Singapore. Inside a certain warehouse.
Inside the warehouse, Siegfried recalled the scene he had just witnessed and could only think that the higher-ups of this country had gone completely insane.
From the moment he arrived in Singapore and activated the device the Anti-Entropy conservatives had given him, he discovered one thing.
Within Singapore, the organization known as World Serpent had completely paralyzed the country's communication systems.
It wasn't just the civilian communication systems; even Siegfried's special Anti-Entropy communicator was being interfered with to some extent.
In other words, the entire country of Singapore, except for possibly the members of World Serpent, had lost all subsequent support from their organizations.
Once you entered the prison called Singapore, you automatically entered the enemy's encirclement.
As for why Siegfried thought the country's leaders were insane...
Well, although he didn't understand the finer points of economics, his friend Raiden Ryoma had been working himself to death lately. Even if he didn't get economics, he knew that cutting off civilian communication would cause massive losses to the country's financial system.
And on top of that, this country had teamed up with World Serpent to provoke Schicksal...
As an unlucky victim of that bastard Otto's persecution, Siegfried was convinced that the group's previous speculation in The Ark was serious.
Originally, Singapore was just a neutral country. Because of its economic importance, Otto wouldn't push it too hard to pick a side.
But now, they had provoked Otto and cut off their own escape route. If Siegfried's mission failed, the entire country would go up in smoke.
Sigh, World Serpent.
Where did this organization even come from?
And now, since Otto had chosen this place to trigger the next major Eruption, the people he sent over... were likely the unlucky ones he couldn't stand.
In this situation, unless the person walking into the trap was extremely capable, they would either be beaten to death or worn down by the enemy before their organization could provide support.
Fortunately, while Siegfried wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, after his body was healed by Leo Ash, he just so happened to be one of those exceptionally capable people.
However, even though Siegfried wasn't afraid of the Herrscher clone soldiers currently roaming the streets of Singapore, he couldn't just start hunting them down immediately.
While the overall strength of those Herrscher soldiers was far inferior to a true Herrscher, they weren't opponents Siegfried could easily kill either.
There were many of them, and they could combine forces with their comrades to strengthen themselves and unleash powerful gravity waves. If a real fight broke out and a few buildings were demolished and streets blown up, the death toll would at least be in the triple digits.
After all, Siegfried was here to save people, not cause destruction.
He couldn't just unleash his power recklessly like those Herrscher clone soldiers, disregarding the lives of the unlucky civilians around him.
"Sigh, what a pain."
Inside the warehouse, Siegfried forced himself to think, but couldn't come up with a suitable solution.
Right now, telling himself 'it can't be helped if those civilians die' and then rushing out to slaughter everything seemed to be the best course of action from a rational standpoint.
But if he chose to disregard the lives of civilians, then Siegfried would no longer be Siegfried.
In the past, after his comrades had made their choice, he could choose to abandon them and his naive former self, shouldering their resolve as he moved forward.
But soldiers were soldiers, and civilians were civilians.
Knowingly proceeding with an action that would cause the deaths of others—how was that any different from killing them with his own hands?
Damn it, damn it.
If I could contact Welt and Ryoma, I could ask them to help me analyze the situation.
But like this...
Calm down, Siegfried.
You're not a child anymore.
Now, analyze the situation.
Of the two items Welt and the others gave me, one can interfere with the Quantum Teleportation System, cutting off the enemy's ability to teleport.
The other is a Soulium container, meant for storing the Gem of Serenity.
The intel Welt and the others had was that Dr. Magi hadn't made contact with the enemy yet. I came over right after they said that.
So now, even if the enemy has made contact with Dr. Magi, they can't just fly away using the Quantum Teleportation System.
For them, the most reliable fortress is still Singapore.
Schicksal HQ is to the northwest of Singapore. In other words, if Dr. Magi, unaware that he's been set up, tries to flee, there's a good chance he'll take the shortest route to rendezvous with World Serpent.
Which means, what I need to do now is fight my way to the northwest entrance of Singapore and check things out.
...Hmph, that's all I can do.
When I was younger, I thought I was invincible on my own. But now I realize how stupid I was back then.
Without intelligence support and tactical analysis, this is the most I can do.
Looking around, Siegfried found a dilapidated motorcycle.
And by a stroke of luck, a motorcycle key was sitting on a shabby wooden table in the warehouse.
Sigh, I don't know who this bike belongs to, but I have no choice right now.
I hope this motorcycle works.
With that thought, Siegfried opened the Singapore map on his communicator.
Although he had lost contact with the Anti-Entropy conservatives after entering Singapore, 0.1% of the data Raiden Ryoma had sent still managed to get through.
Oh, it's just this internal map of Singapore.
My current location is about ten kilometers from the northwest entrance of Singapore.
If this bike works, ten kilometers at a hundred km/h would be about six minutes...
Tsk, my actions will be detected too. If the enemy figures out my intentions, they might switch directions.
Whatever, I'm going for it.
This is the limit of my analysis. The rest is up to luck.
