Kenji
"Kenji, are you sure you're ok?" Mei asked from beside him.
"Don't worry, as long as my arm isn't… torn off, healing from this should only take… about a few minutes."
He could feel a wet, grinding sensation deep inside the limb as his bones shifted, knitting themselves back together. It felt like thousands of hot needles were stitching his flesh from the inside out. Steam rose from the mangled limb, curling into the cool air.
Mei grimaced when she took a look at his arm, the healing process was rather grotesque.
Kenji lay on his back, staring up at the empty sky where Wendy had vanished. The rest of the team did so as well, too lost in the shock of what had just occurred in the span of a few minutes.
"How did things escalate so fast…?" he muttered.
"Himeko, any info about Wendy's whereabouts?" Kiana asked through the comms. Himeko's voice crackled in his earpiece, cutting through the ringing in his ears.
She sounded exhausted, "Sadly, no, she's creating storms powered by honkai energy to mask her location. It's too risky to proceed now, it would be best if you head back to the Hyperion to regroup."
The words only heightened the group's frustration. Kiana angrily kicked the ground as her expression turned sour. Mei had her head down, her hands clenching into fists so tight her knuckles turned white.
Mei turned to look at Bronya, hoping the girl was somehow able to find Wendy's location. But Bronya shook her head, no luck.
"We need to find her," Mei whispered. Her head snapped up, her eyes burning with determination. "We can't give up! The honkai is corrupting her mind! Just like it did with me, it's not too late to bring her back!"
Hearing Mei's words, Kiana also got fired up. "Mei's right. We promised her! We can't just let her go!"
A sigh was heard through the comms, as if Himeko had expected their response. "Look, I want to help Wendy as much as you do. But we have no means of locating her right now, our best course of action is to regroup and think of another plan."
Kiana wanted to argue back, but stopped herself just as she opened her mouth. She knew Himeko had a point, but she was also reluctant to leave Wendy alone. She might already fly off the island if they took too long.
Kenji listened to them, suddenly getting an idea. He closed his eyes, trying to block out the pain in his arm, and focused inward.
There it was.
A faint, cold tug. A ghostly thread pulling at his very core. It was weaker than the scream it had been before, but it was still there.
"I can still sense her,"
The comms went silent, and everyone turned to look at him. Mei's eyes turned hopeful as she waited for him to continue.
He grabbed Kiana's shoulder with his good hand and hauled himself to his feet. "The pull..." he panted, clutching his chest. "It's faint, but I can still feel it. She hasn't gone too far, I can still track her down."
"...Are you certain?" Himeko's voice came back.
"Positive," Kenji replied. "She's moving East. Really fast."
"All right," Himeko ordered. "I'm patching in Theresa. Get ready, considering how she acted at the start of this mission. I'm willing to bet that she isn't going to be thrilled at our plan."
A moment later, the air in front of them shimmered as Himeko's portable projector, which Kiana had been carrying, flickered to life, displaying a small, grainy hologram of Theresa Apocalypse.
Kenji expected the Principal to be disappointed. He expected a lecture on fighting recklessly. He did not expect her to look like she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Theresa's eyes were wide, darting frantically as she took in the team's battered state. When her gaze landed on Kenji's steaming, mangled arm, she looked like she was about to faint on the spot.
"Theresa," Himeko began, her voice steady. "The Herrscher has fled, but Kenji can still sense her position. The team believes she can still be reasoned with. We are informing you of our decision to pursue—"
"Absolutely not!"
Theresa's scream was so loud it distorted the audio feed. Kenji flinched, taking a step back. He had never heard Theresa raise her voice like that. Not to him, at least.
"Are you insane, Himeko?!" Theresa shouted, her small hands slamming onto her desk. "They are not prepared to fight a herrscher! And he—" She pointed a trembling finger at Kenji. "He is severely injured! I am not risking them down there for one more second!"
"Theresa, calm down," Himeko countered, her brow furrowing in confusion at the Principal's hysteria. "He's healing. You know his abilities. If we leave now, we lose the Gem and the host. We have a chance to—"
"—I don't care about the Gem! You don't understand what's at stake here!"
"Maybe I would if you would just tell me!"
Kenji frowned, exchanging a confused glance with Kiana. What was Theresa so afraid of?
A new sound cut through the argument—a blaring alarm from both Himeko and Theresa's end of the line. Himeko looked away from the camera, her eyes widening as she read something on her console. When she looked back, the color had drained from her face.
