"Of course, no problem~" Otto reached out and operated something on the console beside him. "I've already given that item to you, so I'll have to trouble my old friend to help clean up the mess."
Subsequently, Otto directly closed the communication interface. Void Archives emerged from Otto's side: [What is it? Couldn't you have monitored the situation through the surveillance on the armor?]
"I certainly could, but so what?"
[So, you are not going to continue watching through that system? Were you not always looking forward to this kind of event occurring? Is this not what you anticipated?]
"As a human, one must leave a sliver of unknown fun for oneself. Otherwise, if everything is known, wouldn't it be terribly boring?"
[I am not human. I do not understand.]
"Of course. That is why you will not understand."
*
"Kiana, Irene, I'm coming." After confirming the communication had been cut, Fu Hua pushed up her glasses. Instantly, the glasses disintegrated, and black armor plates emerged from the surrounding space, equipping themselves onto Fu Hua's body.
Pitch-black armor replaced the originally ill-fitting Valkyrie armor. Fourth Generation Godsbane Battlesuit: Shadow Knight · Moon. Equipping complete.
Fu Hua clenched her fists, gathering Honkai energy once more. The Honkai energy reactor inside the armor also funneled more energy into Fu Hua's dual fists.
"Inch Force! Thunderbolt!"
The gale force generated by Fu Hua's two punches directly dispersed the black mist before her, revealing the space below.
Basically, almost nothing remained below. To the side should have been the underground vault used for storage, but the originally tough alloy door—which shouldn't have been breached even by bombs—had now vanished completely.
On the ground remained a pile of ash, looking as if someone who had been lying there injured had been eroded into nothingness by the black mist. Seeing that smear of ash, Fu Hua instantly felt a pang of nervousness.
However, after careful identification, Fu Hua let out a sigh of relief. That wasn't Irene. Judging by the size of the ash pile, Irene wasn't that tall.
Since it wasn't Irene, who could it be? Harboring such thoughts, Fu Hua jumped down the passage. The moment she landed, the floorboards, which had already been nearly eroded by the black mist, instantly collapsed.
The thrusters on the Shadow Knight rapidly ejected propulsion fluid, boosting Fu Hua upward. Fu Hua quickly judged which bricks could still be stepped on, then landed swiftly and darted into the vault.
But before she could even assume a combat stance, the situation inside the vault froze Fu Hua in place. Because the scene before her eyes was not as... terrible as she had imagined?
On the ground, which was still relatively intact, lay Kiana, bound by the chains of Judah. On the lock securing her, there was even a bow tied?
And on the other side, Irene also lay on the ground, seemingly having fallen into a coma. Throughout the entire vault, there was no trace of the Gem of Serenity.
"What on earth is this?" Fu Hua felt as if she had been completely bewildered. According to her hypothesis, Irene indeed should have been in a comatose state, but logically speaking, there should also be a Sirin or Kiana in an awakened state, absorbing Honkai energy.
It shouldn't be like now—Irene comatose, but seemingly having subdued Kiana before passing out. The Judah binding Kiana was likely Irene's ability.
Previously, when they went underwater to fight those sharks infected by Honkai energy, Irene had used this skill.
So, the current situation was: perhaps Irene and Kiana didn't retreat according to the original plan. Instead, they likely hijacked someone—at least someone relatively important.
Then that person brought them to the underground vault. But because Kiana stayed together with the gem, it caused Kiana to lose control and awaken.
The Gem of Serenity must have also erupted for the first time at that moment—which was the first Honkai energy gathering she had detected while at Wraith's place. Subsequently, Irene must have fought Kiana?
Although she didn't know how exactly Irene won, it looked like Irene had completely suppressed Sirin, so the matter was resolved?
Harboring doubts, a feather of Fenghuang Down appeared in Fu Hua's hand. The feather drifted slowly onto Kiana's head. Judging from Fenghuang Down's detection, it was still the familiar mental fluctuations of Kiana; she didn't sense Sirin's.
Confirming this, Fu Hua breathed a sigh of relief. Although she wasn't clear on exactly what had happened, at least for now, the matter was considered resolved.
As for the gem, it had probably already been absorbed by Kiana, which was why it couldn't be found now.
