Fortunately, Welt had anticipated it and distributed gravity around himself beforehand, deflecting the Flame Bullet's attack.
"Everyone, stay alert for the Second Herrscher's abilities! Siegfried, don't fire recklessly either."
"..." Siegfried fell silent. So this was somehow my fault?
She Needed Proper Guidance
The battle in the infirmary lasted ten minutes.
"Th-That's too outrageous, isn't it? This is the Second Herrscher?"
Looking at the little girl sitting on the bed and crying, no more than eight or nine years old, Tesla could not help but sigh.
Honkai Beasts were continuously summoned. Though they were only the lowest-tier Rush-class Honkai Beasts, barely larger than basketballs, all long-range attacks were absorbed and reflected by her abilities.
But close-range attacks carried the risk of being directly thrown into the Imaginary Space.
Yes, just moments ago, some cannon fodder—cough, cough... an Anti-Entropy member had attacked her directly, only to be swallowed by a hollow.
"Without the will of the Second Herrscher, this should be a self-defense mechanism."
Welt had not sensed the will of Honkai within her.
Clearly, the little girl had likely activated the Second Herrscher's powers out of fear after arriving in an unfamiliar environment.
However, the Second Herrscher's core was incomplete.
Just as Welt had predicted, after they slowly eliminated the Honkai Beasts for over ten minutes, the exhausted little girl fell asleep, and every hollow she had opened vanished.
One Rush-class Honkai Beast had only crawled halfway out when it was severed into two pieces.
Seeing the Honkai Beast's unwilling expression even in death, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Even Siegfried relaxed at that moment.
He could not use the Greatsword of Heavenly Fire mode in such a cramped room, nor could he use Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgment for long-range attacks, leaving him no choice but to punch the Rush-class Honkai Beasts.
His hands hurt from all the punching.
Fortunately, his daughter's clone's rampage ended quickly.
"That power is far too dangerous."
"Yeah. I never thought Otto would try to revive the Second Herrscher."
"She may not be very powerful right now, but once she grows up, she will definitely cause another Honkai war."
"Should we suggest to the Alliance Leader that we eliminate the danger early?"
After witnessing the little girl display the Second Herrscher's abilities, more than a dozen Anti-Entropy members began discussing it.
Siegfried glanced at the Anti-Entropy members advocating for the destruction of his daughter's clone and naturally began considering taking her away from Anti-Entropy.
"The Herrscher's power is indeed dangerous, but she isn't the true Second Herrscher. She is merely a vessel for the Second Herrscher's abilities. She is like me. With proper guidance, she may be able to master the Second Herrscher's power and become a warrior against Honkai."
Welt shot several members a cold look.
It was because they had attacked the little girl without authorization that one member had been thrown into the Imaginary Space.
"Isn't the First Herrscher power I possess dangerous as well?"
After speaking, Welt looked at Siegfried. He had to dispel Siegfried's thoughts of taking the little girl away.
"Siegfried, come with me. I hope we can talk." He said to Siegfried.
To ease Siegfried's concerns, Welt gave instructions to his most trusted companion.
"Tesla, could I trouble you to look after Siegfried's daughter?"
Anti-Entropy had long since split into two factions.
The members who had just advocated attacking and killing the little girl were mostly radicals.
"Leave it to me. All right, men, you should leave too. It's girls' time now."
"Girls... pfft, you're clearly all ol—"
That Anti-Entropy member never got to finish his sentence.
Well, Tesla punched him.
Tesla glared at the remaining radical Anti-Entropy members. "Do any of you have something you want to say too?"
"Of course not. Dr. Tesla has always been young and beautiful."
"Right, Dr. Tesla is very young!"
"Exactly! I'm even one of Dr. Tesla's admirers!"
The remaining Anti-Entropy members displayed an overwhelming desire to survive, leaving Einstein beside them able to do nothing but roll her eyes.
She was only a few years younger than Tesla.
Well, she would make things difficult for those radicals later.
Welt took Siegfried away and found an empty room.
"Siegfried, I know you cannot trust Anti-Entropy, but you need to understand that you cannot protect your daughter's clone alone."
"Hmph. Whether I can protect her isn't for you to decide."
Siegfried wanted to tell Welt, You know nothing about the power of the Kaslana Family.
Ever since he had activated the DNA of the Emperor-class Honkai Beast Pvanty within the Kaslana Family bloodline during the Second Eruption War, the Greatsword of Heavenly Fire mode of Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgment was no longer a burden to him.
That was why he could repeatedly use the Greatsword of Heavenly Fire and still remain full of vigor.
"I am certain you cannot protect her well."
Welt invited Siegfried to sit, then sat down on the room's sofa himself. Looking at the leftover black tea on the coffee table, left by who knew whom, he spoke calmly.
"To be honest, I don't think you are suited to be that child's guide."
"Welt! This is my family matter. She's my daughter's clone..."
If it had not been necessary to treat his daughter's clone after removing the signal transmitter, Siegfried would never have brought her to Anti-Entropy's secret base.
At the end of the day, Siegfried did not consider himself one of Anti-Entropy's people.
"I know. But before that, listen to my story."
Welt smiled, then began telling the story of a little boy named Joachim.
The little boy was named Joachim Nokian Virtanen. He loved history and music, and dreamed of becoming a teacher.
Though the little boy's father appeared frivolous, in the boy's eyes, he had always been an extraordinary expert in ancient languages.
The little boy's mother was a young and promising archaeologist, as well as a beautiful woman of mixed Chinese and German heritage.
