Jiuyou, somewhere
Within Jiuyou, Rita Rossweisse, who had arrived one step ahead of Leo Ash and the others, was currently clad in her [Striker Fulminata] battlesuit, exploring the depths of the bizarrely atmospheric ruins.
Although her official mission this time was to see if Anti-Entropy was causing any trouble, Rita was well aware that Otto had sent her here out of concern for K423's safety.
As for Cocolia sending people to stir up trouble...
Rita wasn't worried about that.
After all, while Cocolia had created a lot of problems, as a newly-promoted executive of Anti-Entropy, her resources were limited.
Back in Nagazora City, over ninety percent of the Titan mechs under Cocolia's command had been wiped out in a single blast by the Far East Branch's ace, Murata Himeko.
Under these circumstances, the forces Cocolia could actually deploy were not enough to make any waves in Jiuyou.
Moreover, Otto had explicitly told Rita that Siegfried Kaslana was highly likely to appear here.
Although Siegfried was now technically aligned with Anti-Entropy, given the current situation, Rita felt that...
—Everyone in Anti-Entropy, whether from the conservative or radical faction, probably wished for Cocolia's immediate and violent demise.
Normally, the internal struggles between the conservative and radical factions were just that, internal struggles; their overall direction didn't diverge too drastically.
But with Cocolia's sudden emergence, the entire organization's reputation had been ruined due to issues related to the Third Eruption.
Both the conservatives and the radicals needed funding to continue their operations.
Now that Cocolia's actions had effectively declared, 'I don't care if we have a moneybag like ME Corp,' any country with even a sliver of intelligence or influence would start guarding against Anti-Entropy's local enterprises.
Of course, some people surely knew that Cocolia's recklessness didn't represent all of Anti-Entropy.
But now, those who felt insecure no longer trusted Anti-Entropy, while those who weren't worried about Anti-Entropy causing more trouble would seize the opportunity to advance their own interests.
Furthermore, K423 and Siegfried shared a deep bond. After experiencing his 'organization being screwed over by Cocolia' and his 'daughter being hunted by Cocolia,' Siegfried would one hundred percent start a fight the moment he saw anyone from Cocolia's faction.
Given the situation, Rita decided it was better to try and solve the problems here in Jiuyou rather than search for Anti-Entropy's personnel.
At the end of the day, Rita Rossweisse was still a Valkyrie who fought to protect the world.
This place, Jiuyou, was clearly radiating an unnatural aura. Instead of waiting for the Far East Branch's team to resolve the issue, she might as well take action herself.
And, even for her own personal reasons, Rita wanted to resolve the lingering problems here before everything descended into chaos.
After all...
If that boy, Leo, senses that something is wrong, he's bound to do something reckless again.
What a handful.
With this thought, Rita continued to press deeper into Jiuyou.
Then, at a certain point, Rita suddenly brandished her Pantheon-class weapon, [Aphrodite].
"Oh my, although I've already guessed your identity, I would still like to know..."
Staring at the black-robed man before her, Rita asked with a smile.
"—Would you, good sir, be so kind as to remove that tedious mask for me?"
"You've got to be kidding me."
The black-robed man looked at the young woman before him, took off his hood, removed his mask, and revealed a completely exasperated expression.
"This is the fourth time, junior. I doubt I'll get an answer even if I ask, but I have to ask anyway..."
"—Why is it always you?"
"How should I put this..."
Looking at Siegfried, Rita chose not to point her weapon at him, instead offering a friendly smile.
"This is probably fate, Senior Siegfried."
"Oh, so you've really learned your lesson this time."
Seeing Rita retract her scythe, Siegfried said with a sneer.
"It's better not to fight. I don't want to waste my energy on a troublesome girl like you either."
"Well, Rita currently has no reason to fight with you."
Watching Siegfried's body, which appeared relaxed but was in fact tense, Rita even deactivated her battlesuit and gave him a slight bow.
"You are no longer a wanted criminal of Schicksal. You are now merely a member of the Kaslana family who has temporarily left Schicksal."
"As long as you are willing to return to the Kaslana family with the Judgment of Shamash, I am certain Lord Otto will naturally return the position of Matriarch to your hands."
"Yeah, I'm sure he would. But tell me—do you think any of that means anything to me?"
Siegfried said irritably, looking at Rita who was bowing to him.
"Junior, I know you're smart. So, since you're smart enough to know I'll never go back to Schicksal, don't waste your breath on this nonsense."
"That is true."
