Humans are in chaos, despicable outsiders.

"Who else could it be but your Prince Charming, your dream lover, Mr. Walter Joyce—"

"These past few days he's either been spending all his time in the simulation training room or studying a comic called Sea Tiger. If that Bishop of Destiny hadn't jumped into the sea, he probably would have been forced to call out Otto. How do you feel about that?"

"Ahem, wait, I'm getting off-topic—Amber said the Honkai energy reactor in the West District is also functioning normally?!"

"Yes, Lady Amber said that the reactors in the West Wing are also in normal condition and there have been no unexpected issues."

The adjutant nodded and confirmed the information with Jiu Xiao.

"Hiss... Send out drones to check the status of the third-layer defense satellite of Destiny Sky Island! Notify all combat units to be on high alert—prepare to engage the Second Herrscher. All B-rank Valkyries should immediately move towards the nearest A-rank Valkyrie squad to rendezvous."

...

The silver-white drones streaked across the sky, flying rapidly toward the last layer of satellite defense network. The peculiar defense satellite network, composed of tetrahedrons, was still fulfilling its mission, continuously bombarding the approaching horde of beasts.

The final satellite defense network was intact, but the reality was the opposite—the number of Honkai Beasts on the headquarters island continued to increase.

"...Lord Jiuxiao?"

The tactical intelligence officer looked at the screen on the drone and then at the images coming from the front lines, somewhat at a loss, and looked at the only S-class Valkyrie in the command center.

"Tch... Notify all combat units at Schicksal Headquarters—the Second Herrscher, the Herrscher of the Void, has been confirmed to have awakened! Immediately implement the countermeasures against the Herrscher!"

The instant Penglai Temple's Nine Heavens finished speaking, a piercing alarm blared throughout the command center—

[Warning: Level 12 Honkai energy fluctuation detected. The Second Herrscher has returned—]

"Command is now transferred to you. Construct fortifications and hold the line—you don't need to worry about the Herrschers' affairs."

Penglai Temple Nine Heavens turned and left the increasingly noisy and bustling command room, and the Valkyrie armor was directly transferred to her body via quantum transmission to complete the donning.

"Ninti, let's go see your Aunt Rita..."

"...It's Sister Rita."

Ningdi tried to correct the incorrect way she addressed her parents.

"It's all the same anyway. You can't go wrong calling anyone older than you 'sister' or 'auntie'."

...

--

In the West District of Destiny, a team of Valkyries from the Undying Blade had finished clearing out the nearby Honkai Beasts and were standing guard around the perimeter. In the center, the captain and vice-captain of the Undying Blade were confronting Fu Hua.

"Rita, get out of the way! I have to stop that Herrscher."

“Lord Fu Hua, His Holiness the Bishop has ordered that we cannot interfere with the actions of the Second Herrscher.”

"I said, move aside, Rita!"

The atmosphere between the two sides began to become increasingly tense.

"If you don't suppress the Second Herrscher as soon as possible, Rita, do you want the tragedy of the Second Honkai Impact sixteen years ago to repeat itself?"

Fu Hua's anxiety became increasingly apparent.

"Forgive my bluntness, Lady Fu Hua, Lord Otto must have his reasons for his plan. Since the Bishop has already ordered us not to interfere with the Herrschers, we should not act rashly and bring changes to the Bishop's plan."

Ah, of course... and Lord Snow's too.

"Foolish! Allowing the Herrscher to run rampant for even a second will bring irreparable damage—!"

"Looks like there's no way to convince you. Let's see what you've got."

—The battle between the two S-class Valkyries is about to begin.

Chapter 168 You know nothing about the Apocalypse family.jpg

"Stop! Rita!"

"Oh dear, it seems you're the only one who truly knows nothing, class monitor."

Two voices rang out in front of Fu Hua and behind her.

A blonde beauty in white armor and a familiar face with purple hair and black armor appeared in front of and behind Fu Hua.

"Yes, Lady Durandal."

Rita sheathed her scythe and gave a slight nod to the blonde Valkyrie beside her and the Nine Heavens behind Fu Hua; she then stepped back and stood behind Durandal.

"Jiuxiao, what brings you here? Are you here with me to stop the Second Herrscher—"

Fu Hua turned her head and looked at the uninvited guest behind her with some surprise. Then, thinking about the current situation, she extended an invitation to the purple-haired girl.

"I don't want to go, you can go by yourself—"

The purple-haired girl had an indifferent expression on her face.

“…”

The reply from Penglai Temple's Nine Heavens completely exceeded Fu Hua's expectations, and a look of astonishment appeared on her usually stern face.

"Why?!"

The Valkyrie's questioning was tinged with disbelief and anxiety.

"Nine Heavens, do you know what you're saying? If you let the Second Herrscher completely—"

"If the Second Herrscher were to fully awaken, it would be another irreparable catastrophe for humanity; well said, but—if I really had to prevent the Second Herrscher from awakening..."

"Why don't I just beat you up at St. Freya Academy, or intercept you on your way back to Schicksal with Kiana?"

"The Nibelungen didn't go very far back then—as a speed-specialized warship, it could easily have turned around and caught up with your transport ship."

