13. Raise the Rebel Sword to the Sky / 14. Otto: "Wait, You're Really Leaving?"

However, as if on cue, the three were still facing each other when, amidst a flurry of data flashes, a white-haired girl kneeling on the ground suddenly appeared, her face still bearing a look of joy.

Kiana?

"Theresa? You're way too slow. The Second Herrscher has already been dealt with by me and Lady Cecilia..."

Before she could finish speaking, Kiana suddenly realized that the scene around her had changed.

"Wait, Sister Xia Ling is here too? Then where is this place...?"

"Kiana, what nonsense are you talking about? What Second Herrscher! And come here right now, it's dangerous!"

"But I was just... no, I'm back in reality?"

Before Kiana could recover from her dejection, the sound of a wall breaking once again drew everyone's attention.

"I'm sorry, Headmaster."

Beside her, amidst the smoke from the shattered walls, Fu Hua, dressed as Shadow Knight: Moonlit Blade, slowly appeared.

"I'm afraid Kiana can't go back."

"According to Bishop Otto's orders, Kiana's emotions are extremely unstable in the data space, and the probability of her reawakening as the Second Herrscher is very high. Therefore, I am ordered to bring her back to headquarters for treatment."

"Fu Hua, what are you doing here? Wait, that armor is...?"

"I'm sorry, Headmaster, from the beginning, my mission has been to monitor Kiana's mental state."

In the chaos, only Fu Hua was willing to explain to Theresa, "Bishop Otto provided me with images of Kiana in the data space, and I did see that she had already shown signs of awakening."

"Sigh... a chaotic battle is inevitable after all..."

Xia Ling sighed softly. She had been wondering what reason Otto would use to get Fu Hua to take action since Kiana hadn't been Herrscher transformation on the spot. She never expected that Otto would bring up the fact that Kiana almost became Herrscher transformation in the data space.

"Kiana, Theresa, grab me, don't resist."

Theresa was taken aback and immediately grabbed Xia Ling's hand. Kiana, though not yet aware of what was happening, also obediently grabbed Xia Ling's arm.

A glint flashed in Xia Ling's eyes, and the three figures instantly flickered like a lagping video before disappearing.

Immediately afterwards, the three figures reappeared in the same spot.

Xia Ling suddenly opened her eyes. "No, my teleportation failed. This isn't the Intrinsic World?"

"Watch out, there's a third person nearby!"

"You got it right."

In a daze, the surrounding environment began to change again. Under the inky blackness, everyone found that their location was no longer where they were before. Kiana, who had just been "transferred", was now unconscious and was being held by Rita.

"Miss Xia Ling, stop making futile resistance." Rita revealed a confident smile, "His Lord Bishop had already made contingency plans against your abilities. From the moment you came out of the data space, you were already in Xi's painting."

"In the painting?" Theresa and Xia Ling's gazes were simultaneously drawn to the little girl next to Rita.

This exquisitely beautiful little girl looked to be only eleven or twelve years old, but she had a pair of blue dragon horns and a pure white tail on her body, which she swayed slightly, revealing a hint of pride on her face.

The little girl was holding an unfolded scroll, on which a scene identical to the interior of a laboratory could be vaguely seen slowly disappearing.

"Now that the mission objective has been captured, let's retreat."

Fu Hua activated her full armor and stood in front of Theresa and Xia Ling.

"Hmph, you think you can just leave after you've taken my student?"

A flash of blood-red light appeared in Xia Ling's hand, Yae Sakura instantly appeared beside her. After a quick assessment of the situation, Yae Sakura swiftly locked onto Rita, who was holding Kiana.

"Why is it this guy again..." Rita casually tossed Kiana to Xi, and her turquoise scythe swiftly slashed upwards, blocking Yae Sakura had already appeared in front of her.

The immense force forced Rita to take a few steps back, a bitter smile creeping onto her face.

Her Shadow Armor is specifically designed for carbon-based life forms, relying primarily on toxins for attacks, which is why Kiana fainted after just one encounter.

And this guy in front of me... putting aside his physical abilities which are basically beyond my reach, judging from the way he appeared, he has absolutely nothing to do with carbon-based life forms!

