The Herrscher of Wind did not destroy the surveillance cameras at the Michigan Wetlands Ecological Exhibition Hall. As public infrastructure cameras that were also integrated into the VR tourism scenic zone system, Vill-V was able to easily obtain intelligence on the Herrscher of Wind through them.
This intelligence gave Conductor a general understanding of the newly emerged Herrscher. A preliminary psychological profile could already be constructed.
With Helixcraft at a standstill, Conductor had no choice but to revise the strategy. To that end, Vill-V decided to convene another internal meeting within her mind to determine the next course of action.
Conductor first offered an interpretation of what the Herrscher had said:
"There is only one road to freedom, and that is to die joyfully."
"This sentence comes from the famous saying of the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes. It means that by accepting death, we can achieve freedom of the soul."
"Diogenes meant that if we fear death and constantly worry about it, our lives will be ruled by fear, and we will never truly enjoy living."
"Therefore, what Diogenes wished to express was that we should accept the existence of death and enjoy every moment of life as much as possible, pursuing happiness and fulfillment to the greatest extent. In doing so, we can let go of fear and anxiety and attain freedom of the spirit."
"But what the Herrscher of Wind is trying to express is this: accepting the fear of death is the inevitable path to achieving freedom of the soul."
"From this, we can conclude that divinity occupies the vast majority of the Herrscher's being. However, the Herrscher herself still retains human cognitive abilities and can change in response to external stimuli."
"The fact that she is still speaking human language is the best proof... Hmm. Listen to what she is saying—does that even sound like something a human would say?"
Vill-V lowered her gaze, hesitation flashing through her eyes. She bit her lower lip, as if struggling to organize her thoughts. "But she's Wendy... and she's very cute..."
Conductor pressed her fingertips against her forehead and sighed. She understood what Id meant.
Of course, Id was not being swayed by appearances and ignoring the massacres caused by the Herrscher of Wind in some infatuated impulse.
Id was simply a shut-in who was not very good at expressing herself.
Though somewhat selfish, Id was in fact thinking on a deeper level.
Every injustice has its source. The root of it all lay in the Honkai.
Take Akane and Himeko as examples. The hosts of Herrschers were all manipulated by the Honkai.
Just like those who, driven by Discipline, killed Sakura's younger sister Rin—they did not care in the slightest whether Wendy was being controlled by the Honkai.
Even if they knew, lacking the ability to resolve the Cocoon of Finality, they would instead turn their blades on the weak.
For example, forcing Wendy to bear collective responsibility, making her atone, and vanish into ashes together with the Herrscher consciousness.
They would applaud, cheer, and celebrate it—just as Kalpas had once said.
Aponia's Discipline? That was merely an excuse. What they truly cared about was erasing the fear within their own hearts.
They spoke of righteousness, yet refused to examine cause and effect. They were the truly selfish ones.
As for Wendy's original self, silently weeping in a corner unseen by others while being controlled by the Honkai—who would be willing to care about her?
"The only one who would even think about such things is probably the foolish Id," Conductor sighed softly.
Id believed that a Herrscher should never be categorized solely as belonging to the Honkai. Before becoming a Herrscher, she was first and foremost a living, breathing human being.
Id believed that if the Honkai could turn humans into Herrschers, then humans should also have a way to turn Herrschers back into humans.
In the eyes of the Previous Era, such an idea might have seemed unrealistic. But Elysia had hoped for it. Kevin had hoped for it. Fu Hua had hoped for it. Himeko had hoped for it...
...In this world, countless people who yearned for something better all hoped for it.
Id believed in humanity. Even if it meant deceiving herself into believing in humanity, she could only continue to believe.
Otherwise, this world would be far too despairing.
And redeeming Wendy—returning her to being human—would not only be saving Wendy alone. It would represent saving that faint, nearly invisible sliver of hope within humanity itself.
...
"I'm not saying all this to give you hope that the Herrscher of Wind can turn back into Wendy. I'm pointing out that the fundamental ideological conflict between the Herrscher of Wind and humanity is irreconcilable.
That means the Herrscher can learn from humans, adapt her strategies to circumstances, and employ tactics such as hiding, infiltration, and psychological warfare rather than mindless mechanical destruction.
