Alicia is the True Cheat in Honkai!

"..."

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

Alicia, who had been watching the entire time without disturbing the two, looked at Gwen holding his sword, then at the empty ground. She softly exclaimed:

"It's over..."

"Yeah, it's over..."

Looking at the ruins, which had slight differences from his memories but were largely the same, Gwen whispered and deactivated his transformation.

As Gwen's transformation ended, the Meta Field began to dissipate. The figure of Alicia, formed by Gwen's light, also rapidly faded. However, because she was a step too late, her image was caught by someone waiting outside.

Chapter 80: Delayed Return

"Alicia?"

Although thousands of years of experience had transformed Fu Hua from a tender sapling, who could only follow Kevin, into a towering ancient tree, seeing the rapidly disappearing figure still felt like an earthquake in her heart. The name, hidden deep in her memories, escaped her lips.

Originally, Fu Hua, who had come here to investigate under Otto's orders, was quite concerned about the strange spatial fluctuations she could faintly sense. However, after seeing that figure, Fu Hua felt as if all her doubts were resolved – if it was Alicia, then it made sense. After all, it was Alicia.

Now, however, the task had shifted from investigating the strange spatial fluctuations to figuring out how Alicia had appeared here. Fu Hua's gaze fixed on Gwen, who had appeared out of nowhere, a hint of confusion on her face.

Could it be you? Gwen...

The shock Alicia had caused Fu Hua also caused a slight change in her aura, which had perfectly blended with her surroundings, and Gwen noticed it.

"Who's there?"

Although this was a restricted area of the Far East Branch, considering the various issues with the Far East Branch, the possibility of enemies appearing couldn't be ruled out.

"It's me, Fu Hua."

Under Gwen's watchful, defensive gaze, Fu Hua emerged from the corner.

"It's you."

Relieved, Gwen lowered his guard. "Sorry to worry you."

Gwen hadn't expected Otto to be monitoring the area via satellite; he thought Fu Hua had sensed the commotion and come to provide backup because she was worried.

"Are you alright?"

Although she had many questions, Fu Hua had no intention of asking them here. She calmly inquired about Gwen's condition.

"I'm fine. It's nothing serious, just a bit drained."

Shaking his head, Gwen answered casually. He looked at the poisonous gas slowly drifting in the sky and asked, "Speaking of which, the Simulated Herrscher has been dealt with, but what about this poisonous gas?"

"According to the doctors on the Hyperion, this is a neurotoxin. Inhaling too much will cause severe damage to the human body. However, now that the Simulated Herrscher has been killed, the concentration of the remaining gas, as it spreads, is no longer enough to be fatal. It shouldn't be too difficult to handle."

Pushing up her glasses, Fu Hua explained.

"That's good."

Nodding, Gwen had no intention of chatting with Fu Hua in the ruins. He beckoned her to leave. "Let's go. We should tell Himeko and the others the definitive results."

"Okay."

With that, the two walked towards the blockade line, leaving the ruins empty once more.

As their figures receded, in a distant abandoned building, a telescope held by a sharp, wine-red fingertip was quietly lowered.

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

She whispered into her communicator. The dark figure, hidden at a very tricky angle that made her almost invisible from the outside, quietly let out a sigh of relief. Although her strength was quite good, compared to the two outside, her small frame was still too fragile.

Natasha Sciola, an orphan brought back from Siberia by Gray Serpent after the Second Honkai War, a cadre of World Serpent, codenamed Raven. Raven had come to Changkong City today for an intelligence trade but unexpectedly stumbled upon the outbreak of Honkai. Her mission then shifted to observing the Simulated Herrscher that appeared during this Honkai outbreak and seizing the Simulated Herrscher Core if the opportunity arose. Later, after Gwen arrived, her mission became observing Gwen... In short, if Gray Serpent hadn't been so prompt with payments, Raven would have felt like quitting.

"...Let's retreat first. The enemy has been eliminated, and Schicksal should be initiating a cleanup."

Gray Serpent's voice came through the communicator without making Raven wait long.

Through Raven's modified telescope, Gray Serpent saw everything Raven saw, including the figure that flashed by almost instantly.

Although he had long suspected Gwen's connection to it and even suspected that Gwen had obtained Alicia's power, seeing the figure with his own eyes caused a ripple of emotion even in Gray Serpent.

Fortunately, Alicia's fleeting figure made Gray Serpent abandon the idea of having Raven observe the nearby space up close again, and instead ordered her to retreat.

"Okay, I'll be going then."

Raven, adjusting the hood on her head and shrouding herself entirely in a black cloak, vanished into a dark corner and left the place in her own way...

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

In the room Himeko had arranged for him on the Hyperion, Gwen contacted Otto to report on the mission:

"According to experiments, at least the Simulated Herrschers that appeared in this Honkai outbreak without specialized defensive capabilities could not withstand the annihilation mode strike of Yue Tian.

In addition, I encountered a rather special existence in Changkong City. It's not suitable to discuss over communication; I'd like to report it in person when I get back."

"Well done, my friend."

Otto responded to Gwen's report with a hearty smile, not sparing any of his joy and praise:

"It seems I'll have to prepare for a new S-rank."

"Please spare me, Bishop Otto. I only just finished catching up on the theoretical courses for A-rank."

