Chapter 202: Herrscher of Ice
Upon hearing that the Sovereign had already departed, the anger on Raven's face faded slightly. "Understood. But hand that thing over to me anyway — I'm going to put a bullet through that bastard."
"Naturally." Gray Serpent gave a measured nod. When dealing with a Herrscher, no amount of preparation was excessive — everything available had to be brought to bear.
He stepped aside and retrieved a prepared case, passing it to Raven. Inside was the Staff of the Netherworld, crafted using the Authority of the Herrscher of Thunder — a weapon capable of forcibly severing a Herrscher's Core from its connection to Imaginary Space.
In practical terms, it was essentially a mana-drain: it could suppress regeneration, even wipe the gauge entirely. A Herrscher stripped of Honkai energy was little more than a Honkai Beast with a slightly sturdier body.
That said, impressive as it sounded, it only worked if the shot actually landed. Miss, and it was meaningless — and Herrschershad far too many ways to prevent a ranged strike from connecting.
Whether by tanking it head-on or evading entirely, at a certain level of power, ranged attacks simply lost most of their effectiveness — save for a handful of exceptional weapons.
Fortunately, Raven had one of those exceptional weapons in hand: the 3rd Divine Key, Seven Thunders of Retribution. A top-tier weapon like that was more than sufficient to pierce the defenses of virtually any Herrscher, landing the blow without fail.
"I don't think I need to spell it out." Gray Serpent studied Raven carefully. The Staff of the Netherworld was extraordinarily potent — but extraordinarily rare. Any failed attempt would carry consequences they could not afford.
"Relax, I know." Raven nodded and secured the case. "This time, who else is going besides the Sovereign and me?"
"Chen Tianwu is already in the area, so I briefed him on the situation — he should already be conducting preliminary reconnaissance." Gray Serpent said evenly. "Though his tone didn't sound quite right."
"Oh, that — I know why." Raven did know, actually. He'd brought up the island matter when chatting with Chen Tianwu before.
It wasn't that Raven had been loose-lipped; any sharp-eyed person could see what Chen Tianwu was saving up for. He hadn't even tried to hide it — he just needed Jackal, that bastard, to keep his hands off those kids.
Everyone else, he wasn't worried about. The others, whatever their faults, wouldn't stoop to going after a bunch of children. But Jackal? That bastard was a different story. He genuinely feared what Jackal might do.
"Oh? Tell me." Gray Serpent raised an eyebrow at Raven. This was one area where he truly had no intelligence — or rather, he hadn't bothered collecting it. Petty domestic details weren't worth his attention.
"Apparently the Valkyrie unit stationed on Coral Island were old acquaintances of his — that's just what he said, anyway. Could be friends. Could even be, well... you know." Raven made a knowing expression, then hesitated, eyeing Gray Serpent.
"Actually, never mind. You probably don't know."
"…Alright. If there's nothing else, get moving." Gray Serpent looked at Raven with mild exasperation. "Don't forget — the Herrscher of Ice. Every day that passes, the odds of saving that island of yours shrink a little more. Don't forget what you've invested there."
Raven's expression froze. He spun on his heel and bolted out of the room, sprinting in the direction of the Sortie Deck.
Kevin lowered his hand and turned to look at Elysia. "The Herrscher of Ice has awakened. Coral Island."
The playful smile faded from Elysia's face. She looked at Kevin and gave a single nod. "Mm. Understood."
Kevin nodded in return and was just turning to leave when Elysia's voice reached him from behind. "Kevin — if it's at all possible... can we witness a miracle happen one more time?"
"…" Kevin turned back in silence and held her gaze for a moment. "I hope for a miracle too. But the reason miracles are called miracles is precisely because they are so rare."
"But if you're determined to try — then go ahead."
With that, Kevin's body left a trailing afterimage as he shot off into the distance.
Elysia hurried over to Irene's side, intending to wake her — she didn't know where Coral Island was herself, but that was fine; Irene would know.
But before Elysia could even begin to shake her, Irene's eyes were already open. Her expression was grave. "Elysia, I just felt an intense surge of Honkai energy. A Herrscher must have awakened."
"Mm, we already know." Elysia nodded. "Kevin has already gone. It's the Herrscher of Ice — at Coral Island."
"Mm, I know." Irene gave a small nod. In this particular time window, the only Herrscher eruption due to occur was the Herrscher of Ice — and honestly, it was a difficult one to prevent.
