"Irene, you should know what your actions mean, right?" Theresa, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up. "Are you really sure this is necessary?"
"I'm sorry to Kiana, I know." Irene nodded. "After this is over, I will go find Kiana myself."
As she spoke, Irene stood up and bowed deeply to the two of them. "And I'm very sorry. I took advantage of your trust in me and made you worry."
Seeing Irene's apology, Theresa was speechless for a moment. "Is this why you've been refusing to tell us what you've been doing lately, Irene?"
"I'm sorry, there are many things I cannot say." Irene maintained her bowing posture. "But I promise this won't happen again."
"...You could actually place a little more trust in us." Theresa helped Irene up. "Just what kind of future have you experienced? What exactly is Grandpa trying to do?"
"I did this so that Otto wouldn't take any extreme measures. In the events I experienced, if Otto failed to get his way, he would resort to direct kidnapping, using violent infusion methods to forcibly awaken Sirin."
As Irene spoke, she took out Wendy's card and placed it against her body. Amidst a hurricane, Irene transformed into Wendy's appearance right in front of them.
"That is my personal experience." At this moment, Irene's voice carried a reverberating mix of both her and Wendy's voices. Himeko's eyes widened as she looked at Wendy before her.
"Wait, you're Wendy?"
"To be precise, I'm a soul, Teacher Himeko." Wendy took over Irene's body, raising her hands in a ghostly gesture. "Mm, I'm already dead. Right now, I reside within Miss Irene's body as one of her powers."
"If Teacher Himeko wants proof, let me think..." Wendy pondered for a moment before recounting a few minor incidents from her student days.
"Alright, alright, I believe you." Hearing Wendy's words, Himeko nodded. These were indeed things Irene couldn't possibly know.
"Source of power..." Himeko recalled Irene once saying that her abilities were the final echoes of her world. A soul could indeed be called a final echo.
And Wendy's situation was definitely not an isolated case. In other words... Himeko's gaze trembled slightly as she looked at Irene. "So, Irene, all your powers are..."
"They are all the final echoes of that world." Irene looked straight at Himeko. "We witnessed the arrival of the apocalypse. The doomsday that is yet to come for you is a path we once measured with our own eyes and feet."
"Some paths were dead ends... while others were cleared, but at a tremendous cost."
Himeko looked at Irene, then at the look in her eyes, and suddenly felt a chill in her heart. "Wait, what about me?"
"...If things followed the original development." Irene looked at Himeko. Now was the time to lay her cards on the table. "Teacher Himeko, you would sacrifice yourself for Kiana, giving Kiana her Final Lesson."
"Teacher Himeko, your death in the future is right around the corner."
Hearing Irene's words, Theresa immediately looked at Himeko nervously. "Himeko, maybe you should head back first."
"Is it still in time to leave now?" Himeko shook her head, then looked back at Irene. "Besides, Irene, you still have something left unsaid. You said my death in the future is right around the corner."
"But your previous sentence was 'the original trajectory', right?"
"That's right. Sirin will no longer become our enemy, so naturally, there's no need to save anyone." Irene nodded, looking at Himeko. "So there won't be any more problems."
"It seems you really have done quite a lot." Himeko pinched the bridge of her nose. "Forget it. Since that's the case, it seems there's nothing more to say. Anyway, since you're fine now."
"Just come with us to the bridge. I'll go inform the others; everyone has been quite worried about you."
"Mm, no problem." Irene nodded, then looked at Theresa. "I suppose, Theresa, you've already contacted the two from Anti-Entropy?"
"Mm." Theresa nodded. "Of course I contacted them. And both of them have already arrived..."
"They sure move fast." Irene nodded. After all, since it involved those two, they would definitely get involved and be more proactive than anyone else. "Then let's go. I still feel a bit uneasy in my heart."
The three of them quickly arrived at the bridge. At this moment, Tesla and Einstein were on the bridge, synchronizing the Hyperion with their command system. Irene raised her hand and waved at Einstein.
