The Plan Approaches its End - Transition

The arrangements had already been completed. Without anyone knowing, she would establish a preconceived impression of a 「benevolent Herrscher of the Void」 in the minds of the civilians.

Her plan was simple: to win the propaganda war before Otto even had a chance to act. By guiding the masses, she could eventually turn it into a public opinion war.

Since Otto didn't care about the common people, he had no right to blame her for claiming the high ground first. Only a simple-minded Herrscher would think of destroying the world alone. Ren, on the other hand, had countless strategies swirling in his mind, and more options than anyone could predict.

Generally speaking, any manga containing Honkai-related content would be immediately blocked in areas under Schicksal's control. But Shenzhou was different—it wasn't under Schicksal's jurisdiction.

Although Fu Hua was known as the guardian of Shenzhou, she wasn't an administrator. Despite her vast ancient knowledge, she allowed the various sects to grow independently, leaving Shenzhou without a unified authority. This made the region an ideal place to sow the seeds of a public opinion war.

Ren had chosen the manga Magical Girl Kiana for this purpose. Its primary audience was children, which made it less likely to attract the attention of adults. Poisoning the minds of children was far easier than confronting the mentally resilient Valkyries.

That said, Ren didn't aim to overthrow Schicksal outright. With only the civilians in Shenzhou, it was impossible to cause a storm large enough to topple their rule.

All he wanted was to plant a seed of chaos in the weakest areas. Whether that seed grew or not would depend on forces beyond his control.

Of course, it would be best if the seed of chaos did grow. Once information about the Honkai was leaked, the world would inevitably spiral into chaos.

People would begin to mistrust one another. Different powers, upon learning about Schicksal's vulnerabilities, would all want a share of its influence and resources. Inevitably, they would clash. Civilians, in turn, would lose trust in their leaders and start criticizing their incompetence.

Even if Schicksal attempted to suppress the news, the cost of doing so would be astronomical. According to Dr. Einstein's theory of relativity, if Schicksal lost ground, it meant Ren had gained it.

As a Herrscher, Ren welcomed such a scenario.

However, improving public opinion among civilians was only one part of Ren's plan. After orchestrating the chaos, Ren stood on the control deck, gazing down at the city below. Once he was certain that both Schicksal and World Serpent had noticed him, he took off, flying away from the city.

His main enemies were still these two formidable forces. The commotion he had created served a purpose: to draw their attention.

First, it distracted them, making his operations in the Sea of Quanta much safer.

Second, it gave Kiana time to recover. To Ren, Kiana was his most valuable weapon, and he refused to let anyone else take her away. But both Schicksal and World Serpent were relentless in their pursuit of her, and the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness constantly eroded her mind.

Even weapons needed time to be forged properly. Kiana needed to grow—not just in strength, but in resilience.

Third, Ren aimed to provoke a direct conflict between Schicksal and World Serpent.

World Serpent's Stigmata Project and the imminent return of Kevin would disrupt the balance of power. What had once been a bipolar standoff between Schicksal and Anti-Entropy would become a chaotic three-way struggle.

Otto would never allow such a shift to happen peacefully. A conflict was inevitable.

What Ren was doing now was taking Kiana's place as bait. By doing so, he intensified the conflict between the two major powers and shifted the battle outside of ARC City.

Only by moving the fighting elsewhere could his forces have the space to grow. If everything went according to plan, he might even claim ARC City as the Herrscher's first stronghold in this world.

All of his plans were already in place. The only thing left was to put them into motion.

Even so, Ren wasn't entirely confident. All he could do was try his best.

…

Meanwhile, Bella, who had once been ecstatic about reuniting with her Queen, was once again lost.

Because Ren had stolen the Herrscher of the Void's power, Bella had lost the signal she relied on. Now, she was flying aimlessly, guided only by her memories.

She was prepared to travel halfway across the planet to find her Queen. But then, a faint signal reappeared.

The feeling was vague, yet unmistakable. Without hesitation, and with her absolute loyalty, Bella flew toward the source of the signal.

…

"The Herrscher of the Void has left the city," Raven muttered, her gaze fixed out of the window of the Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical building.

The view below was chaos—civilians scrambling to survive the disaster that had engulfed their city.

After the massive commotion, even the Herrscher of the Void must have known that she'd attracted Schicksal's attention. If she stayed, she would face their relentless pursuit.

But as Raven pieced the situation together, all she could feel was a bitter sense of irony.

The Herrscher of the Void, the same being who had destroyed everything she held dear and manipulated her fate, had somehow turned into a hero—one who was saving the city.

The text works well in terms of content but could benefit from splitting large paragraphs into smaller sections for better readability, especially on digital platforms. Additionally, some sentences can be rephrased for a smoother flow. Here's the revised version:

"I thought civilians were already foolish enough, but I didn't expect them to be this stupid!"

The contrast between her expectations and reality left Raven feeling disgusted. If the Herrscher of the Void could be whitewashed like this, did that mean Raven's anger and resentment were a joke?

And what had her life amounted to? Was she just a ridiculous clown on a stage?

The intense humiliation fueled a fire in her scarlet eyes. Her Soulium claws tightened, and the metal railing by the window was twisted into a crumpled sheet of metal.

World Serpent had tasked her with guarding Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical. But now, as she looked down at the building—gradually returning to normal after the disaster—Raven took a deep breath. She strapped on her weapons, silently following the direction the Herrscher of the Void had taken.

Blinded by her anger, she failed to notice Ren watching from the shadows of the building opposite her. His lips curved into a smile.

…

Meanwhile, at the outer domain management department of Shenzhou, the Eos transport ship coming from Schicksal had been stopped.

"Please show your entry permit."

"Schicksal is providing medical supplies to Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical in ARC City," Rita said, her tone as calm and composed as ever. She passed the manager a paper document and an electronic authentication chip.

Although she could have opted to sneak in secretly, like the Hyperion had, this was a diplomatic matter. Schicksal and Shenzhou had an agreement, and she knew the proper procedures had to be followed.

「The disaster in ARC City has subsided, and the Herrscher of the Void has already begun to escape.」

Otto's message had just arrived. Rita looked at the evaluation process, noting that it would still take quite some time to complete. She frowned slightly, displeased with the management system in Shenzhou.

After a moment of thought, she made a decision. She would go to ARC City herself to investigate. Once the evaluation of the Eos was finished, the remaining members of the Immortal Blades squad could follow and provide additional assistance.

No one noticed that, in the shadows, a small flying vehicle had quietly departed, heading toward ARC City.