Please read the note at the end of the chapter but other than that enjoy :)
"Herring Four you have five targets to your right!"
"Don't you think that I don't see that Herring One!"
"Cut the complaining Herring Four! Herring Two make sure that you keep up that suppressive fire! We can't let the enemy pincer us on both sides!"
"Roger that Herring One!"
"And Has anyone heard from Herring Five yet?!"
"Negative Herring One."
"Wasn't he supposed to report back a few minutes ago?"
"Knowing the kid he probably forgot to call back in."
The leader of Herring Squadron, Teppei Shirogane, couldn't help but frown inside his machine's cockpit at that news. Turning his machine around the captain looked at the similar looking machines of his squadron behind him.
"What about the other squadrons?" He asked. "What's their status?"
Herring Two, who could be differentiated from the other mechs present by the massive chain gun that was attached to its arm, answered. "Only that they're meeting minimal resistance as they complete the perimeter around the docks, though the squadrons that are nearest to the base of operations are experiencing something different."
Herring Four, the unit that specialized in close combat with its two hammer like arms, spoke next. "Well what did they expect? Those extras pretty much have it easy with us taking the main heat!" He boastfully retorted.
Herring Three, a unit that could be distinguished by the massive shield that it had as one of its arms, calmly retorted. "Herring Four calm yourself, 'pride cometh before the fall' after all."
"What?! It's true!" Herring Four argued back. "We're the best mech squadron that Anti-Entropy has to offer! Why I'm sure that we could've taken this entire dock by ourselves!"
Teppei shook his head exasperatedly hearing the words coming from Herring Four. While Herring Four loved to certainly voice his opinions, he was one of the best pilots that Anti Entropy had to offer.
He believed the term was that he had the bite to back up his bark.
The Herring Squadron just wouldn't be the same without one of them missing. Though speaking about the squadron, they were missing someone to complete this dysfunctional little family that they had going over here…
The sound of a mech's approaching footsteps answered that question for him. "Herring Five, what took you so long?" Teppei teased as the last member they were waiting for finally showed up.
Herring Five's unit was easily the most distinguishable out of the squad's units. Not only was it the Lightning variant, which meant that the normal arms that were on it had been replaced with adding as many guns to the machine as it could handle. Though the added guns severely hampered the machine's mobility, it didn't help that Herring Five loved to express himself.
Which translated to him painting a giant herring on his unit's visor.
"Hey it's not my fault that this machine is slow as hell!" Herring Five complained as the Herring Squad was now finally completed. "Why did I oversleep again!"
"Heh that's your own fault newbie," Herring Four admonished in his cockpit. "You should've gone to sleep when I told and not spend the whole night playing that freakin stupid game of yours." The pilot taunted.
Hearing Herring Five fell for the taunt with a rebuttal of his own, Teppai shook his head in exasperation hearing the two most hot headed engage in yet another heated argument. It was just something about their personalities clashing over the most trivial of things that had quickly become a norm for the squadron.
They could be having a normal breakfast back at the garrison in silence only for the two to start having a heated argument over what cereal was the best to eat. Or they could be in the midst of a training session and the two would debate over who had the best scores on the training simulators.
He couldn't help but feel this was the price of his wish ever since he decided to enlist in the military. Ever since he had been a young boy he had always dreamed of leading his own squadron one day.
Two years after he graduated from the academy he found himself being promoted in the ranks of Anti-Entropy to the position of Captain, even holding the honor of leading a squad that he had full control over how it was run that would be deployed in the newest garrison being built in Nagazora.
Now he had to deal with the two biggest hotheads that he's ever encountered in his life and somehow get them, whilst getting the rest of the squad to work effectively together. Turning the Herring Squadron to the most elite unit that the world has ever seen was going to be difficult, but Teppei was not one to shy away from a challenge.
"Alright break it up you two!" He sternly commanded. The two pilot's machines glanced at each other before turning away, an unspoken message going between them that their argument was not yet finished. "Since the squadron is finally here we can finally go over phase two of the operation."
"As you all know phase one was the strategic and rapid deployment of every squadron the garrison had at the docks," In every one of their mechs, a map was deployed showing the exact locations of every Anti-Entropy pilot at the docks.
"The rapid deployment of our forces was able to give us the element of surprise, allowing us to set up a blockade around the docks. Battleship Hyakuren has cut off any escape routes into the sea so that leaves us with the task of making sure that no-one here escapes."
The map soon changed as ally indicators began to cluster up. "Should the blockade prove successful then we move onto phase two. The enemy will no doubt realize that they are trapped and focus all of their remaining firepower to defend their main base of operations. From there they have two options, wait for reinforcements which seems highly unlikely or they will most probably choose to try and break through."
"And spill the conflict over into Nagazora," Herring Three grimly realized as Teppei made the same conclusion. He was sure whoever they were dealing with would not hesitate to throw the city into chaos to use for their advantage and slip away into the night.
That could not be allowed to happen.
"We will attack them in a coordinated assault, one from the north and one from the south. We will rendezvous with Gobius and Gorgasia squadrons before we attack from the north, simultaneously our allies in the south do the same."
"Well what are we waiting for!" Herring Four shouted impatiently. However instead of getting groans, the pilot instead got similar shouts as everyone was ready to get this show on the road. "Let's show these bastards who the Herring Squadron really are!"
