"Yes."
Rita nodded lightly.
Although Durandal had not named him, they both knew who she meant.
"According to the logistics department, that... Mr. Welt eliminated a total of 887 Honkai Beasts with the attack he launched before leaving, all within ten seconds."
Rita spoke with a faint, uncontrollable tremor in her voice.
Whether it was the power to destroy nearly a thousand Honkai Beasts or the terrifying precision comparable to a supercomputer, both implied one thing—if Shi Hen wished, he could eliminate Valkyries like them in exactly the same manner.
"That guy really is terrifying."
Recalling everything related to Shi Hen, Durandal could not help but sigh.
The girl had to admit that Shi Hen was definitely the most terrifying opponent she had ever encountered.
She, too, could unleash enough power to destroy a thousand Honkai Beasts, but she could not control that power well enough to accomplish something like that.
It had nothing to do with the magnitude of his strength. Shi Hen's command over Honkai Energy was truly exquisite beyond comprehension.
"Lady Durandal, do you think he might be someone from Anti-Entropy?"
Rita asked curiously.
In present-day Schicksal, Shi Hen was unquestionably an extremely hot topic.
His unfathomable mystery, unparalleled strength, and possible connection to Schicksal's sworn enemy—Anti-Entropy—made anything related to Shi Hen an instant headline.
And without question, among all of Schicksal, Durandal was the one who had interacted with Shi Hen the most.
Of course, everyone knew perfectly well that Shi Hen could not possibly be the Herrscher of Reason who had inherited Welt's name.
Anti-Entropy's leader was not that childish.
Even now, they still could not understand the meaning behind the other party's series of actions in Raymond City.
"Impossible." Faced with Rita's question, Durandal calmly shook her head. "Although he has always claimed to be Welt, he has no feelings whatsoever toward that name, as though it were merely a mask."
Even within Schicksal, people had different feelings toward Otto, the Archbishop—fear, respect, admiration... But regardless, no Schicksal member could remain completely indifferent to Otto's name.
Yet in Shi Hen's mouth, the name Welt was merely a mask, devoid of any additional emotion.
Durandal had no doubt that if Shi Hen were facing Anti-Entropy as his enemy, he would likewise have no hesitation in claiming Otto's name.
"That's rather surprising."
Rita covered her mouth and smiled.
When they heard Shi Hen so insistently using Welt's name, no one had been foolish enough to believe he was truly Welt, but they had at least believed that he was connected to Anti-Entropy.
Otherwise, could he really have been advertising for Anti-Entropy for free?
"Right, the person acting alongside him—have you found out who she is?"
Durandal asked.
Rita nodded. "She is a mercenary, Raven, the first name on Charon's List."
Durandal thought for a moment before asking, "Was she hired by him?"
Hearing the question, Rita considered it carefully before replying, "The two of them did not seem to have the relationship of a mercenary and an employer."
That Raven had been far too concerned about Shi Hen, beyond the level of concern a mercenary should have for an employer.
Moreover, her strength was far greater than the intelligence reports had indicated.
If Rita had not been the one to confront her, and another Valkyrie had gone instead, there would likely have been considerable casualties.
Normally speaking, the assassins on Charon's List were only moderately capable. At most, they were on the level of ordinary B-rank Valkyries.
What truly required caution was those assassins' prudent attitudes and cunning methods.
And someone who had reached the level of an A-rank Valkyrie, and could even suppress Rita... Where could such a person not make a living?
If she really lacked money, robbing a bank vault would take only minutes. Why lower herself to become an assassin?
"Looks like there are other hidden circumstances behind this matter."
Stretching lazily, Durandal spoke with a touch of emotion. Her loose hospital gown rode up, revealing a slender waist wrapped in bandages.
For no particular reason, the girl suddenly recalled Shi Hen saying that triggering the Honkai had only been an accident.
So had his final actions been meant to make up for his mistake?
Although she speculated inwardly, Durandal did not say it aloud.
It was merely an intuition without evidence.
"Now it should be those people in the strategy department who have headaches." Rita smiled as she spoke, her gaze also catching sight of the bandages beneath the golden-haired girl's clothes. "Still, it has been a long time since I last saw Lady Durandal injured."
Ever since the operation in the Quantum Sea ended, there had been few creatures in this world capable of injuring Durandal.
Higher-ranking Honkai Beasts might be able to do it, but Emperor-class monsters like those were uncommon. The last time one appeared had been several years ago.
"After all, that guy is very strong." Durandal smiled in return, a trace of excitement in her expression. "If I get the chance, I really want to fight him again."
Fighting an opponent of that level was also greatly beneficial to her, allowing her to notice her own shortcomings.
And if she saw it again, perhaps she would understand how Shi Hen's ability to rapidly recover from injuries and restore his condition worked, and learn how to defeat him.
She, Durandal, was not someone willing to accept defeat!
"As long as the organization he belongs to continues acting, they will cross paths someday."
Rita smiled faintly and helped Durandal pull up the blanket that was about to slip off the side of the bed.
An organization capable of nurturing someone of that caliber would never remain silent forever.
Seeing Rita's practiced movements, Durandal smiled awkwardly, but did not say anything like thanks.
She had already grown accustomed to this way of getting along with Rita.
Creak—
Amid a citrus scent, the ward door opened once more. A woman with long white hair and golden, glass-like eye coverings entered.
"Lady Durandal, Miss Rita, good day to you both."
The woman greeted the two Valkyries.
"Lady Amber."
"Hello, Amber."
Rita and Durandal both returned the greeting with smiles.
