Mr. Welt was silently standing beside Theresa who was assisted by his two trusted scientists, a schicksal scientist and adjutant.
The Hyperion crew came without a warning and Theresa took control of logistics, communications and deployment.
The former Herrscher was not insulted by her actions. Theresa was a leader he rather followed unlike the previous one. She is expressive, considerate and compassionate. But when push comes to shove, she can be a stern leader.
None of those features now were matching the short silver-haired valkyrie before him. He can however say that Theresa Apocalypse is angry and on a warpath based on his observations.
He looked at the two Anti-entropy scientists if it was okay for him to ask what was going on. Both Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla nodded with a concerned look and immediately went back to assisting the overseer.
"Miss Overseer?" He placed his hand on her shoulder, making her jump and ready to him with her Oath of Judah.
"Is there something wrong?" As he let her apologize after almost hitting him.
"Are you sure there is still no sign of the captain?" He shook his head.
"Before you arrived, we encountered an impenetrable barrier as we detected a possible honkai wave within the area. We have tried our best to break through for a while but none worked.
After a while, the barrier was miraculously put down and we just recently deployed the logistic team to survey the area minutes before you arrived. I wasn't even aware that Captain Stellar was here until you mentioned it." Theresa clicked her tongue.
"Was there any sign of honkai beast or zombie mob spawns?" Mr. Welt shook his head. Theresa sighed and facepalmed.
"Hajime... You stupid idiot... You could have waited for the valkyries ..." As he heard her muttered.
"Why is Captain Stellar part of this conversation, overseer?" Mr. Welt could tell that Theresa was trying her best to hold everything in.
"There was a honkai wave spawn that occurred in this area, Mr. Welt." Theresa sighed as she turned to look back to her adjutant. "He cleared it to save the civilians." He widened his eyes as he realized why Theresa was concerned.
"ST. FREYA! ASSIST THE HYPERION WITH ANY WAY YOU CAN. IF YOU FIND THE CAPTAIN, IMMEDIATELY REPORT IT TO AMBER THEN HAVE HIM SENT BACK HERE." The confused Rank C valkyries need not to be told twice as the orders came from the previous Herrscher of Reason.
"Thank you for the assist, Mr. Welt." He nodded. "Sorry about not making it clear on my orders earlier."
"It's alright Overseer. How long have you known about it?"
"4-5 hours at most since it started. The World Serpent sent us a live footage of him getting trapped in there while fighting off the wave himself. Not only that, they managed to hack into the battleship and caused a caved-in while at the same time triggered ancient mechs, zombies and beasts to spawn in that area, causing our delay."
"That explains why all of you looked like went through hell. You sure you don't want them to offer you medical support?" Theresa shook her head.
"Our injuries can wait. We have made him wait for far too long and we don't intend to make him wait long enough for him to zombify." Theresa was looking at every footage that Amber provided on the Holotab.
"That amount of time being exposed to Honkai-filled atmosphere. It is honestly a miracle that he hasn't turned yet." Mr. Welt tried to reassess the situation for her as it was apparent that Theresa is getting more emotionally involved.
"The girls, especially Kiana and Bronya, are scared out of their wits of that conclusion and i am trying my best reassuring them that he isn't despite that i am also horrified for him."
"A miracle is all we... No... It's what i need right now..." Mr. Welt stopped himself saying anything more as he was slowly realizing that Theresa wasn't angry.
The overseer was scared.
And seeing how she treats Hajime as a brother she never had, this was enough for him to help her with everything he had as he knew the feeling well.
And bearing the guilt of "Could have done something more to save your brother" is something he does not wish upon the new leader of Schicksal.
Despite being the former herscherr that can create something out of nothing, he does wonder what it feels like having a sibling that he can rely on.
The bearer of Palatinus Equinox battlesuit finally found the captain of the Hyperion after arriving in Soukai but her heart ultimately broke when she saw the state he was in.
She smiled in front of the pink haired woman who was carrying him outside for reassurance but her heart still aches because she knew what to do when someone's corruption has gone past beyond saving. And since males are known to have lower resistances than females, it didn't give her much of a choice.
What makes it worse for her is that to Bianka 'Durandal' Ataegina, Captain Hajime M. Stellar was the only 'connection' she had with her sister.
The previous Kiana Kaslana barely have emotional connection to the current girl who bears the name. And she doesn't really mind as the latter has proven to be worthy to carry its weight.
She can also admit that Kiana has proven be more like their father than she ever was.