Receiving the expected answer, Rita's smile faded, and she spoke to Siegfried with great seriousness.
"But you should also understand. Whether I succeed or not is one thing."
"But inviting you back to Schicksal is one of my underlying tasks. Your refusal is your business, but if I fail to ask, it becomes my responsibility."
"I get it, I get it."
Siegfried closed his eyes and sighed, his expression understanding.
"Working for a bastard like Otto, the more capable and versatile you are, the more he'll work you to the bone."
"A slick little girl like you probably gets pushed around by him a lot."
"Ha, you jest."
Facing Siegfried's overly direct assessment of Otto, Rita responded with perfect composure.
"Lord Otto's methods may be somewhat unsavory, but I believe his choices will inevitably lead us to victory."
"Ha, well, good luck with that."
At this point, having failed to sway each other, the two said no more.
Although there was no hostility between them, they couldn't possibly let their guards down completely.
With a tacit understanding, they each chose a path at the upcoming fork and went their separate ways.
However, after Rita had departed, Siegfried, who hadn't actually gone far, ultimately chose to head back in the opposite direction.
This time, Cocolia's technicians had used some new tricks to disrupt Schicksal's communication systems.
And although Siegfried was carrying a communicator modified by Anti-Entropy, a slight technological gap between the two sides meant he could only detect if someone was approaching via heat signatures, without being able to visually confirm their identity.
After confirming that Rita was moving deeper into Jiuyou, Siegfried decided to ignore whatever might be in the depths.
He knew he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, and the mechanisms deep within Jiuyou clearly required a sharp mind to handle.
He'd met this junior, Rita, a few times and had a general sense of her character.
She was without a doubt a loyal subordinate of Otto's, but her fundamental nature was sound.
Her coming to the depths of Jiuyou was presumably also to resolve the potential disaster brewing here.
So, rather than go in and compete for the job with Rita using his less-than-brilliant mind, Siegfried figured he might as well check things out on the surface—to see which crony that scoundrel Cocolia had sent to stir up trouble this time.
A very strange, underlying thought had already formed in Siegfried's mind.
It doesn't matter what crisis erupts; if we just take care of Cocolia first, everyone might just be safe.
Although the idea itself was absurd, and Siegfried knew Cocolia didn't have the power to cause so much trouble, well...
—Anyone who's been stabbed in the back would be a fool not to be wary.
After being backstabbed by Otto in Schicksal, Siegfried had kept his guard up around him.
And now, with Cocolia having backstabbed all of humanity, Siegfried felt that being on guard against her, and even trying to deal with her first, wasn't such an incomprehensible thing to do.
Besides, I can also see if Mei and Kiana are together.
If Mei and Kiana are separated, I can find a chance to tell her that Ryoma is safe.
As for Kiana...
Sigh, Sirin.
In a place with such a high concentration of Honkai Energy, I really don't dare to provoke Kiana.
If Sirin were to awaken here, the trouble we'd have to face would be much, much greater.
.....
After Yuno used that strange movement technique, she successfully caught up to Leo Ash and Kiana.
"Senior! Wait up!"
Yuno, floating in the air, shouted at Leo Ash behind her.
"Didn't you tell me not to rush in?! Then what are you doing charging ahead so fast?!"
"Oh, the answer is simple."
With a powerful push off the ground, Leo Ash launched his body forward like a cannonball.
"I've said it before, we're at a disadvantage against Titan mechs. But—I have a trump card. Against those guys, I'm confident I can take them out in a short amount of time."
"The only reason I'm rushing this fast is because I was afraid you'd rush in too fast, so I have to be at the very front to deal with the enemies."
"If you can understand my good intentions, then be a good girl and get to the back."
"...No way!"
Watching Leo Ash say these words so calmly, Yuno yelled back at him, furious.
"The way you say that just makes me think you're going to do something reckless!"
"Yuno's right."
Kiana, who had caught up to Leo Ash, said to him, a little breathlessly while maintaining her sprint.
"Even if we're short on time, Senior, you don't have to be like this, do you?"
"Even this young lady knows that we should go around enemies we have trouble with, but you..."
"—The way you're charging forward looking like you're ready to risk your life, how can the two of us watch with peace of mind!"
"Kiana, I told you a long time ago, I'm a professional."
Leo Ash, who was still sprinting, didn't look at his two companions beside him, but instead looked ahead with perfect composure.
"I've calculated many things in my head, I'm just too lazy to spell them out one by one. Besides, don't think for a second that I see you two as dead weight."
