"You want Herrscher power so badly? Fine—I'll let you savor what it means to wield the might of the Herrscher of Wind!"
Elias walked out of the lab, holding Wendy in his arms.
An overwhelming aura radiated from his body.
When his gaze fell on the researchers, it was like a sovereign looking down on lowly, despicable sinners.
"Gem of Desire sync rate: 100%! Gem of Desire sync rate: 100%! Gem of Desire sync rate: 100%!!!"
The display screen kept repeating that impossible value, and all the researchers present could hardly believe their eyes. Even after embedding it into the girl and activating it repeatedly with Honkai energy, the sync rate had never surpassed 30%.
Yet now, merely held in Elias' hand, the Herrscher Core had achieved full synchronization!
As if he had been born to wield this power.
"You filthy bastards remind me of those scumbags at the Babylon Labs. Human experimentation... Schicksal really does love that sort of thing, huh."
"What are you trying to do? Who are you?!"
"Too noisy. You have no right to speak."
Elias frowned. The researcher who had just spoken gasped—
And that gasp became an invisible blade.
Under the Herrscher of Wind's power, it sliced through his body.
The man exploded into a spray of blood, and his colleagues recoiled in terror.
Before such absolute violence, they were nothing more than ants.
"M-Mr. Ghost..."
Wendy stirred in his arms, her eyes slowly opening. White flowers bloomed across her body as her injuries began to heal—her body mending now that the Gem of Desire had been removed.
"Shh. Sleep for now. When you wake up, it'll all be over. I'll take you somewhere warm. I'll get you... out of this hell."
Elias spoke to her gently.
Using his power, he lulled the girl into sleep. What would follow was far too brutal—too nightmarish for a girl to witness.
Wendy's gaze remained fixed on him as her eyes drifted shut, as if trying to imprint his image into her dreams.
Finally, she closed her eyes in peace, imagining that warm place he promised—a beautiful paradise.
Once sure she was asleep, Elias let go.
"Winds—submit to me."
Elias gave his command to a thousand winds.
In an instant, swirling currents surrounded him, forming a massive tornado that engulfed the entire Oceania Branch.
Thus, the prison of wind was complete.
No one within this branch would escape until judgment was served.
Elias, holding Wendy in a princess carry, rose into the sky. In that moment, he resembled a god cradling a wounded girl, ready to bring judgment upon all who had ever harmed her.
"All units alert! Detected ultra-high Honkai energy reading—9500HW!! 9500HW!!!"
The Honkai detection system at the Oceania Branch shrieked with alarms, broadcasting a number so terrifying no one could believe it—let alone resist it.
For reference: a reading over 1000HW could trigger a Honkai Eruption and the birth of a Herrscher. When Schicksal observed the birth of the first Herrscher—Welt Joyce—it had only reached 2500HW.
But this white-haired boy before them—his Honkai energy was nearly four times that of the Herrscher of Reason!
And that was just his natural state—he hadn't even begun to unleash his full power!
"Impossible! How can this be? Does he have four Herrscher Cores or something?!"
"It must be a malfunction! There's no way this is real!"
"Where's the Valkyrie unit?! Hurry! Launch a counterattack! Subjugate the Herrscher!"
"Damn it! You try fighting him if you're so tough! Not even Durandal could win against a monster like this—don't come any closer!"
Though they had long studied Herrscher Cores, trying to grasp their power, these mortals knew nothing of true Honkai. They had no concept of how strong a Herrscher really was.
Even someone like the original timeline's Wendy—barely qualified as a Herrscher—had unleashed 2000HW of Honkai energy, enough to annihilate the entire Oceania Branch in one blow.
And in Elias' hands, the core's power only grew stronger.
With four Herrscher Cores and a body as tough as a top-tier Fusion Warrior, Elias could contain over 10,000HW of Honkai energy.
Using that massive energy to wield the Herrscher of Wind's power, Elias moved like a god of storms incarnate.
"I seize the mantle of the gods, command the infinite storm. A thousand miles in a single step—I am the King of Desire."
The Gem of Desire merged into his body. Elias once again fully mastered its power.
His outfit changed: wings of wind formed behind him, and a white scarf appeared at his neck.
"Now then—have you all prepared yourselves for repentance?"
They couldn't even lift a finger in resistance.
Everyone in the Oceania Branch was paralyzed. Not a single one of them could move, not even to breathe—every breath was under Elias' control.
Invisible cords of wind bound them and lifted them into the air. There was no ideal fluid theory here—Elias controlled every current of wind within tens of thousands of meters.
