Miss Herta, can you let me glance at your manuscript?
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 9: Miss Herta, can you let me glance at your manuscript?
[ In the light curtain image, Himeko smiled gently as she saw the group arrive. "Honestly, you guys always make it so thrilling. But it's good to have you back. You've worked hard. March 7th, Dan Heng."
"Himeko, you should have come earlier." March 7th whined and acted spoiled as soon as she saw Himeko. That last batch of Antimatter Legion was like locusts, and I used arrows. It was so tiring to fight."
"Coming earlier wouldn't have helped. My orbital cannon can take out a whole area, but if Herta sees the space station like this, she'll definitely come after us."
Himeko noticed Stelle behind March 7th and introduced herself, "Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Himeko, the navigator of the Astral Express."
"Which means, the train does whatever she says." March 7th added with a smile.
Himeko smiled slightly, not denying it, "Has March 7th been giving you trouble along the way?"
"Think carefully before you answer~" March 7th frowned slightly, a hint of small threat in her eyes.
Stelle just shrugged, "Never seen such a reckless girl."
"That's just my personality!" March 7th raised her lips, quite proud, "I didn't cause any trouble this time... you'll get used to it, see, Dan Heng is used to it."
Dan Heng simply closed his eyes, "I have the right to remain silent."
"Hahaha, young people easily become friends, it seems you're already quite familiar." Himeko was happy to see them like this. "Let's go, we'll go see Asta."
When the group arrived, Asta had just finished issuing a series of orders.
"You're back? I'm so glad to see you safe, Arlan was just here, he told me about the Storage Zone, and his injuries... thanks to your help, thank you."
Seeing the members of the Express crew, Asta's originally tense nerves could finally relax a little.
"Let's go talk to the staff. At this time, no one wants any more accidents inside the space station. By the way, have you tried contacting Herta?" Himeko suddenly asked.
A trace of loneliness flashed in Asta's eyes, "I sent many emails, all without reply. Miss Himeko, you know her, the space station is just her warehouse for storing followers and curios, she doesn't care about it at all."
"I knew it." Himeko was also quite helpless, but still comforted her, "It's okay, I'll also send a message to Herta, saying we brought the curio she wanted, at least that will be a bit attractive to her."
"That would be a great help." Asta finally had a smile on her flower-like face, compared to the constant alarms ringing in the space station, this was rare good news.
"Ms. Herta is a genius, but how to manage the staff, how to politely responding to the various difficulties of the Genius Society is beyond her ability, and I happen to be able to handle these."
"No matter what the problem, just say it's Ms. Herta's intention, after all, Herta herself is the symbol of 'wisdom'." Remembering the help Herta had given her, Asta's eyes almost had little stars popping out. ]
[ ..... ]
~Frieren: Beyond Journey's End World~
Hearing Asta's every sentence mentioning "Herta," Frieren also became curious about Herta's identity.
"Frieren-sama, this 'Herta' seems very powerful, should be a figure who can influence the interworld situation, right?"
Seeing Asta's respectful appearance, Frieren inexplicably thought of Serie-sama.
When those First-Class mages mentioned Serie-sama, the respect and admiration on their faces were exactly the same as this Miss Asta.
"From what they're saying, this Ms. Herta is a terrible person."
Stark lay on the chair, frowning slightly,
"She's the owner of the space station, but she doesn't care about the staff who follow her, it seems their lives and deaths have nothing to do with her... what a cold person."
"Those who can be called 'genius' have more or less places that ordinary people can't understand."
Frieren looked at the dusty grimoires on the bookshelf, seeming to remember something, and said leisurely,
"You know, in the eyes of many big figures, ordinary humans may not even be as good as ants... Stark, when you walk in the forest, do you care about the ants under your feet?"
Stark opened his mouth and was stunned for a moment.
"People with this kind of personality are generally rushing towards the truth."
Frieren yawned,
"I've seen too many of these people."
Fern saw Sein in the corner hugging a wine bottle in a daze, and asked curiously,
"What is Sein-sama thinking about?"
