"So, you plan to use my power to erode a gem implanted in a human body, artificially induce a Great Eruption, and attempt to create a controllable Herrscher?"
In the St. Freya Principal's office, now occupied by Li Zihan, the voice of a certain girl rang out.
She was a very beautiful girl.
Her pupils were a clear blue, and her sakura-pink hair, a shade redder than Yae Sakura's, was tied into a ponytail.
She wore a white blouse and a pink plaid skirt. Her frame was slender, her skin fair, and she looked just like a super-popular pretty girl from a school campus.
Her name was Ling, the Twelfth Herrscher of the Previous Era.
"That's right. Is there a problem?"
The young man, his eyes now a vivid red, sat in Theresa's chair and spoke to the clearly impatient former Herrscher of Erosion before him.
"Hey, hey, hey, my power was pretty much sucked dry by that damned sword. I'm just a good-for-nothing now."
Ling, who was indeed lacking in power and no longer even considered a Herrscher, looked at the crimson tachi hanging from the fellow's waist, her expression full of displeasure.
Back then, she had been thoroughly beaten by this bastard and the First Herrscher of this era, then bound by the invincible S-rank Valkyrie, Judah. She was forced to surrender what little power she had left to complete Jizo Mitama, which was only a half-finished product at the time.
However, Li Zihan wasn't a complete bastard; he had provided compensation.
In exchange, she had gotten two real bodies from Li Zihan, different from the projected bodies that Jizo Mitama created by eroding reality.
"I just think that if you, the true master of the power of erosion, were willing to enter Jizo Mitama, you should be able to provide some kind of buff."
The magus, feeling that having Higokumaru act as a weapon spirit should provide a bonus, said very seriously.
"Eroding a Herrscher Gem or a Herrscher Core is an extremely difficult task. Every sliver of power needs to be cherished."
"In return, the reward is also great. If this experiment succeeds, a considerable portion of future Herrschers will become a combat force for humanity's side."
"Their appearance will greatly increase this world's probability of defeating the Honkai."
"Are you sure it's a good idea to ask me, a former apostle of the Honkai, for help in defeating the Honkai?"
The former Herrscher of Erosion, who had been living quite happily after obtaining a body and mixing with a certain "Ying-ying-ying" girl who looked identical to her older sister, looked at the young man who was laying out his plan with a straight face, her own expression very unhappy.
She, who only wanted to live a quiet life like a plant, had no desire to get involved in such high-end, grand, and classy affairs.
After learning that her older sister's colleagues, Kevin and Su, might also be coming, this unwillingness had practically turned into resistance.
"First, I don't think you, living so comfortably now, would want to become a disposable pawn for the lackeys under the Imaginary Tree."
"And second, I have plenty of countermeasures. I'm not afraid of you suddenly turning traitor."
The young man, who had indeed left a pile of countermeasures, said.
Putting aside everything else, if he were to unleash the full power of the Oath of Judah he still had stashed in his Stigmata Space, he could turn her into a dead fox in an instant.
"A guy like you who threatens girls all day will definitely never get a girlfriend."
The fox, roughly understanding that the guy before her would absolutely drag her onto the battlefield, clicked her tongue and spoke words laced with deep malice.
"You don't need to worry about that."
The young man, whose luck with women had always been good and whose real concern should be romantic calamities, shrugged his shoulders and said.
"So, are you going to join me in the experiment or not?"
"Tch—, I agree."
Although she was very unhappy, Ling still agreed.
She knew very well that the guy before her was the type who wouldn't stop until he achieved his goal. If she didn't agree, she would just be dragged onto the battlefield in the end anyway.
"That's wonderful."
The young man, having received the desired answer, smiled.
========Line Break========
Wendy was once a student at St. Freya Academy, Theresa's most outstanding student.
After graduation, she entered the Oceania Branch and became its most outstanding Valkyrie. She was once considered to be the fourth S-rank Valkyrie of her generation.
Not long after the Third Great Eruption, Schicksal launched a secret research project—hoping to develop a weapon that could rival a Herrscher through the use of the Gem of Desire.
In this experiment, the Oceania Branch transplanted the Gem of Desire into Wendy's leg, attempting to fuse it with her shin bone to obtain power on par with a Herrscher.
But Wendy could not control the power of the Gem of Desire, and the crystallization also led to the paralysis of her legs.
Because the Gem of Desire only stabilized within Wendy's body, in order to preserve the crystal, the Oceania Branch used Wendy's body as a container for the gem.
However, that was all something that would have happened if the world line hadn't been altered.
Because a certain magus was very interested in Herrscher gems, Otto had reclaimed the Gem of Desire, turning it into a bargaining chip.
The Oceania Branch naturally lost the right to use the Gem of Desire and thus couldn't use it for human experiments.
But it seemed the fate between the girl named Wendy and the Gem of Desire had not yet come to an end.
"St. Freya Academy, I'm back again."
A girl with a white scarf around her neck, wearing a white short-sleeved dress, and a gray windbreaker draped over her shoulders, stepped down from the now-stationary helicopter.
She was a girl with a very gentle voice.
Her shoulder-length hair had a dual-color scheme of black on the outside and teal on the inside. Her eyes also showed a mixed color of teal and black.
Due to a summons from HQ, she, who should have been on standby in the Oceania Branch, had been transferred back to the Far East Branch.
The initiator of the organization called Chaldeas had proposed modifying a Herrscher core, implanting the modified core into a human, and then inducing a Honkai Eruption in an uninhabited area.
Subsequently, the Divine Keys known as Jizo Mitama and Fenghuang Down would activate their powers to completely suppress the Herrscher personality. After that, a creation of the Schicksal Overseer—the Saintess's Blood, capable of inhibiting Herrschers—would also be injected.
After this whole process, the Herrscher personality would basically kick the bucket. Even if it didn't, it would be difficult for it to sustain itself and would be absorbed by the dominant human personality.
Such an experiment was certainly dangerous, but if successful, it would absolutely be an experiment that could change the world's power dynamics.
If the experiment could succeed, it would mean that humanity could elevate their own kind, while retaining their consciousness, to the position of a Divine Apostle.
This experiment was utterly bizarre, but it wasn't without feasibility. The Anti-Entropy Sovereign, Welt, was a person who wielded the authority of a Herrscher in a human body.
"An Artificial Herrscher?"
Wendy, who had been nominated due to her own Herrscher potential, murmured the name of the project she remembered, and her eyes grew firm.
In order to protect more people, she was willing to undertake this experiment.