That's the open strategy, Theresa.
Kyuusyou leaned casually against a container at the airport, humming a light tune. She had just extricated herself from the complex tasks of reorganizing the troops and establishing a new command structure.
I know you're eager to find your niece, but rushing won't help—
We can exploit the Overseer's weakness—his overprotective nature towards his daughter—and, under Snow's name, seize control of half of Schicksal Headquarters to bolster our future efforts. Otto Apocalypse can similarly leverage our objectives, using half of Schicksal to stall our advance.
I understand, Kyuusyou, but...
But the longer we delay... the greater the danger to Kiana and the more complicated our situation becomes, right?
Theresa nodded, completing Kyuusyou's thought:
Muninn has gone missing. No one at the Academy has found her. We can only speculate that she either slipped out to play or was captured by Grandpa. Wendy, serving as a deterrent to the European branches, preventing them from supporting Schicksal Headquarters, is now roaming erratically across Europe. While the Oceania Branch stands with us, they are still recovering from the Fourth Honkai Eruption and haven't fully recovered.
"While the West Asia Branch stands with us, Honkai activity in the region has recently surged again, leaving them unable to spare any combat personnel to assist us."
"You need to look at this from a different perspective, Theresa. Ah... you sound like a textbook pessimist right now—"
Kyuusyou shrugged and explained:
"Wendy's actions have pinned down all European Branch reinforcements, even causing two branches to defect and join our side. We never expected military support from the West Asia Branch anyway—what we value is their financial backing. They're oil tycoons swimming in wealth."
"As for the Oceania Branch—being truly beyond the reach of imperial authority in distant Oceania—their close ties with Anti-Entropy make them ideal as our fallback base and springboard."
"And Muninn... think of it this way, Theresa: that Herrscher who can transform into intangible Memory might be residing within Kiana's body, or rather, her mind? After all, the two of them have always been quite close, haven't they?"
Kyuusyou paused, watching Theresa's furrowed brow gradually relax, and continued:
"Besides, if we're talking about urgency... the Overseer is probably no better off than we are right now..."
Kyuusyou smirked, a hint of amusement in her eyes.
"Grandpa? Why is he in such a hurry?" Theresa asked, her curiosity piqued.
"I just had Mr. Joyce help you for a while. Knowing the Overseer's nature, Schicksal Third Airport is undoubtedly under his surveillance right now."
"So Grandpa saw Mr. Joyce?"
"Precisely. I deliberately let Mr. Joyce, the true First Herrscher, make an appearance before the Overseer."
"Now the Overseer is even more anxious than we are. He'll be desperate to accelerate his plans. If Overseer Otto's stalling tactics initially slowed our progress, leaving us in a state of frantic confusion..."
"Now the Overseer will experience that same feeling himself. He knows full well the First Herrscher's capabilities. The time he bought by sacrificing half of Schicksal has now become a stone he's hoisted only to drop on his own foot."
"Given enough time, Welt Joyce can amass a formidable force. And that's exactly what he's doing now."
"He's desperate, and so are we. This mutual urgency neutralizes each other's desperation—neither of us can gain an advantage through sheer haste."
-
"Mr. Joyce will soon have to face his old friend—Schicksal Overseer Otto."
"And we, Headmaster, will have to deal with an old friend of yours too."
Kyuusyou gazed at Schicksal's central island, where Kiana was currently located. The Schicksal Overseer was likely growing impatient.
"Old friend? What old friend of mine needs dealing with...?"
Theresa, caught off guard, looked utterly perplexed.
"The Second Herrscher, Sirin—doesn't she count as an old friend? The other consciousness within Kiana's body—you should be well aware of that."
"Oh, wait, that body was originally created for a Herrscher anyway..."
The purple-haired Valkyrie leaned against a shipping container, rhythmically tapping her fingers against the metal as she revealed their ultimate enemy.
"Wait, Kyuusyou, you know about Kiana's—?!"
"I met her nominal father, Siegfried Kaslana, in Singapore."
Kyuusyou deftly shifted the blame onto Siegfried, who wasn't even present, effectively cutting off Theresa's questions.
"I see... wait a minute?! You met Siegfried back then? But the mission report—"
"Oh, my dear Headmaster Theresa—when we went to Singapore, it was for a vacation. Only Fu Hua and Kiana were actually on a mission."
"Kiana touched the Gem of Serenity and awakened Sirin's Herrscher Consciousness. Snow happened to pass by and knocked her unconscious. Besides, Fu Hua had only brought Kiana along to earn academy credits, so naturally, she wouldn't have seen Siegfried or mentioned him to you."
"As for Fu Hua—the very same Fu Hua who knocked Kiana unconscious and kidnapped her to Headquarters—do you really think she'd tell you the truth?"
"As for us, we only started writing proper mission reports after Simon arrived, so there's even less hope of getting anything useful from us."
Kyuusyou whistled, brushing the topic aside.
"Fine... Just how many secrets are you and Snow hiding?" Theresa muttered under her breath. Then, remembering the old friend they'd mentioned earlier, she fell silent.
"Sirin... Grandpa, why did he want to awaken the Second Herrscher? The pain and suffering she inflicted on humanity during the Second Eruption should have been enough. Why revive her again?"
"He had his reasons, and we have our own objectives, Headmaster Theresa. Understanding your opponent is something you do after the dust settles."
"We don't need to understand him now—even if he wants to reverse time, resurrect the dead, and make withered branches sprout new leaves again..."
"That has nothing to do with us right now. We don't have the luxury to dwell on such matters. Let's focus on doing what we must."
"Theresa, the war has already begun. It's a continuation of the last one—countless warriors have gathered here for her sake. Whether the tragedy of sixteen years ago will repeat itself now depends on us."
"The Schicksal Overseer who awakened and resurrected Sirin, your 'dear' Grandpa Otto Apocalypse, is destined not to appear on the battlefield against her until his objectives are achieved. Moreover—he will become our obstacle. Oh, of course—Mr. Joyce still has much to say to him."