Untitle

"Joachim, I think you need to see this!"

In the Anti-Entropy Sovereign's office, a sudden shout shattered the peace. Welt Yang, engrossed in processing data on the Herrscher of Dominance, flinched, his fountain pen drawing a long streak across the document.

Before he could even adjust his glasses, the office door burst open with a bang, and Tesla's fiery red figure stormed in.

"What happened?" Welt, familiar with her temper, wasn't angry. He casually pushed the documents aside, gesturing for her to explain calmly.

"Just now, our investigators deployed in western North America sent news. Ten minutes ago, several energy fluctuations were detected consecutively over the West Coast airspace. However, because they lacked Honkai Energy signatures, the monitoring equipment didn't trigger an alarm. But based on the local investigators' visual observation, they confirmed some kind of projectile weapon was launched."

Tesla pulled up a blurry aerial photograph. Amidst the pale clouds, an orange-red tail flame was particularly striking.

Just as Tesla was about to voice her suspicions, Welt, more knowledgeable about military matters, already had the answer.

"BG-109 cruise missiles." He frowned deeply, puzzled. "This type of conventional weapon has extremely limited effectiveness against Honkai Beasts. Why would they appear now?"

Tesla was sharp. Although the weapons she developed were primarily anti-Honkai, and she wasn't an expert on modern conventional arms, she could still deduce their function.

"Looks like fuel-driven missiles. No wonder no Honkai Energy signal was detected. But if there hasn't been a recent Honkai outbreak, who could these missiles be targeting?"

"This is..." Halfway through his sentence, Welt's expression changed drastically. He was about to pull up the world map to predict the missile trajectories when the communicator on his desk suddenly rang.

He didn't answer it. Instead, using the information Tesla provided, he quickly sketched possible paths with his pen.

"Launching from the East Coast of North America, crossing the Atlantic..." The pen tip moved rapidly, finally settling on a specific region.

He abruptly looked up at Tesla, his expression grave. "Do you remember which direction the Hyperion headed?"

"East."

"Which means, based on the Hyperion's cruising speed, at this time, it should be crossing the Atlantic, approaching Europe."

Tesla reacted quickly, her face turning equally grim. "The missiles are targeting the Hyperion!"

Having reached the conclusion, both immediately stood up, intending to contact Theresa. However, noticing the communicator still ringing on the desk, Welt opted to let Tesla go first while he answered the call.

With slight interference, the communicator's holographic projection gradually cleared. But when he recognized the identity of the figure in the projection, he couldn't help showing a hint of surprise.

"Raiden Ryoma?"

"It's been a while, Mr. Welt."

As the representative of Anti-Entropy's conservative faction before being framed by Cocolia, Raiden Ryoma was no stranger to Welt.

"Weren't you missing?" Months ago, World Serpent attacked an Anti-Entropy branch, abducting Raiden Ryoma and Siegfried Kaslana. Although Welt had considered a rescue, Anti-Entropy itself was struggling to survive at the time, so the rescue mission was shelved.

"Captured, more accurately," Ryoma sighed, showing little emotion. "But it's not all bad. At least it gave me more opportunities to see my daughter."

"My apologies. Our rescue wasn't timely enough."

"It doesn't matter. Things aren't too bad. It's just that I've joined a new organization now and can no longer serve Anti-Entropy."

"Then why are you contacting me?"

Raiden Ryoma was a conservative executive. During his time as president, he mostly focused on quietly developing his own company, providing financial support to Anti-Entropy. He rarely initiated contact with Welt unless it was a special situation.

"I think there are some things you should know." Raiden Ryoma changed the subject, directly starting a video call.

The screen showed him inside a military base. Fallen bodies and fresh bloodstains indicated a violent infiltration had just occurred.

As the view shifted, Welt saw Ryoma had a living person pinned under his foot. Judging by the military uniform's rank, the man held a high position. However, perhaps due to Ryoma's excessive force, the man had already passed out.

"An Admiral?"

On the other end, Raiden Ryoma glanced at the still unconscious Admiral underfoot, then picked up a water glass from the table and splashed it onto the man's face.

Shocked by the cold water, the unconscious Admiral quickly woke up. Recalling his experience, he instinctively tried to resist, but the next second, a sharp blade pierced straight through his hand, pinning him firmly to the ground.

"Speak. Who gave the order?"

"This was just a military exercise. I don't know what you're talking about."

Clearly, someone who reached this position couldn't be broken by simple threats. Raiden Ryoma knew this too. He opened a small medicine box marked with The Obsidian Concord symbol, took out a pill, and shoved it directly into the man's mouth.

"I'll ask you again. Who gave the order to launch the cruise missiles, and who was the target?"

The Admiral, having swallowed the pill, still tried to conceal the truth. But the next second, countless golden threads suddenly spread across his body. His eyes gradually became vacant. Head bowed, he answered honestly.

