After parting ways with Leo Ash, Kiana started heading back towards Nagazora City alone on her motorcycle.
Speeding along the road, Kiana's mind was filled with thoughts.
Even if Leo Ash said he was a professional, with that horde of Honkai Beasts up ahead, Kiana couldn't help but feel that his move was incredibly dangerous.
From all his actions so far, Kiana felt that while this senior of hers was a bit aggressive, he wasn't actively suicidal.
His choice to jump off the building wasn't because he wanted to die with Kiana, but because he had a way to change his trajectory in mid-air.
So, this time, Leo Ash choosing to act alone must have had its reasons...
—Reasons, my ass! This looks dangerous no matter how you slice it!
Because of this, Kiana felt she had no choice now.
Leo Ash had warned her that if she waited for Schicksal to arrive, she wouldn't be able to leave.
But Kiana thought Schicksal's arrival wouldn't be a bad thing.
Her dad, Siegfried, had also said that Schicksal wasn't full of bad people; most of them were actually quite decent.
At the same time, no matter how strong or confident Leo Ash was, he still needed backup.
Leo Ash was with Schicksal. As long as Kiana made contact with Schicksal forces and explained the situation in detail, she felt there was a high chance they would send reinforcements for him.
As for whether she'd be captured for being 'the traitor's daughter'...
If it came to that, there was nothing she could do.
She couldn't just stand by and watch the probability of that unlucky senior dying continue to increase.
Of course, Kiana had no intention of letting herself be captured so meekly.
If Leo Ash was a Schicksal agent sent to protect her, that meant Schicksal already knew what she looked like.
And now...
Stopping her motorcycle, Kiana found a spot nearby, scooped up some dirt to smear on her face, and then looked at her two long braids with a sigh.
"Sigh... my precious hair."
"After this whole thing is over, for the sake of my hair alone, I'm gonna make Senior treat me to a meal!"
After saying this, the young woman found a relatively sharp piece of a broken ceramic tile and decisively cut off her hair with it.
Having done that, Kiana took out the glasses she had prepared earlier.
Before going to the TV station today, Kiana had prepared not only a mask but also sunglasses for disguise.
Of course, she knew they wouldn't be very effective, but it was better to be prepared than not.
What if... she was just saying, what if.
What if the Schicksal people were actually fooled by this?
*With the sunglasses on, my sky-blue eyes are hidden.*
*With my braids cut off, my hairstyle is a mess.*
*Hmm, and with this dirt on my face...*
*I was even worried about being recognized today, so I changed out of my Senba High School uniform.*
*Ab-so-lute-ly! PER-FECT!*
Finding a puddle and looking at her reflection, Kiana felt she couldn't have done a more perfect job.
If she still got recognized after all this, then she was truly out of ideas.
Now, to find the main Schicksal forces...
"BOOM!"
At that very moment, Kiana suddenly heard a loud explosion in the distance.
*Is that Senior... no.*
Realizing the sound wasn't coming from Leo Ash's direction, Kiana breathed a small sigh of relief.
But soon, relying on the enhanced physique of the Kaslana family, Kiana could clearly see what was happening where the explosion occurred.
On the very road she was planning to take back, a battleship had suddenly appeared in the sky.
And judging by the energy fluctuations around the battleship, it had just been hit by some kind of attack, causing its energy shield to ripple.
On the other side, dozens of semi-humanoid robots had also appeared near the battleship.
Seeing the two sides start to fight, Kiana was completely dumbfounded.
*That battleship over there... that's the Schicksal battleship Hyperion that Dad mentioned, right?*
*And the robots on the other side, those are the Anti-Entropy tactical mechs that Senior mentioned, right?*
*I just went through all that trouble, even cutting my precious hair, and this is what you show me now????*
*Hello? A Honkai outbreak has happened, Senior has gone to risk his life, and you two are still infighting over here???*
Watching the two major factions in front of her engage in battle, Kiana felt her blood pressure begin to spike.
