Enjoy!
"So…" Asplund asked with a shit eating grin as he waited for my reaction. "What do you think?"
"It's…" I trailed off as I took in the mechanical beauty that was the Caliburn. The white and gold suit that was standing before me was every mecha anime fan's dream come to life. "Beautiful." Was all I said and even then that word alone didn't feel like it did this suit justice.
"I simply knew you would like it!" The white haired scientist was ecstatic that he wasn't the only one present who was in awe of his battlesuit. Taking a quick look around the workshop I could see his mood was shared by the scientists present as they all had looks of happiness and pride at the sight of the completed Kingsbane Battlesuit.
They must've been really passionate about the creation of this suit.
After taking a quick look around the workshop, I turned my attention back to the eccentric scientist just in time to see him pull out a tablet from the confines of his lab coat and press it. In response the Caliburn battlesuit lit up a dim green before it opened up, allowing someone to place themselves in the confines of the suit.
"Well there's nothing better to do than for you to get suited up and-!"
"Oh Asplund," Marie interrupted her boss with a sweet smile on her face, her eyes closed as the atmosphere surrounding her was anything but sweet. "We talked about this, remember?"
"A-Ah yes," Even someone as eccentric and daft to social interaction as Asplund was could see that he was walking into a landmine not meant to be activated. Pressing on his tablet again, the Caliburn closed back up as the scientist backtracked on his agenda. "We cannot rush this project."
You had to give him credit though as he cleared his throat and looked back at us as if nothing had gone wrong. "While the next step would be for you to get into your suit and do some test runs, we have to make sure that everything is properly calibrated to your body. This project has taken a lot of resources to create and it would be catastrophic if something were to go wrong just as we were at the finish line."
He, technically Marie as she was the one who steered him to this course of action, was right. I didn't know how much this suit alone cost but I knew it would be a slap in the face if this project failed on its final step. "Where to then?" I asked.
He grinned as he motioned for the 6th Valkyrja Squad to follow him and Marie. "Right this way."
The four of us then followed the two scientists to the second floor of the workshop, to a section overlooking the first floor where I assumed the first stages of the Caliburn were assembled at. Familiar parts of the Kingsbane battlesuit littered the room, prototypes by the looks of it if the fact that it wasn't colored in the familiar gold and white color scheme wasn't telling enough.
There was a similar platform that the Caliburn had been on in the main area of the workshop where the framework of a battlesuit could be seen, but the way it was built did not suggest that it was the Caliburn.
The look of it looked less for my build and more of a regular Valkyrie Battlesuit.
Though that little tidbit of curiosity was quickly forgotten when I saw what I would be doing in that room, more specifically…
What I was currently wearing.
"Should I be impressed or worried that you already have a suit for me." I remarked as I looked at the skintight white and gold suit that I had to get in. Apparently this suit was supposed to boost my 'compatibility' with the Caliburn Battlesuit, whatever that meant.
"The gauntlet was able to provide your body measurements after all," Marie motioned to the Caliburn suit on the floor below. "So it wouldn't be too far of a stretch to have a suit made for you as well.
"I suppose," I looked over my shoulder to see just how tight this suit made my body look, specifically a certain part of my body. I know that I couldn't complain about how it looked but did it have to look this tight?!
"Pssh you look like a Power Ranger!" Laughed Layla as she struggled to contain her amusement at my current situation. "Add the helmet and you'll look exactly like one!"
"Ha-ha," I quipped back to the sniper sarcastically as I sat down on the chair, near it a table with a terminal and some strange metal surface on it. "So Marie-san, what will I be doing exactly?"
Walking over the black haired scientist activated the terminal, the screen lighting up with the logo of the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps. "Normally you would have to run a bunch of tests and trials before we get you to actually use the suit, a process that could take days or months even."
Oh…was that so? I knew that it took time to develop these kinds of suits, especially of this caliber, yet I was under the assumption that I had given enough data that I could at least get to wear the suit.
Was I disappointed because of this fact?
I would be lying if I said no.
Fortunately Marie had some more news to share, and this time it would be the good sort. "However luckily for you the Caliburn was built with a system that's unique only to itself." She tapped the terminal to show a diagram of the Caliburn. I didn't actually know what the diagram was showing but I would trust the scientist's words that it was showing something important.
"Should it prove to be effective, not only will it cut that process in half; but it would help us create even more Kingsbane Battlesuits." She looked on to the rest of the 6th Valkyrja Squad, not needing to elaborate on what she was insinuating. In response everyone had their own reaction to that information.
Fu Hua looked indifferent, probably due to the fact that she already had her own battlesuit, one made from Otto's personal scientists. The Shadow Knight battlesuit she owned was a Godsbane Battlesuit, the strongest line of battlesuits that Schicksal could develop.
Mashu looked surprised that she was being considered in potentially receiving the next Kingsbane battlesuit. I think that her incident involving the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps, and I had a sneaking suspicion that it was related to the Caliburn, was still weighing her down.
And for Layla? It looked as if she had literal stars in her eyes when she had heard that information.
"And to top it all off, if successful enough this could revolutionize how Schicksal develops battlesuits!" Ah now it was Marie's time to have stars in her eyes.
"That sounds…great?" I replied, not sharing the same excitement that the scientist in front of me was experiencing.
"Ah forgive me, I was getting ahead of myself." Taking a moment to compose herself the black haired scientist motioned to the metal surface in front me, which had been glowing a faint green ever since the terminal had been activated. "Would you please place your hand on the surface Haruto-san?"
Nodding, I placed my right hand on the cool surface, which made it glow brighter as the green light began to scan my hand. I didn't know why but I thought something much more…dramatic would have happened.
"So…what is exactly supposed to happen here-!" I stopped right in my tracks when I experienced what felt like getting touched by the tip of a very cold needle on the back of my neck. It wasn't painful but it was that knee jerk reaction you would experience when something cold was placed on your skin.
Not painful in any way, but it definitely caught you off guard.
"Ahaha!" Asplund cried out victoriously as he walked up to the terminal, which was now displaying the image of a brain on the screen. "The neural connection is still there!"
Having been drawn by the white haired scientist's declaration, the rest of the 6th Valkyrja Squad moved closer to get a better look at the terminal. "Woah," Layla looked at me in wonder before she pointed back to the screen. "Is that his brain?"
"Insightful observation Layla," Asplund touched the screen which made it zoom out from the fullscreen image of my brain. On the new screen one side had what I presumed to be my brain and on the other side had an outline of the Caliburn Battlesuit with some kind of moving line connecting the two together.
"May I present to you what will revolutionize the future of battlesuits, the Neural Handshake!"
"Neural Handshake?" I questioned, completely baffled by what the scientist was talking about. And judging by the confused looks on everyone else's face they too were completely in the dark on what he was talking about.
"As you know battlesuits are what gives Valkyries an overwhelming boost to their strength, allowing them to be able to go head to head with even the strongest of Honkai beasts." He explained to which I nodded along to. Hell, the whole gameplay system that Honkai Impact 3rd revolved around was the Battlesuit System, where every character had their own unique suits that had their own strengths and weaknesses on the battlefield.
I would know, I spent quite a bit of money trying to acquire these in game suits.
But this was no longer a video game, this was real life.
"However, what most people neglect is that creating one, no less than even using one properly, takes months or even years to accomplish!" He explained and I could see the logic behind that. I may not know all the ins and outs of the military but I knew for a fact that it took a pretty long while to develop military hardware, especially if it was personally tailored for someone.
