On the Hyperion, a team of Valkyries hurriedly carried stretchers across the deck.
With the defeat of the Herrscher, the oppressive atmosphere aboard the warship had noticeably lightened. Many crew members whispered among themselves, discussing the recent events.
After transporting the three unconscious figures on the deck to the ship's medical bays, the Hyperion's engines roared to life once more, heading toward the location of the Far East Branch.
The damage sustained by the aerial warship during the battle against the Herrscher rendered it unfit for further combat. The Valkyries of the Far East Branch had established a temporary stronghold on Nagazora City's cross-sea bridge to prevent the Honkai Beasts from dispersing. Several Valkyrie Squads ventured into the city's interior to search for potential survivors.
Meanwhile, in the Hyperion's Hangar, the aerial warship's adjutant steadied her trembling right hand as she adjusted her glasses. Before her stood two young women: one crouching in a corner hugging a Homu plushie, the other greeting her with an awkward smile.
"Ma'am... Hello there..."
"What are the security forces on the Hyperion even for?!"
-
In the Headmaster's office at St. Freya Academy, Murata Himeko burst through the door, loudly complaining, "Seriously, it's been three days, and my whole body still aches like it's about to split apart!" Rubbing her shoulder, she strode into the empty office.
"You recklessly used the Nexus System while it was still in development, and then forced it to maximum output to block the Herrscher's attack! You should be thanking God you're not in the ICU! You reckless Bomb Woman!"
A second voice echoed through the normally solitary office. Following the sound, Murata Himeko spotted a strand of snow-white hair fluttering behind the Headmaster's desk.
"Headmaster, you're here! You're so petite and adorable I almost didn't notice you~" Himeko's voice dripped with teasing amusement.
"Cut the chatter! Where's the report?!" The voice's owner seemed to have hit a sore spot, demanding angrily.
"Just a moment... I'll get it for you right away." Murata Himeko reached into the cleavage of her uniform and pulled out a data storage device.
"Y-you! Himeko, why would you keep the data there?!" Theresa exclaimed, flustered.
"Ah? Theresa, have you forgotten? We collected this data in secret from your dear grandfather," Himeko teased.
"To prevent anyone else in the organization from finding it, I naturally had to hide it in the safest place possible."
"Enough! Just give it to me!" After enduring repeated jabs, Theresa was finally on the verge of losing her temper.
The storage device was placed on the desk, and its holographic projector activated. Profiles of several individuals appeared alongside a video playback on the desk.
"Now, Major Himeko, please explain what happened at the end of that day..." As the video began to play, Theresa turned her gaze to Murata Himeko, who stood beside her.
-
"You'd better have made the right choice, you'd better—" As the blonde girl in the recording collapsed into the arms of the white-haired girl, the footage abruptly ended.
Himeko swiped across the holographic projection, switching to the white-haired girl's profile.
"Kiana Kaslana. She was the girl who stood between the blonde girl and the Herrscher, the one the Herrscher initially held in her arms."
"It's strange," Murata Himeko murmured, studying Kiana's image in the profile. "An ordinary person exposed to such a high concentration of Honkai energy for that long would have already started turning into a Zombie..."
"She's no ordinary person, Himeko," Theresa interrupted. "Remember the three great families of Schicksal?"
"The Apocalypse Family, representing the Overseer; the Schariac Family, representing the Saintess; and the Kaslana Family, representing the Knight. Isn't that a basic history question on the Valkyrie entrance exam?" Himeko instinctively answered, her teacher's instincts kicking in.
"Wait, Kaslana?!" Himeko seized on the name, her gaze locking onto the file on the projection with disbelief.
"Yes, that Kaslana Family..."
"Long time no see, Kiana... I never thought I'd see you again after all these years... It seems the Kaslana family's ill-fated entanglement with the Honkai is truly unbreakable," Theresa muttered, clambering onto the edge of the desk.
"Alright, let's move on to the next one."
With a swipe of her finger, the projection shifted to the profile of a black-haired girl.
"Raiden Mei, the Third Herrscher's host... Wait a minute? She's the heiress of ME Corp?!"
"You're surprised too, huh? Anti-Entropy, the organization behind ME Corp, is Schicksal's greatest rival."
"Their heiress becomes a Herrscher, yet Anti-Entropy hasn't mobilized all its forces to capture her? It's utterly baffling..."
"Our intelligence division is already investigating. The arrest of Raiden Ryoma, ME Corp's CEO, for economic fraud just doesn't add up—he's an Executor of Anti-Entropy."
"That leaves just one more person—the biggest problem in this operation. Even the Herrscher is less troublesome than she is." Theresa stretched out her small hand, standing on tiptoe to swipe laboriously across the holographic projection.
"Yes... the greatest headache. Though she helped us defeat and capture the Herrscher..."
"—Snow, who claims to have no surname, says she was born in Vienna, the capital of Austria, and is currently traveling the world. Her adoptive father is an extremely wealthy church follower. This information came from Raiden Mei and Kiana after they regained consciousness."
"However, our covert intelligence division discovered that all assets registered worldwide bear her own name."
"As for her so-called adoptive father and maid... no such individuals exist. Our intelligence division couldn't find anyone matching the descriptions within the allowable scope of investigation."
"Then where did her funds come from? She couldn't have acquired so many assets out of thin air, could she?" Theresa pressed, her mind racing.
"I'm afraid it really might have blown in on the wind... Even our intelligence agencies can't trace her funding."
"Investigating her hometown directly is impractical. Vienna was Schicksal's former headquarters, and it remains a crucial operational hub in Europe."
"Grandfather's jurisdiction..."
"Himeko, do you think she might be the young mistress of some Anti-Entropy Executor's family?" Theresa ventured a bold hypothesis.
"An Anti-Entropy heiress raised in Schicksal's strongest stronghold in Europe? Theresa... saying she's the child of some Schicksal high-ranking officer would be more plausible."
"Ugh, it's just a guess! A guess!"
"Regardless, this woman is extremely dangerous. Based on your description and the recorded footage, Himeko, the Third Herrscher was utterly defeated without even putting up a fight."
"The only saving grace is her attitude toward Herrschers. But... the way she treats them like mere weeds..."
"What, then, is humanity to her...?"
"Ugh, this is so annoying! Why does this kind of thing always fall under the Far East Branch's jurisdiction?!"
Just as their discussion was heating up, a communication request appeared on the office's holographic projector, hovering between them.
Hastily gathering the holographic storage device from the desk, Theresa accepted the call.