"Overseer, the observation results are in."
At Schicksal HQ, Amber spoke respectfully. "Ceres... has been cut in half. That sword qi did not fully dissipate until it reached the edge of the Solar System."
"That's not normal," Otto closed his eyes, calculating. "To fly through space at that speed and slice through Ceres as if it were nothing—there is no reason for it to simply vanish at the edge of the Solar System."
He keenly sensed the crux of the issue.
Ceres was a dwarf planet with a diameter of 950 kilometers, roughly one-fourth the diameter of the Moon. Located in the Asteroid Belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, it was small, yet it accounted for approximately 25% to 33% of the Asteroid Belt's total mass.
For a planetary body like that to be sliced open by a blade of light as easily as a hot knife through butter... the power involved was unimaginable.
"This strength definitely did not originate from Earth," Otto stated with certainty. "Nor could it have come from a World Bubble in the Sea of Quanta. And this move of hers... keeping the impact restricted within the Solar System—is she trying to avoid leaving traces in the Milky Way?"
He could find absolutely no relevant records within the Void Archives.
"So powerful... yet zero records," a fervent light flickered in Otto's eyes. "Combined with those clues, she clearly possesses a profound understanding of this world. Which means... which means..."
If she were merely a powerful alien, she shouldn't be so intimately familiar with Earth's past—such as the events from five hundred years ago. Of course, if she was the type of absurd figure who could see through past and future via technology or ability the moment she landed, Otto would accept defeat.
What else was there to say?
Meanwhile, over at Nagazora City, things were also quite lively.
Raven stared dumbfounded as the five Mobile Cities were swallowed by the blood-red blade of light. She patted her chest, feeling a wave of relief.
Good thing Gray Serpent didn't plan on furthering the collaboration with Cocolia. Otherwise, I'd probably be on one of those ships. Close call, close call. From now on, if I can take the sewers, I'm definitely not staying above ground!
She didn't yet know that five iterations of Gray Serpent had turned to ash along with the warships.
"Mr. Welt, what do you think we should do next?"
The two Valkyries from Anti-Entropy were treating him with visibly increased respect. Welt knew what they were thinking, but... but...
I'm probably a fake Herrscher.
He began to self-reflect.
The Second Herrscher was already ridiculous enough; she was the darling of the Honkai, gifted with several Gems. Compared to her, his own strength was essentially crushed.
He had originally thought that Herrschers wouldn't get much crazier than that before Finality arrived, but he hadn't expected the Herrscher of Thunder to be even more nonsensical.
They had already synced with the data from Anti-Entropy and knew the fate of Ceres.
"Mr. Welt, do you have the confidence to engage the Herrscher of Thunder?" Durandal looked at Welt with a serious expression. "Our estimation of a Herrscher's strength was severely insufficient!"
Initially, she felt she could likely hold her own against Welt, mainly because in the records left from the Second Great Honkai Eruption, it didn't seem like Welt was so strong that she could only look up to him.
But now... Durandal felt she still had much to learn.
The Third Herrscher was this powerful, and the Second Herrscher had nearly destroyed the world. The records for the First Herrscher were incomplete, but he stood clearly on the side of Human interests and even participated in the crusade against the Second Herrscher... he must have been the main force!
She had been far too arrogant.
Faced with her attitude, Welt hesitated to speak.
No, don't have that much confidence in me! I don't even have that much confidence in myself!
Are all Herrschers such monsters? No, this has nothing to do with being a Herrscher at all!
Then again, Sirin had been exceptionally strong.
But why am I... Is it because I'm not the original?
He had a thousand complaints he wanted to vent, but the timing wasn't right. After all, Valkyries were Schicksal's power; showing weakness in front of them felt...
Ultimately, Welt chose to be completely honest.
Primarily, he was afraid that if he kept up the act for the sake of his ego, they would think the Herrscher of Reason was just as strong. If they went into future negotiations holding a non-existent trump card and caused a disaster, the price might be paid by all of humanity.
He couldn't shoulder that guilt.
"I'm not, and I don't," Welt said with a bitter, self-deprecating smile. "Maybe I'm just a poor student. The Herrscher of Reason doesn't possess that kind of overwhelming power. I'd probably drop dead on the spot the moment she swung that blade."
"I have no idea why the Herrscher of Thunder is so off the charts either."
"...Everyone, perhaps you've misunderstood something," Rita suddenly spoke up. "This isn't the power of the Herrscher of Thunder... no, what I mean is, this is Acheron's own power, not something granted to her by Honkai Energy."
"And didn't Anti-Entropy provide intelligence? The person who became the Herrscher of Thunder might not necessarily be that one..."
"No, it's her—the mysterious individual calling herself Acheron," Welt interrupted. "It can only be her. There is no second Herrscher of Thunder in this world."
He gave Rita a deep look.
