'Bang!'
The door burst open with a sense of urgency.
"Auntie! Auntie, something terrible's happened! Honkai has erupted in Shenzhou! We have to go help—now!"
The panicked voice came from Kiana as she barged into the room, catching the attention of the petite girl at the terminal issuing orders.
But then her eyes shifted to the tall, red-haired woman standing nearby.
"Ah, Aunt Himeko, you're here too—ow ow ow!"
She yelped in pain as a sharp chop landed on her head.
Following close behind were Heiress Kiana, True Kiana, Raiden Mei, and Bronya.
Everyone except the expressionless girl at the end wore varying degrees of anxiety on their faces.
As an S-rank Valkyrie stationed at Schicksal HQ, the maid had already departed for Shenzhou the moment the news broke.
"It's class time, so call me 'teacher.' Outside of class, it's 'big sis'... and just how did you all hear about this so fast?"
Himeko, dressed in her Valkyrie uniform, retracted her hand after delivering the blow and now wore a serious expression.
"It was Nagami who told us. By the way, hasn't the Hyperion launched yet? This seems really urgent!"
C.C.'s voice came through the group chat, and even though her face couldn't be seen, the urgency in her tone was unmistakable.
The Heiress Kiana hadn't considered hiding the situation to protect her friends from danger.
Why would she?
Just look at this group, on the surface, they might look like mere B-rank Valkyries, but they were actually the Herrscher of the Void, the Herrscher of Thunder, and the future Herrscher of Reason (well… maybe not anymore).
Would they really need her protection?
She had immediately shared the information with everyone.
"Yes, Headmistress, we'd like to help too..."
Mei placed her delicate hands over her chest, her gentle voice laced with determination.
"That's right, Auntie..."
"Headmistress..."
The tuna and heiress Kiana spoke up again, more impatient than ever.
"Alright, alright! Listen to me first!"
Clearly exasperated, Theresa slapped her tiny hands on the desk with a loud smack.
Once the room fell quiet, she climbed up and stood on top of the table, looking down at them all with authority.
"First of all—because of certain special agreements between Shenzhou and Schicksal, only Schicksal's local division stationed in Shenzhou has the right to enter the region freely. All other branches usually need special permission."
"But since this is an emergency Honkai outbreak, we can bypass formalities and enter Shenzhou directly. Still, because this isn't St. Freya's jurisdiction, we're required to coordinate with the Grand Bishop."
Whenever there's a major Honkai eruption, local and nearby anti-Honkai forces are mobilized immediately.
For branches farther away, deployment decisions rest solely with the Grand Bishop.
It's a matter of careful strategic planning, since massive disasters like this require vast resource coordination—just like how natural disasters like earthquakes or pandemics would be handled in the real world.
Compared to something like a massive earthquake or plague, Honkai outbreaks are far more catastrophic.
That's why global Schicksal branches never act without direction, and doing so would be a reckless waste of resources.
Of course, given Theresa's rank and identity, she could override Otto's orders and act on her own.
But she never had.
She didn't believe her sense of strategy could outmatch her grandfather's.
"Don't worry. All nearby branches of Schicksal have already been mobilized. And while this Honkai outbreak is definitely strange, Grandpa seems to have gotten things under control for now."
After Nagami reported the cause of the outbreak to Otto, his reaction was unlike anything they had seen before—more serious even than when facing the final boss of Kallen Fantasy.
He had shifted into the role of a master tactician, seated like a military strategist in an ancient war tent, calmly directing the flow of the battlefield.
That was the terrifying part about Otto—his ability to win before the battle even began.
'Bzzt!'
Suddenly, Theresa's handheld terminal buzzed in her tiny palm.
She glanced quickly at the incoming message, and the commanding expression she had worked so hard to maintain instantly collapsed into confusion.
"Theresa, what's wrong?" Himeko asked, furrowing her brows. "Are they calling off St. Freya's deployment?"
It didn't make sense.
The Honkai reading was even stronger than the one that hit Nagazora not long ago. Did the Grand Bishop have another plan?
"No... it's not that," Theresa muttered, shaking her head.
Her stern gaze wavered, turning into one of disbelief.
