After leaving the airport, Aaron turned on his phone and began searching for news about Nagazora City.
And unsurprisingly—aside from some vague reports, he couldn't find any detailed intelligence.
These vague news reports merely advised all ordinary citizens and foreign tourists planning to visit Nagazora City not to go there for the time being.
Meanwhile, all transportation heading towards Nagazora City from nearby areas had naturally been forcibly rerouted or suspended.
"Looks like it's almost certainly happening."
"Signs of this kind of information manipulation... Schicksal must have made their move. In other words... the Third Honkai Eruption has already begun."
This airport wasn't too far from Nagazora City, and judging by the forceful evacuation of the crowd starting from here...
*Tsk, looks like it's spreading fast.*
*The Herrscher of Thunder has awakened. But... today is Sunday.*
*If it's Sunday, Raiden Mei shouldn't be at Senba Academy... Motherf*cker, Kiana said before that she had a date with Raiden Mei today.*
*Even if the time has changed, will certain events still follow the predetermined trajectory?*
Finding a small alleyway, Aaron activated **[Demon Armor: Incursio]**, turning invisible before moving at high speed through the streets.
*No good, this speed is too slow.*
*Phew, there aren't many people around here... whatever, I don't care anymore.*
*Since I've adapted somewhat to Incursio, the mental energy consumption isn't as severe as in the past.*
*Compared to using War Fog to hide my presence and then using Valor to recover strength, another method should have a better cost-performance ratio.*
At this moment, the people on the street suddenly saw a scene they would absolutely never forget in the short term.
On the road, a motorcycle suddenly appeared before their eyes without warning.
**[Knight of Owner]**, activate.
Subsequently, the motorcycle, as if piloted by a ghost, began speeding toward Nagazora City at maximum velocity.
"What... what is that???"
"A ghost??? or some weird thing???"
"A fully autonomous bike? No, that looks like just a normal bike, right?"
"What nonsense are you talking? How can a normal bike charge toward Nagazora City on its own... Hey, didn't the reports today say everyone should stay away from Nagazora?"
"I... sh*t! Nagazora City really has problems! There's actually a ghost bike charging over there!"
Amidst the speculative voices of the public, fear was spreading ceaselessly.
Soon, they no longer stayed to discuss the bike and scattered from the area one after another.
Within this area, a white-haired man wearing a hood slowly walked out from another alley.
Upon seeing the unmanned motorcycle, the man was indeed startled.
But quickly, thinking of what happened today, he felt he had no time to care about such trifles.
Quite a bit of time had passed since the Anti-Entropy Sovereign, Welt Yang, temporarily vanished.
And because the two founders, Tesla and Lieserl, were neither good at nor fond of factional infighting, Cocolia, who originally didn't hold the most power, had actually suppressed the Anti-Entropy conservatives and become the acting Sovereign of Anti-Entropy.
This Third Honkai Eruption had nothing to do with Schicksal; it was purely a disaster manufactured by Cocolia intending to awaken the Third Herrscher.
And by the time this man learned of it, everything was already too late.
*The Third Herrscher has completely awakened. Now I...*
*Damn it. Although Theresa is in charge of the Far East, that dog Otto will inevitably have his eyes fixed here.*
*Because Kiana is here.*
*For his plan, he definitely won't let Kiana come to any harm, but...*
*As a father, am I supposed to watch helplessly as my daughter potentially faces danger, unable to lend a hand?*
*No, I still have to go to Nagazora City.*
*Whether Kiana needs help is one thing; whether I, as a father, am present is another.*
*Before coming here, Dr. Einstein gave me authority over a quantum teleportation system.*
*Although according to her, this teleportation system isn't very stable and I should try not to use it, if it's Dr. Einstein—cautious as she is—giving it to me, it should be usable.*
*I'll go over and take a look. Anyway, the Judgment of Shamash is easy to carry, and as for me... heh, even if Otto discovers my tracks, with the quantum teleportation system, I can instantly disengage from the battlefield.*
*Furthermore, Schicksal publicly claims to have three S-Rank Valkyries, but according to Theresa, the third one has never appeared.*
*Only Durandal and Rita, these two S-Rank Valkyries, have been active. In other words, at worst, I'll be facing them.*
*Even though I currently retain less than thirty percent of my power, I won't be easily defeated by them to the point where I can't even escape.*
Feeling a sudden burst of stinging pain in his body, Siegfried accelerated his movements.
*Truly bullsh*t.*
*If not for the massive price of using Meta-Morph Factors back then, why would the current me need to hide like this!*
*If not for this injury, my actions back then would have been smoother, and Kiana wouldn't have died because of my incompetence.*
*I've already lost one daughter. I don't want to lose my other daughter because of my incompetence again.*
*Kiana, hold on.*
*Your Smelly Dad is coming to help you now!*
.......................
**Some time ago. Nagazora City. Senba Academy.**
After parting with Raiden Mei, Kiana, for some reason, came to Senba Academy.
With her current strength, entering the closed Senba Academy was no difficulty at all.
After effortlessly performing a few mid-air jumps and teleports using Trickster style, she easily arrived on the roof of a school building.
Sitting on the rooftop terrace looking down, Kiana felt her mind go completely blank.
"Phew... I don't know why, but I feel a lot more relaxed."
"Thinking about it carefully, I have no need to think about that guy at all. That guy... has nothing good about him anyway."
"He keeps things to himself and doesn't tell me. When something happens, he always rushes to the front alone. He says he treats me as a comrade, but in reality, he doesn't include me in his plans at all."
"Fighting the Three Beasts, facing the Jaegers and Night Raid... although he coordinated well with me, every time, he always tried to draw the enemy's fire."
