"Even without access to the surveillance and experimental data, things are currently developing exactly as they did in the original story." Enoshia was hiding inside a computer in Babylon Laboratory, observing Theresa and Patrick's every move through the surveillance system.
"I never expected the Headmaster!, who ranked in the upper-middle tier even among S-rank Valkyries, to be so afraid of ghosts." Watching Theresa crouch down with her hands over her head after hearing countless cries for help, Enoshia couldn't help laughing. Theresa was never like this in the game.
"Calm down, Theresa. That's the voice of a human girl."
Following the voices, Patrick arrived at an iron door and saw countless hands reaching through its gaps.
"Please save us..."
Seeing how pitiful the children looked, Theresa grabbed the iron door and unleashed overwhelming strength, tearing the entire thing off in one pull.
"No wonder she's a Valkyrie who can use Oath of Judas with ease. She's as short as an elementary school student, yet she's a power-type fighter. Could this be the legendary gap moe?" Enoshia stroked her chin as she watched the surveillance feed.
"Come on, come out." Theresa smiled at the children and extended her slightly reddened hand.
Soon, every child who was still alive emerged from behind the iron door, and many of them repeatedly thanked Theresa.
"According to the data on the terminal, they're... test subjects in human Honkai Energy adaptability experiments," Patrick said while swallowing.
"No wonder... But why weren't they mentioned in any mission reports?" Faced with Theresa's utterly ignorant expression, Patrick turned her back.
"Because there was no need. Schicksal turned thousands of eligible children into 'voluntary' test subjects every year. Most of them were helpless orphans to begin with, and no one cared whether they lived or died."
Hearing this, Sirin, who was mixed in among the children, clenched her fists tightly and gritted her teeth.
"Theresa, are you going to send these children to St. Freya Academy? But even if she wants to, some of the children in critical condition probably won't live until then... Hm? Is it over there?"
After saying goodbye to Sirin yesterday, Enoshia had used the network between Babylon Laboratory and Schicksal HQ to sneak into HQ's database. The data in a single branch's database had been enough to make her dizzy, let alone the headquarters. So after making a backup there, she returned to observe how things developed.
She discovered that although she could make countless backups, only one individual with human thought could exist. She couldn't chat with herself, while the remaining clones were essentially AIs that obeyed her completely, possessed powerful data-processing abilities, and could communicate with her at any time.
As for how she could communicate across such a vast distance? When in doubt, quantum mechanics solved everything. If anyone asked, Honkai Energy could explain anything.
Thus, Enoshia made full use of her clones and had them classify and filter the information in Schicksal HQ's database according to her requirements.
Since it was only a clone viewing and filtering data—not deleting or modifying anything, much less controlling any equipment—she neither worried about being discovered nor needed to expend much Honkai Energy. A single breath beside the Honkai Reactor in Babylon Laboratory restored her completely.
With a thought from her, the clone sent over the organized data. What she most needed to know was how many Divine Keys Schicksal currently possessed, and how much the current situation differed from the original story.
"Void Archive is still in Otto's hands. No problem there. Without the Void Archive's library, Schicksal would probably have collapsed already. Black Abyss White Flower is in the hands of the only S-rank Valkyrie, Cecilia. Divine Fire Judgment, which can be used to toast bread, is still in Siegfried's hands.
"Oath of Judas... Nothing unexpected there. It's still in Theresa's hands."
"Fu Hua's information... Ah, here it is. Feather Dust is still with the High Immortal, but she went to South America and can't return for now. That makes things much easier for Sirin...
"Tsk... Wait, a single-core Sirin might even have beaten Old Yang... But with Otto around, she won't die, at least."
Enoshia was extremely satisfied with the work her clone had done. It had filtered the relevant information from the massive amount of data and condensed it to under a thousand words. She believed that anyone with even the slightest understanding—even a paramecium—would be able to tell what it meant.
Afterward, she checked the state of the current civilization's Honkai outbreak again. Apart from the fact that she, the Herrscher of Corruption, had appeared before Sirin and seemed to have received an epic enhancement, and that Schicksal had obtained the Herrscher of Thunder core ahead of time, the plot was no different from the original story.
After giving the clone a new order, Enoshia returned to Babylon Laboratory. By then, Theresa had taken away all the children, leaving only Sirin, who had quietly returned here to continue absorbing Honkai Energy.
"That's far enough, criminal miss!" Patrick suddenly appeared behind her. Before she could say much, she raised two Gatling guns.
"Are you alone?" Sirin looked at Patrick disdainfully.
"I'm enough on my own." With two metallic clicks, Patrick's Gatling guns locked onto Sirin's head. Sirin not only wasn't afraid but burst out laughing.
