At the same time. Nagazora City.
Yae Sakura, whose body was being controlled by Higokumaru, gradually regained her consciousness.
From that day five hundred years ago until now, she had been in this muddled state.
Yae Sakura, sometimes lucid and sometimes confused, knew one thing very clearly.
Having long ceased to be human, she could no longer control her body as freely as in the past.
As Higokumaru's control over her increased, sooner or later, her body would be completely taken over by this demon fox.
But right now, Yae Sakura, whose body was gradually being dominated by Higokumaru, felt like...
This fox manipulating her, right now seemed a little... panicked?
Strange, this fox actually feels panic... is there something here that makes it uneasy?
Yae Sakura, who had been slumbering before, certainly didn't know Higokumaru's current train of thought.
Initially, Higokumaru, controlling Yae Sakura's body, felt that there was an opportunity after sensing that the massive Honkai energy generated by the awakening of the Herrscher of Thunder had simultaneously catalyzed the awakening of another Herrscher.
Although the Herrscher of Thunder and Higokumaru, as the [Herrscher of Corruption], both count as members of the 'Apostles of God', that kind of little girl who just awakened her power would definitely be inferior to her in terms of combat power.
Sneak over quietly, steal the cores of the Herrscher of Thunder and the other Pseudo-Herrscher, and then use the cores of these two guys to make herself stronger. Then she could perfectly dominate Yae Sakura's body and mind.
And after perfectly dominating Yae Sakura's body and mind, Lady Higokumaru, possessing multiple cores, would grandly live out a second life. Heck yeah!
Initially, Higokumaru indeed thought so.
But when she controlled Yae Sakura's body and started moving towards the direction of the Herrscher of Thunder's awakening, Higokumaru began to feel that something wasn't right.
At first, a short battle erupted in the area where the Herrscher of Thunder was. Higokumaru didn't take this to heart.
After all, as the younger sister of a Previous Era MANTIS, Higokumaru also knew some intelligence.
At least based on the information she knew from her sister, normally speaking, a fight between a human and a Herrscher couldn't be decided in one minute.
But soon, Higokumaru started to feel something was wrong.
In her senses, the Herrscher of Thunder's energy fluctuations... disappeared???
Even if a Herrscher is defeated, or even killed, the core inside their body should still constantly emit energy fluctuations.
But now, the Herrscher of Thunder's energy fluctuations completely disappeared. What does this mean?
This means that the Herrscher of Thunder was truly 'defeated' in a short time and was conveniently recovered by someone using special equipment!
Then this situation is not good.
How high the Herrscher of Thunder's newly awakened combat power was, Higokumaru dared not assert.
But under an inexplicable fear, Higokumaru, whose brain was forced to run at high speed, immediately made a judgment.
Since the opponent could blow up the newly awakened Herrscher of Thunder in one minute, they could definitely blow up her, the Herrscher of Corruption whose power had depleted quite a bit, in a few minutes.
And the matter didn't end there.
Higokumaru had originally considered squatting nearby to observe the situation, after all, besides the newly awakened Herrscher of Thunder, there were other existences with considerable Honkai energy intensity searching for something within Nagazora City.
If the existence that defeated the Herrscher of Thunder fought with those people, maybe she could pick up some scraps depending on the situation.
But after a while, Higokumaru discovered an awkward thing.
The other Pseudo-Herrscher who awakened together with the Herrscher of Thunder had been absorbing nearby Honkai energy to become stronger.
But after a battle that lasted less than a minute with a certain existence, her Honkai energy intensity also seemed to drop drastically.
In the end, the feeling that Pseudo-Herrscher gave Higokumaru became one of being on the verge of death.
Considering what happened before, Higokumaru felt it was better to stay away from that terrifying battlefield right now.
Picking up scraps also depends on the situation. If she foolishly drilled her head into a place where Herrschers were continuously getting knocked out, that would be pure retardation.
The current Higokumaru, instead of rushing towards the battlefield, was constantly moving in the opposite direction.
