Catching a Blade with Bare Hands!

Seeing that Kiana and the others had finally arrived, Ai Yi only grew more worried.

"Hey, Ai-chan," Ai Yi asked the smaller, mini-version of herself beside her, "back when our company was small, I could still fulfill that promise. But now... won't this actually make us lose money?"

Clearly, Ai Yi was starting to doubt the company's finances.

Ai-chan's expression didn't change at all. Instead, she answered in a strange male voice that had nothing to do with her cute appearance: "This time, it's being run as a company team-building event, so it doesn't count as overtime. Naturally, there's no need to—"

Ai-chan's face slowly twisted into a lecherous grin as she made a "pay up" gesture with her hand.

"And besides, the footage we shoot can later be used in the game as an event when the writers run out of ideas. No matter how you look at it, this is—"

Ai-chan's face was now full of cunning. She embodied the spirit of a capitalist to the fullest.

Hearing Ai-chan say that, Ai Yi perked up immediately and shouted toward A-Quan and the others, who were still preparing:

"Alright! Shoot as much as you want! This manager will make your wishes come true today!"

[Asta: If I remember correctly... isn't that Ai-chan an artificial intelligence from your world? Did you guys pick that voice... a little too... unique?]

[Ai-chan: Aaaah! My image is ruined!] ??o·?(????????????)?o·?

[Theresa: Don't misunderstand. The Ai-chan in our world doesn't sound that "special."]

[Ai-chan: That's right! Ai-chan's voice is suuuper cute!] (??ω??)?

[Oswaldo: But setting the voice aside, this AI is pretty good. She'd fit right into the company!]

[Oswaldo: Especially that idea of treating work as team-building. Hmm—decided. The next planet we explore, we'll go under the guise of team-building. That way, we can save some budget.]

[Borteo: Oswaldo! Where the hell are you hiding, you son of a—! I'm coming right now to give you a little gift!] (Furious)

[Borteo: Son of a—! Even talking here gets affected by that damn signal beacon?!]

[Oswaldo: Heh. Dear fugitive of the company, it seems you have some misunderstandings about me. While I may have caused some trouble for certain members of your family, didn't I also successfully connect your planet to the galaxy? You could say I was something of a benefactor to your world back then.]

[Borteo: You meow-meow-ing Wuwuber! You just wait! No matter where you run, I'll find you, you son of a—! And then I'll shoot you dead with love!] (╬◣д◢)

Meanwhile, A-Quan had no idea that this wish-fulfillment event of hers had, thanks to a certain unscrupulous cabbage-head, become an unpaid overtime shift.

She was still grinning like an idiot.

"Just you wait. The Herrscher of the Void you all fear is coming back! Hahahahaha..." ╰(?＞?＜?)╯

Behind her, Himeko, who had just changed into her Valkyrie armor, felt it was noticeably ill-fitting and grumbled to herself:

"Have I been gaining weight lately? This outfit... feels really tight..." (.?_?)

"Ah, whatever. I'll just take it seriously and treat it as a workout." (?￣︶￣?)

[Kiana: Wow! Himeko, that armor looks so cool! Why haven't I seen you wear it before?]

[Murata Himeko: Kiana! How many times do I have to tell you? Don't call me Himeko. Call me Himeko-sensei or Major.]

[Murata Himeko: But I've never seen this armor before. It must be a future Schicksal development.]

[Kevin: That armor is... the Key of Blankness!]

[Elysia: Oh my! Looks like this Divine Key has found a new owner. ♪]

[Murata Himeko: You seem to know this armor?]

[Elysia: That's right! After all, we worked so hard to develop it back then~ ♪]

[Otto: Correct. This armor was discovered by Schicksal among the ruins of the Previous Civilization. Not only that, we also uncovered a great deal of data on the Previous Civilization's Divine Keys. Among them was this armor—the Key of Blankness. This armor can, when connected to a Herrscher Core, allow the wearer to wield the power of a Herrscher. And it seems the Gem this Miss Himeko is using is the Gem of Calamity.]

[Theresa: So this armor is currently at Schicksal headquarters, right?]

[Theresa: But Grandpa, if something this powerful exists, why have I never seen anyone use it?]

[Otto: Because this Divine Key not only requires a Herrscher Core to activate, but also places an enormous burden on the user—potentially even causing death.]

[Theresa: What?! Such a severe side effect?!]

[Theresa: @Murata Himeko, Himeko, as the academy principal, I order you never to use this armor!]

[Murata Himeko: Principal, strictly speaking, I'm just a teacher now. No matter how you look at it, this armor wouldn't fall to me to use. Besides, this is just a video. It's not real.]

Deep down, Himeko knew that while she was an A-rank Valkyrie, her strength meant little at Schicksal headquarters. There were plenty stronger than her.

And strictly speaking, she belonged to St. Freya now. She rarely went to Schicksal headquarters, let alone used that Divine Key. But if she ever did use it, the most likely outcome would be...

Himeko looked at A-Quan in the video and murmured, "Kiana..."

[Theresa: It better stay that way.]

Just as A-Quan was still striking a pose, someone behind her suddenly shouted:

"Ready... Action!"

A-Quan slowly turned her head. "Come on, humans..."

What greeted her eyes was Himeko, clad in the Key of Blankness, wielding the Sword of Divine Ruin—Surtr—charging at her like a true Valkyrie, blade swinging down...

"Huh?" Σ(????)?

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait—I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die—!" (;≧д≦)

At the critical moment, A-Quan unleashed that legendary martial arts secret technique—100% Barehanded Blade Catch!

"Wasn't it you who said I needed to show the Herrscher of the Void's authority? That's why I went all out!"

Himeko looked at A-Quan, who had barely managed to block her strike, a hint of confusion in her eyes. She couldn't figure out what the girl was doing—this wasn't going according to the script they'd planned!

Hearing Himeko's words, A-Quan felt a little embarrassed.

"I haven't moved in so long, I couldn't react in time." (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)

A-Quan struggled to prop herself up with the Sword of Divine Ruin as she replied to Himeko.

"I..." (oДo*)

A-Quan was about to say something else when, suddenly, her body froze.

"I think my arm just cramped up..." (╯︵╰,)

A-Quan finally couldn't hold on any longer. At the very last moment, she blurted out the words she'd been wanting to say all along:

"Go easy on me! Please..." ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )‧º·˚