The emergence of the Third Herrscher's companion beast didn't keep Durandal waiting for long.
Before long, a massive amount of Honkai energy began to coalesce and crystallize near the Third Herrscher, eventually forming a gargantuan egg. It was obvious: Śeṣa was inside.
Durandal's eyes shifted slightly.
Even the Third Herrscher could feel the profound connection between them; despite the thick shell, she could almost hear the beast's powerful, rhythmic heartbeat thrumming from within.
Originally, the Third Herrscher had been hesitant to act, wary of Durandal's overwhelming strength. Now, realizing that a powerful ally was about to be born, she felt even less of a rush to start a fight.
The Herrscher began secretly commanding the other Honkai beasts spawned during this eruption to swarm Durandal, hoping to buy some time for herself and her companion.
But just as she began to weave her influence, Durandal moved.
With blinding speed, Durandal lunged forward, pressing her hand firmly against the Third Herrscher before she could even think of dodging.
Durandal wasn't the actual Will of Honkai, so she couldn't control a Herrscher Core from a distance—but direct physical contact changed everything.
The moment Durandal secured her grip, Elysia—whose Honkai adaptability was only slightly inferior to Durandal's—rushed to the scene.
Seeing that Durandal had successfully restrained the Third Herrscher exactly as planned, a faint, relieved smile touched Elysia's lips.
She knew the rest would be simple.
Durandal would directly wipe the Herrscher's persona from the core, allowing Miyuki's consciousness to take its place. Miyuki would become a Third Herrscher who fought for humanity.
Once that happened, Śeṣa—as the companion beast—would naturally become an asset for mankind, even if it meant occasionally donating some blood or tissue samples to Mobius's lab for research.
With both the Herrscher and her beast dealt with, the only tasks remaining were to purge the wandering Honkai beasts from Nagazora City, disperse the residual Honkai energy, and begin the reconstruction.
However, as Elysia approached with that lingering smile, Durandal's expression suddenly twisted in alarm.
She barked out a sharp command: "Stay back!"
But who was Elysia?
Setting aside the fact that she wasn't exactly the type to just follow orders, the sheer abnormality of the situation ensured she wasn't going to listen.
Behind Durandal, a swirling black vortex, large enough to swallow a person, had manifested out of thin air.
Durandal gave Miyuki—whose Herrscher consciousness had been purged but who had not yet woken up—a forceful shove forward.
In an instant, Durandal herself was sucked into the void. Just as the black hole began to collapse, Elysia reached it. Without a flicker of hesitation, she dived in after her.
The moment Elysia entered, the vortex vanished instantly, as if it had never existed at all.
By the time Himeko and the others arrived, the only person they found was Miyuki. She had just woken up and was searching as frantically as they were for any sign of Durandal and Elysia.
What Himeko and her team couldn't possibly imagine was that Durandal and Elysia were actually still in Nagazora City—just not this Nagazora City.
On the other side of the black hole, Durandal stood clutching her Genius device so hard she looked ready to crush it. Even with her incredible strength, the device remained stubbornly intact.
The reason Durandal was so furious with this Genius—the very thing that had brought her through time and granted her countless rewards—was because of what had just happened.
The moment she had erased the Herrscher's consciousness from the core, the reward from the Genius arrived as promised.
Only this time, the reward wasn't an object; it was a "Trial of the Original Third Honkai Eruption."
Usually, for physical rewards, the Genius would ask Durandal where she wanted them delivered. This time, it didn't ask a single question. It simply ripped open a door behind her and sucked her in.
That was why she had yelled at Elysia to stay away. The original Third Eruption had been an unforeseen catastrophe.
Nagazora City and Fire Moth alike had been caught completely off guard and forced to react in a desperate scramble.
The risks involved were infinitely higher than the version of the eruption Durandal had spent six months preparing for with her future knowledge.
Durandal had intended to brave this dangerous "instance" alone. She didn't want Elysia dragged into it.
What she hadn't realized was that her warning had backfired.
In fact, if she hadn't shouted so urgently, Elysia's original pace wouldn't have been fast enough to catch the closing vortex. It was that very shout that caused Elysia to accelerate, barely making the cut.
How could Durandal not be livid? The Genius's trial had dragged Elysia into a death trap!
But that wasn't even the worst of it.
Though Durandal had clearly seen Elysia follow her in, she was now standing entirely alone on the deserted streets of this desolate old district. Elysia was nowhere to be found.
Realizing how wrong this was, Durandal immediately demanded an explanation from the Genius.
The answer was simple, if infuriating: Since Durandal did not exist in this original timeline, she appeared exactly where she had entered.
However, because Elysia did exist in this world, she couldn't simply appear as a double. Instead, her consciousness had merged with the Elysia of this era, falling into a deep sleep in the process.
If Elysia's consciousness didn't wake up before the trial was cleared—meaning before the Third Herrscher was eliminated—she would be trapped in this simulation forever.
The news left Durandal simmering with rage.
Once her anger cooled into a cold resolve, she immediately began searching through the purgatory that was this Nagazora City.
She didn't know how to track down Elysia yet, but she knew how to find the Third Herrscher.
She wasn't looking for the Herrscher to end the trial, though.
Quite the opposite: until Elysia woke up within her local counterpart, Durandal would protect the Third Herrscher at all costs to keep the Fire Moth from killing it.
After all, looking at the Fire Moth's current roster, the only person in the entire organization actually capable of killing the Third Herrscher was likely Elysia herself.
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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL