K424 of the Collapse World

“Aaaaaah! What the hell is Grandpa doing? Why would he allow outside organizations to interfere in Earth’s affairs?!”

Theresa held her head and looked at the combat intelligence that popped up on the screen one after another. She felt a growing headache and had no time to care about Shirley's affairs.

"Amber, go to the communications room and send a call request to the Klosten headquarters. I will explain the situation to Anti-Entropy and World Serpent and put an end to the attack by the forces within the realm."

"Then Hyperion will prepare to sail. Explain the situation within the star track and refuse outside forces from entering the Earth. Try to avoid a firefight with the other side, but if necessary... it's all up to Captain Penglai Temple to decide."

"Ah... It's not a big deal, but it's really troublesome!"

Theresa was hurriedly arranging the battle plan. The neglected Shiris thought for a moment, broke away from Xing's hands, and picked up the spare terminal on the desk next to her.

"It seems...rather than discussing everything about the end with everyone, there are more troublesome things that need to be dealt with in advance."

"Shilis, are you going to...?"

Watching Shirley's actions, Theresa tilted her head slightly puzzled. She originally wanted to give way, but soon, after watching the girl log into her personal terminal and put it on her wrist, she realized what the girl wanted to do.

"Theresa, are you still willing to believe me?"

Hearing this, Theresa blinked and then smiled.

"You're still talking about whether you believe me or not... Since you're in a normal state now and haven't been corrupted by any messy Honkai, then of course I'm willing to believe you~ Everyone else does the same."

"In that case, please allow me to join Hyperion's actions. After all, I am also a member of Saint Freya, and in a sense, I am also one of the parties involved."

As Shilis spoke, she looked around at the expressions of the others. No one objected, and no one showed any hostility.

As Theresa said, no one here resented her. Everyone knew that the collapse that caused her to lose control was the source of all the disasters...

She rubbed her eyes, and keeping the feeling of trust in mind, then said the next sentence.

"The mission is just to clear up the misunderstanding. This kind of thing is not a difficult task. Whether they really want to help encircle and suppress the Herrscher of Time, or use this as an excuse for other things... it's not a big problem for us."

"Besides, everyone should be eager to hear my own story, right? About everything that happened in the past few months... Since everyone is willing to believe me, then instead of wasting time in some shelter, why not take this opportunity to tell you everything, how about it?"

"Hehe...of course."

Hearing this, the girl straightened her chest and gave a standard Valkyrie salute.

"Bishop Theresa, the S-rank Valkyrie Silis Kaslana has returned to the team. Please give us your instructions."

"Then, Valkyrie Silis, please temporarily join the Hyperion Special Forces, under the acting command of Captain Houraiji Jiuxiao, and accompany Saint Freya's Third Squadron to supervise Valkyrie Xing Mar in handling the misunderstandings and disputes caused by the Herrscher of Time incident from various organizations to all walks of life."

"Follow your orders~"

Not long after she finished speaking, the silver-haired girl was pushed out of the door by a group of people, and left along the corridor noisily. Even from a distance, one could still hear the girls' chattering full of joy.

Strange sound.

Theresa smiled and ruffled her hair, only to find Diana leaning against the door with her hands on her head, smiling and shrugging.

"Diana, what else do you want?"

"I'll just stay and help at the headquarters. They need so many people anyway. Isn't Auntie curious about what happened to Sister Shilis after she disappeared?"

"She has told you everything?"

"Hmm~"

Seeing Diana's boastful look, Theresa curled her lips, but couldn't suppress her curiosity and continued to ask.

"...So, what happened to Shilis?"

"Where should I start...right, let's start from the first high-dimensional interference 200,000 epochs ago~?"

"Wait... this is too long ago!!"

Diana and Theresa left the room while chatting, and the office fell into silence. Finally, only Claire and Lillian were left sitting on the floor in the middle, looking confused.

As if realizing something, Claire turned her gaze to Lillian, and found that she was also looking at her. The two of them looked at each other for a long time.

"..."

"Isn't it... a dream?"

