"This is..."
Durandal had imagined many scenarios for meeting the mysterious Acheron—perhaps peaceful, perhaps confrontational...
But never anything this absurd.
She stared dumbfounded at the circle of people surrounding the person in the middle, a scene resembling a funeral wake, unable to process it for a moment.
"Could it be that that strike consumes one's life force?"
Her expression shifted drastically.
Mainly, if Acheron really was at her limit, the Honkai Energy currently restrained within the Erdtree would pour out, enough to submerge the entire Far East.
"The evacuation of Nagazora City isn't finished yet!" Theresa grew nervous as well, cursing, "Damn those Far East bureaucrats! They don't want to do a single thing! If I hadn't sent Valkyries to raid their homes and killed a dozen high-level officials, they still wouldn't be moving!"
"Even if they move now, it's too late," Welt said with a heavy expression. "The evacuation of Nagazora City has only just begun. It's far too late. This is a city of millions; having those bureaucrats move all those people is an administrative disaster!"
"I truly doubt they could manage it even in a month."
"Let me go," Rita nodded upon hearing this. "The Valkyries of St. Freya Academy... might not be specialized in these matters, while Schicksal has a very standard set of procedures."
"Mhm, I'll leave it to you, Rita." Theresa's face was grim as she looked the other way. "The most critical thing now is, how much longer can she hold on?"
"Wait, what on earth are you all talking about?" Himeko looked completely bewildered. "It sounds like Nagazora City is on the brink of doom..."
"Himeko, what exactly is wrong with her?" Theresa asked directly.
"Just tired, taking a break." Hearing this, Xia Yu slowly sat up from Mei's supple lap and stretched. Amidst Theresa's confused expression, she slowly approached her and reached out to pat her head.
"Theresa, why are you so late?" she asked curiously. "I was almost getting bored of waiting. Weren't you guys originally not that far away?"
"...You're fine?" Theresa looked at the indifferent figure before her. She really wanted to swat the hand away, but remembering the terrifying power that had pierced through the Solar System with a single strike, and the Great Honkai hanging over the Far East, she forced herself to endure.
I must endure!
"Of course I'm fine," Xia Yu tilted her head and said in confusion, "It was only five insignificant Warships. Did you think I needed to risk my life?"
"...Of course not," Theresa replied. "With your power, five Warships are but a flick of the fingers."
With the power she had displayed, she probably wouldn't need much effort even to destroy this world.
The most terrifying enemy recorded from the Previous Era, the Herrscher of Finality, had done nothing more than completely wipe out the last warriors of the Previous Era, at the cost of her own life (in the version Theresa knew).
The Finality that the Current Era would face was likely not much different.
But no matter what, she could only threaten humans and civilization. Even if the Earth's surface was scrubbed clean, it wouldn't be a big deal for a planet that had existed for billions of years.
At most, it would just be switching to a wasteland skin. What's the big deal? Actually, for the Earth, maybe it was just a brief attempt at a retro style? After all, the environment of Earth billions of years ago was far worse than the surface after a strike from the Herrscher of Finality.
And as for the woman in front of her, since she could slice off a part of the Moon with one strike, it probably wouldn't be too hard for her to give the Moon a decorative carving.
Since she could do it to the Moon, then the Earth... even if it was countless times larger, as long as she had patience, giving the Earth a decorative carving was not impossible.
So, when she started rubbing her head right off the bat, Theresa could only bear it in silence.
There was no helping it; she really couldn't win.
"Since you know that, why didn't you come find me sooner?" Xia Yu continued to reach out her demonic claws to ruffle her hair. "I've been waiting a long time."
"Please forgive us," Welt had no choice but to take over the conversation. "Meeting a powerhouse like yourself, we had to..."
"Oh, who are you again?" Before he could finish, Xia Yu interrupted him, her face looking a bit confused.
Mainly because she really didn't recognize this guy...
"I am the Anti-Entropy Sovereign, Welt Yang." Welt felt a bit awkward. He reached out to adjust his glasses to hide it, only to realize that in his current disguise, he wasn't wearing any...
