Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

Sirin was completely bewildered.

She didn't know when she was supposed to get another Honkai brother or sister.

But from what the two were saying, Noldrei was clearly setting another trap for the Honkai.

How could such a person exist? Did mastering the rules of Herrscher descents make him so willful? Wasn't he afraid of playing with fire and getting burned?

Then it dawned on Sirin. Noldrei controlled humanity's genetic information. At worst, he could just fly out of the solar system, find a new planet, and create humans all over again.

Could people from the future really bully the Honkai like this?

Rita was still angry. She couldn't believe that she, of all people, would one day become an accomplice to a Herrscher's descent.

Why was this happening? Even Overseer Otto had never done anything like this. Unfortunately, Rita would never see such a scene, because Noldrei had already snuffed out the Overseer's original plan before he could go too far.

"Director, are we really going to continue... playing around here?"

Noldrei looked at the angry Rita with some confusion. She spoke as if she could actually solve the Herrscher problem. From Noldrei's observations, the only one who stood a chance against a Herrscher was Durandal.

"Rita, is it possible, just possible, that you can't stop the Herrscher's descent whether you're here or not? If you were Durandal, I might give your words more weight. But Rita..."

Noldrei patted Rita's shoulder with a look of pity. "You just don't carry enough weight right now."

Rita's vision went black. She rubbed her temples to steady herself, her feelings toward Noldrei more complicated than ever.

Was this the damned power of the Kaslana imperial line? Rita truly felt the power gap that came with strength.

"Director, if you keep this up, you'll lose my 'astounding intelligence'."

Rita felt Noldrei couldn't treat her this way. They had, at the very least, a budding relationship. He couldn't just pull up his pants and act like nothing had happened.

She shifted her focus to how to deal with the new Herrscher.

"What do you plan to do? Or do you have a way to prevent the crisis the new Herrscher will bring?"

Rita turned to the issue of incident management. Since Noldrei had already decided on this course of action, she had to consider how to handle the aftermath.

"We have to wait for the new Herrscher to appear first. I haven't had much chance to see these new Herrschers yet. But I did hear that Europe and America have ordered quite a few dark-skinned, old-human androids. I wonder if they might become the first black Herrscher in history. The thought is a little exciting, isn't it? It would certainly satisfy my curiosity."

Noldrei's topics always had a slightly morbid curiosity to them. Rita couldn't imagine what a black Herrscher who hated human society would be like. The image was too bizarre, leaving Rita at a loss.

"Director! Can you please be serious!"

Sirin stared at Rita in shock. She had never seen Rita so angry. The maid who seemed to never get angry was actually yelling at Noldrei.

Then she thought again, Wait a minute! I'm a Herrscher, too. I'm looking forward to humanity's demise.

Sirin nodded solemnly. "Yes, I'm also very curious if a black Herrscher who wants to destroy humanity will appear."

'I hope one does. It would be even better if it throws the world into chaos.'

Sirin hadn't forgotten her great mission to destroy humanity. The memories of her abuse as a child were too deep, and now she was a little obsessed.

But Rita was in no mood to bicker with a child. She had to know Noldrei's plan today.

Noldrei was indeed, as Rita knew, a broad-minded person. He wasn't surprised by Rita's anger, nor was he angry about her sudden change in attitude.

"Look at you, getting all worked up again! A Herrscher's descent is all about the right time, the right place, and the right people. So, the next Herrscher will definitely appear among the androids. We just don't know how they will be chosen. We might even be able to use the androids' network to our advantage."

"All you need to do is relax here and wait for things to develop."

Noldrei's words made Rita breathe a small sigh of relief. He looked like he was already prepared.

"You really scared me, Director."

Rita calmed herself down, her mind clear again, and began to think about how to report this trouble to the academy...

'Never mind, I'll just leave the trouble to Dr. Tesla at the Academy City.' Rita knew, just as Noldrei had said, that she wasn't much use. But her worries wouldn't change just because she was aware of the reality.

Rita had thought Noldrei had reined in his willfulness, but who would have thought that even that was part of his willfulness? He was truly a genius at fishing. Could a difficult-to-serve Director suddenly becoming easy to serve also be a trap?

"But if we really just let it go, won't there be a lot of needless sacrifices? You still haven't given me a mission that requires my skills."

Rita's words confused Noldrei. He asked back, "What sacrifices? It's not like I'm sending you to fight the Herrscher directly. What's there to sacrifice?"

"..."

Not sending them to fight?

Rita frowned at him. She had lost all trust in the Director who had just provoked her.

You'd better be telling the truth about not needing to fight.

"Don't worry, I've left enough people in the Academy City. They'll handle the trouble over there."

Noldrei was referring to Mobius and Elysia, so he wasn't worried about the situation in the Academy City. Rita's reaction was a bit of Honkai PTSD. She instinctively assumed the mission was as dangerous as the ones she had undertaken for Schicksal in the past.

"What? Do you still have doubts?"

Rita hesitated for a moment before asking, "If it's as you say, Director, that a Stigma Will can become a Herrscher by completing itself through the Honkai... doesn't that mean you've created a whole bunch of beings more powerful than humans? What if you lose control of them?"

Noldrei thought for a moment. "Actually, the reason for my actions is very simple. I just want to understand the difference between this Herrscher-ized android network and the Stigma Space connected by the Stigma Armor. And by the way, I want to see which of these two networks has a stronger control over humanity."

'Just?!'

Rita took a deep breath. Noldrei's words sent a jolt through her, making her heart race.

She swore that this trip to Sapphire City would be a "heart-pounding" memory she would never forget for the rest of her life.