Collapse City: Starting with the Production of an Animated Honkai

In the Anti-Entropy headquarters' penthouse, the atmosphere was strange. Walter Yang and Dr. Tesla were both red-faced and agitated.

Einstein looked at them with amusement. "Just a reminder, this movie isn't just for us. It's a global event. I imagine Planck and Edison will be calling you both as soon as it's over to ask what's going on."

Walter Yang and Tesla were taken aback.

Einstein had long suspected that there was something between the two of them, but at first, she didn't believe it. After all, Tesla had watched Walter Yang grow up.

"But how did that little director know? Yang, did you tell him?"

"How could I!"

Chapter 26: Global Cataclysm and the Tears of the Earth

[With the activation of Ahalato, only Benares, Sirin, and Walter remained on the moon. Benares reminded Sirin that an hour had passed, but it felt like only a minute to her.

"What have you done to me?!"

Sirin was furious, but Walter didn't explain. Back on Earth, he and Einstein had discussed using the black hole effect and time dilation to stall Sirin, giving Ziegfried time, even if it meant risking being swallowed by the black hole himself.

Walter staggered to his feet.

"All these years... thank you, Einstein, for always taking care of and helping me..."

Sirin was filled with rage and humiliation, but seeing Walter barely able to stand, she was also disappointed. Three days of waiting had only produced such a weak traitor. So, she naturally broke her promise, using the Void Herrscher's power to levitate meteorites.

"What are you doing?!"

"You said, as long as I came to the moon, you wouldn't..."

Walter, in shock and anger, trembled as he reached out, using the last of his strength to channel the little Honkai energy left in his body. He opened his red eyes, and mecha and fighter jets materialized behind him.

"This is... my last battle..."

"I am proud that, in my final moment..."

"I can still fight to protect this world (welt)!" ]

"A truly respectable figure." Otto got out of bed, opened a bottle of red wine from the small refrigerator by his bedside, swirled it in a wine glass, and raised a toast to Walter on the screen.

"Otto..."

"Kallen, what's wrong?" Otto asked.

"I... I choked!"

"Haah, how can Sirin go back on her word like that? Where's the dignity of a Herrscher, of a major villain?" Fuhua Shishi's eyes widened. In her innocence, she hadn't considered the possibility of breaking promises. It was as if some forbidden knowledge had entered her mind.

"Uh... I'm not surprised," Kiana said. "That's just what Sirin is really like."

What kind of villain could she be, what kind of dignity could she have, when she was a little girl who would throw a tantrum on the floor because Yaqing ate her treasured potato chips?

[After a fierce battle, Walter, exhausted, was ultimately no match for the fully powered Sirin. He knelt on one knee, panting. He had successfully shattered the four meteorites Sirin had launched towards Earth.

As the victor, Sirin walked towards Walter with interest, reaching out to take her prize.

But Walter grabbed her arm, and a texture similar to a data network spread across his face towards Sirin.

"What is this?!"

"What are you up to now?! First Herrscher!"

The scene shifted to Walter's memory. Before boarding the moon, he and Tesla had talked. He had begged Tesla to teach him how to detonate a Herrscher core. Walter didn't dare to look Tesla in the eye as he said those words.

Detonating the Herrscher core would cause his body to explode and shatter. Tesla would teach Walter, but she told him to get out of her lab, tearfully saying, "I hate... I hate... I hate you people who don't cherish your own lives."

Walter had prepared himself for death, to take the Second Herrscher down with him. But fate had other plans. Just before the Herrscher core detonated, Sirin successfully extracted the Core of Reason from Walter's body.

Even though she was sweating and panicking inside, Sirin still pretended to be calm and said, "To think you'd try to use the power of a god to kill an apostle of a god. How naive!"

Having lost all his strength, Walter collapsed on the cold moon, dying alone. Sirin, having absorbed the Core of Reason, became the first six-core Herrscher.

"D-don't... go..."

Sirin turned around, only to see Walter's body dissipate into smoke.

Having mastered the power of the First Herrscher, having mastered the knowledge of the First Herrscher, Sirin felt invincible. It was time to return to Earth and bring down divine punishment on humanity!]