"Take for example the Immortal Blades' Rita Rossweisse and her battlesuit Argent Knight Artemis." He unknowingly had me flashback to when I was running through the streets of Nagazora trying to flee from the maid Valkyrie. Oh god I just realized that since I was now technically a part of Schicksal that would mean I would be potentially meeting her face to face. Would she still remember me?!
Would Kuro still hold an urge against Stalker Carbon?!
Before I could spiral any further down that road, Asplund continued on with what had originally started off as an explanation, which now was beginning to feel like a rant of a tired employee. "That suit took at least half a year to develop and another half for her to be able to use it efficiently! I would know because I was one of the main scientists heading that project!"
So this universe's Lloyd Asplund was once a scientist that worked closely with Otto's inner circle…huh wasn't that a neat tidbit of information.
Though that now came with the question what had changed the eccentric scientist that made him work under Theresa?
"And while my colleagues may seem to have no problem with that, they are woefully ignorant to the fact that we have been extremely lucky with our plight against the Honkai. It took 14 years for the Herrscher of Thunder to awaken after the Herrscher of Void. That in of itself is a miracle as our records of the Previous Era show that at max it would take around three years for a new Herrscher to awaken after the defeat of one."
From the corner of my eye I could see Fu Hua nod solemnly to that, no doubt bringing up dark memories of her time in the Previous Era. In a time where Herrschers gained their reputation, harbingers who brought death and destruction wherever they went.
Now that I realized it, what happened in-game was nothing short of fortunate. Aside from Sirin's second awakening, none of the Herrschers that I knew of awakening had created an event with catastrophic repercussions.
But with how many changes that have significantly altered the future…that could become a terrifying reality.
"And while Schicksal has made significant progress with the Battlesuit Program, it will prove to be obsolete once Herrschers start awakening in the timeframe of a few years, even months, apart from each other. Humanity will not have the time to simply create strong enough battlesuits the way it did before…"
"So thus it led to the creation of the Neural Integration System!" Regaining his cheery demeanor, he proudly motioned to the terminal which was still showing my brain. "We connect the user's nervous system to the suit's interface, and not only will us scientists have the data we need, but the suit itself will also acclimate to the user and make it easier for them to activate the suit's abilities!"
He whirled around to give me a knowing grin. "Tell me Haruto, how did it feel when you activated the Luminous Blaze Defense System?"
At first I had no idea what he was referring to but it didn't take long for my eyes to widen in realization of what he was talking about. "...Like if I had been doing it my entire life."
The words that left my mouth were all that he needed to hear as he clapped joyously. "Just as our data told us, you were able to activate the system which would have taken others months to learn how to even activate."
As good as this revelation of how I was able to use the gauntlets defense system with little to no training sounded, it did bring out a very serious question. "But how did I activate it in the first place? Shouldn't it have been calibrated for someone else?"
"Ah yes, about that. It was supposed to have been calibrated to Mashu-san's neural system but we ran into complications when we were performing some tests." The white haired scientist looked over to Mashu, who had a look that appeared to be between disappointment and guilt. So this had been the incident that had led to her being in a coma.
"The system still had some complications that needed to be fixed at the time and it was unfortunate that it decided to malfunction during a test run. It nearly overloaded Mashu's brain and it was fortunate that we were able to shut it down in time, at the expense of a coma." He explained and I could see Fu Hua give the scientist a glare for being responsible for our shielder's coma.
Layla moved closer to our ash blonde and pink haired teammate and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Mashu flinched at the sudden contact but once she saw who the hand had come from she visibly relaxed.
"So we removed Mashu's neural interface in order to fine tune the system. When we sent it off it was in a blank state that would adapt to anyone who activated the system."
"That did not mean that it would allow the user to use the defense system right off the bat..." Teal eyes looked glinted in suspicion as he looked at me and I couldn't help but stiffen under such intense scrutiny.
"However…it could in theory happen," His scrutiny instantly gave way to elation as his trademark grin came back full force. "The chances of someone slipping on the gauntlet and using the defense system with no training whatsoever should be less than one in a million!"
"Wow!" Mashu looked at me in barely concealed awe, her previous demeanor all but gone. "Senpai is lucky!"
"I-I guess," I deflected the praise. "Though I did kind of break it when I used it so maybe I wasn't all that lucky."
The white haired scientist just clapped my back, not at all angry by my admission that I broke the Caliburn's prototype gauntlet. "That's in the past and there's only one way to go and that's forward!" Just as he finished his praise the screen chimed as whatever it had been doing in the background had just been completed.
Looking back to the screen, I saw that in between the diagram of my brain and the Caliburn Battlesuit was a '71%' in bold font.
"To be expected, we are dealing with the full suit now." Ah so that was my compatibility rate with the Kingsbane Suit. It was a bit higher than I expected since I had only worn the gauntlet for only one night so I was rather surprised by the number we got. It was either a testament to the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps' ability…
Or just how much I had to fight for my life back at the docks.
"But we've passed the threshold of acceptability so…" He looked expectantly to Marie who merely nodded in confirmation. Having his assistant's approval the white haired scientist triumphantly jumped into the air, arms raised high in victory.
"The compatibility rate is high enough that we can let the Caliburn perform its first test run!" He announced joyously before he leaned over the railings of the workshop's second floor so that everyone inside could hear what he was going to shout out.
"To the training fields!"
It was quite a commotion inside one of the many locker rooms of St. Freya Academy. Such a scene was not uncommon for the students as this was the time right before training class, in which everyone needed to change into their combat uniforms.
And in the middle of this bustling activity was the 5th Valkyrja Squad in the midst of changing out of their school uniforms
"What do you think happened to Haru-senpai?" Kiana inquired as she began to slip into her combat uniform. It wasn't anything special, just a standard uniform that had the same color palette as their school uniforms that was more suited for exercising.
"I don't think anything bad happened to him Kiana-chan," Mei replied as she slipped out of her school uniform.
"But why would Haru-senpai and his squad need to be called away then?!" That just didn't make any sense to the white haired girl. Haru-senpai hadn't done anything bad so why was he, and the rest of his squad, called out of the blue.
Why hadn't it been her squad as well!?
"Perhaps Kiana is worrying too much." Bronya chimed in which had prompted the white haired girl to turn and glare ather gray haired…teammate. She had been more than displeased at the revelation that Bronya was going to be in the 5th Valkyrja Squad. Sure the petite Russian Girl was great and all in combat but their personalities just didn't do well together.
She still thought that Haru-senpai would've been a much better addition than Bratnya,
"Hey didn't you hear?" A classmate near them was talking out loud, inadvertently drawing the attention of the three Valkyrie's in training. "That the 6th Valkyrja Squad was seen making their way to the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps' workshop."
"Eh?! Really?" Another classmate remarked, the group oblivious to the trio listening in to their conversation. "What could the crazy pudding scientist want with them?"
This place had a 'crazy pudding scientist'? This place just kept getting weirder and weirder with each passing day.
"I hope it's nothing like what they did with poor Mashu-san. Still can't believe how he hasn't been reprimanded yet."
Even Bronya couldn't help but stop what she was doing and focus in on listening to where this conversation was going towards, her interest piqued when they had mentioned the shielder. What had just been some slight gossip had turned into a way to learn more about their 'sister squadron'.
Or was it technically called 'brother squadron' since Haru-senpai was a part of it?