As for the Shadow Knight armor, it clearly had no use here now. But as long as nothing major had happened, everything was fine.
Fu Hua walked to the other side, intending to use Fenghuang Down to wake Irene. However, the moment the feather floated over, Fu Hua felt a wave of resistance.
"Hm?" Fu Hua frowned. Although forcing an entry wasn't impossible, doing so when there was already resistance seemed a bit impolite.
If Irene was truly in a coma, letting her rest a while longer was a good thing; there was no need to be in such a hurry to wake her. As for why she was blocked and felt resistance, was it perhaps because of Irene's ability?
Fu Hua retracted the feather in her hand, then scooped up both Irene and Kiana. As for Judah, she placed it on her back. She didn't plan to unbind Judah—at least not before confirming that Kiana was indeed okay.
*
Irene's Palace of Consciousness
"Sister Irene, Sister Irene, wake up quickly!" Pardo kept shaking Irene's mental body, her eyes filled with urgency. As a person from the Previous Era, she knew Herrschers were mostly nothing good.
Although according to Sister Irene, the current era was different, Pardo was still worried. What if Sister Irene changed?
To the side, the eyes of Kallen and Lixue were also full of worry. However, both of them also drew their weapons. If the situation wasn't right, they might have to hit Irene with a 'Friendship Face-Breaking Punch' or a 'Personality Reconstruction Punch'.
But as Kallen and Lixue, who frequently sparred with Irene, knew well, this was Irene's mental space after all. If Irene really wanted to fight, and spared no effort, the two of them actually had no chance of winning.
Leaving aside other permissions, simply considering that Irene could freely control the furnishings inside the Palace of Consciousness, expand the space, or create space—as long as Irene had the thought, she could do it.
Even Kallen's Judah wouldn't be very effective. Usually, Irene would be bound by Judah because Irene was willing, and because she needed to practice and feel exactly how to manipulate Judah to achieve such things.
But if Irene was unwilling, then one could only refer to the Stigmata Space, where Kallen basically couldn't use Judah to bind the Herrscher of Corruption at all.
And that was under the circumstances where the Herrscher of Corruption was staying inside someone else's consciousness space, requiring a detour. Here, this was Irene's mental world. If Irene didn't want to be bound by Judah, Kallen estimated she wouldn't even find an opportunity.
Not to mention Irene could simply lock the two of them in a 'little black room' with a single thought. At that time, they wouldn't be able to get out even if they wanted to.
However, fortunately, they still had Lixue. Lixue's Taixuan Sword Qi · Spirit was an attack that directly targeted the mind. According to Lixue, if she and her Master used Spirit simultaneously, even Sirin with four Herrscher Cores would have to lie down.
Then the situation was simple. If Irene really had a problem, it would be up to the two of them to attack together. As for Pardo, hopefully, she could keep up.
Create an opportunity for Lixue, let Lixue use Spirit. But if Irene reacted immediately and locked the two of them in the little black room, then for the rest of the matters, they could only count on the Celestial/Master.
Just as the two were on high alert, a familiar yet unfamiliar voice came from behind them.
"No need to be so nervous, right? 'Dear' just fell asleep; she will wake up in a while."
Hearing the voice, Kallen and Lixue immediately turned to look behind them. At the edge of the Palace of Consciousness, the figure of [Irene] solidified from void to reality, appearing within the Palace.
And the moment she appeared, a cold sword shadow and the bombardment of Judah flashed before her face.
[Irene] merely had a smile on her face, seeming to let them attack her freely. Yet, when Judah and the sword light touched [Irene]'s body...
It was like passing through the surface of water; they penetrated [Irene]'s body, causing absolutely no harm to [Irene] whatsoever.
"Sorry, I haven't enabled the permission for you to harm me. This is [My] privilege." [Irene] looked at Kallen and Lixue, who remained vigilant and were preparing to launch another round of attacks.
"It's just that [I] have never used it on you before. After all, training is necessary. Hmm, of course, I also hope that you two can remain calm and give me at least enough time for a few sentences."
"Do you believe what you're saying yourself?" Kallen set Judah upright in front of her, shielding Irene with her body. Pardo also stood up to the side, taking out her Chakram.
