°• Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. —Colossians 3:22— •°
Never tongue-tied and always silver-tongued, Otto Apocalypse was a dictator despite his charms and a master in manipulation and treachery. Once shunned for being weak, he was now reverenced as the great archpriest who had granted a golden age to Schicksal. He was a feared man for his eyes had an elusive shine in them — one moment he was a friend, and the next, an enemy. Yet, Ragna Lodbrok would sometimes plainly refuse to obey him. Surprised and somehow offended, he started looking for ways to uproot her from the position that he himself had granted her before. But how could he? She had already gained the public's favor, and there was also no one at that time who was competent enough to replace her.
Rita Rossweisse was introduced to his game.
Her task had been to relay all of Ragna's actions to him. Her first hurdle — rebuild the broken bridge of trust with Ragna. Betrayal leaves open wounds, which later on become scars, and behind each scar is a story and a lesson. With knives stuck to her back, the leader of the Immortal Blades slowly became as shrewd as a serpent and as innocent as a dove. Unbeknownst to her, her new maid was a master in disguise even before she set foot inside Schicksal. Patience was the key, and Rita was determined to break her.
And she did.
Though not for long.
It was hard enough to checkmate the Overseer whilst being in a vulnerable position herself. Ragna could not lead a revolution as the Schicksal walls would crumple afterwards; Theresa Apocalypse had made it clear that she would not govern anything after her grandfather, and only God knew the legion of enemies Otto had made so far. Life outside the Schicksal walls massively contrasted from theirs: the people outside lived in extreme poverty while those inside lacked nothing. She thought of the Arc City, which was the pride of cutting-edge technology, and of Nagazora, a city in ruins exhibiting the vanity of wealth, and of Kolosten, the birth of tragedy and a town stuck in the past... Schicksal was a huge shelter from the Honkai. The Overseer rescued people not out of goodwill but to put them into good use for himself. He had a desire far greater behind the benevolence he displayed.
Once Bianka Ataegina appeared, Otto no longer needed Rita to spy on Ragna. Rita's new task was to coax Bianka into becoming his pawn, so that later on he could use the new leader as he wished. The maid only had to obey to her new mistress, protect her and curry her favor. But now the maid had a problem.
"Miss Ataegina? Suspended for two weeks?"
"I confiscated her books. I'm sorry but I cannot let this pass..."
"...alright. I will talk to her."
The door to Theresa's office opened and closed. Bianka did not look up as the clicking heels approached her.
"Miss Ataegina."
There was no answer.
"Miss Ataegina?" the maid repeated at a lower voice.
"I'm not sorry." Bianka kept a controlled face even if she seemed on the verge of tears. "It's not like I had dirty adult manhwas in my possession. Don't you think I know I'm in a religious school? I know I shouldn't carry around books written by people with different beliefs, but can't I venture out of this circle for once? Explore things from a different perspective? Let my mind grow? Think outside the box? Perhaps, while digging, I'll find more than just a litany of chants and prayers. A real conversation cannot start with boring and half-heartedly said words." Blood slowly accumulated in her face and the tears that threatened to spill finally made their way out. She took the tissue Rita handed to her and wiped her swollen nose. "And I wasn't even reading them. They were in my bag when the teacher decided to do a bag inspection. Just my bad luck!"
Rita gently patted her mistress' back as she babbled on. "Well... Other religious books are forbidden here. What if you were in a different school of a different belief and you were carrying our Holy Book with you?"
Bianka sighed. "I guess they wouldn't be happy either."
"You got my point. If the school forbids you, you can still read whatever you like in your dorm room."
"Really? You… won't tell the principal anything?"
"Of course not. I work for you, not for her."
Rita sat beside her, weakened by the sullen atmosphere. She slowly leaned and hugged a shaking Bianka. As a spy sent by Otto, she had to build a strong connection with her target using lies and mendacities, but never using any genuine emotion. Yet, she felt like her affectation was slowly melting into true affection for her mistress.
It was a burden that came from the heart.
That was Rita's problem.
"How about we go horse riding?" she proposed. "You're always happy around Krishna, aren't you?"
"No."
Rita deeply inhaled and thought of something else. "How about we visit England in the Overseer's private jet?"
Bianka wiped her tears and stared at Rita in disbelief. "We can do that?"
"Yes, we can," she quietly said after she casted her eyes in all directions. "Actually, I do not wish to leave you on your own while I go on my mission. How about you accompany me and see how things are done? Of course, this should be our little secret."
"Little secret?" Bianka tilted her head and stared at her maid before widening her eyes when the realisation dawned upon her. "Wait... You're a spy sent by the Overseer?"
Rita flinched.
Bianka's eyes sparkled with admiration. "So during the day you're my maid, and at night... you're like a spy or detective? That's so cool!" She squealed and immediately covered her mouth before shooting a glance at Theresa's office. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe," she whispered.
Rita could not hold her laughter and Bianka was left confused.
.
.
.
