March 14th, 11:31 am, Phillip's room.

"Well, this hasn't been going great."

Phillip laid back into his pillow, a book in hand to study as he contemplated his recent failures.

Ever since he, Bronya, and Kiana had left the simulated world, Phillip had felt that Kallen had been given a pretty terrible hand to be forced to death like that. So, he started digging into the legends and understandings this world had about spirits. After a week of analysis, he found that most of the writings were similar to his own in, not just written words but also in practicality: useless in figuring out the Spiritual world here. So, Phillip decided to jump straight into it.

However, this proved to be just as fruitless.

He started with the obvious jutsu to begin with: Impure World Reincarnation. Using a clone as the necessary sacrifice and with Gabriel's aid in making said clone to have as close as a soul needed, Phillip weaved the hand signs and received nothing in return. As the clone danced in joy for not being sacrificed, Phillip shifted to his own purified version, one that required no sacrifice and resolved purely on utilizing Gabriel's divine power to bring back the dead. This... also proved to be fruitless.

With little choice, Phillip delved back into the books hoping he had missed something. As time passed, he had gradually come to the conclusion he couldn't revive people in this universe. It didn't stop him from continuing his search for the possibility, but he's been getting aggravated with the idea.

"I told you off the bat it wouldn't be possible," Gabriel stated bluntly, causing Phillip to toss the book in his hand haphazardly to a growing pile of books beside his bed. "This place has rules against spirits from interacting with the physical world, and revival is one of the stricter rules."

Does that mean there's a way?

"No, it doesn't," Gabriel said with finality in his tone. "Spirits in the world aren't the same in the places you've been. There, the spiritual planes could interact with the physical ones. Here, they don't and won't."

So, there are no ghosts here.

"...Tell you what. You're about to get a guest. Once she gets here, I'll show you a lingering spirit."

As soon as Gabriel finished speaking, a sharp rap came from Phillip's door. He tossed his feet over the side of the bed, stood up, and opened the door after weaving through the jungle of books he had. Theresa stood there, hands on her hips, with a slightly impressed look on her face.

"Quicker than the others, at least," Theresa commented offhandedly before changing to her reason for being there. "I've recently received a mission from HQ, and the Overseer requests both of us to address it. So, head over the armory, grab your battlesuit, and move to the transport area."

Phillip opened his mouth to counter this, to state that he wasn't interested in following Otto's rules, when he noticed something off. Two transparent and white arms were encircled around Theresa's neck, though nowhere near tight enough to harm her. He followed those arms and found an equally transparent, white-haired woman floating behind Theresa. Phillip stood there, transfixed at the sight, until Theresa jabbed her finger into his stomach.

"Are you still asleep or something?" She asked huffily for some reason. "I just told you we're on a mission; I can't have you spacing out at the very beginning."

"First off, I have some reservations about following that man's orders," Phillip explained plainly. "Secondly, it's a weekend where I don't have a date to attend to. So, I'm gonna wake up late, which means I'm going to be groggy later on."

Theresa seemed to contemplate this, as if not believing the little statement Phillip placed at the end, but settled with just shrugging. "Fair enough, but that doesn't stop us from having that mission. I'll give you a 30-minute prep time, then you're expected at the helipad promptly."

Phillip shut his eyes, both in an attempt to ignore the apparition he saw and in exasperation, and gave a nod. Theresa, realizing there weren't any attempts at refusing, stepped back to allow the boy to leave his room. As soon as he stepped out, however, a white blur rushed past them, grabbed Phillip's wrist, and continued towards the staircase in earnest.

"Thanks, Aunt Teri!"

The white blur – something Phillip realized to be Kiana – didn't stay long after saying this, quickly sailing down the stairs, towards the living room, and out of the door. Phillip, knowing very well that he could stop her at any time, allowed Kiana to drag him towards her chosen destination.

It didn't take long as Kiana slowed down upon reaching a cobblestone path surrounded by bushes and benches. Soon, they slowed to a normal walking pace, and once Phillip regained his footing, he saw Kiana wave over toward an approaching figure.

