Twenty minutes later, at St. Freya High School.
After pulling an all-nighter, Himeko, sporting faint dark circles under her eyes, casually swiped open the unread branch reports. She planned to deal with the remaining trivial matters before heading back to her dorm for a good, long sleep.
Although they had learned a great deal from Cioara, Himeko and Theresa weren't basing their actions solely on her intelligence.
After all, setting aside the issue of trust, even if Cioara wasn't lying to them, it didn't guarantee that the information she provided was completely accurate.
For instance, just a few days after Cioara defected, the situation in Singapore began to escalate publicly.
According to Cioara's own explanation, this was clearly a case of faulty intelligence resulting from Gray Serpent changing his operational plans after being pushed into a corner by Otto. It wasn't her fault.
Himeko was genuinely worried that the enemy might launch another surprise attack like the last one.
After taking a beating from Otto, World Serpent was clearly getting desperate.
A wounded, rabid dog is afraid of far fewer things.
The current situation looked like World Serpent was using Singapore as a 'partner' to establish itself as a third power alongside Schicksal and Anti-Entropy.
Normally, they wouldn't make a move until they had amassed sufficient forces.
However, just because that was the normal course of action didn't mean this group would actually act according to common sense.
Leo Ash and Fu Hua had been out on missions frequently during this period, leaving the branch's forces considerably depleted.
To prevent the enemy from using their teleportation technology to raid the campus again, Theresa, the Far East Branch's strongest combatant, had no choice but to lead the patrols herself.
At the same time, with all the recent incidents, the burden on Himeko's shoulders had also grown much heavier.
These days, she couldn't even find time to go to a bar for a drink, let alone go home to sleep.
"Hah... I've had enough of this."
"Cocolia's group and World Serpent are really causing a ruckus."
After reviewing the remaining tasks, Himeko felt her headache worsening.
Most of what was left wasn't urgent, but the problem was that Himeko, being a highly intelligent individual, could see that the entire world situation felt like 'the calm before the storm.'
Ever since Schicksal's internal investigation revealed that World Serpent could mass-produce Pseudo-Herrschers, the problem had become increasingly severe.
A Pseudo-Herrscher, no matter how weak, was still a Herrscher. An ordinary Pseudo-Herrscher could bully an average A-rank Valkyrie with ease.
Even an elite A-rank like Himeko couldn't guarantee she would survive an encounter with a Pseudo-Herrscher.
Once World Serpent truly built up its forces, the organization would be powerful enough to change the current global landscape.
At that point, their terrifying targeted teleportation system combined with a mass-produced Pseudo-Herrscher army would be enough to defeat any of Schicksal's branches one by one through blitzkrieg tactics.
Even the Far East Branch, guarded by Theresa, could have its high-tier combatants tied down by the enemy's sheer numbers while the rest of its members were picked off.
Himeko could figure this out, which meant the old man in the high seat of power certainly could too.
With his world-class intellect, he would never allow World Serpent to continue its rampage.
However, Lord Bishop Otto was a smart man, and it had already been three or four days, yet he still hadn't taken action against Singapore... Wait, what's this intelligence?
The message Himeko was looking at reported that Yuno had left the Far East Branch alone on a mission, having received a direct order from Schicksal HQ.
Normally, Yuno, as a Pseudo-Herrscher, was a subject of high-priority monitoring, and leaving the Far East Branch would require an application.
But this mission was an emergency one, and the person who issued the order was...
—Otto Apocalypse???
Lord Bishop Otto had a task for Yuno, a Valkyrie who had just been promoted to B-rank???
Sensing that something was wrong, Himeko continued to tap on the message, using her authority as the Far East Branch's second-in-command to view the detailed report.
After seeing the details, Himeko suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
Dr. Magi has betrayed us, and the Bishop wants Yuno to hunt him down?
HQ has special Valkyries specifically for assassination and pursuit, and besides, Dr. Magi took the Gem of Serenity with him. This is a major incident.
And Lord Bishop wants Yuno, a young girl with no experience in solo missions, to pursue Dr. Magi...
Strange, this is far too strange.
But, the Gem of Serenity, and Yuno's identity as a Pseudo-Herrscher... if one were to combine these two factors.
No, that's not enough.
The only organization in the world that could rival Schicksal was originally Anti-Entropy—but the problem now is that Anti-Entropy can barely manage its own affairs after its internal strife. Do they have the time to meddle in external matters?
Moreover, a Herrscher Gem, a Herrscher Host...
This is clearly Cocolia's modus operandi.
But the fact that Dr. Magi could steal the Gem of Serenity, which was under Schicksal's strict protection, was already highly suspicious. And Lord Bishop Otto just so happened to dispatch a Pseudo-Herrscher after him.
This, this, this—isn't this just like Cocolia, trying to create a large-scale Honkai Eruption to facilitate the birth of a Herrscher?!