"...So, let's at least wait until we get on board to talk. We still have a mission, have you forgotten?"

After repeatedly emphasizing the importance of the mission, Wendy, Miyuki and other girls who liked to stick to her finally calmed down. It was strange to say that they participated in the End War and could be called independent warriors, but at the moment when Shilis returned, it seemed as if they had returned to the days when they played in Saint Freya.

"Nina, is she really alive too?"

"She should be somewhere on the ice cap in the Arctic right now... But don't worry, with her physique as a Metal Herrscher, she shouldn't catch a cold."

While casually answering Iselin's questions, Shirley looked at the green-haired girl beside her. Although she couldn't see her expression, Shirley could hear the excitement hidden in her indifferent voice.

"Well, I'll go find her after the mission is over."

"It's okay to go now..."

Shiris smiled casually, answering other people's questions intermittently, and took the shuttle transporter of the underground base to the Hyperion stop with her companions.

"Speaking of which, I always feel like there's someone missing..."

Shirley stretched out her voice and looked at the armrest of the seat on the other side with an intriguing smile, and saw a flash of silver-white hurriedly shrinking under the chair.

However, before she could hide for long, Bronya and Seele each grabbed one of her arms, pulled the girl out from under the seat, and semi-forced her to be "escorted" to Shirley.

"Kiana, why are you hiding from me?"

"..."

"Is it because I didn't come to you right away that you got upset?"

"..."

Looking at the girl whose face was red but who couldn't make a sound, Shilis smiled and turned away deliberately.

"Well~~Okay, it seems that you are not ready to meet me again, so I'll see you in a few days~"

Before she finished her words, a breeze blew by, and Shirley felt someone lying on her back, with soft hair intertwined and clinging to her neck, leaning against her from behind, as if never intending to let go.

"I'm sorry, Sister Shilis... I just..."

"Okay, Kiana, don't say that at this time."

"I'm the same. I'm eager to meet everyone again, but I'm always afraid of meeting everyone again. If it weren't for Diana, who knows how long I would have avoided it."

"I'm sorry, I just...just..."

"Okay~ Don't apologize, and don't cry. Now that you see me, shouldn't you say, 'Welcome back'?"

"Welcome...back, Sister Shiris..."

"Well, I'm back~"

............

1059 Carol's Task

"The Star Weaver's personal opinion connected countless different worlds. It is true that the world bubble, which was originally a residual image, was able to continue in the universe of the real number world because of that man's plan; but the overly subjective actions also led to the blood of hundreds of millions of innocent people in the End War." - Excerpt from the third chapter of "On the History of Modern Reform and Development of Tianming"

·————————————·

(——I shouldn’t have chosen this topic in the first place!)

Carol slumped in the recliner, half-closed her eyes, and stared at the half-written paper stuck in the middle on the screen with a decadent look on her face.

She felt that her future was already dark.

“Wow… I can’t write anymore, but I’ve already submitted the topic proposal and the deadline for the first draft is next week, so there’s no turning back…”

If she could turn back time, she swore that she would never be fooled by her history teacher Charlotte again and choose to evaluate a historical figure as the topic of her Valkyrie thesis.

What she wanted to comment on was the "Star Weaver" who had a polarized reputation and caused countless bigwigs from all walks of life to quarrel a few years ago.

The so-called 'Star Weaver' was the man who, in the early days of the End War eleven years ago, used the then largest quantum interferometer, 'Eye of the Abyss', to locate and capture the world bubble of the quantum sea in the Abyss City, which is now the headquarters of the Ring World Federation. He eventually created the current multi-civilization fusion world - the Ring of Stars with the help of the cross-era technology he got from nowhere.

—Otto Apokalis.

He is the former bishop of the Destiny Organization and the leader of the early Ring of Stars. Although his reputation has long been known throughout the stars and the universe, as a native Earthling, he also has a special meaning for today's Axis Star People (Earthlings).

Besides, Carol is not only an Earthling, but also a member of the Destiny Organization. Like her mother, she has become a Valkyrie and is the pride of the younger generation of the Pepper family.