"The power of money." One of the girls lamented as she closed her locker.
"Still I hope nothing bad happens to Haruto-san," A new voice interjected."He's made life interesting here in St. Freya. Can't remember the last time the rumor mill had a field day."
"And he's not bad looking either." Kiana didn't even need to know the name of the person who had said that because she disliked them immediately. As far as the white haired girl was concerned this classmate was number one on the hit list that she just created in her mind.
"He's certainly easy on the eyes," She added suggestively to her friends, who giggled at her words. The Kaslana's knuckles turned white as she clenched the door of her locker with surprising strength, the implications of those words sinking in.
Haru-senpai belonged to no-one except her!
…
…And Mei-senpai as well!
"I wouldn't mind getting to know him a bit more-!"
SLAM!
Then without warning, the sound of a locker being slammed shut with a loud force that not only interrupted them, but also threw the entire locker room into silence.
Realizing that the sound had come nearby Kiana's eyes moved to the source of it and found Mei-senpai had been the one responsible for the loud noise. A dark look was on the dark purple haired girl's face, a rare glint of what looked like anger in her eyes.
But before the Kaslana could even try and wonder what had gotten Mei so angry, it faded in the blink of an eye. "A-Ah sorry!" She cried out in apology, realizing that she had just silenced the entire room with her actions.
It didn't take long for the locker room to settle back into normalcy, the heiress's rare outburst all but forgotten. Though the girls who had been talking before had forgo their conversation in favor of hushed whispers that couldn't be heard by them.
Dressing quickly into her training uniform, Kiana slid over to Mei's side. "You okay Mei-senpai?" She asked concernedly
"I'll be fine Kiana-chan," Mei gave her and Bronya, who had just finished dressing as well and had gone to check up on her, a reassuring smile. "I was just…daydreaming there for a little bit, it won't happen again."
If Mei-senpai said she was fine then who was she to question her? "If you say so Mei-senpai," Kiana said as the three of them stood up and left the locker room, and began to head to the training fields.
The trip to the training fields had quickly become routine for the new students so nothing exciting happened as they walked through St. Freya's academy grounds.
However when they arrived at the training grounds the three of them were surprised to see their classmates crowding around a familiar training field.
Even more so when they saw a familiar shade of pink in the crowd.
"Sora-chan?" Mei was the first to break the silence as she called out to the child.
The pink haired child turned around and her face brightened up immediately at the sight of the three of them. "Hi Mei nee-chan!" She yelled as she ran over to them, doing her best to try and bear hug them all.
Kiana laughed as she reciprocated the hug. Hugs were simply wonderful things, just one of these could brighten an entire day up. The only thing missing from this hug was a certain redheaded teenager…
Speaking of which, what was he doing right now?
"What is Sora doing here?" Bronya inquired.
"I get to watch Haruto nii-chan!" Not giving a single explanation on what she meant by that, Sora began to lead the three of them back to her spot. Most of their classmates had swarmed a certain area of the training field so the pink haired child was able to bring them to an area with front row seats.
Coming to their spot, Sora motioned to what exactly had everyone's attention.
The reason why their classmates were congregated in one half of the arena was due to the fact that the other half was already full of other things. Computers, wires, a bunch of other sciency stuff that Kiana couldn't make any sense out of…
But the thing that caught the Kaslana's attention was in the middle of the arena, where a white suit was being worked on by a bunch of scientists…
And in front of it was a familiar shade of red.
"Do you remember what we talked about Haruto-san?" They were close enough that they could hear the black haired scientist going over something with Haru-senpai, who was clad in a skintight suit the same color as the white and gold battlesuit.
"Yes," The redheaded nodded as his eyes scrunched up in determination. Such a sight was familiar to Kiana as she would normally see it on his face whenever he was trying to remember something important. "If I feel anything going wrong we call it off." The black haired scientist nodded before motioning to the suit, which was now devoid of any other people working on it.
It did not take long for her to realize that Haru-senpai was going to be wearing the cooling looking mecha suit, and at that realization Kiana pouted.
Why didn't she have her own badass suit of her own then?!
As if somehow hearing her internal complaint Haru-senpai's head turned just enough that he would be able to see them. His hazel eyes widened at the sight of the 5th Valkyrja Squad and Sora but a smile quickly grew on his face as he waved to us, to which they reciprocated back.
After waving to them their friend turned back to face the white and gold suit and approached it. However he was unaware of the fact that by doing so he had turned his entire back to face them, and in doing so had given Kiana a very not so innocent epiphany.
Why did that skintight suit he was wearing accentuate…certain parts of his body so damn well?!
Little did the Kaslana know that a certain heiress was having such thoughts as well.
Walking up right in front of the suit, the unknown battlesuit seemingly opened itself up to allow the redhead to get inside the suit. "Alright Haruto just as they told you," Taking a deep breath Haru-senpai placed himself inside the suit before closing his eyes. "Let it flow naturally, be one with the suit. You got this Haruto."
A few seconds after he had said that the white and gold suit lit up a faint dull green. Gasps were heard all around as the suit suddenly moved, the opening that had Haru-senpai had used to get inside had closed in and with it the battlesuit was in its beautiful, complete state
"Yes!" Cried out a white haired scientist who was at a table with other scientists watching one of the many computers on the table. She didn't know how she came to this conclusion but she just knew that this was the 'pudding scientist'. "It's alive! At long last it's alive!"
"The Caliburn's sync readings are at 76%," One of the scientists near him called out. "No fluctuations detected, rejection response weak, all readings nominal."
And while everyone looked on to the suit in awe, Kiana's awe quickly faded and was replaced with shocking familiarity as she looked upon a familiar gauntlet that was a part of this Caliburn Battlesuit.
"RUN!" The memory that would sometimes haunt her dreams played out in her mind. They were back in Nagazora, the docks to be exact, as she watched Haruto getting battered into the ground by the brute Iudex. Strapped to his hand was the same gauntlet she saw on the fully completed Caliburn doing its best to try and defend its user, even as the green luminous shield was beginning to crack.
And all the while Kiana watched on, unable to do anything else.
She had been useless…
Unable to defend her friend when it mattered the most…
…
But that was in the past, now she wasn't the defenseless girl that needed saving. No she was going to get stronger, strong enough that she would be able to save her friends.
She would become strong so that Haru-senpai never needed to risk his life for her ever again!
"Alright Haruto-san! Go easy for your first few steps." The shout of the black haired scientist broke Kiana out of her inner dialogue. "It'll take awhile for your body to get used to wearing the suit and being connected to its systems so please take your time."
"Hai," He nodded as a look of extreme concentration took shape on his face. A few seconds later he took a slow step forward.
Then another…
And another…
Until he could finally walk normally without…something happening to him.
Would the suit explode or something if he walked funny?
It really seemed like that would be the case as all the scientists, including the black haired one and the pudding one, all collectively let out a breath they had all been holding in.
"Splendid Haruto! I know you could do it!" The white haired scientist shouted in exuberation. "Now let's go for something a bit more…exciting shall we! Go on and activate the Caliburn's weapon systems!"
Nodding Haru-senpai closed his eyes again, but this time it took less longer than the first time for him to do what he needed to do. Opening his eyes his hands went to opposite gauntlets before he unsheathed the two swords within them in one clean motion.
The white haired scientist clapped in joy as Haru-senpai held the two swords out, and Kiana was pretty sure she could see a tear streak down his cheek. "All systems are running nominally, now all that's left is to test these systems out."
