In the time that followed, Theresa spent a brief period tangled in hesitation.
Meanwhile, Otto, who had been monitoring London, pondered his next move while waiting for the Hyperion to arrive.
This time, immediately after receiving intelligence from his department, he had ordered Rita to head to London to negotiate with the man named Aaron.
Yes, negotiate, not engage in combat.
After all, the high-end combat assets currently in his hand were in a rather delicate state.
His own granddaughter was throwing a tantrum over the Cecilia incident.
Durandal seemed to have some strange, inexplicable connection with Aaron.
And Rita... well, Rita couldn't even guarantee a win against an Emperor-class beast.
Before she betrayed Schicksal, she was absolutely the most useful tool in Schicksal, bar none.
Otto wasn't a fool; why would he send her to her death?
Besides, from the start, brute force was never the best method.
When one has sufficient power, taking what you want by force might save a lot of time and effort in negotiations.
But right now, Otto didn't want to completely fall out with that mysterious young man, so naturally, he wouldn't commit Schicksal's full combat power.
The Gem of Serenity required for his backup plan and K423, essential for his primary plan, were both in that young man's hands. Even the Herrscher of Thunder was close to him.
Coupled with the fact that the young man's appearance here clearly implied an agenda, Otto felt he really needed to find a way to hoodwink the other party into joining Schicksal.
These were all Otto's trump cards for reviving Kallen.
He hadn't ordered a full-force search earlier because he was afraid of alerting the enemy, so he hadn't taken the initiative.
Now that the other party had revealed themselves, he certainly had to seize the opportunity.
So this time, he dispatched a mixed Valkyrie squad from the Far East Branch and Schicksal HQ, along with Schicksal's mech units, charging straight for London.
At the same time, he informed the Far East Branch's second-in-command, Murata Himeko, of the mission's importance.
Although Murata Himeko's background wasn't exactly clean, she had been conscientious and diligent during her years in Schicksal.
Otto still trusted this Valkyrie's abilities.
As a rare highly-educated Valkyrie, Murata Himeko's IQ and EQ were more than adequate when she handled matters seriously.
If Rita couldn't persuade that man, there was no harm in letting Murata Himeko give it a try.
Of course, Otto hadn't failed to consider other outcomes.
For Otto, the worse outcome would be a breakdown in negotiations.
If negotiations failed, Otto had already issued a death order—Kiana must be brought back to Schicksal.
Of course, Theresa would immediately object to Kiana returning to Schicksal HQ.
Knowing Theresa's intentions, Otto had made an executive decision on the spot: let Kiana stay at St. Freya Academy.
Otto's original plan required a [Herrscher of the Void] who could control Herrscher powers yet possessed a human heart.
If K423 stayed at St. Freya Academy, given Theresa's feelings for Cecilia, she would inevitably spoil K423.
When the time was right, Otto would instruct Fu Hua, who had long been planted within St. Freya Academy, to take K423 away from the academy and send her to Schicksal HQ.
Otto had long prepared the means to fully revive Sirin. Once Sirin was revived, if she was made to attack the classmates and teachers who were incredibly important to Kiana, Kiana might reclaim her human heart.
Of course, it didn't matter if she couldn't reclaim it; once the Herrscher of the Void awakened, everything would be manageable.
And the prerequisite for all this was that [K423 returns under Otto's nose].
K423 was the key to Otto completing that plan. When she was wandering outside, Otto had dispatched Schicksal members to follow and protect her.
But now, several months had passed since the Third Honkai Eruption in Nagazora City, and Otto hadn't been able to find any trace of K423. This was enough to make him incredibly anxious.
In short, the minimum objective of dispatching troops this time was to get K423 under his surveillance.
Neither K423 nor Theresa knew K423's true identity. As long as Theresa persuaded K423, the probability of her staying at St. Freya Academy was extremely high.
Once K423 stayed, everything else would be easy to handle.
Just as Otto was preparing to issue new orders, he saw the footage of the conflict between Aaron's group and World Serpent at the scene.
As someone who had studied the Honkai for hundreds of years, Otto recognized at a glance that the Honkai Beasts surrounding Kiana were all Emperor-class.
Although Emperor-class Honkai Beasts posed little threat to a Herrscher, that premise relied on—the Herrscher being able to use their powers normally.
Now, that young man over there was clearly tied up by that armed puppet. With K423 surrounded, there was no one left to help her.
Damn it, at a time like this... World Serpent was actually hiding something like that?
Those brats, too, choosing to start a war with World Serpent at a time like this.