"Uh... why does it feel like Sirin is trying to appear calm?" Looking at the noticeable cold sweat on the model, the audience watching the movie had this thought in their minds. In the Golden Courtyard, the cat was the first to say it out loud.

"Maybe... she didn't expect Walter to actually detonate the Herrscher core?" Sakura said uncertainly.

"Eeeh, don't you think Sirin looks like a pufferfish?" Elysia's voice was as sweet as ever.

"Huh?" Even Kalpas couldn't hold it in.

"I mean, look, as long as there's a chance of winning, Sirin puffs up like a pufferfish, but she's quickly deflated. Doesn't she look like one?~" Elysia blinked.

"Pfft, that's a great comparison," Mei said, trying not to laugh.

Yaqing smiled gently. "Sirin is very cute, isn't she?"

Everyone looked at him strangely.

Yaqing's idea of "cute" probably differs from their understanding of it.

"What a pity, just a little bit more!" Walter Yang successfully projected himself into the situation.

"Well, nothing can be done about it. You're not the protagonist, Yang." Einstein, never without her coffee, said in a flat tone, "The protagonists are Ziegfried and Cecilia. If you let you solve the final boss, how will the story develop from there?"

"Yang, you're so pitiful. You've been through life and death so many times, and the story has progressed to this point, and you're the only one doing the work. Everyone else is either slacking off, falling in love, or there's a Anti-Entropy swear word Destiny bishop dragging you down." Dr. Tesla patted Walter Yang on the shoulder.

Walter Joyce sat next to Einstein, and the two exchanged a glance, their eyes full of playful smiles.

[February 12, 2000, 12:05 PM. Using the power of the Herrscher of Reason, Sirin created two simulated battleships and returned to Earth. Sirin and Benares rode one, while the other carried over ten thousand Honkai Beasts.

In just fifteen minutes, the Tower of Babylon fell.

Patrick died to buy time for Salome and Shub to cover the researchers' retreat.

Salome fought Benares alone and died heroically.

On the snowy ground, Sirin arrived behind the Tower of Babylon, looking at the grave marked only by three branches. In her hand was a Herrscher Core.

"...Join me, and let's enjoy this revenge."

February 14th.

The Pseudo-Herrscher of Wind landed in Oulu, Finland. In the gale, the city was reduced to ruins.

The Pseudo-Herrscher of Flame landed in Astana. Amidst her laughter, the city turned into a sea of fire.

The Pseudo-Herrscher of Death landed in Siberia. Black fog spread, like a scene from the end of the world.

The three Pseudo-Herrschers caused massive casualties and incalculable economic collapse worldwide. Sirin used the Void Herrscher's power to create a teleporter, ordering Benares to defend the Tower of Babylon even at the cost of her life.

Sirin was to follow the 'God's' will, destroying human cities and bringing herself even greater power.]

"This is the scene from the trailer. It's scary every time I see it." The cat curled into a ball.

"Sirin split her power?" Vill-V wondered. She had been wondering how humans could defeat Sirin, who possessed six powers. Would they have to rely on knowledge from the Previous Era brought back from the moon to cheat?

"No, Sirin didn't split her own power." Yaqing shook his head. "They were only granted a portion of Sirin's power and cannot become true Herrschers."

"What do you mean by Pseudo-Herrscher in the subtitles? Like a Herrscher but not 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, their powers, though said to be omnipotent, are more like the abilities possessed by high-level Honkai Beasts."

"Pseudo-Herrscher... powers... Honkai Beast abilities..."

"We're doomed. Vill-V is talking to herself again!"

Chapter 27: Preparations and Speeches Before the War

[Polish-Belarusian border. Destiny's pickups retreated through the wind and snow. On the roof of one of the pickups, Shub-Niggurath, who was covering the convoy's retreat, was already exhausted. She leaned on the shaft of her weapon, barely managing to watch the surrounding Honkai Beasts hungrily.

"Damn... why hasn't the reinforcement arrived yet..."

Shub's voice was very weak.

Suddenly, several frigid sword lights slashed through the Honkai Beast horde. In the wind and snow, a woman with long blue-gray hair had a cold look in her eyes, and the entirely blue long sword in her hand was filled with bursts of cold light.