They then had Haru-senpai perform simple drills, things like practicing some forms with the sword to having practice spars with his teammates. His spars were only against Mashu and Layla, with Fu Hua simply standing in the background , arms crossed as if she was waiting for something to happen.
Kiana didn't want to be mean to the two girls that were in Haru-senpai's team, one was her precious kouhai and the other someone that shared the same interests as she did, but they stood absolutely no chance against Haru-senpai.
Some might say that it was the suit that gave him the advantage but the Kaslana knew better. The suit was like any other weapon, it was only as good as the person wielding it.
And Haru-senpai knew how to use his new suit. Against Layla who favored long range using the Caliburn's surprising amount of speed to close the distance between them and swiftly take her out.
As for Mashu, the suit gave Haru-senpai a way to match her kouhai's formidable defenses. With their defenses proving to be almost equal, it would be Haru-senpai to come out on top due to him possessing more offensive power. When he proved to be victorious Kiana was itching to get her own guns out.
She now wanted to have a chance to fight Haru-senpai!
But before she could even get a chance to yell her wish to spar against him, Fu Hua suddenly stepped onto the arena. Clad in a blue qipao the red glasses wearing Valkyrie settled into a martial arts stance, a pair of gauntlets materializing on to her hands.
Haru-senpai's face paled at the implication of such a move, his previous confidence that he gained from the earlier spars quickly dissipating. "Y-You sure you want to be using those?" He looked nervously at the gauntlets, knowing that Fu Hua was going to be fighting somewhat seriously. "What if you break something important?"
In response the A-Rank Valkyrie merely smirked. "Then the suit is defective if it cannot survive a simple punch from me. A battlesuit gives its wielder an immense combat advantage and Asplund has all but assured that his suit can rival even a Godsbane suit. Surely that must be put to the test."
"Besides…" She raised up her fists as she readied herself. "It's not like I'll gain any satisfaction from this." Kiana laughed at how obvious the now smiling Valkyrie meant the complete opposite for that last part, and she wasn't the only one as the pudding scientist began to demand what she meant by that.
Realizing that he wasn't going to get out of this situation, Haru-senpai re-sheathed the sword he was carrying on his off hand. She could hear murmurs of confusion from the rest of her classmates watching but Kiana knew what he was doing and she waited for her to be proven right with a smile of anticipation.
And true to her gut Haru-senpai's gauntlet on the arm that wasn't holding the sword lit up green as a familiar diamond shaped shield came to life. Whispers of awe and surprise filled the arena as Haru-senpai settled into a stance, accepting his A-Rank Valkyrie's challenge.
However before any of them could make the first move, a loud familiar voice rang out in the arena.
"Have you all forgotten that you're currently in class!" Himeko's shout had everyone, including Kiana, freeze in terror. "Well? Get back to your fields and get back to training!"
"But Himeko-sensei," A random classmate tried to plead. "We want to watch Haruto-kun fight-!"
"Then you can request a spar with him after he's done with his work with the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps!" Realizing that the teacher was not going to budge on this, the crowd soon dispersed as the Valkyries in training returned to their respective fields.
Though not without some grumbles of disappointment.
"Let's go Kiana-chan, Bronya-chan." Mei pulled the two long, knowing that trying to convince their own A-Rank Valkyrie to stay and watch was futile.
Bronya had come to the same conclusion and let herself be dragged by her teammate. However for Kiana she threw one last look to Haru-senpai to see him doing well against Fu Hua's offense, even having the opportunity to swing his sword a few times at the superior Valkyrie.
"Just you wait Haru-senpai! Next time I'll get my chance to spar with you and I'll show you just how strong I've become!"
The rest of the training class was spent running various drills while wearing the Caliburn suit. Ranging from doing some exercises in the suit to having spars with my fellow squadmates to try and get as much combat data as possible.
I still lost against Fu Hua, no surprise there, but when I was wearing the Kingsbane battlesuit it actually felt that I was giving her a decent fight. I don't know what it was about the white and gold battle suit but wearing it had immensely improved my combat abilities.
If you were to compare me before I put the suit on and when I was wearing it was like night and day.
But I knew I couldn't rely on it like a crutch. Yes it did enhance my combat skills exponentially but if I grew complacent then I would only be as strong as this battlesuit. I couldn't grow content with my skills now.
And it seems that a certain scientist was of the same mind.
The end of training class soon came and while everyone else was leaving the training field, the 6th Valkyrja Squad stayed behind to help the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps clean up the equipment that had been brought to analyze the Caliburn in action.
Fortunately we didn't have to haul their expensive equipment halfway across the academy as they had driven a trailer from the workshop so we just had to help place their equipment back into their trailer.
And thankfully none of the equipment we handled was expensive or important. That was a potential disaster avoided.
Just as we were finishing up with placing the last of the equipment inside the trailer, we were all surprised to see Theresa walking over to us. Though while everyone present was surprised by the principal's visit, Asplund looked as if he had been expecting this to happen the entire time.
"Ah look who decided to join us," He grinned as the white haired principal walked up to us. "Has my request finally been granted?"
I looked at the white haired scientist in question, a confused expression on my face. "Request?"
Theresa in response gave the eccentric scientist an exasperated glare. "You didn't tell them, did you?"
"I was going to!" He averted his gaze to the side and tried to look as innocent as possible. "...eventually."
Before Theresa could go and berate the scientist for his forgetfulness, Fu Hua and Marie walked in on the scene. "Is something the matter Theresa-sama?" The bluish gray haired Valkyrie questioned when she saw the principal.
Marie on the other hand realized what was happening and groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Leave it to Asplund to forget the important stuff,"
I, and by extension the rest of the 6th Valkyrja Squad, were left completely in the dark as to what exactly was going on here. Thankfully Theresa would reveal what was happening right, looking at us before she began to explain it. "Asplund has submitted a request to formally merge the 6th Valkyrja Squad with the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps."
I blurted the first thing that came to mind when I heard those words. "He can do that?"
"Technically there's no rule saying that groups such as ours can't assimilate squadrons like yours," Marie explained as she crossed her arms. "It's just that there's no merit in going for squads in training when there are more experienced Valkyries to choose from."
"After all it's less of a liability to rely on experienced Valkyries than those currently in training." Asplund filled in after his assistant before he looked at me with a big smile on his face.
"But you, my dear Haruto, are a rare exception!" The eccentric scientist spread his arms wide open. "We sent back the results of your first usage of the Caliburn to our sponsors and they were more than pleased with the results. So much so that they promised to continue our funding if we deliver results like these…"
He looked over to Layla and Mashu, who had been silently watching this all go down, with an excited grin. "And I do not think they will be offended if we developed more Kingsbane battlesuits, as a matter of fact I think they would be overjoyed by it."
Layla and Mashu's eyes widened at the implication of the scientist's words. The shielder looked shocked that she would still be chosen to participate when she had failed with the Caliburn. Meanwhile the sniper did a silent cheer of joy, no doubt overjoyed that she could be having a badass suit of her own very soon.
Asplund's teal eyes then looked over to Fu Hua. "And not to mention if they join the corps they'll have the opportunity to gain some much needed combat experience. My status allows me to accept some missions that Schicksal receives and I'm sure that it will do wonders for this group"
"Christopher Asplund is the heir of the Asplund Family, a family that has made significant contributions to Schicksal." Theresa explained as she couldn't help but look at the eccentric scientist with a look of disbelief, not at all understanding how someone like him could be the heir of a prominent Schicksal family.
