February 5, 2000
On the Crimean Peninsula, Enoshia looked at Sirin and Benares, who were both unconscious, and finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"Luckily, I bet correctly. Even though Fu Hua isn't here for the time being, Otto would still do everything in his power to let Sirin escape. Since you've come here, that means I won the bet."
Enoshia took out the Herrscher of Thunder's Core. The moment it touched Sirin, she absorbed it into herself. Sirin's breathing gradually steadied as well.
"Oh? She didn't go to the moon, and she can absorb other Herrscher Cores without the Will of Honkai's help? Looks like her constitution was naturally suited to becoming a Herrscher."
"Since Fu Hua isn't here, Schicksal has no way to find us as long as we don't show ourselves. In that case, the Second Honkai Outbreak should be considered over. I really don't want to watch Sirin and Schicksal fight until both sides are crippled while the true culprit, Otto, gets to live another seventeen years."
At the thought of Otto, Enoshia sighed helplessly. Thinking of Old Yang, Sirin, and the vile things Otto had done, her heart filled with anger. But she had to admit that this world needed him—at least for now. Theresa was only in her twenties at present, and she probably didn't have the ability to control all of Schicksal. If Otto died now, Schicksal would likely continue to splinter, and might even go to war. There were still nine more Herrschers to come. If Schicksal fractured and Fu Hua disappeared, the Stigmata Project might fall apart before it could even be implemented.
"But hiding everywhere all the time isn't a solution... Should I negotiate with Otto and make him release Sirin? Although I have the qualifications to negotiate with him, there's no need to do so. First of all, him agreeing to my conditions ≠ him keeping his word. You can trust Otto's pure love, but you can never trust his character. To him, betraying his word is as easy as eating or drinking. Even if we reach an agreement, it won't have any real meaning."
"Second, in my previous life, I was just a slacker college student, while he's a shrewd old monster who's lived for over five hundred years. With what little weight I carry, if I negotiate with him, I'll probably fall into his trap in no time. He might even sell me off while I help him count the money."
"But I have an information advantage. I know that everything he does is ultimately aimed at resurrecting Kallen. Perhaps... No, if his goal is to resurrect Kallen, then even without guidance from the Will of Honkai, he'll probably figure out that the dead can never be resurrected, no matter what. This world allows consciousness to match with a new vessel, but it doesn't allow a vessel to gather consciousness that has already dissipated. That's an iron law of this world. With his brain, it's only a matter of time before he thinks of taking the long way around and creating a new timeline. Once he chooses to do that, he'll need a Herrscher of Void filled with hatred for him..."
After weighing the pros and cons, Enoshia still gave up on looking for Otto. She was in the light, while Enoshia was in the shadows. He didn't know that a Herrscher of Corruption already existed in this world, which made it easier for her to act.
"...Tch. He has the Void Archive. After causing such a huge commotion earlier, he's probably already guessed. Fortunately, it seems I can change my appearance by editing my own data. He shouldn't be able to find me."
Meanwhile, inside Babylon Tower, the Lobster-head Doctor's roar rang out:
"Bird's Nest Head, it's been two days! Think of something already! If that guy who came out of nowhere hadn't launched a sneak attack, Joachim would have taken down the Second Herrscher long ago. Damn it, get moving!" Tesla desperately pounded on the keyboard, but there was still no response.
"Doctor Tesla, panicking won't help." Einstein took a sip of water and slowly walked over to Old Yang, who was lying on the bed.
"Leader, how are you feeling?"
Being stabbed in the kidney from behind by that kidney-impaling bastard Otto naturally felt awful. Even as the Herrscher of Reason, Joachim could feel that his recovery was extremely limited.
"I'm mostly fine now. This might even be an opportunity. The next time I meet the Herrscher of Void, if both of us can show a little more patience, perhaps we can avoid a battle."
"Joachim, you're in this state and you're still thinking about others. Restore your own health first." Tesla also came over, holding an apple that had apparently been peeled some time ago, though it possessed a distinctly modern-art-like appearance.
"Lady Theresa, how are things on Schicksal's side?" Seeing Tesla come to take care of Old Yang, Einstein stepped aside and looked toward Theresa.
"Just like Anti-Entropy, nearly all electronic equipment has completely shut down. Even the equipment at headquarters that detected the theft of the Herrscher of Thunder's Core isn't responding. With electronic equipment malfunctioning, relying solely on manpower to search for a Herrscher who can change her location at any time is obviously absurd. Two days have already passed, and we don't know how much the Herrscher has recovered. If we conduct a carpet search in separate groups, there's a risk that we'll be defeated one by one."
Einstein pondered for a moment before saying:
"According to the records left behind by the Previous Civilization, the only one capable of doing this in such a short time should be the 12th Herrscher of the Previous Civilization—the Herrscher of Corruption. However, although it has the ability to paralyze the electronic equipment of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, it hasn't controlled any weapons to destroy the cities. Everything it has done seems more like an attempt to help Sirin escape Schicksal's pursuit..."
The current civilization's understanding of the Herrschers came almost entirely from the records left behind by the Previous Civilization. Even the Previous Civilization had left very little information about the Herrscher of Corruption, so the current civilization's understanding of it was extremely limited.
"Huh? Bird's Nest Head, communications are back! The call we placed to New York went through!" Just as everyone was at a loss, Tesla's phone suddenly rang.
"It's back on my end too... Grandpa, yes, I'm fine... I'm still in Babylon Tower, yes... Okay."
"Headquarters has returned to normal too. Although things were chaotic for a while, apart from the missing Herrscher of Thunder's Core, there were no losses and no casualties. Grandpa and the doctor both suspect that the Herrscher of Corruption was responsible."
"Great! What Herrscher of Corruption? After all that fuss, it turns out that's all it can do. Just watch me find the Second Herrscher." Tesla rushed to the monitor the moment the equipment recovered and began typing rapidly. But as time passed, her smile gradually vanished.
"Doctor Tesla, what's wrong?"
"This... This is impossible. How did the Second Herrscher's Herrscher readings just disappear from the map?"
Whether it was Schicksal or Anti-Entropy, before someone demonstrated supernatural powers, how could they discover in advance that the person had become a Herrscher? Naturally, they relied on detection equipment. If every device in the world capable of monitoring indicators related to Herrschers malfunctioned, then as long as Enoshia and Sirin didn't use Herrscher Authority in public, no one would naturally identify them as Herrschers.
That was why Enoshia had been able to swagger out of Schicksal HQ while carrying the Herrscher of Thunder's Core. The equipment couldn't detect her. If she encountered a Valkyrie, she could project her consciousness into her, briefly control her body, and then erase all memories related to herself. As long as she didn't run into Cecilia, Otto, or Fu Hua head-on, she could come and go from Schicksal HQ as she pleased.
After all, there were still more Herrschers to come. If Enoshia left these devices paralyzed forever, she would truly become an accomplice of the Honkai. So she had spent a great deal of time adding a whitelist to the programs of every detection device in the world. As long as the target being scanned was one of these three—herself, Sirin, or Benares—no matter how the scan was conducted, it would never detect a Herrscher reading.
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