With Lucius's round of corrections, the plot finally got back on track.
Outside the Babylon Tower laboratory, a transport vessel bearing Schicksal's emblem descended onto the airfield reserved for the facility.
Valkyries in full armor disembarked one after another, beginning to count the surviving test subjects under Theresa's orders and arranging for them to board the vessel. Very shortly these unfortunate girls would be transported to Saint Freya for psychological treatment.
As for whether they'd want to become Valkyries in the future — that would be their own choice to make.
"Such a massive structure, and in the end only this few survived?" Counting the surviving girls one by one, Patrick couldn't help but sigh.
Beside her, Theresa — Kallen — stood with the Oath of Judah on her back, arms folded, her small face dark as she stared at the tower looming in the wind and snow.
Hearing Patrick's words, she said coldly: "It would be more accurate to say — only this many people were in here."
"Err..."
Watching 'Theresa's' expression, Patrick didn't dare respond.
The subtext of the Rank S Valkyrie's words was that everyone inside the Babylon Tower laboratory, aside from these innocent test subjects, could no longer be counted as human.
Considering how large a facility this was, it would be virtually impossible for the Archbishop not to know about what went on here. So the category of 'no longer human' in Theresa's words probably extended to include Schicksal's Archbishop as well.
Patrick felt Theresa was completely right — but still didn't dare agree aloud.
After all, Theresa had a Schicksal Archbishop as a grandfather, and she herself was in all likelihood the next Archbishop in line. Let alone cursing these animals inside the Babylon Tower — she could openly curse the Archbishop himself and no one would do anything about it.
But Patrick was just a small-time Rank A Valkyrie. If she publicly called the Archbishop an animal, the Tribunal would probably be at her door for a faith inspection within the hour.
And as a spy for Anti-Entropy, Patrick's identity was something that absolutely could not withstand scrutiny!
Kallen paid no attention to the complex feelings stirring in Patrick beside her — because right now she herself was extraordinarily, strikingly furious.
She had originally thought it strange that Lucius hadn't told her the Second Honkai War's script in advance. But having walked through the Babylon Tower laboratory and seen the inhumane experiments conducted within, Kallen felt relieved he hadn't told her beforehand. If he had, she would have been too furious to function, let alone have the energy to play the role of Theresa.
Right now she was angry. Deeply, profoundly angry. If she didn't know this was just a phantom of the past that Lucius had constructed, she would have long since stormed Schicksal, dragged Otto off his Archbishop's throne, and demanded he explain what he considered human life to be worth.
Just as Kallen was seething, a Valkyrie trotted up beside her.
"Lady Theresa, we've detected a large force stationed in the outer perimeter of the Babylon Tower. Preliminary assessment identifies it as Anti-Entropy's Titan Legion."
Upon hearing this, Kallen thought for a moment and instructed: "Leave them alone. Our mission is complete. There's no need to engage them. Our priority now is a safe withdrawal."
After the reporting Valkyrie departed, Kallen furrowed her brow and murmured to herself with some puzzlement: "Strange — how did Anti-Entropy get wind of this so quickly... could it be they've planted spies inside Schicksal?"
Patrick, hearing this nearby, kept her expression perfectly neutral — while cold sweat poured down her back. "Lady Theresa, all of Schicksal's Valkyries are absolutely loyal. How could there possibly be anyone working against us?"
Kallen also realized her words had been a little too cutting, and said with mild apology: "You're right. I shouldn't doubt everyone's loyalty."
Watching Kallen quiet down, watching one rescued girl after another board the transport, Patrick couldn't help asking: "By the way, Lady Theresa — though I believe everyone in Schicksal is completely loyal, hypothetically, if a spy were actually discovered, how would they be dealt with?"
Unlike Patrick Hightsmith of this world, who had been a Valkyrie here for quite some time —
The consciousness from another world that was Patrick had, not long ago, still been a freshly graduated university student. Her reason for joining Anti-Entropy hadn't been any grand and noble ideal — she had simply been attracted by the benefits and career prospects.
