"This is Schicksal Far East Branch. Nagazora Branch, come in, please respond!"
"This is Far East Branch. Nagazora Branch, come in, please respond!"
"This is Far East Branch. Nagazora Division, come in, please respond!"
On the bridge of the Hyperion, the C-rank Valkyrie in charge of communications repeated the call to the personnel left at the old campus, her patience unwavering.
Moving an entire academy wasn't something that could be done in a short time. Factoring in the presence of that dangerous woman, Cocolia, in Nagazora City, Theresa had decided against pulling everyone out of the old campus at once, instead establishing a "Nagazora Branch."
But now, as the Honkai energy reading in Nagazora City instantly surged past the 1,000 HW mark, all contact with the branch was lost.
"Hah... Keep hailing them. Information Department, pull up the satellite imagery over Nagazora."
Theresa took a sip of bitter melon juice, forcing herself to remain calm as she issued her commands.
A high-resolution satellite map quickly appeared on the screen before her. Zooming in, it was clear that due to its suburban location, the Nagazora Branch seemed to have been minimally affected. At the very least, there were no visible zombies or Honkai beasts outside, and the main buildings were completely undamaged.
Then why couldn't they make contact?
"Theresa, can you check the electromagnetic field conditions near Nagazora City?"
Hua's voice drifted over from the side, so unexpectedly that it made Theresa jump.
"When did you get here?" Theresa's eyes darted around evasively.
Hua's reply was brutally honest. "I've been here the whole time."
"..."
Theresa shot a glare at Himeko, who was standing by, fully armed but with nothing to do. At St. Freya, besides herself, only Himeko, the nominal head teacher and actual ace of the Far East Branch, had the authority to bring an "outsider" onto the bridge.
Yes, an outsider.
Although the strategic partnership between Schicksal and Shenzhou had lasted for nearly five hundred years, although Theresa and Hua had once fought side-by-side, sharing life and death, and although the current situation was critical... when Hua appeared on the Hyperion, Theresa's gut reaction revealed that she couldn't completely shake her factional loyalties.
"Don't look at me like that. A Honkai energy reading over 1,000 HW—you should know what that means. Of course, if you insist that I shouldn't be here, you can ask me to leave right now."
Theresa's lips moved twice, but in the end, she skipped the topic entirely. "Why check the electromagnetic field?"
Though she didn't say it aloud, her lack of objection was a tacit approval of Hua's presence.
"First, Honkai energy is a form of energy radiation. Once the concentration is high enough, it will naturally interfere with electromagnetic communications."
"I know that, but how many HW of Honkai radiation would that take? Given the current intensity and range of the Honkai reaction, and especially considering the Nagazora Branch is in a low-intensity area, that hypothesis shouldn't hold... If it's a lost cause, we'll have to give up. The satellite photos show they aren't in immediate danger. The main problem now is gathering intelligence on this Honkai Eruption itself."
It wasn't that she didn't care about the lives of ordinary people in Nagazora. The situation was dangerous, but the more dangerous it became, the more crucial it was to base decisions on sufficient intelligence. It might sound cold-blooded, but that was the reality.
Her hope of contacting the Nagazora Branch was based on that very consideration. If that path was a dead end, Theresa wasn't a fool; she wouldn't stubbornly insist on it.
"Mm..." Hua hummed softly, so faintly that Theresa almost mistook it for a normal breath.
"That's what I wanted to talk about—Theresa, do you know about the 'Previous Era'?"
"Of course, I do."
As the granddaughter of Schicksal's Overseer, Otto, and with her own weapon, Judah's Oath, being a Divine Key from that very era, it was impossible for her not to know what the Previous Era meant. Schicksal had excavated so many ruins from that time that it was hardly a secret, at least to most Valkyries.
It was just that the history of that epoch remained shrouded in mystery, lacking physical evidence and on-site verification. Most Valkyries simply knew of it without understanding it, and Theresa was no exception.
It sounded like Hua knew a great deal about that era. That made sense. The legends of the Azure Empyrea were even older than Schicksal itself; it was only natural she would be more knowledgeable.
Theresa pressed her lips together, waiting for Hua to continue, but unexpectedly, Hua fell silent.
Not silent, exactly. Her eyes went blank and unfocused, her breathing became almost imperceptible, and she seemed to have sunk into an ocean of memory, unable to pull herself out.
The situation was urgent. Just as Theresa was debating whether to rudely snap Hua out of her trance, Hua suddenly spoke again.
"What I mean is simple. In the records of the Previous Era, the third Herrscher they faced had the power to manipulate electromagnetic fields. That's why, in addition to being the Third Herrscher, she was also named the Herrscher of Thunder. The area affected by that Honkai Eruption encompassed all of East Asia, with the hardest-hit cities being Sapphire City and... Nagazora City."
"Are you saying the Herrscher born from this Honkai Eruption is the Herrscher of Thunder? But... are the order and powers of the Herrschers guaranteed to correspond with the Previous Era?"
