This was not a lie. Dr. Tesla had indeed been smashed senseless by Dr. Schrödinger earlier. It was only just now that Reanna Brigantia had revived her. And then, without warning, Vill-V's overwhelmingly oppressive Cosmic Juggernaut had appeared out of thin air.
Tesla had no idea what kind of image her future self held in the eyes of the girl before her, so she immediately adjusted her attitude. After all, she couldn't embarrass her future self. She absolutely couldn't ruin her future teacher's refined and elegant image.
Vill-V, however, instantly exposed Tesla's pretense. "It's fine, Mentor Tesla. Hehe. In the future, you're still just as—distinctive—a scientist as ever."
"You brat, are you itching to experience what it feels like to get sent flying? If you've got something against this genius, just say it straight. What kind of hero beats around the bush like that?" Refined Tesla lasted exactly one sentence before snapping.
Although Dr. Einstein still wore her usual poker face, the more Tesla looked at her, the more she felt that she was holding back laughter. So she quickly defended herself. "How is that possible? Future me must be even more dashing and heroic. There's no way I'd still be—"
"Yes, yes," Dr. Einstein said in the tone one might use to comfort a child. "Dr. Tesla is a passionate and highly creative scientist..."
Pfft. Reanna couldn't hold back her laughter and lowered her long spear.
Her vigilance toward Vill-V diminished considerably.
At this distance, there was no need to use Abyss Flower. Abyss Flower was more for guarding against that enormous Divine Key. If Vill-V made any sudden move, Reanna was confident she could subdue her barehanded.
As Schicksal's strongest S-rank Valkyrie in the past century, Reanna could even deal with an Unknown-class Honkai Beast with her bare hands. The girl in front of her couldn't possibly be stronger than an Unknown-class Honkai Beast, could she?
At the very least, Reanna could tell that Vill-V had no combat experience whatsoever. Every movement of hers indicated that she was simply an untrained ordinary girl.
Moreover, having undergone full-body soulium reconstruction, Reanna could sense that there was something inside Vill-V's chest, but she could not recognize it as a Herrscher Core.
"Mmm..." A man's pained groan came from the ground. He seemed to be regaining consciousness.
Hearing the sound, Dr. Einstein immediately ran over and knelt beside him. "Welt!"
Tesla and Reanna hurried over as well to check on Welt's condition.
After all, Welt was their precious treasure right now. Nothing could be allowed to happen to him.
Vill-V turned to the cowgirl dressed in western attire standing by the wall and the dark-skinned bunny girl beside her. "You two over there can put down the typewriters in your hands."
They've been holding up those two chunks of iron this whole time. Are girls in the Honkai world all this strong? Why can't I even lift them? Vill-V glanced at her slender arms and thought.
After hearing her, they lowered the Thompson submachine guns in their hands.
"It seems this young lady bears no hostility. It was all a misunderstanding." The cowgirl touched the brim of her hat. "Hello, miss. Welcome to Hartford by the Connecticut River. My name is Elaine. I'm a ranger. This nurse here is Hellawes."
On the other side, the hand Reanna pressed against Welt's chest began to shine with a sacred light.
"I am the black that rises from the abyss. I am the white that descends from the clouds. Born before creation, existing after annihilation. I will give freely to the thirsty the water from the spring of life. Abyss Flower, Zeroth Power—Heilige Lanze Welwitschia!"
The land that had been destroyed by Schrödinger and Welt was once again granted life. Under the warm radiance, tender shoots of countless flowers pushed up from the earth.
Witnessing this scene, Tesla couldn't help but exclaim, "As expected of the Sixth Divine Key—Abyss Flower—combining decomposition and creation into one. This ability to reconstruct cells is nothing short of a medical miracle. As long as there's still a single breath left, it can bring someone back."
Then, her interest in research was piqued again. Resting her chin in her hand, she muttered to herself, "But Reanna shouldn't have this guy's precise DNA double-helix structural model, right? Does Abyss Flower come with a built-in human genetic blueprint? If the human genetic blueprint is universal—no, that's not right..."
Looking at the beautiful and sacred girl, Vill-V couldn't help but sigh in admiration. "Sure enough, only in the hands of a beautiful and sacred maiden can Abyss Flower release its true radiant beauty."
Unfortunately, after Elysia, no one in the Previous Era had been able to use it.
Elysia was beautiful, of course, but she probably wouldn't be willing to call her adorable self sacred. Amen.
Or maybe I could design a pink-on-the-outside, black-on-the-inside flower for Elysia in the future?
A spear that looks soft and pink on the surface, but when you split it open, the shaft inside is black. Then you could shout, "My lady, times have changed!" and draw it out in one swift—American-style iaido with a spear.
Reanna's aged face flushed slightly at those words.
It wasn't that she was shy.
It was just that being praised as a beautiful and sacred maiden—when she was over a hundred years old and had slaughtered countless enemies—made her feel unworthy. Compared to the legendary Saint of Schicksal, Kallen, she was still far inferior.
Remembering that Vill-V also possessed a Divine Key, Reanna kindly reminded her, "Yes, the power of a Divine Key is indeed formidable. But if it falls into the hands of evil, it can cause unimaginable disasters. And for the user, it also brings immense burden. Your Divine Key—does it not require you to pay any price?"
Like Abyss Flower, each use of its Zeroth Rated Power would permanently necrotize a portion of the user's cells. That was why Reanna had been forced to replace her entire body with soulium.
As for the Seventh Divine Key · Judgment of Shamash, each release demanded the user's life as the price.
If there existed a Divine Key that required no cost, then one had to be wary.
Vill-V, however, showed no concern at all. She replied casually, "Oh, you mean the Second Divine Key · Cosmic Juggernaut? Side effects? Of course there are. But I can still handle them for now. Easy-peasy. My body's in great shape!"
As she spoke, she even rolled up her sleeve, revealing her slender and delicate arm.
Upon hearing the title of the Second Divine Key, Dr. Tesla thought silently, The Second Divine Key? We just found the Ninth Divine Key · Star of Eden on the Path of Freedom, and now, just a day later, we've encountered the Second Divine Key · Cosmic Juggernaut. Three Divine Keys have coincidentally gathered here. Is something major about to happen?
As the situation grew increasingly complex, an unease rose in Tesla's heart. She hoped this wouldn't truly herald the outbreak of a Second Honkai Eruption. That was where Nancy worked.
During the Berlin disaster, aside from Welt, not a single person survived—and Welt wasn't even human.
If a Honkai calamity on the scale of the Berlin disaster were to erupt there, Nancy, standing at the epicenter, likely wouldn't escape either.