Take a good look. This man is called Handsome.
With his eyes closed, a faint aura of desolation emanated from him, as though this battle had drained his soul—everything he had.
A normal human, under the crushing pressure, freezing temperatures, and suffocating conditions of the deep sea, would have long since died.
Yet this man had survived, relying on the power within him fused with Honkai energy.
Half of the cells in his body had been eroded by Honkai Beast genes and converted into silicon-based cells, reducing his need for oxygen and allowing his vital signs to remain at an extremely low level.
It seemed that Honkai gene-modified soldiers were indeed different from the Honkai-modified troops described in the S-1 Laboratory files—or rather, they were not even products of the same tier.
Honkai-modified soldiers were merely human bodies grafted with Honkai Beast limbs.
But this man had directly transformed his own human cells into the silicon-based cells of a Honkai Beast. This was genetic-level modification. Because of this, the Honkai Beast body integrated with his original form remarkably well, with no obvious rejection reaction.
Such masterful craftsmanship was rare. In [Conductor] Vill-V's impression of MOTH, only Mobius' laboratory could produce something so astonishing.
If [Expert] Vill-V did not possess the cutting-edge biotechnology of the Three-Body world, even she might have had to admit, "For now, you are the superior one, Dr. Mobius."
Conductor Vill-V studied the man's face. It felt vaguely familiar. There were not many men in the original Honkai storyline who left a deep impression. Very quickly, she matched his features to Siegfried—the father of Kiana.
For some reason, although this world was extremely realistic, everything still carried a two-dimensional art style. So it was still an anime world after all... And because of that, Conductor could overlay the two faces in her mind.
"Is this man related to Siegfried? Why would he appear on the battlefield of the Third Herrscher?"
Before coming here, Conductor Vill-V had assumed this man was likely responsible for secretly salvaging the Herrscher core on behalf of MOTH. She had planned to extract information from him and then leave him to his fate.
But now, she changed her mind.
She would save this man who resembled Siegfried.
The difficulty of treatment, however, was immense. Even with one remaining vial of Honkai Antibody Serum and the S-1 Laboratory's Honkai Warrior Project data, it was only theoretically possible. There were no clinical samples whatsoever to reference for Honkai gene-modified soldiers.
Who knew what tricks Dr. Mobius had embedded in this man? For all they knew, she might have stuffed a weekend alarm clock into his stomach. (Mobius: Wasn't that you, Vill-V?)
When she treated Ido before, she had at least accumulated experience by treating numerous Honkai Sickness patients rescued from MOTH.
But this man's condition...
The only clues lay buried in the S-1 Laboratory's Honkai Warrior Project documents.
If this illness were easy to cure, MOTH's Honkai-modified soldiers wouldn't have had a lifespan of only six months.
And this man was also suffering from severe radiation exposure.
It was adding frost to snow.
Conductor silently sighed.
For this man's misfortune—and the unprecedented medical challenges before her—
Conductor Vill-V remained completely at ease.
It didn't matter. Expert would handle it.
[Expert]: Save Expert. Expert doesn't want overtime.
...
Standing outside Ido's hospital room, [Lecturer] Vill-V held the door handle but made no move to enter.
Through the glass panel, she gazed at the beautiful girl sleeping peacefully in the hospital bed.
"Are we really going to make her carry out the [Project Schariac]? I don't think she's qualified," Lecturer murmured worriedly.
Lecturer enjoyed showing off her proud creations to others.
But she also cherished them.
Ido was one of her important works. Lecturer did not want her to wither in some dark corner as a failed experiment before she ever had the chance to shine.
Within her mind, Conductor replied through her connection with [Id]:
"She is the closest existence to the future Schariac and Durandal. If we can cultivate a Saint, we will gain greater initiative—and leave a path of retreat for human civilization."
The so-called [Project Schariac] was one of the [Project Valkyrie] initiatives formulated by Expert Vill-V around Ido's unique traits.
Its goal was to grant Ido Honkai resistance on par with future Valkyries—perhaps even the ability to neutralize Honkai energy itself, like the sacred blood of the future Schariac line.
Placed earlier in the narrative, this plan might have sounded absurd.
But it was born of necessity.
The humans of the Previous Era possessed no Stigmata. Their resistance to Honkai energy was abysmal. To have even a single person capable of resisting Honkai erosion was already a miracle.
What Expert intended to do was expand that miracle.
If possible, perhaps this plan could even yield a cure for Honkai Sickness—without the need to use the antibodies of a thousand patients as medicinal catalysts.
Lecturer understood all of this.
Yet she still could not bear it.
"The [Project Schariac] is far too dangerous. It isn't something that can be completed within a single generation—let alone by a single person."
"And the more advanced [Project Durandal] is even less achievable. It would require the fortune of a protagonist, unshakable conviction, relics of the Previous Era, and the gift of a bubble world."
"We don't even know what that suspected Stigmata on her body is. This era shouldn't have natural Stigmata. It couldn't possibly be an artificial one... could it?"
The [Project Durandal] was likewise one of the [Project Valkyrie] initiatives.
And it was unimaginably bold.
Its purpose was to leave behind a final escape route should this world fail against Honkai.
That route involved using Ido as a vessel—turning the entire world into a bubble world with an "ether anchor," and using Durandal's energy manipulation technique to reverse the entire ether anchor, along with the bubble world itself and its Honkai energy, into Ido's body.
Because in the original Honkai storyline, Bianka Ataegina had already accomplished this once, the feasibility of the plan was assured.
The true difficulty lay in how to safely detach the entire world and transform it into a bubble world possessing an ether anchor.
After the success of the [Project Schariac], would Ido possess sufficient strength to bear the mass of an intrinsic world bubble?
And after donning the crown called "World," the girl would embark upon an endless journey.
Would she be able to find the correct future for this world?
Could she endure the despairing solitude and survive within the crisis-ridden Sea of Quanta?
This was the complete [Project Valkyrie].
A daring plan that would place the burden of an entire world upon the shoulders of a girl who should have enjoyed a brilliant youth...