This was supposed to be a short chapter...


Six days ago—Friday, 23rd August 2014.

Helsinki, Finland.

"This is not your decision to make," a woman proclaimed. "We would like to discuss this to him—directly."

"As we had mentioned before, I am afraid the Overseer is busy for the time being," another woman's voice beside her spoke.

Marie, dressed with a formal, black business suit, peered to the side at the silver-haired woman with braids and tangerine-colored visor, wearing a long black and yellow cross on the center of her dress, said clothes revealed inessential parts of her that looked like a mockery of a nun's garment.

Then, at the men and women—in their mid-40s and 50s with sharp business suits—on the other side. Two of the most pivotal individuals of this country sat in this boardroom: The Prime Minister of Finland herself, and the head of the Ministry of Defense, along with their five members, including the transcriber, eyes glued on the screen of her laptop and ears opened next to them, typing every dictations for hours straight on her draft.

The meeting within Government Palace was planned to be a short, temporary one due to tight schedules, addressing the long-time outbreak in Lahti. Explaining the ways on how to restore the placidity and order from the aftermath as Overseer's secretary-assistant, Amber, had mostly covered the case, replacing Otto's absence.

Those were once pleasant handshakes and mutual greetings had been distinguished into rising, heated hostility between the conflict of two different ideas over the course, right after the PM had finished reading the terms and conditions on the papers. Signed by the Overseer.

Marie sat on a brown leather chair, arms folded, staring across the oval-shaped table, waiting for god-knows-how-long the conversation to unfold itself.

The head of the Ministry of Defence let out a dry cough as he leaned forward. "Miss Amber, we will not place our judgment of how well your army—of how special they are—on eradicating these...monsters. But, we will not give every matter that flourishes to Schicksal's hands."

Frowns darted onto Amber like a pack of wolves guarding their territory. As composed as he sounded, the Minister had shown relentless effort on rejecting the considerable dubious offer. Every nation, every country, every living man had their own sense of pride and prejudice.

You stand with your belief until the day you die. Marie understood that subdued sentiment like the back of her hand.

"We must not overlook this, sir." Amber shook her head. "For the sake of the citizen's safety, we heavily propose—"

"That would necessarily mean we're giving you control—a total, full control of our lines of institutions." He leaned forward. "Our country is not a puppet that you can move around with strings, Miss Amber. I hope you, of all people, can understand that."

Amber stayed quiet but didn't flinch at his bluntness. As far as Schicksal's influences over the years around the countries in Europe and Asia, the knots became loosened, some refused to tie their independence to the organization. Some things you couldn't just simply grasp and hoped it would follow you whenever and wherever.

A man such as Otto Apocalypse knew that. Hence why he took the opportunity to connect, did Marie place her money on the table.

Whispers of cynicism sang to their ears. Quite frankly, Marie had listened to these arduous discussions so many times that the edges had grown dull.

"Prime Minister," Amber called with a firm tone. "Imagine a painting on the wall."

Marie casted sideways glances at her. Amber's posture, which had straightened for hours, commanded attention as if she could feel her exuberant self-confidence radiating from her.

The PM focused her gaze at Amber, puzzled, but nevertheless intrigued as she listened.

"A precious picture to which you hold dearly into your heart—be it a plant, a family, or even a house," she said. "One day, the edge of the picture starts deteriorating. You scrub it away with everything you can, over and over, but it will never go—everything you did is in vain. When it reaches the center... that image becomes dark. Nothing to see anymore. Nothing to cling on to."

The Captain was drawn by her words with a brow slightly raised.

"What is this nonsense?" he spat. "Are you playing us for fools now?"

However, the Prime Minister remained silent. She rested one elbow on the table and her mouth was buried deep into the skin of her hand. She stared at Amber with great deal of emotions flickering in her eyes: Bewilderment, wander, realization, and then epiphany.

She lowered her hand, eyes never left the assistant, and opened her mouth with a heavy weight in her throat. "...We look forward to your cooperation, Miss Amber."

The moment she declared that, soft murmurs spread the entire room like wildfire. The head of the Ministry of Defence, on the other hand, clenched his jaw and stared at the woman.

"Prime Minister—What are you thinking?" he hissed.

"What's necessary for our people."

"Pardon my impudence, but we cannot trust these Schicksal's—"

"We cannot turn a blind eye on this, Elias." She stopped him as she turned her head. "This catastrophe is not something that we could fix with our hands. We have no authority over this. Our capabilities alone will not do justice."

Another silence cloaked the room as Elias backed down to his seat and the PM took up her pen and signed.

The Captain dared not to look at the clock, but as she shifted her seat to ease her plodding, rigid hips, she figured this meeting had stretched longer than everyone in this room had thought it would be.

"We can proceed with the next phase, Miss Amber. And please, do call your leader to attend to the conference hall next month. Else, there will be a consequence."

"Thank you for the consideration, Prime Minister." Amber bowed her head. "As stated, we will deliver the medical supplies and equipment in the next couple of hours."

The Prime Minister nodded in response. With that, came the polite farewells of exchanges as Amber shook the PM's hand. Although, Marie and Amber noticed the tension still lingered from the members—from the Minister of Defence, to an extend. Permanent scowls were still bounded onto their backs as they exited the room.

Throughout the long corridors with several pictures, furniture, and windows on their sides, they walked their way out of the building through the west entrance, Marie could hear the nun released a soft breath. The lady held her head down to a small degree, staring at the marbled floor and twiddling her fingers under her abdomen.

"Is there something in your mind, ma'am?"

"Hm?" Amber looked up at Marie. "I appreciate the thought, but I am fine, Captain."

Amber fixed her gaze forward, but the Captain's golden eyes still locked at her as they turned to the right. Marie didn't buy the evasive words from the secretary. She might have worried that her actions would make them lose the critical chance of unity.

Perhaps, a small, uplifting chat would suffice.

"You did a good work, ma'am. We should cross our fingers that the next meeting will proceed with no problem."

"Thank you for the encouragement, Captain." Amber nods. "I appreciate you joining my side throughout the whole process."

"No need to thank me. Orders are orders, and we follow."

She swung one of the glazed doors in and let the lady step outside first. A wide, public square in the distance came to her view, and then at the tall, religious landmark to the right—The Helsinki Cathedral.

The birds chirped in harmony and the cool breeze brushed their faces. A squealing noise from the tram on their far left followed, as Amber watched it sliding away off her view.

The sable limousine parked on the streets right in front of the building, waiting for them. However, Amber did not make a step and continued to stare at the environment. Lips slightly opened, as though a child with a huge sense of curiosity. Full of wonderment.

"..."

When was the last time she exposed herself to the world outside of her box? When was the last time she breathed the fresh air of the foreign nature?

Back when the 2nd Eruption hit Siberia and expanded the effects across the globe like a plague. Amber was tasked to subdue one of the three pseudo-Herrschers, what they called themselves "Seraphim Princes" in Novosibirsk. The town under the guiding moonlight was surrounded by black fog, covered with eternal darkness, tarnished with disease.

Theresa Apocalypse, her first and only considered friend, had mentioned that the civilization was as gorgeous as she expected it would be.

She was right. She's always right.

