The atmosphere on the top floor of Anti-Entropy was a little strange. Walter Yang and Dr. Tesla were both flushed and excited.
Einstein looked at the two of them teasingly. "Let me remind you both, this movie won't be watched by just the few of us. It's going global. I imagine Planck and Edison will be calling you two to ask about it as soon as the movie ends."
Walter Yang and Tesla froze.
Einstein had long noticed that something was off about their relationship, though she hadn't believed it at first. After all, Tesla had watched Walter Yang grow up.
"But how did that little director know? Yang, did you tell him?"
"How could I?!"
Global Calamity and the Blood and Tears of the Earth
As Ahalato activated, only Benares, Sirin, and Welt remained on the moon. At Bella's reminder, Sirin learned that an hour had already passed, even though not even a minute had passed for her.
"What exactly did you do to me?!"
Welt did not explain Sirin's anger. Back on Earth, he had discussed it with Einstein: risking being swallowed by a black hole himself, he would use black hole effects and time dilation to stall Sirin and buy time for Siegfried.
Welt staggered to his feet.
"All these years... thank you, Ein, for always taking care of me and helping me..."
Sirin flew into a rage from humiliation, but seeing Welt barely able to stand, she felt somewhat disappointed. After waiting three days, she had only gotten such a weak traitor. Naturally, she broke her promise. Under the Void Herrscher's authority, meteors rose into the air.
"What are you doing?!"
"You said that as long as I came to the moon, you wouldn't..."
Furious and alarmed, Welt tremblingly raised his hand. The little Honkai energy left in his body was driven by all his remaining strength. He opened his crimson eyes, and mechs and fighter jets manifested behind him.
"This is... my final battle..."
"I am proud that, at this final moment..."
"I can still fight to protect this world!"
"What a respectable man." Otto got out of bed, opened a bottle of red wine from the small refrigerator beside it, swirled the wineglass, and raised a toast to Welt on the screen.
"Otto..."
"Kallen, what is it?" Otto asked.
"I... I'm choking!"
"Haah, how can Sirin go back on her word? Where's the dignity of a Herrscher, the dignity of a big bad villain?" Fuhua Shishi widened her eyes. Pure as she was, she had never considered that someone could simply break their word. It was as if some forbidden knowledge had entered her mind.
"Uh... I'm not surprised." Kiana said, "This is the real Sirin."
What kind of villain could a little girl who cried, threw tantrums, and rolled around on the floor because Yaqing secretly ate her treasured potato chips be? What dignity could she possibly have?
After a brutal battle, the exhausted Welt was ultimately no match for Sirin at her peak. He dropped to one knee, breathing heavily. He had successfully shattered the four meteors Sirin had sent toward Earth.
As the victor, Sirin walked up to Welt with interest and reached out, preparing to take her prize.
But Welt suddenly grabbed her arm. Patterns resembling a data network spread across his face toward Sirin.
"What is this?!"
"What trick are you playing now, First Herrscher?!"
The scene shifted to Welt's memories. Before boarding the moon, he and Tesla had spoken. He had begged Tesla to teach him how to detonate a Herrscher Core. When he said those words, Welt had not dared to look Tesla in the eyes.
If he detonated a Herrscher Core, his body would explode and be reduced to pieces. Tesla would teach Welt, but first she threw him out of her laboratory. Crying, Tesla said, "I hate... I hate... I hate people like you who don't cherish their own lives."
Welt had prepared himself to die alongside the Second Herrscher. Unfortunately, fate did not favor him. Just before the Herrscher Core self-destructed, Sirin successfully extracted the Herrscher of Reason Core from Welt's body.
Though she had been frightened enough to break out in a cold sweat and was panicking inside, Sirin still pretended to remain calm. "You actually thought you could use the power of a god to kill a god's apostle? How naive!"
Having lost all his strength, Welt collapsed completely onto the cold moon. He died alone on the moon, while Sirin absorbed the Herrscher of Reason Core and became the first Herrscher with six cores.
"Don't... go..."
Sirin turned back, only to see Welt's body dissipating into smoke.
Having gained the First Herrscher's power and knowledge, Sirin felt herself to be invincible. It was time to return to Earth and deliver divine punishment upon humanity!
