Facing the resolute Ana before her, Cecilia found herself momentarily at a loss for words.
Before arriving here, Cecilia had braced herself for various scenarios—perhaps running into an old acquaintance as an opponent, or being defeated by the current, remarkably amiable S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal.
But this… this situation with Ana was something she truly hadn't prepared for.
As a member of the Schariac family, for Ana to have reached her current position—barring any sudden Stigmata mutation—she was likely part of the main lineage, maybe even distantly related to Cecilia herself.
It was entirely possible Cecilia had even held Ana as a child.
Moreover, despite Cecilia having been "dead" for so many years, Ana still chose to rally under Cecilia's spirit as a banner.
That meant this Miss Ana was probably in a situation similar to someone like Kira…
With all these factors stacked together, unless she was truly left with no other choice, Cecilia couldn't bring herself to strike Ana down.
"Hey, what's your deal…?"
Seeing Cecilia's silence, Ana frowned slightly.
"If you want to fight, draw your weapon. As a Valkyrie on the verge of promotion to S-rank, I haven't fallen so low as to attack an unarmed person."
"If you wish to surrender, remove your hood. Once Lady Theresa has had her… fun, the Overseer himself will decide your fate."
"Had her fun? So that's what Otto told you, huh? Hmm… Then again, perhaps because the Schariac family has intermarried with the Kaslanas for generations, its daughters have inherited a certain straightforwardness and innocence."
"If I were the person I was over a decade ago, I'd probably have been just as easily deceived by Otto as you are now…"
Gazing at Ana's earnest expression, Cecilia couldn't help but feel a pang of nostalgia.
"But fortunately, you aren't as… unique as I was back then. There's no need for you to be exploited through various means."
"In that case, staying with Schicksal, even in blissful ignorance, might just be the best path for you…"
"Tch, what kind of nonsense are you spouting?" Ana took a deep breath, then spun her lance in hand, pointing the butt-end toward Cecilia.
"Since you insist on hiding your face, don't blame me for being impolite…?!"
But before Ana could finish her sentence, she suddenly realized the buxom woman in black had vanished from sight.
To be precise, she had reappeared behind her.
Still, Ana was no stranger to battle—though not a hardened veteran, she was an experienced Valkyrie.
Sensing the presence at her back, she instantly swung her reversed grip lance backward in a sweeping strike, while her other hand moved to activate the alert system on her Valkyrie armor, calling for backup from nearby squad members.
"Not bad with the lance, but… you're still a little green, I'm afraid."
With unhurried grace, Cecilia lightly tapped the shaft of the fiercely swinging lance. It was as if she had disrupted its force vector—the lance, crafted from Schicksal's finest materials, instantly lost all the Honkai energy channeled into it.
Not only that, but even the physical momentum behind Ana's swing seemed redirected elsewhere by that single, precise touch.
"What—?!"
Before Ana could even gasp in shock, Cecilia had already closed the distance, pressing up against her back, and then…
"Hmm, the feather Lynelle gave me really is quite useful… Pity it's a single-use item."
Watching the pink crystalline feather in her hand gradually dissipate into motes of light, and seeing Ana—who'd been "tagged" by the feather—immediately slump into deep sleep, Cecilia wore an apologetic expression.
"I hope I haven't shaken this child's confidence too badly… She might start thinking she only got her Valkyrie rank through connections."
"I've wasted about two minutes here… Need to pick up the pace."
--+--
Just as Cecilia effortlessly subdued the "wild Ana" that had spawned along her path, on another front, Lynelle had already left the Third Terminal and was preparing to blitz the Central Floating Island.
After receiving Fu Hua's intelligence, she had double-checked the flow of Honkai energy within Schicksal.
If Fu Hua's information was correct, then Kiana was likely indeed on the Central Floating Island, guarded by Durandal.
It wasn't that Otto wasn't capable of pulling some reverse-psychology move—in fact, the chance of him setting a trap for her was still high.
But that didn't change the fact that the Central Floating Island remained the primary candidate for hiding Kiana.
According to descriptions from Fu Hua and Cecilia, the weapons lab simply didn't have the necessary equipment or life-support systems to safely carry out the procedure of implanting the Gem of Serenity into Kiana.
Last time, back in Singapore, Sirin's awakening had been triggered by exposure to the energy of another Core.
So, to ensure the stability of his plan, Otto probably wouldn't gamble on such a critical aspect.
Of course, if Otto really did dare to bet against Lynelle on this… well, it didn't matter.
No matter what, since Otto had failed to get accurate intel from Rita and was forced to initiate the Sirin Project based on a gamble, Lynelle had already won this round.
The only question was whether it would be a major victory, a moderate one, or a minor one.
Unlike the deserted Helheim Labs, Schicksal's Central Floating Island still had quite a number of staff present.
However, from Lynelle's observations, even these support personnel mostly possessed considerable combat prowess. It was clear they had been carefully selected by Otto.
But Lynelle's goal wasn't to dismantle Schicksal, so she had no intention of targeting these ordinary people.
Before Durandal detected her presence on the Central Floating Island, she needed to locate Kiana's position as quickly as possible—just in case Otto had truly chosen to conduct the Honkai energy infusion on that smaller, weapons lab island.
Unfortunately, before Lynelle could finish using her Authority to scan through the heavily fortified Central Floating Island, a wave of scorching heat came rushing at her from behind.
"Hey now, since when is a sneak attack fair play?!"
Seeing Durandal brandishing the Black Abyss White Flower, clad in her Dea Anchora, Lynelle's figure instantly flickered several dozen meters away.
If one excluded Otto, who had never truly gone all out, then Durandal was probably the strongest hostile unit she had encountered on this side of the Honkai conflict…
"Because the Overseer informed me that you possess resurrection abilities and are exceptionally troublesome to deal with."
Seeing her ambush had failed, Durandal actually seemed to relax a little, promptly retracting her lance.
"Therefore, he ordered me to attack you on sight, without hesitation… My apologies, I failed."
"Uh… okay then?"
If the expression on Durandal's face had shown a bit more genuine regret, Lynelle might have believed her explanation.
But judging from the girl's almost relieved demeanor… she was most likely just going through the motions to fulfill Otto's order.
After all, if she had truly been intent on killing, what struck Lynelle's back wouldn't have been the heat wave from the Black Abyss White Flower, but the withering black mist of Withering.
That said, even if Durandal had been serious about a full-power ambush, Lynelle wouldn't have ventured into the core area alone without a few aces up her sleeve.
Now that Durandal had shown herself, Lynelle didn't bother calling out her half-hearted attitude.
Instead, she flicked her wrist and produced a strange object.
It was shaped like a block of cheese, but its material was crystalline and translucent, its surface shimmering with a kaleidoscope of colors.
--+--
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.