"Ma'am?" The Captain caught her staring around. "Is something the matter?"

"Ah." The secretary broke from her stupor, hearing the Captain's voice on her side, as her shoulders flinched. "Nothing to worry about. We should move on."

Marie pulled her brows up at the hastiness of her footsteps downwards the stairs. She brushed it off and soon followed the suit. She opened the door for Amber again with the same dutiful smile on her lips before entering the vehicle afterwards.

The scent of roses from the perfume invaded their nostrils. Marie sat on the opposite side of Amber on the white, long leather seats. She heard the engine's muffled rumble as the car began to move. Their next destination was to go to the airport and head back to main headquarters. A place she could call herself a "home", and nothing else.

She gently tugged her left sleeve and checked her watch. It was 1041. The meeting had gone for almost an hour and a half.

On the corner of her eyes, Marie noticed the secretary reached out on the small cabinet on her side, and pulled out a black book with a white, faceless humanoid figure on the cover and a piece of paper wedged in between the pages, acting as a bookmark.

"Crime and Punishment" written on top of the image, as Amber opened the classical novel and continued to read where she left off.

"Did Overseer gift the book, ma'am?"

"Hm?"

Marie asked out of interest. It was sudden like a balloon popped, Amber's hand twitched before looking up, causing the Valkyrie to feel bad.

She really must work on how to start a decent approach...

"No, it was not from Lord Otto. It is..." Amber looked down at the book, a small smile crossed her lips. "Another person I knew for a long time sent this to me."

A friend, huh?

"Speaking of which, how were Miss Sussanah's performances?" Amber asked.

The light, energetic grin of the orange-haired girl appeared in Marie's mind. Sussanah Manatt—the B-rank Valkyrie of Phosdjinns Squadron, was one of the luckiest privates to ever be chosen by the Overseer. To be able to live through an A-ranked scout mission escalated to S-ranked level threat? A wealthy candidate for a strong Valkyrie, indeed.

Well, aside from her lack of exposure to dangerous environments and her average intelligence, anyways...

"She's got a bright future ahead of her. Her courage is a quality worth to be noted for. But, it alone won't get the job done. She needs more time to learn and develop. Just..." Marie narrowed her eyes to the floor. "Please inform the Overseer to not let her join my team—No matter what."

"Acknowledged. I will forward this to Lord Otto. Did Taimatsu-Maru happen to malfunction again?"

Marie's eyes flickered down to her holster. "No, Nagamitsu did her magic. It works fine for the past couple of months now, ma'am."

The weapon's blueprint originated from St. 1504 Labs. Later, it was exported to St. Freya's only scientist, Dr. Alvara Klee. It was one of those gossips, but Marie heard the product switchover happened because Dr. Alvara wanted to test something new and "different".

The idea for Taimatsu-Maru was just a normal-looking, anti-Honkai firearm—Now, the weapon itself can take forms through the activation of her Stigmata: Handguns, rifles, lightning batons for non-lethal purposes.

She didn't protest. Though on one mission, one block started to wobble, and Marie's first instinct was to throw it at a Chariot-class, and it exploded—obliterated the monster into pieces.

...Nevermind, she did complain about almost losing her hand.

Amber was about to say another word, but she closed her mouth at impromptu.

"Ma'am?"

"Apologies, Captain. The reports from Technical and Science departments have arrived."

Marie's eyes twinkled as she furrowed her eyebrows at her words.

"The orb?" she asked.

Amber closed her book with a soft thump, set it down on her lap. She tapped the side of her visor with a finger, the windows darkened and the blue light illuminated the interior.

An imitation of the orb appeared. A set of displays on the sides were the intel composed by the research team: Subject named "L-754"; harboring ~1750 HW; Class is...

"Docile?" Marie muttered as she frowned at the orb. "What does this mean?"

"It is as it's written. The Honkai doesn't try to break free, or summon the Honkai Beasts to its aid."

"Even though this thing has lots of Honkai energy stored within?"

"We believe so, yes."

"What about the people, then?"

The screen blurred before spreading into multiple panels, showing the victims' faces and identities in Lahti.

"We detected zero symptoms of Honkai poisoning on the victims," Amber said. "Instead, their bodies had lost approximately forty percent of their molecules. Mainly, their proteins."

The brief explanation made Marie's brows furrowed even further. It almost sounded like a fictional storybook. A tame Honkai with the same, near radiation level of that of a Herrscher? It did not turn the people into zombies, but fed itself using humans as a source of nutrition.

"This is just..." She let the leather sink her back, whispered under her breath. "It's just impossible."

"It is certainly a discovery. However, further study is needed for this matter alone."

Marie remembered that foul room, along with several of those victims lying and hanging on the floor and walls like a bunch of twisted collections, tendril-like cords attached into their abdomens.

"Those fleshes in the room." Marie said out loud.

"The hypothesis is that it's a state of metamorphosis." Amber waved her hand to the right, another image took place. "The tissue we examined came exactly from L-seven-five-four. "

Odd. Was what Marie thought. She rubbed her hands, remained speechless within a few moments. Drawing back to the memory of how she tore the tendrils out of those people. Watching the common men suffer was enough to pull her to do the right thing...

And then her mind wandered to the fight.

"The Honkai dragon was going under the same process as well," she muttered, before she looked at Amber. "The dragon—Have we found it yet?"

"Our satellites haven't detected any Honkai signatures around Europe." Amber shook her head. "The Judgment-class Honkai is still hiding somewhere, maybe inside a cave. Captain Durandal is running an investigation with the rest of her team around the continent. Worst possible outcome: the dragon retreated itself beneath the ocean..."

Not good. Not good at all. If the dragon went in the water, it would be hard to detect the thing swimming around the entire continents. It could and would spread the contamination, and with time, crawling into the surface water.

Marie released a hefty breath. They must find and kill the monster as soon as possible.

"What about the boy? Major Himeko Murata took him under her wings. Why was he there? Is he with the AEs?"

"Based on Madam Theresa's assessment, Kilo has no relation to Anti-Entropy, he is an ordinary civilian caught in the peril, same goes for Bronya Zaychik. Needless to say, they are under our surveillance at Saint Freya," Amber replied, "Lord Otto had taken notice to inquire about this as well, but he is putting the issue on hold for the moment."

"Kilo"... Hearing the name almost made her stomach turn. Marie couldn't shrug this air of suspicion off her.

"Major got walking time bombs on her hands. That Herrscher she took in is gonna stab her on the back, along with the rogue Kaslana girl."

"Miss Marie, you need not worry about the Kaslana. Suffice to say, she's obedient enough to understand the situation she's currently in. Madam Theresa will see through her and mend her to become a Valkyrie."

The last thing we need is another Kaslana betraying us. Marie sneered.

"That's good to hear, but the Herrscher of Thunder could be a problem for us. What happens if she goes berserk?"

"To assure the safety of other people around her, and Miss Mei Raiden herself, we implanted a micro-bomb in her heart."

Marie's eyes slightly widened at that. "A bomb?"

"It was her own choice," Amber said, "If her Herrscher power arises—If it contains more than two-thousand Honkai Welt, the bomb will automatically begin its detonation countdown."

