An Unexpected Impact Chapter 45, a honkai impact 3rd fanfic

Enjoy!

Explosions ripped through the grounds of St. Freya Academy as they became under siege by Anti-Entropy's forces, who wasted no time in lighting the night sky with streams of bullets and explosions. Foot soldiers could be seen ducking in between cover as the academy's defense system became active and fired upon any that came in their line of sight.

The sabotaging of the St. Freya's powerline had initially rendered the territory's defense systems offline and obsolete, leaving them open to their invaders. Yet they were not completely helpless as the main building of St. Freya possessed an emergency reactor for situations just like these.

And the moment that the Far East Branch realized that they had been sabotaged by their enemy they had wasted absolutely no time in switching to their auxiliary power source and proceeded to repel their invaders.

"Goddammit we're getting shredded down here!" One of the Anti-Entropy captains yelled as he and his squad took cover from the seemingly near endless rain of bullets that were descending on them. They had known beforehand that reaching the main headquarters would not be a walk in the park and had prepared for an uphill battle.

But they were not expecting this steep of a battle, evident by the poor squadrons that had the misfortune to be caught out in the open when the defenses turned on.

"Grenade!" One of the squadmates yelled out as the tiny green object was thrown right into the middle of their group. Everyone stared at the weapon blankly, knowing that they couldn't run away from the blast radius lest they meet a grizzly end at the automated defense system.

For some strange reason the thought of not throwing it away had never crossed their minds.

"Fuck," Was their final collective thought before the grenade exploded.

"You won't destroy our home! Not if we have anything to say about it!" One of the students of St. Freya yelled as she and her fellow sisters in arms took defensive positions around the main building of St. Freya. All around shouts of similar affirmations were made as they began to fight back against their invaders with the weapons that they had in hand.

Meanwhile St. Freya's command room was alive with commotion and chaos, the people within were scrambling to regain their footing from their enemy's sudden invasion of their Branch. Throughout it all a certain red haired major stood calmly as she watched the battle unfold on the holographic tactical war table that they had in the middle of the command room, constantly being updated with real life battle data as they were reported.

"We've been caught literally off guard in our sleep," To say that Himeko was pissed off was an understatement, she was downright furious with what had happened in the past hour or two. As a Valkyrie she knew how the battlefield was practically what they lived for, that it was the name of the game…

But it became personal for her the moment that Anti-Entropy and their goons decided to step foot in her home and try to harm her students.

"Status report!" She barked out, her stern voice cutting through the chaos in the command room as every operator began to relay what they had accomplished.

"Major Himeko we've been able to reactivate Defense Field Epsilon."

"We're still unable to activate the outer defenses!"

"We've successfully repelled the initial force of Anti-Entropy forces in the shipyards!"

"Any attempts to contact any other bases for reinforcements have been unsuccessful as of yet!"

"A defense perimeter around the main academic building has been established!"

"Squads 7th and 10thhave been rushed to the infirmary!"

"We've been able to open Armories Beta and Charlie and are currently arming the remaining students!"

The Murata woman couldn't help but frown at the last bit of information, though she would've frowned with what she had heard. It would be foolish to think that Valkyries-in-training would not join the effort to defend their home.

But most of these students had never been on a mission, never had a taste of what being a Valkyrie meant…

Never had to experience what one had to sacrifice for the mission.

"How's the situation Himeko?" Theresa asked as she entered the command room. The usual carefree smile on the petite principal's face was nowhere to be seen, in its place was a stern expression that showed that she was a Valkyrie first and principal second.

Trailing behind her was the Oath of Judah, the golden cross gleaming under the artificial light of the command room.

"It could be better," She honestly told her superior as she walked up to the war table. On the holographic display showed not only their own forces, but also the forces of Anti-Entropy that they had managed to detect.

"We've been caught off guard in the worst way possible but thankfully we've recovered quick enough that we haven't been overwhelmed yet. The A-Rank Valkyries we have are leading the counter assault with the gear we have at the school's armories and reinforcing them are the students. Slowly but surely we're pushing them back."

"But they aren't using their normal equipment," Frowned Theresa in realization. "The weapons in the school armories are only used for training, and while they can kill, they aren't as effective for the situation that we are in."

Yes, that was an oversight that was made in favor of the safety of the school and the students that studied there. The armories in the school only carried training gear as putting the highly dangerous equipment that Valkyries typically used near inexperienced students was a disaster just waiting to happen.

But the downside of that was that the 'dangerous' equipment was stored in armories outside of the main St. Freya building. And because of that they weren't connected to the emergency reactor that they currently had on, which meant that they were currently inaccessible to them with the entire main electrical grid down at the moment.

"We're trying to restore the main power supply to get everything back up and running but to no avail. Speaking of which…" She trailed off before turning around to get an update from the scientist that she had assigned for that task. "What is the status of-"

"Still unreachable I'm afraid," Asplund's voice cut in as he walked up to them, his ever so iconic carefree smile on his face. Yet if you were observant enough and had known the Pudding Scientist for long enough you could tell that even with the easy smile he had on his face, his hardened teal eyes told a different story.

"Not even the infamous Pudding Scientist can turn some reactors back on for us?" She teased, though not for the reason one might think she was. In such a serious situation teasing had no place in a command room yet if there was anything she knew about Christopher Asplund was that you could get results if you played with his pride a bit.

Yet it seemed the effect that the Major was hoping her words would have would not prove to be effective as the scientist just shrugged his shoulders. "Unfortunately not as all the reactors including the main were all turned off on site as opposed to being hacked into externally." He informed them. "And while I could try to hack into them it will take significantly more time to break through the firewalls as opposed to reactivating each reactor through their master terminal."

"Time we can't afford to waste." Theresa frowned. While their current defensive position was preferable for the situation they were in, it wasn't something that could be held long enough for Asplund to reactivate the reactors remotely. Sooner or later the line would fall and that meant casualties that the principal was not willing to make.

"How was your attempt in reaching out to any nearby bases for reinforcements, Himeko asked the reason why Theresa had not been present in the command room in the first place.

The petite principal shook her head with a small frown on her face. "Anti-Entropy has blocked any calls that I could make, even the Overseer's personal line had no effect." The implication of her words quickly became clear to everyone in the room.

That they either had to wait on the off chance that someone would realize their situation and send reinforcements…

Or that they would have to weather this siege all by themselves.

The somber mood that had begun to settle in the command room was quickly dissipated by a certain eccentric scientist. "So shall I inform the 6th Valkyrja Squad of their new mission?" The white haired scientist grinned, no doubt already figuring out what the principal would have asked him next. It was pretty easy to forget that behind the Pudding Scientist's lax nature there was an intellect that could barely be surpassed by others.

Something that irritated Himeko to no extent.

"We will be having a stern discussion of hooking up the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps' power supply to St. Freya's emergency reactor when this is all done." She sternly lectured him.

She shouldn't have been surprised that while every other facility and workshop had followed safety protocols by connecting to the normal reactors for power, Asplund had decided that he should also hook the Yggdrasil Corps' workshop to the emergency reactor as well.

An act that had gone completely unnoticed by everyone until he had informed everyone a few minutes ago that the 6th Valkyrja Squad was currently loading up into their battlesuits. The Major supposed that she couldn't be too angry with him, as his casual breaking of the protocols that they had in place allowed them to have a fully armed squadron to use as they needed.

"Yes," Theresa nodded. "Inform them that their new mission is to-!"

Before the white haired principal could finish her words alarms began to blare out in the command room.

"Major, we've detected new unknown energy signatures approaching us!" An operator yelled out as the war table pinged these unknown signatures as red triangles that were currently making their approach to their current position.

Anti-Entropy was fielding troops that they had never seen before?

"Pull it up on the main screen," She ordered immediately as the attention of the command room shifted to the main screen in the command room.

"Is there no end to this?!" A A-Rank Valkyrie hissed out as she placed a new clip of ammunition in her rifle as she and her squadron took cover from the gunfire of their invaders. All around her the sounds of conflict surrounded her, turning the academy that she had called home into a hellscape.

"These guys never quit!" One of her students yelled as she pulled the pin of a grenade before throwing it from her piece of cover, the noise of explosion that would've followed lost in the deafening chaos that was all around them.

The A-Rank Valkyrie looked at the supplies that they had with them and lightly frowned. They were running out of ammunition and explosives to use and would soon need to get a resupply. That in of itself wasn't bad news but the fact that they were on the front lines meant that retreating back was not only highly dangerous…

But they would be losing critical ground that they had managed to retake from Anti-Entropy.

However, just as she was about to give the order of whatever decision she had come to, a shout from one of her students had her stop in her tracks.

"H-Hey!" The student cried out as she poked her head out of their cover and pointed to where their enemy was. "T-They're retreating!"

That statement had everyone looking at each other in shock and surprise. The enemy that had caught them off guard and was pushing them back was…retreating?

"Huh?" Popping her head out of their cover the A-Rank Valkyrie did indeed see that the squadrons of Anti-Entropy soldiers that had been trying to take their positions were now retreating in the direction that they had come from, and in great speeds might she add as well.

The sight of their invaders fleeing brought smiles and cheers to the students but for the Valkyries it only prompted confusion. "They had us on the brink of collapse so why would they-!"

Her answer was swiftly given as multiple explosions rang out throughout the battlefield in front of them. They were too far away to actually cause any real damage to them but the shock of it and the smoke that they made was more than enough to have some of them cry out in surprise.

Before anyone could ponder on where the explosions had come out from, something quickly burst through the smoke…

And that something happened to be a tall dark purple humanoid mech with a menacing glowing orange eye that scanned the battlefield in front of it eerily.

"Infantry squads fall back!" The mech's projected voice rang out through the air, prompting similar looking mechs to burst through the smoke behind it. Raising its arm the dark purple mobile armor pointed the rifle it had in its hand at the entrenched positions of the Valkyries.

"Mobile Armor Squadrons advance!"

Seeing the other mechs do the same the A-Rank Valkyrie knew that staying where they were would be a death wish. Rubble might be a good cover against small arms but against that kind of firepower they might as well have been non-existent.

So she gave the only command that she could.

"Retreat!"

What followed after was scores of Valkyries and those in training scrambling out of their cover and back towards the academy building as Anti-Entropy's new mystery mechs began to capitalize on their new momentum and opened fire on them. Some Valkyries and students were lucky in dodging as they were either fast enough or had enough cover to break the machines' line of sight.

Others were…not so lucky.

Running towards cover that could actually take a hit the A-Rank Valkyrie couldn't help but think about how grim their situation had become. "Shit at this rate we'll be finished before the damm sun rises."

Her mind desperately raced to think of a way to turn this seemingly hopeless situation around but before she could think of one a sudden explosion near her sent her sprawling to the ground. It hadn't been close enough to seriously injure her, but near enough that the force of it had sent her tumbling roughly to the ground.

She could hear the concerned shouts of her students cry out to her as she gathered her bearings. Pushing herself off the ground she opened her mouth to reassure them that she was fine…

Only for it to die down in her throat when she saw that in the small time period that she had spent on the ground disorientated the dark purple mobile suits had pushed up while her sister in arms retreated.

