Seeing the smile on Raiden Mei's face come to an abrupt halt, Yuno indifferently removed her hood and sighed softly.
"Student Raiden, if you are blaming yourself because of your identity as a Herrscher, you can abandon such boring thoughts. After all..."
After using Honkai Energy to extend countless vines, Yuno continued.
"I am a Herrscher now, too."
"The Third Honkai Eruption indeed took the lives of my mother, family, and friends. But fundamentally speaking, you, who couldn't control it and were forced to become a Herrscher, are just one of the millions of victims."
"The only person who truly caused this tragedy is Cocolia, so you can put away that unnecessary guilt."
"But I..."
"Rather than dawdling here and wasting time, we have more important things to do, don't we?"
After taking a deep look at the white-haired girl standing guard behind Mei, Yuno immediately turned and walked toward the elevator.
"To prevent the next tragedy from happening, we need to retrieve the Gem of Serenity immediately."
"...You really are calm."
Sensing no hostility from the other party, Kiana also voluntarily lowered the pistols in her hands.
"As for tears, I ran dry months ago. Crying only shows the enemy the flaws and weaknesses in my heart. I don't want to do such meaningless things."
*Yuno... although we weren't close, you didn't feel like this back then.*
*The current you, although speaking calmly, gives me a very unsettling feeling.*
*It's all my fault... if I had been stronger back then, maybe fewer people around us would have died.*
*And now, even if I apologize, I can't fill the hole that has appeared in your heart because of this.*
At this moment, Bronya, who had been unable to take any action or even say a word, could only follow the three into the elevator in silence.
*Another victim has appeared before me.*
*Another person who lost everything important to them because of Mother's inexplicable actions.*
*Family, friends, the daily life of the past... no, even her identity as a human has been stripped away.*
*Herrschers are enemies of humanity. This is Schicksal's declaration to the few who know of the Honkai.*
*And because of this declaration, even if Yuno chooses not to join Anti-Entropy, she will inevitably become an unlucky soul tracked and besieged by Schicksal.*
*Countless people died because of Cocolia's operation. Even if some survived, their lives aren't exactly easy.*
*And I—am one of the accomplices of that operation.*
*Just to retrieve Seele from the Sea of Quanta...*
*Is stripping away the happiness of others correct?*
*No, that's wrong. This matter is undoubtedly wrong.*
*Mother Cocolia... do you really understand what you are doing...*
*Bronya does not want to see you continue making mistake after mistake like this.*
"Um, say..."
"White hair... you are Kiana, right?"
Before Kiana could speak, Yuno interrupted her and took the initiative to address Kiana.
"Mr. Siegfried mentioned you to me. He said that because of his poor health, he couldn't stay by your side and has always felt guilty about it..."
"You know my Stinky Dad?!"
Hearing this sentence, Kiana excitedly put away her dual guns and grabbed Yuno by the shoulders.
"Where is he right now?!"
*Siegfried is probably right inside this hotel*—Yuno naturally wouldn't just throw out this heavy piece of intelligence.
The reason she begged Siegfried to bring her along this time was not only to prevent a large-scale Honkai Eruption from being induced by Cocolia in a densely populated area, causing countless tragedies, but also to see if she could catch Cocolia's tail and exact revenge.
However, during the teleportation, this inherently unstable Quantum Teleportation System seemed to have a tiny hiccup.
The problem wasn't big, but it caused a slight deviation in the coordinates where Yuno and Siegfried landed—which was one of the reasons Yuno and Siegfried were separated.
Fortunately, Dr. Einstein had prepared in advance, giving each of them a Soulium Storage Case.
Whether it was Siegfried or Yuno, as long as they encountered the Gem of Serenity, they could immediately contain it within the Soulium Storage Case, forcibly interrupting the eruption.
As for why Yuno didn't want Kiana to know exactly where Siegfried was...
Siegfried himself had said that although he really wanted to see his daughter, the time was not yet right.
If he let his daughter see him, there was no guarantee what kind of weird mess would happen.
It was precisely for this reason that Yuno did not inform Kiana of Siegfried's true location.
"Mr. Siegfried is recovering at Anti-Entropy due to illness. Although he planned to come out this time, he was eventually persuaded otherwise by Dr. Einstein—though I don't know if he'll act recklessly."
"Mhm, mhm, I see. So Stinky Dad might be here..."
*Ding-dong*
After arriving at the upper floors of the hotel via the elevator, Kiana sneered.
"Hehehe, after resolving these matters, I definitely need to have a good 'chat' with Stinky Dad."
Glancing at the girl who, after stretching her muscles, pulled out a greatsword that looked full of evil energy, Yuno recalled Siegfried's introduction. She absolutely could not connect Siegfried's evaluation of "just a bit mischievous" with this girl sneering while holding a greatsword.
*Mr. Siegfried... sigh, good luck.*
*I don't have time to worry about these things now. At the very least, I need to contain that gem in my storage case before Cocolia's plan is completed.*
*And since the Quantum Teleportation System technology was developed by Cocolia's side, who knows if that deadbeat pulled some stunt in the system.*
*That guy, never proactive in work, but more skilled than anyone at infighting.*
*Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla are truly too gentle...*
*If Anti-Entropy continues to be ruined by people like this, it's going to be finished sooner or later.*
....................
In the lower level of the Empress Hotel, Aaron crushed the head beneath his foot, then slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.
