During her time with World Serpent, Seele had learned quite a bit about the Previous Era, and on Enoxia’s recommendation, she’d also visited the Elysian Realm. So, drawing from her own experience, she quickly pieced together the situation:
She was currently inside some kind of bubble universe, located within that bubble’s Fire Moth base.
“I wonder how Bronya and the other me are doing… Wait a minute, this is a bubble universe—the structure here is incredibly stable. Would the other me, who doesn’t have a physical body, be—”
With a worried look, Seele entered her mental space.
Relax, you idiot. I’m fine. Ever since we entered this bubble universe, I’ve been able to return to your body just like usual.
“The other you—I’m so glad you’re okay!”
Seele was so overcome with emotion that tears nearly spilled from her eyes.
Alright, crybaby. Let’s focus on checking out our surroundings first. Back when we were with World Serpent, we barely visited that place called the Elysian Realm more than a few times total. I remember Enoxia mentioned there were thirteen people there, but including Kevin, we only ever ran into four of them. We don’t even have a solid grasp of what happened in the Previous Era, let alone here in this bubble universe. And with our arrival, it’s highly possible that things could unfold differently from how they did in the main world.
“Yeah… you’re right, the other me.”
Seele began observing her surroundings and noticed that the data terminal up ahead seemed to contain some recorded information.
During the Tenth Herrscher Eruption, L10-461, Immer—who became one of the Herrschers of Domination—displayed abilities similar to a weakened Herrscher of Death. However, he was broken out of custody while imprisoned… Fortunately, it didn’t end up causing any major problems in the end…
How many of the thousand Divine Keys did that Fusion Warrior, Kevin Kaslana, destroy? A hundred… two hundred… No, probably more than that. Although Dr. Mei has explicitly forbidden him from conducting any further research on Divine Keys, is it really not too late to lock the barn door after the horse has bolted? Kevin’s current state is extremely unstable—I don’t know whether I should be taking other measures right now…
…Su and Hua have gone to find Kevin. Hopefully… hopefully they can come to an agreement.
“It looks like this is some kind of monitoring room. Kevin, Su, Hua… I think I remember Elysia mentioning those names back in the Elysian Realm. They should also be part of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers…”
BOOM!
A massive explosion shook the area, and alarms immediately blared throughout the base. On the large screen in front of Seele, blinking red dots marked the location of the incident.
“About one kilometer west of the base. To get there, I need to—”
After reading the map, Seele immediately headed toward the base’s exit. The moment she stepped outside, a massive shockwave kicked up dust over ten meters high. If she hadn’t been quick on her feet, she’d have been buried alive just like the few Fire Moth soldiers ahead who were a step too slow.
“Is that… Bronya?!”
Though she couldn’t see her yet, the sound of floating cannons and the roar of a motorcycle in the sky were unmistakable. But when the dust settled and the battlefield seemed to reach a stalemate, Seele was shocked to find Bronya lying face-down on the ground, with Project Bunny collapsed beside her—looking utterly battered.
“Kevin, calm down.”
Hua stood in front of Bronya, holding Fenghuang Down, and addressed the masked man on the other side. Beside her stood a man with narrowed eyes.
“Calm down? Hahahaha… haha… I think I’m perfectly calm right now! Behind you stands a living, breathing Herrscher! And from the looks of her abilities, she’s just a weakened Herrscher of Reason. Isn’t that perfect? Come on now—just like you killed Immer, kill her!”
With that, Kevin leaped into the air once more, charging straight at Bronya. Before Seele could even react, he was already right beside her. But just as he was about to strike, his movements noticeably slowed. Hua’s Fenghuang Down and Su acted simultaneously, using their psychic abilities to forcibly restrain the rampaging warrior’s movements.
Kevin let out a cold snort and backed off slightly from Bronya.
“Kevin, she’s different from Immer. Fire Moth’s instruments show that she has a complete Herrscher core inside her, and furthermore—”
“Oh? So you’re saying that because she’s more valuable, she’s more noble?”
Clearly, Hua’s brilliant choice of words had once again successfully stepped on Kevin’s last nerve.
“You know that’s not what I meant. You know full well she should be sent to Dr. Mei and Mobius for research, not killed here by you.”
But Kevin showed no sign of backing down:
“Get out of my way! Didn’t Aponia place a discipline on me—’Thou shalt never take the life of the innocent’? Perfect—let me put it to the test and see whether this Herrscher before me is truly innocent or not!”