"No..." Hua began, but then seemed to remember something and seamlessly continued, "Not necessarily. But the powers of the First and Second Herrschers both matched up. Based on the order of their appearance, the Third should be the Herrscher of Thunder. However, Sirin obtained four other Herrscher Cores back then, including the core of the Herrscher of Thunder. If it's confirmed that the Herrscher born this time is indeed the Herrscher of Thunder, then this disaster is likely..."
"Likely not a natural disaster, but a man-made one. Is that it?"
Theresa took a long, deep breath. An image of the Babylon Tower flashed through her mind—harsh fluorescent lights illuminating a dark, claustrophobic prison, shining on the deformed corpses of one girl after another.
That disaster, strictly speaking, couldn't be considered entirely natural either.
But regardless of what had happened behind the scenes, now was not the time to investigate.
"Re-check the electromagnetic field conditions around Nagazora. Ai-chan, report the Hyperion's combat readiness."
"Report, Cap—Principal! Nuclear fusion reactors 01 through 04 are operating normally. Reactors 05 and 06 are on standby. Anti-gravity engines A through F are functioning normally. Final ammunition loading is currently in progress."
A girl with two cabbage-like buns on her head suddenly appeared from the holographic projector.
"What's the ETA?"
"Querying drill records—in the five combat readiness drills over the past year, the best time was three hours and eleven minutes. The worst was four hours and three minutes. Current time elapsed is one hour and thirty-five minutes. Do you require an immediate assessment of combat readiness progress?"
"Negative."
Theresa shook her head. It was obvious the preparations had just begun; assessing progress now was pointless.
"Has there been any word from European HQ? Any instructions from Grandpa... from the Overseer?"
"None detec—ah, wait a moment... Principal, a communication from the Overseer is coming through!"
Before the Valkyrie could finish her sentence, the holographic Ai-chan vanished. A second later, a new figure materialized in her place.
"Hey, Theresa! Long time no see."
"...We literally just saw each other last night! My dear Overseer, what have you been doing?! The Third Honkai Eruption has already started in Nagazora, and you were nowhere to be found..."
"Ah... haha... Right! Ahem! Well, you see, Grandpa was so eager to see you that I rushed back and forth between the Far East and Europe in just a few hours. I ended up oversleeping while trying to adjust to the jet lag, and that's why..."
"Does a Soulium body even need to sleep?"
"It doesn't?"
"Does it?"
"...Ahem!"
Seeing the two of them about to turn a serious war meeting into a comedy routine, Hua had to cough loudly, hoping to steer the atmosphere back on track.
"Well, well! If it isn't my old friend! I didn't expect to see you here..."
"Spare me the pleasantries, Otto. You know perfectly well that the Far East Branch's current strength is insufficient to confront a Herrscher in a normal state. We need reinforcements."
"Well said, my old friend! But don't you have our former S-rank Valkyrie, Ms. Theresa, right there?"
"..."
"..."
"Ahem! And even if this child Theresa is unreliable, don't we still have you, my old friend?"
Hua knew Otto was probing her, trying to gauge how much of her strength remained. So, she simply chose not to answer.
"Ahem! Just kidding. Bianka and Rita departed at the first opportunity. However, it will take at least eight hours to get from European HQ to the Far East. In fact, it would be better if..."
As Otto spoke, his gaze drifted back to Hua.
Hua grunted with a hint of impatience. She knew exactly what Otto was thinking. In terms of combat strength, Theresa, unable to use Judah's Oath or fully activate the ICHOR in her body, was not yet at the level of an S-rank Valkyrie. As for the two new S-rank Valkyries Schicksal had promoted a few months ago, Bianka and Rita—one was fourteen, the other seventeen. While judging combat power by age was absurd, skills, physical conditioning, and combat experience all required time to accumulate. How much could two young girls have possibly accumulated?
In terms of deployment time, Theresa was tied down by the Hyperion's prep time and needed at least another two hours to set out. Bianka and Rita needed eight. But if Hua herself were to head to Nagazora now, it would only take her a few dozen minutes. If she had Ling Shuang and Sushang follow as a second wave of reinforcements, they could reach Nagazora in one or two hours...
Of course, there was also the matter of one of her students who was already in Nagazora on a special mission...
"If necessary, I will act. But first, we need to pinpoint the Herrscher's location."
"Aha, and that is another strange thing about this Honkai Eruption. Although the energy reading has long surpassed the 1,000 HW threshold, we all know that a Herrscher's energy signature is far greater than that. This means that for the past two hours, the Herrscher has been hiding, not even truly using its powers once... Now, why would that be?" Otto analyzed the problem with a serious expression—if you ignored the glass of red wine in his hand.
Hua didn't respond, instead steering the conversation back to the beginning.
"Theresa, the electromagnetic field situation in Nagazora..."
"It's definitely chaotic. And... based on the satellite imagery, there's too much cumulonimbus cloud cover over Nagazora. We can no longer get a clear view of the city. It seems we can basically confirm it's the Herrscher of Thunder."
Hua lowered her head slightly. All she could think was...
"Michael, has it really come to this...?"
This Honkai Eruption... she, like Otto, knew what was happening from the very beginning. The reason she had prompted Theresa to confirm the Third Herrscher's powers...