And one was currently standing above her, rifle pointed right at her.

Terror seized the Valkryie as she stared at the large barrel of the rifle, her mind whirling at the sight of it pointed right at her. This was how she was going to die? From a machine that had invaded her home. There was no way she could dodge it at this range, and even if she could there was no way that she would be able to outrun it without her battlesuit.

Which was currently locked away in an armory that she could not even access at the moment.

So all she could do was stay rooted in her spot and just stare at the barrel of the mech's rifle and await her fate.

Yet just as it seemed all hope was lost a blue energy bolt tore through the chest of the machine, an explosion sent the entire thing into a plume of smoke as the wreckage of what remained tumbled to the ground.

Having reacted fast enough to throw her arms over her face in an attempt to protect her from the explosion, the A-Rank Valkyrie lowered her hands and stood up from her spot. Who had fired that-

"Sorry about the delay!" A voice had her snapping her head to where the shot had come from, seeing a familiar redhead knight in a white and gold battlesuit join the battle, his teammates not far behind him. "The 6th Valkyrja Squad has arrived!"

Leveling his rifle at the other mechs the knight in training began to fire at them. Seeing how the rifle had easily torn through their armor the mobile suits began to retreat back, hoping to get out of the range of his weapon.

Yet by doing so they left themselves completely open to another as sniper shots soon rang through the battlefield. While not possessing the same firepower as the energy rifle they were equally as dangerous as the shooter's impeccable aim targeted any weak spot exposed to them.

From the monocular eyes of the mechs that would most likely blind them to the exposed joints, either crippling them or rendering them outright useless.

"Suck on that you useless piles of tin!" The familiar voice of Layla Gunhilddr rang out over her sniper rifle's shots.

From having to deal with Haruto and Layla picking them off it was easily noticed that the advance of the Mobile Armor Squadrons had all but lost the momentum they had initially and were scrambling to try and reorganize themselves in the chaos that that 6th Valkyrja Squad was inflicting on them.

Yet the combined fire of Haruto and Layla had a secondary effect as having taken the mech's attention they were woefully unprepared for two to use the distraction their teammates had given them to close the distance between them and Anti-Entropy.

It went without saying that Fu Hua was easily recognizable for the A-Rank Valkyrie. The bluish gray haired Valkyrie was somewhat of a legend in the A-Rank Valkyries, one of the top contenders in being promoted to an S-Rank Valkyrie.

The blue qipao wearing Valkyrie was a flurry of strikes and punches, wherever she attacked sent scraps of metal and circuitry flying all around her. Mechs that towered over her were but helpless children under her assault.

And beside her was Mashu Schariac, the shielder swinging her shield like that of a baseball bat. It may have lacked the speed and refinement of her A-Rank Leader but it was no less powerful as the shielder could tear off entire metal legs with a single swing of her shield.

It should've defied all logic but the arrival of one squad was enough to push the tide of the battle back in their favor.

"The 6th Valkyrja Squad will handle the new machines!" Fu Hu shouted as she turned her head to look back at the Valkyries and students that were looking at their performance in awe. "Focus on pushing the defensive line forward!"

Her fellow A-Rank Valkyrie's words quickly snapped her back into the fray. "Understood!" She shouted before turning back to face her students. "Get back in position! Their infantry squads are coming back!"

True to her words the Anti-Entropy infantry squads were coming back, no doubt seeing their Mobile Armor Squads falter, pushing them to see if returning could regain the advantage they once had.

Not if she had anything to say about that.

All around her shouts of renewed vigor were delivered as the Valkyries and students re-joined the fray, re-engaging the Anti-Entropy infantry forces as the 6th Valkyrja Squad battled against the new Mobile Armor Squadrons.

At least now they had a better chance of getting to see the light of the next morning.

Back in the command room the occupants were currently watching what was transpiring on the battlefield. From the arrival of Anti-Entropy's new mechs, to the 6th Valkyrja's timely intervention, and now the ensuing chaos that was ravaging the grounds of St. Freya Academy.

"So Einstein and Tesla have managed to finish the Shiden project then? Asplund mused as he eyed the familiar form of the purple machines as they clashed with the 6th Valkyrja Squad. "They seem to have been quite busy after my departure. First with the Rasputins and now this, I almost feel insulted."

"Anything that you can inform us about Anti-Entropy's new machines?" Himeko asked, knowing that the Pudding Scientist would be more than informed about these new machines that their invaders were deploying.

"They're an upgrade over the usual mechs that they normally employ, all of them are piloted manually, and they are much more efficient at their jobs than their predecessors." He stated with a nonchalant tone as if he was describing a normal grocery list rather than a killer robot capable of untold destruction.

"Will the 6th Valkyrja Squad be able to handle them?" Theresa asked, her tone filled with a twinge of worry. It was a sentiment shared by Himeko as she observed the screen showing them the state of the battlefield, specifically her nephew as he held the frontline with the Caliburn's defenses. He was no stranger to battle yet she could not help but worry.

After all this would be many students' first taste of what a war felt like.

In response to the principal's question the white haired scientist just casually dismissed it, seemingly not even worried by it. "Handle that? Pssh of course they can. My baby Caliburn alone is able to take on forty of them by itself. They're going to need a bunch more than some toy soldiers to take my prized creation and its devicer down."

Then suddenly his seemingly nonchalant tone shifted to a much more serious tone. "...However the readings from what sensors we have active do not paint the odds in our favor. While I do believe the 6th Valkyrja Squad to be more than enough to hold the defensive line, they will not be able to hold forever."

Himeko nodded with her colleague's assessment of their situation. As much as Valkyries seemed to be indomitable, gods among the people, at the end of the day they were still human. Still susceptible to things like fatigue or injuries. "Indeed, they have bought us time that we will need to get the main defense network back online."

"It won't be easy Himeko-san," Theresa pointed out. "We've had no updates on the conditions of both the main reactor and the four sub reactors ever since this invasion started and they're deep in the enemy's territory."

Yes that was the big hurdle they had to tackle, who were they going to send to go turn on the reactors. They couldn't send anyone in the room to go, even Theresa as if she was captured that would most certainly result in their defeat and was someone who was stuck coordinating troops and it went without saying that Asplund couldn't do so as well.

Neither could they pull Valkyries or students from the front lines, not without weakening it and giving the Anti-Entropy the opportunity to make a push. The 6th Valkryja Squad flat out could not go as they were an integral part of the defense.

So then who could they send that-!

"Himeko-sensei!" Kiana's voice tore her from her thoughts, prompting her to turn around and see the entirety of a fully geared 5th Valkyrja Squad walk into the command room. "The 5th Valkyrja Squad is ready to head to the frontlines!"

Yes the reason why the 5th Valkyrja Squad was currently not on the frontlines was that they had made their way first to the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps's workshop in order to gear up. Now there wasn't equipment in there to share with the rest of the Valkyries and students, and they weren't on par with the equipment of the 6th Valkyrja Squad.

But they were better than the practice weapons that everyone else was armed with. Which made them easily the second best prepared squadron in St. Freya. A squad like her would be the perfect candidate to send to go and reactivate the-!

Simultaneously it seems that Theresa came to the same conclusion as the Major did as the two shared a quick glance at each other. An unspoken conversation was passed between the two, with both disagreeing on the course of action that they were about to take.

Yet the current circumstances gave them no other option.

"...Not this time girls," Himeko reluctantly told them. "I have another task for you,"

And so she told them of the plan that they had, of how they needed a strong enough squad to go and reactivate the reactors tp switch on St. Freya's main power supply so that they could use the defense system to push back their invaders…

And of how at the moment 5th Valkyrja Squad was their best shot of doing so.

After explaining to her squad what she was asking of them, she was instantly met with refusal. "B-But we're needed here!" Kiana hotly argued. Her two squadmates beside her had not voiced their disagreement with the plan but one look at their facial expressions told her that they did not agree with the plan either.

Being their Squad Leader the redhead woman was expecting this kind of response from them. Their hearts were in the right place, wanting to help their fellow friends and classmates who were fighting for their lives but sometimes you had to go against what your heart told you to do in order to save people.

A lesson that she wanted them to learn in a class, not on the battlefield.

"Yes that might be true but as of now your strength is needed elsewhere." She reminded them. "If the defenses are not turned on then there will be more casualties if you did join the front lines."

"Yes and while the circumstances are not ideal in sending a Valkyrie squad in training to do this mission, we don't have much choice." Theresa interjected. "You and I both know that Fu Hua and her squad are more than capable of holding the line but they cannot hold it down forever."

"And Bronya is the best candidate other than myself to hack into the reactors' terminals." Asplund surprisingly added, nudging his head in the direction of the petite gray haired girl. "I've seen your work with a computer and I can say that your leagues above anyone else that we can send."

"This is a highly dangerous mission." She bluntly stated to her students. "You are heading into unknown territory where the enemy may be lying in wait. I can't join as I have to coordinate our forces so the only people you can count on are each other."

The three looked at each other, doubt still in their eyes but after hearing the logical arguments they could not deny that this mission was very important and had to be taken.

"We'll do it," Mei spoke up, placing a hand on both Bronya and Kiana's shoulder who both nodded in agreement. "We will reactivate the reactors."

"You have no idea what you might face once you get there." She reminded them. "You're going in blind with no reinforcements."

"Its fine Himeko-sensei," Mei assured her with a confident tone as she looked at her teacher with determined expression. "After all we had a great teacher."

Her words had a smile creep up on Himeko's face. She certainly wasn't expecting to hear that from her dark purple hair student. "Trying to butter me up? I thought I taught you better than that."

After giving them the required information on how to reach the reactors with the best chance of not alerting the enemy and Asplund explaining to Bronya what to do when they got there the 5th Valkyrja waved goodbye to them as they headed out to complete their objective.

"And one more thing girls!" She shouted before they could fully leave the command room, stopping them in their tracks right in front of the door, prompting them to turn around and look at her in confusion.

"No heroic sacrifices or anything of that sort." She commanded them. "All three of you are coming home."

The trio looked confused by her words but just smiled and nodded.

It was such a strange thing for Himeko. This had not been the first squad that she had overseen, she had seen many of them graduate, and yet for some odd reason the 5th Valkyrja Squad had found a special place in heart. Maybe it was the unique characteristics of the trio that made them take a shine on her, or maybe how despite it seemed that they were a bunch of oddballs they always strove to think in the interests of their fellow teammates.

Maybe she wouldn't never know the answer for sure…

Yet the red haired woman didn't mind that realization as her squad turned on their heel and walked out of the command room, the door closing behind them as they went to complete their mission. There was a little passing thought that this might be the last she ever saw of them but she immediately dismissed it.

So long as those three trusted each other, there was very little that they couldn't overcome.

Turning back around to face the holographic war table to continue coordinating the Valkyries and the 6th Valkyrja Squad on the battlefield Himeko had a small smile on her face.

Oh how fast they grew up.

Bronya Zaychik remembered that day as if it happened yesterday.

There she was sitting on a bed, confused and scared what her life was going to become at that moment.

And then.