"...Fu Hua, do you really think I... know nothing?"

The purple-haired Valkyrie crossed her arms and leisurely watched Fu Hua in front of her.

"We accepted it all as it happened, we let it happen, because it was all part of our plan—"

"Whether you try to stop that Second Herrscher or let this happen, we won't stop you... Theresa and Mei are already fighting Sirin. If you want to go and help, Class President... please go ahead—"

Jiuxiao gave way a body length and gestured for them to proceed.

"You...this is Snow's idea?!"

Fu Hua suddenly realized something and looked at Jiu Xiao with a mixture of shock and anger—

"This is what 'Apocalypse' means, Fu Hua—they allow it, they condone it."

Although it seemed like he had unfairly blamed his partner, Jiu Xiao still readily admitted it.

"Heh... Even if your Apocalypse family is arrogant, there should be a limit. That's a Herrscher! A Herrscher—! What gives you the audacity to scheme against an awakened Herrscher, and to let a Herrscher who wants to destroy humanity go unchecked!"

Fu Hua angrily brushed past Jiu Xiao, activated the propulsion system on her armor, and transformed into a meteor, hurtling towards the direction where the Second Herrscher and the Valkyries of the Far East Branch clashed, leaving only a string of angry words lingering in the air.

"Fu Hua, you still don't understand that Bishop Otto—or perhaps... you're just too concerned to understand?"

Watching Fu Hua disappear into the distance like a shooting star, Jiu Xiao shook his head helplessly and looked at the Undying Blade duo beside him.

"Let me guess, besides leaving you orders not to interfere with the Second Herrscher, that bishop also gave me an order not to go and reinforce them, right, you silly goose?"

The purple-haired Valkyrie withdrew her gaze from the distant meteor and refocused her attention on the Undying Blade squad in front of her.

"Why do you call me 'Dumb Goose' just like Snow?! Are you following your husband's lead?"

The blonde woman's face and tone clearly revealed her exasperation.

"Cough cough cough???... What do you mean by 'husband and wife in harmony'? Watch your tongue."

"And you, you blockhead, don't you even know about the Valkyrie forum?"

Jiuxiao glanced at Bianca in front of him with a strange expression.

"I already told you not to call me a silly goose—why would I ever look at something like the Valkyrie Forum to kill time?"

Upon hearing this, Rita opened her personal terminal and began browsing the information. She then burst out laughing.

"Oh, my apologies."

Rita, realizing she had seemingly lost her composure, apologized to the two people beside her.

"It seems you've seen that post, Miss Rita."

"Hmm...from a certain perspective...it is indeed very...creative?"

Rita couldn't think of a way to describe the comical picture she had seen, which piqued Durandal's curiosity.

She curiously leaned closer and asked—

"Rita, what did you see...?"

Immediately, the captain of the Undying Blade looked down and saw that his adjutant had not yet closed the forum interface. A post pinned by the administrator was prominently displayed on the second line of the homepage. The first line was a newly published post titled "Shocking! The Bishop of Destiny and the Leader of Anti-Entropy Alliance Both Jumped into the Sea to Die for Love! Pictures and Proof" which was very popular.

The second place went to an anonymous post titled "A Collection of Emojis of the S-Rank Valkyrie of Destiny." Bianca curiously extended her finger and, before the maid could stop her, directly clicked on the post in Rita's terminal.

Immediately, the post struck Durandal with a thunderous opening, featuring a chibi-style white goose on the first floor. The goose's head was painted with golden wavy hair, and its wings replaced its hands as it held a silver-blue knight's lance—Bianca recognized this weapon; it was the matching weapon for her Luna Armor, the Eternal Silence of Heller.

The replies below were varied, with some showing off their own modifications to the original poster's memes, and others sharing other memes they had drawn. However, the most frequent reply and like was the comment, "The original poster is truly brave."

"This emoticon and its derivative modified versions are among the most popular emoticons on the Destiny Valkyrie forum this year."

“Even if you and Rita don’t usually browse the forums, your team members must, right? Hmm, there are a few over there—you are one of them.”

The Valkyrie of the Undying Blade, named by Jiuxiao, turned green with rage beneath her mask, her face contorted with an expression that seemed to say, "Are you trying to harm me?"

"I remember you, you're Claire, right?"

Rita looked at her subordinate, whose fate seemed no different after being chosen and sent to the execution ground, and she already had a general idea of ​​what was going on...

"Yes, Vice Captain."

"Could you explain this meme to Lady Durandal...?"

"Ahem... This meme appeared on the forum at the beginning of this year. At first, no one noticed it. Then, I don't know which administrator pinned the post, and that's when everyone noticed this... uh... very creative meme."

"Then, for some reason, it suddenly became popular, and many people in the team liked to use this image in their chats to create a whole set of emojis..."

"For example, killing it, like Lady Durandal or something..."

With the mindset that if they were going to die, they would all die together, the young Valkyrie of the Undying Blade betrayed her entire team. As expected, the remaining team members who were eavesdropping nearby couldn't help but tremble.

"...Ahhh, don't let me find out who drew this picture!"

...