Chapter 389
Kevin murmured to himself, then poured Honkai Energy into the ice-blue orb. Subsequently, the orb appeared in the shape of a Stigmata, and then ice blades shot out in all directions.
Of course, the power of these ice blades was not enough to harm anyone present. Even though SU was just a non-combatant, his mental strength was enough to defeat an ordinary Herrscher.
Simply put, he possesses at least 0.8 watts of power.
All the ice blades that were aimed at Freya suddenly melted away in mid-air when they were within a meter of her. As for SU, it was as if there was an invisible protective shield in front of him, blocking all the ice blades that were coming at him. Fu Hua calmly raised his hand and swept it in front of him. With a flick of his long immortal robe sleeve, he swept all the incoming ice blades aside.
"This is... this is the power of Herrscher!! However, this power..."
"That was a weakened prototype; you can't expect it to be very powerful. Of course, the current prototype of the Key of Reason has the same power as Divine Key activated at its first rated power. Most importantly, the Key of Reason doesn't require Herrscher Core and can be mass-produced using the Alliance's existing technological capabilities—"
444. Simply put, it's roughly equivalent to one watt of power.
Actually, it's not entirely accurate to say that the Alliance's current technological capabilities are sufficient for mass production; Freya's assistance is indispensable for manufacturing the Key of Reason.
Even now, there are still very few people in the Alliance who can reach Freya's level of precision in manipulating Honkai Energy.
Especially after gaining Imaginary Tree Authority, Freya's control over Honkai Energy is sufficient to nullify any attack using Honkai Energy.
Kiana and Aurora both possess the Imaginary Tree Authority, but the former does not rely on the privileges brought by the Imaginary Tree Authority and only wants to improve her skills through training, while the latter's Imaginary Tree Authority enhances her understanding of space and time, and she even uses it on the Valkyrie Armor.
In fact, Aurora is also developing the Valkyrie Armor – the Throne of Rift, which uses a special system called the Complete Time-Space Rupture System, which completely isolates the user's time, space, and reality.
Users who are not affected by real time and space can move freely in this state and freely decide when to reconnect with reality.
In this state, the user will not be attacked or even discovered. When they reappear, it will be as if they have suddenly jumped from the past to the present and from the present to the future.
In reality, it's just a matter of how long the user hides in this isolated space. Just as the user is not subject to interference, the user who enters this isolated space is also unable to interfere with reality.
From a certain perspective, it is indeed a time jump and a space jump.
However, in theory, the [Throne of Rift], which can freely choose to reconnect to reality, can currently only create an isolation space for up to 5 seconds. In other words, the user can only jump to the future 5 seconds later, and the distance they can move is only the maximum distance within 5 seconds.
That said, Aurora's idea has been proven feasible, and the still-under-development Throne of Rift has already been able to create an isolation space that lasts for up to 5 seconds.
This is equivalent to about 5 seconds of invincibility.
Of course, Aurora's Throne of Rift is much better than the Blade she developed before. That thing had a high chance of failing when used to cut people. Even if it succeeded, it would only trap the opponent in a space where space flow was slow. The weapon itself was not sharp enough because of its average quality. It could not necessarily kill people with one blow, let alone cut Honkai Beast with hard shells.
However, Blade of the Aurora's student days. In just three short years, she has grown to such a level. As her second sister, Freya naturally very gratified.
The name of the Valkyrie Armor was just too much for her to complain about.
Kiana and Aurora do not primarily rely on the precision of manipulating Honkai Energy. What stands out most about both of them is their Honkai Energy. Their almost immune resistance sometimes makes Freya wonder if they really aren't her biological children.
Of course, with her white hair, blue eyes, superhuman strength, and extremely high Honkai Energy resistance, Freya does indeed possess all the characteristics that fit the Kaslana Family.
However, Kiana and Aurora have not yet awakened their control over the Schariac, leaving Freya with no choice but to place her hopes on the other Valkyrie of the Schariac.
Neither Maria Schariac nor Angelina Schariac possessed much control over the two aunts.
Ultimately, the previous Schariac Saintess was Cecilia Schariac, who was also Cecilia's mother, the same Cecilia who was with Kiana and the others.
If it weren't for the huge gap, Maria wouldn't just be a substitute, and Angelina wouldn't even have a substitute.