This sky was his domain, filled with his authority.
"No, don't! Mercy! I was wrong!"
"God, please forgive me—have mercy!"
"It wasn't me! I had nothing to do with this!"
"I was just following orders! Don't kill me, please!"
"Heh... haha... a Herrscher... So this is the power of a Herrscher... It's beyond belief..."
Elias gazed down coldly at them.
At death's door, some begged, some screamed, some raged, some laughed maniacally.
None of it mattered to him.
With a wave of his hand, he cast them all into the tornado.
In the next instant, countless blades of wind sliced through their flesh, bones, even their blood—until nothing remained.
The Oceania base was also torn apart. Ideal fluid wasn't just a shield—it was a blade that could cut through anything. With a flick of Elias' finger, a blade of wind pierced the entire facility.
"Hmm. That's a decent upgrade."
Elias took a moment to assess his current power.
Herrscher of Death, Herrscher of Reason, Herrscher of Fire, Herrscher of Wind—though he was still one core short compared to the five-core Herrscher from the Second Eruption, his strength already far exceeded that of back then.
Except for the special case of the Herrscher of Reason, every other power he wielded had undergone metamorphosis.
By combining incomplete powers with full ones, each core's potential could now be unleashed at 100%.
"Core acquired. Girl rescued. Revenge complete. Time to make my exit. It's a last-minute idea from last night, but I think it'll work. Project Bunny."
"Lord Elias, what are your orders?"
"Flight mode. Take Wendy back to the Academy. Make sure no one sees you—just like when we came. Hand her directly to Theresa."
Elias placed Wendy into Project Bunny's cockpit, carefully issuing his instructions—yet didn't board the craft himself.
"Understood, Lord Elias. And what about you?"
"Me? I'm going to pull one over on that old dog, Otto."
As he spoke, Elias activated the power of the Herrscher of Rebirth, altering his cellular structure to change his appearance, body shape—even his gender.
In the blink of an eye, he had become the spitting image of Wendy.
"This move... is called Crossing the Sea Under Camouflage."
Elias moved in silence.
In this entire incident, he remained an invisible presence.
No one knew Elias had slipped from St. Freya Academy all the way to the Oceania Branch. No one knew he had reclaimed the Gem of Desire and become the Herrscher of Wind again. And everyone who had seen him—except Wendy—was now dead.
Even Schicksal's satellites couldn't observe what had happened. The tornado Elias summoned had blocked all external detection, and the base itself was reduced to a heap of rubble.
Next, he would appear to the world in Wendy's form, making everyone believe she had become the new Herrscher of Wind—and then...
Disappear to a place where no one could follow.
Forcing the world to abandon the Herrscher of Wind—Wendy.
"Project Bunny acknowledges. I'll escort this young lady back first! Safe travels, Lord Elias!"
"Naturally~ I am the Herrscher of Wind, after all."
Once Project Bunny departed—
Elias dispersed the tornado and stepped into the light in his new form as Herrscher.
Winds formed his wings, and he soared away at a speed surpassing any known aircraft, vanishing toward the distant horizon.
...
Sometime later, at Schicksal HQ—
"Lord Otto, we lost contact with the Oceania Branch half an hour ago. Satellite surveillance shows an EF5-level tornado in the area. All personnel have been confirmed wiped out. We suspect... a Herrscher of Wind has emerged."
Amber took a deep breath as she reported.
Otto's brow furrowed.
A Herrscher appearance was always a major event in the current era—especially the Herrscher of Wind. He immediately recalled the artificial Herrscher experiments being conducted at the Oceania Branch.
"The Herrscher of Wind? Ah, that's right. The branch reported progress on their artificial Herrscher project not long ago and requested additional funding."
Otto rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"How unexpected. I thought it'd take them at least another year or two to get anywhere. Turns out they really were making progress. It's just..."
Yes, they did succeed in creating a Herrscher.
But that Herrscher then proceeded to annihilate them.
"By the way, who was the Valkyrie fused with the Gem of Desire again? I've forgotten."
"Lord Overseer, that Valkyrie was named Wendy—a graduate of St. Freya Academy, ranked A, with potential to become an S-rank. Her compatibility with the Gem of Desire was high, so..."
"How unfortunate. A shining S-rank future gone up in smoke. Then again, a Herrscher is far more powerful than a regular S-rank. I suppose that's a blessing in disguise."
Otto glanced over Wendy's profile.
