Chapter 374: Experimentation
Life on Sigurd's side had settled into a peaceful, almost idyllic rhythm.
He spent his days reviewing the current state of affairs, making early preparations and quiet arrangements, doing a bit of work each day—and then enjoying the company of the girls around him.
He ate the three meals carefully prepared by Seele and Mei; listened to Fu Hua play the guqin; assisted Book of Fuxi in tutoring Senti; teased Wendy until she jumped in frustration; indulged in Bronya's various high-level flirting tactics; and handled Kiana and Sin Mal's clinginess that knew neither time nor place.
In short, it was a life both leisurely and fulfilling.
Meanwhile, far above the vast Pacific Ocean, Su sat upon a golden platform suspended in midair. A pot of fragrant black tea sat on the table, and across from him were Welt and Hera.
"Sip~~" ×3
All three took a sip of tea in perfect unison, radiating the peaceful air of elderly friends sharing a calm afternoon.
Welt glanced at the endless blue below and hesitated before asking,
"Is it really all right to leave that task to Mr. Kevin alone? The energy readings detected before we lost contact with the probes were… enormous. It might not be simple."
He looked at Hera, then turned his worried gaze toward Su, who was smiling serenely.
Kevin's cold personality had unnerved Welt at first—something about him had made Welt feel as if his own core had gone haywire—but now that they were allies, Welt didn't want to see this ancient hero from the previous civilization suffer any harm.
Su held his teacup with that gentle, unfading smile.
"Mr. Welt, there's no need for concern. Please trust in Kevin's strength. When it comes to battle, there is nothing that can go wrong if it's left to him. Kevin is invincible… well, perhaps our Emperor's power runs even deeper, but aside from him, Kevin truly is invincible. Please, believe in him."
Su spoke of Kevin's might with such natural certainty, and indeed—that was the shared consensus of the previous civilization. At least, until the very end came, no one had ever doubted it.
Welt nodded and returned Su's smile, a warm spring breeze between them. "Then I'll trust your judgment. Let's hope Mr. Kevin ends this with a single victory."
At that moment, the air between the two was as tranquil and harmonious as sunlight filtering through leaves.
And in truth, they were alike—both men of great compassion, the kind that could almost be called saints. From their first meeting, they had immediately recognized each other as kindred spirits, feeling that rare sense of "if only we'd met sooner."
Welt's character had passed the scrutiny of these two ancient beings, while their immense wisdom and calm impressed him in return. Soon after, Hera herself—out of interest in future cooperation—had joined their conversations as well.
Then, when reports came of a massive threat brewing deep beneath the sea, it was Su and Kevin who volunteered to handle it. This age was the era of modern humanity, a civilization its people had built with their own hands. If these two relics from a bygone world wished to reintegrate into it, they naturally needed to prove themselves first—this mission was their show of good faith.
The atmosphere remained peaceful, until Hera's eyes drifted between the two men, and she sighed softly.
"I don't doubt Lord Kevin's power. I'm more concerned about the marine ecosystem. It's already in bad shape, and I'd rather not see half the ocean burned or frozen solid again. It's… difficult to fix, you know? I don't even remember when Sigurd started blaming me for all the environmental damage."
"Ah…"
Su blinked, momentarily stunned, then opened his eyes slightly wider—as if preparing to send a telepathic message to Kevin, perhaps to remind him to hold back a little.
BOOM!!!
Before he could act, an enormous explosion echoed from below. The ocean suddenly surged upward in towering waves, and steam blanketed the horizon. A fine drizzle of seawater poured down from above, drenching all three of them completely.
Well—almost all.
Somehow, Hera had produced a delicate little parasol out of nowhere, shielding herself and her teacup perfectly. Not a single drop of water touched her.
Which meant that the only two left completely soaked were the honest ones—Welt and Su.
"…Looks like I was a step too late."
Su scratched his cheek awkwardly as the seawater evaporated rapidly from his clothes. He brushed away the fine salt crystals that remained and rose to his feet, gazing down at the churning sea below.
Beneath the waves, countless boiling bubbles rose, releasing clouds of steam before the sea finally settled down after a long while.
Then, one after another, the corpses of gigantic sea monsters floated to the surface—massive octopi, sea serpents, and other bizarre deep-sea horrors, along with countless shrimp soldiers and crab-like minions. Su was certain that this was only a minuscule fraction of what had been down there; most of the creatures must have been completely annihilated by Kevin's attack.
As an old comrade, Su knew Kevin's style well.