With that rather strange, but very effective pep talk, the Herring Squad made their way to the coordinates that they would be meeting the other squadrons at.
As the five Anti-Entropy battle mechs walked through the docks to their destination, it became quickly apparent that it was much quieter than it had been just an hour ago. While there were still gunfights and explosions going off in the docks.
It was a far cry from how loud and explosive the beginning of this long night was.
Any resistance that they encountered were swiftly dispatched as the five pilots showed the prowess of the Herring Squad.
"Hey Herring Five I bet my kill count is much higher than yours!"
"In your dreams Herring Four!
"You probably got like 2 soldiers I bet."
"Did not!"
"Any number higher and I fear that you'd be lying to us."
"Then what's your count then Herring Four?! I bet my lunch that my number is double that of yours!"
"Hahahaha! Be prepared to go hungry in our next training session then!"
"Will there ever be a day that you two won't act like children." Herring Three sighed as if she was a single mother caring for her unruly children.
"THIS DOESN'T CONCERN YOU HERRING THREE!" The pair shouted simultaneously.
"And this is why I choose to remain silent during these," Herring Two muttered just loud enough for everyone else to hear in their communication relays. Before long the four pilots that made up the Herring Squad were in an argument ranging from accusations or in Herring Four's case boasting.
As much as Teppei would've loved nothing more than to let them continue with their usual bickering, they were getting close. "Alright cut the chatter you guys, we're nearing the rendezvous point." Switching his communication relay to that of the public channel, the captain began to call out for the two other squads that were meant to join them.
"Gobius! Gorgasia!" He called out expecting a response back, only to get in silence in return. "Gobius! Gorgasia!" He tried again but to no avail.
As time passed with no answer back, it became apparent that something was amiss. "Do you think…" Herring Two's foreboding tone sent chills along everyone's back as they all thought of the only possible reason why they weren't getting any responses back.
"N-No, that's impossible." Herring Five tried to be the pillar of reason, but the wavering in his voice suggested he was feeling otherwise. "W-We would've gotten some kind of distress signal or something by them, or we would've heard-!"
An explosion suddenly ripped through the air, not far from where the Herring Squadron was currently positioned at. The only possible units that could be engaged with the enemy that were near them was…
"It's them!" Teppei shouted in realization. "Alright Herring Squad we are going in hot, I want weapons armed at the ready NOW!" He shouted as he got a chorus of 'yes sir' before the five mechs began to run as fast as they could to the sight of the explosion.
By the time they got there, they were treated to a rather horrific sight. The wrecked remains of what might've been the Gobius and Gorgasia squad were littered throughout. Mechs that could withstand the worst that Nature could throw at them were strewn apart, torso units without arms and arms without torsos to attach themselves to.
The surrounding area fared no better as it was all to clear a battle took place here. Many crates were but melted slag with the amount of fires burning throughout the area and the way that some containers were dented was more than enough to indicate that mechs had been on the unfortunate end of that dent.
And there standing in the middle of the chaos, was the one responsible for this carnage.
"You killed them all, y-you bastard!" On the public communications channel, a voice that Teppei knew as the captain of the Gobius Squad spoke. The mech that the Gobius captain used only had a single arm attached to it, its other appendages nowhere to be seen.
And the one responsible for this devastation was the massive knight that towered over the fallen mech, zweihander in hand.
"I-I'll make sure you pay for this!" The captain spat out from his fallen mech as the knight held its weapon high above its head. Herring Three gasped in horror as it became apparent to everyone what the juggernaut intended to do.
"Oh hell you won't!" Herring Four yelled as he maneuvered his mech to try and get to the knight before it could complete its execution.
Alas the mechs of Anti-Entropy were not created with speed in mind as by the time that Herring Four's mech stepped forward…
The metal juggernaut brought down it's sword with a mighty force. The steel blade effortlessly cleaved into the Gobius captain's cockpit, a strangled gasp was all that left the captain.
Silence reigned as the Herring Squadron comprehended what had just occurred in front of their very eyes. Death was something that they were accustomed to, they were part of Anti-Entropy for crying out loud.
Death was practically something you signed up to see on a daily basis.
But to see two squads be reduced to scrap and bloody smears was enough to make even the most experienced of soldiers hesitate out of fear. Even more so if all that devastation was not caused by a well thought plan or a trap, but rather by one enemy.
One!
But whereas normal people would've fled in terror…
Herring Squad was anything but normal.
"You bastard," Teppei growled inside of his mech's cockpit, his hands gripping the controls with such force that his knuckles were going white. His eyes glared banefully at the metal monstrosity that was displayed on the monitor. "You're going to pay for that!"
"Hell yeah he is!" Herring Four roared in agreement, his mech's hammer arms lighting up in energy. "He's gonna regret ever crossing us!"
"This is personal now!" Shouted Herring Five as his machine's weapons aimed themselves at the metal knight, a myriad of red lasers decorating the target's silver armor.
Even the usually calm Herring Three was riled up. "We will avenge our fallen comrades, no matter the cost." Her voice was a deathly calm as her machine brought her massive shield.
Herring Two's machine revved up its mingun as its pilot was the last to say his piece. "You will be stopped." He simply said
"Herring Squad!" Teppei commanded before they all attacked the silver knight at once. All five mechs descended unto the behemoth with the sole purpose of destroying their hated enemy. "ATTACK!"