Bianka is the strongest Valkyrie but Kiana Kaslana, previously K-423, was the true Kaslana between the two of them as her sister valued the family oath more.
She is and will always be proud of her sister.
She just wished she knew how to talk with Kiana at least. The fault may belonged to Otto but the consequences was still hers to face.
But with the captain, It just makes things easier for her to socially interact.
During her times being his bridge duty valkyrie, she would ask him about her sister when they are the only occupants in the bridge.
She honestly thought she was asking too much of him.
Imagine her surprise that he was willing to share everything about Kiana.
She learned a lot of things about Kiana from him.
Her likes and dislikes.
Her strength and weakness.
Her fondness for cats and Raiden Mei's cooking.
She hadn't even realized that Kiana has a crush on Mei until Hajime pointed it out to her.
Thinking about it, she felt guilty separating her reunion with Mei back at Arc City.
He even shared the letters that Kiana sent to him with Bianka and she was more than happy to read the contents to the heart as she was eager to learn more about her sister.
He even told her how emotionally devastated Kiana was when she lost Himeko and how she still carries that guilt of killing her own mentor.
And as more times being his bridge duty valkyrie, she gets more relaxed with him to the point where they exchange their philosophies with each other and having fun in the process.
She not only learned her family from him but she also learned how to 'not' be 'Durandal, Schicksal's Strongest Valkyrie'.
She learned to be just 'Bianka Ataegina'.
It was her choice to become stronger and she will always find every opportunities to keep pursuing that ideal.
But as time goes by, that can get tiring even for her.
She was glad that interacting her captain felt like a breath of fresh air.
So seeing him got so corrupted and choosing to end him out of his misery will be her ultimate regret as a Valkyrie, a friend and as a person.
She has lived long enough as a valkyrie to know that there is no hope for saving him especially with his corruption level that high.
And on top of that, Durandal was on a time limit.
The only thing that is making everything worse for her is this pink-haired archer.
She needs to end this fast.
"Oh~ You are a bearer of this divine key? It's good to know that you have been treating her well~" She watched her enemy looked closely at her weapon after evading one of her thrusts.
She kept thrusting her lance towards her and yet somehow she kept evading with a mischievous smile.
She severely underestimated her opponent when she decided to let her mechanical horse equipped back to her Black Abyss white flower. After all, She only uses her ride when facing up multiple mobs.
She watched her dance around the battlefield as Durandal kept using her weapon to attack her.
Having enough with this nonsense, she looked around to see that Hajime was open for the taking.
She ran towards to the captain to snatch him back but only to get blocked from the sudden appearance of a pink crystal wall.
The source came from the pink crystal arrow that her opponent fired.
"It's quite rude to leave a cute girl mid-dance~" She wagged her finger in front of Durandal.
She summoned her horse back on the field after giving her lance one last thrust, only for it to get rooted at the nearby wall.
She mounted on her steed only for him to be positioned at his place.
"What's wrong, boy?" She gave her 'pet' a worried look and realized that her ride was ignoring her orders.
"Are you scared?" Seeing him backing away from their opponent confirmed her suspicions.
She sighed but smiled.
"That's alright. You don't have to fight her if you don't want to." As she petted her steed.
She returned to her lance weapon only to be stolen by her enemy as she unmounted.
She wasn't mad that she stole her weapon. She was actually surprised that the divine key is accepting her opponent as its wielder. And she knows that most divine keys are temperamental.
"May i know your name, Miss?" Her enemy giggled as she kept caressing it with her finger.
"Call me Elysia~ Ellie for short~" Elysia smiled at her and returned to the weapon with a fond look.
"I know i neglected you, girl and I am sorry. I just didn't want you to be covered by blood and filth. It's doesn't look cute on you, after all. You rather heal than fight, right?" Durandal widened her eyes as the weapon responded with a glow.
As she tried to mount on her ride to get her weapon back, she was surprised to see that Elysia mounted on her steed first before her.
She was baffled to see that her own horse was loving the pets she was giving to him. And that is a surprise to her because her steed only follows Bianka as his rider and no one elses.
"Awww~ Who is a good boy?" As her ride hummed in delight.
Did she just steal both of my weapon and my horse?
She wanted to ask more who she was but she didn't have the time.
No matter, If i can't use both of them... At least i have other battlesuit and weapon on standby.
She summoned her Dea Anchora battlesuit and her Sagittarius Astra hidden away from the bubble universe instilled inside of her.
"Oh~ That's an interesting trick. Never knew you can do that as well." Elysia gave a smile to Durandal as the latter summoned her simulated weapons, targetting her.
