39. Raven: I Woke Up and the Sky Had Fallen / 40. Durandal: An Order from Otto? That's Basically No Order at All, Right?

"As expected... war is an expensive business."

[One of the host entities detected: Flame Shadow Reed Grass has died. Consume 60 Originium Ingot or 15 Hope to revive it?]

The long-awaited resurrection notification sound startled Xia Ling.

"Huh? He's resurrected?"

After greeting Ain, Xia Ling excused herself to go to the restroom, slipped out of the conference room, hid in the washroom, and then immersed her consciousness into the system space.

Xia Ling quickly clicked "confirm" on the resurrection notification and looked at the Flame Willow that was slowly appearing in the system space.

"Relax, dizziness is normal."

"Normal my foot! I'm practically frozen solid!"

The newly resurrected Flame Willow shivered violently and subconsciously looked around.

"It's a good thing you didn't set the background to the Sami Snowfield, otherwise I would have given you a PTSD attack right here and now."

"Is it really necessary..."

Xia Ling chuckled and said, "Anna's pressure is so strong? It's given you psychological trauma. So your guess wasn't verified yet?"

"Of course it's been verified, verified to the extreme!"

Flame Willow's face fell. "I've come to the conclusion that weakening the power of Herrscher like Anna, who are directly controlled, is weakening the power of their Herrscher Persona."

"Then why do you look so shaken?"

"Because the weakening was too successful." Flame Willow was on the verge of tears. "After my King's Set was triggered, it directly knocked Anna back to her original form. Her consciousness barely recovered a part during the battle."

"But the problem is, I'll basically be dead a minute after the King's Set is triggered. Do you think Anna would watch me die in front of her?"

"And then? What did she do?"

Xia Ling's curiosity was piqued.

"Anna is considered to be in the middle to upper echelons of Schicksal, and she knows the effects of the Fifth Divine Key."

Flame Willow's words made Xia Ling's lips twitch; she seemed to already know what was going to happen next.

"She cried and told me not to die while trying to freeze me and put me into a state of hibernation."

"Then... you know, I could have held on a little longer, but under her freezing effect, I went straight back to the system to report as soon as my King's Set was over."

"Then... she must be very sad."

"Based on what I saw before I died, she will most likely seal herself away directly," Flame Willow sighed.

"That means everything is normal, just like the original, don't worry!" Xia Ling patted Flame Willow's shoulder reassuringly. "At worst, we can apologize afterwards, I know how to do that, it's just a matter of drinking more water."

"You... never mind, you are indeed very experienced in this area."

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Raven: I woke up to find the sky had collapsed.

At one of the World Serpent's bases.

"Gentlemen, you must have already heard why I called you here."

Gray Serpent still held his unchanging umbrella, even though he was indoors.

Mei glanced at the Raven but didn't say anything.

Before arriving, she had already obtained preliminary information about the arrival of the Ice Herrscher, including the location of the Honkai, the extent of the damage, and...

The name of the Herrscher of Ice.

Although she had no intention of prying into other people's family situations, she did know something about Raven's situation.

Her friend became the Herrscher of Ice, and the children went missing... To be honest, after silently comparing her own situation back then, Mei admired Raven's mentality from the bottom of her heart.

Someone like that probably wouldn't do anything outrageous like rolling around on the ground...

"Gray Serpent, I'm not a child anymore. Tell me, what's the result?"

The Raven's cries were somewhat hurried.

"Don't worry, Natasha... I know you're very worried."

Gray Serpent's tone was unhurried. "After receiving the intelligence about the Honkai's arrival, I immediately contacted Reed, but unfortunately, their communication had been cut off."

"Fortunately, the Honored Master had previously reached an agreement with Schicksal, and their branches in the vicinity have already responded and shared intelligence with us."

The two of them pricked up their ears.

"First of all, your island and the children are all safe. Two days before the Honkai, Reed took them back to the island for a vacation and was planning to return to Coral Island tomorrow."

"The island is fine now, except that the concentration of Honkai Energy is a bit high due to its proximity to the Coral Island. Your children all have incompletely awakened Stigmata, so they can survive at this concentration without any problems."

"However, considering the possibility of a second outbreak of Ice Herrscher, I suggest that they be taken to the World Serpent's branch nearby. I can help you make the arrangements."

"Okay, let's do it that way." Upon hearing this, Raven's body relaxed abruptly.

Reed is stronger than her, so self-preservation is definitely not a problem. And all the Herrscher that have appeared so far have sided with humanity for various reasons. Anna will probably have such an opportunity as well.

Compared to Reed and Anna, she was more worried about whether something would happen to these children.

"You seem to be getting excited a little too soon."

Gray Serpent sighed, "According to the descriptions of the Valkyrie who escaped from the central area of the main island of Coral Island, although the casualties caused by this Honkai were very small and the affected area was only the main island area, but... there is a reason for this."

"According to them, shortly after Anna Herrscher transformation into a Herrscher of Ice, Reed arrived to save them and single-handedly held off the Herrscher of Ice."

"This did indeed delay the arrival of the Great Honkai for quite some time. Since Coral Island is an artificial mechanical island, the evacuation of the residents on the main island was very convenient."

"But the price was... they didn't see the Reed emerge."

"The reinforcements that arrived later were unable to search for and rescue the Reed because they were not strong enough to enter the frozen main island and had to stop the beast tide that accompanied the Honkai."