Gwen replied with a smile, then added, "However, due to the significant consumption during the battle, I can't fly back directly right now. I might need to rest for a while, or perhaps ask the Far East Branch to send a plane to pick me up."

Although Gwen's transformation, due to deep integration with the Gene Lock, had a purity and quantity of light far inferior to Nexus, it didn't transform into a strength comparable to Nexus. Instead, it was a "five-second man" whose strength was far inferior to what Gwen remembered of Nexus. The duration depended on Gwen's exertion and consumption, and the strength was tied to Gwen's own power.

However, this did not mean that the time Gwen spent transforming to deal with Yae Sakura's issue was easy.

On the contrary, Gwen's consumption was quite high from maintaining the Meta Field for an extended period and releasing several skills. If it weren't for the ample reserve energy in the Paraj Bracelet, Gwen would have had a hard time holding on.

Even so, Gwen's mental energy consumption was still considerable.

Although he estimated he was already on Otto's whitelist, Gwen still preferred to recover some energy and return when his condition improved. This would also give him time to have a face-to-face conversation with Fu Hua.

Chapter 81: Alicia's Little Psychology Class (×) Applying to be an External Brain (√)

Facing Gwen's reasonable request, Otto readily agreed:

"Of course, just be sure to protect that Simulated Herrscher Core and don't cause any accidents."

"Understood."

Gwen nodded and accepted.

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

Waving his hand, Otto proactively ended the communication, and the room fell silent once more.

"Hoo..."

Gwen let out a light breath, stretched out on the bed, and casually placed the Schicksal terminal aside, enjoying the post-battle relaxation.

However, before Gwen could rest for long, Alicia's voice echoed in his mind—

"Gwen?"

"Hmm? What's up, Ali?"

Rolling over and finding a comfortable position on the bed, Gwen responded in his mind.

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

Alicia's voice was hesitant as she cautiously probed.

"Not much. My understanding of Ling herself is limited to being Sakura's sister."

During the time he had spent with Alicia, Gwen had noticed that he occasionally let slip information about the previous civilization that, as someone not from that era, he theoretically shouldn't know. He hadn't been so immersed in Alicia's laughter and joy that he hadn't noticed.

However, after the initial nervousness, seeing that Alicia hadn't asked, Gwen was content to remain ignorant.

Now that Alicia was asking about this, Gwen didn't hesitate much and replied:

"Beyond that, after Ling's Herrscher fluctuations were detected, she was imprisoned. The upper echelons found themselves in a difficult position, and the lower-ranking soldiers, influenced by the discipline, acted independently and shot Ling, leading to the formal birth of the Twelfth Herrscher. Afterward, humanity's last three settlements were destroyed.

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

However, because it was not completely destroyed, this Divine Key remained difficult to produce, only fully forming today and falling into my hands."

"... So... do you have any thoughts on this matter? You can tell me anything."

Somewhat surprised by Gwen's level of knowledge regarding the incident, Alicia said cautiously, "Alicia would be happy to help you share these unhappy feelings~?"

As someone who had been through similar experiences, Alicia was worried that Gwen, another successor walking the path of fighting Honkai, might develop emotional baggage because of such events—

Alicia remembered how devastating the Death Herrscher incident had been for Kevin.

Alicia felt that whether as a senior, Gwen's tenant, or simply as a beautiful girl, she needed to address Gwen's psychological state.

However, because Gwen's mental strength had been trained to a certain level, even though she could be said to have moved into Gwen's mind, Alicia still couldn't sense Gwen's thoughts, so she could only ask cautiously.

"When I first found out about this, I also called the soldiers responsible for guarding them foolish.

However, after I learned more information, I gradually came to terms with it..."

Gwen's response was surprisingly calm and rational:

"The original intention of the Discipline was good, to help the soldiers strengthen their resolve against the Honkai, and it was indeed effective. I even suspect that without the Discipline, the army might have mutinied long ago and engaged in pre-apocalypse revelry.

Dr. Mei's choice was also not wrong. Although Ling was still normal at the time, the fluctuations of a Herrscher could not be faked. With Kevin's experience, it was inadvisable to let a potential Herrscher act freely.

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

And those soldiers, influenced by the Discipline, harbored immense fear and hatred for the Honkai.

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

To survive, to kill the Honkai, under immense pressure, they chose to fire, killing Ling, who theoretically could have become a Herrscher at any moment.

If I have to say there was a mistake, it might be that these soldiers couldn't withstand the immense pressure and were completely crushed by it.

But from a third-party perspective, knowing clearly that they would only be cannon fodder in a battle against a Herrscher, facing a Herrscher's nascent form who was still powerless, and without understanding its true method of appearance, it's normal for someone to make such a choice.

It's even possible that those soldiers weren't crushed by the pressure, but rather, due to various factors, they believed the higher-ups were playing with fire and felt obligated to eliminate this scourge for humanity, thus choosing to fire.

In this light, they could even be seen as protagonists in games who go against the choices of the higher-ups, except their choice ultimately led to disaster...

Of course, if they were sent by some unpurged higher-ups to cause trouble, that would be another matter."

"..."

Listening to Gwen's analysis, Alicia fell silent.

Originally, Alicia had written several short essays during the time Gwen was talking with others, preparing to comfort Gwen.

Unexpectedly, Gwen had said such a thing, completely contrary to her expectations. Not only did he not show any of the emotions she had worried about, but he even calmly analyzed the situation for her.