After a lengthy rush back, Himeko had led Alex back to where the Far East Branch had their base of operations set up, as the Hyperion was docked just behind them.

Once they had been allowed in by numerous security and guards protecting the base, Himeko, who was still carrying the recovering Alex on her back, quickly went to where the others were currently at.

Eventually she had arrived at their room, an infirmary room as she peeked her head inside the doorway.

"Oi everyone!" Said the redhead.

Inside the room was Bronya, Theresa, and Mei, all still resting and recuperating from their encounter against Void.

However the moment they heard and saw the redhead stick her head in, they all immediately turned their attention towards her.

"M-Major Himeko!?" Said Bronya and Mei in shock as they hadn't seen her in a long while.

"Finally your ass shows up! Where the hell have you been!?" Asked Theresa.

"Look, it's a long story involving me and another redhead. I'm sure she can tell you later when they get here." Said Himeko before focusing on more pressing matters. "Anyways, I just so happened to pick up a rather important package on my way over here."

The three girls were intrigued by that last statement before Himeko walked in, allowing the girls to see the boy on her back as he slowly waved at them.

"H-Hey girls." He said, trying not to talk a lot.

"A-Alex!?" Said Mei, surprised to see the condition Alex was in as she immediately noticed the large puncture on his stomach.

Himeko sat Alex down on one of the medical tables as Mei immediately went to work on disinfecting the wound and patching him up.

Bronya walked over to them also in shock as she looked at Alex.

"W-What happened Subject Alex?" She asked.

Alex struggled to answer her question, as what had happened clearly still didn't sit right with him.

Himeko would call his attention and gave him a reassuring nod as Alex sighed.

"Listen you three, you need to hear this. After you all had retreated from the Herrscher, I ran on ahead to catch up with Fu Hua who was engaging her. When I had gotten there, she was majorly beat up, as she was being held by the throat. I had arrived just on time to break it up as I tussled with the Herrscher myself, though to no one's surprise I didn't fare all that much better. In the end, I got defeated." He said before pointing at the wound that Mei was currently treating.

"As y'all can see, she left me with a very nice parting gift." Said Alex, chuckling a bit as he tried to make some light of the situation.

"I see. I'm sorry you had to go through that." Said Theresa feeling a little guilty though Alex quickly reassured her.

"Don't worry about it Ms. Theresa. You three didn't have a choice but to retreat in the condition you all were in. Hell, when I had passed by Bronya on my way to the Herrscher, you and Mei were knocked out. Besides, thanks to some encouraging words from Major Himeko, this wound signifies just how much I'm willing to save Kiana from the Herrscher's influence." Said Alex.

That had brightened up everyone's mood for a moment before Theresa immediately picked up on the clear elephant in the room.

"Wait. More importantly, where's Fu Hua? She was with you wasn't she? Why hasn't she returned yet?" Asked Theresa.

The three immediately looked at Alex as that question immediately hit him hard like a semi truck.

It took him a long time to even find the effort to just say what happened, but he eventually did.

"F-Fu Hua.................................died after the battle." He said.

The three went dead silent, unable to believe what they had just heard.

"N-No...........it can't be." Said a distraught Mei, beginning to tear up.

"T-The Class Monitor, really is.......gone?" Asked Bronya who still couldn't believe the news.

Theresa simply had a heavy sigh in response to the news.

"Just imagine how Kiana's gonna feel when we tell her once she's saved. It's gonna crush that girl's heart immensely." Said Theresa.

That sentence though immediately made Alex grit his teeth, as he knew that he needed to clear up that misconception.

"No. It wasn't Kiana. Hell, it wasn't even the Herrscher." Said Alex.

That immediately perked everyone's interest, even as Himeko's as she was still unaware as to who killed Fu Hua.

"Kiana.......n-no. The Herrscher didn't kill Fu Hua?" Asked Mei.

"Then, what happened? Who killed Fu Hua?" Asked Theresa.

Alex took a deep breathe to gather himself before giving out the truth behind Fu Hua's murderer.

"It was Otto. He put a bullet through her head, right in front of me."

Now the silence was deafening, as an audible gasp was heard from Theresa who genuinely didn't wanna believe it.

"G-Grampa Otto? He did it?" She asked.

"They had a long talk. I didn't get to catch a decent portion of it because after I had gotten stabbed by the Herrscher, I had contracted Honkai Poisoning." He said, pointing at the faded out markings on the left side of his face and left hand.

"The serum that was meant for you, you used it on him didn't you?" Asked Theresa to the redhead who merely chuckled.

"Oh well, in that situation it couldn't have been helped. Anyways, continue Alex."

"I had checked out midway through their talk, thought my attention had been recaptured when I heard the gunshot. Though, I was somehow able to catch what Otto's true intentions are." Said Alex.

The four girls quickly paid attention as Alex cleared his throat.

"I'll put it as simple as I can. As a whole, what Otto wants to achieve is a human who's mastered the powers of a Herrscher. Currently, he's successfully reawakened the Herrscher of the Void, Sirin, from within Kiana's body. Right now, Sirin is in complete control, however, now with Sirin being fully awakened, Otto wants Kiana's soul to reawaken with the new Void powers, and his method of accomplishing that is, rather barbaric." Explained Alex.

"I have a small idea on what Grampa could be planning." Said Theresa.

"Otto's plan to reawaken Kiana is by having one of us break through Sirin's will by, as he calls it, emotional ties. To better simplify that, he essentially wants a sacrifice. He plans for one of us to die, successfully breaking Sirin's control and allowing Kiana to reawaken." Said Alex as he finished his explanation.

"As if Fu Hua's death wasn't enough. Now he wants one of us to die just to save Kiana. Guess that's what you call a soul for a soul." Said Himeko who laughed to herself for a bit.

After that, a knock on the infirmary door caught everyone's attention.

"C-Come in." Said Theresa.

"Seems you've attained some valuable information Mr. Mustang. I appreciate it. Now then, about that soul for a soul bit, I believe it's possible to save Kiana without the need for a human sacrifice." Said a female voice outside the door.

Eventually, the girl walked into the room as she bowed and introduced herself to Alex.

"Pleasure to finally meet you Alex Mustang. Allow me to introduce myself." She said.

"I'm Lieserl Albert Einstein of Anti-Entropy."

Chapter 42: Complete