"..."

The Raven was stunned.

"However, you don't need to worry too much... If Anna is still conscious, she shouldn't kill Reed. Besides, given Reed's ability to survive, it's unlikely she'll escape unscathed."

"The most likely scenario is that she was trapped somewhere by Anna, who was still conscious, to prevent herself from actually hurting her after she completely lost consciousness... But in any case, the faster you act, the higher her chances of survival."

"But you don't have to do it now... Sigh, never mind."

Gray Serpent watched the Raven turn and leave, shook his head helplessly, and then handed a small box to Mei.

"I haven't finished speaking yet. She left without even picking up her equipment. She really seems flustered... Mei Raiden, this is Imaginary Interferometer. Remember to bring it to her. Consider it aid supplies for you. As for how to use it, ask her yourself once she's calmed down a bit."

"This is your first mission, and the situation is special. I hope you won't mess it up."

"Although the other party is Valkyrie of Schicksal, she can also be considered a family member of the World Serpent in some ways... The Honored Master said that if you cannot control Anna and help her regain consciousness, the Honored Master can take action personally."

"He will try to temporarily sever Anna's connection with the core, but... that will probably greatly lower your standing with the Honored Master."

"I understand. Don't worry, I won't let him down."

Mei nodded slightly. She naturally understood that this mission was probably very difficult. Putting aside how to subdue Anna, how to completely free her from the control of the Honkai after subduing her was a major problem.

However... she left Kiana to clear obstacles for her, and no matter how difficult the challenges ahead, she would only face them head-on.

"Now that you understand, hurry up and catch up with Raven. Be careful, or she might leave in a transport plane on her own."

After leaving the World Serpent's base, Mei rushed to the helipad without stopping.

She could simply ride Hi-maru there. Although Hi-maru is a fox, flying and running in the air is not difficult for it.

However, if I did that, my condition would probably be reduced by a few points when I arrived at Coral Island.

Mei couldn't be so arrogant in front of Anna, who was also Herrscher.

"Where was it again... Oh, over there."

Looking around, Mei quickly found the plane she needed to ride in.

Mei quickly entered the cabin and seemed to hear some sounds.

"It's alright, it's alright..."

Is it Raven? Mei lowered her footsteps slightly and heard messy footsteps through the half-open hatch.

The Raven, who had arrived on the transport plane early, were pacing anxiously in their private cabin, as restless as ants on a hot plate.

She kept muttering "It's nothing, it's nothing," while tears streamed down her face.

I don't think I'm really suited to be here right now...

Everyone has moments of emotional instability, and Mei, who has had similar experiences, can especially empathize with Raven.

She quietly slipped out and sat down in the front cabin, leaving the Raven some alone.

Hopefully she can recover soon...

So, what is Flame Willow doing at this moment?

"I'm saying, don't you really want to go out and check on Coral Island?"

Looking at Flame Willow, who was relaxing in the reception room, Xia Ling tilted her head.

"No need... There's no one on Coral Island right now, so there's no point in me going out. Without the King's Set, I can't break the seal Anna set for herself, so why would I go out?"

Flame Willow explained slowly, "Besides, I still need Mei and the others to help me weaken Anna's strength... Although I wouldn't mind dying again, I think Anna might not be able to handle it, so I'll wait until they've weakened the Herrscher's consciousness enough before I go out~"

"You? Afraid Anna won't be able to handle dying again?" Xia Ling thought about the script she had seen, and her lips twitched slightly.

"So it seems you... didn't let Anna off the hook either?"

Chapter 40 Durandal: Otto's orders, aren't they practically meaningless?

"Are you... alright?"

Looking at the Raven sitting down next to her, Mei's voice was somewhat hesitant.

"I'm much better now. I'm sorry I showed you the embarrassing side of me."

"If it were me, I wouldn't be much better off than you."

Mei offered a word of comfort, then looked out the window.

"However, if you continue to be depressed for a while, I might have to come looking for you, after all... we're almost there."

"Did Gray Serpent add anything after that?"

"If we fail, Kevin will step in to resolve this matter. He seems to have the ability to seal the powers of Herrscher for a short period of time."

"That's good... With the Honored Master backing me up, I feel much more relaxed."

Raven seemed relieved, Mei guessed that she was probably worried that World Serpent would give the order to kill the Herrscher of Ice.

"So, what do you plan to do?"

"Let's go to the main island and see if we can find Reed. If not..."

"Then let's cling to your coattails and beat up that little idiot Anna together."

"Huh? I thought your style of doing things wouldn't be so radical."

"That varies from person to person."

Raven answered without hesitation, "Anna's personality... is probably similar to yours, but she's a bit more naive and more prone to getting stuck in dead ends."

"I believe she doesn't have any bad intentions, and I believe she has the ability to break free from the Honkai, but, at least for now..."

Raven turned its gaze to the completely frozen island outside the window.

"If no one had pulled her out of the way, she might never have been able to get out of this situation on her own. Although I don't know what Reed was thinking, I think that when she went to stop Anna on her own, she probably wanted to do the same thing."

"Unfortunately, that guy isn't strong enough. Sigh, I'll have to rely on him."

"It sounds like you've fully recovered, that's good." Mei stood up. "Let's go, the people from Schicksal have probably been here for a long time."

"Rita, how is it?"