"You're no longer a slave, Bronya." A blond woman with purple eyes smiled as she spoke. Her eyes were filled with an emotion that her younger self had never seen before yet for some reason it had brought comfort to her soul.

"From now on I'll be your Matushka."

It was then everything changed for Bronya. The kind woman who had now become her Matushka had shown her a life so different from the cold and darkness that it had once been. A life full of warmth and light, filled with so many people that Bronya loved with all her life.

And yet…

Why was Matushka now-

"...Bronya-chan?" Mei's voice broke the petite gray haired girl broke out of the memory trip that she had unintentionally gone through.

"Ah sorry," She replied back, refocusing on reality. "The Bronya was lost in her thoughts for a minute."

Her dark purple haired teammate just smiled, none the wiser of what she had been thinking of. "No worries about that Bronya-chan, just remember that we're on a mission and can't afford to be distracted. Especially in a dark place like this."

Mission? What mission was Mei nee-san talking about-

It took only a split second for the valkyrie in training to remember why they were currently traversing through the dark tunnels that sprawled beneath St. Freya Academy and heading towards the closest reactor. The dark tunnels had hardly any light in them and it showed little to no signs of anyone having been down here.

A perfect way to get around the academy that was currently under siege, evading enemy detection.

These tunnels used to be the old service tunnels that ran beneath the East Branch's old headquarters. However after the construction of St. Freya Academy they had constructed newer tunnels that rendered these old tunnels obsolete. Most blueprints of the academy did not include the layout of the old tunnels.

Which meant that Anti-Entropy had no idea they were down here as they made their way towards the closest reactor. With how the reactors were spread out in the academy ground there wasn't actually one that was the closest to the main building, it was more along the lines of what had the least enemy presence that they potentially might have to deal with.

Though that hardly mattered when it felt like Anti-Entropy had brought an entire army for this invasion. An estimate that was seemingly the closest to reality as every few minutes the tunnel would rattle from the battle happening above them as their classmates fought for their lives.

Speaking of Anti-Entropy…

What was her Matsuhka doing?

Bronya was glad for their darkened surroundings, it hid her worried expression from the rest of her teammates as she struggled to comprehend what reason would compel her Matsuhka in attacking St. Freya Academy.

The former soldier was not blind to the fact that her Matsuhka was a cold blooded killer, after all she was an infamous name in the war torn lands of Siberia. Tales were exchanged around campfires of how ruthless of a soldier she was, seemingly able to take down entire companies with just a single handgun.

But the former Silver Wolf Of The Urals knew another side of her, one that was warm and bright towards children like herself.

One that would never attack a school.

She had only known that it was her Matsuhka behind the attack from a message she had received from her phone as the alarms of St. Freya had abruptly woken them up from their sleep, warning them of the incoming invasion.

No one knew who the 'Matsuhka' contact actually was, with most people believing it was just her biological mother as opposed to a personal line to an Anti-Entropy Enforcer. However ever since the events of Nagazora, Bronya had not called or messaged her, with the message being sent to her breaking that silence.

And all it had was a single sentence.

"Bronya, please do not participate in the defense of the academy."

It was easy enough to see that her Matsuhka still cared about her, that the woman that had raised her was not completely gone.

Yet…she could not oblige with that request.

The thought of hiding away had never even crossed her mind, how could she when her squad would be on the battlefield. Her Matsuhka had taught her what honor and love was, but most importantly she taught her what family was.

And she considered the 5th Valkyrja Squad as family.

It hadn't started off as that first. When she and Kiana had rescued Mei during the events of Nagazora she was simply repaying the girl's kindness to her during the Kitsune Festival, just repaying a debt that she felt entitled to pay back.

Then they had become the 5th Valkyrja Squad and still Bronya didn't think too much about it. She was no stranger to being placed in squads with her fellow strangers and saw nothing too different with this arrangement.

But yet they began to grow on her. The little moments that would happen in the dorms and classes that made an impact on her. From Mei's cooking, to Kiana's idiotic but earnest actions, to Himeko-sensei's doting nature that would surface…

It reminded her of her time back at the Orphanage.

A dysfunctional family, one that she wouldn't trade for the world.

"Bronya! When will we get out of here?!" Kiana's loud shout broke the petite gray haired girl out of her thoughts. "This place is giving me the creeps!"

In return she just smiled at the white haired girl. "The Bronya estimates that the service ladder to the first reactor is up ahead. Is Kiana-san scared of the dark?"

"M-Me?! As if!"

Almost as if it was waiting for the perfect moment a rat scurried past the lights that they were using to navigate the dark tunnels.

"AAAHHH!" Kiana's panicked scream echoed in the tunnels as she dropped the flashlight that she was holding onto to the ground, the impact sending echoes down the corridor. "M-Mei-senpai! K-Kill it!"

"...Is Kiana-chan afraid of-!"

"I said kill it!"

"But it's gone now-!"

"I don't care!"

"Kiana-san in front of you is-!"

"ANOTHER RAT?!"

"...The service ladder is right in front of you," Bronya deadpanned, pointing her flashlight and revealing the ladder that they were going to use to exit the dark tunnels that they were in.

"...O-Of course I knew that, I was just testing you guys." Kiana perked back up, her bravado seemingly back. However, one look at her trembling legs showed that it was all a front.

Mei glanced at Bronya, with her doing the same in return, and both made the mental agreement to not mention this again in front of the Kaslana until the day was over.

"The Bronya shall go first," She said as she moved forward and took the lead climbing the ladder with the rest of her squad behind her.

Reaching the top of the ladder she carefully opened the lid that covered it, peering at the crack to see if there were any nearby enemies. After confirming that there was no one near them she silently pushed the lid off and climbed out, calling out her faithful Project Bunny to stand guard while Kiana and Mei climbed out of the ladder.

Once they were all out they carefully began to navigate their way to the first reactor's control room, watching every angle and shadow for any possible enemies lying in wait. Yet something became abundantly clear to them when they walked into an empty control room, devoid of any signs of life.

"There's no-one here," Mei realized as she took a look around the control room.

"Maybe they left after turning off the reactors?" Kiana offered up. While that might have been the case all three of them knew that would not be true. After all, no enemy that could plan an attack on this scale and would just leave a critical power supply undefended.

"It doesn't matter," Mei spoke as she turned to Bronya, who nodded knowing what she was going to be asked to do. "Bronya-chan turn on this reactor then we can make our way to the second reactor."

The petite twin tailed girl nodded before she moved over to the reactor's main terminal and began to turn it back on. However before her fingers could touch the terminal's screen an epiphany suddenly struck her.

"...The Bronya has an alternative plan," She spoke up, drawing the curious attention of her teammates. "The Bronya shall stay behind and activate the first reactor while Mei nee san and Kiana-san head over to the second reactor and make sure it is clear of enemies."

"Absolutely not," Her dark purple haired teammate instantly shot the idea. "We won't leave you here alone."

"She's right!" Kiana hotly added as she frowned at her for thinking of such a plan. "The 5th Valkyrja Squad sticks together!"

"The Bronya appreciates your concern for her wellbeing." Really she did. It made her heart warm that they cared so much about her. "But every second the reactors stay off is another second that Anti-Entropy has in inflicting more damage. Not to mention the second reactor may have enemies guarding it and the Bronya has faith the two of you can clear them out. The Bronya will rendezvous with you after the first reactor has been turned on."

Her words killed any potential arguments her teammates might've had as the reality of their situation set in. They couldn't waste time here, they needed to be quick about turning the power supply back on and waiting for her to finish turning on the reactor and then having to potentially fight their way to the second would cost time.

Time that their fellow classmates and Valkyries might not have the luxury to give them.

"...Alright then we'll follow your plan," Mei spoke up, catching shocked expressions from both Kiana and Bronya.

"However!" She added quickly, not done with her words. "If we get to the second reactor and there's no-one there we will quickly come back for you, and I will broker no disagreement on that."

Bronya wanted to argue that would just be a waste of energy yet she didn't as she just lightly smiled and nodded. "The Bronya agrees to this new plan."

Mei nodded and smiled back. "Then we have a plan, come Kiana," She turned to their white haired teammate. "Let's be swift about clearing the second reactor."

"Yup!" The Kaslana then turned to Bronya and flashed her a competitive grin. "Better be swift Bratnya, I'll be so fast in clearing the next reactor that you won't even have time to finish typing in a password."

"The same to you as well Idiotika," She quipped back, the nickname she had made for the Kaslana devoid of the usual sarcasm that it once had. "The Bronya will be so fast that she'll be able to catch up and get a higher score than you."

"You're on!"

The two quickly made their way back to the service ladder that they had used to get in and Bronya focused her attention on getting the first reactor operational again, with her Project Bunny guarding her vigilantly from any threats that might come her way.

Quickly booting up an access terminal her fingers flew across the terminal as she broke through the firewalls that Anti-Entropy had set up in the system to prevent others from turning it back on.

Her hacking skills paired with Asplund's instruction of what systems were and were not required to turn the system back on allowed her to easily break through the firewalls and turn back on parts of the system. In no time she would have the first reactor on and connected with St. Freya's

Yet the silence of the command room had her constantly on guard. The slightest of noises would have her tense up in preparation of an attack that would never come. It was obvious that leaving no guards in here was intentional and made it all the more perfect for a trap.

However if there was a trap why not spring it when all three of them were in here as opposed to only when she was present?

Bronya would not question their decisions, especially when she broke through the final firewall. All that was left to do now was to initialize the system and head towards where Kiana and Mei were-!

Her instincts screamed for her to dodge and just seconds after pressing the restart key on the terminal. She forced her body to the side as an unknown force crashed onto the terminal, flattening everything in its range.

Skidding to a stop Bronya brought her head up to watch a figure step out of the shadows, slowly clapping while doing so.

"Guess I was too slow," The hooded figure mockingly lamented as he stopped clapping and brought his arm up, a dark orb of blue energy floating on the palm of his hand. "And to top it off it seems I've caught the wrong bunny as well. Man to think that I got outplayed by a bunch of children, how embarrassing."

While he continued monologuing Bronya was not standing idly by to wait for him to finish. Bringing out Project Bunny she raised her arm, prompting the machine to raise its cannon arm and begin charging an attack.

"Project Bunny Full Output," She ordered before a orange beam fired from the barrel that encompassed the entire form of unknown hostile. After mentally counting a few seconds she lowered her arm, stopping the attack from Project Bunny.

The fool had no chance of defending himself, too busy monologuing to himself, so as the smoke cleared the gray petite haired girl was expecting to see the charred ground and no trace of her assailant.

However before the smoke could clear a hand suddenly found its way around her throat, tightening within seconds of skin meeting skin. Bronya could not even voice her surprise before the hand lifted her up and began to choke her.

"Now that isn't very nice, didn't your Matushka ever teach you to not interrupt people while they're talking?" The now unhooded man taunted, his dark blue eyes dancing with devilish delight on watching her try to struggle out of his grasp. "Looks like I need to go call her and-"

He held up his hand and seemingly blocked a strike from Project Bunny with barely any effort. "Oi!" He glanced at her guardian robot, a barely constrained pissed expression on his face.

