Acheron, Lost

"Yes."

Amber nodded.

Ever since the Far East Stigmata Incident in June, Bishop Otto had been depressed for quite some time. It was only recently, after he began investigating the Second Divine Key in England, that he had finally perked up.

"Don't worry, Amber. I'm not that fragile. I've been through this sort of thing too many times..."

Otto smiled.

"Only through loss do we realize that beautiful things can never be held onto forever, isn't that right?"

Looking at the bishop's obviously fake smile, Amber could only sigh.

There was nothing she could do. Otto was the bishop, after all. Once he decided to deceive himself, no one could stop him.

Compared to Schicksal HQ, which was still relatively lively aside from Otto,

St. Freya Academy had clearly grown much quieter during this time.

There was no longer any noise from Kiana and Bronya playing games together in the dormitory living room.

The only busy figures in the kitchen were Mei and Seele, who occasionally came over to help.

In terms of numbers, they had only lost one person and gained another.

No more, no less. Just right.

But some things could not simply be replaced after they were gone.

As Raiden Mei cooked, she glanced at the silent Seele sitting on the sofa and comforted her.

"Don't worry about it, Seele. This isn't your fault. After some time passes and everyone calms down, things will get better..."

This time, Kiana had gotten into an enormous fight with Bronya. Because of everything that had happened with Rosia, Kiana's opinion of Bronya had fallen drastically.

Perhaps because of her own childhood, Kiana valued family especially deeply. Even though she often complained about her dad, it was obvious that she was still proud of him.

Even if Raiden Mei wanted to defend Bronya, it was useless.

Whether judging by the outcome or the process, out of a hundred points, Bronya could only ever score fifty-nine.

No matter how clever Bronya was, on the test of "how to be a good mother," failing was the only evaluation she could receive.

"I know, Mei... Everyone liked her. I did too... It's just that all of this happened because of me..."

Seele pressed her lips together, filled with guilt.

She might have looked weak and timid, but she was not stupid. Seele had learned much of the situation from Bronya.

She had guessed why Cocolia continued the X-10 experiment. She wanted to use Rosia to bring Seele out of the Sea of Quanta. Because of that, both Cocolia and Bronya had entered this gamble.

This gamble could be considered a success, but it could also be considered a complete failure.

It had succeeded because they had indeed rescued Seele.

But all of their lives had been thrown into disorder.

Rosia had disappeared. Unlike Seele before, who had at least left some trace behind, no one knew where Rosia had gone or what had happened to her...

They had absolutely no way to search for Rosia.

Without a doubt, anyone capable of thinking understood that rescuing Seele from the Sea of Quanta had originally been difficulty level hard. Bringing Rosia back now was already hell-level difficulty.

This exchange had been a crushing defeat.

Kiana now spent every day in the training room, numbing herself through training.

As for Bronya, she either stared blankly at Rosia's diary or sat in Rosia's toy box, hugging that limited-edition Houmu plush and staring into space.

Bronya's brain had already suffered serious damage this time.

Now, after receiving such a severe shock, she acted like she had gone mad all day long.

The once perfectly fine Valkyrie squad now only had Mei in a somewhat better state.

Raiden Mei had always treated Bronya as a companion. Seeing Bronya like this now made it difficult for her to feel positive about anything.

But what could she do now?

Even just thinking about this pain made Raiden Mei feel as though her heart were being torn apart.

She had never blamed Bronya for her choice.

That was because they had all been judging Bronya from a god's-eye view. Raiden Mei had also wondered what she would choose if she were in Bronya's position.

Raiden Mei did not know.

But she knew that if the day came when she faced such a choice, Mei might not fare much better than Bronya did now.

No one could abandon the people they cherished.

When you had no choice but to use what you treasured most in exchange for something else, your heart had already begun collapsing without you even realizing it.

"All right, Seele. Take this to Bronya."

Handing the prepared lunch to Seele, Raiden Mei smiled as she looked at Seele's face, which was identical to Rosia's.

Their appearances were similar, and so were their personalities, yet when Raiden Mei looked at Seele, she felt no possessiveness at all. She only felt the same way she would toward a friend.

Raiden Mei could only attribute it to the fact that she liked Rosia herself, not her appearance or her body.

Thinking of this, Raiden Mei let out a soft sigh.

