"

Kiana landed on a floating broken island, the impact shattering it into countless fragments that fell into the dark void below.

“Hiss—”

Kiana's face turned pale as she pressed her trembling right hand, knowing it was at least a fracture. But she gritted her teeth, forcing Honkai energy into her arm to ensure its normal function, and then sank back into the void.

Soon, spears emerged from all angles around the two battling figures, targeting Kevin in positions he had no choice but to defend.

Angel took the opportunity to intensify her assault, quickly knocking Kevin into the abyss.

Kiana appeared beside Angel. "Hey, can you still hold on, Herrscher of the Void?"

"..."

"Don't stay silent, you're not mute! That guy is tough, we should cooperate, or else we won’t get out!"

"..."

With her cold and aloof demeanor, Angel merely glanced at Kiana's right arm, which had been forcibly stabilized with Honkai energy. Then, without a word, she charged toward Kevin again—this time with a huge rage fueled by “What the hell did you do to my Chongchong.”

Kiana also got angry.

"Do you know what time is it. You're still messing with me? Do you think I want to help you?"

Kiana pulled at her hair irritably, thinking that the Herrscher of the Void had a strange personality, refusing to accept any goodwill.

However, she couldn’t do anything about it, so with a frustrated sigh, she re-entered the battlefield and continued to harass Kevin from a distance.

To be honest, if Kiana clashed head-on with the two fighters even slightly, Angel would be kneeling, begging her not to die in the next second.

Fortunately, Kiana was self-aware and only attacked from a distance.

Meanwhile, Herrscher of the Void[Angel] silently seized every opportunity to press her attack and keep Kevin suppressed.

Gradually, Kiana began to notice something.

"Even though she doesn’t talk, she actually coordinates well! She’s not letting me down after all!"

In the midst of crisis, Kiana wiped her nose optimistically and stopped overthinking. She focused even more on harassing Kevin.

Tacit understanding is a subtle thing. Angel was familiar with Kiana's thoughts and tactics, and Kiana instinctively synchronized with Angel's rhythm. With such coordination, the stalemate began to shift.

"Take my arrow!"

Kiana found an opening and imitated Angel’s technique, drawing back a bow of Honkai energy and folding space onto the sub-space lance. When she released it, the spear deflected Kevin's sword.

Angel’s eyes lit up, and she struck Kevin’s chest with a spear, unleashing an unstoppable surge of energy that sent Kevin flying a hundred miles away.

Kiana had played a more significant role than either of them had expected, and the battle finally began to tilt in their favor.

---

Chapter 258: Pain

After pushing Kevin into the abyss for the fifth time with the help of Kiana, and then witnessing him return from the fire like a phoenix, Angel's heart felt a little tired.

'Whew, poor me!'

'Are there really people in this world who get more excited the stronger their enemy is?'

Anyway, Angel was sure she was not a battle maniac. Especially under the interference of the stigmata space, the replenishment from the imaginary portal was negligible.

Now she relied purely on her Blade Mantra to accurately control her power and prolong her fighting time. Seeing her physical strength and Honkai energy continuously being consumed made Angel feel faintly anxious.

She really preferred easier battles, such as Shamash fighting Durandal, or the self-directed and self-acted fake fighting scenes. Well... maybe that example was a bit much, but it still proved her preference.

'I like to plan ahead and pass levels easily, rather than gritting my teeth to get through them.'

'No, no, no, I still need to get used to this kind of thing. A true boss cannot have weaknesses, not even mentally.'

Angel reflected on herself, feeling she need to teach herself a lesson.

So, she took a step forward, stepped on the void, and the spear in her hand burst into dazzling golden light as she rushed toward Kevin like a meteor.

"Once, twice, a hundred times, a thousand times... I'll reward you with as many defeats as you want!"

The cold voice of the Void Queen, Angel, was like the icy wind blowing from a glacier, carrying an impressive momentum.

And Kiana, standing on the edge of the battlefield, had bright eyes.

"That line is cool! I'll remember it. I won't forget it when I wake up!"

"BANG!!!"

Another clash of immense power, and the already shattered world was further affected as space fragments fell like snowflakes.

The two meteors continued to entangle in the void, colliding with circles of energy that shattered the space around them, resembling a mythical doomsday scene. Kiana followed them, constantly searching for Kevin's openings and shooting arrows from behind, forcing him to defend.

This kind of assistance was very effective, but it had to be said—it was really annoying.

Kevin Clone seemed to grow irritated. At the moment when Kiana launched a new sneak attack, he gave up defending against Angel, turned suddenly, and flew towards Kiana, who had appeared.

'You dare!?'

Angel was naturally furious and chased after him without a word.

However, Kevin’s speed was not slower than Angel’s. When he decided to prioritize the attack regardless of his own injuries, Angel couldn't catch up.

Kiana saw the monster beyond her comprehension rushing toward her, and the shadow of death seemed to materialize in her eyes. Instinct drove her to flee, but in reality, she couldn't move at all. It was too late.

At the critical moment, Angel's clone, who had secretly poked at the Will of Kaslana Stigmata with the power of the Jizo Mitama, appeared in front of Kiana. Kiana summoned her courage to assist Angel, the Herrscher of the Void, while Saint Freya Angel was ready to save the situation at any time.

Now was the time.

"Clang—"

The crisp sound of metal breaking rang out.

The Jizo Mitama, wrapped in the outer shell of Saint Freya Angel's sword, couldn't stop Kevin's attack at all. After being shattered in an instant, Kevin's sword sank into Saint Freya Angel's chest, pushing her toward Kiana.

However, Saint Freya Angel managed to absorb Kevin's impact, and her steps stopped in front of Kiana. Cleaver of Shamash, piercing through her chest, was only a few feet away from Kiana, and the burning blood splattered onto Kiana's face and eyes.

But she had blocked it.

Kiana was unharmed.

"Ah! You scared me... so much..."

Saint Freya Angel felt relieved and turned back to comfort Kiana, but most of her strength was concentrated in Angel, the Herrscher of the Void, and this body had reached its limit.

Angel didn't mean to do this infront of Kiana.

So Kiana could only watch the familiar girl turn back and smile at her, then disappearing before her eyes as if she were burned to ashes by the flames.

"Angel..." Kiana tears overflowed in shock as she saw Angel disappear, calling out her name. In that moment, she felt something inside her break, like a snapped thread.

Without thinking or feeling any emotions, she pulled out a sub-space lance from the void and stabbed Kevin, who had exhausted his old strength and hadn't yet gathered new power.

At the same time, Angel, the Herrscher of the Void, caught up and pierced Kevin's chest from behind. The two sub-space lance penetrated Kevin's body one after the other, and the terrible power destroyed his body completely.

Kevin looked at Kiana's expressionless face, then turned around to see the anger in Herrscher of the Void[Angel]'s eyes. After a moment, he felt relieved and refused the support from the will of the stigmata.

'Strength, courage, and a heart that protects—I have seen them all. The trial is over, Kiana Kaslana, you are qualified.'

Kevin passed the conclusion of the trial to the will of the stigmata, his eyes showing relief, and his indifferent expression finally softening as his body gradually began to dissipate. Only in the last moment did a trace of doubt flash through his eyes.

'Was that the third personality just now? This descendant of Kaslana seems to have troubling mental problems. I hope someone in the outside world can help her...'

However, the will of the stigmata couldn't deal with mental problems. It wasn't in its preset functions. The creators of the stigmata never considered solving mental issues for the inheritors!

So, Kevin, within the stigmata, was powerless. He could only wish Kiana the best.

---

In the real world, Saint Freya.

Raiden Mei, Himeko, Theresa, Fu Hua, Bronya, and the others closest to Kiana were all standing outside the emergency room, waiting for the doctor's report.

"Is this bad luck? Why do all the bad things keep happening?"

Theresa who had tears dried out in her face cried out in a wronged, heartbroken voice.

First, Angel had become a Herrscher and lost contact. Now, Kiana couldn't wake up, even though she was in the academy, and she had sudden injuries on her body.

Although Theresa's face was youthful, she was a veteran who had been tempered for a long time. But everyone has their weaknesses, especially those who value their emotions. The suffering of loved ones is always far more unbearable than one's own suffering.

"Principal..."

"Theresa, don't worry, Kiana has always been strong. She'll be fine."

Several people tried to comfort her. Theresa shook her head and smiled bitterly.

"I'm fine..."

"Beep!"

The door of the emergency room finally opened.

"The injury has been treated. It's quite serious, and the cause of the coma still needs to be investigated. It's unclear when she will wake up. What is certain is that she's not in immediate danger. Try not to worry too much."

The problems caused by Kaslana's stigmata had clearly exceeded the capabilities of Saint Freya's medical department.

Even if they handed this issue over to Otto, it might take several days of in-depth research to find the crux of the matter.

Several people heard this and felt a bit shocked.

Theresa stood up immediately.

"Theresa, where are you going?"

"I'm going to contact Grandpa. Only he knows what to do now!"

Theresa knew Kiana's true origins, and she had been trying to distance her from Otto. But now, she couldn't care about that. Otto's schemes aside, nothing was more important than Kiana's safety.

"Wait, the patient is waking up!"

Just as Fu Hua and Bronya were thinking of ways to seek help, a nurse announced the surprise.

Without saying another word, everyone rushed in, crowding around Kiana's bed.

The girl with messy white hair blinked in confusion, clutching the blanket with both hands, with a sleepy and puzzled expression.

"Why is everyone here? What happened? Did I sleep through the exam?"

"Kiana, how do you feel now? Do you know what happened?"

"What happened? Hmm... maybe I overtrained the day before, then slept without treating my injuries, and my body couldn’t handle it... Haha! I know I was wrong! Just let me rest alone, it won’t happen again. Sorry, everyone."

Kiana gave a silly smile, then embarrassedly pulled up the quilt to cover half her face.

Hearing this, the others looked at each other, suddenly uncertain.

Could it really be that simple?

"Oh, what could possibly be wrong with me? I just worked too hard recently, and I’m reflecting on it! Don’t crowd me, I can’t rest like this... If you want to scold me, can you wait until I recover?"

Kiana said weakly while having a super normal reaction and expression.

"Rest well, don’t move around these days, and we’ll consult the medical department."

Seeing Kiana's weak, resting state, Theresa couldn’t bear to ask more questions and made the decision for everyone.

No one else said anything, as Theresa, being Kiana's aunt, had already spoken. They briefly expressed their concerns and left the ward one by one.

The room grew quiet. The worried Raiden Mei was the last to leave, her footsteps fading away.

Kiana confirmed that no one was guarding the door.

So, she hugged the pillow, curled up, trembling, and suppressed the sound of her sobbing as her tears gradually soaked the blanket.

---

Chapter 259: Is She Pretending?

"The stigmata space has a backdoor, and we can explore it further in the future. I believe it is still very valuable. It’s somewhat like an artificial imaginary space and portal. Moreover, it not only supplies energy but can even transmit knowledge and experience... Artificial stigmata offer many possibilities."

"Finding a stigmata of our own? That’s a good idea. What’s important is not how much bonus the stigmata can provide us, but mastering the technology through the manufacturing process."

"Okay, Siegfried's assessment record has been overwritten, so he will not be targeted in the future."

"Well, Kiana's trial has been concluded, and Kaslana's stigmata has been recorded. This is good; we won’t need to adjust it. After all, it is an ancestral heritage. If it were damaged, it would be a pity."

"So, it will not be Durandal who will achieve Equinox in the future, but Kiana?"

"No problem. The Herrscher of Death is still a Herrscher!"

In the discussion group, sitting in a circle, an Angel suddenly told a cold joke.

"..." × N

Kaslana's stigmata is self-aware, and the power it bestows is not a mechanical and rigid copy but is tailored according to personal combat style, physical fitness, psychological expectations, and other conditions. It can even be reproduced multiple times.

Therefore, until Kiana masters this new power, no one can predict what form it will take.

"Don’t look at me like that. I just wanted to lighten the mood."

Angel, who had told a cold joke, couldn’t stand the disapproving stares from others and lowered her head weakly.

Then, Angel said hesitantly:

"Although I told her in advance that it was not the real body, she must have believed it."

"But with her personality, whether it is true or false, I’m afraid the harm is not much different."

Angel knew that Kiana must be feeling bad right now.

She must be blaming herself for her powerlessness and worrying about Angel’s current situation. She guess she’s curled up in her quilt, crying, right?

"How about sneaking back to comfort her?"

"..." × N

This is a very tempting suggestion.

But none of the clones mentioned it before.

Because Angel will not go back like this.

"Forget it. Just consider it a lesson she will never forget. Honkai is very dangerous. Even now, I wouldn’t say it’s 100% successful. She will always grow up and encounter setbacks."

"This isn’t so bad. At least she knows it’s not real and will recover sooner or later."

"Well, I can’t run back to wipe her tears just because Kiana will feel uncomfortable. It would make me look like a little nanny who can’t remember her grievances."

The Angels nodded in agreement, their expressions cold and their attitude resolute.

Then another Angel said.

"Relax the authority of the Herrscher of the Void a little and give her some freedom. She has suffered so much; at least give her some sweetness and comfort."

The Angels nodded in agreement, reaching a high degree of consensus. As for Kiana, who has the stigmata and the power of the Herrscher, whether Otto will have a stress reaction or not, they'll ignore it for now.

Kiana can’t be wronged, right?

---

At the same time, Saint Freya.

Bronya folded her arms across her chest and leaned on the Project Bunny in quantum stealth.

Her posture resembled Jotaro standing on Star Platinum’s instep, but with a beautiful girl.

The door to Kiana's ward was closed, but the suppressed sobbing did not escape Bronya's keen hearing as a Valkyrie.

The curly-haired girl, who looked as delicate and cute as a doll locked in the counter, showed no expression or sound. She simply stayed by the door until the sobbing stopped and then left silently with the support of Project Bunny.

"Something must have happened to her," Bronya said seriously at dinner time.

Raiden Mei looked unsurprised. Kiana's acting skills could not be hidden from her, having been with her day and night. Mei had asked Bronya to stay and observe, so she naturally knew.

Himeko raised her eyebrows and sighed, as if it were expected.

Only Fu Hua, holding her rice bowl, chewed slowly and blinked in confusion.

"She... she was pretending just now?"

"???" ×3

The three of them briefly doubted but soon came to terms with it.

If it were Fu Hua, it would be normal.

Raiden Mei sighed softly.

"I can sense that Kiana and Angel have some little secrets they are hiding from us... I’m not sure if it’s related to those secrets, but I know that asking Kiana now won’t yield anything; she won’t tell me. Instructor Himeko, does the dean know anything?"

"I can’t say for sure, but I will have a good talk with her. I won’t let Kiana get into trouble again, I promise."

Himeko smiled, using a free and easy smile to cover up her loneliness.

Since Angel’s accident, the atmosphere in the room had been relatively low, and Kiana’s sudden accident was another heavy blow.

Himeko knew that this couldn’t continue.

Although she had tossed and turned countless times, thinking that if she were more indulgent and bold, she might have stayed with that stubborn and gentle girl... wouldn’t the child be so desperate and wouldn’t have reached this point?

But no matter how painful it was, Himeko was also the teacher and half-guardian of these children. Before Angel returned, she had to take good care of these children and this special home.

Bronya looked at Himeko’s forced smile, unable to show any emotion on her face, but her eyes appeared helpless and fragile. She nodded

"Bronya will also ask Mother Cocolia for help and seek her advice."

"Okay. I hope to find out what happened to Kiana as soon as possible. She will cry and make a fuss over the slightest thing, but when something significant happens, she pretends nothing is wrong, hides everything, and swallows all the bitterness silently. Monitor, Kiana has been training with you these days. Have you really not noticed any problems?"

Raiden Mei, calm and composed, looked at Fu Hua with her crystal-clear purple eyes. She no longer exhibited the confusion and fragility she had when she first arrived at Saint Freya. She seemed to have matured quietly, though she was unaware of it.

Fu Hua thought seriously and said:

"I’ve always monitored the practice intensity, so I’m puzzled when she says she trained too much... Anyway, the practice intensity should be fine. Could it be a psychological issue? Perhaps she couldn’t accept Angel’s situation and kept suppressing it, so it finally reaching a breaking point?"

"Not only that. My intuition tells me Kiana has other heavy things hidden in her heart. She doesn’t distrust us but doesn’t want us to be troubled because of her. That’s what I think."

As the person who had known Kiana the longest, Raiden Mei’s judgment was not inaccurate.

Bronya and Himeko nodded with heavy hearts.

Angel had collapsed and become a Herrscher due to suppressing her worries. Kiana’s abnormal behavior now naturally attracted attention, and no one dared to take it lightly.

"How about taking her out to have some fun? Kiana is naturally optimistic. Maybe if she has a few days of enjoyment, she will... Okay, forget what I said. If you need more help, please let me know. Mount Taixu will also do its best to assist; we are all friends."

Fu Hua tried to offer some advice based on her impression of Kiana and then fell silent under the ambiguous gazes of the three people.

The immortal sighed inwardly.

The human heart is really hard to understand. Ji Lin is like this, Angel is like this, and Kiana is too. Oh, wait, it should be said that the human heart is hard to understand.

Just like Su, Fu Hua still doesn’t know what this old friend wants to do or where he took Angel. It would be great if he could leave a phone number so she could ask about Angel’s situation from time to time instead of anxiously waiting every day.

‘Wait, it can’t be...’ Fu Hua’s pupils suddenly trembled.

One Herrscher after another appeared in Saint Freya, so much so that Fu Hua almost overlooked the dangerous Herrscher of the Void within Kiana!

Fu Hua calmly suppressed her thoughts and decided to first discuss the situation with Otto.

