"Bishop, I'm a Valkyrie now?"
Although she was too weak to rise from the bed, K422 had stared fixedly at Bishop Otto ever since she woke up.
"Yes. Congratulations, you've become a Valkyrie. Both the Kaslana Family stigmata and the Schariac Family stigmata have manifested on your body. However, you'll need to stay here obediently for the next few days. I'll have food delivered to you."
Just as expected.
K422 had known this would happen.
The moment Bishop Otto decided to use K423 as her substitute, she knew he would not let her appear before anyone else before January 9.
In fact, as long as K423 was kept from interacting with others at close range, any strange behavior from her could be explained away with an excuse.
Most importantly, if something happened on January 9, Bishop Otto could use the substitute as an explanation for any inconsistencies during that period.
Whether K423 was taken by a hostile organization or died during the conflict might not matter to Bishop Otto at all.
"I'll follow your wishes, Bishop. I'll stay here on standby for the next few days. I hope your enemies will stupidly walk right into the trap you've set, Bi—cough, cough... Bishop."
That was close! "Dog Otto" had nearly slipped right out.
K422, lying in bed, rarely found herself flustered.
After all, she had been unconscious for an entire day and night. Even if time had not felt as obvious in the space of consciousness, with neither True Kiana nor K423 around, she had inevitably lost control of herself. Even she could not remember how many times she had called him Dog Otto.
After all, Bishop Otto's sudden actions had prevented her from secretly notifying Anti-Entropy. It had dealt her quite a blow.
"Hm?"
Bishop Otto showed a trace of confusion.
But he quickly shifted his attention elsewhere.
"Although you were previously listed as a reserve, becoming a Valkyrie automatically promotes you to trainee status. At the same time, you will receive the identity and privileges of a D-rank Valkyrie."
Bishop Otto spoke slowly, while K422 listened quietly.
He also explained the duties of a trainee.
"Additionally, the Schariac Family wishes to begin the battle for Black Abyss White Flower in a month. They clearly do not wish to give you time to grow stronger. However, it does not matter. One month will be enough for you to adapt to your current strength. By then, even an A-rank Valkyrie will not be your match."
Bishop Otto was not comforting her. He was calmly stating a fact.
It left K422 greatly surprised.
"I recall that Changguang made you a 'Toy Box' before. I'll have her design a Valkyrie-exclusive lance for you within two weeks."
She nodded from her bed.
Half a year ago, because she had borrowed Theresa's account and used Laguna's ID to create an account and grind the Kallen Fantasy rankings, Bishop Otto had asked the director of Research Institute 1504 to design a lance for her.
K422 had been delighted that she could get a high-tech weapon.
But in reality, it had been a transformable mechanical lance named Toy Box.
It was not a Valkyrie-exclusive Honkai Energy weapon.
It was a gunpowder weapon made entirely of mechanical components.
It had lance mode, umbrella shield mode, machine gun mode, and Far Eastern katana mode.
It was also made from a special lightweight metal, allowing even an eight-year-old little girl to wield Toy Box easily.
"I hope this one won't be another Toy Box."
K422 sighed sincerely.
"Of course it will be a Valkyrie-exclusive weapon. In recent years, Schicksal's Valkyries have shown a clear increase in demand for lances. Changguang seems to have designed a lance with the Power of Flame. Perhaps you will be its test user."
"Really?"
A lance with the Power of Flame sounded like a Honkai Energy weapon that converted Honkai Energy into flame-element energy.
In other words, she could not only poke holes with that lance—she could barbecue things while poking them.
"All right, Little Princess. Don't get so excited. Get some rest."
"Yes, Bishop."
K422 acted obedient and well-behaved.
Even after Bishop Otto left, that harmless expression remained on her face.
Bishop Otto shook his head as he left the room.
He did not care how K422 tried to act obedient. In truth, he had never taken a child's strength seriously.
Otto was merely surprised by how smoothly the modification surgery had gone.
He had thought that after the Schariac Holy Blood was activated, injecting Honkai Energy would become difficult.
After all, Cecilia Schariac, the original bearer of activated Schariac Holy Blood, possessed only a special constitution that allowed her to control Honkai Energy.
But K422 now combined Holy Blood capable of erasing Honkai Energy with a special constitution that could control Honkai Energy and possessed extremely high resistance to it.
Under such circumstances, her body's absorption of Honkai Energy had been terrifyingly efficient.
Otto had even briefly thought that after such a massive amount of Honkai Energy was injected into her body, she would directly form a Herrscher Core within herself.
He had even wanted to record the birth of a Herrscher, but nothing happened.
As though by a miracle, she became a Valkyrie.
Moreover, the stigmata of the Schariac Family and Kaslana Family manifested on her body one after the other.
The density of her flesh, after absorbing massive amounts of Honkai Energy, had already reached eight times that of an ordinary person, and it coexisted perfectly with the Schariac Holy Blood.
Perfect Holy Blood, a perfect constitution, and a modification surgery that had gone so smoothly that it made him suspicious—Otto had briefly believed that some mysterious power had interfered with the procedure.
