"It's alright, Miss Hiko."
Faced with Hiko's apology, Welt felt that he was the one who should be more apologetic. The teorite landing site had already been cordoned off by a team led by Tesla. Even so, they had still caught more than ten fanatical alien enthusiasts.
The information Hiko had received ca from one of them.
Welt was still not accustod to lying, especially to a student.
"Actually, when it cos to aliens and things like that..."
"You don't have to comfort , Teacher Welt."
Hiko clenched her fist and nodded emphatically.
"The mont you saw my news about aliens, you imdiately bought a plane ticket to follow . That's enough to prove your level of enthusiasm is no less than mine!"
"No, I'm really not that interested in aliens."
Welt quickly waved his hands, trying to interrupt Hiko's diverging train of thought.
"..."
"Eh?"
"Then why did you co to New xico with ?"
"If it's not for aliens, could it be... because of ?"
"...!"
"No, no, no! You've misunderstood!"
Cold sweat trickled down Welt's forehead.
"I..."
"That's right!"
"I am indeed an alien enthusiast, and I ca here precisely to search for any possible traces of them!"
"..."
"Ah, that's a relief."
Hiko stretched vigorously, the smile at the corner of her mouth growing even wider than before.
"Back in high school, even the other mbers of the astronomy club were only interested in the stars. The mont I brought up the topic of aliens, they all put on 'pseudoscience' expressions."
"I was starting to think no one believed in aliens anymore!"
"I even tried to start an 'Extraterrestrial Civilization Research' club at the university, but I couldn't find a single mber."
Hiko took a step forward.
Her imposing figure, which her white shirt could barely contain, was now less than ten centiters from Welt's own slender fra. Standing on her tiptoes, she stared at Welt with shining eyes from an extrely close distance.
"Teacher Welt."
"Please be the faculty advisor for this club!"
"You're so popular with the girls... I an, at the university, you'll definitely be able to recruit a lot of mbers!"
Without waiting for Welt's reply, Hiko had already taken out her phone and held it out in front of him.
"Oh, right!"
"Although it's just the two of us for now, I've already planned our next club activity!"
"NASA just announced a small asteroid, codenad No. 439. After passing its apogee, it will fall directly into the sun."
"Teacher Welt, you should co too. Let check the best observation ti..."
"Wait a mont."
"Miss Hiko, I haven't agreed yet..."
Welt's "mature" deanor put him at a clear disadvantage in terms of speech speed and volu. Before he could finish, Hiko was already heading towards the station on her own. Since she hadn't gotten the results she'd hoped for, there was naturally no need to linger in New xico.
"..."
"Sigh."
Welt gently pressed his forehead.
What had started as a simple attempt to prevent a student from getting into trouble had sohow evolved into this.
But it was fine.
Stopping Hiko ant that the last "fish that slipped through the net" near the teorite site was gone. Tesla could now proceed with her research without any worries...
Just as Welt took a step to follow Hiko, who was about to beco nothing more than a retreating figure—
"Ding."
---o---
"Who's there!?"
The city of Santa Fe, which in Welt's eyes had been bathed in the light of dusk, was suddenly enveloped by a pitch-black canopy. Not only Hiko, but all the pedestrians and buildings on the street vanished in an instant.
"Tianming?"
A transparent, purple crystal orb appeared in Welt's hand.
The [Mimicked Star of Eden] was his most proficient application of the [Authority of Reason]. Although his body had only recovered to just over sixty percent of its strength since the battle of the Second Honkai Eruption, in all of Tianming, there were probably less than three people, including Otto, who could be certain of victory against him.
Now that both sides had exchanged signals of goodwill, Welt had never expected to be attacked here in North Arica, on Anti-Entropy's own turf.
"No."
"We are not Tianming."
From the shadows at the edge of his vision, a female voice, incredibly familiar to Welt, reached his ears clearly.
"..."
"Einstein!?"
The shocked expression lasted only a mont on Welt's face.
The next instant, he was certain that the woman before him was by no ans Einstein.
Although Einstein was Anti-Entropy's most brilliant scholar and executive, she herself possessed no combat ability. While her robot, Eins, was strong enough to hold its own against an A-rank Valkyrie, Einstein herself lacked the aura of a powerful individual.