*In the end, he was always the one getting hurt. The amount of blood I've seen in these two months is countable on one hand.*
*The feeling he gives me... it's almost as if he's guarding against something.*
As the breeze ruffled the girl's hair, Kiana felt her heart filled with incredibly complex emotions.
The girl was no fool. Combining previous deductions with certain conditions of her own, and some of Aaron's actions during those two months, Kiana had now formed a hypothesis.
*There are secrets about me.*
*And because of these secrets, while protecting me, Aaron doesn't want me to know about them.*
*If it were anyone else treating Kiana this way, Kiana might suspect what they were trying to do.*
*But...*
*Recalling every little moment between her and Aaron, the girl found herself completely unable to project the emotion of 'suspicion' onto that young man.*
Just as the girl began to gradually sink into conflict, she suddenly sensed a fluctuation of energy.
This energy fluctuation was completely different from the Teigu energy fluctuations before... no, it should be said, they weren't even on the same level.
In an instant, this energy centered on a certain residential area in Nagazora City and spread directly throughout the entire city.
And upon sensing this energy, not only did Kiana feel no discomfort, but she actually felt... a little comfortable?
"No, that's not right. Is this the large-scale Honkai phenomenon Dad mentioned?!"
Glancing at Nagazora City after the Honkai energy diffusion, Kiana immediately took out **[Almighty Five Sights: Spectator]** and used its far-sight ability to look at the surrounding areas.
And upon seeing everything in those areas, Kiana felt as if her heart had been heavily hammered.
The ordinary people in those areas now consisted only of women.
And these women had obviously been infected by Honkai energy, turning into monsters at the mercy of the Honkai—Zombies.
At the same time, countless Honkai Beasts appeared in the area around her.
"This... this isn't just a normal large-scale Honkai phenomenon anymore!"
Looking at the empty school, Kiana teleported consecutively in the air, landing lightly on the ground. She directly drew the Devil Sword Rebellion, carrying it on her back, then pulled out the twin pistols, Ebony & Ivory, aiming them at the Zombies before her.
Simultaneously, as if sensing something, those Zombies turned their gaze in unison toward Kiana.
Knowing clearly that these Zombies before her were beyond saving, Kiana still felt something the moment she prepared to shoot.
She hesitated.
*Just a moment ago, they were ordinary humans.*
*But because of the Honkai... just because of this damn Honkai, they have completely lost their precious lives, reduced to walking corpses destroying everything around them.*
"Everyone... I'm sorry!"
Style Switch — Weapon Master.
After switching to Weapon Master, Kiana charged directly into the crowd. Spinning with herself as the axis, she relentlessly pulled the triggers of Ebony and Ivory.
Even using ordinary bullets, the destructive power of Ebony and Ivory was enough to clear out the surrounding Zombies.
But after clearing the surrounding Zombies, Kiana gained no sense of achievement.
Following the outbreak of the Third Honkai Eruption, the sky over Nagazora City was filled with countless Assault-class Honkai Beasts.
Although these hovering Honkai Beasts weren't strong, there were simply too many of them.
Even though Kiana had obtained Dante's template, if she stayed here tangling with these Honkai Beasts, she would only waste the strength and magical energy within her.
"Dad once said that large-scale Honkai outbreaks are generally accompanied by the birth of some powerful Honkai Beasts. There might still be survivors in Nagazora City; I have to find a way to take down the most troublesome guy first."
"And... Mei is right in the center of where this large-scale Honkai occurred!"
Taking out the spare motorcycle Aaron had stored with her, Kiana immediately made a somewhat reckless decision.
*If magical energy can reinforce Ebony & Ivory and Rebellion, then maybe it can also be used to reinforce the bike.*
*I'll give it a try. After all, right now...*
*I don't have much time left!*
*If Aaron were here, he wouldn't hesitate either.*
*I have become stronger.*
*So now, as a warrior of the Kaslana clan, I will protect everyone I want to protect!*
........................
**Same time**
In the residential area at the city center, the Herrscher of Thunder looked at everything around her that she had destroyed, a smile appearing on her face that was hard to describe.
"Ha, after waking up, there doesn't seem to be anything interesting around here."
*And that brat's mind has already been easily suppressed by me.*
*Humans are truly fragile.*
*Flesh rots upon touching Honkai energy, and the mind is even more vulnerable.*
*No, that's not right!*
Sensing something slightly amiss, the Herrscher of Thunder immediately began using Honkai energy to amplify her perception.
*Oh?*
*In this city, there seems to be more than one 'existence' like me?*
*However, the others don't feel that powerful.*
*Turns out I'm the strongest one. How boring.*
*But whatever, I'll take it as a warm-up exercise after waking up.*
For some unknown reason, after looking toward Senba Academy, the Herrscher of Thunder manipulated her body to release wings of lightning, flying rapidly in the direction of Senba Academy.
"Ha, this 'comrade' gives me a feeling that's a bit off. Is my perception wrong? I feel like she isn't... whatever, I'll know what's going on when we meet."
"If she's the kind of weakling who wastes my time, then... ha, I won't leave her corpse intact."
.....................
After the outbreak of the Third Honkai Eruption, it wasn't just the Herrscher of Thunder and Kiana taking action.
Inside Nagazora City where the Honkai erupted, a woman slowly manifested within the urban area, her eyes looking woodenly at everything around her.
*Where... is this?*
*Why... have I appeared here?*
And in a civilian residential area, a young girl with purple hair, with countless vines appearing on her body, gradually saw her expression turn a few degrees more indifferent.
*What... exactly happened to me?*
*Why does it feel especially quiet outside today?*
.....................