Raiden Mei could only hope that if Rosia was truly gone, time would wash away their pain and let it gradually fade.

If Rosia was still alive...

Raiden Mei hoped she was living a better life now.

Changkong City

"Achoo..."

The purple-black-haired girl sneezed unconsciously. Her aloof face paired with that puzzled little expression created a contrast that made her strangely endearing.

After arriving at Sora's base, Yomi's unapproachable aura and appearance had been obvious. Yet quite a few children had still been secretly watching her, even tiptoeing closer.

The purple-black-haired girl sat before the fire. She noticed this, but she did not mind.

"Yomi, are you cold?"

Seeing the thin clothes on the purple-black-haired girl, which looked like something meant for summer, and hearing her sneeze again, Sora asked with concern.

"I'm not cold. Someone is probably talking about me."

Yomi gently shook her head.

Her constitution was strong. Even if she spent an entire night outside, the cool breeze could not make her feel the slightest bit cold.

Yomi felt conflicted. Looking at the children around her, she seemed unable to see any value in them.

Yet for some inexplicable reason, she liked these children a little.

Nothing had any meaning, but perhaps that meaninglessness itself had meaning.

It was as though a lively voice in Yomi's mind was reminding her to love this world.

"Did your teacher build this place?"

Looking at the houses that seemed to be made from all kinds of discarded materials, Yomi frowned.

"Yeah. There are Honkai Beasts all around, and lots of other dangers too, so Teacher helped us build this shelter and told us to hide here. She comes to see us every so often..."

Sora answered.

"It's just that Teacher hasn't come for quite a while now... The last time she came, she was badly injured. She couldn't even speak clearly. After leaving us some things, she left."

Sora was very worried about her teacher.

"I see..."

Yomi nodded softly.

"What about you, Yomi? Why are you here?"

Sora asked curiously.

"I don't know... I only know that I'm looking for a child, but I can't remember her..."

Yomi shook her head.

"Thank you for waking me up, Sora. Is there anything you need help with?"

Although Yomi was puzzled by what had happened to her memories, she found it difficult to take interest in almost anything, so she was in no hurry to search everywhere.

"R-Really?"

Sora looked delighted.

Judging from Yomi's aura and the strength she had displayed, she might have been even stronger than their teacher. Sora had not wanted to trouble Yomi, but Teacher had not come in a long while, and their supplies had actually become extremely scarce.

On top of that, for some unknown reason, the number of Honkai Beasts in Changkong City had increased greatly recently.

That was why Sora had been forced to risk going out today in search of supplies.

If she had not encountered Yomi, something might have happened to her on the way back.

"It's fine. I happen to need to stay here for a while. I want to meet your teacher."

Yomi's intuition told her that Sora's teacher might bring her a clue.

"Thank you, Yomi..."

Sora sat beside Yomi and gently leaned against her.

At that moment, although the fire was not burning strongly, Sora felt warmth from the bottom of her heart.

"Sora, who is she?"

Under the cover of night, a figure emerged from the pitch-black darkness.

The hooded figure reached her claws toward the purple-black-haired girl's neck, but before she could react, a scabbard glowing blue-violet had already been placed across her throat.

The situation reversed in an instant.

Even Raven was stunned.

No, I was in the middle of a sneak attack. Wasn't reacting that fast a little disrespectful?

And you weren't even drawing your sword?

But when her claws touched the scabbard in the purple-black-haired girl's hand, Raven could not help but speak.

"Why does this feel so familiar..."

Even from the hilt, the sword in the purple-black-haired girl's hand gave Raven a familiar feeling.

Faced with Raven's question, Yomi merely spoke four words.

"This is mine."

P.S. Everyone has probably guessed the method of restoring her memories, right?

Chapter 52: Lost Yomi

"This is mine."

Seeing Yomi's aloof expression, Raven's mouth twitched.

"I wasn't going to steal it..."

"Teacher, Yomi, don't fight..."

Seeing the two of them glaring at each other, Sora hurriedly tried to stop them.

"Heh..."

Raven really wanted to say that this probably was not a fight at all. It was her being completely suppressed by Yomi.

Just holding back Raven's claws with that scabbard had already taken all of Raven's strength, while Yomi's hand did not even tremble, as though she had casually raised the scabbard in front of her.