Operation Failed / What Appears in Nagazora City Isn't Necessarily the Herrscher of Thunder

"Rita, Gwen's operation should be starting soon.

Your task is simple: deliver this prototype fourth-generation God-Slaying Armor to Gwen."

In the laboratory, Otto placed an equipment case on the table and pushed it toward Rita, who had just arrived after receiving the temporary assignment.

"Perhaps Gwen will not need it, but to avoid the worst-case scenario, let us give our knight another layer of insurance."

"Yes, Bishop."

Though she was somewhat surprised that a physical prototype of the fourth-generation God-Slaying Armor had been produced so quickly, Rita merely lowered her head without showing any unusual reaction and accepted the task.

Nearly a month had passed since Gwen had gone to the Far East on his mission. Rita had contacted him several times because of that mission, and Yolandale had even passed along a gift for her birthday, but if one were to be precise, Rita and Gwen had not seen each other for nearly a month.

Ever since Gwen had come to this world from Fire Moth's base, this seemed to be the first time they had been apart for so long...

At that thought, Rita, carrying the equipment case containing the prototype fourth-generation God-Slaying Armor prepared for Gwen, paused slightly. Yet that faint emotional shift did not affect her movements. Rita concealed it the next moment, and Otto, who could only see her back, found it difficult to notice anything amiss... probably?

After Rita left, Otto's laboratory, now occupied by him alone, once again echoed with his voice, as though he were conversing with someone...

Ten minutes later, Rita boarded an airship bound for the Far East and departed Schicksal Headquarters.

Meanwhile, in Changkong City in the Far East, on the other side of the globe, Gwen stepped out of the elevator as its doors opened.

"Who goes there?"

A security guard's questioning voice came through the speakers. Several black gun barrels were aimed at the elevator doors. If Gwen made any suspicious movements, concentrated fire would turn him into a pile of minced flesh.

"Someone here to save you."

Gwen casually answered the security personnel's question, then vanished from sight, causing the bullets fired from the gun barrels to strike the elevator instead.

Having already equipped his armor through transmission technology, Gwen completely ignored the gunfire. His figure moved like a phantom through the underground complex.

Even the few elite personnel equipped with Anti-Entropy tactical analyzers had no way of dealing with Gwen, who had fully brought the combat philosophy of "Swift as Wind, Steady as Forest, Fierce as Fire" into play.

Phantom after phantom flashed through the underground space filled with various instruments. One security guard after another collapsed limply to the ground. Though their breathing remained steady, they would not be waking up anytime soon.

After effortlessly dealing with the guards, Gwen charged toward the Honkai Energy engine whose rumbling rotation he could hear with his sharp hearing, guided by Prometheus—

According to the information Prometheus had obtained from the surveillance system, Cocolia appeared to be planning to use the same method World Serpent would later employ in Sky City: overload Honkai Energy engines to unleash an enormous amount of Honkai Energy and trigger a Honkai outbreak.

However, perhaps because the technology of the present still lagged behind that of several years later, and because Cocolia intended to create a large-scale Honkai outbreak capable of producing a Herrscher rather than the kind World Serpent used that could merely affect the range of a large city, Cocolia had deployed more than one Honkai Energy engine.

Fortunately, after comparing the data from Schicksal Headquarters, Prometheus analyzed the shutdown methods for these Honkai Energy engines, allowing Gwen to successfully shut down the several engines visible on the surveillance feed.

Yet even after shutting down the final engine, Gwen showed no joy on his face—

Even now, Gwen could still clearly hear the rumbling of engines operating underground, proving that more Honkai Energy engines were still running below.

Moreover, their output might even surpass that of the engines he had already shut down...

At that thought, Gwen, still in peak condition, did not hesitate. He charged in the direction from which his sense of danger was coming, toward the hidden threat.

After passing through a winding path and piercing several fortification-grade doors along the way, Gwen finally found his target in a location far beyond the bounds of ME Corp.

"...Prometheus, hurry!"

Feeling the terrifyingly high concentration of Honkai Energy in the surroundings due to the energy leaking from the engine, Gwen's expression darkened slightly as he spoke directly in his mind.

Without making Gwen wait, Prometheus, understanding immediately, provided the method for shutting down the engine:

"Found it. First... then..."

Prometheus rapidly explained the shutdown procedure for the model of Honkai Energy engine before them, while also reminding Gwen of every detail to prevent any mishaps—

Though Prometheus still did not truly understand human emotions, it could guess that if this operation failed and Cocolia successfully triggered a large-scale Honkai outbreak, Gwen might suffer some sort of problem.

