The scene shifts to a few minutes earlier.
"Hey, Lixue…"
Salome scanned the empty Helheim Labs, her twelve floating blades whirring vigilantly behind her like a personal guard. Her expression was grim.
"Don't you think this place feels more and more like a trap? A lab of this level should have guards at every turn, but now? Not a single soul, not even an automaton in sight."
"Also, do you feel it? Our Honkai energy's been suppressed since we got here, and it feels familiar. I just can't place where I've felt it before…"
"But that intel from the mysterious contact… I just can't ignore the gamble."
Lixue fell silent for a moment, guilt tinging her voice. "[If you don't get to the Helheim Labs immediately, not only will Kiana be in danger, your master will also face peril.]How could I possibly ignore a message like that…"
"Alright, alright, no need to explain." Salome rose on her tiptoes and patted Lixue's head with a grin.
"Us veteran Valkyries, we all know how each other thinks. I know you're worried sick about your beloved master, so of course I came with you."
"Don't feel so pressured. Isn't there a song from your Shenzhou about 'true brothers being rare, the bond of peeling garlic'? Our Snowwolf Squad has been through life and death together so many times. If you'd tried to come alone, I'd have been seriously offended, you know?"
"The lyric is 'unbreakable bond'… You really should watch fewer short videos."
As she spoke, Lixue's steps suddenly halted.
"What's wrong?"
"Trouble…"
Water's Edge materialized in her grasp. The young woman lowered her voice to a whisper. "I smell blood… and something familiar…"
"The source of that Honkai suppression?"
Salome's brow furrowed. "It just hit me. This suppression… it feels exactly like Captain Cecilia's Holy Blood. Could it be…?"
"No, that's not the familiarity I mean."
Lixue's voice grew urgent. For some reason, an inexplicable panic had been gnawing at her heart. If not for her honed warrior's instinct suppressing it, she feared her hands would have started trembling.
"It's coming from… over there!"
Without another thought for stealth, Lixue burst into a sprint towards the source of the metallic scent.
"Hey, Lixue! Don't be so— Ugh, fine." Salome let out a resigned sigh and hurried after her.
She was now one hundred percent certain this was a setup. But as she'd said earlier… she could never abandon a teammate.
Just seconds after Lixue vanished into the room, a piercing, razor-sharp sword intent erupted from the confined lab, freezing the very air.
"Otto! I'll kill you!"
"?"
Realizing disaster had struck, Salome charged into the laboratory.
And she immediately understood Lixue's outburst.
After all… lying in a pool of blood, body pierced in multiple places, was a mangled corpse… someone both of them knew all too well.
"Tch, this is bad. Why is she here… Was this part of Lynelle's plan too?" Otto's face visibly soured at the sight of the uninvited guests bursting into his lab.
"Miss Lixue, as I was just explaining, the situation isn't what you think. Your master didn't—"
Before Otto could finish, a wave of frigid sword energy, laced with frost, sliced through the air towards his chest, shearing off a few strands of his golden hair.
"She's not listening at all… Is this what my old friend called 'falling into demonhood'?" Otto wore a troubled expression as he watched the crimson rage burning in Lixue's eyes.
"Miss Salome… It seems you're the only one who can talk some sense into Lixue now."
"Things aren't as she believes. While I did indeed kill Fu Hua, the one who orchestrated her death was actually someone else."
"Oh, that's simple enough, Your Excellency." Salome thought for a moment, then casually dispersed the twelve blades orbiting her.
The whirring edges formed silvery halos around her. "But as you can see, Lixue isn't really in a listening mood right now. Persuading her might require Your Excellency's… assistance."
"For instance… might I borrow your head?"
As she spoke, the blades, spinning so fast they became a single silver ring, shot out almost instantly, cutting off Otto's potential escape routes.
"Sigh…" Otto let out a weary breath, watching the two turn on him without hesitation.
Truthfully, he had no desire to kill them.
For one, it would mean irrevocable war with Fu Hua later—while Fu Hua herself might not care much what you did to her, or even if you killed her, provided the reason was sound, harming those close to her was a surefire way to incur the wrath of the normally placid woman.
Secondly, these two, mentors to many of Schicksal's Valkyries, weren't first-timers in opposing him.
Given the scale of their recent disagreements, Otto knew without a doubt that if Cheng Lixue and Salome died here, he'd fall straight into the Tacitus Trap—everyone would blame him, whether he was involved or not.
So, without a moment's hesitation, Otto decisively chose… a third option.
"Ah, Lixue, Lixue, what am I to do with you." Otto sighed with theatrical exaggeration. Simultaneously, crimson God-Killing Spears surged from within him, precisely neutralizing their incoming attacks.
"The Anti-Entropy Sovereign, Welt, has been opposing me for decades, all because I killed his father. You mustn't follow his example."
"I did kill your master, but you still have me, don't you? I can perfectly well be the guide for your life, just as I have nurtured countless Schicksal Valkyries."
The effect of Otto's words was immediate.
Both the enraged Lixue and the sarcastically smiling Salome froze, their expressions stiffening. Even the down on the Fenghuang Down in Lynelle's hand, far away at the Third Terminal, stood on end.
"Ha… haha… HAHAHA…" After a moment, Lixue covered her face, laughter laced with Honkai corruption bubbling forth.
"Good… very good… Your Excellency Otto—I've sorely underestimated the depths of your shamelessness."