"I suppose it's 'good afternoon' now, Miss Einstein, and Miss Tesla."
"Good afternoon, Miss Irene." Einstein turned her head, giving Irene a calm greeting. "You seem to be recovering well."
"Just lucky." Irene smiled, then suddenly sensed something. She looked back and frowned.
"What's wrong, Irene?"
"Otto has already made his move." Irene pointed behind her. "In that direction, I can sense a very distinct life signature. The shape is that of a dragon."
"If I'm not mistaken, it's probably Benares."
"Benares? Wait, the Emperor-class Honkai Beast that appeared during the Second Eruption? According to the records, didn't it die..." Himeko said subconsciously, but quickly realized what Irene meant.
"That means someone awakened it, or the Honkai awakened it." Theresa frowned. "Then, Irene, have you sensed a noticeable increase in Honkai energy nearby?"
"I have indeed sensed quite a lot of Honkai energy." Irene closed her eyes, carefully feeling the gradually rising Honkai energy in the surroundings. "Moreover, a massive number of Honkai energy signals are accompanied by numerous life signatures. They should be Honkai Beasts born alongside it."
"Then it's basically confirmed." Einstein nodded. "The Second Eruption is about to descend once again. Right now is merely the omen."
"Miss Irene, I would like to ask if your friendship with Miss Sirin includes Benares?"
"It doesn't for the time being. What are you trying to say?"
"What does Benares represent? I believe Miss Irene should know." Einstein looked at Irene. "Therefore, Miss Irene, I hope St. Freya can..."
"You said 'hope', right?" Irene tilted her head slightly to look at Einstein, interrupting her words. "That means this is your personal request?"
"You could say that." Einstein nodded. "It can be considered a personal request, or a consideration out of rationality."
"Then, your request is denied." Irene shook her head. "Kiana is not the Second Herrscher, nor will she be the resurrected Sirin. She is my friend."
"Very beautifully said, Miss Irene." Right at that moment, the console screen suddenly lit up. Otto, bearing his cynical smile, appeared on the screen.
"Oh, done eavesdropping?" Irene looked up at Otto on the screen. Thanks to Little Corruption's warning, Irene had just noticed that Otto had silently hacked in.
"I've only just arrived, so it can hardly be called eavesdropping." Otto raised his wine glass toward Irene. "Nice to meet you, Miss Irene. Though perhaps, to me, this is more than just a first meeting."
"Grandpa." Theresa glared at Otto on the screen. "Why are you doing this? What benefit does this bring you? Just what is your goal?"
"What I want to do is actually quite simple." Otto swirled his wine. "Resurrecting the Second Herrscher is my goal."
"But you cannot control her." Einstein looked at Otto. "Right now, Schicksal's side should also be tied down by a massive number of Honkai Beasts, shouldn't it?"
"It's still enough to deal with you all." Otto didn't deny it, nor did he answer the other question. "So, prepare to go back. After this period passes, everything will get better, I promise."
"A promise from a guy like you is just as worthless as a peace treaty." Tesla clenched her fists. "Holding a nuclear bomb you can't even control yourself, aren't you afraid this thing will blow you half to death first?"
"I naturally have my methods, Dr. Tesla." Otto smiled at Tesla, then looked somewhat gently at Theresa.
"Go back, Theresa. Everyone has a rebellious phase. Grandpa won't blame you for your 'childishness'."
"How truly gentle of you, Grandpa." Theresa took a deep breath. In her mind echoed the image of that missile streaking across the sky and that field of blood-red flowers spreading across the ground.
"But this time, I will absolutely not make the same mistake again."
"I support you, Theresa." Irene looked at Theresa. "After all, Theresa is already in her fifties, almost reaching menopause. It's high time you stopped being childish."
Theresa, who had just delivered her heroic declaration, suddenly stumbled. She turned her head and glared angrily at Irene. "Couldn't you just let me act cool for once?"