---

Chapter 260: Grown Up, but Not Completely

Kiana has indeed grown up.

At least that's what Angel, the Herrscher of the Void, thought as she stood in front of the mirror.

When they first met, Kiana’s immaturity and slenderness were quite apparent. She would get excited and start fighting with the fledgling Angel who was near Himeko, much like a wild cat unable to tolerate teasing.

Things are different now. Her figure has matured significantly, and the places where she should have developed more have indeed filled out. Her front is very convex, and her back is distinctly curved. Especially her round, jade-like thighs, which are perfectly fleshy, look white and elastic, making one’s mouth water.

It’s worth noting her waist.

Everyone in Saint Freya is a beautiful girl with unique beauty, each with her own style, but Kiana’s waist is the slenderest. It’s not that the measurements are smaller than the others, but the perfect size and graceful waist curve on a body with ideal height and proportions are the most striking.

Herrscher of the Void[Angel] touched her healthy and fair face, her lips curling into a slight smile.

It’s worth my supervision of her diet and rest these days; she has grown up healthily.’

What's important is not just the growth of the body, but also the development of mentality and will, which is even more valuable.

"Herrscher of the Void, have you had enough? Change back when you're almost done. Mei is still waiting for me at the door."

"... Humph! Stupid human, it will be my body sooner or later anyway, so your struggle is pointless."

"I don’t want to argue about this now. You’re finally willing to communicate with me. I should celebrate, but I’m in a bad mood at the moment."

"Heh! I didn’t expect you to learn to enter the realm of consciousness on your own, and even build dreams yourself? You’re searching for the entrance in the depths of consciousness, and you’re crying anxiously when you can’t find it. It’s amusing!"

Angel’s strong self-esteem often raised people’s blood pressure, but she felt very relieved internally.

Kiana had learned incredible skills, typically the abilities of spiritual MANTIS or Herrschers. However, considering her record of mastering Taixuan Eminence in another timeline over several months, it didn’t seem so incredible. She has talent in this area, but no one had previously helped her explore it.

Angel took over the body. On the surface, she was bickering with Kiana, but in reality, she was carefully sensing every detail of the body, confirming its health and that the little fool was in good spirits, which made her feel relieved.

No, she was not completely relieved yet.

"Hmph! Can’t you speak? You said she was just a projection of your memory, but you still can’t forget her. You’re really a fool."

"The Babylon Experiment Tower and childhood Sirin in the dream are also projections of memory. I don’t see you being so calm." Kiana replied with a defiant tone.

"!!!"

Angel’s eyes widened, and there was a hint of surprise in Kiana’s golden eyes.

No, the little kitten learned to fight back?

If the real Sirin were here, wouldn’t she be jumping up and down?

"She said she wasn’t the real Angel. I know she couldn’t be, but I always felt that... Anyway, I would remember how I felt at that time, and I would never let this happen in the real world. Well, time’s up. If you want to experience the real world more, we can discuss it later. Now I’m going to see Mei, and I can’t keep everyone worrying about me." As soon as she finished speaking, Angelfelt Kiana’s mental power becoming active, and Kiana was going to forcibly seize control of the body.

To be honest, the technique was quite crude, and she was attacking by instinct. The mental strength was too weak for Angel. But after being stunned, a smile appeared in Angel’s eyes, and she let Kiana squeeze herself back into the depths of her mind without resistance.

"Hmph!" Leaving an unfriendly snort, [Herrscher of the Void]Angel ignored Kiana.

Kiana, regaining control of her body, staggered two steps uncomfortably, leaned on the sink, and quickly stabilized herself. Looking up again, she saw a beautiful pair of heterochromatic pupils, one gold and one blue, in the mirror.

"This is..."

The power of the Herrscher?

Kiana touched the golden pupil in the mirror, thought for a moment, then turned around and reached out for the water cup on the table outside.

The space distorted.

The water cup, which was a few steps away, appeared in her hand.

Kiana blinked, drank the water, and put the cup back in the same way.

"Amazing."

Kiana commented.

She had experienced the power of space in the previous world of stigmata, and even in the welfare dream in the past.

However, this was the first time in reality, but she managed it with ease, all thanks to the various exercises in the dream.

Kiana blinked at the mirror again, and the golden pupil quickly returned to its normal sky-blue color.

She rubbed her cheeks and, after a long while, smiled.

"Whether it's the real Angel or the fake Angel, I know you must prefer me to keep smiling, right? Don’t worry, I’m not a child anymore. We agreed to face things bravely... Although you seem to have broken your promise, I don’t mind. I will keep my oath to the end. After all, we are best friends?"

"Idiot Ant!"

"Are you jealous of me? I remember you seemed to have no friends, and you were so lonely that you created Honkai beasts as your friends."

"Are you sick!?"

The Herrscher of the Void[Angel] cried out in her mind, and Kiana smiled as she went out to change her hospital clothes and prepare to leave. She didn’t care how that entity roared in the spiritual world.

‘Who told you to hide from me all day and quarrel with me. You deserve it!’

Kiana thought with a clear conscience, and her gloomy mood brightened up a bit. She stood by the door, took a few deep breaths, adjusted her mood, and then pushed the door open. She suddenly hugged Raiden Mei with a bright smile.

"Mei, why are you so reserved? Actually, I don’t mind you standing inside and looking at me. We are all in a relationship. What part of my body can’t you see, right? Hehe!"

"Kiana... stop joking!"

The proud Queen of Thunder, only in front of this shameless white-haired ball, was particularly shy.

Kiana’s ambiguous words and the infatuated look she gave while rubbing her chest made Raiden Mei blush suddenly, revealing her simple and shy girlish style.

Bronya reached out at the right moment and tapped Kiana’s head with her little fist.

"Stupid paramecium, don’t act like a hooligan outside and cause trouble for Mei."

"Hey! Mei and I are close, so what does it have to do with you, a little dwarf? You live in the sea, why are you so nosy?"

"From a universal perspective, Cocolia’s mother now lives in the East Shenzou Sea Base, so Bronya does live in the sea."

The double helix Salted Duck folded her arms across her chest, straightened up, and looked expressionlessly at Kiana.

Kiana choked, then hugged Raiden Mei’s fragrant and soft body more tightly, sneering:

"Just wait, I’ll make you look bad in the next practical class!"

To be honest, this threat was quite effective.

Under the guidance of Angel and Fu Hua, and with Kiana’s own efforts, her practical ability now far exceeds the past. At least Bronya has long been defeated, and the heavy-armored bunny is also a significant challenge.

However, Bronya was not afraid at all and simply said woodenly:

"I hope you don’t come to Bronya for targeted tutoring before the next theory class exam."

"...Um, sorry. I spoke a little loudly. I apologize."

Kiana, who had just been lively and full of vigor, now put her hands on her lower abdomen, bowed with a sincere and humble expression.

In Saint Freya, where Angel was absent, the only one who could effectively help Kiana with her theory class grades was Miss Bronya, the humanoid database. The harsh reality had completely exposed Kiana’s inflated momentum.

"Puff!"

Raiden Mei couldn’t help laughing.

Kiana scratched her face in confusion, laughed awkwardly, and said nothing.

It’s strange. She obviously leveled up a lot, and it stands to reason that she should be shaking the world with great power and receiving admiration from everyone.

Why does it feel like this level-up is almost the same as not leveling up?

As expected, school isn’t suited for her; she shouldn’t go to school!

---

Chapter 261: Direction

"This is the situation, Otto. Is there a serious problem with Kiana?"

Late at night, after Kiana's discharge from the hospital, Fu Hua finally reached out to Otto to explain what had happened to her.

Why didn’t you tell her the night before?

Oh, she had been discussing things with the clever and insightful Book of Fuxi the previous night.

However, Book of Fuxi was neither the creator of Kiana nor an advanced research puppet. After some deliberation, she didn't have any good solutions in the face of the high-end technology involved with this artificial Herrscher.

So, Fu Hua had no choice but to consult Otto.

"Don’t worry, don’t worry. I reviewed her medical records, and she is in excellent health, almost as if a guardian angel were watching over her. So, rest assured, she’s fine, my old friend," Otto said calmly, with a hint of jest.

He knew that his old friend would contact him only at this time and had likely already approached Mount Taixu. It wasn’t that he was monitoring Fu Hua, but he understood her well enough to predict her actions.

But Otto wasn’t concerned about the order of precedence. If Kiana truly had a problem, Fu Hua would definitely come to him, and that was sufficient. As for Fu Hua's trust in him, some things were better left unsaid, and Otto knew this well.

"Probably as you guessed, the Herrscher of the Void has become active. There’s nothing surprising about that. After all, it wasn’t long after the incident with little Angel, and the combination of a massive amount of Honkai energy and a huge psychological blow can certainly have an impact."

Otto smiled with the satisfaction of a cunning fox.

Angel becoming a Herrscher in front of Kiana and then being taken away—what an extraordinary plot twist! It was a notch above Otto’s own sacrifice script!

A loved one’s sacrifice in front of her would cause Kiana intense emotional turmoil, but it also carried the risk of completely breaking her will and causing her to self-destruct.

But Angel’s script was different. It was desperate enough to be impactful while still leaving hope, forcing Kiana to find the strength to recover. After all, how could she find Angel otherwise?

If it weren’t for the rarity of Herrscher transformations, Otto might have considered switching his script to one involving Herrscher transformation and disappearance like Angel’s, which would significantly increase its success rate.

Fu Hua noticed Otto’s apparent satisfaction and frowned in indignation.

"Otto, is this really something to be happy about?"

"Of course! I want to create a Herrscher of the Void who sides with humanity, so naturally, I need K423 to experience the awakening of the Herrscher of the Void and overcome it."

Otto spoke the truth with a smile.

Kiana becoming a Herrscher would certainly make her an enemy of Otto. The seeds of enmity had been sown many years ago, and it was inevitable that Kiana would oppose Otto.

This was exactly what Otto needed—a space god who would relentlessly attack him in his final plan and help him break free from his constraints!

So, everything was proceeding as planned.

"Otto, if you... Anyway, I have my own principles, which you should understand."

"It doesn’t matter, old friend. You just need to stay by her side as her strongest safeguard until Kiana truly transforms. That’s all I ask, and I believe you’re happy with that, right?"

"Well, that’s true. So, is Kiana really okay?"

"Old friend, I’m not lying."

Otto raised his glass toward Fu Hua from a distance.

Fu Hua was the strongest protective amulet Otto had left by Kiana’s side, ensuring that Kiana would not die during this journey.

As for the final stage, Otto had his own methods.

Otto had never lied; he simply hadn’t disclosed the whole truth.

Fu Hua stared intently at Otto’s face, her eyes filled with deep doubt, before ending the communication without further comment.

...

"Ah, my old friend is getting stronger and stronger. She wouldn’t have argued with me like this before. Is it the confidence from recovering from her injury? No, it must be the influence of those who survived in Mount Taixu. It’s really disheartening if she always remains so guarded against me."

"Then can I open the curtains? It’s a bit dark in here."

"Oh, just do as you like, Sakura."

Yae Sakura then opened the curtains, letting bright light flood in and making the dim office suddenly clear and warm.

Otto sipped his tea leisurely, watching Yae Sakura handle the curtains, then sat back down and picked up the dull mission report:

"About this hunting mission, I..."

"Ahem!"

"Mr. Otto, what’s wrong?"

"No, instead of the boring mission report, why don’t you ask me why I had to draw the curtains before starting the video call?"

Otto blinked, looking a bit mischievous.

Yae Sakura smiled slightly, like a caring aunt indulging a mischievous child:

"Isn’t it normal to have a Chunniboyu syndrome? There’s a saying that the older you get, the more childish you appear. Mr. Otto, being over 500 years old, I understand if you want to be a bit more lively."

Otto: "..."

Amber: "Pfft!"

The cold and beautiful secretary laughed on the side, but she kept a neutral expression, as though nothing had happened.

Otto was very humorous in private.

But as the supreme leader who controlled the world, this humor often felt like a distraction—a problem for secretary Amber, who found every battle to bring him back from distraction to be exhausting.

However, there was always someone better at handling his whims. Yae Sakura’s natural demeanor often outshone Otto’s distractions.

Amber was pleased but kept her enjoyment to herself, mindful not to provoke Otto’s displeasure.

"You didn’t say it, but when did you not laugh?"

"What is Lord Otto talking about? Amber is so slow that she didn’t understand. Can you please explain it in detail?"

The secretary asked seriously. Her beautiful face with a golden eye mask revealed no embarrassment or flaws.

Under the friendly gaze of the secretary and her colleagues, Otto snorted coldly, took the report from Yae Sakura, and flipped through it himself.

A minute later, he commented on the report, signed it, and returned it to Yae Sakura.

"Well, it seems you have adjusted well to your duties as an S-rank Valkyrie. You’ve done a great job, not much worse than Rita."

Rita was very useful in non-combat roles.

Now, Yae Sakura was proving her worth in both combat and non-combat aspects.

This was undoubtedly good news.

Yae Sakura lowered her head shyly.

"Everyone has taken good care of me. I still have a lot to learn. I just hope I haven’t caused any trouble for Mr. Otto."

"You really need to be more confident. Even the meticulous Durandal praised you highly. You are definitely better than you think."

"How could that be..."

The fox-eared witch was overwhelmed by the praise. Her elegant and refined demeanor was replaced by the shyness and joy of an ordinary girl, making her even more charming.

Otto smiled silently.

‘With Karen’s big mouth, I imagine she could make you blush hundreds of times a day. No wonder I was able to win you over.’

There was definitely a hint of bitterness about Karen’s choice, but Otto felt more sadness and regret—if not for that tragedy, Karen would have returned to the Far East to rescue this pure and lovely witch and live happily ever after.

Let Karen continue her life and her happiness.

Thinking of that possibility gave Otto endless motivation.

"Mr. Otto, are you okay? Why did you suddenly seem lost in thought?"

"Oh, nothing. Let’s discuss something else. Have there been any new leads on the Herrscher of Dominance?"

Otto turned to Amber and asked.

Amber bowed respectfully and replied:

"My Lord Bishop, I’m sorry, but I haven’t found any relevant clues so far."

"Well... that’s not surprising. Su is a MANTIS beyond human like my old friend. Not to mention his illusion abilities, he doesn’t even rely on human material supplies and can survive solely on Honkai energy. If he doesn’t want to be found, Schicksal can’t do anything about it."

Otto rubbed his temples in frustration.

If the Herrscher of Dominance is indeed Angel, controlling him would be difficult. Without guidance, the child had unearthed K423’s true life experience and even convinced K423 to accept reality, aiding her spiritual transformation. His intelligence and talent were so high that Durandal had praised him. It was truly challenging to control.

Adding Su’s intervention into the mix, Otto couldn’t underestimate this enigmatic old pioneer. It was hard to imagine the changes he might bring to Angel, possibly making him even more troublesome to deal with.

How to ensure that this Herrscher becomes an asset to his plan rather than a disruptive variable?

"She values feelings... she seeks revenge... she distinguishes between gratitude and resentment... World Serpent?"

Otto organized his thoughts, pondering deeply, and began to see a potential direction.

---

Chapter 262: The Temptation from the Sea

"Hmm? Has the investigation and probing of the Serpent become more frequent recently? Do you have any clues, Gray Serpent?"

Holding the organizational development report presented by Gray Serpent, Shamash frowned slightly on his delicate little face and asked calmly.

Gray Serpent touched her chest and saluted.

"Lord Shamash, Otto is the most outstanding conspirator and leader in the current era. To be honest, it is difficult to guess his thoughts."

"Do you think it will affect our plan?"

"It's hard to say. I can only say that he should be aware of the insurmountable gap between the Valkyries and the Artificial Herrscher against Lord Shamash. So, in a short period of time, he can't take drastic measures, but small frictions in the dark are probably inevitable."

"Okay, then be careful. We can only rely on you in this regard, Gray Serpent."

Shamash didn't mean to delve into it but looked straight at Gray Serpent with pure sapphire eyes.

If it were a normal relationship between superiors and subordinates, then this would undoubtedly be the words of a lazy and scumbag leader passing the buck to his miserable subordinates.

Gray Serpent only felt that Shamash relied on and trusted him.

"Yes! I will keep a close eye on Otto's movements and will never let him interfere with the Serpent's plan!"

"What is the current situation in The Deep?"

"At present, we only know that Tesla and Einstein, who are anti-entropy seniors, have been studying it. Even the female vixen Cocolia has let the scientific master who has been hiding for many years in it. Due to the existence of the Herrscher of Reason and Ninti, The World Serpent wasn't able to peek too much. However, Jackal has arranged monitoring facilities for the quantum tide. If the portal of the Sea of Quantais opened, we will capture the signal as soon as possible."

"Does it mean that the progress is unknown?"

Shamash frowned again.

Gray Serpent's heart tightened.

"I'm very sorry, Lord Shamash!"

"No, it doesn't matter. We still have enough time. As long as they are not unable to break through, there will be no problem. Gray Serpent, I think it may be more important to manage our organization and plan well at the moment than to spy on them, which is meaningless. What do you think?"

"I think so too, Lord Shamash. Next, I will focus on the organization's strength and construction, as well as the preparations for Project Stigma."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

Shamash comforted him as usual, and his cold expression softened slightly.

"Thank you for your trust, Lord Shamash. But there is one more thing."

"Tell me."

"It seems that Mount Taixu and the Anti-Entropy Shenzhou branch are strengthening their ties. I'm afraid they will join forces to suppress our development in Shenzhou. This will be a bit troublesome for us."

"Will it hinder our plan?"

