—————— St. Freya Academy · Training Area ——————
"Hmm, let me see." Theresa operated the equipment before her with some clumsiness. To be honest, ever since she applied for this device, very few people had actually used it.
Only Himeko and Fu Hua would occasionally apply to use it. She used it sometimes as well, but truly not often. If it came to a physical network disconnection...
Theresa used the equipment to disconnect the network for the two linked Memorial Arena login ports. The two selected machines instantly emitted a clicking sound as the internal data ports connected to the wall automatically disengaged.
"Say, is this network disconnection really okay? Is it a physical disconnection or...?" Irene looked at the machine in front of her. Leaving Otto aside for a moment, she also had to guard against the Herrscher of Corruption.
Otto's threat could be said to be right before her eyes. At worst, she could just throw caution to the wind and expose Kallen. No matter what, she would likely be fine; it would just mean she could do fewer things and would be placed under surveillance.
The preferential treatment she received probably wouldn't decrease much, but she really didn't want to be exposed in front of that guy. God knows what kind of things that guy might do.
Moreover, she still needed to do many things. She had already investigated some matters, proving that there was enough time for her to accomplish those tasks; otherwise, she wouldn't need to be so dedicated.
If she were to go out directly wearing Kallen's shell, wandering around outside, Otto would definitely notice and come looking for her.
But that would only make her path easier; she would absolutely be unable to achieve all the beautiful endings she needed. To use gaming terminology, the Otto route had to be saved for later.
She had to advance the other routes first before she could start advancing Otto's route. Only in this way could she achieve what she considered the most perfect happy ending, or rather, the perfect conclusion.
So, although she needed to keep it from Otto, Otto's threat was still considered controllable; she simply didn't need Otto's attention right now.
However, the Herrscher of Corruption was different. Her threat was close at hand and absolutely uncontrollable. If she failed, or if an accident occurred...
If the Herrscher of Corruption, who currently harbored malice toward humanity, were to escape—or even spread to the entire Schicksal network system—it would be terrible.
Or perhaps it shouldn't be put that way. It wouldn't just be terrible; it would be the end. As the strongest organization in the world right now, Schicksal's variety of lethal weapons were countless.
If the Herrscher of Corruption were allowed to circulate on such a network, corroding various weapons, equipment, and Sub-God Machines, the resulting consequences could be easily imagined.
Furthermore, a Herrscher of Corruption spreading through the network would be almost unstoppable.
No one would be able to find the true body of the Herrscher of Corruption, nor could anyone drag it out from the digital world. Just like Kevin.
Kevin, at that time, was the strongest in the entire civilization, holding the sword of destruction capable of incinerating all things in his hand. But what use was it?
The Herrscher of Corruption had no main body; it was just a piece of electronic virus circulating on the network, a mass of special Honkai energy. Unless one could achieve an absolute physical isolation within a certain area before the Herrscher of Binding escaped...
Otherwise, there was no way to catch a Herrscher of Corruption that had escaped.
After all, there was no second Sakura here who could allow the Herrscher of Corruption · Rin to temporarily regain her human will, thereby giving Dr. MEI enough time to completely cut the network and seal the Herrscher of Corruption inside the Black Box.
As for Irene, it was also impossible. Without completing the mission, she had no way to obtain other Transformation Cards. Her cards were currently limited to only Kallen and Pardo.
Irene needed to be responsible for everyone. She couldn't completely lack vigilance just because she believed in the original work or believed in Pardo and Kallen's abilities. That wasn't trust; that was irresponsibility.
"It should be a physical disconnection." Theresa looked at the operation panel at her hand. "Schicksal is still relatively tolerant in this regard. If you don't want your training methods known by others, this is allowed."
"Mn, alright, I understand." Irene nodded. After remaining silent for a period, she finally raised her head to look at Theresa. "Is everything set up?"
"That's right." Theresa nodded, then walked to one of the devices, opened it, climbed in to lie down, and then placed the helmet located above the device onto her head.
"Just like this is fine." Theresa propped herself up to show Irene the helmet on her head. "Don't worry, it's very comfortable to wear. It doesn't matter even if you sleep for a day."