Their mission started when the Big Ben struck twelve times at night. The streets were deserted, most lights had gone off save for a few snack shops. The strange Honkai beasts attacks had eroded away the nightlife of the capital and the fear made people seek refuge in their houses once the daylight was gone. The quietness of the streets would fool any foreigner but Bianka. Underneath the capital was a hidden city (which many people were not aware of) and it came alive only at night — the Underworld.
"Let me summarise it: we will infiltrate the Underworld to locate the second base of the secret organisation called 'Anti-Entropy'. I will pose as the owner of the mecha dog 'Stalker Carbon' that will be used to extract information about AE's mecha technology. Your task is to discreetly place a location tracker underneath AE's armored vehicle. Is there anything not clear?"
"All clear, Rita! This should be a piece of cake!" Bianka exclaimed, with a huge grin on her face that gave her maid a bad premonition.
The place was packed like a can of sardines and the ruckus made it hard to hear normal conversations. For this event, Rita had worn a special battlesuit code-named "Phantom Iron" that came with a mechanical dog matching the black and green colors of her dress. There was an arena barricaded with tall fences in the middle, and the spectators surrounding it roared at the sight of the two robots dueling inside.
"And the mighty Titan, serial winner of the Underworld, has again pounded its fists to victory! Let's cheer for its ingenious developers: Tesla and Mophead!"
The commentator's words after the first match made the spectators go into a state of effervescence. Two girls came into the spotlight: a girl with red hair tied into two long tails and another girl with short blue hair. The red hair one pounded her chest and did a victory pose while the other one simply rolled her eyes at the camera. The commentator then announced the start of the second match. The smell of strong cologne, alcohol and smoke wafted the air, which made the hypersensitive Rita dizzy. For one brief moment, she held her head as her world spun, but when her vision readjusted to the dancing lights she could not spot her master. She pushed her way deeper among the spectators, elbowing some of them when needed.
"Hey, Rita!"
The maid turned around, raised her head and gawked in stupefaction. "My lady," she breathed, "you were not supposed to go inside the arena."
Bianka, who could not hear a thing about what her maid was saying, simply waved at her and showed her a gummy smile. An irritated Rita grabbed the collar of the man in charge of the arena's gates and delivered to him some swear words she had heard Himeko Murata blurt out once. It was too late to take her mistress out as the gates were now closed. The commentator made the opening announcement, to which the crowd booed at the mention of a cheesy nickname that Bianka came up with, and the second match began. The young warrior confidently launched at the Titan with her lance. In turn, the robot retracted its body, creating a deflector shield that collided with its opponent and threw her off balance. The crowd laughed, including Tesla.
However, Tesla's companion, Einstein, looked disturbed. "You're laughing, and that child is about to get severely hurt. Did you finally lose your brain screws?"
Bianka rolled to one side, and with her lance, she pierced the vulnerable rear end of the Titan that was not guarded by the shield. The robot fell back and the crowd cheered.
"I take it back," Einstein said, finally smiling, "That was awesome!"
"What?" Tesla snapped, "You're actually rooting for that brat instead of my Titan, which is proof of my genius engineering skills?"
The Titan got up and its one eye glowed red. It charged at Bianka and slammed the ground, but the agile girl evaded on time and pierced it again with her lance. Most of the spectators were entertained by the newcomer but the dealers who bet a huge sum on the Titan were not as happy. Bianka again sprang forwards and when she successfully stabbed the robot, she lifted it off the ground and smashed it to pieces (a special move she called the "throw" technique). The two versus one fight ended with Bianka and Stalker Carbon as the victors. There was a commotion among the dealers, and she felt uncomfortable with the way they looked at her. She climbed down from the stage and they started to follow her. In her haste, she collided with a woman.
"There you are!" Her maid clasped her hands and briefly examined her. "What were you thinking!"
"Okay, I'm sorry. I just wanted to feel the thrill of a duel to forget what happened yesterday." She pulled Rita aside from the sea of people and shot furtive glances on all sides. "I'm being followed by strange men."
Rita too was on edge as one of the hooded people following them flashed their crimson red claws. "What do you propose then?" she asked as she now eyed the exit that was a tunnel leading back to the surface.
"Tactical survival!" Bianka said at once.
"A most welcomed idea, miss Ataegina. Please allow me to lead the way."
Before they could reach the exit, they were intercepted by the security mechas. Rita gave her scythe a twirl and protectively stood in front of her mistress. The robots lunged their dual blades at her and with a pirouette she evaded, feeling the air brush against her skin. Her legs moved as if following a cadence that only she could hear, and the click-clacks of her heels were a rhythmic flow that could remind one of tap dancing. Her scythe worked like a charm against metal as with each swift movement, she brought down one of her foes. Following her lead, Stalker Carbon went on its offensive mode, though not as graceful as its owner. Her mistress watched her performance in amazement and clapped when she destroyed the last robot obstructing the passage.
Mission failed. The location tracker was still with Bianka and not under Anti-Entropy's vehicle. Despite knowing that, the maid smiled in return and bowed at her only spectator.
"Move if you want your head separated from your neck."
Rita's smile faded when she saw a hooded woman in a dark cloak standing behind her mistress and gripping her by the neck with long red claws. The maid felt obliged to lower her scythe.