To be fair, I too wouldn't know how to react to that sort of news either. "That's nice to hear."
"And not to mention you'll get to keep Caliburn as your own personal battlesuit!" Asplund spoke up energetically. "Well you were going to anyway but this way there's not as much paperwork I would have to fill out for you to own it."
Everything that was being said was super positive and I couldn't find a single reason why I should say no. Still I was relatively new to all of Schicksal's systems so I absolutely wanted to be certain that I wasn't making the wrong decision. So I turned to face the principal, the one who ultimately had the final say. "Is this okay Theresa-san?"
"While I have some doubts about this arrangement." The petite principal turned and gave the scientist a glare, though that didn't last for long as she stopped her glare in favor of a sigh. "I cannot deny the benefits outweigh my concerns."
Then I turned to face my squad, wanting to see what they thought about it. "How about you guys?"
Fu Hua was the first to give her input. "The ability to go on missions will serve as a great way to improve your skills as Valkyries and Knights. Training can only go so far and the greatest way for your combat skills to improve is as they say 'is to be forged in fire'."
Mashu was next. "I think you should accept it, Senpai."
And finally Layla said her piece, giving me a thumbs up. "Let's do it Captain!"
With the reassurances of my team I turned back to face Asplund to give him my answer. "Then I suppose I have nothing else to say but to accept your offer Asplund."
"Splendid!" The white haired scientist extended a handshake to officially cement the 6th Valkyrja Squad's integration with the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps. I brought my hand out and shook his hand.
"I know this is the beginning of a very beautiful partnership."
After the partnership of 6th Valkyrja Squad and the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps was cemented, with some other paperwork that we also had to fill out, we were finally able to head back to the dorms and finally rest after such a tiring day. We still had things to do like homework but when you had Fu Hua as a teammate to help you out then homework wasn't a problem.
So it didn't take long until we all had retired for the night. It wouldn't be far fetched to assume that I was utterly exhausted, the most I've been in my entire life. Using the Caliburn suit, even for just a few training exercises, some spars, and slightly intense spar at the end, had completely obliterated my stamina.
A testament that even if I had a cool badass suit, I had a long way to go still.
But I would be getting my chance to improve those skills with Asplund's offer to work alongside the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps. When I first laid eyes on the Caliburn I simply thought that I would be getting a suit but the opportunity to be able to get some combat experience this early on was unexpected…
But not unwelcome.
Though I was not exactly sure of the details of how Asplund was going to exactly get a mission for us, I knew that it would take a while for it to get approved. That meant time to spend training for that mission.
Unfortunately there was one miscalculation in that line of thinking…
Of how dedicated Christopher Asplund was for some combat data.
Of how really dedicated he was…
"When I heard to expect a mission soon…" I deadpanned as I and the rest of the squadron stood on a runway, in the middle of crews getting a dropship ready for departure. The very same dropship that would deliver us and the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps to our very first mission.
The prospect of my first mission should've had me excited…
If it wasn't for the crucial fact that the moon was currently out!
"I wasn't expecting this soon!" I grumbled as I hugged my arms in a desperate attempt to both warm myself up from the frigid night, and to wake myself up because it was probably around the middle of the freakin night!
"Uh tell me about it," Layla was in a similar state of annoyance as I was as she glared at the dropship. You didn't need to look any further on why she was so pissed at the brush in her hand, and her disheveled hair that she had tried to brush back to normal, and had partially succeeded.
Fu Hua looked indifferent as out of all us she was the one who looked ready for the mission. The A-Rank Valkyrie was probably already used to waking up so goddamn early so this was just another mission for her.
Mashu had been silent the entire time but just one look at her droopy eyes showed that she too was not at all happy with the sudden mission.
"Nii-chan…?" And finally there was Sora, who was still clad in her pajamas sleepily asked. The pink haired child rubbed her eyes to try and alleviate the fact that she had been woken up so early but from the way her body was swaying she was losing this battle. "Why are you all awake so early?"
In her arms was Kuro, who was barely concealing her annoyance at being woken up from her beauty sleep.
I looked down to Sora before kneeling and placing a hand on her shoulder, an apologetic expression on my face. "Forgive me, it looks like duty calls for your nii-chan." Throwing a quick glance back at the dropship I could see the Caliburn Battlesuit getting loaded up into the plane. The dropship was more akin to a cargo plane as not only did it have to carry us to the mission, it also had to carry the corps and all of their equipment as well.
"Will you be back in time for my first class?" She pouted and I couldn't help but let my apologetic expression drop.
You see Sora wasn't just going to simply stay with me at St. Freya, she would also get an education here as well. Theresa had created St. Freya to be a place of learning for all affected by the Honkai, regardless of age.
The reason why Sora was starting her first class now rather than her first day here at the academy was due to a mixture of her body still acclimating to her new stigma and jet lag. She had been so exhausted after settling in her new room at the dorm that she hadn't woken up until it had been the middle of the day.
"Sorry Sora," I smiled sadly as I brought the young girl into a hug, carefully not to smother Kuro in between us. "I'll send a message to Mei so she can be the one to drop you off to class."
The prospect of Mei being the one to drop her off did alleviate her spirits a little bit, but she was still saddened at the fact I wasn't going to be there. "But I wanted you to be the one to drop me off."
I pulled away from our hug and gave her a look of conviction. "I promise that I'll take you to your class whenever I have the opportunity to do so from now on."
That promise immediately brightened the pink haired child's mood. "Okay then!"
And it looks like I was able to resolve that just in time as all sounds of activity started to get louder. "Everyone!" Marie announced as she walked over to us, a tablet in hand as personnel and equipment were either leaving the runway or getting into the plane. "We're ready to depart now."
I stood back up and saw that someone else approached us alongside Marie. Nodding in greeting I knew that this was the person that the black haired scientist had promised would take Sora and Kuro back to the dorm. "Alright looks it's time to say goodbye then Sora."
"Don't worry!" Layla gave a cheery grin, her past annoyance at being woken up early seemingly forgotten, as she and the rest of the 6th Valkyja Squad walked up to give their goodbyes. "We'll be back before you know it!"
"P-Promise?"
The black and green haired sniper's mouth opened to give an answer, until an epiphany dawned on her when her grin grew even bigger as she brought her hand out and extended her pinky finger. "Pinky Promise!"
The pink haired child gasped before energetically completing the vow sealed by the pinky finger. The two shared a grin as their pinkies interlocked and I couldn't help but smile at the scene.
It really did feel as if they were siblings.
"Alright then!" Finishing the pinky promise Layla affectionately ruffled Sora's hair before she walked back to where we were. "We're off!" Fu Hua and Mashu gave their own farewells to the child before we turned around and walked to the plane.
"Goodbye! Come back safe!" She waved her hand to us while we walked up to the ramp of the plane before boarding it. The dropship had already cleared for liftoff and was simply waiting for us to enter and get strapped in.
Entering the cargo plane that was filled with various military equipment and boxes of the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps, we took our seats as the loading bay door we had used to enter the plane began closing up.
"Alright everyone this is your pilot speaking," The pilot's voice came through on the plane's intercom system. "We'll be arriving at our destination in about 5 hours, 6 if we run into some unexpected circumstances."
