According to Conductor's prediction, Chiba Academy—the famed "holy ground" of the Honkai world—had a fifty percent probability of being the birthplace of the Third Herrscher. That was why Vill-V had infiltrated it under the identity of a student, waiting for the descent of the Third Honkai Eruption.
In the Previous Era, the Honkai's method of selecting a Herrscher was extremely random, utterly devoid of pattern. It paid no heed to whether the chosen harbored despair. Even a hero who wished to save the world could be transformed into a butcher in an instant.
This was one of the reasons Vill-V worried about herself. Because of her past experiences, she indeed carried a certain world-weariness. And she also possessed the [Pure Evil] persona—a textbook "Future Herrscher VIP." It wouldn't be surprising if the Honkai found her particularly "appealing." If the lottery happened to draw her as the Third Herrscher, human civilization would likely go straight to Game Over.
But Vill-V would not run from it. She even held a trace of anticipation.
If the Honkai chose her, she could immediately attempt the "Thought Severance" experiment. In place of the yet-unborn "Kevin Killer MK5," she would cleave the Herrscher consciousness into an eighth personality and ascend as a Herrscher herself.
Even without MANTIS abilities, [Id] Vill-V had been conducting "Thought Severance" experiments all along. After all, it was the one advantage her core personality held among the many Vill-Vs.
The experiment had begun to show results. But whether it had reached the level necessary to sever a Herrscher's consciousness remained unverified.
Perhaps sensing her intention to freeload off it, the Honkai did not choose Vill-V.
The Honkai indicator pointed not at Su before her—but at Akane inside the clubroom.
"Cold... so cold..."
When Vill-V vaulted over the wall back into the room, she saw Akane kneeling on the ground, arms wrapped around herself, trembling violently. A group of girls hovered nearby, anxiously asking what was wrong and whether she needed to be taken to the infirmary.
Vill-V's expression turned grave. Su's heart sank at the sight.
He then watched Vill-V pull a handgun from her coat and fire three shots into the ground.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The girls froze for a heartbeat—then screamed and fled. Only Su remained at Vill-V's side.
"The Third Honkai Eruption has begun."
As she spoke, Vill-V raised the gun and aimed it at Akane's head.
Akane continued murmuring, "So empty..."
Su did not attempt to wrest the gun from Vill-V or stop her supposed madness.
Because he heard it—the air raid sirens blaring across the entire Far East region.
"Large-scale biochemical weapon detected. Citizens, evacuate the Far East immediately! Large-scale biochemical weapon detected—"
"One hundred fifty Honkai Watts... one hundred eighty..."
The Honkai energy was skyrocketing.
Vill-V could no longer hear anything else. Her finger trembled against the trigger.
Through her mind flashed images of millions of Nagazora City residents fleeing in panic, of Honkai Beasts running rampant, of experimental data on Herrschers.
"Three hundred sixty... four hundred..."
"Pull the trigger, and you can save millions. End the Third Honkai Eruption."
"Obtain Herrscher experimental data. Verify whether a Herrscher's transformation can be interrupted midway."
"Guarantee the safety of yourself, Su, Kevin, and Mei."
"Once a Herrscher of the Previous Era begins transformation, there is no turning back. You know that."
Vill-V muttered to herself, attempting to hypnotize her own resolve.
Perhaps she had left all malice to Pure Evil. Perhaps she knew that even pulling the trigger would not truly kill a Herrscher. Or perhaps it was fear.
In the end, her finger could not press down.
"Six hundred ninety... seven hundred thirty... one thousand!"
Rumble—
A massive serpent of lightning descended, piercing through the teaching building and swallowing both Akane and Vill-V.
An elegant silhouette emerged within the mysterious mist. Pale thighs bound with violet ribbons stepped forward in high-heeled boots. A flash of lightning scattered the dust. Long hair drifted like floating silk. A single angelic wing shed sacred feathers. Noble serpent-like eyes seemed capable of piercing the soul.
She crushed a glass vial beneath her heel and gazed at the mechanical sphere before her.
"Humans..."
At the critical moment, Vill-V activated the [Self-Excited Plasma Shield Type III], protecting both herself and Su.
"What is this?"
Su tore the injector from his arm. Everything had happened too quickly—before he could react, Vill-V had already stabbed him.
"A neutralizer that temporarily resists Honkai erosion."
"So what you said... was all true."
Su swallowed unconsciously. Even with some mental preparation, he felt his worldview collapsing at breakneck speed. It was as though he had lived his entire life in a different world—like a frog at the bottom of a well.
In that instant, countless thoughts surged through his mind. His brain stalled.
He was not yet the exceptional warrior of the future, capable of cutting through chaos and discarding useless thoughts in battle.
Su's prolonged reconstruction of reality made Vill-V's head ache.
"This isn't the time to freeze up! Run, you idiot child!"
At the same time, the quantum computer [Lecturer] had already activated the contingency plan for the Herrscher of Thunder. Several medium-sized swarm drones nearby launched jets of white adhesive toward the Herrscher to buy time.
The newly born Herrscher of Thunder cast a contemptuous glance. Lightning coursed around her, intending to shatter the adhesive—yet the moment electricity touched it, it dissipated.
In an instant, the Herrscher was wrapped into a cocoon.
This was no ordinary glue.
Engineered by Expert, it was a high-strength, high-capacitance conductive fluid adhesive. Combined with the small transformer stations Vill-V had secretly installed across the academy, it could convert lightning into chemical energy instantaneously. The reason the [Self-Excited Plasma Shield Type III] had withstood the Herrscher's thunder earlier was precisely because it had been linked to those stations.
Crackle—
Light flickered within the thick cocoon. At last, lightning burst free, tearing through its constraints.
But just as the Herrscher of Thunder was about to break out, the chemical energy stored within the cocoon threads reached its critical point.
Together with the transformer stations Vill-V had planted, it detonated in a massive explosion—collapsing the entire building.
Vill-V had no mood to admire the artistry of destruction.
She mounted the prepared hovercraft, yanked Su aboard, and shot toward the outskirts of Chiba Academy.
Continue attacking the Herrscher of Thunder?
Was that a joke?
The Honkai energy concentration at the academy had already spiked to 1,200 Honkai Watts. Stay any longer and they'd be eroded into mindless zombies even with neutralizers—without the Herrscher lifting a finger.
"Damn it. I can't reach Kevin or Mei."
Su stared anxiously at his phone displaying "Out of Service Area."
"The magnetic field disturbances here are too severe. Signals are blocked."
Amid the ruins of Chiba Academy, a towering pillar of lightning surged into the sky.
Bathed in that radiant column, the Herrscher of Thunder surveyed her surroundings.
Her voice carried nothing but cold indifference.
"Thunder's Judgment."