Meanwhile, on the other side.
Although from any perspective, as the only "guest" besides Lin Wei, Yuno should have been taken away by Rita and Anna. Or at the very least, it should have been Rita, the capable assistant, who led both Anna and Yuno away.
However, if a fourth person were present, the scene they would witness would appear completely different—it was as if Rita and Yuno were taking Anna away together...
"Yuno, let go! I can walk by myself!"
Anna struggled forcefully against the arm pinned by Yuno, but it didn't budge an inch. She couldn't help but look at her good friend with a mixture of anger and confusion. With tears streaming down her face, she questioned her in a tone filled with doubt, half angry, half sorrowful.
"Weren't you always so fierce before? Why are you so obedient now, huh?"
"I..."
Yuno opened her mouth hesitantly, unsure how to answer. Seeing this, Anna's heart sank even further with disappointment.
This "reunion" with both Lin Wei and Yuno brought her no joy, only pain and self-reproach. She knew that their actions were tantamount to walking into a trap, and she was the one who had led them both into this predicament...
From the day Anna first left Schicksal HQ to join the Snow Lotus Squad, the once familiar and warm Schicksal, which had felt like home, slowly began to feel strange to her.
And when the Manila Honkai Eruption occurred, and a late-arriving Durandal's first words to her, already in a desperate situation, were not of comfort, encouragement, or support, but a cold declaration that she was "under the Overseer's orders to take Lin Wei away," that disappointment finally reached its peak...
And so, on that day, Anna, the Valkyrie, directed the most sorrowful and indignant act of resistance of her life towards the person she once admired, the one considered the "incarnation of the glory and honor of a Valkyrie," Durandal. In a voice already weak and powerless, she cried out—
"You won't!"
The next second, the overwhelming disparity in strength made her resistance crumble as easily as a child's.
In the moment she was knocked unconscious, countless thoughts flashed through Anna's mind.
She mocked her own weakness; she had fought so hard until the very end, yet she couldn't protect anything.
She scorned Durandal's strength; even with such unstoppable power, in the end, she was just a tool in someone else's hands...
"A Valkyrie? A Valkyrie? Hahahaha..."
Anna felt like she was in a long dream, a dream where she was loudly mocking her own ignorance and absurdity.
"Captain, you were right. What honor is there in being a Valkyrie? It's really just a tool!"
"But... but..."
In the dream, Anna laughed unrestrainedly. But as she laughed, she suddenly began to sob.
"Without being a Valkyrie, what else do I have left?"
Having lost her former dream, Anna was left with nothing...
Waking from the dream, she fell into an unprecedented state of confusion and loneliness. Because besides this completely strange and even cold Schicksal, she found she had nowhere else to go.
"Captain... Lin Wei... what should I do?"
Waking up in the middle of the night, she cried and pleaded time and time again in this suffocating loneliness, as if they were still by her side.
But alas, her captain had already sacrificed herself, and Lin Wei was long gone. There was no one left to answer her endless questions, whether sternly or gently. There was no one to stand by her side and patiently tell her where the future lay...
And so, she lost the smile that once constantly graced her face, and completely lost Schicksal, her former home.
And so, she accepted her fate as a "tool" and began to be a loner. She distanced herself from her familiar seniors and friends, moving into the small attic room where Lin Wei had briefly stayed. Every day, she just silently accepted one order after another, numbly carrying out one mission after another...
The only thing that brought her a slight sense of comfort was that Lin Wei was safe. The ever-rebellious Yuno had broken him out of Schicksal, and the two had disappeared together into the vast night and the sea of people. When she heard this rare piece of good news, Anna smiled happily.
She was truly happy. Yuno had done for her what she wanted to do but couldn't. She hadn't lost her last friend after all.
Trapped and unable to move, she sincerely envied Yuno for gaining her precious freedom. At the same time, she wholeheartedly wished for her to live, in her stead, another kind of life with Lin Wei, a life she could never have...
"Is this the only thing I, this pathetic Valkyrie, have managed to protect?"
Just as Anna was beginning to give in to such self-deprecating thoughts, Otto sought her out again, wanting to find more clues about Lin Wei from her.
And so, looking at the face that she had once admired but had, at some point, come to disgust and loathe, the already disheartened Anna came back to life, and with a heart full of terror and despair, she began her powerless struggle once more.
"You won't find him! Give up!"
Her desperate pleas were fruitless. After having her memories rummaged through time and time again, Anna's last fantasy was finally shattered. With a tragic smile, she glared at him and loudly mocked his wishful thinking.
He was right, you really are afraid of him!
Since he knows you so well, and you're so afraid of him, how could you possibly let you succeed so easily?
In Anna's simple little mind, her understanding of the world had always been just as simple.
"Oh, is that so?"
Otto delicately twirled the golden feather he had just drawn from Anna's forehead, his tone half-lamenting, half-mocking.
"I never would have thought that one day I would be stared at with such cold eyes by one of my own Valkyries. What a pity. If your eyes had a bit more killing intent, I wouldn't be feeling so weary right now..."
"Hehe... hehehehe..."
Hearing Otto claim to be ashamed, Anna burst out laughing as if she had heard something hilarious. Her laughter wasn't loud, like the slight slip-up of a proper lady.
"My apologies, Overseer. I was rude just now."
After laughing her fill, Anna composed herself and offered a disingenuous apology in a tone devoid of any respect.
"I'm just an insignificant Valkyrie. The education and training I've received since I was a child have only taught me to save people, never to harm them, let alone kill them."
"I personally formulated the Valkyrie curriculum for Schicksal. I am, of course, well aware of that."
