CHAPTER 468: IT’S BENARES!

"You’re quite fast. What, not even a shred of hesitation?"

Otto took a delicate sip of wine. A spatial rift opened behind him, and Michael stepped out, a girl tucked under each arm.

Both girls had been knocked unconscious. Michael glanced around, then casually tossed Bronya toward Rita. After Rita instinctively caught her, he spoke in a flat tone.

"Take her down and lock her up. We won’t be needing her for now."

His tone was so condescending, so devoid of any emotional inflection, that even Rita, who had a penchant for cosplaying as a maid, frowned slightly. Besides, who was this guy to be giving her orders?

But Overseer Otto didn’t seem to have any objection. Rita nodded slightly, gave a soft affirmation, and left with Bronya.

As for Raiden Mei, who was still held by Michael, and Kiana, floating in the enormous life-support capsule, Rita was curious, but she would never ask.

After Rita left, the vast laboratory was occupied only by Michael, Otto, and the two unconscious girls.

"I thought you’d just bring a core back."

Otto’s smile was playful, but then a thought seemed to cross his mind. The corners of his lips drooped slightly, and the amusement in his eyes was replaced by a far more complex emotion.

"Sorry, but while bringing just the core would have been convenient, this girl is still useful to me."

Michael shifted his grip, first holding Mei in his arms, then leaning her against the wall. He gently guided her body down until she was sitting in the corner.

Watching this sequence of actions, Otto blinked, the mockery in his eyes growing more pronounced.

He didn’t press, merely stating in an equally flat tone, "The Hyperion has rendezvoused with Anti-Entropy’s vanguard. They’ll be here in less than an hour."

"I know."

Michael bit his lip hard, then slowly released it. He traced a finger along Mei’s cheek, then let his hand fall once more to her chest.

"Otto, wake Kiana up first."

"Oh? Are you planning to change the plan?"

Otto’s smile grew wider, but in direct contrast, the muscles in his face grew stiffer—though for a body made of Soulium, "muscles" was probably not the right word.

This was the plan he had been plotting for over a decade, the only possibility he had won for Kallen based on all the truths he knew. He would absolutely not allow anyone to ruin it.

"No, you misunderstand me."

Michael shook his head with a smile.

"In truth, with the power of three Herrscher Cores and the massive amount of Honkai energy you’ve pumped into her, Sirin’s consciousness was bound to awaken. The Gem of Conquest is just a bonus. Like the Gem of Serenity—you never intended to use it, did you?"

Otto’s eyes narrowed, but his voice remained neutral. "Indeed. While the Second Herrscher’s power is insignificant in your eyes, our chosen battlefield is Schicksal HQ. I have no desire to grant her too much power. If she were to accidentally destroy the entire Floating Airport, it would be my property that suffers. So, you’re saying you don’t want to implant the Third Herrscher’s core into her? You need this core?"

"Of course not."

Michael picked Mei up again and carried her to the life-support capsule. He took one of her hands and gently pressed her palm against the capsule’s wall.

"I just think that if the goal is simply to awaken the Herrscher’s consciousness, implanting the Gem of Conquest or not doesn’t make much of a difference. If we’re going to do it, we might as well have the Gem of Conquest serve some additional purpose."

"Oh? Do tell."

Otto crossed his arms, a hint of confrontation now hanging in the air between them.

Once the Second Herrscher descended, their collaboration would be over. The animosity that had been suppressed was already beginning to boil within him, held in check only by his rationality.

"Weren’t you planning to awaken Kiana’s personality with ’love,’ thereby creating a Herrscher who ’fights for humanity,’ just like the First Herrscher, Welt? A fine idea. It ensures your own plan proceeds, and from a long-term perspective, it’s not a bad thing for humanity. This girl, with the powers of multiple Herrschers, might even become a savior. But... Otto, have you forgotten something?"

"Oh?"

"Only by experiencing deeper pain and despair can one better appreciate the power of that ’love.’ Isn’t that a simple truth?"

Michael turned his head, a faint smile playing on his lips. Otto’s right hand, hidden by his crossed arms, slowly clenched into a fist. If it were just that sentence, it would have been fine.

But at this moment, in this tone, spoken by Michael to him, it was hard not to suspect he was implying something.

Implying what? Otto himself knew perfectly well.

It was about what happened five hundred years ago.

"The Second Herrscher has not yet been born. Our collaboration is not yet over. Besides, I believe we’re not entirely without the possibility of working together after this. Why make things so tense? Of course, if you wish to make a move here, I don’t mind. While this is your home turf, for you to take my life, you could do it anytime, anywhere, couldn’t you?"