Was she loyal? More or less. Though her loyalty was proportional to Anti-Entropy's salary — and now that she'd arrived in this world, even the salary was gone. Under those circumstances, what exactly was she risking her life for?
And so Patrick had been thinking: the so-called Schicksal organization actually had pretty decent benefits. If coming clean could earn her some leniency, maybe she'd be better off just defecting here, rather than having the Tribunal discover her Anti-Entropy spy identity one day.
Kallen hadn't expected Patrick to ask such a question, and found it mildly troublesome — because as a hybrid of Theresa and Kallen, she actually didn't know Schicksal's specific regulations in this world all that well.
So after thinking it over, she decided to answer with the rules she had established during her own time running Schicksal. The framework had been set by Otto anyway — surely it couldn't differ by much.
"A spy? They'd naturally be handed to the Tribunal. Once every piece of information in their head has been extracted, they'd be executed outright."
During the time she had run Schicksal, there had been no organization called Anti-Entropy in the world. The only things that could be called spies were the traitors who had gone off to serve shadowy organizations that worshipped the Honkai.
For those kinds of people, she had never been lenient. She killed them as they came.
Hearing Kallen's answer, Patrick kept her expression perfectly unchanged — but her heart had gone completely cold.
She very much wanted to ask Theresa whether any leniency was available, because honestly, given the choice, she'd far rather be a Valkyrie than a spy.
But she was also terrified that the moment she opened her mouth the Tribunal would drag her away. So she had no choice but to swallow all her misery.
And firmly resolved: her identity absolutely could not be exposed.
Heh... I absolutely have to survive this!
Very shortly, all the children rescued from the Babylon Tower laboratory had been loaded onto the transport.
Theresa boarded the vessel and said to Patrick, who was staying behind to hold the position: "I'll escort these children away. I'm leaving this location to you. Schicksal's engineering unit will be arriving shortly — you're in charge of receiving them."
Having learned Schicksal's stance on traitors, Patrick was delighted to have some time alone and quiet. She immediately indicated she would absolutely complete the mission.
And so Theresa, without further delay, boarded the transport and vanished into the distant sky.
"Phew~" Momentarily safe at last. Patrick let out a breath of relief.
Though wearing armor meant she didn't actually feel cold, she still wasn't fond of standing around in a frozen snowfield.
The Babylon Tower had already been cleared, so it should be temporarily safe. Patrick decided to head to the Babylon Tower's rest area to wait for Schicksal's follow-up forces.
But just as she was about to leave, she caught a flash of purple at the very edge of her field of vision.
Patrick stopped. Her expression darkened.
Though it was only a flash, she had still caught what it was — a girl with purple hair.
She remembered this girl had also been among the test subjects rescued from the Babylon Tower. She should have boarded the transport to Saint Freya.
But now, she hadn't boarded at all. Instead she was moving toward the Babylon Tower.
Something inside Patrick seemed to urge her to follow, to go and see what that strange girl was up to.
Patrick's feet shifted — but she didn't follow the impulse of curiosity. Instead she turned and sprinted at top speed in the direction away from the Babylon Tower.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!"
"Do you think I haven't watched horror films before?! That purple girl obviously has something seriously wrong with her — how stupid would I have to be to follow her?!"
In this kind of situation, a suspicious-looking girl appearing out of nowhere — following any standard horror film logic, she was almost certainly the source of the terror.
And translating that to the current situation — she could very well be the Herrscher Schicksal had detected!
Patrick was just a fake Rank A Valkyrie. Was she supposed to run over there and die?
Rather than charging in directly, she had a more sensible way to handle this.
After putting some distance between herself and the tower, Patrick opened the headquarters channel. Yes — this was her approach: report up the chain and call for backup!
[Patrick: Headquarters — suspected Herrscher individual sighted at Babylon Tower. Requesting backup, requesting backup!!!]
