Eighteen nautical miles from Schicksal's Floating Island, two warships sailed side-by-side. The slightly smaller transport ship, after an initial uproar, had fallen into a brief silence, as if the crew needed time to digest the bombshell they had just heard.
In stark contrast to the silence on the upper bridge, the Valkyries in the lower decks of the Hermes had erupted into chaos. Discussions flooded the chat channels.
"Did you hear? The elusive Captain of the Divine Authority Squad—the one who always disappears without a trace—is actually Overseer Otto's own daughter!"
This was the first wave of the rumor.
"Spread the word! Overseer Otto has a daughter, and she's his only child!"
This was the second wave of the rumor.
"Have you heard? Have you heard? Overseer Otto actually has an only daughter! Headmaster Theresa now has a new guardian!"
This was the third wave of the rumor.
"Pass it on! Theresa has a mom!"
This was... well, who knows how many layers deep this rumor had gone.
Unaware of the truth, the Valkyries below were already spinning wild gossip and feverishly imagining a complete romance narrative:
During a secret outing, the young Schicksal Young Sovereign encountered a member of Anti-Entropy on a mission. The Schicksal Little Princess, whose heart had yet to awaken, fell for the young man at first sight—he seemed no older than herself.
The young man, focused on his mission, caught only a fleeting glimpse of the Schicksal Young Mistress, his heart stirred. Yet, prioritizing the mission's importance, he suppressed his nascent feelings and turned away.
Yet at the corner of the street, the Anti-Entropy youth couldn't resist a final glance back at the Schicksal Young Sovereign. Their eyes met across the distance, their gazes locking.
The Anti-Entropy operative's infiltration mission proceeded smoothly, but disaster struck during his escape. A Valkyrie Squad patrolling Headquarters discovered his presence, and the Valkyries immediately opened fire on the unidentified intruder.
Wounded but resolute, the man relied on his tenacity and Anti-Entropy training to temporarily evade his pursuers, fleeing to an exquisite villa within Headquarters. He burst into the young woman's boudoir and finally collapsed, succumbing to his injuries.
Upon returning home from a day of studies, the Schicksal Young Mistress was startled to find a young man in her boudoir. Upon realizing he was an intruder, she didn't immediately summon the servants. Instead, she recognized him as the young man she had seen earlier that day.
A flutter in her heart compelled her to conceal his presence. She retrieved a medical kit to tend his wounds, diverted the patrolling search teams, and quietly waited for him to awaken.
The subsequent story unfolded much like a popular novel from Schicksal—a spark of forbidden love ignited between the young sovereign and the Anti-Entropy youth. Under Overseer Otto's very nose, the Anti-Entropy youth made off with the sovereign's own "cabbage".
But the young man was ultimately a member of Anti-Entropy, destined to leave the maiden sooner or later. On their final night together, they succumbed to their passion, tumbling into bed where their love bloomed. Before parting, the young man swore to return and marry her with proper ceremony and legitimacy.
"...Boring," the Blonde Girl on the Divine Seat remarked. Yet her trembling hands betrayed her inner turmoil.
"At the end of the story, the girl was shocked to discover she had conceived a child with the young man, the fruit of their love. As time passed and the secret became impossible to conceal, she seized an opportunity while her father was preoccupied with business to leave Headquarters and give birth to her child."
"...Such a clichéd plot. My dad isn't blind. If I actually did this, Anti-Entropy would be reabsorbed into Schicksal tomorrow! And you still think you can come back and marry me?!"
"You need to consider reality when writing your stories!"
As Huginn recounted the events aboard the Hermes, Snow's blood pressure began to rise—it was actually rising!
"Uh... My Lady, please calm down. The rest of the story gets even more ridiculous..."
The silver-haired girl wiped away cold sweat, starting to doubt whether relaying this absurd tale to her mistress had been a good idea.
The child's birth, coupled with the girl's gaunt appearance, finally alerted the Overseer. Enraged, he confined her to house arrest. Yet out of compassion for the newborn life, the Schicksal Overseer refrained from mistreating the infant, instead providing her with good food and proper care.
At the repeated pleas of the girl's maid, the Overseer finally relented and released her. The maid then delivered devastating news: the young man had died protecting his friends during a clash with Schicksal forces.
Heartbroken, the girl seized a moment when no one was watching to slip away from Schicksal, vanishing into the vast sea of humanity. After years of fruitless searching for his beloved daughter, the Overseer turned his attention to the bloodline she had left behind...
"Theresa, huh? Are these Valkyries getting too well-fed? As for that Anti-Entropy guy, I could figure out who that is with my eyes closed—Welt Joyce, right? Is he about to perform the Dragon Sovereign's Return next? And how does blonde plus indigo equal white hair?!?"
"My Lady, please calm down..."
Years passed, and the child grew into a young woman. She bid farewell to the Schicksal Overseer who claimed to be her grandfather and journeyed to the Far East, establishing her own Branch while secretly investigating her parents' fates.
Unbeknownst to her, her mother, having learned of her daughter's arrival in the Far East, quietly infiltrated the Academy to keep a watchful eye on her.
This peaceful life continued until the children of her mother's past allies were captured. At that moment, her mother's Agent revealed herself before the child, revealing her true origins. Overwhelmed by these revelations, the child made the fateful decision to betray Schicksal. She would personally confront her Grandpa, Schicksal's leader, and demand answers.
As the child marched toward Schicksal Headquarters, she encountered fierce resistance. Hordes of Honkai Beasts, drawn to the Headquarters by the Overseer's experiments, clashed directly with her forces. Just as they were on the brink of collapse, her Father—whom she believed to be long dead—reappeared before her.
The young man, now the Leader of Anti-Entropy, effortlessly annihilated the Honkai Beasts surrounding the warships and stood before the girl.
"Ignoring other factors... My Lady, do you find this story satisfactory?"
"...My Lady?"
Receiving no response, Huginn turned, puzzled, to glance at her Venerable God.
"The Day of Wrath, the Hour of Reckoning; Heaven and Earth, consumed by flames..."
"As prophesied by David and Sibyl, shattering and withering, the terrifying tremor is about to begin—the day of the Arbiter's arrival... None can escape her merciless Judgment and utter annihilation!"
"Holy shit—My Lady, calm down!"
The silver-haired girl decisively leaped onto Snow, pinning down the blonde girl's hands that clutched the Magic Sword Laevateinn and the Eternal Spear, her blood pressure already through the roof.
This was Huginn. Today, Huginn had saved human civilization once again. Quick, say thank you to Huginn!