"Ugh..." The indigo-haired girl clutched her forehead, her expression shifting from dazed to clear.
Since there were still many matters to attend to in the Previous Era, Elysia had said her goodbyes and returned to her own world first. Jiang Qiao had originally planned to return to the Anti-Entropy base before making a trip to the Elysian Realm. Unexpectedly, just as he arrived back at the Salt Lake Base, something changed.
Of course, these random swaps were something Jiang Qiao had grown accustomed to.
"This body is..." This face... it's Seele, but the power within... it's the Current Era's Seele...
Assessing the state of the body, a glance down revealed the rather conspicuous crimson Stigmata on her pale chest. Understanding dawned on Jiang Qiao, mixed with a touch of... surprise.
"Did something happen, Seele?" A voice, puzzled yet tinged with concern, echoed in his mind.
Needless to say, it was Veliona. It seemed she hadn't followed Seele over to the [Jiang Qiao] body during the swap. But that wasn't particularly strange. Unlike the relationship between Focalors and Furina, Veliona wasn't actually Seele, but a unique entity born from the Stigmata.
Although they shared a body, their 'foundations' were different. This wouldn't change just because Veliona considered herself Seele, or because Seele accepted Veliona as part of herself. Unless one 'consumed' the other.
Since she wasn't Seele, Veliona's presence in this body was essentially like a long-term guest, albeit one who had become very familiar.
However, she didn't seem to have realized—Seele had been swapped out. The one currently with her, holding control of this body, was Jiang Qiao.
Of course, this wasn't surprising either. The [Body Swap] ability he possessed wasn't so simple. It wasn't merely an exchange at the 'consciousness' level, but something more fundamental; consciousness was just the most superficial manifestation.
That was precisely why this [Body Swap] ability could 'acquire the powers possessed by others'—no, more accurately, it could 'imprint the blueprint of their power'. When Jiang Qiao realized the true nature of imprinting power blueprints, he understood, more or less.
Superficially, the swap seemed like the main effect, with power acquisition as a bonus. In reality, imprinting power blueprints was the ability's most crucial function; the swap was merely the means to achieve this end, a process.
The immediate priority seemed to be communicating with Seele quickly. But...
Looking down at the SELENE beneath his feet, [Seele] sighed helplessly. Seele had been brought along for this Great Honkai Eruption mission.
Of course, her purpose wasn't to provide combat strength—in fact, Einstein, Kiana, and the others had been against Seele coming along at all. After all, this was the front line against the Honkai, extremely dangerous.
But they couldn't refuse Bronya... Actually, Bronya hadn't been keen on Seele joining either, but she worried Seele might misunderstand, thinking they looked down on her. Combined with Bronya's own confidence and vanity, after careful consideration, she brought Seele along under the pretext of 'gaining experience'.
Besides their confidence in protecting Seele, as long as she didn't leave the SELENE , what could possibly happen... Spit spit spit, of course nothing will happen!
"Mm, I'm fine." Although there was no need to hide it, [Seele] decided against explaining the situation to Veliona for now. Given Veliona's fiery temper, causing a scene would be troublesome. The most important thing was clearly the Australian region currently experiencing the Great Honkai Eruption.
"Something's strange." Gazing at the pseudo-black hole covering nearly half of Australia, [Seele] frowned, resting a finger on her chin.
"What's strange?" Veliona asked.
"Why would they deliberately deploy a black hole like this?"
Pseudo-black holes came in different types. While the term 'black hole' itself symbolized ultimate 'destructive power', artificial pseudo-black holes like those created by the Star of Eden or the Herrscher of Rock were, to some extent, controllable.
The highly destructive aspect was undeniable—the entire Mu continent of the Previous Era was sunk into the Sea of Quanta.
The less destructive versions were more like the delaying tactics used several times against certain opponents, or like Fu Hua used against Kevin—primarily focused on 'buying time'.
The one currently over Australia leaned towards the latter. If the newly born Herrscher was mindless and anti-human, they should have chosen the former, maximizing casualties among the current era's humans. If they were conscious, then doing this deliberately suggested they were plotting something specific.
"Hmph, definitely nothing good! Whatever that Herrscher is planning, just tear it apart!" The hot-tempered Veliona also sensed something amiss but couldn't be bothered to think too hard about it. She grumbled, her attitude towards the problem simple and direct.
"..."
It was worth noting that the pseudo-black hole technique itself completely isolated the interior from the exterior, easily creating a situation where it was easy for outsiders to enter but difficult for those inside to leave.
This meant the SELENE and the Salt Lake Base had already completely lost contact with Kiana and Bronya, who had gone inside.
Gazing at the pseudo-black hole that seemed capable of swallowing everything, [Seele]—Jiang Qiao—narrowed his clear, beautiful eyes, a thoughtful and playful glint appearing within them.
---||---
Inside Australia.
"Ugh, this place feels awful," Kiana complained uncomfortably, biting her lip as she stepped onto Australian soil and entered the pseudo-black hole's interior.
Although the primary purpose of this pseudo-black hole wasn't destruction, its inherent nature meant it couldn't be completely harmless.
Under its influence, the gravity within the affected region was drastically different from the outside, heavy enough to make every step feel arduous. Kiana and Bronya were no exception.
While their physical capabilities surpassed ordinary humans, gravity itself was a unique force. Especially when acting upon internal organs, which lacked the resilience of muscle tissue.
However, the moment the two stepped inside the pseudo-black hole, a faint shimmer of light emanated from within their bodies, partially alleviating the gravitational pressure. But the main relief came from Bronya materializing the Star of Eden.
She didn't need to create another pseudo-black hole; simply generating an anti-gravity field significantly lessened the burden on their senses.
"Phew, that's much better."