Finishing their little introduction, the pilot turned off the intercom as the engines of the plane turned on. It didn't take long for the engines to fully ignite and before long the plane had run down the runway and was up in the air.
"Catch some sleep while you can Haruto," Fu Hua spoke next to me as she brought out a book and flipped to a random page, her way to waste time on the trip. "You will need all your strength for your first mission."
"You don't need to tell me twice." I chuckled as I immediately got myself comfortable on my seat and very soon I was out cold.
It was a cool breeze morning in the woods. The sun was at such a perfect temperature that it wouldn't feel as if you were being scorched alive and there were enough clouds in the sky to cool down the temperature as well.
"Woohoo!" A cheery voice suddenly echoed in the midst of the forest that we were in. "Feels like I'm back at home!" I watched in amusement as Layla, who had on a dark green cloak covering her body and her sniper on her back, showcased her very impressive parkour skills to scale a tree to get on a branch.
"Family fond of the outdoors?" I asked.
"Fond? Hell, we pretty much lived in the outdoors." Green eyes were full of nostalgia as the sniper went down memory lane. "Every week we would go to the forest for a camping trip, get away from the bustle of the city and simply enjoy all that nature had to offer." She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, soaking in the peaceful atmosphere that nature provided.
"It sounds nice." Mashu, in a black and dark purple outfit that seemed reminiscent of her Fate Grand Order outfit, spoke up as she stopped near us, holding her greatshield on the side. "I never got to go camping."
"It is a very surreal experience." Fu Hua, clad in her iconic blue qipao battlesuit, walked over to us. "Should you find the time, I believe you should take the chance to go on a trip of your own. The experience will be fully worth it."
"We could do it as a squad!" Layla suggested as she hopped off her perch on the branch, landing gracefully next to us. "We could bond further as a team!"
"That does sound rather promising." Just like Mashu I too had never gone camping and I was kinda excited by how Layla had described the experience to be.
That and it would also serve as a way to bond further with the team so that was a plus as well.
"It does," Fu Hua showed no objection to such an idea, though it didn't last long when her expression turned serious. "However we must focus on the reason why we are here." She reached up to the communicator placed on her ear and pressed on it. "Marie-san, what is the objective of our mission?"
"Testing, testing. Can everyone hear me?" Marie's voice came through on all the communicators we had. While the 6th Valkyrja Squad was out here in the forest, the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps were monitoring us in the mobile command center they had set up not far from our location
Giving her confirmation that she could indeed be heard by everyone she continued on. "Alright then Schicksal has recently detected a minor Honkai infestation in the cave systems of the mountain in front of you and has tasked us with eradicating it."
And true to her word, looking in front of me was a decently sized mountain. It may not be Mount Everest, but it certainly wasn't tiny.
"The nest hasn't burrowed too deep in the mountain so that means it's relatively new. You shouldn't encounter anything worrying there. Just some normal seraph class beasts and maybe a couple of Chariot class beasts."
Ah yes the 'class system' that Schicksal had made in order to rank Honkai beasts. This was something I learned on my first day at St. Freya. Starting from the most dangerous we had…
Judgment Class.
Emperor Class.
Templar Class.
Chariot Class.
Knight Class.
And the weakest identified as the Seraph Class.
There were more honkai beasts than that, such as the different classifications of honkai zombies and other honkai beasts that didn't have their own classifications, but it was more than a sufficient way to identify the Honkai and the many forms it could take.
Most honkai beasts were in the range of Seraph and Knight classes, and that was due to availability of Honkai Energy. In order for a higher class Honkai beast to be born there had to be an appropriate amount of Honkai energy present in order to sustain the creation.
And it went without saying that too high of Honkai Energy in a single area was a bad omen. Hence why nests were swiftly dealt with whenever they were detected.
"While this is nice and everything," Asplund chimed into the conversation through the communicators. "I do believe you guys still have yet to reach the cave entrance."
Ah right. We were still quite a distance away from the actual entrance to the cave that held the Honkai nest. Hearing his words we then proceeded to walk through the forest to get to our destination.
"An interesting tidbit of information about this place." The white haired scientist cut in randomly when we were about halfway to the cave entrance. "Did you know according to legend that the lake that lays on the other side of this mountain is where the Lady of the Lake resided in, the one who gave King Arthur the Excalibur."
"Is that so?" I turned to face Fu Hua who had a strangely nostalgic look on her face. Wasn't the legend of King Arthur in this world actually the Flame Moths that had survived the Previous Era? If that was the case then perhaps Fu Hua knew who those people were? "I never knew you had an interest in Arthurian Legends."
Asplund simply chuckled. "Call it childhood reminiscing. The library had been my little…'Avalon' so to speak when I was a child. I spent quite some time reading Arthurian legends and I suppose it never truly left me, I did name the first Kingsbane Battlesuit after those legends after all."
…Now that I thought about it, there was a whole lot of Arthurian legend inspiration going on right now. First there had been the Excalibur, then the Caliburn Battlesuit, and now my first mission was in the vicinity of the 'Lady of the Lake'.
This was not just a simple case of coincidence, there had to be a reason for all of this.
Just how many more references would I encounter?
I came to no answer that could satisfy my curiosity by the time we made our way to the entrance of the mountain's cave. Stopping in front of the dark cavern, I was broken out of my thoughts when Marie's voice came through the communicator.
"There isn't much to worry about here," The black haired scientist assured us, no doubt thinking we were all nervous about this mission. After all, for me, Layla, and Mashu this was our first time on active duty. "Fu Hua is well versed with these kinds of missions. This should serve as a warm up, a way for you to get you acclimated to what kind of missions you'll be doing with us."
"I won't lie I'm a bit anxious but I'm ready as I'll ever be." I truthfully told her. I knew that the Caliburn could survive a giant killer robot armed with a massive sword but you couldn't help but get jitters about fighting the ancient enemy of humanity.
"Oh and also do be on the lookout for a group of hikers that went missing near the time we detected the honkai nest." Asplund suddenly added in.
"A group of hikers?" Layla replied confusedly, this tidbit of information seemingly coming out of nowhere.
"Ah yes, the ever so problem with concealing the existence of the Honkai." Asplund complained, no doubt the extra objective of saving people putting a hamper on him gathering more combat data. "Since we are unable to tell the public the masses are woefully unprepared when meeting a honkai beast. You hear stories of people going missing in forests and most of the time it's due to meeting a honkai beast, other times it's an unfortunate meeting with a bear of all things."
"D-Do you think they're still alive?" Mashu asked worryingly.
"Only time will tell, however a word of advice. Assume the worst has happened." The white haired scientist's were grave, but there was a small sense of consolation in them. It was like he wanted to prepare us for the scene we might come across.
"I see…" I mumbled depressingly before I shook my head clear of such thoughts. That kind of thinking would get me nowhere and it wasn't guaranteed that the hikers were all dead. "But there's a chance that they're still alive so let's get to it!" I shouted with fierce determination.
Mashu and Layla looked surprised by my sudden outburst but very soon their eyes lit up with a similar fierce determination. "Hai!/Hell yeah!"
Fu Hua simply smiled at the scene before she brought up her hand and coughed into it, drawing our attention to her. "Then shall we get going?" The A-Rank Valkyrie asked and it did not take long for her to get three nods of fierce determination.
And before long we descended into the dark depths of the cavern, unaware of what we would find in there…
Or the ramifications our discovery would have in the future.
Another tidbit of the Honkai Classification system was that there were sub-tiers for each of the classes. For example in the Seraph Class there were many variations of the beasts placed in the class.