Although she had long known that Otto was no saint, Himeko still felt a bone-deep chill run through her when she reached this conclusion.
Moreover, it would be one thing if Yuno managed to catch up to Dr. Magi on the way.
While she was a Herrscher Host, a Herrscher awakening still required certain objective conditions.
But if they were to meet in Singapore, a place teeming with Pseudo-Herrschers, the probability of an incident occurring would only be high or higher.
And right now, Singapore was enemy territory.
After this gem theft incident, Schicksal would be the victim.
Lord Bishop Otto had extricated his organization from the situation. If a Honkai Eruption was triggered, it would be the enemy's home base that gets blown up, and the blame for causing the Eruption wouldn't fall on him.
There was no solid proof, but this was definitely something Lord Bishop Otto would do.
But the problem is, right now...
—What should I do?
For a mere second, Himeko hesitated, and that moment of hesitation filled her with endless shame.
As a teacher at St. Freya High School, as a Valkyrie who protected the people, she had actually hesitated just because the instigator was her own superior.
This is unforgivable.
Even if the perpetrator is Lord Bishop Otto, I must find a way to stop this farce.
The higher-ups in Singapore are indeed hostile towards Schicksal.
But the people of Singapore are innocent.
They have no choice in the faction they belong to, and now, Lord Bishop Otto plans to use this indirect method to make an example of them—if I were to truly stand by and do nothing, I'd be no better than a monster.
But even if I'm going to save people, I need a plan. Let me think.
If Murata Himeko were to interfere and thwart Otto Apocalypse's plan, he probably wouldn't spare the Valkyrie who disrupted his scheme.
But, if the one who interferes isn't Murata Himeko, but Theresa Apocalypse...
Sigh, with Lord Bishop Otto's mind, he'd definitely figure out that I was the one who secretly guided Theresa to discover this.
There's no point in being secretive. I'll go directly to Theresa and explain the situation to her in private.
And then—we at least need to send someone out to persuade Yuno to stand down, or to keep an eye on her.
At that moment, the image of a certain young man surfaced in Himeko's mind.
Although Fu Hua's strength was not to be underestimated, she had been severely injured in her last confrontation with that blue-haired Pseudo-Herrscher.
In comparison, Leo Ash's ability to kill a Pseudo-Herrscher without injury made him a much safer bet than sending Fu Hua.
Moreover, while Yuno didn't harbor the same kind of special feelings for Leo Ash as Kiana and Mei did, he was still someone she trusted.
If I send Leo Ash, with his current strength and the adaptability he demonstrated back in Nagazora City, he should be able to resolve this crisis, right?
But, that would be tantamount to pushing him into a pit of fire.
I'm being quite shameless, first thinking of letting Theresa take the fall for me, and now wanting to push my student into opposition with Lord Bishop Otto...
But on the other hand, among the people I can dispatch, Leo Ash is the most suitable candidate.
To risk a student's life for the future of millions...
No, I should let Leo Ash decide for himself.
This matter concerns his future and could even endanger his life. He has the right to know and to make a choice.
Ultimately, the root cause of this—it's not even my fault!
The thought of Otto stooping to Cocolia's level to commit such a monstrous act ignited a terrible fury in Himeko's heart.
Although she'd heard from Theresa that Otto, despite doting on her, was certainly not a good person, but...
—Can a person like this, as the leader of Schicksal, truly lead us to victory against the Honkai?
....
In Himeko's apartment.
Sitting on the sofa, Leo Ash listened to Fu Hua's incessant words, feeling truly afraid this time.
He never imagined that Fu Hua could extrapolate a whole host of non-existent problems from such a trivial matter and then proceed to lecture him for over twenty minutes.
To be honest, given that Fu Hua's mouth hadn't stopped moving, Leo estimated that she could probably keep this up for at least another twenty minutes.
And, to prevent Fu Hua from getting angry again because he was zoning out, Leo even had Mind Like Still Water activated during the lecture.
While it wasn't a bad feeling to be cared for, it wasn't so great when that care came with so much incessant nonsense.
"So, you must remember in the future—huh?"
Hearing the communicator in her room buzz, Fu Hua shot Leo Ash a 'we'll deal with you later' look before quickly walking into her room.
About two minutes later, Leo saw Fu Hua, now changed into her combat uniform, walk up to Cioara's door with a puzzled expression and ask Cioara to go with her to the Headmaster's office.
"Stay in the dorm and rest well—and remember everything I said!"
"Yes~"
Watching Fu Hua drag the still-lingering Cioara away, Leo Ash finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"Sigh, they didn't even come back to eat the breakfast Mei made... Oh well, no missions today, I can probably get some proper rest..."