"Fuck off!" He yelled before flicking his hand, dark blue energy tendrils dancing across the appendage as it sent Project Bunny harshly flying into a wall. Her guardian robot was now stuck in the crater that it had been smashed into, leaving her defenseless against this unknown assailant.

"Now that little nuisance has been taken care of, why don't we finish our little conversation little bunny?" Turning his attention back to the girl he had in his grasp, the black haired assailant wickedly grinned.

"While I was given strict orders not to harm you in any way, shape or form I wasn't told that I couldn't discipline you," Reaching up he trailed his hand across the side of her face in some sick version of affection.

Bronya had no idea how to get out of this situation. Already it was getting harder to think with the lack of oxygen she was getting and even then her situation was dire. Project Bunny was temporarily disabled and even then not even on full output could she even damage her assailant.

But what other options did she have at the moment? No one else was around to provide reinforcements and she didn't have long to wait for Kiana and Mei to come back. Even if they did, what could they do against this person?

"Don't worry I won't be rough with you," The black haired man grinned as he tightened his choke hold on her, causing her to now gasp for air. "But just enough that the next time we meet you'll know who it is that you're speaking to-!"

Before he could finish his sentence he was suddenly launched across the room by an unknown force. Whatever that force was, it removed the man's grip on her throat and let Bronya fall to the ground unceremoniously, coughing as she desperately tried to take in air.

"Easy there Bronya," A familiar voice rang in her ears as hands well on her back, rubbing soothing circles into her back. "Everything is fine now."

After finally getting enough oxygen back into her body Bronya turned her head to see who had their hands on her shoulders, and most probably the one that had saved her from that precarious situation. However when she turned her head to look at her savior her eyes widened at the sight of a familiar brown haired man.

"J-Joachim-san?!" She cried out in surprise at the sight of the brown haired teacher.

"Yes it is me," He smiled as he nodded in confirmation. "That was a close call there, Bronya."

Joachim Nokianvirtanen was someone that Bronya had made an acquaintance with the man in a strange way. While he was a history teacher that taught only second years he also happened to be a supplemental tutor for students who were falling behind on their grades.

And with Kiana's…not so spectacular track record with academics the white haired girl had been a regular in his tutoring sessions. Not wanting to feel left out the Kaslana begged for one of her teammates to join her and while Bronya's grades were exemplary, she did have slight trouble with social sciences.

So she too was a regular in Joachim's tutor sessions as well. The brown haired history teacher was a great tutor but even better was how interesting he was. He seemingly held a wisdom that wasn't matched by any of the other teachers, including Himeko-sensei, and the petite girl had some rather insightful conversations with him.

However if there was one thing that was clear about the brown haired man was that he despised any acts of violence, always believing that there were other ways to settle things.

So that raised the question…

"Why are you here Joachim-san?"

The brown haired teacher simply averted his gaze from Bronya's calculating gray eyes, a slightly panicked expression on his face. He hadn't expected it to end up like this and any outright lie would be immediately detected by her which left the undercover Sovereign in a predicament.

"Well you see…" He started as his mind flashed back to an hour before the invasion of St. Freya began.

"You're sure of this?" He asked his visitor as the two of them sat at a table in his room. A frown was on his face as he processed what he had just learned from his visitor.

"I am," Einstein nodded. "I've checked and Cocolia has mobilized three battalions under her command. And judging by the fact that all three of them are the closest to St. Freya Academy, it's not hard to connect the dots."

The Sovereign of Anti-Entropy leaned back into his chair, his brow furrowed in thought. "This is…so very unlike Cocolia's motto." The blond enforcer was many things.

Bold?

Yes.

Dangerous?

Most definitely.

But foolishness was not one of them, and attacking St. Freya Academy was the most foolish thing you could do.

Einstein nodded in agreement, having arrived at the same conclusion as he had. "I am of the same thought. I sense foul play is afoot."

"It is the only reasonable explanation we have at the moment but we need more information." He stated before he looked to one of his most trusted confidants. "I trust you can handle this."

"Cocolia has enlisted my aid in breaking the vault that lays beneath the central cathedral of St. Freya Academy. My special bypass in the system has yet to be discovered and with the defense network down it won't take me too long to break in." She revealed as she eyed her tablet, a ping coming from it as it received a message from Cocolia.

Joachim noticed the look in her cyan eyes. "Leaving soon?" He guessed.

"Yes but not without warning Haruto of the attack, that should give St. Freya ample time to muster up their defenses." She explained as she stood up from her seat. "However before I leave there's something else I need to tell you.""Oh?" The undercover teacher raised an eyebrow in curiosity."Cocolia has expressed interest in the 3rd Herrscher before this and while she did not state that was a current objective, I cannot help but feel that she will try something considering the perfect opportunity this attack brings." She thought back to a passing conversation she had with the blonde enforcer. Capturing the 3rd Herrscher was something that was idly mentioned as something perhaps worthwhile but had dismissed it and said not to worry about it.

She might've done so if it wasn't for the fact that she knew that Cocolia was responsible for the events of Nagazora and was actively gunning to capture Mei.

However, as much as she wasn't going to allow her niece to be put in danger, her hands were tied at the moment. "I am unable to do anything as that would cast suspicion on me and there is no one that I can give this information to except…"

"Me." He finished, already anticipating what she was going to ask of him."Indeed," She said, a small smile on her face at how fast Joachim had figured it out. "Though this is merely a hunch and could just be my paranoia acting up.""It may be but it does not hurt to be prepared." He affirmed as he stood up from his chair. "I will shadow the 5th Valkyrja Squad just in case anything happens."

The cyan haired scientist just nodded to him before teleporting away to tell Haruto of what is to come, leaving the brown haired teacher to prepare for what was to come. Minutes into preparation the sirens begin to blare all throughout St. Freya and following proper protocol he met up with the other faculty in the bunker where all other non-combative personnel were to stay as the sounds of combat began to be heard.

He couldn't actually just go out and shadow the 5th Squad Valkyria, not without making sure that his absence won't actually be accounted for. If he had gone straight to the squad without checking in that would've cast suspicion on him for leaving at the same time Anti-Entropy attacked.

Once the protocols that St. Freya Academy had for non-combative staff like himself had been followed, they were left to 'wait until the attack was over'. It left the undercover Sovereign the perfect opportunity to make his move. It was child's play for him to slip out of the bunker undetected and begin his search in looking for the 5th Valkyrja Squad.

And it was by complete chance that he had managed to see them open one of the service hatches and descend into the dark tunnels that were below St. Freya.

Trailing them in pitch darkness was a challenge for him, especially considering any small misstep would be magnified in the quiet tunnels. Fortunately he was able to manage to keep up his cover until the squad began to climb the service ladder that would lead to one of St. Freya's currently inactive reactors.

He had managed to slip out of the tunnels undetected while the trio was talking of how they were to tackle the rest of the mission. When they had split up and left Bronya to reactivate the first reactor the undercover Sovereign had initially moved to shadow the leaving duo as they made their way to the second reactor.

However his concern for Bronya's well being forced him to stay behind. He had always known forging a bond with one of the students was a bad idea, undercover Sovereign of Anti-Entropy and all that, but he just knew something bad was about to happen to the petite gray haired student.

And true to his instinct one of his blasted clones stepped out of the shadows. There was no way Bronya would be able to take him on by herself so…

Fate had forced his hand.

"We'll talk about this later." He promised as his mind came back to the present. Helping Bronya back to her feet the gray petite haired Valkyrie shot him a look that she was going to hound him for that promise after all this was done and over with.

"Very well," She said as she recalled Project Bunny to her side.

"Oh how interesting," The three, if you included Project Bunny as well, turned their heads to see their opponent pick themself off the wall that he had been slammed into. The attack had done some damage to him but not enough to put him down for the count. "To think I get to meet my dear old man here of all places…'

"Good," He grinned as dark blue energy began to dance around him as he floated up into the air, looking at them with a crazed excitement in his blue eyes.

"Time to show you what an upgrade looks like."

Back down in the dark service tunnels that laid below St. Freya, the other two members of the 5th Valkyrja Squad were completely unaware of what their teammate was going through as they made their way to the second reactor.

Which was easier said than done for Kiana Kaslana as she was more focused on making sure that she didn't trip in the pitch blackness that she and Mei-senpai were currently in.

"Mei-senpai?" The white haired girl eventually spoke up as the battling above ground rattled the tunnel they were in. "You think that Bronya will be okay by herself, Mei-senpai?" She wasn't going to admit it out loud but she was worried about her petite teammate. Sure she might have not been as close to Bronya as she was with Mei and their personalities were like trying to mix oil and water together.

Yet against the odds they had made a bond with each other, one that was just a drop in the sea of bonds that the Kaslana had forged in her time at St. Freya.

"Of course," The dark purple haired girl assured her. "Bronya-chan is strong, she won't go down that easily."

Just hearing it from her was enough assurance for Kiana. "You're right Mei-senpai!" She cheerily replied back.

They quickly refocused their attention on the map of the tunnels that Bronya had given them before they had parted ways. Getting lost down here was the last thing they wanted to face and without any notable landmarks or indicators to tell them where they were they had to pay special attention to when they would pass the next ladder.

Thankfully however they did not get lost and had managed to locate the service ladder that would lead them to the second reactor. Climbing the reactor and stealthily opening the cover the pair made their way into the reactor's control room.

Only to find out it was as empty and lifeless as the first reactor.

"This isn't right," Mei whispered as the two of them slowly made their way closer to the master terminal.

Kiana was in agreement with her teammate's assessment of their situation. Normally the cheerful white haired teenager would not complain at this seeming stroke of luck that they had but her Kaslana senses were screaming at her that this was a trap that they were walking into. They had never failed her before so it was up to her to figure out where the trap-!

"Mei-senpai watch out!" She cried out as she used her body to push the girl out of the way just in the nick of time as an arrow whizzed past where her head had been moments ago. The two were sent roughly tumbling to the ground before quickly pushing themselves back up once they realized that this was indeed a trap.

"Oh?" A voice that was unmistakably female echoed in the once believed empty command room as the sound of clicking heels followed. "I was sure that I was as silent as possible, looks like you got some good instincts on you."

It didn't take long for a woman in a black and red cloak holding a bow to walk out of the shadows in front of them. "But I suppose that since you're a Kaslana that it shouldn't come off as a surprise." Raven said as she stared at the two valkyries in training that had walked into her trap.

Mei looked confused on who was speaking to them but for Kiana she recognized who this person was almost immediately.

"You're Raven from the World Serpent aren't you!" She questioned as jabbed a finger towards her.

"Oh?" The black haired mercenary raised a brow at the familiarity. "I don't think we've ever formally met Kiana Kaslana. So how is it that you know my name?"

"As if I would ever forget that night!" The Kaslana all but growled out as her mind flashed back to how she learned the identity of this high ranking World Serpent member.

"Aunt Teri!" She shouted as she barged into the principal's office without warning, a large smile on her face. "Whatcha doing?"

"Kiana?" The white haired principal lowered the tablet that she was currently using, brow raised at the sight of Kiana just barging into her office. "Shouldn't you be with your squad right now?""Yeah but it's so boring!" She whined as she collapsed on one of the chairs in the office. "So I thought that I should come by and see what my awesome auntie is up to!"