"Because this role just doesn't suit you." Irene chuckled, stepping forward and patting Theresa's head. "You should just stick to being cute. Leave the cool stuff to me~"
"Oh, on this point, I must praise Miss Irene's taste. After all, my granddaughter is the #1 Cutie in the world." On the screen, Otto also raised his glass to Irene. He didn't mind lightening the mood a little at a time like this, though it could also be seen as kicking them while they were down.
"You two..." Theresa clenched her small fists. Faintly, one could almost hear the sound of a kettle boiling from somewhere inexplicable. "Irene, I'll settle this score with you later."
"Haha, my apologies, my apologies. Just a little joke, granddaughter." After chuckling, the expression on Otto's face lost some of its cynicism as he looked at Irene.
"However, Miss Irene, I am a little bit curious. As the Herrscher of Death, how exactly did you sustain heavy injuries?"
Hearing Otto's inquiry, Irene frowned. A sense of unease truly surged in her heart.
And Otto didn't seem to want to hear Irene's reply, directly continuing, "As the Herrscher of Death, Miss Irene certainly wouldn't suffer heavy injuries. Yet, everyone's reports are telling me that you were critically injured by the Thunder Mecha's missiles."
"I can only think of one possibility. Miss Irene is acting. But I pondered, who exactly is Miss Irene acting for?"
As Otto spoke, he pointed at himself. "I thought about it and could only come up with one possibility. Miss Irene is acting for me. As for the goal..."
"Miss Irene wants me to think that everything is proceeding smoothly according to plan. But I can't figure it out, why? Miss Irene, could you explain a little for me?"
The expression on Irene's face instantly darkened. She had been exposed after all. As expected, no matter what, she couldn't underestimate Otto. "Since Mr. Otto is so smart, why don't you take a guess yourself?"
"Mm, regarding this, I choose not to guess." Otto wagged his finger. "After all, guessing now has no meaning. You will definitely come to save Kiana, won't you?"
"Miss Irene, you have indeed successfully hidden from my sight for a very, very long time. But now, regardless of what Miss Irene's original goal was, you must all come to save Miss Kiana now, right?"
"As the King chess piece that has remained hidden until now, is Miss Irene ready to face the chessboard I have set up?"
Irene fell silent for a moment before looking at Otto. "A clash of Kings on the chessboard, Mr. Otto has already set up heavy encirclements at Schicksal, right?"
"But I'm also very curious about one thing. What meaning does doing this have for your plan? I know very well that what you want isn't Sirin."
Otto was slightly taken aback. He set down the wine glass in his hand, then applauded Irene. "Color me surprised. It seems Miss Irene is remarkably familiar with me."
"However, just as Miss Irene has been keeping things from me, why don't you guess for yourself exactly what I want to do? I eagerly await your arrival."
"After all, no matter what, you will have to come over to either save Kiana or save Sirin. I look forward to your performance, and I also hope what I do next won't affect that little friendship between you two."
Irene immediately noticed something and demanded, "Otto, what did you do to her?"
"Please rest assured, I haven't done anything yet." After Otto calmly finished his sentence, he directly hung up the comms.
"..." Irene looked at the disconnected comms and frowned. "Tsk, what exactly is this guy trying to do?"
"Miss Irene, I don't recommend overthinking it." Einstein looked at the pensive Irene. "Mr. Otto might just be bluffing. He might genuinely not have done anything."
"Do you actually believe that? Miss Einstein." Irene shook her head. "Otto is the classic type who won't release the falcon until he sees the hare. I don't believe he's done nothing."
"But we can't possibly do nothing now either. Doing nothing would make it even easier to fall into a trap, right?" Tesla looked at Irene. "If you ask me, we should just push straight through. Who cares what kind of sinister plots he has, we'll smash them all."
"..." Irene nodded. "I know, which is why I haven't exactly been doing nothing either. Let me introduce you to one of my trump cards."
As soon as Irene finished speaking, the screen next to them flashed brightly, and Little Corruption's figure appeared on it. "Hello everyone, I'm Little Corruption, also known as the Herrscher of Corruption."
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