St. Freya Academy - Hyperion Docking Area
Theresa sat in what was originally Hiko's seat, watching the staff below conducting the pre-flight preparations for the Hyperion. Her gaze then shifted, filled with worry, to the map displayed beside her.
Originally, there were five signals on that map. Now, the display was empty. Those five signals had vanished ten minutes ago.
"Irene..." Theresa murmured, staring at the map as she recalled the night before their departure. Just as she was preparing to rest, Irene had co to her room.
At the ti, Theresa had intended to ask if Irene wanted to rest together, but Irene had spoken with a solemn expression.
She told Theresa that if their signals—or their positioning beacons—were to disappear from the map, Theresa must imdiately dispatch the Hyperion to the location where the signals were lost.
Theresa had found it strange back then. While the loss of signals was serious, this was a squad led by three A-Rank Valkyries. Although Kiana and the others didn't have specific titles yet—having not taken the exams for the official B-Rank Valkyrie certification—their strength was by no ans weak. At the very least, they were elites among B-Rank Valkyries.
A squad composed of three A-Rank Valkyries and three elite B-Rank-equivalent Valkyries... such a configuration was sothing only Headquarters could usually field. So branches didn't even possess a single A-Rank Valkyrie.
Moreover, they were rely executing an archaeological mission, with perhaps so treasure hunting on the side. Unless they dug up an Anti-Entropy Titan factory, they should have been fine. And even if they did dig one up, while they might not win, they could certainly outrun it given Irene's squad configuration.
Logically speaking, no matter what happened, there shouldn't be a need to bring the Hyperion over for support, right?
Theresa had asked exactly that. Irene had simply replied that the threat might not co from the present, but more likely from the remnants of past history. Irene refused to reveal the deeper reasons, but Theresa, upholding her trust in Irene, agreed to the request.
After Irene and her team departed, Theresa tracked their signals religiously, setting up an imdiate alarm if they were to vanish. Everything had been smooth, and the signals remained clear—until ten minutes ago, when all five instantly disappeared.
It happened so suddenly that Theresa was frightened into imdiately contacting the Hyperion to prepare for takeoff.
However, the Hyperion was a battleship, after all. It couldn't just fly on a whim. Personnel allocation, weapons and equipnt checks, and warming up the energy systems for takeoff all took ti.
Theresa's fingers drumd incessantly on the armrest of her chair. The panic in her heart stripped the tapping of any rhythm, but she knew she couldn't rush them. So things couldn't be sped up by urging. Fortunately, although St. Freya Academy was an educational institution, it essentially functioned as a centralized branch, and the efficiency of the Hyperion's staff was extrely high.
The Adjutant walked up to her side, looking at the anxious Theresa. "Principal Theresa, the Hyperion is ready to set sail. Additionally, news has co from Shenzhou."
"News?" Theresa turned her head to look at the Adjutant. "Did they refuse our request for support? Or...?"
Shenzhou was not within Schicksal's direct jurisdiction. Although there were mutual aid agreents, Shenzhou possessed its own anti-Honkai capabilities. If she rashly brought the Hyperion into their territory, they might indeed object. But recalling Irene's serious expression, Theresa clenched her fist and looked at the Adjutant.
"Did they refuse the Hyperion's entry?"
"Not at all." The Adjutant looked at Theresa with a hint of admiration in her eyes. "As expected of the Principal... er, no... cough. According to the intelligence provided by Shenzhou, a super-giant Honkai Beast, far exceeding any previously recorded size, has appeared on the sea surface."
"Based on rough calculations, the Honkai Beast's height is at least 300 ters, with a length exceeding one thousand ters, though accurate data is still pending."
"At the sa ti, the Honkai energy radiating from its body is abnormally powerful. It has already begun to spawn Honkai Beasts and pollute marine life into aquatic Honkai Beasts, and it has started to advance toward land."
