Chapter 3: Investigation, Conflict IV
Tower of Babylon Labs, Honkai Reactor Pile
Theresa Apocalypse kneeled on the floor, hands gripping the white fabric of her dress, as she stared at what was in front of her. "Master Theresa, we have stepped up monitoring efforts in this area, after the disappearance of Master Patricia and the sudden drop in Honkai energy level in the vicinity, but I regret to inform you that nothing has been found yet."
"Why? Why did this… happen to my friend?" Theresa said sadly, some bloodstains on the floor and also Patricia's bloodstained Valkyrie badge lying there, still unmoved from where they had first been found.
"Overseer Otto just deployed additional forces about an hour ago. Master Salome and Master Niggurath will be arriving shortly, and… Master Siegfried has been called upon as well. There is no cause for alarm, Master Theresa." The technician who had been reporting the current situation finished.
As if to prove the poor technician wrong, however, at that moment an alarm rang out. "Master Theresa! We have a Code Red! Scanners detected a Honkai beast horde emerging from the tundra! We need you at Battle Command!" Another technician urgently yelled. All personnel currently monitoring the reactor moved out of the room and away to the facility command centre, where a large screen was showing multiple red dots. "Our scanners didn't pick up anything until now. They must have been hiding in the snow during all this time. We're looking at about 500 Honkai entities converging on the tower!"
Theresa kept her cool, stretching out her hand to the technicians around her and issuing orders. "Don't panic, people! Bring me the Oath of Judah! I'll stop them myself—"
A holographic sign indicating an incoming emergency call interrupted her. "Hey hey hey, Theresa. Just keep yourself comfy in that tower and direct us from here. We'll give our uninvited guests a little reception Just sit back and watch the show."
Siberian Tundra, just outside Tower of Babylon Labs
Hundreds of Honkai beasts, from Seraph to Chariot-class, trudged through the snow towards the tower in the distance, heavy thuds marking their every step forward.
"Phew, I guess we're right on time. Let's give our guests a warm welcome." Three figures stood in the monsters' way, blocking their path onward. A man wielding two handguns: Siegfried Kaslana, Schicksal Knight; and two A-rank Valkyries of Squad SnowWolf: Salone Jokanaan and Shub-Niggurath.
Dressed in red, Shub-Niggurath was the first to dash forward. With the sound of 'swooshing' air and a loud cry, the redheaded woman wielded her weapon, 'Murmuring Carnage', an electromagnetic lance-cannon, taking out a Chariot-class with ease. "Pfft. This Honkai horde isn't impressing me at all." Known as the 'Daughter of Chaos', Niggurath had unnatural strength, and her name or handle had been on many missions' Killed In Action (KIA) list often, yet she still managed to turn up very much alive afterward, leading rumors to say she couldn't be killed; just then, something sliced apart a Seraph-class about to attack from above that Niggurath had noticed too late.
"Stay focused, Niggurath. I can't watch your six forever." This was the other A-rank Valkyrie on the field, Salome 'The Baptist' Jokanaan, known for her lightning-fast reflexes, wizard aim (and insane dancing skills), who wielded the 'Halo of Twelve', an assemblage of monomolecular-edged blades controlled with a superconductive electromagnetic system.
While the three warriors assigned by Schicksal to defend their location fought on, another three figures were looking on the battlefield from above, standing on a cliff overlooking the area.
"Are these really the best that Schicksal can offer? While they try to dance with the Honkai horde, that Herrscher is probably sucking all the Honkai juice she can get…" a certain red-haired scientist deadpanned. "Welt, we don't really have a lot of time. Let me deploy the Titans (mechs) and I'll bust that tower open. If Schicksal tries to stop us—"
"No, Tesla. I need you to hold your Titans in reserve for the time being. I have an old friend down there. Siegfried Kaslana… I need to keep him on our side."
Back with the Schicksal three-person group, Niggurath and Salome were getting competitive. "Oi, there's no end to this Honkai horde. Hey, Salome 'The Baptist', let's make this fun! How about a race to see who makes 50 kills first?" Niggurath tried to pressure her colleague.
"I'm not interested, Black Goat (Shub-Niggurath means 'black goat of the woods'). Can you at least try treating this mission a little more seriously?" the other Valkyrie replied, hands stretching out from under her blue cloak to command her flying blades. "Our mission is to keep the Honkai away from the tower."
NIggurath shrugged with her position back-to-back with Salome. "But killing them will keep them away from the tower, right? Whatever! I'll feed 'Murmuring Carnage' with a double serving of Honkai blood!" Just then, a loud boom was heard from above somewhere. "What the hell?"
Siegfried turned and barked orders to his current Valkyrie subordinates. "I think we have ourselves another uninvited guest. Salome! Niggurath! Get out of there, now!" As both SnowWolf members retreated to behind him, the Schicksal Knight looked up… "Wait, that's—" A figure holding a ball of red light floated in the air, halos of dark crimson emanating from the object. "—A man?!"
The Current Herrscher of Reason, holding a recreation of the 9th Divine Key: Star of Eden, looked down from on high at the pests of Honkai below. His eyes glowed, the power of gravity in his hand, Welt Yang only needed to give one command. "Kneel."
"My body! It feels as if my limbs are filled with lead!" The three Schicksal warriors struggled, Siegfried barely managing to stay upright, while the two Valkyries were forced to the ground, grunting with exertion.
