A massive white warship emerged from the horizon. The fully refitted Hyperion, carrying the Far East Branch's final support forces, was about to arrive at Schicksal Third Airport.
"Commander Himeko, this is the Hyperion of the Far East Branch. All Valkyries from the Far East Branch have assembled, except for the four rapid response teams tasked with monitoring and managing the Far East region."
With the Far East Branch's last deployable forces now gathered, the Allied Forces could launch their assault after final preparations.
By this point, the combined armed strength of the New Schicksal Organization and Old Schicksal—primarily their Valkyrie forces—had reached nearly the scale of the counterattack against the Second Eruption, totaling almost five hundred combatants.
"Yet fewer than ten of us will truly make a difference. The remaining troops will be deployed to protect vital facilities and non-combat personnel, as well as to eliminate any incoming Honkai Beast Hordes."
"Grandpa will definitely deploy his S-rank Valkyries to the battlefield... Headquarters publicly acknowledges only two S-rank Valkyries: Durandal and Rita Rossweisse. If things go as expected, Fu Hua should also be S-rank... And Grandpa... Grandpa himself possesses combat power comparable to a standard S-rank Valkyrie. If we factor in his bizarre gadgets, he might even surpass that..."
Theresa sighed, the acquisition of half of Schicksal offering her little comfort.
"And us... Anti-Entropy Leader, First Herrscher Welt Joyce—Mr. Leader will be the one to face Grandpa. Even if Mr. Joyce tries to cause trouble for others, Grandpa will inevitably attack him. If we don't force them into a direct confrontation from the start..."
"New intelligence, Headmaster Theresa: The Honkai Beast Horde from Siberia has breached the second layer of Schicksal's triple-layered defense satellite network. The leader of the horde has been identified as Judgment-class—confirmed to be Benares, the Judgment-class dragon-type Honkai Beast that appeared during the Second Eruption."
"Overseer Otto has deployed an S-rank Valkyrie to deal with the Judgment-class Honkai Beast. Based on the footage from our reconnaissance drones, it's Fu Hua who took Miss Kiana."
"Headmaster, do we need reinforcements?"
The Intelligence Officer looked at Theresa, who was deep in thought.
"...No. We don't have the resources to spare. Order the troops to expedite their preparations and prepare for the Herrscher's descent."
"Understood!"
"Fu Hua will likely be preoccupied with the Judgment-class Honkai Beast for the foreseeable future, leaving her no time to trouble us. Grandpa will be tied up by Joyce, and Fu Hua will be distracted. That leaves only Durandal and Rita..."
"That straightforward girl is known as a remarkably righteous Valkyrie... If we could persuade Durandal—"
"Don't even think about it, Headmaster. We can't persuade her."
Kyuusyou had appeared silently beside Theresa, who was sitting alone in the deserted airport, muttering to herself.
"Why not? I raised that child. She should be..."
"She beat you to a pulp earlier and then worked with Fu Hua to capture Kiana—"
Kyuusyou cut off Theresa's protest.
"Since Otto Apocalypse dared to send her into this confrontation, he must be confident that we can't persuade her. Besides—while we see Kiana as a friend, student, and family member we need to save..."
"But the Valkyries at Schicksal Headquarters see her differently. I heard from the Valkyries who accompanied you on the Hermes that Otto and Fu Hua contacted you before we even arrived, right?"
"That's right... Grandpa initially tried to persuade me to turn back, and Fu Hua did too—"
"Do you remember what they called Kiana...?"
Headmaster, Teacher Himeko, please come back—this Herrscher girl isn't worth your efforts. She's not even the Headmaster's...
My Little Theresa, don't throw a childish tantrum. A Herrscher girl isn't worth this. My sweet granddaughter, go back and forget this ever happened.
"Herrscher..." Theresa choked out the word.
"Exactly. Herrscher. That's how most at Headquarters view Kiana. Even the Valkyries and researchers from the Former Headquarters now under East Schicksal's jurisdiction would react the same way if we told them the truth."
"We can't persuade them. The bonds Kiana has forged are limited to St. Freya Academy within the Far East Branch. Only we care about saving her—everyone else just wants to stay far away or eliminate the potential threat."
"...The Overseer's tactics are truly cunning. He's dumped a bunch of liabilities on us—liabilities that will turn against us if not handled properly."
Kyuusyou clicked her tongue in displeasure.
"To truly transform these liabilities into assets—beyond just our propaganda—requires Kiana herself to set an example. But these are things we can't achieve right now."
"This deeply ingrained prejudice won't change until that girl demonstrates her will through concrete actions using Herrscher power."
"Theresa, you must have noticed—even the Valkyries from the Former Headquarters who have been integrated into New Schicksal still whisper about Raiden Mei when they see her..."
Kyuusyou paused her relentless chatter, turning to Theresa. The latter seemed to have made a decision based on the purple-haired Valkyrie's words.
-
"Kyuusyou, how long can you hold out against Durandal and Rita?"
"I could fight them until the Great Dao itself is extinguished... Don't look at me like that. If you want me to stall the Captain and Vice Captain of the Immortal Blades, coincidentally, that Overseer thinks so too."
"Based on our current analysis, everything suggests the Overseer wants Kiana's closest friends, family, and teacher to confront her directly."
"Even if Mr. Welt and I managed to break free to help, the Overseer would spare no effort to stop us... We're actually the ones with the most free time. If we didn't show any intention of supporting you, I could probably sit down with those two and enjoy some tea and snacks."
"It's pretty much the same for Mr. Joyce. Overseer Otto will likely personally confront him... Ahem, then it'll be a friendly exchange between men—the mutual beating session. I suspect Joyce will have the upper hand; he recently found part of the theoretical data for the Fourth-Generation Valkyrie Battlesuit during an experiment—"
"Have you heard about how Stand Users attract?"
"Ahem, alright, enough joking around, Theresa. Joyce and I—and most of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy members—won't face any life-threatening dangers or property losses. In this confrontation between East and West Schicksal, the real danger lies with you: Raiden Mei, Bronya, Murata Himeko, and you, Theresa."
"Your connections to Kiana are far too close..."
Kyuusyou's expression turned serious as she looked at Theresa.