"Not yet. After all, only the core members of the World Serpent know the details of Project Stigma. They will bring some resistance, but it is not difficult to bypass them, and their strength is not to be feared. What I am worried about is the actions that Lord Hua may take."

"I will come forward to negotiate at that time, so there is no need to worry about pressure from Hua."

Shamash sighed with a sense of loss, as if regretting the choice of this old comrade.

But at the same time, it also gave Gray Serpent reassurance. Gray Serpent felt relieved and was about to withdraw when Shamash spoke.

"There is another question. Kevin has been drifting in the Sea of Quanta for thousands of years. Like me, he will be very weak when he returns. For him, the best supplement is a high-level Honkai beast containing a large amount of Honkai energy. Do you have any goals in this regard?"

"Lord Shamash, I think Benares, the judgment-level Honkai beast born during the Second Eruption, is our only choice."

"Benares?"

"Yes. In fact, the most ideal sacrifice was originally the giant beast Chiyou that appeared in the East Shenzou Sea, but it has now merged with Cocolia's daughter Ninti to form a contemporary MANTIS. I think the Lord will not accept such a sacrifice."

Gray Serpent shook his head regretfully.

Although Benares is also a judgment-class Honkai Beast, it is obviously not a type characterized by size and Honkai energy reserves. The supplies it can provide to Kevin are limited, but it is better than nothing.

"Ninti... I remember that she can use the power of the Herrscher of Reason. With Chiyou's energy, if she can inherit Welt's power, she may be qualified to challenge Kevin. She is one of the hopes of the current civilization. You are right. She should not be sacrificed for Kevin."

"Lord Shamash is right."

Gray Serpent nodded in agreement.

But she may only be qualified to challenge. With the power of Chiyou plus the power of Reason, she can only withstand one or two more attacks in front of the great power of the Lord.

In Gray Serpent's view, the only two people in the current world who may bring obstacles to Kevin are Su and Hua. And those two can do it not because of their strength, but because of their past friendship.

As for the foundation of the current era, Gray Serpent can't see any hope that may stop Kevin.

"Demon Dragon Benares, I remember the previous intelligence said that it was under the care of Schicksal. Have you figured out how to get it?"

"I think that Tianming is the biggest anti-Honkai force in the current era. If it is not necessary, the conflict between us should happen as late as possible. So, I will try to trade. Of course, if the archbishop is stubborn, I will have to ask Lord Shamash to help."

"Well, come to me anytime if necessary."

"Yes, Lord Shamash!"

Feeling that the important matters had been reported, Gray Serpent, holding various thoughts on the organization's planning, bid farewell to Shamash.

At the entrance of the laboratory, a strong and wild fragrance was transmitted to Gray Serpent's sensitive olfactory sensor. Jackal leaned against the door casually and said carelessly:

"Remember to give Benares to me first. I can transform it and at least let the Lord's reception banquet have more food."

"Jackal...?"

"Hey, what are you doing recently, Gray Serpent?"

"Don't be so frivolous all the time. I'm naturally busy with the World Serpent Project, but you, you have been asking for all kinds of information one after another. Do you have any new ideas for Project Stigma? And why are you targeting Benares again... Never mind, you are indeed good at transforming Honkai Beasts, which is a good idea."

Gray Serpent covered his mask with a headache and had to accept his colleague's advice.

Facing Gray Serpent's client's urging for manuscripts, Jackal casually rubbed his jade-like nails and said without raising her head.

"I'm working on it; don't rush me."

"I hope you know what's going on. Also, don't you always dislike managing the development of the organization... I understand. What information do you want this time?"

"Oh, I just want to ask Lord Shamash if he can give me some information about the Elysian Realm. I need it!"

"Elysian Realm? I don't know where you get so many weird requests. Then go ahead. In the absence of the Lord, Lord Shamash should indeed manage the portal of the Realm. If Lord Shamash agrees, I will open the database for you."

Jackal grinned, showing a wanton and free smile, made an OK gesture, and then strode into the throne room.

Gray Serpent looked at his colleague's back, shook his head, and left without thinking too much.

...

The door between the thrones slowly closed, isolating all possible prying from Gray Serpent.

Then the pure and flawless ice-blue eyes looked at the unbridled golden pupils, and after a moment, they showed the same smile.

Without outsiders, they could talk about some of their inner thoughts.

"If we really want it to be sacrificed, do you think we can do something to Benares' body?"

"No need. Kevin is a key link in Project Stigma, and we can't kill him. In this case, it is better to maintain a reliable and trustworthy companion character, so that it will be convenient for us to guide some things."

"Well, that makes sense. Yyssring reported that the repair of the Eye of the Deep has reached the final stage and verification, and the first experiment should be started soon. Although I am sorry for the efforts of the two doctors, it is a pity that the first experiment is bound to have an accident."

The accident is caused by the mutually exclusive interference effect between the Sea of Quanta and the real world. Such accidents are needed to collect interference data at the current time node, so as to adjust the parameters of the Eye of the Deep, and then the quantum portal can be opened smoothly.

This is the experience gained by the previous era with blood, and scientists of this era are still unclear of this.

"Kevin must be released. If he keeps blocking the door, not only will Seele not be able to come back, but our exploration of the quantum world will also be out of the question."

"Yes, the Cocoon is the malice of a higher-level existence. To break through this barrier, it is powerless from within the human world. We can only seek the Honkai itself and the power outside the world."

"Poject Velaka is a good idea, seeking wisdom to solve problems outside the world. Unfortunately, Cosmic Juggernaut and Su have their limits. No matter how hard they try, they can only observe until Su runs out of life. To a tiny part of the infinite leaves... it seems that no civilization has been found that is as unlucky as us."

"In addition to the false god road, the Sea of Quanta is also a treasure with endless mysteries. I want to rush to the tree and fish in the sea, and I want to catch both sides!"

"I don't know if Kevin has found anything valuable in the Sea of Quanta after wandering for so long. I can ask him then. It should be natural to ask questions with the character of a crazy scientist like Jackal."

Angel and others discussed the possibilities from the Sea of Quanta and licked their lips at the same time.

More possibilities, more knowledge and power, this is a temptation she can't resist.

---

Chapter 263: Friends of the Same Age

"I'm back~~"

The door swung open with a bang, announcing the girl's lively personality and natural exuberance. Rosalia, Lilia, and Chen Tianwen, who had been pulling their hair and biting the tips of their pens over boring homework, immediately turned their heads. They saw a pair of beautiful eyes exuding a clear and simple temperament, and their faces lit up with the same pure, untainted smiles.

"Sister Ana!" ×3

The three little ones rushed over impatiently, surrounding Ana and laughing joyfully, spreading their happiness from the door throughout the house.

"Tsk!"

Sin shook her head expressionlessly, tapping her palm with a pointer. She then lowered her gaze to the three children's homework.

To be honest, Sin wasn't very academic and didn’t fully grasp the questions herself. However, the large blank spaces and some messy doodles clearly showed the state of their work.

"Hmph! Not serious at all!"

The eldest sister began to miss the smart and reliable Ninti.

Ninti was extremely sensible and had been able to help Sin in many ways. She was intelligent and could handle the professional tutoring that Sin was not equipped for. But now she was gone.

According to Cocolia, Ninti had gone to North America for further education from the Alliance Leader and two doctors.

As the eldest sister, Sin naturally supported her younger sister's career and progress. But dealing with a room full of children alone, she missed the days when Ninti had helped her.

Not to mention, for some reason, there was now another child in the house.

"Hehe! Sin, I'm back. What are we having for dinner today?"

"... Since when did you start treating my place as your cafeteria?"

"Huh?"

The new, innocent girl tilted her head, seemingly confused by Sin's question.

After a while, Ana sensed Sin's disapproval from her cold and ruthless gaze.

Ana shrank back and said weakly, "I just came back from suppressing the Honkai Outbreak in Rostov and wanted to find Miss Cocolia to report my work... and have a meal while I’m at it. Is that okay?"

"Ah——"

What else could Sin do?

The brown-haired Samoyed opposite was the general their Mother had recently relied on. Although her brain was often bafflingly simple, her performance in battle and loyalty were commendable. Besides, with three little kids watching, it wasn't easy to grab a broom and chase her out of the house.

"Follow me."

Sin casually beckoned, turned around, went up the stairs, and walked toward Cocolia’s study.

Ana scratched her head, smiling foolishly, and followed quickly, not forgetting to make a cool hand gesture to the three little girls.

The three blinked their big eyes and stared blankly at Sin and Ana as they disappeared up the stairs.

The next second, they quickly and tacitly put away their homework. Based on experience, after the adults finished their business, Sin would likely start preparing dinner, and they could rest and watch TV!

"Long live!" ×3

Rosalia, Lilia, and Chen Tianwen took turns clapping their hands and cheered quietly.

...

"Coco... Woo!!!"

Arriving at the door of Cocolia's study, Ana subconsciously shouted the leader's name and knocked. Sin noticed the unusual silence inside and swiftly waved her hand to cover Ana's mouth.

Ana blinked her bright eyes in confusion.

Sin made a silent gesture and gently opened the door.

Sure enough, Cocolia was lying on the table, breathing lightly and evenly.

"You haven't slept for a day and a night, and you still think you’re the little superman from your youth? You’ve brought this on yourself!"

Sin scolded in a low voice, giving Ana a threatening look.

Ana immediately covered her mouth with both hands, nodding like a chicken pecking at rice, indicating her understanding of Sin's silent message.

Sin took off her windbreaker at the door, approached quietly, and gently covered Cocolia with a blanket.

At this time, Ana tiptoed over and stared at Cocolia's peaceful, sleeping face.

"It's really not easy. She handled all the command and post-war reconstruction by herself. Why didn’t she find a helper?"

"Because the Iron Pilot Column is a unit directly commanded by my mother, and you are a fool."

"Eh? How can you blame me? Not everyone can be as smart and capable as Captain Kella! Oh, we should call her the Executor now, right? That would be amazing. I hope to become an Executor one day."

Ana stared with wide eyes, indignantly defending herself, then imagined the scene of her promotion.

"Executor? You? If that ever happens, it would mean Anti-Entropy is hopeless."

"Hey!"

"Shut up!"

Sin rolled her eyes, not wanting to disturb Cocolia’s nap, and dragged Ana out of the study.

"Go watch TV with them. I’ll cook, and we’ll talk after she wakes up."

"Oh."

The chef’s power over foodies was absolute.

Ana had no intention of resisting at all. For a delicious dinner, she obediently joined Rosalia and the others.

Soon, she was engrossed in watching cartoons in front of the TV, mirroring the three children’s expressions and even making cute exclamations from time to time.

Wow, cartoons are really great.

...

"Oh! Mommy's darlings, come and kiss Mommy... Hey, why are you here again?"

At dinner, Cocolia, who had come down on time, opened her arms and smiled enthusiastically at the three shivering but adorable little ones. She then noticed Ana swallowing saliva at the table and adopted the same disgusted look as Sin.

Ana stood up straight.

"Lady Cocolia, I’m here to report the work results of the Iron Pilot Column!"

"I was in command throughout the whole process. What is there to report?"

"Uh, this, that, and the other were left by Captain Kella."

"Write it up in a report and give it to me. Now leave. Don’t disturb me and my daughter while we’re being intimate!"

Cocolia waved her hands dismissively, as if shooing away a stray dog.

Ana looked at her in confusion.

Fortunately, Sin appeared beside her at the right moment, carrying dishes and wearing a pink apron.

"Ahem! Mom, be polite, do you understand?"

"...I understand."

"Don’t mind it. Sit down and eat with us. There’s no school at the East Shenzou Sea base yet, and there are few children around. It’s rare for them to have friends their own age. It’s not a bad thing for you to get along with them more."

Sin casually suppressed Cocolia’s improper attitude and pushed Ana back to her seat.

Ana laughed awkwardly a few times, grabbed her chopsticks, and was about to enjoy the meal when she suddenly tilted her head—huh? Why did she mention friends of the same age? Am I not almost an adult?

"Sister Ana, are Honkai beasts scary?"

"Of course they’re scary! They’re as big as tall buildings and full of malice, killing without hesitation! But I’m not afraid when I pilot BT; I can easily crush them to death!"

"So cool! You really are amazing, Sister Ana!"

"That’s right! Just look at who I am! I’m the genius pilot of Anti-Entropy. I was promoted to captain of the Iron Pilot Column in just a few months. Can others do that? Hahaha!"

"As impressive as the Homu Hero!"

"Eh? Really? I’m not that powerful, hehe..."

Ana scratched her face embarrassedly, puffing out her chest with pride in front of her little friends.

Cocolia rested her chin on one hand, her relaxed posture revealing her charming style, and smiled at their harmonious interaction.

"Buzz——"

Her communicator suddenly vibrated.

Cocolia didn’t change her posture; the mechanical hand in her black glove reached into her pocket, retrieved the communicator, and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Einstein: [Are you free? Come to the North American headquarters. There has been new progress in the research of The Deep.]

---

Chapter 264: It Must Be Otto's Fault!

Project Deep is a major and technically challenging task.

It involves repairing the 50,000-year-old foundation of a previous era to make it functional and integrating it with the technological framework of the current civilization. Fifty thousand years ago and fifty thousand years later represent two distinct eras, each with different technological strengths and weaknesses, as well as varying materials science and programming.

The notion that Honkai technology relies on archaeology is merely a joke; it’s not something to be taken seriously.

If you are not Otto, nor a person of Einstein and Tesla’s caliber, you cannot manipulate the technology of the previous era. It is akin to a language and literature expert with deep knowledge of two languages and their cultures being unable to translate elegant foreign poetry. The reasons are similar.

Only Einstein and Tesla from Anti-Entropy could advance the work on The Deep. Later, Yssring (Angel) joined them, and it took half a year to achieve results.

Under the dark, deep sea, a faint blue light illuminated a city filled with steel and wires. Strange deep-sea fish swam above the dome, casting fantastical and eerie shadows.

Einstein and Yssring sat side by side in front of a monitor, while Tesla stood behind them, holding their shoulders with her red ponytail hanging down.

They stared intently at the data on the monitor.

“The seventh simulation started…”

“All data are normal…”

“Passed! All passed! Long live!!!”

Tesla jumped up, dancing wildly and laughing heartily.

Cheering along with her were the scientific research assistants, construction workers, and security personnel who had worked hard in the deep sea for several months.

The Deep is the gateway to the quantum world and a new method for studying and combating Honkai, representing infinite possibilities. Its significance is clear to everyone here.

Einstein placed one hand on the operating table, turned around, looked at the cheering crowd, and showed a rare bright smile.

“Everyone worked hard. We succeeded.”

“Woohoo!!!”

“Plop!”

The cheers abruptly ceased.

Yssring's small body suddenly tilted, fell to the ground, and began to snore uniformly.

“Dr. Yssring!?”

The nearby staff hurriedly gathered and moved Yssring to a nearby tent.

The doctor put on a stethoscope.

The nurse set up a glucose drip.

The experienced Einstein opened Yssring’s eyelids and observed her pupil reaction.

After a series of procedures, the doctor concluded.

“It’s okay. As usual, the work intensity is too high, and the body is too tired.”

Tesla squatted beside the bed, stretched out her hand, and poked Yssring’s soft cheek.

“How long has she been working without rest?”

“You need to ask Ninti’s timer. I can’t keep track of time while monitoring the simulation experiment and Dr. Yssring.”

“What about Ninti?”

“I don’t know. It’s strange. Why haven’t I seen her with Dr. Yssring these days?”

The two looked at each other and suddenly heard familiar footsteps, turning their heads to see the door of the tent.

In less than two seconds, the little blonde girl lifted the door curtain with her tail, holding a hot water basin in both hands, and walked in with a stern face.

As she undressed Yssring and wiped her face and body, she said.

“Dr. Yssring has been working continuously for 73 hours and 17 minutes…”

“Eh? Didn’t you say earlier that she would be forced to rest for a maximum of 36 hours?”

“Before the simulation experiment began, Dr. Yssring poured me a glass of water…”

“Huh?”

“Then I slept until fifteen minutes ago and got up. I immediately went to the bottom of the sea and heard the news that she was in a coma.”

The little girl, who resembled an elf on earth, had a naturally cold and empty expression, but her metallic silver tail hung dejectedly, indicating her mood.

Tesla: “Puff!”

Ninti turned around and stared at her expressionlessly, tears flashing silently in her eyes.

“Ahem! I mean she’s too much of a mess. How could she give you medicine? Little Ninti, how are you feeling now? Are you uncomfortable? Wait until she wakes up, and I’ll teach her a lesson!”

“I’m fine. But I didn’t do what my mother told me to.”

Ninti sniffed expressionlessly, and her delicate eyebrows and eyes revealed a bit of unwarranted grievance.

Oh, this poor image of a cold face and a soft heart instantly broke through the psychological defenses of the two older people.

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault. It’s all because Yssring is too cunning!”

“Yes, yes, yes, and the last simulation experiment was indeed crucial. It should have been closely monitored. I’ll explain it to Cocolia later. She won’t blame you. Don’t blame yourself, Ninti.”

The two had mastered the art of comforting a child.

Under the gentle touch of Einstein and Tesla, breathing in the faint fragrance coming from them, Ninti squinted her eyes and gradually smiled.

“Really, really?”

“Of course! Don’t worry, Cocolia. Our eloquence can handle it!”

“Well, arguing is not good…”

“It’s not arguing! It’s reasoning!”

Tesla stroked Ninti’s neck and chin, her heart as soft as a pool of spring water.

Why is my little Ninti so cute? Even now, you’re still worried about our arguments?

So, Cocolia, you’re to blame! How did you meet Ninti first!?

“Ahem!”