[...]
[Command: Received.]
[Command: Closest Valkyrie unit has been dispatched.]
Seeing the reply from headquarters, Patrick wiped the non-existent sweat from her brow and exhaled in relief. "Thank goodness I'm quick-witted enough. Now I can survive this."
But before she could even finish feeling pleased with herself, she found headquarters had sent another message.
[Command: Snow Wolf Squad, Rank A Valkyrie Patrick — by order of the Supreme Combat Command, you are hereby designated as the advance unit and ordered to enter the Babylon Tower to track the suspected Herrscher individual.]
Reading the orders from headquarters, Patrick was practically ready to burst with curses.
"The follow-up forces haven't even arrived yet, and you want me to go fight a Herrscher by myself?! You might as well just tell me to run myself through — at least I'd die with some dignity!"
But Patrick knew that Valkyries were a combat unit, and everything had to comply with Command's orders.
Which meant once the order was issued, the only thing she had to think about was how to carry it out. Refusal simply wasn't an option.
Looking up at the Babylon Tower standing in the wind and snow, an involuntary chill swept through Patrick's heart. She felt the death star flickering ominously above her head.
"No — I only just arrived in this world. How can I just die like this? I absolutely have to survive!"
Patrick sent a message to headquarters. While she couldn't disobey orders, she could reasonably request support — find a powerful ally to cling to.
[Patrick: Order received.]
[Patrick: Given the extremely high danger level, requesting backup from Lady Theresa.]
[...]
[Command: Denied. Lady Theresa is currently escorting children home. Per Valkyrie code, ensuring civilian lives takes first priority.]
[Command: Addendum — Lady Theresa will serve as backup upon her return. Until then, you are to execute the mission alone. Rank A Valkyrie Patrick — may your mission go smoothly.]
Reading the response from headquarters, Patrick went sheet white. She felt she now understood why her counterpart in this world had defected to Anti-Entropy.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!"
"How can you people be this inhumane?! If Theresa isn't available, can't you dispatch any other Valkyries? We're dealing with a Herrscher here — do you really think one little Rank A Valkyrie can handle this?!"
Patrick was tempted to keep arguing with headquarters, but she knew that dragging it on would likely result in being branded a deserter — and that outcome was no better than getting taken out by a Herrscher.
And so the two paths now before her were:
Execute headquarters' orders. Enter the Babylon Tower and track the suspected Herrscher girl. End result almost certainly: death.
Refuse headquarters' orders. Be hauled before a military tribunal on charges of desertion. End result also: death.
Patrick looked up — all she saw was a grey sky with great feathery snowflakes drifting down, seemingly foretelling her future.
"I'm just a freshly graduated university student — why is this happening to me?" Patrick's face was tight with misery. She felt the death star blinking above her head. "I just want to live. How is that so difficult?"
After a long silence, Patrick covered her face with her hands — then suddenly started laughing.
"I absolutely have to survive this!"
Dropping the hands covering her face, Patrick's expression gradually calmed.
Faced with the threat of death, the brain that had gotten her into one of the world's most prestigious institutions began spinning at full speed.
"Going forward is almost certainly death. Going back is one hundred percent death. So to break out of this situation, I need to introduce a new variable..."
Patrick's eyes lit up. She had thought of a way out.
She reached for her other communicator and opened the channel to Anti-Entropy.
The call was answered quickly.
Patrick immediately said: "Doctor — a suspected Herrscher has appeared at the Babylon Tower laboratory. I need your help."
"A Herrscher? Excellent — I'll head over and kill her!"
Hearing the young, childlike voice from the other end, Patrick blinked. Then she noticed the video screen showed only an empty room — not a person in sight, just the voice.
Patrick tested the waters: "Err... Doctor, are you using some kind of invisibility device?"
"My apologies — I forgot my height doesn't quite reach the camera."
Then Patrick watched as a boy of about ten years old, expression deadly serious, floated into the frame.