And even if these remains represented only a small portion, the sea surface they covered stretched so far that it was impossible to see the end—proof of just how terrifying these oceanic foes might have become had they been allowed to fully mature.
While Su and Welt observed the surface, Hera quietly folded her parasol and, with her slender jade-like fingers, prepared a new pot of tea. She pushed a steaming cup toward the white-haired young man who had just stepped onto the golden platform and taken a seat.
"How do you find the Honkai of this era, Mr. Kevin?" she asked with a smile.
"The scale is immense. No easier than the last age," Kevin replied calmly. "It will take even more effort."
"My, so many enormous sea beasts—it's terrifying! Without you here, Mr. Kevin, I could never have handled them."
"When you were toying with the Herrscher of the Void," Kevin said flatly, "I recall you sounding a bit different."
Kevin lifted the teacup. Its special material insulated it from his frigid body, keeping the tea at least lukewarm—though the moment it touched his lips, it would turn cold all the same.
Hera's smile deepened. She spoke lightly:
"Oh, that was when I was young and foolish. Surely you won't hold a grudge, Mr. Kevin? I'm sincerely devoted to fighting the Honkai now."
"No need to tell me that," Kevin said, expression unchanged. "I don't care about your past or what you've done. As long as you oppose the Honkai, you're an ally."
Hera's smile gradually faded. She realized that her attempt to craft a harmless, friendly image had failed completely.
It was expected that Su, with his Cosmic Juggernaut and penetrating wisdom, would be impossible to fool. But she hadn't thought that even the seemingly straightforward Kevin would be equally unmoved.
Still, it didn't matter. It had only been a casual attempt. Otto had always enjoyed befriending such steadfast heroes—if it didn't work, so be it. It wasn't of any real consequence.
Anyway, everyone was supposed to unite under Sigurd's command on the anti-Honkai front. As long as they didn't drag each other down—and most importantly, didn't interfere with his plan to resurrect Kallen—nothing else really mattered.
…
"Hm?"
On the crimson marble floor, Sigurd, who was leading a group of elegant young women forward, suddenly looked up, as if he had heard something through the layers of ceiling and ground above.
"Sig, what are you looking at?"
Kiana tilted her head out from beside him, peering up curiously with her big, sparkling eyes—adorable, innocent, and full of starlight.
Sigurd raised his hand and gently pressed down on her soft hair.
"The sheer density of conscious information, combined with its vast coverage, sometimes allows me to sense fragments related to myself without meaning to. It's nothing important—if it were, the feeling would be much stronger."
"...That sounds super magical," Kiana said, blinking.
"It's science."
"But it feels super magical!"
Kiana's expression was pure and guileless.
Sigurd simply patted her head again and said no more. Magical or not, it didn't matter. As his understanding and application of informational concepts deepened, the boundary between materialism and the immaterial had long since blurred. He called it science—but for most people, who couldn't even begin to grasp the Information-Origin Theory, calling it mysticism wasn't exactly wrong either.
"We're here."
As he spoke, an ancient stone gate came into view.
Its thick, earthen-yellow surface bore the mottled traces of time—evoking the grandeur of a primordial temple, or perhaps the solemn dread of a tomb's entrance.
"The inscriptions are the masterpiece of Dr. Mobius from the previous era. They act on both the soul and the flesh—a kind of special variant of the Stigmata. Whether you can acquire one depends on your own effort. I can only guarantee the results won't be disappointing—even Herrschers can benefit considerably."
"Then why didn't you let us come here before?"
Kiana tugged on Sigurd's arm, blinking her bright eyes in curiosity.
Sigurd raised his hand and slowly pushed the heavy stone door open.
"There were too many unstable factors before. The timing wasn't right. And without me here to oversee things, this place isn't exactly friendly to Herrschers."
Mobius's twisted malice, the Egos' deep-rooted hostility toward Herrschers, and the ever-enigmatic Elysia… With all that, Sigurd would never have let the young girls risk themselves without his direct supervision.
Now, with the Empire's founding close at hand, it was time to address and gather the forces that could yet be brought under his banner.
<+>
Tn: If you want to see more chapter of this story, please go to my Patreon[1], just for $5 each month, you can read till the latest chapter.
Latest Chapter in Patreon: Chapter 408: Reunion[2]
Link to the latest chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/honkai-strijder-146627958[3]
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/collection/95348?view=condensed[4]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/95348?view=condensed
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/honkai-strijder-146627958
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/honkai-strijder-146627958
[4] https://www.patreon.com/collection/95348?view=condensed