Iudex stood unflinchingly as it heard the collective battle cry of its new opponents. The pair of three slits that made up its visor glowed red as it confirmed that engaging these new opponents would fulfill his directive.
[Directive: Eliminate all intruders, ensure that none breach the perimeter surrounding the base]
Acknowledging that directive would be met, the knight's eyes glowed a baneful red as it held its zweihander at the ready before meeting its new enemies head on.
"Aki-san?" I questioned in disbelief as I lowered my sword in shock. "You're a Valkyrie?!"
How the hell had this happened?! Mei's best friend, someone who Mei spoke highly of, was actually an undercover Valkyrie! Never did I think that someone from Schicksal would be right under my nose this entire time!
How the hell had I not noticed that! Granted I didn't spend a lot of time with the kendo practitioner and the number of encounters that we've had could be counted on one hand. Still it was concerning that I never noticed till now.
Because if I missed this then what other things could I have missed?!
"Haruto-san?" She said in equal disbelief, sheathing the katana that had almost taken off my head. "W-What are you doing here?"
I was almost tempted to say the same thing back to her but I knew that wouldn't really work. After all she was a Valkyrie, an elite defender of humanity against the threats that the Honkai could inflict on us.
And I was just a regular human being. I was the one who did not belong in this scenario, not her.
"Well let's just say that they kidnapped a friend of mine and I'm trying to get her back." I explained. Couldn't let her know that the person that I was trying to save was-.
"Kiana right?" Midori said as if it was completely common knowledge.
"...That's right," My eyebrow twitched as I was thrown off guard by revelation. "How did you know that it was her in the first place?" I asked her curiously. From my prior knowledge Kiana was a wanted fugitive from Schicksal, her capture was something treated as high priority.
That meant Midori knew who Kiana was, which meant that she knew of the high value target that was her classmate. If that was the case then why didn't she move in to capture, or call in reinforcements to do it for her?
Also how did she know that Kiana had been kidnapped in the first place? Ishigami-sensei was the only person who I called concerning the kidnapping and the fact that Anti-Entropy forces were still currently waging war on the docks instead of Schicksal Valkyries meant the teacher had not told Midori about the situation.
So if it wasn't my teacher then who told the Valkyrie in front of me about the situation? Was there another Valkyrie stationed here? I tried to rack my brain for any candidates that Midori might hang out with a lot but my lack of encounters with her left me drawing blanks.
Curse my unwillingness to get closer with the girl. I could've had Mei invite her when we had our weekly kendo practices. There was a chance, a small one at the but a chance nonetheless, that I might've developed a bond with the girl and seen through her disguise more quickly.
I mentally shook my head clear of that failed opportunity so that I refocus on the present. "Do you have no backup?"
Midori's green eyes narrowed in suspicion. "That's classified."
My eyes widened before narrowing in response, I forgot that she was a Valkyrie first before she was my classmate. If that was the case then would I have to fight against her soon enough because she thought I was a suspect?
My hand tightened around the handle of the sword that I had borrowed instinctively, an act that did not go unnoticed by Midori.
After sparring with Mei countless times I was once confident that I could take Midori on in a sword fight. After all, Mei was a better kendo practitioner than Midori and if I trained with Mei then I most certainly could take on Midori.
But this wasn't a kendo match, this could potentially be a fight to the death. The undercover Valkyrie could have intentionally gone easy on Mei, or any person she crossed blades with in the kendo arena. After all it was easier to stay undercover if you were in the middle of the pack as opposed to being on the top.
"But I do not think that you are my enemy here," Midori's words caught me off guard as I looked at her in surprise, my grip on the sword lessening as a result. "You care deeply for Kiana and from what I have seen it was all genuine, none of it looked fake." Her green eyes trailed down to the gauntlet attached to my left arm.
"Also the fact that you are wearing an armor of Schicksal either makes you very brave for trying to save your friend, or very stupid for trying to risk your life in doing so."
Ignoring the last part of that sentence I focused my attention on the elephant in the room. "This gauntlet," I raised the arm that held the aforementioned piece of armor, the white glow of the armor shining in the dark area we were in. "Do you know what it is?"
The black haired valkyrie stepped forward, her hands trailing the surface of the gauntlet. Her eyes looked over every detail of the gauntlet, trying to put a name on it. "I'm sorry," She said finally after some time passed as she took a step back. "I do not know the name of the armor that you are wearing right now."
"Oh," I lowered the hand back down, surprisingly dejected by the answer I got. "It was worth a shot I guess."
"It's not a standard issued piece of equipment, the specs of that gauntlet are too advanced to be standard issue," Midori explained. "It could be customized equipment, it's not too uncommon for a Valkyrie to modify their gear to their own liking."
"But the chance of equipment like yours being too far from its Valkyrie is too low, we don't go far without our weapons near us." She looked me in the eye as she came to the only conclusion she could make.
"Then the only logical explanation is that armor is a prototype, meaning that should you choose to continue onward from this point there is no guarantee that it will help you. As a matter of fact it could most possibly be what leads you to your death." She explained gravely as the situation sank in.
A prototype meant that it wasn't complete, and a weapon that was incomplete meant I was holding a volatile bomb that could go off at any moment. If I took a step forward I could just drop down dead with no warning.
Even so.