"In fact, a large part of why I dare to charge ahead so quickly is because—I have companions I trust with me."
[Ho ho, after saying these words, you can feel the anger on the faces of the two girls beside you has clearly subsided a little.]
[To placate them with just a half-true sentence, it seems—you've completely figured out the personalities of these two easily-fooled little girls.]
Practice makes perfect. By the way, if you can still pop up, doesn't that mean...
System?
Oh ho.
Leo Ash, who discovered the System had suddenly gone offline, abruptly looked straight ahead.
And as Leo Ash stopped in his tracks, Yuno and Kiana naturally didn't continue to press forward either.
"This is..."
Seeing the Titan mechs for the first time, Kiana and Yuno both frowned slightly.
If only one or two of these metallic, intimidating-looking Titan mechs had appeared before them, Kiana and Yuno probably wouldn't have given them a second thought.
But—with dozens of them appearing at once, the sense of pressure was a bit much.
"Senior, are you... really sure about this?"
Looking at the Titan mechs ahead, Yuno asked nervously.
"These enemies really are as tough as you said."
"Yeah, Senior. I feel like we'd need to meet up with Mei and the others and take them on together to handle these mechs safely."
"Hey! You idiots from Schicksal over there, what are you still muttering about!"
Sin Mal, seeing the group, suddenly sneered at the three of them.
"Forget it, say whatever you want. After all—those will be your last words."
"Oh, it's you... Not surprising."
Looking at the Titans and Sin Mal, Leo Ash stretched out his right hand, shielding his two companions, and directly activated the skill Mind Like Still Water.
"Kiana, Yuno, fall back."
"This is the first time I'm using this move, I might not be able to control its power very well."
"If you step back a bit, I won't have to worry about friendly fire."
"Hah? What's with all this mysterious act—everyone, attack!"
Watching Leo Ash take a step forward, Sin Mal immediately gave the order.
However, she had yet to notice that the Honkai Energy fluctuations emanating from Leo Ash were growing continuously stronger.
At the same time...
—At Leo Ash's feet, a surge of Honkai Energy began to spread towards the mechs in front.
"This, this feeling...!"
"Something's wrong—something is definitely wrong!"
Feeling the energy fluctuations coming from Leo Ash, Kiana and Yuno exchanged an uneasy glance, both seeing the unconcealable worry in the other's eyes.
Senior is definitely going to do something reckless!
"It's the first time I'm using this move, so my control over its power is a bit lacking."
After spreading the Honkai Energy from his Stigmata and the Honkai Energy he converted from mana into the surroundings, Leo Ash closed his eyes and suddenly clasped his palms together.
"So, if you die—don't you dare blame me for being too ruthless, you little brat from Cocolia's service."
Although Sin Mal didn't know what Leo Ash was planning, after meeting his gaze from a distance just a moment ago, Sin suddenly felt her body go completely rigid.
His eyes were so calm.
This man just stood there as if awaiting death, clasping his hands together and making no other move.
Yet now, Sin found that—due to excessive fear, she had temporarily lost her ability to move.
For the immensely confident Sin Mal, who considered herself invincible, being frozen by fear was even more unbearable than being killed.
But, no matter how upset or furious she was, Sin found that—her body was still incredibly stiff.
Damn it, damn it!
Why!
His eyes are as calm as a dead man's, but after seeing him clasp his palms together, I actually sensed a kind of...
—Terrifying madness from this man?
What is he doing? Even the Honkai Energy he's emitting shouldn't be enough to take out all these Titans.
Damn it, was I so intimidated by his presence that I forgot the difference in our strength?!
"Go! All of you, go!"
Having finally regained control of her body, a humiliated and enraged Sin commanded the Titans to charge at the closed-eyed Leo Ash.
"Kill this idiot first!"
"To kill is to protect life; to slay karma is not to slay people."
Leo Ash, who had completed his preparations, suddenly opened his eyes and uttered a cryptic phrase.
"Namo... Amitabha."
It should have been a phrase full of Zen meaning, but as it came from Leo Ash's mouth, it made the other three people present subconsciously take a step back.
"Taixu... Endless... Jizō Blade!"
After lightly spitting out this name, Leo Ash, relying on the characteristics of the Jizō Blade technique, directly manipulated the Honkai Energy he had released earlier.
And in the next instant...
—Countless blades of pure Honkai Energy materialized on the battlefield, instantly overwhelming the massive bodies of the Titan mechs.
......