Otto, who instantly recognized the Cosmic Juggernaut, became even more anxious.
Now, K423 was in danger.
And the Key of Blankness he had been searching for all this time had also appeared on a battlefield where it could be swept up in the fighting at any moment.
"Theresa, have the Hyperion advance at full speed. Kiana is in danger right now!"
"I know, Grandpa!"
Kiana... huh.
Grandpa is worried about Kiana. It seems what Dr. Einstein said is true.
If she were really just 'Kiana Kaslana', Grandpa wouldn't be this nervous.
With such thoughts in mind, Theresa commanded the Hyperion battleship to rush toward the River Thames at full speed.
Then, this grandfather and granddaughter of the Apocalypse clan simultaneously witnessed a scene they found unbelievable.
On the screen, Kiana pulled out a greatsword that looked incredibly savage and slashed out solidified sword qi directly at those Emperor-class Honkai Beasts.
The moment this sword qi touched the Emperor-class Honkai Beasts, they were sliced right down the middle, and then instantly annihilated by the energy attached to the qi.
Is that... Honkai energy?
No, it doesn't look right... And how could K423 have this kind of combat power?!
At this moment, Otto, seeing Kiana easily slaughter so many Emperor-class beasts, was in total disarray.
The only time Otto hadn't monitored K423, aside from the few months between the Third Honkai Eruption and now, was the few years Siegfried had taken her away.
After Siegfried took K423 away, did he train her into a super soldier capable of instantly killing over a dozen Emperor-class Honkai Beasts in just those few years...?
That is obviously impossible!
Never mind K423, even if Siegfried himself came here wielding his Judgment of Shamash, he couldn't win this easily.
No, Siegfried, having already lost an arm, might even struggle against two or three Emperor-class beasts now.
Then, could it be that K423 grew from a little girl who merely had the Kaslana bloodline into a powerhouse surpassing ordinary S-rank Valkyries within these few months?
That's even more absurd.
Even the original wasn't that exaggerated, okay!
Of all the Honkai warriors Otto had seen, Bianka definitely had the strongest talent.
But if Kiana had gained such terrifying power in these few months, he felt he would pretty much have to reformulate his plans...
Otto's plan of 'cultivating K423's emotions, then making K423 and her loved ones kill each other' was premised on K423 not being strong enough and being suppressed by Sirin's Honkai will.
But now... her physical strength is this high, so her mental strength is hard to gauge too.
Who on earth trained K423 to be this strong?!
That brat named Aaron?
No, although his current performance actually looks trickier to deal with than K423, his strength is still within limits.
Siegfried... Siegfried is even more impossible.
Anti-Entropy put together couldn't have this kind of educational capability. Even if that guy Welt II went back, he couldn't have trained K423 to be this strong in such a short time.
In the report Rita handed me after her investigation, she mentioned she guessed there might be a third organization opposing the Honkai.
At the time, I thought she had found traces of World Serpent, so I didn't think much of it... No, actually, she did indeed find traces of World Serpent.
But in reality, could there really be an anti-Honkai organization I know absolutely nothing about, and Aaron, K423, and Raiden Mei are all members of this organization?
Then everything makes sense.
No wonder.
No wonder things turned out like this.
At this moment, Otto, feeling that many things finally made sense, narrowed his eyes slightly.
A new organization, huh? And just like those idiots at Anti-Entropy, they're standing in our way like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
In that case, persuading people from this new organization to join Schicksal seems unlikely to happen now.
"Theresa, engage immediately upon arrival."
"Grandpa? That's not what we agreed on!"
"Kiana's current state isn't right—don't look at me like that, I'm serious."
Under the slightly suspicious gaze of Theresa, Otto exhaled gently and spoke with feigned concern.
"Slaughtering over a dozen Emperor-class Honkai Beasts in one go is something you couldn't do even with a Divine Key."
"...It is indeed too abnormal."
"Kiana's current strength is terrifyingly abnormal. I suspect she may have been taught some malicious methods to become stronger."
"Generally speaking, methods that have the effect of rapidly increasing strength are usually accompanied by some dangers."
"Some dangers?"
"For example... reducing one's lifespan or something similar."
Seeing Theresa instantly reveal a panicked expression, Otto knew his words had moved his granddaughter.
Theresa, who cared deeply for Cecilia's daughter, would definitely be burning with anxiety to bring Kiana back to Schicksal after learning she might have been plotted against with such methods.
In this situation, instigating her to act was naturally much simpler.
And this statement from Otto wasn't hoodwinking or a lie; he genuinely felt this way.