The hand inside of the gauntlet tightened into a fist as I held it up for Midori to see. "Even if I could die any second right now, I have to at least try." My hazel eyes hardened in determination as I locked eyes with Midori's green eyes.
"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't try to save my friends?"
At my declaration Midori smiled before she turned her gaze to one of the warehouses that was in the direction that I was heading to. "Well what kind of friend would I be if I were to let you charge the enemy base all alone?" She smiled at me knowingly and in turn I smiled back before I focused my gaze towards the warehouses.
In one of those warehouses Kiana was being held captive. "Please wait a bit longer Kiana," I thought as I motioned for Midori to follow, who was more than willing to let me take the lead as the both of us made our way to the warehouses.
"Help is on its way."
"You were discovered?" Alone in his office, Owl could feel the disapproving stare that his superior was giving him right now. While wearing a mask gave no indication what the person behind it was feeling, Gray Serpent could somehow always convey how he was feeling.
And right now he was feeling anything but happy with his report.
"How is this possible?" The holographic image of the World Serpent Hacker demanded as he crossed his arms. "Were your movements leaked?"
"The only two outsiders who knew of our operations were kept under the dark when we went ahead and kidnapped the Kaslana, I even created a diversion to avert their attention when we went through with it." The officer explained as he frowned how useless his diversion had turned out.
For in the end the worst case scenario played out, a full frontal assault by the garrison that Anti-Entropy had in Nagazora.
A full frontal assault that he now had to survive against.
"And what of the Kaslana?" Inquired Gray Serpent. "I trust that she is still in your custody?"
"She is still in our custody, but not currently with me at the moment." Owl checked his communicator for any updates from the captain that was defending the area Kiana was being kept prisoner at.
"Explain."
"We were keeping her at a secure secondary location, one not far from here." As a matter of fact the warehouse that she was being kept at was just outside of the perimeter that he had his soldiers create after it became apparent that Anti-Entropy had deployed their squadrons into the docks.
"I've commanded Iudex to clear a path to the warehouse, eliminating any Anti-Entropy forces it encounters. Once a path has been cleared I will have everyone still under my command move towards the warehouse, securing Kiana Kaslana before we flee." Owl calmly leaned forward as an explosion rocked the docks once more, the sounds of gunfire getting closer and closer.
"I just need a way out."
"...Very well," The Gray Serpent unfolded his arms, agreeing to the officer's plea. "I shall send someone to pick you up, ensure that the Kaslana is in your possession by the time your pickup arrives."
"That won't be a problem," The light gray haired officer assured as he turned on his heel to leave the office. "There is nothing here that can oppose Iudex in terms of raw strength, any opposition will be swiftly crushed."
"Well if you're so confident in the knight's strength then I am sure you do not mind answering this question for me." The holographic image of Gray Serpent became split with that of an image.
More specifically the image of the soldier that Owl had ordered to kill Haruto Nakamura sprawled out on the floor, blood flowing out of his throat.
"Did you think I would not know of this? You forget that Styx is our eyes and ears in Nagazora, do you think that she would not notify me of this?"
Owl looked back to his superior, his eyes showing their usual emotionless gaze. "And what of it? I was under the impression that you gave me full control on how I executed my mission. The Nakamura jeopardized the entire mission so I acted accordingly."
"Unless...you've grown to care for him?" Even though that was highly unlikely, the World Serpent officer could not help but raise an eyebrow at his superior. That was the only possible explanation why someone like Gray Serpent would wish to keep someone like Haruto Nakamura alive.
"Let us say that he is of interest to me, but that interest is not enough for me to risk the success of your operation." On the other side of the call the masked hacker was looking at the GPS trackers of all the soldiers that Owl had taken with him to Nagazora.
More importantly the GPS of the soldier that had been tasked in killing the red headed human. The tracker should've been displaying the location of the soldier, whose dead body remained at the Kaslana's apartment.
Not displaying the movement of a person that was making their way through the docks.
"But I believe I know who exactly called Anti-Entropy about your whereabouts."
Owl inwardly cursed as he connected the dots. Of course the person that had the least influence in the outcome of the mission was the one to be the reason why everything turned to shit.
"I will leave you now Owl, I trust you have learned from your folly." The Gray Serpent gave his parting words before the communication between the two ended. As silence was left in the wake of the call, the officer decided that the time of waiting around was over.
"Captain," He called on his communicator as he exited his office, the two guards that he had stationed in front of his door following behind him as made his way to the warehouse's main floor. "Rally your remaining troops, we will clear a path to the secondary warehouse with or without Iudex."
The warehouse had barely any soldiers left in it, most of them outside engaging Anti-Entropy and making sure none of them got close to the base. "All of you get ready!" The officer shouted to anyone that could hear him as he made his way to the loading bay doors. "We will fight our way to the prisoner and-!"
He was loudly interrupted when a shipping container suddenly smashed through the ceiling of the warehouse. Reacting quickly Owl ducked under the shipping container, only barely managing to avoid getting hit by the massive object.
The two guards following him did not fare so well as they were squished by the shipping container, having no opportunity to shout out their surprise.
"World Serpent," As Owl stood up from his position, a figure floated through the opening left by the thrown container.
Wreathed in red energy, Akira Ishigami touched down on the ground as he looked calmly at each and every soldier that stared back at him in shock for being the person responsible for throwing a shipping container.
