It all happened so fast, i didn’t even have ti to say anything.
But... it was true.
Even if she’d had the chance, what could she have said?
Should she have foolishly demanded to know why Michael was doing this? Or repeated those pointless pleas?
Regardless, by the ti i processed what had happened, the purple gemstone had been ripped from her body. In a way, she was finally free of the shadow that had haunted her since Nagazora.
She would never again have to worry about the Third Herrscher seizing her body and devouring her consciousness. But obviously, she felt no relief or any other positive emotion.
She could only watch helplessly as Michael shoved the gemstone into Kiana’s body. The azure blue of the silly girl’s other eye rapidly faded, and she saw Kiana’s mouth open, as if to say sothing. But before any sound could escape, a glaring, bright gold consud everything.
"Ah!"
Michael casually tossed i aside. The pain in her chest montarily overwheld everything else. She instinctively tried to cover the wound, but when she touched her chest, she felt only a gory ss of flesh, a gaping hole, and jagged, protruding bone.
"Heh... heh... heh..."
Staring at the blood covering her palm, i felt her breathing grow rapid, and her consciousness once again began to fade. In the last mont before she blacked out completely, she felt soone’s arms lift her up again.
Michael sent i through a spatial rift before slowly turning back to the Second Herrscher, who had been released from the chains.
"Does my Lord have a fondness for that imposter?" the Second Herrscher asked hesitantly, wiping a spatter of blood from her cheek.
Michael paused, taking a mont to realize who she ant by "imposter." He had to admit, Sirin’s sharp tongue was as reliable as ever, a perfect inverse of her ntal stability. Though, to her, i, who had stolen the power of the Gem of Conquest, probably did count as an "imposter."
"No, that girl is simply useful for my future plans. In the decade or so you were gone, I had hoped she could fill the void you left, but her performance was far too disappointing. She couldn’t even wield a tenth of the Gem of Conquest’s power.
Heh, the First Herrscher is a traitor, the Third a useless weakling... It had to be you, Sirin. It’s only thanks to that greedy fool Otto, who dared to covet the power I bestowed upon you, that I had the chance to revive you."
"Thank you, my Lord! Heh, an imposter is an imposter. The Gem of Conquest was just a waste of my Lord’s power in her hands. And the First Herrscher is a shaless traitor. My Lord should just strip him of his power..."
As she spoke, the Second Herrscher seed to rember sothing. The muscles in her cheeks twitched, and she suddenly lowered her head, apologizing in a small voice.
"I’m sorry, my Lord. Sixteen years ago, it was my willfulness that gave those insects a chance to turn the tables..."
Michael’s gaze swept over the Second Herrscher’s face, betraying no emotion. He stated, as placidly as still water, "It is of no consequence. Ti is aningless to . A dozen years or a dozen seconds makes no difference."
"I understand, my Lord! This ti, I will not be rciful. I will make humanity feel their own darkness, feel the pain they once inflicted upon ... But please, my Lord, return to your throne on the moon. Leave this place to ."
"On the moon? A throne?"
Michael scoffed.
"That was rely a shackle placed upon by the humans of the Previous Era. In fact, I should thank you, Sirin. You helped break their seal, allowing to descend upon the Earth."
"Humans could harm my Lord!?"
Sirin was filled with disbelief. In her limited understanding, her god was supposed to be omnipotent. But on second thought, it did make sense. When she first t her god on the moon, he had looked as if he were "sealed."
"Yes. Humans cannot kill , but those wretched insects devised a way to temporarily seal . In the Previous Era, I did not lose, but I did not win, either. Therefore, Sirin, you are very important to . Do you understand?"
"I understand, my Lord! This ti, I will help my Lord achieve victory! My Lord, please tell what I must do!"
Sirin’s expression imdiately beca feverish, as if she’d been injected with adrenaline. This was well within Michael’s expectations.
Freely admitting he wasn’t omnipotent might tarnish the "Lord’s" perfect image in Sirin’s mind, but it also explained many issues she would eventually notice, such as why he was nailed to a cross when they first t.
Besides, Sirin was a fanatic. Even a display of powerlessness wouldn’t shake her faith in her "Lord." In fact, it was precisely because her Lord couldn’t do everything on his own that she could find her own purpose.
After all, being needed by the "god" one worships is, in a way, the greatest encouragent for a believer.
However...
"Do you know where we are?"
