The Second Honkai Outbreak... Ends?

February 5, 2000 AD

On the Crimean Peninsula, Enoshia watched the unconscious Sirin and Benares and let out a slight sigh of relief.

"Good thing I bet correctly. Even if the Immortal isn't here for now, Otto will go to any lengths to let Sirin escape. Since you've come here, that means I won my gamble."

Enoshia took out the Herrscher of Thunder's Core. The moment it touched Sirin's body, it was absorbed into her on its own. Sirin's breathing gradually stabilized.

"Oh, no trip to the moon, and she can absorb other Herrscher Cores with zero barriers even without the Will of Honkai's help? Looks like her constitution is naturally a fine seedling for becoming a Herrscher."

"Since the Immortal isn't here, as long as we don't show ourselves, Schicksal has no way to find us. That means the Second Honkai Outbreak should be considered over. I don't want to watch Sirin and Schicksal tear each other apart again while the real culprit, Otto, gets to live another seventeen years."

Thinking of Otto, Enoshia sighed helplessly. Thinking of Old Yang, of Sirin, of the despicable things Otto had done, her heart filled with anger. But she had to admit—the world needed him, at least for now. Theresa was only in her twenties; she probably couldn't manage all of Schicksal on her own. If Otto died right now, Schicksal would likely splinter further, maybe even start a war. There were still nine Herrschers to come. If Schicksal fractured and the Immortal went missing, even the Stigmata Project might never get off the ground before everything went to hell.

"But staying in hiding forever isn't a solution either... Negotiate with Otto, get him to release Sirin? Though I have the qualifications to negotiate with him, there's no need for it. First, him agreeing to my terms doesn't mean he'll keep his word. You can trust Otto's pure love, but you can never trust his character. To him, breaking faith is as easy as eating or drinking. Reaching an agreement carries no real meaning.

"Second, in my past life I was just a slacker college student. He's a schemer who's lived over five hundred years. With my meager skills, negotiating with him would probably land me in his trap in no time. I might even end up counting money for him after he sells me out."

"But I have an information advantage. I know everything he does is aimed at resurrecting Kallen. Maybe... no. Since his goal is to revive Kallen, even without the Will of Honkai's guidance, he'd probably figure out on his own that the dead can never be brought back. The world allows consciousness to match a new vessel, but it doesn't allow a vessel to collect dissipated consciousness—that's an iron law of this world. With his brain, it's only a matter of time before he thinks of a roundabout solution, opening a new timeline. Once he chooses that path, he'll need a Herrscher of Void filled with hatred for him..."

Weighing the pros and cons, Enoshia ultimately gave up on seeking out Otto. For now, he was in the light and she was in the dark. He didn't know a Herrscher of Corruption already existed in this world, which made things much easier for her.

"...Tch. He has the Void Archive. With the big stir I caused earlier, he's probably already guessed. But at least I seem to be able to change my appearance by editing my own data. He shouldn't be able to find me."

Meanwhile, inside Babylon Tower, the roar of Lobster-head Doctor rang out:

"Bird's Nest Head! Two days! Think of something, will you? If it weren't for some unknown bastard launching a sneak attack, Joachim would have already taken down that Second Herrscher! Damn it, get moving!" Tesla pounded on the keyboard frantically, but there was still no response.

"Doctor Tesla, getting anxious won't help." Einstein took a sip of water and slowly walked over to Old Yang, who was lying on the bed.

"Supreme Commander, how are you feeling?"

Naturally, being stabbed in the back by that bastard Otto felt terrible. Even as the Herrscher of Reason, he could tell his recovery was very limited.

"Nothing serious. This might even be an opportunity. Next time I meet the Herrscher of Void, if we both have a little more patience, maybe we can avoid a fight."

"Joachim, you're still thinking about others in this state. Focus on recovering your own body first." Tesla walked over too, holding an apple she'd peeled at some point, though it looked like a piece of modern art.

"Miss Theresa, how is Schicksal doing?" Seeing Tesla come to take care of Old Yang, Einstein stepped back from between them and looked over at Theresa.

"Same as Anti-Entropy. Almost all electronic devices are down. Even at HQ, the theft of the Herrscher of Thunder's Core triggered no response from the equipment. With electronics disabled, relying purely on manpower to find a Herrscher who can change her position at will is pure nonsense. Two days have passed already—who knows how much the Herrscher has recovered. If we do a grid-by-grid search, there's a risk of being picked off one by one."

Einstein pondered for a moment, then said:

"According to the records left by the Previous Civilization, the only one capable of this in such a short time should be the Previous Civilization's 12th Herrscher—the Herrscher of Corruption. But since it had the power to cripple both Schild and Anti-Entropy's electronics yet didn't use weapons to destroy cities, everything it did seems aimed at helping Sirin escape Schicksal's capture..."

The Current Civilization's understanding of Herrschers came almost entirely from the Previous Civilization's records. Since even the Previous Civilization had little documentation on the Herrscher of Corruption, the Current Civilization's knowledge of it was extremely limited.

"Huh, Bird's Nest Head, communications are back! The call to New York went through!" Just as everyone was at a loss, Tesla's phone suddenly rang.

"Same here... Grandpa? Yeah, I'm fine... I'm still at Babylon Tower... Right... Okay."

"HQ is back to normal too. It was chaotic for a while, but aside from the missing Herrscher of Thunder's Core, there were no losses and no casualties. Grandpa and the Doctor have the same guess—it was the Herrscher of Corruption."

"Great! What Herrscher of Corruption? After all that fuss, that's all it's got? Watch me find that Second Herrscher!" Tesla rushed to the monitor the moment the equipment recovered, fingers flying across the keyboard. But as time passed, her smile gradually faded.

"Doctor Tesla, what's wrong?"

"This... this can't be. The Second Herrscher's Herrscher reaction—how did it just vanish from the map?!"

Whether Schicksal or Anti-Entropy, how could they detect someone becoming a Herrscher before they displayed superhuman abilities? Through detection instruments, of course. If every device in the world capable of monitoring Herrscher-related indicators was compromised, as long as Enoshia and Sirin didn't use their Herrscher Authorities in public, they would never be identified as Herrschers.

That was how Enoshia could swagger out of Schicksal HQ with the Herrscher of Thunder's Core. The devices couldn't detect her. If she ran into Valkyries, she could project her consciousness onto them, briefly control their bodies, then erase any memories related to herself. As long as she didn't run head-on into Cecilia, Otto, or Fu Hua, Schicksal HQ was a place she could come and go as she pleased.

After all, there were still more Herrschers to come. If Enoshia kept those devices permanently disabled, she'd really be helping the Honkai. So she spent a lot of time adding a whitelist to the programs of every detection device worldwide. As long as the target being scanned was one of three people—herself, Sirin, and of course Benares—no matter how thoroughly they were checked, no Herrscher reaction would ever show up.