Yeonsheo POV

Today has been officially one of Yeonsheo's worst days ever since she came here to take on that mission. Why do they even want her to observe a civilian of all people? Given this civilian did somehow know about the Honkai's existence it would still make more sense if they asked her to escort Kyuushou out of the city.

But not only that, her identity as a Valkyrie is known not only by her friend, Sakuya but also by the redhead in front of her, Leon Milkova. 'Why did everything turn out like this?' Yeonsheo wonders.

"So? What do you think? It's a win-win for both of us. " Leon restated his offer. It was a tempting offer but could she really risk the life of another civilian?

Leon looked like he knew what he was getting into when he made that offer. Considering he lived with the Kaslanas and Sakuya perhaps he too possessed some battle prowess that she needed right now.

After some careful consideration on her part, Yeonsheo finally gave in "Fine. I accept." The Valkyrie then let out a reluctant sigh.

"Perfect." The redhead smiled as he offered her a handshake to formalize their agreement.

Yeonsheo shook his hand while wondering how the hell did everything turn out like this?

A couple of hours ago.

Yeonsheo went into one of the stalls and sat on the toilet seat, pretending to use it. The girl put on her earpiece. "Yeonsheo-san I suggest you take some precaution. We've detected a rise in the world serpent's activities in the city in recent days." A female voice said through her comms.

"I will, Rita sama." The Valkyrie replied.

"Good. Then how's the progress of your mission?"

"Nothing much has happened. The target was visited by the Kaslana sisters. The three of them are hanging out in Houraiji-san's apartment currently. " Yeonsheo skipped the part where she's hanging out with her friends.

If the higher-ups knew that they might force her to cancel her plans.

As scary as Sakuya was when provoked, she's not really a bad person besides she wanted to relax from the jarring days of school.

"Do I still have to do this? Don't they already have a lot of information about Kyuushou san?" Yeonsheo continued.

"Unfortunately, yes. There hasn't been any news regarding the termination of-"

BOOM–

A big explosion followed by a large quake shook the entire building. Even Rita could hear how loud that explosion was. If not for her training as a Valkyrie, Yeonsheo would've fallen onto the floor like the other civilians.

"... Copy... Do you copy, Yeonsheo-san? Yeonsheo-san?" A concerned Rita was heard over her comms.

"I-I'm fine," Yeonsheo replied as her hearing started to recover from the initial explosion.

"But–" Small quakes followed suit after that initial impact. People's screams and the sound of something mechanical could be heard from outside the toilet.

This wasn't a normal earthquake, something big and heavy just fell somehow into the mall. " Something just fell into the building. I think I hear a metallic thunk each time a small quake occurs. It may be a giant mecha of some sort."

"Hmm… That's concerning. I didn't expect the World Serpent to be making their move this early. How's your objective? Is Houraiji-san safe?"

Yeonsheo silently cursed in her mind. Of all times why does it have to be now!? Does she lie and say Kyuushou is fine? Or should she just confess the truth.

This was Rita, we're talking about. The maid would easily be able to tell if she was lying or not from the tone of her voice. What a predicament. Not answering would be the same as admitting that she's slacking off either.

"...Yeonsheo-san I suggest you see if Houraiji-san is safe or not. I wouldn't be able to cover for you if your negligence costs you, your mission." Rita added in a commanding tone. Shit! The maid had caught on.

"Ye-Yes, Rita sama. I-I'm sorry." Yeonsheo whimpers. What's with her luck today? Did she offend the gods in any way?

"I understand your feelings, Yeonsheo-san. Don't worry I won't report this to the overseer or the higher-ups. But I have to remind you to make sure nothing bad happens to your target. If things take a turn for the worst, I suggest you escort her out of the city."

"...What if she doesn't comply?"

"You're permitted to use force if you deem the situation necessary. As a maid, I am able to provide you assistance should you inquire."

"I-I don't think that'll be necessary." Yeonsheo didn't want her relationship with the Kaslanas or the Houraiji to worsen. So that option would be out of the question.

Sakuya and Sirin would hunt her down to the end of the Earth if that were to happen and she'd rather not have a target on her back. She doesn't think they had a good impression of Schicksal either if Siegfried told her their history.

Just as she thought her day couldn't get any worse, her phone's alarm suddenly rang. 'This alarm!?' Yeonsheo clicks her tongue. She knew what that alarm meant and the bad news it brought when it rang.

Her target is in danger. An intruder had broken into her house and she wasn't anywhere near the Houraiji's apartment either.