Ninti, who was still dripping with sea water, stood at the door and cleared her throat.

No one responded to her.

“Ahem!”

The coughing grew louder.

Tesla and Einstein looked at the door in confusion, then turned back to speak to Ninti as if they hadn’t seen anything, maintaining their warm and affectionate smiles.

Unfortunately, Welt received no attention. His mouth twitched, and she went outside, found a corner, sat down, and silently dried her clothes.

He was sitting at headquarters when he suddenly saw Ninti rush out and dive into the sea.

The Anti-Entropy leader, accustomed to dealing with major crises, had his heartbeat skip at that moment. Without thinking, he followed into the sea and chased after her.

Now he understood what was happening. Welt breathed a sigh of relief. Ninti was fine, but why did he feel a bit sour?

“Well, it must be Otto’s fault!”

Welt nodded firmly.

Unable to blame Ninti, Einstein, or Tesla, he placed the blame on the first person on his blacklist. The effect was surprisingly good, and he soon calmed down.

The magical blue light shone on the ground. While Ninti dried his clothes, he quietly waited for the two old partners to show their affection. During this time, a staff member reported on the experiment’s status. After listening, Welt praised them and promised rewards as the leader.

When the crowd dispersed with excited smiles, Einstein and Tesla emerged.

“Where’s little Ninti?”

Although he was still slightly jealous, Welt was concerned about Ninti’s mood.

Tesla spread her hands and replied casually:

“She's taking care of Yssring. She said this was a task given by her Mother… Tsk! Cocolia is so unscrupulous that she doesn’t even spare a child like Ninti. Sooner or later, I’ll make her pay!”

“Dr. Tesla, I must remind you that most of the projects you’ve recently launched are funded by her.”

“Hey! I meant I should find time to sit down with her and have a proper talk, that’s all.”

Tesla forced a smile and glared at Ninti.

It’s all your fault for drawing comics too slowly. Otherwise, we wouldn’t need to rely on outsiders for funds.

Welt, innocently caught in the crossfire, did not defend himself. He looked up at the sky—oh, the moon is so bright, though it’s not visible at the bottom of the sea.

Einstein shook her head and chuckled. She didn’t mind Tesla’s temper but couldn’t help yawning.

Everyone in The Deep project was working overtime, so she was naturally very tired. The successful completion of the simulation experiment means that the Eye of the Deep can be officially launched at any time. The successful completion of the preliminary work is truly gratifying.

Einstein found a place to sit and thought about the project, which was also supported by Cocolia, a sponsor who was very concerned. Thus, Einstein resisted the sleepiness and sent an invitation message to Cocolia.

Einstein: [Are you there? Are you free? Come over?]

Cocolia: [Sure.]

----

Chapter 265: Wendy: Annoying!

Anti-Entropy has repaired a deep-sea base left by a former civilization and is ambitiously preparing to explore the Sea of Quanta to seek salvation power beyond the world.

Regarding this latest development, only a small number of people in the two major organizations, Schicksal and World Serpent, are aware of it; most people don’t know yet. As for who knows and who doesn’t, it’s clear to everyone (laughs).

Thus, these two organizations are busy with their own affairs and have not responded to the breakthrough progress of Anti-Entropy. For instance, Schicksal has started a new S-rank Valkyrie assessment.

……

Iceland, a place where the cold wind howls, is also known as the country at the end of the world. In theory, it should be a cold but calm place, where no one pays much attention and few people care. But Schicksal has discovered unusual movements here.

"Boom!"

A huge and peculiar monster with numerous asymmetrical limbs walked across the snow, surrounded by a dense swarm of small flying Honkai Beasts. In this uninhabited land, they showed no ferocity, more like a group of ordinary animals wandering aimlessly.

After a while, the giant beast departed, and the snow returned to calm.

Suddenly, a small head emerged from the snow, adorned with beautiful short black hair on the outside and green on the inside, along with a bunch of lively strands.

"Irregular Honkai energy reactions above the emperor level, along with unusual groups of Honkai beasts operating in the deep mountains... It’s strange, logically speaking, a Honkai disaster of this scale should not occur in a human gathering. Could it be that there’s a party in this ice and snow?"

"If you tell me something, I’m so cold."

Wendy shook the snow off her head, then crawled out, observed the traces left by the herd, and muttered:

"Analyzing the activity trajectories of the Honkai beasts encountered over the past two days, it seems that this snow mountain is the focal point?"

Wendy raised her head and looked up at the snow-capped mountains, gradually showing a solemn expression.

"Buzz buzz—"

The personal emergency communicator suddenly vibrated. Theoretically, only the higher-ups of Schicksal should be able to connect to this communicator at this time, so it was probably the latest instruction from the Archbishop.

But the corners of Wendy’s mouth twitched, and she didn’t want to answer the call.

"The mission is important! The mission is important!"

Wendy silently repeated a few words, calmed down, and took out the communicator.

"Hello~ hello~ Wendy, are you there?"

"..."

"Huh? Is the communicator broken? Wendy, just wait; I’ll locate you immediately and come over!"

"Claw!"

Wendy’s face darkened; she almost wanted to crush the communicator in her hand like the head of some annoying salted fish.

Ah, it’s this salty fish who uses her S-rank permissions indiscriminately, calling her every now and then. A good secret mission suddenly turns into an outing.

Gan!

Delta on the other side seemed aggrieved and said weakly in a soft, waxy voice:

"Aren’t I worried about you~~"

"Go away! Do you know this is my S-rank assessment mission? If you keep this up, even if I pass in the end, how will I face Lady Durandal and Lady Rita!?"

"It’s okay, it’s okay. With my support, they won’t blame you. It’s still too cold in Iceland. If it gets too tough, come back. We can take the exam again next time. Don’t catch a cold!"

"Zhua! If you come here to interfere with me again, be careful. I will deal with you when I get back!"

Wendy angrily cut off the communication.

As she put the communicator back on her chest, the cold touch pressed against her skin. Coupled with a coinciding cold wind, Wendy shivered subconsciously.

"If you hadn’t always disturbed me, I might have settled this and gone back to sleep!"

Wendy cursed and rubbed her arms. Of course, she understood that Delta was showing concern. But don’t treat her like some fragile vase!

She is also a serious Valkyrie. If she hadn’t been delayed by the Desire Gem experiment, she might have achieved S-rank status earlier than Rita. Is it so difficult to wait peacefully for her to return home in triumph?

Wendy stamped her feet angrily, but with the annoying person not in front of her, she couldn’t vent her frustration properly, making her even more irritable.

……

An hour later, Wendy, searching in the snow-capped mountains, found a dark cave based on the traces of the Honkai beasts and the guidance of the Honkai energy sensing equipment.

"Isn’t this an invitation to get trapped?"

Wendy noticed something unusual. However, given the current clues, there was no other way to uncover the mystery of those Honkai beasts without entering.

"Well, it’s strange if there’s no battle or danger in an S-rank assessment mission."

As long as the Herrscher or something above the Herrscher was inside, nothing could stop her. Wendy still had this confidence.

"Ha!"

Wendy exhaled white steam, warmed her palms a little, and then made a forward gesture. Beside her, two invisible mechanical dogs appeared, one behind the other, rushing in at top speed.

Wendy also drew the two short blade from her waist, their flawless blue blades reflecting light. She stepped forward and chased after them, as light as the wind.

As expected, the narrow and dark passage was full of dangers. Guns, poison gas, lasers, high-voltage electricity, and countless deadly traps were triggered one after another.

Wendy showed a confident and cold smile in the darkness. Her figure darted, jumped, and climbed like an invisible wind, destroying countless deadly facilities along the way.

Shortly after the two auxiliary mechanical dogs were scrapped, Wendy reached the depths of the mountain and came to a huge, cold steel portal.

"Sure enough, it’s an experimental base, right?"

The abnormal Honkai energy reaction, the swarm of Honkai beasts, intensive high-tech defense measures, and a series of experiences allowed Wendy to guess the truth of the mystery.

But it wasn’t time to stop yet. The responsibilities of the Valkyrie and the goals of the S-rank assessment were too important to be interrupted, but the problem needed to be effectively solved.

"Hiss!"

Wendy drew in a breath, her chest swelling slightly, her muscles tightening, and Honkai energy gathering on her short sword.

"Whoops!"

"Boom!!"

In an instant, the indestructible edge of the sword tore open the iron door, and Wendy broke through like a cannonball.

The next second, she saw countless grotesque Honkai beasts and dead warriors attacking and destroying the experimental base.

"Boom!"

At the same time, thick iron walls quickly rose in front of and behind the destroyed portal, sealing off Wendy's retreat.

"The design is quite interesting. Did you not expect someone to come?"

With countless enemies in front of her and no way back, a faint mist began to drift from the high ceiling, like a prearranged killing trap.

Wendy shook her head, feeling no panic. The short blade rotated freely in her hands, reflecting clear light. Then, with an indifferent expression and no fear, she began to walk toward the monsters roaring and charging at her.

"Roar!!!"

"Shua——"

The light and shadow of the sword flashed among the monsters, cutting a path forward. Wendy saw smoke rising from a high place.

Although she didn’t know the exact contents, she could tell with her toes that it wasn’t something good. She tore off a piece of clothing and tied it around her face, breathing as little as possible, and then walked around the huge experimental square while clearing a path. Her calm eyes scanned the area, searching for an exit.

Soon, she found a door and ran in decisively.

"Hu~ha~hu~~"

The moment she relaxed slightly, Wendy felt her body go limp and had to hold onto the wall, letting out a quick gasp.

"Something’s wrong. Why is the medicine taking effect so quickly? Could it be some kind of special drug for Valkyries?"

Wendy took out a blue needle from her clothes and injected it into the side of her neck.

It was an expensive medicine only available to high-level Valkyries. It could remove or greatly alleviate most biological toxins and contained hormones such as adrenaline, which could stimulate physical potential in critical moments.

Wendy knew that compared to people like Delta and Durandal, she was just an ordinary Valkyrie. So before undertaking a high-level mission, she would do her best to make all possible preparations.

After the medicine entered her body, her physical strength seemed to recover, but her weakness remained like a persistent illness, still draining her energy deep inside.

"What's going on? Isn’t this supposed to be an ordinary toxin?"

Wendy frowned, but she didn’t have time to think too much. The monsters behind her were already closing in. She could only lift her weary body and run as deep into the base as possible.

----

Chapter 266: That Guy, He Can't Live Without Me

"Hu... Hu... Ha..."

The panting grew heavier, and the body that was rapidly losing strength felt even heavier.

It was a toxin I had never encountered before.

Wendy silently berated herself for being careless. Still, she did not consider giving up or retreating. She remained alert and moved quickly through the passage.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Roar——"

The reckless, foolish collision sounds and the inhuman roars became increasingly distinct.

This confirmed that the bloodthirsty monsters were closing in on Wendy.

"Another door? Could it be a trap too?"

The winding passage ended at a white door. It was heavy, solid metal, with complex electronic facilities that seemed to be used for verifying entry information.

Wendy hesitated for a moment. Faced with the imminent threat from behind, she quickly decided to act. She raised her short knife and inserted it into the iron wall. Her declining physical strength and energy could no longer support the reckless rush she had managed at the beginning. She could only try to strengthen the blade and slowly tear a hole in the door to enter.

"Be gentle... slow... don't make any noise..."

To avoid attracting the pursuers behind her, Wendy held her breath and carefully cut a hole slightly larger than a basketball, then successfully squeezed through with her petite frame.

Inside was what appeared to be a control room or a data analysis room. The space was spacious and brightly lit, with desks, chairs, and manuscripts. However, the most eye-catching feature was the huge computer screen that occupied half of the wall.

"Control room? Database?"

Wendy approached the control panel, supported herself, and guessed with some difficulty.

A row of neat, beautiful, luminous transparent buttons adorned the control panel. Although visually appealing, there were no labels. Only the machine's designer would know how to use them.

Fortunately, this base might be used by others besides the designer, so there was also a keyboard and mouse that ordinary people could use.

"... So plain and simple? Thank you for being plain and simple! I like plain and simple the most!"

This was probably the first time Wendy felt lucky during this mission.

She found the data connection port and inserted the intrusion program from the Schicksal Electronic Network Technology Department.

A series of windows popped up on the huge screen, and the rapidly changing data streams indicated that the intrusion was being fiercely resisted.

"Not surprising."

This base was high-tech from beginning to end, and it was very likely studying forbidden sciences such as Honkai beast transformation. It was normal to encounter a firewall capable of resisting Schicksal's intrusion.

"Uh..."

As she waited for the intrusion program to complete, a wave of dizziness washed over her.

Wendy cursed the ghost toxin for the nth time.

She pressed her aching chest, her face showing a hint of panic.

"I won't die here because of this little poison gas, right? That would be very embarrassing... The most important thing is that Delta would go crazy, right?"

Wendy was aware of her position. She knew that in the eyes of many in Schicksal, her strength and ability were not very significant. What mattered was that she was Delta's stabilizer.

This was the reality. Although some might underestimate her, which was slightly unpleasant, Wendy had no complaints.

She was eager to become S-rank, hoping to prove herself and not let all the suffering she had endured over the years be in vain.

But if she died in such a wretched place... Delta would lose control, go mad with self-destructive tendencies, and be crushed by all forces. This scenario clearly played out in Wendy's mind.

"Don't do stupid things... No, no, no, I won't die in such a wretched place!"

Wendy slapped her forehead and steeled herself.

Rather than hoping the situation would resolve itself, she needed to focus on saving her own life first.

'That guy, she can't do anything without me.'

Wendy muttered this to herself, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up. At that moment, the ding-dong prompt from the computer indicated that Schicksal's intrusion program had finally succeeded.

Destruction is always easier than defense. In the absence of human intervention, professional intrusion programs are likely to succeed.

Wendy did not delay, bypassing most of the unimportant information and locating the urgently needed content.

First, she opened the entrance to the emergency escape passage, which was at the corner of the room.

Second, she activated all defense measures in front of the main control room. The iron doors blocked the pursuers outside, buying more time.

Finally, she found a data storage device.

"What a large capacity. With such a large amount of data, there must be a fixed storage device!"

Wendy's eyes lit up as she pried open the baffle under the operating table with her short blade and crawled in.

After a rustling search, Wendy emerged holding a black metal box, her dusty face breaking into an excited smile.

"Now, the mission is complete, but there’s only one step left!"

Secret bases with strict defenses usually have self-destruct devices, and this base was no exception.

Using Schicksal's control program to activate the self-destruct device and set the timer, Wendy held the data box and walked decisively into the escape passage.

"Ha... Ha..."

Her breathing became heavier and more labored.

The unknown drug was extremely difficult to handle. In just a dozen or twenty minutes, her strength and energy were almost depleted.

She was a Valkyrie who could undergo S-rank assessment! Even if she was not as formidable as monsters like Durandal, Delta, and Yae Sakura, she possessed terrifying power beyond that of A-rank Valkyries. Her physique and Honkai energy reserves were extraordinarily resilient.

If she couldn’t endure it in such a short time, ordinary Valkyries might collapse instantly, with no chance of resistance.

It seemed necessary to return quickly and alert the medical department to study the drug in her system, or it might become a weapon for outsiders targeting Valkyries.

"Plop!"

Wendy, who had been using the wall to support herself, suddenly lost her strength. Her trembling legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground.

"Ha... Ha..."

Calm down! There is still time. Even if she couldn’t walk anymore, she could crawl out before the self-destruction. She couldn’t die here; what would happen to that troublesome girl?

Wendy didn’t complain and tried to conserve every bit of strength, crawling toward the exit that was still some distance away.

...

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of Schicksal, Archbishop Otto and the three S-rank Valkyries watched Wendy’s progress in the office.

The footage was provided by Delta’s close-up camera.

The ideal fluid isolated all information such as light, shadow, and sound, accompanying Wendy throughout the process.

Delta, the first successful artificial Herrrscher in the history of Schicksal, was known for her shameless and obsessive nature, and no one could interfere with her.

--

Chapter 267: The Maid is Worried

The screen is shaking violently at this time, indicating the strong emotional fluctuation of the videographer.

"Hey! Enough? She is already like this; is it okay to end it now?"

Delta's impatient voice came through.

Otto touched his chin thoughtfully—he never cared. The improvement in the quality and quantity of his cards had made him no longer have any special expectations for the mortal-level S-rank. Whether they passed or not depended on his mood.

Rita’s eyebrows were slightly furrowed, showing hesitation. Theoretically, the assessment had not ended, but Rita knew her own limitations. In comparison, she was at the level of Wendy, and it was impossible for her to kill faster or move farther than Wendy.

Anyway, the actual ability had reached the standard, and the purpose of the assessment had been achieved. To maintain the camaraderie among colleagues, it was not impossible to agree.

Yae Sakura held the blade with a worried look on her face. This was her own people, so there was no need to say more.

If only these three referees were present, Delta might have been able to force them. Unfortunately, there was another referee on the scene, whose authority was second only to Otto's and who was extremely rule-abiding.

"The assessment task is a task, and there are only two results: success or failure. If you interfere now, I can only determine that the assessment is terminated, which is equivalent to failure."

"Durandal!!!"

"I'm sorry, I know this is very inhumane, but the assessment is not a joke, and fighting against Honkai is even more serious. One is one, and two is two. If you are not strict now, can you still expect Honkai to give her a break in the future?"

The camera turned, and Delta’s pretty face appeared before everyone, with a murderous look and an aura of anger and bloodlust. It was hard to imagine that a laid-back person could look like this, and Rita was shocked when she saw it.