Holding his hand, a ball of dark red energy manifested into existence. "Throw down your weapons and surrender! I promise that all of you will be treated fairly under the laws of Nagazora! " He declared for every soldier present to hear.
All was silent as no one dared to move a muscle, let alone make a whisper that could shatter this tense atmosphere they had. Time seemed to stretch on for hours with no one making a move, the only indication that they were still in reality was the distant sounds of explosions and gunfire.
Ishigami hoped that this static period of silence meant that some soldiers were actually considering dropping their weapons in peace.
"What are you waiting for!" Owl shouted, breaking the atmosphere as he pointed at the teacher. "Destroy him!"
As if a spell had been casted, every soldier immediately opened fire at Ishigami. It seems that not a single one of them had gone through and dropped their rifles in surrender as the teacher found himself on the receiving end of a rain of gunfire.
"I see," The blacked haired teacher had a look of sadness on his face even though he was in danger. "I hoped that this would have a different ending but I suppose some things cannot be avoided."
The teacher let the ball of red energy he had been building up in his hand release, the outburst of energy creating a miniature black hole in front of him to act as a shield. The rain of fire that would've torn into him was absorbed by the black hole as the streaks of bullets were consumed by the black void.
"Worry not, for you shall feel no pain from the might of the stars."
Owl cursed as the teacher simply walked forward, uncaring about the multitude of soldiers emptying their ammo magazines at him. The black hole that moved with him simply ate up anything that got near him, but that was not what concerned the World Serpent Intelligence officer.
"Out of all the people to come, why does it have to be the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy?!" He muttered in shock. But that was impossible! The Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, who also happened to be the Herrscher of Reason, had died in the 2nd Honkai Eruption. There were many accounts confirming that the 1st Herrscher had been defeated by the Herrscher of the Void.
It was crazy to even think about it but this lab coat wearing individual was displaying abilities similar to that of the Sovereign. There was no other explanation why he was able to use the Star of Eden, the Ninth Divine Key.
Owl began to step back as he knew that all the soldiers here were just but fodder against the might of the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy. It was only a matter of time before they ran out of bullets to waste against the shield that was a black hole.
And after all of their magazines got empty, then it would be an easy retaliation by the Herrscher.
The intelligence officer needed to put as much distance as he could between this place before that happened. He was unsure if Iudex would be able to match his abilities but he would not risk his only insurance of survival against a Herrschcer.
However, before he could think of doing something…
A sudden fist to the side of his head sent him falling to the ground.
Landing on the ground with a painful thud, the disorientated Owl held his head as he looked up and saw the person responsible for that punch.
Oh for crying out loud.
"Surrender," Fu Hua harshly placed a foot on his chest, cracking her knuckles threateningly. "You are outmatched."
Owl gave her a small pained smile. "I think I like those odds," On his right arm a blade suddenly protruded outwards before lashing out with his arm.
Eyes widening, the glasses wearing Valkyrie jumped back just in time as the officer swiped his arm just where her leg had been. Landing a few feet away, Fu Hua pushed her glasses back up as her adversary got on his feet.
"The wonders of technology," Flexing his blade arm, Owl transformed the blade back into his arm, revealing that his arm was actually mechanical. "The Honkai robbed me of much, but with the help of technology I'm stronger than I could ever dream of being."
"Is that so? No matter how many cybernetic upgrades you have, it won't save you from me." Fu Hua affirmed as she slipped into a battle stance. "You are just delaying the inevitable."
Owl lightly laughed at that. "Are you so sure about that?" He asked before he mirrored her combat stance. "Do you think that we do not know of your existence, Fu Hua?"
Fu Hua simply narrowed her eyes in response to that revelation. "What of it? Do you think since you know my name that you think you can defeat me now?"
"Hardly, but it does give me the ability to prepare for your little tricks." Without dropping his stance he tapped the side of his head. "For example your Fenghuang Down can't influence what a machine sees, and I just so happen to have my brain cybernetically upgraded with an artificial eye."
That was...rather true. The Fenghuang Down could do many things but it was never made with the intention of fighting machines.
The loss of her strongest weapon was certainly a blow to her combat capabilities, but Fu Hua was more than capable in proceeding without it. "Then I will have to do it the old fashioned way." Was all she said before she shot forward with astounding speed.
Owl just let loose a small smile as he moved his body to counter. While he had essentially taken away the Valkyrie's greatest weapon, it wouldn't help him when he had to fight her in hand to hand combat.
And while he did consider himself quite proficient in the Taixuan Martial Arts…
He was fighting the person who founded the arts.
It was pure instinct for him to take a step back when Fu Hua re appeared before him in the blink of an eye. What followed was by pure luck as he was able to tilt his head to the side just in time to avoid a lethal punch that would've knocked him out if it had connected.
"I knew it," Owl thought grimly as he tried to capitalize on the window of opportunity by sending a strike the Valkyrie's way only for her to swerve out of its path with ease. A small part of him hoped that he could offer some sort of fight against the famed Phoenix, that the years he had spent fighting for his life meant something.
Oh how wrong he was.
Using that momentum of dodging that strike, Fu Hua spun on her heel before she delivered a devastating kick to the officer's torso.
It was as clear as the pain that his body was feeling at that moment.
"I'm no match for her at all."
Tianwu Chen had no defense he could muster as his body felt the full brunt of the kick, and judging by the loud audible crack he heard that kick must've destroyed some of his ribs alongside some of his mechanical parts.
