Chapter 010 : The Past "Cause"

Inside Schicksal headquarters, after watching the video that seemed like a "declaration of war," both Durandal and Rita remained silent for a long time.

After a while...

"Rita, immediately organize this information and share it with Anti-Entropy and World Serpent."

"This..."

Rita, who had been deep in thought, couldn't help but ask, "Lady Durandal, sharing intelligence with World Serpent is understandable. After all, before the Overseer disappeared, he had already formed an alliance with their leader. But Anti-Entropy..."

Clearly, Rita wasn't entirely on board with this decision.

But Durandal insisted, "Rita, I know that if Overseer Otto were still here, he would never agree to this. But I'm not Otto. I have my own way of doing things."

"Understood!"

Rita didn't try to persuade her further. She turned and left to carry out the orders that Durandal had personally given, even though she considered them "immature."

As she walked away...

"This person..."

Rita looked down at the electronic tablet in her hand, which displayed the image of the black-haired young man. She was a meticulous person, so she hadn't forgotten that several years ago, after the third Honkai eruption, she had retrieved a special test subject from an abandoned Anti-Entropy underground base in the ruins of Nagazora City.

And now...

"The 'villain' we created?"

As she murmured these words, even Rita, who had seen the darkest sides of the world, couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions. In the end, all her thoughts could only be summed up in a sigh.

"Truly, fate plays cruel tricks."

Her footsteps gradually faded away.

Not long after...

Anti-Entropy, North America, Salt Lake Base.

After the "Sea of Quanta incident," the return of the leader, Welt Yang, marked the end of the radical faction's dominance within Anti-Entropy. Now, Cocolia, the leader of the radical faction, was behind bars, while the conservative faction, led by Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla, had regained control.

As for the newly returned second-generation leader, the master of failed negotiations, Mr. Welt Yang...

He was busy training his successor.

Bronya Zaychik.

This young girl, who had regained her emotions, was his chosen heir. She was the new Herrscher of Reason and would be the future leader of Anti-Entropy.

If nothing unexpected happened...

"Bronya, sister."

"Seele, were you just at the training room?"

"Yes, I tried the highest difficulty today, but I didn't pass."

"Don't be discouraged, and don't push yourself too hard. You're already doing great, Seele."

"Mm!"

In a corridor, the two girls happened to meet and walked side by side. As they chatted, they arrived at a room with an open electronic door.

Inside, a loud, angry voice could be heard.

"Those Schicksal idiots, I swear to—, and that bastard Cocolia—"

Well, judging by the profanity-laden and extremely agitated tone, it was clear that Dr. Tesla was once again in a heated state.

Bronya and Seele couldn't help but peek inside...

They saw not only Dr. Tesla but also Dr. Einstein, who was standing nearby, massaging her temples and sighing repeatedly.

"What's going on?"

Bronya asked curiously.

Noticing her arrival, Dr. Tesla took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, though it was obvious she was still in a foul mood.

Welt Yang was also present. Seeing Seele with Bronya, he sighed and said, "Seele, could you please go check on the children at the orphanage? We need to discuss something with Bronya."

Hearing this...

"Oh, sure!"

Seele, being a considerate girl, understood that some matters were not for her to be involved in at this time.

So, seeing that Mr. Welt intended to send her away, Seele obediently bid farewell to Bronya and left on her own.

It was at this moment...

"Ah, it seems that in their eyes, you're still just an outsider."

A somewhat sarcastic voice echoed in Seele's mind.

Perhaps it was just her imagination... but Seele also sensed a hint of... small satisfaction in that voice.

"Don't say that, other me."

Seele didn't dwell on it and patiently explained, "Mr. Welt and Sister Bronya are both seasoned warriors. I can't go and cause trouble for them."

"Hmph~"

A cold snort sounded in her mind, followed by silence.

In fact, neither Seele nor "Seele" knew that the reason Welt wanted to send Seele away was actually to... protect her.

Because the news they had just received was far too gruesome.

The inside story was far too dark.

They were worried that Seele wouldn't be able to handle it.

As for Bronya...

There was no other choice. She... was one of the parties involved.

At this moment, still in that room...

"Bronya, take a look at this."

After Seele left, Welt closed the electronic door. He didn't plan to let too many people know about the relevant information.

Bronya... took the electronic tablet handed to her by Dr. Einstein without a word and carefully read through the series of intelligence reports sent over from Schicksal.

Among them was the fact that the West Asia branch had been completely destroyed, as well as... the "villain's declaration" made by that black-haired young man.

"..."

Bronya fell silent.

At this point, Dr. Einstein added, "Based on the information summarized from these video materials and comparing them to the archives left behind by the previous civilization, we can preliminarily determine that he is the Herrscher of Domination of our era—the 10th Herrscher."

The 10th Herrscher—the Herrscher of Domination.

Or, it could also be called: the Herrscher of a Thousand.

"He has no intention of hiding this identity. From start to finish, he has been acting in a high-profile manner."

Dr. Einstein said helplessly, "Moreover, I infer that he is completely different from Kiana and the former Mei. He doesn't seem to be influenced by a Herrscher persona. Everything he's doing now is based on his own judgment."

Without a doubt, this was the most difficult knot to untie.

Bronya remained silent.

At this point, the materials in her hands had already detailed everything about this black-haired young man—Ling Ke.

In the autumn of 2013, he suddenly appeared in the territory of Nagazora City in the Far East.

Before that, there was no trace of any related information.

During the same period, he was captured by the radical faction executive of Anti-Entropy, Cocolia, and a few months later, the third Honkai eruption occurred.

In April 2014, he was discovered by a Schicksal investigation team and transferred from the ruins of Nagazora City to the West Asia branch.

Then began the tragic life of a test subject, which lasted until yesterday.

The images and experimental records that flashed through the materials were enough to make one's scalp tingle.

Bronya saw Ling Ke's photo.

She remembered this person.

Because back then, it was her—before she met the "Mei-senpai" and "idiot Kiana" who would later change her so much and with whom she would grow increasingly close—who personally dismembered his limbs and brought him before Mother Cocolia.

What happened after that, Bronya didn't know.

Because she was immediately sent by Cocolia to carry out another mission: to monitor the Third Herrscher's vessel—Raiden Mei.

This led to the series of events that followed.

Now, she was no longer the world's number one assassin.

She had close friends, a legacy, and Seele had been saved.

But recalling all this now...

"What exactly happened back then?"

An inexplicable sense of foreboding arose in Bronya's heart.

Then, she looked at the other three people in the room...

"Mr. Welt, Dr. Einstein, and... Dr. Tesla."

Bronya said seriously, "Bronya wants to see Mother Cocolia. Right now!"