Anti-Entropy, The Ark
After two months of hardship, everyone had finally managed to clean up the mess Cocolia left behind...
That's how it was supposed to be.
However, just as everyone was preparing to relax a little, Raiden Ryoma suddenly received intelligence from his subordinates.
Looking at the image on the intelligence report, Raiden Ryoma, who had been working overtime nonstop, almost couldn't catch his breath and passed out on the spot.
"Cocolia—that woman has nearly lost everything, can't she just give me a break!"
"What was that? Cocolia, that bitch, is causing trouble again???"
Hearing Ryoma's desperate cry, Dr. Tesla, who had been resting peacefully with her eyes closed, shot up in a rage and glared at the intelligence screen in front of Ryoma.
"Damn it, where the hell is that bastard? I'm taking the new Titan mech squadron to wipe her out right now!"
"Don't!"
Hearing Dr. Tesla's impulsive words, Raiden Ryoma spoke to her in an extremely tense tone and at the fastest possible speed.
"Dr. Tesla, calm down, Cocolia is in England preparing to wreak havoc. If you go there with a Titan squadron and start a fight with her, the English government will absolutely not let it slide, so please, you must calm down!"
Seeing Raiden Ryoma's attitude, Dr. Tesla immediately understood the gravity of the situation.
Under these circumstances, what else could she do but forcefully suppress her inner rage, endure the surging killing intent, and ask Ryoma.
"Tch... what kind of insane stunt is she pulling now."
"Er, according to the message from our comrade undercover in the radical faction..."
After glancing at the subsequent text intelligence, Raiden Ryoma paused for a moment.
"She discovered that Schicksal's S-rank Knight, Leo Ash, was injured, so she wants to kidnap him directly..."
At that moment, the five people working overtime in The Ark—Welt, Dr. Tesla, Dr. Einstein, Raiden Ryoma, and Siegfried, who had come over to exchange intelligence—were all stunned after hearing what Raiden Ryoma said.
Siegfried himself hadn't seen the battle in Singapore about ten days ago.
But after the battle ended, he had seen an exhausted Leo Ash being held in the arms of a Schicksal Valkyrie named Bianka, who was supposedly his daughter.
Judging from Leo Ash's exhausted face and Bianka's unharmed appearance, the Fourth Eruption might have really been resolved by Leo Ash, just as Siegfried's junior, Wraith, had said.
And now, Cocolia was trying to take down Leo Ash with just a dozen Titans...
Ah, this is the very definition of seeking death.
Even if Leo Ash was injured, ten Titans shouldn't be enough to...
"Forget it, I still have to go over there."
After saying this, Siegfried asked Dr. Einstein.
"Dr. Einstein, the jamming device that broke back in Singapore—"
"Of course, it was repaired for you a long time ago."
Seeing the undisguised battle intent in Siegfried's eyes, Dr. Einstein took out the repaired and improved quantum teleportation system jamming device.
"Actually, even if you hadn't mentioned it this time, Mr. Siegfried, we were planning to ask for your help again."
"Compared to Dr. Tesla's reckless plan of charging in with Titans, I personally prefer the more covert approach of having you go alone and operate independently."
"Heh, I was thinking the same thing."
After taking the jamming device, Siegfried revealed a cold smile.
"Cocolia... that woman has caused so much trouble time and again."
"This surprise attack on Leo Ash makes me think she's finally getting desperate and has lost her last shred of composure. So this time—Welt, don't you dare stop me and tell me I can't kill her."
"I naturally won't stop you from executing Cocolia, but Siegfried..."
Feeling a strange sensation coming from the core within his body, Welt said to Siegfried with a somewhat serious expression.
"This time, even if the opponent is Cocolia, you must still be careful."
"For some reason, my core is warning me that something big might be about to happen."
"Although Cocolia should have played all her cards by now, considering her level of madness... it's not a bad idea to be on your guard."
"Oh, right, Joachim, wait a moment."
As the two were talking, Dr. Tesla looked at these two daredevils who had no regard for their own lives and suddenly said to Siegfried in an exasperated tone.
"Don't you go copying Joachim and risking your life all the time. His physical reconstruction was a miracle in itself."
"According to the physical examination we conducted after you returned from Singapore last time, your physical condition has deteriorated even further."
