Humans are in chaos, despicable outsiders.

Jiuxiao deliberately emphasized the words "father-in-law," and immediately the purple-haired girl heard a creaking sound coming from the other end of the communication channel, which she couldn't tell was from a cup, a chair, or a table.

"So what did my father-in-law call today—to chat with his 'good' son-in-law?"

"Sir, I'm just curious about what kind of person my 'good' son-in-law really is. Just think of it as an old man concerned about his daughter..."

The man on the other end of the call gritted his teeth and emphasized the word "good son-in-law".

"So, how does my father-in-law feel?"

Jiuxiao replied in the same cynical and playful tone.

“You are a smart man, Penglai Temple Nine Heavens. Entrusting my little princess to you is indeed a good choice—intelligent, calm, and strong enough—you will not be like me back then.”

"Putting aside my personal feelings as a parent, I wish you all the best..."

There was a sigh on the other end of the communication line, followed by a brief silence.

"...Destiny will usher in a new era in the hands of you, the younger generation. Perhaps one day, under your leadership, humanity will be able to overcome the trials of collapse and roam among the stars."

"You're so eager to hand over power to us—even if it's just a delaying tactic, Mr. Otto, in a sense, your actions are far too deliberate and hasty... You're practically handing us half of destiny with your tacit approval..."

“Mr. Walter Joyce must be so jealous. You sent him a Honkai energy fission bomb back then.”

"...You'll be leaving soon, won't you? Leaving forever... Bishop?"

"...That's right, clever little fellow—when my plan comes to an end, it's time for me to step down...and hand over power to you young people."

The man's words were filled with nonchalance.

"Have you considered what your beloved little princess thinks... You're family... Don't forget she has Kaslana blood in her."

"Even if she looks a lot like you, let's just consider her a Kaslana—"

"Friendship, family, saving others—she actually values ​​all of these things immensely, and you're planning to leave without saying goodbye... Father-in-law?"

"Haha... Sorry, young man. An old woman has things she has to do... Please apologize to her for me—I, an old woman, must turn back time and fate, must bring the dead back to life—I must make the withered branches on the tree sprout new leaves again..."

The man's voice on the other end of the call was no longer playful or cynical, but filled with solemnity and reverence.

"I'm bringing her back...that's the reason I've survived this long. From now on, let her mother accompany that child on her journey..."

“Ms. Karen Kaslana, right….”

Jiuxiao, leaning against the shipping container, closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.

"Fine, just as Snow said—my dear father-in-law, you really do deserve a beating."

"A child without a mother becomes a child without a father—such a vicious joke, even laughing at it will send you to hell..."

"--Feel sorry."

The man's words were filled with sincere apology.

“…”

"Hmph, we won't stop your plans, at least not now—but, my 'good' father-in-law, you'd better be prepared to get a good beating from Joyce."

"As a price for keeping that nice guy out of the way—you'd better go up there and get a beating yourself."

"Haha...this is what I owe them...."

"Hmph, you'd better think carefully about how you're going to face everyone when the final moment comes—a beating won't be enough."

"I'm starting to wonder what my child and you are planning; but... everyone has their own little secrets, right?"

The blond man on the other end of the call reached out to hang up.

Before the signal was cut off, the last voice of Penglai Temple's Nine Heavens came through the channel—

“Every complete puzzle has been broken down; and all the broken pieces of the picture will eventually be pieced together into a picture—what we do is simply become the invisible force that assembles this flawless picture.”

“I will repeat what she already told you—Otto Apocalypse, you had better think about how to apologize to those who have been wronged—”

...

Silence fell over the bishop's office.

"An apology? Perhaps I really should think about it..."

The blond man downed the wine in his glass in one gulp.

--

"You mean, that old bastard Otto has a special divine key from the last century, the Blank Key, and you want to use it to save your student?"

"Then they came running over to me asking if I had anything that could slow down the Honkai energy's erosion?"

"Damn it, what's wrong with all of you guys? Get the hell out of here! Get out now!"

On the Hyperion, Himeko went ahead and approached Dr. Tesla, who had a lobster-headed hairstyle, to make her request.

—Then, for some unknown reason, he triggered a nerve in the red-haired, hot-tempered doctor, who was blasted out by Tesla.

Himeko stood with a wry smile at the laboratory door on the Hyperion, until the door opened again.

"Come to the lab tonight..."

The red-haired doctor in front of him stiffly uttered a sentence.

"Doctor, you agree?"

"So what if you disagree—you bunch of idiots still have to rush in one by one!"

The laboratory door closed once again.

Chapter 165 Serum and Armor

At night, in the Hyperion's laboratory at the third spaceport of Destiny, two red-haired women could only talk.

"This is an enhanced version of the Honkai Energy Serum. Thanks to a secret in your academy's underground chapel and a certain lady—we rescued the scientist who developed the prototype of this serum from Schicksal."