With another word, the Star of Eden burst. "BEGONE!" Dark red beams of light scattered in every direction, striking all Honkai beasts in the area. With each hit, no matter where the monsters were struck, all dissolved into Honkai particles due to the effects of 'Cognitive Destructuring'. The sight of all this made Siegfried have a thought: 'That man just destroyed hundreds of Honkai beasts with a single move!'
As the man above descended towards the ground, Siegfried also realized something. "Wait a minute… I think I've seen this guy before." The Schicksal Knight's blue eyes caught sight of something. "That's the mark of Anti-Entropy on his belt!" As the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy finally landed, two mechs—one red, one gray—dropped down behind him, the pilots' landings compromised by the mushy snow and causing them to readjust positions lest the mechs fell over.
"Stop right there, Anti-Entropist. State your reason for coming here!" Siegfried called out.
"Well met, warriors of Schicksal. We mean no harm. I am Welt Yang, Sovereign of Anti-Entropy." Came the reply.
"The Sovereign of Anti-Entropy?" "It's the First Herrscher himself! Lord Otto must be informed at once!" the two Valkyries exclaimed.
"Good warriors, you need to know that an entity in that tower is responsible for the incident and could doom us all. The survival of Humanity is at stake. Let's set aside our differences for now and join forces to deal with this threat." The Sovereign held his hands out, trying to convince them of his intentions.
Siegfried, however, pointed one pistol at him. "I don't have a beef against Anti-Entropy. But…" A flaming shot burst out, the warning bullet zipping past the air near Welt Yang's cheek. "Orders are orders. Schicksal doesn't accept help from traitors. Now turn around and head back to wherever you came from." The Anti-Entropy (AE) Sovereign remained silent. "I'll say it again: We will NOT accept your help, even if it costs us our dear lives."
At this, Welt Yang responded. "Even at the cost of your dear lives? How about the lives of THOSE you hold dear? Their lives are at stake as well." The bespectacled man demanded passionately. "Siegfried, you are a Knight of House Kaslana. Have you forgotten your oath already?"
The white-haired man gasped, as his mind flashed to two other white-haired females far away from the Siberian Tundra: his wife Cecilla Schariac and his daughter Kiana Kaslana.
"Thou shalt constitute thyself as a shield defending the weak and innocent."
Welt Yang extended his hand in invitation. "I know this will be quite a leap of faith for you. And I know that we should give you better evidence to prove that we're not lying. But let our troops camp first… and I'll accept any demand you wish to impose on us."
Sweatdropping, Siegfried scratched his head. "Ugh, fine. I don't feel like messing up your face with Shamash anyway. It might piss you off and your ultimate will probably waste us in a sec." The Knight extended his own hand towards Welt Yang. "Your look like an honorable person. You know about the Kaslana Oath. You've earned my trust with your words. Let us join forces against the entity you talked about."
The two men shook hands, signifying an alliance for the current situation. "And if that entity is as powerful as you've said and threatens to destroy our world… then I'll do whatever I can to take it down. And you'll be glad that you're a friend of Siegfried Kaslana."
Somewhere above the Mediterranean, Schicksal Headquarters
Otto Apocalypse was reminiscing about childhood memories… when a call interrupted him. "Lord Otto, Master Siegfried has an urgent message for you."
"Did he mention progress about the investigation of the Babylon incident?"
"I'm afraid not, Lord Otto. His message was about his meeting with the leader of Anti-Entropy, the First Herrscher, Welt."
"Welt?!" the Overseer exclaimed out loud. 'There's a nasty piece of unfinished business between us since 1955…' Under Welt Joyce's leadership, the Schicksal branch in North America had declared independence as Anti-Entropy (AE) in 1955.
Otto began to think furiously. 'He didn't show up in Siberia by accident. He definitely knows something drastic has happened in Babylon Labs… Can it be the Second Herrscher?'
Speaking out loud again, the Overseer continued. "AE is our most powerful adversary. Order Siegfried to do whatever it takes to defend Babylon against intrusion."
"Yes, Lord Otto. Unfortunately, Siegfried did not engage the First Herrscher. He said that Welt offered help for investigating the Babylon incident. In fact, Siegfried claimed the matter was so desperate he decided to exercise his initiative as a field officer and allowed AE forces to enter the tower."
'WHAT? They're already inside? Damn you, Siegfried! Why did I let a loud and unreliable loose cannon such as you lead the squad?!' Otto looked at the footage displaying the AE forces at Babylon, before noticing something. 'Wait! Who the hell is this? Welt?! This isn't him!' Unknowingly to Otto himself, he had been expecting to see the face of Welt Joyce, and he didn't know the face of his successor, Welt Yang.
'That coward must be hiding. But this is definitely Dr Einstein. This is Dr Tesla. Energy readings from the battle match the power signature of the 9th Divine Key, the Star of Eden. That leaves us with 3 possibilities. Very well then—'
"Tell Siegfried I've received his message, and thank him for his… sound… judgement. Engaging the First Herrscher will only lead to unwanted losses. We'll support Siegfried's decision of accepting help from AE… for now." The call was disconnected, and Otto turned to an ongoing project of his. "Since this 'Welt' likes playing the hero so much… I'll simply entertain his choice. And once this avatar is ready… I'll have the power to crush any Herrscher on my own."