But regardless of whether Cecilia accepted it or not, Sirin had already arrived at Babylon Labs.
And there, she once again came face to face with the person she hated most in the depths of her soul.
Otto Apocalypse.
"Otto!"
"It's no use glaring at me like that. I was assigned here by the Director to work. I'm here to clean up the mess in Russia. The Director has his eyes on this sparsely populated land of Siberia, and he's taken a liking to its strategic location. This is the first strategic point for Academy City's expansion."
Otto acted as if he hadn't seen the look on Sirin's face that said she wanted to eat him alive, and calmly explained his current job.
"Academy City needs your power as the Herrscher of the Void to complete this task."
How many tortured souls haunted Babylon Labs?
Sirin herself couldn't remember, but the known records alone numbered close to ten thousand.
Every word from Otto felt like a dagger to her heart. And now, Sirin had to work for this man, even erasing the traces of her former companions' existence.
This pain far surpassed the fear she felt when she was suppressed by Noldrei. It was an agonizing torment that made Sirin want to end her own life just to obliterate it.
"Shut up, Lord Overseer. If you've forgotten your sentence from Academy City, I don't think Rita needs to remind you again as a Valkyrie, does she?"
Otto's current status was that of a man sentenced by Academy City.
During his sentence, Otto had no right to personal safety. Just as he had conducted human experiments on so many people, others now had the right to do the same to him.
It was a simple matter of equal rights and responsibilities. The rights he had stripped from others, Academy City would strip from him in equal measure.
"Rita, how heartbreaking," Otto mused. "In just half a year, you've already become a part of Academy City, a lapdog for the Director?"
Rita frowned but didn't answer his question, instead pulling Sirin away from Otto.
She knew the purpose of bringing Sirin here, but she still resisted the plan. Yet, she had no choice but to obey Noldrei's orders. For the first time, Rita felt like a puppet on a string from some old legend.
Noldrei's instructions to her were simple: bring Sirin to Babylon Labs, and then she was free to do as she pleased. History and the past would give Sirin the answers she sought.
Right now, Rita was acting entirely on her own feelings. She planned to get Sirin out of here. If they stayed any longer, Rita feared Sirin would lose control and fight Otto.
Although Noldrei said that bringing Sirin here was to test if she could summon a new Herrscher Core, Rita saw that possibility as extremely slim. It was far more likely that Otto and Sirin would come to blows.
"I will clean this place up. Rita, don't worry about me. I didn't expect so many remains to still be here. A place like this shouldn't exist."
Sirin was stubborn. The more Otto mocked her, the less she would bow to him, even if it meant swallowing her anger for now.
There was no point in getting revenge by killing Otto.
Sirin hadn't learned much from Noldrei, but she had mastered the essence of human revenge: to take away what your enemy cherishes most.
And what did Otto cherish most? Reviving Kallen.
Sirin would make Otto utterly despair of ever reviving Kallen. She would ensure he could never achieve his goal in this lifetime, watching him walk toward the end of his life in helpless despair.
Therefore, she absolutely could not let Otto provoke her now.
Otto was somewhat disappointed that Sirin had managed to control her emotions. A Herrscher who had lost her rage and madness was like a dangerous opponent who had lost a weakness.
That Sirin could grow to this extent truly surprised Otto.
The Core of the Herrscher of the Void held the key to Imaginary Space. This meant that if Otto wanted to rewind time to revive Kallen, he would have to be on Sirin's good side.
While Sirin might not be able to defeat Otto, she could certainly throw a wrench in his plans at a critical moment.
Then, a bizarre scene would unfold.
The Lord Overseer would be busy charging toward the Imaginary Tree, and then... Sirin would suddenly appear before him, a smile on her face.
Just thinking about that image was enough to make Otto reject such an outcome.
Rita was genuinely anxious. She knew what was about to happen, but there was nothing she could do. All she could do was stand between Otto and Sirin, keeping them apart.
But she also felt that her frail body, without a Valkyrie battlesuit, was no match for them.
I'm sorry, Lady Durandal. Rita is going to have to sacrifice herself here...
Rita acknowledged that she had no power to stop their conflict. Their presence in Russia wasn't for some construction project; they were outlaws of Academy City.
There were no rules, no restraints. It was like some kind of temptation, designed to draw out the deepest malice in both their hearts.
She didn't know if the Director had predicted Sirin's choice or if he had simply understood the Overseer's needs.
The two of them were trapped in their own bodies, and any step forward would inevitably lead to conflict.
"Rita, did Mr. Future Man give any instructions before he left? After all, there's nothing left to take from Babylon Labs, and whatever was going to decay over the years has already decayed. The wind and snow have turned this place into a land of death. It's too late even for a Divine Key to repair it."
"If any more unnecessary battles break out here, it will inevitably affect the people living nearby. I don't think he wants a major human rights incident to occur in Siberia."
Otto's words astonished Rita.
Don't you feel any guilt saying that? During the Second Herrscher incident, wasn't it you who suppressed public opinion and fabricated lies to cover it all up?
Rita guessed that Noldrei probably wanted to expose what Otto had done and subject him to a greater trial. But right now, there wasn't enough evidence. Even the data in the Schicksal database had likely been wiped clean by Otto.
Without proof, Noldrei wouldn't risk causing unrest among the Valkyries by detonating the bombs from Otto's past.
But before that...
Noldrei would definitely use Otto to complete his Herrscher descent plan.
"Rita, Ragna Lodbrok... do you remember her?"
Rita suddenly fell silent. A terrible premonition welled up inside her.
"Ragna. The one who killed her was the very girl behind you. In other words, when Ragna was pursuing K423, she was killed by the Sirin standing behind you."
Otto stated a cruel, undeniable fact.
Rita's mind went blank.