"This Honkai is absolutely disgusting."
Tesla's irritation was evident as she scratched her head with her right hand. The very nature of Honkai—where the stronger the civilization, the stronger the Honkai—was extremely unfriendly to scientists like her.
"Calm down, Dr. Tesla. I'm sure we'll find a way," Einstein immediately reassured her, then turned his gaze to Daniel and asked, "From your observations, did we ultimately overcome the Honkai?"
Einstein's question instantly drew everyone's attention. Even Theresa, who had been busy picking on Siegfei earlier, paused; Fu Hua, too, remained silent.
"I'm not entirely sure of all the details. You must understand that observations can never capture every aspect. All I know is that, in the end, it appears you managed to seal away the vast majority of Honkai energy onto the Moon—leaving only a small amount on Earth. Although we haven't eradicated Honkai entirely, it seems the conditions no longer allow for the birth of powerful Honkai Beasts."
Daniel admitted he wasn't certain how that "post-Honkai plan" had been achieved. Still, he considered it a potential strategy against Honkai. In time, if his own power continued to grow, perhaps he could accomplish that monumental feat on his own.
"Like now—thanks to my increasing strength, I've already begun researching the three sacred temple barriers. With time, I might be able to deploy a barrier covering the entire planet."
"How did you do that?"
Tesla asked eagerly.
"As I mentioned earlier, I don't know all the answers. Observing parallel worlds doesn't grant you every bit of intelligence," Daniel replied.
"Sealing Honkai energy onto the Moon—can that really be done?"
Einstein mused quietly. A moment later, she looked up at Daniel and pressed, "Surely there's more you haven't told us?"
"Hey, for something this big, you really still haven't let us in on all the details?" Tesla immediately burst out, clearly annoyed.
"Indeed, I have withheld some details—but it's not that I don't want to tell you. Some things, if revealed now, would trigger drastic changes," Daniel explained.
"Like where Kiana Kaslana is?" Einstein interjected.
"That's right. And there are other matters which, if disclosed now, would only cause you further worry."
"Tell us," Einstein urged.
"Even if you eventually seal away the Honkai energy, that doesn't guarantee stability in this world. As far as I know, you'll have plenty of future troubles."
"Human infighting," Einstein offered thoughtfully.
"No—that's trivial. I'm talking about the 'Heavenly Ones.' You should be familiar with that term, shouldn't you?"
From the context, it was clear that "Heavenly Ones" referred to the extraterrestrial invaders.
"Really, there are aliens?"
Himeko piped up, her eyes lighting up with excitement. In her youth, she had been utterly fascinated by aliens.
"Technically speaking, as someone from another world, I could also be considered an alien."
"Is that so? Then even if we defeat Honkai in the future, we'll still have to face an alien invasion," Himeko said with a wry smile.
"Exactly. And perhaps even planet-level Honkai Beasts," Daniel added quietly, though he didn't voice that last part aloud—he couldn't be sure.
"Alright, don't sulk. Actually, there's good news too. Dr. Tesla, Mr. Walter—congratulations! You two will finally achieve what you've been striving for. Although, Dr. Tesla, your performance as a 'mother' has been rather subpar," Daniel announced, attempting to lift the mood as everyone wore grim expressions while contemplating the future.
"What—what are you talking about?" Tesla spluttered in disbelief, her face turning bright red. Walter nearly toppled off his sofa, coughing violently. He glanced uncomfortably at Tesla, who met his eyes; they quickly averted their gazes.
"Chicken Coop Head, you really must stop spouting nonsense," Tesla scolded, half-jokingly.
"Alright, now is not the time for that. Let's discuss our current situation," Walter interjected.
"Maybe we should go out and take a look around. This is a world bubble—surely you're curious?"
At Daniel's suggestion, the group decided to take a break from the grim intelligence and toured Tianqiu City. Theresa and Himeko met with the local Theresa—though the latter, shy about her magical girl idol persona, couldn't hide her curiosity about meeting another version of herself. Meanwhile, Tesla and Einstein boarded a helicopter to observe the world bubble from above. Walter and Siegfei, acting as bodyguards, reluctantly accompanied them; Siegfei had been dragged along by Walter despite his earlier reluctance. Their relationship was now awkward, as previous revelations had hinted at future connections between them—connections they now tried to ignore.
Yet there was a silver lining: once the façade was broken, they might end up uniting sooner than expected.
"In this Honkai-ravaged world, some opportunities must be seized—just as Einstein sometimes regrets not confiding his true feelings to Walter sooner."
"Alright, now that everyone's calmed down, let's discuss our next steps."
After a brief stroll, the group reconvened to strategize. Based on what Daniel had said earlier, and with everyone's objectives aligned, they agreed to cooperate.
"Right now, the most important tasks are to halt Otto's plans and resolve Kiana's predicament. It's a shame we haven't acquired the God-Slaying Gun—otherwise, we'd have another weapon to counter the Rulers."
During the last lesson, Himeko had administered an agent to the now Void Ruler Kiana that formed the God-Slaying Gun; it wasn't merely Honkai Neutralizing Serum.
While Honkai Neutralizing Serum was effective for ordinary people, it had no effect on Rulers. Notably, even when Kiana was injected with serum in the original story, her Kaslana bloodline nullified its effect.