Chapter Thirteen: Raising the Sword of Rebellion to the Sky

Leaving aside Rita, who was being held back by Yae Sakura on the other side, Theresa and Xia Ling also faced their respective opponents.

"Fu Hua, I always thought you were the best student at St. Freya."

Theresa looked somewhat angry; it seemed that Fu Hua's sudden opposition to her had been a significant blow.

"I'm sorry, Headmaster," Fu Hua sighed softly, "I have reasons why I have to do this."

"Furthermore, what I just said wasn't a lie. Kiana has indeed shown a strong tendency toward the Herrscher transformation."

"That's no reason for you to take her to headquarters!" Theresa's voice suddenly rose.

"If I really do something wrong in the future... I will pay the price accordingly." Honkai Energy had begun to flow through Fu Hua's armor. "But, at least for now, I will not stop."

"Without the Judas' Vow, Headmaster, you are probably no match for me."

"Heh, even with a God-Slaying Armor set, you think you can take me down just because you're an A-rank Valkyrie?"

"The premise is... that I really only have the strength of A-rank Valkyrie."

Fu Hua vanished instantly, appearing in front of Theresa. She lunged forward, bent her arm, and delivered a powerful elbow strike to Theresa's face.

Compared to the other two intense battles, Xi and Xia Ling's side was more of a display of acting skills.

"Little kid, it seems you're not the type to specialize in combat." Xia Ling pointed her scythe diagonally. "Hand over Kiana obediently, or... don't blame me for taking action against you."

"If you want it, then come and take it yourself." Another scroll appeared out of thin air in Xi's hand. "You know this rule."

Suppressing her urge to join in the joke, Xia Ling glared fiercely at Xi, who was chuckling, and activated her Acceleration Talent.

However, although Xia Ling's reaction was "quick" enough, the scroll in Xi's hand was fully opened before she could get close, and with a burst of ink, Xia Ling's figure instantly disappeared from the battlefield.

With a casual toss, Xi opened another scroll and summoned a giant dragon-shaped creature.

"Zizai, take us away."

Upon hearing Xi's command, the azure Ink Fiend grabbed Kiana, then placed Xi on its own body and quickly left the scene.

"Wait, damn it, don't think you can just leave like this..."

"Headmaster, you should take care of yourself first."

With a heavy blow to her back, Theresa was knocked to the ground.

"Miss Yae Sakura, although you still have a slight advantage, it seems your teammates have all fallen?"

Of the three battlefields, Rita, the only one looking disheveled, revealed a slightly pleased smile, "Are you still going to keep wasting your time with me?"

"..."

Yae Sakura remained silent, watching Fu Hua approach. Suddenly, Yae Sakura vanished from their sight and reappeared beside the scroll that Xi had left behind, slicing it open with a single stroke.

"Cough cough cough... Yae Sakura, thank you."

Xia Ling's body suddenly fell from the sky.

While Yae Sakura was rescuing Xia Ling, Fu Hua and Rita quickly left the scene.

"These guys planned this all along..." Xia Ling touched the blood at the corner of her mouth. On her abdomen, a horrific wound was still oozing blood. "Theresa, notify Einstein."

"Okay, I'll notify them right away..." Theresa had just taken out her communicator when she suddenly stopped. "Wait, Xia Ling, how did you know..."

"I've known Anti-Entropy for much longer than you have." Seeing Theresa's sudden change in expression, Xia Ling quickly added, "Don't worry, I'm not an undercover agent. I only know them because of a deal."

"Ahem, besides, we've shared a bed..."

"Who's sharing a bed with you!" Theresa's face flushed slightly. She was about to retort, but when she saw Xia Ling's wounds, she couldn't help but soften her heart. "You... never mind, you go and treat your wounds first. I'll contact Anti-Entropy and Himeko."

As she spoke, Theresa opened the communication and called the AI on the Hyperion, namely Ai-chan.

"Ai-chan, notify Himeko to put the entire ship on alert and prepare for attack. Target: Schicksal Headquarters."

"Also, connect me to Einstein's communications and tell her that I have agreed to her cooperation, and have her immediately begin transferring that thing to the Hyperion."

