Since they had already formed an alliance, Theresa gave the blueprint to Einstein and Tesla. In any case, they would just split the final product fifty-fifty.
Besides, the current scientific research capabilities of St. Freya were leagues behind those of Einstein and Tesla, two of the greatest scientists in human history.
"It really was Otto..."
The expressions of the St. Freya members grew complicated.
"You don't need to be so surprised. To be honest, my feeling is that Otto's goal, from beginning to end, was never to fight the Honkai."
"Fighting the Honkai was merely a means he was forced to use to achieve his true objective. Fighting the Honkai was not his goal, but part of the process."
"I don't deny that in the five hundred years Otto has led Schicksal, he has indeed done many things beneficial to humanity. He has spread Schicksal's power across the world, preventing countless Honkai Beast attacks against mankind."
"But at the same time, for his own purposes, he built the Babel Tower in Siberia and used orphans collected from all over the world for human experiments, resulting in countless deaths and injuries, which ultimately led to the birth of the Second Herrscher, Sirin. That is also a fact."
Einstein's voice grew clearer, delivering the final verdict.
"Otto, he has never been a hero. He is a villainous hero."
"...You're right, Einstein," Theresa said in a low voice.
Originally, after learning about the future, Theresa had been accumulating St. Freya's strength, hoping to one day gain the power to contend with Schicksal HQ and with Otto.
But it was only ever about contending.
Her initial goal was simply to prevent Kiana from being captured by Otto and to rescue the real Kiana, whose whereabouts were unknown.
But now, as her understanding of Otto deepened, Theresa's mindset gradually began to change.
She wanted more power, so she could correct Otto's mistakes.
Schicksal should not be a tool for his own selfish desires.
Those Valkyries who risked their lives, who were fitted with artificial stigmata to fight the Honkai on the battlefield—what were they fighting for?
Wasn't it to fight the Honkai?
They revered Otto, worshipped him, because Otto could lead them against the Honkai.
And yet, Otto's actions had turned their efforts, their sacrifices, into a joke.
It was precisely because Theresa couldn't stand to see Otto grow accustomed to the sacrifices of the Valkyries—and even worse, the Valkyries growing accustomed to their own sacrifices—that she had wanted to open a Valkyrie academy, to correct this way of thinking from its very foundation.
One could say that Theresa's ideals and Otto's were at completely opposite ends of the spectrum.
One was a pure idealist; the other was a realist, tempered by centuries of time.
Both had their own reasons, and both had goals for which they fought. As for who was right and who was wrong, that would be left for the victor to write.
Now, Theresa wanted to change all of it. For the first time in her life, ambition was born within her.
She would overthrow Otto!
She would change Schicksal!
Of course, she knew that achieving this was nearly impossible for her right now.
But throughout human history, how many seemingly impossible tasks were ultimately accomplished?
Moreover, the emergence of this thought brought about the most direct change in Theresa's mentality.
She could try to learn how to be a qualified leader, a qualified commander—a notion that had never once crossed her mind before.
---o---
Just then, an image appeared in the Q&A Space.
Everyone's gaze turned towards it. It was a world of white, a scene both familiar and strange that sent Einstein and Tesla plunging into their memories.
It was Siberia.
And in this pale white world, a world-shaking battle was underway.
Welt Yang, wielding the Star of Eden, manipulated gravity to attack the purple-haired Herrscher, but all his attacks were blocked by the layer of imaginary shields surrounding her.
"Useless, useless, useless! Your attacks are completely ineffective against the power gifted to me by God!" Sirin laughed arrogantly as countless subspace lances erupted from the void, shooting towards Welt Yang.
"Traitor to the Herrschers, today is the day you die!"
"Sorry, but there is only one person who will fall here today, and that is you."
Welt Yang manipulated a wall of gravity to block the subspace lances.
"ROAR!!!"
The next moment, a giant blue dragon descended from the sky, opening its abyss-like maw to bite down on Welt Yang.
"Get lost!"
Welt Yang's pupils instantly turned the same orange-yellow as Sirin's as the power of the Herrscher of Reason erupted from his body.
Countless points of light constructed a blueprint in the void. The phantom image solidified into reality as a gigantic steel arm descended from nothingness, slamming viciously into Benares and smashing the dragon deep into a snowy mountain.
"Second Herrscher, are you prepared to face the power of the First Herrscher—Welt?!"
Behind Welt Yang, countless mechs and warships emerged from the void. Their cold cannon barrels aimed at the Herrscher of the Void. The next moment, a seemingly endless, sky-covering barrage of artillery fire surged forward, blasting towards Sirin.
Sirin raised her shields, but she quickly discovered with horror that her shields were shattering before the weapons of humanity!
"How is this possible? How can mere human weapons harm a god!"
"Have you not realized it yet?" Welt Yang said coldly. "This is the power of the Herrscher of Reason. As long as I understand the principles of its construction, I can construct any weapon with Honkai energy."
"In other words, as long as I do not die, my army will never disappear!"
"These are the weapons created by humanity! This is the civilization created by humanity!"
"Damn you! You traitor!"
"Traitor? Heh, I have never stood on the side of the Honkai. How can you speak of betrayal?"
"I! Welt! Challenge you now, as a human being!"
"Come, God! Use your power to test whether humanity is worthy of survival!"
"All units, fire!"
The next moment, a colossal roar echoed throughout the entire space.
The scene then shifted, and the figures of Einstein and Tesla appeared.
"Dr. Tesla, prepare to launch the Silver Bullet."
"Received, Nest-head. You damned Second Herrscher, let Dr. Tesla teach you what the power of humanity is!"
Tesla operated the launch console, aiming a massive, gleaming silver missile at the battlefield where the Herrscher of the Void and Welt Yang were fighting. Then, she pressed the button.
The missile, carrying immense energy, instantly shot into the sky, speeding towards the battlefield.
On the other side of the battlefield, Welt Yang and Sirin were locked in a fierce struggle. But just then, Sirin seemed to sense something and snapped her head up to look at the sky.
The Silver Bullet, launched by Dr. Tesla, was now flying towards her at extreme speed. In three seconds at most, it would reach her location.
That was the god-slaying weapon developed by the greatest scientist in human history, Einstein—the atomic bomb.