It was a rollercoaster of emotions, from soaring highs to crushing lows, from overwhelming joy to devastating sorrow...
Anna felt as if her very soul was being torn in two.
The girl who had once been so proud and happy to bear the glorious title of "Valkyrie," who had seen it as her life's purpose and dream to "protect the world," was gone.
That hopeful young woman, full of aspirations for the future, no longer existed.
In her place was a fragile soul, on the verge of losing itself completely.
Her oath and duty as a Valkyrie, and the happiness she felt being with Lin Wei, had somehow become two completely irreconcilable things.
To choose the former meant betraying herself; to choose the latter meant betraying Schicksal and the captain who had placed so much hope in her...
Once, she had naively tried to resolve the "misunderstanding" between them. She couldn't believe that the Lin Wei she knew and the Schicksal she trusted were truly mortal enemies...
After all, one was a hero who had sacrificed himself to save countless people in Manila, and the other was an organization dedicated to protecting humanity and saving the world. There shouldn't have been such a massive rift between them!
But her hopes were crushed. Lin Wei was still the trustworthy man she knew, but Schicksal had become so unfamiliar it frightened her.
The Overseer, once so beloved, was now terrifyingly ruthless. No matter how much she argued or even pleaded, he remained unmoved.
And her seniors, Durandal and Rita, whom she had once looked up to as role models—their silence filled her with anger and chilled her to the bone...
"I don't understand. Why?"
Just an hour ago, she had finally gotten the chance to ask this blood-soaked question to Rita, the woman she now saw as an adversary. But the answer she received was no answer at all, and it plunged her into total despair...
"There is no 'why'," Rita had said.
"Lin Wei is just Lin Wei. But the Overseer holds the fate of all human civilization in his hands. We simply have no other choice..."
And so, the question came full circle. The source of her immense pain was the answer itself...
Anna, fighting almost entirely alone, had failed completely. She finally realized that as a mere A-rank Valkyrie, there was truly nothing she could do.
In the end, she couldn't escape this fate of being torn in two...
After receiving that soul-freezing answer, a memory surfaced in Anna's mind.
It was in Manila, before the Honkai disaster. She had just woken up in the intensive care unit, and her ever-gentle captain was waiting quietly by her bedside.
"I have something to return to you."
In her memory, Captain Jell Meister pulled a heart-shaped pendant from her pocket and handed it to her. It was as blue and deep as the ocean, as beautiful as the heart of the sea, yet it was only a half—both complete and incomplete at once.
"Thank you, Captain!"
Captain Jell watched as Anna delightedly put it back around her neck. "Since you've given away half of your heart," she had said meaningfully, "you must take good care of the half you have left. Don't lose it again..."
"Captain?"
Her past self had asked, completely bewildered, with no understanding of what her captain meant. And at the time, her captain had said no more.
But now, standing amidst the swirling sands, it was as if Anna had been struck by enlightenment. She finally understood the complex look in her captain's eyes that day.
When she saw Lin Wei in danger, blasted into that terrifying torrent of energy with his fate unknown, her mind was instantly consumed by rage and impulse.
She had lashed out at Rita without a second thought, desperately trying to carve a path, almost willing to die alongside him.
But when "Yuno," the girl who had been by her side, suddenly transformed into a complete stranger and severed that terrifying energy torrent with a thunderous strike, Anna snapped back to reality.
Lin Wei was still the same cunning man; he had already prepared for this...
In that instant, her grief and fury vanished, and she calmed down. But in the next moment, an immense, trembling wave of guilt washed over her.
Did I really just draw my blade on Rita? On my comrade, my senior, another Valkyrie?
Have I... have I truly betrayed Schicksal?
At that moment, Anna plunged into an abyss of self-doubt. She stood there stunned, lost, and hollow, a single, powerless whisper echoing in the depths of her heart:
"So, no matter what I do, I'm always wrong..."
---||---
Meanwhile, after delivering the earth-shattering blow, Rita, who had been thrown into disarray by Yae Sakura's successive, unexpected attacks, finally had a chance to regroup.
She activated her gas mask and expertly positioned herself to separate Yae Sakura from Anna.
This strange, new enemy made Rita extremely wary, and she was determined to get more information from her.
"Who are you, really?" Rita demanded coldly, keeping two-tenths of her focus on the distraught girl behind her and the other eight-tenths on the formidable enemy before her.