"Well, I was thinking, if this Ms. Herta is a young and beautiful lady, this terrible personality doesn't seem to be a disadvantage."
"Uh..."
Fern had an expression of extreme disgust on her face.
"Those who are willing to dedicate their time to wisdom and truth will definitely not be young, maybe she's a wizened old hag~"
Frieren showed a sly smile.
—
~Runeterra World~
On the other side, seeing Miss Asta so admire "Ms. Herta," Jayce couldn't help but feel very curious.
In his and Viktor's view, the technology of that Silver Wolf to modify reality alone was enough for them to spend a long time studying, but from what they were saying, this Ms. Herta seemed even more powerful than Silver Wolf.
Mentioning "the symbol of wisdom," Jayce subconsciously thought of Professor Heimerdinger.
Although the professor was the founder of this city of progress, after hundreds of years, his thinking had gradually become conservative.
As the professor's student, Jayce still maintained respect and humility towards this teacher, but in his heart, he gradually no longer agreed with him.
"I wonder what achievements this Ms. Herta has made? Has she also created a progressive city... or a progressive country?"
Viktor also gradually couldn't restrain his curiosity. But just then, as if the pink-haired girl in the light curtain heard their thoughts, she actually began to introduce this famous genius.
—
[ "Ms. Herta?"
"She's a member of the 'Genius Society,' a favored child of the 'Erudition' Aeon. Since the birth of the Erudition, there have only been 84 such people in total."
"So, Ms. Herta is super willful... she only does what she's interested in, and leaves immediately when she loses interest. This space station is such a product..."
"Not long ago, I borrowed a copy of her manuscript as a reference, It should still be in the Main Control Zone; you can take a look if you're interested." ]
[ ..... ]
~Runeterra World~
"Erudition Aeon?!"
After listening to the explanation, both Jayce and Viktor captured this name.
When they were young, they had more or less heard the legends of Magic, what Tales of Past Catastrophes, what the fragmented, fear-inducing tales about the Void...
But listening to it, compared to this Erudition Aeon, the level was too different!
Across different worlds, Jayce and Viktor could more or less guess that Ms. Herta's achievements might not be helpful to their hextech research. It's just that scientists are the embodiment of curiosity, and it was too difficult for Jayce to resist wanting to know.
If there was no exaggeration in Asta's words, this Ms. Herta was one of the 84 most intelligent people in the universe; this title alone was probably comparable to the gods in their worlds, right?
And her research manuscript, the degree of preciousness was self-evident.
Unfortunately, Asta was talking to Stelle, not to them. At this moment, Jayce just wanted Stelle to quickly find Ms. Herta's manuscript so they could see it... even if it was just a glance!Still empty inside
Chapter Text
~Runeterra World~
Unfortunately, Jayce didn't have the chance to see Herta's manuscript.
—
[ Not long after Stelle finished talking with Asta, a burst of urgent alarms suddenly echoed through the space station, and countless red warnings popped up on the main interface, filling the entire screen.
"Ah! What's going on?" March 7 looked around in horror.
On the screen, a giant claw slowly extended into the space station's shield. Accompanied by the sound of the shield shattering, the camera pulled back, revealing a dragon-like giant creature lying outside the space station's shield, attempting to tear apart the barrier in front of it with its claws.
Asta's azure eyes flashed with a hint of panic, but she suppressed it in the next moment. She took a deep breath and turned to Himeko, saying,
"You guys take the train and leave, I... I'll stay behind."
"Okay," Himeko nodded.
"But..." March 7 hesitated, wanting to say something, but was pulled away by Himeko in the next second.
In the dark light screen, only Asta's intermittent electrical sounds echoed continuously.
"The shield of the support module won't last long, you guys, hurry..."
"Leave it... to me..."
"You... hurry..." ]
[ ..... ]
~Jujutsu Kaisen World Future Timeline~
"Heh, this monster..."
