Inside a certain Anti-Entropy base, the office was utterly silent.
The only sound was the faint hum of machinery as the blue glow of a holographic projection cast a futuristic sheen across the room.
Cocolia sat with a solemn expression, her sharp eyes fixed on the intelligence reports and data streams about the Fourth Eruption.
A heavy, grave light lingered in her gaze.
Anti-Entropy operated in a completely different way than Schicksal.
It wasn't a rigid, top-down organization but more like a spontaneously formed alliance.
Members generally followed a principle of non-interference, rarely contacting one another unless absolutely necessary.
Welt, the leader of Anti-Entropy, served more as a binding thread than an actual commander.
He couldn't simply order an Executor to obey him by force.
Of course, if the matter was trivial or at least not directly harmful—most Executors would still give Welt that courtesy after some consideration.
Schicksal, on the other hand, was Otto's personal dictatorship.
If he told you to die, you died. And if you refused, he'd gladly "help" you along the way.
Such a thing would never happen within Anti-Entropy.
Rationally speaking, entrusting the fate of a global superpower to the whims of a single man was a recipe for disaster.
Yet, when humanity faced extinction-level threats, such centralized power became the most effective structure.
And when the one in control was a true genius, even the flaws of absolute authority could be masked.
And Otto… was nothing less than a genius.
At this stage, Anti-Entropy was broadly divided into two factions: the conservatives and the radicals.
Welt and two of the leading scientists leaned toward conservatism.
Cocolia, however, came from a military background in Russia.
Her beliefs and methods were far more aggressive—making her one of the leading figures among the radicals.
To trigger the birth of the Third Herrscher, she had been willing to sacrifice nearly ten million ordinary civilians in Nagazora City.
To say she did it only to save Seele from her quantum state was hardly convincing.
What a joke.
If Cocolia truly loved her daughter that much, why had she subjected them to such dangerous experiments in the first place?
As mentioned before, she had started as an ordinary soldier.
For her to climb all the way to the position of an Anti-Entropy Executor required means far beyond the imagination of most people.
Ruthlessness was the bare minimum.
The holographic interface continued scrolling until it displayed the final image: a black-haired boy in a dark-blue trench coat standing alongside a green-haired girl—outfits that looked suspiciously like matching couple's clothes.
Fingers interlaced beneath her chin, Cocolia was lost in thought when her communicator chimed.
A new projection appeared before her.
On the orange interface, no name was displayed—only the symbol of a snake.
"World Serpent…" she muttered.
A hidden force in the shadows of the world, apart from both Schicksal and Anti-Entropy.
A third anti-Honkai organization, an ancient existence passed down for millennia.
It was back when she first rose to prominence among the radicals that World Serpent approached her, extending an invitation to cooperate.
At first, Cocolia had been skeptical.
But once they demonstrated both capability and sincerity, she didn't hesitate long before agreeing.
After all, Anti-Entropy was nothing more than a tool to her, a means to further her research into unraveling the mysteries of the Honkai.
Nearly half of the radical Executors felt the same way.
They cared nothing for Anti-Entropy's "meaning" or "purpose."
Loyalty? What a joke.
And reality proved her choice correct.
World Serpent's knowledge and technology regarding the Honkai far exceeded her expectations—in many areas, even surpassing Anti-Entropy.
The genetic serum they provided, based on the Ashvin Dawn Factor, saved her other "beloved" adoptive daughters, Rosalia and Lilia.
Though their bodies now bore traits no human should possess, they gained power capable of resisting the Honkai.
A trade she considered more than worth it.
What's more, that woman in the dog-mask had truly managed to create a clone using Welt's genetic data.
The success had given Cocolia no small amount of surprise—and joy.
Secretly, she exploited the clone to its absolute limit.
While Welt's authority within Anti-Entropy wasn't quite on par with Otto's within Schicksal, it was still formidable.
Using the clone, she swiftly and decisively had the veteran Executor Raiden Ryoma imprisoned before he could react.
However, during that very operation, the existence of Welt's clone came to the attention of the conservatives.
From that point onward, Cocolia lost the ability to act under the pretense of the "leader's authority."
Still, that didn't matter.
She had already drained the clone of all its worth.