[Hmph, in the end, humans are just this kind of foolish creature.]
*...I feel like I'm getting sick from sheer anger.*
Realizing she seemed to have heard a voice she shouldn't have, Kiana looked around suspiciously.
But unfortunately, in the end, she couldn't find who had spoken.
*Whatever. Expecting the Schicksal people over there to rescue Senior is basically impossible now.*
*Hmph, while they're busy fighting, let me see...*
Getting back on her motorcycle, Kiana made a quick decision after some thought.
*I'll just head to the right.*
*Senior, you have to hold on.*
*If you die, I will never forgive you!*
.....
Nagazora City
Theresa, on a mission in Nagazora City, had of course received Himeko's request for help.
Upon receiving the message, her first instinct was to rush back and blow up those Titans that were sneak-attacking the Hyperion.
But just a few minutes after she started to move, she received an order from Schicksal HQ.
"Theresa, I have already dispatched other A-rank Valkyries to support the Hyperion."
"Grandpa?"
Looking at the man on the light screen, Theresa said with a suspicious expression.
"Even if Valkyries from other branches are available, they..."
"This mission concerns the Third Eruption. Of course, I wouldn't let the Far East Branch fight on the front lines alone."
On the light screen, Otto said with a solemn expression.
"In fact, over the past few days, I have already ordered a large number of A-rank Valkyries who were not on missions to come here as reinforcements."
"I just didn't expect that those Anti-Entropy scoundrels would dare to actively attack the Hyperion after triggering the Third Eruption."
"This is a provocation, but it could also be a ploy. So, Theresa, let the other A-ranks provide support first. You continue with your mission."
"I suspect that the Anti-Entropy people might be trying to use this method to lure away you S-ranks, so they can pull something big inside Nagazora City."
"...I understand."
Watching Otto, Theresa could see a rare seriousness in her grandfather's eyes.
The usually composed Otto was genuinely a bit nervous this time—at least, in Theresa's eyes, he was.
"But, Grandpa, you..."
"What about me?"
Looking at Otto's expression, Theresa ultimately swallowed the question in her heart.
*This incident shouldn't have much to do with Grandpa, right?*
*Cocolia started it, Cocolia struck the first blow in the war, Grandpa hasn't done anything wrong from start to finish...*
*Sigh, because of what happened with Cecilia, my trust in Grandpa has plummeted.*
*Am I being too biased, always trying to pin the blame on him?*
"Lord Otto! This is bad!"
Just as Theresa was about to end the communication, on the other side of the light screen, her sister Amber suddenly spoke to Otto in a panicked tone.
"The intelligence department just sent a message... Lady Theresa?"
"It's fine, continue speaking."
Seeing Amber pause her report, Otto narrowed his eyes slightly.
"I have nothing to hide from my granddaughter."
"I understand."
"The intelligence department just discovered that the Honkai Energy detection system in Nagazora City has been restored to a minimally functional state, and they found something strange."
"The reaction outside Nagazora City, suspected to be the Herrscher of Thunder, has disappeared."
"However, two Herrscher reactions have appeared inside Nagazora City. It's just that one of the Herrscher reactions seems unstable, so they suspect the detection system might be malfunctioning. But..."
As a veteran of the Second Eruption, Amber said to Otto with great seriousness.
"I think that with the awakening of the Herrscher of Thunder, other Pseudo-Herrschers may have awakened as well."
"After all, last time, after the Herrscher of the Void, Sirin, awakened her powers, she also created Pseudo-Herrschers to massacre civilians on a large scale. So I think we can't be careless about this."
"A very correct judgment, Amber. Well then, Theresa, you heard her."
Upon hearing the conversation between Otto and Amber, Theresa immediately replied with equal seriousness.
"I understand, Grandpa. Leave the Herrschers in the city to me."
"Mm, very good. Amber, send the coordinates to Theresa."
"Theresa, don't disappoint me."
