"The Spear of Longinus..."
"Erwin was quite heartbroken when he had to send this out."
Lieserl made a light-hearted jest.
An Artificial Herrscher Core, a weapon powered by fundamental quantum energy, a Honkai energy conversion device, and, additionally, the "Eye of the Abyss" here, capable of connecting to the Quantum Sea.
Lieserl's intellect was exceptionally high.
With a brief combination of these clues, she roughly understood what this father and daughter pair intended to do.
"Dr. Lieserl."
Tefnut continued to speak.
"Humans lose their sense of self due to the erosion of Honkai energy."
"All related research plans were halted based on this conclusion."
"However!"
"This situation is not absolute."
"From the intelligence my father obtained, I've discovered many clues."
"Whether it was Kevin's battle against the Herrscher of Death, or the final moments of slaying the Seventh Herrscher, the Herrschers exhibited a certain degree of lucidity."
"Which is to say."
"Under the influence of external forces, it's possible for humans to overcome the erosion of Honkai energy on the conscious domain."
Almost all the experiments Tefnut had conducted revolved around herself. In a way, she was an out-and-out madwoman—
"Even without the 'Moonlight Throne Project,' the possibility of humans utilizing Honkai energy has already been verified in military equipment. Quantum energy, which is diametrically opposed to it in nature, has also achieved this."
"Although it's just a conjecture."
"But I believe the energy that Herrschers can use..."
"Doesn't necessarily have to be Honkai energy."
Tefnut's gaze shifted to the Spear of Longinus beside her.
"If we use quantum energy to counteract Honkai energy at the conscious level, could we create a Herrscher whose mind is completely unaffected by Honkai, one who stands entirely on the side of humanity?"
"Furthermore..."
The sweet, gentle smile vanished from the corners of Tefnut's lips. In that instant, the young woman's gaze became incomparably chilling. Tefnut herself hadn't realized that her previous words had already become somewhat logically muddled.
"A Herrscher that completely utilizes quantum energy."
"What does the Doctor think of this idea?"
————
"Theoretically feasible."
Lieserl did not rebuke Tefnut. From a researcher's perspective, this plan indeed possessed a considerable degree of viability.
Data from multiple Great Honkai Eruptions.
Had already allowed various cutting-edge research institutes to gain a significant understanding of Herrscher genesis.
A Pseudo-Herrscher Core plus a large amount of Honkai energy.
Satisfying these two conditions could create a Herrscher at the appropriate time.
As for Tefnut's proposed "Quantum Herrscher" concept... the answer she provided was barely passable.
This was the Eye of the Abyss.
Connection to the Quantum Sea, coupled with the rapid advancement of related research, made quantum energy extraction much simpler. Using previously manifested Herrschers as samples, stockpiling quantum energy equivalent to the Honkai energy levels required for a Herrscher's birth was not an issue.
Quantum energy was very stable, at least in the short term.
It wasn't intensely corrosive like Honkai energy; on the contrary, it could integrate with the vast majority of civilization's creations. Equipment using quantum energy, aside from gaining the quantum attribute, would also see a certain degree of improvement in its own effectiveness.
It was like...
A person merging with their shadow.
Viewed this way, Tefnut's method of becoming a Herrscher by injecting quantum energy into her core didn't seem problematic.
"You should have witnessed the power of the Spear of Longinus."
"Herrschers possess some method of replenishing Honkai energy from a higher dimension. The source of the Spear of Longinus's power, in our hypothesis, also resides in this dimension, just at an opposite coordinate."
"By the same token."
"How can you guarantee that the Herrscher Core within your body will 'assimilate' quantum energy rather than 'completely annihilate' it?"
"This is why we came here."
Mr. Ra picked up where Dr. Lieserl left off.
"Using the Spear of Longinus as the core, and through the 'Moonlight Throne' project, to modify the Artificial Herrscher Core within Tefnut's body..."
"In this regard, you are undoubtedly the most suitable person in the world."
"..."
Dr. Lieserl fell silent for a moment.
"Why do you think I would agree to this?"
"The existence of Herrschers is, in itself, the greatest threat to humanity—even if Tefnut remains lucid and stands on humanity's side, which 'faction' of humanity will ultimately use her?"
"Because..."
"Humanity is running out of time."
————
A small storage chip was tossed over by Mr. Ra.
"This is?"
"Information on the Black Emperor."
"..."
Upon hearing this name.
The duration of Lieserl's silence far exceeded any previous instance.
Mr. Ra's words were not alarmist.
The Flame-Chasers had held nothing back, directly publicizing the situation of the attack—at a time when Herrschers were being systematically eliminated and quantum weapons were on the verge of flourishing, The Flame-Chasers, humanity's most elite fighting force, and its Fusion Warriors, had nearly suffered a devastating blow.
This fact.
Caused humanity's attention, which had been entirely focused on whether Herrschers would be born, to shift back to the Honkai Beasts:
Frontal combat power comparable to the Herrscher of Flame, ultra-long-range spatial teleportation for sneak attacks, control over Honkai Beasts spanning the entire globe, and an intellectual and logical capacity so high that its tactics were perfectly interlinked.
The above four points.
Possessing any one of them could leave humanity utterly overwhelmed. And when all conditions were combined...
The Flame-Chasers had no choice but to establish a unique designation for this "Judgement-class" Honkai Beast: the Black Emperor.
Compared to Herrschers.
The Black Emperor, which had utterly destroyed The Flame-Chasers' base and stolen four Keys of God, was far more concerning to humanity on an intellectual level. The mere fact that it was still alive was enough to become a nightmare for all high-ranking human officials who faced it, or even just heard of it.
Against the backdrop of global attacks.
The reason Mu Continent remained unscathed could only be attributed to the "Eye of the Abyss"—this super-large-scale spatial device could emit special spatial fluctuations covering almost the entire continent, and these fluctuations possessed the ability to obstruct spatial travel.
Even so.
No one could guarantee how much longer Mu Continent could remain safe.
A Honkai Beast capable of stealing "Keys of God" could not possibly be ignorant of humanity. Based on this theory, with The Flame-Chasers practically crippled, as for where the Black Emperor's next target might be...
Was there even a need to guess?
The only question now was, how long would it take for the Black Emperor, severely wounded by Kevin, to recover its strength, and whether it stole the Herrscher Cores to fuse with them.
If there were no other means to stop it.
Then this timeframe...
Even if it wasn't on the scale of humanity's end, it was, quite likely, the countdown to Mu Continent's destruction.
"..."
"Alright."
"I agree—"
BOOM!
The very instant Dr. Lieserl spoke.
A not-so-intense tremor suddenly sounded from a distance, and an assistant, their expression a mixture of panic and terror, rushed in from the doorway—
"Doctor!"
"The Honkai Beasts... are attacking."