Ryomen Sukuna crossed his arms. Although his expression was calm on the surface, Kenjaku, who was closest to him, felt his whole body enveloped in an icy chill.
It was as if he were immersed in cold water, and even breathing was a chore.
The two cursed spirits beside him were trembling visibly. They were shaking so violently that Kenjaku, who had just released them, felt that if they continued to shake, Sukuna's cursed energy would crush them into nothingness in the next second.
Sukuna subconsciously released part of his cursed energy when he saw the Doomsday Beast.
Beast-like intuition was something Sukuna had gained through countless battles. Facing such an enemy, he had to be on guard from the very first second.
Under the influence of the system, even through the light screen, they could feel the pressure from the Doomsday Beast.
This long-lost, blood-pumping sense of oppression reminded Sukuna of when he tamed Mahoraga. But the pressure from Mahoraga was like comparing mud to clouds compared to the Doomsday Beast. A hint of anticipation finally appeared on Sukuna's face.
He really wants to deploy Malevolent Shrine in the space station and let this big guy try his slashes.
—
In the light screen
[ Himeko and the others had arrived at a secluded place.
"... Communication is cut off," Himeko shook her head.
Thinking of the monster just now, Dan Heng, whose expression was usually calm, now had a hint of worry. He reminded,
"Should we go back? That's a Doomsday Beast, a stellar weapon of the Legion."
Himeko was very relieved: "This space station was built by Herta. Unless the Annihilation Gang takes action, there won't be any major problems here."
"But, but we can't just run away like this, right?" March 7 felt it was a bit unkind to just leave.
Dan Heng said solemnly: "The Legion has the blessing of the Destruction Aeon, Nanook. They came prepared, and the people here can't hold on."
Himeko looked at Star beside her and said calmly: "That's why we must leave - and take Stelle with us."
"She is the key to breaking the situation. Of course, I might be wrong."
"???"
"Stelle looked at everyone in confusion."
"What's going on? How did I suddenly become the key to breaking the situation?" ]
[ ..... ]
~Zenless Zone Zero World~
"Phew——"
"In this situation, I really admire Section Chief Miyabi for being able to adapt to this sense of oppression so quickly."
"I can only say, as expected of the youngest Void Hunter in New Eridu?"
In the office of the Air Defense Section 6 at the New Eridu Defense Force headquarters, Tsukishiro Yanagi slumped in her chair, looking as exhausted as if she had just finished twenty sets of strength training, covered in sweat, and unable to even move the documents on her desk.
On the other hand, the black-haired, fox-eared girl in front of her seemed unaffected, looking up at the light screen with an admiring expression.
"Looking forward to the fight and starting the 'fastest monster boss elimination training', "
Hoshimi Miyabi slowly sipped her tea, the tea smoke curling up, fragrant and overflowing, the warm breath leaving a shallow mist on Tsukishiro Yanagi's thin glasses.
"Section Chief Miyabi, this... doesn't look like a monster that could be born in a Hollow, does it?"
Tsukishiro Yanagi wiped her glasses and said awkwardly.
Since the appearance of this strange light screen, Section Chief Miyabi hadn't moved from her seat for an hour, and even when the overwhelming Doomsday Beast descended, she only paused for two seconds with her teacup in hand.
Saying something about "starting a training session to not leave the seat within ten hours"...
Tsukishiro Yanagi realized for the first time the value of Section Chief Miyabi's messy training sessions.
This light screen was initially investigated by the HAND headquarters and the Security Bureau. At first, they thought it was a companion phenomenon of the Hollow, but after checking, they found that no Hollow currently had such a spectacular companion phenomenon.
The light screen seemed to be connected to another world, yet it was completely unrelated to New Eridu. It was unclear what the higher-ups decided, but at least they didn't dispatch Air Defense Section 6 to take any action.
But now it was hard to say, the pressure from this Doomsday Beast might have already affected the normal operation of New Eridu.
Everyone felt it, their heartbeats were like drums, as if struggling to jump out of their chests - if you curiously looked directly into the eyes of the Doomsday Beast, the terror was very similar to the feeling of being sucked in when looking at a crystal-clear lake.
