"But Captain Himeko, your body..."
Hearing this, a Valkyrie standing nearby spoke with concern.
"Even if I don't wear that battlesuit, I won't live much longer anyway," Himeko said with a carefree air. "Compared to dying in a hospital bed, having a grand, final fight to the death with a Herrscher is a fine choice."
"That is all. This is a military order!"
Upon hearing this, the Valkyries could only suppress their grief, salute her, and turn to prepare for the evacuation.
Himeko also turned away, her expression complex, and prepared to equip Fusion Armor Crimson.
This was a special suit based on an old Schicksal Valkyrie Battlesuit model, modified with the Nexus System that was still in testing. It possessed two forms: a fully armed heavy type and a light type for easy movement.
In its light state, the armor could operate independently. However, to unleash the true power of the Nexus System, it had to be connected to a large-scale power supply in its full-armored state.
When driven by energy at the level of a warship, its output would reach a level surpassing even an Emperor-class Honkai Beast. However, if operated for a long time, the armor itself would face the danger of overloading.
As a system specialized entirely for enhancement, the Nexus System had almost no safety features in its design. Therefore, the Far East Branch also classified this system as a last resort.
In other words, once this armor was activated, it was equivalent to burning away the little life she had left.
But for Himeko... sigh.
This so-called precious life was already reaching its end.
Right then, Bronya's side was finally ready for the intrusion.
"Captain Himeko!" a staff officer in the Hyperion command room suddenly reported. "An unknown radio transmission is being emitted from the ME Corp headquarters... Should we patch it through?"
"What? At a time like this?" Himeko stopped in her tracks. She had not forgotten that her mission was not just to fight a Herrscher to the death, as no one expected her to actually succeed.
Her task was simple: gather as much intelligence as possible before Schicksal's large-scale operation, figure out exactly what happened in this city, who the Herrscher of Thunder was, and what her attitude was toward humans.
And now, this ME Corp headquarters—wrapped in the radiant Erdtree and the very ground zero of the Third Great Honkai Eruption—was suddenly sending out a radio signal. She could not ignore such a thing.
"Connect the channel. Let's see what this information is," Himeko ordered immediately.
"Understood, connecting now!" The staff officer tapped away at the controls, successfully relaying the radio signal into the command room.
Then, a cheerful burst of music left everyone staring at each other in bewilderment.
Everywhere is Silly (Theresa Version).
'Captain, have you finished your missions? Or are you slacking off again?'
Hearing this, everyone recognized that this was the voice of their beloved Academy Principal, Theresa.
'You said you love Theresa the most...'
At this point, the looks everyone gave Himeko became rather strange.
Theresa's status went without saying, but as for the Captain... the Far East Branch only had one warship, so as for who the Captain was...
Everyone looked at the stiff figure in the center of the command room.
Well, among the many Valkyries of Schicksal, being a lily... was not uncommon. They just hadn't expected... that you two played so wildly in private?
The music continued.
'...Is Theresa not cute enough? Woah~ don't touch Theresa's head, let me give you a Theresa kick!'
"...Captain Himeko," someone finally couldn't take it anymore, looking away while desperately suppressing their curiosity. "Should we cut the transmission?"
"...No, we can't!" Himeko said through gritted teeth. "No matter what this means, the people at ME Corp wouldn't do this just to mess with me. I suspect there might be information hidden within it!"
'I am the magical girl Teriri, the world's number one Teriri, Captain, from now on, hand over your entire salary...'
The song continued. The more it played, the darker Himeko's face became. The surrounding Valkyries and combat staff didn't dare look in her direction.
But privately, they were exchanging glances, eyebrows raised and eyes darting.
No one in the world can resist gossip!
And listening to this voice, it was so lively. This didn't sound like some AI; it was clearly the Academy Principal herself singing, right?
Word was that six months ago, Major Himeko and the Academy Principal went on a business trip to Shenzhou together, and this was in the Shenzhou language, so...
Even though it was wartime, encountering something like this... who could hold back their curiosity?
Himeko's hands trembled slightly.
My... my reputation is ruined...
The song finally reached its end.
'Captain~ have the missions been finished? Is the deck finished being cleaned? Did you not rest well last night? Sleep on Theresa's lap!'
Hearing this, Himeko felt the world go dark.
She leaned shakily against the main console, glancing gloomily around.
No one dared to meet her eyes.
But the way they were winking at each other privately... Wow, what a massive scoop!
Finally, to Himeko's agony, the song ended.
"Save all the audio," Himeko took a deep breath, calming her emotions. "Send it to Theresa!"
