On February 1, 2000, at midnight, the snowy plains of Siberia were utterly silent. In stark contrast, the once orderly Babylon Laboratory had descended into chaos.
"Whew... whew..." On the broad walkway, two researchers in white coats ran for their lives, gasping for breath. The bespectacled middle-aged man in front did not forget to warn his companion even as he fled.
"Run faster! That monster's catching up!"
Unlike the two men sprinting desperately for their lives, the white figure behind them emerged from around the corner at an unhurried pace, letting out a girlish laugh.
"Hee hee☆"
But in their ears, that laughter sounded like a ghostly summons to their deaths. The two men quickened their pace and ran toward the door ahead.
"We're almost there. As long as we can... as long as we can reach that place..." The researcher in the back pushed himself to run forward with all his might, but the terrifying figure still caught up with him. With a bang, he fell to the ground. In an instant, he felt his legs go numb.
Seeing his companion already outside the door, pounding the button to close it, he cried out desperately with his dying breath, "Don't go... Save me..."
Was the researcher who had escaped outside the door safe? Of course not. After watching his companion fall, he used all his strength to hammer the button.
"Damn it! Close already!" Strangely, the door, which had always been highly responsive, chose this moment to malfunction. No matter how hard he struck it, it remained completely still. The exhausted researcher had just sat down on the floor when the white figure appeared before him.
"Don't come any closer!" After his desperate roar, the entire Babylon Laboratory fell silent once more. By morning, all 322 researchers had vanished.
Inside Babylon Laboratory's central computer, a pair of smooth-skinned hands reached out. Enoshia crawled out of the computer like Sadako.
"Hmm. I suppose no one else in the world could manage movement like this." Enoshia walked out of the room and looked down. Beside the enormous Honkai Reactor, a girl stood quietly.
Purple hair, eyes like yellow mushrooms—she was the creator of the Second Honkai Outbreak in the original story, the one favored by the Will of Honkai. Though she looked incredibly powerful, she had nearly been solo-killed in battle by Old Yang, Theresa, and the others in succession: the Pufferfish Herrscher—Sirin.
Enoshia vaulted over the bridge and jumped straight down, landing beside Sirin.
"Hi? Nice to meet you. How do you feel?" After taking on this appearance, Enoshia unconsciously greeted people this way.
Sirin was instantly on guard at Enoshia's sudden appearance and took several steps back.
"Don't be nervous. If I were with Schicksal, I could have attacked while you were killing those 322 people. At the very least, I could have contacted Schicksal HQ and held out until reinforcements arrived, couldn't I? I'm a Herrscher too, just like you."
"Then... what are you doing here?" Seeing that she was not with Schicksal, Sirin's wariness eased slightly.
Perhaps because she saw Sirin relax, perhaps because taking on Elysia's appearance had given her some of Elysia's habits, or perhaps simply because she was indulging her nature, Enoshia suddenly pressed her entire body against Sirin when the girl wasn't paying attention.
"Hmm, you're surprisingly sturdy." Despite enduring repeated torment in Honkai Energy experiments, her figure remained in excellent shape.
Sensing that Enoshia meant her no harm, Sirin did not resist the sudden embrace from a stranger. Feeling Enoshia's body pressed against her, she couldn't help thinking, How long has it been since someone held me like this?
Seeing her somewhat inexperienced and nervous expression only made her look cuter. Feeling Sirin's warmth, Enoshia thought that girls really were wonderful.
"Ahem. Looks like she's not so tense anymore. Time to discuss business." Enoshia wanted to keep snuggling with her, but business clearly came first, so she cleared her throat and continued.
Now that Enoshia had forcibly closed the physical distance between them, Sirin unconsciously focused more intently when she spoke.
"Schicksal subjected you to inhuman torture. It's only natural that you want revenge. But on your own, you're no match for them. No matter how many ordinary people and Valkyries you kill, Lord Bishop Otto, who ordered the Babylon Experiment, can still remain at large. That's why I want to help you."
Never advise others to be kind before suffering what they suffered. Enoshia knew that if she wanted to minimize the casualties Sirin would cause, she could not begin by denying that Sirin's killings were wrong. Putting herself in Sirin's place, if she had been the experimental subject and endured the pain of having her nerves pulled out and soaked in concentrated sulfuric acid day and night, could she really have refrained from killing after gaining power? Absolutely not.
"Heh heh, help me? Once I obtain enough Honkai Energy here, what can Schicksal do to me, even if they all join forces? I don't need your help. I can take my revenge all by myself!" Sirin looked at Enoshia, her voice filled with hatred and a hint of pride. Watching her stand with her hands on her hips, puffed up with confidence, Enoshia thought she really did look like an inflated pufferfish.
"Fine. How about we make a bet? If you can destroy all of Schicksal by yourself, I won't say a word. If your life is ever in danger, I'll help you—but in return, you'll have to agree to one condition. Don't worry. I won't let off anyone who carried out the Babylon Experiment or knew about the human experiments and considered sacrificing Valkyries perfectly reasonable. I only want you to come with me to a certain place."
"What place?"
"I'll tell you if you agree and I win. In any case, it won't be dangerous."
"I agree, but you can't interfere before I'm done fighting."
"Don't worry. I always keep my word. Tomorrow, Schicksal will send Valkyries here to investigate the disappearance of those 322 people. Have fun." After saying that, Enoshia left without looking back.
On February 2, 2000, at 11:55 a.m., an aircraft landed in front of Babylon Laboratory. As a short, white-haired, blue-eyed person with the appearance of a young girl stepped off the plane, Siberia's fierce wind blew up her black nun's habit. She closed her left eye and instinctively raised her left hand to shield her forehead.
"Theresa, Lord Bishop ordered me to assist you."
Hearing the familiar voice, Theresa turned around in delight and saw a mature woman with a bold appearance wearing a black coat.
"Ah, Patrick. Long time no see."
Patrick Highsmith was an A-rank Valkyrie assigned to the Snow Wolf Squad, nicknamed "Genius." Despite her bold appearance, she was a meticulous, intellectual warrior who had earned three doctorates from MIT.
After a brief exchange of greetings, Theresa got straight to the point.
"Have you made any progress with the investigation?"
Patrick shook her head and said helplessly, "When the incident occurred, all the surveillance footage inexplicably went blank. The records for the past few days are also mysteriously missing from the experimental data, yet the equipment is still functioning normally. My initial investigation turned up nothing."
The two took an elevator to a computer in Babylon Laboratory. After pressing a few keys, a screen filled with static appeared before them.
"It's all right, Patrick. Keep investigating, and you'll definitely get to the bottom of this. You're an expert in this field! It would be great if it really wasn't the work of ghosts." Theresa comforted Patrick, but the moment she imagined that ghosts might actually be involved, she couldn't help feeling frightened.
Seeing this, Patrick placed both hands on her shoulders.
"There are no ghosts in this world. Almost every phenomenon in existence is caused by Honkai Energy, so let's investigate near the reactor."
Theresa pointed at herself with her right hand, then at Patrick with her left. "Just... the two of us?"
Patrick gave her a benevolent smile. "The area near the reactor is filled with high concentrations of Honkai Energy. Only Valkyries like us can enter, so yes, just the two of us."
The two arrived in the reactor area. Patrick discovered a trace amount of Honkai Energy residue on the floor. At that moment, countless wails and sobs began echoing one after another.
"Help! Is anyone there? Come save us!"
Before you continue