She could only keep wandering along the beach, calling out softly again and again. Every so often, she looked toward the shore, hoping for the response she wanted.
"Little dummy, come out and look at the sea..."
"Cough, cough..."
Several kilometers away, Raven spat out a mouthful of blood. It felt as though all her internal organs had shattered.
Meanwhile, Cocolia had lost an arm and a leg, wailing in agony beside her.
"Shut up..."
Raven had truly felt death brush past her just now. If they had been even a little slower, both of them would have been sliced into pieces.
"What a damn loss... Cocolia, even ten of you aren't worth one Sin Mallet Thunder of Seven..."
Raven lay on the ground, staring at the sky as she muttered to herself.
Never mind that Cocolia had only possibly been able to help them retrieve the Gem of Hopes from Schicksal. Even if she truly could have done it before, she had probably been scared out of her wits now.
When death truly brushed past someone, no one could remain calm—especially not Raven, who still had children to raise.
"Cocolia, you're on your own..."
Raven spat out one final mouthful of blood, then staggered to her feet and left.
Forget helping Cocolia again. Raven felt that if she did not find a way to save herself, she would not be much different from dead.
If she had known it would be this dangerous, she would never have come.
Raven had never felt much loyalty toward World Serpent to begin with, much less any willingness to risk her life for it.
Now that she had nearly lost her life, Rosia's single scythe strike had thoroughly knocked some sense into Raven.
All Raven wanted now was to go back and see her children, to make sure they were safe.
Her only wish was to live well with her children, without taking any risks.
This time, she had done all she could for World Serpent.
St. Freya Academy
"Even Durandal has come to the Far East to hold the line..."
After returning to the Far East, Theresa had not had a moment to rest and had been busy handling affairs. When she received this news, she was stunned.
Although Durandal was very young, she was already the idol of countless Valkyries. Her strength was at a level that even Theresa could only dream of reaching.
According to rumors, Otto had even considered establishing a Durandal rank above Rank S Valkyrie.
"What exactly happened in that sea?"
Theresa murmured to herself.
Not even Chiyou's awakening had disrupted Durandal's original plans. Clearly, this incident was far more serious than a mere Judgment-class Honkai Beast.
"Mei, how is Bronya doing?"
Theresa wanted badly to interfere in what was happening in that sea, but the order had come personally from her grandfather, leaving her with no way to act.
If she wanted to learn the whole truth, she had to start with Bronya.
"Bronya woke up for a while when she saw Seele, but then she fell unconscious again."
Raiden Mei said helplessly.
Bronya could not speak, while Seele looked like she knew nothing. Kiana and Mei had no idea what to do either.
On the coast
"Bishop, her condition is not optimistic..."
Durandal looked at the many damaged parts of her Valkyrie armor and gently shook her head.
"The other party refuses to leave this sea. The moment anyone approaches, she attacks immediately. Other than me, no one should be able to withstand her."
Even Durandal found it rather troublesome to approach the girl.
The other party had practically become completely impossible to communicate with. When she fought, she risked her life without hesitation, as though she had gone mad.
This was Durandal's first time seeing such a situation.
"I understand."
The blond man nodded gently.
Otto had changed into a new body. Though a body made of Soul Steel could repair itself, the residual power left behind by Rosia had severely affected its recovery speed. Besides, he still had to maintain a bit of dignity in front of Durandal and the others.
"Is there another way to save her?"
Otto had come here personally because he wanted to find a way to save the other party, to see whether there was any chance of undoing this.
"Bishop, the target's body has been injected with an excessive amount of Honkai energy, forcibly activating the Stigmata within her. If she were an ordinary person, she would likely have long since turned into a Death Soldier or died from Honkai energy corrosion..."
"Her body's compatibility with Honkai energy is probably too high. While the Honkai energy cannot destroy her body, it may have affected her nervous system..."
Amber and the others did not know exactly what had happened, so they could only speculate.
"People in Shenzhou generally call this..."
"Qi deviation."
"With our current technology, for this kind of situation..."
"I'm sorry, Bishop."
Amber's attitude said it all, and Otto sighed.
"It may not be that simple."
If it were merely ordinary qi deviation, Otto could still think of a solution. But this situation was truly strange.
Rosia merely seemed to be guarding—or perhaps waiting for—something in this sea.