"How typical…" The Apocalypse muttered under her breath, her mind thinking of a certain make Kaslana who slacked off just as much as his daughter was doing right now. Taking in a deep breath, knowing that there was no way that she would convince Kiana to go back to her squad, Theresa decided that she would just include her in what she had been doing before she had gotten interrupted.

Because in a way it kind of involved her.

"If you want to know what I'm doing I'm reviewing an old case." She explained as she handed her niece her tablet.

"An old case?" The Kaslana questioned confusedly as she took the tablet from her aunt's hand. Her confusion didn't last long as her blue eyes widened on what she saw on the device's screen. "W-Wait isn't that-!""Yes, the incident that involved your kidnapping at the Nagazora docks by the World Serpent." She explained, looking at the data that Schicksal had managed to gather on the event. It would be considered strange for them to gather data on an event that had little to no role in, except for Asplund's Caliburn prototype gauntlet that had been a big role in the effort to save Kiana but that was off the records for the sake of protecting the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps.

But it had involved the kidnapping of one of the organization's foundation families, even if Kiana was a runaway.

"Has there been a new development?" Kiana asked with a tone of urgency, which wasn't so surprising considering that she had been kidnapped by them. "Did we find them?"

"No I'm afraid not," She shook her head, disappointing Kiana with the news. "I'm just reviewing some of the key figures involved with it, that's all."

It was safe to say that Kiana was not pleased by that news but there was very little she could do about it. "I remember him," She growled as she saw the emotionless expression of the gray haired douchebag that had kidnapped her. " I want first dibs on him when we capture him."

"Owl, Chief Communications Officer of the World Serpent." Theresa read out his description. "Ever since the events of Nagazora there has been little sighting of him and he's effectively disappeared from any future operations.""That sucks. "I really wanted to get back at him." The white haired girl complained that her justice was delayed."You will have your chance Kiana." Her aunt promised. The St. Freya principal had a feeling that the reason why Owl had not shown his face after Nagazora was to avoid incurring the wrath of the Kaslanas.

She already knew one Kaslana that no doubt was looking to pay him back for what he had done to his daughter.

"And the other high ranking member present at the Nagazora docks was the one responsible for ferrying Owl away from Anti-Entropy's forces."

The white haired girl swiped on the tablet's screen to reveal a hooded gray haired woman.

"The Raven of the World Serpent."

"Ah so you knew that I was there to bail Owl out of that mess on his own." Raven realized as she thought about how the Kaslana might've been aware of her presence. "How interesting."

"Kiana-chan?" Mei turned to face her, confusion written all over her face. "What is she talking about?"

Oh yeah, they hadn't told anyone about that night. The only people who knew were herself, Haru-senpai, Midori, and Fu Hua. The topic of telling others had never really been brought up before but now might be the time to change that. "Later Mei-senpai," She assured her. "I'll tell you all about it later."

"How presumptuous to assume that you'll be making out of this alive." The mercenary interrupted as she nocked an arrow on her bow. "I have my orders and a good mercenary follows orders."

"I'm not the same defenseless girl you kidnapped in Nagazora." Kiana shouted with determination as she pulled out her two pistols. Beside her Mei-senpai unsheathed her blade, glancing over to her and a silent conversation passed between them.

They would win this together.

Seeing the conviction in front of her Raven could not help but chuckle, a small smile on her face as she readied her bow for a fight.

"Then let us see how much you have grown little fledgling."

Meanwhile deep below St. Freya Academy, in a place that only a few people knew existed, two figures were busy trying to unlock a giant vault that contained secrets only the Overseer knew of

"How much longer till you crack the firewall Einstein?" Cocolia asked as she eyed her cyan haired colleague who was busy typing away on a digital screen.

"Normally this would take hours in order to break, even with my backdoor access code." Einstein informed her while her fingers were a blur of motion as she hacked away at the numerous firewalls that were protecting the vault door in front of them. "However with the distraction going on above ground I can be much more…brutal with my hacking."

"Good, before long we'll have the secrets that Otto has been desperate to hide." She grinned as she could only imagine what juicy secrets that the Overseer of Schicksal had hidden away. Maybe something here would be the key to finally bringing down Schicksal once and for all.

"...And do you think that will stop him?" Einstein suddenly asked, prompting the blond enforcer to freeze in her tracks.

"I'm sorry?" She questioned as the cyan haired scientist hadn't even moved her gaze from the terminal she was working on. "What do you-"

"If we had simply snuck in then the Overseer would have no reason to attack us." Einstein interrupted as she moved her head enough so that the blond enforcer could see how displeased she was at the moment. "Yet by boldy attacking him you have given him every excuse to attack Anti-Entropy without minimal public backlash."

"...You don't know that," She argued back. "We could-"

"And we both know that you are not foolish enough to even try and incur his wrath," The scientist's tone was that of ice, completely unforgiving, as she addressed her colleague. "So I simply ask, why this bold approach Cocolia?"

The blond enforcer opened her mouth to speak, to use the many lies that she had come up with to explain her actions. Attacking St. Freya Academy with such a massive army was not something that she had planned for initially, she had not even entertained the idea at all. She would have never made such a bold and stupid move…

But the circumstances had all but forced her hand.

"I'm not sure myself," She told Einstein truthfully as her mind flashed back to the memory of when she had chosen to change her plans.

It was just a normal day, as normal as normal could be with her guest just lounging about in her office. The pink haired woman just spent most of the days lounging about on her couch, infuriating her with her presence alone.

How could someone be so annoying without doing anything?!

Yet despite how annoying she could be she was someone that Cocolia had yet to lower her guard around, despite her attempts in trying to befriend the enforcer. After all there was a terrifying intelligence behind her blue eyes.

Something that she would be reminded of that day.

"So when are you going to go after dear little Mei Raiden again?" Elyisa asked out of the blue, prompting Cocolia to spit out the coffee that she had been drinking during that moment.

Wiping her mouth from the drink that she had spit out, the blonde enforcer looked at the pink haired woman with wide eyes. "I-I don't know what you're talking-" She tried to play off her outburst but her 'friend' wasn't having any of it.

"Oh please spare us the waste of words." The Herrscher of Sentience retorted with a sly smile. "We both know that you aren't a woman to give up on something once you set your eyes on it and your attempts at hiding the spies you have probing St. Freya's defenses cannot evade me."

Cocolia barely resisted the urge to glower at that revelation. She had been super careful about her reconnaissance, taking every single step possible in order to make sure she wouldn't be found out, yet they seemed to be in vain as the one person she didn't want to find out had.

"Fine, I still wish to capture the 3rd Herrscher!" She snapped, not in the mood to play Elysia's little mind games. "Why do you suddenly care?"

"Because…" The pink haired woman drawled out as she stood up from the sofa. "I want to help!" She dramatically declared with a massive smile."You…want to help?" The blond woman repeated back with an unimpressed look, not at all believing this 'sincere' offer of help from this woman.

"Can't a friend help you out? Besides with your fancy mechs and your connection to the World Serpent it should be easy for you to waltz right into St. Freya and take what you want." Sentience just casually revealed another secret that Cocolia kept.

"How did you-?" The blond enforcer stopped her question mid sentence, alreadying knowing that the person in front of her had this magical gift of easily finding the hardest kept secrets. "I won't even ask."

"Even if I did that they'll notice us coming from a mile away," Cocolia entertained Elysia's plan for a moment. If she was so adamant in wishing to help then she would hear out what she had to offer her and make her own decision on what to do next. "And no hacker on the planet could get into their firewalls without detection and even then they would-!""What if I did it for you?" The Herrscher of Sentience interrupted. "Turn off St. Freya's defenses for you. All you have to do is summon the army and clean up what remains."

Apparently Cocolia showed a bit of apprehension to her offer so the Herrscher of Sentience offered one last thing, something that would seal the deal in her favor.

"If you do this for me, consider this my final favor to you as I'll be long gone."

That had quickly gotten the blond enforcer's attention. "Gone?"

"Yup," The pink haired woman confirmed with a barely concealed grin, knowing that she had Cocolia now. "Nada, goodbye, vanished into thin air. You'll never see a trace of me again.""And how do I know you're not lying." As much as Cocolia wanted those words to be true it sounded way too good to be true, especially coming from a woman like the Herrscher of Sentience.

Elysia chuckled as if she heard the greatest joke in the world. Seeing how she treated such a promise so casually brought an annoyed tick mark to the blond enforcer's face. How dare she come in here and demand things as if she was some sort of-!

Cocolia couldn't finish that thought as the moment she blinked Elysia was no longer standing near the couch in her office.

But rather had somehow magically crossed the distance between them in a split second and was now directly in front of her. The enforcer couldn't even voice her surprise as a hand delicately grabbed her chin, lifting it upward so that she was now staring into the light blue eyes of the pink haired woman.

Eyes which she was pretty sure were now glowing.

"Because the object of my desire is in St. Freya. Nothing in the world matters except what is owed to me." She whispered with such a tone that it almost sounded hungry. No scratch that it did not sound like there was hunger in her voice, it was definitely hunger. Hunger for what? Cocolia had no idea. "Your attack on the Academy will give me the perfect opportunity to reclaim what is rightfully mine."

In all that she had the displeasure of knowing the pink haired woman in front of her the blond haired woman knew that this was the most truthful that she had ever been with her. It felt strange to say considering this woman could lie about everything yet in her heart told her that Elysia was being truthful with her.

And the promise of no longer having to be associated with her was too good to be true. Sure the pink haired woman had been helpful in consolidating her power in Anti-Entropy and had made her stronger than she could've ever been on her own.

Bute Cocolia knew that such a blessing was also a curse that she had to deal with. Spending more and more time with Elysia had alarm bells ringing in head and she just knew that keeping her around was tempting fate.

Sure the blond enforcer could try to have her killed but she knew that such ploys would not work on her. And if she had the chance to end this on amicable terms rather than on hostile ones, that was an opportunity that she wasn't going to miss out on.

And so despite how irrational this decision was, Cocolia agreed to the Herrscher of Sentience's terms to attack St. Freya Academy.

"This is Schicksal Property you filthy little thieves!" The voice of the principal of St. Freya broke Cocolia out of her reminiscing as she turned around to see the petite white haired principal finally enter the Vault, the Oath of Judah right behind her.

Pushing back her insecurities the blond enforcer put on a sly smile and greeted their guest. "I guess you're Theresa, the famous Shicksal Valkyrie. You're shorter than I expected."

Instead of rising to the taunt the principal merely ignored as she activated the Oath of Judah, holding on to the many spears that came from the Divine Key. "Anti-Entropy scum! I saw right through your tricks! Give up and Schicksal will be merciful!"

"As much as I would love to entertain you and stall you for the main show to begin, I'm afraid you have an impeccable sense of timing." She turned to the cyan haired scientist behind her whose attention was still on her digital terminal. "You've already finished cracking the Vault haven't you Einstein?"