"All right then. Before we proceed to the next step of our loving dance... May i know your name?"As Elysia asked Durandal with a friendly manner. Durandal nodded and complied with the same amount of respect.
She did ask for her name after all.
"Bianka Ataegina. You can call me Durandal." The peach haired valkyrie nodded with a smile as one of the immortal blade finally arrived to see their battle.
She recognized that it was Susannah.
"Hmmmm... Bianka sounds a bit cuter." Elysia tapped her lips as she looked up while Durandal quickly shushed the blonde newbie valkyrie with only a gesture and eyed at the crystal wall.
Susannah complied and saw that the Captain of the Hyperion was trapped inside of it.
Bianka Ataegina felt reassured that Susannah knew what she was trying to say and hopped right into it.
Susannah did tell her that she came from a family of gem and mineral prospectors so she shouldn't have problems getting Hajime out of that crystal prison.
"Okay~ Bianka it is." As Susannah started digging him out stealthily.
Her plan of ending Hajime out of his misery may have been scrapped but it can still be salvaged. She will have to entrust that plan to her aunt and hope that Kiana doesn't see him in this state.
The only thing she can do now is to keep Elysia occupied long enough for Susannah to retrieve him.
"Shall we proceed, Elysia?" Durandal gave a smile as Elysia raised the divine key on the air while riding on her horse.
"Of course. It is not a dance without an ending after all." Durandal charged at Elysia to keep her enemy's focused at her.
"And It also wouldn't be cute of me to not reciprocate your feelings back to you~" As Durandal prayed that her plan works.
It needs to work. Kiana shouldn't bear this much regret and She shouldn't make the choice of mercy-killing him alone. She has gone through so much already.
I just wished it didn't come to this.
Kevin, Elysia, Raven and Mei arrived at the Soukai City to clean up the catastrophic mess the World Serpent made.
He recognized the device that was creating barrier and he instantly destroyed it, causing it to fade quickly.
Before he got to say anything, Elysia immediately left, leaving him, Raven and Mei in the park.
Knowing the Herscherr of Thunder's intention as she left on a different path, He looked at the mercenary.
"Help Mei with any way you can."
"What of Schicksal?"
"Engage if you have to. But avoid killing them." He glared at the mercenary.
"That was not a request." Raven flinched but nodded and immediately vanished from his sight.
He sighed as the familiar feeling of being alone dawned on him again.
"How did it come to this?" He crossed his arms and thought about it deeply while carrying the heavy feeling in his heart.
Before he even got to reach a conclusion, he felt a familiar presence behind him.
He just wished that there was no hostility between two old friends... no... siblings-in-arms.
"You went too far, Brother." He remembered how Hua refered him that before ultimately leaving him and Su years ago.
She was right. The World Serpent's actions went too far and intending to kill the captain of the Hyperion was the last straw.
He understood that he was now an enemy in Hua's crying but hateful eyes.
He hated being alone but he always respects his comrades' decision.
After all, The lack of respect towards Elysia after telling them she was a herscherr was the reason why she intended to sacrifice herself for the humanity.
And in his heart and mind, he felt guilty all about it.
Herscherr or not, she deserves some respect as a flamechaser but Kevin failed to deliver that.
He knew telling Hua that Elysia came back would be pointless because it will drive her rage even more. He needs her to calm down first before telling her that.
Distancing himself between him and Hua is the last thing he wants.
He has disappointed Ellie more than enough today and He is not delivering the news of his failed reconciliation with Hua to her.
Not if he has anything to say about it.
Right now, he is ready to bear the sins of the World Serpent and hold himself accountable for their actions.
And if it takes to block all of Hua's fatal attack to get her to listen,
Then so be it.
This isn't the first time he has fought his comrade after all.
And she isn't certainly the first that wants to end him.
Mei immediately looked around to find Hajime before the corruption sets in while letting Raven following her by the shadows.
She was in her herscherr form to sense him with her red lightning.
"Are you helping me or watching me?" She gave Raven a side-glare.
"Sire said that i should help your sorry butt so unfortunately for me, i am helping you look for him." Mei rolled her eyes and resumed her search.
"Anything?"
"Nothing. I don't even sense a single Honkai Beast for me to communicate. Did he really fought them on his own?"
"I don't see any nearby qualified valkyries within the barrier from the looks of it so yeah. It could be possible that he ended the wave on his own. I don't know how but i did hear from Himeko sensei that he has an excellent markmanship. Probably rivals yours." Raven scoffed at Mei's provocation.