"The feeling of goosebumps is more real than watching a sensory movie,"
Asaba Harumasa said with lingering fear, lying on his desk.
"If the monsters in the Hollow weren't the Remains but this size, hiss... I'm done, I think those Remains are actually kind and friendly now."
"Speaking of which, Section Chief Miyabi, can I take three days of sick leave today?"
Tsukishiro Yanagi snorted unhappily:
"If you could be as energetic and passionate in dealing with the Remains as Miss Selle in the light screen is in beating up the Void Troopers, instead of hiding behind Soukaku and dozing off... maybe I would consider it."
"Vice Section Chief, really?!"
"Yeah,"
Tsukishiro Yanagi slowly raised a finger:
"Of course, there is another prerequisite, your body must also have a Stellaron stuffed into it like Miss Stelle."
Asaba Yuma's eyebrows, which had just perked up, drooped down again.
——
[ "Okay, what should we do next?"
Himeko looked around and pointed to the passage behind her: "This is the support module where the maintenance crew works, which leads to the nearest platform. Let's go there and meet up with Welt."
"Uncle Yang? Uncle Yang is here, too? Didn't he stay on the train?" March 7 widened her eyes in surprise.]
[ ..... ]This is absolutely magic
Chapter Text
[ "The Astral Express's driving recorder instantly records our tracks. With such a commotion at the space station, Mr. Welt couldn't possibly not notice," Dan Heng patiently explained."
"Right now, we can barely handle the Doomsday Beast, but if the 'Destruction Aeon's emanator also arrives…" Himeko trailed off, her expression quite grave."
Another unfamiliar term. Stelle cast a questioning glance at Himeko.
But now is not the time for explanations. When the group arrived at the platform, March 7th was shocked to find herself enveloped in a massive shadow.
Seeing this, her heart skipped a beat, and she looked up to see a giant dragon circling in the sky outside the space station, watching them with a menacing gaze. ]
[ ..... ]
~Frieren: Beyond Journey's End World~
"Frieren-sama, this aura… It's so strong."
Fern looked up at the sky, as if the Doomsday Beast had also crossed the light screen and was circling in the sky, its shadow obscuring the mountains.
The oppressive feeling was far stronger than the ancient dragons they had hunted. In fact, those ancient dragons were like mere earthworms compared to the Doomsday Beast.
The distinct aura and the size that could cover towns and mountains caused many people in the town to collapse to the ground, their legs weak with fear, even through the illusory scene on the light screen.
Such a magnificent sight, however, was something that even seasoned adventurers might never witness in their entire lives, let alone ordinary people.
The astonishing Doomsday Beast stimulated people's curiosity while temporarily numbing their inner torment and fear.
——
[ "A Doomsday Beast… it actually chased us here."
Looking at the Doomsday Beast constantly circling outside the space station, March 7th wasn't afraid. She furrowed her brow, drew her bow, and aimed it straight at the distant Doomsday Beast: "Come down here!"
"Roar—!"
The Doomsday Beast immediately swooped down and landed on the space station platform as if understanding. Its massive roar stirred up countless dust clouds, making it difficult for everyone to stand upright. ]
[ ..... ]
~Demon Slayer World~
"Attacks won't work on a monster of this size."
"You should aim for the purple crystal ball on its head, or its neck—"
"Heh, do you think this monster is like the demons we fight? What good would cutting its neck do? It attacks with its hands, so we should cut them off first."
"That's not how you fight it. You should poke the square hole in its chest. It glows…"
The Demon Slayer Corps immediately erupted in discussion, offering advice to the Astral Express crew from across the distant light screen.
Unfortunately, they couldn't hear them at all.
The Serpent Hashira, Obanai Iguro, leaned lazily against a tree branch, curiously observing Stelle and Dan Heng's moves. Since they all used melee weapons, he was curious how the two would break through the Doomsday Beast's seemingly impenetrable defense.