However, just as Gwen calmly followed Prometheus's guidance step by step and completed the final step of shutting down the engine, the rumbling of the engine suddenly became synchronized.

Before Gwen could show relief, a projection suddenly appeared before him. Cocolia stood with her arms folded, looking down arrogantly at Gwen as she said:

"You are quite capable to have made it this far.

Unfortunately, you followed the wrong person."

—It seemed Cocolia had anticipated someone trying to sabotage her plan, so she had left behind this recording on the final engine.

At the same time, Prometheus's voice rang out in Gwen's mind—

"Leave now!

They altered the engine's program. The original shutdown procedure has been changed into a detonation sequence.

If they have also connected this place to the earlier engines, then..."

Since this location was already far outside ME Corp.'s territory and there were no devices nearby that Prometheus could use to infiltrate, it could not provide an exact assessment and could only make the worst-case prediction.

However, before Prometheus could finish, Gwen's body was hurled back in the direction he had come from by the terrifying Honkai Energy that suddenly erupted.

At the same time, the several Honkai Energy engines Gwen had urgently shut down, which still contained massive amounts of Honkai Energy produced under extreme overload, suddenly exploded as well.

In an instant, the terrifying Honkai Energy created a concentration within the cramped underground space far exceeding what was needed for a Herrscher to be born.

Under the pressure brought by that immense concentration of Honkai Energy, the vast amount of energy instantly spread to the surface along the routes that had long been prepared—

"Whew...

I'm exhausted."

On a street nearly two kilometers away from ME Corp., Kiana leaned against a fire hydrant that had just been renovated a few days ago and caught her breath.

Even with Kiana's exceptional physique, sprinting two kilometers had left her somewhat winded. Still, that amount of exertion would not affect her actions too greatly.

Beside Kiana, Raiden Mei's face had also flushed slightly from the intense exercise—

Though Raiden Mei had always studied swordsmanship under the Homonculus Sword Saint and had achieved excellent results, making her far from the frail, delicate young lady of conventional impression, suddenly sprinting two kilometers could not possibly leave her unaffected.

"All right, Kiana, stop complaining.

Get ready. We need to start hiding."

After catching her breath, Raiden Mei took out the tracksuit that had been prepared in advance from her backpack—

They had prepared it before leaving home that morning.

Whether Plan A succeeded and they escaped Changkong City in secret, or they had no choice but to execute Plan B, Raiden Mei and Kiana would need a small disguise after helping Gwen reach ME Corp. and withdrawing.

"Okay!"

Kiana nodded firmly and prepared to take out the clothes she had brought from her backpack. There was no one in this alley, and there were no streetlights. After a simple disguise, they might not fool professionals, but ordinary passersby would not notice anything—

With the surveillance already disabled, they could safely leave the area and hide.

All they had to do next was wait for Gwen to come for them.

However, before Kiana could take her hand off the fire hydrant, her body suddenly shuddered. Her movements froze instantly, and her eyes shut tightly.

"Kiana?"

Mei, who had put on the tracksuit and just tied her loose long hair into a ponytail, looked at the suddenly silent Kiana in confusion. All she saw was the pink glow surrounding Kiana's body...

Though she only knew its name and had never seen the real thing, Raiden Mei did not immediately recognize the nature of that pink radiance. Yet a sense of foreboding still made her instinctively want to take Kiana away from there.

However, after taking just one step closer, before she could grasp Kiana's hand, Raiden Mei felt her mind grow heavy, and her movements stalled...

"Damn it!"

In the cramped underground space beneath ME Corp., Gwen, who had faced the full force of the blast, pulled himself free from the wall. Feeling the Honkai Energy in the environment, nearly dense enough to become tangible, he could not help cursing.

"Prometheus, how is the situation now?"

As he threw out the emergency Honkai Energy neutralizing agents he carried, Gwen asked in his mind—

These were not medicines intended for humans who had already been corrupted. They were standard equipment issued to every Valkyrie for preserving their lives in environments with excessively high Honkai Energy concentrations.

Yet even after Gwen threw out all the agents on him, it was little more than a drop in the bucket and could not have any decisive effect.

"The situation is unfavorable—"

Prometheus answered concisely:

"According to the readings, the concentration of Honkai Energy on the surface is rapidly rising, but it has only caused a minor Honkai outbreak—

Most of the Honkai Energy is flowing toward the alley where Raiden Mei and Kiana are hiding."

"So the worst-case scenario has still happened, hasn't it?"

Ignoring the scattered few zombies, Gwen had already reached the elevator in a blur of motion. Hearing that, his heart sank. Though he asked in his mind, his movements came to a halt.