But...
The Einstein before him was different.
His Herrscher's intuition told Welt that he might not be able to win against this fake Einstein.
However, sothing even more astonishing was yet to co.
Appearing in his line of sight next... no, it was more like he hadn't sensed his aura at all. A man, whom he only noticed after he had actively "revealed" himself, appeared side-by-side with "Einstein."
"Joyce..."
Welt Joyce.
The First Herrscher, the Herrscher of Reason, who had entrusted the Herrscher Core to "Joachim Nokianvirtanen (Welt Yang)," passing on both the na "Welt" and the responsibility of "protecting humanity."
But...
Joyce, who had been grievously injured protecting him in the Battle of New York, had long since...
"Sorry."
Welt Joyce slowly raised his right hand.
Colorless, transparent crystals converged on Welt Yang from all directions.
He prepared to use the Star of Eden to block the "attack," but he received no response from the [Authority of Reason].
"I'll have to ask you to take a nap for a while."
With a whisper that seed to sound right next to his ear, Welt Yang gently fell backward to the ground.
"Thud."
---o---
"Eh?"
"Aren't you going to talk to him first?"
"According to the intel, he should be able to understand our actions and would most likely cooperate."
Einstein's figure flickered unnaturally before reverting to the form of Hiko.
"And here I was, using a special image projector to try and build so rapport."
"..."
"Then you should have turned into Tesla."
Welt pointed out Hiko's "mistake" with pinpoint accuracy.
"But I can't imitate Dr. Tesla's personality. Tsundere may look simple, but it's very difficult to mimic it to the bone. On the other hand, I saw the Vice-Chamber Head's tone and style many tis when I was your bridesmaid."
"..."
"Could it be that Teacher Welt was a little moved by that 'date' scene just now? And my passionate—"
"Ahem, ahem!"
Welt coughed until his face turned red... of course, it was also possible the cause and effect were reversed.
"Alright, alright, just kidding."
Hiko patted Welt's back forcefully.
"What's the plan now?"
"Are we going to enter Anti-Entropy directly using 'Yang's' identity, or should we ignore them for now and wait until I 'knock myself out' before making a plan?"
Welt thought for a mont.
"Let's stick to the original plan."
"Hiko, for now, please help 'watch over' Mr. Sovereign."
"I'll use his identity to make contact with your 'other self.' The 'Sky People' the Apostles ntioned should be appearing soon."
"..."
"I can do that, but..."
Hiko extended a slender index finger, pressing it against the faint dimple that appeared when she smiled.
"No sneaking snacks while you're on a business trip—"
Before Welt could retort.
"Ah!"
"That wasn't just now, that was Sister Einstein specifically telling to remind the Chamber Head!"
"So, even 'I' am not allowed~"
"..."
"Understood."
From what Welt knew of Einstein, she would never say sothing like that.
Anywhere outside the classroom and the research lab, this student of his was a veritable little devil.
---o---
North Arica, an airport reception room.
"Friends from Anti-Entropy, you're late."
Sitting on a row of chairs, Murata Ryusuke, with a large suitcase in hand, looked up and spoke to the two approaching figures.
"Hello, Dr. Murata."
"I'm Einstein from Anti-Entropy, and this is Dr. Tesla."
Einstein took the lead in greeting him.
"Sorry, it took us a little longer to get here. We had to make sure you weren't being followed by anyone from Tianming."
As Einstein spoke, she and Tesla sat down on the sofa opposite Murata Ryusuke.
"It's alright."
"Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla, I've long heard of your reputations."
Murata Ryusuke picked up the teacup on the table and drank it in one gulp. The lack of steam indicated he had indeed been waiting for a long ti.
"Since you two have co to see in person, I presu you have agreed to my previous conditions."
"We will guarantee your personal safety."
Tesla, sitting directly opposite him, took over the conversation.
"On the condition that you haven't lied to us."
"..."
"Of course."
From the suitcase beside him, Murata Ryusuke took out a silver tal box the size of a briefcase. With two overlapping "clicks"—
"This is the key to the Fourth Key of God."