"She can wipe all Honkai energy from a human body within a minute, but remember this—"

"This is just a cleansing, not a repair—if you only have half a breath left before you take this serum, it'll only serve to make sure we can give you a proper burial instead of eliminating a suicide soldier."

"There are only two doses left here. We only recently developed this stuff, and you just happened to be here at the right time, humph—"

"You can consider giving another dose to your student—just like I said before, this new type of serum can neutralize the Honkai energy in the human body at an extremely fast speed. Her Herrscher consciousness was awakened by absorbing a large amount of Honkai energy, and when the Honkai energy disappears in a short period of time, she will be forced to fall into a deep sleep again."

Tesla grabbed two vials of serum and roughly shoved them into Himeko Murata's hands, then waved for her to leave.

"You bunch of guys, get out of my sight right now—ugh, I hate seeing you!"

Dr. Lobster Head shoved Himeko Murata, who was about to thank him, and chased her out of his laboratory.

The laboratory door closed once again, leaving only the red-haired Valkyrie outside, chuckling.

"Thank you, Dr. Tesla..."

Hiding her smirk, she gripped the two doses of serum tightly in her hands, feeling the weight contained in the two small disposable syringes, and Himeko Murata composed herself before walking out of the Hyperion.

"Next up is that armor called the Blank Key..."

...

--

Before nightfall, Himeko Murata quietly slipped into the Helheim Research Laboratory. As a large laboratory occupying its own floating island, in order to save manpower, Theresa did not station a Valkyrie squad in the laboratory after transferring researchers and data.

Himeko easily bypassed several Destiny Machines whose control programs had been overwritten by the Far East Branch and arrived at the bottom of the laboratory.

As the panoramic elevator descended, the scene of the experiment on the lowest floor gradually came into view—in the center of the circular laboratory, a set of crimson armor floated silently in a transparent storage compartment, attracting Himeko Murata's attention.

Of course, what attracted the red-haired Valkyrie's attention even more was another uninvited guest, just like her.

Penglaiji Jiushou sat cross-legged on the chair left by the research institute, quietly watching Himeko walk out of the panoramic elevator. The two faced each other in silence in the empty laboratory.

After a long silence, Himeko, seemingly unable to hold back any longer, broke the silence and tried to start a conversation—

"Jiuxiao, why are you here so late instead of sleeping?"

The red-haired Valkyrie, feeling somewhat embarrassed by the stare, seemed to ask a pointless question.

"I should be asking Himeko-sensei that question. According to the daytime schedule, I'm in charge of the nighttime vigil, so I'm here to check things out."

Jiu Xiao also spouted nonsense, saying things that even Theresa didn't believe.

Silence fell again, but this silence was broken shortly by Himeko Murata—

"I need that armor, Nine Heavens."

This time, the red-haired Valkyrie chose to get straight to the point and frankly reveal her intentions.

“I know—that’s why I’m here. Theresa asked me to keep an eye on you, Himeko-sensei, during the day, and you started at night…”

Jiuxiao stood up from the researcher's chair and kicked his thighs, as if his legs had gone numb from sitting for a while.

"So, Jiuxiao, are you going to stop me?"

"No... even if I block you from taking this armor, you'll be the first to rush towards it when 'she' arrives, won't you...?"

"I just want to hear what Himeko-sensei has to say..."

The purple-haired girl stood up and made way for Himeko to reach the Valkyrie Armor assembly station.

"Because I am a teacher, I am the teacher of all the Valkyrie students at St. Freya Academy."

"It is my responsibility to dispel students' confusion and guide them toward the future."

"If my student loses her way on the path forward and goes in the wrong direction—it is naturally my responsibility to slap her awake."

Himeko Murata walked past Kyuuou and stood in front of the assembly table. She placed her palm on the authentication block, and as a cold, mechanical female voice announced that the verification was complete, the scanner began to collect the red-haired Valkyrie's data to adjust the size of the [Blank Key] to match the user's figure.

[Data acquisition complete. The fourth-generation Godslayer Armor prototype—Red Knight: Eclipse—is initiating data transmission.]

The Valkyrie armor, originally stored in a container, began to particle and then floated onto Himeko's body, the crimson armor perfectly fitting the red-haired woman's body.

"And don't worry too much, Jiuxiao—I got a special Honkai energy serum from Dr. Tesla. With this, I can use this armor with peace of mind, and I can also bring Kiana home."

Himeko smiled, as if encouraging herself and the students in front of her.

"You must have faith in your teacher, Jiuxiao."

"Himeko-sensei, I am the ace of the Far East Branch. What is an ace? It is someone who creates miracles."

After completing the armor transfer, Himeko placed her hand on the silent Kushou's shoulder, lowered her head, and touched her forehead to Kushou's.