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"Ughh... Haah... Something's... surging out..."
Clutching her chest, Wendy staggered backward, legs trembling.
She had been barely managing to suppress the Core's chaotic power, saving its full might for crucial moments when she could protect Seele and the others. But it seemed the Core's strength far exceeded her imagination.
In just one fleeting lapse of focus, the Core burst through her defenses, fueled uncontrollably by the high concentration of Honkai Energy around them.
"Don't panic! I still have some medication—"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several bullets aimed at Tesla, who was reaching for his medicine, were intercepted by the round Eins submachine, narrowly saving his life.
As Tesla and Einstein struggled to regain their composure, Wendy turned, her emotions swirling with anger and hatred taking dominance over her once-black eyes, now tinged with a dark green hue.
"So it's you!" Wendy growled, disappearing from sight within a blink.
Almost simultaneously, Wendy appeared over a hundred meters away, her hand clamped around one of Gray Serpent's masks. With a squeeze—
"Crack!"
Under Wendy's ferocious gaze, both the mask and the head it belonged to shattered into pieces.
But Gray Serpent's ironclad will remained unaffected by the memory of his avatar's demise. In the blink of an eye, several more clones emerged, firing bullets at defenseless individuals nearby.
"How dare you?!"
"Boom!!"
Wendy's fury surged even higher as she conjured a fierce gale with a wave of her hand, tearing apart the bullets along with multiple Gray Serpent avatars.
Then, covering her face with both hands, tears welled up uncontrollably—unshed emotions flooding forth like a breached dam after being suppressed for far too long.
The uncontrollable power of the gemstone unearthed all the buried despair, resentment, sorrow, and other negative emotions deep within her heart, amplifying them exponentially. These overwhelming feelings relentlessly assaulted her mental defenses, coalescing into profound despair and hatred.
"Ahh... Ahh... AHHH!" Her anguished cries grew louder as Wendy's petite body floated upwards, enveloped by Honkai Energy.
"I... can't..."
"I... mustn't..."
"No, this isn't right..."
"I..." Wendy struggled, her tormented whispers broken and strained.
From a distance, Jackal's eyes gleamed.
"Expected nothing less from you, Gray Serpent! Your actions were surprisingly effective—could this be the final straw that breaks the camel's back? No matter; this is exactly what I wanted! She's about to lose control!"
"Enough chatter, seize the opportunity."
"I know, right away!"
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a javelin materialized and pierced through Gray Serpent's body.
"Fire now! We won't get another chance!"
Gray Serpent emitted erratic electronic sounds.
Anti-Entropy's counterattack had arrived.
BANG!
After impaling Gray Serpent onto the ground, the intense shockwave and deafening explosion belatedly followed, sending a stunned Jackal flying far away.
She hastily scrambled up, repositioning her device.
Whoosh!
Boom! Another javelin shattered Jackal's head.
But before it struck, Wendy was already engulfed by a brilliant beam of light.
Thud!
A slender black figure swiftly descended from the sky, crushing both Jackal's body and the device while scattering surrounding snow.
Two black javelins floated up, reattaching themselves behind Sin.
She raised her head, frowning beneath the sealed helmet.
"Was I too late?" Sin murmured.
Rushing at full speed from over a hundred miles away, she couldn't help but arrive with some delay.
In the sky where Wendy floated, as Jackal's beam dissipated, a swirling vortex of indescribable colors slowly formed.
It seemed all the Honkai Energy within Wendy had been drained, causing her small body to plummet towards the ground.
However, with the Core liberated and surrounded by an environment rich in Honkai Energy, before she even hit the earth, another massive surge of power gathered around her once more.
Far from improving, this sudden fluctuation shattered Wendy's psychological defenses entirely.
Her eyes became vacant.
In the next moment, instead of absorbing Honkai Energy, her body began emitting an even more terrifying amount outward.
"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!"
Sin heard alarms signaling that Honkai Energy levels had exceeded safe thresholds.
She squinted, focusing on the eerie vortex. The force emanating from the quantum realm disrupted her unique perception, preventing her from discerning much detail. However, it was undeniably radiating an immense presence unlike anything she'd ever encountered.
Sin glanced at Wendy, who remained motionless but continued emitting Honkai Energy unabated, then looked toward her orphanage companions. Feeling momentarily overwhelmed, she couldn't decide which situation required immediate attention.
