There's nothing much to say about the process of dealing with the Honkai beasts, after all… Mei handled all of them.
Kiana wanted to help, but they were dealt with before she could even fire a shot.
One slash per enemy, so ruthless it made one think of the legendary Makoto.
…She should be fine, right?
Arriving in this area basically meant reaching the core area, but these people really…
Killed many Valkyries.
"They must have tricked them with the excuse of helping them defeat the Honkai, but it was all in vain…"
Gems, when they don't meet the right person, any experiment is useless.
"To take advantage of kind hearts, that truly deserves death…"
Kiana added "Otto" in her mind. Otto's experiments wantonly exploited the kindness of Valkyries.
Hmm… Perhaps the experiments here had his tacit approval.
"They truly deserve death, they're a bunch of lunatics!"
Theresa's emotions were particularly agitated and indignant. If those people appeared again, she probably would pull out Judah.
Perhaps only her remaining sanity kept her from directly smashing people.
"Nothing can change what has already happened. Let's focus on the mission first."
Himeko, the only one who was relatively rational, said indifferently, though her calm tone was also full of anger.
She was a teacher, and she couldn't bear to see these young girls suffer.
"Sigh…"
Kiana sighed. The initially pleasant atmosphere became much more silent after encountering the Honkai beast-ified Valkyries.
It truly was a terrible world.
"Wait, there's a human life signal ahead! It must be that traitor!"
They had already reached the core area. Not long after, a new human signal appeared on Kiana's signal device.
But this was a corridor! Which meant he was walking towards them!
"Traitor… After seeing those Honkai beast-ified girls, do you still think I'm a traitor? Ah, thank you for saving them."
The person who walked out from around the corner was an old man.
Kiana still had some impression; it was Dr. Maki, who stole the tranquility gem. Was he originally researching the tranquility gem?!
"…Did you rebel for those girls?"
Mei stood in front of Kiana, her blade pointed at the seemingly harmless old man, refusing to let him get closer.
"Not exactly. It's just an old man's redemption before his death…"
Dr. Maki looked very dispirited. If nothing else… his granddaughter had another accident.
Hmm? Why
another?
"Come here, there's one person still alive. Take her away. Everyone else was killed in those people's reckless experiments."
Dr. Maki ignored them, just shook his head and turned around.
"…Headmaster, what should we do?"
Mei asked.
"Follow him for now. There's nothing here that can threaten you."
Although the appearance of the traitor surprised Theresa a little, he didn't look like a crazy person. But when she thought of the girls lying on the experimental tables…
She couldn't help but understand a little. If it were her, she would also lash out in such an environment.
This branch was completely rotten.
"Grandpa, what happened here?"
Currently, there seemed to be no problem, except for the unusual location of the gem where Dr. Maki appeared. So Kiana had already categorized him as friendly.
"It was just some people trying to activate the power of the tranquility gem, which ultimately led to everyone being killed. Some even planned to use a Honkai reactor to activate the gem, so I could only snatch the gem away."
Dr. Maki didn't seem to mind sharing what happened here.
"But it was too late. Repeated failures drove them completely mad, and the gem had already been activated…"
"So you put it inside the surviving girl to preserve it?"
Kiana, somewhat impolitely, interrupted Dr. Maki's words, thinking of Wendy's plot.
"…Yes."
Dr. Maki was silent for a moment, stopped, and paused at the door of a room before slowly speaking.
"Although it briefly caused a Honkai outbreak that turned those Valkyries into Honkai beasts, many people still survived. They wanted to take that girl to continue their experiments."
After all, she was a sample that could perfectly preserve the gem. Those experimental maniacs wouldn't let her go.
"So you took the girl, sealed the laboratory, and even contacted Anti-Entropy?"
With that, Kiana also figured out what Dr. Maki had done.
"I don't trust Schicksal."
If anyone else had experienced everything here, they wouldn't trust them either.
"You don't trust us, yet you let us in? What's your purpose!"
Hearing this, Mei immediately became alert and stopped Kiana.
Kiana was defenseless against others, so she naturally had to protect Kiana.
"…I thought I could hold on until Anti-Entropy arrived, but the Honkai erosion is particularly severe. Even if it wasn't you who came, I would have given up resistance to anyone else."
Dr. Maki could feel his life slipping away. This was good too… He also saved someone in the end.
"However, it's young Valkyries who came, and they are indeed more trustworthy than those people. They are fighting for the beauty of the world."
After verification, the door opened.
The person inside had short black hair with a slight bluish tint, wore a simple hospital gown, and sat on the bed, silently staring at the wall, as if there were a window there.
