The conversation of Ruby's enrollment into Beacon came to an end. It was decided that she would enroll this year alongside her sister, skipping some grades.
Mordred was at first against it, but the more she thought about it, the more she thought it would be a good idea to let her go.
Afterall, Ruby is only 15 years old right now, she should be experiencing her school life, not working in a corporate workshop. Mordred didn't wish to take that away; she was still a "nice" person.
Besides, there were benefits too letting her be enrolled. Ruby would continue to work for Mordred, and so Mordred worked out a deal with Ozpin to create a branch of Camlann Armory at Beacon Academy. This way Ruby can continue her work, though her studies will take priority and her class schedule will naturally be adjusted so she won't be taking all the classes a student usually would take.
Though the biggest benefits would be if she became the leader of team RWBY. The team was filled with important figures, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladona, and Yang Xiao Long.
If Ruby got close with Weiss, then Mordred could use her as a connection to the Schnee Dust Company. And if Mordred really pushed it, she could support Weiss in usurping the company from her father, after all, Mordred is quite experienced in this field. Earning a massive ally with plenty of connections to the Atlas military and lots of resources such as Dust mines.
Blake could be used to be made leader of the White Fang after removing Adam from the picture. Though Blake would most likely just become a figure head instead of actually managing things since Mordred didn't think she had the ability to manage an organization. But Blake had lots of influence in Menagerie due to her father being the founder of the White Fang. With how under-developed the island is, it was a resource rich land just begging to be properly exploited.
And for Yang, her benefit would be her connection to Raven Branwen. Mordred naturally wanted to bring such a powerful person into her fold, plus it would be an added bonus if she was the spring maiden so she would have a key to one of the relics. Mordred couldn't remember when that happened though. But it would be difficult to convince her with how stubborn, hypocritical and idiotic Raven truly is. Perhaps the fastest way to get her to cooperate would be to just beat her into submission and demolish the Branwen clan, isn't she a preacher of "might makes right?" So, Raven "Shouldn't" have any problems if someone stronger than her came by.
These were just ideas Mordred thought up of on the spot, actually bringing these plans to reality would take careful planning. For now, it's best to just let things run their course while growing her own power and influence.
With the discussion now over, both Ruby and Mordred got up to leave.
"Ah, one more thing Miss Pendragon." Ozpin spoke up.
"Hm?" Mordred turned to face him again.
"The Vale Council has voted whether to invite you onto the council."
"Me?" This was news she didn't expect, what kind of government would willingly invite a mercenary company into their government. Maybe a war-torn country with no other option, but Vale was anything but that.
"Yes, the vote passed with the majority in favor. You should be getting an official notice soon about this. You will be invited to the next council meeting at the end of May. There, you will be given a choice if you wish to join the council or refuse." Ozpin stated.
"What would my responsibilities be?"
"We are still figuring that out since only a week has passed since the vote was casted. But don't worry, we will make sure you have a role fitted for you."
Mordred stood in thought, running different scenarios in her head. "I see, I'll make sure to give it some thought."
"That's all I can ask for. Have a good day, Miss Pendragon."
...
With a week having passed and Ruby setting off to Beacon for the entrance test alongside Violet who would be working on setting up a branch office there, Mordred was preparing to set off to the next world.
The first thing she had to do was clear her inventory, filled with all the things she collected from the Date A Live world, primarily blueprints, textbooks and equipment with the best thing she secured being a Realizer Unit she stole off an AST member.
"Damn, I totally forgot I had all this... Oh well, I'll just dump it on Akashi before leaving!"
She made her way to the workshop where Akashi was holed up. Entering the room, she was momentarily stunned. "What?" Was all she could say.
Small yellow birds were walking around the entire workshop, carrying materials which were far larger than their bodies and assembling items, there was even one wearing a welding helmet the size of its body as it was welding something. And in the center of it all was Akashi who was directing the small birds.
"Ah commander nya!" Akashi finally noticing Mordred standing at the entrance watching the birds. "Do you like my helpers? Since Ruby-nya won't be around as much, I decided to make some assistants to make my work easier nya!"
"These are... Manjuus? Right?"
"Correct! You are quite knowledgeable, commander-nya!"
"Honestly, I don't know much outside of their name and appearance." Mordred confessed. 'Now that I think about it, have the devs even confirm what manjuus are?'
"Hehe, don't worry. Most kansen back in Azur Lane also didn't know what the manjuu are, they just liked petting them or carrying them around since they're so cute and cuddly nya."
Mordred walked over and picked one up, bringing it up to her eyes level. The manjuu panicked at being suddenly picked up, it began squirming in her hand, trying to break free. Then it met Mordred's eyes, and it froze, as if staring into the eyes of a dragon. It gave up and accepted its fate.
Mordred, not knowing what the small bird was thinking, was having fun petting its head. "I can see why they're popular with kansen, their feathers are very soft. How did you make them anyway?"
"That's a secret nya, though I'd be willing to tell if given a satisfactory price nya."
'This cat...' Mordred set the bird down, which quickly ran on its small legs to hide behind Akashi. "No need, I probably wouldn't understand anyway. Getting back on business, I came here to give you somethings. Do you have any free room here?"
"Give me minute nya." Akashi then began directing the manjuus to create space in one corner of the room, clearing off the tables and other materials scattered on the floor.