Seele stood at the entrance of the Fire Moth base, her gaze darting between Kevin and Hua. Her mind was racing—how could she possibly save Bronya?
The battle unfolding before her was clearly beyond her capabilities. At this point, she was already struggling just to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
“The other me, if I handed over full control to you right now, could you get Bronya back?”
Hah? Are you out of your mind? That guy is on a completely different level from that ugly freak in the Sea of Quanta. You saw it yourself—his movements are way faster than we can react to. If he lands a single clean hit on us, we’d both be done for.
For the first time, Dark Seele felt genuine fear toward the raging Kevin.
“So if that’s the case, then Bronya must be seriously hurt right now… I…”
…Yeah, this is really bad. The fact that the three of them haven’t noticed us yet is probably because, with the level of power you’re showing right now, we’re not even worth their attention. Tch—these Previous Era Fusion Warriors really are all freaks… To be honest, the best we can do right now is pray that Hua wins this, because no matter how you look at it, the other side isn’t exactly open to reasoning.
Or… we could hope for some kind of unexpected twist…
No sooner had Dark Seele finished speaking than all three of them ahead received a simultaneous communication.
“Five minutes ago, the Eleventh Herrscher appeared! The First and Second squads have gone silent while en route to the Herrscher.”
“Location. Abilities.”
Hua asked very directly, already preparing to disengage from Kevin.
“Abilities are still unclear. Location… 101 kilometers east of this base!”
Upon hearing news of the Eleventh Herrscher, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over Kevin’s head—he immediately abandoned any intention of continuing the internal conflict. Seeing that Kevin had calmed down, Su’s expression, however, did not improve.
“That’s strange. Even if the Eleventh Herrscher was just born, at such a close distance, Fire Moth’s forces shouldn’t have encountered any issues on the way. Why would they…”
But Kevin wasn’t about to listen to Su’s speculation. He charged straight toward the Herrscher’s location. Su and Hua exchanged a glance, then followed close behind. They left behind the unconscious Bronya, still lying on the ground. Clearly, in Fire Moth’s eyes, even if she woke up soon, the damage she could potentially cause was far less significant than that of the Eleventh Herrscher.
The moment the three of them left, Seele rushed forward. Project Bunny, still in its motorcycle form, seemed to respond to some kind of call and drove over on its own, transforming right in front of Seele.
“Bunny, I’m so glad you’re okay!”
After a brief hug with Bunny, Seele immediately hurried over to check on Bronya. Upon confirming that she was only unconscious, Seele finally let out a sigh of relief. Together with Project Bunny, she carried Bronya back inside the base.
Before long, Bronya woke up. She felt her head resting on something incredibly soft—though there was a slight dip in the middle that kept it from being even more comfortable.
When she opened her eyes, she found herself staring directly into Seele’s big, watery eyes. Only then did she realize she was resting her head on Seele’s lap.
“Bronya, is there anywhere that still hurts?”
Seele reached down and gently stroked Bronya’s head. The soothing sensation made Bronya not want to get up at all. So the two of them stayed in that position, exchanging information. Dark Seele had been right—Bronya had been sent flying in a single exchange with Kevin. If Su and Hua hadn’t shown up, she probably wouldn’t have gotten back up again.
“Even though I knew the class monitor wasn’t ordinary, I never expected that besides being Otto’s spy at St. Freya Academy and the Vermilion Bird Immortal who guarded Shenzhou for a millennium, she’s also a Fusion Warrior from the Previous Era. I bet even Mr. Walter and the other doctors don’t know about this.”
“…In other words, what this bubble universe is experiencing right now is closely tied to the emergence of the Previous Era’s Eleventh Herrscher. According to Schicksal and Anti-Entropy’s records, the Previous Era’s Eleventh Herrscher was the Herrscher of Binding. Its ability is to create a Binding Field with a radius of a hundred kilometers—within that field, all Honkai energy is rendered ineffective…”
“Wait—doesn’t that mean Fire Moth’s warriors are in serious danger?”
Bronya sat up from Seele’s lap.
“Exactly. But we need to find a way to fight against the Herrscher of Binding. Both Bronya, as a Herrscher, and Seele, as a Stigma Awakened, fundamentally rely on using Honkai energy in our attacks. Rushing in recklessly won’t solve anything. Bronya wants to stop others from going, but as Seele saw for herself—Bronya doesn’t have the power to do that.”
Bronya lowered her head. Seele understood—she had just become a Herrscher, and in her very first battle, she was taken down instantly. Of course she wouldn’t be feeling great about it.