I wonder if Theresa has figured out Otto's plan.
If she has, then...
Forget it, how could something like that happen.
I shouldn't count on reinforcements. I'll have to solve these problems by myself.
.....
Three minutes later. Singapore.
Gray Serpent, who was ahead of Dr. Magi, suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"What's wrong, Mr. Gray Serpent?"
Seeing Gray Serpent stop, Dr. Magi instantly had a thought.
"Did Otto send people after us?!"
"...Actually, that's not the only reason."
After receiving intel from the other Gray Serpents through his cyberbrain, the Gray Serpent next to Dr. Magi said.
"Doctor, it's not just Schicksal's people. Someone else wants to get their hands on the Gem of Serenity."
"He's currently charging in our direction."
"Although that person can't pinpoint our exact location, we must proceed with caution."
"...Makes sense."
Although he didn't know who the newcomer was, Gray Serpent's previous attitude towards Dr. Magi had already earned his basic trust.
In Dr. Magi's view, Gray Serpent could have easily touched the gem with his Soulium fingers and then killed him to take it.
Since the cyborg didn't do that, it meant that, for now, he was harmless to Dr. Magi.
As for the Gray Serpent next to Dr. Magi, he just felt that the trouble was too great.
Originally, according to the Gray Serpents' plan, one Gray Serpent would rendezvous with Dr. Magi, another would lead a team to hold back Leo Ash, and the Pseudo-Herrscher would be flown elsewhere by his subordinate.
But now, that subordinate had taken matters into his own hands and crashed the plane. While this did slow down the Pseudo-Herrscher, it also meant Gray Serpent had lost track of her.
And now, the routes Gray Serpent could choose were also very limited.
Siegfried was charging towards his and Dr. Magi's position. Along the way, Siegfried, on a motorcycle that looked like it was about to fall apart at any moment, managed to turn around and kill several of the pursuing Herrscher soldiers with the Judgment of Shamash.
And on the other route—damn it, Leo Ash was coming at supersonic speed.
If Gray Serpent dared to move in that direction, he would have to face a decisive and murderous Leo Ash.
Right now, Gray Serpent did have a Honkai Beast transformation potion, but the problem was, both Siegfried and Leo Ash were monsters who could easily solo an Emperor-class.
Damn it, I can only gamble that that direction is clear.
"Then, Doctor, please follow me."
"Ah, okay."
Quickly changing his route, Gray Serpent entered Singapore from another direction without any major incidents.
However, just as he entered Singapore, a girl in Valkyrie armor dropped down from a spontaneously generated tree. Seeing the footprints still on the ground, she followed them without a word.
At this moment, Yuno, after having settled the injured pilot, had quickly moved to the area near Singapore using the same method she had used to chase Leo Ash before.
And now, seeing the footprints before her, Yuno immediately confirmed that they belonged to Dr. Magi and the World Serpent contact.
Two people in total, meaning that for the sake of stealth, they hadn't dispatched a large escort.
An opportunity.
If I follow them now, I can get the Gem of Serenity from Dr. Magi.
And at that moment, I...
In a daze, Yuno didn't realize that her way of thinking had subtly changed.
I can bring this power under my control.
With this thought, a crazed look flashed across Yuno's face.
I really can't wait any longer.
Once I obtain this gem, I must find Cocolia directly, and then...
—Afterward, I will use the most brutal method to make that woman's life a living hell to complete my revenge!
About a minute later. Outside Singapore.
Outside Singapore, Leo Ash, slowly descending from the air, looked at the motorcycle that had exploded just seconds before and sighed helplessly.
He knew this bike would meet such an end after he had poured an excessive amount of mana into it.
However, he hadn't expected it—this motorcycle only lasted three minutes before exploding due to the 'Manipulation' skill.
"What a pain."
Not a moment was wasted mourning the exploded motorcycle; immediately arriving on the scene was—
Leo Ash's readily prepared spare motorcycle.
"Motorcycles as consumables is one thing, but it's still not good to just materialize things out of thin air when people are around."
"That bastard Otto is so eager to invest in me now... Heh, next time I see him, I'll have him set me up with a proper set of travel vehicles."
Activating the 'Manipulation' skill once more, Leo Ash caused the motorcycle before him to be covered in ominous mana patterns, just like the one that had exploded.
Then, pushing the motorcycle past the sound barrier again, he charged straight ahead.
There's still less than ten kilometers to Singapore, and I haven't seen any sign of Yuno along the way. Just how fast is she?
Or has my worst-case scenario already come to pass?
Just like the Herrscher of Sentience back then, she thought she was acting on her own, but was actually being guided by the Honkai God.
She attacked the three major organizations—Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, and World Serpent—and successfully suppressed a wave of anti-Honkai forces for the Honkai God.
This is enough to prove that the Honkai God is actually capable of influencing a Herrscher's consciousness without them realizing it.
Moreover, if the Honkai God is willing, it will even provide support to the Herrscher.
Right now, Yuno...
—Could she have already been swayed by the Honkai God, received its support, and is now charging towards the gem?
.....