[Fukai yoru no yami ni nomarenai you—]
At the sound of his communicator's ringtone, Leo Ash jumped in surprise.
Displayed on the screen was a name—[Murata Himeko].
After expressionlessly accepting Himeko's communication link, Leo Ash saw her grave expression and knew that there would be no rest for him today.
"Major Himeko, does the organization have a new mission?"
Looking at the young man on the screen who, despite the unconcealable exhaustion on his face, was still sitting upright and waiting for orders from his incompetent superior, Himeko's guilt intensified.
"Yes, I have a special mission to assign to you."
"But before that, I will explain the dangers of the mission clearly. After you've thought it over carefully, you can decide whether or not to accept it."
...
Damn it, something's happened.
Although a call from Himeko at this time was never good news, for her to be this serious, the problem must be huge.
"Please explain the situation first, ma'am."
Hearing that Leo Ash didn't just give an affirmative answer, Himeko felt a little relieved.
If he had accepted the mission without a thought, she would have been a bit more worried.
But the fact that Leo Ash was carefully considering a mission assigned by his direct superior at least showed that his head was still on straight.
Over the next few minutes, Himeko used concise language to explain the danger level and various details of the mission to Leo Ash, without mentioning that 'Lord Bishop Otto might be behind this.'
And as he listened to Himeko's words, Leo Ash realized...
He really was tired today.
He hadn't even noticed that Yuno had been gone for so long.
And, Dr. Magi fled to Singapore with the Gem of Serenity...
Yuno went after her...
Based on the theory that this world is accelerating, if Kiana isn't there to stop the Gem of Serenity from going rampant in this version of the Moon Shadow Arc, the Herrscher of Death could very well be born directly in Singapore.
[Ha, now that you've reached a conclusion, you of course know exactly what choice you'll make.]
[In the end, everything you do is for the sake of survival, so when you have a choice, you will naturally choose the safer option.]
Yeah, you're right, I'll of course choose the safer option.
So my choice, of course, is...
At that moment, Himeko heard an answer from Leo Ash that filled her with complicated feelings.
"Major Himeko, what are you talking about?"
"Yuno is my comrade. Of course, I can't just leave her in danger."
[Um, what are you...]
[The System can feel that your heart is indeed filled with fear—so you're still going to charge in? Are you serious???]
Do you think I want to charge in?
But, compared to watching the Herrscher of Death be born just like that, charging in to stop Yuno is obviously the optimal solution.
I won't assume that other Herrschers can return to the human camp just because Mei, Kiana, and the others regained their consciousness in the original story.
Yuno already has a hard time just suppressing the personality within her Pseudo-Herrscher Core.
If she becomes the Herrscher of Death because of Otto's scheme, there's no telling what will happen then.
If the Fourth Eruption manifests as the Herrscher of Death being born in Singapore, then everything, absolutely everything, will change.
And, I must emphasize again, the Honkai is accelerating.
The birth of a Herrscher means the Honkai will accelerate further towards Finality.
Otto will surely have countermeasures in place to solve the problem, but before that, he will one hundred percent let the Honkai erupt completely.
By that time, a new Herrscher will have been born, the Honkai will have accelerated, and even if Yuno is dealt with by his countermeasures, the situation will have become irreversible.
So, rather than cowering in fear in my dorm, taking the initiative is actually in my best interest.
[...Hah, you're usually so passive, yet you've become so proactive at a time like this.]
That's just how life is.
Rather than getting screwed by life until I can't take care of myself, I'd rather be proactive and screw life over until it can't get out of bed.
If I'm proactive, I'll probably just have to face the weakened Joyce clone army Himeko mentioned.
But if I'm passive, I'll be watching millions of people get screwed over by Otto, Yuno getting half-killed, the Honkai accelerating the process of the 'Embrace of Finality,' and in the end, I'll go down with everyone else.
After getting the detailed mission briefing from Himeko, Leo Ash took the Grips of Taixu from his room, put them on, and walked out of Himeko's apartment.
Then, just as he was about to leave, he saw Kiana, Mei, and Bronya running back towards the dorm, out of breath.
"Senior, Great-Auntie told me everything, Yuno—"
Seeing the uncertain expression on Leo Ash's face, Kiana's words suddenly trailed off.
Leo Ash, who was usually calm most of the time, looked distinctly unhappy right now.
Sensing Leo Ash's inner turmoil, Bronya immediately gave Kiana a look and then said to Leo Ash.
"Brother Leo Ash, the Headmaster said that this mission is of great importance, so she wants us to go and assist you."
"So..."
"Alright, just follow me."
Looking at the three worried faces before him, Leo Ash took a deep breath and said with a helpless smile.
"Don't be so serious, we're just going to help Yuno stop an old man."
"The higher-ups are just making a big fuss about this mission because they're worried. A mission like this... probably won't have any major problems, right?"
...