On the other side, when Planck saw that Welt had regained consciousness, she began to move again, walking slowly toward him.
"Planck, what exactly are you trying to do?" Edison had no idea what Planck's intentions were. Although she had just seemed to spare Welt, Edison still did not dare allow Planck, in her current state, to approach Tesla and the others.
Planck gave no response. With a flick of her hand, a greatsword condensed in her grasp—formed entirely from raging flames: the Key of Destruction · Judgment of Shamash.
The Herrscher of Reason was still evolving. And now, she wielded the most destructive Divine Key.
The blazing inferno burned like molten lava. Even from a distance, Edison could feel the scorching heat against her face. Her expression grew solemn as she sensed the terrifying power contained within that greatsword.
The North America Branch base had been destroyed by that very ominous blade.
She must not be allowed to bring it down upon Tesla and the others again!
Her resolve made, Edison instantly transformed into a streak of lightning and charged forward. She moved so fast it was as if she pierced through the laws of space itself, appearing directly before Planck.
This was a new technique Edison had developed through research into her own abilities—altering spatial curvature to drastically increase her speed.
She appeared at Planck's right side. Five lightning spears behind her shot forth like serpents striking from their burrows, thrusting straight toward Planck's abdomen. At the same time, she reached out with her right hand, attempting to seize the Key of Destruction from Planck's grasp.
Puchi!Puchi!
To her surprise, Planck did not dodge. The lightning spears passed through her abdomen as though piercing empty air.
Why didn't she dodge?
The question flashed through Edison's mind, but she had no time to ponder it. Her hand, reaching for the greatsword, suddenly halted—her body had been restrained.
Looking down, Edison discovered that golden chains had somehow already wrapped around her.
The Key of Binding · Oath of Judah!
No matter how fast she was, she could not escape the seal of Judah.
Damn! That's way too cunning! Like Vill-V, Edison could not help but curse inwardly at Planck's abilities.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Planck's lips. Then, as if returning to her former self, she resumed that gentle older-sister demeanor from the past. Lowering her head slightly, she whispered softly beside the ponytailed girl's ear:
"Let Welt... become a true Herrscher of Reason."
Edison's eyes widened abruptly.
Swish!
The great flaming sword, carrying terrifying might, came crashing down.
The surging blaze of the Cleaver of Shamash engulfed Edison.
Once again, orange flames covered the sky.
...
Extinguishing the lightning spears within her body, Planck's form visibly repaired itself at a speed perceptible to the naked eye.
However, perhaps due to her injuries, she could no longer maintain the Judgment of Shamash in its greatsword form. The blade split into two, reverting to its dual-gun configuration.
"It seems... it was still a bit too much," Planck stated in an emotionless, icy voice.
Dragging Katerina along, she continued walking toward Welt. To prevent Welt from being caught in the aftermath, she deliberately controlled the range of the flames.
This time, no one could stop Planck.
This time, she would make Welt return to what a Herrscher truly ought to be!
Watching the Herrscher of Reason approach step by step, Dr. Tesla raised her exoskeleton glove and activated its electromagnetic shield at maximum output.
Feeling the immense pressure emanating from Planck, Tesla's chest heaved like a bellows. She knew very well that before a Herrscher, this shield... was no different from paper. It could offer them only the slightest bit of psychological comfort.
"Welt, where's the Star of Eden?" Einstein asked. Welt no longer had the strength to fight. If so, the Star of Eden would have to be used by her instead. Though she could not match Welt's power, it was at least their last remaining means.
Welt showed a guilty expression. "The Star of Eden isn't with me anymore..."
"..."
After a brief silence, Welt suddenly stood up and pushed Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla aside.
"Hey, what are you doing?!" Tesla snapped, annoyed at being shoved.
Half supporting himself on one knee, Welt gritted his teeth and said, "You all go. I'll hold her off. I'm the Herrscher of Reason too. I have a way to stall her."
"Are you stupid? At a time like this you're still playing some hero act?!"
"Welt, your value is greater than all of ours. You cannot die here! We will do everything in our power to protect you!" The inorganic girl's face was equally stern. Her sharp gaze made Welt's cheeks sting.
What should have been a deathly silent scene suddenly became noisy.
And at that moment, a gloomy figure who had remained distant from the commotion made the first move.
"Yaah!"
Several half-Honkai-transformed Schrödingers leapt up around Planck with furious roars, baring their savage claws as they charged at their former mentor.
Through Honkai energy, Schrödinger had gained the ability to create illusory clones.
Tesla, Welt, Einstein—they all have bright futures. They can't end here... Teacher Planck, please... make way for them!
But how could simple Honkai-energy clones deceive the First Herrscher? Without even deploying Judah, the Herrscher of Reason casually constructed countless black boxes, sealing all the Schrödingers inside.
If every cat was locked away, there would be no need to guess which one was real.
Having just dealt with the little Schrödinger kittens, Planck heard Einstein shout loudly, "Welt, now!"
Tesla also cried out, "Energy's reached critical!"
The air seemed to stop flowing as all eyes focused on Welt. He clenched the exoskeleton gauntlet in his hand, pouring every last bit of his remaining strength into it.
"Tesla Fist No. 3, hit for meeeeeee—!"
A strange brilliance lit up in Welt's eyes. Hearing Einstein and Tesla's voices, he roared and launched the gauntlet at Planck with all his might.
Boom!
With kinetic energy fully charged, the gauntlet broke the sound barrier like a cannon shell and hurtled toward Planck's forehead.
Tesla's iron fist tore through the air with a howling wind, striking toward her mentor—carrying the unyielding resolve of Laboratory 42.
"Hmph, is that all?" (Previous Era language) Planck sneered dismissively.
The final tactic of this world's Herrscher of Reason was merely borrowing someone else's exoskeleton glove.
The material of the glove was indeed sturdy, but given its structure, even with sufficient energy, it was inferior to a standard armor-piercing round.
Against such an attack, Planck did not even need to invoke Herrscher authority. Relying solely on a Herrscher's physical strength would be enough to deflect it with ease.
She raised her right hand—holding one of the Judgment of Shamash pistols—to knock aside the crimson gauntlet.
However, the moment she made contact with it, the severely overloaded gauntlet exploded as expected.
The explosion produced no flames—because they were all absorbed...
...absorbed into the deepest darkness born within the fire—
Pseudo-Ninth Divine Key · Zero-Power—Pseudo Black Hole!