Heliopolis Biomedical Park — Thirty Minutes Later
Thirty minutes had passed since Kiana was captured.
The Heliopolis biomedical park had become even more heavily fortified.
Additional guards patrolled the perimeter.
Mechs stood at strategic positions around the facilities, while automated security systems continuously scanned the surrounding area.
Rita observed the facility from a concealed position.
Her expression remained calm, but her body still hadn't fully recovered.
Rita: "They have more than doubled the security."
Alvitr's voice came through the communication device.
Alvitr: "Adjutant Rita, are you really going in before Master Durandal arrives?"
There was a pause.
Alvitr: "I… I know I'm not supposed to question choices made by a superior officer, but…"
Her voice became increasingly worried.
Alvitr: "…You were injured in the previous operation. Doing this alone isn't brave… it's…"
Rita closed her eyes for a moment.
Rita: "…And I agree with you, Alvitr. I take full responsibility for the poor decisions, bad leadership… and everyone who fell…"
Rita opened her eyes.
Her expression hardened.
Rita: "…But I am still standing, and the mission has not yet ended. I will stop the World Serpent and their plans."
Alvitr hesitated.
Alvitr: "…Their plans?"
Rita looked toward the biomedical park.
Rita: "I'm sure we will score an easy victory once Master Durandal arrives."
She paused.
Rita: "But what if she arrives too late to stop the World Serpent? What will happen to this city?"
Rita's gaze became colder.
Rita: "I'm a Valkyrie. I do not enjoy defeating an enemy after it murders an entire city of innocent people."
She tightened her grip on her weapon.
Rita: "This is precisely why I am compelled to do something before Master Durandal arrives."
Rita took a breath.
Rita: "I gave myself that order. This mission is mine alone."
Alvitr was silent for a moment.
Then her voice became emotional.
Alvitr: "Your words are so inspiring… I've never thought about that before. Please forgive me, Adjutant Rita!"
Her tone immediately became worried again.
Alvitr: "But still, please be extra careful. At your current state, you're hardly stronger than an ordinary human…"
Rita smiled faintly.
Rita: "Don't worry, Alvitr. We Valkyries know how to fight even without Honkai energy."
She flexed her fingers.
Rita: "My body still remembers all the training I had."
Alvitr suddenly remembered something.
Alvitr: "Adjutant, I did a bit of tweaking to your battlesuit."
Rita glanced down at her modified equipment.
Alvitr: "You won't be able to use Honkai energy yet, but it can function for a short while."
Rita nodded.
Rita: "Thank you, Alvitr."
She looked toward the facility.
Rita: "I'd better start by looking for a cure."
Heliopolis — Security Perimeter
Rita moved.
Even without Honkai energy, her Valkyrie training remained.
She slipped through the shadows and approached the first guard.
THUD!
A precise strike rendered him unconscious.
Another guard turned.
Rita was already behind him.
THUD!
He collapsed beside his colleague.
Rita continued forward.
No wasted movements.
No unnecessary noise.
She disappeared into the darkness before the remaining guards even realised something was wrong.
Alvitr guided her through the facility.
Alvitr: "The research facility is right ahead."
Alvitr: "I think it's a good place to start looking."
Rita reached the edge of the research complex.
She looked around.
Then stopped.
Something was wrong.
The destruction from the previous battle was nowhere to be seen.
Her eyes narrowed.
Rita: "Wait, where is the EOS wreckage?"
Alvitr checked her data.
Alvitr: "Maybe they cleared it?"
Rita slowly looked around.
The facility appeared almost too clean.
Rita: "Doesn't feel right."
She continued forward.
While Rita infiltrated the Heliopolis complex, something else transpired deep within the biomedical park.
In a secluded medical chamber, Raven rested inside a recovery pod.
Her body was still healing from the injuries she had sustained during her battle with Kiana.
The machine hummed quietly.
Her consciousness drifted elsewhere.
Into a memory she had spent years trying to bury.
Darkness.
Then—
A young boy's voice.
Boy: "…Tasha!"
The young girl looked toward him.
Boy: "Go, Tasha! Go and live well!"
The memory shifted.
Destruction rained down from the heavens.
Their home was gone.
They were forced to leave.
The journey became an endless nightmare.
Food disappeared.
Medicine became scarce.
Water became precious.
People fought over whatever remained.
Then they began killing each other.
Many died during that cursed exodus.
She never expected to survive.
Until—
A man appeared before them.
A man whose face she would never forget.
Cioara: "Please, sir… take my brother too…"
The man looked down at the two children.
Gray Serpent.
His expression was cold.
His words were colder.
Gray Serpent: "You may be too young to understand this, but listen carefully, girl. You were blessed by the white flower."