"I've also locked the door. No one will come to disturb us, so I'm counting on you, Irene."
Theresa didn't want to rely on Irene so much, but regarding the Stigmata runaway and the existence of the Stigmata Space, currently only Irene knew, and only Irene had stated she had a way to help.
Aside from her, Theresa couldn't find anyone else to rely on; she could only believe in Irene.
"Mn." Irene nodded, imitating Theresa by entering the machine and putting on the helmet. Seeing Irene enter, Theresa also lay down.
"Oh, right. There is a button on your right-hand side. Pressing it will start the program." Theresa suddenly remembered something and popped up to look at Irene beside her.
"Those are the only things to pay attention to." Theresa lay back down and seemed to have already pressed the button, as the capsule lid gradually closed in Irene's view.
Irene, who looked like she had put on the helmet, sat up again. She took off the helmet, stood up from inside the machine, and then...
She pulled out Kallen's card from her bosom. Amidst the light, Irene's figure transformed into Kallen's appearance, with Starry Judah standing upright beside her.
[Kallen, can you seal this machine so no signals can get out?]
[I don't know, but I'll let Judah seal it. Judah knows what to do.] Kallen puffed out her chest confidently. Judah was not just a simple weapon; it possessed a certain degree of intelligence.
Kallen had also asked Starry Judah. Judah indicated that it could be done. The Power of Binding was not such an inconvenient thing; even things like signal transmission could be sealed all the same.
"It's good that it can be done." Irene nodded, but she didn't plan to use Starry Judah for the seal. She probably shouldn't use the Kallen card for too long right now.
So, she intended to use the Judah that Theresa had brought in, which was placed beside the machine. Placing her hand on it, she felt the emotions transmitted by Judah.
What Starry Judah could do, Judah could definitely do as well. Through the connection, Irene informed Judah of her request.
Facing this former master of hers—although she felt somewhat unfamiliar, and there were things that weren't quite right, such as the occasional changes in appearance and aura—Judah was still willing to serve this former master. Moreover, this was also to help its current master, Theresa.
Judah opened slightly, and chains crawled out like swimming snakes, gradually sealing the entire machine, leaving only the channels necessary to provide power.
After letting out a sigh of relief, Irene canceled the transformation. Judah's chains trembled slightly but continued to seal any possible signal transmission. Irene pushed aside the chains, climbed back into her own machine, put on the helmet properly, and pressed the button.
With the press of the button, Irene instantly felt as if she had been extracted by something. Her body plummeted backward violently. After a burst of intense weightlessness, Irene finally felt her feet step onto solid, wet ground.
Shaking her head dizzily, Irene looked at the azure space surrounding her. "This really does feel very similar to the Palace of Consciousness, but the sensation of entering is simply... unwatchable."
Whenever she entered the Palace of Consciousness, she never had this feeling. It was like being flushed down a toilet; that experience just now really gave one a headache.
"Irene, why did you take so long?" Theresa looked at Irene, who had just entered. Then, somewhat anxiously, she turned Irene around. "Come look at this. Is this the entrance to the Stigmata Space we need to go to?"
Irene looked up. In front of her was a gigantic cherry blossom tree. Only, this cherry tree wasn't a pale pink like other cherry trees, appearing incomparably graceful. Instead, every single petal looked as if it had been soaked in blood.
It appeared incomparably bright red. If not for its appearance, Irene wouldn't even think this was a cherry tree. Perhaps calling it a Blood Sakura would be more appropriate.
"..." Irene looked at the cherry tree before her. "I really didn't expect this. I thought it might just be a door or something similar."
"Mn, will it be very troublesome?" Hearing this, Theresa immediately became somewhat nervous again. Special meant difficult to deal with. If Irene hadn't seen it, didn't that mean she had no experience?
"Mn, the things we need to deal with won't change." Irene shook her head. "We just need to enter the Stigmata Space and solve the thing causing the riot."
"The process of what we need to do remains unchanged; it's merely the appearance that has changed."