"Uh... why does it feel like Sirin is pretending to be calm?" Seeing the conspicuous cold sweat on the model, every viewer had the same thought. In Golden Courtyard, Kitty was the first to say it aloud.
"Maybe... she also never expected Welt to actually detonate his Herrscher Core?" Sakura said uncertainly.
"My, my, don't you think Sirin looks a lot like a pufferfish?" Elysia's voice was as sweet as ever.
"Huh?" Even Kalpas could not hold it together.
"I mean, look. Whenever she has a chance of winning, Sirin puffs up like a pufferfish, but then someone quickly lets all the air out of her. Doesn't that sound alike?~" Elysia blinked.
"Pfft, that's quite accurate." Mei said, suppressing a laugh.
Yaqing smiled gently. "Isn't Sirin adorable?"
Everyone looked at him strangely.
Perhaps Yaqing's definition of adorable was different from theirs.
"What a shame, it was so close!" Walter Yang had successfully put himself in the scene.
"There's nothing to be done about it, Yang. You aren't the protagonist, after all." Einstein never let go of her coffee as she said evenly, "The protagonists are Siegfried and Cecilia. If you took out the final boss villain, how would the rest of the plot continue?"
"Yang, you're so miserable. You've risked your life so many times, and at this point in the plot, you're the only one doing any work. The others are either slacking off, falling in love, or there's one ＊Anti-Entropy profanity＊ Schicksal bishop dragging everyone down." Tesla patted Walter Yang on the shoulder.
Walter Joyce sat beside Einstein. The two exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with amused smiles.
At 12:05 PM on February 12, 2000, Sirin used the Herrscher of Reason's authority to manifest two battleships and return to Earth. Sirin and Benares boarded one, while the other carried more than ten thousand Honkai Beasts.
In just fifteen minutes, the Tower of Babylon fell.
Patrick died while buying time for Salome, Shub-Niggurath, and the researchers to retreat.
Salome fought Benares alone and died heroically.
On the snowfield, Sirin arrived behind the Tower of Babylon. Looking at the grave marked by nothing but three branches, she held a Herrscher Core in her palm.
"...Come with me and enjoy this revenge."
February 14.
The Pseudo Herrscher of Wind landed in Oulu, Finland. Amid raging winds, the city was reduced to ruins.
The Pseudo Herrscher of Flame landed in Astana. Amid her laughter, the city became a sea of fire.
The Pseudo Herrscher of Death landed in Siberia. Black mist spread out, creating a scene like the end of the world.
The three Pseudo Herrschers caused massive casualties across the globe and economic damage beyond estimation. Sirin used the Void Herrscher's authority to create a portal, ordering Bella to guard the Tower of Babylon even at the cost of her life.
Meanwhile, Sirin would follow the will of "God," destroy humanity's cities, and gain even greater power for herself.
"This is the scene from the trailer. It's terrifying every time I see it." Kitty curled into a ball.
"Sirin split her power?" Vill-V was puzzled. She had just been wondering how humanity could possibly defeat Sirin, who possessed six different authorities. Would they have to rely on knowledge from the Previous Era brought back from the moon as a cheat?
"No, Sirin did not divide her own power." Yaqing shook his head. "They were merely granted a portion of Sirin's power. They cannot become true Herrschers."
"What does Pseudo Herrscher mean, like a Herrscher but not actually a Herrscher? Explain it." Mobius asked.
"There's nothing to hide." Yaqing said, "Pseudo Herrschers are not chosen by 'God,' but bestowed by 'God's apostles.' Compared to true Herrschers, calling their authorities omnipotent would be inaccurate. They are more like the abilities possessed by high-level Honkai Beasts."
"Pseudo Herrschers... authorities... Honkai Beast abilities..."
"Oh no, Sister Vill-V has started muttering to herself again!"
Pre-Battle Preparations and a Speech
At the Poland-Belarus border, Schicksal pickup trucks withdrew through the wind and snow. On the roof of one truck, Shub-Niggurath, who was covering the convoy's retreat, had long been exhausted. Leaning on the long handle of her weapon, she forced herself to keep watch over the surrounding pack of Honkai Beasts eyeing them hungrily.
"Damn it... why hasn't the reinforcements arrived yet..."
Shub's voice was very weak.