"Hah a bluff if I've ever heard one." Theresa shouted confidently as she stepped forward. "These archives have the highest level of security and even you could it would take you-"

"7 hours to break into the code," The scientist coolly interrupted. "However having a backdoor code in the system already and with everyone preoccupied with the battle above it took little to no time to break in." And before anyone could do anything Einstein tapped something on the screen.

The room shook as the vault doors opened up, revealing the contents that laid within. Rows and rows of blue glass colored tubes littered the walls and another input from the scientist revealed what these tubes contained.

"Is that it?" The principal laughed as the tubes revealed the subjects of the long discontinued Sirin Project. "Everyone knows the Sirin Project was created by Otto in order to investigate the powers of the second Herrscher. There's no big secret here and if you planned on trying to steal the powers of the second Herrscher then you'll be in for a rude awakening."

"As tempting as that sounds, we have no need for her powers." Einstein retorted calmly as she motioned to the test tubes. "Tell me Madam Theresa do you see the faces inside the test pods?"

The white haired valkyrie made a confused face at that. "Faces? What do you…" Taking a closer look at the faces of the people submerged in the tubes, her confusion quickly turned to recognition which quickly turned into horror. "N-No. There's no way that-,"

There was no way that her face could be seen on every test subject of the Sirin Project.

Which meant that Kiana was-

"The security system has been disabled in here so no one will know what we will talk about except us." Einstein spoke up as she walked up to the shocked principal and leaned in closer to her ear. "Madam Theresa…"

"Let us talk of how we will protect the ones we love."

In another part of St. Freya Academy a lone figure could be seen frantically running through the halls of the structure that was directly underneath the main building. Running around a corner the brown haired teenager looked to his left and right before groaning in defeat.

"I'm pretty sure I've passed this same corner for the 5th time." Keji lamented as he leaned on a wall to catch his breath. "I am so lost." Bringing his head up his green eyes scanned the hallway and hoped that what he was looking for was somehow here, but to no avail.

"God dammit Kuro of all the times you had to act like a cat it had to be when St. Freya is getting attacked." He cursed as he thought back to how he had gotten himself involved in this wild goose chase looking for the black feline in the first place.

He remembered being woken up from a rather nice dream to the sounds of alarms blaring out all through St. Freya Academy. He didn't have an opportunity to wonder what the hell was happening as his sister had barged into his room and had yelled at him to get ready.

Throwing on the nearest set of clothes closest to him the half asleep chess enthusiast had followed behind his sister as they made their way to somewhere he had never been to before, accompanied by other people that he had seen or interacted with on the academy grounds.

Passing by the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps' workshop he had managed to catch a glimpse of Haruto and his squad swiftly suiting up. He remembered that he had opened his mouth to ask his big sister what was happening only for an explosion in the distance to interrupt him.

The series of explosions that followed after quickly told him that they were under attack.

His sister was guiding him to a bunker where non-combatant personnel would shelter in if the scenario that they were under attack had happened, which was exactly what was happening tonight. He technically could have argued that he was the combat operator of the 6th Valkyrja Squad and that he should be joining the defense effort.

Yet he hadn't as his mind was still trying to wrap the surrealness of the situation unfolding in front of his eyes. It had only been when his sister was saying goodbye to him, Sora, and Kuro, the two having been the first ones inside the bunker and were waiting for him, before she left to rejoin the rest of her colleagues.

Once she left he was about to ask Sora how she was holding up, knowing that the child was probably feeling much more terrified than he was at the moment.

However before he could ask that question Kuro decided to jump out of the child's arms without warning and race out of the bunker, quickly disappearing in the sea of people trying to enter the bunker.

"Kuro!" Sora had yelled as she was about to run after the feline, only to be held back by Keji as he grabbed her arm before she could make a mistake.

"Sora you can't!" He shouted. "We have to stay put here and be safe."

"But what about Kuro?!" She questioned as she whirled around to face him.

He was about to make some kind of excuse that Kuro probably noticed something or that she would be safe since she was a cat but he stopped when he noticed the terror in the child's fuschia eyes. She was deathly scared for their friends who were fighting on the front lines for their safety, afraid of what Kuro would do without supervision.

And for the sake of assuring the child that everything would be okay Keji changed plans.

"...I'll go get her. She couldn't have gone far." Finding one of his colleagues who were also in the bunker to look after the child he prepared himself to leave the bunker. "And stay put Sora, I'll be back with her in no time!" Was the last thing he said to her before he left the safe confines of the bunker they were in.

In retrospect he should've mentally prepared for the possibility that Kuro would not be found anywhere near the bunker and that he would've had to go on a wild goose chase to find her but the shock of the situation was still prevalent in his mind.

Case in point he had been running in what felt like circles for the past hour with little to no success.

"Why do I have a feeling that she somehow got back." He tried to sound hopeful and turn this seemingly bad situation around. Kuro was a smart cat, she would know when something was dangerous and probably realized that St. Freya was under attack so she would have made her way back to the bunker.

"Yeah that sounds reasonable." He said to himself as he prepared himself to retrace his steps back to the bunker, back to safety. "So let's head back and…"

Turning around to the hallway that he had just run down through, which was practically identical to every other hallway that he had run through, he quickly paled at the realization of a very critical fact.

"If I remember how the hell to get back."

Loudly groaning at his misfortune, it wasn't like anyone was around to listen to him, he sucked it up before trying to retrace his steps that would hopefully end with him back at the bunker safe and sound.

If only he had a great sense of direction then Keji would've realized that he was heading in the completely opposite direction of the bunker.

In the midst of the chaos that was engulfing St. Freya Academy it was quite easy to not notice the little things.

And when you're having to fight against giant humanoid mechs it's very easy not to pay attention to a light gray colored cat stealthily make his way closer to the main academy building.

"I trust you to remember what your mission is Stan." Jackal's voice came through on a communicator that was placed on one of the cat's ears. The now named Stan simply hissed, no doubt annoyed that the female scientist had felt the need to

"Good. Shut down the communications network they've established and get out. Succeed where your predecessor failed." The scientist spoke and the light gray cat couldn't help but hiss at that not so subtle jab.

His predecessor preceded him in nearly every way when it came to missions like these, why she had decided to leave was beyond him. Was there nothing more to life for apex predators like themselves but to get stronger?

Why could she possibly throw that all away?

But Stan was not a philosopher to ponder on such questions, he was a warrior that fought opponents and left them as scraps for the vultures to feast on.

His senses warned him that danger was close and so he adopted a battle ready stance. Not a second later a black cat with blue eyes stepped out of the shadows in front of him, hissing out in a threatening manner. Such a tactic might've cowled more meeker felines but not him.

Instead he deepened his stance and hissed even louder, which prompted the black feline in front of him to bare her fangs at him.

Stan could not help mirror the cat's actions in front of him. He had no idea who this mystery feline was but he could respect her boldness of challenging him alone. He would win of course…

Because he was Stan, the greatest cream colored feline warrior to ever walk this planet!

"Okay it's official," Keji said to himself out loud as he looked around to his surroundings. Gone were the familiar hallways that he walked through every day in his job at St. Freya Academy and they were now replaced with tunnels that one might see deep underground.

"I'm lost as hell."

He didn't even know how he had ended up here. Trying to remember every turn he had made or every door that he opened was practically impossible as he was letting his instinct guide him. He had even picked up a metal pipe that he found randomly in the tunnels as a means of defending himself.

Though that did little to relieve the situation he was in as he learned that his memory failed to be depended on.

Now not only did his memory suck, but also his sense of direction as well.

"I'm pretty sure Kuro has all but made her way back to the bunker, hell I'm sure she'll be the one sent to find me instead." He could just imagine the embarrassment that he was going to be subjected to by everyone when he would eventually be found.

Though he was dreading that less than the furious state his sister would be in when she learned that he had left the safe confines of the bunker in a time like this.

Taking a proper look of his surroundings there was only one realistically way to go and that was forward as just a few feet in front of him were a pair of stairs that led up to a metal door. He could go back where he had come in from but that had been a labyrinth of interconnecting tunnels that he gone through and he really didn't feel like getting lost in there.

"Cheer up Keji this is only one way forward. What's the worst that could happen now?" The chess enthusiast muttered to himself as he walked forward and climbed the small flight of stairs and opened the metal doors. At first they didn't budge when he pushed at it, he probably should've seen the red flags that this showed, but at this point all the chess enthusiast wanted to do was get back with everyone else, so he tugged at it with a bit more force.

Eventually he was able to get the door to finally open and what greeted him on the opposite side was the cool breeze of the night sky…

And the orange mechanical eye of a giant robot.

The sudden sight of this mechanical creation seemingly peering into his very soul almost had him almost scream like a little girl but at the very last second he had managed to reign in his shock and not voice it out loud.

That didn't mean his heart wasn't currently beating as if he was trying to run a marathon.

Though once the shock and awe of it began to slowly wear off of him the combat operator in training began to notice his surroundings.

For one he was currently surrounded by a bunch of greenery which meant he had somehow landed himself on the outskirts of St. Freya territory. He knew this because he had to review an entire map of the academy grounds as part of his job and knew that the only concentrated pockets of forestry like this existed on the outer perimeter.

Another thing that he noticed was that the machine in front of him was completely deactivated. He didn't know anything about mechanical or robotical engineering but he had watched enough mecha anime to know that if the eyes aren't glowing then it wasn't currently activated.

Was it a strange connection to make that would probably not be true sometime in the future? Yes it was but the fact that the giant machine had yet to make a move to try and flatten him like a pancake meant that his logic had some merit to it.

And the final thing he noticed was that he could faintly hear someone whistling.

Stealthily moving away from the entrance and closer over to the offline mech Keji parted a bush to where he could see the purple mech up close. The chest of the mechanical creation was currently open, showing a cockpit devoid of a pilot, and not too far from it was a man facing in the opposite direction of where the brown haired teenager was. Accompanying the man's whistling was the sound of…water?

"Fuck man," The man said out loud, no doubt thinking that he was truly alone "I totally should've gone before we had left. No doubt someone's wondering where the hell I am while I'm taking this break."

It didn't take long for Keji to connect the dots of what that man had said and what that mysterious water sound was, his cheeks growing red at the realization of what the man was doing.

But as embarrassed as he was, his mind couldn't help but think of something that was for sure going to get him in hot water, more so than his current situation would have put him in. The person in front of him was currently unaware of his presence and had left his mech all but open for him to take…

And the intel that it had could potentially help Haruto and everyone else fight as well…

Without even realizing it the chess enthusiast's body began to silently make his way toward the still oblivious man, clutching the metal pipe he had found. Once he got close enough he raised the pipe above his head as the man had finished his business and zipped up his pants.

Turning around the last thing the man saw was a metal pipe being swiftly brought down on his head before it all faded to black for him.

Watching the man collapse like a sack of potatoes, Keji froze as he processed what he had just done. Oh god had he just accidentally murdered someone in cold bold? Granted he was here to attack his home but that was beside the point!

However thankfully the man began to softly breathe, which prompted the combat operator to breath out in relief.

"...Alright I just did that," He said to himself as he stared at the pipe in his hands before dropping it to the ground. To think tonight would be his first instance of violence…huh who knew?

