Irene quietly watched the silent Dr. Magi, saying nothing more. If the doctor still refused to see reason after all this, there was nothing she could do.
And how could anyone truly regret it? Theoretically speaking, being a Valkyrie wasn't just a profession—it was the final line of defense.
Whether it was Divine Machines or Titans, they all had their limits. They merely utilized Honkai energy as a power source but could not wield Honkai energy itself in combat. They were destined to have ceilings; machines were machines in the end. Until that boundary could be broken, the frontline against the Honkai would ultimately consist only of Valkyries.
Moreover, as a teacher at St. Freya, Irene had investigated this long ago. Due to the specific nature of Honkai energy, the recruitment mechanism for Valkyries—aside from the current two major families—relied solely on those children who had survived Honkai disasters and coincidentally possessed Honkai Resistance.
How could these children, who had lived through the Honkai, ever regret becoming Valkyries?
When you have to face an enemy that destroyed everything you had, destroyed your home, destroyed everything you knew, and killed your friends and family... Valkyries knew full well that the Honkai was not just a natural disaster, but an enemy. It was an inevitable catastrophe, an invader and destroyer of all peaceful lives.
So when those victims gained the power to fight back, to tread the path of vengeance to eradicate the Honkai, to save people not yet invaded by the Honkai, or to rescue regions currently suffering from Honkai disasters... how could there be any regret?
This wasn't a multiple-choice question, nor was it a matter of right or wrong. Standing before the Honkai frontlines right now, there could only be Valkyries.
When engraving Artificial Stigmata onto their backs, Valkyries knew what would happen. Even if the staff deliberately hid it, other Valkyries would tell them. After all, those without conviction, those who couldn't persist, would only be a burden on the battlefield.
A large portion of Valkyries, when choosing to undergo the Artificial Stigmata surgery, had already decided to dedicate the rest of their lives to the cause of fighting the Honkai.
"Being a Valkyrie is indeed not an easy profession," Irene's voice continued to ring in Dr. Magi's ears. "But the ones who choose this path... it's us in the end."
It had to be said that although Irene couldn't bring herself to like Otto—after all, he was directly or indirectly involved in a huge mess of things, not to mention the pile of dirty deeds he'd done—she understood something else. While teaching at the Valkyrie academy, she had investigated details not mentioned in the original story. The deeper she dug, the more Irene understood why, in the lore, a multitude of Valkyries were devoted to Otto.
The reason was simple. Stripping away his daily inhumanity and the shady things he did behind the scenes, this guy truly qualified as a perfect Overseer and an excellent superior in front of the Valkyries.
The various benefits and treatment for Valkyries were at an unbelievable level. Basically, even a C-Rank Valkyrie handling logistics could retire after just one year of work and receive a salary sufficient for a girl to live a considerably good life. Spending a lifetime in luxury wouldn't be a problem—unless, of course, they were excessively lavish.
For those survivors of Honkai disasters who didn't want to become Valkyries, Schicksal would also arrange proper placements for them. Whether they became staff members or wished to return to normal human society, Schicksal imposed no mandatory measures.
Or rather, Schicksal operated on a principle of voluntary action regarding everything for Valkyries. Whether to become a Valkyrie was their choice; whether to access Artificial Stigmata was their choice. Even retirement was something they could choose—though approval for that depended on whether their superiors agreed.
And if one really managed to retire, Schicksal would continue to pay wages to support them. All of this was pushed by Otto and required to be implemented across all branches.
However, this was also because Otto strictly followed Kallen's creed regarding Valkyries. At the same time, as someone who understood human nature somewhat, Otto knew that protecting the world was impossible without conviction. On the battlefield, a deserter was a hundred times more shameful than a weakling. At least the weak had the heart to step onto the battlefield, whereas a deserter lacked even courage.
With Otto promoting and achieving these things, it was no wonder so many Valkyries were willing to follow him. Of course, that premise relied on ignoring the pile of dirty deeds Otto did in the shadows.