Otto smiled gently, like a wise and patient mentor.
"So, you've done very well, Anna. You've shown me that the ideals of Schicksal still shine brightly in you."
"...The ideals of Schicksal?"
Anna chewed on this word, which now seemed so full of mockery. A wave of sorrow washed over her, and she said with a tragic smile, "Like, for example, trampling on life and persecuting heroes?"
"Well... that's a rather nasty and baseless accusation."
The smile on Otto's face became more playful.
"Is this the reason you're protecting that Lin Wei with all your might? You see him as a hero, and you believe I'm persecuting the hero in your heart, right?"
"Yes!"
Anna shouted without hesitation, her defiant eyes meeting Otto's directly, as if to prove her will to him.
Otto quietly looked at Anna's tired yet resolute eyes. After a moment, he burst out laughing.
"Hehe, this strange yet familiar gaze really brings back some unpleasant memories..."
Anna was confused, but Otto didn't intend to explain further. He just chuckled to himself and then said, "You see? Aren't you doing a fine job?"
"Wh—"
Anna froze, then understood. Shame and anger washed over her, and she retorted with a tragic smile, "If you enjoy humiliation and trampling on others, then you've won, Overseer!"
She knew she could never win against this Overseer who had ruled Schicksal for five hundred years, so she didn't want to humiliate herself further. She closed her eyes and said, "I'll just await my punishment!"
"Await your punishment?"
Otto laughed again.
"Your attitude towards me today has been so fierce. Could it be that you want me to 'punish' you?"
"Anna Shariac, as a Valkyrie, has repeatedly defied the Overseer, refused to obey orders, and concealed and sheltered a criminal, which is tantamount to rebellion."
Anna judged herself calmly and said with a slight smile, "Whether the Overseer intends to execute me directly, or send me to one of your mysterious laboratories to squeeze out my last bit of use, I will accept your decision."
As she finished, she let out a long breath, as if she could finally be free.
"'Tantamount to rebellion'? That's interesting..."
Otto laughed again.
"As far as I know, from the very first time you met, he has been hiding things from you, and he has never revealed his true identity to you. Is such a secretive person really worth you defying the Schicksal Overseer time and time again, and desperately protecting him?"
"...Yes, you're right. He's a really terrible, annoying guy. Full of lies, mysterious, and sneaky like a conspirator. He's also very self-righteous and always says things that are hard to understand..."
Anna recalled her brief memories of her time with Lin Wei. Her eyes grew a little misty, and she kept saying things that would have dragged him down to the dust. But as she said these critical words, a knowing smile involuntarily crept onto her lips.
"But even so, he's a very, very good person! Full of sincerity, love, wisdom, patience, courage, and..."
Anna pulled herself out of her memories and met Otto's gaze again. With fury and determination, she said, "Sacrifice!"
"Sacrifice... what a magnificent word."
Otto looked at Anna and asked, "So, you've decided to sacrifice yourself for him too?"
"..."
Anna was silent for a moment, then tears streamed down her face as she said sorrowfully, "Not for him... for myself..."
She finally realized that she wasn't as strong and great as she thought she was. She was just a cowardly deserter. By dying, she could escape her current pain and torment...
"Compared to Lin Wei, compared to the Captain, compared to those who are truly brave and have true resolve, I'm really pathetic..."
Anna thought bitterly.
"Unfortunately, I don't have much interest in you."
Otto glanced at the self-doubting Anna and suddenly said with a half-smile, "But speaking of which, if news of your execution were to spread, would our Mr. Lin be unable to resist showing himself?"
"!"
Anna's eyes widened. Without a second thought, she raised her right hand, fingers together, and stabbed it towards her chest, intending to crush her own heart!
"Ugh..."
But just an instant before her fingers touched her chest, there was a sudden thud, and both of her arms went limp and fell to her sides.
"Overseer, even your nonsense should have a limit."
Durandal, who had appeared behind Anna at some point, removed her hands from Anna's shoulders. She looked at Otto with some displeasure and said, "This is no longer within the scope of an interrogation!"
Otto had pushed Anna too far, and she could no longer stand by and watch.
"Well, have you laid all your cards on the table? How neat and tidy!"
Otto clicked his tongue in amazement.
"Our Miss Anna really is an impulsive one. That's not good, not good at all..."
"Overseer, what are you trying to do?"
Durandal pressed on. She didn't like pointless theatrics.
"Nothing, just verifying a small suspicion."
Otto smiled.
"Next, to prevent this lovely young lady from doing anything irrational—Bianka, you'll take her with you. Coincidentally, the experimental base for the Second Divine Key is almost complete. You can take her there with you."
As if to soothe Durandal's heart, Otto turned and left after saying these two sentences.
"Yes."
Durandal nodded, accepting the new order.
"Suspicion? What suspicion?"
Anna caught the keyword. She struggled up from the ground and asked.
She had a gut feeling that it wasn't anything good.
"Hehe, nothing. I just wanted to see if you were really worth him risking his life for."
Otto smiled cryptically.
"So far, the results have been satisfactory."
"You!"
Before Anna could do anything, Durandal grabbed her from behind, immobilizing her. All she could do was retort with cold sarcasm.
"You despicable fiend, he won't come!"
...
"You fool, why did you have to come?"
Remembering that final "judgment," Anna was filled with sorrow and self-reproach. She felt that her very existence was a mistake.
"Wouldn't it have been better to just forget about me completely?"
"He will come."
That day, Otto had looked at her deeply, his calm tone filled with a certain confidence.
"Because you would really die for him, he will definitely come."