Humans are in chaos, despicable outsiders.

Gray Snake's tone was unpredictable; after much deliberation, he dialed a communication channel—

"Grey Snake? What do you want from me so late? Don't you know my time is precious?"

An impatient woman's voice came from the other end of the communication.

"I just wanted to give you a heads-up, Jackal—the current state of Mandate isn't as precarious as you think. On the contrary, if we start taking advantage of our own territory... you'd better be careful. The people at Mandate headquarters have already noticed something's wrong."

“I know—you’re so suspicious every day. The Valkyries in the area haven’t discovered the real problem yet, and there’s even a Herrscher in the city who can take the blame for us. I really don’t know what you’re worried about.”

"You'd better really know this—it's not as easy as we thought to pin the blame on that Herrscher... Her condition is quite different from what we expected."

"Jackal, do not disappoint the Lord."

"of course."

The call was disconnected.

"That paranoid lunatic Grey Serpent, did the prosthetic modification mess up her brain? Schicksal doesn't have the energy to care about us right now. That Herrscher and the Honkai disasters all over the world are already enough of a headache for Schicksal. If we put all the blame on her, even the Archbishop of Schicksal won't be able to see through Duan Rui."

"Who knows, this experiment might even attract all the S-class Valkyries of Schicksal to come and have them all mixed together."

The woman wearing the Anubis mask curled her lip in disdain, seemingly pleased with her own plan.

...

The man in black continued towards his predetermined destination: Raven's Bar. Half an hour earlier, Gray Serpent, having received a distress call from Ciola, had interfered with the police pursuit drone and directed his subordinates to a different location. However, she lost contact shortly afterward. With a sense of foreboding, Gray Serpent decided to head to Ciola's bar to investigate.

The lights of the bar not far away were on, and it seemed that only one white-haired customer was resting there. However, through the ever-expanding field of vision of the prosthetic eye, the figure that Gray Snake wanted to see was not seen. There was only a gray-haired girl mixing drinks for the white-haired customer.

Gray Snake recognized the girl; she was a child Raven had adopted not long ago. Because she was mature and sensible, she was left there to help run the bar. But that white-haired customer...

"The Valkyrie of Destiny, huh..."

The gray snake stopped moving forward, but eventually lifted its leg and walked towards the bar ahead.

.......

"Squeak—"

The bar door was pushed open, and a man dressed in black walked in.

"Everything we do is never understood; it's always been like this: either praised or condemned—"

Imotek held up the violet-colored liquor, reciting with interest. She turned her gaze towards the direction from which the sound came. At that moment, Gray Serpent, who had just entered through the gate, stared blankly at the white-haired, blue-eyed woman before him—

"And you, one who comes from the shadows, if you wish to proclaim all that you have, do not use your words, but use your true self—"

Imotek frowned in displeasure at the man inside the house, who was still wearing a hood and holding a black umbrella, being stared at rudely by the gray snake.

"So...new guest, are you a wise man—or a coward?"

Chapter 200 Saving Private Crow

The black and white figures faced off in the bar, but compared to the previous noisy pair of two idiots, the two facing off now were incredibly quiet, until Brownie next to them sneezed from the cold—

Gray Snake's prosthetic eye narrowed slightly as he watched the white frost gradually accumulating on the floor and the woman's blue pupils. The man broke the silence first—he folded his black umbrella and tucked it under his arm, bowing slightly to the woman in front of him to express his respect.

The World Serpent's three good executives seemed to have recognized the girl in front of them and were expressing their greetings to her.

"I am the Gray Serpent... I salute you, an Awakener who has stepped into the Heavenly Origin Realm—"

Although the man in front of him still hadn't removed his hood and mask, this was already his biggest concession... after all—Grey Serpent never removed his mask and hood.

...Could this gray snake be bald? That makes sense, after thousands of years of working 996 (9am-9pm, 6 days a week), his hair should have fallen out long ago—maybe that mask is his face...ah, he's really shameless; Imotek's thoughts raced wildly and maliciously—

Unfortunately, the gray snake in front of him couldn't see through what Imotek was thinking, otherwise his expression would have been quite interesting.

“Grey Snake, huh... I’m Imotek, an interesting fellow—let me guess, you’re here to see the owner of this shop, aren’t you?”

"Yes."

This was nothing to hide, and the man openly admitted it. The other party seemed to know about the existence of the World Serpent, and judging from the power and appearance she displayed, she was likely closely related to a descendant mentioned by the Lord. Hiding his identity at this point might only provoke her displeasure.

“Interesting. I remember her name was Natasha Ciola... You were her teacher—right?”

"No, I can hardly be considered a teacher—at most, I can only be her mentor, and there isn't much of a teacher-student relationship between us."

Grey Snake shook his head, rejecting Imotek's conjecture.

"Hmm, it seems your relationship is complicated, or perhaps it's simple—but it has nothing to do with me anymore."

"Your student asked me to tell you that she's officially retired today to take care of orphans... Oh, and she's probably off to duel the Second Herrscher now..."

