You are you (cont.)

Today, however, his inner unease made his planning process incredibly slow.

It's strange, the current situation is not exactly going very well, but it's at least much better than I had imagined.

But why—what exactly is causing this Honkai Energy fluctuation?

Mr. Otto, have you finally had enough?

That shouldn't be the case.

Even if he's a complete scoundrel, he wouldn't lose his mind just because he wants to do bad things.

The Schicksal Headquarters is his stronghold, and also the capital he uses to challenge other organizations and me.

Even if he didn't care about the lives of his subordinates, he wouldn't have gone so far as to cause trouble at the Schicksal Headquarters.

In other words...

—An enemy has invaded the Schicksal Headquarters?!

The thought of such a terrible thing happening around her prompted Su to take action.

Otto's problems don't mean that the Schicksal organization is incompetent.

Having observed countless worlds, Sue clearly understood the importance of Schicksal to this world.

Even the Schicksal under Otto's control was undoubtedly the most suitable organization to save the world.

Now, if the Honkai at Schicksal Headquarters, and if Honkai operation succeeded, humanity's anti- Honkai forces would inevitably suffer a severe blow.

Su, who had instantly teleported to the scene using the Void Key, saw a figure he had never expected appear before him.

"Magnificent..."

Looking at Fu Hua, who had changed into a black martial arts outfit, Su suddenly didn't know what to say.

Before meeting his old friend Hua, Su thought about many topics he would like to discuss with Hua.

But now, in the moment of facing this old friend, Su felt a feeling from her that shouldn't have been present in Hua.

"Oh, it's Su."

Having just completed a powerful attack, Fu Hua looked at her old friend and waved to Su with a smile.

"Long time no see."

"But speaking of which, why are you making that face?"

Looking at the utterly shocked Su, Fu Hua said with slight dissatisfaction.

"We haven't met in person for a long time. As an old friend, don't you have anything you want to say to me?"

No, on the contrary, I have so much to say.

But now—I absolutely cannot speak.

Sue's becoming Fusion Warrior was, in a sense, entirely to target the Eighth Herrscher [Herrscher of Consciousness] who had caused countless people to fall into a coma in the Previous Era.

Back then, after they, the Fire Moth, defeated the Herrscher Consciousness, Sue thought he would never have to face this nemesis again.

However, Sue is now certain of something he absolutely does not want to face.

At this moment, Su felt a sense of 'arch-enemy' in his friend Hua.

The Honkai has chosen Hua as the Herrscher of Consciousness for this era?!

Has Honkai gone mad?

No, the Honkai has already been infiltrated by Number Seventeen. In other words, as long as Kevin and I don't open the backdoor, Number Seventeen is the 'Honkai Consciousness'.

It will surely destroy this civilization before it remembers its mission.

In other words, Number Seventeen genuinely believes that Hua is suitable to become the Herrscher of Reason.

Hua's will is very firm.

However, Prometheus's judgment is not wrong.

You can't gamble.

I must keep Hua calm and prevent her from realizing that she has been Honkai Corruption physically and mentally.

We must proceed gradually and let Hua slowly accept this truth.

Otherwise, the two consciousnesses will fight for control of her body...

If it were another Herrscher's Herrscher Persona, then it would be one thing.

If it's another Herrscher's Newborn Personality, then Hua is definitely fine.

However, the Herrscher Consciousness is different from other Herrscher. This Herrscher's physical destructive power is average, and the main enhancement is all in the consciousness.

In other words, if Hua were to realize the truth now, the two conflicting thoughts within her would only make it easier to drive her insane.

And looking back now, the person chosen on the 17th... wasn't a problem.

The Herrscher Consciousness is not good at hand-to-hand combat, but Seventeen's greatest genius lies in the fact that she brought the Herrscher of Reason into Hua's body.

Hua's Garuda Factor made her an 'impossible fighter', and her martial arts skills honed over tens of thousands of years gave her enough power to protect herself and even destroy her enemies.

As long as the Herrscher of Consciousness has a sufficiently insidious personality, then the Herrscher Consciousness that this era will face will be significantly more difficult to deal with than the Herrscher Consciousness that we faced back then!

"Oh, what's wrong, Su?"

Looking at the silent Su in front of her, Fu Hua asked with dissatisfaction.

"Although you weren't very talkative in the past, you were still a kind-hearted person who cared about your companions."

"But you're acting really strange today."

At this moment, Fu Hua, after trying to read Su's thoughts in a very natural way but failing, suddenly smacked her lips in dissatisfaction.

"Hey, I forgot you're a mental Fusion Warrior, my Feathered Dust has no effect on you."

No, Hua...

The power you've used on me goes far beyond just 'Feathered Dust'.