"Mei-senpai! I've been looking for you."

Mei, decked out in her version of the school uniform, snapped out of her semi-depressed state in surprise upon hearing her name said in such a jovial manner. Kiana slowed to a crawl upon reaching Mei and took her hand as well.

"Alright! Now that we're all here, it's time we had a three-way date and got some street food!"

"Huh?!" Mei stood stunned at this as a flush flooded her face. "Wait, no! If we did that, people would talk!"

"Ah, who cares about them?" Kiana said straight-faced before pouting at the insistent hesitation. "Come on, Mei-senpai! They'll run out if we don't go soon!"

Mei looked over at Phillip, an expression of disapproval flashing through her face. "Please tell me you didn't agree with this."

"I was taken from my room while in the middle of talks with the principal," Phillip explained, pulling his hand from Kiana's grasp. "I've been given a mission with Theresa, and I'm expected to be gone before the day ends."

"What?!" Kiana snapped at this, looking rather excited and somewhat jealous, when she rounded towards Phillip. She jumped in front of him, hands curled into fists in front of her as her eyes twinkled. "Pleeeease take me with you! I wanna beat some baddies!"

"You're not coming."

It wasn't Phillip that said this, though it was on his mind to do so. Instead, it was Theresa, coming down the same path that Kiana took and looking absolutely livid. As soon as she reached Kiana, the principal reached up, grabbed the younger girl by the ear, and yanked her down.

"Ow, ow, ow!"

"Young lady, you don't interrupt two people in the midst of conversation," Theresa reprimanded, shaking Kiana as she did, causing her to release another stream of pain-filled words from her mouth. Theresa looked back over to Phillip without dropping Kiana to continue from where they had left off. "I know you could just leave some clones to handle packing and all that, so go spend a little time with these two before the mission starts."

Phillip gave a slight nod at this, prompting Theresa to release Kiana's ear and move towards the armory, set to prepare for the coming mission. Kiana, rubbing her ear for the minute of torture she endured, seemed rather happy despite that fact.

"Well, we have Aunt Teri's blessing, so let's get going!"

Phillip shot Mei a side-eyed glance, expecting her to deny the idea. Instead, she seemed lost in thought, as if the sudden statement of Phillip's mission made her rethink the idea of an outing. When Mei broke out of her thoughts, she seemed rather accepting of the matter.

"Alright. Maybe it would be best for the three of us to go out for a moment." Noticing Phillip's raised brow at this, she explained her reasoning. "We can explain it as a friendly hangout while Kiana eats."

Kiana, her patience already running dry, didn't wait for any more talking. She quickly latched onto her targets' hands and dragged them toward the campus entrance.

11:51 pm, Outside an ice cream parlor,

"So, what's been on your mind?"

Mei and Phillip stood at the back of a ridiculously long line for the ice cream shop that the two of them had visited before. The third of their group had dived – quite literally – into the crowd in order to force herself to the front, leaving the two behind to get everyone a cone. Phillip, deciding now was a better time than any, asked this question towards the sullen emotions the heiress had for the past week.

"Oh, it's nothing," Mei replied offhandedly, trying to peer past the crowd to see if Kiana was returning. "I've just been... training."

"Does training normally cause you to be depressed?" Phillip asked, keeping his attention more on Mei rather than whatever rambunctious actions Kiana was partaking in. "Or were you thinking about your father during this time?"

Mei shook her head as her expression darkened. "No, it's not that." After a couple of seconds of silence, she gave a sigh and looked towards Phillip with a worried look. "I don't want to burden anyone while on a mission. I know I'm the weakest in terms of actual combat abilities – even Bronya-chan has been in worse situations than I – so I can't stay idle. Recently, however, it doesn't seem enough."

Phillip blinked as he half-expected the girl to either brush him off or commit to the bit that all was fine. With the knowledge of how the girl felt, he pulled a hand from his pocket and reached over to her, looking like he would grab her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

Instead, he poked her in the nose just hard enough to make her flinch.

"Huh?"