Sirin turned her head at the question and glanced out the massive floor-to-ceiling window.
"Bella? She’s here too! Ugh... Schicksal symbols everywhere. Could this be..."
"That’s right. Schicksal HQ’s floating Airport. Before everything begins, how about you get so proper revenge? Interested?"
"Of course I’m interested! But... it seems I’m still missing a Gem..."
"Hah, that was Otto’s doing. He kept a little sothing for himself, hiding the most destructive power... But no matter. Four gems are enough. Besides myself, you are now the most powerful being on this planet. Now, go. Go and destroy everything you see. And, of course, if you happen to find the missing Gem of Pestilence, you know what to do, don’t you?"
"I understand!"
Sirin was visibly struggling to contain her excitent. Fortunately, the idle chat was over. Michael turned his back, indicating he had nothing more to say.
"My Lord, in that case, I will..."
BOOM!
The laboratory’s iron door flew towards them faster than the explosion that sent it flying.
Sirin only reacted at the very last second, opening a narrow spatial rift in front of her. But it clearly wasn’t large enough to swallow the entire door.
CLANG!
Fortunately, Michael was standing right in front of her. An invisible Imaginary barrier effortlessly blocked the impact.
Then, with a gesture from Michael, the two halves of the door shot back the way they ca. With another loud clang, the intruder simply slapped the heavy door panels aside with their bare hands. It was a stalemate.
"You... you are..."
Sirin stared at the woman before her. Though her hair and eye color were slightly different, there was no mistaking that face. And because of that, so unpleasant mories from sixteen years ago resurfaced, causing her to instinctively take half a step back.
Truth be told, quite a few humans had given her a beating sixteen years ago. From the first few A-rank Valkyries to that traitor, the First Herrscher, and then that idiot Siegfried. It seed the only one she had dominated from the start was that short, white-haired girl.
After regaining her power, she had taken her revenge on them one by one. But this woman, this Azure Empyrea... in front of her, even with the power of six Herrschers, she had been completely helpless.
The woman seed to understand every single one of her Authorities, and in the end, she had even severed her connection with her Lord. If it weren’t for her... she would have wiped out humanity sixteen years ago!
Of course, this was rely her own wishful thinking.
"Alright, Sirin. Go do what you want to do. She’s here for . She is an old acquaintance of mine, after all."
Sirin—or perhaps she could no longer be called Sirin, but the Second Herrscher—hesitated no more. She shot a fierce glare at Fu Hua before quickly leaping into a spatial rift.
And so, in the end, only the two of them remained in the cramped space.
"Sigh..."
"Sigh..."
There was no longer any need for words between them. Nothing to question, nothing to explain. There was only the sound of two people sighing in unison.
In the next mont, amidst a torrent of roaring flas, the tallest tower in the Helheim district collapsed with a mighty crash.
...
"Ladies, if you please."
Even before her defeated enemies, Rita maintained her elegant deanor. She was like a maid showing the way, bowing slightly and extending a hand to indicate the path forward for Hiko and Tesla... not that there was much to indicate. The only path before them was to walk ekly into the cell.
Of course, there was another option: try to resist... if they thought they could beat Rita, that is.
The thought of struggling wasn’t entirely absent, especially since Rita was their only guard. But when they rembered how the two of them had been defeated in less than ten seconds... perhaps it was best not to act rashly.
As for now... that urge to struggle was completely washed away by a different kind of shock.
"Bronya! You’re here too?"
Bronya scratched the back of her head, silently thankful that she hadn’t impulsively rushed out the mont the cell door opened.
She’d been here ever since she woke up. Without an accurate tipiece, she estimated it had been about twenty minutes.
She hadn’t spent those twenty minutes in a daze.
After a brief period of anxiety and fear, she had begun to speculate on possible future scenarios. She wasn’t surprised to see Hiko, but the woman behind her... uh... she looked familiar... Wasn’t that Dr. Tesla from Anti-Entropy? Schicksal textbooks naturally included information on the two doctors of Anti-Entropy.
Although the books claid they were dead and the ones active now were just androids, Bronya had once been a mber of Anti-Entropy herself. She knew the truth. And even if she didn’t, it didn’t matter. She could still recognize the face from the photos.
