[Afterward, Siegfried brought the gravely injured Welt back to Babylon Tower.]
[Following emergency treatment by Einstein and Tesla, Welt barely managed to cling to life.]
[Acting on his own initiative, Siegfried allowed the Anti-Entropy group to remain inside Babylon Tower.]
[He then launched an investigation into that "clown," but found nothing at all.]
[More importantly, Schicksal's satellites showed that the dragon-type Honkai beast Benares had carried the Second Herrscher out of the atmosphere.]
[And against targets beyond the atmosphere, Schicksal possessed no effective means of attack.]
As the screen lit up,
the story continued to advance.
The wounded Sirin fled to the dark side of the Moon,
where she discovered the Honkai (god) power sealed away since the Previous Era.
There, she unexpectedly obtained four Herrscher Gems.
Using the lunar dark-side ruins, she began bombarding Earth's major cities with meteorites,
threatening Welt to come meet her on the Moon!
[February 9, 2000]
Welt explained his plan to Siegfried.
Anti-Entropy had discovered technology for sealing Honkai within the soul-steel embedded in the meteorites.
Welt planned to personally hold off the Second Herrscher, while Siegfried collected samples of the soul-steel.
[February 10, 2000]
All preparations were complete.
Late that night, a rocket carrying the two launched into space.
[February 12, 2000]
They arrived on the Moon.
The two Herrschers met!
After holding out for one hour, Welt was defeated!
His attempt to self-detonate his Herrscher Core failed—
the Core of the First Herrscher was absorbed by Sirin!
The operation against the Second Herrscher was declared a failure!
[12:05, same day]
The Second Herrscher Sirin returned to Babylon Tower.
Within a hundred-kilometer radius of Babylon Tower, massive numbers of Honkai beasts appeared!
[February 14, 2000]
Two days after Sirin's return from the Moon!
Oulu, Astana, and Novosibirsk were destroyed respectively by
the pseudo–Herrscher of Wind Avrora,
the pseudo–Herrscher of Flame Agata,
and the pseudo–Herrscher of Death Galina!
Watching the story unfold on the screen—
watching Welt Yang fight with everything he had,
even attempting to detonate his Herrscher Core just to stop Sirin from threatening Earth—
everyone outside the screen couldn't help but be deeply moved.
Yet aboard the Astral Express,
Welt Yang himself looked calm and composed.
As if all of this were merely one insignificant episode
among the countless great trials he had already experienced.
On the other side—
"Mom, when is Dad coming back? Kiana misses him…"
Curled up beneath the covers, Kiana spoke drowsily.
Cecilia gently stroked Kiana's head.
"As long as you sleep nicely, Daddy will come back sooner."
After coaxing Kiana to sleep,
Cecilia encountered Amber at the doorway.
"Lady Cecilia, Overseer's orders—please prepare for battle."
Hearing this,
Cecilia silently nodded.
Outside the screen,
everyone felt their hearts tighten—
and their hatred toward Otto grow sharper once more.
[March 7th]: Damn it! If Otto hadn't let the Second Herrscher escape, would all this even be happening?!
[March 7th]: He even got Uncle Yang's Herrscher Core ripped out—wait?! Uncle Yang, are you okay?!
[Star Rail · Himeko]: Nonsense. If something had happened to him, would you still be seeing him now?
[Tesla]: If it weren't for Otto… things wouldn't have become this troublesome later on…
[Theresa]: The Second Honkai Eruption… was the most brutal battle of all…
[Ningguang]: But… what exactly was Otto after???
[Xianyun]: Could it be that letting Sirin go was somehow beneficial to him?
Inside Schicksal's command room,
Otto stared at the battle data on the screen.
"Satellite observations indicate that Target C remained within Novosibirsk after destroying the city."
"The Second Herrscher only caused partial destruction to three cities before stopping. What exactly is her objective?"
"Each of these targets possessed Honkai energy levels exceeding fifty percent of the Second Herrscher's output."
"With only A-rank Valkyries, we can do no more than stall for time."
"And most importantly…"
"Is she… truly the Herrscher of Death?"
Otto pondered in silence, his thoughts unreadable.
Outside the operations room,
Fu Hua's figure appeared.
"My old friend… you've finally arrived."
At the same time,
inside the Anti-Entropy base.
Siegfried's spacecraft landed,
bringing back the soul-steel that recorded crucial data—
and the news of Welt Yang's sacrifice.
In an instant,
the hot-tempered Tesla clutched the soul-steel and broke down in tears.
As Siegfried rested and recovered,
his thoughts inevitably turned to the safety of Kiana and Cecilia.
Schicksal Floating Island, Valkyrie residential area.
"Who says I have no armor? I will share my robe with you."
"When the king calls us to war, we ready our spears and halberds—together we advance."
Cheng Lixue's zither music came to a halt.
She looked toward the arriving Fu Hua, surprise in her voice.
"Master… you're here!"
She hurriedly stood up to fetch a teapot.
"Master, I'll go brew you some tea!"
"No need. I'm leaving."
Fu Hua raised her hand, smiling gently at Cheng Lixue.
"Your music is a bit unsettled. Don't worry—your master is already here."
As feathers from Fenghuang Down drifted through the air,
Fu Hua's figure vanished, leaving behind only a single sentence:
"Your master will protect you."
[February 15, 2000 — 12:00 PM]
[Center of Schicksal Floating Island]
"Overseer!!"
All Valkyries snapped to attention and saluted.
Otto began his pre-battle address.
"Today, the devil once again invades our homeland!"
"It has slaughtered our loved ones and destroyed our cities!"
"It believes we will cower in fear—that we can be easily wiped out!"
"But it is wrong!"
"Schicksal's warriors will never submit!"
"For five hundred years—"
"…"
"…"
"This time, I—Otto Apocalypse—will stand alongside all of you!"
"And together, we shall fight the devil to the very death!!"
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