Sea Abyss Eye — Reverse Entropy Laboratory
Pa—!
Tesla shot to her feet, both hands slamming onto the console so hard the instruments rattled.
Her expression twisted between disbelief and outrage.
"What the hell?! What are they doing there?!"
Theresa, who had been sitting beside her and wondering why no Honkai beasts had appeared yet, jumped in alarm.
She instinctively grabbed Judah, preparing for an attack—only to find nothing behind them.
"W-What happened, Dr. Tesla? Are Honkai beasts attacking?!"
"No! Worse!" Tesla snapped. "The system just detected a massive energy spike from within the Quantum Sea! And based on Reverse Entropy's database… that signature is extremely close to—"
She swallowed.
"—to Heavenly Fire's zero-power-rated discharge."
Theresa blinked, stunned.
"Heavenly Fire Judgment? Zero-rated power output? But that's… that's the thing Siegfried used in the Second Eruption!"
"Exactly! And this reaction completely dwarfs what he unleashed back then!" Tesla ran both hands through her hair, exasperated. "How the hell is that man still capable of this with his body in that condition?! And what did they encounter in there that forced them to use Heavenly Fire's emergency release?! Could it be the so-called 'Serpent' Einstein mentioned? Or the Fourth Herrscher?! Damn it, I can't contact them at all!"
She collapsed back into her chair, utterly baffled.
Heavenly Fire Judgment was supposed to be gone—taken by the questionable "Cecilia" who appeared out of nowhere.
So how did it show up in the Quantum Sea again?
Theresa couldn't wrap her head around it either.
"Dr. Tesla… are you sure that energy came from Heavenly Fire?"
"No doubt about it." Tesla's tone was absolute. "The signature is unique. Reverse Entropy recorded its energy profile decades ago during the Second Eruption. The spike we just saw is a perfect match."
Theresa's heart tightened.
"Then—open the Sea Abyss Eye. I'm going in. If they're fighting hard enough to trigger the zero rating… they need help."
She didn't care if the environment was hostile to her body.
She wasn't going to sit here while people she cared about were fighting for their lives.
Tesla hesitated—then saw the unshakable resolve in Theresa's eyes.
"…Fine. But be careful."
Even if she refused, Theresa would force the system open anyway.
And Tesla, truthfully, was just as worried.
"Thank you, Dr. Tesla."
But just as Tesla activated the Sea Abyss Eye—
Her eyes widened.
"Wait—someone's coming out! It's Einstein and the others! They're back!"
Theresa froze, then immediately bolted for the entrance, heart pounding.
But as the silhouettes emerged, something was wrong.
There was Walter.
Einstein.
Bronya.
But—
Siegfried wasn't among them.
"S-Siegfried…? Why isn't he here?!"
Panic seized Theresa. She rushed toward them.
Bronya nearly bumped into her, turning the corner.
"Headmistress?"
"Where is Siegfried? Why didn't he come back?!"
Walter stepped forward.
"Theresa… let's go to the main hall. I'll explain everything. But don't worry—Siegfried shouldn't be in immediate danger."
Theresa forced herself to nod.
Main Hall — Briefing
"So you're telling me… Siegfried knew that white-haired man?"
Walter nodded heavily.
"From their exchange, it was clear they recognized each other. And that man took Siegfried because of his Honkai corruption… but the details are unknown. I'm sorry. I couldn't bring him back."
He clenched his fists.
The guilt was palpable.
After the Fourth Herrscher left, he and Bronya were preparing to leave when they encountered Einstein—and Siegfried—somehow alive and walking toward them.
But then the "Serpent" appeared at Siegfried's side, declared his Honkai erosion irreversible, and claimed Siegfried would soon become a Honkai beast.
Before any of them could react, he took Siegfried and vanished.
At that exact moment, the path home opened.
They had no choice but to return.
Theresa shook her head.
"No… this isn't your fault. The 'Serpent' is far beyond what any of you can handle."
But her voice trembled.
Even she never expected that the man her grandfather, Otto, had spoken so highly of—the one whose strength rivaled or surpassed most Herrschers—would be defeated… so easily.
If even he lost…
Humanity had only one last card left—
Project Moonlight Throne.
And if that, too, failed—
She forced the thought away.
Yet countless questions gnawed at her:
Why did the white-haired man care about Siegfried's Honkai erosion?
How did they know each other?
How did Heavenly Fire end up in the Quantum Sea?
And why did the Fourth Herrscher ignore Walter's group entirely?
Before she could spiral, Walter spoke up:
"Einstein, do we have the Fourth Herrscher's battle footage?"
"...We do."
Playback — New Zealand
The screen lit up with Durandal facing the Fourth Herrscher.
Her first strike—stopped effortlessly by invisible pressure.
An air-current barrier?
Walter quietly analyzed.
The Fourth Herrscher manipulated fluid flow—air included.
The footage continued.
Durandal summoned multiple autonomous weapons.
All useless.
Even Heavenly Fire: Blooming White, activated at point-blank range—the attack universally feared—
did nothing.
Walter's face darkened.
Compared to the Second Herrscher of ten years ago, the Fourth Herrscher was far beyond any known standard.
And her demeanor suggested—
She wasn't even using her full strength.
Playback — Feather Dust Illusion Realm
A much shorter clip.
Fu Hua and the Fourth Herrscher stared each other down.
Then a single movement—
Pierce.
Her hand drove straight through Fu Hua's chest.
The clip ended.
Walter exhaled shakily.
Even under Feather Dust's illusion—where Fu Hua regained peak condition—
she still lost instantly.
She had used the Taixu Sword God.
He had seen that blade cut through even the Honkai Will's link to the Second Herrscher.
And yet—
She died in a heartbeat.
There was only one conclusion:
The Fourth Herrscher received direct revelation from the Honkai Will itself.
State of the Outside World
"How bad is the situation outside?"
Einstein answered:
"Other than the New Zealand incident… nowhere else has suffered an eruption."
"What? She didn't unleash worldwide Honkai disasters?!"
Walter was speechless.
The Fourth Herrscher was stronger than the Second Herrscher—
yet she did nothing to humanity?
Einstein added:
"She hasn't even spawned a single Honkai beast. She's… unusual."
"What does that mean?" Walter asked.
Theresa answered instead.
"It means humans hold no meaning to her. Whether we live or die is the same to her. If she's in a good mood, she may spare you. If not… she could wipe out humanity on a whim."
Silence.
After a moment, Walter straightened.
"Then we tried talking to her. Even the slimmest chance—we must try. Meanwhile… We prepared the Moonlight Throne. But we only have two Herrscher cores. Without four, its full power is impossible…"
And all remaining Herrscher cores—
were in the Fourth Herrscher's hands.
Before despair could sink in further—
Tesla burst into the hall.
"You idiots! Stop sitting there making funeral plans—something huge just happened!"
Everyone turned.
"A massive Honkai reaction just appeared in Europe. And based on the readings… I'm 99% sure Otto is behind it!"
Theresa's expression sharpened instantly.
"My grandfather?! What did he do?!"
Tesla swallowed.
"The Second Herrscher…
The Second Herrscher has revived."
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