Inside Schicksal Headquarters, after Durandal and Rita finished watching that footage — something closer to a declaration of war — the two sat in silence for a long time.
After a while——
"Rita. Compile this data immediately and share it simultaneously with Anti-Entropy and World Serpent."
"..."
Rita, who had been deep in thought, couldn't help but speak up. "Lady Durandal — sharing intelligence with World Serpent, I understand."
"Before the Archbishop disappeared, he'd already formed an alliance with their Sovereign."
"But Anti-Entropy..."
Clearly, Rita didn't fully approve.
But Durandal held firm. "Rita, I know that if Archbishop Otto were still here, he would never agree to this."
"But I'm not Archbishop Otto. I have my own way of doing things."
"Understood."
Rita didn't push further.
She turned and left to carry out the order Durandal had just given — the one she privately considered "immature."
But as she walked...
"This person..."
Rita lowered her gaze to the screen of the tablet in her hand. The black-haired young man's face stared back at her.
She was a meticulous person.
So she hadn't forgotten that several years ago, after the Third Honkai Eruption, she herself had gone into the ruins of Nagazora — into a certain underground base abandoned by Anti-Entropy — and taken away a particular experimental subject.
And now...
"The 'villain' we personally shaped?"
Murmuring that line back to herself... even Rita, who had long since grown accustomed to the world's darker side, couldn't help the complicated knot of emotions that rose in her chest.
In the end, all those tangled thoughts could only become a single sigh.
"Truly, the whims of fate."
Her footsteps faded into the distance.
Not long after——
Anti-Entropy. North American Salt Lake Base.
After the 「Abyss City Incident」 concluded, Alliance Master Welt Yang had officially returned, and the radical faction within Anti-Entropy no longer had the leverage to act unchecked.
Cocolia — the radical faction's leading figure — was already imprisoned.
And the conservative faction's Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla had smoothly regained control.
As for a certain second-generation Alliance Master who'd only just returned — the Human Negotiation Master, Mr. Welt Lie-Down-Sit-Up...
He was currently training the next generation.
Bronya Zaychik.
This girl — who had already regained her emotions — was the successor he'd chosen.
She was both the new Herrscher of Reason and Anti-Entropy's future Alliance Master.
If nothing unexpected happened...
"Big Sister Bronya."
"Seele — you just came from the training room?"
"Mhm. Today I tried the highest difficulty, but I didn't pass."
"Don't be discouraged. And don't push yourself too hard. You're already doing wonderfully, Seele."
"Mhm!"
Somewhere in a corridor, the two girls happened to cross paths and fell into step together.
Chatting as they walked, they arrived at the entrance to a room.
The electronic door was open.
From inside came an extremely high-decibel roar.
"Those Schicksal idiots (bleep~), I swear to (bleep~) their (bleep~), and that bastard Cocolia too——"
No need to guess. That bleep-filled, volcanic tirade could only belong to a certain Lobster Doctor who'd overheated again.
Bronya and Seele couldn't help but peek through the doorway...
Inside, not just Dr. Tesla — even Dr. Einstein was standing to the side, helplessly pressing a hand to her forehead and sighing continuously.
"What — what's going on?"
Bronya asked, curious.
Noticing her arrival, Dr. Tesla took several deep breaths and barely managed to rein in her temper.
But anyone with eyes could see her mood was foul.
Looking more carefully — Welt Yang was there too.
He glanced at Seele standing beside Bronya and could only sigh. "Seele, could I ask you to go check on the children at the orphanage?"
"There are some... rather sensitive matters here. We need to speak with Bronya about the situation."
Hearing that——
"Oh, okay!"
Seele was a perceptive girl.
She understood that some things weren't for her to touch just yet.
So, seeing that Welt clearly intended to send her away, Seele said a sensible goodbye to Bronya and left on her own.
And right then——
"Aiya, looks like in their eyes, you're ultimately just an outsider."
A somewhat sardonic voice echoed inside Seele's mind.
Perhaps it was her imagination... but Seele thought she heard some... faintly pleased undertone in it.
"Don't say it like that, other me."
Seele didn't overthink it and simply explained, patient as always: "Mr. Welt, and Big Sister Bronya — they're both battle-hardened veterans."
"I can't go and be a burden."
"Hmph~"
A cold snort rang out in her head.
Then, nothing more.
In truth, neither Seele nor 「Veliona」 knew that the reason Welt sent her away was actually to... protect her.
Because the news they'd just received was truly far too bloody.
The inside story, far too dark.
They were worried Seele couldn't bear it.
As for Bronya...
No helping it. She... was one of the parties involved.
Right now, still inside that room——
"Bronya, take a look at this."
After Seele left, Welt closed the electronic door.
He had no intention of letting too many people see this.
Bronya... took the tablet that Dr. Einstein silently handed over, and... read through the entire intelligence package that had just arrived from Schicksal.
Including the complete destruction of the West Asia Branch. And... the black-haired young man's "villain declaration."
"..."
Bronya said nothing.
Dr. Einstein spoke up: "Based on our analysis of the video materials, cross-referenced with archives from the Previous Era, we can make a preliminary determination — he is the Tenth Herrscher of our era."
The Tenth Herrscher — the Herrscher of Dominance.
Also known as: the Herrscher of Legion.
"He made no attempt to hide this identity. He's been operating in an extremely high-profile manner from the very start."
Dr. Einstein said, helplessly: "Furthermore, I believe he is fundamentally different from Kiana — and from the former Mei."
"He appears to be completely unaffected by the Herrscher personality. Everything he is doing right now is his own judgment."
Undoubtedly, this was the most difficult kind of deadlock to resolve.
Bronya still said nothing.
By now, everything in the materials regarding the black-haired young man — Ling Ke — had been laid out in detail.
Autumn 2013 — he appeared suddenly within the territory of Nagazora in the Far East.
Before that, no related records existed.
In that same period, he was captured by Cocolia — Anti-Entropy's radical faction executive. Several months later, the Third Honkai Eruption hit.
April 2014 — he was discovered by Schicksal's investigation team and transferred from the Nagazora ruins to the West Asia Branch.
Then came the life of an experimental subject — years of it — lasting until yesterday.
The images in the file. One experiment record after another. Simply looking at them made the skin crawl.
Bronya saw Ling Ke's photo.
She remembered him.
Because back then, it was precisely her — the her who had not yet met the later "Big Sister Mei" and "Idiot Kiana" who would change her so much, whose bond with her would only grow deeper and deeper — who personally dislocated the boy's four limbs and brought him before Mother Cocolia.
What happened after that, Bronya didn't know.
Because Cocolia immediately sent her on her next assignment: monitoring the Third Herrscher's vessel — Raiden Mei.
Everything that followed grew from there.
Now, she was no longer the world's number one assassin.
She had close friends. She had an inheritance. Seele had been rescued.
But thinking back on all of this now...
"What exactly happened back then — afterward?"
An extremely ominous premonition rose in Bronya's chest, unbidden.
She turned to the three others in the room.
"Mr. Welt. Dr. Einstein. And... Dr. Tesla."
Bronya spoke, her voice level and serious: "Bronya wants to see Mother Cocolia."
"Right now!"