Although K423 possessed the potential of the original, potential and strength were not the same thing.
No matter how strong a Honkai warrior's talent was, converting potential into true strength required a massive amount of time to temper one's power, technique, and state of mind.
And the K423 right now clearly didn't fit this normal scenario.
That sword move seemed simple, but even setting aside its power, in terms of speed, precision, and angle, the strike was flawless.
Even if Siegfried had trained K423 however he could during those few years, he couldn't have trained Kiana, who was practically a newborn at the time, into such a powerful warrior.
Under these circumstances, overdrawing her life became a conjecture that wasn't too far-fetched.
Hmm, thinking about it this way, I really can't let K423 go.
If she really is fighting by burning her life, what if she burns it a few more times and kicks the bucket?
My plan still needs her. At the very least, before my long-cherished wish is fulfilled, K423 absolutely cannot die.
At the end of that battle, the young man named Aaron, after finishing off the armed puppet, very calmly swiped the puppet.
Otto, seeing this move by Aaron, narrowed his eyes slightly.
This kid, I didn't see where he stored the armed puppet...
Spatial storage technology?
Does this imply he already knows K423's identity and has used some method to access a portion of K423's Authorities?
This kid has quite a few secrets on him too... but I can't be greedy today.
Let's bring back K423 first; postpone everything else.
Although he hindered my plan, he can also serve as a backup tool for this plan.
After all, what I need is a [Herrscher-fied K423] and [someone with a deep bond to the Herrscher K423].
If he has been acting together with K423 for these past few months, then he is naturally one of the best candidates.
Next, let's get K423 first... Holy...?!
Otto, seeing the subsequent footage, finally couldn't hold back.
"Theresa, what on earth is happening at the scene!"
"Grandpa, the footage I see is exactly the same as yours—where is Kiana? Why did she disappear with those girls?!"
Watching Kiana and her companions vanish along with the Cosmic Juggernaut on the train, Theresa's brain went straight into a shutdown.
She had been agonizing over how to face this Kiana, and now, great, the person was just gone.
Then what was I agonizing over for so long? (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
At this moment, glancing at the crashed Theresa, Murata Himeko, who hadn't spoken, chose to speak up at this rather inappropriate time.
"Overseer Otto, since the mission targets are all missing, our mission this time..."
"Withdraw from London first..."
After speaking weakly, Otto said to Amber beside him.
"Tell those Brits to quiet down. It's not like the fight happened in their backyard, so what the hell are they protesting about?"
"Also, have the intelligence department continue to search for those mission targets with full force—by the way, add the Cosmic Juggernaut to the search targets too."
"I don't believe it. Such a big locomotive head—there's no way they can hide it perfectly so I can't catch them."
K423, I'll let you play outside for a while longer.
If I catch you this time, I won't let you escape my grasp again.
After all...
To revive Kallen, you are an indispensable and important tool for me.
......................
After using the Key of the Void to open the Gate of Space, Aaron successfully entered the Sea of Quanta...
If only it were that simple.
Before he could enter the Sea of Quanta, a bubble universe suddenly appeared in front of his entry passage and swallowed him directly.
When Aaron regained his consciousness, he saw the man he was looking for this time.
The bearer of the Signet of [Bodhi], the thirteenth Flame-Chaser, Su.
Also the forerunner entrusted with Project Valuka and Project Observer by Dr. Mei.
Fifteen hundred years ago, to stop his best friend Kevin from executing Project Stigma, he deceived his best friend.
After the two went through some events, Kevin chose to voluntarily sink into the Sea of Quanta to let Su escape it.
And Su, to atone for his sins, also chose to imprison himself inside the Key of the Void.
For these fifteen hundred years, Su, who had never left the Cosmic Juggernaut, had been executing Project Valuka.
Observing other bubble universes, he could be said to be the man who knew the most intelligence in the world right now.
Of course, Aaron came to find him this time mainly to get his help in organizing the multiple powers mixed within his body.
But looking at it now... Hmm, the expression on Mr. Su's face doesn't seem quite right.
In the original work, when he talked to Bianka, he was a perfect gentleman before making a move.
But now... wait, what's with that wariness on your face?
What, getting discriminated against just because I'm not a beautiful girl?
Su, standing in front of Aaron, felt his mind was in chaos.
While observing other worlds, he suddenly sensed movement outside.
Using the power of the Key of the Void to look outside, he discovered—someone was actually knocking on the door to snatch his Key of the Void?
And the puppet Kevin placed outside was actually defeated by this young man... Wow, that motion of swiping the puppet looked so practiced.