"Hmph, the Star of Eden is the Herrscher of Rock's nemesis," Bronya declared confidently, holding her head high. Her confidence wasn't unfounded. With the Star of Eden, the Herrscher of Rock's gravitational authority would be greatly diminished.
Furthermore, besides using the Star of Eden to counter the enemy, she could also attack using the powers of the Herrscher of Reason—This is the confidence the name 'Truth' grants me!
Especially since, after generations of study, the Star of Eden's capabilities were practically laid bare. As the culmination of the Herrscher of Reason's power, the strongest Herrscher of Reason, taking down an opponent whose abilities had been thoroughly researched—shouldn't that be simple?
Along the way, they saw no one. This wasn't surprising; such harsh conditions made survival difficult for ordinary people. Besides, due to the previous minor Honkai Eruption and Australia being a frequent hotspot, the Oceania Branch had already arranged for population transfers towards Europe.
The majority of Australia's surviving population was concentrated in the small, unaffected area.
"Bronya senses a strong Honkai Energy reaction ahead. The enemy is close," Bronya announced. To a Herrscher, another Herrscher's presence was as obvious as a spotlight, especially a newly born one... regardless of type, concealing such immense Honkai Energy levels was practically impossible.
Soon, they saw the source of the Honkai Energy reaction. A young man in a trench coat with heavy dark circles under his eyes...
The Ninth Herrscher, Herrscher of Rock, Chen Tianwu.
Not Owl—though World Serpent was indeed short-staffed after successive defeats, the recruitment of 'Owl' was originally part of Raven's expanding business ventures.
According to the original timeline, after the Manila Eruption, he, as a survivor, was saved by Ana, joined the underground organization 'Thousand Fists Association' seeking a cure for his Honkai sickness, and was eventually recruited by Raven.
Unfortunately, although the Manila Eruption still occurred this time and he was still saved by Ana, the current Raven didn't have the leisure to recruit. Since graduating from the Elysian Realm training program, she had returned to her old profession, taking mercenary jobs to earn money, raising her kids, and so on.
The good news was, perhaps because Raven had acted as a double agent too many times, Gray Serpent had grown wary, and she was now marginalized within World Serpent.
The bad news—her World Serpent executive stipend was gone. Raven, though highly displeased, could only protest through inaction. No pay? Then don't expect me to work!
Therefore, Mr. Chen Tianwu missed his chance to become a World Serpent executive and began his own unsupervised development. And judging by the current situation, his development was indeed quite wild. He had run off to Australia to cause a Honkai Eruption.
"Look, there's someone over there," Kiana spotted a graceful figure imprisoned within a gravity cage not far from Chen Tianwu. "Looks like... a Schicksal Valkyrie!"
—Ana Schariac.
As if drawn by fate, she still appeared beside Chen Tianwu. However, unlike the original story, the situation between these two had become incredibly twisted.
"Why didn't you save my sister... Why did you save me..." A low voice, thick with resentment and anger, echoed around them.
Sensing something, Kiana called out, "Hey, you... Why did you capture her?"
"...Why did I capture her?" Chen Tianwu repeated, turning towards them. "You ask me why?"
"My suffering... it's all because of this woman!"
"Because... she saved you?" Kiana guessed.
"Yes! Precisely because she saved me... I was indeed saved, but, but what meaning does it have?"
"My parents, my sister, they all died, died..."
"Only I survived."
"But being alive, I haven't experienced a single moment of happiness, only endless pain, pain, pain..."
"It would have been better if I had died back then."
"If only my sister had survived..."
"All of this... it's the fault of this weak Valkyrie! It's the fault of this world... This world isn't beautiful at all!"
"So, you decided to destroy everything?" Kiana asked grimly.
"Yes! I'm going to destroy everything!"
"If this world isn't beautiful at all, then why should it exist?!"
"Why can they laugh and smile, while I can only cry alone?"
"...It's just... not fair at all!"
"...You've gone mad," Kiana stated flatly.
"Kiana, stop wasting words on him. This man is completely... beyond saving." Bronya stopped Kiana from trying to reason further with Chen Tianwu, casting a cold glance at his seemingly calm yet subtly crazed and decadent face. Some people needed communication. This one—she was certain—only understood the language of fists.
In this regard, Miss Bronya, hailing from Russia, possessed an innate, self-taught talent.
"Do you want to kill me?" Chen Tianwu sneered. "You two, you're Herrschers too, aren't you? Yet you'd think of siding with humans?"
"How strange. Neither of you... your hands aren't exactly clean either, are they?"
"Especially you... Kiana. You're clearly my kind... No, in this respect, perhaps I should even call you 'senior'... With hands already stained with blood, you still think of siding with humans?"
Kiana flinched, but her pretty face turned frosty. "I'm nothing like you! Don't you dare lump me together with scum like you!"
"Self-deception," Chen Tianwu mocked. "Humans clearly don't like you at all. Those staff members at the Salt Lake Base, don't they deliberately avoid you, whisper about you behind your backs?"
"...Don't let him affect you, Kiana." Noticing Kiana's breathing become rough and ragged, Bronya frowned, quickly grabbing her wrist and reminding her in her usual firm, youthful voice: "He's doing this deliberately. He wants to throw us off balance."
"...I know." Kiana breathed deeply.
"He seems to be preparing something. We need to take him down quickly!"
"Mm... I'll support you..." Kiana mumbled, her earlier fire dampened.
"..."
"...Alright then." Bronya had expected Kiana to fight her for the main attacker role, given her competitive nature—Bronya had even planned to yield slightly to boost Kiana's morale. But... clearly, his words had a significant impact.
Sighing inwardly, Bronya shook her head. Forget it...
Even without Kiana's help, Bronya can take this guy down alone!
Take this—
"Zeroth Power: Pseudo Black Hole!"