"You're overthinking this again," Phillip stated, pocketing his hand and turning to face the ice cream store. "Both Kiana and Bronya, while more experienced on the field, are still newbies in St. Freya. All of us will be taught at the exact same level for the first few months, so don't worry so much now."

"But you started training much earlier that I."

"I'm training to regain skills I originally had and have a teacher giving me the cheat sheet in doing so. You're on your own, mostly due to being one of a handful of people that have mastered Hokushin-Itto-Ryu swordplay." Phillip sighed upon seeing the downcast look that Mei gained upon hearing this, so he added an invitation. "Look, if you're willing to learn more styles, I can help you once I return from the mission. Alright?"

Mei looked to him with eyes filled with wonderment, but that diminished into embarrassment as a blush filled her cheeks. "U-Um, maybe i-it might not be a g-good idea."

Phillip raised a brow at this but quickly dismissed it when he realized what she was referring to. "I'll make sure to keep my jacket on as not to distract you. Is that fair?"

Mei nodded, her flush diminishing down to light pink in color, and the two returned their attention to the store in front of them. Just in time, as Kiana came out with three cones in her arms, holding them high in the air to get through the crowd. Once she was through, Kiana brought the frozen treats down in front of her and rushed over, a huge grin on her face.

"Alrighty, here ya go!" Kiana raised the ice cream up, unintentionally causing the sides to touch and mixing the flavors there. There were three colors in total: pink, caramel, and dark brown. Each was topped with whip cream with a similar-colored syrup as the ice cream, a candy bar of some kind off to the side, two little cone-like candies in the front, and two straws.

Phillip opened his mouth, mostly to point out the mixing flavors, but Kiana quickly pushed the dark brown one to him, almost taking the white candy bar away from it if she didn't pull it out of the pink and placed it back. She then gave Mei the tan-colored ice cream, leaving the pink color for herself. With that taken care of, Kiana wasted little time in taking a massive bite from the top, leaving a dot of whip cream on her nose and letting out a moan in delight.

"This was absolutely worth it!" Kiana exclaimed before eyeing Mei's tret. "Can I get a bite of yours, Mei-senpai?" Before Mei could give a verbal response, Kiana leaned forward and tried to take a bite, only for Phillip to stop her with a finger to her forehead.

"Let Mei at least answer you before you go chomping at her food."

"Oh, it's fine," Mei stated calmly, holding out her treat for Kiana. The white-haired girl wasted no time in following through, taking all of the whip cream and syrup in one gulp. Similar to her own, Kiana immediately went to cloud nine.

"Caramel pudding is really great!" Kiana, in some sense of generosity, held out her own for Mei. "Here! Mine's white peach!" Mei seemed rather reluctant to do so but caved upon seeing Kiana's expectant face, leaning forward and taking a small bite of Kiana's.

"...It's rather sweet."

"I'm glad you like it!" Kiana exclaimed happily. After a couple more bites, Kiana's attention shifted toward Phillip's cone, which he hadn't touched since he received it. Phillip noticed and, with a light sigh, held out his ice cream, to which Kiana went to take a bite. He would have pulled back, but Mei decided to move in and take a chunk herself. Phillip raised his brow at this, to which Mei didn't meet by turning her head away, but he dropped it to pull out his phone and looked at the time.

"Look, I'm glad you brought me, but I need to go." Phillip handed his cone back to Kiana, who seemed a little off-put by his impromptu leave. "I have about 5 minutes left before the mission starts, so-"

"Do you have to go?" Mei asked suddenly, bringing back all attention to her. She flushed slightly and fidgeted slightly, but continued on regardless. "I mean, Theresa could always call in more powerful warriors from HQ to aid her."

"Being a bit spoiled, huh?" Phillip said teasingly, prompting Mei to frown at him. He just gave a slight laugh at this before calming down and explaining. "Theresa asked for me specifically. More than likely, HQ wants her to deal with whatever it is quick, and I was the strongest they could get on short notice."