"Patrick — I'm still some distance from the Babylon Tower. Please hold on for a bit. Once I arrive, I'll kill her."
Looking at the pint-sized boy radiating murder from the screen, Patrick opened and closed her mouth, and finally asked in puzzlement: "By the way — who are you?"
"Me? I am obviously Walter Joyce, leader of Anti-Entropy!"
"Huh?" Patrick's expression went blank.
Though — thinking back to Theresa's equally small and childlike face, suddenly having Anti-Entropy's leader be a little kid didn't seem all that strange.
Perhaps looking cute was just a quirk all these powerhouses shared...
Anyway, as far as Patrick was concerned — as long as this person could save her life, she'd accept it whether Anti-Entropy's leader looked like a kid, or even a high schooler in a uniform.
"Leader — I need support." Patrick said.
"No need for anything complicated." Welt said coolly. "A Herrscher? Just kill her. Though it'll take a bit of time."
By the time you get here, I'll probably already be dead. Patrick thought internally.
"Leader — don't trouble yourself. I have a plan that might resolve the Herrscher situation cleanly."
"Oh?" Welt's curiosity was piqued. "Patrick — what's your strategy?"
"Well, Leader — I observed the Herrscher up close, and she didn't seem as powerful as the records suggest. She might be manageable without borrowing your strength."
"Mm... then she probably hasn't fully awakened. This is indeed the best window to strike her down." Welt noted.
Hearing Welt's confirmation, Patrick felt her plan was looking more solid than ever, and continued: "Leader — the Babylon Tower has already been evacuated. Since there are no longer any living people there, and the facility belongs to Schicksal — why not just conduct a blanket bombardment? Our Titan Legion is right outside the Babylon Tower. That should be within their capability."
Welt fell into thought upon hearing this. Eventually he gave a slight nod.
"Patrick — your suggestion is highly worth considering. Long-range fire coverage would dramatically minimize potential casualties on our side."
Hearing Welt's response, Patrick's face lit up. She felt she was going to make it out of this alive.
But before she could even feel happy, she heard Welt continue: "However, I think your proposal is still a little too conservative."
"Leader — how so?"
Welt said: "Even a Herrscher who hasn't fully awakened possesses extraordinary capabilities. Relying solely on the Titan Legion's fire coverage carries a significant risk of letting the Herrscher escape."
"So, Leader — your recommendation is?" Watching the smile forming on Welt's face on the screen, Patrick suddenly felt a deep sense of unease.
Sure enough, the next moment she heard Welt say: "As a precaution, our Titan Legion is carrying sufficient yield 'Silver Bullets.' Since the area around the Babylon Tower has already been cleared — why not simply fire the Silver Bullets directly."
Patrick's expression shifted. She naturally knew what 'Silver Bullets' meant. Those were Honkai energy fission warheads!
"Leader — isn't that a little... extreme?" Patrick wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
Welt shook his head: "Trading blows back and forth can only be called sparring. Since we're talking about eliminating an enemy, we should bring out the killing move from the very start and give her no chance to fight back. In truth — if it weren't for the residents around Siberia, the most reliable approach would simply be to level the entire area."
"In that case — I'll evacuate at maximum speed." Patrick said.
Honestly, if she hadn't still been on the call, she would have already bolted. Knowing that a Honkai energy fission warhead was about to land overhead, she only wished she had more legs to run with.
"Patrick — you can't run."
"Hm?" Watching Welt's expression suddenly turn completely serious, Patrick felt that deep sense of unease surge up again.
"The Silver Bullet maintains maximum lethality only within a few hundred meters of the detonation center. To ensure a one-shot kill, I need you to infiltrate the Babylon Tower, mark the Herrscher of the Void's precise location, and guide the Silver Bullet to the target."
Upon hearing this, Patrick's legs went weak. "L-Leader — you must be joking, right?"
Welt looked at her with complete seriousness.
"..."
