In the mess hall of Schicksal HQ.
The Valkyries gathered together, chattering and gossiping.
Valkyrie B: "Hey, have you heard? Our S-rank Valkyrie, Lord Ryn, has a super messy private life."
Valkyrie C: "Oh? How messy? Details!"
Valkyrie D: "You don't even know? Look at this."
Valkyrie D took out her communicator and pulled up today's Schicksal headlines.
"Extra, extra... S-rank Valkyrie Ryn abuses power for personal gain, bullies subordinates, engages in workplace PUA, coerces subordinates, domestic violence...
Two-timing with thirty people, even got a B-rank Valkyrie pregnant, but then used force to make her have an abortion...
(PS: A picture of Kiana with a big, full belly.)
(PS: A picture of Kiana's stomach when it's normal.)
(PS: A photo of Kiana, Mei, and the others covered in injuries after a training session with Durandal.)
Now, because he forced the newly-promoted B-rank, Lü Baihe, to fool around with him and even got her pregnant, Ryn refused to take responsibility and ran away. Unable to bear the humiliation, Lü Baihe chose to expose everything."
Valkyrie C: "How could this be... I used to admire Lord Ryn so much... And this Kiana, I met her in the mess hall before! She was covered in injuries back then, and she said it was from training. It was obviously Ryn who beat her! How despicable!!"
Valkyrie: "That's not all! It's not just women, Lord Ryn even loves and leaves his own Honkai Beast Retinue!"
Valkyrie D: "I know about that one, look."
Valkyrie D swiped a few times on her communicator, switching to a new headline.
"Lord Ryn recently cruelly abandoned his own Valkyrie battlesuit, calling it ugly trash. After Lord Otto meticulously modified it for him, Ryn still dismantled it completely.
(PS: A picture of Ryn with a disgusted look on his face when Otto gave him the original version of War Knight: Moon Rabbit)
(PS: A picture of Build being dismantled into individual parts when Otto took it back for reconstruction)
And I heard Cortana was abandoned too! Lord Ryn subdued a new Retinue and just threw Cortana away!"
Valkyrie C gritted her teeth. After reading all the articles, she wanted to eat Ryn alive.
Valkyrie C: "How despicable! How can a guy like this be our superior! Damn it, I'm going to protest to Lord Otto!"
"Me too!" "Me too!"
A crowd of Valkyries gathered noisily, preparing to go to Otto to demand an explanation. Someone as vile as Ryn didn't deserve to be their superior.
"Go where? What are you all talking about?" Durandal, who had just returned from the Nagamitsu Research Institute, curiously grabbed a Valkyrie and asked her.
"Lady Durandal! I'm your fan!"
The Valkyrie grabbed by Durandal was so happy she nearly fainted. Her mind went blank, and she immediately hugged Durandal's leg.
The other hot-headed Valkyries, upon hearing Durandal's voice, immediately forgot about Ryn and transformed into crazed fans, flocking to Durandal.
"Lady Durandal! I'm your fan too!" "Me too!"
"Uh... I have something to do, I'll be going now." Durandal shook off the Valkyrie clinging to her leg and quickly fled the scene.
After Durandal was out of sight, the Valkyries quieted down again.
Valkyrie C: "Why didn't we tell Lady Durandal?"
Valkyrie B: "It's better not to... Lady Durandal definitely doesn't read these kinds of headlines, so she probably doesn't know about this. There's no need to let her know about such ugly things! I will protect the image of Lady Durandal in my heart!"
Valkyrie C: "By the way, who is Lü Baihe? I don't think I've ever seen this Valkyrie..."
Valkyrie D: "Didn't the headlines say? The newly-promoted B-rank Valkyrie Lü Baihe... It's a shame, she probably just got transferred to HQ, only to encounter something like this..."
Valkyrie C: "Let's go find her! We're all Valkyries, we're family. We have to help her and Kiana and the others who suffered at Ryn's hands get justice!"
"Yeah!"
——————————————
Somewhere above the Pacific Ocean, Ryn held Cortana by the back of her collar, dangling her. Her head was covered in bumps from Ryn's fists.
"Seriously, this stuff is obviously fake... Cortana, how could you believe it!"
"But I... I really was thrown into the Pacific and was shut down for several days... It was hard not to believe it when I woke up and saw that headline..."
Cortana poked her fingers together aggrievedly. Besides, didn't Ryn admit to subduing another Retinue himself?
"It must have been that bastard Otto! I was only gone for a few days, and he's already started spreading rumors about me like this!"
「Beep beep beep, you have new messages, please check~」
"Huh? Who is it? Someone still knows to call me?"
But when Ryn took out his phone and it reconnected to the service area, the flood of notifications that popped up left him completely dumbfounded.
Because he saw...
999+ missed calls from Kiana...
999+ missed calls from Kika...
999+ missed calls from Mei...
And calls from Theresa, Himeko, Rita, and a whole list of people Ryn knew.
There was even a call from Welt, and one from Hare with her cute emoji avatar...
Ryn silently closed his phone and casually threw it into the Pacific Ocean.
What's a phone? Ryn doesn't have a phone.
What are calls? He doesn't know, and he didn't see any.
He covered his face, wanting to cry but having no tears, and roared at the sky.
"Fuck... My lifelong reputation! Damn you, Otto, I'll fight you!!"