"Siegfried, to be able to use the Judgment of Shamash so many times in succession and still remain mobile undoubtedly makes you a genius, but even geniuses have their limits."
"This time—absolutely do not use Judgment of Shamash Unleashed. If you use it and die out there, we won't be able to save you in time!"
"Ah, is it really that serious?"
Listening to Dr. Tesla's extremely serious warning, Siegfried scratched the back of his head and said to the others.
"Actually, I don't think my body is that... alright, alright, stop looking at me like that."
Under the worried gazes of the others, Siegfried sighed helplessly.
"I really won't use Judgment of Shamash Unleashed again this time. Besides..."
"—Does Cocolia really have something that could force me to use Zeroth Power? I just don't believe it."
That's right, Cocolia's hand was limited.
Siegfried's thinking was not wrong in any way.
But, why does my core feel like it's screaming in agony?
This feeling, could it be...
—Joyce, is this your way of trying to tell me something that is about to happen?
.
England, three minutes after the hospital was attacked
Three minutes ago, Cocolia had issued her final ultimatum to the Schicksal members inside the hospital.
At that very moment, she watched as Leo Ash performed a carp leap from the hospital bed, jumped up, and instantly threw a spear of light at a distant Titan.
As the spear accurately struck the Titan, the machine was instantly turned into a piece of scrap metal that Cocolia could no longer control.
Moreover, after becoming uncontrollable, the Titan seemed to kneel on the ground as if it were a submissive servant of Leo Ash, preventing any further damage.
Next, without any need for Yuna to act, Leo Ash, relying on the Magic Spear System of [Zero Knight: Moonshade], accurately threw a dozen more spears, disabling all the Titans.
Under Leo Ash's precise attacks, the Titans caused some damage to the ground but inflicted no other harm to the surrounding area.
Upon discovering this, Cocolia immediately began to retreat frantically while contacting Gray Serpent.
And Leo Ash, having defeated the Titans, seemed completely fine after the nurse cast some white light on him. He then charged towards her and Bronya.
Even from a great distance, Cocolia could feel the murderous intent erupting from him.
And for some reason, it wasn't just Leo Ash; even the nurse beside him was now emitting a killing intent even more terrifying than his.
As the two pursued her, Cocolia watched with her own eyes as the Emperor-class Honkai Beasts failed to hold them back for more than ten seconds before being torn apart.
Under these circumstances, Cocolia, who had thought herself the hunter, finally confirmed one thing.
Oh no, I've become the prey.
*This little brat... where did he get such a terrifying aura?*
*Whatever. A flash of white light can heal his wounds? How could such a thing be possible.*
*He looks like he can maintain the terrifying combat power to tear apart an Emperor-class beast, but after suffering such severe injuries and fighting an Emperor-class beast...*
—No matter what, the current Leo Ash is definitely at his weakest.
*I'll summon Sky Father first, then retreat using the Quantum Teleportation System.*
At that moment, Siegfried, who had just been teleported to the area, suddenly saw a giant robot appear in front of him.
"What the—Isn't that the Sky Father that Ryoma mentioned?"
Seeing this giant robot appear in the middle of the city, Siegfried was dumbfounded for a second before immediately activating the quantum teleportation system's jamming device.
*Damn you, Cocolia. Wasn't destroying Nagazora City two months ago enough for you? Now you want to mess with England too?*
*I have to kill her today. Otherwise, if this woman stays alive, she'll only kill more innocent people when she causes trouble in the future.*
Meanwhile, on the other side, Leo Ash, who was chasing Cocolia, saw Siegfried and Sky Father and felt that today's situation was even more off-kilter.
*Wait, with a Herrscher-level combatant like Yuna and a Divine Key user like Siegfried here, is Sky Father really enough of a threat to warrant the System giving me an Advanced Item Lottery Ticket?*
*In the original story, that piece of junk wasn't that terrifying even with a Herrscher Core.*
*System, are you finally so tired that you're bugging out...*
That was clearly impossible.
In that case, either an ally goes berserk, or an enemy gets a power-up. Otherwise, none of this makes sense.
Glancing at Yuna beside him, Leo Ash confirmed that although she was emanating killing intent from head to toe, she was at least still in a state of forced composure.
"Senior, don't look at me—the Herrscher of Death and the Honkai consciousness will absolutely not surface at a time like this."
Looking at Cocolia fleeing the scene in the chaos, Yuna looked up at the Sky Father that had appeared ahead and asked Leo Ash.