Normally, faced with such a situation, he should have given up long ago. Yet Otto felt deeply uncomfortable now.
Ever since entering Cocolia's experimental base, Otto had felt somewhat oppressed.
He had thought he could save her, thought he could change something, but in the end, the outcome was still the same.
But before things truly became irreversible, Otto still intended to give it a try.
This was one of the few things he had especially wanted to do in five hundred years.
"Bronya..."
After confirming that Bronya was out of danger and safe, Bronya was sent back to her room.
Because Bronya had been in terrible condition at the time, her words had been blurry. Even Seele had not heard them clearly.
So Seele still did not know what had happened.
As Seele cared for Bronya at her bedside, she noticed that the nightstand was covered with photos of Bronya and a blue-haired, silver-gray-eyed girl.
The weather had been wonderful when the pictures were taken. Of course, the smiles on their faces had been even more beautiful.
"Bronya was really happy."
Seele did not know what had happened now. She only knew that Bronya and Rosia must have spent a long, happy time together.
Seele was not jealous. She even felt happy about it, because thanks to Rosia, Bronya could still live happily even without Seele by her side.
"Do you want to take a look at Rosia's room?"
Black Seele watched Bronya lying there bored and wanted to see Rosia a little herself, but she did not know where Rosia was now. Then she suddenly thought of something.
"Wouldn't that... be inappropriate?"
Seele hesitated upon hearing Black Seele's suggestion.
"She's Bronya's and your child. As her mother, there's nothing wrong with caring about your child, right?"
Black Seele accurately seized on the word "mother," making Seele blush. Once that happened, everything became negotiable.
"Mhm... We'll just take a look..."
After a long internal struggle, Seele finally agreed.
Because she was also very curious about what her adorable daughter liked.
When Seele poked her head into Rosia's room, she was surprised to find that it was so clean that it looked as if no one had ever lived there. Only the sign on the door indicated that it was Rosia's room.
"So clean..."
The floor, windowsill, window, and walls were all spotless. Aside from a toy box, there was nothing else in the room.
"Open it and take a look. There's nothing else in the room anyway."
Black Seele suggested.
"...All right..."
Driven by overwhelming curiosity, Seele could only apologize silently in her heart.
"These are... Houmu dolls, Houmu hair accessories, Houmu comics..."
"Why is everything Houmu?"
Black Seele found it rather boring.
Those cute little things did not interest her at all.
As for why she recognized Houmu, it was because they had labels on them.
"It seems... there's something else..."
Seele discovered a notebook at the very bottom of the toy box, while the backs of every Houmu toy label had writing on them.
"Rosia, Mother Bronya, and Mother Seele's..."
Each doll's label bore the three of their names and cute little expressions.
It was clear that their owner cared about them deeply.
"Does she like Houmu that much?"
Black Seele rested her chin on her hand, looking puzzled.
"Because Bronya likes it too, I think."
Seele nodded. She had also seen many Houmu dolls in Bronya's room, and judging from the labels, Bronya had clearly liked them first.
When Seele picked up the notebook with a blue butterfly ribbon, Bronya suddenly began murmuring in the next room. Seele could only bring the notebook along with her.
"It's all right, it's all right. Bronya, Seele is right beside you..."
Seeing Bronya suddenly struggle in her unconscious state, Seele took her hand and gradually calmed her down.
Once Bronya had returned to peace, Seele let out a sigh of relief. Then she stared at the notebook for a long time. Under Black Seele's coaxing, Seele pursed her lips, struggled for a moment, and opened it.
December 10. Today, she told me that she met Mother Black Seele today. I really hope she can get along well with Mother Black Seele...
Mother Bronya gave me the hair accessory Mother Seele left for her. I'm so happy.
Mother Bronya and I made a promise to go see the sea together next summer. I'm really looking forward to it.
"Is this... a diary?"
Black Seele looked at the notebook with interest, while Seele unconsciously read aloud.
December 16. Today, I finally found the limited-edition Houmu doll that Mother Bronya likes. It's a pity I couldn't buy it, but the salesclerk and the store manager were both nice people. They agreed to save it for me. I hope I can give it to Mother Bronya soon...
March 24... The world's most beautiful movie was playing in the seats next to ours.
May 29...
Before you continue