On the Schicksal Aerial Battleship, The EOS...
"Lady Rita! High Honkai energy readings detected in the center of Arc City!"
Aboard the Schicksal Battleship docked at the edge of Arc City, an Immortal Blades Valkyrie frantically reported the situation...
"Stay calm, Alvitr... Can we get a visual on the city center's current situation?"
"Ah, yes, Miss Rita..."
"Hmm... According to the city surveillance and Schicksal's satellite imagery... the target of this operation, the Second Herrscher, Miss Kiana, is currently holding that large Honkai energy container and flying towards the upper atmosphere."
"And according to the Honkai energy sensor radar, Miss Kiana is absorbing the Honkai energy from the container at an extremely high rate..."
Staring at the dizzying data on the screen, Alvitr paused, organized the information, and continued her report to Rita:
"Based on the ship's AI calculations, the target should push the container into near-Earth orbit within five minutes."
"Simultaneously, at the Second Herrscher's current absorption rate, the Honkai shockwave from the explosion in near-Earth orbit will only temporarily disable a few civilian satellites."
After finishing her report, Alvitr seemed to recall something and looked at Rita uncertainly.
"Um, Miss Rita, aren't we here to bring the Second Herrscher back to Schicksal?"
"This Miss Kiana... after she downs this massive Honkai energy power-up... even if all of us charged in, we wouldn't be able to beat her, right...?"
Alvitr watched as the Honkai energy reaction parameters within the spherical, mine-like container gradually decreased.
But the Honkai energy reaction parameters on the other White-Haired Knight weren't looking quite so good...
"Don't worry, Alvitr... Lady Durandal will be here soon..."
"Besides, absorbing an excessive amount of Honkai energy in a short time isn't always a good thing for a Herrscher."
"After all, as you said... in a way, it's like a massive power-up pill... Even a strong, healthy person will get a nosebleed from taking too many supplements..."
"Let alone something as dangerous as Honkai energy... That Second Herrscher Miss probably isn't feeling too well right now either."
Rita used these prepared excuses to placate the Immortal Blades Valkyries on the ship.
Hearing their Vice Captain's words and the news that Lady Durandal was on her way, the initially restless Valkyries gradually calmed down.
However, some were still whispering among themselves...
"Wow, look at the surveillance feed! That Second Herrscher, Miss Kiana Kaslana, really has cat ears on her head."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! I thought they were just cat-ear hair clips at first, but they actually move..."
"Ugh, I really want to give them a good ruffle... Too bad she's a Herrscher... I'll probably never get the chance in my lifetime..."
The murmurs of discussion held a mix of novelty and excitement, as well as some dejection:
"What's there to be afraid of? We have Lady Durandal... Once Lady Durandal arrives, everything will be alright!"
"Then we'll finally achieve Cat-Petting Freedom!"
"Hooray!"
-
Compared to the gradually cheering atmosphere among the Immortal Blades Valkyries on the Schicksal Battleship,
Raiden Mei's feelings at this moment were far from pleasant.
"Kyuusyou-san, please step aside..."
She glared at the purple-haired Valkyrie, her voice tinged with anxiety as she shouted at Houraiji Kyuusyou, who was blocking her path.
"Ahaha... Well, I really don't want to be the villain who separates a long-reunited couple..."
"But, Mei Senpai... what can you even do if you rush over there? You can't even fly right now—Kiana is flying, you know."
"Are you planning to chase her on foot???"
Watching the anxious Raiden Mei, Kyuusyou's lips twisted into a helpless smirk as she reminded her of the gap between Raiden Mei and Kiana Kaslana now.
"...Please step aside, Kyuusyou-san—I'm begging you."
With reddened eyes, Raiden Mei seemed not to have heard a single word—the joy of seeing Kiana again had now consumed what little rationality she had left...
"I really don't know what to do with you two—Go ahead... Mei Senpai."
Shaking her head helplessly, Houraiji Kyuusyou stepped aside, clearing a path.
"But... you'd better prepare yourself, Mei Senpai."
"This time, you probably won't get the outcome you want..."
"..."
Hearing Kyuusyou's words, Raiden Mei paused for a moment before continuing to run toward the distant meteor.
-
"What an incredible scene... Miss Kiana."
Atop the pyramid of Heliopolis Life Sciences, Jackal, having removed her mask, muttered to herself as she watched the meteor streak across the distant sky. Then, she suddenly snapped back to reality—
"Fuck, this plan's failure should count as force majeure, right? I won't get punished for this, will I...?"
Honkai is a natural disaster. Natural disasters are force majeure. Therefore, Herrschers, as byproducts of natural disasters, are also force majeure—
The equation holds! With her excuse prepared, Jackal was already gearing up for the next meeting, ready to defend her failure and shift the blame—
It's not my fault, it's the world's!
-
Not far away, on the other side of Arc City, a blue meteor streaked through the sky, heading toward the spot where Kiana had fallen.
"Rita, you said the Second Herrscher might be unconscious and we wouldn't need to fight—just bring her back?!"
"Eh, then I'll go find something to put her in..."
After receiving confirmation from her adjutant, Durandal scanned the area from the air, finally locking onto a large woven sack in a cargo loading yard...
"I heard in movies, people always use these burlap sacks to carry people... I hope the movies aren't lying."
Muttering to herself, Bianca flew down and swiped a large woven sack... preparing to bring her "good little sister" home...
Of course, the present-day Goose didn't yet know her relationship with the White Blazing Cat; otherwise, she might have gone looking for a soft, warm blanket instead.
—And indeed, movies sometimes don't lie, but the act of putting someone in a burlap sack... usually only appears in genres related to kidnapping and human trafficking...
However, none of this had anything to do with the current Goose.
"Catch her, Black Abyss White Flower!"
The black-and-white lance, thrown by the blonde girl, ultimately sprouted a giant tree at the point of impact, catching the "unconscious" Kiana.