At Schicksal Headquarters—
"Overseer, Lady Theresa and Durandal have returned… but as for Lady Fu Hua…"
"Continue."
Still seated, Otto didn't even lift his head.
He kept replaying the footage—
The moment his God-Slayer Spear pierced straight through the Fourth Herrscher.
After his stigmata-steel body was casually destroyed, he'd truly considered fleeing.
But the Fourth Herrscher took Void Archives and the two gems…
…and simply left.
She didn't attack the headquarters any further.
It was a relief—
But only temporary.
Because the crisis had not been solved.
Schicksal now had nothing—not even the faintest method—to threaten the Fourth Herrscher anymore.
Theresa's Divine Grace Barrier?
—Completely ineffective.
The God-Slayer Spear + Black Abyss White Flower?
—Also useless. She even mocked him for it.
Durandal and the Immortal: both defeated.
One weapon stolen, the other utterly ineffective.
The only remaining powers humans could still rely on—
the Moonlight Throne of Anti-Entropy,
and the entity behind World Serpent.
And then there was another anomaly:
Throughout the entire series of events, the Fourth Herrscher's Honkai energy level…
never once changed from 2000HW.
Not in New Zealand.
Not at Schicksal HQ.
Not during city-level destruction.
Not during any fight.
Impossible. Completely impossible.
Even the weaker Third Herrscher registered over 3,000HW at awakening.
The Fourth Herrscher could not be weaker than that—
especially not with that level of power.
So was she voluntarily suppressing it?
And if so—
Why? What was she hiding?
Then there was the strange omission:
She took the Void Core from K423.
But left the Conquest Gem inside Raiden Mei.
Why?
What was her purpose?
For the first time in centuries, Otto found himself truly bewildered.
"…Lady Fu Hua is likely beyond saving."
Rita hesitated, then delivered the news.
She already knew:
The Fourth Herrscher was unlike any before her.
Not even Schicksal's finest could stand against her.
Fu Hua dying in battle—something once unimaginable—had now happened.
"She won't die so easily," Otto said calmly.
"But we don't have the luxury of waiting twenty years.
Rita, treat her external wounds and place her in the regeneration pod."
Fu Hua could revive—eventually.
But Otto needed her far sooner.
"…Understood."
Rita bowed and left without questioning the secret.
"Grandpa!"
"Overseer!"
Durandal and Theresa entered.
Rita passed them with a polite bow on the way out.
"Overseer," Durandal asked immediately,
"How did the Fourth Herrscher cross nearly twenty thousand kilometers from New Zealand to HQ in such a short time?"
They heard the news on the way back.
The sheer speed was terrifying.
"We'll get to that later. Theresa—what about the Moonlight Throne?"
Otto had no time for side questions.
With both the Divine Grace Barrier and the God-Slayer Spear failing,
the Moonlight Throne became their final trump card.
"Yes. It's being refitted as we speak.
I plan to mount it onto the Hyperion."
Theresa took a breath.
"But to activate it at full output, we need four Herrscher cores.
Right now we can gather at most two.
And we still need time."
"With two cores?"
Otto finally turned, intrigued.
Which cores?
Walther's?
Or had Anti-Entropy found another?
"Mei's Conquest Gem, and Walter's Herrscher Core.
Though… we haven't told Walter yet."
Theresa answered dryly, already predicting Otto's smirk.
"Hiding it from him?
Are Einstein and Tesla planning to use Walter's core as a bargaining chip to rejoin Schicksal?"
Otto chuckled.
"Don't act like you don't know," Theresa snapped.
"Anyway—we intend to rescue Walter from the Quantum Sea."
"Oh? That sounds like… the perfect opportunity to eliminate Anti-Entropy."
Otto tapped his chair lightly, amused.
"You—!
Unbelievable!
Even now, you're thinking about that?!"
Theresa was furious.
Einstein and Tesla had trusted him—
trusted that he would put aside past grudges in the face of the Fourth Herrscher.
And his first reaction was still plotting.
"Hahaha. My dear granddaughter—relax.
I was only joking.
That said…"
Otto's smile faded slightly.
"…the Quantum Sea holds more than just Walter."
Theresa froze.
"What do you mean?!"
Otto looked up at them, eyes sharpening.
"World Serpent's master."
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