"You really didn't have to come with me."
One of Anti-Entropy's Executors, the blue-haired, nest-headed Einstein, glanced at the friend standing beside her.
Tesla was dressed in light, practical clothing, her arms crossed as she stared at St. Freya Academy in the distance. Flames lit up the campus, and the sound of alarms was incessant.
Cocolia was leading the frontal assault, while she had dispatched Welt-One to make a high-profile breakthrough at the main gate to draw attention.
"I don't trust that woman Cocolia," Tesla said. "Besides, I'm not going over there. I'm just here to provide support for you. It's perfectly safe."
"Mm," Einstein nodded. "I've already notified him. He will be here shortly."
Him...
Tesla nodded.
"It really has been a long time since I've seen him." A faint smile touched her lips.
"I should go rendezvous with Cocolia. We need to head into St. Freya together soon."
Einstein did one last check of her equipment. Tesla asked with a hint of concern, "Will Theresa cooperate with us?"
"She will." Einstein's expression was placid, as if everything was under her control. "Once Theresa sees what's in the underground chapel, she will choose to work with us."
"Then we just need to be careful of Cocolia. Still, to think she'd use a clone of Joyce as her vanguard... what a brazen attack."
Tesla's face was a mask of fury, her hands clenched into tight fists. Walter Joyce had been her dear friend; they had fought and strived alongside each other in the past. That Cocolia would dare to do something that desecrated the dead was something she found impossible to accept.
"She's an animal, just like that dumbass Otto."
"No, that damn bastard Otto is even worse," Tesla spat on the ground.
She hated Otto from the bottom of her heart.
"Now is not the time to have a falling out with Cocolia. Schicksal would be more than happy to see that happen," Einstein said calmly. Tesla looked at her with slightly sad eyes. Compared to herself, Einstein had more reason to be furious, but for the sake of Anti-Entropy, she could only remain rational.
"We will succeed," Tesla said.
"Yes. We will succeed."
Einstein nodded, then headed towards her rendezvous point with Cocolia.
---o---
The sound of explosions continued to echo in the background. The invasion of St. Freya Academy was clearly a high-profile affair.
Otto's gaze turned cold.
"This is..."
Yae Sakura looked warily in the direction of the explosions. Otto, however, walked directly to the wardrobe and pulled the door open.
Kiana and Theresa came tumbling out.
"Ah!"
Theresa landed hard on her bottom. Yae Sakura stared in astonishment at the two who had just emerged from the wardrobe.
Do people of this era not sleep in beds at night?
"Little Theresa, go do your job as Headmaster," Otto said to her. He didn't immediately seize control of St. Freya, because there were some things Theresa knew far better than he did.
"Yes!"
Theresa also realized the gravity of the situation. Her expression turned serious. She was about to grab Kiana to take her along, but Otto was a step faster, pulling Kiana to his side.
"I've got this here."
With her grandfather present, she truly didn't need to worry about things here.
Theresa didn't hesitate, running out of the room on her short legs. St. Freya Academy needed her to take command.
Being pulled close by Otto, Kiana felt a sense of security and satisfaction swell within her. But when she saw him grab Yae Sakura's arm as well, her expression fell.
Dammit, this womanizing radish!
"Do you still have the battlesuit I gave you? Go put it on," Otto asked. Kiana nodded, then led Otto and Sakura to her room where she equipped her White Comet battlesuit.
This was no ordinary White Comet; it was installed with the chip from the Knight-Moonbeam battlesuit.
"Is St. Freya under attack? What do we do now? Should we go help?"
Kiana seemed a little excited. This was the first time she had been in such a large-scale event; it felt like something out of a movie.
And next, the stage will belong to this young lady!
Once she took care of all the attackers, she would be one step closer to becoming an S-rank Valkyrie.
Otto pondered for a moment. If things were going as expected, the invaders should be the people from Anti-Entropy.
But they were a little early. St. Freya hadn't even explored the Deep yet.
Is it because of me, the butterfly?
In that case, Anti-Entropy's people should be on their way to persuade Theresa.
Otto was glad he had dealt with the incriminating evidence against him beforehand.
Still, his gains tonight would not be small.
A smile touched Otto's lips. He looked at Kiana in her White Comet battlesuit. The form-fitting armor outlined her slender curves, making his heart beat a little faster.
"Kiana, go help the students on campus. The attackers are likely from the organization known as Anti-Entropy. They will harm them."
Otto didn't keep Kiana by his side. He wanted her to see the world, to grow through this rare opportunity.
And incidentally, to lower her psychological impression of Anti-Entropy.
Besides, what he was about to do was not something Kiana should see.
At least for now, in her eyes, he was still a good person with clean hands.
"And..."
Otto looked at Yae Sakura. He raised his hand, and the Seven Thunders of Retribution appeared within it.
But Otto frowned slightly. Sensing its master's thoughts, the weapon changed its state, obediently transforming into a pair of short katanas.
"Sakura, you protect Kiana," Otto said. He wasn't actually too worried about Sakura's safety.
The main attacking force consisted of only Titans and the Welt clone. These were just a smokescreen for Anti-Entropy; Einstein and the others' true goal was to form an alliance with Theresa.
The Welt clone possessed, at most, one percent of the original's power. As long as Welt Yang didn't make a move, Yae Sakura, as a pseudo-Herrscher, could wipe the floor with the clone.
Sakura was no damsel in distress, nor was she some benevolent saint. This was a powerhouse who had once slaughtered an entire village.
"Yes, I will protect her," Yae Sakura replied, taking the katanas. But then she asked, "Is it possible to change this weapon back to its previous single katana form? I am not used to dual blades."
"No. This is the weapon for a lightning-wielding Sakura," Otto refused her request flatly. A lightning-attuned Sakura simply must use dual blades.
Before Sakura could say anything more, Otto raised his hand and tapped Kiana's forehead with his index finger. He had wanted to kiss her, but a certain Sakura was right there.
"After we drive off the invaders, we'll continue what we were doing before."
"I need to go somewhere else. You two are not to leave the grounds of St. Freya Academy."
With that, Otto turned and left. Kiana stood there, stunned, and it took her a moment to realize what "what we were doing before" meant.
Her cheeks flushed slightly.
How can Otto say something like that at a time like this!
There's no way I'm doing that.
Leaving Kiana's room, Otto walked down the corridor flashing with red alarm lights, his eyes on his system panel.
It seemed he had a chance to complete a main quest today.
In fact, he had a chance to complete two.
[Main Quest (Must be completed within 180 days of activation, or it will be considered a failure)]
[Capture one core member of Anti-Entropy or World Serpent. Reward: Schicksal God-Machine Second Generation Design Core. Failure Penalty: Technological breakthrough for Anti-Entropy's Titans.]
[Kill Cocolia. Reward: Method to open the gate to the Sea of Quanta. Failure Penalty: Schicksal will randomly lose a Herrscher Gem.]
A black and red tachi appeared in Otto's hand.
Its name was Jizo Mitama!