The force behind the kick was so great that he was sent flying straight into the shipping container that the Sovereign had used to smash his way into the warehouse. As his back collided with the steel container, the officer spat out blood as his entire body screamed in pain.
Fu Hua was not going to let him rest as she was upon him in an instant. Closing the distance with astounding speed, she aimed a punch at the downed officer's chest with the intent of finishing him off.
Owl to his credit, despite the fact that his body had suffered major injuries, was still conscious to bring up his arms across his chest to soak up the punch. Even with his arms to defend against the lethal strike, he could still feel the force behind that punch reverberate into his body.
If it weren't for those cybernetic upgrades he would've most likely died already.
"What do you hope to gain from kidnapping Kiana Kaslana!" Fu Hua demanded as she released her fist and grabbed the officer by the collar, lifting him up from his position and slamming his back on the container.
Even with the prospect of death looming over him, Owl still cracked a small smile at the Valkyrie. "You're smart aren't you? Figure it out for yourself."
Fu Hua looked like she wanted to refute that but just shook her head. "...It matters not," The Valkyrie drew her other hand back as she prepared to finish this. "Your plan has failed, your allies will be brought to light and-!" The sudden beeping on Owl's bracelet interrupted her as she focused her attention to the frantic red light that was growing in intensity.
"Sorry to rain on your parade Phoenix," Tianwu looked up, a small smirk on his lips as he could see a looming shadow being casted on the hole in the warehouse ceiling. "But you will have to bring me to justice another day."
With a kick the officer freed himself from Fu Hua's grasp before running away. The Valkyrie was about to chase him down and finish the job only for her senses to scream to move out of the way. She looked up in shock before jumping away just in the nick of time before a massive silhouette burst through the opening in the ceiling.
Just where she had been standing a few seconds ago now stood a massive steel knight. The burns and dents that littered its armor told her that it hadn't been standing idly by as the docks got invaded. As a matter of fact she believed this machine was responsible for the slow progress of the Anti-Entropy forces.
Seeing as how they both had the firepower and element of surprise on their side, this operation should've been over already.
[Armor Integrity at 75%]
The knight's robotic voice announced as it's red visor flickered.
[Program Rejuvenation Activate.]
A sudden red glow illuminated Iudex's form, almost as if it was casting a protective shield around the steel behemoth. All of the burns and damage it sustained whilst fighting Anti-Entropy forces were seemingly starting to disappear like magic.
Burns seemingly faded from its pristine armor, shredded pieces of its armor melded back together to their original shape, with each passing second the red glow was restoring the armor back to its original form.
[Rejuvenation complete, armor integrity at 100%]
The red glow faded from Iudex as it stood back up in pristine shape. The towering knight unsheathed the zweihander on its back as it stood menacingly in the warehouse.
[Awaiting further commands.]
"Eliminate those two!" Owl shouted as he looked at the soldiers in the warehouse. "Assist Iudex and quickly eliminate them!" The soldiers, bolstered by the fact that they now had the steel juggernaut to assist them, trained their weapons at the two of them with the intention to finish the fight.
"HEY BASTARD!" A loud projected roar halted the soldiers in their tracks. "WE'RE NOT DONE HERE YET! COME BACK HERE SO I CAN WHOOP YOUR ASS!"
"Tsk there are still some Anti-Entropy squadrons left?!" Owl scowled briefly before changing his orders. "Engage the Anti-Entropy squads approaching our position, leave these two for Iudex to deal with." After the soldiers confirmed their new orders and moved to complete them did Owl decide to slink away into the shadows.
"You know that he is probably heading to where they are keeping Kiana," Fu Hua said as Ishigami floated beside her as the two of them watched the giant in front of them turn its gaze to meet theirs. "They must be keeping her in a secondary location."
"Which is all moot if we do not address the problem in front of us," Quipped Ishigami as he manifested another orb of red energy. If they did not deal with this unexpected wildcard it would quickly blossom into a catastrophe. Anti-Entropy did not have the ability to deal with armor of that caliber.
Which left the task up to them to deal with.
The teacher's eyes glowed bright blue as he analyzed the armor of their new opponent and internally balked when he saw what they were dealing with.
"Soulium armor?" He muttered in disbelief. "How much Soulium does the World Serpent possess for them to be able to create this monstrosity?"
"Not much if this is the only one of its kind." Fu Hua fell into a battle stance as Iudex began to slowly approach them, zweihander in hand. "But we will worry about that after we have defeated it."
[Confirmed new targets, proceeding to engage.]
"I'll cover you?" Ishigami asked even if he knew the answer to it already as he readied himself for the fight.
Fu Hua just nodded in confirmation as she rushed forward as Ishigami sent out a wave of red energy at the steel behemoth, who raised its zweihander up high to meet its enemies head on.
It did not take for the two of us to reach the place that Hyperion had mentioned was where they were keeping Kiana at. For being the main reason why they were here in the first place, I most certainly expected a massive guard contingency to be guarding this warehouse.
Even if they had to deal with Anti-Entropy's forces, the sounds of fighting and explosions still going off meant that the fighting wasn't going away anytime soon, I would've expected a much more daunting defense.
I was certainly not expecting just to stroll right into the warehouse without any difficulty.
