Otto was Otto after all. Vill-V readily admitted that completely outmaneuvering him in a game of wits was no easy task.
Now that she had successfully pulled Reanna over to her side, her objective had been achieved. As for cooperation... by the looks of it, Planck's side was probably going to hollow out Schicksal entirely. What was left to cooperate over? Help him rebuild Schicksal?
That actually sounded rather interesting. The great engineer Conductor was already itching to construct a green-hat base for Schicksal—complete with a full green-hat production line inside.
"In any case, Reanna is under our Anti-Entropy's protection now. You'd better start thinking about how you're going to get back. Schicksal headquarters has probably already been taken over by us."
"Oh?" Otto's smile gradually faded, turning into a helpless, self-mocking expression. "It seems I lost due to a lack of intelligence. Holding information from the future truly is an unsolvable advantage. No matter how meticulous the layout, it cannot surpass someone who can glimpse the future. If you intend to obstruct me, I truly would be powerless."
Azure Empyrea did not understand strategy. She was easily lured away by diversion tactics. Even if Otto knew this, she was not his subordinate and would not obey his arrangements.
"I don't have time to obstruct you. As long as you don't do anything utterly immoral, do whatever you like."
Hearing this, Otto felt his heart ease.
What he feared most was that his plan to resurrect Kallen might conflict with Vill-V's objectives. The future was uncertain, after all.
When he had previously asked Vill-V about it, she had run off without hesitation, which had made Otto rather uneasy.
Who knew why Vill-V had suddenly fled? For all he knew, his future plan might diverge wildly from what he currently envisioned—like triggering a global Honkai Eruption to revive Kallen...
But after probing back and forth, Vill-V had finally stated her position clearly. Only then did Otto feel reassured.
His smile brightened once more. "In that case, there's no need for us to remain at swords drawn. Why not speak plainly—what can we do for each other, my friend?"
Magician Vill-V curled her lip. "Who's your friend? You're my audience."
"Then next, please continue to enjoy Vill-V's—"
Before she could finish, the ground beneath everyone suddenly gave way.
Crash!
The entire base began to sink.
"Hey? Wait a second. Just to clarify, this isn't part of the performance!"
...
"Schicksal headquarters, Level-Zero combat readiness."
At this moment, flames and black smoke intertwined and rose into the sky at Schicksal headquarters. Nearly half the complex had been reduced to ruins. Even the Archbishop's private treasury had nearly been destroyed. And from the heavens above came thunderous reverberations of combat.
The reason was simple—two existences far beyond ordinary imagination were fighting here.
Among the Valkyries assigned to execute Emergency Plan No. 3, without exception, all were elites among A-rank Valkyries.
They had fought alongside B-rank Valkyries against lower-tier Honkai Beasts, and they had witnessed S-rank Valkyrie Reanna sweeping across battlefields like an unstoppable force.
But they had never seen a scene like this.
The two figures streaked across the sky, carving brilliant arcs of light at speeds the human eye could not follow. The shockwaves from their clashes effortlessly blasted craters into the massive Schicksal fortress, making the very air tremble.
Even as S-rank Valkyrie candidates, they had no possibility of approaching.
A casual cannon blast from either side could tear apart their Valkyrie Battlesuits and leave them gravely wounded.
A single careless punch could completely scatter the Honkai energy within their bodies and make them cough up blood.
Even Schicksal's latest combat mechs had been smashed to pieces. The opponent's technological level utterly crushed Schicksal's.
What kind of destructive power was this? Could a human truly achieve such feats? Only two Judgment-class Honkai Beasts locked in savage combat would create a spectacle like this.
"Who exactly are they? With such overwhelming strength—are they the legendary Herrschers?" someone asked in confusion.
"That can't be. Why would Herrschers fight each other?" another retorted.
Fu Hua had never interacted much with the Valkyries, and they likewise knew little of the Azure Empyrea whom Otto had kept hidden. In their eyes, it was simply a mysterious figure who had suddenly flown out from the base and begun battling the enemy.
Yet in a sense, they had already guessed half the truth.
"Ki—Flying Willow."
Fu Hua closed in on Planck in an instant. Like a razor-sharp blade, her intent surged with unstoppable force. A tremendous burst of power erupted from her elbow, driving straight toward Planck's abdomen.
Sensing danger, Planck rapidly constructed an energy shield in an attempt to deflect the strike. Yet Fu Hua's force seemed to lock onto her target, impossible to evade.
"Break!"
With Fu Hua's sharp shout, the shield shattered on impact. The blow struck Planck squarely in the abdomen, sending her crashing into the ground.
"Ugh—"
With Planck's muffled groan, another massive crater appeared in the earth. Schicksal's logistics personnel could only feel bitterness welling up inside. Without overtime, these repairs would never be finished.
If Planck did not possess the physical resilience of a Herrscher, that crater would have opened in her stomach instead, allowing a young woman whose total singlehood added up to sixty-eight years to experience the pain of a cesarean section ahead of schedule.
"So it's still a matter of insufficient Honkai energy. If there were enough, that shield should have blocked the punch effortlessly."
Planck had long since lost count of how many times she had been beaten up by Fu Hua. It seemed the Azure Empyrea truly intended to pummel her into submission with nothing but fists and feet, not even using Fenghuang Down.
Of course, if Fu Hua had used Fenghuang Down, Planck could have instantly analyzed and countered it with the power of the Herrscher of Reason.
Seeing Fu Hua in the sky preparing to follow up with a descending phoenix kick, Planck hurriedly dispelled her surrounding armaments.
"Alright, alright. I'm done fighting. I surrender!"
There was no helping it—she genuinely could not win.
Most of her Honkai energy was being used as an Imaginary anchor to stabilize the world. At present, she could not even exert one percent of her true strength.
Originally, Planck had been confident that even one percent would be enough to deal with any powerhouse in this world. After all, that fellow Welt Joyce had been so underwhelming.
Yet she had not expected to encounter an opponent this formidable.
Fu Hua, who had been diving down in the form of a phoenix, immediately withdrew her attack upon hearing this. She dissipated the force beneath her foot and landed gracefully on the ground.
Although she had understood the Herrscher of Reason's claim about wanting to save the world, Fu Hua had always been quite confident in her own lack of cleverness.
Thus, regardless of whether the Herrscher of Reason was telling the truth, Fu Hua would not allow her to damage Schicksal headquarters. The priority was to restrain her and wait for Otto's return to decide.
And so they had continued fighting.
In the end, since neither harbored killing intent, Fu Hua still held the upper hand.
In a tone as polite as if receiving a guest, Fu Hua said, "In any case, please wait in the visitor's hall until Archbishop Otto returns."
Even though she had just thoroughly beaten that "guest" moments earlier.
Thus, the scene became one where Fu Hua leaned against the wall, reading a book, while keeping an eye on Planck as she sipped her tea at an unhurried pace.
She was quite curious—how had this Herrscher of Reason regained her consciousness? Judging from their earlier exchange, compared to the young Welt Joyce, this one was the true master of the Herrscher of Reason's authority.
And why had she made such a grand spectacle of it? If she had infiltrated Schicksal quietly to sabotage it, that would have aligned better with her stated objective. Why had she deliberately chosen to fight her head-on instead?