Anti-Entropy HQ, The Ark
Within The Ark, the ever-busy Tesla and Einstein suddenly saw the great door open.
Having already received the intel, the two of them let out a long sigh of relief upon seeing the man who walked into the room.
"Dr. Tesla, Dr. Einstein, my deepest apologies."
After stepping into The Ark, Raiden Ryoma, his face etched with anxiety, spoke to the two senior researchers with profound regret.
"It was my mistake that gave Cocolia the opportunity to cause all this trouble."
"No, Ryoma, as the victim, you have no need to apologize to us."
Looking at the exhausted Raiden Ryoma, Dr. Einstein replied with equal apology in her tone.
"The problem was on our end. We should have known that a woman who would send her own daughter to be a human test subject would have no bottom line whatsoever."
"Alright, alright, are you two done yet?"
Watching the two apologize to each other, Tesla interrupted impatiently.
"All this talk is completely useless right now. Ryoma, I know a clever guy like you must have left some backdoors in ME Corp."
"Tell me straight, do any of those backdoors give you Cocolia's whereabouts or any of her secrets? Or perhaps..."
Tesla's expression twisted into something Raiden Ryoma had almost never seen before.
Seething with a terrible killing intent, Tesla snarled at Ryoma.
"Do you have a way to kill that bitch who creates Artificial Herrschers, backstabs her own teammates, ruins Anti-Entropy's reputation, and then has the gall to blame others!"
"If you have a way, tell me now, and I'll use every resource at my disposal to help you!"
"Dr. Tesla..."
Facing the murderous Tesla, Raiden Ryoma shook his head helplessly.
"I'm sorry. Cocolia has an expert in electronic warfare on her side. They've dismantled almost all the backdoors I left in ME Corp's systems."
"And as for the one backdoor they didn't dismantle... it would have been better if they had."
Ryoma looked down at the Plasma Shadowshow at his waist and continued speaking to the two scientists.
"I got wind of the situation beforehand, so I moved the Plasma Shadowshow in advance. That's the only reason this weapon, which cost me a fortune, wasn't taken by Cocolia."
"At the same time, to hide the anti-Honkai weapons I'd developed, I created a secret warehouse known only to me. To be safe, I stored all of them there."
"I even left a failsafe in case Cocolia, in a fit of rage, decided to flip the table and blow up ME Corp. I programmed the HQ's system to feign a 'self-destruct countdown initiated' message if it received such a command."
"But in reality, after sending that message, the system wouldn't actually self-destruct the headquarters."
"That... isn't that a good thing... wait!"
Upon hearing this, Tesla suddenly recalled the intelligence she had received earlier.
Cocolia had already led her team away from Nagazora City.
And Nagazora City was now back under Schicksal's control, meaning Ryoma's failsafes were basically useless.
Didn't that mean...
Seeing the color drain from Tesla's face, Ryoma reluctantly confirmed her fears.
"That's right, just as you thought, Doctor."
"ME Corp's headquarters didn't blow up. So everything I left there now belongs to Schicksal."
"I'm sorry. This is my failure. I am willing to accept any punishment."
"No... this isn't your fault..."
Listening to Ryoma's regret-filled words, Dr. Einstein, standing to the side, nearly felt her breath catch in her throat.
While this was partly due to Ryoma's caution, the real question was—with a teammate like Cocolia, was being cautious a mistake?
Ultimately, this was all because of Cocolia.
She was the fastest when it came to snatching things, but then she couldn't even hold on to what she'd taken. In the end, everything left behind went straight to the enemy.
Right now, Einstein was seriously beginning to wonder if Cocolia wasn't a Schicksal mole.
For the better part of a year, Schicksal had done basically nothing, while Otto just swooped in at the last second to clean up and reap the rewards, winning big every single time.
While the Plasma Shadowshow was indeed the most powerful weapon Ryoma had developed, the others were still formidable armaments.
And now, instead of being used by Anti-Entropy, they had all gone to fatten up Schicksal.
With ME Corp's headquarters now in Schicksal's hands, Anti-Entropy's finances were...
Just briefly contemplating the future she was about to face, Einstein could feel the headache she'd developed over the past few days starting to return.
Originally, she had hoped that Welt Yang would wake up soon to take charge.
But now, Einstein felt it might not be such a bad thing if he stayed asleep a little longer.
If he woke up and understood the future Anti-Entropy was facing, he'd probably be angry enough to die on the spot.
If Yang slept a while longer, they could at least clean up the mess a bit, so that when he woke up, the sight of their current situation wouldn't make him pass out again.
"Also, Doctors. I've received a message..."
"Ryoma, you're back!"
Just as Ryoma was about to ask a question, he heard a familiar voice from behind him.
Turning around, Raiden Ryoma saw his old friend Siegfried, striding towards him with both arms intact.
"You punk, if you were okay, you should've come back sooner."
After lightly punching his old friend's shoulder, Siegfried let out a slow sigh of relief.
"If you hadn't come back, I would've thought Cocolia had intercepted and killed you on the way."
"That woman... let's not talk about her."
Seeing Siegfried, and knowing he had participated in the Third Eruption incident, Raiden Ryoma asked him.
"Siegfried, you're just in time. I have a question for you."
"Mei... is it true that she's with Schicksal now?"
...This is bad.
I knew Ryoma doted on his daughter, but I haven't figured out how to explain this yet.
"Siegfried, there's no point in hiding it now."
Noticing Siegfried's predicament, Tesla spoke up to Raiden Ryoma.