Su, sensing Aaron's thoughts, immediately began using the Second Divine Key to observe this young man's experiences in parallel worlds.
Then Su was thoroughly scared.
Logically speaking, Su, having experienced various massive Honkai tragedies, wouldn't be startled by small matters.
He was battle-hardened and had seen much; capturing the Herrscher of Sentience with his consciousness and manipulating the body of Kalpas, the second Gundam of the Fire Moth, were things he had done.
Just a junior; no matter how scary his experiences were, there was a limit.
But the problem wasn't how scary this junior's experiences were...
To be precise, this junior didn't exist in any parallel world at all.
No, wait a minute.
A warrior capable of defeating Kevin's puppet is unknown in other worlds?
If this young man, whom Kevin's descendant called Aaron, had failed and died early in one or two worlds so Su couldn't see him, that would be normal.
But given Su's speed in observing bubble universes, he had flipped through dozens of worlds in this interval, yet surprisingly hadn't found the existence of this person in any of them.
Su, who had never encountered such a situation, decisively made a choice.
This young man intended to enter the Sea of Quanta.
But Kevin was still inside the Sea of Quanta... Hah, before he enters the interior of the Sea of Quanta, I must obtain his intelligence first.
Moreover, a person who doesn't exist in other worlds is inherently very special.
My lifespan is running out, but until now, I still haven't been able to find someone worthy of entrusting that information to.
If this man can pass my test, then giving him the results of Project Valuka and the Second Divine Key... might not be out of the question.
With various thoughts, Su directly chose to intercept Aaron.
The moment before Aaron stepped into the Sea of Quanta, Su used the authority of the Second Divine Key to pull Aaron into the special bubble universe he resided in—the [Seed of Sumeru].
But just as he used the Key of the Void's authority, a new problem arose.
After he pulled this man into the Seed of Sumeru, Su discovered another terrifying thing.
The Key of the Void, the Cosmic Juggernaut, which had been under his control all along, had actually had a portion of its control rights seized?!
Su could feel that the person who seized control of the Key of the Void didn't actually do so intentionally.
Rather than that person actively seizing control, it was more like the Key of the Void actively handed control over to that person.
From the time Su obtained control of the Key of the Void until now, no one had ever been able to seize control from his hands.
Even his best friend, Kevin, the strongest Fusion Warrior of the Fire Moth, couldn't do such a thing.
As a Psychic MANTIS, Su was naturally one of the Fusion Warriors most suited to using the Key of the Void.
No matter how strong Kevin was, he was inferior to Su in this aspect because he wasn't good at fine manipulation in these areas.
But now, who on earth could seize control of the Key of the Void without anyone noticing?
The only people left near the scene just now, besides this Mr. Aaron, were that descendant of Kevin...
The problem is, even if Kevin's descendant has Honkai Beast factors created by [Project Chimera] in her body, the factors shouldn't be strengthened to this degree, seizing the Key of the Void from my hands...
Wait...
Wait a minute?!
The Key of the Void was made from the Core of the Herrscher of the Void, so what would happen if the Herrscher of the Void of this era met the Key of the Void?
In the Previous Era, before preparing to fight the Honkai, no one discussed such a boring topic.
After all, in the Fire Moth back then, everyone spent all their energy on defeating the Honkai.
The Herrscher of the Void had already been defeated, so a second Herrscher of the Void appearing and contacting the Key of the Void... who would have the mind to discuss and deduce the result of such a hypothesis?
A purely time-wasting topic is one no one would research.
But based on Su's understanding of Herrschers, if a Herrscher approached a Core with the same nature, the probability of the two Cores resonating definitely existed, and it wasn't low.
Which means... Kevin's descendant has become the Herrscher of the Void?!
Su, having lost a portion of the Key of the Void's authority, could no longer use the Key to peep at the intelligence of this world and others.
And precisely because of this, he couldn't know the answer he craved immediately.
That girl is the Herrscher of the Void... and Mr. Aaron is undoubtedly her companion.
A Herrscher's companion... huh?
Su, who was also a companion of a [Herrscher], naturally wouldn't hold prejudice against Aaron just because he also had a Herrscher companion.
But even leaving aside the white-haired girl, Su felt that Aaron was incredibly eerie right now.
A man who cannot be observed, acting together with a Herrscher, knowing the location of the Key of the Void precisely...
If he had to say, it was almost like a 'visitor' from the outside who already knew various pieces of intelligence had entered a story.
Besides the gods high above and Fusion Warriors like Su with special peeping abilities, presumably only such a visitor could possibly perform these actions.