"This robot, can you handle it alone, Senior?"
"...Heh, go on, Yuna. Don't worry about me."
After stretching his muscles a bit, Leo Ash said to Yuna.
"You've been waiting for this day for a long time. So now, I'll leave the chance to kill Cocolia to you."
"I'll take care of this tin can, but in return—"
"...Senior, thank you."
With those parting words, Yuna instantly summoned a large number of trees from the ground, launching her body forward towards Cocolia at top speed.
"...Forget it, no point in overthinking it."
Watching Yuna's retreating figure, Leo Ash felt that there was no use in thinking any further.
Although the System was always making crude jokes, that didn't mean everything it said was wrong.
Leo Ash had no intention of using his 'cannon' on Yuna right now, but he had led her astray, and he should take responsibility for that.
However, for Yuna to become an ordinary person who has forgotten hatred, she must first achieve her revenge.
Only in the moment she completes her revenge can her soul find salvation.
*But, thinking about it now, with Yuna gone to chase Cocolia, the only friendly combatant left by my side is Siegfried.*
*The incredibly strong Fei-ge won't go berserk, but his ultimate move costs him his life...*
Something's wrong.
Siegfried could kill this Sky Father thing with a single sword strike.
Even if he didn't intend to unleash the Judgment of Shamash—why are you putting the twin guns together!
Seeing Siegfried immediately unleash Zeroth Power without a second thought, Leo Ash finally knew where his unease was coming from.
Siegfried was a righteous and kind person who couldn't bear to see other innocent people suffer.
So, upon realizing that Sky Father could potentially kill innocent people, Siegfried chose to go all out against it without hesitation.
But now, this was where the problem lay.
At the very moment Siegfried prepared to annihilate Sky Father with Judgment of Shamash Unleashed, his intuition suddenly told him something completely absurd.
Siegfried's intuition was actually telling him—if this sword strike landed, he would also be killing an innocent life.
Siegfried, whose body was already in poor condition, had his control over the Judgment of Shamash diminished.
After hesitating for a split second, Siegfried's sword strike actually went wide.
Although the flaming sword qi from the Judgment of Shamash still easily melted part of Sky Father's metal armor, at the same time...
—Siegfried, who had used the Judgment of Shamash multiple times, was finally unable to suppress his injuries and collapsed to the ground.
"...I give up. Something like this can happen?"
Seeing Siegfried on the ground, Leo Ash rushed over in a single bound and, without a word, cast a Powerful Healing Spell on him, ensuring he didn't die on the spot.
A normal Kaslana warrior would be dead or crippled after using Judgment of Shamash Unleashed.
And although Siegfried was a genius, from the time I healed his body until now, he has used Judgment of Shamash Unleashed once in Jiuyou and once here.
According to the intelligence Teacher Wraith later shared with me via terminal, he even used it once in Singapore.
Counting it all up, three uses of Judgment of Shamash Unleashed in one month—if you don't die, who will?
Sigh, what a screwed-up world.
Some people hide behind the scenes and watch the show, while others repeatedly sacrifice their own lives.
And now, I think I know why his sword strike went wide.
Looking at the 'thing' revealed after part of Sky Father's metal was melted away, Leo Ash, who had already moved Siegfried to a safe area, finally understood why Siegfried had abandoned destroying Sky Father's core.
In Sky Father's core region, there was, of course, no Herrscher Core, which Cocolia hadn't even managed to obtain.
But in its place...
—In the core of Sky Father, a small boy with short blue hair was sitting in the core cockpit, his eyes vacant, as he blankly looked down upon everything before him.
*So, in the end, it was because he didn't want to kill an innocent that he avoided the cockpit with a living person inside, while simultaneously forcefully retracting part of the Honkai Energy from the Judgment of Shamash?*
A hero will always be a hero. Even knowing that doing so would cause a backlash from Judgment of Shamash Unleashed, he still subconsciously acted to avoid harming others.
But now, there is no mercy in my heart, only a redoubled killing intent towards Cocolia.
The blue-haired child that appeared before Leo Ash still retained a human form, but Leo Ash saw something on this child that should not have been there.
On parts of this child's torso...
—Leo Ash saw a Pseudo-Herrscher Core that had been transplanted onto the child, now flashing continuously with an ominous light.
.