Among the new generation, a little girl named Anna Schariac has this potential.
Let's get back to the main topic.
With the Alliance's existing technological capabilities and various advanced technologies, ordinary Honkai Beast and even Emperor Honkai are no match for them.
Only when Emperor-class Honkai Beast appears can a standard Type-B Valkyrie squad find it troublesome.
Freya took out the Key of Reason. If it cannot fundamentally surpass the Type-B Stigmata, then the Key of Reason will only end up like most Valkyrie Armor and Honkai Energy weapons, merely a novel toy for most Valkyrie.
In fact, it can't even compare to the high-tech Valkyrie Armor that Aurora is developing. Even Kevin is interested in this armor that has theoretically made him invincible for 5 seconds. It's just a pity that Aurora doesn't plan to make this armor into a men's version.
Kevin played with the ice-blue orb for a while, and with his knowledge, he soon grasped all the characteristics of this weakened prototype.
"Stigmata that can convert Honkai Energy into ice elemental blades, and also enhances ice elemental damage, I see... It's a very interesting toy."
Freya curled her lip, somewhat displeased, after all, the Key of Reason was essentially the result of her and Sister Tesla's research.
However, she already knew that the current Key of Reason would be treated as a toy. After all, she didn't know the true power of the prototype Key of Reason and was just playing with a weakened version of the Key of Reason. It's not surprising that she would come to such a conclusion.
"You can try out the prototype later. Currently, the alliance only has three prototypes. The weakened version is just a byproduct of the optimization process."
Freya smacked her lips and said.
In fact, these byproducts are really only used as toys.
"A prototype? I see. So, what exactly is its purpose?"
Kevin continued to play with the ice-blue orb in his hand while asking the question.
"Well, to put it simply, it's about mimicking the principles of the Divine Key and specializing in offensive capabilities. Just like how each person's awakened Stigmata have different abilities, many excellent researchers awaken Stigmata that enhance combat power, while many warriors awaken auxiliary Stigmata that are useful for scientific research. This is clearly a waste of resources."
To prevent the knowledge and technology of the Previous Civilization from being lost, Mei converted them into data and passed them down through genetic inheritance.
Because the Stigmata are not compatible with an individual's talents and inclinations, many Valkyrie who are inclined to be combat-oriented have awakened Stigmata for scientific research or logistics, and have ultimately had to abandon their original path of becoming combat-oriented Valkyrie.
Many Valkyrie who became researchers awakened Stigmata that enhanced their combat abilities. They simply couldn't fight with their athletically challenged physiques. Even though the new generation of Valkyrie possessed strong physical attributes and could easily tear apart ordinary Honkai Beast from before the Second Great Honkai, their athletically challenged physiques weren't a matter of physical strength, but rather a unique ability to trip and fall even while walking normally.
Of course, given their current physical condition, falling on flat ground would only cause them more pain and injury.
There was once Valkyrie who became a researcher. She awakened Stigmata that enhanced her two-handed greatswords, and her mind gained dozens of greatsword styles. Then, she spun herself around in the training ground with her greatsword until she got dizzy.
The brain typically says: I know; but the body says: No, you don't.
Don't ask why she's swinging her greatsword around; it's just a technique from a certain greatsword school.
Freya used to be troubled by the fact that the Valkyrie had not awakened their Stigmata and could only use Type-B Stigmata to guide out the Stigmata power within them. As the number of Valkyrie with Type-B Stigmata gradually increased, more and more Stigmata power went against the users' own wishes.
"The Key of Reason is an external Stigmata. Depending on the different Stigmata engraved inside the orb, it can make a warrior a warrior, a researcher a researcher, and all Valkyrie have the power to choose their own future path."
Upon hearing Freya's statement that Valkyrie, Kevin, SU, and Fu Hua didn't say much. They knew very well that Freya had already lost faith in the other humans.
Even now, some countries still smear the image of Valkyrie, describing them as medieval witches.
Some severely injured Valkyrie have gone missing and are likely to be kidnapped by organizations that are spying on Valkyrie and sold to the black market at extremely high prices. In fact, the Alliance has already rescued several Valkyrie who were kidnapped in this way.