Because Anna was essentially a destined Herrscher. One might say she had her share of psychological wounds — that wasn't untrue — but she had essentially been going about her ordinary life, eating hot pot, singing to herself, about to get some ice cream, when the transformation simply happened. Just like that.
Terribly innocent about the whole thing. Most other Herrschersat least went through some kind of process: being chosen, a bout of despair, some manner of negative emotion — the usual formalities.
But Anna had no core from the Previous Era within her, no especially large or urgent surge of negative emotion. She was just... on what could be called a routine patrol, and then suddenly — Herrscher. Just like that.
The word "destined" really did fit.
Take Wendy's case, for instance — that had been something that could be prevented, or at least managed, just as Irene had done before: build her confidence, clear away the negative emotions. Even if the transformation occurred, it wouldn't be too violent, and she'd find it easier to regain control of herself.
But Anna was different. Anna was in a state of bewilderment from start to finish.
That was also why Irene had never gone to find Anna. Even if she'd taken Anna along everywhere, treating her to feasts and fun, even if she'd told Anna everything — it wouldn't have helped. Anna was going to transform regardless.
And the moment she did, she'd go berserk. Completely, unreasonably berserk.
There was another complication: given the circumstances, how were you even supposed to predict when exactly she would transform? The Will of the Honkai had already been pulling strings with Anna's situation — one more act of interference from it was hardly surprising.
As for Chen Tianwu — honestly, Irene had always found it strange how he had ever become a Herrscher at all. No matter how she looked at him, he simply did not seem like the type.
That part of the main storyline had never been explained either. The only one who had ever fought the Herrscher of Fallen Ice in his mind — Wendy — had no clear memory of what had happened. The situation, simply put, remained unknown.
"What is Kevin planning to do?"
"I don't know." Elysia shook her head. "If it's possible, I'd like to try as well. Irene — do you think a miracle could happen one more time?"
"Standing here waiting for one won't make it appear." Irene shook her head. "Let's go. We're heading to Coral Island — to meet this Herrscher of Ice."
"I imagine that by the time we get there, Schicksal will already be mobilizing."
— Coral Island —
"The advance Valkyrie units from the nearby branch have established a containment perimeter, fully suppressing the spread of the Honkai to the main island of Coral Island."
On the cross-sea bridge, two figures strolled through the swarm of Honkai Beasts as if taking a leisurely walk through their own backyard — unhurried, at ease. After all, to either of them, ordinary Honkai Beasts posed no threat whatsoever.
Especially for Durandal. Her attention right now was focused on the situation inside Coral Island — above all, what was happening within — but the picture was still unclear, and the Overseer had issued a strangely worded order.
"Has the internal situation been assessed yet?" Durandal gripped her lance and gazed at Coral Island in the distance, which had already transformed into what was almost a massive glacier.
"The Honkai energy interference is too heavy — it'll take a little more time." A member of the Immortal Blades squad beside her responded immediately. "Should be soon."
"Understood." Durandal nodded, visibly impatient but forcing herself to hold it back. She turned to look at Rita.
"So what exactly is the Overseer's plan? Why hasn't he given us the go-ahead?"
"I believe Lord Overseer must have other arrangements in mind." Rita followed just behind Durandal — had she not been carrying an enormous scythe in one hand, the scene might have looked like a noble knight being trailed by her devoted handmaiden.
"Perhaps this, too, is an experiment."
"That's the Overseer for you — he just has to focus on his experiments. Meanwhile, those of us who actually do the work have so much more to think about..." Durandal let out a sigh and dispatched a nearby Honkai Beast with a casual stroke.
"And our next objective?"
"Once the internal scan results are in, we're to lead the Immortal Blades along the cross-sea bridge connecting to the main island and advance into its interior."
"If possible, we're also to rescue any survivors — though I doubt that's likely." Rita looked toward Coral Island ahead of them. The scene before her was like something from the frozen wastes of the far north.
It was difficult to imagine how many people could have survived under such sudden and extreme conditions.
"Furthermore, according to the members of the Snow Lotus Squad, Anna is reportedly still wandering somewhere within the city proper."
"Additionally, Lord Overseer's orders are that we are to handle only the standard Honkai purge, rescue, and recovery operations. Should anything related to the Herrscher arise, someone else will deal with it."
"Someone else? Another of the Overseer's arrangements?" Durandal considered for a moment, then opened her communicator. "Yalvite?"