"Theresa..." Himeko's voice dropped to a whisper. "I just got a Priority One alert from HQ." Theresa looked like her veins were about to pop.
"…I don't even see Auntie get that angry with me. What the heck did you do?" Kiana whispered to him.
"I didn't do anything!" He whisper shouted back, while she remained unconvinced.
"After we informed them of the Herrschers awakening, they took matters into their own hands and dispatched the Captain of the Immortal Blade."
Kenji felt his blood run cold. He didn't know much about Schicksal politics, but he knew that name. Everyone here did.
"Durandal is en route. She'll be here in 30 minutes."
"Oh fuck my life." Surprisingly, it was Theresa who had cursed.
The team suddenly felt as if a guillotine were hanging over their heads. Durandal, the S-rank Valkyrie, was the strongest one they had. The living legend. If she was coming, this wasn't a rescue mission anymore. It was about to be a slaughter.
"Dammit, if this were any other day, I would love to spar with her," Kiana grit her teeth, "But if she finds Wendy... she'll kill her. We can't let that happen!"
"Theresa." Kenji stepped forward. He locked eyes with the holographic Principal. "I'm not leaving. I promised Wendy I would protect her. If Durandal gets to her first, she is dead. I'm the only one who can find her before that happens. You need me down here."
Theresa stared at him. Her eyes darted between Kenji's face and something on her side, her brows furrowed as she fought an internal battle Kenji couldn't begin to understand.
She looked terrified. But he had a feeling it wasn't because the team was fighting a herrscher. It was more because of him fighting the herrscher…
"Fine," Theresa finally whispered, her voice strained and tight, as if the word was being physically dragged out of her.
"Fine!" Theresa hissed. "Find Wendy. Save her if you can. But you get your team out of that city before Durandal enters the airspace. I do not want them anywhere near her right now. Especially him!" She pointed at Kenji, who flinched at the sudden attention.
"Am I clear?"
"Very," Kenji answered for them all.
Theresa cut the connection instantly. The hologram vanished, leaving the team standing in the twilight.
Kenji let out a breath, his good hand clutching his chest where the cold pull was tugging him eastward. He looked at his teammates. They were battered, but determined to get Wendy back no matter what.
"Well," Kenji muttered, forcing a grin he didn't feel. "You heard the boss. The clock's ticking."
/ — /
The team moved quickly after Theresa's approval. Kenji led the way, his good hand pressed against his chest. The faint, cold pull from Wendy's Gem was their only compass in the ruined facility.
His right arm was no longer a mangled image of bone and flesh. But it was far from being fully healed. A deep, throbbing ache radiated from the newly-formed bone. His base regeneration was working, but it was slow, and his arm felt heavy.
Around them, cyclones continued to swirl across the land. Nearly all the buildings have been turned to rubble, and the land is in complete ruin.
Behind him, he could feel the tense silence from his team. Mei's hand never left the hilt of her katana as her eyes scanned every shattered window. Kiana and Bronya ran on her sides, their expressions equally tense.
He couldn't blame them, it was hard to calm down when you are running through a cyclone-infested island chasing a Herrscher while an S-rank Valkyrie is about to arrive in 20 ish minutes.
"Come on guys, don't be so quiet!" Kiana huffed, jogging to catch up with Kenji.
"We just survived a Herrscher. We're tracking her down to save her, and we're walking around like we're at a funeral. We should be hyped! We're gonna find her, and we will bring her back before Durandal gets here!"
Kenji turned to look at her face, which held the signature Kaslana grin. It might have been a little forced this time around, but it was still there. It was the burst of unshakeable confidence they all needed.
"And you, Bronya!" Kiana spun around, somehow running backwards with full speed so that she could face the others. "You can... I don't know, shoot some lasers! You can distract Wendy while I knock some sense into her!"
This brought a smile to Mei's lips, as her eyes hardened with resolve. Kenji felt the tension in his own shoulders ease, and he let out a short laugh. "You just want an excuse to punch something, don't you?"
"Damn right I do! And I'm gonna start with—"
"Hostiles."
Bronya's voice was flat, sharp, and cut off Kiana's words.
In the same instant, Kenji's Danger Sense jolted.
The team didn't need a command. They snapped into a defensive diamond formation in less than a second.
"Report!" Kenji yelled, his eyes scanning the rubble-strewn street ahead.