"Rita. Please activate my battlesuit and send it my way." Yeonsheo said.

"Understood. I wish you good luck, Yeonsheo san."

Without a second to hesitate. "Hup." Yeonsheo concentrated her supernatural Valkyrie's strength into her fist. With one clean punch, she tore a big enough hole in the bathroom wall for her to go through. The hole she made created a pathway for her to go outside of the building as the WOTAN rampaged inside.

"Wait. Mei and Sakuya are still inside!" Yeonsheo immediately turned her whole body around. She saw the once prosperous mall fall into chaos. The Valkyrie clenched her fist. Should she help her friends or prioritize her mission?

As a Valkyrie, she was trained to not let her own personal feelings jeopardize the mission that she was given. But she never thought that she would be forced into this position this soon.

It was a harder choice for her considering both of them were civilians and Mei is someone she feels personally attached to. Well, it's not like they couldn't defend themselves but this situation is different. Against humans, they would definitely be capable but this isn't human it's a giant mech! A mech made for war at that!

It is not something that a normal civilian could take on. Hell even Yeonsheo wasn't confident she could beat one of AE's best mech head-on without the help of her battlesuit and weapon.

But maybe her friends could run away.

Yeonsheo noted that The WOTAN seems to indiscriminately destroy the area around itself. Whoever sent that WOTAN clearly sent it to create chaos as its main objective. Diverging the public's attention to their true goal.

Without a second thought, Yeonsheo made her choice. She decided to put her faith in Sakuya to keep Mei safe and get to safety, being raised by Siegfried surely had its benefits right? She seriously doubts that Siegfried wouldn't teach his daughters anything.

The Valkyrie ran in the other direction away from the chaos. Little did she know at the time that the WOTAN was indeed targeting someone, but fortunately for her, her choice of prioritizing her mission was indeed correct.

Screams of its citizens rang throughout the streets of Nagazora as the city fell into chaos. The common folk ran for their dear life. Those who orchestrated this attack didn't just attack one location but several locations all throughout the city.

They wanted to create as much chaos as possible so that AE and the city police forces were spread thin. Making it easier for the perpetrators to enact their original goal.

Yeonsheo had an inkling that it had something to do with Kyuushou. After all, who wouldn't be interested in her? Honkai was a well-hidden secret and yet not only did that Houraiji manage to know about its existence, but she also possessed a stigmata.

It is very rare for someone to be bestowed a stigmata. About 1 in 100.000 females have one. Schicksal was always interested in finding those stigmata bearers. Their innate Honkai resistance would help them fight against the Honkai threat.

So if possible Schicksal would recruit them if they deemed her useful for their cause and would not threaten Schicksal's authority.

But Kyuushou always felt different from the other stigmata bearers, Yeonsheo knew. That girl is a weirdo but she couldn't understand why she felt different from herself or the others. Was it because of the nonsense she kept spouting? Who knows.

Unfortunately, the worst-case scenario happened. They had attacked Kyuushou's apartment and captured her. Kiana and Sirin must've been caught off guard and kidnapped as well seeing there weren't any traces of a fight or their corpses, thankfully.

Yeonsheo left the apartment complex in a hurry. Later she found the small alleyway where her combat gear had been deployed in

While gearing up in a small alleyway, a question would always pop into her head. How the hell is she going to find her target? The tracker she placed on Kyuushou was found and thrown away.

She doesn't have enough time to thoroughly search the entire city. If these agents had left the city then it would be impossible for her to track them down as she doesn't have a single clue as to where they could've gotten.

Yeonsheo sighed as she sheathed her katana on her hip. "Rita san doesn't have any information right now. AE seems to be fighting them everywhere. Should I try my luck and intercept them at one of the city's exits? But which one should I go to first? Ugh, there are too many exits though."

The city of Nagazora had multiple exits all in different locations across the city. There were 3 highway exits, 2 underground subway exits, 2 ports, and of course an airport. Yeonsheo scratched the airport out of her list of potential exits but that still doesn't narrow it down by much.

Assuming AE managed to set up a blockade on the sea, the ports wouldn't be a likely choice for WS to use. That leaves the interstate highways or underground subways. Still, way too many options for her to consider.

While the Valkyrie was racking her brain for ideas. She had forgotten one thing, spatial awareness. A mistake that almost cost her mission's integrity.

"Yeonsheo ssi?" A boy's voice calling her name in her native language snapped her back to reality.

"So you really were a Valkyrie," Leon commented. He didn't seem surprised at all by the revelation.