Otto’s brow relaxed, and he smiled faintly, as if he truly didn’t care about anything.

But did he really not care?

How could he not...

In his short life, he had schemed against so many, hurt so many, but the origin of it all was a life manipulated and plotted against by another.

At this moment, Otto finally understood. He hated Michael, yes, but he never hated Michael for indirectly causing Kallen’s death. He hated having his life’s trajectory maliciously altered by someone else.

Perhaps the original Kallen would not have died.

She would have fled to a hiding place, and then, just like him later on, she would have raised the banner of rebellion as the Holy Maiden after Schicksal lost the people’s hearts, turning everything around.

And he wouldn’t have had to bear the heavy burden of these five hundred years. He could have stood contentedly behind Kallen.

Even if his experiments were exposed and Kallen herself sent him to the gallows, he would have had no regrets.

Even if Kallen, without any interference, had still willingly walked to the gallows as she did that day, he would have accepted it without complaint, because at least it would have been their life.

But all of that... it no longer mattered now.

What happened in the past, no matter how much regret or hatred one felt, could never be reversed. Besides, he was no longer in despair.

He had obtained the truth he had craved for five hundred years. He had found a way to give Kallen life once more. As long as his plan could continue to move forward, that was enough.

Thus, he magnanimously raised his hands, his previously low voice once again becoming flamboyant and eccentric.

"Alright, I understand. Since we are collaborators, and you provided both the Gem of Serenity and the Gem of Desire, you do indeed have the right to change parts of the plan on the fly."

Michael pressed his lips together. This wasn’t the first time he had provoked Otto, and it likely wouldn’t be the last. But it wasn’t his true intention; it was more like a physical instinct.

Why was that? Michael couldn’t say for sure.

Perhaps it was a strange attraction born from the similarity of their goals, or perhaps because Otto had Schariac blood, making Michael constantly tempted to view their relationship from another’s perspective.

Or maybe it was a stress reaction born from guilt over the events of five hundred years ago. Even if he had done nothing, Kallen and Otto would still have met their original fate, but with his intervention, the nature of it had changed.

Forget it. Thinking about this now is pointless.

Michael turned to face the life-support capsule. Bubbles constantly rose through the orange nutrient fluid, where the white-haired girl’s figure bobbed up and down, showing no signs of waking.

Logically, after being implanted with two Herrscher Cores and stimulated with a large amount of Honkai energy, the Herrscher’s consciousness should have awakened.

However, to time it with the Hyperion’s attack, Michael had used the Authority of Sentience to forcibly delay the process.

"She’s beautiful, don’t you think?"

Otto didn’t have time to answer. The moment Michael turned back, the entire chamber was bathed in blood-red light, and a piercing alarm blared.

"Theresa’s arrived faster than expected?"

"No."

Michael shook his head slightly.

"It’s her awakening that has awakened something else..."

---||---

The attack came earlier than anticipated.

The mech forces, which had already assembled and were preparing to launch a proactive strike on the Hyperion, had not yet received the order to deploy. Instead, they were greeted by a massive dark shadow appearing in the northeast, even before the Hyperion.

"Lady Durandal, according to intel from the general staff, the target is suspected to be the Judgement-class Honkai Beast, Benares, which appeared in Siberia during the Second Eruption."

Having dealt with Bronya, Rita rushed to the front lines. After reporting the situation over comms, she looked up at the high tower behind her. Durandal stood alone at its peak, her eyes fixed on the dark silhouette.

After a moment, she raised her right hand toward Rita, palm open, and held it there.

The two had worked together long enough to have a tacit understanding. Even with such a simple gesture, Rita correctly interpreted its meaning.

She couldn’t help but grumble to herself, "Has Lady Durandal forgotten she’s wearing a communicator...?"

"Change of plans! First and Second Mech Squadrons, take off immediately to intercept Benares! All anti-air batteries, prioritize support for those two squadrons! Remaining mechs, take off and await orders! Valkyrie units, perform a final equipment check and prepare for close-quarters combat should the enemy breach the Floating Airport!"

A swarm of mechs took to the sky in succession. The Schicksal Floating Airport was essentially a gigantic aerospace carrier. Tactical mechs didn’t require a complex launch process like battleships.

The six mech squadrons, numbering over a thousand units, completed their takeoff in less than ten minutes.

The roar of Honkai reactors powering the engines was deafening. The sky above grew dim as countless mechs circled the Floating Airport, a fraction of them peeling off to charge toward the distant shadow.