"I will believe it when i see it." As Raven looked around.
"Maybe that Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla have developed a new weapon for the non-valkyrie staff after i left the Hyperion."
"Maybe... Still it is still impressive that he lasted this long enough to end the wave."
"Even so, he still needs help right now. I would assume that getting himself involved in the wave would cause his honkai corruption level to skyrocket. We need to find him fast before he turns. I recently reconciled with him. I am not letting it end there."
"All right. All right. I am helping... Sheesh. I honestly missed the times where you weren't this bossy." Natasha Cioara could still sense her red lightning through her cloak.
The moment Raven went to another area to search for Hajime, she immediately felt a very familiar hostile presence and readied her weapon.
Rita Rossweisse.
Unlike their last interaction in Manila where the maid was wearing Argent Knight: Artemis battlesuit, She was wearing a different one.
Spina Astera battlesuit as she remembered details from the Gray Serpent's records.
"I see that the crow have lost her way."
"Still being Shicksal's lapdog?" Raven pulled an arrow and aimed towards at Schicksal's Maid.
"Raven! You are not here to..."
"I know, Mei! And she isn't making it easy for me."
"Oh? The former squad member of Master Hajime is here? Not to worry. As Schicksal's maid, it is within my duties to clean up the mess. And traitor to Schicksal's and Master Hajime is one of them." Raiden Mei could see Rita's rage from the distance.
She understood why Rita started to gun for her. She would be too if someone did that to the loving captain of Hyperion.
Before she pulls out her sword to block her attack, Raven helped her out by stopping her attack with her arrows.
"Your fight starts with me, lapdog." Rita smiled.
"That's fine with me. You have been an annoying stain for me to clean." Rita started chasing Raven off the distance, causing Mei to sigh in relief.
As she resumed her search, she immediately encountered a valkyrie. One she doesn't fully know.
She did recognize her as Seele Vollerei based on what the Grey Serpents know about her.
However, the valkyrie standing before her was a bit more different than the one she had read about.
Instead of a sweet girl with blue short hair and blue eyes wearing a white dress chained to her neck using a similar weapon like Rita's, Seele Vollerei standing before her had long and red hair with red eyes wearing a black red dress using big claws as weapon instead of a scythe.
"BRONYA AND KIANA SAID A LOT OF NICE THINGS ABOUT YOU.
I HONESTLY THOUGHT YOU WOULDN'T BETRAY THE CAPTAIN FOR WHAT HE DID FOR YOU. HE EVEN TOLD ALL OF YOUR STORIES TO SEELE.
IMAGINE MY SURPRISE THAT YOU AND THE ORGANIZATION YOU WORK FOR INTENDED TO KILL HIM BY LEAVING HIM TO DIE IN THE HANDS OF THESE FOUL BEASTS.
HE DID EVERYTHING FOR YOU AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY HIM?"
The guilt in Mei's heart may have subsided but it never fully left. She knew that this wasn't entirely her fault but she still needs to bear the blame.
"Let me explain first, Seele."
"'SEELE' ISN'T HERE TO LISTEN. YOUR AUDIENCE IS WITH ME. AND SUCH TOLL WILL BE PAID WITH YOUR SORRY AND MISERABLE LIFE." Seele readied her claws which prompted Mei to ready her weapon.
Raiden Mei didn't have time for this as she needed to find Hajime in time before he zombifies.
She understood why Seele was hurt and she really can't blame the poor girl.
She put out her sword and unleased a beam of red lightning in front of her.
She didn't target the young valkyrie as she intended to use it as a distraction to get away like a flashbomb.
And it worked.
"Hold on, Hajime. I am coming." As she floated and looked around the park with increasing speed.
As she came out of the trees, She encountered the two valkyries that she didn't want to face.
Bronya and Kiana.
What's worse is that both valkyries went through hell physically and emotionally.
"Kiana? Bronya?"
"Subject Mei needs to explain her hate towards the captain." Bronya, who was in her herscherr form, summoned her project bunny.
"Why did you do it, Mei?" Looking at Kiana broke her heart as she watched the silver haired shed tears in front of her.
"Do you really hate Hajime so much? After what he has done for you?" Kiana rubbed her eyes with her arms and summoned her red greatsword and readied her stance.
"NO! I will never hate him and neither will he hate me. Even after what i did to him back at Nagazora, he still forgives me." Mei hung her head low and lowered her weapon.