Looking over at the open chest of the purple mech Keji knew that would be the last of his worries.

Making sure that no one was potentially around he climbed onto the open cockpit of the purple mech. "Alright…now what?" He questioned as he sat in the chair, looking at the various controls that were on the seat he was now sitting in.

He had absolutely no idea what the controls meant, no less did when activated, yet the more time he spent looking at the cockpit the more he couldn't help but feel that this was all familiar to him.

The chess enthusiast wasn't going to lie, the more time he spent in this chair the more the controls looked identical to the Arahato simulator that he once had in his apartment in Nagazora.

It was such a strange thing to say but it was true. The Arahato Anime had a big and strong fandom that he was proud to be a part of. The perks of having such a massive fandom was that the community had ways to really show their appreciation for the series.

And one fateful day someone on the forums had decided to grace them with a fully functioning simulator of the Arahato. It was completely identical to the one in the anime and for a mega fan like him he had to have it.

Luckily while the unknown person was not a retailer in which he could just buy it they had made a list of parts one needed to have in order to build an exact replica of the simulator and instructions to build it. They even had the simulation program completely free so long as you had the simulator.

Suffice to say Keji had saved up every single yen he had to buy the parts needed to make his simulator and after a year of hard saving he finally had it.

"So if this is exactly like the simulator then…" He trailed off as he looked towards the right armrest. "Then this button should turn this bad boy on."

Pressing the corresponding button the combat operator was not prepared for the seat he was in to light up and to be pulled inside the machine's chest. The teenager was in silent awe as the cockpit he was in was enclosed off and screens began to activate. The main screen in front of him showed him what he presumed to be what the orange eye of the machine was seeing while the side screens had him showing internal systems like weapon systems or the durability of each of the machine's limbs.

"Holy hell this is exactly like the simulator." He muttered in awe of the dream that he was currently living.

But he couldn't sit and gawk here forever, there was an attack still going on and he had an opportunity to tip the scales in their favor. It took of him a while to find it but he eventually he was able to find the radio function in this 'Shiden' mech and was able to calibrate to a frequency he knew belonged to the

Thank god Asplund had decided to teach him how to do that.

After tuning it to the right frequency he almost immediately got a response from it. "Identify yourself unknown caller," Himeko's stern voice came through the radio.

"U-Um it's me Himeko-san," He greeted awkwardly. "Keji from the-!"

"KEJI?!" He winced when he heard his older sister's shriek. If he somehow survived this attack then he knew the dressing down he would get from her was going to be the one that did him in.

"H-Hi onee-san," He nervously greeted back. "H-How are you?"

He heard the scrambling of footsteps before he heard his sister's frantic voice again, this time much more clearer and louder than before. "What are you doing there?! Why are you not in the bunker?! Oh my gosh were you kidnapped?! But the bunker is currently secure so how the hell are you on the opposite side of the bunker?!"

"Well…" He started out, mentally preparing himself for the punishment that he would have to face. "I sort of got lost looking for Kuro and one thing led to another so here I am."

"Kuro?! What the hell does the cat have to-! No that's it you are so grounded after this. Get your butt back over here and-!"

"Now now my dear assistant you must calm down," Thankfully Asplund was there to reign his sister in. "Now why don't you let me handle this hmm? Keji, where exactly are you right now?"

"Well I'm currently inside the cockpit of a mech called a Shiden. The pilot's knocked out outside and there's no one else near me." He informed his boss.

"A Shiden you said?" Even if he couldn't see the white haired scientist at the moment he could vividly imagine the intrigued look on his face. "And how is it that you've activated it, I know that you haven't been trained in something like this yet."

"Well…" His cheeks blushed at how dorky his explanation was going to be, alongside the fact that this was probably being heard out loud from everyone. "The controls of this Shiden is almost identical to a Arahato simulator that I once owned."

He expected to hear laughter for his explanation and he most certainly heard laughter from Asplund. Yet the laughter didn't feel like the mocking or belittling kind, no it kind of sounded like the one someone would have after making a realization.

"Of course the Shiden would have a similar interface to the Arahato," The white haired scientist laughed to himself before his tone adopted a nostalgic tone. "You two never change do you."

"Sir what are you talking-," He tried to ask only for Asplund's voice to do a complete 180.

"Anyway Keji…how proficient are you with the controls of the Shiden?"

That was…a strange thing to ask. "Well if it functions like the simulator then I think I can pilot it pretty well." He answered. "Why?"

"Because you'll be the one who will go and liberate the third reactor, which is conveniently very close to you." His boss answered casually like if he was discussing the weather.

"EH?!" He cried out, totally not expecting that kind of response. There was no way that he was going to send someone who had little to no combat experience to go liberate a reactor that was no doubt heavily guarded, that was simply irrational!

He was not the only one to think that plan was totally bad as he could hear his sister yell loudly as well. "Asplund?! What are you-!"

"We've lost contact with the 5th Valkyrja Squad not too long ago. The last ping we had was of Kiana and Mei in the second reactor's main control room. I doubt they are dead as they are a stubborn squad but we cannot wait for them to make their way to the final reactors. The frontline is slowly losing their ground and the 6th Valkyrja Squad are being worn down by the sheer numbers of their opponents. Keji is in a mech that they believe are his own and with his proficient use of it he can clear the third reactor for us, which is conveniently close to his position."

Keji felt a shiver of fear go down his neck when he heard that his friend was slowly getting tired from all the fighting he was doing, however he felt more terror at the prospect of having to become a fighter himself.

"B-But sir," He tried to plead that this was all a bad idea. "I-I'm not a fighter. There's no way that I can do this."

"Perhaps so Keji," His boss sighed uncharacteristically, devoid of his usual carefree attitude. "Believe me that I do not wish to send you to fight our battles, that is the very last thing I wish to do, but the circumstances we are in are not that ideal. As of this moment you are a best chance of turning that third reactor back on."

What his boss was saying was technically right but still Keji was not comfortable with what he was being told to do. "I-I'm-"

"And what will you do if your friends die?" Asplund interrupted, stopping him cold in his tracks. "What will you do then?"

What would he do then? If Haruto or anyone else he cared about got hurt, or heaven forbid died, then what would he have done? Would he blame himself for their conditions? For just standing idly by and doing nothing?

…Not going to happen.

Tightening his hold on the controls of the Shiden he knew he was going to regret this decision very soon but right now he didn't care. "Alright…I'll do it. Where the hell am I going?"

"Splendid!" Asplund's voice reverted back to its normal, peppy self. "Before I give you your coordinates I'll have you sync the Shiden's systems with us so that we know just what we are dealing with. Then you could be on your merry way to be the hero of the day."

"And for the record Keji, I think you're a very admirable person."

After sending what data the Shiden had over to his boss he had soon received the coordinates of where the third reactor was located at.

"Be careful Keji," His sister's concerned voice came over the radio channel.

"I will," He replied back. His heart was currently racing at the prospect of what he was about to do but he pushed it down. He needed to do this. Everyone was counting on him. His boss, his sister, Haruto and his team…

He couldn't run away from this.

Once a path had been plotted on the Shiden's navigational computers the brown haired teenager began to move the machine. At first he stumbled around in the purple mech, almost falling to the ground as he tried to get a handle of the controls but true to his assumption of how it was based off the Arahato simulator he was able to get the handle of it without much trouble.

"Just like the simulations," He muttered to himself as he navigated the Shiden to the coordinates of where the third reactor was located.

Fu Hua was no stranger to war, hell most of her life was spent in battle. Bringing up all of yourself to bear, each and every moment spent on the battlefield could be your last, and despite how many battles the immortal valkyrie had taken part in, it had never gotten easier.

And she knew enough that the slight reprieves that could be found in such battles were to be taken seriously.

Even if the calm grounds of St. Freya Academy around them had been turned into a battlefield of fire and ash.

"There's no end to this," Haruto muttered beside her, taking this slight reprieve to gather some energy as he allowed his Caliburn battlesuit to recharge.

"It feels like we've been fighting for an entire day," Layla groaned near her as she took a bite of a power bar. Judging by the way her face scrunched up it must've tasted terrible but the need for energy outweighed her distaste of it as she reluctantly wolfed it down as fast as possible.

"Are you okay Fu Hua-san?" Mashu asked her as she handed her a water bottle. The bluish gray haired Valkyrie graciously accepted the bottle from her and gulped it down.

The 6th Valkyrja Squad had been fighting relentlessly on the front line, pushing back their invaders from taking any more ground. The new mechs that they had fielded were a surprise, a definite upgrade from their usual models, but they stood little to no chance against a fully suited Squad.

Even if they were one in training.

However since they were the only ones with adequate equipment they were the ones responsible with dealing with these new Shidens as they had just been informed of their designations. The only reason that they had managed to catch a lucky break was the enemy for some reason had decided to retreat.

Whatever they were planning the A-Rank Valkyrie had no idea but she knew that they would be back soon so they needed to capitalize on this period of rest for as much as possible.

"Hey old timer," A familiar voice called out within her mind.

"Hua," She greeted the voice back cordially. "Is something the matter?"

"Not really? Can I not check up on you?" They retorted back. The A-rank Valkyrie could imagine them crossing their arms, glancing to the side with a pout on their face when they had said this. It was nice, having them care so deeply about her wellbeing.

"Thank you for your concern, I am doing fine." She thanked them for their concern. "I am no stranger to battles like these."

"That's good…" They trailed off in a tone that had a twinge of worry in them.

"Is something wrong?" She asked

"I can't explain it but something feels familiar out there." Hua responded as she could feel the voice's confusion. At the same time she could sense a bit of that familiarity that they were speaking of. "I don't know what it is but it just feels…familiar to me.

Before Fu Hua could elaborate on what they were feeling a familiar voice came through on her communicator. "How are you holding up everyone?" Himeko asked through the voice channel.

Pushing the internal conversation that she was just having with Hua aside, Fu Hua focused back on the present. "We're fine for now but we're slowly reaching our limits." She replied back as she saw her squad perk up at the sound of the Major, hoping for good news. "What is the status of getting the reactors back online?"

At first the Murata woman's tone was hopeful. "The 5th Valkyrja Squad has managed to get the first reactor online." Then her tone shifted to a more somber tone. "...However we've lost contact with them at the second reactor and are currently unable to get any word of their condition."

That immediately brought down the mood of the whole group. Fu Hua didn't need to look to see the crestfallen looks on her squad, especially Haruto's, at the news that they had lost contact with their sister squad and that their fates were currently unknown

"They aren't…" He started out, his tone full of fear of the worst possible reason.

"I wouldn't be worried about them Haruto, Kiana, Mei, and Bronya are strong. They'll get through whatever they're dealing with." Fu Hua assured him. "It may be that they've entered an area where our signals cannot reach them.

"Indeed I've taught those girls myself. They'll be more than capable of dealing with whatever is holding them up." His aunt chimed in, her tone full of pride and hope yet being able to hide her fears as well. Fu Hua was the only to pick up on it as she herself had adopted a tone like that before. It was hard to be in a position where your students or charges were off fighting for their lives and the only thing you could do was just to sit and pray you had taught them enough.

