At the Sea of Quanta gateway.
Bang—
"What the hell?! What are they doing there?!"
Inside the laboratory, Tesla suddenly shot to her feet, both hands slamming onto the console. Her expression was full of disbelief.
"What happened, Dr. Tesla? Are the Honkai beasts here?"
Sitting beside her, Teresa was startled by Tesla's reaction. She instinctively grabbed Judah, thinking a swarm of Honkai beasts had appeared—yet the monitors showed nothing unusual. Confused, she looked toward Tesla.
"The system detected a massive energy spike inside the Sea of Quanta. Based on comparison with the anti-entropy database, that energy surge is very likely the result of Heaven's Fire's Zero Rated Power… and its output far surpasses what Siegfried unleashed during the Second Eruption. How the hell is that guy still strong enough to do this? What did they run into? Snake? Or the Fourth Herrscher? Damn it—communications still aren't connecting…"
Tesla slumped back into her chair, utterly puzzled as to how Siegfried could still fire off Heaven's Fire's Zero Rated Power in his condition. But she was far more concerned about what could have forced them to use it.
Heaven's Fire…?
Didn't Siegfried say it was taken by that maybe-fake Cecilia?
Why is it suddenly appearing inside the Sea of Quanta?
Teresa couldn't make sense of anything anymore, but she still asked for confirmation:
"Dr. Tesla… that energy was really from Heaven's Fire?"
"Absolutely. Heaven's Fire has a very unique signature, and the energy we just detected matches almost perfectly with the Second Eruption records."
Tesla was certain—because anti-entropy had collected Heaven's Fire data years ago.
"Then… Dr. Tesla, please open the Sea of Quanta entrance again. I'm going down there. They definitely need my help."
Teresa couldn't just sit and wait. If someone was forced to use Heaven's Fire's Zero Rated Power, the battle inside must be unimaginably intense. She had no time to hesitate—despite her body's inability to adapt to the Sea of Quanta environment.
"But… fine. Just be careful."
Tesla originally wanted to refuse, but Teresa's determined eyes left her no choice. And in truth, Tesla was equally worried about the people down there. If someone didn't need to stay to oversee the equipment, she would have gone herself.
"Thank you, Dr. Tesla."
Teresa had no time to think of anything else.
"The gate is—huh? Someone's coming up? Einstein and the others! They're back!"
Tesla jumped up again, excitement breaking through her worry.
They finally returned—and they even brought Walter back.
But…
Siegfried wasn't with them.
Teresa's heart lurched. A terrible thought passed through her mind, and she rushed toward the entrance.
"Headmistress?"
Just stepping out from the Sea of Quanta's climbway, Bronya nearly bumped into the hurried Teresa.
"Where's Siegfried? Why isn't he with you?"
Teresa asked immediately.
"Teresa… let's talk in the main hall. Don't worry—Siegfried should still be safe for now."
Walter spoke gently. He intended to explain everything in full, and he also wanted to understand the Fourth Herrscher better.
"Okay. Understood."
"So Siegfried… already knew that white-haired man?"
"Yes. Their conversation made that clear. And that white-haired man took him because of the Honkai corruption in his body. The details, I don't know. I'm sorry—I couldn't bring him back."
Walter looked guilty as he explained.
Right after the Fourth Herrscher left, he and Bronya were preparing to retreat—just in time for Einstein and Siegfried to arrive.
Then that mysterious white-haired man—Snake—appeared beside Siegfried, declared his corruption irreversible, and before anyone could react, he took Siegfried and vanished.
The moment the exit opened, they had no choice but to return first.
"This isn't your fault. Snake isn't someone you could fight anyway."
Teresa shook her head. "But… even the man my grandfather placed so much hope in… lost to the Fourth Herrscher?"
According to Otto's earlier explanation, Snake's strength rivaled even the Herrschers—perhaps surpassing many. Yet even he was defeated.
Which meant…
Humanity's final hope might truly be the Moonlight Throne now.
And if that fails…
Teresa cut off the thought. Her head was already full of unanswered questions.
Why would Snake take Siegfried?
Why did Heaven's Fire appear in the Sea of Quanta?
And why did the Fourth Herrscher appear there—yet not attack them?
Everything was tangled beyond comprehension.
"Ein, do we have any battle footage of the Fourth Herrscher?"
Walter needed to see more—maybe he could find something.
"Yes."
Einstein nodded and opened the large display. The first playback was the New Zealand battle between Durandal and the Fourth Herrscher.
A barrier formed of compressed airflow…
Walter instantly recognized what he saw. Yes—Fourth Herrscher could manipulate airflow and ideal fluid.
But as the footage continued—Durandal's drones, her combat skills, even the Black Abyss White Flower's rated power—none had any effect.
Walter felt a chill creep up his spine.
Even compared to the former strongest—Second Herrscher—this Fourth Herrscher was far beyond that standard.
And this was only with one core…
"Next is the battle inside the Featherdust domain," Einstein said. "We only have this short clip."
In the recording, Fu Hua stood before the Fourth Herrscher, unmoving—
Then in an instant, Fourth Herrscher pierced her chest clean through.
The video ended there.
Even within a mental domain like Featherdust… Fu Hua still lost.
Walter's expression grew increasingly grim.
He had seen Taixu Sword God obliterate even the Honkai Will's interference.
But here… even peak Fu Hua wouldn't have won.
Fourth Herrscher must have been touched directly by the Honkai Will—no other explanation made sense.
Walter rubbed his forehead. His hope dwindled further with every second.
"Enough for now. What's the situation outside? How's the world holding up?"
Einstein answered calmly:
"Besides New Zealand's eruption, no other Honkai outbreaks have been detected."
"What? She didn't trigger worldwide Honkai like the Second Herrscher?"
Walter was stunned.
A Herrscher with unbelievable power, yet no global destruction?
What kind of behavior pattern was that?
"Correct," Einstein said. "She hasn't created Honkai beasts either. It's… strange."
Teresa added quietly:
"It's because she doesn't care about humanity. For her, human life or death has no meaning at all. Sometimes she's in a good mood and lets you go. If she's not… she might wipe out everyone."
Walter fell silent.
"So there is a chance—however small—that we can negotiate with her. But we still need to prepare the Moonlight Throne. Though… without four Herrscher cores, the maximum output isn't possible. And right now, two of the cores are still in the Fourth Herrscher's hands…"
The situation was nearly hopeless.
Just then—
Tesla burst into the hall, expression urgent.
"Stop daydreaming—Europe just lit up with a massive Honkai signature. I'm guessing it's Otto's doing!"
"What?! My grandfather?! What did he do?"
Tesla swallowed, then said the words no one wanted to hear:
"The system suggests… the Second Herrscher—
has revived."
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