The Sage's Expectations

But the Second Herrscher was different. The authority she possessed... how should he put it? It was already somewhat unfathomable.

It was an authority over space. Every shell and missile fired at her would have its trajectory warped by her manipulation of space—either reflected back or teleported thousands of miles away.

It was not easy to attack her true body. Every round of ammunition might become an attack that struck their own side.

At the same time, she could also use Honkai energy to create spears, precisely destroying their tanks and fighter jets.

Thus, the current situation on the battlefield was exceedingly grim.

Just then, a soldier entered the command room and reported to him:

"Report, Commander! Headquarters has dispatched another group of soldiers to support the battle!"

He then handed the list to the commander and continued:

"Other than one person, everyone else is already assembled at the barracks."

"I understand... other than one? Where is the remaining person?"

The commander frowned.

Could she be a deserter? That was quite common on the battlefield.

Faced with blood and death firsthand, some soldiers entering battle for the first time would be scared out of their wits and choose to retreat.

To preserve discipline within the army, deserters like that had to be severely punished.

Just as he was about to ask where that deserter was, the soldier before him answered:

"Report! The remaining person... has already entered the battlefield alone! Her communication device malfunctioned, and we are currently unable to contact her!"

"...Huh?"

The commander froze slightly.

Even aircraft and artillery had been unable to defeat that Herrscher. Wouldn't a mere recruit entering the battlefield be seeking death?

He hurriedly asked:

"What about the recording equipment at the Herrscher's location? Can you still find that recruit?"

"Report, sir. Most of the recording equipment has already been destroyed by the Herrscher. We only captured footage of that recruit before she entered the battlefield."

The footage was soon transmitted before the commander.

She was a pink-haired girl who looked quite young.

She wore Fire Moth's standard uniform, with a badge hanging from her chest. The number on it was "1."

..."1"?

The commander was stunned for a moment.

Logically speaking, such an early-numbered badge should only belong to one of Fire Moth's founding elders.

If he remembered correctly, the holder of Badge No. 1 should have been the scientist named Mobius.

The white-haired girl stood high in the sky, resisting the human forces' endless barrage of artillery fire.

Reversing space to redirect those attacks did not cost her much.

As long as she maintained this, there would eventually be a gap in the human forces' assault.

Just as she was considering this, a pink arrow suddenly shot up from the ground.

"...?!"

The arrow was so fast and unexpected that it lay completely beyond the Second Herrscher's expectations.

Without enough time to reverse it through the Unlimited Void, she could only barely manipulate Honkai energy to create a shield before herself.

A shield formed with her abilities could withstand ordinary military bombardment with no issue. She was completely confident in it.

However, that pink arrow effortlessly shattered her defense and pierced through her right foot.

For the first time since becoming a Herrscher, she felt piercing pain.

With a wince of pain, the Second Herrscher chose to teleport to the ground, arriving near her attacker.

It was a pink-haired girl. Even her standard uniform could not conceal her lovely face and figure.

Yet unlike the other Fire Moth soldiers, she was not holding a firearm and attacking her.

What she held was a longbow.

That outdated weapon... had allowed humanity to hurt her for the first time?

No, the crucial point probably was not the weapon, but that pink-haired human woman.

"Hello there, I'm Elysia... Hmm~ Though I don't know whether you can still understand human language."

She waved enthusiastically.

"..."

The Second Herrscher silently raised her hand. Several Spears of the Void formed behind her and shot out at the fastest speed she could command.

She did not care much about the injury she had suffered, but the human before her had to be eliminated.

However, every attack was effortlessly evaded by the pink-haired girl named Elysia. At the same time, during the gaps between her dodges, she turned and fired more arrows, striking the Herrscher's body with perfect accuracy.

—For some reason, her spatial control seemed to have lost its original effectiveness. Though she tried to block them, she still could not avoid being pierced by the arrows.

The battle thus became overwhelmingly unfavorable to her. The spatial defenses that even organized armies could not break through were as fragile as air before this pink-haired girl.

Soon, the Second Herrscher completely lost her ability to fight and collapsed to her knees on the ground.

The pink-haired girl put away her longbow, drew a pistol from her waist, approached her, pressed its muzzle against her forehead, and softly said:

"Sorry."

In a daze, Ming Yu came back to his senses.

So this was how the Second Herrscher incident of the Previous Era had unfolded...

Unlike all the convoluted matters Otto had created around the Second Herrscher in the current era, the Second Herrscher of the Previous Era had simply attacked humanity and then been defeated.

Still, the person who defeated her was indeed rather noteworthy.

—The deputy leader of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, the Herrscher of Origin, Elysia.

If he remembered correctly, this had indeed been her first battle after joining Fire Moth. She helped the struggling human side win its second battle against a Herrscher, thus beginning her career in Fire Moth.

In any case, after reviewing the Second Herrscher's life, the projection of the Chariot of Sanctus was finally in hand.