"Don't you worry. For every injury you've dealt my master, I will make you repay it… tenfold!"
Instantly, a freezing gale, capable of icing over everything, once again whipped through Helheim Labs.
--+--
"What do we do?"
Back at the Third Spaceport, Lynelle, who had just managed to smooth down Fu Hua's ruffled feathers (figuratively), stared at the Fenghuang Down in her hand.
"Otto's fully activated the Holy Blood now. The connection between this feather and the others has been forcibly severed… Trying to force a link might just alert him."
"So… my intel support ends here, I'm afraid."
"I see…" After a moment's thought, Lynelle held up two fingers. "From the looks of it, Otto's final actions have two possible purposes."
"First, his goal in enraging Lixue is to fake his own death."
"Don't forget, neither Lixue nor Salome knows about Otto's multiple Soulium bodies. Especially in a rage, if Lixue 'kills' Otto, her first move would be to recover your body—not check if it's the real Otto."
"This way, even though the truth will come out eventually, Otto himself can slip away, buying precious time to continue his plans."
"And the second?" the feather whispered softly.
"Second, he wants to make a big scene, to mislead us into thinking he intends to kill Lixue."
Lynelle glanced into the distance. Thanks to her heightened mental power from years of working with Wendy, she could faintly sense the chaotic Honkai energy waves emanating from Lixue.
Combined with Lixue's ice-based abilities, which were naturally flashy, continuing the fight was bound to draw attention here.
"Otto knows we won't take the gamble because we're the 'good guys.' Even if there's a sliver of a chance he might kill Lixue, we have to intervene."
"So, after causing a commotion at Helheim, he can trade a disposable Soulium body for a wealth of precious time."
"The unfortunate part is, whichever purpose it is, he's playing an open hand. Anyone familiar with Otto can analyze his motives like I just did. But because of his power, we can't just ignore him, no matter what."
"…" Fu Hua fell silent, taking in Lynelle's analysis.
As Lynelle said, their optimal move now was to completely abandon Lixue and bet on Otto's first motive…
But if they did that…
"Don't worry, Fu Hua." Seeing the hesitant feather before her, Lynelle smiled slightly. "Do I look like the type to abandon a comrade? If Otto wants to play dirty, we'll play along."
"The best way to deal with an old fox like him is to overpower his schemes with sheer force—using a plan with enough redundancy to encompass all his tricks, both hidden and open."
"Like right now, he's given me a 'Yes or No' choice… What if I choose an 'Or'? Wouldn't that blow his mind?"
With that, Lynelle pulled out her terminal. The feather gave a sudden shudder as she spoke a name.
"Senior Cecilia, I assume you're aware of the situation at Helheim? The original plan needs a temporary change. I'll head to the Central Floating Island myself. Could you please go to Helheim? Dealing with the Holy Blood is more your area of expertise among us."
--+--
"So that child Lixue still hasn't won Fu Hua over after all these years?"
After ending the communication, Cecilia, who had originally been heading for the Central Floating Island, immediately changed direction.
"Then again, judging from our usual sparring sessions, Fu Hua does seem a bit dense when it comes to these things… But this dense? Over a decade and she hasn't noticed a thing?!"
As Fu Hua's former close friend and sparring partner, having experienced the Fenghuang Down's depths multiple times, Cecilia had her suspicions about Fu Hua's trump cards.
Combined with the familiar voice she'd just heard in Lynelle's transmission, she was fairly certain Fu Hua was likely fine.
The unfortunate part was, Lixue seemed unaware of this.
"Oh well, better hurry. I can feel Lixue's sword intent all the way from the First Terminal. Though the lockdown here seems pretty tight…"
Muttering to herself, Cecilia carefully picked her way through the little-known paths from her memory.
Times like these made her miss Siegfried dearly; his crowd-control abilities far outstripped hers without the Abyss Flower.
However… Cecilia's attempt at a covert crossing was thwarted.
Seeing the figure blocking her path, clad in pristine fourth-generation Valkyrie armor, chestnut hair flowing in the wind, Cecilia tilted her head in confusion.
The family crest on that armor… looks familiar?
Of course, she soon learned why.
"Ana Schariac, under the Archbishop's orders, guarding the First Terminal! All suspicious persons are to be apprehended!"
"Lower your weapon and remove that identity-concealing cloak now! Lest my blade knows no mercy and you are executed on the spot for resisting!"
"So it's a Schariac…" A trace of nostalgia crossed Cecilia's face beneath the cloak.
"How about we make a deal? Let me pass, and after this is all over, I'll treat you to a whole day at the arcade in Vienna? If I recall correctly, I'm still a permanent member there, though I'm not sure if the owner would still recognize me after over a decade…"
"By the way, which unit are you with? A newly formed Valkyrie squad? I don't recognize this uniform…"
"…" Ana's eye twitched at the other's overly familiar tone.
This is a battlefield, lady! The way you're talking, anyone would think you're a relative asking pesky questions during a New Year's visit!
"Cease your pointless attempts to divert the topic. We won't fall for that." Ana snorted lightly but still answered seriously. "We are the Valkyrie squad Glory Blades, formed just two years ago."
"Under the banner of the will of Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, the late Cecilia Schariac, we shall never retreat!"
"?"
A question mark slowly formed above Cecilia's head beneath the cloak.
Wait a minute, sis. Is it at all possible… that Cecilia herself isn't actually dead yet?
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! 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.