She took out the letter that her former captain gave to her to defend her case. "He even went out of his way just to give me this letter from my father." Kiana and Bronya looked at each other and sighed.
They even saw signs of tears splattered on the writing to know that this was the real deal.
"So what happened, Mei?" As both Kiana and Bronya finished reading the contents of the letter.
"The grey serpents did it behind everyone's back. I failed to realize it sooner as i was busy dealing with other things. By the time i got here, the wave already ended."
"So please believe me when i say that i would never do that to him even if i was forced by Kevin or the World Serpent." The reunion was not something she would wish for but at least she still got their trust.
"Okay... Mei. I trust you." Kiana held her hand.
"Bronya as well." Mei smiled as Bronya held the other one.
"Okay... We need to find Hajime first. He probably dealt with the wave alone..."
"Meaning his corruption level should be high, right?" Mei nodded to confirm Kiana's and Bronya's worries.
"Then we need to separate to find him faster to save him."
"Kiana Idiotka. Different squads have already been deployed to survey the area. There is no reason to add unnecessary work if Overseer Theresa and Mr. Welt are overseeing the search.
And even if we went for this plan, many Hyperion would mistake Mei as an enemy.
Kiana, Mei and Bronya don't have time that." Bronya made a flat face towards to Kiana.
The silver haired valkyrie blushed in embarassment as she didn't think that far.
"Then we need to stay together while we find him." Both Kiana and Bronya nodded to Raiden Mei's suggestion.
"Mei theorized that Captain has dealt with wave alone to save the possible civilians, correct?" Mei nodded to Bronya's question.
"Since there are no civilians here in the park, Then Bronya theorizes that one possible location for the civilians and the captain is at the Mall." Kiana and Mei nodded to Bronya's theory.
"That would make sense since it provides protection for them from the wave. He probably defended the ones that were heading their way."
"All right. We need to move!"
"RIGHT!"
"RIGHT!"
Both herrscher of thunder and herrscher of reason followed herrscher of flamescion's lead as they both headed straight towards to the mall.
Hajime was heading straight towards to his horizon.
Everything was dark and the floor felt wet and sticky.
He could only tell that he would start sinking into the ground if he stayed on one spot.
And he didn't know why that was the case.
He only knew that he woke up after that disastrous event with the templar beast.
The only light source he had were him and the ball of light floating on his path.
At least to him, he doesn't feel any injuries that occurred on his body or the indescribable burn he felt earlier.
He was however emotionally tired.
All he wants to do now is lie on the wet floor and sleep on it.
But he was still curious why the ball of light woke him up in this lightless land.
And seeing how he started this dark journey, he might as well see to the end of it.
"All right. Let's see what is your deal is." As he kept trudging on the path.
The more he followed the light, the more clear it was to him that he was heading straight to a big door.
"Why is there a big door here?" As he watched the ball of light entered through.
Seeing that there was no other way around after looking around, he went inside.
And the first thing he saw after heading inside were 6 yellow silhouettes waiting by the door.
4 females.
1 male.
and 1 small girl.
He couldn't identify their faces as he can only see yellow electrical currents making up their image.
Same color as his bullets he uses in his pistols.
Before he tries to slowly approach the silhoutte to see if there were just images, he heard a giggle from one of them.
It oddly sounded like a lady.
He followed the source and saw that the woman on the middle walked towards him while the rest of the silhoutte vanished.
She was slightly taller than him, about an inch and a half at least...
He could also recognized that the woman was wearing heels based on the sounds of her footsteps. He could also see that she was wearing a dress.
As she slowly approached him, he could see that she let her hair down and yet somehow, it felt regal watching her.
He doesn't know the woman but he didn't have it in him to interrupt her midway. He only let her stand before him and heard her giggle.
He watched her placed her right hand on her chest while the other stretched out to her leg and leaned towards him as if she was slightly bowing.
He couldn't see the expression she was making due to the yellow electrical currents making up her body but he can tell that she was smiling.
He only wished that he could see her face.
"Took you long enough to get here. Let's start, shall we?" Hearing her said that, he responded with a same manner of greeting albeit with uncertainty.
"Uhmmmmm... It is nice to meet you, milady?" The lady felt regal to him so he thought it was a good idea to greet her with the same amount of respect he thought she deserves.
He wasn't sure if he also needed to give her a gentleman bow for her or not though.
The woman covered her mouth to giggle at him.
"There is no need for that, Hajime M. Stellar. You can relax here. I am not here to act as your queen." He nodded and stood straight with his arm crossed.
"That's better."