However, Durandal remained unmoved. She sighed calmly and said, "Along the way, her combat quality and overall skills are excellent, and her judgments are extremely rational. In terms of ability, I recognize her qualifications. In the final stage, she decisively activated the self-destruction program after removing the data box. There were some omissions, but she was impeccable given her state at the time, and she was resolute and decisive."

Durandal was not praising anyone; the above was indeed her actual feeling.

"In short, I believe she can become our colleague. The only difference is whether it will be this time or next time. But now, since she has activated the self-destruction program, she must fight for the result herself—whether being affected by the explosion and sacrificed, or barely escaping, all depends on her own efforts. Of course, she will be fine with you, so I hope she can learn this lesson."

Durandal's beautiful face was a little sad, as if she thought of some colleagues who had suffered misfortune, and she slowly conveyed her other considerations. Wendy was very talented. Apart from the experiment with the Desire Gem that year, she hardly encountered any difficulties on the real battlefield. In the two battles in the East Shenzou Sea, Delta had watched her closely, and there were no setbacks at all.

Smooth sailing is not a good thing, at least not for the Valkyrie. If you don’t clearly understand your own limits and the dangers of the battlefield through twists and turns, the next mistake might be the last in your life.

Durandal is meticulous and kind-hearted.

If someone else were in this position and said such words, it might be seen as jealousy.

But Durandal would not be that way; she would not.

"...Hum!"

Delta was silent for a long time, snorted coldly, and turned the picture back to Wendy, as if she had compromised.

What made her relent was not Durandal’s seriousness, but Wendy’s perspective. If the rare S-rank assessment ended so abruptly, Wendy would probably regret it for a long time and might even sigh about it in her dreams. Delta didn’t want Wendy to suffer and naturally didn’t want Wendy to be sad.

After thinking about it, she couldn't persuade this stubborn girl, so she decided to stay with her until the end. Anyway, that medicine was a derivative of the Honkai serum. It had no other effect except to eliminate Honkai in the body. It was non-toxic, harmless, and had no side effects.

So the self-destruction set by Wendy to bury those Honkai beasts and dead soldiers was meaningless.

Anyway, those monsters were also within the range of the poison gas. It was only a matter of time before they lost the support of Honkai and died.

"I’ve suffered a lot this time. How can I make up for it? I wonder if there are any kind people who can provide advanced nutrition packages and health care services..."

The faint voice could not reach Wendy’s ears but reached the distant headquarters of Schicksal.

Otto glanced at Durandal.

"Hmm? Bishop, what’s the matter?"

"...Nothing."

Otto touched his nose, thinking that it was useless to talk to a cow, and then gave Rita a suggestive look.

The invincible Miss Rita was stunned and then suddenly realized.

"Ahem! Regarding Wendy’s future recuperation and nutritional supplements, Lord Durandal will do her best to support her. Please don’t worry about the cost. Right, Lord Durandal?"

Because she believed Wendy would be a future colleague, Rita naturally changed the address to "Lord," and no one noticed anything wrong.

Durandal blinked blankly, with a bit of confusion in her clear pupils, as if she didn’t understand why Rita suddenly took on such a task for her. However, she was not a person who cared about money and trivial matters. Between colleagues, small matters were not worth mentioning, so she nodded quickly. "Yeah, that’s right. I’ll come to support, don’t worry!"

"That’s right. There’s no need to worry about little Wendy’s health, Delta."

Otto said with a smile.

Delta’s murderous aura had been very strong just now. Durandal could be careless and turn a blind eye, but Otto couldn’t. He had to find a way to build a bridge so that his trump cards wouldn’t fall apart before the last moment, which would not be ideal.

"Yeah."

Delta’s indifferent response came from the other end of the screen, and it was unclear whether she had calmed down.

Rita looked at Durandal and saw that she was staring at Wendy’s crawling figure with eyes full of appreciation and expectation. Then Rita patted her forehead, her plump lips slightly open, and sighed helplessly.

'Think of another way. Lord Delta is usually easy to get along with and doesn’t mind much. But it’s different with Lady Wendy... How can I help Lady Durandal so that Lady Wendy and Lady Delta won’t hold a grudge?'

The Herrscher of Astringency reached out and brushed across her round and delicate white thighs, took out a notebook from the beautiful maid’s skirt, and began to think about how to manage the relationship between colleagues for Durandal. Lady Durandal is no longer the only monster. For the safety of the future battlefield and the possible election of the next archbishop, the emotional relationship between peers must be maintained.

'Well, the person who tied the bell must be the one to untie it. It seems we have to find a breakthrough with Lady Wendy. Fortunately, she is easy to get along with in the common sense, so it might not be so complicated.'

The charming and astringent maid, with a sly look flashing in her eyes, slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

---

Chapter 268 Delta's Wholehearted Devotion

Wrapped in the warm quilt, she felt a soft, warm, and comfortable presence beside me, and she could smell the faint scent of alcohol and medicine in the air.

Wendy opened her blank eyes on the bed, and for a short time, her mind was confused and empty.

"Zzz~~"

A familiar sound of deep sleep came from beside her.

Wendy subconsciously turned her head to look over.

The characteristic upper and lower eyelids of Delta, her white, tender face with a little baby fat, and her long blue hair, which flowed like clear and bright water, fell freely on the pillow. She was holding the corner of the quilt, her chest rising and falling peacefully. One could imagine how sweet her sleep was.

"Pfft!"

Wendy couldn’t help laughing, but at the same time, she felt completely at ease.

"This is the infirmary, right? I remember completing my mission to the end, crawling to the exit, and then... you caught me?"

"Zzz~~"

Wendy tried hard to recall the events from that time, but Delta still appeared to be in a deep sleep.

Wendy wasn’t annoyed. She climbed out of bed and sat up skillfully in a way that wouldn’t disturb Delta at all.

She reached out and gently brushed away the strands of black hair on Delta’s forehead.

Then, she turned to the thermos cup with the salted fish logo on the table, unscrewed it, and poured out the usual wolfberry hot tea.

"Sip~~"

The sweet and warm taste soothed her throat, instantly quenching her thirst. It seemed to awaken her body, making her feel much more comfortable.

Wendy squinted in enjoyment, lazily leaning back against the wall, trying to piece together her thoughts from before she had fainted.

"Hey, are you awake?"

At that moment, a "salted fish" lifted a corner of the eye mask with one hand and looked at Wendy from the side.

Wendy turned her head, reached out, gently pulled the eye mask up, and then let go of it.

"Snap!"

"Ah!!!"

In truth, the force of the eye mask was very light. Even for a normal person, let alone the Herrscher of Wind, it wouldn’t have hurt much. Yet, Delta still covered her face with both hands and let out a tragic wail.

Wendy twitched the corners of her mouth and shook her head with a smile.

"I’ve never seen you scream when you’re really hurt. Why are you screaming so realistically now?"

"Because I have no defenses against Wendy! Isn’t it natural to get hurt?"

"...You're talking nonsense again!"

Wendy scratched her warm cheeks, suppressing the sweetness and joy bubbling up inside her at that moment. Then, she showed a helpless and melancholy expression.

"How come you can always... can... ah, you’re so skilled. Have you practiced this with many people in secret?"

"I love you wholeheartedly! How can you doubt me? I’m hurt! I want revenge on the world!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Don’t try that. Okay, I’m sorry. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have joked like that."

Wendy hurriedly picked Delta up, hugged her in her arms, and gently stroked her head.

Everyone knew Delta only cared about Wendy.

Even when the Herrscher experiment went berserk, she regained her sanity because of Wendy’s call. Otto himself would have to give a thumbs up to that kind of devotion.

Although it was just a casual joke, Wendy realized questioning such feelings really hurt Delta, and she felt guilty.

After all, Delta's past experiences had been so twisted, and her personality was extremely simple. Wendy thought of herself as more mature and stable than Delta, so she believed it was her duty to take good care of this cute little salted fish.

Wendy reflected on her words while comforting Delta.

Delta squinted in comfort under Wendy’s caress, hiding the guilty light in her eyes—yes, Delta was devoted to little Wendy. She didn’t sweet-talk other girls! Technically, it wasn't "her" so its fine, right?

......

Tachibana Yuki: "Achoo!"

Ji Lin: "Achoo!"

Jackal: "Achoo!"

Angels: "Achoo!!!" × N

......

"Huh? Why are you quiet? Are you really angry?"

"No... no..."

"Okay, okay, I won’t joke like that again. Don’t be mad."

Wendy interpreted Delta's guilty conscience as unhappiness. After frowning in distress, she took a deep breath, made up her mind, and leaned down to kiss Delta’s soft, pale face, like a boiled egg.

"I’m sorry. Will you forgive me?"

It was like coaxing a child—more like coaxing her little lover.

Wendy’s eyes smiled, rippling with a soft, enchanting light that could make anyone fall in love instantly and never want to escape.

Delta covered her face, hiding her flushed cheeks, and softly replied:

"No... I don’t blame you..."

My God, when did she learn this combo? The critical hit and burst damage are maxed out! Delta’s heart was about to melt from that.

Their eyes met. Wendy smiled while Delta grew shy.

A subtle and ambiguous atmosphere quietly filled the air. The faint fragrance of flowers and oranges replaced the smell of medicine and alcohol.

After a while, Delta couldn’t stand it anymore, her body feeling too soft and weak. Wendy also felt a sudden warm, which wasn’t good.

So, they both stopped staring at each other.

"Ahem!"

Wendy coughed awkwardly, cooling the abnormal warmth on her face and changing the topic to something more serious.

"Um, did you follow my assessment task the whole time?"

"Yes."

"How can the assessment be like this? You are too... too..."

Wendy wanted to say it was nonsense, but she knew this was Delta's way of showing concern for her, and she couldn’t blame her. In the end, she sighed in frustration, pinched Delta's cheek, and stopped talking.

Delta chuckled and said lazily:

"I’ve negotiated with them. Don’t worry. I just watched and didn’t interfere. It won’t affect your grades."

"Should I praise you for being smart?"

"Hehe, it doesn’t matter if you praise me more. I like hearing it."

"Do you really think I’ll praise you?"

Wendy didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She held Delta’s cheek and rubbed it hard.

It felt great. It cured Wendy's little worries in an instant. She exhaled briskly and said:

"Ha! How did I do on the test?"

"You passed, absolutely."

"Well, that’s okay. I was still a bit careless. Did the doctor tell me what kind of poison I was exposed to?"

"It’s a drug that removes Honkai energy from living organisms. Schicksal is also developing related drugs and weapons, but they haven’t been mass-produced yet. The doctor said you were actually lucky. The Honkai energy was eliminated for several days, and your body’s self-healing ability was restored. All the hidden injuries you had accumulated due to Honkai energy have been significantly alleviated. They said this is a rare case and has great potential for future relief and treatment of Valkyries suffering from Honkai energy erosion."

Delta explained seriously, but it was hard to hide the pride in her heart.

Hehe, she did it all, amazing, right?

Wendy blinked thoughtfully, raised her hand, and clenched her fist.

"I see. No wonder I feel so much lighter. It’s not just my imagination?"

"Your hidden injuries have been relieved, and in time, your physical fitness and reaction abilities will improve significantly. Plus, you’ll live longer. Are you happy?"

"It’s so-so. I almost thought I was going to die back then."

"No, I was watching from the side!"

Delta puffed up her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

What do you mean by dying? Are you questioning my professionalism? That would never happen!

Wendy simply saw this as Delta’s way of showing concern, so she smiled softly and pulled Delta tightly into her arms, as if she wanted to merge with her and never let go.

"Ha..."

Wendy sighed with satisfaction. At that moment, she just wanted to immerse herself in Delta’s soft fragrance, fill her heart, and forget everything else.

After walking through the gates of hell, she realized even more that she couldn’t live without Delta, and Delta couldn’t live without her either. And this feeling was comforting and reassuring.

...

"Honkai beast transformation, Honkai beast gene editing, Zombie MANTIS experiments, Zombie mutation technology, and Honkai energy serum weapons that align with my ideas... Why was so much valuable data placed in that location and ended up in my hands?"

In the low-key and elegant archbishop's office, Otto looked at the contents of the data box Wendy had brought back. He leaned back, crossed his legs, and frowned as he pondered.

"I won’t deny the defenses were quite strict. Without an S-rank Valkyrie, it might not have been obtained. But compared to such complete and precious technical data, the defense was simply child's play. Was it left there deliberately?"

"What are you thinking, World Serpent?"

It didn’t make sense.

If Otto were to store data of this importance, Wendy wouldn’t have been able to touch it even if she died trying.

Otto didn’t believe the World Serpent’s methods could surpass his own, but they were certainly not far behind.

So, this was strange, as if the information had been deliberately handed to him.

"Is it... a deal?"

Otto then understood something.

If it was a deal, then it made sense.

The current trend was that two great powers were joining forces to fight against an ancient malice. To put it simply, Shamash’s combat power was terrifying, and the World Serpent’s ability to detonate cities at any time was too inhumane. As a result, Schicksal and Anti-Entropy had reached a tacit understanding: everyone would deal with the World Serpent together.

It didn’t matter what people truly thought or what plans Otto had, or even how Cocolia secretly communicated with Gray Serpent. On the surface, this was the understanding.

Thus, it was understandable that the World Serpent would use such a subtle method to send technology, signaling the intention of a deal.

"Aren’t they afraid I’ll take the bait without fulfilling my part? And what would they want in exchange for such precious technological achievements?"

Otto considered the treasures in his possession.

There was no way he’d hand over the Cosmic Juggernaut. The Herrscher Gem was also too useful.

Did they want Jizo Mitama? That was impossible; he would never sell Yae Sakura!

Then, the Oath of Judah? No, that was off the table too.

Money? Resources? No, the World Serpent wouldn’t trade priceless knowledge for such mundane things.

Or perhaps they were planning something big and wanted to borrow Schicksal’s power?

If he thought about it carefully, there were many possibilities. Until the World Serpent made an actual offer, Otto couldn’t say what the deal would entail.

"Amber, copy the data and send it to Nagamitsu. Have her pick out the parts we need most urgently and start applying them as soon as possible."

"Yes."

"In addition, monitor any unusual events happening within Schicksal itself recently. Notify me of anything strange immediately."

"Yes, Lord Otto!"

Miss Amber, the all-purpose housekeeper, agreed. There wasn’t much to worry about; Otto would remain calm in the face of any changes.

Otto sighed in relief, squinted lazily, and planned to take the opportunity to do nothing.

"Bang!"

A pile of heavy documents suddenly landed on the desk in front of him.

"What is this?"

"Your work, Lord Otto."

"Hey! I thought we were just discussing whether there was room for compromise. What I meant was we shouldn’t handle things so simply and crudely. The key issue is..."

While Otto calmly made an impassioned gesture of pointing out the world, he casually moved toward the door of the office.

"Click!"

Yae Sakura, who had appeared at some point, stood at the door, smiled, and locked it.

Otto’s impassioned speech stopped abruptly.

In front of him was Yae Sakura, smiling gently with a hint of affection, and behind him was Amber who was expressionless.

The smile disappeared from Otto’s face.

----

Chapter 269: The Monster that Creates Monsters

"Hello? Hello? Is this Gray Serpent?"

"...You are calling my exclusive signal channel," Gray Serpent calmly reminded.

Who else could this unlucky person contact by calling their own exclusive signal? Could it be the Lord or the great Dr. Mobius?

"Tsk!"

Jackal on the other side of the communicator made a bored tsk sound and then questioned in a casual voice:

"I just wanted to tell you that the items have been sent out. Really, I wasted a base and gave away so many results for nothing. Except for a hasty test of the efficacy of the gaseous serum variant medicine, I lost everything. What's even more regrettable is that the Ideal Fluid completely blocked the penetration of the drug, so I couldn't see its effect on the Herrscher... Forget it, let's not talk about that. The question is, are you sure Otto will understand what we mean?"

"He's a smart man; he'll understand. Anyway, the chips have been given to him. If nothing goes wrong, he shouldn't interfere with us."

"What if he doesn’t acknowledge it?"

"Then please ask Lord Shamash to take action," Gray Serpent calmly played his trump card.

Showing goodwill to Otto is not about avoiding too many conflicts with this era before Project Bunny is launched, but it's certainly not out of fear. If Otto doesn’t know what’s good for him, the Serpent naturally has ways to show him.

Jackal repeated the statement in a sarcastic tone:

"Then please ask Lord Shamash to help~~ Hey, I’m not criticizing you, but this really sounds like a primary school student crying and running home to their mother after being bullied."

"...Are you done yet? Anyway, since the chips have been given, the next step is to take Benares. What do you need?"

"A team of elites with quick hands and feet will suffice. Oh, and by the way, send your little crow to me, so she won't just laze around at home and get fat—that won’t be a good look."

"Okay, I'll arrange it. But remember, Lord Shamash agreed to your plan because Benares really needs your transformation. You'd better not disappoint the Lord."

A busy tone suddenly came from the communicator.

Gray Serpent shook his head, feeling at ease.

Jackal is willful, self-centered, and unruly, but her mind and abilities are still excellent. It’s enough to remind her not to indulge too much. The real question is whether Otto can understand.

…

At the headquarters of Schicksal, the city in the sky shrouded in clouds and mist.

In the few days since receiving the World Serpent's gift package, everything had been calm, and Schicksal was operating in an orderly fashion.

But this morning, Amber suddenly walked into the Archbishop’s office with hurried footsteps.

"Lord Otto, the Siberia 147 Laboratory has lost contact!" Amber said in a slightly anxious voice and placed the incident report on the table.

Otto, who had just hidden his game console at the speed of light, was stunned.

"Siberia 147, the dragon Benares?"