Its final use had been to test the two mysterious individuals who suddenly appeared in Nagazora City.
But what she never expected… was that the power of gravity itself could be so effortlessly destroyed by that girl who called herself C.C.
Not only that—what Cocolia absolutely couldn't accept was this: as her eyes shifted to Nagami's file, she discovered that bastard had actually abducted Bronya!
The silver wolf of Ural, a girl whose reputation was renowned even among Anti-Entropy's troops under Cocolia's direct command was gone.
And Bronya wasn't just any soldier; she was equipped with the powerful quantum armament Seele had gifted her.
And Nagami just snatched her away?!
Bronya was her dearest daughter!
Forget "raising the stakes"—Nagami had basically walked off with her in a zero-cost heist!
Cocolia had originally been planning to invade St. Freya.
Her goals: reclaim the Third Herrscher and at the same time take Bronya back.
But before she could even put the plan into motion, the Fourth Eruption broke out without warning—out of nowhere.
And it wasn't just a minor incident.
This was a true, world-ending Honkai event!
What shocked Cocolia even more was that the Herrscher of Domination, stronger than most by far, was wiped out almost instantly.
Barely three days of existence—so fast that it practically redefined the meaning of "blink and you'll miss it."
Honkai came. Honkai went.
Like a sleeve brushing through the ocean, leaving only the Pacific short several billion tons of seawater.
And the ones responsible for this absurd turn of events?
Once again, Nagami and C.C.
When Cocolia saw the intelligence World Serpent had shared on the battles of the Fourth Eruption, she was left numb.
She had no idea how Nagami managed it, but it was like he had walked into the Honkai market and bulk-bought Herrschers on discount.
The most ridiculous part? Every single one of them sided with humanity.
Even Bronya herself had awakened as a Herrscher.
So much for invading St. Freya!
This wasn't "sending in troops"—this was sending them straight into the slaughterhouse!
That was supposed to be an academy for training Valkyries.
Instead, it had turned into a den of Herrschers.
No—forget that. Just rename the place Honkai Headquarters!
The possibility of reclaiming the Herrscher of Thunder was now virtually zero.
Even Schicksal wouldn't stand a chance against Nagami as he was now.
Five Herrschers acting together? Not even Otto's forces could withstand that.
And then there was Nagami himself, a wild card beyond all reason.
But if she abandoned her plan now, then everything she'd worked for up to this point would have been for nothing.
If there was any force left that could balance out Nagami… it would have to be—
After a moment of silent thought, Cocolia accepted the incoming communication request.
"What do you want?"
She looked at the cold, gleaming Anubis mask reflected on her screen.
Leaning back in her chair, she crossed her legs, clasped her hands beneath her chin, and replaced the grave look in her eyes with an amused smile.
Though her partnership with World Serpent had already been established, and outwardly things were cordial—friendly cooperation, smooth business—behind the scenes was another matter entirely.
"You've seen the intelligence on the Fourth Eruption, haven't you?"
"Yes."
"Then you must realize. With your own strength alone, you'll never capture the Herrscher of Thunder. Nor will you get your daughter back."
A cold smile tugged at the corners of the Jackal's lips.
"Right back at you. Nagami and C.C.'s display of power—your people couldn't resist that either, could you?"
Cocolia's tone was calm. One hand rested beneath her chin as if deep in thought.
"…"
The Jackal stared at her silently, then finally nodded. "You're right. As things are now, Serpent cannot fight against five Herrschers. But when our Lord returns, everything will change."
Through the long flow of history, World Serpent's apostles had hidden in the shadows, forced underground after their master's grievous injury.
Yet still, they watched, overlooking the world from the dark.
Like a predator lying in wait, the Serpent bided its time—waiting for Kevin Kaslana to break free of his seal and strike down any who blocked his path with a fatal blow.
That was the possibility Cocolia saw as the only counterbalance to Nagami and C.C.
"But as of now, your Lord can't walk this world yet, can he?" she said, hands opening in a gesture of feigned indifference.
"That is why we've come to you," came the steady, synthetic voice. The Jackal's electronic eye glowed crimson as it flickered in Cocolia's vision.
"We require intelligence on the Deep."
After a pause, Cocolia's lips curved into a pleased smile.
"Fine. But I have two conditions…"
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