If one was to describe the general look of a Seraph Class Honkai beast it would be that they were 'flies'. There really wasn't a better description that I could come up with for the flying beasts. A strange angular body the size of a dog that had two wings to support it, with a little halo to go on the top.
The 'Archangel' was considered the weakest of the Seraph Class, favoring numbers to fight as opposed to anything else. However even the weakest of Honkai beasts were more than a match for humans.
The skin that made up Honkai beasts consisted of a thin yet ultra-dense silicon-based carapace that made them virtually immune to small arms fire.
Yet despite that…
"Hah!" I yelled as the Caliburn's blade cleaved an Archangel in half, the supposed 'ultra dense' armor of the beasts offering no resistance to my blade's edge.
This felt a whole lot easier than I expected it to go.
My teammates were also doing really well against these Honkai beasts. Mashu had a face of determination as she swung her greatshield like a baseball bat, the force of such a move killing two Archangels that had been in her range.
One of the Archangels had tried to take advantage of the Schariac's open guard and avenge its fallen brethren. However before it could even try and attempt this, a bullet went straight through its armor, killing it.
"That's one kill for me!" Layla shouted victoriously as she lowered her rifle, the barrel slightly smoking from firing it just moments ago.
While all of us were doing well against these Honkai Beasts, it pales into comparison to just how well Fu Hua was doing. A good distance in front of us the A-Rank Valkyrie was a literal storm of death.
Every strike of her fists felled a good handful of Archangels that were unfortunate enough to be in front of them. Even when she was outnumbered 10 to 1 she showed no fear as she pressed the assault.
And with the collective effort of everyone the cavern that we were in that had been filled with Archangels quickly became empty, save for the slowly dissipating corpses of the beasts that once called this place home.
Taking a quick look to confirm that there were no more enemies present, I activated my ear communicator. "How are we Marie-san?"
"The Caliburn is performing better than expected. Asplund is absolutely ecstatic over the data that you've been providing for us." And true to her words in the background I could faintly hear the sounds of Asplund's excited voice in their mobile command center.
He really, really liked his combat data huh?
"Everyone else is also doing well," Marie praised. "For your first mission we've gotten some great combat data from you guys. Who knows? Perhaps your own Kingsbane Battlesuits won't be far behind." Before we had left the command center everyone's suits were outfitted with a Neural Integration System so that the Corps could receive everyone's own unique data. Though the Caliburn would still provide more data as it had been built with the system as opposed to it being added on.
"I want a cloak!" Layla interrupted enthusiastically in the communication channel. "One that could turn me invisible!"
"As fun as it would be to discuss what you would like to have on your suit on the open comms." Fu Hua interrupted with a tone of professionalism. "I believe we have a mission to finish, Marie-san what's our progress like?"
"As punctual as always Fu Hua-san." The black haired scientist chuckled before her tone got serious again. "According to our readings you've dealt with the main nest. The only thing that remains is a small honkai energy signature in an adjacent cavern where the nest most probably started from."
"I see," I couldn't help but frown that we had already dealt with the hardest part of the mission. It had felt easy…
A little too easy.
"Aw that's it? I expected more!" The sniper shared my suspicions, albeit for the wrong reasons, as she complained. "This was supposed to be my legendary first mission, something that would be written down in history!"
"Be lucky that it is this simple." Fu Hua admonished her, a frown on her face due to the Valkyrie in training's attitude to all of this. "You all are inexperienced against fighting the Honkai, soon enough your soul will be tested to see if you have what it means to be the defenders of humanity."
"You gotta lighten up Fu Hua!" The black and green haired sniper smiled in a carefree demeanor, the Honkai has got nothing on us." And while I believe she was merely trying to lighten the mood, the bluish gray haired Valkyrie's face turned to a disappointed look.
Sensing that something potentially ugly might occur, I stepped in between the two. "Think of this as a prelude to your great legend Layla. After all the best legends start off with the most mundane things, am I right?"
Layla's cheeks grew red, whether in embarrassment or shame for her actions, remained to be seen. "I-I guess."
"W-We should head to the final area." Mashu spoke up, an anxious smile on her face. "We still haven't found those hikers yet."
At the mention of the hikers we had yet to find, the tense atmosphere that had been slowly building dissipated in favor of a grave reminder that people needed our help. Nodding our heads we walked into the cavern where the last detected honkai signature was, determined to see this mission through.
The cavern itself was slightly smaller than the one we were just in. The one unique thing about the structure of this cavern was that there was a giant opening in the ceiling that allowed sunlight to pour into the cavern, allowing the growth of some vegetation. If I had to garner a guess then we were in the very heart of this mountain.
However, that surreal display of the sun's ray coming through the opening and giving a natural source of light was short-lived when we further inspected what else lay in the cavern.
I did my best to keep my tone calm as I chimed in for Marie on the communicator. "I think we found the hikers…or rather the remains of them." Beside me I could hear Mashu's horrified gasp and Layla's low 'no way'.
What laid before us was a gruesome scene of what had probably been the group of missing hikers. So much blood stained the floor that you would think it had been a painter's canvas. Littered around the cavern floor were clothes in various states, some ranging from having multiple tears in them to some just being mere scraps of fabric.
Belongings of the hikers were also present, though they were far less recognizable. Bags, camping supplies, even the remains of a hunting rifle were strewn about.
We were too late to save these hikers from their unfortunate fate.
"L-Look!" Mashu tore my attention from the scene as she pointed further back into the cavern. Almost indiscernible due to the ceiling letting in sunlight had made the furthest corners of this place pitch black, but somehow the shielder had been able to spy a silhouette…
The silhouette of a person who had their back turned to us.
"...Everyone," Fu Hua's tone was grave as she grabbed her attention, the A-Rank Valkyrie slowly bringing her fists up in preparation for a fight. "Be prepared for anything."
Realizing what she meant by that, the three of us hesitatingly brought out our weapons before we slowly approached the still unaware person. It could've been just our imagination and this hiker could still be human, that there was still a way to save them…
But deep down each one of us knew that wasn't the case.
And we were proven right when the person suddenly turned to face us, a wide maniacal smile on their face. What might've once been a person had half of their entire face a pale white, with purple honkai veins slowly growing on their skin.
"W-Weary Warriors!" They suddenly greeted us, surprising all of us.
"What the!" I exclaimed as I took a step back in shock. "They can speak?!"
"That's…surprising." Marie commented, having just heard what we had heard. "Aside from Herrschers and some Judgment Beasts, regular honkai beasts shouldn't have the ability to talk in human tongue."
"S-Should we capture it?" I asked, trying my best to not show my discomfort at the new situation
"As promising as your discovery might sound, I fear it's not." Asplund seriously commented, any trace of his eccentric self gone. "Judging from our readings the hiker in front of you is in the process of turning into a zombie. The speaking might be a byproduct of the human side trying to fight off the infection, a state of delirium so to speak."
"Heh heh heheh, no fight left to fight, no hope left to have." To prove the scientist's point the zombie rambled deliriously, seemingly forgetting that it was outnumbered and had no way of defending itself..
"It would be better to kill him off now, to spare him from the suffering that he is no doubt undergoing."
Understanding what had to be done I walked forward, sword in hand, as I readied myself to do the deed…
Only for Fu Hua to place a hand on my shoulder, stopping me right in my tracks.