That intelligence was shared by Anti-Entropy; how could he not know? His initial thought was that since she called herself the Herrscher of Thunder, and since they needed her help, they might as well roll with it.
The so-called "need for help" referred to that sky-reaching Erdtree. Its ability to constrain Honkai Energy made both Schicksal and Anti-Entropy green with envy. If they had that technology... Tsk tsk tsk.
And now, it was even more imperative not to offend her.
So if she said she was the Herrscher of Thunder, then even if the whole world knew she wasn't, everyone would have to align their stories and agree with her.
She was someone who didn't need to do much to make humanity have a very bad day. She just had to slice the Moon once, and yo-yo, the laws of physics would teach humanity a lesson in humility.
If she could split Ceres in half from that far away, there was no reason she couldn't cut the Moon like a watermelon.
"Rita understands," Rita agreed, having followed his train of thought. She nodded deeply.
"What are you guys whispering about?" Just then, Theresa's voice entered the channel. "Is the situation with Cocolia settled?"
"...Huh?"
Durandal and Rita looked at each other. "Theresa senpai, do you not know what happened?"
"Me? I'm traveling at top speed! I'll be there any second," Theresa said, sounding a bit confused. "Just now... I had something to do and wasn't paying attention. Did something happen?"
"Something massive happened, Theresa," Siegfried sighed. "The Herrscher of Thunder... is unexpectedly powerful."
"Mhm, how strong?" Theresa asked.
During that time, she had chosen to contact Himeko, but the communication wouldn't go through (Otto had occupied the channel).
Distraught, Theresa had found a quiet place to slowly wipe down her Oath of Judah.
She wanted to use this method to calm her mind. There might be a great battle ahead, and she couldn't rush onto the battlefield all agitated.
Right, Cecilia?
As for Cocolia's side, once she knew a Herrscher would intervene, she had breathed a sigh of relief.
Two Herrschers plus two S-Rank Valkyries, along with Siegfried and the Hyperion, were more than enough to handle those few warships. Worrying was useless, and since she couldn't teleport there, she might as well get herself into the right headspace.
Consequently, by the time she calmed down and came out, she heard them saying baffling things in the channel.
"Before, we were worried whether she would trigger a Great Honkai and destroy humanity," Siegfried answered her. "Now, we aren't worried about that anymore."
"Oh? She's easy to talk to?" Theresa was curious.
"No, it's just that if she wants to destroy humanity, it seems she doesn't need to trigger a Great Honkai," Welt naturally took over. "A single slice toward the Moon, and Gravitational Tides will handle the rest."
Or even more ruthlessly, a direct strike at the Earth's core—that would be it...
"What do you mean, 'a slice toward the Moon'?" Theresa was completely bewildered. "And what does this have to do with Gravitational Tides?"
"You don't know yet?" Siegfried raised an eyebrow in surprise. "From now on, the full moon on the fifteenth will never be round again. The wax and wane of the moon has officially become history."
"Cough, it's actually not that severe," Welt corrected. "Although it was cut open, that blade of light was too pure. It didn't push the severed portion away from the Moon. The Moon's gravity will firmly pull that part back."
"The same goes for Ceres. Although it was split into two—more severe than the Moon—given enough time, gravity will naturally make it one again."
"Wait, I feel like I don't understand a word you're saying!" Theresa was still out of the loop. "What happened to the Moon? What do you mean 'cut open'? And what does... Ce... Ceres have to do with anything?"
"What were you doing just now?" Siegfried asked curiously.
"I was calming my mind," Theresa said helplessly. "I couldn't reach Himeko, I was worried, and I couldn't get there immediately, so I wanted to adjust my state..."
"Then it's fine," Siegfried nodded. "You're still the same as always, Theresa."
Nearby, Durandal and Rita looked at them chatting, feeling a bit puzzled.
"They seem very familiar with each other," Durandal whispered to Rita.
"It's normal," Rita replied in a low voice. "On the battlefield of the Second Great Honkai Eruption, they were, after all, comrades-in-arms fighting side-by-side, even if they belonged to Schicksal and Anti-Entropy respectively."
"That's nice..." Durandal felt a bit envious.
"No, it's not nice at all," Siegfried said without looking back, having overheard their whispering. "Really, it's not beautiful in the slightest."
On the Rooftop of ME Corp.
Xia Yu stood at the edge of the Rooftop with her blade, eyes closed, adjusting her breathing.
My god, does Acheron endure such terrifying Nihility on a daily basis? I feel like I've traded half my life just for that one swing...
Of course, it was only a feeling.
Up to now, her vision was still in monochrome black and white, with no signs of recovery.
She was, after all, an Emanator who had joined halfway. She didn't possess the powerful endurance born from the hardships Acheron had endured to gain this power. Xia Yu had plenty of self-awareness.
Moreover, she was quite satisfied, okay? Even though the side effects were terrifying, that was a swing from an Emanator—what situation couldn't it handle? She had hit the jackpot!