While trying to suppress her presence, she was also worried about whether the guy who consecutively defeated two Herrschers would chase after her... To be honest, since she awakened as a Herrscher, she had never been this stifled!
Damn it, why is the oppression this guy gives me so strong... Not even many MANTISes gave me this kind of feeling.
Five hundred years after that incident in Yae Village, have the brats of the Current Era become this terrifying?!
................
After a brief exchange with Siegfried, Aaron informed Siegfried of two things: 'Kiana and Mei are both in Soukai City' and 'This little girl here is a Pseudo-Herrscher'. He also suggested that this girl had good potential and recommended taking her back to Anti-Entropy so the First Herrscher could properly teach her how to control her power.
Although he didn't see Raiden Mei and his own second daughter, considering that this man seemed to have no need to deceive him with such an easily exposed lie, Siegfried immediately believed the other party's statement.
As for how to retreat with people...
Originally, Siegfried came to Nagazora City not only out of worry for his daughter but also to prevent Cocolia from laying a murderous hand on Ryoma's daughter.
Now that neither his own daughter nor Ryoma's daughter was in Nagazora City, if he, a Schicksal traitor, stayed in this place, it would only make things difficult for his old friend Theresa.
The Hyperion is probably nearby. If Theresa sees him then, should she arrest him or not?
If she arrests him, he won't surrender obediently, and a fight is inevitable, which means Theresa's subordinates will suffer.
If she doesn't arrest him... Heh, that bastard Otto will definitely use this matter to cause trouble.
Even if Otto dotes on Theresa, this 'doting' is limited to a certain range.
Whether Theresa letting Siegfried escape would exceed this scope, Siegfried felt it was hard to say.
Although the Quantum Teleportation System is not very stable yet, the fact that Dr. Einstein dared to bring it out for Siegfried to use means that the so-called 'unstable' is very likely just Dr. Einstein's modest way of speaking.
"Is that so... Then I'll take this little girl back first."
Watching Aaron use hypnosis magecraft to knock Yuno out for the second time, Siegfried whispered to Aaron.
"Young man, this child..."
"Her parents are dead. Anyway, Anti-Entropy should know the procedure for this kind of orphan."
Scratching his hair in distress, Aaron said helplessly.
"I'm an orphan, but that doesn't mean I know how to persuade orphans to step out of this desperate situation. Don't do things you don't understand; it's better to leave this kind of thing to the professionals at Anti-Entropy—don't tell me you guys at Anti-Entropy don't have staff like psychologists and grief counselors."
"We certainly do—after all, Anti-Entropy was originally the North American Branch of Schicksal. Anti-Entropy has actually borrowed from Schicksal's relevant systems."
Glancing at Yuno, whose face still held lingering terror, Siegfried sighed helplessly.
"It's just that the difference between Anti-Entropy and Schicksal in this aspect is that Otto will have people deliberately guide the girls' hatred towards the Honkai, thereby inducing them to choose the path of a Valkyrie. Whereas Anti-Entropy... at least removed this clause."
Letting the girl join St. Freya Academy... this idea had once flashed through Siegfried's mind.
But soon, he tossed this ridiculous idea aside.
He certainly trusted Theresa's character, but the problem was... Theresa having good character didn't mean her intelligence was problem-free.
Okay, Theresa's intelligence is also normal most of the time, but the problem is that both the Far East Branch and St. Freya Academy are inevitably under Otto's surveillance. Letting this girl enter that academy... is it appropriate???
Siegfried still hadn't found the answer to why Otto threw a Honkai Fissure Missile at him back then, but during the post-event review, Siegfried already knew that when Welt had the chance to kill Sirin, the clown who interrupted Welt's quasi-black hole was Otto.
Otto has an inexplicable obsession with Herrschers. God knows how Otto would torment this Pseudo-Herrscher girl if she went there.
As for Theresa... she can't stop Otto.