Walter Clones. As clones of the First Herrscher of Reason, Welt Joyce, they were considered relatively powerful among Pseudo-Herrschers.
But for Aaron, who knew their abilities and personalities in advance, if they were just Pseudo-Herrschers... honestly speaking, they weren't enough.
It couldn't be said that the Walter Clone underestimated the enemy.
In fact, this clone was unexpectedly cautious—after all, the oppressive pressure radiating from Aaron was real. If he had been careless at a time like this, he would truly have had brain damage.
But the problem was, although this clone had the abilities, the speed at which he activated them was too slow.
Aaron used the first strike of Whale-Slaying Tyrant Fist to break the opponent's Imaginary Barrier. Then, relying on the momentum from the clash, he unleashed a Whale's Domination to propel his body. Before the opponent could react, he delivered another Whale-Slaying Tyrant Fist to the neck, and the battle was over.
This Pseudo-Herrscher didn't even have time to activate his gravity manipulation ability before Aaron snapped his neck with the Whale-Slaying Tyrant Fist, crushed his head, and ended his life.
Although it was a bit brutal, Aaron felt that double-tapping was truly a good habit.
First a headshot, then another strike to the heart, and finally using magnetic force to form blades to cut off the limbs. Mmh, this way, even if he wanted to reanimate as a zombie, it would be useless.
"He is already dead..."
After Aaron finished all this, a voice came from behind him.
"Is it necessary to desecrate his corpse like this?"
"..."
Facing the woman's question, Aaron didn't say a word. He simply turned his head and stared indifferently at the other 'intruder' who had appeared.
Looking at Aaron, who was wearing a mask and remaining silent, Durandal, who had arrived inside the Empress Hotel, felt a bit helpless.
Previously, not long after she had secretly infiltrated Singapore, she heard a disturbance at the Empress Hotel.
Because the Anti-Entropy guards at the entrance had been taken down by the people who fought their way in earlier, Durandal made her way into the hotel unimpeded.
And then she sensed it—that feeling of 'blood connection' was right below the hotel!
With the elevators unusable, Durandal took the stairs all the way here, and then...
—She saw this incredibly bloody scene.
It wasn't that the girl hadn't seen life fade before her eyes; she just felt that since the enemy was already dead, there was really no need to perform such brutal acts to insult the corpse.
*But now... forget it, that's not the point.*
*I forgot, when I met him last time, he also wore a mask and said nothing.*
*Is he afraid of his identity being exposed, so he...*
"Forget it, I won't mention things you don't want to discuss. You, your name is Aaron, right?"
"...Schicksal really has capable people everywhere. You guys even found that out."
Watching Durandal with eyes devoid of hostility, Aaron still did not deactivate his Honkai Beast transformation.
Although Durandal had no hostility, the situation wasn't right. He felt it was better to maintain his combat state.
Although he could activate [Lion Never Perishes] at any time and enter the Honkai Beast form through that secret technique, the moment he entered that state, he would still reveal a fleeting opening that might be exploited.
Unlike in the past, he could now maintain this Honkai Beast form normally, so there was no need to increase risk by deactivating it at a time like this.
"Yes... anyway, let's cut to the chase. I don't want to fight you."
"What a coincidence, I don't want to fight you either. Let's just pretend we never saw each other. Good-bye."
Just as he took a step to continue down the stairs, Aaron was suddenly grabbed by the arm by Durandal.
"Wait! You know what I want to say!"
Durandal was inherently someone who couldn't hide her thoughts. The person she had been looking for was right in front of her; how could she let him leave at a time like this!
"Hey, hey, let go—men and women shouldn't touch, don't you know!"
"You, you are my relative, right! Otherwise, there's no way to explain that feeling!"
Sensing Aaron's resistance, Durandal spoke with immense urgency.
"Even now, I can feel it. You give me a feeling of being 'blood-connected' to me! Big Brother, is it you?!"
?
??
???
*What the hell???*
Aaron, who had intended to shake off Durandal's arm, suddenly froze.
He had thought of many topics they might discuss, but he never expected the conversation to veer in this direction.
*No, wait a minute, someone explain to me what 'blood-connected' means.*
*System, come out, what on earth is going on!*
*I got this skill from you, right? How does it have such a weird effect???*
*Sys?*
*Hello?*
*Damn, it's not here.*
*I guess I'm technically still in 'combat'.*
Seeing Aaron freeze, Durandal, assuming this was a reaction of 'shock from having his true identity revealed', immediately spoke even more anxiously.
"You and I... what exactly happened between us to cause you to become this half-human, half..."
*BOOM!*
Before Durandal could finish her sentence, a wall in the space where they stood was blasted open by an energy cannon.
"Oho, you two are in high spirits. Sorry to disturb you."
Glancing at his great benefactor and the expression of the girl, Siegfried, who had been separated from Yuno due to the Quantum Teleportation System's glitch, grinned at the blonde girl.
"Little friend, some words are better left unspoken."
*Aaron... according to Dr. Einstein's speculation, he might have been forcibly injected with my DNA to use the Meta-Morph Factor.*
*If she mentions these things in front of Aaron now, it would be no different from ripping open the scars on Aaron that have barely healed... Heh, I can't just stand by and watch this.*
"If you are seeking familial love from me, then I suggest you don't continue wasting your time."
Shaking off Durandal's arm, Aaron turned back and said to her.
"I personally understand your feelings. Masking my identity is for other reasons."
"Bianka Ataegina, I..."
"Am not your 'Big Brother' at all."