"..." Dr. Magi pursed his lips, but his gaze dared not lift to look at Irene. "This sort of thing isn't something you should be doing in the end. You are just a group of children..."
"We are the final line of defense." Irene smiled at the wavering Magi and reached out to pat Dr. Magi's shoulder. "We are the last barrier between humanity and the Honkai. Please don't betray the resolve of every single Valkyrie."
"Besides, I don't think that old fox Cocolia will do anything good with the gem."
"Impossible. She promised she would..." Magi stopped halfway, suddenly shutting his mouth with a lack of confidence.
"Come on, that gem probably isn't even in your hands anymore." Irene shook her head. "Besides, if you don't even trust Otto, where do you get the courage to trust Cocolia? That guy is even less human than Otto."
"Hm?" Three question marks seemed to flash over Dr. Magi's head. Did he just hear this Valkyrie badmouth Otto?
"Don't believe me?" Irene propped her chin up. "You don't really think those bodyguards outside are there to protect you, do you? We've been chatting for so long, and they haven't even come over to check the situation."
"It's obvious they never cared about you from the start. Looking at you, the gem has probably long since left your hands. You aren't positioned as some Otto-faction scientist, anyway."
"Without the gem as a bargaining chip, Dr. Magi, you no longer have the qualifications to sit at the negotiation table."
Just then, a violent explosion suddenly erupted from upstairs. In an instant, alarms blared throughout the entire hotel. The tourists originally in the restaurant panicked due to the blast from above. Following a series of subsequent explosions, the tourists poured out of the restaurant like floodwaters from a broken dam.
Seeing the massive crowd surging out, the few bodyguards originally outside the restaurant finally looked subconsciously toward Dr. Magi. At the same time, they saw Irene beside him. One of the bodyguards instantly realized something was wrong.
"It's a Valkyrie! It's Schicksal's people!"
Irene calmly pinned Dr. Magi to the table and shouted to the side: "Kiana, stop eating! Time to work!"
A white-haired dumpling instantly darted out at the sound, clutching the leftover bone from the roast lamb leg she had been eating. Then, a skull-crushing blow smashed directly onto the head of a bodyguard preparing to draw his pistol.
With Kiana's strength, even if this strike used only a fraction of her power, the bodyguard—being merely an ordinary human—was knocked out on the spot.
"Time to retreat." Irene grabbed a nearby fruit platter, smashing the fainting guards, then hoisted Dr. Magi. "If you really want to do good deeds, I'll take you somewhere."
"...Send me back to Schicksal?" Magi shook his head, his tone carrying a sense of defeat. "Otto won't forgive me."
"Since you have ability, you naturally need to put it to good use." Irene's tail extended from the hem of her clothes, curled around an apple from a nearby dining table, and flung it out, knocking over a bodyguard trying to rush them.
"Cocolia is unreliable, but I know someone who is."
Irene looked up at the ceiling. The sound of things shattering came from upstairs; it seemed a troublesome fellow had arrived. "Kiana, you should still remember the safehouse we discussed earlier, right?"
"I remember." Kiana nodded. By now, a pile of bodyguards lay at her feet. "Are we retreating?"
"Yeah, get ready to move. A troublesome guy is here." Irene pointed upwards. "Split up and meet at the safehouse. I'll take Dr. Magi to the pre-booked safehouse."
"Yes!" Current Kiana wasn't as stubborn as before. She knew some troublesome enemies weren't for her to handle alone, especially since she didn't have her Valkyrie armor on. It was better to run for now.
"Don't wander off, and don't think about random stuff." Irene looked at Kiana and warned her again. "Get to the safehouse at top speed. I don't want to search for a lost girl in this strange city."
"I won't become a lost girl!" Kiana threw the bone in her hand, smashing it against the glass. But seeing the glass remain unmoved, Kiana scratched her head.
It seemed high-rise building glass was indeed tough. Seeing this, Kiana reached out and ripped up a table bolted to the floor, smashing it toward the glass.
Under the violent force and brute strength, the glass was directly shattered by Kiana. She tossed the table aside. "Sister Irene, I'm going!"