"Yes, since about two hours ago, the 147 base guarding the dragon Benares has lost its signal. After repeated inspections and reconnection failures, the technicians reported the situation to me. Since Lord Otto reminded us to pay attention to unusual dynamics a few days ago, I thought I should..."

Otto waved Amber to stop the verbal report and picked up the record report to read it carefully.

After a moment, he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully:

"The signal disappeared suddenly, and there were no abnormal Honkai energy fluctuation reactions before the disconnection... Amber, check the Honkai energy satellite monitoring data for this area over the past two hours."

"Yes!"

Amber quickly took out her tablet, converted the data into charts, and placed them in front of Otto.

Otto swiped through the data, memorizing it all in his mind. After a moment of hesitation, he smiled knowingly.

"If the disconnection wasn't caused by Benares' awakening, then there must have been external interference. So, they want to trade for Benares? That’s a bit of a headache."

As long as the Judgment-class Honkai beast isn’t a super-sized monster like Chiyou, it’s not worth too much consideration.

But this is Sirin's dependent!

Benares may not play a direct role in his plan, but it’s far from worthless.

If the World Serpent wants to exchange for this, then it’s something to think about.

"Go see if Sakura is up. If not, wake her up and tell her I have an urgent mission."

"Yes, Bishop!"

...

At the same time, deep in cold Siberia, a delicate, slender hand gently tapped the iceberg that imprisoned the giant dragon beast. Sharp nails brushed past, leaving clear claw marks on the surface of the ice.

"The Judgment-class Honkai Beast seems to have a history of accommodating the power of the Herrscher. It's very interesting. And it's very beautiful. I like it."

Jackal tapped on the ice with her crystal-like nails, revealing a dangerous yet beautiful smile.

Step!

Raven who wore her customary black feather cloak and tight combat uniform, approached Jackal while brushing snowflakes off her body.

"It’s been cleaned inside and out, no one escaped. But are we really not killing anyone? No damage to the base, no harm to human lives, and we even put them to sleep in the dormitory area. This doesn’t seem like the doctor’s style, right?"

"Oh? Then what do you think my style is, little crow?"

"From what I know, the doctor should make a gesture to seal our mouths and then smile and tell us to execute."

"It seems you still don’t understand me. For the mission of the Serpent, I don't care about sacrifices, but I won’t deliberately take human lives without reason. These are two different things, little crow."

Jackal came back to her senses and looked up and down at the curvaceous and plump Raven with an admiring glance, a charming smile forming at the corner of her mouth.

Raven felt uneasy under her gaze but didn’t dare to run, so she reluctantly showed an awkward smile to please.

"Alas, asking such a question shows that you’re still a bit naive."

"Ah?"

"We are making a deal with Otto. A deal is not a feud, understand?"

"I understand."

Raven was just too lazy to think about the inside story that didn’t concern her, but she wasn’t actually stupid.

When Jackal reminded her, Raven understood instantly.

Not killing anyone and not causing damage was a gesture of goodwill, a reminder to Otto, and a convenient way for him to save face. If things got too messy, Otto might feel embarrassed or angry and refuse to cooperate. Then the early gift package would have been wasted.

This wasn’t important. After chatting for a while longer, the professionals who accompanied them removed all the restraints and monitoring devices from the iceberg.

Jackal raised her hand and snapped her fingers lightly.

"Da!"

As if receiving some command, in the distance covered by the blizzard, a massive shape rumbled down from above.

It was a modified Honkai beast that resembled a giant bird, with enormous wings that defied the wind and snow. It dropped tentacle-like limbs from the air, wrapping tightly around the iceberg, and then slowly lifted it up.

"Boom!"

The iceberg moved, bringing a roar and vibration from the earth.

Raven raised her hand to gently shield himself from the powerful wind and sighed silently.

'What a terrifying monster...'

The Honkai beast is a monster, but Jackal is an even more terrifying monster—the one who creates monsters.

----

hapter 270: Do You Think You're Worth That Price?*

"Are you ready, Sakura?"

"Well, the previous experiments went well. I think I should be fine."

Yae Sakura patted her chest slightly nervously and, in front of Otto, inserted the Jizo Mitama into a rocket that was ready to launch but without ammunition.

The next second, her figure turned into a black mist and blended into the rocket silently. Jizo Mitama itself also disappeared without a trace, leaving no mark on the rocket.

"Thanks a lot."

"It's... not bad..."

Hearing Yae Sakura's uneasy voice coming from the rocket, Otto shook his head with a smile, turned around, and waved his hand to launch the rocket.

This was Otto’s latest method of using Yae Sakura—the rocket transportation method.

In Otto's view, Yae Sakura's true form is actually the Jizo Mitama, and the essence of Jizo Mitama is the ever-changing soulium and invisible corruption power. Therefore, turning reality into imaginary and integrating it into a vehicle to achieve maximum transportation speed is an excellent choice in emergencies.

Except that it is a bit inconsistent with the temperament of a beautiful girl, it perfectly exemplifies simplicity.

Right now, this is also the fastest way to deliver top-notch combat power to the Siberian 147 base.

"Boom!"

The rocket soared high with a powerful tail flame, quickly heading towards the horizon.

At the edge of the platform, Durandal raised her hand as if looking into the distance, watching her comrades leave. Suddenly, her big eyes, as clear as glacier water, lit up.

"Master Bishop, I suddenly remembered that I can actually hold a rocket and launch it!"

Durandal, imitating the rocket launch, found her own new way of transportation.

Rita: “(‾◡◝)?”

Otto: "(ˉ▽ˉ;)..."

The "heroic image" of Durandal clinging to a rocket with all four limbs while soaring through the sky vividly appeared in their minds. It was indeed picturesque.

And, to be honest, it was feasible. For most people, it would be suicide, but as for Durandal, no one doubted that she had the physical strength and courage to cross a hemisphere with a rocket in her arms.

The only issue was that the image might be too ridiculous, undermining the noble image of Tianming.

"Lord Durandal, what does Rita think of this suggestion... Well, what do you think, Overseer?"

"Huh? Me? I think... um... that..."

The two hesitated, hoping the other would speak up to extinguish Durandal’s current enthusiasm.

However, everyone knew that once Durandal came up with an idea, it would be difficult for even a Herrscher to pull her back, no matter how reasonable their argument.

"How about we start right away! We still have plenty of rocket reserves here at headquarters. Just bring one over and send me to fight alongside Sakura!"

Rita: "Ahem! Hello? Oh, Lady Theresa, what’s the matter? Okay, okay..."

Otto: "Hey, my dear granddaughter, what brings you to call me today? What? You need funds? Please tell me the details..."

The excited Durandal could only watch blankly as Rita and Otto both answered their phones and walked away, deep in conversation.

"You two received a call from the same person?"

Durandal tilted her head in confusion.

In short, Durandal did not manage to catch up with Yae Sakura by holding a rocket.

However, the extreme rocket vehicle dedicated to Durandal was officially approved and entered the design and development stage. But those are matters for later, so we won’t mention them now.

……

The original Jackal was proficient in Honkai transformation technology, or Honkai energy biological transformation technology, which earned her an important chief scientist position in the World Serpent.

[Angel]Jackal naturally carried forward these traditional skills.

As the Herrscher of Dominance, she had an absolute advantage that no genius could match in terms of transforming and controlling Honkai creatures—an innate ability to dominate and fuse Honkai creatures.

Thus, the World Serpent team, led by Raven, was fortunate enough to witness their boss wave her fingers as gracefully and freely as a conductor, while enormous birds and beasts danced at her command.

"Boom!!!"

The black wings that blotted out the sky smoothed the wind and snow, and the hard tentacle-like limbs wrapped around the iceberg. Amidst the loud rumbling, they finally understood why there was no giant transport plane to accompany the demon dragon Benares.

The absurd reality of a human commanding Honkai beasts shocked the agents who already understood Honkai.

"...By the way, if you already have such a large Honkai beast, why did we go to all this trouble to find Benares?" Raven didn’t understand.

She knew that the Lord needed to replenish his nutrition. Although it seemed unnatural to eat Honkai beasts, it still complied with the law of conservation of energy.

The problem was that Jackal had created such a massive Honkai beast, so why not just put it on Kevin’s table? Why take such a long detour to find Benares, who is controlled by Destiny?

It wasn’t that she was being passive or upset because she had gone all the way to Siberia for this mission; it was just pure curiosity. Yes, just curiosity!

Jackal turned around and looked at Raven, who had a bit of resentment in her eyes, as if looking at a simple and cute little fool.

"Mortal wisdom."

"Well, you don’t have to explain if you don’t want to. I don’t really care anyway... as long as the year-end bonus is in place."

"The birth of a Judgment-class Honkai beast requires special conditions. Based on current research, I’m afraid only Honkai itself can provide such special qualities. The Honkai beast I created may look large, but its maximum Honkai energy strength can only reach that of a Honkai Emperor. It’s impossible to reach the Judgment level. At this stage, creating a Judgment-class beast is out of the question."

"Oh."

Raven curled her lips, her response a bit perfunctory.

As she had said, it was just a random question, something to fill the time. She was paid to get the job done and didn't concern herself with other matters.

Jackal shook her head thoughtfully.

"Honkai doesn’t care about your position or choices. It’s just a disaster that equally destroys entire civilizations. No one can escape it."

"...Doctor, are you preaching to me?"

"I wouldn’t call it that. Project Stigma is similar in nature. It ignores positions and treats everyone equally. You can do whatever you want, but neither Honkai nor the Serpent's plan can be stopped."

Raven remained indifferent, but Jackal was even more so.

For a moment, Raven felt cornered.

Finding a small island far away from society, living a peaceful and stable life with the children she had taken in from Nagazora City—that was Raven's current wish.

But she understood what Jackal was implying. Her wish essentially stemmed from recognizing her own weakness and powerlessness, leading her to try to escape. But when it came to the likes of Honkai Impact and Project Stigma, could she really escape? Could she truly protect those children?

"Hmm..."

The faces of that sensible, though sometimes not-so-cute child, and the dozen other orphans in the "nest" who relied on drugs to survive, appeared one by one in her mind.

Raven hadn’t thought about these difficult issues in a long time.

"Damn woman, you've messed with my state of mind," she muttered quietly.

However, once the thought was triggered, it wouldn’t go away so easily.

She looked at Jackal’s tall, aloof figure, exuding an aura that only the strong possess, as if she could handle any threat that came her way. In moments of crisis, such a person was undeniably someone worth relying on.

So, Raven stepped closer and said:

"Um, Doctor, I heard you've developed a drug that can eliminate Honkai disease?"

"That's right. With reference to the product Cocolia completed, we’ve indeed reproduced the medicine that the previous era dreamed of. However, it’s based on the Stigmata. By regulating certain functions of the Stigmata gene, the human body can harmlessly reject Honkai energy. It’s miraculous for those who can activate the Stigmata, but for those who can’t manifest it, they must use it over a long period for it to be effective."

Seemingly due to the professional topic, Jackal showed some patience and carefully explained the principles and effects of the drug.

Raven’s eyes lit up.

The reason the children from the "Nest" survived the collapse of Nagazora City was that they had all activated the Stigmata in the high-concentration Honkai energy environment, though the degree of completeness varied.

"What about those with incomplete Stigmata?"

"It doesn’t matter whether it’s complete or not. As long as they’ve triggered the Stigmata, it means their genes carry enough Stigmata components. The drug’s efficacy is guaranteed."

"Then how can I apply for the medicine?"

"For the children you adopted?"

Jackal turned to face her, her golden eyes half-smiling, like a predator eyeing its prey.

Raven’s heart skipped a beat.

‘What now? She found my weak spot.’

Raven knew of Jackal’s particular inclinations.

Raven herself didn’t share that hobby, but having seen much of society’s dark side, she wasn’t that innocent girl anymore, and her resistance, if necessary, wasn’t that strong. To be honest, if it meant getting the medicine that could save the children, offering herself to Jackal wasn’t entirely out of the question.

Raven hesitated for a moment, slowly making up her mind.

"Hey, what’s with that stupid expression?"

"It’s nothing, Doctor. I want to get the medicine that can cure them. What will it cost?"

"What, do you think I’d ask you to sell your body? I admit you’re good-looking, but in the end, you’re just a pile of carbohydrates and fat. How much do you think you’re worth?"

Jackal looked Raven up and down with a mocking smile, as if sizing up a fool unaware of their insignificance. Her eyes were filled with disbelief, as if saying, how dare you.

Raven’s smile stiffened.

Meanwhile, Jackal’s grin widened.

To be honest, Angel wasn’t that desperate. She wasn’t the kind of predatory person who took interest in anyone who came her way. Her past experiences were due to circumstance, naturally playing their roles. As for Raven, teasing her during free moments was just casual fun. Jackal didn’t seriously consider taking it further.

Gray Serpent's database was a treasure trove, and every day new discoveries could be unearthed. Studying how to evolve herself was far more intriguing than a mere fling with Raven.

Besides, Angel’s affections weren’t so cheap that she’d give them out easily, even if Raven was a prominent character in the story.

---

Chapter 271: Do you really think I'm afraid of you...

Raven thought she had stopped caring about trivial matters like pride.

As a legendary mercenary who had seen many ups and downs, she had killed people, dealt with Honkai beasts, and even faced the two behemoths, Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, more than once or twice. Unlike those Saint Freya students who had never left their Ivory Tower, Raven believed she had been hardened long ago.

Was there really anything left in the world that could embarrass her?

Reality proved there was.

For example, when Dr. Jackal stared at her with a surprised look that seemed to say, How dare you.

"I-I-I... I'm not... you..."

Raven had read many books and experienced many things, but she was still overwhelmed at that moment. It was just that simple.

Besides, she hadn't said the strange thoughts in her heart out loud!

"Don't make up stories! I didn't say anything!"

Miss Raven blushed, struggling to resist the urge to turn around and flee or, failing that, use her toes to dig a three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment into the ground.

Jackal nodded, with a faint expression of knowing everything.

"Oh."

"Oh my god! I wasn't thinking of that... that kind of random thing! I meant, how much money do you want!?"

"I'm not short of money."

"Then I can work for you, right? I'm top-notch at intelligence gathering, infiltration, and assassination!"

Raven tried hard to deny the embarrassing thoughts of that moment while also focusing on obtaining the crucial medicine.

Jackal raised her hand and gently pinched Raven's delicate chin, her fingers as light as petals. Jackal's tense, serious expression gave way as she affirmed.

"You're anxious."

"Who's anxious? Who's anxious? I'm perfectly calm!"

"Pfft!"

"You laugh like a teapot boiling over!"

Raven stomped her foot, leaving a solid footprint on the steel floor. She turned away with a dark expression, her footsteps sounding hurried and unsteady.

Jackal stood there, watching Raven's slender waist and plump figure, which appeared and disappeared under her fluttering cloak, and slowly smiled.

'How interesting~~'

'You're so boring. You have no interests, yet you always tease her.'

'I'm just bored. Besides, isn't she happy to receive money? I've helped her secure a lot of opportunities, and the funds for that island villa are growing more abundant. It's a win-win situation.'

'Alright, stop indulging your bad habits and get to work.'

Raven's issue was quickly forgotten in Angel's network.

Jackal then looked up, gazing into the distance, her golden eyes seeming to pierce the wind and snow, watching the rocket rushing toward them.

...

"Have you cleaned up everything?"

"Lady Raven, everything has been taken care of."

"Alright, I trust in your expertise. Benares has packed up, and we're ready to retreat when the doctor arrives. Stay alert. Schicksal isn't a slow and clumsy opponent; this may not go smoothly, and obstacles could be approaching."

"Yes!"

The respectful obedience of the World Serpent members toward their senior officer eased Raven's frazzled mood a little.

It's not that she liked being domineering, but at least work could serve as a distraction, allowing her to ignore the embarrassing incident and pretend it never happened.

"Whew——"

The wind and snow blew fiercely, and a strong gust forced Raven to raise her hand to cover her eyes.

And at that moment, through the gap between her fingers, she vaguely saw a flash of gold.

It was the golden pendant worn by Jackal on her chest, and beneath it was skin as delicate as the breasts it adorned.

Raven sighed, lowered her hand, and gestured to the team behind her.

"Let's go, we're retreating."

The team quickly packed up their armored off-road vehicles, started the engines, and prepared to evacuate with the senior officers.

Raven watched Jackal approach her step by step, her gait casual yet elegant.

Suddenly, Raven saw Jackal look up at the sky, frowning, with a sharp glint flashing in her golden eyes.

"Doctor, what are you looking at?"

"It's coming."

"What's coming?"

"Find shelter and cover your ears."

Jackal didn't answer but passed by Raven, walking past the vehicles and to the front of the team.

Just as Raven started to feel uneasy,

"Boom!!!"

A high-speed object fell ahead, sending up thousands of piles of snow.

The armored vehicles, each weighing several tons, trembled, and most of the team members were thrown to the ground.

The only ones who managed to stay on their feet were Raven, who supported herself on an armored vehicle, and Jackal, who stood firmly at the front, unfazed by the snowstorm.

As soon as the impact dissipated, Raven rushed to Jackal's side, kneeling on one knee, positioning the Seven Thunders of Retribution in its sniper form.

"Doctor, is this a counterattack from Schicksal?"

"Possibly, but we can't just sit here and watch."

Jackal didn’t even turn her head, her calm tone brimming with confidence.

When the dust cleared, a barely recognizable rocket wreck lay in a crater. From its wreckage, a black mist emerged, filling the air.

After a while, a beast-eared priestess holding a red-and-black ominous sword slowly walked out of the darkness.

Raven’s pupils shrank—Yae Sakura, Schicksal's S-rank Valkyrie, with Herrscher-level combat abilities. She was an extremely dangerous opponent in a hostile state.