"Sensors detect five signatures, 200 meters, closing fast," Bronya announced, Project Bunny 19C ready behind her. "Four Templar-class... no, smaller. Knight-class, and one Chariot-class."
"Bronya, please don't scare me with Templars, I would rather not get a heart attack right now."
"Noted," Bronya responded, with a hint of smugness in her tone.
"Just one Chariot?" Kiana sounded almost disappointed.
"Stay sharp," Mei cautioned, her katana already drawn. "They're moving fast."
The first Knight burst from a collapsed storefront, glaring straight at them. It was followed by three more, their metallic limbs scraping against the concrete as they fanned out, flanking the massive Chariot that smashed through the remaining wall behind them.
"Bronya, can you slow the Chariot?" Kenji took command, his voice steady. "Mei, Kiana, take the Knights. I'll handle the big one."
"You got it!" Kiana yelled, already dashing forward, pistols blazing.
"Be careful, everyone!" Mei called out, moving to intercept the other two Knights.
Kenji ignored the throbbing in his arm and activated OFA. He pushed past the pain, drawing on 35%. Red lightning crackled around him as he charged the Chariot.
Bronya fired quick laser shots at the chariot, disorienting it enough for Kenji to get close. The beast roared, swiping its massive pincer-like claw at him. Kenji slid under the attack, he was in its guard now.
"Take this!"
He drove his fist upward in a devastating uppercut, aiming directly for the Chariot's glowing core. The impact was like a cannon shot. The beast's armor shattered, and it was lifted clean off its feet, exploding it in a flash of purple energy.
Kenji landed, his arm screaming in protest from the force of the punch, but it held. "One down..."
He turned just in time to see Kiana in trouble. She had flawlessly dispatched her first Knight but was now cornered by the second.
It had a shield raised, absorbing her bullets, while its lance shot out. It was fast, forcing Kiana to move and dodge constantly.
"Kiana, move!" he yelled.
He flicked his fingers, sending a targeted air flick. The compressed air slammed into the Knight's shield.
The sudden impact of compressed air threw the beast off balance. It buckled, and the Knight was sent tumbling backward. Kiana didn't waste the opening, leaping over it and firing a barrage of shots through its core.
"Thanks for the assist!" she called out, not even winded.
On the other side, Mei showed her expert skill as a duelist. She flowed around the two Knights, her katana creating a whistling sound from the wind.
She parried a lunge from one, used its own body as a springboard to spin, and sliced through the second. The first one turned, but Mei was already there, her blade drawn back, and lunged a perfect thrust that ended the fight.
Kiana holstered her pistols, that manic grin back on her face. "See? Told you! We're awesome!"
"Good work, team," Kenji said, shaking his good arm to try to ease the ache. "Wendy should be this way, let's not waste—"
"Team, hold your position. Now." Himeko's urgent voice cut in, wiping the smiles from their faces.
"What is it, Himeko? Are stronger Honkai Beasts appearing?" Mei asked, her blade still ready.
"Worse. Our satellites picked up five aerial battleships flying toward your location, and they aren't ours. I'm sure you can already guess who they are."
"Anti-Entropy?" Kiana asked, earning an approving hum from Himeko.
Kenji's eye twitched in annoyance. He remembered the last time Anti-Entropy's mechs had shown up. "The people that tried to capture me during the eruption? The ones with the big ass robots?"
"Yep, and I'm guessing that they're here for the Herrscher. And probably for you, too. They should be arriving around the same time as Durandal."
"Damn it!" Kiana cursed, her bravado gone. "We'll never get through that!"
The team looked at each other, the same realization on their faces. They were trapped. Durandal was about to arrive with Anti-Entropy not far behind.
'Shit, what do we do. My feeling is telling me that Wendy is flying all over the place, there's no way we can find her in time—'
"...Himeko." Theresa's voice suddenly cut into the comms. She sounded stressed, but the panic from before was gone. Now she sounded so calm that it was almost scarier.
"Keep the team moving," she ordered. "I'm working on a solution to buy you some time. I'm gonna need so much alcohol after this..." She grumbled.
"Theresa, what are you—?" But Theresa cut off her line before Himeko could finish. "She did not just cut me off!"
Kenji had no idea what that was all about, but he decided to trust in Theresa's words. His team was already prepared to continue the search, and he grinned at them.
"Come on guys, let's keep moving."