"I-It's an honor to meet you Dr. Einstein." Immediately said Alex, trying his best to bow while being treated until he realized something.

"Wait, you belong to Anti-Entropy right?" Asked Alex.

"Yes I do. One of the top figures in fact."

"O-Oh. Um, sorry about trashing the headquarters." Awkwardly said the boy, rubbing the back of his hear as Einstein simply shrugged it off.

"Don't worry about it. To be completely honest, the whole ordeal caused by Cocolia was completely against our wishes. Attaining a Herrscher's Core was always a personal goal of hers and her alone. So there's no bad blood between Anti-Entropy and the Far East Branch. Besides if there was then we wouldn't have agreed to Theresa's plea for a partnership." Explained Einstein.

Einstein walked up and inspected the wound that Mei had been nursing before giving a nod.

"Excellent work Mei. Anyways, I have a plan that I must inform you all, but first, we have one person needed before we begin." Said Einstein.

Alex was curious as to who it was and his curiosity was answered as eventually in walked in a red haired girl walked in, with a sling holding up her right arm which had the markings of an healed Honkai Poisoning on it

As she walked in, she was not in a good mood as she stared daggers at Einstein.

"Hey you see the condition I'm in right mophead? Then don't rush me to get my ass over here!" Shouted the red head, seemingly annoyed at Einstein.

Einstein simply ignored the girl's banter as she introduced Alex to her.

"Mr. Mustang, this is my fellow scientist and colleague, Frederica Nikola Tesla." Said Einstein.

"Mustang? So this is the kid you've wanted to see?" Asked Tesla as she looked at the boy with a rather unimpressed look. "Eh. Doesn't look like much."

'Well she's setting a GREAT first impression.' Thought Alex in an annoyed tone.

"Hey, those marks on your body, you were cured from Honkai Poisoning. The only one who had the cure was........." Trailed off Tesla as she slowly turned to face Himeko with a disapproving glare as the other redhead awkwardly chuckled while looking away.

"Are you kidding me!? I literally infected myself just to make you the best cure possible to combat the Herrscher yet you used it on him!?" Shouted Tesla though Einstein simply patted her shoulder.

"Ease up Dr. Tesla. Himeko had no choice. Otherwise Mr. Mustang would've perished alongside Fu Hua. We gotta minimize the losses, especially at this point of the battle." Stated the blue haired doctor before clearing her throat. "Anyways, now that we're all here, I can finally state my plan. Everyone find a seat."

Everyone did as well Mei who had finished treating and patching up Alex's wound wrapping it in bandages.

"Now then, us and Otto both have the same goal. To reawaken Kiana's soul, however, it's clear that Otto's plan to achieve this is rather cold. He intends to have one of you five sacrifice their life in order to break through the Herrscher's will and awake the girl. So obviously, we need a way to achieve that as well without needing someone to manually risk their lives to do so." Said Einstein.

"Issue is how? Sirin can easily keep us away with her numerous portals utilizing projectiles and even if we did get close, she could just easily push us away with her telekinesis." Said Theresa.

"She has a good point. With those two factors, its virtually impossible to even touch her let alone leave a scratch on her." Said Alex as the other three nodded.

Einstein simply chuckled at their remarks. "Who said anything about you guys needing to touch her? The key is in striking a direct blow, not at the body but instead, to the Herrscher Core within her body. If we can manage that, then hopefully the damaged core is enough to cause Sirin's will to falter and leave enough room for Kiana's to awaken." Explained the girl.

"So how the hell are we gonna get a strike at the Herrscher's core?" Asked Himeko.

Now it was Tesla's turn to talk as she looked at Alex, Mei, and Bronya.

"Do you three remember that battleship you all along with Kiana secured many months ago?" Asked Tesla as the three nodded. "Well, turns out that mission was much more important than you all initially thought."

"And why is that Dr. Tesla?" Asked Theresa.

"On that airship, is a weapon made by Edison fifty years ago. A laser cannon specifically meant to target Herrschers. A beam so strong enough that it can damage a Herrscher's core the moment it connects. That weapon was made to bear the will and all the ideals of humanity. Edison herself named it as humanity's greatest project. Now, it'll finally be put to the test." Said Einstein.

"S-Seriously? Wow. Funny how it all circles back to the beginning." Said Alex who was a little shocked at that.

"S-So, how're you all gonna get the hit in?" Asked Mei.

"Firstly, we're gonna need to get the airship into position once the Herrscher returns. Lastly, the weapon takes a decent amount of time to charge up and reach max power, so obviously we're gonna need to have some time bought for us. That's where you five come in." Explained Einstein.

"I see. Since Sirin's main target is Theresa, and we're all gonna be in her way to reach said target, naturally Sirin is gonna be focusing all her attention on us. That way, little give Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla all the time that they need to prepare the laser cannon." Said Alex.

"Precisely, though, I'm not expecting all of you to be available to battle. Theresa, Mei, and Bronya, I'm unsure if you three have been rested long enough to get back into action, and as for you Alex, you've clearly been through a lot just now. Himeko is the only one I'm confident in, though with her having already used the only cure incase her Honkai Infection acts up, it'll definitely be a lot more risky." Stated Einstein.

The girls knew that the doctor had a point though Alex simply chuckled as he got off of the medical table and stood up.

"Apologies Dr. Einstein, but if you think that this wound is gonna stop me now, then you're mistaken. Ain't no way in hell and I gonna sit out. Especially at this point of the battle." Said the boy.

"You do realize that even though you've been cured, with the markings still on your body, you could easily pick up the infection again right?" Asked Tesla.

"It's a risk into willing to take." Said Alex.

"I-If Alex can go then so will we." Said Mei as Theresa and Bronya nodded.

"I hope you all understand that we only have one shot at this. The weapon takes an extremely long time to recharge. If by any chance we miss or if an opening never shows itself, then I'll have you all immediately retreat and we'd have no choice but to evacuate the premises, otherwise things would get out of hand. Is that understood?" Asked Einstein.

The group of five nodded as the doctor merely sighed while having a smile on her face.

"Very well then. Me and Dr. Tesla will go make the preparations and get the Selen in position for the shot. You five better prepare yourselves as the Herrscher could return at any moment now."

With that, Einstein and Tesla walked out of the room as the group of five began to prepare themselves for the upcoming, and potentially final battle.

Once this plan began, there was no turning back.

Chapter 43: Complete