Otto Apokalis, this man's deeds are well-known throughout the Ring World, including but not limited to creating world anchors to accommodate hundreds of thousands of world bubbles; founding the "Alliance of All Worlds", the predecessor of the Ring World Federation; ignoring opposition and implanting Honkai energy to catalyze the fusion of warrior primarchs into the border worlds of the Ring World; leading the first counterattack of civilization against the Ruler of the End in the late stage of the End War... and so on. These deeds that sound like epic and heroic deeds were once popular topics of discussion in the new era.

Some people admire his deeds, while others hate him. In any case, Otto Apokalis's popularity will not decrease much in at least half a century.

It is said that his life spans more than 500 years of history, but he still maintains the handsome and cool posture of a young man; it is said that his power is unfathomable, and he controls the power and strength far beyond that of a saint (herrser); it is said that he was not a human from the beginning, but a super-dimensional life like the Herrscher of the End...

All of the above were stereotypes that Carol had heard from various unreliable documents and urban legends, but there was no chance to verify them. After all, two months after the end of the End War, Bishop Otto lost contact, and his death certificate was announced by the Destiny Organization half a year later.

If he was really immortal and a supernatural being, he wouldn't have become a historical figure that only existed in books in just eleven years... Or perhaps, as some conspiracy theories have speculated, Otto just faked his death and hid himself, and was actually still manipulating decisions related to Destiny behind the scenes.

Carol thought silently and shook her head to dispel the unreliable rumors in her mind.

However, for Carol, Otto is more than just a historical figure in the book. As early as when she was very young, when her mother Lewis served as a Valkyrie, little Carol heard the name of this legendary bishop, and even listened to the bishop's speech in the live broadcast of the Mandate of Heaven. Of course, at that time, the earth was still a pure earth, and the Mandate of Heaven was not yet the core permanent organization of the Ring World Federation. Bishop Otto had not passed away, but was truly living in the same world as hers.

The legendary historical figure turned out to be my mother’s leader!

For some reason, Carol always felt that Otto was much closer to her, and that she could write well about this legendary bishop of the same era. So, this was the reason why she had chosen this extremely troublesome topic on impulse.

However, after she actually started writing, she realized that it was not so simple to evaluate a controversial figure, especially a figure who has not been determined to this day. Trying to use it as an academic paper to help her graduate smoothly was simply asking for trouble.

Moreover, she had forgotten something even worse.

That is - the legendary bishop named Otto Apokalis, the grandfather of the current Archbishop of Heaven's Mandate - Theresa Apokalis!

What’s even worse is that Bishop Theresa is also the principal of St. Freya International College.

Later, Carol also heard that Bishop Theresa would return to Saint Freya to inspect the work in the near future, and would most likely observe the defense of this year's Valkyrie trainees.

That is to say, she might have to defend her paper criticizing Bishop Otto in front of Bishop Theresa...

In front of the principal and Valkyrie commander-in-chief, were you making up stories about the elders of the other family?

Hehe...Hehe...

Thinking of Teacher Charlotte's intriguing smile, Carol had reason to believe that the other party was using this as a punishment for her skipping history class in the first half of the semester.

The light in the girl Carol's eyes began to disappear.

......Is it too late to consider going back to study again?

"By the way, what on earth is this Valkyrie profession? It goes without saying that they have to undergo high-intensity combat training every day. Why are there even stricter cultural requirements than those of civilian schools... It's just to clean up the Honkai pollution incident. Is it necessary?

Learning so many things...?"

Carol, filled with negative emotions, began to complain like an ordinary teenager who gave up on herself. Of course, this kind of fantasy often did not last long, and soon she had to cheer up again and face the thesis that she could not escape.

"Anyway, first try to find as many reference materials with vague and general viewpoints as possible... Hmm? The evaluation of the former Anti-Entropy Leader Walter? Wait, Walter Yang? Isn't this the name of the Chairman of the United Council?"

Carol felt more and more overwhelmed as she flipped through the holographic projection of the modern history file. However, when she saw the slightly unfamiliar name of the organization, she found another direction for argument.

