Edison brought them back from the banquet to the Schicksal North America Branch base. Before she even had time to make any arrangements, Schicksal's Valkyries suddenly arrived carrying orders from the Schicksal Council. They took over all facilities, communications, and information systems of the North America Branch—stripping Planck and Edison of all authority.
Edison and Planck had already anticipated this, so they were not panicked.
At its core, a base relied on personnel. And the most crucial personnel had already been cleverly transferred away by Edison. With a single command from her, those staff members holding special base permissions could swiftly retake control of the facilities.
If not for avoiding a direct clash with Schicksal's sharp edge, those Valkyries would never have even set foot inside this fortress.
However, unexpectedly, before the Valkyries could fully assume control of the base, Planck—no, the Herrscher of Reason—returned.
The moment Planck made her move, the entire base shook violently as if struck by an earthquake. Edison sensed something was wrong and immediately arranged for Tesla and the others to evacuate.
What followed was a battle between Planck and the Schicksal Valkyries—overwhelming in scale. For a moment, Edison even thought Schicksal had abandoned international convention laws altogether and sent bombers to invade North America.
To buy Tesla and the others enough time to withdraw, Welt slipped away silently from under Einstein's watchful eyes and went alone to face the enemy outside.
When Einstein discovered in the base's evacuation tunnel that Welt had disappeared along with the Star of Eden, her face turned deathly pale. She was ready to rush out to find him at all costs.
Naturally, Edison and Dr. Tesla would not allow her to go alone. The three of them turned back together to assist Welt.
But before they could even reach the tunnel entrance again, a wave of scorching heat blasted toward them from outside. The searing air was so intense it nearly blistered Tesla's skin. Fortunately, Edison deployed a protective barrier, shielding them from the worst of the heat.
When they stepped out of the tunnel, the base was already empty.
What had once been the facility was now reduced to soaring flames. The air itself seemed on the verge of igniting, and half the sky was stained with burning trails.
"Cough, cough... This isn't looking good." Choked by the thick stench of burning, Dr. Tesla regained a sliver of composure. "Ein, even if we go now, we won't be able to help. At this level of combat, we'd only drag Welt down."
Yet the usually calm and steady girl with curly hair had lost some of her rationality at this moment.
"Dr. Tesla, give me your exoskeleton gloves. I'll go alone."
Flames reflected in Tesla's eyes as she grabbed Einstein by the collar and roared, "Chicken-Nest Head, are you joking with me? These lousy gloves won't do a damn thing! Going like this is just suicide!"
With Welt's fate still unknown, Tesla could not bear to lose Einstein as well. The Schicksal North America Branch still needed Dr. Einstein's mind.
Seeing the unwavering determination in Einstein's eyes, Tesla gave her a hard shove, sending her stumbling back into Edison. Crossing her arms, she declared, "Enough talking. I'll go alone. You stick with Edison and Schrödinger, go get reinforcements, and then come back to help us."
What Tesla hadn't expected was that this time, Edison stood on Einstein's side.
Edison's peculiar armor manifested once more around her body as she said to Tesla, "No. We go together."
Tesla knew Edison might be thinking the same as she was—wanting to shoulder everything alone. After undergoing eleven-dimensional biological modification, Edison indeed had the ability and capital to do so. But Tesla would never agree.
"What are you talking about—"
Before Tesla could finish rejecting Edison's proposal, the ponytailed girl raised her arm and gestured for Tesla to look into the distance.
Tesla turned—and her pupils shrank.
"Planck!"
Planck was walking toward them step by step, Welt dangling from her left hand and a charred Katerina from her right.
Tesla shouted in delight, "Old hag, you came back at just the right time! You stole all the glory for yourself!"
Clearly, Tesla believed Planck had returned in time to save Welt. Perhaps everything they were experiencing now had been part of Planck's plan all along—everything under control.
Just as Tesla was about to march up and scold Planck for secretly devising such a dangerous scheme with Edison, Edison condensed a spear of energy and blocked Tesla's path.
"Tesla... haven't you noticed?" Edison's expression was cold, her voice trembling faintly with confusion and dread.
She could sense the terrifying Honkai energy radiating from the Planck before them. Her eyes were hollow and devoid of light.
There was not even the slightest trace of life about her—like a puppet manipulated by Honkai energy.
Tesla still failed to grasp Edison's meaning.
"Noticed what?"
"Mm—"
The Welt in Planck's grasp began to show signs of regaining consciousness. But before he could react, Planck tossed him onto the ground.
"So hot! So hot!"
Feeling the scorching temperature of the ground and his clothes catching fire, Welt's eyes flew open. He leapt up like a shrimp dropped into boiling oil.
Hissssss—Hissssss—
Instinctively, he constructed a fire extinguisher and sprayed himself, coating his body in white powder.
"Ahhhhh—!"
At last, Tesla realized something was terribly wrong.
Planck—even with her slightly mischievous streak—was gentle at heart. She would never do something as excessive as tossing someone onto a smoking-hot floor.
She wasn't Planck.
"You're not the old hag! What did you do to her? Where did you hide her? Give her back!"
Tesla's first reaction was that something had happened to Planck, severing all contact.
"No, Tesla. She is Planck," Dr. Einstein said with a different conclusion. "She's just been controlled by Honkai."
Einstein had once been "intimately familiar" with Planck, so she recognized certain details. For instance, there was always a faint mark on Planck's neck left by a necklace—Karl's birthday gift to her. She always wore it.
And now, on the fair neck of the "Planck" before them, there remained a shallow pink imprint of that chain—meaning she had removed it not long ago.
While Einstein's mind raced, her body did not stop moving. She hurried to Welt's side and helped him up.
To wield the Ninth Divine Key against Planck, Welt had already exhausted his strength.
"Are you alright, Welt?" The inorganic girl's normally cold eyes now revealed concern.
Welt slapped his face, shaking off the white powder.
"I'm fine... Huh? I remember getting sucked into a black hole earlier. Dr. Einstein, did you save me?"
Still confused, he opened his eyes fully—and saw Planck not far away.
"Huh?! Planck! Why are you here too? I get it—this must be hell!"
Smack!
Tesla brought her exoskeleton glove crashing down onto Welt's head, turning his "full head of white hair" back to pitch black.
"What hell? We're not going to hell! Did that hurt?"
"It did... but did you have to hit me that hard?!"
"That punch is punishment for acting on your own without permission!"
That blow inflicted severe psychological damage upon the Herrscher of Reason.