"Stop! Rita!"
"Oh my, it seems you're the only one truly clueless, Class Monitor," two voices chimed in from behind and in front of Fu Hua.
A beautiful woman with blonde hair and white armor and a familiar face with purple hair and black armor appeared before and behind Fu Hua.
"As you command, Lady Durandal," Rita said, retracting her scythe and offering a slight nod to the Golden-haired Valkyrie beside her and Kyuusyou behind Fu Hua before stepping back to stand behind Durandal.
"Kyuusyou, what are you doing here? Come with me and stop the Second Herrscher—" Fu Hua turned, surprised by the uninvited guest behind her, then, realizing the situation, extended an invitation to the purple-haired girl.
"I don't... I won't go. You can go yourself—" The Purple-haired Girl replied with an indifferent expression.
"..."
Houraiji Kyuusyou's response completely defied Fu Hua's expectations, leaving her usually stoic face with a bewildered expression.
"Why?!" The Valkyrie's voice carried disbelief and urgency.
"Kyuusyou, do you even realize what you're saying? If the Second Herrscher fully—"
"If the Second Herrscher fully awakens, it will be another irreversible catastrophe for humanity. Well said, but—if I really wanted to stop the Second Herrscher's awakening..."
"Why didn't I just beat you all down at St. Freya Academy, or intercept you while you were bringing Kiana back to Schicksal?"
"The Nibelungen hadn't flown far back then—as a warship specialized for speed, turning around and catching up to your transport vessel would have been child's play."
"...Fu Hua, do you really think I'm... completely ignorant?"
The purple-haired Valkyrie crossed her arms, leisurely watching Fu Hua.
"We've acquiesced to all of this. We've allowed it to happen because it was part of our plan from the beginning—"
"Whether you choose to confront the Second Herrscher or let events run their course, we won't interfere. Theresa and Mei are already engaged in battle with Sirin. If you wish to join them, Class Monitor... be our guest."
Kyuusyou stepped aside, gesturing invitingly—
"You... this is Snow's doing?!"
Fu Hua realized something, her expression a mix of shock and fury as she glared at Kyuusyou.
"This is the will of the Apocalypse family, Fu Hua—they permitted it, they allowed it to happen."
Though it seemed like she was unfairly pinning the blame on her partner, Kyuusyou unapologetically admitted it.
"Hmph... Even the arrogant Apocalypse family should know their limits! She's a Herrscher! A HERRSCHER! What gives you the audacity to scheme against an awakened Herrscher? To stand by and let a Herrscher who wants to destroy humanity run rampant?!"
Fu Hua stormed past Kyuusyou, activating her battlesuit's propulsion system and transforming into a shooting star as she hurtled toward the Second Herrscher and the Far East Branch Valkyries' clash. Only her furious words lingered in the air.
"Fu Hua, you still don't understand Overseer Otto—or perhaps... concern clouds your judgment?"
Watching Fu Hua streak away like a meteor, Kyuusyou shook her head helplessly and turned to the Immortal Blades duo beside her.
"Let me guess... besides ordering you not to interfere with the Second Herrscher, the Lord Overseer also commanded you to prevent me from reinforcing them, right? Lady Goose?"
The purple-haired Valkyrie withdrew her gaze from the distant meteor and refocused her attention on the Immortal Blades Squad before her.
"Why are you calling me 'Lady Goose' too, just like Snow?! Is this some kind of 'husband and wife sing in harmony' thing, huh?"
The Blonde Girl's face and tone betrayed her obvious exasperation.
"Cough, cough, cough... What's this 'husband and wife sing in harmony' nonsense? Watch your words."
"And you, you blockhead, don't even browse the Schicksal Valkyrie Forum?"
Kyuusyou shot Bianca a peculiar look.
"I've told you a million times, don't call me a blockhead! How could I waste time on something as trivial as the Valkyrie Forum?"
Hearing this, Rita opened her personal terminal and began browsing the forum. She immediately burst into laughter.
"Ah, my apologies," Rita said, noticing her lapse in composure and offering a quick apology to the others.
"It seems you've seen that post too, Miss Rita?"
"Well... from a certain perspective... it's certainly... very... creative?" Rita struggled to find the right words to describe the ludicrous image she'd seen, which only piqued Durandal's curiosity further.
Leaning closer, Durandal asked, "Rita, what did you see...?"
The Captain of the Immortal Blades glanced down at her Adjutant's still-open forum interface. A pinned post blazed boldly across the second row of the homepage, while the top row featured a newly published, viral thread titled: Shocking! Schicksal Overseer and Anti-Entropy Leader Commit Double Suicide by Drowning! With Photos and Proof!
The second-ranked post, titled "Schicksal S-rank Valkyrie Meme Compilation," was posted anonymously. Bianca, intrigued, reached out a finger to tap the link on the terminal in Rita's hand before the maid could stop her.
The thread immediately launched a shocking opener at Durandal. The first post featured a large, stylized chibi white goose. Its head was adorned with golden, wavy hair, while its wings, replacing hands, clutched a silver-blue Knight's lance—a weapon Bianca recognized as Hler's Serenity, the paired weapon for her Moon Soul Battlesuit.
The replies below were wildly varied, ranging from users sharing their own modified versions of the original meme to others posting entirely new memes they'd created. However, the most liked and replied-to comment remained: "OP's got real guts."
"This meme, and its countless variations, have been one of the most popular meme templates on the Schicksal Valkyrie Forum this year," Rita explained.
"Even if you and Rita don't frequent the forums yourselves, your subordinates must, right? Hmm, aren't there a few right over there? You, for example."
The Immortal Blades Valkyrie, singled out by Kyuusyou, visibly paled beneath her mask, her face conveying a clear "You're trying to get me killed, aren't you?" expression.
"I remember you," Rita said. "You're Claire, right?"
As Rita gazed at the subordinate who now stood before her like a prisoner awaiting execution, she began to piece together the situation.
"Yes, Vice Captain," Claire replied.
"Could you explain this meme to Lady Durandal...?"
"Ahem... This meme first appeared on the Valkyrie Forum at the beginning of the year. At first, no one paid it much attention. Then, for some reason, one of the administrators pinned the post to the top, and suddenly everyone noticed... uh... this... highly creative meme."
"After that, it just inexplicably went viral. Many team members started using derivatives of this image in their daily chats..."
"For example, 'I'm going to yeet it to death,' or 'Lady Durandal,' things like that..."
Adopting a "we're all going down together" mentality, the young Immortal Blades Valkyrie ratted out her entire squad. As expected, the other squad members eavesdropping nearby couldn't help but tremble involuntarily.
"...Aaaaargh! Just wait until I find out who drew this!"
-
"Achoo... Even gods catch colds, huh..."
In an unknown location, another golden-haired Valkyrie rubbed her nose and muttered to herself.