'Don't tell me everyone knew about that, but how?' Yeonsheo was more surprised than he was that her identity as a Valkyrie wasn't much of a surprise to Sakuya and now Leon. She was sure she hid her double life quite well.

Were they stalking her? The thought of that made her feel uncomfortable. Still, then again, she was technically stalking Sakuya's cousin because of her mission.

"What is a Valkyrie doing here?" Leon continued.

"That's…Classified information. What are YOU doing here?" Yeonsheo turned her attention to the boy.

"If you insist on knowing… To save Kiana and Sirin. Unless you already knew about their situation." Leon crossed his arms.

"What!? That's suicide!"

"It's dangerous but it's not a suicide mission. I know my limits. But it's not like I'm alone, Eden has decided to help me."

"Even still." Yeonsheo pressed her fingers against her forehead. This headache is getting to her. "With what weapon and do you even know where Kiana is?"

Leon pulled a metal baseball bat and two pistols from his bag. Both of them seemed to belong to Kiana and he's currently borrowing them as he doesn't have a weapon of his own currently. "As for Kiana's location. Yes, I do actually know where she is. I can track where they're taking her because I gave Sirin a prototype gun I was currently developing, to prevent it from getting lost I put a tracker there.

"-Kiana and Sirin were also in the same location. Since I couldn't contact them after hearing that explosion I figured there was a high chance that the World Serpent agents didn't take them separately and were still moving them with the same vehicle to one of the exits. Kyuushou san might also be with them."

"Huh!? Wait- wait you're making a gun?" Leon answered her by simply nodding his head and gave her a confused look at why he couldn't do something like that.

The Valkyrie was baffled. She knows Leon was an intelligent kid but seriously? She was lost for words when she talked about making a gun out of all things in a country that banned live firearms. If he's making them for Sirin or Kiana then that gun was intended to aid the Kaslana in their fight against the Honkai.

Yeonsheo didn't know what to say. The fact that he's saying that casually or that Leon could actually make a prototype gun made from whatever material available to him and potentially be used to kill Honkai beasts.

His genius reminds her of her own overseer.

"Don't tell me you didn't even know where they were. Were you planning to randomly go to one of the exits, in hopes that you'd find them there?" Leon looked at her suspiciously while raising his eyebrows.

'Ugh, how's he guessing my exact thoughts! This is ridiculous!'

Seeing her silence, Leon took it as a yes.

"Alright, how about this then? I propose we join forces. I'll be your navigation seeing that you don't seem to know where they are currently and you'll help us deal with the World Serpent's agents. How about it?" Leon offered his proposal. It's not a bad proposal by any means.

Yeonsheo let out a disgruntled sigh. Today has really been a bad day for her.

"So? What do you think? It's a win-win for both of us."

"...Fine, I accept." Yeonsheo reluctantly agreed to his proposal.

And the rest is history.

"Don't you feel ashamed being carried on a girl's back like this?" Yeonsheo asked her freeloading passenger. Leon clung onto Yeonsheo's back as the two of them traversed the city's skylines.

Swinging and running from building to building with the help of Yeonsheo's grappling hook, a unique gadget of her battlesuit located on her wrist.

"It's the fastest way to get there and you still need me otherwise AE might think that Schicksal is behind all of this when you suddenly arrive on the scene." It was a fair argument from Leon. The Valkyrie couldn't find any way to rebuke his statement but that doesn't really answer her question.

She's surprised that he's still managed to hold on despite the speed at which they're traveling.

'If he were to join Schicksal, he could've become a C-rank knight.' Still, Yeonsheo was worried that she might need to watch him if they encountered any World Serpent agents. These agents are stronger than a regular B-rank Valkyrie on top of that he's not even well equipped.

Does he have a death wish? Yeonsheo was sure he was not the type of person to be swayed by emotions but it seems that even geniuses still have their dumb moments. She hoped that he at least thought of a plan if he ever encountered a World Serpent agent.

His bravado is commendable but it means nothing if he gets himself killed.

But the ex-Valkyrie, Eden, seems to trust him. 'Guess I'll just have to see it for myself.' Besides, it'll be good to know how skilled the Kaslana sisters are just by observing someone who lived with them.

Who knows maybe she can ask them to join Schicksal someday. It would help her captain's cause if she managed to secure some powerful allies on their side.

"How far is it?"

"Not that far," Leon answered as he took a look at his phone. A small red dot, that represented Kiana's location appeared on his screen, which was currently showing a road map of the city of Nagazora.

The dot continued to move, taking the shorter routes as it went to the northern exit of the city. It's not far from their current location and with how fast they're traveling they would eventually catch up.