"Grandpa said the Far East Branch is to head for Shenzhou immediately. This outbreak is unlike anything we've seen before... But that's not what's strange."
"Then what is it?" True Kiana asked, voice steady and calm.
"There's nothing odd until the very end of the message," Theresa said slowly, eyes fixed on the red-highlighted line. "He's appointed Nagami as the new captain of the Hyperion... and C.C. as vice-captain.
All Valkyries previously assigned to the Hyperion will now fall under their command. And get this—their command authority even outranks mine?!"
By the way, ever since the Herrscher Squad joined St. Freya, they were officially part of the Hyperion's Valkyrie roster under Schicksal.
"Wait—that brat?!"
Himeko and Theresa exchanged glances, both seeing the same disbelief in each other's eyes.
The confusion swirling in their minds was like a dark cloud that wouldn't go away.
"Just like that... that kid suddenly becomes captain of the Hyperion I've been running for years?! Don't tell me he's actually Otto's secret love child!"
Himeko's eyes widened in disbelief at the sheer absurdity of the news.
She stared blankly at Theresa for a long moment.
"You've got it backwards. Actually, Otto is my illegitimate son."
Suddenly, a voice cut into the comms.
It was a familiar, energetic tone that instantly caught everyone off guard.
It wasn't Nagami's idea—Otto, with his sharp strategic mind, understood perfectly well that this group would perform best only under Nagami's lead.
That's why he had made the decision himself.
"WHO'S THE MOTHER?!"
A loud, innocent shout rang out—tinged with a strange mix of shock and misplaced anger.
Everyone blinked.
One by one, they turned their heads toward the same direction.
Oh. Of course. It was Kiana.
...Well, never mind then.
"Hey! Watch your mouth when you talk about my grandpa!" Theresa puffed up her cheeks in frustration as she tapped at the terminal in irritation.
It wasn't that she really wanted to defend Otto, but if Nagami was telling the truth… wouldn't that make her his great-granddaughter?!
The tone alone made it obvious who the screamer was, and Nagami let out a small sigh of relief.
For a second there, he thought someone else had lost their mind.
'Crisis averted.'
Needing an outlet to steady his nerves, Nagami casually shifted his sights to Theresa and said with a smug smile:
"Come on now, little Theresa, don't be like that. I can get Otto to call me 'Dad' in front of you next time if you need proof.
Just don't be too surprised when it happens—make sure you remember to call me Great-Grandpa~"
If Kallen could really be brought back, then honestly, having Otto call him "Dad" would be the least of concerns.
He'd probably accept it wholeheartedly.
But Theresa, not knowing the full context, gasped audibly.
A chill ran down her spine as goosebumps crept up her arms.
She had come to understand Nagami's personality pretty well.
Sure, he was often playful, cheeky, and had more than a hint of perviness—but he was never the type to say something like this unless he was sure of it...
'No way. There's no way he's telling the truth... right?'
Nagami couldn't help grinning at her dazed expression as he shifted gears to greet the rest of his long-lost comrades.
The Hyperion was en route to Shenzhou, and there was still some time left for catching up.
"Comrade, is the class rep with you?"
There was only one person who referred to Nagami like that.
Bronya immediately recognized Fu Hua's voice.
'Wait... those two were together?'
"Yep. Shenzhou is her homeland after all. I ran into her just as I was departing, so I brought her along."
C.C.'s melodic voice answered the unspoken question hanging in the air.
Since everyone present was an ally, Nagami took the opportunity to re-explain the cause and severity of this Honkai outbreak.
Of course, he framed Date A Live as a parallel universe.
Not like anyone could prove him wrong anyway, right?
Still, to Theresa and Himeko—who were hearing the truth about Honkai for the first time—the sheer scale of the information was overwhelming.
Before long, both of them were deep in thought, completely absorbed.
"Honkai... is actually a trial...?"
Himeko finally snapped out of her daze, clearly about to ask something else—when Nagami's voice interrupted her.
"Alright, I know we've got a lot to talk about, but the current situation isn't exactly giving us time to chat."
They were already approaching the East China Sea, closing in on Shenzhou fast.
With a subtle shift in his tone, Nagami issued his first order since becoming captain again.
"Valkyries—prepare for deployment!"