"Huh?"
As the dim room was illuminated by the faint glow of Honkai energy dissipation, both women inside froze simultaneously.
The reason for Hare's stunned silence was twofold: she couldn't fathom how the other had tracked her down, and why this fully-armored woman's voice was identical to her own.
As for Cecilia... well, earlier, Lynelle had promised to find her an "interesting opponent." Cecilia had assumed Lynelle meant the toxic aura emanating from the target.
She never expected this kind of "interesting."
"You are..."
The same voice spoke from both sides at once.
"Misteln Schariac, an officer of World Serpent. Though, since I inherited this name, I prefer my codename: Hare."
A javelin, resembling a banner, materialized in Hare's hand.
"Misteln..."
Cecilia murmured, "Both your name and codename are lovely. But... to think the Schariac family produced such a remarkable descendant after my time."
"Schariac? Descendant?"
Hare's brow furrowed slightly. "I don't really consider myself... Never mind. More importantly, why do you feel so familiar?"
"If you don't mind... could you show me your face?"
"Of course."
Cecilia let out a soft laugh and voluntarily retracted the face-concealing armor.
"?!"
Hare instinctively took a step back.
"You... impossible. Cecilia is dead. How could...?"
In this world, if anyone was more certain of Cecilia's death than Otto, who'd personally detonated the Honkai fission bomb, it was Hare.
After all, her very existence was born from Cecilia's demise.
So resurrection never crossed her mind. Instead, she immediately assumed another possibility.
"Schicksal... to seize the power of Cecilia's holy blood, they'd even go this far?!"
The javelin in Hare's hand flared to life, her voice trembling with anger. "Though I am not her... as a being born from her power... I believe I have a duty to protect her eternal rest."
"Wha—?"
Cecilia was utterly baffled. This was not the direction she'd expected things to take.
"Wait, I am—"
Swish!
The sharp sound of a hurled javelin cut through the air, interrupting her.
"Why won't you let me finish... And, could I really be that different from how I was before?"
Cecilia muttered to herself. It never occurred to the naturally airheaded mother that the cutting-edge Anti-Entropy armor she now wore made her appearance completely unrecognizable compared to the Cecilia from Hare's memories during the Second Eruption.
"Fine. I didn't really expect to talk this out anyway... I'll just subdue you first and ask Lynelle what this is about later."
Cecilia drew the replica Black Abyss and White Flower Lynelle had given her. In an instant, she closed the distance, the tip of Black Abyss arcing upward in a slash that trailed a crescent of corrosive black mist.
Yet... this attack failed to leave even a scratch on Hare.
"A body of Reason is not so easily broken."
Hare smiled faintly, reaching out to grasp the shaft of the spear. "Besides... you've fallen into my trap."
"Within this dream, comprehend all—"
As her voice fell, the scenery around them twisted violently.
Through physical contact, she could draw her opponent, via the Stigma, into her "illusion"—or rather, Stigma Space.
Though this opponent was merely a clone of Cecilia, Hare had sensed a recently awakened Schariac Stigma on her.
Here in Stigma Space, that would pose no problem. As all knew, Stigmas themselves were vessels of data and memories.
Within this realm, Hare could materialize the numerous heroes recorded within the Schariac Stigma as Forms of Reason to fight for her. And once the Stigma Project was fully implemented, this summoning range would even expand to cover the entire historical scope of the project's influence.
Moreover, facing a clone with no "past" to speak of, Hare wouldn't even need such measures.
However this cloned Cecilia had gained consciousness, once dragged into Stigma Space, her fragile soul would be laid completely bare.
Thus, Hare opened her eyes with confidence.
And then... she saw standing before her, merged with the recorded data of Cecilia within the Stigma—Cecilia in her absolute prime.
"Hey."
Cecilia flexed her arms curiously, savoring the long-lost feeling of power flooding her body.
"This ability of yours is quite interesting. You knew I couldn't beat you, so you restored me to my peak condition."
"Thanks, you're so sweet~"
"?!"
Hare's mind went completely blank.
"Just who in the world are you?!"
--+--
While Hare was having a meltdown, over at the Oceania Branch, an identical "try not to laugh challenge" was underway.
Since Jackal's popularity within World Serpent was hardly stellar, the two Grey Serpents participating in the assault on Oceania both wore faint, gleeful smirks over her recent unexpected "crash landing."
Compared to Jackal's crashed team and the disruption team handling the Honkai Beasts, their squad had arguably the easiest role in this entire operation.
On offense, they had the Rod of the Underworld, Titan mechs, and a special trump card provided by Jackal.
On defense, they had support from Hare, World Serpent's strongest mental perception officer. They were, without a doubt, riding the current meta.
On paper, while Wendy might have had "minor achievements" in sniping, her physical fitness was solidly at B-Rank Valkyrie level—in high-tier matches, that practically qualified as "fragile and easily subdued."
And the Titan mech technology they'd acquired from Anti-Entropy, developed as replacements for Valkyries, each possessed combat power equivalent to a standard B-Rank Valkyrie.
So, whatever this "Herrscher of Wind" was, once surrounded by the invincible Titan legion...
Ever wonder how Valkyrie fragments are made? (Laughs)
"We're here."
Arriving at the outer wall of the Oceania Branch headquarters, one Grey Serpent immediately spotted Wendy atop the highest building in Oceania.
However, the target seemed unaware of them, preoccupied with nuzzling persistently into the chest of the maid-clad girl behind her.
Due to the angle, they couldn't make out the identity of the maid. But... judging by how the other seemed to "dare not resist" Wendy's forceful affections, she probably wasn't anyone important.
"Quantum Titans, observational shift! Disengage quantum state!"
Grey Serpent waved a hand. "Surround the Herrscher of Wind, Wendy. Then, eliminate her!"
Hum—
A Titan materialized abruptly behind Grey Serpent, obediently raised its arm, and then...
With the descent of its metallic fist, a fresh batch of Grey Serpent fragments was freshly delivered.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.