A literal walking time bomb. Marie shook her head at the absurdity.

"And the research station underneath Lahti, we suspect they're not from Anti-Entropy. Including the barriers they had left around the town."

Marie narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me?"

"The Forensic department had managed to recover the files in the anomalous lab. Unfortunately, ninety-five percent of them had been destroyed."

The hologram shuffled once more.

"An outgoing phone call from five months ago, on March seventeenth, through an open network." Amber gestured to the screen of an unfamiliar man. "Although it was a short connection, we managed to trace back the footprints of the signal at the end of the receiver."

Black hair, with a stubble beard and a drowsy look. Underneath the image, there was his profile listed in detail: Shimomura, Sadao. A 32-year-old male with an occupation of a freelancer. Single. Last known location was—

"Osaka?"

Of course, the only place that would calm your nerves down was to go back to your homeland. But, wasn't that place near...Kyoto?

"To be precise." Amber waved, the screen changed into a world map, zooming onto the continent of Eastern Asia, Japan. "He was last seen around Dotonbori."

The CCTV caught footage of the man wearing a dark, casual outfit in the middle of the night of the canal. With that, Marie knew what must be done.

"Ma'am, please notify the Overseer that I'll be handling the case."

"Already did, Miss Marie. The operation was initiated by Lord Otto a minute ago, as we already booked a private jet for the sake of your conveniences. Although..." The Secretary tilted her head down a bit as if to avoid eye contact. "Lord Otto mentioned there will be an informant waiting for your arrival at Ebisubashu Bridge."

"An... informant?"

"Yes. That person will assist you on your mission."

Marie narrowed her eyes at her words. Questions floated around her for a while, before she dusted them off and nodded at affirmation.

Orders are orders. She, herself, was meant for this.


The flight took about 4 hours tops to land on Kansai International Airport. She had diminished her hunger with rations back at the plane, with another ride in a cab.

The lack of sleep for the past 20 hours, and she could felt the drowsiness creeped out to her, but a simple cup of steaming black coffee was efficient enough to bring her focus back up.

Two holsters on her shoulders, concealed beneath her suit, two Taimatsu-Maru's pieces equipped. Marie had this gut-feeling that she would need to bring her Valkyrie weapon. Especially when they had yet to know who they were dealing against. Always prepared for unexpected surprises.

The Captain released a breath. Walking amongst the crowds, as she made a turn to the left to the Ebisu bridge.

The billboards and flashing neon lights in Times Square tugged a lot of people in like a bunch of ants finding themselves a dump of sugar. Hectic, but full of lives and cheers amongst the modern citizens after the sun fell.

The nighttime in Dotonbori felt a bit different. Less boards of advertisements on both opposite sides of the canals, less brightness of the neons assaulting her retinas every time she looked at them, less loud noises aside from the flurry footsteps. One intriguing image was the famous "Glico Running Man" that some Valkyries back in HQ were chatting about.

Everything felt weird to her as she drew her sights around as though an alien pretending to fit in.

She shook her head and yanked her sleeve. Her digital watch was showing her it's 2039. The beforementioned instructions from Amber said they would be here at 2055.

Marie clicked her tongue and placed a hand on her waist. She looked over at the glittering river of the canal. A little sightseeing wouldn't hurt, she guessed. Plus, she would like to know the place for better routes and advantage points.

She started to walk, but then her steps came to a halt. A few meters apart on the bridge, a person entered her vision. Her droopy, copper eye locked to Marie's own.

Her bleak, sable long hair tied with thick braids. Front bangs parted off-center, covering one side of her face. She wore a black, snap-down rider jacket over a fitted white T-shirt, a pair of medium azure skinny jeans and sporting grey sneakers. Her vacant look was devoid of any passive emotions, as Marie wrinkled in disgust.

"Captain."

The call reached Marie's ears like a spat of a venom.

"The Crane" of the Bohemian Squadron.

She balled her right fist. "Shen..."

There was a short pause as the two stared down at each other. Like two alphas trying to intimidate one another.

The woman walked closer with zero hesitation and Marie's legs twitched.

"I was waiting for someone, but it's very surprising to see you here."

Her voice had no value, her tone had no leak of a single emotion.

Out of all people, she was one of the faces that Marie wished she could forget. Was this a trap? A coincidence? Shen said she was waiting... for someone.

"You're the informant?" Marie asked, still on full alert.

"'Informant'..." Shen stopped, eye wandering to the side for a moment before something clicked in her mind. "Ah, I understand it now. Then, that would be a 'yes' to your question. Though it's rather strange the Overseer didn't tell me about you."

The Captain relaxed her figure—slow and calm—and she groaned. What was the Overseer thinking?

"Do you remember these parts of the city?" The Shenzhou woman asked, folding her arms.

"No."

"I thought you had a good memory...Or you haven't been here before?"

"No," Marie replied, still with a sharp tone.

"That's ironic...Well, why don't you take some time to observe the view. Maybe stand here and wait until dawn? It's not called 'Land of The Rising Sun' for nought, let it sink into your mind—"

"Where is our target?"

Straight to the point. Shen's eye blinked.

"You seriously need to work on how to talk to a person, Captain."

The words ticked Marie's temper. Her left fist trembled. She could reach out to her weapon and aim it at the Crane—

But, her rationality gave their opinion on the back of her head and she took a sharp breath.

"Give me the location... and we'll be done with this," Marie said.

"...Of course." Slow and methodical, as Shen still glanced at her, she turned her back. "I'll lead the way."

A string of relief coiled around Marie as Shen began to move. Marie followed her tail while keeping a distance between them. They moved away from the pedestrian bridge and towards the shopping district.

"Heeey, hotties... 'ere are ya two going?!"

Marie halted her step and saw a random businessman rambling, in what Marie thought as a Kansai dialect, and drunk in his own liquor as he grinned while wobbling around. His horrendous breaths polluted the air.

"Would ya, would ya come 'ith me and 'ave sum fun...!?"

"Please excuse us." Shen walked right by the drunkard.

But, the man wrinkled his nose, and stepped close behind Shen and stopped her by the shoulder.

"OI! I was talkin', ya whore...!"

The Shenzou woman didn't reply, only stood in silence, back straightened up, and Marie's eyes widened at the change of the girl's behavior. Shen slowly twisted her figure around. Her lone eye gazed down at his.

She could see them. Just like that time. Those same looks that held no virtue; no morality, only a foundation that harbors the lust and glee to paint the streets red.

Marie stepped in to prevent an unwanted accident from happening. But soon came a deafening yelp.

The drunkard released his grip and his feet scrambled back, hands raised out of pure instinct to protect himself. Eyes wide as though dozens of ice cubes fell over his head, and the whole of his figure shook like he's about to crumble into pieces.

"S-sorry! I'm so sorry!"

The pedestrians stared at the commotion with curiosity, as he ran off with a stumble, shoving through the crowds. The Captain looked at Shen as though she was a whole different person.

"This happens all the time, so don't worry about it." Shen continued with her walk. "Even in cities like Kyoto and Tokyo, there'll always be people like them."

Marie narrowed her eyes at her back. With a look of doubt, she followed her from behind again.

"You..." the Captain hesitated. "You know something going on?"