"Welt?" Xia Yu's gaze toward him became strange. No, why did you change your face... Oh—
Xia Yu suddenly looked at the enduring Theresa under her hand, then looked up at Welt, and guessed roughly what was going on.
Probably Welt was still acting as a Salary Thief at St. Freya Academy, and since he had to appear before Theresa as the Anti-Entropy Sovereign this time, he changed his face.
Poor Theresa.
Welt, following her gaze, looked at Theresa and then met that look of apparent realization on Xia Yu's face, feeling that he might have been exposed.
But it didn't make sense. He had never met her, and the plan to go undercover at St. Freya Academy to recover while infiltrating Schicksal's interior was something no outsider should know.
Yes, he had gone undercover at St. Freya Academy mainly to recover.
During the Second Great Honkai Eruption, Welt had been beaten until only a Herrscher Core remained, which Siegfried sent back to Anti-Entropy. When Dr. Tesla saw that core, her tears fell instantly.
Fortunately, his talent for getting back up was no joke. In the end, his soul managed to survive inside the core. Although he lost his physical body, at least it wasn't a heroic sacrifice, right?
However, for the Welt of that time, reconstructing a body was a major task and he wasn't very practiced at it yet. Thus, he had to find a secret place. First, to avoid Otto—if that dog found out where he was, he would surely go straight for the throat. So he had to hide. If Otto couldn't find him and didn't know his recovery progress, he would be wary and wouldn't make any big moves against Anti-Entropy.
Second, to guard against internal careerists. Welt knew their nature all too well. If they could sell him for a good price, those people would definitely go wagging their tails to Otto. Even if they didn't, they would certainly cause trouble in the shadows.
So after much consideration, he learned that Theresa, disillusioned, had resigned from her status as an S-Rank Valkyrie to open a Valkyrie Academy in the Far East, and he boldly showed up at her door.
Mainly, the cooperation between the two sides during the Second Great Honkai Eruption had been decent. Welt felt that Theresa wasn't the same kind of person as Otto; otherwise, she wouldn't have been so disheartened.
Furthermore, he was also worried if this was one of Otto's schemes, so he went undercover to investigate.
Then he went to find Theresa, but unexpectedly, when he stood before her, she completely failed to recognize him and thought he was a teacher applying for a job...
Amidst his shock, Welt also smelled a hint of a conspiracy, so he took the opportunity to go undercover at St. Freya Academy as a teacher to see what Otto was up to.
But it had been years now. His injuries were almost fully healed, yet Theresa just slacked off all day... it even threw him off.
Wait, are you really here just to live a retirement life?
Originally, Welt had planned to leave St. Freya Academy soon to return to Anti-Entropy and lead, but then the Nagazora City incident happened. There was no choice; Cocolia was, after all, part of Anti-Entropy, and he had to come out and clean up the mess.
To avoid awkwardness when meeting Theresa, he specifically changed his face. After all, they had lived on the same grounds for so many years, seeing each other all the time... just blowing his cover directly would be a bit uncomfortable.
These matters should have been extremely secret, but why... Acheron just heard his name, glanced at Theresa once, and it was as if she had straightened everything out...
How did she know?
Welt was extremely puzzled.
But Xia Yu had no intention of enlightening him.
"Now, let's talk business," she looked up at the canopy above. "With such dense Honkai Energy, I'm sure none of you would want it to leak out, right?"
"...If Ms. Acheron needs something, you can just say it," Theresa's mouth twitched. "No need to be so... subtle."
I mean, you're already this strong. Does this Honkai Energy even make a difference to you? It's not like we'd dare to refuse you without it...
Schicksal did not want to watch her perform decorative carvings on Earth.
"First, I need resources sufficient to support the survival of an entire nation—let's say a standard nation of thirty million people—for three years," Xia Yu said. "To be precise, food."
"I'll give you three days. Can you do it?"
"Thirty million people? Three years?!" Hearing this, Welt immediately began calculating. "This... is an astronomical figure! Three days is simply not enough to mobilize that!"
With the capabilities of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, providing these resources wasn't difficult; the hard part was gathering them in three days.
"No, it is entirely sufficient," Rita held a different opinion.