With a playful smile, Imotek downed the violet liquor in one gulp.

"The Second Herrscher...? Then why...?"

“That Herrscher is now on the side of humanity. As for your student, she’s just dealing with her own personal grudges—I’m not her mother, why should I go with her?”

"She may be on the opposite side of your plans, but she stands on the side of humanity, and that's enough—just like Raiden Mei, the third Herrscher of Schicksal, and Wendy, the fourth Herrscher, or Welt Joyce, the first Herrscher of Anti-Entropy who reappeared in the Schicksal War. I only care about their stance; what else matters to me—"

"I see, so this is your attitude. I understand—"

The gray snake bowed slightly in greeting.

"Hmm? Quite polite... Well then, here's an interesting piece of news for you—believe it or not, it's up to you."

"The current Second Herrscher is someone else—or rather, the Second Herrscher who plunged the world into chaos once again and the K423 you are concerned about are no longer the same person."

“I think, as a smart man, you should have already sensed that something is amiss, Mr. Grey Snake.”

"...Thank you for clearing up my doubts, Miss Imotek."

With the white-haired girl's reminder, Gray Serpent quickly understood some of the unsolvable mysteries—and why a pioneer would appear in World Serpent's underground base with a Valkyrie instructor who was supposed to die in the final battle of destiny.

"Was the awakened Herrscher consciousness banished or imprisoned by the original consciousness within this body...? Then, esteemed lady, do you now know where the Second Herrscher is...?"

"Her...she went with your student..."

"Um, sir, madam, could you please pause your conversation for a moment?"

Imotek's answer was temporarily interrupted by Brownie, who had been silent for a long time, as the gray-haired bartender girl held up a phone and gestured to the two of them.

“Hmm...of course, Miss Brownie.”

The gray snake wasn't angry that its words had been interrupted; instead, it nodded, allowing the gray-haired girl to continue speaking.

"Yes, I think you all need to listen to this recording... or rather, the SOS message Natasha's mother just sent..."

"...A distress message?"

Imotek raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled.

"You'll understand once you listen..."

Brownie pressed play, playing the recording of his previous message.

"Stupid little island, bubbly crow! Don't go near that wall! It's gnawing on your clothes!"

"Damn it! You're no better! Why are you wearing a cloak? That door's sucking on your cloak with relish, hurry up and throw it away! In a minute it'll be sucking all the way up to you!!!"

[A flurry of chaotic noise]

"This is where you live??? Have we stumbled into some Cthulhu mythos sacrifice site, White Burning Cat!!!"

"Wait a minute? You're not trying to trick me into being a sacrifice, are you?!"

"My God, Little Island Boom! It was perfectly fine here when we left!"

.....

"Wait a minute, what about the Second Herrscher you mentioned?!"

"You still have time to care about that Second Herrscher?! He's probably already been eaten into the wall!"

.....

"...Why don't you just blow this place up, White Cat! Ever played King of Fighters? Use Orochi's move! Remember what it's called, 'Let Everything Return to Nothingness'?"

"This is a residential area! How come you, this little island raven, are more Herrscher-like than me, a Herrscher? Are you planning to blow this whole place up to the sky?!"

"What time is it?! Blow this building up!!!"

"Wait, what is that alien mother-like thing?!"

"What is that thing?! Why can't I kill it... Imotek, help me—!!!"

The recording contained sharp and chaotic noise, accompanied by increasingly frequent sounds of swords being wielded and guns firing and exploding.

—The recorded message for the mobile phone call has been played.

"In conclusion, Brownie thinks that Miss Kiana and Natasha's mother must have encountered some trouble... and if we don't deal with it in time... the commotion might get much bigger than it seems."

"After all, they've already started considering blowing up the house..."

"So... this Miss Imotek?"

Gray Serpent looked at the woman with the highest combat power among those present—

"Your student and that Second Herrscher are currently in the slums of Sky City. Let's go... and see what they're up to."

Imotek was the first to stand up and walk towards the door.

"You two had better hurry... um, otherwise tomorrow's Sky Dome TV news might have even more material to cover."

Brownie waved to the two who were about to leave.

"That's fine too. I'm more curious to see what kind of stories those reporters will come up with..."

Chapter 201 The Ceiling Three Cowards

Outside Kiana's temporary residence in the slums of Sky City.

Following the earlier bursts of gunfire and the sounds of swords clashing in the room, the surrounding civilians had all spontaneously evacuated to other neighborhoods.

The noise coming from the four-story bungalow gradually grew louder, evolving from gunshots and sword clashes into various muffled but violent explosions and snapping sounds. The tremors on the ground made even the bravest onlookers wonder if the building was about to collapse at any moment.

"So why haven't the Sky Guard and the Terrorist Mobile Squad arrived yet...?"

The onlookers whispered amongst themselves.

"They probably got bogged down by other events and couldn't finish the report. Apparently, these inexplicable disasters have been happening more and more frequently in the past few months."

"Sigh... what about those Valkyrie girls who claim to be from destiny?"