Since Feathered Dust is Divine Key created from the core of the Herrscher Consciousness, did you mistakenly believe that you were testing me with Feathered Dust while using the Herrscher Core Consciousness?

Having been unexpectedly attacked with a mental attack, Su could only force herself to remain calm and stand in front of the other party, continuing to think of a countermeasure.

However, for Fu Hua, who actually uses two mental abilities, although she still cannot see through Su's heart, she is not completely unaware of Su's thoughts.

"Su, you're acting strange today."

Recalling the emotions she felt, Fu Hua suddenly became even more dissatisfied.

"I sensed apprehension and unease in your emotions—does seeing my old friend really make you so unhappy?"

"Hua, you've misunderstood. I didn't mean that."

"Only..."

Fu Hua!

Durandal, who arrived at the scene after Fu Hua had completed the destruction, finally reached the enemy after obtaining her Divine Key.

"Why—why did you do this?!"

"Huh? Why would I do that?"

Hearing Durandal's sudden question, Fu Hua answered quite calmly.

"You're just a fourteen-year-old girl, you don't know what kind of monster Otto is, I don't blame you."

"But Otto used to give me a hard time, so it's only natural that I should kill him now."

"Don't tell me you're here to help him get revenge. You're a good person, and I don't want to fight you."

"... You think I'm here to avenge the bishop?"

Looking at the completely unfamiliar woman in front of her, Durandal coldly raised the Black Abyss White Flower in her hand.

"The bishop had told me long ago not to sympathize with Medea. I also know very well that the Medea he was referring to was actually himself."

"I know better than anyone that Otto Apocalypse is not a good person. As for your attack on him, I don't actually have as much of an opinion about it as you think."

"Oh? Is that what you mean?"

Looking at the girl in front of her, 'Fu Hua' asked with great curiosity.

"Look, you've already come to terms with it all, so why did you point the Divine Key at me?"

"Don't you realize just how outrageous what you've done?!"

At this moment, Durandal pointed at the warehouse and the surrounding Schicksal Headquarters area that had been destroyed by Fu Hua's attack, and said to Fu Hua with great anger.

"Your attack has put other fellow members of the Schicksal in danger... no, some have even been seriously injured as a result!"

"Rita and Amber have already gone to arrange for people to help with the disaster relief, but there will definitely be more people who will be injured or even killed as a result."

"We, the Valkyrie of Schicksal, are not Bishop Otto's lackeys; we are warriors who protect this world. But now..."

"Fu Hua, look what you've protected!"

Amid Durandal's angry rebuke, Fu Hua finally realized what she had just done.

At this moment, under her incredibly terrifying attack, although the Schicksal Headquarters was not directly sunk from the sky, some areas were left in ruins.

Under Rita and Amber's command, the rescue team is working inside the Schicksal Headquarters, which is shrouded in black smoke, to save the Schicksal members who were unharmed by her.

"No, no, I just want..."

Fu Hua, who had intended to defend herself, suddenly froze.

What was I trying to do just now?

The line of reasoning is correct: Otto couldn't have died so easily.

But why did I come up with the idea that punching that way would solve the problem?

Did I really do something wrong?

"No, that's not right!"

Looking at the steel body of Otto's soul emerging from the ruins, Fu Hua suddenly spoke to Su with extreme nervousness.

"Su, you're my comrade, you trust me, right?"

"I threw this punch to destroy that bastard Otto's soul-steel body. You can understand my actions, right?!"

"I just want to kill that scoundrel Otto."

"I controlled it very well. I only destroyed the cage and demolished a few buildings while I was at it..."

But after glancing at the devastation around her, Fu Hua couldn't continue speaking.

Even if she wanted to deceive herself, the tragic situation before her forced her to face reality.

"Damn it, I should have controlled it better!"

Yes, whether Hua really wanted to kill Otto or was just venting his anger, he wouldn't have made such a big fuss.

Could it be that even that punch just now was supported by Prometheus?

"That's right! Who can be perfect in every aspect!"

At this moment, Fu Hua suddenly grabbed Su's shoulders and looked at him with an extremely longing gaze, like a fish thirsting for water.

"Who can consider every single detail from top to bottom? You can't! Dr. MEI certainly can't!"

"If even she can't do it, isn't it normal that I can't? So—"

"Enough!"

Faced with the woman before her, Durandal was furious and thrust out her spear.

"The Fu Hua I know is a responsible, reasonable, considerate of her colleagues, and outstanding Valkyrie who values the big picture."

"And you—aside from this physical form, I see nothing of Fu Hua in you."

"You are definitely not Fu Hua."

"Tell me the truth—who are you?!"

To be honest, in Su's opinion, there was absolutely nothing wrong with what Durandal said.

In Su's view, his old friend Hua should be just like that.