"But-"

"It's already been decided, Mei," Phillip stated firmly, then looked towards Kiana. "You better keep studying and make sure Mei isn't fretting too much while I'm gone." Kiana tried her best to give a salute with ice cream in her hand, resulting her forehead being coated pink in the process. As Kiana tried to clean herself, Phillip turned away from the two and started to walk off, only for someone to grab his hand and stop him. He turned back and found Mei, tightly holding his hand, and her face filled with worry.

"Please, at least promise me you'll make it back."

Phillip studied her for a full minute before pulling his hand out her grasp gently. Once it was free, he reached up with the exact same hand and prodded Mei's forehead with two fingers.

"I'll be back. See you soon."

With that, Phillip left without resistance, only chuckling when he heard Kiana say the two girls could share his cone.

12:35 pm, In the back of an aircraft heading towards Japan's east coast.

"So, what's the op?"

Phillip sat rather stiffly on the metal bench of the gray military airplane they rode in. When he arrived at the landing area, he was quickly herded into the airplane, and they took off almost immediately after. Thus, he couldn't get any info before they left, but he'd be damned if he got there and had little to no knowledge of why.

"It's nothing much," Theresa stated, her diminutive size allowing her feet to swing while she sat. "The labs caught a new Honkai signature that's close to Herrscher levels, and they want it taken out before it grows too strong. There are just two big problems with that."

"And those would be?"

"The first is the location. The second is that, well..." Theresa shuffled uncomfortably at this point, eyes darting to the cockpit window as if something there would help her. After a moment of silence, she continued. "The Honkai signature seems to carry a secondary energy source as well."

"...You're thinking it has chakra as well, right?" Phillip asked blatantly, earning a nod from Theresa on the question. "Then the location is Nagazora. Why is that a problem exactly?"

"You see when we arrive," Theresa stated before she hopped off her seat, moved to the entrance of the cockpit, and stood beside the pilot. "What's the current condition?"

"Air flow is normal, Miss Theresa," the female pilot said, eyes never leaving the horizon of clouds before her. "Sensors haven't picked up any incoming beasts, and the ground remains clear. Hopefully, it will stay that way towards our designated drop-off point."

"Good." This was all Theresa responded with before moving back to the passenger side. "We'll leave by sky drop once we reach the drop-off point. I'll leave first, then you, and lastly, our guest."

Phillip looked over to his left, where the other person sat, curled into a ball in the corner of the wall that cut off the pilot from the passengers. For whatever reason, Otto had made one Yae, Sakura come with Theresa, but the older woman had been entirely silent since her arrival. Even before they got onto the aircraft, Sakura was rather silent and, for whatever reason, blindingly red in the face.

"Speaking about our guest, do you know as to why she's rather isolated from us?"

Theresa tossed Sakura a side glance, and a disturbed look appeared on her face. "Grandpa said, uh, she tried to become my grandma after drinking a little too much." A strangled noise came from Sakura at this, and she dug her head farther into her arms. The other two decided to drop the subject and kept to themselves for the rest of the trip, Theresa returning to her seat for the moment.

After a long, quiet moment, a bang came from the front of the ship. "We're coming up to our destination! Everyone better get ready!"

Both Phillip and Theresa stood up and moved to the back of the aircraft as the cargo ramp dropped. Sakura moved a minute later, face clear of her flush and her hand on the sword at her side, and followed them. They waited, though, for the signal the pilot would give once they got to the right spot.

"Go!"

Theresa wasted no time, grabbing Judah, running onto the ramp, and jumping off as soon as the pilot shouted back at them. Phillip waited a few minutes first before he followed after her, jumping down into the clouds below. He didn't dare to look back to see if Sakura decided to follow them, wanting to make sure he knew where he was going to land. Once he breached the clouds, he had a sudden revelation as to the question he had asked Theresa before.

Nagazora was below him and quickly approaching, but it wasn't the skyscrapers that were the closest things. Instead, a massive Honkai Beast, even larger than the buildings around it, moved across the place, trampling over everything in its path. Phillip focused on the small dot of Theresa as she slung her weapon over her should. It opened, and several spears spilled from the opening, flung faster than anyone falling. They hit the best directly but only seemed to alert the beast of the falling warriors.

