"Salome, what's your take?"
"I'm not sure, but two things are certain. First, we need to contain the information. Second, we have to head to Siberia."
Cheng Lixue let out a sigh as she stepped out of the intelligence center. "Anyway, I have a feeling this isn't just Benares waking up naturally."
"Knew you'd say that."
Salome gave a slight smile. "Let's go. I already had a vehicle ready when you messaged me earlier."
"A vehicle?"
"The 'Immortal Blades's dedicated rapid-response aircraft. It'll probably take less than an hour to get from here to the target location."
"The downside is, almost no one except an A-rank or higher Valkyrie can pilot the thing—I'm talking about physical endurance here." Salome waved the access card in her hand and grinned.
"I borrowed this from Bianka before she left. Originally, it was just in case something went wrong for them in Manila, so we could provide backup quickly… Never thought it'd come in handy like this."
"Eh?" Cheng Lixue was taken aback. "Bianka actually lent this to you? If I remember correctly, that doesn't seem exactly by the book…"
"Lixue~ You're starting to sound just like your master." Salome gave Lixue a light, exasperated tap on the shoulder.
"As if helping Siegfried defect back in the day was 'by the book'."
"Besides, that girl Bianka is practically my student's student. If nothing else, she's genuinely straightforward—didn't inherit any of Ragna's traits, but she does remind me a bit of Captain Cecilia… Though there is one area where she's way better than the Captain."
"What's that?"
Cheng Lixue had already hopped into the back seat of the aircraft.
"The Captain and Siegfried—both of them were clueless goofs. So if one got fooled, the other was right there with them." Salome smoothly took the pilot's seat and without hesitation pushed all parameters to the max.
"But Bianka found herself a clever little girlfriend. Anyone trying to pull one over on her has to get past little Rita first."
"Let's go. I've got a feeling we might hit the jackpot this time."
"Or just end up with another disciplinary mark…" Lixue muttered helplessly.
Meanwhile, back in the valley, after several dozen minutes of absorption and recovery, Bella had finally regained her energy…
"Bella, how are you feeling now?"
"The Honkai energy crystals brought by Lady Lynelle were very effective. Even though they were just a few small pieces, I feel like I've recovered about five percent of my Honkai energy at least."
"Only five percent?" Lynelle's eyes widened. "No wonder Tesla said we'd need to prepare several large Honkai energy reactors in advance…"
"Ah, whatever, we can leave that headache to Tesla… Bella, can you shift into a human form now?"
"Currently, yes, no problem." Bella took a slight breath, and then her massive draconic body began to shrink gradually, until it transformed into the figure of a tall, gray-haired girl.
"Hmm, this form looks quite good…" Lynelle nodded in approval, eyeing the chitinous-shell-derived garments on Bella's body.
"Once we're back at the Anti-Entropy base, I'll give you a proper makeover… For now, let's get out of here. Oh, and the one waiting for us outside is an ally, so don't go taking a swipe at him the moment you see him."
"As long as no one threatens your life, I certainly won't make the first move."
"Good… Wait." Lynelle's eyes narrowed slightly. "Something seems off outside."
"Should we prepare for combat?" Bella's hands began to morph into bluish-white claw-like shells.
"Not necessarily. Siegfried hasn't started a fight with whoever's out there… Let's assess the situation first."
At that moment, outside the valley…
"Hey, Siegfried. Your days of randomly running off to Siberia are over."
Salome jumped down from the aircraft and swaggered toward Siegfried, who had somehow found a chair and was sitting just outside the valley entrance.
"Tell me what you're after."
"If you want to know, go see for yourself." Siegfried had recognized who it was just from the voice. "You know the drill by now."
"Tch, you never like it when we actually barge in though." Salome crossed her arms.
"The moment the detectors picked up that energy signature, I knew it was your doing again… So, what exactly are you doing in Siberia this time?"
"Don't tell me you're just here as a tourist. Schicksal's monitoring division already detected Benares's awakening signal… Lixue and I suppressed the news on our way here, but we can't hold it for long."
"Actually, it's just what you detected. Literally." Siegfried spread his hands. "I'm here to take Benares away."
"… Does Anti-Entropy have a way to cure it? And can you really guarantee it won't go out of control?" This time, before Salome could respond, Lixue cut in.
"If you can't give us a reasonable explanation, I'm sorry. Even though we certainly don't see eye to eye with Bishop Otto, we can't allow such a major destabilizing factor to exist in the world. We are still Valkyries, after all."
"Relax, I'm not Otto. Don't make me out to be some weirdo, you guys." Siegfried said, exasperated.
"But this is hard to explain. I didn't expect the two of you to be the ones showing up, so I didn't prepare a solution in advance. How about you let me ask—"
"It's fine, Siegfried." A voice came from behind him.
"Lixue and Salome aren't outsiders. I asked Lynelle, and she said it's okay to tell them."
"Lynelle, you're… Wait, Cecilia?" No sooner had the words left his mouth than Siegfried realized the pronoun the girl had used and quickly corrected himself.
"???"
Two visible question marks seemed to pop up above Cheng Lixue and Salome's heads.
It was nothing else—mainly the sheer shock of Siegfried calling a petite girl, whom they didn't recognize at all, 'Cecilia.'
"Wait, if I'm not mistaken…" Salome said, puzzled, "Shouldn't she be that Lynelle Miss who revived multiple times during the Second Honkai War and was always by the Second Herrscher's side?"
"You're not mistaken. I've seen her file. Bishop Otto personally notated her status as 'Unknown,' not 'Deceased.' That left a deep impression on me."
Cheng Lixue nodded, confirming Salome's question.
"So then… what in the world is going on?"
"Actually, it's not that complicated." Lynelle—or rather, Cecilia—revealed a gentle smile that was deeply familiar to both of them.
"This body does belong to the child Lynelle. It's just that she's temporarily hosting my soul, and she lets me, someone who's already passed on, out for a breather now and then."
"If you don't believe me… Lixue, you secretly collected those photos of Fu Hua and even asked me to help you take some, right? And Salome, those little secret shipping moments between you and Niggurath—should I help jog your memory?"
"?!" x 2.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.