It was Cheng Lixue, Destiny's strongest A-Rank Valkyrie, who saved Shub and also brought Bishop Otto's summons for all B-Rank and above Valkyries within Europe to hold a meeting tomorrow at noon to discuss the subjugation of the Second Herrscher.

At the same time, on Destiny's Sky Island, Cecilia, who had lulled little Kiana to sleep, learned of Shub's safety through a phone call. Bishop's secretary Amber arrived at some point, bringing Otto's order for Cecilia to prepare for battle.

In the Bishop's office, Otto watched the three Pseudo-Herrschers turning cities into ruins through satellite observation. He thought that relying on A-Rank Valkyries could only delay them, but what he paid the most attention to was the Pseudo-Herrscher of Death.

"Are you worried?"

A feather slowly fell, and a woman in a dark yellow windbreaker appeared behind him.

"Old friend, you've finally arrived." Otto looked at the person who came, a smile on his lips, seemingly happy, seemingly calculating, but he still said, "With this, my battle plan is complete."]

Looking at Otto's smile on the screen, Fu Hua shuddered, feeling that this world was full of malice towards her.

"Hehe, Class Monitor, what do you think of your handsome entrance?" Kiana sneaked from Mei's side to Fu Hua again, hugging Fu Hua's arm. Anyone could see that her mind was elsewhere.

"Kiana, let go of the old fossil!"

"What does it matter?! I didn't do anything!"

Looking at one person holding each of her arms, Fu Hua felt a little helpless.

"Class Monitor's strength in the story must not be underestimated. Bishop Otto is hesitant, even though A-Rank Valkyries can only delay the Pseudo-Herrschers, but as soon as Class Monitor appears, Bishop Otto seems completely relieved." Bronya analyzed, "From this, it can be seen that Class Monitor's strength is at least stronger than A-Rank Valkyries."

"Good for you, old fossil, you secretly asked Yaqing to arrange such a powerful role for you." Little Shishi became anxious, not even bothering to 'compete for affection' with Kiana.

"I didn't." Fu Hua was stunned. She really didn't ask Yaqing to give her a role. It was just that Yaqing asked her to help with voice acting at that time, so she went.

"Ki...a...na!"

Kiana instantly jumped like a startled rabbit, "Ah, Mei, don't twist my ears!"

"Sigh." Bronya sighed helplessly.

"Grandpa... let me out."

Theresa, whose injuries had fully recovered, was locked up by Bishop Otto. Anxious, she kept pounding on the transparent barrier. She was very puzzled as to why Otto would put her in confinement at such a critical moment.

"Grandpa, why are you locking me up?!"

"My injuries have healed, and I want to participate in the operation to eliminate the Second Herrscher!"

Otto, with one hand gripping the chains of Judah's Oath, casually hoisted the massive and extremely heavy golden cross onto his back. He stated that this enemy was incredibly powerful, and unless Theresa could master Judah's zero-point output, he couldn't let her go.

Judah's zero-point output could neutralize all Honkai energy in a short period. However, for Theresa, who possessed Honkai Beast genes within her, if she couldn't fully control Judah, she would be killed by it.

Theresa stood there, stunned, as if all the strength in her body had been drained away in an instant. She knelt powerlessly on the ground.

Otto explained that he had never told Theresa how to use this power precisely because he didn't want her to be killed by Judah before she could master it. Therefore, before Theresa mastered Judah, he wouldn't let her out.

"So that's how it is..." The Theresa watching the movie was also stunned. She had thought her grandfather was deliberately not telling her, but she hadn't expected this.

"Honkai Beast genes?" Bronya looked at the academy head with a strange expression.

"Honkai Beast genes? To actually be able to inject Honkai Beast genes into the human body, yet another path I hadn't considered." Mobius, looking at Yaqing's profile, licked her upper lip. "Yaqing, I'm becoming more and more curious about you."

"Don't be curious about me, Senior Mobius." Yaqing felt like he was being targeted by a venomous snake. That approaching beautiful face didn't make him feel shy, but rather a slight fear.

"Oh yes, oh yes, Professor Mobius, haven't you heard that being curious about a man is the beginning of falling for him~?" Elysia teased.