Noticing this, Phillip threw his hands behind him and challenged wind chakra to them, thrusting him forward with a burst of speed. Once he passed Theresa, he righted himself to land feet first as he flew through a few hand signs. Once he finished, Phillip began to grow as he moved toward the ground.

The Honkai beast below raised its spear towards the falling challengers and made to thrust at the falling warriors. However, by the time the spear reached Phillip, he had grown large enough for his feet to hit the ground and trapped the spear with his armpit. With new leverage in the situation, Phillip threw a left hook at the monster, bypassing its shield and knocking the beast off of its feet. Then, he placed both hands on the spear and, with a grunt and a bit of effort, pulled it off of the beast. A quick motion later, the spear was embedded into the beast's midsection and fell backward. Phillip stopped it from crushing the buildings below them by grabbing the shield with one hand and quickly tossing the Templar into the air. A few hand-signs later, Phillip spat out a massive fireball at the beast, incinerating it upon impact.

With the immediate threat handled, Phillip spun around and laid his hand flat and open, just in time for Theresa to land there. A few minutes passed, and Sakura joined Theresa in his palm. Gently placing them on one of the lower, flatter buildings, he released the Super Expansion Jutsu and leaped up to join them.

"So," Phillip asked Theresa, who repositioned Judah onto her back. "Was that the reason Nagazora has gained an odd reputation?"

Theresa shook her head as she crossed her arms. "No, those larger beasts are kinda common in places with a massive source of Honkai. It's a different story, however, with how many of them linger here."

"How so?" At this question, Theresa pointed out over the edge of the building and towards the horizon. There, Phillip noticed several more massive Honkai beasts lumbering around, smashing through the buildings as if they were made of paper mâché. "Oh."

"Trust me, it gets worse," Theresa explained, walking to the exact edge she had pointed to a minute before. "Not only are there many of them around, but they're also oddly stronger here than anywhere else due to some unforeseen circumstances." Theresa shot Phillip a flat stare, which he couldn't quite meet. She gave a hefty sigh and continued. "However, none of them are our target."

"Principal Theresa." Both Phillip and Theresa looked over at Sakura, the once quiet woman speaking to for the first time today. "We're still far away from the target. Perhaps we should head towards it and speak along the way instead of a briefing here and now."

Theresa pouted at this, probably at the notion of her authority being overthrown for a moment, but sighed and nodded her head. "Very well. I'll explain in detail along the way."

Sakura nodded promptly at this and moved towards the edge, but Phillip stopped her by calling out to her. "I'll transport all of us." When Sakura looked back at him with a raised brow, he explained. "I'm the fastest thing here, so it would be best to leave me to the leg work to get us there instead."

"And how, per se, would you be capable of this?"

Phillip responded by performing the signature cross hand-sign and summoned two clones in front of the girls. Both bent over and placed their arms behind them, obviously indicating the idea of a piggyback ride for the girls. Both of them were hesitant to accept out of embarrassment but soon caved in after a long minute passed by. Once they were secure, they left in the direction Theresa gave.

12:40 pm, Next to Senba High,

"Hold on, aren't eruptions only supposed to produce one Herrscher?"

The group stopped a few buildings away from a vine-covered Senba High school, which was the focal point of the mission and current location of, apparently, a brand new Herrscher.

"Normally," Theresa agreed, scanning over the school grounds for any activity. "And this isn't really a new Herrscher, just a pseudo one. However, due to the two distinct powers mixing around here, it's been growing to Herrscher-levels regardless."

"Okay, then, what's the plan?" Phillip asked, hoping someone thought up one before they were dropped into the middle of the city. "We'll need to take care of it quickly, obviously, but how will we go about it?"

"If the scientists were smart enough to nip this in the bud, I'd be able to handle this one my own," Theresa grumbled, extremely ticked off as she turned towards the others. "With the current situation, however, I need a gauge of its strength. I'll need you two to go in and give it your best. If push comes to shove, I'll use Judah to subdue the Herrscher."