"Haruto…allow me." Her tone was grave but also somber, "As your A-Rank Valkyrie guardian, this is my responsibility."
It took me a second to realize that this must've been very heart-wrenching for her, for I knew that she had once lived with the mantra that if you were infected with the Honkai, there was no hope for you.
No mercy for the corrupted.
No quarter given.
I nodded in understanding as I took a step back, letting her move forward. "I understand."
The bluish gray haired Valkyrie nodded her head in gratitude before she walked over to the zombie, who realized what was about to happen and raised its hands up in a futile attempt to protect itself as the Valkyrie drew her fist back for a clean and decisive kill.
However, just as she was about to perform the deed…
A bright light suddenly filled the room.
The zombie's fear quickly turned to elation as it lowered its arms and looked to the origin of this light. "Ho it comes!"
And very soon the four of us turned around as well to see what was happening.
"The end…your end!"
Keji Furutu would like to think he had seen it all, that nothing life could throw at him would faze him at all.
The last few days however proved otherwise.
Humanity supposedly has had an ancient enemy that they were still fighting, an energy source so potent that it puts to shame the world's state of the art nuclear reactors, organizations that secretly waged war against the Honkai…
But the biggest shock of them all was that his older sister was part of that effort.
And as he walked into the base of operations that the Yggdrasil Advanced Engineering Corps was using for their current mission, he knew that all he had learned had not just some been some kind of fever dream and was in fact reality.
That didn't mean he was still in a state of disbelief.
"M-Marie nee-san?" He called out when he saw his sister talking to a group of similarly dressed scientists.
"Keji?!" His sister cried out in complete shock as she dropped whatever conversation she was having and immediately crossed the distance between them and placed her hands on his cheeks, her expression that of a worried parent. "What are you doing here?! You were supposed to be interviewed back at St. Freya!"
"I approved of his application before we left and had someone come over and pick him up." Asplund revealed as he walked up to the siblings, placing a hand on Keji's shoulder. "It would be remiss of me to not let our 'newest member' get some experience now?"
"A fair word of warning would've been appreciated." Serious red eyes glared banefully at carefree teal eyes.
"Now where would the fun in that be-!"
His teasing was quickly interrupted by a shout of one of the corp's scientists, a panicked look on their face. "Sir!"
Keji watched as the head scientist dropped his teasing expression in favor of a more serious, professional look. "What is it?"
"We just lost contact with the 6th Valkyrja Squad." They revealed, drawing surprised looks from everyone. "Everything was going alright and then all of a sudden-!"
"Breathe, you won't be able to give us an accurate report if you try to get it all out in one breath." Asplund calmly chided. Once the scientists heeded his words and took several deep breaths to try and calm themself down, the white haired scientist then pressed on for answers. "What is the Honkai fluctuation rate around that area?"
"Uh…" They brought a tablet to check for that number. "It's reported that just before the communications channel went down that there was a sudden jump of Honkai energy, around 50% jump that-!"
"Get our communications back up immediately!" Asplund suddenly shouted, drawing surprised looks from everyone as they stopped what they were doing and looked to their boss in surprise. "And contact the nearest Schicksal base right now!"
Realizing that he indeed was not joking, chaos quickly broke loose as the once calm floor now had turned into scientists frantically trying to do either of the two orders that were given.
"What happened?" Keji asked his sister, not fully understanding what had happened but knew that it was not anything good.
"Nothing good," She breathed out before she turned to face him. "Sorry Keji but I need to get to work, I'll catch you up later."
Giving him a nod, Marie nodded in thanks before she went back to the floor to do what she could in this situation.
Now that he was alone the chess enthusiast allowed his mind to wander. From what he knew it had been a Far East Branch battleship, the one this corps was under, that had brought Haruto and the rest of the gang to St. Freya. From what he knew Valkyries were only females and he had a feeling that Kiana, Mei, and Bronya were already students at the academy.
As for Haruto, the chess player did not know what he was doing at the academy. Perhaps he was doing what he was doing and had found a way to support from the backlines.
Though he could confirm for himself when he actually got to St. Freya.
Moving his head, Keji's gaze settled on to the screen that was meant to monitor the vital signs of the 6th Valkryja Squad. Though all he was seeing was a bunch of static where the critical data would've been shown, including their faces.
He briefly considered that maybe Kiana or Mei was in this squad but quickly dismissed that thought. Asplund had said the 6th Valkryja Squad was composed of 'the finest warriors he had ever seen' so there was no way a Valkyrie in training could be here.
"I wonder what Haruto is doing right now?" He asked to himself, unaware of the danger that his friend was currently in
"The end…your end!"
My mouth opened in awe as I saw the source of the sudden light show was a literal angel.
In reality it looked more like a statue of an angel that was given sentience by the Honkai. Towering over us as it descended from the cavern's opening, I was feeling an equal amount of horror and awe. The iconic white pale skin found on all honkai beasts was present, yet it looked more akin to actual marble.
It had the face of a beautiful woman, though true to its statue-like look there was no change to its facial features whatsoever as its gaze remained fixed on all of us. Dull charcoal colored eyes regarded us emotionless but was it me or was it making eye contact with me the most?!
Wings of pure white allowed this angel to slowly fall from what seemed to be heavens themselves, the feathers of white falling all around us only added more to the image of this virtuous being.
And I would've believed it to be so…if it wasn't for the fact that the iconic purple honkai veins could be seen all throughout this being. Even the sword and shield that this angel wielded glowed a faint purple.
This looked more of what I expected of a honkai beast named 'Archangel', not those strange flying beasts we had fought earlier.
"No…" Turning my head I saw a sight that I thought I would never see. Fu Hua, the unfazeable and calm warrior, had a look of pure terror as she looked at the descending angel in horrifying realization. "It can't be."
Before I could question what she meant by that, the angel suddenly readied its sword that glowed with a dark purple hue before slashing it at us, a slash of honkai energy coming straight for us.
And with it all hell broke loose.
With the end of this chapter…
Canon has now irreversible changed. Even with the release of new 'story' chapters from the actual game we arrive at the point where nothing short of game changing will avert the path this story is going down.
It may not seem like much now but the seeds have been planted for what will be the focal point of Haruto's time in St. Freya. A saga that I know will screw with canon, but be very exciting to read.
I'm excited to write about it lol.
Aside from the 6th Valkyrja Squad's first mission, some other great things have been revealed. A bit more about the Caliburn and why it's so special, some Kiana shenanigans with a sprinkle of Mei on the side, Keji's return to the story…
And one other thing. I wonder if anyone can pick up the hint I dropped.
I also wonder if anyone thought the angel was familiar…you're a true fan of that video game if you do know what I'm talking about :)
I'm sure most of you know it by now but since I haven't made an official announcement updates will now be every 2 weeks. I've got a life of my own to live guys XD
Also I kinda have this plan to go back and revise some of the first few chapters of this fanfiction. Nothing major but I realized after I read some of my first few chapters again I accidentally contradict what I have about the world and it kinda of bothers me so if you see an update and there's no new chapter thats why.
Some people have mentioned that I should set up a discord or something, never thought the day would come when I would read that, but I don't think I'll make one. I'm not the best in being super active in discords/chats so the server would die really quickly lol.
Oh another thing I forgot to write about…
HOLY HELL WE REACHED 1K in FAVORITES. THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE SUPPORT YOU'VE GIVEN TO THE STORY!
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! PMing me is the best way for me to respond to your questions.
Peace!