"Are you sure that this is the place?" Midori asked apprehensively as she walked behind me with her hand near her sheathed katana, ready to pull it out on a moment's notice.
"From what I saw, yeah," I tried to be as convincing as possible. I couldn't exactly tell her the only reason I knew Kiana was here was because I had a voice telling me that inside my head.
Yeah that was a big no-no.
"Aw, are you embarrassed by me?" Hyperion teased upon me thinking of his presence. I resisted the urge to groan out loud. Couldn't he learn to read the mood right now and act serious for once?
"Don't you worry Haruto, I love you too." Hyperion responded as he read my thoughts.
Why that little-!
"Haruto-san?" Midori's concerned voice brought me out of my inner dialogue as I looked back at the girl in confusion. "You're gripping your sword too hard." She pointed out.
Looking down I indeed was holding the handle of my sword a bit too hard. "Sorry," I lessened the grip on the sword as I scrambled for yet another lie to cover up Hyperion's presence. "Still feeling jittery with the whole combat thing."
"I understand," Thankfully Midori bought the lie as she nodded her head in false understanding. "I was the same for my first few combat missions when I was a trainee."
"That's one thing I wanted to ask you about, but seeing how we are sneaking through enemy territory at the moment I'll have to ask you later." I did a quick look around to make sure that we weren't in any imminent danger.
"Hyperion if you don't have anything helpful to say could you please refrain from making unneeded comments." I pleaded to the spirit inside my head.
"...Hmm very well then," Surprisingly I could feel Hyperion's presence slowly slither away from my mind and to the place that he calls home within my consciousness. "I have some things I must think about, try not to die while I'm away."
"Always the optimist," I joked back as Hyperion laughed in response.
"Heh, someone had to keep it interesting," He chuckled before his presence left my mind, leaving me to finally focus on the task at hand.
"Don't you think it's strange that no one has spotted us yet?" I asked as we walked through the darkness of the warehouse. It wasn't dark to the point that we couldn't see where we were going, we had the natural light of the moon shining through the windows to thank for that, but not bright enough for us to see very far.
"Now it could be a very good thing that we haven't encountered anyone yet." Being the persona of calm, Midori was quick to dissuade my worries. She had much more experience in this situations than I did. "Sometimes fortune shines on us in the most unexpected of-!"
A bright light suddenly illuminated the entire warehouse. The sheer intensity behind the light was so great that the both of us shield our eyes with our arms lest we lose our vision.
Once the light died down the two of us lowered our arms, squinting as our eyes readjusted to the light that suddenly lit up the once dark warehouse. Once our eyes readjusted to the light…
So too did we notice the soldiers that were positioned on the rafters, their weapons aimed directly at us. I paled when I noticed just how many of them had laid in waiting for the perfect opportunity.
"Fire!" One of the soldiers yelled before their rifles roared into life, streaks of gunfire flying towards us from all directions.
"This is bad!" I thought as I was rooted in place, my mind going over countless ways to escape this trap that we had unknowingly stepped into. "Think Haruto! There must be some way we can get out of this! Maybe if we-!"
In my distress to find a way out of the trap, I had not noticed Midori calmly place her hand on my chest.
Before pushing me away from her.
"Midori?!" I shouted in surprise as I was flung far enough from her so that I would not get hit by any of the bullets.
Which then left her to face the literal sea of bullets that were coming at her from every direction.
"Don't worry Haruto-san," She looked at me with reassurance before looking back in front of her, a confident smile on her lips as her hands went to the handle of her sheathed katana.
"I'm a Valkyrie remember,"
The black haired girl closed her eyes as her hand slightly pulled her katana out of its sheath, a hint of the steel blade showing as she calmed her breathing. She showed no signs of panic or fear as the bullets came closer and closer with each second she remained in that stance.
"Simple Domain," I heard her whisper as a white glow seemed to pulse out of her, creating a tiny circle with her in the center. I could not catch what she whispered after but as soon as she finished talking.
Her blade was drawn out with such speed that it seemed to cut the very air itself.
And the bullets that were milliseconds away from ripping into her flesh suddenly scattered into the air.
Yet even if she had blocked the first wave of bullets, the soldiers were very generous with their ammo as she was still besieged by waves upon waves of bullets. There should've been no way that she could have been able to deflect all of those bullets without getting hit by at least a few of them.
Yet that's what she exactly did.
With her eyes still closed Midori made another sudden strike of her sword, and with it another wave of bullets were deflected by that single swipe.
Then again.
And again.
Defying all laws of physics the Valkyrie smoothly performed strike after strike, each one faster than the last one yet it still retained the gracefulness that her first strike exuded. With each strike a plethora of bullets would useless clatter on the floor as Midori shielded herself from the bullets.
And I simply stood there awestruck, my jaw open in shock as I watched the Valkyrie perform a feat I'd only see in anime or in my wildest of dreams. Granted that Honkai Impact 3rd in some way was an anime but this was crazy enough to see, let alone be achieved by someone I knew!
From the corner of my eye I watched a soldier beginning to load what looked like a rocket launcher. I recognized the distinct shape of the rocket that was being loaded in and it did not take a genius to know what he planned to do with that launcher.
My eyes shot back to Midori whose eyes were still closed in concentration as she continued deflecting bullets with her blade. Whatever technique she was performing probably demanded the utmost in concentration.