"...Please tell me that isn't all," Phillip pleaded, looking between Sakura and Theresa in wait for one of them to start laughing hysterically and explaining a vastly better plan. When neither did, he pinched his brow in frustration and tried to suggest a better idea. "Look, instead of sending us blindly in, how about I create some clones and have them scope the place out?"

"I don't want the enemy feeding on something that can enhance it."

"They'll disperse before they're absorbed," Phillip replied to Theresa's comment, waving off her concerns. Another cross hand-sign later, ten clones stood before them briefly before disappearing in a blur of movement. Phillip was the only one not stunned by the action as he walked over to the edge and sat down, legs dangling off the ledge.

"Now, we wait."

"How much longer must we wait for communications?"

With a flat glare, Phillip rounded to Sakura, who propped herself against the large steel air conditioner on the roof. "Don't you give me any version of 'are we there yet', alright?" Sakura seemed taken aback by this but leveled a glare at him to hide this. "I'll know when the clones accomplished their job. When I get their message, we can continue on with whatever plan we can come up with."

"How, exactly, will you obtain this message? Do your clones speak in code?"

Phillip sighed, knowing indulging her would hand one secret to the Overseer for free. However, his nerves have been on edge ever since the mission started, so he caved in.

"Any knowledge my clones obtain will instantly be transferred to me once they dispel, and that's what they plan on doing once their part is complete."

At that very instance, a flood of information hit Phillip like a truck. He stood suddenly, causing Sakura to stand straight, and moved over to a sleeping Theresa lying against the concrete wall of the proper entrance. With a quick shack, the principal snapped awake, and the group congregated in the middle so Phillip could explain what his clones had learned.

"Right now, the Herrscher is sitting in the middle of a classroom at the third floor of the main building," Phillip stated quickly, hoping to get the meeting done quickly to deal with the situation. "Her power seemed seems to control the vines that currently cover the entire campus. At least, that's what the clones seemed to believe, as the vines slither in and out of the classroom with her as the center point of it all."

"So, what's the plan of attack?" Sakura asked, looking between the other two for orders.

"Nothing has changed," Phillip responded. "You and I will enter the building and directly confront the Herrscher. Theresa will wait outside and, should we need her, will enter the fray."

Sakura raised a brow at this. "Are you certain the two of us will be enough to handle it for some time?"

"That depends. I know about your skills with a blade and that fox apparition, but what else can you do?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the male of the group before she sent a side glance at Theresa, who looked interested in the "apparition" part of the conversation. Deciding to stop the conversation from starting, Sakura pulled out the lower blade of her two and ran her left hand over the flat side. A flame followed the hand until it reached from the tip to the base of the hilt.

Phillip grinned and pulled his own blade out. "In that case, we'll be fine." With a flick of his wrist and his own blade was enveloped by blue fire, surprising both girls as it sprung to life.

"Follow me."

1:00 pm, 3rd floor of Senba High

"Yeah, the school has seen better days."

Phillip and Sakura walked slowly down the third-floor hallway of Senba High, heading towards the classroom that contained the Herrscher. The small tour of the now-defunct school made Phillip tighten his grip on his weapon as bad memories filled his head. Shaking them off, he led Sakura toward their goal.

"I'll handle the vines," Phillip stated as the two closed in on the Herrscher location. "You go ahead and tackle the Herrscher head-on."

"We shouldn't be here." A shadow pulled itself free from Sakura's and transformed into the spectral fox from before. "This may be a pseudo-Herrscher, but Sakura and I lack the power to battle her effectively."

"That's why I'm handling the vines," Phillip said clearly, slightly agitated at the fox's presence. It could have alerted the Herrschers of the sudden appearance of a massive entity in the school. "That way, Sakura can just go ahead and take out the Herrscher quickly."

"Do you have any indication of what this pseudo-Herrscher is capable of?"

Phillip kept his eyes ahead of him as he replied to the fox's question. "Botanokinesis with the chance of poison. That's stuff that I'll be handling, though, so don't worry about it."