"That's right. But you can relax a little. Our mole in Schicksal sent word that he saw Raiden Mei moving about freely at Schicksal HQ."
"That bastard Otto might be an animal, but he's not as stupid as Cocolia. In his eyes, Mei is probably a 'useful pawn'."
"Is that so..."
Hearing this, Ryoma's expression was complicated, and he didn't know what to say.
His daughter had joined an enemy organization and become a pawn in their hands; that was certainly not good news.
But the fact that Mei could move freely meant her personality hadn't been overtaken by the Honkai—after all, Otto wasn't an idiot. He wouldn't let someone possessed by a Herrscher Personality wander around his headquarters.
In a sense, Mei had avoided the worst possible outcome.
As a father who cherished his daughter, Raiden Ryoma felt a small sense of relief.
"Of course, we've also managed to find out her current location."
With a few swipes in the air, Dr. Einstein addressed Raiden Ryoma.
"We found an opportunity to hack into the Far East Branch's database and discovered new Valkyrie information had been added to their personnel files."
"Among that information, we saw Mei's profile. At least for the short term, as a D-rank Valkyrie, she shouldn't be sent to the battlefield... right?"
*With that, I can finally be at ease.*
After confirming his daughter was safe, Raiden Ryoma took out his tactical terminal.
"According to what you've all said, our Anti-Entropy has suffered heavy losses during this period. So now, I have a question."
"It seems there's some trouble in Shenzhou, related to the legendary weapon, the [Xuanyuan Sword]. Should we go and investigate, or should we focus on maintaining the organization's stability?"
"Forget it. None of you are suited for this mission."
Hearing this, Siegfried's voice suddenly turned cold.
"Ryoma, you and the doctors are smarter than me. You're more useful in the rear than on the front lines."
"Shenzhou has always had close ties with Schicksal. I'm no longer a wanted man by Schicksal, so I'm the most suitable person to explore that place."
"And... I have a feeling that Cocolia will definitely get involved in this."
At this point, a killing intent even more terrifying than Tesla's appeared on Siegfried's face.
"If I get the chance, I'll find a way to get her coordinates. Once she's dead, she won't be able to cause any more evil, will she?"
.
St. Freya High School. Principal's Office.
In the office, Murata Himeko, Theresa's second-in-command, leaned against the sofa, enduring the intense pain wracking her body as she waited quietly.
Fu Hua, whom she had summoned, stood by, choosing to wait in silence alongside her superior.
Ever since the battle in Nagazora City several days ago, Himeko felt that her physical condition had worsened compared to before.
Her lifespan was already shortened due to her artificial Stigmata, and because of the Nexus System, her already short life had become even shorter due to the battle.
The Nexus System essentially allowed Himeko, while wearing her Valkyrie armor, to link with the Hyperion. Through this synergy between herself and the battleship, she could fire a powerful energy cannon to bombard her enemies.
The 1320HW Honkai Energy main cannon was powerful enough to even rival the power of a Herrscher to some extent.
But for that very reason, the Nexus System not only had extremely high requirements for its user but also placed a massive burden on them, putting their life at risk at any moment during combat.
Recalling the reason she joined Schicksal, Himeko, while not regretting her use of the Nexus System to protect her subordinates days ago, still felt a touch of unwillingness.
Years ago, after her father, Murata Ryusuke, suddenly died, Himeko began sorting through his belongings.
Among her father's effects, Himeko found a file.
After seeing the name of the organization, Schicksal, in the file, she used her wits to contact them and eventually became a Valkyrie.
Having undergone the augmentation surgery at the age of 19, Himeko's body was far less adaptable to Honkai Energy than that of a teenage girl. However, through her own hard work and intelligence, she eventually managed to become the ace of the Far East Branch.
However, if she continued in this state, Murata Himeko's life would likely come to an end within a year for one reason or another.
Murata Himeko did not fear death.
But that didn't mean Murata Himeko didn't want to live on.
She wanted to continue watching her students grow as a teacher at St. Freya High School.
She wanted to continue leading her comrades against the Honkai as a commander on the battlefield.
It was for these reasons that Himeko didn't want to die just yet.
Upon returning to the Far East Branch, Himeko had received a piece of intelligence from the branch's information department.
If this information was what she thought it was, she might have a chance to extend her life.
But in the end, Himeko was only the ace of the Far East Branch, not its decision-maker.
While Theresa didn't usually handle paperwork, major operations still required her personal approval.
Just as she thought of Theresa again, the office door was suddenly pushed open from the outside.
"Hah, I'm home."
In front of Himeko, Theresa, leading a group of unfamiliar boys and girls, waved at her.
"Himeko, I'm back."
"Ah, you look well."
After sizing up the group behind Theresa, Himeko took out her house key and tossed it to Fu Hua.
"Fu Hua, take them to my place for now. And of course, you'll be living there from now on too."
"I understand, Major Himeko."
Pushing up her glasses slightly, Fu Hua walked over to the group and addressed them politely.
"Everyone, please follow me."
Leo Ash, who was watching Fu Hua, said nothing and was the first to follow her.
[Haha, a new life begins!]
[In addition to the beautiful girls around you, you've also unlocked the character profiles for a passionate older sister and a heroic, dignified old lady.]
[You are certain that—]
*I am certain that—*
[The days to come will be even sweeter!]
*The days to come?*
Glancing at the one, two, three, four, five... a total of four Herrschers and one Pseudo-Herrscher around him, Leo Ash replied to the System with a deadpan expression.
*Sweet my ass.*
*In a place like this, just staying alive is a victory.*
.