Inside the opened tal box lay a purplish-black cube that emitted a red halo.
"The file next to it contains Tianming's plan to use the Fourth Key of God to create a hurricane and attack the East Coast of Arica."
Murata Ryusuke laid out his biggest bargaining chip without any reservation.
"Dr. Murata."
"May I ask you a question?"
Neither Einstein nor Tesla reached for the items on the coffee table. Instead, they posed a question to Murata Ryusuke.
"Please, go ahead."
"After you contacted us, the relevant departnts in Anti-Entropy conducted intelligence gathering."
Einstein stated a fact in a calm tone.
"For the past few years, the Fourth Key of God has been used to restore the ecology of Siberia. There has never been any intelligence to suggest it would be used as a weapon—just as it has done for tens of thousands of years before the 'Current Civilization' was even born."
It was true that the Fourth Key of God had only recently been discovered, but Anti-Entropy's intelligence penetration of Tianming was by no ans poor. At least twenty percent of the data on Otto's desk would, one way or another, enter Anti-Entropy's field of view... regardless of whether this was a deliberate leak by the "Bishop" or not.
"..."
"Sigh."
Murata Ryusuke sighed.
"I know this is hard to believe."
"But please believe , everything I've said is true."
Murata Ryusuke, dressed in a white lab coat, stood up.
"An equipnt that can repair the damage caused by Honkai energy—can it truly not be used as a weapon?"
"The Moonlight Throne."
"I believe that's what it's called. Although it's not a project I was involved in, I have heard of its existence."
"The key to the Fourth Key of God can connect directly to the Key of God's main computer."
"From there, you can find the attack plan... The 'authorization letter' from the Bishop should be enough to convince you."
Murata Ryusuke turned around, as if the bargaining chips on the coffee table had lost all value to him.
"Wait!"
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Until this matter is clarified, you must stay at our base. Otherwise, we cannot guarantee your safety."
Tesla also stood up, her voice audibly rising by several degrees.
"Ah."
"My daughter is attending a university nearby."
Murata Ryusuke seed unconcerned by Tesla's attitude.
"We haven't seen each other in a long ti. Now that I have the chance, I plan to go see her."
Before Tesla could speak again.
"I've heard that Anti-Entropy, unlike Tianming, has great respect for human rights and freedom, and wouldn't resort to imprisonnt."
"Who said anything about—"
"Wait, Dr. Tesla."
Einstein gently patted Tesla's shoulder and stepped between them.
"We also need so ti to study the Fourth Key of God."
"Before that, let Dr. Murata go and reunite with his daughter... Do you require us to provide covert protection?"
"...That won't be necessary."
"This is Anti-Entropy's territory, after all. If anything were to happen, I would definitely call for help imdiately."
With that said.
"Then, if you'll excuse ."
"..."
Until Murata Ryusuke had disappeared around the corner of the airport—
"Nest-head."
"Do you think he was telling the truth?"
"The very fact that he was able to steal the key to the Fourth Key of God from Tianming without Otto noticing is already incredible."
"Indeed."
Einstein nodded in agreent.
"But there's no need to worry too much."
"North Arica is Anti-Entropy's territory, after all. Whatever he plans to do, he cannot escape our sight."
"And right now, the most important thing..."
"Is to verify the authenticity of this 'key'."
---o---
At the sa ti.
In the outer space of the solar system.
From an asteroid indistinguishable from a rock, a fragnt broke off and fell towards Earth on a predetermined trajectory.
This was the [Scout Star] of the Sky People, used to search for other civilizations in the universe.
To avoid detection by advanced civilizations, they were disguised as rocks, and their final destinations were all set to be stars or black holes.
During their long journey, the reconnaissance units within the [Scout Star] would continuously observe the planets along their path and react differently based on the level of civilizational developnt:
For planets with a low level of civilization, the [Scout Star] would transmit their coordinates back to the frontline base responsible for deploying them. These planets would need to "mature" before being "harvested." But when an advanced civilization was detected, especially a planet with military strength far exceeding that of the Sky People, the [Scout Star] would proceed along its original route into a star or black hole, choosing self-destruction.
And now, the scout dispatched by the [Scout Star]... had reached its destination.
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