"I'm afraid... yes."

Prometheus's voice seemed to gain a trace of hesitation along with Gwen's mood—

"The probability is as high as ninety-nine percent."

"Heh, figures..."

Gwen gave a cold laugh, but there was no amusement on his face. Only icy calm remained in his handsome features.

Gwen, who had faintly sensed the danger coming from above, did not hesitate. He passed the spear Schicksal had issued to him as an A-rank Knight into his other hand, while his freed hand touched his empty wrist.

As light flowed, the long-unseen Light-Dark Spark(?) appeared in Gwen's hand. At a thought, a gentle light lit up, enveloping Gwen's body as he rushed toward the surface.

At this moment, if someone could overlook the flow of Honkai Energy across Changkong City, they would discover that the Honkai outbreak in Changkong City had actually been confined to a relatively limited area—

Although the several points in Changkong City where Honkai Energy was erupting continuously released enough Honkai Energy to destroy the entire city.

At this moment, however, that vast amount of Honkai Energy did not rapidly spread out and form a large-scale Honkai outbreak that would destroy the city. Instead, it drifted purposefully in a single direction, ultimately gathering at one point.

Of course, Honkai Energy triggered by human intervention alone did not possess such intelligence.

Rather than drifting toward that point, the Honkai Energy was being drawn toward it—

"Kiana..."

Looking at Kiana, now enveloped in thick purple radiance, Raiden Mei felt as though even her body no longer belonged to her. Still, she struggled step by step toward the white-haired girl without any thought of giving up—

Though she did not know what exactly was happening, Raiden Mei had a premonition that if she allowed this transformation to continue, something terrible would certainly happen.

Moreover, since Kiana had come to protect her because of Gwen's plan, she absolutely could not let Kiana suffer an accident because of it and make Gwen bear the burden of Kiana's death again...

Beyond that, although Gwen had become the second person to offer her kindness and warmth, Raiden Mei still could not stand by and watch Kiana, the first person who had helped her, come to harm—

Driven by an impulse Raiden Mei herself had never noticed, those thoughts swiftly suppressed her instinct to flee and compelled her to walk toward Kiana step by difficult step.

As Raiden Mei drew closer, the enormous amount of Honkai Energy gathered around Kiana flowed into Raiden Mei's body as well, causing purple markings that signified corruption to appear across her skin.

Yet none of that slowed Raiden Mei's steps—

Raiden Mei's body was like another bottomless pit, frantically absorbing vast amounts of Honkai Energy.

As the enormous amount of Honkai Energy entered her body, something that had lain dormant within Raiden Mei for years began to send out invisible ripples. More and more static, growing clearer by the moment, gradually appeared in Raiden Mei's ears.

However, Raiden Mei completely ignored the static that had once appeared beside her ears. She only wanted to awaken the white-haired girl who had shown her kindness when she had nearly despaired, so that the boy who had illuminated her world would bear one less burden of guilt.

Thus, Raiden Mei walked step by step until she reached the white-haired girl. She reached out and took the girl's hanging hand, trying to wake her—

"Kiana?

Kia..."

However, before Raiden Mei could finish her second call, her voice abruptly stopped—

A hand far stronger than the weakened Raiden Mei's gripped her fragile neck. The owner of that hand, the white-haired girl whose eyes had opened to reveal brilliant golden irises, no longer possessed her usual carefree, goofy air.

In its place was a queenly majesty worthy of those golden eyes—

The other bottomless pit, the one that had drawn this vast amount of Honkai Energy here, was precisely the white-haired girl's body.

"I am so happy that you were here beside me when I awoke."

Her voice was no longer as clear as before. The white twin braids of the white-haired girl whose eyes had turned gold had already come undone, her long white hair spilling down her back. Her school uniform had been replaced by a Herrscher gown dominated by black and white, and the hand gripping Raiden Mei's neck now wore a glove matching the Herrscher gown.

However, the white-haired girl's grip around Raiden Mei's neck did not weaken in the slightest. Instead, it grew stronger as Honkai Energy continued to gather.

The white-haired girl's other hand had also quietly risen to Raiden Mei's chest, as though she were searching for the right place to strike—

"Now, become one with me again, my other half."

As she spoke leisurely, the white-haired girl's palm quietly touched Raiden Mei's clothing.

It was easy to imagine that the next moment, a hand would pierce through Raiden Mei's chest.

However, the hand that should have plunged into Raiden Mei's chest ultimately missed. Even the hand tightly gripping Raiden Mei's neck suddenly grasped nothing—