Once it was clear, Mordred began emptying her inventory, keeping only the items she uses.
Akashi watched as stacks of papers, books and devices appeared on the table and floor next to it.
"What's all this nya?" She got closer and picked up one of books.
"Some stuff I got from another world, I'm not sure how useful it will be to you. Just consider it an early Christmas gift."
"Do people in this world celebrate Christmas nya?"
"They do something similar here but it's not a religious holiday."
Akashi nodded and started going through all the materials, organizing them while Mordred left. Returning to her home.
Sitting on the couch, she looked over her stats.
'These stats should be good enough, right now I'm just lacking in experience against enemies at this level of power. And the confrontation with Artoria doesn't count.'
'Maybe I should convince Tohka to train with me, perhaps I can also train with the twins when Shiori manages to conquer them.'
Setting these thoughts aside, she was ready to head to the next world.
"Alright Ava, let's head out."
[Yes Mordred. Beginning travel sequence]
Her body began to glow bright as a magic circle appeared under her. In the next second, she was gone.
...
It was supposed to be a wonderful performance.
The Sydney Super Dome was a place many performers dreamed of standing on one day, a venue that represented success and world-wide recognition. Eden had performed on countless stages before, yet this one still carried weight.
Yet, no one could have foreseen the disaster that followed.
Heat filled the venue suddenly; it was overbearing as if standing next to a large flame despite no fire in sight. Then the structure began to fail. Fire engulfed the venue as people screamed and ran, pushing toward exits that were quickly cut off by collapsing debris. Metal warped, the ceiling gave way, and the Super Dome was swallowed by flames.
Eden didn't remember when she was knocked off her feet or when she had lost consciousness.
When she came to, everything was silent.
She pushed herself up from the rubble, coughing as ash fell from above. The stage was gone. The seats were buried. Flames still burned, but weaker here, as if the fire had already moved on.
She looked around. There were no voices. No movement. Not a single sign of life. This venue once filled with joy and music, was now dead silent.
Eden pulled herself fully free and staggered toward one of the few exits that remained intact. The doors were warped, but still able to open. She stepped outside and froze.
The city she knew, the port, the skyline, the lights, all of it was drowned in a sea of flames. Buildings burned endlessly, streets cracked and glowing from the heat like molten lava. Smoke covered the sky, turning it a deep red.
"This…" Eden whispered.
She began to walk.
She didn't know why. Maybe she was hoping to find someone, anyone. She called out several times, but there was no response. Only the sound of fire and distant collapses answered her.
Then, she heard a muffled crying. The sound was faint, coming from beneath a pile of rubble nearby. She rushed over, ignoring the heat, and began pulling debris aside with her bare hands. It didn't take long before she found her.
A young girl, no more than twelve or thirteen, trapped beneath broken concrete.
"It's okay," Eden said gently, lifting her free. "You're safe now." She said in an attempt to calm down the girl.
The girl clung to her, crying harder. Eden held her close and started moving again. She didn't know where to go, the city was in complete ruins. Perhaps the best course of action was to find a way out of the city.
That was when the temperature spiked. Her intuition made her look up, and there, she saw her.
The 7th Herrscher. Using the body of Himeko.
"So fragile," the figure said, its voice calm, almost amused. "Even now, you struggle to survive."
She couldn't move, even if she did, she would die instantly. There was no way she could outrun this being, especially with a child in her arms. She could only look up at the figure, and wonder why? Why now? Why here?
The Herrscher said nothing more and raised her hand. Flames gathered in the palm of her hand, compressing into a blinding mass of heat.
Eden closed her eyes and tightened her grip around the girl, shielding her as best she could, despite knowing it was all futile.
A beam of fire was released.
She heard the explosion, and the shockwave passed through her, yet the scorching heat that should have turned her to ash never came.
Confused, she opened her eyes.
Standing between them and the Herrscher was a figure clad in armor with a horned helmet, feet planted firmly against the cracked street. A massive silver greatsword was held in one hand, its blade still glowing a faint red as embers scattered around her.
The figure looked straight out of a fantasy world.
Mordred straightened, resting the sword on her shoulder.
"…Huh," she said, glancing back briefly. "Looks like I made it just in time."
"Who?"
"No time for that, get running to safety with the kid." Mordred shot down her question.
Eden nodded and rose to her feet, still holding onto the girl. "What about you?" She couldn't help but worry about this stranger.
"Me? Don't worry about me." Mordred looked back at the Herrscher who was silently watching them. "I'd win."
...
...
[A/N] Hello dear readers and Happy New Years, though a bit late.
Anyway, for Mordred's organization name, I went with Camlann Armory. I got inspired by Misriah Armory from Halo and used Camlann, because why not name your organization after the very placed where your own "father" penetrated you with "his" divine lance. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Now then, Honkai Impact. I decided to go with the Previous Era because its not as fleshed out as the main story so I don't have to worry too much about doing a ton of research to make sure I don't get something in the story wrong. Despite being a player since 2018, I haven't finished the main story yet... I mainly focus on events. Plus, Elysia, nothing else needs to be said about that.
Is Mordred strong enough to take on a Herrscher?
I don't know, guess we'll find out.
Happy New Years!!