Warning her would be a death sentence as by warning her as she could lose her concentration and get riddled by the bullets that she still was busy deflecting.
Yet neither could I do nothing as she would notice the rocket when it was too late to do anything.
I needed to think of something fast as the soldier had already loaded the rocket and was beginning to hold it over his shoulder, aiming the rocket to hit Midori dead on.
But what could I do?! I only had a sword and a prototype whose abilities were unknown to me. Maybe if I tried to yell at the soldier to get his attention but then that would draw focus on me and I couldn't do what Midori did so what could I-!
Move.
As if some omnipotent being decided to take hold of my body during my internal debate, I suddenly found myself running headfirst at Midori. At the same time the soldier finally fired the rocket launcher, the projectile speeding towards the Valkyrie.
Hearing the sudden sound of a rocket igniting, Midori opened her eyes to see the rocket flying right at her. Reacting accordingly her body tried to move to try and intercept it but stopped when she caught me rushing towards her from the corner of her eye.
"Haruto?" She questioned as I stopped right in front of her, arms crossed protectively.
Just as I had done that the rocket exploded right in front of us. In its wake a thick smoke covered the warehouse.
"Hold!" The soldier who had given the order to shoot yelled out. Stopping the soldiers held their rifles up as they waited in anticipation for the smoke caused by the rocket to dissipate so that they may see what became of their targets.
However they were in for a shock when the smoke cleared to reveal not mangled corpses, but our perfectly unharmed bodies.
And the green illuminous shield that saved us from the rocket explosion.
My heart was beating rapidly in terror as I stared at the green hexagonal shield that had magically defended us from that fatal rocket. Judging by how Midori had yet to make a sound then it was safe to say that she too was shocked by how that turned out.
Looking down I saw that the white and gold diamond-like shape that made up most of my gauntlet had been activated. The edges of the diamond shape had slightly transformed outward to reveal some sort of green light, the same shade of the shield that I had just unknowingly used.
The gauntlet then shifted from what I presumed to be its active mode back into its inactive state, the state that I had found it in before equipping it.
"Oh," I said dumbly. "It's also a shield."
"A strong one at that," Midori finally got over her initial shock as she stared at my gauntlet in a new light. "You think you're able to do that again?"
"I'm not sure exactly," I clenched the hand inside the gauntlet, trying to remember how I activated that shield in the first place.
I could do it.
If not then this was where my story ended.
"But I think I can." I looked at Midori and nodded my head to tell her that I was ready.
"Good," Midori moved her eyes upward to see the soldiers finally stop gawking at the sudden appearance of the green translucent shield, readying themselves for round two. But unlike last time.
Midori Aki was not going to be on the defense.
"I hope you know what it means to hold that sword," Sheathing her katana, Midori readied herself to go on the offensive. "If you do not aim to kill you will die."
"I know," I readied myself next to her as I held my sword at the ready, the gauntlet als ready to shield me if it needed to happen.
To be honest I was still hesitant to even wield this sword, for I knew that I would be killing more than one person tonight. My greatest fear was that I would get so accustomed to killing that I would no longer bat an eye to someone's death.
But for Kiana.
For the future that had yet to come.
I had to do this.
"And I am ready for that responsibility."
The black haired Valkyrie beside me smiled at my answer.
"Good, because a fight like this is always preferred with a dance partner."
I really need to come up with new ways to start off these author notes lol. I feel like I'm recycling the same ones over and over again.
How did you guys like the chapter? A bit later than I would've liked but I uh...found myself addicted to Final Fantasy XIV. I was like "I'm going to play Summoner for a bit then see what happens".
Yeah that quickly spiraled out of control and I'm now a dark knight in Heavensward.
It also doesn't help that the game has inspired me for a future arc so that's good I guess.
But let's move on to the chapter and what happened.
TEPPEI! When I played Genshin Impact and saw what happened to my boy I was like I need to incorporate him and Herring Squad in here somehow and decided this was the best way.
And I'm debating if I want to flesh out the rest of his squadron, what do you guys think about that?
Then comes Ishigami, Fu Hua, and Owl's moments. I knew Owl was a martial artist back before Raven found him in that organization he was in before the World Serpent and decided why not pit him against Fu Hua, someone who literally founded a martial arts school.
I think the power levels between the two are justified.
Also what do you guys think about the way I did Iudex's talking? I wanted to try something different and I quite like how it went, how about you guys?
Iudex vs Ishigami and Fu Hua will finally let me start writing anime logic fights, I'm kind of excited honestly.
Also another hint for the gauntlet has been revealed, a subtle but very important one.
And lets not forget Midori, wanted her debut to be badass and I wonder if anyone caught on to what I did with her.
Finally I want to address some concerns of what the Avalon sheathe means. Essentially what the sheathe is meant to be the introduction for all the new things I plan on adding. It may not make sense now but basically everything that will be new will most likely be a byproduct of what the sheathe represents in the end.
Please be patient if it doesn't make any sense cause I will make sure that when we get to it I will try my best to explain what I mean.
I've already hinted a bit of what I mean in this chapter, kudos to whoever can find what I mean by that.
Next chapter will be something quite special, I think. I'm trying to space this arc accordingly but I'm like 90% sure I know how the next chapter will go down.
And if I'm right then it will be something quite crazy.
Support has been crazy and I want you to know that I deeply appreciate all of you, especially in school.
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 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!
Peace!