The Adjutant spoke while looking at the Principal with respectful eyes. As expected of an S-Rank Valkyrie; her sensitivity to crises was truly not for show. Even before Shenzhou had transmitted the information, Theresa had already ordered them to prepare the Hyperion for takeoff.
Although it was possible that Captain Hiko had transmitted so intelligence, such a rapid reaction speed still increased the Adjutant's respect for Theresa.
"...Chiyou?" Although she hadn't heard the confirmation yet, upon hearing of a super-giant Honkai Beast appearing on the sea, Theresa imdiately equated that beast with the disappearance of Irene's signals.
This was likely the reason Irene had insisted she dispatch the Hyperion imdiately upon signal loss.
"I understand." Theresa nodded, then looked at the Adjutant. "Then, since the Hyperion is ready, take off imdiately. With a Honkai Beast of that size, any movent it makes is a natural disaster."
"Understood!" The Adjutant nodded imdiately.
The roar of the engines began to swell, and under the Adjutant's command, the massive Hyperion ascended into the sky.
Sitting in the captain's command seat, Theresa's mood beca even more chaotic.
Irene was right. This is indeed a danger that requires the Hyperion. Theresa looked at the map, which now displayed a massive purple marker—Chiyou's location.
A colossal entity 300 ters in height. A terrifying Honkai Beast.
Watching the synchronized reports popping up from Shenzhou, Theresa fell into a deeper silence. Although she hadn't understood it at the ti, now that she realized this was truly a situation only the Hyperion could resolve, she beca more convinced of her conjecture regarding Irene.
She believed Irene ca from a Bubble Universe extrely similar to their world—only, that world wasn't as kind.
In that world, the 'Theresa' there had likely been hard by the Herrscher of Corruption hidden within Yae Sakura's Stigmata, ending up eternally trapped in the Stigmata Space. And that world likely had a Chiyou as well. If they couldn't arrive imdiately, it would surely result in massive casualties...
Irene knew all of this. Or rather, she had already experienced it. Irene was using her own experiences to help them reach a better future.
"...Sigh. Irene... just what have you experienced?" Theresa looked at the map, her thoughts drifting. For so reason, her mind wandered back to when Irene first arrived at St. Freya.
She rembered seeing Irene shed tears back then. At the ti, she had simply thought Irene was crying because she hadn't seen normal human society for too long, coupled with that sentence:
"It's just... been a long ti..."
What exactly followed that 'long ti'? Was it a city, or sothing else? Theresa didn't dare to think further.
After sorting out her thoughts, Theresa stood up. Irene's request to mobilize the Hyperion had bought them precious ti; she had to begin commanding imdiately.
"All Valkyries, prepare for deploynt. Drones, prepare for launch." Theresa composed her expression. "Hyperion main cannon, stand by for charging."
"Rember, we absolutely cannot let it get any closer to the coastline. With such a massive physique, every step it takes will generate gatsunamis. The coastal cities will suffer severe devastation."
"Everyone, pay attention to safety. We have no retreat on this battlefield. I hope to see all of you tomorrow. Take care."
"Understood!!!"
*
Inside Chiyou's Belly
[BANG! BANG! BANG!]
Intense gunfire echoed amidst the countless floating stones, punctuated occasionally by violent explosions.
Irene's Chakram sliced through the air from ti to ti, cutting down approaching Deadwalkers or Honkai Beasts to open a path. However, the group wasn't searching for the seals; instead, they were moving rapidly toward the peripheral area.
The most critical task right now was to establish contact with the outside world and inform them of the operation plan. It was impossible for them to shatter the seals on their own.
The Honkai energy crystals ford by the Honkai over thousands of years possessed a hardness that rendered them indestructible without the Hyperion's main cannon. Even if Irene switched to Kallen and used Judah to smash them, it would take ages.
Using 'Binding' wouldn't work either. Even if she could bind the flow of Honkai energy, the physical hardness of the crystals ford by the accumulation over such a long ti couldn't be altered.
The only thing capable of shattering them was the Hyperion's main cannon. But without guidance, the sensors on the Hyperion would never be able to find the nodes on such a massive monster.
