Delayed Return / Elysia's Little Psychology Class (×) Applying to Be an External Brain (√)

"..."

With a soft sigh, Gwen picked up Ksitigarbha's Soul lying quietly on the ground and stood up.

Off to the side, Aili, who had merely watched silently throughout and had not interrupted the two of them, looked at Gwen holding the blade, then at the now-empty ground, and murmured wistfully,

"It's over..."

"Yeah, it's over..."

Looking at the ruins, which differed slightly from those in his memories but were still largely the same, Gwen murmured and released his transformation.

As Gwen released his transformation, the Meta Field began to dissipate as well. The figure of Aili, formed from Gwen's light, rapidly vanished too—yet because it was a moment too late, she entered the sight of someone waiting outside.

"Aili?"

Though over a thousand years of experience had transformed Hua, who had once only been able to follow behind Kevin, from an unripe fruit into a towering tree,

when she saw that rapidly disappearing figure, an earthquake seemed to erupt within Fu Hua's heart, and she spoke the name buried deep within her memories.

Originally, Hua had followed Otto's orders to investigate this place and had been quite concerned about the strange spatial fluctuations she could only vaguely sense.

Yet after seeing that figure, Fu Hua felt that every doubt in her heart had been answered at once—

If it was Aili, then everything made sense.

After all, that was Aili.

It was just that what needed to be done now had changed from investigating those strange spatial fluctuations to figuring out how Aili had appeared here.

Her gaze settling on Gwen, who had appeared out of thin air, Fu Hua's face took on a trace of confusion.

Could it be you, Gwen...?

The shock Aili had brought Fu Hua caused a slight change in her aura, which had blended perfectly into the surroundings, and Gwen noticed it—

"Who's there?"

Although this was a restricted zone under the Far East Branch, considering the branch's various problems, the possibility of enemies appearing could not be ruled out.

"It's me, Fu Hua."

Under Gwen's watchful gaze as he assumed a guarded stance, Fu Hua stepped out from the corner.

"So it's you."

Letting out a breath, Gwen relaxed his guard.

"Sorry for making you worry."

Gwen had not considered that Otto had been monitoring this place through satellites. He merely thought Fu Hua had noticed the disturbance, worried about him, and come to watch his back.

"Are you all right?"

Though she had many questions in her heart, Fu Hua had no intention of asking them here. She merely calmly asked about Gwen's condition.

"I'm fine. Nothing serious, just a bit worn out."

Shaking his head, Gwen answered casually. Looking at the poisonous gas drifting slowly through the sky, he asked,

"Now that the Simulated Herrscher has been dealt with, what about this poison gas?"

"According to the doctors aboard the Hyperion, it is a neurotoxin. Excessive inhalation can cause severe harm to the human body.

However, now that the Simulated Herrscher has been killed, the remaining gas will disperse to concentrations too low to be fatal. It should not be difficult to deal with."

Pushing up her glasses, Fu Hua explained.

"That's good."

Gwen nodded. Having no intention of chatting with Fu Hua amid these ruins, he called for her to leave.

"Let's go. It's time to tell Himeko and the others the definitive results."

"All right."

With that, the two walked together toward the blockade, leaving the ruins empty once more.

As their figures receded into the distance, a pair of sharp wine-red fingerless gloves quietly lowered a telescope inside an abandoned building far away.

"He's already out. He left the restricted area with Fu Hua."

After speaking softly into her communicator, the black-clad figure hiding at an exceptionally tricky angle, almost impossible to spot from outside, quietly let out a breath.

Though she was quite capable herself, compared to those two outside, her small frame was still far too fragile.

Natasha Sciola, an orphan Gray Serpent had brought out of Siberia after the Second Honkai Eruption, a World Serpent executive, Codename Raven.

Raven had originally come to Changkong City today for an intelligence exchange, only to run into the sudden Honkai outbreak. Her mission had changed into observing the Simulated Herrscher that appeared in this Honkai event and seizing the Simulated Herrscher Core when the opportunity arose.

Then, after Gwen arrived, her mission changed again into observing Gwen...

In short, if Gray Serpent were not always so prompt with payment, Raven might have felt like walking away from the job.

"...Withdraw first. The enemy has been eliminated, and Schicksal should be coming to clean up the scene."

Gray Serpent's voice emerged from the communicator without making Raven wait long.

Through Raven's modified telescope, Gray Serpent had seen everything Raven saw, including that figure that had vanished almost in an instant.

Though he had long concluded that Gwen was connected to her and had even suspected that Gwen possessed Aili's power, seeing her figure with his own eyes still caused even Gray Serpent's emotions to fluctuate.

Fortunately, Aili's fleeting appearance made Gray Serpent abandon the idea of having Raven inspect the nearby space at close range and order her to withdraw instead.

"All right, then I'll be leaving first."

Adjusting the hood over her head, Raven, completely shrouded in a black cloak, disappeared into a dark corner and left by her own means...

"Bishop Otto, the Simulated Herrscher has been eliminated, and the Simulated Herrscher Core has been secured."

In the room Himeko had arranged for him aboard the Hyperion, Gwen contacted Otto and reported on the mission.

"Testing has shown that, at least for the Simulated Herrscher that appeared in this Honkai event and lacked specialized defensive capabilities, it could not withstand Moondust's Annihilation Mode.

In addition, I encountered a rather unusual existence in Changkong City. It is not suitable to discuss over communications. I would like to report on it separately after I return."

"Splendid work, my friend."

Facing Gwen's report, Otto wore a hearty smile and did not spare his delight or praise.

"It seems I should prepare to welcome a new S-class."

