Not a Moment Was Mourned for Patrick

"Even without surveillance and experimental data, the current development is no different from the original." Enoshia was currently hiding inside the computer of Babylon Laboratory, observing every move of Theresa and Patrick through the monitors.

"I never expected the Headmaster, whose strength ranks among the upper tier of S-rank Valkyries, to be so afraid of ghosts." Watching Theresa crouch down with her hands over her ears upon hearing countless cries for help, Enoshia couldn't help but laugh out loud. A Theresa like this was something you'd never see in the game.

"Calm down, Theresa. Those are the voices of human girls."

Following the sound, Patrick arrived at an iron door and saw countless hands reaching out from the gaps.

"Save us..."

Seeing the pitiful state of these children, Theresa grabbed the iron door and, with sheer brute force, tore the entire door off its hinges.

"As expected of a Valkyrie who can easily wield the Oath of Judas—a powerhouse with the height of an elementary school student. Could this be the legendary 'gap moe'?" Watching the monitor, Enoshia stroked her chin.

"Come on out." Theresa looked at the children and smiled, extending her slightly reddened hand.

Soon, all the surviving children emerged from behind the iron door, many of them repeatedly thanking Theresa.

"According to the data on the terminal, they are... experimental subjects for human Honkai energy adaptability experiments." Patrick said while swallowing hard.

"No wonder... But why wasn't any of this mentioned in the mission files?" Faced with Theresa's clueless expression, Patrick turned his back.

"Because there's no need. Every year, Schicksal has thousands of eligible children 'voluntarily' become experimental subjects. Most of them are orphans with no one to rely on, and no one cares whether they live or die."

Hearing this, Sirin, mixed in among the children, clenched her fists tightly and gritted her teeth.

"Theresa, are you planning to send these children to St. Freya Academy? But even if she has that intention, some of them are in such poor condition they might not survive until then... Hm? That's over?"

After parting ways with Sirin yesterday, Enoshia had used the network between Babylon Laboratory and Schicksal HQ to sneak into the headquarters' database. The data in just one branch's database had already made her dizzy, let alone the headquarters. So after backing up the data there, she returned here to observe how things were unfolding.

She discovered that while she could create multiple backups, only one individual with human consciousness could exist at a time—she couldn't have a conversation with herself. The remaining clones were essentially AI that obeyed her completely, possessing powerful data-processing capabilities and the ability to communicate with her at any time.

As for how she could maintain contact over such a long distance? When in doubt, quantum mechanics solves everything. If you ask why, just say Honkai energy explains it all.

So Enoshia made full use of her resources, having her clone sort and filter information from Schicksal HQ's database according to her requirements.

Since the clone only viewed and filtered data without deleting or modifying anything, let alone controlling equipment, she wasn't worried about being discovered, nor did she need to consume much Honkai energy. A quick sip from Babylon Laboratory's Honkai Reactor would top her off.

With a thought, her clone sent over the organized information. What she needed most was to know how many Divine Keys Schicksal currently possessed and what deviations existed from the original story.

"Void Archive is still with Otto—no problem there. Without Void Archive's library, Schicksal would probably have collapsed by now. Black Abyss White Flower is with the only S-rank Valkyrie, Cecilia; Divine Fire Judgment, which can be used to toast bread, is still with Siegfried;

Oath of Judas... no surprises, still in Theresa's hands.

"Fu Hua's info... Ah, got it. Feather Dust is still with the Immortal, but she's run off to South America and can't come back for now. That makes things a lot easier for Sirin...

Wait... no, a single-core Sirin—didn't even Old Yang lose to her... But Otto's around, so she won't die."

Enoshia was very satisfied with the work her clone had done. From the massive data, it had filtered out relevant information and condensed it to under a thousand words. She believed that even someone with the brain of a paramecium could understand it if they had even a little background knowledge.

Then she reviewed the current state of the civilization's Honkai outbreaks. Aside from herself, the Herrscher of Corruption, appearing before Sirin and seemingly receiving an epic buff, and Schicksal obtaining the Herrscher of Thunder's core early, there was no difference from the original plot.

After giving her clone new orders, Enoshia returned to Babylon Laboratory. By then, all the children had been taken away by Theresa, and only Sirin had secretly come back to continue absorbing Honkai energy.

"This is the end of the line, Miss Criminal!" Patrick suddenly appeared behind her. After a few words, she raised two gatling guns.

"Just you alone?" Sirin looked at Patrick with disdain.

