“Enoxia, you…”
Kiana couldn’t understand why Enoxia had shown up here at this moment, her face filled with confusion.
“Kiana, you go. I’ll handle things here.”
“But… alright, I understand.”
Though Kiana didn’t fully grasp the situation, her trust in Enoxia led her to follow the advice.
Durandal moved to give chase, but Enoxia summoned a Jizo puppet to block her path.
“Durandal, I’d love to have a proper fight with you and test my weaknesses, but unfortunately, that opportunity isn’t available this time.”
“What do you mean…!”
Durandal realized she had lost all contact with the other members of the Immortal Blades.
“Just now, due to some chaos at Schicksal headquarters, retreat orders were issued to all Valkyries. That left the Immortal Blades members who were locked in battle with Tesla in a real bind—they’ll probably all be captured soon enough.”
Durandal gazed into the distance, as if hoping for something.
“Hoping you can hold everyone off by yourself while Rita rescues the others? Sorry to burst your bubble. Rita was already taken down before this. If I weren’t above using hostages to make demands, you might already be betraying Schicksal and fulfilling my requests right now.”
Durandal’s expression shifted. Though her rational mind told her that even if she couldn’t reach Rita, given her skill level, she very well might not have been captured at all. In the end, she decided it was better to err on the side of caution.
“As I said, I have no intention of using her as a hostage, so of course I won’t harm her. And it’s not just Rita—the other Valkyries are all perfectly fine as well. But I can only speak for myself; I’ve never been able to control World Serpent, so…”
The moment Enoxia finished speaking, Durandal received orders to return to headquarters as well. However, the order came not from Otto but from Amber—it seemed something major had happened at headquarters.
“I’ve sent you the locations of Rita and the other Valkyries. Once you get there, World Serpent’s people will naturally withdraw. Leave some leeway for future encounters—that’s a principle both Schicksal and World Serpent understand.”
Durandal departed. Enoxia gazed into the distance, a hint of regret flickering across her face:
“This turn of events is a bit too sudden… but thankfully, everything is still under control. Otto’s reaping what he sowed—his own actions have come back to bite him.”
Meanwhile, Kiana wandered aimlessly through Arc City. From a high vantage point, she spotted a familiar figure. Though they were hundreds of meters apart, she recognized at once that it was Raiden Mei.
“Class Monitor, can you use Fenghuang Down’s power to create some disguise… so I can… slip by Mei without her noticing?”
Kiana knew that she and Mei understood each other far too well. If she could recognize Mei at a glance, then Mei would surely recognize her just as easily.
“Kiana… you…”
“Oh, Class Monitor, don’t worry so much. After Enoxia explained everything she was willing to tell me, that despairing, crushing feeling has already vanished. It’s just… I don’t think now is the right time to meet Mei.”
“I know that both Mei and Auntie—even though I’ve become like this—they’d still accept me. But at the very least… at least I need to learn to control Honkai energy first, so I won’t be a ticking time bomb around them. Then I can go back to their side.”
“But… I’m also afraid that once I see Mei, the resolve I’ve finally managed to gather will just… so please, Class Monitor, help me.”
“I understand, Kiana. I’ll respect your decision.”
At that very moment, Raiden Mei was also searching through Arc City. She went to the meeting point Grey Serpent had specified, only to find it empty. But to his credit, Grey Serpent had left a message behind.
In the vast expanse of Arc City, Mei could only rely on intuition to guide her search. When she felt she was getting close to Kiana’s location, she scanned the area—but saw no one. Her expression shifted from anticipation to disappointment, yet she also realized something and quickly departed from the spot.
After confirming that Raiden Mei had left, Kiana stepped out from a seemingly empty corner. Her face bore a complicated expression, her heart a swirl of mixed emotions.
“Thank goodness Mei didn’t use her Herrscher of Thunder powers to disrupt the surrounding magnetic fields… otherwise, Fenghuang Down’s ability might have failed.”
“Because even though Mei didn’t know my exact location, she knew I was nearby, and she understood that I didn’t want to see her for now. So she left.”
Fu Hua fell into thought:
“Without using Herrscher powers… how did she manage to figure that out?”
Kiana smiled and shook her head:
“Class Monitor, don’t overthink it. Mei doesn’t have the ability to see through Fenghuang Down’s disguise. It’s simply because… our hearts are connected.”
Fu Hua nodded thoughtfully:
“Kiana, from here on, I’ll do everything in my power to help you gradually control Honkai energy. The process will be incredibly tough, but you must never give up halfway.”
“Don’t worry, Class Monitor. I’m ready. When do we start?”
“Right now.”
Kiana began her training. And not far away, on a rooftop, two figures appeared—Enoxia, and Sirin, who had teleported her there from the bridge.
“Sirin, you look like you’ve got quite a few questions.”
“Without a doubt, the reason all three factions clashed in Arc City ultimately comes down to Kiana. But according to what you’ve said, Otto—though ruthless in his methods—has very clear goals. In his plans, I, as the Herrscher of the Void, am an indispensable element, but Kiana as the Herrscher of Ice is not. So why would he go to such lengths to capture her for research?”
Enoxia chuckled:
“Sirin, if Otto heard you say that, he’d probably laugh out of sheer frustration. Do you really think he doesn’t want to capture you for research? And as for his stance toward me from seventeen years ago when I threatened him? Believing Otto would keep his word is about as reliable as believing the Cocoon of Finality would give up on embracing civilization.”
“If he had the ability to capture you, he’d do it the first chance he got. Then he’d use you as a hostage to keep me from making any moves. After all, if I truly didn’t care about you, I wouldn’t be furious over your capture. Remember the precautions I told you about back when you made your move?”
Sirin gave a slight nod:
“You told me—Otto can be fought, but not killed for now. If I sensed anything off during battle, I should immediately retreat into the Imaginary Space or teleport over a thousand kilometers away. Even if my opponent was far weaker than me, if I couldn’t finish them within the set time, I’d still retreat right away.”
Enoxia spread her hands:
“So let’s put ourselves in his shoes. Suppose you’re Otto, and you want to capture the Herrscher of the Void for research. But this Herrscher listens to advice—even with her mortal enemy right in front of her, the moment anything feels slightly off in the most favorable situation, she slips back into Imaginary Space. Her guiding principle is ‘seek no glory, avoid all mistakes’—how exactly would you catch her?”
“Herrschers are undeniably far stronger than humans. If a Herrscher can retain their sanity while going all out, and they’re not facing a Fusion Warrior or another Herrscher, the only way they’d get captured alive is through arrogance—winning a surefire victory but showing off, only to throw it all away.”
“For the weak to overcome the strong, they often need to seize the right moment and go all in on a gamble. For the strong to win, all they need to do is avoid giving the opponent any such opportunity. We have plenty of chances to make mistakes—even if Finality descends and resets civilization, I can hide in the stigma space, and you can hide in the Imaginary Space. But for Otto, one wrong step could mean utter ruin.”
“Once you see that clearly, you’ll realize that no matter how clever Otto is, capturing a cautious Herrscher is simply beyond his capabilities. Kiana carries your DNA—he can easily figure that out. Since he can’t conduct research on you, he has to settle for the next best thing: using the individual most similar to you as a substitute.”
“Right now, the only moment Otto can guarantee you’ll show up is… when he’s determined to die.”