Raven maintained her sniper position, her finger instinctively moving closer to the trigger.

The dangerous Miko seemed uninterested in Raven's vigilance. She simply raised her white chin, exposing her elegant, swan-like neck, and her gentle purple eyes hinted at embarrassment.

"At this distance, a single cut should do it, right?"

The Miko muttered to herself, looking up at the giant bird-like Honkai beast and the glacier, which had risen over a thousand meters into the air. Her tone was soft, like that of a delicate girl next door, but no one could ignore the immense threat posed by this seemingly harmless Miko.

"I have no doubt you could, but if that happens, I'll be in a difficult position."

"Benares belongs to Schicksal. It was taken without permission. Is it wrong for us to reclaim it?"

"Stop! I don't have time to argue with you, a mere tool who follows the rules. Either let Otto speak to me directly about the rights to use it, or I'll leave."

"Alright. Mr. Otto did give such an order. Please wait."

Yae Sakura said politely, then pulled out a communicator she had carefully kept in her sleeve.

The signal connected, and Otto's calm and elegant voice soon came through the device.

"Good morning, esteemed guest from the World Serpent. Or should I say, long time no see, Dr. Jackal?"

"It has been a while. The soulium body taken from London was quite fascinating, but unfortunately, I dismantled it. Any chance I could see another one? I won't take it apart this time. I plan to keep it as a collectible."

"Doctor, your hobbies are quite unique."

"Thank you. It's mainly your craftsmanship. Aside from being a bit wasteful, I quite enjoyed it."

Their conversation was friendly but laced with sarcasm.

Then, almost simultaneously, both stopped smiling. "Dr. Jackal, Benares is of great importance to me. What you're doing puts me in a difficult position."

"Life is hard, Archbishop. Isn't there a way you can think of to resolve this? Otherwise, we'll both be in an awkward spot."

"Alas, I wish we could all get along, but I do have my own constraints in this matter. Serpent, can't you compromise and target something else?"

"Okay, okay, since the Archbishop of Schicksal said so, we’ll have to show respect. Although I like Benares very much, it's not a necessity."

"Thank you for your leniency."

"Don't thank me too soon. The real question is, do you have any other Judgment-class Honkai Beasts at your disposal?"

"..."

Otto was speechless.

Are you kidding me?

How could there possibly be so many Judgment-class Honkai Beasts? I'd be happy to provide one if Honkai could even create one or two more!

"Hey! I can offer information on Ninti."

"No thanks, she’s not suitable."

"Then I guess there's nothing more to discuss?"

"To be honest, I don't think you're at a loss here, so no, there's nothing more to discuss."

Jackal was referring to the research materials she had carefully selected and sent to Otto through Wendy.

Otto, being an expert, was of course well aware of their value.

The problem was that Benares was tied to Sirin, and that involved his broader plan. Its value far exceeded that of a mere Judgment-class Honkai Beast.

The atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

Yae Sakura slowly reached for the hilt of her sword, while Raven and the World Serpent's team gripped their weapons tightly. A conflict seemed imminent.

"Stop!" ×2

At the critical moment, Otto and Jackal simultaneously called for a ceasefire. Otto ordered Yae Sakura to stand down, while Jackal made a gesture to de-escalate the situation.

Jackal then shook her head and said:

"No one wants this to escalate. How about we both take a step back?"

"And how do we do that?"

"We can raise the price. Name your terms."

"You can raise the price, but since you initiated this, you'll need to show sincerity and convince me."

On the other end, Otto crossed his legs leisurely.

Benares was valuable, but not irreplaceable.

The price the World Serpent would offer was expected.

"How about the design details of the Divine Key?"

"No need."

Otto shook his head. His plan was nearing completion, and he didn’t have time to digest other technologies or build Divine Keys. These materials were indeed valuable, but their timing wasn’t right. They couldn’t serve his current needs.

"Then, how about information on the MANTIS?"

"No need."

Otto sighed. The reasoning was the same as before. "Otherwise, I could owe you a favor?"

"That sounds tempting, but how do I know you'll honor such a verbal agreement?"

"You're really troublesome. I don't know what you're after. If we keep talking in circles, this could go on forever. How about I send Lord Shamash to negotiate with you?"

"Hahaha, Dr. Jackal, you're quite humorous."

Are you threatening me?

I have Yae Sakura in my left hand, Durandal in my right, and a Herrscher of the Wind under my control. Do you really think I'm afraid of you?

Wait, did she say Shamash?

It seems I really can't beat her. I’ve already tried. Although it's not impossible to take down the ELF in a full-scale war, is it really worth it?

Otto decided to retreat strategically.

"I want access to the authority beacon for the 0th power of the Cosmic Juggernaut."

"If I had that authority, the Thousand Worlds One wouldn’t still be in your hands. At best, I can convince the Lord to grant you an opportunity to talk. Whether you can get him to agree depends on your persuasion skills."

"Deal."

"Huh? That's what you want?"

Jackal looked shocked, as if she couldn't believe that this condition was equivalent to the value of the previous offers.

Otto thought he had understood Jackal's values as a scientist, so he smiled and said:

"The value of something lies in the judgment of the one who seeks it, Dr. Jackal. I only want the opportunity to talk to him."

"Ah, well... okay. I don’t see it being a big issue. In theory, he will have to speak to you eventually."

With that, Yae Sakura let go of the hilt of her sword, smiled gently, and stepped back, allowing the convoy to pass.

As the convoy moved past Yae Sakura, Jackal who was inside the car exchanged a smile with the Miko outside, through the darkened glass. Their smiles were cordial and friendly. The World Serpent and its group soon disappeared into the snowstorm.

Yae Sakura was left standing alone in the biting cold. She suddenly tilted her head in confusion.

"By the way, the rocket is gone... how am I supposed to get back?"

The cold wind whistled, freezing her to the bone, but no one was there to answer her question.

Otto?

He was too busy negotiating terms with Kevin to worry about a Far Eastern Miko who posed no real threat, right?

---

Chapter 272: Let's Go, There's Not Enough Space for So Many People

"Mr. Otto, are you dissatisfied with the fact that I often cooperate with Miss Amber to urge you to work?"

Yae Sakura who managed to return in the headquarters a few days late, asked sadly while holding the tea that Otto handed over with a smile.

At the same time, Amber, who was waiting behind Otto, lowered her head slightly, staring at the back of Otto's head with cold eyes under the golden eye mask and frowned slightly.

Otto felt a chill inexplicably. His movements paused for a second, and then he smiled particularly brightly and said:

"How could it be? Managing such a large organization as Schicksal is very complicated. With your help, my work efficiency can keep up with the demand. I can't thank you enough! Sakura, look at my sincere eyes. Are they not full of gratitude for you?"

"That means I'm dissatisfied."

The pink animal ears of the Miko trembled, and her clear, soft eyes seemed to penetrate Otto's mask.

"Tsk!"

Otto curled his lips and said to himself, "It's troublesome."

Yae Sakura is getting more and more used to modern life and the duties of a Valkyrie, but at the same time, her intelligence is also increasingly revealed. If it's not a carefully prepared trick, it's easy to be seen through at a glance.

How did Kallen get such a beautiful and intelligent girl back then?

Oh, by the way, Kallen is a person who is consistent in appearance and heart. Even if she is seen through, she will only make people think she is more lovely. Unlike Otto, who hides the darkness, this is Kallen's advantage. It's okay then.

Otto was thinking of some nice words to comfort Yae Sakura and then heard her sighing.

"Alas, if it weren't for the base next to us that monitors Benares, I'm afraid I would have had to stand in the snow until I was completely buried by the wind and snow before I could wait for the plane to pick me up. After all, I don't know the way."

"Ahem! Speaking of which, little Theresa has been talking about your recent situation. Next time, I'll find a time to arrange for you to visit Saint Freya and meet those children you like. How about that?"

Otto decisively betrayed his granddaughter.

Yae Sakura blinked her eyes in a silly way, then looked at Otto with an indescribable, subtle look and spat out words like a sharp sword.

"Mr. Otto, you are so mean."

"Ahem!!!"

"Then I'll forgive Mr. Otto."

Yae Sakura stuck out her tongue, and her resentful expression was swept away, replaced by a little playfulness, as innocent and cute as a girl next door.

It's so funny; this is clearly a good thing. When dealing with outsiders who need to be guarded against and have value, you need to think carefully and take everything into consideration. When dealing with people who can be truly trusted, it is easy to neglect some details.

Otto's negligence and forgetfulness show that he has put Yae Sakura on a list different from most people in his heart. At least, compared with Delta, who is both used and guarded against, it must be a completely different kind of closeness.

Seeing the little Miko drinking tea with a gentle smile, Otto patted his chest exaggeratedly, with an exaggerated expression of relief, and said:

"That's great. Thank you for your magnanimity, Sakura."

"Puff! Mr. Otto, that's enough. There must be a limit to exaggeration."

"Haha, okay, let's talk about business. Sakura, after actual contact, what do you think of the World Serpent agents?"

Otto restrained his smile and asked seriously, trying to get more information. Yae Sakura also put away her joking expression, and after thinking seriously for a while, she slowly replied:

"That Dr. Jackal is very strong. I don't know how to describe it specifically, but I can feel her strength and confidence, so she should be difficult to deal with. As for the other Miss Raven, it can be seen that she is well-trained and has good psychological quality, but she is not difficult to deal with—well, it may be a bit rude to say, but I think she should be about the same level as Rita, right?"

It can be said to be quite vivid.

At least Otto understood the specific level of Raven immediately.

"Very strong, not easy to deal with... It seems that it is not on the same level as the two pure scientific researchers of Anti-Entropy."

Otto pondered and shook his head.

"Forget it, it doesn't matter. They are just pawns after all. What matters is the decision and action of their entire organization."

"That is, that Lord?"

"Yes, Kevin Kaslana, similar to Su you have seen, a pioneer left behind by the previous era. The difference is that, according to the information I can collect, Su is only a member of the previous civilization, while Kevin is the strongest of the previous civilization. Judging from the performance of Shamash, he is probably the strongest in the current civilization, so strong that there is no solution."

Otto sighed in distress.

This is called a scholar meeting a soldier. If the other party is stubborn enough, then nothing will work.

"Mr. Otto, are you distressed?"

"Of course. Theoretically, this monster should be stronger than Shamash, but what I need is in his hands. How can I not be distressed?"

"Well, although I don't understand it very well, just call me if you need it. I will try my best."

"Hehe, you can't beat him. You will be more powerless than when facing Shamash. Aren't you afraid?"

"You have to do your best even if you can't beat him. If you have been entangled by Mr. Otto, then there is really nothing you can do!"

Yae Sakura teased with a smile, but her soft eyes were full of seriousness.

Otto has no shortage of people who are willing to die for him, and he sincerely respects those brave people. But in the final analysis, they are not as good as the obsession in his heart, like traces of snow and mud, which disappear after they pass by and rarely leave a real mark in his heart.

But at this moment, he stared into Yae Sakura's eyes for a long time, revealing a brisk smile from the heart.

...

The North American headquarters of Anti-Entropy, with a very high level of mechanical automation. On this day, the roar of fighter planes came from far away. It should have been a normal scene of personnel exchanges, but almost all the most important people in the base appeared at the reception.

"Suck~~"

Yssring sat on a mobile stool with mechanical tentacles similar to Mobius that she had made not long ago, drinking coffee slowly, her head nodding, and the dark shadows around her eye sockets were so thick that people suspected she would fall asleep on the spot at any time.

"Ha~~"

Tesla also yawned.

These days, they have been busy with various re-examinations of The Deep, and they don't have much time to rest.

It's just that no one can get as involved as Dr. Yssring.

Tesla wiped the tears from her eyes, leaned her body, and leaned her elbow on Yssring's head.

"Can you hold on if you don't go to sleep? Is it necessary to rush over to pick up that woman? She is not a great person."

"As for Cocolia, she is narrow-minded. She may not remember who came to pick her up, but she will definitely remember who won't come."

"Small-minded? Hahaha, that's true... No, why are you afraid of her? We are protecting you now!"

"It's not that I'm afraid, it's that there's no need. It's very troublesome for Cocolia to be fussy."

Yssring rubbed her sleepy eyes and said sleepily. Seeing that Tesla still had a rebellious expression, Yssring naturally added the setting:

"Although Cocolia is overbearing and dictatorial, she is actually easy to get along with. As long as it makes sense, she will continuously send funds, materials, equipment, and manpower. The only bad thing is that she likes to control me. I have to listen to her when to sleep and rest. If I violate it, she will knock me out at the least, or shut down my equipment at the worst... Alas, I have reported it many times, but she just can't understand the difficulties of researchers. Every time she say I will have to listen to her."

Yssring implements her character of a fanatical scientist who doesn't care about her life.

After Tesla was silent for a moment, she said woodenly:

"Although it's rare, I feel she's right this time."

"Eh? Dr. Tesla, how can you say that? Don't you understand the value of inspiration and the importance of coherent thinking?"

"Don't look at me with that condemning look! You are the one who is so unreasonable, Yssring! No matter how precious the inspiration is, it's useless if you ruin your body!"

"Dr. Tesla, I thought you and Dr. Einstein would understand me, but it seems you also have the flaws of mediocrity!"

Yssring puffed up her cheeks and stared at Tesla and Einstein with a look of grief.

Einstein silently looked away. She had already understood Yssring's abnormality and, on this issue, had simply given up the argument. Anyway, Ninti's tail worked well, so let it be.

Tesla raised her eyebrows unhappily and grabbed Yssring's face.

"Mediocrity? Are you challenging the IQ of this genius? Don't forget who helped you solve 1,200 engineering problems these days!"

"Even if... even if violence is used! I still stick to my point of view! Inspiration and coherence are the most important. As for the body, just take some refreshing things. Anyway, sooner or later, you will have a long sleep. Why sleep now!?"

"Believe it or not, I'm here now... Hey, we're here!"

The two people's fight came to an abrupt end with the sound of the fighter plane landing.

A group of people started to meet it.

In the noisy wind and waves, the ruler of Siberia, the master of the East Shenzou Sea Base, the half-emperor of the Far East, the most powerful executor of the Anti-Entropy Organization, the controller of Anti-Entropy Wealth, Ninti's adoptive mother, the great Ms. Cocolia, walked down the plane elegantly.

---

Chapter 273: Why Does It Look Like a Welcome?

The fallen leaves conveyed the message that the wise and powerful Lord Cocolia had arrived at her most loyal Anti-Entropy headquarters.

"Mom!"

Ninti immediately approached her and took Cocolia's hand.

Cocolia smiled slightly, removed the cloak from her shoulders, and gently draped it over the other side.

Yssring, having appeared on this side without notice, raised her hands and naturally caught the falling cloak.

Ninti's hand seemed to support Cocolia, like a little princess supporting the empress dowager.

The wind tousled the golden, dazzling curls, and the purple gem earrings swayed slightly, highlighting her proud snow-white complexion and deep-set eyes.

Supported by Ninti on her right and Yssring, who was holding the cloak and slightly bowing her head, on her left, Cocolia walked with elegance and confidence, exuding an unspoken strength and arrogance that overshadowed the greeter’s aura.

"…"

Faced with this scene, the three Anti-Entropy giants, along with Siegfried, who had come to join them, all twitched their lips.

Are we ministers welcoming the queen?

The real leader is clearly standing here!

However, they were not concerned with details, so they overlooked the reversal of priorities.

Even Einstein, the highest in IQ and EQ among the four, saw Cocolia as a trustworthy ally after her recent efforts to improve her image. Thus, she did not dwell on negative thoughts.

Unbeknownst to them, such a scene would soon be passed on to other executors and even senior figures outside of Anti-Entropy through the airport staff, further consolidating Cocolia’s authority and status.

It might seem like a trivial maneuver, but over time, the difference between doing it and not doing it is significant, and Angel understood this truth.

"It's been a while since we last met. Are you used to the new working mode at the headquarters, leader?"

"Yes, it's good. I find that many things are clear now, which saves a lot of trouble."

"That’s good, but don't be careless. The leader is the leader, after all. Your judgment and decision-making often shape the changes within the organization… The world is becoming increasingly turbulent. Don’t let us down."

"Okay, I understand."

Welt smiled bitterly and shook his head. For a moment, he didn’t know what to think.

But Cocolia’s skills and intellect were undoubtedly superior to his. Such a condescending suggestion left him speechless.

Cocolia then turned to Einstein and Tesla, smiling warmly.

"Look at how tired you two doctors are. You must have worked hard for a long time. We don’t need to rush. I also need some time to check on the leader’s current status and see if any adjustments are needed. You two should rest for a while and not overwork yourselves."

"Thank you so much, Cocolia."

"Hey! Why are you suddenly so friendly? I feel a bit uneasy. Are you planning something unpleasant for us?"

Einstein responded to Cocolia's friendliness politely, while Tesla evidently had a different thought process and manner of speaking.

The smile on Cocolia’s face vanished.

"Regarding the funding for Arahato…"

"Ahem! I mean, it’s great. I just need a break!"

"Dr. Tesla, if you can’t express yourself clearly, I suggest hiring a translator with a pleasant voice in the future. Spending some money on that isn’t shameful."

"…"

The generous research funding overwhelmed Tesla’s dissatisfaction. In the presence of a generous sponsor, even the most unruly scientists would rarely display a bad temper.

At that moment, Yssring suddenly raised her head and loudly retorted:

"No! The experiment must continue! It has taken too long to wait for you to arrive. If you…"

"Bang!"

"Ugh!"

Cocolia’s skillful hand strike sent Yssring into a sweet slumber instantly.