"I'm more than enough." With two clicks, Patrick's gatling guns aimed at Sirin's head. Sirin didn't flinch; instead, she laughed.

"Haha☆, I finally have a chance to take revenge on Schicksal's Valkyries. Those damn researchers once injected Honkai energy into my body while smiling and telling me that the experiments on us were to create Stigmata for Valkyries. We orphans should feel honored to sacrifice ourselves for that... You must know all this."

Patrick lowered her head, falling into a brief silence.

"To hell with honor. Now I'll prove that I'm stronger than any Valkyrie☆!"

Patrick opened fire with a grim expression, but all the bullets hit elsewhere. She realized that even at close range, she couldn't lock onto Sirin at all. With her combat experience, she immediately judged that she was outmatched and that getting the information out was the priority.

So she acted decisively, throwing out a cylindrical object that exploded right in front of Sirin. It caused no damage but blinded Sirin's eyes, causing the Void Lance aimed at her heart to deviate and strike her right arm.

Ignoring her injuries, Patrick dropped the heavy gatling guns and sprinted at full speed toward the entrance of Babylon Laboratory. Sirin, however, was experiencing a brief loss of control over her Honkai energy due to using the Herrscher of Void's powers for the first time.

Yet, just as Patrick was inches from the door, it slammed shut with a bang. Faced with this sudden development, she didn't rage helplessly like the researchers before her. Instead, she turned decisively and ran in another direction. It was this quick thinking that saved her from a second Void Lance.

"Tch, just running?" Having regained control of her Honkai energy, Sirin teleported directly behind Patrick.

Patrick pulled out a pistol, but her target wasn't Sirin—it was the second flash grenade she had just thrown.

Her repeated trick bought her a few more seconds. She quickly ducked into the nearest room and immediately spotted a red landline phone on the wall.

She clearly remembered that this was the emergency communication line between Babylon Laboratory and Schicksal HQ. Even if all other communication signals were jammed, this phone would still work.

"I have to get the information out quickly!" she thought, her right hand already lifting the receiver. But suddenly, she felt a wave of mental dizziness. With a bang, Patrick was shot in the leg and collapsed to the ground. When she regained her senses, a blue-haired beauty had appeared in the room, and her left leg was bleeding.

At that moment, Sirin strolled into the room at a leisurely pace.

"Hey, I was just starting to have fun. Why'd you have to act so soon?" Sirin put her hands on her hips, looking displeased.

"Give me a break. If I hadn't closed the door, she would've gotten away just now. You couldn't even take down a single A-rank Valkyrie in a one-on-one fight, and you want to take on all of Schicksal?" Enoshia shot back, watching her stubborn attitude.

"Th-That's because I'm not familiar with my powers yet. Now I feel that no matter how strong a Valkyrie is, they're no match for me☆"

"What... did you do!" Patrick pointed at Enoshia and shouted.

"Figured it out that fast? Well, if you didn't have that level of insight, you wouldn't be called a 'genius.' I just projected my consciousness onto you and controlled your body for a moment." Enoshia said with an air of nonchalance. After all, this was basic Herrscher of Corruption ability usage. Controlling an A-rank Valkyrie for a few seconds hadn't taken much effort at all.

"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 being.

Unfortunately, her thoughts ended there. Just as Sirin's Void Lance began to form, Enoshia took control of her consciousness again. A gunshot rang out, and this elite member of the Snow Wolf Squad, a mole planted in Schicksal by Anti-Entropy, remained forever in Siberia.

To be honest, Enoshia had never quite understood it. No matter how weak Sirin was, she was still a Herrscher. What gave Patrick, an A-rank Valkyrie, the confidence to think she could take her down alone?

When the lofty Valkyrie fled before her, Sirin's heart was undoubtedly filled with excitement. But when she actually watched her die before her eyes, she was surprised to find that she wasn't as happy as she'd imagined. She didn't understand why.

"Sirin's expression... is she not being influenced by the Will of Honkai? That makes things easier." Seeing Sirin's somewhat wistful look, Enoshia stroked her chin.

Though it was her first time killing someone, Enoshia felt no ripples in her heart as she gazed at Patrick's corpse... In fact, there was even a hint of excitement? Was it the influence of the Herrscher's consciousness? Enoshia couldn't be sure.

The next day, Patrick's body was discovered. Schicksal didn't spare a moment to mourn her. Instead, the Snow Wolf Squad was already on its way—Salome? Jokanan, Shub? Nicholas, and that man, Siegfried? Kaslana.