What entered his vision was a figure so bewitching it bordered on the extreme.
It was a woman wearing armor primarily in black and white, with bright green as an accent color.
The white chestpiece could not conceal her huge and soft heart.
Her fragrant shoulders were slightly exposed, her fair skin as warm and soft as fine jade.
Black exoskeleton armor covered her calves and arms, creating a striking contrast with the exposed portions of her fair skin.
This woman smiled, bowing to the young man before her.
Her posture was humble, yet it exuded an air of elegance and composure.
"To have my name known by you is Rita's honor."
Rita Rossweisse, one of Schicksal's three active S-rank Valkyries, specializing in assassination missions.
She was the vice-captain of the strongest Valkyrie squad, the "Immortal Blades," and the adjutant to Captain Bianka "Durandal" Ataegina.
She excelled in combat, housekeeping, academics, and processing documents. She had a wicked personality, was a loli-complex, and also enjoyed teasing illegal onee-sans.
She's a pervert cut from the same cloth as me, a perfect and dashing one at that.
The young man, feeling quite Herculean in his heart, watched the beautiful woman who had just deactivated her optical camouflage, recalling the certain maid's profile.
Holding a giant scythe, with a mechanical hound following behind her, the bewitching woman crossed her long, slender legs and approached with silent steps.
"May I ask, sir, how did you find me?"
The woman, very curious as to how her position had been exposed, stopped in front of the young man who, for some reason, gave her a very familiar feeling, and asked in a soft voice.
Her voice was bewitching and enchanting, reminiscent of a Siren's call.
Hearing this question, Li Zihan rolled his eyes internally.
In the world of Type-Moon, mana is the manifestation of life force.
Therefore, magi, who deal with mana all day, are extremely sensitive to life force.
As an S-rank Valkyrie who could take down a Titan even without using Honkai energy, Rita's life force was, to put it mildly, a bit overly active.
For a magus, that level of life force, without any mystical means of concealment, was almost as obvious as someone shouting "I'm over here!" through a megaphone.
"Would you be willing to answer, for the sake of a lady's request?"
The maid, who had clearly noticed the subtle expression on the young man's face, asked in a gentle voice.
"That's a secret."
The young man, clearly not intending to answer the question, showed a warm and proper smile.
He gripped the long, sharp tachi, which was like a work of art. His red eyes gradually grew more vibrant, as if a fire were burning within them.
A thick black mist began to emanate from his body, constantly expanding outwards before silently dissipating without a trace.
"Oh, is that so?"
The maid named Rita began to pace lightly around the young man, while her mechanical hound silently closed the distance.
Should I use Judah?
The young man thought, looking at the maid and her mechanical hound.
Without even needing to deploy the Divine Grace Barrier, just activating Judah's First Power would turn ninety-nine percent of the people in this world into lambs waiting for the slaughter before him.
Li Zihan narrowed his eyes, looking at the mechanical hound known as the "Carbon-Based Hunter," which could release neurotoxins.
"An overly mysterious man might make a woman lose her sense of security, you know. You might become unpopular."
Despite having already initiated the hunt, the maid named Rita continued to make conversation with Li Zihan.
Her tone was as relaxed and casual as if she were chatting with a neighbor in her spare time.
"My apologies then, but my luck with women is actually quite good."
The young man, holding the Twelfth Divine Key, smiled and then said.
"I'm on good terms with many beautiful girls. Rather than worrying about my luck with women, I should be more concerned about the disaster of bloodshed caused by romantic entanglements."
"Concerned about the disaster of bloodshed caused by romantic entanglements?"
The maid laughed, her beautiful wine-red eyes curving into crescents.
"To be able to anger a girl to such an extent, sir, I'm afraid you must be what they call a 'scum man'."
"Is that important?"
The young man retorted.
"I think we could discuss some more important topics."
"For example, Miss Rita, are you here on a private mission directly from Overseer Otto? Or is this a group mission from the 'Immortal Blades'?"
"It's a private order from Overseer Otto."
The maid, her words impossible to discern as truth or falsehood, chuckled lightly. Her smile was like a blooming flower, but her gaze was extremely cold, like a winter current.
"The Overseer values you very highly."
That's an understatement.
His granddaughter, Theresa, had been away from the Schicksal Far East Branch for some time now because of an outsider's words.
His preliminary test subject for creating a controllable Herrscher of Death, K423, had been contacted by an unknown person.
Kallen's relic, the Oath of Judah, had suddenly vanished.
The Schicksal traitor Siegfried and the Anti-Entropy Sovereign Welt were also suspected to have appeared.
And all these events revolved around Li Zihan. It would be stranger if Otto didn't place importance on him.
"May I ask, would you be willing to accept a lady's invitation and accompany me on a trip to Vienna?"
The maid, already prepared to use force to take him away, asked, a beaming smile on her exquisite face.
Go to the Schicksal floating fortress above Vienna?
The young man, who really didn't want to meet Otto directly unless it was absolutely necessary, just smiled.
Honkai energy was injected into his stigmata, and his mana began to flow.
"I should naturally accept an invitation from a lady, but an invitation from a gentleman... I think I'll pass."
"Well, that can't be helped, then."
The maid's voice was as soft and enchanting as ever, but her actions were the complete opposite, utterly ruthless.
A scythe glowing with a faint green light silently passed through space, slicing through the air and unleashing an unparalleled sharpness.
It was a scythe-type combat weapon called the "Gene Harvester."
As long as it obtained a small genetic sample from a target during battle, it could analyze the opponent's biological data and formulate a toxin specifically tailored to the target's genetic sequence.
The lethality of the toxin was determined by the wielder; it could be a mild anesthetic, or it could directly "disintegrate" all of the enemy's bodily tissues.
It could be said that this was the call of the Grim Reaper.
He couldn't be touched by it, not even once. Because the moment contact was made, the very next strike would most likely be a fatal one!
Drip.
Crimson blood stained the sword's edge.
Scorching hot blood dripped onto the blade, then slowly spread.
The magus, knowing full well what would happen if he were grazed by that scythe, had, at some point, slit his own wrist.
The crimson blood clung to the blade like fire, emitting a scarlet glow.
This was the power from the Stigmata Dracula and the Divine Key Jizo Mitama. Their reinforcement was enough to compensate for some fundamental differences.
The young man holding the Divine Key swung the blade, the bloody light drawing a shocking line through the air.
"BOOM!"
The tachi and the scythe clashed, letting out a dull sound like a clap of thunder.
The curtain on the battle between the magus and the Valkyrie was thus drawn.