To keep K422 from slipping out of his control, he implanted a miniature bomb near her heart.
But the moment it entered her body, it was crushed by her muscles. Even its explosion was swallowed by suddenly emerging Honkai Energy.
Even when he used an imitation Feather of Dust to brainwash her, the erupting Holy Blood destroyed it with its ability to erase Honkai Energy.
Honestly, he had felt a little awkward at the time.
He had personally created an uncontrollable Honkai Killer.
And one that was deeply hostile toward him, at that.
Fortunately, her resistance to drugs was still normal. With the real Kiana existing, she would not turn against him outright.
"...I must find a way to control her."
It was not that Otto had not suspected the Honkai Consciousness of interfering with the modification surgery. But after the surgery ended, K422's behavior had been perfectly normal, just like any ordinary reserve who underwent modification surgery and became a Valkyrie. Other than the Honkai Energy within her body being several times greater than that of a normal Valkyrie and extremely close to Herrscher levels, the fluctuations she emitted were nothing like those of a Herrscher. Instead, they were Anti-Herrscher fluctuations.
Within a certain range around K422, Honkai Energy would weaken, yet those fluctuations did not affect the Honkai Energy she possessed herself.
He had not been joking when he said that K422 could defeat an A-rank Valkyrie after adapting to this power.
With such a trait, whether it was a Valkyrie, Herrscher, or Honkai Beast, they would lose more than half their combat strength in front of her.
For a time, Otto had believed K422 was more suited than Theresa to wield the Key of Binding, Judas' Oath.
"Otto..."
Amber wore a worried expression.
She had witnessed the entire process of Otto creating a monster that even he himself could not control.
"Leave her alone. She cannot find where Kiana is."
Otto knew what Amber wanted to say.
Nothing more than the possibility that, while he dealt with enemies on January 9, K422 would break out of the room imprisoning her and search for Kiana.
"Continue staying by K423's side. Do not let anyone else approach her."
"Understood, Otto. I'll take my leave first."
"Go."
Watching Amber's departing back, Otto sighed softly.
His obedient granddaughter was coming to resist him, foolish Siegfried was coming to save his daughter, Anti-Entropy, which wanted to muddy the waters, would not miss such a major event, along with other insignificant organizations...
But what truly concerned him was an organization called World Serpent.
This organization was far too mysterious.
The reconnaissance team he had sent out had only discovered that the organization was not large in scale, yet the Mikoyan Design Bureau had connections to it.
Although this organization had never clashed with Schicksal directly, Otto believed it was more dangerous than Anti-Entropy.
It had merely operated in the shadows all this time. But activity always left traces.
"...I wonder if this time, I can lure the snake hidden beneath the surface out into the open."
The major event of Cecilia's daughter undergoing Valkyrie modification surgery on January 9 had not been prepared solely for Anti-Entropy. It was also for that ancient organization hidden especially deep.
Otto had just returned to his laboratory when Amber contacted him.
"Otto..."
"What is it?"
"What should I do if K423 bit me?"
"???"
Apparently, it was not just K422. Even K423 refused to give him peace of mind.
Fortunately, this had only happened inside the room. If it had happened outside, he did not know what excuse they could use to explain it.
No Matter Who Stood in the Way, It Would Be Useless
Over the following days, K422 continued adapting to her enhanced body.
Although Bishop Otto told her to stay put, she could not possibly do nothing.
What would happen on January 9 would undoubtedly become a world-shaking event. No matter how much she hated Bishop Otto, she believed his judgment completely.
Precisely because a major event would take place, K422 could only gamble that Bishop Otto would not have time to pay attention to her little actions then.
Perhaps this was her only chance to find True Kiana's location.
Unlike Himeko, she recovered quickly after the surgery. By the next day, she could already get out of bed and walk around.
The only thing troubling her was that her weight seemed somewhat abnormal.
And after the surgery, all her muscles had disappeared.
After more than half a year of training, she had developed quite a few defined lines. But now, they had all turned soft and chubby.
Of course, K422 did not think chubby arms meant she was weak.
Especially after she crushed the bedside table flat with one hand, she gained a proper understanding of her monstrous strength.
"...My condition is pretty good."
K422 somewhat believed Bishop Otto's claim that she could contend against an A-rank Valkyrie after adapting to her body... Oh, at the time, Bishop Otto seemed to have said that even an A-rank Valkyrie would not be her match.
"Whether or not I can fight an A-rank Valkyrie does not matter. As long as I can knock down every enemy standing in my way, that will be enough."
K422 adapted to her body while counting down the days.
At the same time, various forces quietly prepared plans to attack Schicksal Headquarters.
To seize her, or kill her.
The lurking snake quietly opened its eyes as well.
January 9, 2007. Morning.
Even though Bishop Otto had not left anything in the room related to time, K422 could still sense a tremor in the air and knew that today was January 9.
She waited quietly in the room.
She kept waiting.
Waiting silently.
Before you continue