"This case is...?"
Durandal noticed that Amber had not come empty-handed, but carried a silver equipment case as long as a person was tall.
"The Bishop heard about what happened in Raymond City and sent me to offer his regards to you both. And..." As she spoke, Amber held the equipment case horizontally before her and slowly opened it. "The Bishop said this item would henceforth be entrusted to Lady Durandal."
The silver equipment case opened, revealing an ornate lance with exquisite patterns and an overall silver-white color, though its grip was as black as the depths of hell.
"Black Abyss White Flower?"
Rita could not help but gasp softly.
In terms of equipment classification, Black Abyss White Flower was a relic belonging to the Divine Key series.
But within Schicksal, it was more famous for another reason.
Throughout history, Black Abyss White Flower had always been wielded by Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, and thus had become a symbol of Schicksal's greatest strength.
In other words, it was the exclusive armament of an S-rank Valkyrie!
"Congratulations, Lady Durandal. From today onward, you are this generation's first S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal."
Amber spoke respectfully as she stepped forward, holding out the lance.
"Black Abyss White Flower..." Durandal murmured softly, her fingers gently brushing over the lance. "From now on, please treat me well."
As her words fell, the girl suddenly gripped the lance tightly.
Whoosh!
As if responding to its master's expectations, the patterns along Black Abyss White Flower's shaft lit up one by one. Holy silver-white radiance illuminated the entire ward and instantly healed the girl's remaining wounds.
From this moment onward, Schicksal's strongest S-rank Valkyrie had been born.
The Price Needs to Go Up
Raymond City, a luxury hotel.
"Was it fun?"
"Fun."
Hearing that answer, Raven's brows immediately shot up. "Hm?"
"No, it wasn't fun!"
Shi Hen hurriedly wiped the smile from his face, put on a stern expression, and shook his head.
Raven: "..."
When she had first accepted this mission, she had thought it would be fairly simple.
Finding clues and cracking codes had been complicated, but she was an experienced hand in the organization, and her professional skills were excellent. With some extra effort, she had managed it.
The final castle expedition had been even easier. She only needed to install the things Gray Serpent had given her, then sit to the side and wait for the results.
Although an accident had occurred, as expected, it would be fine after waiting another month at most. Gray Serpent would have nothing to say, since it had been a force majeure event.
But she had never imagined that once Shi Hen began meddling in the incident, everything would gradually spiral out of control.
The youth first showed her a little midair walking, demonstrating his world-leading control over Honkai Energy. Then... a huge swarm of Honkai Beasts that had seemingly appeared from nowhere began running wild, forcing her to huddle in a corner without daring to move.
After finally waiting for the youth to emerge from that unknown space, when it was time to wrap up and flee, this guy stubbornly insisted on fighting a fully armed Valkyrie squad.
Fine, fight then. Their battleship had practically been about to roll over their faces anyway. They probably would not have escaped without fighting.
Then something even more terrifying happened.
Recalling that battle that had shattered her understanding of reality, Raven still could not help feeling lingering fear.
She had never expected that an ordinary treasure-hunting mission would actually lure out Schicksal's trump card!
What was even more unbelievable was that the youth beside her, who had always seemed rather obedient, had actually fought that level of monster to a standstill!?
Even after fighting her, Shi Hen still had enough strength left to unleash a powerful move and wipe out every remaining Honkai Beast in one go.
That incomparably brilliant silver moon, that shower of arrows filled with the aura of destruction—surely everyone who had witnessed it would remember it deeply.
This time, Shi Hen had truly become famous beyond all control, to the point that even the Schicksal Bishop could not suppress it.
By the time they left Sicily, Shi Hen's wanted posters would probably cover the whole world, and the bounty would likely be no less than five hundred million.
After all, the bounties on Schicksal's S-rank Valkyries were generally around two or three hundred million, and Schicksal was richer than all of its enemies combined.
Seeing Raven remain silent, Shi Hen cautiously stole a glance at the mercenary, and inwardly... he was still a little excited.
Putting on an outrageous show and immediately running away afterward, especially right in front of Durandal—there was no describing how thrilling that felt.
If he had another chance, he really wanted to do it again.
After all, it had been his first time making trouble, so he had not been very practiced and had missed out on many things.
For example, when he left, he could have drawn a little turtle on Durandal's face. She had been powerless to resist at the time, and he should have used the kind of super ink that would not wash off for a week.
Although he was somewhat unwilling to use the Revival Armor, compared to exposing himself as a Herrscher, things like reviving after death and rapidly recovering from injuries seemed rather unimportant.
After all, the latter could still be explained with scientific principles to some extent. There were plenty of people who had mastered the special technique of "Sit-up," and once everyone had seen enough people die and come back, they could get used to it.
But the former... once people learned that he possessed a Herrscher Core beyond the established sequence, Shi Hen would truly have to prepare to become an enemy of the world.
Herrscher matters had always been sensitive, and an irregular existence like him would stir the nerves of countless people.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, Shi Hen chose to turn the Herrscher Core into countless fragments and fuse them into every cell of his body. This allowed him to conceal his Herrscher identity just like the first Herrscher of Reason had done.
Of course, in that state, he could not use the Herrscher Core's power. It was essentially equivalent to sealing it himself.
That was precisely why, despite possessing Natural Stigmata and a Herrscher Core, he had been unable to defeat Durandal when she erupted with the power of her inner cosmos.
That state, in which world-class power was imposed upon her body, was simply too terrifying. It was not inferior to the core of a Herrscher at all.
Before you continue