The aerospace plane flew at an incredible speed. In this world, an intercontinental journey was not only extremely time-consuming, but could also be fraught with unknown dangers. Therefore, ordinary people rarely chose to travel across continents. Even if they had to, they would choose safe routes that were completely controlled by humans, such as those in Southeast Asia or Europe.
Of course, safe routes were relative. This world was much larger than the original Earth, and some of the uninhabited areas were also larger. There were always too many uncertainties when passing through these places. Thus, aerospace planes became the first choice for the wealthy and political elite for intercontinental travel. After all, it was extremely difficult for a Honkai Beast to fly to an altitude of a hundred kilometers; only a few extremely powerful ones could manage it.
Sitting on the aerospace plane, Ethan Lane was like Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden, looking here and there with wide-eyed wonder.
"Is this an aerospace plane? What advanced technology is this? What's the altitude now? Are we at 80 kilometers? I feel like I'm already in near-space. Why is there no weightlessness? Wow, this speed! Mach four! Awesome!" Ethan Lane exclaimed in strange amazement as she looked around.
Shigure Kira couldn't watch anymore. She picked her up and said, "Alright, Ethan. In the future, you'll ride in aerospace planes so much you'll get sick of it. This speed is actually quite slow. If it were one of Schicksal's aerospace destroyers, it would be even faster."
"Oh, is that so? Ehehe..." Ethan Lane rubbed her head and giggled. At first, she was calm while being held by Shigure Kira, but after a while, Shigure Kira started nuzzling her incessantly, like a pervert. Ethan Lane couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Sis Shigure, can you please not do this? People are watching."
"Let Pat watch if she wants. Ah! This feels so nice, so soft... and fragrant. Come on, give me a kiss." Shigure Kira completely ignored Ethan Lane's struggles and continued to nuzzle her.
"Ah... If you keep this up, I'm going to ignore you!" Although Ethan Lane was enjoying it, she felt that she should be the one doing this for it to be satisfying. The tables being turned made her very unhappy. "Ah! Just like that, you're even cuter when you're angry." Shigure Kira became even more relentless.
"Ah... you perverted lolicon! Go to hell!" Ethan Lane thrust her head upwards, but she wasn't tall enough to reach her. "Aaaah!!!" This drove her crazy, and she continued to roughhouse with Shigure Kira.
Patricia watched them with a smile, a hint of envy in her eyes. But then she fell silent, lost in thought.
The aerospace plane flew at Mach four for the entire journey. The trip of over thirty thousand kilometers took only six hours, which was incredibly fast. The technological level of this world was much higher than Earth's, with some aspects being pure black magic.
The aerospace plane finally landed at an airport. "Ethan, wake up, we've arrived," Shigure Kira said, gently patting Ethan Lane. Ethan Lane rubbed her eyes and woke up immediately, saying, "Have we arrived at Schicksal HQ?"
"Not yet. This is Geneva, the Kaslana family residence. We're going to see Lady Cecilia first," Shigure Kira explained.
"Is that so? We're going to meet Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie? I'm so excited," Ethan Lane continued. He was indeed very much looking forward to meeting Cecilia. In the plot of Honkai Impact 3rd, she and Sirin perished together during the Second Honkai War, which also led to Siegfried's break with Schicksal.
And their daughter... "Kiana..." Ethan Lane muttered to herself. Shigure Kira, standing beside her, asked strangely, "Ethan, what are you mumbling about?" "Huh?! Nothing. I was just thinking about what to do when I meet Lady Cecilia, what I need to pay attention to, and whether it would be too rude to meet her directly," Ethan Lane said hastily, snapping back to reality.
"There's nothing special you need to pay attention to. Lady Cecilia is a very nice person. It's just that Lady Theresa is sometimes with Lady Cecilia, and she hates it when people talk about her height and age. You need to be especially careful about that.
" Shigure Kira explained. "Theresa? Hehe, a legal loli... that's just great!" Ethan Lane chuckled, then straightened her expression. The three of them then boarded a helicopter and, after about half an hour, finally arrived and landed at a manor.
As soon as they got off the helicopter, a person dressed as a servant came to greet them. "Miss Shigure, Miss Highsmith, and this must be Miss Lane and Miss Sephie. Lady Cecilia has been waiting for a long time. Please follow me." The servant bowed slightly and said with a smile.
Shigure Kira nodded and led Ethan Lane by the hand into the manor. They soon arrived in front of a huge, ancient European castle. Ethan Lane looked at the building with some awe. The Kaslana family, as one of the three great families of Schicksal, was certainly not short of money.
Guided by the servant, the three entered the castle. After a few turns, they came to a room where a very beautiful woman was playing with a child. Next to her stood an unusually beautiful girl who looked to be only eleven or twelve years old and not very tall.
Seeing the three of them enter the room, the woman put down the little girl she was holding, and the girl next to her also looked at them, a strange light seeming to flash in her eyes.
