[Following the cries for help, they soon arrived at a prison.
The moment she saw it, Theresa's expression changed.
"The screams... came from here.
A prison? Why would a place like this exist inside a research facility?"
Inside the prison, emaciated children were locked away, pressing their faces against the bars as they sobbed and begged for salvation.
There was no time for anger.
Without a key, Theresa resorted to brute strength, tearing the prison door off its hinges with her bare hands and rescuing the children one by one.
After freeing them, their identities were quickly uncovered.
Patricia turned to Theresa and said:
"According to the terminal records, they're... experimental subjects from the Advanced Systems Division.
They were used in human adaptability tests for Honkai energy."
Theresa frowned.
"No wonder... their bodies are covered in bandages and wounds.
But why wasn't any of this mentioned in the mission files?"
Patricia, no stranger to the darker side of things, replied coldly:
"Because it wasn't necessary.
Every year, Schicksal secretly recruits thousands of orphans like these.
No one cares whether they live or die."
"No. That's not true—I care about them."
Theresa knelt down, lowering herself to the children's eye level as she gazed at them with deep compassion.
She decided to take them to St. Freya Academy, which she had recently established, hoping they could finally live normal lives.]
After the video exposed Schicksal's inhumane experiments on children, an uproar erupted across both universes.
[Kalpas]: "Hah! You Schicksal bastards deserve to die! Otto, come here—fight me at full power!!"
[Mobius]: "So this is how you conduct your experiments? Forcing children into this? Disgusting!"
[Mobius]: "At least I make my test subjects fully aware of what they're getting into. They have the right to refuse!"
Despite Dr. Mobius' less-than-stellar reputation in Fire Moth, among the three doctors, she was ironically the most humane.
[Kosma]: "..."
[Pardofelis]: "Ahem—Kosma says: If a civilization's survival demands the sacrifice of children, then is that civilization even worth saving?"
[Tesla]: "This was also the catalyst for the Second Honkai Impact.
If not for **Otto's experiments, maybe it wouldn't have been so devastating!"
[Elysia]: "Such cruelty is unforgivable! But Miss Theresa's kindness is truly beautiful~"
[Murata Himeko]: "Oh? So this is how St. Freya began? Who knew our lazy principal once had such noble ideals."
[Herrscher of the Void]: "This is humanity's sin! And now—I shall have my revenge!"
[After settling the children, at midnight, a purple-haired girl slipped unnoticed into the Honkai reactor chamber and began absorbing its energy.
The sheer concentration of Honkai energy—enough to reduce ordinary humans to ash and overwhelm even seasoned Valkyries—was swiftly drawn into her body.
Just as she prepared to absorb more, Patricia arrived.
"Prisoner—that's far enough!"
"Tch... You? When did you notice?!"
"Simple deduction," Patricia replied coolly.
The girl's eyes suddenly blazed with golden light as she asked,
"Did you come alone?"
"One is enough. More would only alert you."
Upon hearing this, she threw her head back and laughed—a chilling sound laced with vengeance and sorrow.
"Hahaha! Perfect! Finally... I can take my revenge on the Valkyries!"
"Revenge?!"
Ignoring him, she continued as if speaking to herself, recounting her suffering:
"Those damned researchers...
They smiled while telling me—"
"The experiments on us were meant to create Stigmata for Valkyries.
We orphans should feel honored to sacrifice ourselves for Schicksal and its warriors."
Honkai energy swirled violently around her as her fists clenched in fury.
"To hell with your honor!
I am not some sacrificial lamb!
Today... I'll prove with my power that I surpass all Valkyries!!"
Despite her rage, the Valkyrie stood his ground—until reality itself twisted around them.
"Wait—the light nearby is distorting! This is...?!"
The scene abruptly shifted to Overseer Otto's perspective.
Faced with an incident even an A-rank Valkyrie couldn't handle, he dispatched two more members of the Snow Wolf Squad—
and him.
Siegfried.]
The revelation sent shockwaves through Schicksal's ranks.
Every Valkyrie had believed they fought for all that was beautiful in this world.
But if their Stigmata, armor, and weapons were built upon such cruelty...
Could they still claim that ideal with a clear conscience?
The girls who had become the foundation of their power had never known beauty—only cold, unfeeling experiments.
And it wasn't just the Valkyries reeling from the video's implications.
[Sparkle]: "How ironic~ The world's largest anti-Honkai organization ends up breeding an even greater disaster. Are you clowns or what?"
[Su]: "Luring patients in under the guise of treating Honkai sickness—only to use them as lab rats?
This... is a disgrace to medicine itself!"
In the Previous Era, Su had been a doctor.
He knew how incurable Honkai disease was—and how vital medical experimentation could be.
But treating patients as expendable? Unforgivable.
[Mobius]: "What a spectacular way to ruin everything!
In our time, such records would never have been left lying around!"
[Herrscher of the Void]: "This is humanity—hypocritical and deceitful!"
[Elysia]: "Herrscher of the Void...
Your life could have been so much brighter.
Don't let hatred blind you completely—and don't drag others into it.
If possible... let's meet in person."
[Herrscher of the Void]: "You—"
Sirin wanted to retort, but something about Elysia inexplicably disarmed her hostility.
Aboard the Astral Express, the trio glanced worriedly at Mr. Yang's silence, realizing why he never spoke of his past.
Welt immediately recognized their misunderstanding and inwardly cursed Otto for the thousandth time.
For the sake of his homeland's reputation, he had to clarify—this was an exception, not the norm.
Amidst the solemn atmosphere, few dared to jest—except for the Masked Fools, whose provocations only earned them scorn.
Though perhaps... to them, that too was part of the fun.]