"And while you're at it, ask her for me what the hell this means!"
"The operation continues. Everyone, get moving!"
At the same time, various undercover personnel down in Nagazora City all chose to listen to that radio wave.
Right now, they wouldn't miss a single scrap of intelligence, especially since it was coming from ground zero.
Listening to that familiar voice, Siegfried was instantly lost in memory. The last time Theresa had acted so spoiled and cute... was in front of Cecilia.
"So, Theresa, have you moved on?" He looked bitter. "But... but I... I can't let go..."
He slowly turned his head to the west. "I really can't let go... Otto... I will definitely make him pay!"
As for Rita, she was utterly stunned.
Theresa was actually... a kindred spirit!
Major Himeko was only in her twenties, but despite Theresa's small appearance, her age was actually... ahem.
This was so similar to herself and Lord Durandal...
Rita began to hesitate. Once this matter was over, should she go and seek advice from Theresa? Lord Durandal was truly... sigh, she didn't understand romance.
However, she did not forget the task at hand.
'Something is wrong. Why would ME Corp transmit this kind of... song? Even if Theresa sang it herself, there's no way it should be transmitted from there...'
How did Acheron get a hold of this? And as for her...
Just then, she and the frustrated Siegfried, who was wandering around trying to find a blind spot, met at a corner.
"You!" The moment he saw Rita, Siegfried raised his weapons.
With Kiana currently in danger, his emotions were extremely volatile.
"Calm down, Mr. Siegfried," Rita said, remaining more composed. "Look at the current situation. Perhaps we should put down our weapons and face the external threat together?"
"Hmph!" Hearing this, Siegfried put down his twin pistols with great irritation. He knew Rita was right.
With the Honkai before them, Anti-Entropy and Schicksal truly couldn't afford internal strife.
"Mr. Siegfried, how about we exchange some information?" Seeing this, Rita took the initiative to show sincerity. "I'll go first. I can conclude that the anomalies at the ME Corp headquarters are inseparable from Raiden Ryoma's sister-in-law, Acheron."
"What sister-in-law?" Siegfried recalled the intelligence Einstein had just synced with him. He thought for a moment and then said, "The sister-in-law that Raiden Ryoma himself doesn't even know about?"
"Heh, although they do look very similar, with age being the only obvious difference, Ryoma said he doesn't have such a relative at all!"
Siegfried felt this was necessary to share. No matter how much he hated Otto, in the grand scheme of fighting the Honkai, he still had a broad perspective.
"That person is likely trying to use Ryoma's daughter. He mentioned that his daughter, Raiden Mei, is a Natural Stigmatic, but she awakened too early. To save her life, Ryoma secretly implanted the Gem of Conquest, which was meant for research, into her body."
"If there's anyone in Nagazora City most likely to become a Herrscher, it's definitely Raiden Mei. The person you mentioned is probably approaching her for that very reason!"
"I see. Even Raiden Ryoma himself isn't sure... and the Gem of Conquest..." Rita's eyes flickered as she heard this.
She began to think back on every detail since meeting Acheron.
'I am the Third Herrscher...'
'Your Schicksal isn't guiltless either...'
'I am omniscient...'
That face almost identical to Raiden Mei, that eerily powerful strength, the immense care for Raiden Mei... a background no one could find! And the level of access to top-secret Schicksal and Anti-Entropy intelligence... She said she was going to become the Herrscher, but the one most likely to become the Herrscher in this city was Raiden Mei! On what grounds could Acheron do it? On the grounds that she didn't have a shred of Honkai Energy?
Suddenly, she turned and looked at the massive Erdtree.
"Mr. Siegfried," Rita's voice trembled slightly. "If—and I mean if—a Herrscher, a Herrscher with a human heart, awakened due to someone else's calculations and killed millions of people in a city, do you think she would feel guilt?"
"You're asking me this?" Siegfried thought Rita had gone crazy.
"After all, the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy is a Herrscher—a Herrscher who stands on the side of humanity," Rita lowered her head, hiding the shock in her eyes.
"...If it's Welt, he would," Siegfried said after a two-second silence. "A person like him would probably spend his whole life seeking atonement."
"Also, since you've asked, have you thought of something?"
"...My deduction still has many holes, so I won't embarrass myself by sharing it," Rita took a deep breath and spoke slowly.
As the person who had spent the most time with Acheron besides the three girls, she... had a very absurd guess in her heart.
It could explain all of Acheron's actions.
There was only one question that couldn't be explained: without Honkai Energy, where did that power comparable to a Herrscher come from?