Pitter-patter… pitter-patter…
Echoes rustled softly all around—like the sound of raindrops falling on an umbrella, or the flapping of a bird’s wings.
“…Where… is this…?”
As Himeko opened her eyes, her mind slowly began to restart, like a machine powering back up.
The moment she saw the laboratory ceiling and the HSN-B46 reagent in her hand, everything from before came flooding back.
Propping herself up with effort, she struggled to lift her body while her head still hadn’t fully cleared.
“I’m still in that lab from before… I remember picking up this reagent, and then I just blacked out…”
She tried to take a couple of steps, but stumbled and nearly crashed to the floor.
Pitter-patter… pitter-patter…
A strange, grating noise echoed inside her mind.
“Ngh… what is that sound?”
It was as if she were asking someone, but no one else seemed to be around, so her question went unanswered.
“Damn it… my body feels so heavy… How long… was I out…?”
“Where’s Dr. Tesla? Theresa and the others might need my help too. I have to get out of here…”
Himeko staggered toward the distance, but the noise inside her head only grew louder and louder.
Before she could even reach the door, exhaustion swept over her entire body. Just a few dozen centimeters from the exit, she collapsed heavily onto the floor. Struggling to rise, she leaned her back against the door, gasping for breath.
“Hah… hah… hah…”
Deep down, Himeko knew full well—in her current state, forget about finding Tesla or regrouping with Theresa and the others, she didn’t even have the strength to swing her sword right now. Being able to stumble around was already her absolute limit. If she ran into Schicksal troops or Honkai beasts, even the lowest-level zombie or the most basic mech could probably take her life.
Her center of gravity kept sinking lower, and eventually she plopped down onto the ground. Just then, the red feather in her left hand suddenly began to glow, and her head gradually started to clear. A familiar figure materialized before her eyes…
“Fu Hua? Your appearance… really has changed quite a bit.”
The Fu Hua standing before her wasn’t in her Shadow Knight – Luna Kindred form, but rather in her Phoenix form, which was why Himeko had to double-check and confirm several times before she was certain she wasn’t mistaken.
“What do you want with me?”
“That reagent in your hand is a Honkai-neutralizing serum. It can slow down the corrosion of Honkai energy on your body… It would effectively alleviate the symptoms you’re experiencing. If you intend to use it, please find a safe place first.”
“But once you use the serum and neutralize the Honkai energy within you, your power as a Valkyrie will be lost as well.”
Himeko fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking.
“…Heh, a gift, huh. In that case… thank you.”
Fu Hua’s expression remained as unchanged as ever.
“The fact that I’ve appeared here means the Herrscher has already fully awakened.”
Himeko’s pupils contracted slightly, but quickly returned to normal, because she understood that in her current condition, heading over there would be nothing more than throwing her life away.
“After you leave this place, head north. You’ll see a watchtower. It’s safe there—you can hide inside. There are a few guards along the way, but I believe with your abilities, taking them out won’t be a problem.”
Himeko’s expression immediately grew serious.
“I don’t need to know that! Tell me—right now, where are Theresa and the others, and where is Dr. Tesla?!”
“If you intend to keep fighting… then pass through the watchtower and continue forward. When the time comes, I’ll be waiting for you in the laboratory on the other side.”
Hearing Fu Hua’s words, a question mark slowly formed in Himeko’s mind. Leaving aside the fact that she was completely dodging the question, given her current state, by the time she reached her destination, the entire Schicksal Headquarters might well have already been destroyed by the Herrscher.
Himeko pressed her questions further, but the Fu Hua before her only smiled without answering, her form gradually growing fainter and fainter.
“What… is going on?”
Finally, Fu Hua dissolved into countless specks of light and vanished completely before Himeko’s eyes.
It was then that Himeko realized—though her body still felt like a tree on the verge of withering away, the heavy, groggy feeling in her head had completely disappeared. Her body had regained its ability to move.
“If I can move, then there’s no time to waste!”
Murata Himeko had always been a woman of action. She snatched her greatsword up from the floor and dashed northward with a fiery sense of urgency.
In front of the watchtower, Himeko spotted a familiar figure.
“Dr. Tesla, what are you doing just standing here?”
“Ah, Himeko, you can run again! I was starting to think you were going to stay holed up back there forever… Anyway, to get into the watchtower, we need to deal with the guards first, but I’m worried my mech might end up destroying something important…”
“No need to say anything else. Leave it to me.”
Himeko charged into the watchtower and swiftly took out all the guards.
“Sigh. When I can’t use my mech, Valkyries really are far more impressive than someone like me, who has practically zero direct combat capability… By the way, how did you find me?”
Himeko briefly and concisely recounted the previous events to Tesla.
“So that’s what happened… Looks like things aren’t going too well for Chicken-Head and the others… Though we’re not exactly in great shape ourselves, either.”
“Right now, all we can do is head to that lab she mentioned and see what this is all about.”
The two pressed onward until an elevator appeared before them.
[Error Alert 11037 — Access target cannot be found. Access denied.]
“Looks like this elevator won’t start.”
“Hmph, it’s just a measly elevator. If I can’t handle something like this, you can write my name backwards.”
Tesla produced a small red device from who-knows-where and deftly plugged it into the terminal interface.
[No login device detected or device driver not authenticated…]
Beep-beep—
“Phew, easy peasy. I’ve locked onto the target. Once I shut this module down, all of the lab’s defense systems will be disabled, and the elevator should start working normally again. Though, all the other monsters locked up in here will probably get loose too.”
“That can’t be helped. We don’t have any other options.”
Unlike the worried look on Himeko’s face, Tesla wore an expression of pure schadenfreude.
“Heh. Schicksal’s really going to have their hands full now!”
[Access request confirmed. System will now shut down…]
The two turned to head back to the elevator, but a swarm of zombie-like monsters suddenly appeared in their field of vision.
“Escaped test subjects! I didn’t think they’d make it here this fast…”
Before Tesla could say another word, Himeko stepped forward on her own and carved a path straight through them. The two successfully boarded the elevator and departed from that floor.
The space on the next level was noticeably much larger. The moment they stepped out of the elevator, a white mecha charged straight at them—it was none other than Schicksal’s newest prototype mech under development, the Aesir Heimdall.