A position that she knew just how painful it was to be in for far too many times to count.

"However, that means our current plan for getting the main system online needs to change." Himeko changed the topic with her stern voice, which drew everyone's attention. "We have a plan for getting the third reactor online but that still leaves the fourth and main reactors to worry about, and those are on the side where our invaders are attacking us from."

At her words silence had fallen on them. In order to get to the final two reactors they had to fight through a veritable army to get to them and at the current state of their defense they couldn't hold off for much longer.

"We can reactivate the reactors." Fu Hua suddenly spoke up, drawing surprised looks from not only her squad but a feeling of absolute befuddlement by Hua within her mind.

"Not all of us, we are too needed on the front line to all go." She added before looking at a certain sniper and shielder duo. "Layla and Mashu will stay behind. Their abilities favor a more defensive approach than going on the attack."

The two's eyes widened at suddenly being called out but the shock quickly dissipated as their features hardened before the two nodded seriously. They would have to pick up the lost of combat capability that would surely be noticed by their enemy. They would be tested like never before.

"Meanwhile Haruto and I will split up and activate a reactor." She looked over to the red haired teenager who nodded along with her plan. "I will activate the main reactor while Haruto goes and activates the fourth reactor. With speed and luck we can turn on those reactors in time with the second and third to bring St. Freya's defense system back online."

This was a plan that held the highest risk of failure. Splitting off in such a dangerous battlefield where one could easily get overwhelmed by numbers was risky already, but add in the fact that they were already fatigued and teetered only amplified that risk of failure

Yet the four of them knew they had no other choice, and as they looked at each other they all had the same, crazy but determined look on their faces.

Failure was not an option for them.

"This is supposed to be the moment where they all say you're crazy," Hua remarked with a tone of disbelief in her head as she noticed the looks on everyone's faces. "Yet you managed to get a squad that's as odd and crazy as you."

The bluish gray haired Valkyrie would've smiled at how true their words were but before she could've shouts of warning from their side put that to an abrupt stop.

Seems that their enemy had decided now was a perfect chance to re-continue their assault.

The 6th Valkyrja Squad quickly stood up and as they rearmed themselves Fu Hua saw the forms of both the infantry squads and the Shidens rapidly approaching their position. "Haruto, this will be our best opportunity to make our way to the reactors," She said to the red haired knight, who nodded in agreement with what she was insinuating and prepared himself to run.

"Provide us cover."

The teenager grinned before nodding and bringing his gauntlet covered arm up, open palm facing their incoming enemies. A bright glow synonymous with his stigma's power began to build up in his open palm and it began to grow bigger and bigger with each passing second. Finally when it was around the size of a basketball the orb was fired right at the approaching enemy. A warning from her to their allies had them cover their eyes but the enemy…

Was not so lucky as the entire world in front of them became that of light.

Hearing the screams of the temporarily blinded she moved forward. "Go Haruto!" She ordered as the knight in training moved close behind her. Behind them their allies began to take advantage of their enemy's loss of sight, causing havoc to the front line.

And in the midst of that chaos she and Haruto were using it to move to their respective reactors. It hadn't taken long for her to lose sight of her red haired teammate in the sea of bodies and explosions but she knew that he would get himself to his designated reactor one way or another.

The temptation to use force against any adversary she came across was great but Fu Hua reigned herself in as she focused on getting to the main reactor. If she started fighting then she would only bog herself down and once the effects of Haruto's flashbang wore off she would be stuck in a sea of enemies, surrounded by all sides.

That didn't she would hold back against someone who would try to put themself between herself and the objective.

Eventually without much trouble or resistance the bluish gray hair Valkyrie had managed to get to the front entrance of the main reactor. The outer building that housed it seemed relatively untouched, which was both a good sign but a bad omen at the same time.

"There's absolutely no way that they would leave this place undefended." Hua remarked in her mind as she began to cautiously enter the building.

"You are right about that, however we have no other choice." Fu Hua quipped back as she silently made her way down the hallways, her fists at the ready while she scanned the corners and shadows for anyone who might be potentially laying in wait for them.

However no such thing happened as the A-Rank Valkyria made it to the main reactor's control room with little to no trouble. However such luck would quickly change as the moment the doors to the room opened she saw a figure sitting on top of the control panels, an expectant look on her face.

A face that was very familiar to Fu Hua.

Her blue eyes immediately widened at the recognition of the person standing in front of her. "How-!"

The pink haired woman smiled at her reaction as she stepped off from her impromptu seat and walked forward. "Ah at long last we reunite."

"E-Elysia?" She breathed out in shock. No that was impossible, there was no way that her fellow Flame Chaser was here. Yet her eyes weren't deceiving her as the pink haired woman was right in front of her in the flesh!

"It's not!" Roared Hua from the confines of her mind, a surprising amount of anger and hate in it. "That's just an imposter!"

"Imposter you say, but we all know that it is you who is the imposter," The happy amiable expression on Elysia's face disappeared in an instant as she sneered, somehow able to hear Hua's voice in her mind. "You who have taken my powers, my birthright!"

"Powers?" Fu Hua whispered out in confusion only for her mind to connect the only being in this world connected with Hua. She took in a breath of air in realization before her eyes narrowed in anger at who was standing in front of her. "Then you are-"

"Yes, quite observational of you," The one who had stolen her friend's body outstretched her arms out wide in a ceremonious manner. "I am the Herrscher of Sentience, a god born from the broken psyche of the most pitiable human to ever exist." Outstretching her hand out in invitation, the Herrscher of Sentience's eyes gained a twisted maniacal look in them.

"Shall we begin your final ballad Phoenix?"

As I ran through an empty war torn field towards the fourth reactor my mind wasn't focused on the fact that I was heading into unknown territory, that said territory was deep in the enemy's control, or that I was doing this all alone.

No, what my mind was still focused on was the news that the 5th Valkyrja Squad's condition was still unknown and unreachable at the moment .

"You should have more faith in them," A familiar voice that I hadn't heard in a long time spoke up inside my head. "They're not the big three for nothing you know."

"I know Hyperion," I said to the spirit that still lived inside of my head. "But I can't help but feel worried about them."

I mean it was such a strange thing to worry about considering that they were all valkyries in training so getting hurt on the job was virtually impossible to avoid. Yet this would be the first time since Nagazora that we would all be fighting for our lives, in a situation where control was but a false illusion.

"Unless they fight an Iudex or something there's very little that can hurt them." Hyperion nonchalantly assured me. I suppose there was some comfort to those words when Death itself said them but it was all but impossible to not worry about them and pray that they would all be alright.

"I hope you're right," I muttered as I began to near the fourth reactor's entrance, pushing my worries away to the corner of my mind. "I hope you're right."

Walking through the front door of the building that housed the reactor I had the Caliburn's shield up with one arm and the rifle at the ready with the other before making my way through the building's interior. The absolute desolation that greeted me inside was unnerving to say the very least but the thing that was bothering me the most was how every single damn shadow I passed was seemingly staring at me.

Which did very little for my paranoia.

But that didn't deter me as I made my way to the door of the reactor's control room. All I needed to do was open the locked door, clear out any enemies that were probably lying in wait, and hook up the Caliburn to the reactor control system so that Asplund could manually turn it on from his location without having to leave its safe confines.

Yet that plan went out the window when the locked doors in front of me suddenly opened, revealing a certain familiar masked figure waiting for me.

"Haruto Nakamura," Gray Serpent spoke in his artificial voice, his red singular eye staring right at me. "A pleasure to meet you at last."

"I would say the pleasure is mine but at the moment you're standing between me and that reactor." I quipped back as I trained my rifle's sight on him, my eyes glancing to the sides to see if there was anyone else lying in wait.

The hacker in front of me did not at all look surprised by my response, if anything it seemed like he had expected my words. "But of course," Gray Serpent said. "The reactor is yours if you indulge a favor from me."

I raised a brow at that. "A favor?"

"A talk, nothing more or nothing less."

"With you?" I spoke skeptically, not liking what that meant. What could the infamous World Serpent Hacker wish to talk with me about, especially in a situation like this.?

"Nothing good, that's for sure," Hyperion quipped, his interest over what was happening made him stay to watch it unfold.

A small chuckle escaped the masked man, which was a bit unnerving considering his synthetic voice made it seem like the devil was laughing. "As enlightening that might be it will not be with me," He moved to the side, revealing that there was someone else sitting behind him.

"It will be with-"

An emotionless voice cut the hacker off, one that had the hairs on my arms immediately stand up as the temperature of the room plummeted.

"With me."

"Oh you are so screwed."

And the person sitting behind Gray Serpent was none other than freaking Kevin Kaslana himself. The original Kaslana sat rather casually on the chair he was waiting in, with one leg resting on top of the other, but the air that exuded from him showed that he was being anything but casual about this.

Not to mention the icy stare that was coming from his blue eyes. I'm pretty sure it could freeze someone in place if he wanted to, especially with how it was glowing in the darkness of the reactor control room.

"Haruto Nakamura," He spoke and I couldn't help but nervously gulp that the strongest person on the planet knew my name. "At long last we meet."

"Please," He motioned to a chair next to me that I had somehow had not seen when I had entered the room.

"Sit,"

I wanted nothing more than to deny his request but I was in no position to refuse him. Even with the Caliburn and my stigma backing me up I knew that I had no chance against the original Kaslana in a fight. He may not have the Judgment of Shamash with him right now but his physical strength alone would see him an effortless victory.

"Not to burst your pride but you're absolutely correct about that," Hyperion spoke up 'assuringly' in my mind.

"Thanks for the words of encouragement Hyperion," I sarcastically replied back to them. "Really have my back with this one."

Backed against a corner that left me with little to no options I could do nothing but oblige with Kevin's request and took the seat in front of him.

The Kaslana smiled lightly, no doubt pleased with my choice to not make things difficult. Beside him the Gray Serpent just stoically stood there, not even making the slightest of noises.

"Now then," The leader of the World Serpent started as he leaned forward, the temperature of the room seemingly dropping as well.

"Shall we begin our talk?"

So a lot of things happened in this chapter(I'm honestly surprised by just how much I put in here lol)

Tried to include as many characters as I could, I wanted everyone to have their spotlight as Haruto was the majority of the focus for the past few chapters. Some scenes were much awaited, Fu Hua and Senti being one of them, while I'm sure some of them caught you off guard.

*cough cough* Kevin's arrival *cough cough*

Other than that not so much else to talk about other than what did you think of this chapter?

Fun fact this chapter was actually meant to be much bigger than this but seeing how this chapter is easily my longest one yet I did not want one chapter to be purely around 32-40K words.

I'm happy you guys liked the commissions, really made my happy on how well received it was.

Welp that's all for this chapter. If you enjoyed it, drop a fav/follow/kudos as they really help me out with creating great chapters. Reviews are deeply appreciated, they're the biggest motivation to keep writing, and if you have a question or a really interesting theory I am more than happy to reply. Please be patient if I don't respond to you super fast. Even if I don't respond to your comment for whatever reason, know that I read each and every one of them! PMing me is the best way for me to respond to your questions.

Peace!