"A lot of things, really." Shen nodded. "This place isn't what you think it is. One time I saw a group of men dumping a body of a woman into the water. And a couple of days ago, there was a yakuza who ran down from a building with daggers flying around."

"Impossible," Marie replied on the spur of the moment.

Shen nodded again. "Yes, the last one was a joke."

"..."

They soon made a turn to the left towards another street. The relentless whines of crickets cried in the distance. Lamps brightened the long road with few civilians roaming along the bricked pavement as far as the eyes could see. Marie noticed an old, homeless man with lots of bags lying around in front of a building.

"Don't you want to walk around first? There's a roasted crab around the corner you might like. You can even try fishing near the cana—"

"Just tell me where I can find him, and we'll part ways."

"I said I'll lead the way, no?" Shen didn't look back. "As soon after I got orders from the higher-ups, I already located the man we're looking for—"

"Then tell me where he is."

"—I wonder why the Overseer called me as an informant and not as a tourist guide."

"Did you hear me?" The Captain frowned, patience running thin. "I'm asking you a question."

She never answered. Instead, she stopped in front of the homeless man Marie saw on the road and pulled her leather wallet, drawing two golden coins out.

The Shenzou woman bent her knees, tossing the money on the metal bowl as it clanged. Marie gave her a look. A woman like her giving a charity to an old man? How obnoxious.

A moment later as Shen got up, the homeless man still refused to look at her, but he slowly raised his right palm and closed his right ear.

"Two..."

After that, Marie heard a loud click from the door beside him as it slightly opened. She stared at the weird man. More questions than answers were piling up in her head.

Shen went in first, stepping over the pile of trash and pushing the door.

With wary steps, she soon entered. The door automatically closed behind her with the same click, she noticed the mechanized lock on the graffiti walls connecting the door. The lamps dimmed the narrow hallway to the stairs.

"What is this place?" she asked. "Shen!"

Yet, she didn't answer as she went up to the floors. It was a clear prompt to follow her again, and follow her Marie did. Clomping sounds echoed from her heels on the ceramics, eyeing straight to the stairs.

As she ascended, every corridor on every floor she passed was barricaded with cages, denying one's entry. Marie wondered why. Her thoughts broke after she reached the sixth floor. Her face turned into a surprised one as she scanned the area in front of her.

Room wide enough to hold a herd of horses. Rounded, wooden tables with people sitting on stool chairs set separately beside one another. The croaked noise of the rolling roulettes, the sounds of the fiddling cards, followed by loud cheers pierced her ears. Marie coughed, almost hacked, from the strong stench of nicotine and the alcohol as she saw white ashes floating under the ceiling.

On their left, a bar with tens of beverages lining on the shelves behind the bartender, who was wiping a glass of a mug.

The large window at the end of the room, overlooking down the road and the opposite sides of the building, was shut tight. Her frown deepened from the smell. The yearn to breath a fresh air worsened by the second.

"You'll grow old if you keep scowling like that."

"Can it."

Shen moved and leaned on the bar counter.

"Good evening, Q."

The bartender was no Japanese nor was he Asian. Marie thought as she inspected his features. Tanned skin, a bit glossy face and a pair of clear, ocean eyes. When he looked up at Shen, he released a sigh in an instant.

"Please don't make trouble for us again." His voice was soft as if begging at Shen. "You put enough bloody holes on our tables."

"I did pay for the mayhem," Shen said in a casual tone.

"I mean our reputation."

"Oh."

"Yes, 'oh'." He put the cleaned mug down on the rack. "Counted less patrons stepping in-and-out of the doorway this month thanks to you—Who's this handsome princess?"

He shot his chin to Marie as she stepped towards the counter and opened her lips—

"She's my colleague." Shen cut her off and Marie glared at her. "We're looking for someone."

A pause between the three as the bartender swept his eyes at Shen and Marie, forth and back, until he placed his hands on the counter and leaned closer.

"Are you trying to fiddle their balls again, Shen?" he whispered with a small chuckle, but his narrowed eyes betrayed his bland humor. "You best not...You best draw a line between you and them. Otherwise, they will never ever forgive what you've done."

Marie raised a suspicious brow at that.

"I'm not looking for them," Shen replied.

"Then who?"

Shen shifted her eye at Marie as if telling her it was her turn. She rolled her eyes, and reached out her inner pocket suit, pulled and holding a photograph of the suspect on top.

"Sadao Shimomura. He was seen around this neighborhood two hours ago."

Q took a closer inspection. His narrowed eyes blinked multiple times. Brows then, wrinkled, lips pursed in dismay as he tapped his finger on the bar. Several times, he rushed his eyes to their right.

Marie kept pushing him, staring deep into his eyes to tear his stance apart. A common way for questioning routines, and this one was easy to crack.

Eventually, he bit his lips and clicked his tongue. Marie returned the photo in her pocket.

"Far end table on your right...brown coat, behind the pillar."

With that, the girls made their way.

"And for fuck's sake, don't hit him!" Q shouted behind them.

They passed around the tables and many gamblers as they got closer and closer to their final destination.

"You stay out of this," Marie whispered to Shen on her side.

Sadao hadn't noticed them coming. Busy drowning in excitement and a sense of tingling fear on his back. His heart throbbed faster every time he looked at the ball pebble on the rolling roulette. He was going to win—he had to. Victory was in hands and he could smell the mountain of yens filling his pocket.

The roulette slowly came to a halt, and the ball stopped at red 32. The rush of adrenaline paid off and his shoulders jumped with delight as he grinned Laughing at the losers on the other side of this table.

"Mister Shimomura."

He looked at the two ladies he had never seen before. It was like someone started to light up a fuse when Sadao stared into each of their faces, one with arms crossed and one with her posture straightened and stared down at him like an ant. His laughs slowly died down.

"Ca-Can I help you?" he asked between heavy breaths.

The euphoria has stopped overflowing in his blood stream. He didn't know why, but the blank stare coming from the long-haired woman provoked something within him. Something wrong.

"Sure you can," the short-haired woman said.

His throat became dry. His palms began to feel wet.

"Are...Are you cops?"

She started to move around him. "Depending on what your perspective is right now."

"W-What?" His body flinched when she passed behind him.

"How much did you bet?" Marie stopped on his left. "Low-roller?"

"...N-No."

"High, then. Well, your reaction before complementing that. How much did you win?"

Thousands of goosebumps jumped on his arms, Sadao's eyes rushed to everything. Her face, her suit, the other confused gamblers and then at Shen. However, the dread escalated when he stared at her blank face.

He swallowed. "O-One..."

"Hm?"

"One million yen..."

"'One million yen'... That's ten grand in dollars. Pretty impressive for an unemployed man like you." She bopped her head up and down as if trying to mock him. "How did it feel?"

"Huh?"

His sweats threatened to drop down from his neck, eyes blinking in many times than he could count.

"When you win, how did it feel?"

"G-Good..."

"Mhm." She nodded. "And perhaps a bit of relief?"

"Ye-Yeah..."

Marie placed her hands down on the table and leaned forward. His shoulder hopped, body recoiled back away from her.

"Feels the same when you're not in there anymore, right?"

"In there"? He frowned at that question, face twisted like he bit a lemonade.