"If Cecilia were here, maybe we could persuade Xilin—after all, during the Second Honkai, she nearly managed to quell the resentment burning in Xilin's heart. It seems Walter Young was responsible for that," Daniel murmured to himself. He knew it wasn't entirely Walter's fault; after all, he wasn't privy to all these details.
Although many legends existed in the Honkai world—most concerning either Honkai itself or fusion warriors—resurrecting someone was extraordinarily difficult. At the very least, Daniel admitted, he wasn't currently capable of reviving anyone.
"The truth must be told to Kiana eventually, but we must find the right moment. Otherwise, it could trigger a catastrophic outburst of the Void Ruler's power. I'm counting on you all for that," Daniel asserted gravely.
"Don't worry—I won't let my students suffer," Himeko promised earnestly.
"Right now, our primary objective is to keep Otto in the dark. That way, we can buy enough time," Daniel added.
"But first, we must rescue Wendy."
At the mention of Wendy, Theresa's expression immediately fell. Wendy had once been the top student of St. Freya Academy—a prodigy who had earned A-rank Valkyrie status and ranked among Schicksal's best. With continued growth, she was on track to become the fourth S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal.
Theresa deeply regretted having recommended Wendy for the "Desire Gem" experiment, which resulted in permanent damage to her legs. Initially, Theresa believed it was a necessary sacrifice to oppose Honkai, but now the situation was far worse than she'd imagined, and her regret only deepened.
"This we can cooperate on. We just received word that Cocolia is about to make a move on the Desire Gem," someone announced.
One couldn't help but admire Cocolia's audacity—she sought to meddle in everything: the Conquest Gem, the Tranquil Gem, the Desire Gem—she seemed to have her hands in all four major gems.
After a round of negotiations, Daniel gathered everyone and brought them back to St. Freya Academy. He then escorted Einstein and Tesla back to an Anti-Entropy base. As for Walter Young, despite his identity being exposed, he continued in his role as a history teacher.
"Fu Hua, how much have you recovered?"
"About seventy percent."
"Seventy percent… do you think you could defeat Youlandel?"
Even with all his efforts, Fu Hua's recovery was only at seventy percent. It was truly remarkable that she had persevered all these years to protect China—a fact that even her memories of the Promised Land found hard to believe.
"It's hard to say. I've sparred with her twice: the first time ended evenly, the second time I lost—even though I didn't use my full strength, she matched me blow for blow. Besides, my Yuduchen seems to have little effect on her."
"Well, you truly are a man with great resolve," someone remarked.
For most, human limits are evident—even Daniel believed that. But Youlandel was different: she believed that through effort, one could always grow stronger, and that belief had given her power far surpassing that of an ordinary S-rank Valkyrie. In fact, Otto was considering establishing an entire class of Youlandel-level warriors.
"However, I'm determined not to lose to her," Fu Hua declared confidently, though she never strived to be overly competitive.
"Have you ever thought of visiting the Promised Land of Yore to see your old friends?"
"Promised Land of Yore? Not now. Perhaps once we've defeated Honkai, I might pay a visit."
Fu Hua's gaze turned to Daniel. "So, you want to go there?"
"Indeed, I'm curious about it. I've always been fascinated by the warriors of the previous civilization who defended humanity."
"Students, please welcome Ms. Rita, an S-rank Valkyrie from Schicksal, who has come to observe today's Valkyrie exam."
Immediately, the audience burst into enthusiastic applause. Rita, one of Schicksal's three S-rank Valkyries and the vice-captain of the Undying Blade unit—not to mention a rare beauty—was a sight to behold.
"Headmistress, you're too kind. I'm only here to observe," Rita said as she accepted the microphone. Speaking in the name of Archbishop Otto, she delivered a brief speech before handing the mic back to Theresa, and then the official exam began.
The Valkyrie exam consisted of two parts: a written test and a combat evaluation. The combat section was further divided into two parts: one involving Valkyries fighting one another, and the other pitting them against Honkai Beasts in virtual projection.
"This is Dr. Davis, right?"
Rita, having come to St. Freya Academy at Otto's behest to assess Kiana's condition, focused little on the other Valkyries' competitions—instead, she gravitated toward Daniel.
"Rita, no matter which world you come from, your obsession with maid outfits remains unchanged," Daniel teased.
"Dr. Davis, have you ever met another me—perhaps from within the World Bubble?"
As an S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal, Rita was well aware of the nature of the World Bubble. "Indeed. If the opportunity arises, I'd be happy to introduce you," Daniel replied.
"Then tell me, is there another Headmistress Theresa—or even a Youlandel?"
Rita's tone grew excited as she spoke.
"That is a small world bubble—a city akin to Tianqiu City. I didn't see Youlandel there, but there is Theresa, and over there, Theresa is a magical girl idol."
Noticing that Theresa's attention was now on the student exam, Daniel whispered, "A magical girl idol…?"
"I have her concert footage. Would you like to see it?"
Daniel then took out his phone and played a video of the magical girl teriri concert.
"That is absolutely delightful—I'm sure the Archbishop would be very interested," he remarked.
"I think it's you who's interested," Rita replied, her expression teasing as Daniel chuckled and shook his head without revealing too much.
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