(´ཀ`」 ∠)

Well, it’s very sweet, except that the coffee flowing from the corner of her mouth is a bit undignified.

Ninti used her tail to support Yssring’s fallen body, took the cloak from her hand, and then looked up at Cocolia with sparkling eyes.

Cocolia raised her hand and touched Ninti’s head, showing a doting and approving smile.

The deep affection between mother and daughter was beyond words.

Einstein and Tesla were simultaneously envious—damn, why were they one step behind at the beginning!

The "chickling" effect makes it hard to catch up if you’re one step slower!

The two doctors gritted their teeth in frustration.

After showcasing her deep mother-daughter affection, Cocolia glanced at Siegfried and saw his expression soften instantly, so she asked casually.

"I heard that you’ve been recuperating well recently?"

"Yes, it’s pretty good. I don’t know why, but it’s as if the nightmares I’ve had for years have suddenly disappeared. I felt relieved one day when I woke up, and my lingering injuries have also improved significantly. Hahaha!"

Siegfried scratched his head and laughed.

The pursuit against him from Kaslana’s stigmata was erased by Angel, and those burdens had suddenly vanished. It was natural for him to improve, just like the liberation Kiana experienced after Angel took Sirin away from Kiana’s body.

Confirming that Kiana’s father was gradually recovering from his serious illness, Cocolia smiled and said.

"In that case, let’s officially assign you some work. Although Anti-Entropy is vast, an experienced S-rank combat force should not be wasted."

"Ah?"

"Ah, what? A dignified Kaslana Legendary Knight, Ms. Cecilia’s husband, Kiana’s father—don’t you want to stay in Anti-Entropy and not do anything, right?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Siegfried had no way out.

The Kaslana Knight could be overlooked, but with the two identities of Cecilia’s husband and Kiana’s father, Siegfried couldn’t deny it. No matter how reckless or carefree a prodigal might be, he would not embarrass himself in front of these two identities.

"You… are really good at talking."

"Let’s get down to business. I’ll arrange it. Don’t worry, I won’t have you do trivial tasks. A strong man like you, who can crush everything, will naturally be assigned to the most difficult and glorious battlefield."

Cocolia skillfully assumed command.

Kaslana often appreciates this approach, and Siegfried immediately smiled.

"Okay, then I’ll wait."

After Cocolia had spoken to everyone present, she finally arrived at the lounge in the base.

Ninti escorted Yssring to her room to sleep.

The others found places to sit.

Cocolia sat down on the large sofa chair that looked like the main seat without hesitation, raised her hand, and the long-awaited headquarters staff handed her a recent work summary document.

It is worth mentioning that Welt did not give any orders regarding this matter and was unaware of the process in advance.

The leader touched his nose slightly embarrassedly, then leaned over and asked with the mentality of "the first to achieve":

"How is it? Have you found any problems?"

"I just started reviewing it."

Cocolia rolled her eyes.

Then she seemed to remember something, abruptly closed the file, and said:

"I do have something to tell you."

"What?"

"On the plane coming here, I received information that the dragon Benares, supervised by Schicksal, has disappeared."

Welt was shocked. The Judgment-level Honkai Beast was insignificant to him personally, but it posed a huge threat to humanity as a whole.

"Don’t worry. The investigation results show that it’s not because it awakened. According to my speculation, this matter is most likely related to the World Serpent, but we’re not sure what they specifically intend to do. For now, we can only deal with it as it happens. I’m telling you in advance so you can be prepared and not be caught off guard when the incident occurs."

The disappearance of Benares could not be concealed for long. After all, it was a Judgment-class Honkai Beast, and Anti-Entropy would monitor it, so Welt and others would learn of it sooner or later.

But it would take some time for them to get the news, and Cocolia’s revelation at this moment highlighted her remarkable intelligence.

Einstein couldn’t help but ask:

"How many spies did you plant under Otto’s nose?"

"I don’t know; I can’t count them."

"…You are impressive. Fortunately, we’re on your side; otherwise, it would be quite unsettling."

Cocolia responded with a soft "hmm," lowered her head, and continued to review the documents, appearing calm as if nothing had happened.

----

Chapter 274: The Other Side of the Sea

It looked like that Angel is in control of the power of Anti-Entropy, but she truly has no intention of seizing power.

First, although Welt lacks the skills and integrity of a politician, he is still intelligent and works diligently. There is no reason to sideline such a useful asset. Second, Einstein is not blind. If he loses his sense of propriety, the consequences could be unpredictable.

So Cocolia did not play any tricks. She carefully reviewed Welt's work results under the new system and provided appropriate guidance.

For a while, both the host and the guest were satisfied. At least in the eyes of Welt and Einstein, who were relatively knowledgeable, Cocolia earned additional respect.

This work took two days.

Then, Einstein, Tesla, Yssring, who had rested, and Welt, Cocolia, and Ninti, who had witnessed the trip, crossed the dark deep sea together and arrived at the sci-fi The Deep.

"As you can see, we built a series of spire-shaped micro-reactors to replace the irreparable energy system. After months of research, the entire base finally achieved full power access and completed the operating system rebuilt based on the ideas of the pre-civilization... It’s incredible to think about how the scientists of the pre-civilization designed such a miracle," Einstein said, pointing to the three- or four-meter-high black towers and the winding energy pipelines that resembled countless flowing lights.

She introduced the project results to her client with an emotional tone.

Cocolia nodded silently. Instead of pretending to understand, she patted Einstein’s shoulder solemnly. "If you can successfully open the passage to the Sea of Quanta, I owe you a big favor."

Her eyes, full of expectation and eagerness, reflected her longing.

Everyone knew why—because Cocolia’s daughter Seele Vollerie was in the Sea of Quanta. No one could fault a mother’s desire to find her daughter.

Thus, the eyes of the three Anti-Entropy elders softened.

"This research is necessary. Don’t take it so seriously."

"Doctor, you don’t understand my feelings... Forget it, don’t mention it. Hope is right in front of me. I will definitely find her."

"Yes. But you should also know that the first attempt may not be successful, so even if you don’t see ideal results, don’t be discouraged. Scientific research experiments are like this. I believe success is only a matter of time."

"I understand. Thank you for reminding me."

Cocolia looked at the fantastic blue light emitted by the dormant Eye of The Deep and took a deep breath, as if suppressing her impatience.

Seeing this, Einstein and Tesla exchanged glances and then proceeded to the operating table with Yssring to begin their preparations.

Time passed minute by minute, and the energy pipelines displayed accelerated light flow. The quiet Eye of The Deep also responded, with its blue light gradually becoming dazzling.

Cocolia held Ninti’s hand, Ninti held Welt’s hand, and the three of them stood on the high observation deck, watching the experiment unfold.

"Countdown: 1 minute. 60, 59, 58…"

As Einstein’s countdown echoed throughout the city, Welt noticed that Cocolia’s expression grew nervous, and it seemed to affect Ninti. Both mother and daughter tightened their faces.

Welt smiled silently: 'Are you looking forward to the return of Seele Vollerie?'

Cocolia & Ninti: 'On the other side of the sea, it’s Kevin!'

"...3, 2, 1!"

Einstein pressed the huge green button, fully activating the energy tower of the entire city.

The next second, a dazzling light suddenly erupted from beneath the deep sea.

...

Time rewinds to two hours before the experiment started.

Although Mount Taixu and the Anti-Entropy Shenzhou Branch jointly squeezed the living space of World Serpent, the existence of Shamash meant that Shenzhou's Arc City was still under World Serpent’s control. The Heliopolis Life Sciences Branch stood firmly on the edge of the city, and no one dared to truly challenge it.

At this time, under the massive scientific research center building, a huge iceberg occupied a vast space, connected to countless large and small wires. Jackal stood on a high suspended platform, operating on Benares’ body, which had been chiseled by the ice.

"Hehe~♬~~"

"Jackal."

The Gray Serpent, arriving to check on the progress as usual, interrupted the Jackal’s little song without understanding the context.

It seemed to dampen her mood, causing the Jackal’s pretty face to darken and her hands to stop moving.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm here to ask about today’s progress."

"The data is all in the system. Can’t you read it yourself? You have to interrupt my train of thought, right? Do you believe me? I’ll tear you apart and stuff you into Benares’ body!?"

"...Excuse me, I’ll leave then."

The bloodlust in the Jackal’s eyes overflowed, and with the sharp surgical instruments in her hands, Gray Serpent had no doubt that this colleague would dismember him.

Gray Serpent approached the computer, inserted his fingers into the data connector, and saw that the Honkai Beast genes integrated into Benares’ body and the Honkai energy reserves had all been significantly improved.

He nodded with satisfaction.

'Although she has a bad temper, her abilities are indeed becoming more and more impressive. I always feel that Jackal’s technical level seems to be improving rapidly these days. Is it because of the accumulation of so many years that it’s time for a breakthrough?'

Gray Serpent had no reason to doubt this old partner with whom he had cooperated for many years. He felt relieved and was impressed by the potential of humans, something he, as a half-mechanical artificial life form, could not possess.

The moment to decide everything was approaching. It was particularly gratifying that his colleagues could further enhance their abilities.

"Go report the good news to Lord Shamash."

Gray Serpent muttered to himself, preparing to leave the laboratory.

"Boom!!!"

Just then, a loud noise reverberated through the thick strata and walls, reaching the ears of Gray Serpent and Jackal from the ground.

A clear sense of vibration accompanied it.

It suggested that the buildings on the surface might have suffered a violent impact.

The two exchanged glances and rushed to the exit simultaneously.

...

At the same time, in the distant Saint Freya Academy.

The people living under the same roof had just exited the large bathroom. Some went to get drinks, some turned on the TV, and some were drying their snow-white long hair with the always noisy white-haired ball on the chair.

The hard work of the day was washed away by the hot water, and they could finally enjoy a moment of peace.

"Yin——"

Suddenly, a clear and bright sound of swords rang out.

It wasn’t very loud, but it could not escape the keen senses of the Valkyrie.

"What's the noise?"

Kiana asked immediately.

Everyone’s eyes were drawn to the sword rack in the corridor on the second floor.

The sword left by Angel was placed there, just as it had been when she lived here before.

"The sword... is jumping for joy. Someone has summoned it."

Fu Hua murmured slightly, her pupils gradually shrinking.

Then everyone stood up.

"Is it Angel!?" × N

"Swish!"

As if stimulated by the unanimous exclamation, the trembling fiery red ancient sword shattered its scabbard and, like a meteor fire, rushed out of the second-floor window, cutting through the night sky.

"Chase it!"

Without a word, Fu Hua transformed into a ball of burning fire and rushed into the sky.

Raiden Mei’s transformed purple lightning form followed closely behind the fiery light.

Kiana stared blankly at the dark night sky after the ceiling was lifted. She looked down and saw Bronya and Himeko preparing to leave in a hurry. They must be getting ready to fly a fighter plane.

"Kiana, what are you still doing here? Come with us. Maybe, maybe we can find Angel!"

"Bronya, Himeko, I..."

Kiana hesitated for a moment.

However, the news of Angel was right in front of her, so what was there to worry about?

Let her messy life experiences go to hell for now!

"I’ll go first!"

Kiana exclaimed with a giggle, her azure right eye turning into a stunning color like golden amber in front of Bronya and Himeko.

Then, the space distorted invisibly, and Kiana, with a bright smile, vanished without a trace.

----

Chapter 275: She Didn't Do It on Purpose, Did She?

"Boom!"

The engine roared, and the fighter jet flew through the night sky.

The pilot was the experienced veteran, Bronya.

The co-pilot was Himeko.

And in the back, Theresa sat, dressed in Hom doll pajamas. There was no choice—she had been drinking soda and reading comics when Himeko suddenly whisked her away under her arm. She hadn’t even had time to change.

However, Theresa didn't have time to complain about Himeko's recklessness. She just pinched her chin, frowned, and pondered a serious question.

"My Saint Freya Academy is a Valkyrie Academy, right?"

It's obviously a Valkyrie Academy, so why are so many Herrschers emerging?

First, it was Raiden Mei, then Angel, and even the teacher camp had Welt Yang, who once worked diligently at the academy.

Now you're telling me my eldest niece seems to have become a Herrscher? What's going on!?

"Anyway, the Kiana you saw is in a relatively stable condition, right?"

"Well... she has the Herrscher Core of the Void in her body, and she’s the first artificial Herrscher experimental subject created by Schicksal. Angel told me about this before she left."

Himeko recalled the night when she was unscathed but couldn’t bear to look back, and she sighed deeply.

"That kid, in the moment she was about to lose her mind, was still thinking about Kiana’s life story and the grudge between me and the Herrscher of the Void."

"Don't be sad. Let's put Kiana’s matter aside for now. Don’t we have clues about Angel? Let’s catch up and bring her back to Saint Freya!"

"It's rare for you to say something meaningful, Theresa."

"Hey, you're slandering this school principal again! Forget it, I won’t argue with you right now. But before we catch up with them, I have a small question... Does anyone have clothes that are suitable to be seen in public?"

Theresa, dressed as a Homu Doll, wore a very serious expression, but her eyes were full of panic, and her pupils trembled.

If she had to launch Judah in this appearance, the school dean’s dignity would be completely lost.

...

Heliopolis Life Sciences, a company that was once magnificent and grand, now lay in ruins. The building had collapsed, flames were everywhere, and the scene was one of total destruction.

When Gray Serpent and Jackal emerged from the underground laboratory, two powerful forces steadily rose and confronted each other amid the ruins.

"My lab, my experimental results! F**k!"

Jackal, overwhelmed by a mental breakdown, rushed toward the culprit responsible for the destruction.

Fortunately, Gray Serpent remained calm. He grabbed Jackal's arms with all his strength, silently restraining her.

"Jackal, calm down!"

"I'm furious!"

"The most important data are backed up. The facilities and materials can be replaced—they’re just a matter of money."

"F**k!"

Even Gray Serpent couldn't bear listening to Jackal's outburst.

He had no choice but to drag his out-of-control colleague away from the battlefield, which could erupt at any moment.

Unlike Jackal, Gray Serpent was calm.

Because he saw Shamash draw his sword.

"BOOM!!!"

Blazing flames shot up into the sky, painting the night in a bright red hue.

Shamash slowly flew forward. The heat from the sword melted the surrounding environment. She looked at the destroyed base, sighed slightly, and then said expressionlessly.

"It seems Su accomplished what he intended. So, are you a human or a Herrscher?"

The scorching wind blew away the last remnants of dust, revealing a blonde girl with a cold expression. She was as delicate and lovely as an elf from a painting stepping into the human world.

It was the long-lost Herrscher, Angel.

"As expected..."

Gray Serpent, struggling to control the thrashing Jackal, had already guessed that Angel was the only one with the courage and motive to attack the Serpent's base.

And now he was deeply troubled.

The Nagazora City incident had been his doing, meant as preparation for Project Stigma. From a personal perspective, the approach was undeniably reckless. But from the standpoint of fighting against the Honkai, Gray Serpent believed it was a necessary sacrifice.

However, no one had expected that the plan would inadvertently involve Master Hua's disciples.

For Angel, seeking revenge meant killing him outright, which would undoubtedly break ties with Master Hua. But allowing her to destroy everything would also hinder future plans. Gray Serpent was caught in a dilemma and could only leave the decision to the more capable Shamash.

At that moment, neither side of the confrontation cared about Gray Serpent’s concerns.

Angel stood silently, one hand raised as if holding something, her crystal-clear purple eyes devoid of emotion.

Shamash, unfazed by her silence, slowly raised his flaming sword.

But the fierce battle never started. Although Shamash’s sword burned ever brighter, neither side moved, as if they were tacitly waiting for something.

Time passed, minute by minute, until Jackal finally calmed down.

"What are they doing? Playing statues?"

"I think they’re waiting for the residents to evacuate."

Gray Serpent explained, unsurprised.

And that was exactly what was happening. Fortunately, Anti-Entropy and the Shenzhou officials had acted quickly. While Shamash and Angel were in a standoff, they evacuated the population as far as possible.

Just as Gray Serpent and Jackal were talking, a red light pierced the darkness, landing in Angel’s outstretched hand.

Angel’s eyes turned a golden hue, surrounded by Honkai energy.

Shamash also began to move her hand.

The next second, the flaming sword and the red sword—both kilometers long—collided in the sky, producing a terrifying explosion of energy.

"Boom!!!"

All of Arc City trembled from the shockwave. Under the fiery red sky, the people were terrified and fled the city even faster.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Blazing red light and scorching flames repeatedly clashed in the sky, producing sounds far more terrifying than thunder.

Gray Serpent tried his best to capture the battle’s details, attempting to evaluate Angel’s current strength.

At this moment, Jackal suddenly tapped his shoulder.

"What is it?"

"My detection system received a signal—the Eye of the Abyss has been activated."

"What? Now?"

She didn’t do it on purpose, did she?

This thought flashed through Gray Serpent’s mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

Even the World Serpent could only monitor the Eye of the Abyss indirectly by detecting quantum energy. There was no way Angel could have accurately predicted the progress of the experiment in The Deep. Besides, she had no reason to do so.

"Forget it. Let’s wait until Lord Shamash deals with Master Hua’s disciple. And with all this commotion, more people are bound to show up... It seems we’ll have to regretfully miss this opportunity. I just hope things develop as we expect."

It’s not a big problem.

If things go wrong, we can ask Lord Shamash to step in. He can always go to the Eye before the Stigma Plan launches.

Since interfering was no longer an option, Gray Serpent simply relaxed and continued to watch the sky battle intently.

However, he failed to notice the meaningful smile suddenly forming on his colleague’s face.

---