"I care nothing of your death, ningen," the fox said before turning to Sakura. "These humans are set to death. Herrschers are the only ones immune to Honkai poisons. Better to consume them and run than to fight."

Phillip pressed a hand against his forehead as the fox and Sakura started to bicker. Not even halfway to the Herrscher, and there was already a complication. Before they moved further down the vine-infested hallway, they would need to find common ground.

Gabriel, can you help me out and get the fox on our side?

"There's something I can do," Gabriel replied offhandedly. "Just hold your hand out to it, and I'll do the rest."

Phillip turned towards the fox, causing the beast to look at him and snarl. He pressed his hand against the fox's nose and waited for Gabriel to do his work. It didn't take long, as Phillip's mind was filled with images of a pink-haired girl locked away in a cell. Images of the girl's imprisonment and abuse by her captors flooded his brain for a straight minute before stopping abruptly.

The fox stiffened once the process began and, when it finished, fell to the ground with a thud. As Phillip tried to sort through the fading vision, the fox dispersed into small flakes that disintegrated after floating a few inches from the main body.

"What have you done?" Sakura questioned with wide eyes.

"...Something," Phillip admitted. "Regardless, it seems the fox will be less of a problem. Granted, the thud probably alerted the Herrscher, so keep your guard up."

Sakura didn't seem convinced at Phillip's response but nodded when he mentioned the Herrscher. With this out of the way, the two continued towards down the hallway and towards the mission's objective.

The classroom was just like the others: the desks were strewn about, and bodies of students littered the tile floor. The big difference was that vines spread out from the middle of the room, and a single student sat right on top of the source.

Lavender hair cascaded down to the middle of the back of the student, the tattered shirt of the white version of Senba's uniform barely keeping itself together. The girl seemed rather distracted by something, as her dull green eyes were glued to the chalkboard.

"It seems she's not as attentive as Mei was," Phillip whispered before standing aside to allow Sakura access to the room. "Go ahead and attack first. I'll deal with any vines that attack."

Sakura gave an analytical look at the boy, trying to determine his honesty, but quickly settled into her battle stance: her sword gripped by both hands beside her head and the blade pointed towards her prey, with both legs spread wide apart. She stayed that for a single moment before rushing forward in blinding speeds. Phillip placed his hand on the hilt of his weapon in wait for any vines to move from their position.

They never did, even when Sakura cleared the distance between the doorway and the Herrscher and brought the sword down with the intent of beheading her. The only movement the Herrscher ended up making was turning her head towards the blow, and Phillip made up his mind at that moment.

Phillip blitzed across the classroom and stopped Sakura's slash with his own blade. He stared down at the face of the Herrscher and found a confused, scared expression as tears streamed from her eyes.

"Who... who are you people?"

Phillip didn't answer the question the girl asked immediately, opting instead to turn on his radio and contact Theresa. "Theresa, we have a situation here."

~What's up?~

"The pseudo-Herrscher seemed to retain her human side," Phillip stated, turning his back on the Herrscher. Sakura leveled her blade to the girl's neck, not willing to take a chance at deception, while said girl looked all the more fearful. "I thought you said Mei was an isolated case."

~She was. Everything the previous era told us was that Herrschers were nothing more than beasts, and the last two Herrschers showed that exact premise. ~

Phillip shook his head at this, still not accepting the idea of a super-advanced previous civilization, but that was another issue. "Look, I'm not going to fight a scared girl."

~Don't let her deceive you. That's how the 2nd Herrscher managed to kill so many Valkyries during her time. ~

"Well then, I'll take the heat should something happen." Phillip cut the connection after this, not willing to hear Theresa complain about his decision, and returned to the Herrscher. "What's your name?"

The girl looked at him, her fear slowly disappearing, and spoke softly. "Yuna. Yuna Sato."

"Well, Sato-san, we're here to handle a growing problem," Phillip stated clearly as he offered her his hand. "With things as they are, however, there's been a change in plans."

Yuki looked at the hand for a solid minute before taking it. Once she was on her feet, however, she managed to find her voice. "You came... to kill me, weren't you?"