He looked toward the boy.
Gray Serpent: "Life is fragile… and costly. A person is alive thanks to the sacrifice of countless other lives…"
His voice remained emotionless.
Gray Serpent: "Animals killed for meat, crops scythed for grain, trees cut for wood… so many lives given up to keep one alive."
The girl trembled.
Gray Serpent: "These are hard times… those who wish to live must prove their worth…"
He looked at her brother.
Gray Serpent: "Unfortunately, your brother failed to demonstrate his value."
The girl's eyes widened.
She desperately reached toward her brother.
But Gray Serpent continued.
Gray Serpent: "Listen to your brother. Pick yourself up. Live well for those who sacrificed themselves for you…"
He turned away.
Gray Serpent: "…Prove your worth."
The memory faded.
He took her away.
He protected her.
He trained her.
And he taught her how to survive in a world that had shown her no mercy.
But even after all these years—
She still feared dreaming about her brother.
Because somewhere in the back of her mind, she was afraid that one day he would ask her a single question.
Had she led a good life?
Then...
Communication signals suddenly began flashing across the recovery pod.
Raven's eyes opened.
The dream vanished.
The monitor displayed an incoming communication.
Jackal appeared on the screen.
Jackal: "How do you feel? You should be fully healed by now."
Raven slowly sat up.
Jackal's tone was almost cheerful.
Jackal: "Feeling proud of yourself? You did defeat a Herrscher, and showed them that the World Serpent cannot be stopped."
Raven remained silent.
Jackal: "You also proved my hypothesis. Though armed with destructive Honkai powers, Herrschers are still mortal humans."
Raven's expression hardened.
Raven: "I hope you know what you're doing, Jackal."
Jackal laughed.
Jackal: "Of course I do. This is the first time we've acquired a live Herrscher specimen!"
Her excitement was unmistakable.
Jackal: "My experiments on her will greatly expand our knowledge about the very nature of the Honkai itself!"
Raven stared at her.
Raven: "Will your experiments bring back the people killed by the Honkai?"
Jackal's smile faded.
Jackal: "…You're not a scientist, but I am. You won't appreciate what opportunities this specimen can offer."
She leaned toward the screen.
Jackal: "You'll never defeat an enemy if you refuse to understand it."
Jackal: "We must embrace it, assess it, and learn how to defeat it. All your suffering would be in vain if we fail."
Jackal's voice became colder.
Jackal: "Individual suffering and pain are just an insignificant speck of dust."
Jackal: "We're here to end the only suffering that matters: the pain that the Honkai inflicts upon the entire human race."
She waved her hand dismissively.
Jackal: "So, let's just focus on doing our respective jobs."
Raven looked toward the containment chamber where Kiana was being held.
Raven: "The Herrscher of the Void is under your control. The activation "button" is set."
Raven: "No one will be around to stop our plans."
Jackal's eyes gleamed behind her mask.
Jackal: "Push the "button". The people of this city will be reborn in 2 hours."
Back with Rita
Rita continued deeper into the complex.
She followed the information Alvitr had gathered.
Rita: "According to the data we've collected, this should be the biomedical park."
Rita looked around.
Rita: "If things go well, we should be able to find clues about the antidote."
Alvitr immediately responded.
Alvitr: "If… and I mean IF you're exposed, you can activate Stalker Carbon's auto-mode to help you escape."
Rita continued forward.
Rita: "Please have faith in me, Alvitr."
She entered another section of the facility.
The room was deserted.
Rita carefully inspected the surroundings.
Then she noticed something.
A cut mark.
Fresh.
Her expression changed.
A fight must have occurred here.
Rita moved farther inside.
The pharmaceutical lab was on the right.
She inspected the equipment.
Some finished formulation might have been found there.
The lab capsule had already been opened.
There was nothing inside.
Rita moved toward the researchers' office on the left.
Research logs were scattered across the desks.
One particularly messy log caught her attention.
It contained a string of characters.
Rita examined it carefully.
Then her eyes narrowed.
It might be the password for the synthesis system.
She then found a large computer.
She entered the information.
The computer accepted it.
A new screen appeared.
Rita: "Keywords: HSN-B46, block reactions."
Rita looked through the data.
Rita: "That's where it's kept."
She opened the facility map.
A heavily secured section appeared.
Rita stared at it.
Rita: "Hmm… very heavily guarded."
She began searching the system for another route.
Then—
SHING!
A katana suddenly appeared beside her neck.
Rita froze.
A woman stood behind her.
Purple hair.
A familiar expression.
A katana held steadily against Rita's neck.
Rita's eyes widened slightly.
Then a calm smile appeared.
Rita: "Miss Raiden, it's been a long time."