"Lady Cecilia, Lady Theresa, good afternoon." Shigure Kira and Patricia bowed slightly to greet the two. Ethan Lane followed suit, also giving a slight bow.
"Shigure, is she the Valkyrie you mentioned who has the ability to heal and regulate Honkai Energy?" Cecilia's voice was gentle as she asked.
"Yes, Lady Cecilia. This is Ethan Lane. Not only that, but after regulating Honkai Energy, she can also enhance a Valkyrie's control over it," Shigure Kira explained.
Cecilia was somewhat surprised. This ability was unheard of and was like a shot of adrenaline for Schicksal, and indeed for all Valkyries. On a small scale, this ability could enhance Schicksal's strength; on a larger scale, it was a blessing for humanity, as it represented a new height that Schicksal could reach in terms of its Valkyries.
"Come with me. Ethan Lane, you wait here for a moment. If you don't mind, please help me look after Kiana." Cecilia led Shigure Kira and Patricia out of the room, while Theresa remained standing in place, lost in thought.
Ethan Lane saw the somewhat bewildered Kiana and was pleasantly surprised. She hadn't expected to be alone with Kiana, even if there was a legal loli nearby.
She walked over to Kiana, a smile on her face, and said, "Kiana, I'm Ethan Lane. You can call me Sister Ethan. I'd be even happier if you called me 'Big Sis.'"
But Kiana didn't know her and her expression changed, looking like she was about to cry. Seeing this, Ethan Lane had a flash of inspiration and released some Spiritual Qi to gently surround and comfort Kiana.
Under the effect of the Spiritual Qi, Kiana quickly calmed down and no longer seemed wary of Ethan Lane. So, Ethan Lane walked over and gently picked her up. This time, Kiana's expression didn't change; she nestled in Ethan Lane's arms, looking very content.
Theresa, who was standing nearby, suddenly looked up. When Ethan Lane released the Spiritual Qi, she had a strange feeling that this unknown aura would have an immeasurable effect on her, yet a sense of fear also arose from the depths of her heart. She didn't understand why, which made her even more interested in Ethan Lane.
Cecilia led Shigure Kira and the other to an open area and said to Shigure Kira, "Shigure, attack me!" "This... alright, Lady Cecilia. My apologies!" Shigure Kira hesitated for a moment before finally agreeing.
With a wave of her hand, a longsword shaped like a musical note appeared in her grasp. She paused for a moment, then swung the sword, and several floating musical notes appeared behind her.
These notes paused for a moment, then flew towards Cecilia at an incredible speed, reaching her in the blink of an eye.
Cecilia seemed to be frozen in shock, only moving when the notes were right in front of her. With a wave of her delicate hand, the flying notes suddenly halted. But they only paused for a moment before continuing forward, albeit at a much slower speed, and were then casually swept away by Cecilia, disappearing without a trace.
Shigure Kira didn't give up. She swung her longsword again, and several more musical notes appeared beside her before vanishing from their spot. They then instantly reappeared around Cecilia, rapidly lunging to strike her.
Cecilia was a little surprised, as she hadn't even sensed how these notes had appeared beside her. Although she wasn't using her full strength, the fact that an A-rank Valkyrie like Shigure Kira could use such a move was somewhat astonishing to her.
Though surprised, Cecilia was not flustered. She caused the notes to pause again as before, but just as she was about to disperse them in the same manner, the notes abruptly stopped and shattered into even smaller notes.
Like snowflakes, they swirled rapidly around Cecilia, and the surrounding temperature dropped sharply. The snowflakes, like sharp blades, continuously cut at the shield Cecilia had formed with Honkai Energy.
*Creeak, craack.* The surface of the shield constantly emitted a teeth-grinding cutting sound. The shield even began to freeze rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, its entire surface was covered in ice.
Seeing this, Shigure Kira stopped her attack, and the musical notes disappeared, reappearing by her side. *Bang!* The ice suddenly shattered, and Cecilia's figure reappeared in everyone's sight. She was completely unharmed, with only noticeable cuts and ice fragments on the hem of her clothes.
"Shigure, I didn't expect your control over Honkai Energy to have reached this level. An ordinary A-rank Valkyrie probably wouldn't last a minute against you, and even an S-rank Valkyrie might suffer a bit," Cecilia said with some amazement.
Shigure Kira smiled faintly and said, "This is all thanks to Ethan's help. If it weren't for her, I probably couldn't have achieved what I have today." "Yes, her ability is very important to Schicksal. Don't let this matter get out, especially to Anti-Entropy. They might do something to harm Ethan Lane because of it," Cecilia said.
"Yes, Lady Cecilia. No one else knows about this besides us," Shigure Kira said. Cecilia nodded and looked at Patricia, who explained her own abilities. Cecilia didn't test her further, and the three of them turned and walked back towards the castle.