"Haha☆, I finally have a chance to take revenge on Schicksal's Valkyries. Those damn researchers used to inject Honkai Energy into my body while laughing and telling me that experimenting on us was to create the Stigmata carried by Valkyries. They said that since we orphans had sacrificed ourselves for it, we should feel honored... You should know all that, right?"
Patrick lowered her head and fell silent for a moment.
"To hell with that honor. I'll prove right now that I'm stronger than a Valkyrie☆!"
Patrick's face darkened as she opened fire, but every bullet struck somewhere else. She discovered that even at such close range, she couldn't lock onto Sirin at all. With her extensive combat experience, she immediately judged that she was no match for her. The best course of action was to get the intelligence out.
She made a snap decision and threw a cylindrical object. It exploded directly in front of Sirin, causing no damage but blinding her. The Void Lance, which had originally been aimed at her heart, veered off course and pierced her right arm.
Ignoring her injuries, Patrick threw down the cumbersome Gatling guns and sprinted toward the entrance of Babylon Laboratory. But because this was Sirin's first time using the authority of the Herrscher of Void, the Honkai Energy within her briefly went out of control.
However, just as Patrick was about to reach the entrance, the door that had originally been open suddenly slammed shut with a bang. Faced with this unexpected situation, she didn't rage helplessly like the researchers before her. Instead, she decisively turned and ran in another direction. That decisiveness allowed her to dodge the second Void Lance.
"Tch, can you do anything besides run?" Sirin regained control of her Honkai Energy and teleported directly behind Patrick.
Patrick drew her pistol, but her target wasn't Sirin. It was the second flash grenade she had just thrown.
Patrick's repeated trick bought her another few seconds. She quickly slipped into the nearest room and immediately spotted the red landline phone mounted on the wall.
She clearly remembered that this phone was used for emergency communications between Babylon Laboratory and Schicksal HQ. Even if the signals of all other communication devices were blocked, this phone could still get through.
I have to transmit the intelligence as quickly as possible! With that thought, she picked up the receiver with her right hand. But she suddenly felt her mind grow hazy. With a bang, a bullet struck Patrick in the leg, and she collapsed to the floor. When she regained consciousness, a blue-haired young beauty had appeared in the room, and blood was running from her left leg.
At that moment, Sirin also entered the room unhurriedly.
"Hey, I was just starting to have fun. Why did you attack her already?" Sirin planted her hands on her hips, looking dissatisfied.
"Give me a break. If I hadn't closed the door, she would've escaped just now. You couldn't even take down an A-rank Valkyrie one-on-one, yet you want to fight all of Schicksal?" Enoshia retorted as she looked at Sirin's stubborn expression.
"Th-That's because I wasn't familiar with my abilities yet. Now I can feel that no matter how powerful a Valkyrie is, she's no match for me☆"
"You... What did you do!" Patrick shouted as she pointed at Enoshia.
"You noticed the problem that quickly? Makes sense. If you didn't have even that much ability, you wouldn't deserve to be called a 'genius.' I projected my consciousness onto you just now and took control of your body for a moment." Enoshia looked completely unruffled. After all, this was basic use of the Herrscher of Corruption's authority. Controlling an A-rank Valkyrie for a few seconds had barely cost her any effort.
"What!" Patrick had traveled far and wide for years, but this was the first time she had encountered such an ability. Fear and shock filled her entire body.
Unfortunately, her thoughts stopped there forever. Just as Sirin finished condensing the Void Lance, Enoshia controlled her consciousness once more. After a gunshot, the elite of the Snow Wolf Squad, the Anti-Entropy mole planted within Schicksal, remained forever in Siberia.
To be honest, Enoshia had never understood it. No matter how weak Sirin was, she was still a Herrscher. Where had an A-rank Valkyrie like Patrick gotten the confidence to think she could kill her alone?
When the lofty Valkyrie fled before her, Sirin had undoubtedly been thrilled. But when she truly saw the woman die before her eyes, she was surprised to discover that she wasn't as happy as she had imagined. She didn't understand why.
"Sirin's expression... She wasn't affected by the Will of Honkai? That makes things even easier." Seeing Sirin's somewhat melancholy expression, Enoshia stroked her chin.
It was clearly her first time killing someone, but when Enoshia looked at Patrick's corpse, her heart remained utterly unmoved... There was even a trace of excitement? Was it the influence of the Herrscher consciousness? Enoshia couldn't be sure.
The next day, Patrick's corpse was discovered. Schicksal didn't spare even a moment to mourn her. The ones rushing over were Salome and Jokanan of the Snow Wolf Squad, Shub and Nicholas of Anti-Entropy, and that man, Siegfried Kaslana.
Before you continue