“Theresa!”
“Lixue…
and the others…”
At Schicksal Headquarters, Cecilia stared at the photograph in her hand, her heart sinking in shock.
In the picture, Theresa and all the Valkyries of the Snow Wolf Squad lay collapsed across the frozen tundra of Siberia, bloody, broken, and completely motionless.
“Lord Overseer, please allow me to head to Siberia immediately!”
Cecilia looked up at Otto Apocalypse in desperate urgency.
“Theresa and her team were ambushed shortly after arriving in Siberia and lost contact almost instantly,” Otto said, his voice cold and calculated.
“And from the moment comms went silent to the arrival of this photo, less than ten minutes elapsed.”
“This means the Second Herrscher is a formidable threat unlike anything we have ever faced.”
“Even so, I have to go!” Cecilia declared with unyielding resolve.
Otto wasn’t surprised by her decision.
With virtually all of Schicksal’s top A-rank Valkyries wiped out in a flash, Cecilia—their sole active S-rank Valkyrie—would naturally charge into Siberia to face the Second Herrscher regardless of the risk.
Yet the Second Herrscher’s power had already far exceeded Otto’s expectations.
No matter how extensively they scanned Siberia, all their sensors picked up was an endless blanket of white.
He couldn’t even pinpoint the coordinates of Babylon Labs anymore.
If it weren’t for the residual Honkai energy readings of a Judgment-class Honkai Beast, Otto might’ve assumed there was nothing out in that frozen hellscape at all.
And that mystery made him fear the Second Herrscher all the more.
“I will order all Schicksal forces to commence a full carpet sweep of Siberia,” Otto stated.
“As for what comes after…”
He paused mid-sentence.
“As for what comes after, leave that to Cecilia and me.”
A holographic comms window popped open, revealing a handsome man speaking in a deep, resolute voice.
“Anti-Entropy?” Cecilia blinked in surprise.
The man on the screen was none other than Welt—the Herrscher of Reason.
“The threat posed by the Second Herrscher is a crisis all humanity must face together.
No one can afford to stand on the sidelines, Anti-Entropy included.
I will arrive in Europe shortly,” Welt continued.
“Schicksal and Anti-Entropy will form a temporary truce to address this crisis,” Otto added smoothly.
Hearing this, Welt gave Otto a cold, measured glance.
He harbored heavy doubts toward anything coming out of Otto’s mouth.
Still, dealing with the Second Herrscher was their top priority right now.
Even though the Second Herrscher seemed content staying put in Siberia for the moment instead of launching a full-scale assault on human civilization, nobody could guarantee she wouldn’t suddenly change her mind.
“Based on records recovered from the Previous Civilization, the Second Herrscher controls space, meaning her mobility is likely off the charts,” Welt explained the strategy.
“However, current intel suggests she is still lurking in Siberia.
Therefore, Cecilia and I will disguise ourselves as standard Schicksal personnel to sneak into Siberia, locate the Herrscher as fast as possible, and neutralize her in a single decisive strike.”
Welt laid out the plan to Cecilia.
This emergency plan was concocted after rapid deliberation between Einstein, Otto, and their advisors—and it was currently their best shot. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
“We need to hurry.
No one knows how long she’ll stay in Siberia.”
With Overseer Otto issuing the command, Schicksal mobilized immediately for a blanket search of Siberia, while Anti-Entropy’s Welt made haste to Europe at top speed.
Before departing for Siberia, Cecilia went to see her husband, Siegfried Kaslana.
“Take good care of Kiana,” Cecilia whispered, pulling her baby daughter into a gentle embrace.
“I will,” Siegfried replied, his expression deeply conflicted.
He had actually applied to go to Siberia himself, but after discussing it with Cecilia, he had to stay behind at Schicksal HQ.
Neither he nor Cecilia trusted Otto anywhere near little Kiana.
If Theresa were still here, the couple could’ve marched to Siberia together.
But Theresa had gone ahead and was now missing and potentially dead.
And while Siegfried’s combat capabilities were impressive, he wasn’t quite on Cecilia’s level yet.
So Siegfried had no choice but to stay behind to safeguard Kiana.
As if sensing that her mother was leaving for a far-away place, baby Kiana suddenly burst into tears.
“Kiana, be a good girl, okay?
Eat well, don’t be naughty, and Mommy will be back real soon,” Cecilia coaxed softly.