"They're still moving to the northern exit. Hopefully, Eden would intercept them soon before they got out into the outskirts of the city." Leon added, Hoping that the ex-Valkyrie would soon intercept the twins' captors before they were able to reach the edge of the city.

Felix POV

"... I thought they would've woken up already. What kind of drug did Grey Serpent give us?" Felix couldn't hold in her surprise. Their ride isn't exactly the most comfortable, especially for someone who's quite literally sitting on the floor of the van.

Out of curiosity, Felix had poked their faces numerous times during her escape with Cal in this bumpy car ride. Not once did Kiana, Sirin, or Kyuushou show any kind of response. It really seemed like they were carrying a comatose patient with how unresponsive her targets were.

"Don't know and I don't wanna know. That snake creeps me out." Cal said dismissively. The masked man crossed his arms during the entire ride. His patience is drawing thin with how uncomfortable their ride was. "What do you want?" The young man noticed that his comrade was staring at him now.

"Just wondering why you agree to this". From our previous mission record, you never seem to agree to any mission if there isn't anything Honkai beast-related."

"I can choose whatever mission I want." Cal looks away. But Felix could've sworn that his tone was a bit awkward when he said that. He's definitely hiding something from her.

"I thought you would've tried to kill the Herrscher by now." She spoke out her thoughts.

She would've had to subdue him if that ever happened. Not only did he not lash out the moment he saw the Herrscher, but the man famous for his hatred for Honkai didn't seem to bear any hostility in his eyes when he saw the current Herrscher of the Void.

"...The Herrscher that caused the destruction of my home is dead." Cal didn't elaborate any further and stared at the van's back door in silence.

Felix nodded even though she was still curious as to why her teammate's demeanor felt a bit different in this mission. Did he conquer his Honkai side that caused his anger issues?

Well, whatever it is, it's a good thing that he's not making the mission harder than it already is.

Her heart races in anticipation, her paycheck is coming once this mission is truly over. She wonders what kind of steak her siblings want. Maybe Wagyu would suffice?

Anyway, It's been a while since she saw them too. Grey Serpent always said that they're in good health but hearing it from him makes her feel uneasy.

Her instincts told her not to fully trust his words and after her MANTIS surgery that feeling only intensified. But seeing how he hadn't done anything that would suggest otherwise, maybe her instincts were just wrong this time.

The van made its silent departure onto the highway, the last leg of their daring escape. The road ahead promised a clean break from the chaos they left behind.

BOOM!

A sudden explosion shattered the tranquility as a bullet pierced through one of the tires causing the vehicle to swerve out of control. Lucky for them the driver managed to stabilize the van. Narrowly avoiding their vehicle from capsizing in the middle of the highway.

Their adversary landed with grace between them and their freedom. They were mere moments away from escaping the city they had wreaked havoc upon.

Enraged Cal kicked open the door. Steam was continuously pouring out of his mouth with each breath he took.

If not for that red-haired woman in front of him. He and his team would've been able to slip away unnoticed. "Haa, How frustrating," Cal muttered in a low growl of vexation, wishing these hounds of Anti-Entropy would simply vanish from his sight.

The Ex-Valkyrie, Eden raised one of her revolvers toward the WS agents and issued her ultimatum "This is as far as you'll go. If you give back Kiana Kaslana, Sirin Kaslana, and Houraiji Kyuushou to us. I'll consider letting you go." She stated.

But her offer hangs in the air as tension grows between each group.

As tension continued to grow, Yeonsheo and Leon arrived at the scene blocking their flank. Sealing off any hope of the WS agents escaping on their own.

"Aww come on!" Felix groaned because of their unlucky encounters. The two WS agents stood firm as they waited for their inevitable confrontation with their adversary.

Cal clicked his tongue in frustration. "Tsk. Do your worst.".

Flames flickered ablaze around his tightly clenched fist. Without hesitation, he lunged toward Eden. Quickly closing in the gap between himself and Eden, knowing well that he had the advantage in a close-quarter fight against the gun-wielding diva.

"O-Oi! Why do I have to fight two people?!" On the other hand, His teammate, Felix shrieked while dodging Yeonsheo's initial flurry of attacks with minimal effort. Her cat-like reaction time made it easy for Felix to dodge or parry Yeonsheo's attacks effortlessly, much to Yeonsheo's chagrin.

"He-Hey! Watch the tail!" Felix called out as narrowly dodged a lethal strike.