"As I said, 'were'," Phillip restated. "And, again, the plan changed." He looked over to Sakura, who still seemed apprehensive. "The mission has been aborted. We're heading back with Yuna in tow."

Sakura shook her head. "I agree with Theresa-san: this Herrscher may be deceiving us. We shouldn't allow her refuge."

"The three of us can easily contain her," Phillip stated, brushing the concern off. "We can take her to St. Freya, contain her until we're certain she's not a threat, and then teach her to control her powers."

"Do you believe Theresa-san would follow through with this plan of yours?"

"I'm not giving her a choice here."

1:25 pm, Back with Theresa,

"You're really forcing me on this, aren't you?"

Phillip and Sakura returned the outing position with Yuna in tow after a few minutes arguing, though it was mostly Yae being argumentative while Phillip remained stubborn on his stance. After another hour of quarrels with the principal, Theresa relented and called the aircraft back for four returning passengers.

As Yuna cautiously climbed up the ramp of the aircraft, Theresa popped this question without her eyes leaving Yuki's back.

"You're already teaching a full Herrscher how not to be consumed by Honkai's influences," Phillip reminded the principal. "It shouldn't be too hard to help a pseudo-Herrscher."

"Yeah, but we knew Mei was a good girl out the bat," Theresa stated grumpily, crossing her arms with a pout etched on her face. "Your group vouched for her. This girl, the only thing for her is wild speculation."

"Well, it was kind of stupid to take my, Kiana, and Bronya's words for what they were."

"You were walking around with my niece. Kaslanas are naïve, not dishonest."

"Call me naïve then," Phillip admitted, pressing his back against the roof entryway. "I'd rather give her a chance to improve instead of cutting it short."

Theresa let out a long, deep sigh. "Fine, whatever. You're taking the blowback if this blows up in our faces, though."

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

With this, the two entered the airplane, and, with a lurch, the aircraft carried them all back to St. Freya.

1:53 pm, Sakura's POV, returning to St. Freya,

Sakura kept her eyes open despite her yearning need to close them and rest. Ever since her embarrassing interaction with Otto the day before in her drunken state, she hadn't gotten much sleep. The long trip back would provide enough time to earn some shut-eye, but the new addition forced her caution to overrule the need.

Yuna had yet to make any hostile actions as she slept against the steel walls of the aircraft. However, Sakura still had issues with the plan; her memories of her own actions during her pseudo-Herrscher period 500 years ago gave her fuel. She couldn't stop herself when she slaughtered her village, and she wasn't willing to believe this younger girl to be free from the same suggestions.

On a similar topic, Sakura's powers have grown calmer and much easier to command since Phillip's interaction with the demon. Sakura had entertained the idea the beast had finally left her, but it was more likely for it to be bidding its time to strike.

Regardless, it would be worth it to interrogate it and gain what little information she could from the beast.

You've been silent for a while, fox. What plans are you scheming? There was no response to this, even after several minutes of waiting. Whatever you're planning, know I won't allow it to occur, as you well know.

Even this was met with silence, which caused a spark of hope to pass through her heart. However, not willing to believe such a miracle, Sakura opted once more to communicate with her demon.

Have you nothing to say, demon?

"... -neki."

As both resignation and anger claimed her heart, Sakura also felt rather confused at how the demon spoke. While it could be no other being, the demon spoke more softly, more vulnerably, than before, feeling more distinctly feminine. Whether this was a new tactic of the demon to possess her or something else, Sakura wasn't sure.

What are you trying to pull, fiend? Sakura thought, doing nothing to halt her anger toward the beast.

"Who are you? Where am I?"

Sakura's eyes narrowed at this. Either the demon was playing dumb with her, or there was some ruse going on. As she readied a response to the demon's inquiry, the next thing it said stopped and shook her.

"Are you my aneki?"

I'm sorry I've taken so long to bring this chapter out.

I'll also apologize for later entries as well because I'm gonna need to focus on finding a new job for a little while.

Thank you all for being so patient with me and the releases. See you all in the next one.