Yet Kiana kept crying, her tiny hands clutching onto Cecilia’s sleeve, refusing to let go.
Cecilia let out a quiet sigh.
She gently tore off the cloth corner held in Kiana’s tiny grip, turned around, and stepped out the door.
Kiana’s wails echoed louder through the house.
Watching Cecilia’s figure vanish into the distance, Siegfried felt a crushing agony in his chest.
…
Inside the grand hall on the 22nd floor of Babylon Labs.
“Oh?
Schicksal is launching a grid search?”
Seated upon her throne, Sirin digested the report delivered by her Imperial Guard.
Schicksal had zero clue that Sirin had been keeping close tabs on their every move all along.
“My Queen, what should we do next?
Shall we wipe out the human forces directly, or raid Schicksal HQ?”
Several Imperial Guard maidens asked eagerly, itching for a fight.
“Nah, no need for that,” Sirin replied nonchalantly.
“Understood!”
Though somewhat puzzled, the Imperial Guard obeyed Sirin’s orders without question.
With a casual wave of Sirin’s hand, the severely injured Theresa and the Snow Wolf Squad materialized in the center of the hall.
After being brutally taken down by the Imperial Guard, Theresa and her team had been sealed inside the Imaginary Space.
Their vitals were artificially sustained—keeping them severely wounded and unconscious, but safely away from death’s door.
“Where…
am I?”
Theresa opened her eyes, completely bewildered.
Having been captured, she had expected to wake up on the frozen snowfields surrounded by hordes of Honkai Beasts.
She never in a million years imagined finding herself inside an extravagantly luxurious grand hall—looking for all the world like a royal palace that put the grandest castles of Europe to shame.
The Valkyries of the Snow Wolf Squad were equally stunned. This story is hosted at g.com.
Before joining Schicksal, they were just ordinary girls, and after becoming Valkyries, they spent their lives on the bloody frontlines fighting Honkai Beasts.
None of them had ever stepped foot into a palace so breathtaking.
The exquisite marble relief carvings on the pillars, the jewel-encrusted carpets beneath their feet, the massive crystal chandelier gleaming from the high ceiling…
it completely blew their minds.
This was a realm of luxury that commoners like them could never have dreamed of entering.
Before long, their gazes locked onto the center of the hall, where a magnificent throne forged from amethyst and gold stood.
Seated upon it was a purple-haired maiden wearing a regal purple-and-white dress.
Her aura was that of an arrogant, supreme Queen, looking down at Theresa and the Valkyries with aloof coldness.
Flanking the throne were two rows of silver-haired, red-eyed maidens clad in gleaming silver armor, holding long spears at attention like loyal royal guards.
Theresa wondered if she was hallucinating.
She gently brushed her fingers against the gem-studded carpet, then looked around at the opulent decor.
There was no mistaking it—it was 100% real.
As Overseer Otto’s granddaughter, Theresa was no stranger to high luxury, living a life fit for a princess.
The real question was: Why the hell was all this here?!
“Who are you?” Theresa asked, staring up at the purple-haired girl on the throne in confusion.
“Take a guess~” Sirin replied, looking down at Theresa with amused curiosity.
“You…”
The problem was, Theresa really couldn’t guess who the purple-haired girl in front of her was right now.
The grand, magnificent hall and the majestic appearance of the purple-haired girl both seemed to tell her that this was the palace of a true Queen.
Yet her previous memories were also reminding Theresa that she and the others had just been ambushed and severely wounded by this very Queen’s guards.
Honestly, a fleeting suspicion had crossed Theresa’s mind—that this purple-haired girl might actually be a Herrscher.
But that made no sense either.
Why would a Herrscher show them mercy?
On top of that, Sirin’s aura radiated a noble pride that oozed naturally from deep within her soul.
She looked more regal than any queen Theresa had ever met in her life, complete with an insanely lavish palace and an elite army of imperial guards.
“I…
don’t know,” Theresa finally admitted honestly.
“?”
Now Sirin was genuinely baffled.
Hey, hello?
I’m a Herrscher, alright?
Can’t you even tell?
“I am a Herrscher.”
…
“Huh?
How could Theresa fail to recognize that Sirin is a Herrscher?” Ren was equally confused.
[Is he into this kind of thing?] Bronya pondered quietly in her mind.jpg