She turned around, prompting him to follow her.
"So where am i?"
"You are in some sort of training ground if you will." He nodded as he let her have a tour around the place.
"Training ground?" He watched her chuckled as she sat down on the invisible bench.
"Guess no one told you before coming in here. That's all right~" Before he even got to ask, he watched her raised her right hand in the air.
She snapped her fingers.
As soon as she did that, small amount of lights were beginning to shine on the area and he could finally see multiple floating islands in the sky.
He was beginning to see Autumn trees were mysteriously showing themselves to him.
He could also finally feel the chilling breeze, easing his worry.
He could see the same door he encountered earlier from the distance.
As he started to process what was happening, he heard a giggle again from her.
"This will be your training ground to defeat Honkai. Your battle earlier has intrigued me." He rubbed the back of his head as if he doesn't know how to respond to that.
"It was just a Templar. Any anti-honkai forces would've had an easier time dealing with it." She covered her mouth to giggle.
"You are right. Any anti-honkai forces would have.
And yet, you held your will long enough to defeat the beast slightly weaker than a ganesha, battered and exhausted beyond belief as a man who should be incapable of defeating them.
Not only that, you held your own and cleared every weaker enemies before that. If it were anyone else, they would have turned and submitted to Honkai by the time the wave started."
"Maybe i had help?" She shook her head.
"I may have supplied you strength on your battle with the Templar. But the will of ending the wave on your own? Refusing to submit to Honkai? Saving the unaffected while stopping the spread by risking your own life? Defeating every single enemy in your path? That was all you." He finally realized that breeze he was feeling earlier was accompanied by a music.
If anything, this place felt like a lounge to him.
"Like i said, your battle earlier intrigued me." Realizing that he was getting nowhere with this conversation. He decided to bite.
"If this is some sorts of training ground, Why are you here then?"
"Why... I am just a simple guide for you. Of course." She placed her hand on her chest and chuckled. He sighed.
SInce i am here, i might as well get on with it. I don't see anything else to do.
"When do i start?"
"Oh? Just like that?"
"Well... Yeah. It's not like i can get out here willingly."
"You can actually~ All you have to do is ask." He raised his eyebrow.
"That's it?"
"I told you. I am just a guide who got intrigued by your battle earlier. After all, you were the one who came in this world at your own volition."
"Wait... That ball of light that i followed wasn't yours?" Hajime was genuinely surprised to see her confused at his question.
"What ball of light?" Seeing how he made her confused from their conversation, he decided to drop it.
He needed a reason why that light led him here and since he was here, he might as well as see to it the end.
He needs to know how was he able to fend off the templar earlier. He needed to know what was going on with him and his body.
He needed answers and maybe where he is right now might help him.
"You know what? Ignore what i said about the ball of light." He sighed. "Back to my response earlier. When do i start?"
He watched her crossed her leg in front of him and snapped her fingers.
"If you are ready, Just walk through the door." He followed her direction.
"If you ever need me for something, Just ask." Before he started walking, he started asking.
"Will everything be explained once i go through?"
"Of course. Once you have passed through more than enough trials, we will start explaining everything."
"What happen if i fail the trials ahead?"
"Then it is up to you if you wish to proceed or not. I am just a simple guide. Your will only matters here."
He asked the final question.
"Who are you?"
"Well...If you insist, my name is ******-****** ** ****: ****." He raised an eyebrow to her as he wasn't sure that he heard her right.
"Eh?"
"Oh? Looks like you have no memories of meeting me or knowing me. That's all right."
"You sure?" She nodded.
"You can call me Ms. Guide." He made a flat look.
"You know... That is not very reassuring for me to hear you say that. At all." Ms. Guide giggled.
"Would it help if i took the form of someone you trusted the most? Like this one perhaps?" Ms. Guide immediately changed her silhoutte.
She took the form of Himeko.
Back in her prime when she was as a part of Valkyrie assault squad.
"No. It does not help." He sighed as he was beginning to lose in this conversation.
"But seeing you how willing you are to help me on this, i guess that i am going to let that slide. I will still call you Ms. Guide though. Calling you Himeko would be a bit too awkward for me."
"That's fine by me."
"Thank you." He walked to stop in front of the door. "I am ready for my training, Ms. Guide."
"If you are ready, then just walk through." Hajime nodded and proceeded to the next step, leaving Ms. Guide alone in the forest-like world with her thoughts.
"Good luck, Legacy-Bearer." As Himeko-like figure frowned and sighed in concerned.
"You are going to need it."