"I... I don't know what you're talki—"

BAM!

"—Aargh!?"

The next thing he knew, there was a sharp pain on his right cheek as someone with incredible strength gripped his hair and pushed his head on the table, stacking chips tumbling down.

Marie, on the other hand, was still staring at where his face was. She heard screams and whispers from other patrons, even Q's moans reached her ears. Marie tightened her jaw, and set her head forward.

Shen held the suspect down in one grip by the strands of his hair. Sadao wailed in fear as he tried to push his grappler away to no avail.

"I ordered you to stay out of this."

"You weren't very subtle at questioning the guy."

Another moment of exchanging glares before Marie sighed and flicked her hand, and Shen yanked his head up.

"What the hell do you want...!?" he hissed. Right cheek reddened.

"Finland—Lahti." Marie narrowed her eyes. "You were there before the lockdown happened."

"What lockdown!?"

"The outbreak that killed thousands of innocents."

"H-Help! These bitches are craz—Aargh!?"

Shen smashed his forehead down, holding him on the table as two beams underneath let out a simultaneous crack.

Marie snapped her glare at her yet again. "Stop doing that," she whispered.

As if she was talking to a wall, Shen fumbled the man's coat with her free right hand and then his pocket pants, pulling out his own smartphone.

She pushed the button on the side with her thumb, blinked at the screen for a few seconds.

"Grrk!?"

Sadao grunted as his head was pulled up. Again. The screen of his device was the first thing he saw, as Shen held the phone in front of him. A loud ping sounded and the phone was unlocked.

"Here." She tossed it to Marie, who caught it with ease.

The Captain tapped the contact icon and her thumb sped upwards, scrolling to many lists of names.

And then she stopped. Her narrowed eyes caught an intriguing name with capitalized alphabets.

"Who's SRPT?" She tapped the arrow on its side and the detail showed. "Why's there a vague number on this?"

000-000-003... She turned the screen to him. His pupils dilated when he saw it, and he stopped squirming out of the blue.

Slowly, he shook his head and looked at her in the eyes. "I don't know..."

Of course, he wouldn't go down that easy. Marie prompted Shen to pin him on the pillar by nodding her chin. Without thinking twice, Shen pulled him as the man yelped and his back collided with the cement, her arm pinned him by the chest.

"You're making this harder for yourself, Mister Shimomura." Marie walked to his right behind the large window. "Give us what we want now. Tell us who they are."

"No! No! I swear, I don't know!"

Through gritted teeth as he looked to the left at Marie who raised his device on her side.

It didn't escape Marie's attention. There was a spiral of concern mixed with anxiety storming into his trembling eyes as if someone was threatening him with a knife to the neck.

She wouldn't let this slip away, not when she finally felt like she could grasp the truth behind the madness that took innocent lives for cruel reasons.

"Tell us who they are," she said, "and we can guarantee your safety."

Until the man's eyes looked over the phone and he stopped struggling. The sides of his lips turned up, his teeth glinted with a faux emotion of happiness.

"Ha...hahaha."

Tears threatened to fall from his eyes as he cackled. The girls looked at him as if he had lost his will to live.

"What's so funny?" Marie raised a brow, and his laughter died down, replaced with a strained smile.

"We're all dead men."

She peered at that, before a split second of realization hit Marie as her eyes widened and turned her head around.

A loud crash came from the window. Something fast punched through the phone on her hand as she grunted and lost her grip. The bullet penetrated the man's brain right between his eyes.

Panic yells and footsteps blared across the room as Sadao's lifeless body fell to the ground with a thud. Blood flowing down from the gun hole in his head. The girls' combat intuitions spiked—Shen twisted her body around and took cover behind the pillar, while Marie dove behind, evading another shot.

Her back was close to the wall next to the big broken window. She steeled herself to take a perilous, short peek outside as she leaned—Across, she caught sight of a silhouette crouching down with a sniper rifle aimed at her head.

She quickly pulled back, as the remaining glass smashed, shards of glasses spilled down. Another bullet hole marked on the floor.

"They're on the rooftops!" Marie raised her voice so Shen could hear. She leaned to the side again, and the shadow moved away from its former position.

But then, a group of people that looked like local triads, armed with bats, knives and katana piled into the room.

"Didn't say I haven't warned you, Shen!" Q shouted, his figure was nowhere to be seen so Marie thought he was hiding down behind the bar.

"I'll deal with them, Captain." Shen pushed herself from the wall without looking back.

"Radio on—Same channel!" Marie took out an earpiece and wore it on her left ear. "And don't overdo it, you hear me!?"

She vaulted over the window—landing on a metal platform and watched as the assassin fell on the AC compressors and used the pipe to slide down.

She discovered a ladder on her side, leading down halfway to the ground and wasted no time to descend. Her hands burned as she slid down, wind blew on her ear, before dismantling and her feet smashed on the top of a minivan.

Marie jumped from the roof of the dented vehicle, and chased them down in a lit up alleyway.

But, their midnight robe turned and they aimed their rifle—A pop from the suppressor whizzed—Marie skid to stop, stepped to the side and squeezed her body at a door. And the bullet went astray.

If this was how they were going to play, then she would do the same.

Ducking from another shot, the Valkyrie drew one block of Taimatsu-Maru out as the weapon took the form of a handgun, aimed at their legs and fired two times—two thundering roars throughout the alley.

The assassin however, evaded to the left as their shoulder collided with the wall. When the bullets hit the ground, sparks tore the concrete away like a flick of a finger.

From the same position, the assassin shot a bullet. With quick reflexes, she sidestepped away from the door. An ear-piercing clank assaulted her sense of hearing.

Her focus never left her prey. Marie raised her weapon again and sent three bullets at her limbs.

They pushed their body from the wall, and fired back. Bullets collided and bounced off concrete, ceramics, trash bins and electric poles. Again and again—cover to cover—they exchanged their shots, trying to gain advantages.

Marie pushed them back out of the alley. But then her blood ran cold, as the enemy held a female passerby hostage. The tip of the talon-like claws on their right hand stressed against her throat as she yelped.

Marie breathed out through her gritted teeth while the iron sight on her handgun still pointed at the target's head. Once she got closer and closer with each careful step, Marie could finally see their face under the hood.

A young woman with two pairs of sharp, scarlet eyes beneath her livid bangs of her hair. A distinctive mole under the side of her curled lips.

"What's wrong? Can't get my legs and arms anymore?!" she shouted while slowly dragging the hostage backwards. "That gun got some kick to it—Scared of maiming this poor girl down?"

Marie's anger bubbled up. Taimatsu-Maru wasn't meant to put human targets down; it was created to eliminate Honkai Beasts for the force from the zooming bullets that could decapitate a person.

A single shot and Marie could put two holes in both of them.

"Please..." the girl raised her hands and knees trembled. "Please help...!"

Other pedestrians stopped walking as they watched the person with a strange outfit pulling the girl down to the streets. As soon as they saw the rifle on her left hand, the crowds were alerted and scrambled away from them.

"Release her at once!" Marie shouted.

"So that you can shoot my ass!? No, thanks!" The woman grinned.