Destiny, Anti-Entropy, World Serpent. Carol remembered that the old history mentioned that these three organizations were the core forces of the Source Earth to fight against the collapse, but now after the war, their structures are very different from what they were then.

At that time, the expeditionary force of the Alliance of All Worlds went to the edge of the ring to fight against the Herrscher of the End, and finally defeated all the apostles summoned by the Herrscher of the End. The Herrscher of the End, who had exhausted his power, disappeared, but the three major organizations that returned with the heroes in triumph soon ushered in changes.

After the End War, Kevin, the leader of the World Snake Organization, insisted on leaving the Earth to continue to guard against the disappearing Herrscher of the End and prevent it from resurrecting. Therefore, the World Snake leader led some members to the Honkai Crystal Layer at the border of the Ring World and established a base in an abandoned place with extremely harsh environment. These World Snake members were respectfully called "Civilization Watchers" and "Heroes among Heroes" by people at that time, but they gradually faded out of the public's view in the following years, and now only a few media occasionally mention them.

Another part of the World Serpents who were unwilling to leave the Earth merged with Anti-Entropy, which was still an alliance at the time, and together with the Destiny Organization, assisted the Earth government in solving reconstruction issues and continued to deal with the legacy of Honkai pollution.

Three years after the end of the war, the Anti-Entropy organization was disbanded in December 2021, abolishing the coexistence of multiple organizations originally maintained by the franchise system. Most of its internal civilian scientific research organizations were officially incorporated by the Earth government, and the top leaders of the last original Anti-Entropy organization established a cross-border company called "Tesla Technology". In the name of Anti-Entropy, it is active in all directions of the world around Axis Star (Earth) - the cross-border integrated terminal system that Carol is using to search for information is the new ring network built by Tesla Technology Company using the relics of Bishop Otto, the Key of God called the Void.

The Destiny Organization has been developing steadily until now, merging important tasks such as planetary defense, Valkyrie training, high-tech scientific research, participation in politics and governance, and has become an important super organization on Earth and even in the Ring World.

So... do we really need to start looking for information from the early forms of opposition between these organizations? It seems that a lot of the negative information about Bishop Otto is concentrated in these parts...

When she was defending herself, she listed the sins of her ancestors in front of Bishop Teresa...

Carol twitched her lips, rubbed her temples, and stood up from her seat in front of the thesis screen.

So, if I had not continued my studies and had graduated directly as a main battle Valkyrie to serve, I would probably have successfully joined the front-line reserve and officially started the exam, instead of worrying about the endless papers and reports like now.

"Although the employment opportunities for basic combat-oriented Valkyries are very limited, I am not cut out to be an officer, and my technical skills are barely passing... Oh, I shouldn't have listened to my family!"

According to what Carol heard from her mother, the Valkyries who graduated from the Destiny Organization would serve in the Honkai Organization like soldiers until they retired. But if they passed the civilian training and obtained the special Valkyries level, they would work in the high-level organizations of Destiny and engage in strategic political research and other work. The higher-level ones would even need to go to the planets of other civilizations to enforce the law.

Going to an alien civilization to enforce the law is dangerous no matter how you think about it! Carol remembered that a few days ago, the news was still reporting on the border conflict between the Terra Empire and the former Star Alliance. It was a saint of the Destiny Organization and several high-level Valkyries who were conducting peacekeeping and mediation.

Carol was a little scared. Although the Valkyrie's job was to carry out various combat missions, you had to know that it was a real interstellar war! For an apprentice Valkyrie like herself, if she was involved, she would probably not have enough lives.

Moreover, in the recent political situation class, Mr. Hill seemed to have mentioned that the situation in the interstellar space has become increasingly turbulent in recent years...

So, why choose Valkyrie as a career? With the threat of war in the distance and endless papers to write nearby, my career future seems to be bleak.

Carol's thoughts were tangled like a tangled mess, and she knew that she was in no mood to work on her thesis anymore.

So, with the thought, "There are still a few days left, it won't be too late to wait until tomorrow", the young girl Carol turned on the display screen of the entertainment terminal and casually clicked on a pop music channel.