"I don't recall Mr. Lin Wei having a companion of your caliber."
She strongly suspected that this woman, with her long, beast-like ears, was connected to World Serpent, an organization the Overseer detested.
After all, if she could so perfectly impersonate Yuno, there was no guarantee her current appearance was her true one.
"Is that so?"
Yae Sakura smiled faintly, then charged forward again without hesitation, casually tossing a comment over her shoulder.
"I am merely a nobody, not worth mentioning."
A "nobody not worth mentioning" was currently pressing one of Schicksal's top S-rank Valkyries. It was hard to tell if she was being modest or mocking.
Of course, the main reason was that she couldn't be bothered with small talk. If they were enemies, then fighting was all that mattered.
"Quite a nobody!"
Rita wasn't so easily provoked, but she had no intention of letting the insult slide. While adapting to Yae Sakura's relentless offensive rhythm, she continued to taunt and probe with her words.
"Aren't you curious about when I saw through your nearly perfect disguise?"
In her mind, someone with such flawless infiltration skills would surely be concerned about how they were exposed.
But unfortunately for her, Yae Sakura truly didn't care. She just chuckled lightly.
"Sir Lin Wei has always praised Miss Rita's keen sense of smell. A crude disguise like mine would naturally be full of holes in your eyes."
Even as she spoke, the movements of her blade and the forward press of her steps never faltered, though she held back some of her power, mindful of Anna's proximity.
She had just politely called Rita a hound. Then, in the same calm tone, she added, "If you're trying to shake my resolve with words, I suggest you save your breath. After all..."
The blade of the Seven Thunders of Retribution should have been crackling with brilliant lightning, but in Yae Sakura's hands, in addition to the bright arcs of electricity, it also left faint trails of fire in the air.
It was just like her heart—restrained, yet burning fiercely for five hundred years.
"When it comes to verbal assaults and mental torment, you could never hope to compare to the one who was my 'constant companion' for five hundred years—the Herrscher of Corrosion!"
Lightning and fire merged into one, both dazzling and scorching, tearing through the crescent particles spread by the Argent Knight: Artemis and the chilling air they brought.
It clashed with the ice on Rita's scythe, melting and vaporizing it, adding a layer of hazy mist to the already sand-filled air.
"The Herrscher of Corrosion?"
Rita naturally caught the significant term and immediately asked again, "Who in the world are you?"
The Key of Corrosion, the Herrscher of Corrosion—both were clearly tied to Lin Wei.
"Me?"
Yae Sakura smiled.
She then took a large step back, her eyes meeting Otto's across the swirling sand and mist that severely obscured their vision.
He, too, was watching the spectacular battle from a distance.
Then, Yae Sakura adjusted her stance.
With a completely different aura and swordsmanship, she pierced through the murky air and, with the unstoppable momentum of a thunderbolt, charged barbarically at the prepared Rita!
In that moment, it was as if she had forgotten all the martial arts she had learned in the Elysian Realm from the Flame-Chaser of fifty thousand years ago.
She had once again taken up the wild sword techniques she had developed while hunting in the mountains, as if she had returned to being that lonely and lost shrine maiden from five hundred years ago.
The longsword tore through the air, its flames melting the ice, seeming to ignite the falling snowflakes and turn them into an intoxicating rain of cherry blossoms. The entire world transformed into a magnificent, tragic, yet beautiful scroll painting.
As the sword thrust forward, cherry blossoms scattered. And with them, Yae Sakura's voice, though raised in a shout, remained clear and resonant.
"My name is Yae Sakura, and I am Kallen Kaslana's lover!"
---||---
On the other side, Otto had, of course, noticed the shocking turn of events where Rita was fighting, and the fierce battle that looked like the advent of a Herrscher.
"The Third Divine Key?"
Having suffered at its hands once in Manila, Otto recognized it the instant Yae Sakura unleashed its lightning.
"As I thought. That man still had another card up his sleeve!" Otto sneered, surprised by the sudden and unexpected nature of Lin Wei's "counterattack."
"Overseer, should I go support Rita?" Durandal asked, noticing that Rita was at a slight disadvantage.
Otto was about to nod when he felt a slight pressure weigh down on his body, an invisible force that even seemed to settle the dust and sand swirling around them.
"No. You will intercept that man."
Realization dawned on Otto. He looked up at the sky and saw a small black dot approaching his position at the speed of a falling star. He couldn't help but smile.