However, Pardo didn't guard Irene's side but quietly sneaked over to the sisters Rin and Cangxuan. They also needed protection. For Sister Irene's side, Lixue and Sister Kallen were enough.
"Why not believe?" [Irene] shrugged. "What's so good about Herrschers? The Herrschers later on basically all defected to the enemy. One more of me isn't too many; one less isn't too few."
[Irene] spread her hands, completely undefended, appearing quite straightforward: "Since there's no future on the Herrscher side, and what [I] want to do isn't that kind of thing anyway... Since that's the case, then I'll just defect, defect."
"...You shouldn't know so many things." Lixue's eyes still held vigilance. For her, who had experienced the war against Herrschers, Herrschers were not worthy of trust.
Who knew if the opponent would suddenly strike?
"I don't know, but [I] know." [Irene] pointed to Irene, who was still sleeping on the ground. "Since 'Dear' knows, I naturally know as well."
"Then why hasn't Irene woken up yet?" Kallen moved Judah slightly aside. She truly didn't sense any particularly great malice from this person.
"The Herrscher Core isn't that easy to control. I helped 'Dear' block most of the shock, but the previous pain still requires 'Dear' to rest for a little while."
[Irene] looked at the three with a smile, then suddenly remembered something and added: "Oh, right, no need to worry about the outside either. Class Monitor Fu Hua has already taken over."
"I have also already subdued Sirin. This matter has concluded satisfactorily. No one should know that it was 'Dear' who took the Gem of Serenity."
"Of course, if you are willing, I also have a way to speed up 'Dear's' awakening." [Irene] raised her hand, a streak of electric light flashing in her palm.
"Active Polarization?!" Pardo let out a cry of surprise. It wasn't the first time they had seen this skill. Irene had been using this skill recently to treat Rin, Cangxuan, and Danzhu.
It was just that they were truly too weak, so it hadn't had any obvious effect yet. So, that streak of electric light in [Irene]'s hand was simply familiar—it couldn't be any more familiar.
"Because this is [My] ability, of course I can use it. But it's a pity, I can't use your skills." [Irene] shrugged.
The skills rewarded by the System were for Irene, not released by the System itself. Even if the System vanished on the spot, Irene would still be able to use what she could use.
So since Irene could use it, she naturally could too. But regrettably, that was limited only to Irene. For things like transformation, [Irene] couldn't do it.
However, if it was a competition of Authority usage, she should be quite a bit stronger than 'Dear'. After all, she was that Herrscher personality.
"..." Kallen and Lixue looked at each other. They were a bit undecided on what to do now. This person... really seemed very sincere.
But they couldn't bear the possibility of losing Irene. Staying like this wasn't a solution either. Lixue and Kallen exchanged a glance, and Lixue looked up.
"Alright, but..."
"Judah and Taixuan Sword God can both be held against my neck; it doesn't matter." After receiving permission, [Irene] nodded. "I know you suspect me, so it's fine."
As she spoke, [Irene] walked toward the two. The chains of Judah also wound around her hands from the side. [Irene] simply used the electric light in her hand to give Irene a rub, then quickly moved away.
With the flash of electric light, Irene's brows furrowed. She touched her head and sat up, looking around somewhat blankly, and subconsciously asked:
"What's the situation now?"
"Well, a small problem has indeed occurred." Kallen helped Irene up. "But right now, the biggest problem seems to have become you."
"Ah, what do you mean?" Irene was a bit confused hearing Kallen's words, but upon looking up, she saw... another self, bound by Judah's chains yet still raising her hands to wave at her.
"...6."
Irene looked at [Irene] somewhat dazedly, but then realized something and asked: "Herrscher personality?"
"Uh-huh~" [Irene] nodded, struggling to raise her hands to clap. "That's right. I am 'Dear's' Herrscher personality. How is it? Surprised?"
"Not at all." Irene shook her head. She still hadn't quite sorted out the current situation. The style of this Herrscher personality before her was wrong.
Not to mention destroying human civilization, she should at least be in a ferocious state. That would fit the impression of a Herrscher personality in Irene's mind. But this one in front of her... why did she look so... peaceful?
Wait, no... it wasn't impossible.
Seeing the change in Irene's eyes, a smile rose on [Irene]'s face.
"What is it? Did you think of something? My dear [Me]."
________________________________________
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