After the light screen vanished, Theresa took out her communication terminal and saw the coordinates Amber had sent.
Theresa was still a long way from where the Hyperion was being attacked. In reality, her contribution wouldn't be that significant even if she rushed back now.
Moreover, the location of the first Herrscher reaction in the city was just a short distance ahead to her left.
*No choice then, I'll head over there first.*
*A Pseudo-Herrscher, is it... Hmph, even the genuine Herrscher Sirin nearly fell to my Divine Grace Field. A Pseudo-Herrscher is no match for me.*
*Himeko, you must hold on.*
*If you use the Nexus System again, your life will only be shortened further.*
.....
Anti-Entropy HQ
At the Anti-Entropy HQ, Dr. Einstein ultimately decided not to accompany Dr. Tesla to Nagazora City.
After they both calmed down, they realized that one of the founding members had to stay at the HQ to handle any emergencies.
Otto that bastard was a clever man; both Tesla and Einstein were aware of this.
With Cocolia causing trouble in Nagazora City, given Otto's understanding of the two of them, they would certainly not stand by and watch Cocolia's evil deeds.
And if both Tesla and Einstein went, then what if...
There was no need for a 'what if'; Otto would surely be prepared.
Once Otto discovered that both Tesla and Einstein were on the battlefield, he would definitely make his move.
If the Anti-Entropy HQ were to be compromised by Otto or other enemies of Anti-Entropy, then even if Einstein and Tesla managed to clean up the mess Cocolia created, what could they do after their home base was taken?
*Damn it, did Otto calculate all of this?*
Thinking about what was happening in Nagazora City, Einstein felt her headache worsen.
Whether Tesla could handle Cocolia was something Einstein couldn't say for sure.
But just now, their Anti-Entropy detection system had detected a large-scale Honkai outbreak in the outer area of Nagazora City.
Although this large-scale outbreak was still a far cry from the super-large-scale outbreak of a Herrscher awakening, the only person in Nagazora City capable of creating a Honkai outbreak of this level had to be Raiden Mei, who had been implanted with the gem.
*Mei has awakened. Even if Tesla can stop Cocolia, she might end up being wiped out by Otto in the end.*
*Troublesome, truly troublesome... Wait, what is this!*
While checking the communication channels to warn Tesla to be careful, Einstein suddenly saw a message log.
Just before Mei's awakening, less than thirty seconds prior, 'Tesla' had contacted Siegfried.
But at that time, Tesla should not have had the time to contact Siegfried.
Is there something unusual about this log...
Following this log, Einstein's expression grew increasingly grim.
This log was indeed not sent by Tesla.
And the log clearly recorded a message 'Tesla' sent to Siegfried, saying that 'Raiden Ryoma' was dead...
This sentence was too strange, and if Mei had heard it...
No, just thirty seconds later, the large-scale Honkai outbreak occurred.
This means Mei definitely heard it, and Siegfried was right beside her at the time!
Siegfried is in danger!
And this log...
Tracing this log further, Einstein felt a flicker of anger ignite within her.
The perpetrator had been clean, but before the eyes of Einstein, who had already sensed something was wrong, even the cleanest methods would leave traces.
And after investigating this log, Einstein discovered that someone had found a backdoor in the system through another of Anti-Entropy's messaging systems and had hacked in.
This revealed an extremely serious situation.
Someone had used a backdoor in the organization's information transmission system to stir up trouble.
And the only people in the organization with this level of technical skill were Einstein and Tesla.
The two of them were undoubtedly not the culprits, which meant this was a huge problem.
This was someone from within the organization colluding with an outsider, breaching the organization's communication system, and then instigating Raiden Mei's direct awakening as a Herrscher...
CO! CO! LI! A!
*You bastard, it's bad enough you're causing internal strife in the organization, but you also sold out Anti-Entropy's system for another organization to invade?!*
*You...*
*—Do you have any idea what you're doing right now!*
....