Now, the Valkyrie sent by the Alliance to various Honkai battlefields no longer rest in places other than airships.
The feeling of being betrayed is not pleasant for them.
In particular, unlike the Schicksal era, Freya reduced brainwashing education during the Alliance era, allowing them to have more of their own ideas, but she did not intend for their trust in strangers to become a poisonous blade that would pierce them.
Of course, this situation does not occur in every country, and the more powerful a country is, the less likely it is to experience this.
However, many of the final buyers are from a few powerful rogue states.
Freya could have used the power of the Herrscher of Consciousness to brainwash all humans except the Valkyrie, but she ultimately didn't want her actions to frighten the Valkyrie.
Maintaining this current relationship—not too close, but not too distant—is sufficient.
That being said, Freya was very biased towards these Valkyrie.
After seeing many Valkyrie unable to help themselves because of their awakened Stigmata, and even having their future paths cut off, Freya always wanted to do something to help them.
"The Key of Key of Reason is modeled after the Divine Key in order to enhance various Stigmata with the power of Herrscher. For example, it can convert Honkai Energy into a kind of energy attack like Flame Greatsword, while also giving the user the swordsmanship enhancement to use two-handed greatswords."
"I see, the ability to enhance the characteristics of Stigmata with the power of Herrscher. As expected of Miss Freya."
SU was also a researcher in the Previous Civilization, and even though their areas of expertise were different, he understood the advantages of the Key of Reason.
"Miss Freya, are you still planning to embed the gem into your weapon?"
"Oh, no need for that. Don't forget, this so-called jewel is an imitation of the Divine Key, or more accurately, an imitation of the Herrscher Core."
"Could it be that..."
SU asked, somewhat surprised.
Freya nodded gently and answered with a smile.
"Even if it is a replica of the Herrscher Core, it has the same function as the Herrscher Core. Mei just happened to create a God-Slaying Armor called the Key of Blankness in the Previous Civilization that can fully unleash the power of the Herrscher Core."
"The Key of Blankness..."
Kevin murmured softly, "From a certain perspective, it was this Key of Blankness that accelerated the Honkai Energy's erosion of Mei's body, making her life more fragile and short."
"The true value of the Key of Reason lies in its ability to be embedded in Key of Blankness, thereby unleashing power equivalent to that of Herrscher. Simply put, it's roughly equivalent to one watt of power. However, the performance of the Key of Blankness is too strong, requiring weakening and optimization in related aspects..."
445. Kevin, is it really okay for you to trust her so naively?
Since we've mentioned the "Key of Blankness," we can't help but mention the Fourth Generation Armor that was originally in the Schicksal Headquarters laboratory.
Even the Twilight Knight, which Freya uses as her everyday attire, has its core [Moonlight System], which is an extension of Otto's work based on the Key of Blankness.
Of course, all Valkyrie Armor can be regarded as next-generation mass-produced armor based on the Key of Blankness.
However, as a prototype, the Key of Blankness, while possessing powerful performance, also imposes high selection criteria on users.
Although Freya only obtained the Void Archive from a parallel world, the information recorded in the Void Archive was indeed more abundant than the information she obtained from Schicksal, Kevin, and SU.
This includes Mei's research findings on the Herrscher Core.
In the field of scientific research, no one can rival Mei.
Based on Mei's research on the Herrscher Core, it is inferred that the Herrscher's Honkai Energy exists in the Imaginary Space, and the Herrscher Core is the key to unlocking the Imaginary Space.
The Honkai Energy within the core is only a small part of the Herrscher's Honkai Energy.
Therefore, the Divine Key, comparable to the Herrscher's [Zero-rated Power], consumes the energy of the Herrscher Core, and recharging it requires at least 2 hours. Thus, the Divine Key cannot unleash continuous, powerful attacks like a true Herrscher.
Mei created the Key of Blankness by connecting the Herrscher Core to the human body through armor, allowing humans to connect to the Imaginary Space for a short period of time. In other words, it allowed humans to become Herrscher for a short time.
As mentioned before, the Key of Blankness has performance that is in no way inferior to the Divine Key, and therefore it places higher demands on the user.
