Seven Days, Five Herrschers

22:00, February 6, 2000, Babylon Tower.

Having finished his inspection, Huo Bufan watched the new researchers activate the equipment to resume their studies. Seeing no anomalies, he prepared to withdraw his team. At that moment, the detector suddenly emitted a sharp alarm, and he immediately began a new sweep.

"! Underground... beneath Babylon Tower, Honkai Energy is rapidly being released outward! 1000 HW, 2000 HW... still rising. Detecting Herrscher energy reaction. This, how is this possible!" A tall Valkyrie stared at the data streaming from the detector, disbelief written across her face.

Because the epicenter of a Great Eruption is random, the location of a Herrscher's emergence is also random—that much was normal. Babylon Tower did indeed harbor a massive concentration of Honkai Energy, but a Herrscher had already been born on February 1st. How could a second one appear so quickly? Not to mention that this Herrscher was born underground—a method of birth utterly unheard of.

"Regardless, report to headquarters first, then evacuate the crowd!" This A-rank Valkyrie snapped out of her shock and prepared to contact headquarters. The moment she initiated the communication, everyone inside Babylon Tower collapsed to their knees. This sensation—Huo Bufan judged—the gravity in this area had been altered.

Crack, crack. A crisp sound rang out as fissures appeared in many of the tower's more fragile materials.

"This... what in the world..."

BOOM! A thunderous roar interrupted Jokanan's thoughts. The floor at the very bottom of Babylon Tower caved in, creating a deep pit over two meters in radius. The two Valkyries who could still move tried to approach and investigate, but they immediately sensed something wrong. As a puff of white vapor rose from the pit's depths, the tower's climate control systems gradually failed, and the temperature inside plummeted lower than a Siberian winter night.

"Huff... huff..." Huo Bufan exhaled white mist, struggling to rise. She lifted her head and looked around. Less than a minute had passed since the anomaly was detected, and they still hadn't figured out what was happening, yet barely anyone inside Babylon Tower remained alive.

"It's absorbing energy from the power department. That means it can grow even stronger." Huo Bufan's mind raced. She was no longer thinking about how to survive, but what means she could use to transmit as much intelligence as possible, to reduce the mortality rate of the Valkyries who would arrive on the battlefield later.

BOOM! An even louder crash followed. The entire floor of Babylon Tower collapsed. Under several times normal gravity, she had no ability to escape and tumbled into the deep pit. But she didn't fall to the bottom—instead, the extreme cold instantly froze her to the uneven rock wall.

Huo Bufan felt her life draining away at an alarming rate. Just then, the communication link with headquarters actually connected. Theresa's urgent voice came through.

"Herrscher... manipulating gravity... releasing... low temperature..."

"Hey! Hey! Hey!" No matter how Theresa shouted, there was no answer from the other end of the communicator. The extreme cold had frozen her into an ice sculpture completely. She could no longer speak.

22:05

With a deafening roar, Babylon Tower exploded. A dazzling blue pillar of light shot upward, turning the entire sky as bright as day. Fortunately, because of Sirin, nearby non-essential personnel had already been evacuated. Thus, aside from the newly dispatched researchers and the patrol units, no one else died.

22:00, February 6, 2000, London.

Inside a massive drainage outlet, sewage still gurgled into the River Thames as usual. The citizens of London had long grown accustomed to the clean and sanitary Thames.

"My god, look!" Amid countless exclamations, a young girl flew out of the Thames. She had long, light gray hair, wore a pale white top and a dark purple long skirt, black stockings on her legs, and dark high heels on her feet. Her blood-red pupils carried a listless air, and a pair of purple wings fluttered behind her, lifting her higher and higher.

Faced with such a bizarre sight, everyone's reaction was, of course, to take photos and record videos. Just as countless people watched their videos rack up likes and shares, a strange black mist spread outward from the girl.

"Ahhh!" Ordinary people who came into contact with the black mist quickly lost their lives amid anguished wails.

22:00, February 6, 2000, Oslo.

Though it was already late at night, the pitch-black sky still made people's hearts pound with fear. What was even more terrifying were the tornadoes surrounding Oslo's outskirts. For so many tornadoes to appear in this region during this season was undoubtedly baffling.

Meteorologists immediately convened a meeting. No one noticed that at the center of countless tornadoes stood a girl with light green hair. She wore a white-and-green top and a pure white skirt, with white stockings on her legs. From her appearance alone, no one would imagine that such a lovely beauty was the culprit behind the tornadoes.

22:10, February 6, 2000, Crimean Peninsula.

"Ten minutes ago, three Herrschers appeared simultaneously at Babylon Tower, Oslo, and London." After Schicksal's information was synced to her, Enoshia's mood sank to rock bottom.

"I was born on January 31st. Today is only February 6th. In seven days, five Herrschers have been born. What is going on? As for the one at Babylon Tower, based on the final information transmitted by that A-rank Valkyrie, it's likely a dual-core Herrscher of Frost. Anna Schariac and Chen Tianwu were only born a few years ago. Why would a Herrscher that originally appeared on Coral Island in 2017 show up now at Babylon Tower, where a Herrscher had just appeared?"

Enoshia made no attempt to hide her words, and Sirin, standing nearby, heard everything.

"Wait... you're saying Babylon Tower? Doesn't that mean..." Sirin thought of something and grew anxious.

"Unfortunately, the area around Babylon Tower has been completely destroyed. Their graves... certainly no longer exist..." Enoshia let out a soft sigh and shook her head helplessly.

Seeing Sirin's sorrowful expression, Bella walked over to her side, wanting to comfort her but not knowing what to say.

Sirin patted Bella on the back, then looked at Enoshia. "If none of us intervene, relying solely on Schicksal and Anti-Entropy's level... can they manage?"

"Difficult."

The Immortal was still missing somewhere in South America, so their combat strength had been severely weakened. B-rank Valkyries could only clean up minor enemies and rescue civilians. The strongest A-rank Valkyrie, Cheng Lixue, wielding Ruoshui, couldn't even defeat a Quasi-Herrscher, let alone a real one. Thus, in the face of a Great Eruption, A-rank Valkyries could only handle elite monsters and assist the main force.

As for the Herrscher side, based on current performance, the Herrscher of Frost was clearly stronger than Anna and Chen Tianwu's version. The Herrscher of Wind was not that disgrace of a Herrscher who got knocked out by a Titan robot. As for the Herrscher of Death... fighting the Herrscher of Death might also require guarding against Otto's backstabbing.

Among those who could directly fight the Herrschers, Siegfried might not be able to use the Judgment of Shamash's self-destruct, Theresa might not activate the Divine Prayer Barrier, and Otto might ambush his allies at any moment. The only ones with combat power who were reliable were Cecilia and Old Yang... The future of humanity—what a bright prospect indeed.