Suddenly, several icy sword lights tore through the Honkai Beast pack. Amid the snowstorm stood a woman with long blue-gray hair and cold eyes. The entirely azure sword in her hand radiated waves of frigid light.
She was none other than Cheng Lixue, Schicksal's strongest A-Rank Valkyrie. She saved Shub and brought news that Bishop Otto had summoned all Valkyries above B-Rank in Europe for an operation meeting to subjugate the Second Herrscher at noon the next day.
At the same time, on Schicksal's floating island, Cecilia had just put little Kiana to sleep when she learned of Shub's safety by phone. Then Amber, the bishop's secretary, arrived at some point. She brought Otto's orders, telling Cecilia to prepare for battle.
In the bishop's office, Otto observed the three Pseudo Herrschers reducing cities to ruins through satellite surveillance. He believed that A-Rank Valkyries alone could only delay them. Yet what drew his attention most was the Pseudo Herrscher of Death.
"Worried?"
A feather drifted slowly down, and a woman in a dark yellow trench coat appeared behind him.
"My old friend, you finally came." Otto looked at her, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. It seemed both pleased and calculating, though he still said, "Now, my battle plan is complete."
Seeing Otto's smile on screen, Fu Hua shuddered. She felt as though this world was full of malice toward her.
"Hehe, Class Monitor, what do you think of your cool entrance?" Kiana slipped over from beside Mei to Fu Hua again and hugged Fu Hua's arm. Anyone could see that her intentions were not so simple.
"Kiana, let go of the old antique!"
"What does it matter?! I'm not doing anything!"
With each girl clinging to one of her arms, Fu Hua felt rather helpless.
"The Class Monitor's strength in the story definitely cannot be underestimated. Bishop Otto was hesitating because even A-Rank Valkyries could only delay the Pseudo Herrschers, but as soon as the Class Monitor appeared, Bishop Otto seemed completely reassured." Bronya analyzed. "From this, it can be seen that the Class Monitor is at least stronger than an A-Rank Valkyrie."
"So that's how it is, old antique. You secretly asked Yaqing to give you such a powerful role." Little Knowledge became anxious, no longer bothering to compete with Kiana for attention.
"I didn't!" Fu Hua was stunned. She truly had not asked Yaqing for a role. At the time, Yaqing had only asked her to help with voice acting, so she went.
"Ki... a... na!"
Kiana instantly jumped like a startled rabbit. "Ah, Mei, don't twist my ear!"
"Sigh." Bronya let out a helpless sigh.
"Grandpa... let me out."
Theresa's injuries had completely healed, yet Bishop Otto had locked her up. Anxious, she kept pounding against the transparent barrier. She could not understand why Bishop Otto would confine her at such a critical moment.
"Grandpa, why are you locking me up?!"
"My injuries are healed. I want to join the operation against the Second Herrscher too!"
Otto grabbed Judah's Oath by its chain with one hand and effortlessly carried the enormous, heavy golden cross on his back. He stated that this enemy was extremely powerful. Unless Theresa could master Judah's zero-rated power, he could not let her leave.
Judah's zero-rated power could neutralize all Honkai energy for a short time. For Theresa, whose body contained Honkai Beast genes, if she could not fully control Judah, Judah would kill her.
Theresa stood there blankly, as if all the strength had been drained from her body in an instant. She collapsed weakly onto the floor.
Otto explained that he had never told Theresa how to use this power because he did not want her to be killed by Judah before she could control it. Therefore, until Theresa mastered Judah, he would not let her out.
"So that's why..." Theresa, watching the movie, was stunned as well. She had thought her grandfather deliberately refused to tell her, never expecting it to be for this reason.
"Honkai Beast genes?" Bronya gave the principal a curious look.
"Honkai Beast genes? You can actually inject Honkai Beast genes into a human body. Another path I never considered." Mobius looked at Yaqing's profile and licked her upper lip. "Yaqing, I'm becoming more and more curious about you."
"Don't be curious about me, Senior Mobius." Yaqing felt as if he were being watched by a venomous snake. That beautiful face drawing close did not make him embarrassed; instead, it made him feel slightly apprehensive.
"That's right, Professor Mobius. Haven't you heard that being curious about a man is the beginning of falling for him?~" Elysia teased.
Before you continue