But the confusion lasted only a mont. She once again pieced together the situation with incredible speed—Theresa, no matter how foolish, wouldn’t be stupid enough to challenge HQ with only the Far East Branch. And Shenzhou was a long-ti ally of Schicksal. The only remaining option was Anti-Entropy.
"Well then, I hope the three of you have a nice rest here."
Watching Hiko and Tesla obediently walk into the confinent cell, which was being used as a makeshift prison, the corners of Rita’s lips, which had been turned up in a smile, flattened imperceptibly. But before Hiko and Tesla could turn back around, she had put on her signature smile again.
"Alright, until this is all over, please stay here quietly.
Per the Overseer’s instructions, as long as you three refrain from any foolish overestimations of your abilities, Schicksal will not press charges... Ah, of course, that mainly applies to Major Hiko and B-rank Valkyrie Bronya. As for Dr. Tesla, Schicksal will negotiate with Anti-Entropy after the battle.
Of course, if you would be willing to serve Schicksal, Rita can release you this instant. But in the worst-case scenario, your life will not be forfeit. However, this is all contingent on the three of you not doing anything foolish. Have I made myself clear?"
Tesla tossed her ponytail, ready to launch into her trademark tirade, but Hiko was quicker, clapping a hand over her mouth.
"Alright, Dr. Tesla. To the victor go the spoils. There’s no point in saying more."
"Mmph mmmph—cough cough!"
Tesla broke free. She was about to say exactly what everyone expected, her brow already furrowing, but the words that ca out were subtly different.
"Damn it, of course I know that! But we already lost, can’t you at least let get in a few last taunts?"
That... actually made sense.
It was Bronya’s first ti eting the legendary doctor, and her impression... was completely different from what she’d imagined. Hiko turned her head, and the two of them exchanged a look, the muscles around their eyes twitching in unison.
Rita, on the other hand, let out a light chuckle without any attempt to hide it.
"That’s true. But I’m hardly qualified to judge you for your words, am I, Dr. Tesla? Now then, everyone, please rember what I said. Don’t try anything foolish! Especially not things like climbing through vents or prying up floor tiles. You mustn’t do that."
As she said the last two sentences, Rita’s eyes narrowed into thin slits.
"You say that like we could actually do anything," Hiko said with a wry smile. "Speaking of which, is this it? You’re not going to put us in electronic shackles or anything?"
"Oh my? That’s a good point... But unfortunately, Schicksal’s preparations were also quite rushed, and we can’t find anything like that at the mont. So... I’ll have to trust you to behave."
Tilting her head slightly, she offered one last smile before closing the cell door and turning to leave.
"Oh! I almost forgot this."
After taking just two steps, she suddenly turned back, reopened the door, and tossed Hiko a small vial.
"What’s this?"
"The newly developed HSN-b46 serum. Major Hiko, you should know your own physical condition better than I do. If you inject this serum, the inhibitors within will purge the Honkai energy from your body. However, it also ans you will lose your abilities as a Valkyrie... But that’s better than losing your life, isn’t it? Besides, I believe you may prefer the role of a teacher."
"Is that so?"
Hiko nonchalantly tossed the vial in her hand a couple of tis. Seemingly deciding there was no need to hide anything, she caught it on its third descent and clenched it tightly in her fist.
"I never thought your Overseer would have calculated even this."
"It’s ’our Overseer’," Rita corrected, her expression neutral. "However, Major Hiko, you’re mistaken about one thing. It wasn’t the Overseer who asked to give this serum to you. Of course, that’s all I can say."
The answer didn’t seem to surprise Hiko. She just nodded faintly, everything understood without words.
This ti, Rita truly left.
The mont her back disappeared around the corner, the three won in the cell exchanged a silent look.
Before they even had ti to share information, Hiko, being the tallest, was already standing on a stool to check the ventilation shaft, while Tesla and Bronya began examining the floor tiles. Rita’s hint had been obvious. While it could be a trap, if they wanted to do anything, they had no choice but to spring it.
"The vent is locked, and the opening is too small. Even Bronya couldn’t fit through."
Hiko quickly reached her conclusion. At almost the sa ti, Bronya raised her hand.
"There’s sothing wrong with this tile!"
She tapped it lightly with her heel. The sound echoed, long and hollow. It was clearly empty underneath.
"Hiko, what’s the plan?"
After less than a second of hesitation, Hiko, clutching the vial of serum, made her decision.
"Tch! What other choice do we have? Open it, and jump. It’s that simple!"
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