Marie looked over their shoulders. The midnight assassin was making her way to a set of stairs that led up to the entrance of a large train station. Marie focused her gaze back at her target, only to see her raising her rifle to her hip and her eyes widened.

"Good girl."

She fired—Marie leaned her torso to the side, but the projectile grazed her right shoulder, tearing the fabric of her suit as she hissed, a burning sensation coursed on her skin.

The killer dropped her rifle on the asphalt and made a run to the East Gate entrance, leaving the hostage screaming as she fell down from the pressure.

Marie ignored her wound and wasted no time to catch on. Tapping her earpiece to activate the radio as she dashed to the entrance.

"She's going for the railways!"

"Shin-Osaka Station? " —a slight pause followed by a yell of anguish coming from a man behind the radio— "It's a maze in there."

Bits of lamps from the ceiling bounced on the marble floors, and the lights on the restaurants blurred as she ran. Swift, and efficient, she moved around the people carrying their luggages.

She turned right, and the hallways were branched into multiple ways you could go. Some of the boards hanging on top, some attached to the walls would help one to seek their destination. Both Japanese and English translations were embedded there.

She didn't have time to stop and read—Her concentration was fixed on the dancing cape of the woman.

"Which line is she using? "

"How am I supposed to know!?"

"The long lines under you—Tell me the color."

Marie leaped over a ducked young man trying to fix his shoes and her eyes quickly darted down. "Blue!?"

"That's Tokaido," Shen said. "Most likely she's going to take a Shinkansen."

A bullet train.

The Captain turned to the left, sprinting upwards using the escalator, shoving people away. When she finally reached up, her eyes widened at a water bottle flying towards her face at high speed. With an instinct, she simply swat it down and continued her run.

The distance between them didn't grow short. It felt like she was still miles away.

"There aren't a lot of passengers at this time of hour. If you're so lucky, you might catch her down. The next stop will be at Nagoya—You best hurry and pick up the pace."

The woman vaulted over the turnstiles, and Marie did the same. The cries of the security officers went deaf to their ears as they ascended up from another escalator again.

Marie found herself in the waiting area. She saw the woman slip into one of the doors of the white locomotive that shaped like a bullet.

Before she could reach it, a voice announcement—followed by a short tune— resounded from the speakers and her eyes immediately widened. The doors were closed, the train started to move. Seeing this, Marie pushed herself even further.

"You need a JR Pass to board the train—No, what type of train is she using? If it's Nozomi or Mizuho, you need to—"

"I DON'T NEED ONE!"

It wasn't even three seconds, and the bullet train had picked up its speed. She ran closer and closer to the edge of the yellow line, holstered her gun and jumped.

She succeeded in landing on the back of its long platform, her feet almost slipped on the process.

The huge gush of cool wind blew her hair, her body, and her clothes as the environment around her became blurry as though it was trying to prevent her from boarding it. The Stigmata embedded within her screeched, golden eyes narrowed at the headlights above a window.

With her battlesuit, she wouldn't have this much trouble stabilizing herself. And so, little by little, her legs stomped on the cold steel, with a hand protecting her head.

She reached out to a handle bar beside the window with her left hand, balling her right fist—and punched the glass. It trembled, but wasn't enough to break it. She slammed it again.

Marie grunted in pain. The injury on her right shoulder sent jolts running down to her spine. Repositioning herself as she planted both feet under the window, she placed all her strength into her reddened knuckles and began to pummel the durable glass.

"Are... you on the train right now? "

Crack, crack—

"Captain? "

"AAAHH!"

She yelled on top of her lungs from the sheer frustration, and delivered another strike. The frames were shattered, and her own force caused her body to stumble forward and fell into the car.

Marie placed both of her hands on the metal mesh and stood up. She looked behind the broken glass and multiple panels under it, and then at the emergency door on her left with the red button closed with a lid.

"It seems like you're in—"

Groaning, she tapped off her earpiece and ended the call. Fast walked to the next car as the floor crackles from the shards, passing through what Marie assumed where they store the snacks and drinks with aluminum cabinets.

She glanced at the other side from the screen of the door. Multiple polyamide seats facing the north. The automatic door detected her motion as it opened and Marie went in.

There weren't many civilians in this car. Only a few of them—Four, Marie counted, and they were sleeping.

Marie slowed her pace. The lights from the track lamps outside flashed through the windows. Her golden eyes flew over the daughter and her mother, and to an elder on another lane.

She could be here. She could be on the other end. Marie had to be more cautious about it. The potential high-threat the assassin inflicted upon the citizens would be devastating.

She moved past another line. A lone woman with a livid bob cut and tied long hair on the back, sporting scarlet lenses and a surgical mask, reading a magazine on the aisle.

Marie had marked her face into her memory—She would never make a mistake in recognizing their uniqueness and features to another. Even if they changed their attire to a different one, like a fancy-looking black business suit.

And there she sat, legs crossed, in a casual manner, acting like she's on top of the world, as though she hadn't made the slightest mistake.

Marie removed Taimatsu-Maru from her holster and pointed the barrel at her temple.

"Don't move..." she whispered.

The woman's shoulders slumped, an exaggerated sigh left her mouth. "Should've put on the hat."

The woman hastily wrapped the magazine around Marie's weapon, directing it away to the floor while getting up and locked her arm with a hand. The Valkyrie immediately set her finger away from the trigger to prevent a blind fire.

Her target raised her finger in front of her mask. "Sssshhh..." and pointed something near the door.

Marie followed—A black board with large red Japanese and English texts written: "Quiet Car"

She giggled. "You'll wake up those sleeping beauties."

The boiling anger fizzled as Marie casted her focus onto her weapon beneath the magazine. Taimatsu-Maru hummed, the barrel straightened and folded itself into a narrow shape, lightning sparks dancing around.

Marie launched the tip of her shoe right on her shin, the woman let out a silent cry, releasing her grip in an instant. The Valk pushed her down, pinning her on the wool.

She aimed her baton at her head. Though, her body flung over from a punch, bounced from the other back of the seats and hit the narrow floor underneath. The assassin produced a knife from her hip and drove the blade down to Marie's head.

She blocked her by the wrist with an arm. The tip of the blade slowly inched towards her eye socket. Her right hand fumbled over the floor, searching for her weapon.

When Marie got the grip, she immediately thrusted it to her abdomen. Her body shook, and Marie kicked her away—pushed herself from the floor and swung her baton downwards.

The livid woman sidestepped from the attack, Marie evaded a thrust of a blade on a nick of time and moved backwards—Keeping a safe distance between her.

She watched as the woman removed her mask and her spectacles, and threw them to the side. A revolting smirk appeared as she shook her head.

"This is taking too damn long..." She twirled her knife, bending her knees, readying her blade in front.

None spoken a single word, the lights outside flashed once more and the rails hummed. Until the woman flicked her blade, gesturing Marie to try and attack—and the Valkyrie gladly accepted the challenge.

With a grunt, she moved, swinging the baton to her killer's head and torso. Her opponent dodged every of her assaults, but had to step back every time.

The woman countered—Slashing back at her, swift and clean, whizzes from the blades struck against her baton as sparks flew around.