In the incident involving the Tenth Herrscher, Mei used herself as bait to attract the Tenth Herrscher, who was known as the Thousand-man Herrscher. She then connected the Herrscher of Thunder Core, the Herrscher Core of Wind, and the Herrscher of Flames by wielding the Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgment. She then demonstrated the power of the Herrscher of Thunder, the Herrscher of Wind, and the Herrscher of Flames one by one.
However, the experiment to activate the Key of Blankness also caused irreversible damage to Mei's body.
Subsequently, the Fire Moth Council banned Mei from continuing to use the Key of Blankness and demanded that the Key of Blankness project be temporarily suspended until another suitable candidate besides Dr. Mei is found.
In fact, the Fire Moth could have allowed the Key of Blankness to be downgraded.
It's possible to trade off the powerful performance of the Key of Blankness for a more stable, lower-spec armor.
Just as Otto developed the Valkyrie Armor through the Key of Blankness, he further developed the Fourth Generation Armor by incorporating various advanced technologies.
Although the Fourth Generation Armor cannot make the user Herrscher in a short time like the Key of Blankness, it still has the ability to fight against Emperor Honkai and even Emperor-class Honkai Beast. As the user's abilities improve, the Fourth Generation Armor will eventually be able to fight against Judgment-class Honkai Beast.
Given Mei's research capabilities, developing next-generation armor wouldn't have been difficult. However, the Key of Blankness project was ultimately halted, or even forced to stop...
Officially, the Fire Moth Council was acting in the name of Dr. Mei's safety.
Upon receiving this information, Freya's first thought was that the council members of the Fire Moth Council were panicking.
The Divine Key created by the Herrscher Core are very powerful, but mastering Divine Key requires a high level of skill.
Or rather, ordinary people simply cannot control the Divine Key.
However, the Key of Blankness is somewhat different. Although the Key of Blankness also creates a huge burden, it also means that it can allow an ordinary person to have the same power as Herrscher in a short period of time.
The ability to grant any ordinary person power comparable to that of a god in a short time implies that it is uncontrollable.
The Fire Moth Council could not tolerate this situation.
To be honest, there was a similar situation in the original Schicksal era. For example, the Divine Key kept by Schicksal had to undergo strict review and assessment, and the final selected users of the Divine Key would not have any conflict with the Schicksal.
The Kaslana Family, which holds the Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgment, is one of the three great families that rule Schicksal, and they maintain good relations with the Apolcalis Family, who have always served as Grand Bishop.
Of course, the fact that the Kaslana Family, which has always been known for its foolish, easily deceived, honest idiots and suited to being tools, suddenly produced a scoundrel was indeed beyond Otto's imagination. In the end, he only spared Siegfried and the Kaslana Family because of Siegfried's mother's pleas.
Finally, Siegfried returned to the Kaslana Family, passed numerous trials to obtain the Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgment, married Cecilia Schariac, and completely sided with the Schicksal.
In comparison, the Key of Blankness is far too dangerous.
This is equivalent to giving any ordinary person the power to launch a nuclear missile.
It's important to understand that where you stand determines where you think. Many people's perspectives are related to their environment, education, and the information they come into contact with.
National leaders consider the overall situation and the big picture of the country, but many ordinary people who only care about their own likes and dislikes only care about their own daily necessities, while wealthy merchants and nobles mostly only strive for their own wealth and power.
If the power to launch nuclear missiles were relinquished like this, and some brain-dead, hot-blooded youth suddenly appeared who claimed that the upper echelons of the Fire Moth were corrupt and that only by overthrowing the Honkai upper echelons could the Honkai be defeated, the nuclear warheads that were supposed to be thrown at the Honkai Beast would probably end up being inexplicably thrown into the city.
Of course, we cannot deny that some high-level officials are corrupt, nor can we say that their actions are all for self-preservation.
However, the shelving of the Key of Blankness project did indeed affect the situation of the Previous Civilization fighting against the Honkai.
After all, the 'relics' unearthed from the ruins of Previous Civilization are all Honkai Energy weapons, and they are products that Schicksal could not replicate with current technology. Yet, no armor similar to the Key of Blankness has ever been unearthed.
After explaining the concept of the Key of Blankness and the possible hidden reasons behind stopping the Key of Blankness project, Freya also explained the true value of the 'Key of Reason' to Kevin, SU, and Fu Hua.