So, they had to head to the epidermis first—or at least get close to it—and find a spot with a better signal to contact Theresa. They needed to coordinate an internal-external link to locate the targets.
Only in this way could they eliminate Chiyou, or at least stop its activity, with minimal loss and maximum speed.
Hiko's greatsword swung down, cleaving a massive Temple-class Storm Beast directly into the ground. Beside her, i followed up with another slash.
Watching the Temple-class Honkai Beast gradually dissipate, the group was just about to continue toward the edge when Hiko suddenly crouched down in pain after taking only a few steps.
Traces of Honkai energy corruption began to appear on her neck. The concentration of Honkai energy inside Chiyou's body was simply too high. Her health was already poor; such a high-concentration environnt was a massive burden on her.
"Cough, cough, cough." Hiko coughed violently.
Irene quickly doubled back to support her. The others, who had intended to move forward, also returned to protect Hiko in the center.
"Teacher Hiko, you can't go on like this." Irene propped Hiko up. "We have to find a way to send you out."
The longer Hiko stayed in this environnt, the worse her body would beco. For soone like Hiko, whose Honkai Adaptability and Honkai Resistance were both lacking, this high-concentration surrounding was essentially poison.
"I'm fine, don't worry about ." Hiko supported herself with the Ship-Cleaver and stood up. "Even if I'm leaving, I have to wait until we finish the job."
"But if this goes on, you might be spending the rest of your days in a hospital bed, Teacher Hiko." Irene grabbed Hiko. "You only qualify to talk about 'after' if you survive first."
"We can't get out right now anyway." Hiko looked at the serious Irene and shook her head helplessly. "You aren't expecting it to sneeze us out, are you?"
"I know. My ti is running short too." Irene nodded. She had been using Pardo's card for a long ti; she needed to find a mont to switch.
Prolonged use of a Possession Card ant the card's characteristics would genuinely affect her, potentially becoming permanent—for example, the 'Cat's' Quantization.
Pardo might die due to Quantization, but given the Cat's luck, it was unlikely. The problem was, Irene didn't possess that absurd level of luck.
The Cat wouldn't die from this, but Irene certainly might.
"What do you an your ti is short?" Hiko listened to Irene's words with confusion. Irene's Honkai Resistance wasn't low.
Her adaptability was the best of the best. To be honest, Hiko had never seen anyone with such high adaptability. Even i, as a Herrscher, didn't seem to have higher Honkai Adaptability than Irene during testing.
This kind of high-concentration Honkai environnt should be like water to a fish for Irene.
"Sigh. No power is obtained without cost." Irene patted her chest. Light erupted from her chest, covering her entire body, and in her hand, she was already gripping Kallen's card.
The mont Irene returned to her original appearance, Bronya, who had been observing her, imdiately noticed the flickering quantum shadows on Irene's body.
"Elder Sister Irene, what is that on you?"
"Just residual power." Irene smiled at Bronya, not elaborating further. She didn't plan to transform into Lixue, even though Lixue should theoretically be able to bring out more of the Xuanyuan Sword's abilities.
After all, there wasn't much difference between the Xuanyuan Sword and Lixue's forr weapon, the Ruoshui Sword. But right now, the most important thing was to protect Hiko.
In Hiko's current state, every extra second in this environnt was a burden. Honkai energy corruption was not sothing easily endured.
Fortunately, Judah could solve it. The omnipotent Judah—it could do anything. Confird.
As long as she used the Power of Binding to isolate the Honkai energy corruption, she could stabilize Hiko's condition. While she could use 'Mirror Sync,' it consud a massive amount of Honkai energy and the effect wasn't great. With her current Honkai energy reserves, a counterfeit couldn't stabilize Hiko's condition very well.
"I didn't expect to see you in this form under these circumstances," Hiko said, looking at Irene, who had changed clothes amidst the light and now stood with the brilliant Starry Judah beside her.
"I didn't wish for it either."
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