And then, she grabbed her hand and locked her once again as their shoulders collided with each other. Orange eyes met scarlet eyes as—

"Ahem, ahem! "

They looked behind. The child Marie saw was wide awake, showing her gleaming teeth. Her mother was still asleep.

The daughter lifted a finger. "Ssshhh!"

"Sorry..." the woman beside her whispered. Marie furrowed at the apologetic grin. The child shared one last smile before dozing off on her mother's shoulder.

Using this as an opportunity, Marie broke free from her clutches, pushing her away.

"A change of scenery would be nice, wouldn't you agree?" the girl twisted her axis and left.

Marie chased her to the food car. Grabbing her by the tail of her hair, the woman skid to stop and quickly turned. The Valkyrie released the grip and avoided another incoming slash.

The assassin stopped at the end of the train, staring at the mess Marie had made.

"That's how you got in?" she threw her arm at the broken window between breaths.

With a battlecry, Marie lunged and swung her baton downwards. But then, her opponent caught her wrist, slammed her to the emergency door and pinned her outstretched arm to the wall. Her sight met with the sharp glint of the knife once more and Marie quickly grabbed her opponent's wrist.

She tried to kick her leg again but the assassin reflected it by punting hers back. All the while pushing her blade into her throat.

The things Marie could've done were to struggle until she met her end, or finding something to loosen the apprehension. As desperate as it seemed, she didn't want to die just yet. Not when she had a job to do—

When Marie glared to the corner of her eyes at her extended arm, a plan came to mind after she saw the red button under the tip of her baton. In a second, Taimatsu-Maru folded into a pistol and she pulled the trigger.

The red button that was once there, now replaced by a giant bullet hole.

"Wha—"

The woman widened her eyes at the destroyed panel, and the door behind Marie hissed. As if the air around them was sucked, the next thing they knew was finding themselves being pulled away from the train.

They smacked against the off-road surface. They rolled and tumbled on the dirt, grass, mud and rocks. Their visions were in a spiral, seemingly like there was no end to it.

Rolled, and rolled, until they came to a stop. Marie pushed the ground with a hiss, turning her back as she laid on the dirt, staring at the twinkling stars and at the elevated railways. She tried to breathe in—hacked on doing so.

A cough sounded near her as she turned her aching neck to the source. There, the woman tried to get her feet back up.

Her adrenaline slowly faded away, her legs and arms screamed as she struggled to get up as well.

"Very persistent...are you...!" Between heavy breaths, the woman shouted—coughing afterwards.

Marie swiped the blood that threatened to obscure her view flowing down from her forehead. Her opponent wasn't doing well either, her knife was gone, her hair became messy, her face red and dirtied with brown mud. Hunched while holding her right hand as she winced.

"Well... you got no toys anymore so—"

Marie stopped at a fire distance and whipped out her extra weapon.

"...You're kidding me." She breathed out.

"Who are you?" Marie pointed the gun at her. "You're SRPT?"

"Eh, just a random bird flying about." She smirked. "Are you this angry all the time?"

"What do you know about the Lahti outbreak?"

"Oh... you're so mad."

"Answer me! Are you the one behind it!?"

"...Well, that's, uh..." The woman straightened up her posture. "You might wanna look behind you, first."

Marie then, heard an engine roaring in the distance. When she turned around, a black shade of an SUV came in towards her at full speed. She took a dive and rolled until her back hit a tree.

The vehicle slowed its speed down. The assassin ran and leaped on top of the car. Marie got up and opened fire to the wheels. However, a blue barrier formed around the getaway car. The projectiles exploded when they hit, yet it didn't leave a scratch or a dent to the SUV.

The mysterious woman slid and swung her body into the back seats through the window. Marie could only watch as the car ventured to the darkness.

The crackles on Taimatsu-Maru soon came to a stop as she lowered her gun. She placed both hands on her knees and took a few deep breaths. Slow huffs turned into groans as she gripped the fabrics of her pants.

She tapped the earpiece and activated the comms.

"I lost her," Marie said, her voice raspy from the exhaustion.

"Well...where are you right now? "

"Somewhere...In a forest." She twisted her body around. "Between Osaka and Nagoya."

"You're probably near Kyoto. Or the outskirts of it."

She shook her head. "I'm heading back..."

Dragging her feet on the dirt, she made her way back to Osaka on the long off-road.

"Good. Also, I've got another lead. I'll send you the location. Try not to be late."

Shen cut the channel that left a bad taste to Marie's mouth. She patted her pocket, scrabbling in to reach her device as it vibrated. She glanced at the cracked screen, the map showed a direction and coordinates.

The location was in Kyoto...

"..."

She stared at the beeping point. The same anger fizzled again in her beating heart as her breathing became erratic, gripping her gun as hard as she could.

"God—DAMMIT! "

Marie's bellowing cry resonated—And the terrified birds flock out of the trees.


Raven leaned back on her seat. Eyes focused on the passing trees to distract her from the swelling in her hand. Not to mention, the car rattling too much didn't help with the rejuvenation as she let out a long sigh.

"She reduced our shield by thirty" a robotic, male voice came in front of her. "And she hit every shot very well."

"Whatever that weapon she's holding, it's similar to the 3rd Key..." She groaned. "Almost blew myself up with that."

"Did you leave your gear on the train?"

"Don't worry, I placed a tracker on the briefcase," she said. "Probably gonna end up in the lost and found office somewhere."

"How are your fingers?"

Raven spotted his red eye on his mask looking at her from the rearview mirror.

"Well..." She raised her crooked point and middle fingers, bended and twisted at every angle. Every time she tried moving them, it was like a sharp nail piercing her. "Definitely not good."

"Your MANTIS genes will fix itself up... Hm, the shape certainly looks like one of those sci-fi movies I saw," he said as she lowered her hand and eyelids twitched. "Was this also part of your plan?"

"Look, I didn't know the Valks were already there, neither were you. Plan C was a quick fix. Unless you wanna go loud and have my face in the newspapers, then I should've gone with F."

"The security cameras caught you along the way, though. Careless, still."

"I didn't call you here for nothing." She rolled her eyes. "You know, it's better if you turn your voice box off and keep driving..."

"10426", that's his serial number and his "name". One of the many Gray Serpents lurking around the darkness, the one who had found her back then and taught her the harsh way of living.

The only way to differentiate the copies, was through his ridiculous, odd sense of humor that annoyed her for nights...

"...Crane."

"Huh?"

"The other Valkyrie," he said. "We haven't seen her for five years long. Maybe longer than that. Now she has returned and flapped her wings."

She squinted her eyes, before mouth agape. "Aah, I remember now."

He hummed. "She made a deal with me once, trading money for intel of the underworld. I witnessed her barging in through the gate of the estate. There were one hundred and thirty-two of them with guns and alone she—"

"She slaughtered everyone in the house." She sighed. "You told me about it already."

"Exactly. Her dances were like watching a performance from the harbinger of death herself. We ought to be careful when hitting the next target."

Raven clicked her tongue. "What was Hypatia thinking, trusting this stuff to the bunch of crooks..."

"Jackal's goal was to expand her research materials and developments. It's necessary."

"Even as far as contacting Shenzhou triads, Mexican cartels, even some Yakuza clans... At this point, she'd had a nutcase of several deals throughout the decades around the countries."