Trying to 'talk her awake' with words alone will be extremely difficult. At present, it seems we'll need to beat her awake before we can reason with her. In other words, the bigger fist speaks louder.
But right now, it's obvious that the Herrscher of Wind has the bigger fist. When the time comes, she'll probably be the one lecturing us instead."
Expert also offered her analysis. "The Herrscher of Wind's Honkai energy output isn't particularly high. It's still only at 2600 HW. To be honest, that level of power is laughably weak."
"Based on Expert's estimates of Herrscher energy levels in the Previous Era, they should start at a minimum of 3000 HW."
Expert adjusted a pair of round-framed glasses that seemed to have appeared from nowhere. "However, she possesses invisibility. Combined with high-speed movement faster than a sixty-kilometer-per-hour strolling granny—and the lack of resistance from ideal fluid—her capture difficulty is practically hell-level."
"By 'capture,' I don't mean apprehension. I mean 'targeting.' Missiles, weapons, restraints, traps—they all require the ability to lock onto a target to function. But the Herrscher of Wind's abilities provide virtually no tools for localization."
"Invisibility prevents her from being detected by observation equipment."
"High-speed movement prevents her from being tracked by mobile targeting systems."
"Ideal fluid prevents her from being restrained by physical matter."
The Herrscher of Wind was precisely such an existence—unable to be bound by any net, trap, or cage, yet possessing immense destructive power. By these traits alone, she fully lived up to the title of the free wind.
Conductor nodded and added a piece of good news. "What you described is the theoretical capability set of the Herrscher of Wind. But according to current data observations, she has only mastered high-speed movement so far. The other two abilities remain undeveloped."
Expert clicked her tongue. "It seems this Herrscher's learning results aren't very impressive. In the original Honkai storyline, records show that pseudo-Herrschers and the Herrscher of Legion had both developed invisibility."
A genuine Herrscher of Wind losing out to knockoffs—how embarrassing.
"Haha, as expected of little Wendy. Just a cutie who could be subdued by three B-rank Valkyries and a Titan~"
Outside, Magician, currently controlling Vill-V's body, donned her Steel String Driver Gauntlets. When she opened her clenched right hand once more, a white cockatoo appeared in her palm.
Conductor said, "Well, we can't really blame Wendy. MOTH has already made her personal information public on internal channels—she was a secret experimental subject at the New Zealand base. And New Zealand is quite close to Australia. You know what that implies..."
Australia was practically MOTH's den of demons. The North American higher-ups had long acted with near impunity there. Wendy had been confined in that place. The idea that she would have received a normal education was almost laughable. No wonder that after becoming a Herrscher, she had immediately rushed toward North America.
Conductor spread her hands. "The North American executives kept instilling the concept of 'North American freedom' into her, intending to use her once their experiments bore fruit. Now, they've gotten exactly what they wished for."
"But that doesn't mean Wendy is easy to deal with just because she only has high-speed movement. In martial arts, it is said that speed alone is invincible. Wendy's velocity clearly meets the conditions for that kind of supremacy."
Unless she stepped into a ring and fought Vill-V in a one-on-one duel like a true man—which neither Vill-V nor Wendy actually was—she would remain difficult to handle.
Difficult, yes. But as an omnipotent genius, Vill-V had already prepared a targeted plan.
Even the fact that the Herrscher of Wind had not manifested near Chicago had been within Vill-V's expectations—unexpected, yet prepared for.
This time, Conductor's plan was once again comprehensive. With the cooperation of Expert and Scholar, it was practically flawless.
Moreover, the current Herrscher of Wind had not yet reached her most troublesome "invincible" state.
A plan to deal with Wendy existed.
But... while conducting a psychological profile of Wendy, Vill-V did not wish to treat her merely as a problem labeled "Herrscher of Wind" and eliminate it as such.
Though Wendy was now completely controlled by the Honkai, it was evident that she still possessed human thought and human will.
And most importantly—she was very cute.
That was extremely important to Vill-V.
Id asked everyone in a soft, syrupy voice, "Um... then... can we help her break free from the Honkai?"
Let it be said again.
She was very cute.
And therefore, to Vill-V, it was important.