It was Wendy. Unlike the slightly shy photo in Schicksal's records, she was now silent, like… the calm before the storm.
Kiana! You must be careful when approaching! How dare this Dr. Maki put the gem inside a person's body for preservation…
"Currently, it seems we just need to introduce ourselves normally."
Himeko and Theresa simultaneously ignored the third option.
"Hello, uh… I'm Kiana! She's Mei!"
Since the option was discussed, and it was similar to the old man's answer, Kiana introduced herself openly.
Speaking of which… since it's already an option, has she been judged as a Herrscher already…
"Hello…"
Mei didn't steal Kiana's thunder; instead, she observed Wendy.
As a former Herrscher, she could discern Wendy's state, which was roughly similar to her own current condition.
However, the difference was that the other party was very unstable.
But…
As long as she could stabilize her, Kiana wouldn't have to… kiss her, right?!
Mei remained optimistic.
"…Wendy."
After all that had happened, Wendy naturally had no interest in chatting with them, simply stating her name.
It's okay, as long as she can speak! It's much better than Mei's initial state where she couldn't utter a single word for a long time!
"Wendy, uh… do you want to leave with us? Of course, not back to Schicksal or anything, but to find a safe place to hide!"
Kiana invited her to leave, naturally not mentioning going back to Schicksal to provoke her, as her current state was Schicksal's fault.
"No need, I… hiding would be irresponsible to others."
Wendy refused; she knew she was a dangerous individual now, and fleeing wouldn't solve anything.
"Uh…"
Kiana was choked, but it made a lot of sense.
Is this the resolve of a Valkyrie?!
No wonder she guarded the gem for several years in the original plot!
"I didn't say I wouldn't go with you… It's just that… no one wants to experience such an encounter again."
Since she had already spoken, Wendy simply turned around and added a few more words.
In her words, she clearly didn't trust them. After all that had happened, it would be a miracle if she did.
If Wendy truly followed them without any precautions, Kiana estimated she would still have to guard against a stab in the back.
"Oh, trust isn't something that can be determined in a short time… But you must have heard of St. Freya Academy, right! We're from there!"
At this moment, Kiana decided to leverage the reputation of St. Freya Academy.
"I've heard of it. The discipline is poor, too lenient, making one wonder if they're truly cultivating Valkyries."
Although Wendy knew, it was… completely a bad reputation!
[Damn it! Who spread those rumors?!]
"Well, to some extent, it's not wrong, but… true students who want to become Valkyries won't fail to become Valkyries because of this."
Himeko nodded, but then explained.
"We just give those students who aren't truly committed to becoming Valkyries a choice. If they're unwilling to follow our requirements, we can't force them, can we?"
"Exactly! That's right! Humanized teaching!"
Theresa nodded quickly. At critical moments, Himeko was still reliable!
"…"
Kiana thought it made a lot of sense. Had she been assimilated by Theresa?
"However… it also shows that we would absolutely not conduct such experiments, because… if we really did, such a reputation wouldn't spread."
To some extent, this reputation could still be utilized.
"Perhaps, precisely because of this, an experimental subject might be even more needed."
Wendy mused.
"…"
Kiana was speechless. How could she argue so well? This conversation couldn't continue.
"The Far East Branch… I've looked into it. They are considered the most humane organization within Schicksal. I once wanted my granddaughter to go there, but she was unwilling…"
Just then, Dr. Maki interjected.
"Okay, old man, I'll go there."
As soon as Dr. Maki spoke, Wendy immediately agreed to leave.
No matter what, this person had saved her, so he naturally wouldn't harm her.
She had been severely corrupted by the Honkai that suddenly erupted from the Gem of Desire. If it weren't for this old man, she might have already become a zombie.
It's just… it was truly a pity that those people were saved because of it.
She really had no idea her body could contain the gem, even though she herself would be corrupted by high-concentration Honkai…
"Go… To me, your safety is like seeing Lin safe… That's enough…"
Dr. Maki saw his granddaughter Lin in Wendy, and ultimately chose to betray.
He closed his eyes. He wasn't dead yet, but he no longer planned to leave.
"…Thank you."
Wendy tried to stand up to thank him, but her legs were problematic, making movement impossible.
"You can't walk, so…"
Just as Kiana was about to say she would carry her, Mei pulled a wheelchair from the side.
"There's a wheelchair here, it must have been prepared by that old man."
Alright, Mei interrupted, but it's quite nice to just have Wendy's plot pass by so ordinarily, isn't it?
Perhaps… it's not time for the explosion yet?