"You're...Miss Sin?"
"The Valkyrie from Schicksal? Never mind that now—it's not important. Help me evacuate them first; ensuring their safety comes before anything else," Sin said to Rita, who had rushed over.
Rita shook her head with a grim expression.
"No, Miss Wendy can no longer control the Gem of Desire. My intuition also tells me that vortex is highly dangerous. You go ahead—I'll cover your retreat."
"Just you?"
"...Although my abilities are limited, I am still a Valkyrie. Confronting Honkai and protecting the innocent is my mission."
"Fine."
Without further ado, Sin swiftly moved next to Tesla and Einstein.
"Keep an eye on them!" she instructed, tearing open the battered armored vehicle, placing both conscious scientists along with the prone figure inside.
Then, frowning, she spotted Raven's body nearby and tossed it in as well before slamming the door shut. She secured it with a javelin, lifted the vehicle effortlessly, and strode away.
For now, only Rita and Wendy remained at the scene.
As she watched Wendy's brief silence, Rita took a deep breath.
"Miss Wendy, I'm not sure if you can hear me. Please remember your original intentions. I've heard about your accomplishments—the once-promising genius Valkyrie who dedicated herself to fighting Honkai, serving as a role model for all Valkyries. I... Rita implores you, find your rationality again. This world has never needed your strength more than it does right now."
Rita felt increasingly uncertain with each word. She wasn't unaware of Wendy's experiences; precisely because she knew, she couldn't demand anything from her with unwavering conviction.
Putting herself in Wendy's shoes, imagine participating in experiments filled with great expectations, only to instantly plummet from being a powerful Valkyrie into the abyss, becoming utterly useless—day after day, feeling one's own powerlessness and despair. Rita candidly admitted that even she didn't know how long she could endure or how much passion would remain within her.
Then, Wendy turned her head, empty green eyes focusing on the sole living presence nearby: Rita.
"BOOM!!"
Rita's hair stood on end as she leaped away just in time, leaving behind a massive crater where she had been standing.
Wendy stared at her vacantly and raised her hand, unleashing a torrent of chaotic Honkai Energy.
In a series of explosions, carrying peculiar air disturbances, Rita was forced to dart around evasively. Unable to escape or even counterattack, she found herself constantly on the defensive.
'What... am I doing?'
Within Wendy's mind, there was confusion, along with self-doubt.
However, grief, anger, and hatred formed a cage within her heart, trapping her rational consciousness in the depths. At that moment, controlling her body were not her clear thoughts but these overwhelming negative emotions.
'I... shouldn't...'
Wendy silently murmured to herself, yet her body remained focused solely on Rita—the only target present—instinctively channeling those uncontrollable emotions towards her.
Finally, when Wendy regained her senses, she realized she was choking Rita by the neck.
Rita's maid armor lay shattered, her left arm twisted unnaturally, and blood dripped from her right hand and various parts of her body.
"Ri...ta?!" Wendy exclaimed, stunned, quickly releasing her grip.
Unlike her counterpart years later in the original story, Wendy's current feelings towards her predicament were more resentment than despair; she was far from giving up and still maintained an adversarial stance against Honkai and Herrschers. Even during these past few weeks, much of that resentment had been gradually healed.
Wendy indeed exhibited extreme incompatibility with the Gem of Desire, but her ability to suppress it was remarkably strong.
In the original timeline, when the gemstone was brutally implanted within her, the combination of inadequate technology and sinister intentions led to her enduring unimaginable physical and mental torment for years. Despite this prolonged suffering, even until the moment she ultimately gave up, the Herrscher Core remained well-suppressed.
The situation now mirrored that past: as the concentration of Honkai Energy around her decreased and some of her emotional turmoil subsided, she swiftly regained her rationality.
Wendy's initial confidence was justified; unless she willingly succumbed, external influences would struggle to transform her into a Herrscher.
Suddenly, her body went limp, collapsing weakly backward.
Above her, shadows descended.
The arrival of the colossal Honkai Beast indicated that the Titan and bee swarm blockade had been breached.
This immense creature, seemingly tall enough to touch the clouds, lifted its massive forelimbs, akin to mountains, and slowly brought them down.
"Is it...over already?" Wendy murmured as her life flashed before her eyes like a carousel lantern. Strangely, the brightest and most cherished memories were from these past two weeks spent as a captive.
Then, she saw light.