And when the bargains went haywire, like the prototype experimentation in Lahti, a raven flew in and cleaned up loose ends.

"If you feel like quitting, you can do it now," he said and Raven frowned.

"Hey, the rations and meds for the kids aren't cheap. Each and every head of these poor bastards is worth the money for me and the cost for the island."

"You should leave the orphans. They are, but liabilities."

"I can do whatever I want, mind your own business."

"It's just a suggestion."

The incidents from 14 years ago in Siberia were hazy, yet vivid at the same time. The cries of the bystanders, the horrifying howls from the Honkai Beast and his shaking hand clutched her own. Recalling them back caused her eyes to be heavy... or had her fatigue got the better of her?

"...Whatever. I'm going to take a nap." she focused back on the trees and shuffled her body, trying to make herself comfortable.

"Alright, sweet dreams, Cioara."

She closed her eyes, and let the dark enveloped her senses.


The night streets of Kyoto weren't filled with the eyes and ears of the pedestrians. Marie was grateful of that, as a breath of relief huffed from her lips. The last thing she wanted was to be seen and whispers of concerns coming from them.

She had to spend a little moment to wash her face near one of the restrooms with cold water as she took a sharp breath. Her left cheek bruised and a small cut from her forehead and the gash on her shoulder. Although the blood had dried, the sharp, piercing sensation remained. Her clothes were torn in some places, her right sleeve had a tint of dark red down to her upper arm...She had to stick with them for now.

Along the way, she felt her blood run cold. A churning air in her lungs that she couldn't dictate with a pull of a trigger.

Never would she realize she had stepped on the soil of her "home"; Never would she believe she could walk on the same road; Never would she thought she could recall those times again—

"Rotten blood."

"Father, please let her go!"

The forgotten voices rang back into her mind. Her father's gaze of despair, pleading mercy to her grandfather's fury, they were carved within her memories with sharp chisels and gouges.

"..."

When she arrived in front of the two-story flat house, according to the location Shen had given, her heart skipped a beat. The shoji was broken, leaving the wooden frames and torn papers scattered around the floor as if something forced their way in.

She entered with cautious steps, and her eyes locked on two male bodies, one back laid against the wall within the dark. His left arm went missing—blood was dripping down from the clean cut up to the elbow. The last male was lying on the floor, and like the other victim, his right leg was decapitated from his thigh.

Her shoes splashed from their puddles of blood. She went and checked their pulses. Both were in critical conditions, but still alive.

All of a sudden, a man's scream coming from the second floor. Drawing out her gun, she stormed up the stairs.

She turned left to a room, the light from the moon illuminated the area from the window, and the first figure she saw was the familiar dark haired woman holding a silver spear on her side. Her face, hair and her clothes fouled with bloodstains.

"Ah, you're here."

And at the unknown man pinned on the wall— The flesh on his palms were nailed deep with two glowing spearheads up towards the sockets, arms outstretched to the sides—hanging his head as he moaned in pain.

"A bit late," Shen continued while taking out a flashdrive from her jacket. "Apparently, Sadao was trying to make profits with the remaining data to the black market. These guys are one of the buyers and—"

Marie pointed her handgun at her.

"Hm?" Shen's eye locked at Marie's. The Captain's finger in front of the trigger, ready to fire. "What are you doing?"

"Have you gone insane?"

Shen tilted her head. "Were you really that hungry for some actions as well? Sorry, I should've waited for you."

A rush of a flame surged on Captain's beating heart. She ran and gripped Shen's jacket with a hand and pushed her back towards the wall with a loud thump.

"Call them off." Marie jerked her head to the side. "Let him go."

"..."

"Do it!"

"...Poor choice of words, Captain."

Marie's brows lifted in confusion as Shen lifted her spear a few inches as it glowed. Before Marie could predict what was going to happen, the Crane slammed the end of the pole down on the wooden floor.

Two simultaneous faint explosions banged through their eardrums, followed by a wail of agony. Marie glanced at the source with a shock on her eyes. Red colored the walls, screaming like a madman as he stared at his two missing hands.

Marie released her, heading to the man to treat his wounds with complete haste.

"Leave him be." Shen's hollow voice stopped her.

"What have you done?! You—"

"Drugs, arms smuggling, human child trafficking, several cases of sexual harassment... he's the lowest of all scums. This man doesn't deserve mercy."

Marie's eyes widened. "What?"

"Do you think he would never see this coming? After everything he has done?"

"You..." Marie growled. "People with the likes of you have no rights to do that—NONE! You are no different from them!"

Shen could only blink from the lashes of her Captain. She glanced down at the tip of her spear. For a short moment, there was a glint of bitterness coursing through her lone eye. A visible thin smile pulled the edges of her lips.

" 'Life is precious. People should live to its fullest'," Shen said, "You should be grateful I left them alive...Well, aside from the missing pieces, that is."

Something snapped within Marie as she, channeled an amount of energy from her Stigmata, as Taimatsu-Maru trembled with power and hummed, sparks flew off the barrel of the handgun, and macabre of cackles emitted in the room.

Shen's nonchalant expression fueled the fire even further. A shoot between her eyes would end her madness once and for all.

—A cry stopped her. She glared to the corner at the wounded suspect. The part of her mind sounded, begging for her to stop, that she would end the same place as the woman in front of her.

After a moment, Marie released a frustrating breath and Taimatsu-Maru went silent, slowly but surely.

"Clean yourself up." She holstered her gun. "And all of these...mess you've done."

"Always, Captain." She tossed the flash drive.

Marie quickly caught it and turned heel. One look on her bloodied face for tonight, and she swore she would end that wretched bastard.

Justice will come to those who have sinned...

She will see to it...


Okay, alright, I know Dotonbori and Shin-Osaka station are miles away. But for the sake of the action sequences in the bullet train, I had to sweep the bit of realism aside. Just think that this story's universe, because of Honkai (blame them, not me), Shin-Osaka station is now near Dotonbori lol.

Speaking of bullet train, go watch the movie "Bullet Train". It's a fun, satisfying movie, please go watch it if you have time.

When I said this chapter was meant to be short, it's just that some things were lacking and I had to slam the jam on the bread, you know? I figured I should give more about Marie Kujou without showing too much of her, if that makes sense. Here we get to see one of her members, Shen.

Literally just Shenhe from Genshin Impact, but way more diabolical. No "red robes" or Cloud Retainer to bind and nurture her from the young age is this "what-if" variant of Shenhe you'll probably get. I sometimes forget that her original hair was brown or black before she combed her hair three times, and I had to retype some of the descriptions in my revise-and-edit sequence.

This is my first time writing a chapter with a full blown 3rd person view with past tense. I was just experimenting, and writing on 3rd person somehow felt easy and difficult at the same time? I don't know, it's just weird. But that doesn't mean I won't write in 3rd person anymore.

And so, this chapter marked the end of the prologue. That's right, everything up 'till now is just part of the prologue. Next one will be the start of Act I.

As of this chapter release date, Lunar New Year 2023 is about to start, and I hope everyone who celebrates will find joy and luck throughout the year of rabbit. With that said, have a great day/night! See ya!