The Arctic.
A howling blizzard swept across the glacial snowfield.
Angel, bundled in a thick research expedition coat, shielded her face from the wind with one hand and walked forward slowly, clutching a sensitive compass in the other.
When the needle began to waver increasingly, Angel stopped.
She reached into the Theater of Domination and pulled out a shovel.
“I think I’m getting close to the pole.
I’ve completely lost my bearings, but this should be remote enough, right?”
Angel shook her head, flicking the snow off her hat, and drove the shovel into the ice, carving out a small cavity with her enhanced strength.
She lay down inside.
“Well then, I’ll be sleeping now.
I hope the day never comes when I need to wake up.”
Angel said this, hearing the farewells and blessings of her other selves in her mind.
Slowly, the ice and snow sealed her in, burying all traces.
…
America.
The vast, endless western desert.
A slender figure walked at a steady, unhurried pace, a mysterious black cloak flapping loudly in the wind.
“Hmm, I’ve completely lost track of my exact coordinates.
But I’m very far from any city now.
I think this is far enough.”
Angel said this, finding a severely eroded rock face.
Then she dug, buried herself, covered the traces, and finally cut off her own consciousness.
…
Shenzhou.
The Tibetan Plateau.
The Bear Country.
Siberia.
Europe.
The East European Plain.
Three Angels, separated by thousands of miles, each found the most remote and random locations they could, hid themselves away, and fell into deep slumber.
And so, all five backup save points were in place, hidden in places that vehicles couldn’t reach, in extremely remote and completely random locations.
It was worth noting that Angel would never do something as idiotic as leaving riddles or maps pointing to her weaknesses like some stereotypical villain.
The save point locations were completely random, so random that they could only be accessed through the connection between the Theater of Domination and the clones.
Even the Angels themselves didn’t know the exact locations.
These five save points would remain asleep until Angel’s numbers suddenly dropped drastically.
Only then would they awaken, observe the situation from unknown locations, and take all necessary actions to ensure Angel’s survival.
The backup Angels fell asleep at different times.
By the time the last one was buried, months had already passed.
Their stories need no further elaboration.
Let’s turn the clock back to mid-September 2014, one month after the St.
Freya Angel’s injury.
…
The weather was gradually approaching winter.
Though the biting cold had limited effect on St.
Freya students, who were reserve Valkyries, some had already begun changing their clothing styles.
The usual cool and breezy outfits were gradually giving way to warmer, cozier looks.
In this weather, Angel came to the hospital to have the cast on her right arm removed.
“Don’t be scared.
It might look a little frightening, but you’ve actually recovered quite well, little Angel.”
The gentle, kind doctor smiled reassuringly as she skillfully removed the bandages and other materials from Angel’s arm.
Soon, a complex smell of medicine and discharge filled the air.
Angel looked at her right arm, now finally exposed to the air.
The entire arm was tinged with a yellowish hue from the medication.
Several crisscrossing scars marked her skin, along with some oddly colored traces that looked like wound discharge.
Angel stared blankly at it for a long time, then suddenly laughed and tugged on Himeko’s jacket.
“Pfft!
Himeko, Himeko, it looks so ugly!”
Himeko’s expression darkened.
Her nervousness dissolved at Angel’s seemingly detached tone, and she flicked Angel’s forehead in exasperation.
“Is this really the time to be saying that!?”
It was like a child showing off some strange new thing they’d just discovered.
How much heart did this kid have to be so casual about her own injury?
Angel rubbed her forehead, her big, watery purple eyes blinking, a dazed smile on her face.
Seeing Angel acting so nonchalant, and seeing that her arm still didn’t look fully healed, Himeko hesitated.
“Does it really not hurt?”
“Huh?”
Angel tilted her head, confused.
Three seconds later, tears welled up in the girl’s eyes.
“QAQ!”
So it did hurt after all.
Himeko’s expression darkened again.
She sighed, gently pulled Angel into her arms, and rubbed the top of her head soothingly.
“For someone so timid, you were bold enough to develop your own Honkai energy techniques just a week after enrolling.
And for someone so bold, you start crying at the slightest pain.
I really don’t know what to do with you.”
“It’s different…”
“How is it different?”
“It just is!”
Angel looked up, her eyes red-rimmed, staring at Himeko with a pitiful, aggrieved expression.
Courage and fear of pain were two different things.
Angel was willing to charge fearlessly toward her goals, able to ignore any injury when necessary.
But in ordinary situations, pain still hurt.
Just like a fearless soldier might still yelp when getting a shot, there was no contradiction.
Himeko still didn’t quite understand Angel’s logic, but what else could she do?
The girl in her arms looked so pitiful.
Himeko could only comfort her, half amused and half sympathetic.
“Alright, alright.
Endure it for a little longer.
Once the examination and treatment are done, I’ll take you to steal the principal’s hidden game console.”
“No!
I want Himeko to stay with me!”
“Hey, hey, don’t be so clingy…
Fine, fine, stop looking at me with those pitiful eyes.
I’ll stay with you all day, okay?”
“Yay!”
Angel nuzzled into Himeko’s soft, warm embrace and laughed happily.
Himeko was the best!
She loved Himeko the most!
Ehehe!
Himeko sighed, helplessly ruffling Angel’s little head, silently apologizing to the drinking buddies she had promised to stay up all night with tonight.
“Himeko, Himeko, Himeko…”
“Yes, yes, I’m here.
Don’t move.
The doctor needs to clean your arm.”
Himeko said with an irrepressible smile.
Over the past month, Angel had given Himeko a different feeling from Kiana and the others.
Kiana and the others were certainly adorable and good kids, but they were independent.
They had their own ideas and hobbies and never clung to her intentionally.
Angel was different.
This child loved to stick to her for everything: sleeping, eating, going out, and even in class.
It was as if she could only feel safe and at ease when she was by Himeko’s side.
It was an experience Himeko had never had before.
Being trusted and depended on so completely by a child, as if she couldn’t function without her.
She’s way too clingy…
but for some reason, I can’t bring myself to hate it.
Himeko smiled, a little troubled, but also a little happy.