"Lady Theresa, oh, Miss Himeko is here too? Perfect. The thing is, the priority patient you instructed us to monitor has woken up..." The Head of the Medical Department, clad in a white lab coat, reported to them through the holographic projection.
"Woken up?! When?! Has she exhibited any aggressive behavior?" Hearing that their subject had regained consciousness, the two in the office tensed visibly.
"Uh... no! Miss Snow has been very quiet since waking up. She's just been lying in bed, flipping through a book. We haven't had any interaction with her yet." On the other side of the projection, the Head of the Medical Department watched his two superiors grow tense and was infected by their anxiety.
"Maintain the status quo. Do not engage with the target for now. We're on our way!" the two officials declared in unison from their office.
"Yes, Headmaster, and Instructor Himeko!"
The communication line was cut off.
"Oath of Judah!" Theresa scrambled onto her desk, abandoning all decorum, and shouted at the top of her lungs.
In the instant her words landed, a massive golden cross materialized before her, hovering like a levitating skateboard.
The Headmaster leaped onto her personal transport, soaring out of the office's wide-open window as if riding the Somersault Cloud. Only Himeko remained, her hair whipped into disarray by the wind.
"Theresa, you forgot to take me with you!"
In the pristine white hospital room, a golden-haired girl sat propped up in bed, leafing through a book on the bedside table—the Book of Isaiah. She turned the pages with keen interest.
The brief tranquility shattered abruptly. Urgent footsteps approached rapidly down the corridor outside the door, and a high-pitched whistling sound pierced the air from outside the window.
The door burst open, slammed in by a Red-haired Valkyrie, taking the entire door with it. Simultaneously, the glass window beside the door shattered as a diminutive figure on a golden cross-shaped hoverboard crashed through.
The golden-haired girl stared blankly at the scene unfolding before her.
The red-haired Valkyrie, who had accidentally ripped the door off its hinges while grabbing the handle, made awkward eye contact with the girl's gaze sweeping across the hospital bed, unsure where to put the heavy door in her hands.
Fortunately, the eye contact was brief. The girl's attention quickly shifted to the other figure who had crashed through the window. Seizing the opportunity while the golden-haired girl's attention was diverted, Murata Himeko tossed the door out of the room, nearly striking the panting Head of the Medical Department who had been struggling to keep up.
"...A rather unique way to pay a visit," Snow remarked, carefully choosing her words, ultimately settling on "unique" to describe their approach.
"Uh..." The two older women exchanged an awkward glance.
Finally, Theresa, who had broken in through the window riding the Oath of Judah, spoke first.
"Ahem, Miss Snow, is it? You're currently in the hospital at St. Freya Academy, part of the Schicksal Far East Branch. I'm Headmaster Theresa."
"Would you be willing to talk to us?" Theresa asked, sitting on the floating Oath of Judah, her expression grave as she gazed at the golden-haired girl on the bed.
"You're curiously peering into my past, only to find it shrouded in layers of mist..." The golden-haired girl tilted her head slightly, her gaze fixed on Theresa.
"Countless doubts cloud your heart, and you've come before me, hoping I can unravel these mysteries for you." She lowered her head, quietly flipping through the pages of the book in her hands.
"Yet I am neither your prophet nor your guide. What remains unknown to you... is merely a blank canvas to me."
"My father—he is shrouded in layers of mist. These aren't riddles deliberately concealed or masked, but mysteries accumulated over countless ages."
"He told me we would meet again at the journey's end. There, I would reclaim my lost family crest, rediscover my forgotten surname—and either unravel or inherit the mysteries he carries..."
"And I gladly accepted, for he is my father, my prophet, my enlightener, my guide." The golden-haired girl sat on the bed, speaking in a melodious tone, a faint smile playing on her lips. Golden sunlight streamed through the window, bathing her long hair in its glow, as if crowning her with an invisible diadem.
"You..." Theresa's earlier stern expression had vanished, replaced by embarrassment. That head of golden hair and the equally incomprehensible, melodious way of speaking reminded her of a certain man sitting on a floating island—as if she were standing before him right now.
Neither the man nor the young girl before her warranted unleashing the Oath of Judah. As Director of the Schicksal Far East Branch, she couldn't afford such recklessness. As Headmaster of St. Freya Academy, she couldn't bring herself to do it—a suffocating sense of helplessness crept over her.
Sensing Theresa's predicament, Murata Himeko took over the conversation. "Let me ask instead, Theresa... Miss Snow, what exactly is that strange power you wield? You suppressed the Third Herrscher in an instant—a feat unprecedented in all of Schicksal's records. If this power could..."
The golden-haired girl sighed. "You always ask questions you yourselves can't comprehend... and then demand answers for them."
"...I will ascend to heaven, I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the north."
"I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High—"
Snow flipped through the Book of Isaiah in her hands, reciting these verses as the answer to their burning questions.
"This is the answer you seek, whether you understand it or not—this... is the answer."
"Everything in this world comes at a price. Some powers you cannot bear... you cannot afford. Just like the inscription on your back—it demands life as fuel." Her pupils once again transformed into a ghostly blue as her jet-black right hand, tainted by imaginary energy, lifted from the book. Golden, luminous patterns flowed across her arm like liquid light.
"You..." Himeko stared nervously at the girl before her, inwardly regretting her impulsive decision not to wear her Valkyrie Battlesuit.
"There's no need for alarm, warrior. I mean you no harm. This is merely a friendly warning... please understand—this state of mine is my true nature..."
Her deep blue eyes shifted from her own right hand to Murata Himeko at the doorway, and Theresa, who had quietly joined her. The divine key that had been resting beneath her now stood upright on the ground, its energy gathering for action.
"Ha... I suppose our conversation must end here for today, warrior. This is my final warning to you—" The eerie blue light in her eyes gradually faded, returning to their clear, azure hue.
"Your body's days are numbered. Lay down your blade, unfasten your battlesuit, and pass them on to your successor. Withdraw now and spend your final days in glory. This is your best choice." The girl's voice grew fainter, gradually fading away.
"...Thank you for your concern," Murata Himeko replied earnestly, watching the girl drift back to sleep. "But before I'm a warrior, I'm still a teacher entrusted with the faith of countless students. I, Murata Himeko, could never abandon my post in the face of battle."
"Himeko..." Theresa gazed at her friend beside her, worry etched in her eyes.
"Theresa, don't worry. I know my body better than anyone," the red-haired Valkyrie reassured her, slowly backing toward the doorway.
"Absolutely not, Himeko! You're coming with me for a full checkup today!" The Super-strength Nun seized the Valkyrie, who was trying to slip away, and dragged her toward the Medical Department's examination area.
As the duo's voices receded into the distance, the sleeping blonde girl, propped against the bed, felt her eyelids flutter slightly. A helpless smile spread across her face.
"Stubborn as ever... Then... your story won't end here after all."
-
"Did we forget something?" The older woman, being dragged along, looked at her companion, who was a head shorter than her.
"Uh... weren't we supposed to contain this dangerous individual at the Academy? Pfft! I mean, invite her to enroll."
"I don't see anything wrong with the word 'contain'..."
"Just like Kiana and the others, we'll have her stay in your dorm, Himeko. It's big enough anyway."
"Huh? Dealing with one Herrscher is already a pain in the ass. Now you're going to stick me with some freak who can beat the crap out of Herrschers?"
"Relax, Snow seems pretty attached to you. It's no big deal! Besides, a Herrscher plus a Herrscher killer? That's just ecological balance, right?"
"Ecological balance? What am I, then?! Pay me more! Theresa! I need a raise for this!"