If it were him, it was indeed possible he could break the deadlock of this current era.
But the problem was...
Mr. Aaron, why do you give me an incredibly evil feeling?
Su, who had been staring at Aaron, finally chose to speak.
"Hello, Mr. Aaron. Since you came looking for me, I presume I don't need to give too much of a self-introduction."
"Naturally. The Fusion Warrior holding the name of Bodhi, the high-level researcher of the Previous Era, Mr. Su. A pleasure to meet you."
"Since you already know my name, I won't introduce myself. everyone's time is limited, so let's not waste each other's time."
"Indeed, let's not waste each other's time. So, Mr. Aaron..."
Activating the Meta-Morph Factors in his body, at this moment, Su struck without hesitation.
"Please, for the sake of this world, sacrifice yourself!"
In an instant, Aaron already felt the enemy before him vanish.
However, simultaneously as Su struck, Aaron also activated the Meta-Morph Factors he had already mobilized within his body.
Aaron, who had mastered the use of Meta-Morph Factors, liberated the factors in his body through the secret technique [Lion Never Perishes].
Before Su could strike, Aaron caused the Meta-Morph Factors on his body to erupt, making the Honkai Beast Carapace on his body instantly condense into sharp blades capable of piercing a Honkai Beast's body.
Although there wasn't time to turn these blades into Noble Phantasms, this sudden strike was enough to force back Su, who had intended to attack.
Good grief, this... is obviously also a product of Project Chimera.
Looking at Aaron, whose pupils had already changed into Honkai Beast pupils, Su immediately realized one thing.
I see, is he also a descendant of Kevin?
No wonder he's acting with that young lady who is also Kevin's descendant.
Although their hair colors are different, judging by their bloodlines...
I see. They must be siblings.
The young lady acting as the sister might be a Herrscher...
Thinking of his passed comrade and the mess back then, Su sighed slightly and threw the distracting thoughts out of his mind.
Now is not the time for sentimentality.
It is precisely because I don't want the tragedy of Sakura and Rin to repeat in this era that I stand here.
Mr. Aaron is indeed not a man so easily dealt with.
My speed was already fast enough, but he was like he knew my moves in advance, directly liberating the Meta-Morph Factors in such a strange way to force me back while I was behind him.
I should have been the one predicting his actions, but now I've become the one having my actions predicted.
Truly reckless, but it is precisely because of this reckless move that he could instantly force me back while unable to fight back.
Hmm, my control over the Key of the Void has decreased, but I can still use the [Karma Wheel] technique.
Relying on the Karma Wheel, I can flawlessly transfer an attack to the opponent's body after the enemy launches it.
As long as I severely injure Mr. Aaron, I can then use my Meta-Morph Factors to enter his mental world and begin his test.
Although this is a bit unfair to Mr. Aaron, humanity truly has no time left.
Fifteen hundred years ago I stopped Kevin, but now, there are only about three to four years left until the Cocoon of Finality hatches.
If I don't speed up the transmission of this intelligence now, the humanity of this era might also fall at the hands of the Herrscher of Finality.
So—at a time like this, I cannot have any soft-hearted thoughts!
Seeing the will to fight ignite on Su, Aaron also began his next move.
He hadn't forgotten the content of the Legacy Arc.
Although Su wasn't a combat-type Fusion Warrior, inside the Seed of Sumeru, he not only easily caught Bianka's fist but also possessed the secret technique [Karma Wheel] which could reflect an enemy's attack exactly as it was.
As long as Su could use this secret technique, it would be very hard for Aaron to defeat Su—after all, in the face of a reflection ability with no openings, many of Aaron's moves would be sealed.
And that wasn't the most troublesome part.
The trouble was, Aaron knew Su was a good person, and his visit here counted as asking for a favor.
Because of these reasons, Aaron couldn't strike with lethal intent when attacking—after all, Su's flame of life was almost extinguished. If he struck heavily at a time like this and accidentally killed Su, it would be terrible.
Leaving aside whether Kevin would come for trouble, he wouldn't be able to borrow Su's power to organize the forces in his body.
Otherwise, facing a mortal enemy in a death match, Aaron would have just buffed up, used the Revive Hourglass to burn his life for speed, stacked Valor, and punched the opponent to death in one go.
"Sigh, still can't quite figure it out. In the end, why must we fight?"
After a moment of thought, Aaron looked at Su helplessly.
"Your life is almost gone. If I accidentally beat you to death now..."
"If Kevin comes to settle the score with me then, who am I supposed to complain to?"
.....................