However—
[ "In a thought, a realm transforms, a long dream awakens."
Dan Heng silently finished his incantation. With a thunderous "Break!", his spear pierced through the Doomsday Beast's hand, leaving a huge hole. ]
[ ..... ]
~Demon Slayer World~
The Serpent Hashira's eyes widened in horror.
Huh???
Bro, is that really a spear you're using?
Although he had seen skilled spear users, he had never seen anyone unleash the spear's power to this extent.
At the moment, he was distracted.
—
[ Stelle had already made her move. With just a baseball bat, she blocked several attacks and charged straight to the Doomsday Beast, slamming the bat into its chest.
With a loud "clang," the Doomsday Beast stumbled backward,]
[ ..... ]
~Demon Slayer World~
~Infinity Castle~
Muzan and the Upper Rank demons frowned in unison.
Stelle looked no different from a human, but the power behind her swing… was inhuman.
After the group sensed the Doomsday Beast's power, none of the six Upper Rank demons dared to claim they had the same defense as the Doomsday Beast. But watching the Doomsday Beast retreat under Stelle's bat, they all swallowed hard.
…This little girl is too fierce.
The Infinity Castle fell into silence. Seeing Muzan's apprehensive expression, Gyokko was the first to break the silence, forcing a smile and saying,
"Although these people are strong, they are far away from us and can't threaten us."
Kokushibo raised his voice,
"No, the Master is worried about what the Demon Slayer Corps will learn from them."
"That's even more impossible. The boy named Dan Heng has superb spearmanship… but the Demon Slayer Corps all use swords. Even if they learn something, what can they do? Abandon their swordsmanship of a lifetime to learn spearmanship?"
Hearing this, the other Upper Ranks nodded in agreement.
—
[ However, although Dan Heng and Stelle's attacks were fierce, the Doomsday Beast showed no signs of weakening.
After a brief charge, the wings on the Doomsday Beast's back suddenly unfolded, and countless eyes emitted blinding beams of light, engulfing the entire platform. Fortunately, March 7th and the others dodged in time, avoiding injury. ]
[ ..... ]
~Frieren: Beyond Journey's End World~
"No, Frieren, weapons alone aren't enough to defeat this kind of monster."
Stark said, shaking his head.
Frieren paused in flipping through her magic tome. Stark had spoken her thoughts. She didn't think that a baseball bat and spearmanship alone could kill a monster of this size.
But if not those, then what? Magic?
"Oh? What's that?"
Frieren was curious when she suddenly saw a red beam of light appear outside the space station.
—
[ The beam seemed to come from a great distance, magnifying in the instant before the group's fierce battle. Intense, radiant light swept in all directions."
"Then came the Doomsday Beast's wail amidst the soaring flames and smoke."
The fire caused a significant explosion on the platform, and scorching heat waves swept through. ]
[ ..... ]
~Frieren: Beyond Journey's End World~
Even Frieren, separated by the light screen, seemed to smell the scent of burning hair.
The woman named 'Himeko' remained calm, as if she had anticipated this scene, and promptly evacuated everyone from the center of the explosion.
~Konosuba World~
"I told you, right?"
"This, this… is absolutely, absolutely, absolutely Explosion Magic!"
In a small tavern, Megumin, the foremost genius mage of the Crimson Demon Clan, was chugging juice from her glass while boasting about the spectacular explosion to the others.
She was chugging so hard that a lot of red juice leaked from the corners of her mouth, sliding down her throat and dripping onto her fair collarbones.
The wet and sticky feeling didn't make her uncomfortable, but even more cheerful.
Indeed.
Even humans in another world use Explosion Magic.
Kazuma and Aqua were too shallow, thinking that there was no magic in the world inside the light screen. But how could that be? Without magic, how could they prove Miss Silver Wolf's disappearing trick?
The sudden, violent explosion at this moment proved what she thought, the world inside not only has magic, but also Explosion Magic.
And that red-haired Miss Himeko is undoubtedly a super magician.