"Mn, it's fine. I'm not panicking." Theresa shook her head vigorously. "How could a mere Stigmata runaway stump me? Let's go, Irene. Let's go solve this trouble."
"If you're so capable, Theresa, stop your legs from shaking." Irene looked at Theresa and smiled. Subsequently, the two walked toward the cherry tree. Until both of them stood under the tree, the cherry tree showed no reaction.
"Mn, do we have to do something?" Theresa looked at the towering cherry tree in front of her. Just as she attempted to kick it twice to see what would happen, the moment her toe made contact with the tree, Theresa vanished from this azure space.
"This is bad." Irene was just about to tell Theresa not to move recklessly, but unexpectedly, Theresa had already been sucked in by the cherry tree. Just as Irene hurriedly reached out to touch it...
Before her eyes could focus, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye on the other side of the tree trunk. When she looked over, unbeknownst to her when it happened, a pink-haired girl wearing shrine maiden attire was standing on one of the cherry tree's branches.
Looking at that pink-haired girl, Irene's mental space couldn't help but start to churn. Pardo's voice rang out immediately: [Sister Irene, Sister Irene, it's Rin!]
Irene ignored Pardo's voice in her ear. Instead, she gazed at the pink-haired girl who seemed transparent. "Are you Rin... or Yae Rin?"
"Save her." Hearing Irene's words, the girl lowered her head to look at Irene. Her voice was soft, her gaze carrying a plea. "Please... save my sister. Save her, she is crying..."
"Sister?" Irene looked at the girl before her. "Are you Yae Rin? Why are you here? Who is crying?"
"She is angry. She is crying. Save my sister, please." The girl's body gradually became transparent, and her voice became more ethereal. "Please, she is... save... save her... save my sister."
[Sister Irene, that was Rin just now!] Pardo looked at the girl gradually disappearing before her eyes, the guilt in her heart tumbling boundlessly. [That was her asking for help just now, right? That was definitely her asking for help!]
[In terms of image, that should be closer to Yae Sakura's younger sister, Yae Rin.] Irene's tone carried uncertainty about the Sakura Samsara story; it was simply too early.
She barely remembered what the plot was actually like for them, but if she recalled correctly, there shouldn't be a Yae Rin there.
It was precisely because of this that Irene wanted to ask if she was Yae Rin or Rin when she saw that girl, but regrettably, she received no answer. Was it Yae Sakura's self-preservation consciousness taking the form of her sister?
[But she shouldn't be here.] Irene didn't hide anything, directly sharing the intelligence she knew with Pardo and Kallen. Then, she raised her hand and pressed it against the cherry tree.
With this delay, Theresa had already been inside alone for some time. The Herrscher of Corruption definitely wouldn't let go of Theresa's body.
And the sensation of entering the Stigmata Space was even worse than entering this Memorial Arena earlier. Countless whispers echoed in Irene's ears, but when she tried to listen, she couldn't hear what they were at all.
Fragmented sounds reverberated beside Irene's brain, and her body tumbled like a lone boat pulled by ocean waves. Within these surging waves, Pardo and Kallen's voices gradually seemed to drift away from her mind.
Just as Irene was thinking this, her two hands were suddenly grasped tightly. One by one, chains shot out into the surroundings, suppressing the chaotic Honkai energy around them.
"Irene, hold on." Kallen's figure appeared beside Irene. In this Stigmata Space, a mental world similar to the Palace of Consciousness, the two of them could also appear from within Irene's mind.
"Sister Irene, let's charge in quickly." Pardo also supported Irene, then looked toward Kallen. "Sister Kallen, help out. We have to go save people quickly."
"Mn, I understand." Kallen nodded. This was their only chance to make up for the mistakes they had once committed. Even if this wasn't their world, their sense of responsibility still wouldn't allow them to completely cut themselves off from their selves in this world.
Whether it was Pardo or Kallen, both had their own obsessions regarding this matter. They definitely had to save—whether it was saving Yae Sakura, saving Rin, or simply saving their former selves.
Kallen activated Judah, taking them deeper, following her senses toward the depths.
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