"Finally, the Titan Armor that Xia Ling and I retrieved from ME Company that day was transferred to the Helios transport ship."

"This time, I will never let that accident happen again!"

Three hours after Kiana was captured, at the St. Freya Academy.

Having just finished the tactical meeting, Xia Ling walked out of the conference room, activated her ability, and returned to the villa to begin packing the items needed for the attack.

At the same time, she sent a message to Xi in the channel.

"Xi, how's the situation on your end?"

"I have brought Kiana back to Schicksal Headquarters. After returning to headquarters, Fu Hua checked her consciousness and found that Kiana was still stable and could even barely maintain the suppression of Sirin. It seems that your operation was quite effective."

"Because of this, Fu Hua seems to have had some disagreements with the bishop, but in the end we still brought Kiana to Heimdall Laboratory."

"The bishop is now preparing to awaken the massive amount of Honkai Energy needed for the experiment. Objectively speaking, our operation to consume Otto's Honkai Energy reserves should be considered a success."

"That's good..." Xia Ling breathed a sigh of relief, "Things haven't gotten too bad yet."

"Because of me, the cooperation between Anti-Entropy and St. Freya is much closer than in the original work. Many modifications have been secretly completed under my arrangement, and we should be able to gain a lot of time."

"As for your side... how's the thing I asked you to prepare coming along?"

"It's already drawn, and no one noticed the whole process. I've put it back into the system space, and you can retrieve it anytime you need it."

Okay, I've seen it.

Looking at the painting of a black and white spear on the sofa in the system space, Xia Ling smiled slightly.

"The so-called strategic confrontation is nothing more than responding to each move. Right now, I have prepared corresponding solutions for all of Otto's arrangements, and even our goals are basically aligned."

"Even if Sirin is truly catalyzed into a dual-core Herrscher, with this, I can still manage to counter her."

"I refuse to believe that this isn't enough to save Himeko while keeping the original plot intact..."

Chapter Fourteen Otto: No, you're really leaving?

22 hours after Kiana was captured, at Schicksal Headquarters, in Heimdall Laboratory.

"Your Lord Bishop, the laboratory still has 42% of its Honkai Energy reserves remaining."

"Continue to inject more power."

"Your Lord Bishop, the current power level is already far beyond what a normal person can handle..."

"You know, that's a normal person."

Otto looked at the girl with her eyes closed in the experimental chamber.

"And she is the genuine Second Herrscher."

"We don't have much time to double the current injection power."

A golden cube appeared in Otto's hand, and then in the blink of an eye, it turned into a golden feather.

"This time, I will help you temporarily suppress Kiana's consciousness. With sufficient Honkai Energy replenished and Kiana suppressed, it should be enough to awaken Sirin."

"Unfortunately, things happened too suddenly. Kiana's consciousness did not fall asleep as planned, and there was no time to call up more Honkai Energy. Now, the remaining Honkai Energy is probably only enough to allow her to use two Herrscher Core at the same time."

"Otherwise... hmph."

As more Honkai Energy was injected, after reaching a certain critical point, a strange fluctuation suddenly spread from Kiana's body.

At the same time, all the Honkai Energy detection and warning systems at the Schicksal Headquarters sounded their alarms.

"Your Lord Bishop, a report has come from the Siberia branch that the Judgment-class Honkai Beast Benares, which was originally sealed at the battlefield ruins of the Second Honkai Outbreak, has broken free and is rapidly approaching headquarters!"

"Your Lord Bishop, a large number of Honkai Energy reactions have appeared around the Schicksal Headquarters. A considerable number of Honkai Beast have already formed and are attacking the headquarters' defense system!"

Images and reports were being sent to the screen in front of Otto, with Benares's image occupying at least half of the screen. However, these changes were still within Otto's calculations.

"Oh, so it's your queen who's come to protect you?"

"All-domain defense satellites deployed; all Valkyrie units, level one combat readiness."

"Get ready for a world of change."

The Helios transport ship is located approximately 300 kilometers from the Schicksal Headquarters.

"We're about to enter headquarters' airspace, Theresa."