"The Far East has over a hundred million local residents," she said coldly. "Their resource reserves are sufficient. As for coordinating personnel, Schicksal's Fleet has already reached the Strait of Malacca. As far as I know, Anti-Entropy's Fleet is even closer and will arrive in the Far East shortly, will it not?"
"Ms. Acheron, we will gather everything you require within three days. Schicksal can guarantee this to you."
"Wait, Rita, I'm not opposing your... approach to the Far East," Theresa couldn't help but speak up. "But I really have no confidence in the Far East's resource reserves or government efficiency. Three days, no matter how you look at it, is too rushed."
"Therefore, Schicksal's Fleet will head directly to Shenzhou," Rita spoke as if she had received some instruction, looking at Xia Yu. "We will pay a price that satisfies them in exchange for sufficient resources. Schicksal has the capital for this."
"But Ms. Acheron, the Overseer wishes to obtain an answer from you."
"Just an answer?" Xia Yu raised an eyebrow.
"The Overseer says that you know what he wants to ask," Rita nodded to Xia Yu.
"The Herrscher of Binding is indeed troublesome," Xia Yu said thoughtfully, then replied, "Mhm, he should understand."
Binding... Binding!
Otto's eyes lit up upon hearing this.
Yes, she really knows... and I have reached that stage... if it has come to that...
He was only one step away from his long-cherished wish!
"Agree to her, Rita," Otto immediately issued the command. "Tell her that Schicksal can provide her with any support she needs!"
Food and supplies for thirty million people... this request was somewhat nonsensical for a powerhouse even more terrifying than Finality.
Otto had considered what conditions she might propose, but he never expected this... though it was normal. Even if she was terrifying enough to cut through the Solar System, she couldn't conjure food out of thin air.
So, does she have thirty million people to feed?
Such a terrifying powerhouse... actually only needs this much?
Only... thirty million?
Are only... thirty million left alive?
Otto's eyes flickered.
That tragic?
And at that moment, Himeko, standing nearby, began to catch on as well.
Currently, only three people had guesses about her identity: Otto, Rita, and Himeko.
There was no helping it; that "Teacher" and the subsequent words made it impossible for her not to care.
"Thirty million... thirty million..." Himeko lightly placed her hand on Xia Yu's shoulder. "Are there only... thirty million left?"
There were clearly seven billion right now... she couldn't imagine how tragic it must have been.
"What do you mean 'only' thirty million?" Theresa's eyes shifted. She realized Himeko must know something. she had been wanting to ask about her situation; although Himeko looked fine, her Valkyrie Battlesuit was completely destroyed.
Theresa didn't know if she had fought the other party and was very worried about Himeko, but at a time like this, it wasn't appropriate to go forward and offer comforts.
Himeko was oblivious, only staring into Xia Yu's eyes.
Facing her question, Xia Yu just turned her head away. "It's not quite that bad..."
"Then it's very bad," Himeko nodded, as if understanding something.
"Are supplies for thirty million people enough?" she asked with a serious expression. "If it's not enough... we can mobilize more."
"Wait, Himeko, what are you saying?" Theresa almost jumped. It's not like you're the one doing the work... oh, you'll definitely have to work too, but is that a job a human can finish?
"No, there's no time," Xia Yu shook her head. "Three days is not the deadline I'm giving you, but my own limit."
"Although I'm a bit stronger than Otto, holding on for this long is already the limit."
"Why didn't you say so earlier," Himeko lowered her head. "If you had come to us sooner... maybe it wouldn't be this bad."
"It's useless. I want these things... just for peace of mind," Xia Yu thought about her original plan, then looked at the clearly mistaken Himeko and didn't correct her. Instead, she said, "Maybe there aren't even thirty million..."
Mhm, could Kazdel even scrape together thirty million people?
Xia Yu thought it was unlikely.
The Snowfield couldn't scrape together ten million Infected either.
The population of Terra wasn't that high. The largest, Yan, had three hundred million, while the hegemon of the core circle, Victoria, only had thirty million.
She asked for so much purely to get as much as she could for free since Otto was footing the bill. What if she needed it somewhere later?
Hunger is a great enemy of humanity. Who knows what kind of world she would encounter next? It was never wrong to be over-prepared.