"The order came from Congress. They promised that upon completion of the bombing, the military budget for the next quarter would increase by 20 billion US dollars, with 200 million belonging to me. As for the missile target, I don't know. Congress provided a special guidance program; I was only responsible for launching."

"Do you know why they ordered the attack?"

The Admiral unconsciously shook his head, then nodded. "As far as I know, during the recent purge, tens of millions of acres of cannabis fields and many factories in Mexico were destroyed. These factories were actually industries supported by members of Congress. Additionally, many activities frequently participated in by congress members, such as those on 'Maiden Island,' had to be temporarily halted due to the chaos caused by the Herrscher of Dominance... So I guess, they wanted revenge..."

"Since you know about Herrschers, you should know conventional missiles can't lock onto targets protected by Honkai Energy shields."

"The military is only responsible for defending North America in conventional warfare. Fighting the Honkai isn't our job. However, the guidance program provided by superiors came from Congress, therefore it could lock on..."

Bang!

Welt slammed his fist on the table, his face so dark it looked like water might drip from it. He finally understood why Raiden Ryoma insisted on interrogating the Admiral in front of him.

Although the Admiral only revealed that Congress provided the guidance program, as the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, Welt knew there was only one possible source for such technology: within Anti-Entropy itself.

And the Hyperion's whereabouts must have also been leaked by someone internally. Otherwise, the Hyperion, equipped with silent running capabilities, could never be detected by ordinary radar.

Meanwhile, Raiden Ryoma's interrogation was nearing its end. Seeing no more information could be extracted, he asked one final question.

"How many parties like the ones on 'Maiden Island' have you attended?"

"...Many. To gain more power, more status, one must join them, stain oneself black."

"Good answer."

Bang!

A gunshot rang out. Blood splattered across the wall. Filthy blood pooled into a stream, seeping into the dark drainage pipes.

Simultaneously, triggered by the gunshot, the military base's defense systems belatedly activated. Raiden Ryoma met Welt's gaze one last time, then cut the video feed.

"Welt, as your former subordinate, I must advise you: if you cannot lead Anti-Entropy further, at least try not to make more mistakes. I know the alliance's bonds are fragile, but please do not turn a blind eye to certain darkness."

"Otherwise, when he comes looking for you, Anti-Entropy might face irreversible doom."

The communication ended.

Welt collapsed into his chair as if all his strength had been drained, his eyes filled with unspeakable exhaustion.

He had thought arranging the face-to-face confrontation between Kiana and the people from Congress was a good move. Only by making those congress members realize Herrschers were beyond their control would they behave.

He never expected to underestimate the depravity of human nature so severely.

"This isn't just simple revenge."

Welt knew the people in Congress weren't truly foolish. They understood the Herrscher of the Void was beyond their grasp, and attacking Kiana was pointless. But combined with Schicksal's previously issued wanted notice, this attack had a deeper purpose.

—Congress's target wasn't the Herrscher of the Void, but the Herrscher of Dominance.

Or rather, Schicksal's target wasn't Kiana, but Ren.

Anti-Entropy was formerly Schicksal's North American branch. Being a branch meant residual Schicksal personnel were unavoidable. Although Welt successfully led Anti-Entropy to independence, the loose alliance was practically a sieve compared to Schicksal.

Those politicians in Congress had no understanding of the Honkai, but their greed knew no bounds. Schicksal merely needed to hint at a connection between the Herrscher of Dominance and the Herrscher of the Void, and these people would dare to take reckless risks. The chaos caused by the HoD destroyed their illicit businesses, inevitably provoking retaliation. Thus, Congress, and even elements within Anti-Entropy, conveniently became weapons for Schicksal.

Sighing heavily, Welt recalled Raiden Ryoma's parting words.

"Perhaps I really am getting old."

His thoughts of retirement solidifying, Welt stood up and walked towards the door. He could tolerate internal strife for the sake of fighting the Honkai. But Anti-Entropy absolutely could not repeat past mistakes. A thorough internal cleansing was necessary first.

---||---

Over the Atlantic Ocean, the Hyperion, billowing thick smoke, still hovered steadily in the air. However, consecutive cruise missile hits had caused significant damage to the airship.

Fortunately, while the guidance program provided by the traitor bypassed the ship's Honkai Energy shield defenses, Kiana, Theresa, and Bronya, being S-rank Valkyrie-level combatants themselves, weren't too seriously injured.

"Are you alright?"

"Principal, I'm fine."

As the smoke cleared, a disheveled Kiana pushed aside a steel beam pinning her down and struggled out of the wreckage. However, before she could even stand up, a silver-white arc of light suddenly flashed. In her haste, she only managed to conjure a Lance of the Void to block in front of her before being sent flying by immense force.

"My, my. I didn't expect you'd improve so much since we last met."

Amidst the flames, a girl's voice drifted over leisurely. Simultaneously, a bright sword edge, like clear spring water, descended into the ship's hold.

The next instant, the smoke and flames were swept up by a residual storm and plunged into the vast ocean below.

"Li Sushang of the Peerless Free Will Sect. Please advise."