She might not want to admit it, might try to rationalize it as a "precaution," but she couldn't fool herself. She simply, purely, did not want things to happen as she had predicted. She would have preferred a completely new Herrscher to be born, even if it meant more casualties, because at least it would prove that Michael... at least it would prove Michael wasn't involved in this kind of "evil."
But now, all her faint hopes were shattered.
The Herrscher of Thunder—the Gem of Conquest—Raiden Mei—Michael.
The chain of evidence was complete, with no room for misunderstanding.
Five hundred years ago, the battle that nearly leveled Kolosten, the battle that resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties—if that wasn't Michael's intention, if it was just collateral damage from a sudden fight that broke out after his chance encounter with Kevin, there might still be room for excuses. But this time, the three million lives in Nagazora... this was something he could never wash his hands of...
She didn't know what Michael had done this time, or what he planned to do. But since Raiden Mei, who carried the Gem of Conquest, had been by his side, Hua didn't believe anyone else, like Cocolia, would have had the opportunity to make a move. If they did, it must have been with Michael's tacit approval.
In short, this time, Michael was truly... unforgivable.
Why did she even care about these things? Her mission was only to ensure the execution of Project Firefly. It was a plan with no written manual. She once thought its purpose was for her to pass on the knowledge of the Previous Era to the humans of the current one. Now, she believed it was for her to guide each Herrscher onto a path of fighting for humanity.
From a purely rational standpoint, Michael's actions didn't conflict with either of those goals. Just like the man before her now—Otto, a descendant of Michael in a sense—how different were his actions from those of his old ancestor? Hua wasn't about to storm Schicksal and force him to change his ways.
Perhaps Michael was different, after all.
She could even imagine his defense: "It's only three million people. I was just guiding the Herrscher of Thunder onto the path of fighting for humanity. Isn't that what you want to do, too? As a price, it's not too steep, is it?"
That familiar tone... it was just like that annoying descendant of his.
But she still couldn't accept it.
Even if it were true—even if Michael was genuinely doing this to guide the Herrscher for humanity's sake, or for some other reason beneficial to mankind—was trading three million lives for such an outcome really right?
This wasn't just the lingering sense of morality and justice from her time as a Flame-Chaser nagging at her. It stemmed from a deeper sorrow.
In her countless memory resets, so much within her had become blurred. But there was one thing she was sure of—
If the person he was fifty thousand years ago could see what he was doing now, he would probably want to kill himself.
No... I still don't get it... I don't get it! Why can't I understand! My thoughts... my thoughts have been a tangled mess from the very beginning!
To Theresa and Otto, Hua seemed to be standing still with her eyes closed, motionless. But in the world of her consciousness, she had already found a corner to slump in, burying her head deep between her knees.
Too many emotions, all kinds of emotions. There was an ineffable sadness, there was...
No. It wasn't ineffable at all. The lake of her heart, which had been as still as a mirror for countless years, was now churning like boiling water. She felt as if a piece of her heart had been gouged out, leaving her chest feeling hollow and light. But that piece of flesh was now rampaging through her body, making her burn with a fever. She wanted to claw at her own skin, wanted to find a giant Honkai beast and dismember it inch by inch with her bare hands. She was descending into such a state of madness, how could she possibly form coherent words?
After a long moment, she thought she had suppressed the storm within. But when she opened her eyes, they ached, and her vision refused to focus. Otto's nonchalant expression, the sound of Valkyries hurrying past, the cacophony of reports—it all felt like claws scraping against her brain. For a terrifying instant, she wanted to rip the entire Hyperion apart with her bare hands.
It's no use... Hua felt she couldn't hold it back any longer. If this continued, she might really go insane...
"Hey! Since there's nothing to do right now, come have a drink with me. Let the Principal and the Overseer have a private chat."
Himeko had appeared behind Hua at some point. She patted her shoulder gently, then pulled her over to her personal drinking spot.
"Want one? You look like a girl, but I'm guessing you're old enough, right?"
Hua didn't speak, just reached out and gripped the glass tightly.
Her hand was trembling violently. Himeko hadn't even filled the glass very full, but Hua spilled almost half of it on the way to her lips.
"Hey, hey! That's just mean! You can't dodge a drink like that!"
Hua still didn't answer. She threw back the cold liquor in one gulp, and the frantic urge to destroy everything finally subsided.
"Cough, cough! Not as good as tea!" she managed to squeeze out, the words disconnected and random.
Himeko wasn't annoyed. She just took a small sip of her own drink and teased with a smile, "Then don't drink it. More for me."
Hua gave a bitter laugh. The frustration suddenly surged back, as if someone were whispering in her ear, tempting her, urging her to slam the glass down on the floor.
"Hold on... hold on..."
She hastily took another gulp of liquor, but this time the frustration didn't fade. Instead, it brought a new thread of anxiety—
What kind of person is Michael now?
No, no, no... Ugh! Why can't I even put that thought into words!
What she wanted to say was... she hoped that Lixue, who had just retired from Schicksal, could save Raiden Ryoma before Michael got to him.