Yeonsheo's face furrowed in frustration. Her opponent wasn't that skilled in fighting but her ability to react milliseconds faster than her attacks is proving to be quite an annoying feat.

On the sidelines, Leon observed the intense clash between the two, waiting patiently for the perfect moment to slip past the cat girl MANTIS unnoticed.

As the two fighters are locked in a stalemate, Leon seizes this chance, attempting to dart past them. He manipulated the very fabric of time by stretching it, turning seconds into milliseconds. The world around him slowed to a crawl, akin to a slow-motion sequence in an action movie.

Yet despite dilated time, The MANTIS was still able to react to his movements. Retracting her wolverine claws in one fell swoop and narrowly evading Yeonsheo's blade with a swift step backward. In a split-second, Felix lunged at Leon, claws extended, ready to strike the boy down.

Seeing that, Leon's reflexes kicked in, tapping further into his stigmata's power as he stretched time even more to evade her assault. Though Felix's claws still managed to graze his cheek. Time resumed its normal flow as his powers were deactivated.

He didn't expect Felix to be able to react to his movement and acted quickly all in the span of a thousandth of a second. With a quick assessment of the situation. Leon realized he had to team up with Yeonsheo and defeat this World Serpent agent first before they could safely carry out Kiana and the rest.

That crash should've woken them up by now, but seeing how there was no sound of struggling coming from within the van. Leon assumed that the world serpent had drugged the three of them with some kind of potent sleeping agent when they were being kidnapped.

Observing Leon's showcase of speed, Yeonsheo looked rather impressed while Felix was left bewildered by her own ability to land a blow on someone moving at such an impossible velocity.

"Ugh, I've done it now." Felix groaned. The odds are now stacked against her.

While her reaction time was impressive, Felix wondered how long she could last in this kind of match-up. Facing both a Valkyrie and a boy with a mysterious trick, up his sleeve posed a challenge she had yet to encounter.

"... This is going to be a pain," Felix grumbled already thinking of demanding Grey Serpent for that sweet bonus payment. "He never mentioned that a Valkyrie and a Knight of Schicksal would be here too!" Little did she know, Leon wasn't even affiliated with Schicksal. He was simply a determined young man who wanted to save his friends.

Somewhere near the Outskirts of Nagazora

They were supposed to be the hunters, the ones with power over the people of Nagazora. Yet, with the arrival of one variable, the balance shifted dramatically. The hunters had become the hunted.

In the face of an unstoppable force, the mercenaries, once arrogant in their perceived power, now screamed in fear as they fled for their lives.

The streets ran red with their blood, showing no mercy to her enemies the hunter continued her hunt.

"AHH!" A mercenary's blood-curdling scream pierced the air as he fired everything at his assailant. But his adversary wasn't a regular human. Ultimately his efforts were futile as the hunter dodged the rain of hot lead effortlessly.

With a swift and clean cut of her scythe, the mercenary's journey came to an abrupt end.

"Hiss." Sakuya hissed in pain. Her body was riddled with gunshot wounds, each wound had left a trail of searing agony in its wake. Fueled by her unwavering determination, she continued forward.

Sakuya took deep and steady breaths to ease her mind off the pain while slowly walking to her destination. Her regenerative abilities worked relentlessly to mend her body to its pristine condition. With remarkable speed, It took her healing factor a couple minutes to fully heal her entire body.

Though, fatigue had started to creep up on her. It took a lot of her reserved stamina to fully heal herself. Yet, she pressed on, she knew she couldn't rest just yet — not while her adopted sisters and cousin (and Leon) were still in danger.

In the distance, the WOTAN approached her. With each step it took, the ground beneath it trembled.

Sakuya exhaled a weary sigh. She turned around to face the approaching WOTAN, frustrated that this giant hunk of steel had to cross paths with her again. She debated whether or not she should deal with this mecha first or leave it be and prioritize her mission.

However, the WOTAN had other plans. Instantly recognizing her as a threat, the giant Mecha charged at her, with the sole goal of eliminating the threat that it perceived.

"Tsk." Sakuya cursed under her breath, evading the WOTAN's initial charge by rolling away from its path. The WOTAN crashed into a nearby building. Sakuya braced herself for another fight, she already had enough of this large tin can anyway. "Alright fine, you asked for it. Hopefully, Eden can stall the agents long enough for me while I deal with this bastard."

The WOTAN's dismantling had become her personal interest, she'd gladly be the one to throw this mecha into the recycling plant herself because of what it did to her in the past. Anti-entropy probably wouldn't mind her throwing away their defective product.

Well maybe except for a certain red-haired scientist who made it.