Seeming to read Patrick's terror, Welt continued: "Don't worry — we'll wait until you've completed the marking before initiating the bombardment. We'll give you sufficient time to evacuate before that... more or less."
"Leader — don't Herrschers have extremely powerful energy signatures? Can't we just use her massive energy output for targeting?" Patrick was on the verge of tears, wracking her brain furiously under the pressure of the survival instinct.
But hearing her words, Welt looked at her with the expression of someone regarding a complete fool.
"Herrschers can easily suppress their high-energy signatures. Patrick — do you think any Herrscher who hasn't fully awakened would recklessly broadcast their energy level? That's just asking to die faster."
"And so, Patrick — in order to eliminate the Herrscher, we need you to guide the Silver Bullet's bombardment."
Hearing Welt's explanation, Patrick's heart went completely cold.
Though a high-achiever in science and engineering, in this moment with the death star blinking above her head, she still couldn't stop herself from praying to a deity she knew didn't exist.
Oh, deity!
Save me!
I don't want to die (sob)!!!
"Hm?" Welt suddenly let out a sound of surprise.
"Patrick — it may not be necessary for you to guide the bombardment after all."
"Huh?"
Babylon Tower laboratory. The energy zone.
Standing before the magnificent Honkai energy reactor, Sirin pressed her hand to the reactor wall. Surging Honkai energy poured through the thick barrier and into her body.
The previously depleted Honkai energy reserves within her began rapidly refilling, and as the Honkai energy replenished, her connection to her authority also began to sharpen and clarify.
"Power — is surging back." Looking at the black orb of concentrated spatial force gathering in her hand, Sirin's lips stretched into an smile of the most extreme arrogance.
"Heh... heh heh hahahahahaha!!!"
Along with her wild laughter, violent Honkai energy burst outward from her as its center. Everywhere it passed, Honkai Beasts were born in its wake.
For Sirin, without having fully recovered her power, the Honkai energy leaking outward like this was essentially being wasted.
But she no longer cared. With the near-infinite energy of the Honkai energy reactor available to her, she had no concern for such waste.
One could even say this erupting Honkai energy was entirely intentional — it was the fanfare she was using to announce her return to the world.
After all — when the Queen of the Void returned from death, how could she do so without a grand display?
Feeling the Honkai energy spreading like a tide toward the outer perimeter of the Babylon Tower, Sirin spread her arms wide and soared into the sky. From her back erupted swirling golden-light-shimmering skirt-like wings — the whole sight resembling a sun hanging high above the tower's peak.
Floating in the air, gazing out over the vast white snowfield below, Sirin's heart swelled with grand ambition.
"World — the Queen of the Void is about to return!"
"Humanity — prepare to receive your requiem!"
"Hm... what's that?"
Just as Sirin was striking what she considered an impressively cool pose in midair, delivering lines that could only be described as peak middle-school-chunnibyou, she noticed that in the grey, snow-filled sky — a bright shooting star was streaking across it.
"A shooting star... are you also rejoicing at my return?" Seeing the shooting star, Sirin was reminded of times she had once made wishes on stars, and felt a brief lift in her mood.
Until she noticed the shooting star was getting bigger and bigger, and closer and closer. Only then did she make out the true nature of this 'shooting star.'
It was a small silver-white cylinder — but what caught Sirin's attention the most was the yellow-and-black three-leaf clover symbol at its tip.
"Strange — I feel like I've seen a symbol like that somewhere before." Miss Sirin began lamenting her meager knowledge base. But by this point, the little cylinder had already arrived right beside her.
And then — her vision was filled with infinite, blinding light.
——BOOM!!!
Above the Babylon Tower, a magnificent mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
In the distance, Kiana raised her hand above her eyes and leaned forward, peering toward the horizon.
Watching the mushroom cloud rising from the earth, she couldn't help but gasp in amazement: "Wow! Lucius — what an incredible mushroom cloud!"
Lucius: "..."
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