Just a while ago, Otto wanted Theresa to recommend a Valkyrie to participate in the artificial Herrscher experiment. Theresa couldn't refuse Otto's request and recommended a girl with S-rank Valkyrie potential.
If this girl with a Pseudo-Herrscher core entered St. Freya Academy...
Siegfried felt he could already imagine her future fate.
*Sigh*, obviously the situation has improved so much, but why does my head still hurt so much when I think about the future?
Otto... if that dog of a thief decided not to cause trouble one day, they would definitely have it much easier.
"Wait, you want me to take her away... then what about you?"
Siegfried, who was ready to transfer, looked at Aaron who started moving his limbs, and suddenly spoke nervously.
"You've already knocked out two Herrschers, why are you still staying in Nagazora City?"
"Oh, there are actually... two more Herrschers in Nagazora City. One Pseudo-Herrscher, and one Herrscher of Corruption—this one hasn't died since the Previous Era."
"I won't say much about the danger of the Herrscher of Corruption; you'll understand after you go back to Anti-Entropy and chat with those friends of yours."
Herrscher of Corruption... How could Siegfried not know the terror of this Herrscher.
As the head of the Kaslana clan, the [Knight] house of the original Schicksal Three Houses, Siegfried had near top-level clearance within the Schicksal database.
And in the past when he hadn't rebelled, he had looked through some of the data inside.
According to that data, the 12th Herrscher's [Authority of Corruption] awakened after she died, and that authority had extremely strong control over electronics.
Anyway, the last few cities of the Previous Era were destroyed by their own weapons after the 12th Herrscher corrupted the weapon launch systems.
And now, Aaron is telling Siegfried—this thing isn't dead???
In an instant, Siegfried felt a massive amount of cold sweat seeping out of his body.
A Herrscher that activates its authority only after death, and this Herrscher's authority can manipulate human weapons.
Most of the technology in the Current Era is derived from the Previous Era. If the Previous Era couldn't defend against the Herrscher's authority... the Current Era definitely can't defend against it either!
And now, if the Herrscher of Corruption really awakened in Nagazora City...
Siegfried, who had briefly been the strongest man on earth, felt his remaining hand trembling a little.
The Herrscher of Corruption activates its characteristics after death. The best way to deal with this kind of Herrscher is to imprison and protect it carefully while it doesn't know its own abilities.
But now, the Herrscher of Corruption already knows its abilities. Then as long as the opponent finds a place to commit suicide at the right time, humanity of the Current Era is done for.
If the enemy was just powerful, Siegfried wouldn't be this panicked.
But this enemy's strength isn't high, yet its authority is enough to pose a huge threat to human society.
What makes Siegfried feel even more overwhelmed is that he feels he can't think of any way to stop the opponent.
"Ah, but you don't need to panic like this."
Seeing Siegfried shaking his body incessantly as if he had Parkinson's, Aaron gently patted the other's shoulder and said to Siegfried.
"I have the ability and should be able to handle her. You just do your own thing."
"Although I really want to ask where exactly you come from, young man, but..."
After taking a deep look at Aaron, Siegfried smiled bitterly and helplessly.
"You definitely won't tell me either, right."
"That's not it, mainly because there's no time today. Ah, right, I forgot. One more thing..."
After hesitating for a few seconds, Aaron took a deep breath and formed an invisible blade using the power of Magnetic Field Rotation.
Under Siegfried's incredibly shocked gaze, Aaron used this invisible blade to chop off his own left arm.
Although in the previous battle, Aaron had confirmed that the spirit 'Guts' could heal even his internal organs, he hadn't tried whether he could use Guts to directly regenerate a limb after it was severed.
Today counts as taking this opportunity to run a test. If it works, then everything is smooth. If not... use Magnetic Field Rotation to forcefully reattach the hand, what else can I do.
[Spirit Command: Guts, Activate!]
Accompanied by a drop in his mental energy, under Siegfried's incredibly terrified gaze...
—From the stump of Aaron's left arm, another left arm forcibly grew out just like that.
....................