"Dr. Magi, prepare to go bungee jumping." Irene reached out and hoisted Dr. Magi directly onto her shoulder, then jumped out of the hotel following Kiana.
The height of this restaurant wasn't too high, and there were plenty of leverage points. Even without wearing Valkyrie armor, landing easily was possible.
For Kiana, this wasn't difficult. Using a few footholds, Kiana landed directly in a flowerbed not far away, brushing off the flower petals stuck to her body.
Kiana then vanished into the panicked crowd, running toward their designated safe zone. But as she ran into a small alley, Kiana suddenly heard a voice in her ear.
[Go... find... my... other half]
"Hm?" Kiana turned her head to look at the panicked crowd around her. In the slightly dim alley, a dark-golden light flickered in Kiana's eyes.
Heading in the other direction, Irene didn't notice this scene. Using her tail, she landed steadily on a tree beside the hotel.
"Cat-style landing." Irene looked around; everything was in chaos. The explosions earlier had scattered the tourists in the area.
"...This is clearly jumping off a building." Dr. Magi, carried on Irene's shoulder, pressed one hand over his heart, struggling to stabilize his heartbeat which was racing wildly from the jump.
"As long as you land safely, it's not jumping off a building." Irene nodded, then darted into an alley like a cat. She deliberately lingered at a surveillance camera for a moment before disappearing into the alley.
After entering the alley, Irene put Dr. Magi down and walked leisurely, seemingly unconcerned that pursuers might catch up.
Magi rubbed his stomach. After calming his heartbeat, he looked at Irene. "Aren't you worried there might be people? According to you, Cocolia won't let me go."
"Pursuers assume you can survive, especially in the disaster that follows." Irene shook her head. "Guess what that gem, which is no longer under your monitoring, is going through right now?"
"Like I said, Cocolia wouldn't possibly use that gem for anything good. Maybe only you were silly enough to firmly believe she would do good deeds."
"...What does she plan to do?"
Irene tilted her head slightly to look at Magi. "Dr. Magi, you were working on the Gem of Serenity's adaptability before, planning to explore whether humans could master the power of a Herrscher, right?"
Hearing Irene's words, Dr. Magi's eyes widened. This matter was a top-secret study within the research institute. Was Otto so generous that he told such classified information to a Valkyrie on a mission?
"Cocolia wants to research it too." Irene walked leisurely ahead. "But she doesn't have the time to waste, so she had you come here."
"After all, this place is full of people."
Hearing this, Dr. Magi's eyes bulged. As a doctor, his intellect naturally meant he wasn't a fool. A terrifying idea had already formed in his mind.
"She wants to detonate that gem here to screen for Herrscher adaptable hosts! How could she do this?!"
"See? You understand it yourself." Irene stopped and turned back to look at Magi. "Like I said, where did you get the nerve to believe Cocolia would be a good person?"
"No, no! How can she do this?!" Dr. Magi immediately turned back, wanting to rush toward the hotel to retrieve the gem from the underground vault.
"Don't go to your death, okay? If a talent like you dies, it'll be very troublesome." Just then, a male voice came from a side alley.
"Hm, finally here." Irene looked toward the alley. "You guys are a bit slow, Mr. Siegfried."
"Cut us some slack. We had to find the exit direction you deliberately left for us from the surveillance." Siegfried walked out of the alley, shrugging bare-chested.
"And then I had to rush over from the other side of the city. Being slow is normal."
"Anyway, as long as you're here." Irene patted Dr. Magi's shoulder. "I found you guys a top-tier scientist. Do you have any gratitude?"
"That really is a massive thanks." Siegfried nodded, looking very much the shirtless rogue. "But I'm sorry, I only have verbal thanks."
"Oh, so heartless. Facing a partner, is there only verbal thanks?" Irene shook her head, feigning disappointment. However, in the next second, Irene's tone shifted, and she looked at Siegfried with a smile.
"Oh, right. How was my suggestion? Accurate, wasn't it?"
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