When he saw the "St. Freya Academy graduate" entry, a subtle expression crossed his face.
Once again—St. Freya.
His granddaughter's school was beginning to look less like a Valkyrie academy and more like a Herrscher factory.
Nearly all Herrschers in the current era had either come from or joined St. Freya at some point. Welt had taught there, Elias and Raiden Mei were students, and now even Wendy—a graduate—had become the Herrscher of Wind.
Even his future plan for K423 to become the next Herrscher of the Void—she too was currently a student at St. Freya.
Otto muttered, "Is that place some kind of feng shui hotspot or something? Strange... Whatever. Let's take a look at how strong this new Herrscher really is."
He brought up the satellite footage.
And when Otto saw the sky-piercing tornado that linked heaven and earth, even he was caught off guard.
(Hiss...! Even more astounding than expected. I figured a lab-forced Herrscher might have two-thirds the strength of a natural one—but this one looks even stronger?!)
Then, as the tornado began to dissipate—
"Wendy's" form was successfully recorded—an ethereal beauty like a spirit of the wind.
She seemed the very embodiment of freedom, evoking the sense that there was nowhere in the world she could not go.
The next instant, Wendy soared into the sky at blinding speed, vanishing into a streak of teal light that even the satellites could barely follow.
"Hmm. Judging from how only the Oceania Branch was destroyed, while the rest of New Zealand remained untouched, it seems this Herrscher of Wind, like the early Herrschers, possesses self-awareness and is not a mere puppet of Honkai."
Otto adjusted his posture, watching the data recordings with interest. It was unfortunate the entire Oceania Branch was wiped out—there wasn't a single survivor left to interrogate.
"Amber, what's the current location of the Herrscher of Wind?"
"Lord Overseer..."
"Immediately dispatch Durandal and the Immortal Blades squad. Since this bird has flown out of our Schicksal cage, it's only right we recapture it."
Otto narrowed his eyes in anticipation.
Truthfully, he was concerned Schicksal's military strength was becoming insufficient. Durandal was powerful, yes—but they couldn't rely on her alone. Besides, she had been quite upset last night.
This new Herrscher of Wind, judging by her power in the footage, was easily a Tier-1 threat in the current power scale—at least unmatched in aerial combat.
But just as Otto pondered how to subdue and bend this Herrscher to his will...
He noticed Amber had not moved.
"What's wrong, Amber? Is there a problem?"
"...Lord Overseer, unfortunately, we've already lost track of the Herrscher of Wind. And at present, Schicksal has no effective means of pursuing her."
"What?"
Otto was taken aback.
Even if the Herrscher could move faster than a supersonic jet, as long as she wasn't traveling at light speed—and still on Earth—there should be nowhere Schicksal couldn't track.
"The Herrscher of Wind has flown into outer space."
"Ah..."
Otto was speechless.
Well, that really was a dead end.
Sure, Schicksal's airborne warships could reach space, and Durandal's Godsbane Suit had aerial capabilities—but neither matched the Herrscher's agility, and sending them into space was highly risky.
Unlike a Herrscher, humans couldn't naturally maneuver in space.
And that wasn't even accounting for this being a Herrscher of Wind, capable of creating ideal fluid. Otto didn't know how that power worked in zero gravity, but he had no interest in finding out the hard way.
If he provoked her and she retaliated with a Category 10 typhoon or an EF5 tornado, well... they'd deserve it.
(Forget it. As long as she never returns to Earth, that's one less threat to our current civilization. Let her play in space all she wants. Frankly, the farther away, the better. I wish her a speedy encounter with a black hole.)
But the thought that all his Herrscher Cores had just been lost left Otto with a pang of regret.
He tried to comfort himself.
(No big deal~ aside from the Herrscher Core of the Void, the rest weren't that important anyway. Not a big loss. Artificial Herrscher programs? Totally unreliable! Whose stupid idea was that?!)
(Oh... right. Mine. Never mind, then.)
Beep beep!
Just then, Amber's communicator buzzed.
Her visor displayed the latest intelligence, and her face changed dramatically.
"Lord Overseer! Bad news!"
"Ugh—what now?"
Seeing her expression, Otto instinctively tensed.
"We just received word—the Herrscher of Wind dismantled our Fourth Divine Key in outer space—Unnamed Satellite! She took the Previous Era's Herrscher Core of Wind from inside!"
Amber reported anxiously.
"..."
Otto placed a hand on his forehead, the corner of his eye twitching.
Wonderful. Yet another card removed from his deck.
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