One of the major purposes of his trip to London had also been accomplished.

Then, next he should...

Ming Yu suddenly felt that something was wrong. He shook his head and opened his eyes.

"..."

He froze slightly, unable to help feeling startled by the scene before him.

—At this moment, he was not beneath the surface of the Thames River.

There was no weightless sensation of being submerged in water, nor were there sounds of battle in his ears.

All he saw was a massive ancient tree and a gray-haired man leaning against its trunk.

Everything was so peaceful and tranquil. Only the occasional falling dead leaf made the faintest sound.

Obviously, this place...

Was a World Bubble—Seed of Sumeru.

The Sage's Expectations

The gray-haired man before Ming Yu was naturally Su, one of the pioneers from the Previous Era, just like Fu Hua.

Had he been pulled into this World Bubble because he had come into contact with the Chariot of Sanctus...

Ming Yu pondered inwardly.

"Hello, young man. Rest assured, I bear you no ill will."

The gray-haired man sitting against the ancient tree spoke with his eyes closed.

"...Hello."

Ming Yu answered cautiously.

Although the Flame-Chaser named Su had seemed fairly easy to get along with in his memories, it was never wrong to remain cautious.

"I am Su... In Schicksal's terms, I am a pioneer from the previous era, entrusted with the mission of safeguarding humanity's civilization in this era and helping you overcome the threat known as Honkai."

Su briefly introduced himself in a gentle tone.

Of course, Ming Yu knew that.

By carrying out the Sand Table Project, this pioneer had observed countless ages within Seed of Sumeru, the World Bubble created by the Chariot of Sanctus, before finally finding the sole path to defeating Honkai.

—That was the main storyline experienced in the game.

And the one he had been waiting for here was not Ming Yu, but the blonde girl outside currently fighting fiercely against Kevin's armed puppet—Durandal.

According to the original timeline, Schicksal would officially obtain the main body of the Chariot of Sanctus in the autumn of this year. Durandal would also be pulled into Seed of Sumeru during an experiment and receive Su's legacy.

While obtaining the Second Divine Key, she would also perfectly master the power of the World Bubble within her with Su's help, gaining Stellaris Anchora.

However, although Su had said she was a key figure in defeating Honkai, looking at the final arc as a whole, the greatest contribution of Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie in the final battle was lending out that holy sword capable of cutting through the shadow of Finality. She herself had not even participated in the final battle against Finality Kevin.

Hmm... it was truly difficult to call her "key." Rather, the key was that holy sword capable of cutting space, named Durandal.

In any case, although Su was not evil by nature—rather, he was a genuinely good person—Ming Yu still did not want to remain here for too long.

After all, Su was the first true psychic-type warrior Ming Yu had encountered. Unlike Fu Hua, who could only use related mental abilities with the help of Feather of the Wind, Su's attainments in the spiritual realm were second only to Aponia's.

Before such an existence, if Su learned of his trump card of Time Reversal through mind-reading, it would be difficult to say what might happen. He could not leave his own safety to someone else's judgment.

Or perhaps... was Su already reading his thoughts right now?

Ming Yu was startled, nearly activating Time Reversal with his very next thought.

But then he reconsidered. If Su truly wanted to control him through mental hypnosis or some other method, Ming Yu would not still be able to control himself perfectly. He would probably have been controlled by Su while experiencing the Second Herrscher's past.

Based on his trust in Su, he would wait a little longer for now.

After thinking for a moment, Ming Yu politely said:

"Hello, Senior Su. I'm Ming Yu, a warrior from Schicksal."

In a sense, Schicksal's original origins could be traced back to the man before him. The ancestor of the Apokalips family had been Su's disciple. With that connection, he could at least try to build some rapport.

Of course, Ming Yu remained cautious and was ready to use Time Reversal at any moment to return to the past.

As if he had seen through Ming Yu's inner concerns, Su calmly said:

"You seem wary of me, but rest assured, I will not do anything to you. Forcing others... violates my principles. Whether one wishes to share their troubles with others or seek help from others is each person's own choice, not something to be forced."

After a pause, he continued:

"It was merely that your contact with the Chariot of Sanctus and the unsealing of it caught my attention, so I brought you here."

Clearly, what he wanted to ask was why Ming Yu had broken the Chariot of Sanctus's seal.

"I want to borrow the power of the Second Divine Key to find a girl who fell into the Sea of Quanta."

Ming Yu answered truthfully.

Well, that was indeed the honest truth.

It was simply not the real thing he intended to borrow, but a replica.

Before a powerful psychic and psychology expert, it was better not to lie.

Su merely nodded calmly, showing no unusual reaction, before saying:

"Unfortunately, I cannot lend you the Second Divine Key, nor can I precisely locate her for you. Her fate does not lie here. But if you wish to enter that sea to do something, I may be able to offer you some useful advice."