"Captain, I'm here!" A figure appeared on the communicator immediately. "Lady Durandal, the monitoring results will be ready any second — just a moment!"
"No, I'm not rushing you." Durandal shook her head. "Ease up on your advance speed for now — steady and methodical. Rita and I are going into the main island's interior."
"Also, send me a copy of the Herrscher energy fluctuation detection data. I need her location."
"?" Hearing Durandal's words, Yalvite seemed surprised, hesitating a moment before cautioning, "Captain, but Lord Overseer's orders are..."
"Yalvite, Lord Overseer's orders are to combat the Honkai. Searching for a missing Valkyrie naturally falls under that mandate."
Before Durandal could say anything more, Rita spoke up with a gentle smile: "Although the members of the Snow Lotus Squad reported that Anna had become a Herrscher — we haven't seen it with our own eyes, have we?"
"In that case, Snow Lotus Squad's captain Anna is still listed as missing. We are entirely within our rights to go and rescue her."
"I see — so it doesn't count as disobeying orders! Vice-Captain, you're incredible!"
"Even setting aside Rita's reasoning — I want to see Anna myself." A flicker of uncertainty crossed Durandal's face.
"She's one of the very few friends I have. She already fought her way through her past demons — so why won't the Honkai just leave her alone?"
"Becoming a Herrscher does not necessarily mean standing in opposition to humanity." Rita offered quiet reassurance. "St. Freya Academy, under the leadership of Lord Theresa, has proven that to us time and again."
"I believe Anna will have her chance too..."
The Overseer hadn't said it explicitly, but Rita had a feeling that the "someone else" he had in mind was the people aboard the Hyperion. There was simply no other candidate — that group was on a different level entirely.
Right now, every single Herrscher in the entire world was with them. They were undeniably the foremost experts on anything Herrscher-related — on that point, at least, there should be no question.
"—!" Just then, a sharp exclamation came through from Yalvite's end. "Lady Durandal — an anomaly! The scan of Coral Island has fully completed!"
"Massive biological signatures detected — the count is almost identical to the number of missing persons. Vital signs are low, but stable."
Yalvite's voice was saturated with disbelief. Given the scene before them, they had long since abandoned any hope for the missing civilians — the life-sign scan had been left for last as a formality.
Under optimistic projections, they had expected a few dozen survivors at best, perhaps a few hundred. Nobody had anticipated this — by the looks of it, every single person was still alive. Vital signs low, but alive.
On an ordinary Honkai battlefield, this was virtually impossible. Even in a minor Honkai eruption zone, ten survivors in the surrounding area would already be considered extraordinary luck.
"Could it be Anna?" Rita immediately looked at Durandal. This was a very different picture from what they had been discussing. It was very possible that Anna was still locked in battle against the Will of the Honkai — still desperately trying to protect the civilians.
"It's the only explanation." Durandal nodded firmly. She had known it — Anna was a Valkyrie. She wouldn't be so easily beaten down by the Honkai.
What Anna needed right now was support. If they could get there and suppress her — or in some sense weaken the Herrscher of Ice — perhaps that could help bring Anna back.
"Is that so?" At that moment, a calm, steady male voice sounded from nearby. Durandal whipped around instantly, lance raised, leveling it at the figure standing motionless in midair. She frowned at Kevin.
"You."
Kevin looked down at Durandal from the air. A few days apart, and this person's aura had grown again — barely perceptible, but undeniable. Were the people of the Current Era really advancing this quickly?
Kevin quietly shifted his gaze toward Rita. Mm — no growth there. An exception, then.
Rita gave Kevin a slightly odd look. It had only been a glance, but she had distinctly felt something just then — a pointed, peculiar ill will directed squarely at her.
Like being poked.
Kevin turned his attention to the distance. He hadn't exactly meant to eavesdrop — but gathering intelligence was always worthwhile, and this time, listening had turned up a piece of good news.
As a rule, at any Herrscher eruption site, the ordinary people nearby were as good as dead — not one in a hundred made it out. But if there were survivors now, and large numbers of them at that —
Then the one chosen as the Herrscher vessel was still fighting against the Will of the Honkai, doing everything in their power to protect those ordinary lives.
A trace of something like admiration entered Kevin's eyes as he looked toward Coral Island in the distance, now almost entirely a glacier. If that was the case, then — let's give Elysia and the others a little more time.
Perhaps the miracle would happen one more time.
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