Simultaneously, a massive number of railguns and anti-air missile launchers slowly locked onto the target, driven by electric motors. But they remained silent for the moment, the finger on the trigger hesitating.

"Lady Durandal, calculations indicate that a staggered volley in forty seconds will achieve maximum impact. Requesting permission to—"

"I am preparing to engage. Alvitr, I’m granting you command authority over the anti-air batteries. Any problems?"

"N-No! I will complete the mission, Lady Durandal!"

The roar returned, louder this time. In a single second, over five hundred railguns of 270mm caliber and above fired in unison. The sound of air being violently torn apart ripped at the eardrums. Even Durandal, standing atop the tower, winced and covered her ears.

But this was only the beginning. The railguns fired continuously, and in the gaps between volleys, uncountable anti-air missiles were launched in dense barrages—so dense, in fact, that it created the bizarre spectacle of railgun slugs rear-ending missiles and causing them to detonate prematurely.

This was, after all, the first time Schicksal HQ’s Floating Airport had been attacked. Everyone lacked experience. Many still felt like they were in a dream. Help! This is supposed to be the safest place in the world!

"Tactical mech units are closing on the target. Cease long-range fire to prevent friendly fire."

The dense barrage formed a spectacular curtain of fire in the sky dozens of kilometers away. The thick smoke billowed into a heavy, dark cloud.

Hundreds of tactical mechs used the cover to spread into an attack formation—their operating systems were directly linked to HQ’s radar, so they could quickly conclude that the target had survived.

Then again, no one really expected such a volley to kill a Judgement-class Honkai Beast. But... it should have done some damage, right?

ROOOOAR—

The smoke was torn apart with ease. The backdraft carved a massive swathe of empty space through the tactical mech formation. The dragon’s figure, like a great spear, pierced straight through that gap, shattering the squadron’s lines!

The remaining mechs, controlled by their AIs, reacted with incredible speed, immediately turning their weapons.

But Benares’s enormous form twisted and dodged through the air, and for a moment, the weapon systems couldn’t even lock on. They could only aim in its general direction and fire blindly.

As a result, most of the stray bullets and shells ended up hitting friendly units. Even the few lucky shots that hit Benares couldn’t penetrate its thick, greyish armor plating to cause any real damage.

"This is a bit troublesome..."

Rita muttered to herself, her grip tightening on her scythe.

As things stood, the mech units could only delay the Judgement-class Honkai Beast for a short time. How long? Rita couldn’t say for sure, but it looked like ten minutes, tops.

Although, as Benares advanced another twenty kilometers, it would enter the firing range of the railguns on the other side of the Floating Airport, but that didn’t seem likely to help much.

A breach in the defensive line was practically a foregone conclusion. She had no idea why this great beast, which had been dormant for sixteen years, had awakened at this precise moment. Was this also part of the Overseer’s plan?

Once Benares landed on the Floating Airport, the only ones who could stop it would be the two S-Rank Valkyries. But on the other side, there was still the Far East Branch’s Hyperion and Anti-Entropy...

Speak of the devil. In the sky to the southeast, a massive dark shape was rapidly approaching the Floating Airport.

"Lady Durandal! Lady Rita! The Far East Branch’s Hyperion has entered the HQ’s one-hundred-kilometer airspace!"

"Send the remaining mech squadrons to try and delay the Hyperion. If they succeed, the two of us will take down Benares first. If they fail, I’ll deal with Benares. You deal with the Far East Branch."

Durandal had, at some point, leaped down from the tower and was now standing beside Rita.

"One for each of us, then..."

Rita murmured softly. Benares was clearly the easier opponent compared to the Hyperion, not to mention the Anti-Entropy forces whose strength was unknown, and Theresa herself, a former S-Rank Valkyrie.

But Rita understood. Durandal giving her the tougher assignment and taking the weaker Benares herself wasn’t for some unspoken reason.

It was because, this way, the stronger Durandal could quickly finish off Benares and then come to support Rita. If it were the other way around, they would truly be fighting on their own.

That said, if you didn’t know and trust your partner’s strength, how could you make such a quick judgment?

Rita’s eyes narrowed into a smile once more. But this time, her aura held none of the menace and terror from when she had faced those two girls earlier. All that remained was obedience.

"I understand, Lady Durandal."

Bianka "Durandal" Ataegina responded with a silent nod. At almost the same instant, she chose not to use her more familiar Abyss Flower. Instead, she drew the weapon she had barely used since acquiring it.