"To use the power of the Ninth Divine Key just to accelerate... It seems if I let him get close this time, he won't be showing me any mercy!"
It was only natural. They had already dropped all pretenses. What room was there for "mercy"?
"...Yes."
Durandal gave Otto a deep look, feeling weary of the bitter choice he had made. But as Otto said, the priority now was to prevent Lin Wei from threatening him again.
Without hesitation, a blue light flared behind her, and she shot into the sky like a rocket, heading straight for the descending meteor that was Lin Wei.
"Heh. Even at this stage, your goal is still Anna. I have to say, I'm impressed," Otto murmured to himself.
"Willing to put yourself in harm's way, single-handedly pinning down Durandal to provide cover for your hidden 'trump card.' I don't know whether to call you arrogant or meticulous."
Just as Lin Wei could see through Otto's plans, Otto saw through Lin Wei's the moment it was set in motion.
But Lin Wei's plan was an open gambit—a strategy that works even when exposed. Go ahead, send Durandal to help Rita. See if I don't vaporize you.
Otto knew how to prioritize. Even though he knew Lin Wei's goal was to lock Durandal onto him, he had no choice but to play along with Lin Wei's "arrangement"—just as Lin Wei had "listened" to his "arrangement" before making his move...
"This is truly..."
Just as Otto was about to muse on the situation, a sentence from Rita's battlefield reached his ears, clear and unmistakable.
"My name is Yae Sakura, and I am Kallen Kaslana's lover!"
In an instant, Otto spun around, his gaze fixed intensely on the hazy direction from which the voice had come!
---||---
Why did Yae Sakura make that declaration?
It wasn't about "staking a claim"; the dead were long gone. It was simply that she was deeply dissatisfied with Otto, the man obsessed with Kallen.
Her dissatisfaction with Otto was long-standing. But before, as Lin Wei's final, secret trump card, she couldn't easily reveal herself, so she had endured.
Now, that "card" no longer needed to be hidden. She finally had the chance to deliver this furious "declaration" to her rival from five hundred years ago.
Of course, this was just a small, personal indulgence for Yae Sakura. She hadn't forgotten the true mission Lin Wei had entrusted to her.
Previously, she had been fighting Rita with the sword techniques taught to her in the Elysian Realm. This style, refined and perfected by countless individuals from the Previous Era, was a scientific, efficient, and deadly form of swordsmanship.
Though the style was unfamiliar to Rita, after their prolonged exchange, she had gradually begun to adapt and was even gaining the upper hand as Yae Sakura's offensive weakened.
But then, Yae Sakura suddenly switched her style—abandoning the powerful technique without warning and executing an extremely savage thrust. It was as if she were channeling all her strength into the very tip of her blade to deliver a devastating blow capable of felling any foe in an instant!
It was an utterly unreasonable and illogical move!
But after such a "logical" exchange, suddenly switching to such an equally chaotic and barbaric move had a remarkably potent effect!
Yae Sakura's thrust was incredibly fierce, reaching Rita almost instantly. Startled, Rita hastily raised her scythe. Although she managed to block the attack, she was sent flying far back.
Not good!
Rita cursed inwardly. She saw that Yae Sakura had successfully reached Anna, her defenses breached in a single strike.
"My apologies!"
Yae Sakura smiled faintly, and it was unclear if the apology was meant for Rita or Anna. The moment she reached Anna, she grabbed her arm and, amidst the latter's cry of alarm, threw her like a piece of trash toward the "canyon" she had created.
Rita swung her scythe, activating the Mirage system. The "White Silver Moon" materialized out of thin air, attempting to intercept Anna mid-flight, but the moment it appeared, it was shattered with a crisp crack.
Yae Sakura smiled with satisfaction as she lowered the Seven Thunders of Retribution, still smoking from its transformation into its electromagnetic cannon form.
"Don't mistake me for some old fossil who can't adapt!"
Now, the final obstacle was gone. Her mission could finally be completed.
"Ah!"
Anna screamed as she flew through the air. She felt like a puppet, a toy, with absolutely no control over her own destiny.
Swish, swish, swish!
Suddenly, from within the waterfall of yellow sand pouring into the canyon, several dark green vines shot out without warning. As if they had eyes, they wrapped precisely around Anna's waist, catching her in mid-air.
Then, coiling around their newfound "prey," they swiftly disappeared back into the cascading curtain of sand!