The little boy had originally thought that his future would be becoming a teacher, perhaps a history teacher or perhaps a music teacher.
Then he would meet his future wife at school and have several children. When his mother, a busy woman who could only spend a dozen or so days at home each year, returned home, he would properly care for both his parents.
But the little boy's fate changed completely that day.
He inherited a name and responsibility from his hero.
After losing his father, he lost the hero who had saved him as well. He lost his original identity and even lost his childhood.
The wound in his heart tore deeper and deeper, yet the little boy had never resented his hero.
Because that was also his mission. Even though becoming a hero had cost him much, the little boy never regretted it, because he had many companions by his side. They allowed him to witness beauty worth protecting with his life.
The little boy lost the name Joachim Nokian Virtanen and gained the name Welt.
He was now Anti-Entropy's Alliance Leader, Welt Yang.
"The story is ordinary, but it was precisely because I had many family members around me to guide me toward maturity, along with the hero who passed on his responsibility and name to me, that I could avoid being influenced by the will of Honkai and wield the First Herrscher's power."
"...So you want my daughter's clone to bear such a burden?"
Siegfried said through gritted teeth.
In truth, neither he nor Cecilia had wanted their daughter to become a Schicksal warrior.
Even if she was only his daughter's clone, Siegfried did not want to see someone identical to his daughter shoulder the responsibility of protecting the world.
Protecting the world—those words were too heavy.
Schicksal also claimed to protect the world, yet how many cruel things had it done?
As someone who had experienced the Second Eruption War, Siegfried knew that the Second Eruption War was inseparable from Schicksal.
"She is a vessel for the Second Herrscher's abilities. Do you think Bishop Otto will let her go? Don't forget that she already lost control once just now. Unless someone teaches her how to use the Second Herrscher's power, who will stop her the next time she loses control?"
"Face reality, Siegfried. You failed to rescue your daughter from Schicksal Headquarters. Don't miss the chance to save your daughter's clone too!"
What frustrated Welt most about Siegfried was how headstrong he was. Sometimes, he simply would not listen to anyone else.
"Trust me, Siegfried. She needs proper guidance."
"...Let me become an Anti-Entropy Executor. I agree to let you guide her, but... I don't want Anti-Entropy to use her like Schicksal does."
Anti-Entropy's Executors were actually similar to Schicksal's branch administrators. The difference was that Schicksal used centralized management. Even branches had to follow Schicksal Headquarters' orders, though each region retained its own methods.
Anti-Entropy's Executors, however, possessed freer and more independent authority.
"You want to join Anti-Entropy? That's wonderful."
Seeing that Siegfried had not stubbornly decided to take the vessel of the Second Herrscher away, Welt finally breathed a complete sigh of relief.
In truth, he had his reasons for wanting to guide the vessel of the Second Herrscher.
During the Second Eruption War, he had once been defeated by the Second Herrscher, and the First Herrscher core he possessed had been taken by her.
At that time, he had read the Second Herrscher's thoughts within her body.
She was the culprit behind the Second Eruption War, an apostle of Honkai, but also a victim of Schicksal.
Under the pretense of treatment, Schicksal had deceived many little girls and continuously performed cruel experiments on them.
The little girls brought to the Babylon Laboratory alongside the Second Herrscher died one after another.
The Second Herrscher awakened in pain and hatred, then under the influence of the Honkai Consciousness, extended her hatred for Schicksal to all humanity.
In Welt's eyes, was the vessel now bearing the Second Herrscher's power not another Second Herrscher persecuted by Schicksal?
When the Second Herrscher had created an illusion to trap Cecilia and Siegfried, Welt had seen Cecilia's desire to save the Second Herrscher.
No, it should be said that everyone had only seen the Second Herrscher. Even he had only seen the Second Herrscher.
Only Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie had seen a little girl named Sirin.
Welt was deeply moved. He had never expected things to develop this way.
Not only had Siegfried agreed to join Anti-Entropy, greatly strengthening its power.
He had also become the guide of a vessel possessing the Second Herrscher's power. Perhaps she could even become his successor in the future.
"Hmph, let's make this clear first. My salary isn't low. Raising one is raising one, raising two is raising two. Once we rescue the real Kiana, raising two daughters will cost quite a lot."
Though Siegfried still wanted to take his daughter's clone away, he also knew that he had no money. Even if he took her away, he could not give her a normal life.
Only Men Could Understand Men
That evening, Welt held a small meeting and announced that Siegfried had become an Anti-Entropy Executor.
Siegfried becoming an Executor could be considered a major event for Anti-Entropy.
But Welt's so-called meeting was just a group of people gathered around a table to eat. In the middle of the Executors enjoying their meal, he suddenly announced something like that... Tesla nearly sprayed out the food she had just put in her mouth.
Einstein, who had been drinking water, was also choked by the news and kept coughing while patting her chest.
Meanwhile, an elegant man eating steak silently put down his knife and fork, picked up a napkin to wipe the sauce from the corner of his mouth, and gave a soft cough, pretending he had not choked.
Even Siegfried, as thick-skinned as he was, felt that something was off.
All right, he had to admit that far too many things were off.
"Um, Welt... is it really appropriate to announce that I've become an Executor in a setting like this?"
"I think it's quite appropriate. Though it is embarrassing to say, because our accomplishments in fighting Honkai have not been significant, Anti-Entropy has actually split into two factions."
Siegfried nodded at Welt's frankness.
Before you continue