"Please spare me, Bishop Otto. I only just finished making up the theoretical courses for A-class."

Gwen replied with a smile, then continued,

"However, I expended quite a lot in battle. I cannot fly back directly right now, so I may need to rest for a while, or have the Far East Branch send an aircraft to take me back."

Because of his deep fusion with the Gene Lock, the purity and quantity of Gwen's light were far inferior to Nexus's. His transformation did not turn him into someone as powerful as Nexus but capable of lasting only three to five seconds.

Instead, his strength was far inferior to the Nexus in Gwen's memories, while the duration depended on Gwen's output and expenditure. His power was tied to his own strength.

However, that did not mean Gwen had had an easy time dealing with Yae Sakura while transformed.

On the contrary, maintaining the Meta Field for a long time and unleashing several skills had consumed a great deal of his energy. If not for the abundant reserve energy within the Paraj Bracelet, Gwen likely would not have been able to hold on.

Even so, his mental exhaustion was considerable.

Though he estimated that he had already made it onto Otto's whitelist, if possible, Gwen still hoped to recover some energy before returning once his condition improved. It would also give him time to speak with Fu Hua face-to-face.

Faced with Gwen's reasonable request, Otto readily agreed.

"Of course. Just make sure to protect that Simulated Herrscher Core and avoid any accidents."

"Understood."

Gwen nodded and agreed.

"In that case, I won't disturb you further. See you."

With a wave of his hand, Otto ended the communication himself, and the room fell silent once more.

"Whew..."

Letting out a soft breath, Gwen lay back on the bed, casually set the Schicksal terminal aside, and enjoyed the relaxation after battle.

However, before Gwen could rest for long, Aili's voice sounded in his mind—

"Gwen?"

"Hm?

What is it, Aili?"

Turning over and finding a comfortable position on the bed, Gwen replied in his mind.

"About Ling... how much do you know, Gwen?"

Aili's voice was hesitant as she carefully probed,

"Not much. What I know about Ling herself is limited to the fact that she was Sakura's younger sister."

During the time he had spent with Aili, Gwen had not failed to notice that he occasionally revealed information in his words about the Previous Civilization—things that, as someone not from that era, he theoretically should not have known.

However, after his initial nervousness, seeing that Aili did not ask about it, Gwen was happy to play dumb.

Now that Aili had raised the question, Gwen did not hesitate long before answering,

"Other than that, I know that after Herrscher fluctuations were detected in Ling, she was imprisoned. The higher-ups struggled to make a decision, while the lower-ranking soldiers, affected by the Discipline, went rogue and shot Ling, leading to the formal birth of the Twelfth Herrscher. Afterward, humanity's last three settlements were destroyed.

After that, influenced by Sakura, the Twelfth Herrscher fell into a trap and was ultimately sealed.

But because it was not completely eliminated, this Divine Key had remained unfinished until today, when it finally took shape and fell into my hands."

"...Then...

What do you think about this?

You can tell me anything."

Somewhat surprised by how much Gwen knew about the incident, Aili said carefully,

"Aili would be very happy to help share some of your unhappiness, you know~?"

As someone who had been through it herself, Aili was deeply worried that Gwen, another successor walking the path of fighting Honkai, might develop emotional knots because of something like this—

Aili still remembered how devastating the Herrscher of Death incident had been to Kevin.

Aili felt that whether as a senior, Gwen's tenant, or simply a beautiful girl, she had a duty to care about Gwen's mental well-being.

However, Gwen's mental strength had reached a certain level. So even though Aili could be said to be living in Gwen's mind, she still could not sense his thoughts and could only ask cautiously.

"When I first learned about this, I cursed the soldiers responsible for guarding Ling for being foolish.

But after learning more, I gradually came to terms with it..."

Gwen's response was calmer and more rational than Aili had expected.

"The original intention of the Discipline was good. It was meant to help warriors strengthen their resolve to fight Honkai, and it was indeed remarkably effective. I even suspect that without the Discipline, the army might have mutinied long ago and indulged in one final carnival before the end.

Dr. Mei's choice was not wrong either. Though Ling was still normal at the time, the Herrscher fluctuations could not be denied. With Kevin's experience as precedent, allowing a potential Herrscher to move freely was not advisable.

As a leader, it was a choice Dr. Mei had to make.

And those soldiers, under the Discipline's influence, feared and hated Honkai beyond measure.

Past battles had taught them that once a Herrscher appeared, only death awaited them.

To survive, to kill Honkai, under immense pressure, they chose to fire and kill Ling, who could theoretically turn into a Herrscher at any moment.

If there was an error, perhaps it was only that those soldiers could not endure the immense pressure and were completely crushed by it.

But from a third-party perspective, after clearly understanding that they could only serve as cannon fodder in a battle against a Herrscher, faced with a defenseless Herrscher vessel and without knowing how it would truly manifest, someone making that choice was the normal outcome.

It was even possible that those soldiers had not been crushed by pressure at all. Under the influence of all those factors, they may have believed that their superiors were playing with fire, that they had a duty to eliminate this threat for humanity, and chose to fire.

Seen that way, they could even be regarded as the protagonists in those stories who made choices contrary to the great figures—except their choice ultimately led to disaster...

Of course, if they had been sent by certain powerful figures who had not been thoroughly purged to cause trouble, that would be another matter."

"..."

Listening to Gwen's analysis, Aili fell silent.

Originally, while Gwen had been speaking with the others, Aili had written several little essays in preparation to comfort him.

Yet she had not expected Gwen to say something like this. Not only did he show none of the emotions she had worried about, he even calmly analyzed the matter for her in a way she had never expected.