The setting sun dyed the buildings of Schicksal Headquarters a warm golden hue. Captain Kael had Theresa's arm linked with his, with Sirin and Bianca walking beside them. The four strolled leisurely down the tree-lined path leading to the living quarters.
The automatic sprinklers by the roadside were at work, and fine water droplets refracted tiny rainbows in the setting sun. The air was filled with the fresh scent of grass and damp earth.
Theresa was still chattering away, her conversation having shifted from documents to a novel drink she had recently tried: bitter gourd juice mixed with extra spicy chili sauce.
"...So I thought, since the hot and painful sensation is so exhilarating, combining it with the bitterness of bitter gourd must be amazing! Kael, you absolutely must try it next time!"
Captain Kael listened to this 'devilish' recipe, his mouth twitching slightly, but he good-naturedly replied, "...Alright, if there's a chance... I'll definitely try it."
He silently decided that this 'chance' had better never come.
Sirin walked quietly on Captain Kael's other side, listening to Theresa's excited description. Her small hand held Captain Kael's finger tightly, feeling the warmth of his palm and his steady pulse. The unease that had arisen from their separation finally completely dissipated.
Brother really came back, he came back safe and sound.
She tilted her head slightly, looking at Captain Kael's profile, which appeared particularly gentle in the setting sun. Her golden eyes were full of dependence and satisfaction.
Bianca, on the other hand, was full of curiosity about the 'special drink' Theresa described. She looked up and asked, "Sister Theresa, is that delicious? Can Bianca drink it?"
"Children can't drink it!" Theresa immediately sternly replied, "This is a 'pain and joy' that only adults can enjoy!"
As she spoke, she proudly shook her head, her white ponytail swinging back and forth.
Captain Kael watched their interaction and couldn't help but chuckle. This noisy yet ordinary daily life was the very meaning of his struggles.
He looked up at the sky. The setting sun was slowly sinking below the distant horizon, and the skyline was dyed a brilliant orange and purple-red.
"It's getting late, let's pick up the pace. When we get back, I'll make dinner for you all. Steamed eggs for Sirin, and meatballs for Bianca..."
His words abruptly stopped.
An extremely sharp, piercing alarm blared, tearing through the twilight's tranquility without warning!
This alarm was unlike any before; it was more shrill, more urgent, carrying a heart-pounding sense of destruction!
"Highest alert?! What happened?!"
The smile on Theresa's face vanished instantly, replaced by a warrior's vigilance. She instinctively released Captain Kael's arm, assumed a defensive stance, and sharply scanned her surroundings.
Captain Kael's expression also changed. He immediately pulled Sirin and Bianca behind him, his gaze fixed on the direction from which the alarm came—the Schicksal Headquarters' outer defense perimeter.
His mind raced. Was it a remnant Honkai Beast horde? Or... Just then, the corner of his eye caught a rapidly enlarging speck of light in the sky!
That speck of light, trailing an ominous plume, was hurtling towards the Schicksal Headquarters' core area—to be precise, almost directly towards their current location—at a speed far exceeding that of conventional missiles!
"No! It's an attack! Find cover!"
Captain Kael roared, his voice taut with the sudden crisis.
He abruptly pushed Sirin and Bianca behind a sturdy alloy sculpture by the roadside, simultaneously reaching out to pull Theresa, who was still standing rooted to the spot.
Everything happened in a flash.
Theresa also saw the speck of light. Her Valkyrie combat instincts immediately told her this was no ordinary attack.
She heard Captain Kael's shout and instinctively wanted to rush towards him and the children, intending to shield them from the potential impact with her own body.
"Kael—!"
Her cry was drowned out by an indescribable, dull, and massive explosion!
That specially made Honkai Energy shockwave bomb detonated hundreds of meters in the air above the ground.
There was no sky-high blaze, no destructive shockwave. Instead, a visible, light-distorting, pale white energy ring spread out instantly like ripples of death!
Captain Kael only had time to yank Theresa violently behind him, simultaneously mobilizing the Honkai Energy within him to its maximum extent, attempting to form a thin layer of protection.
He saw Theresa's blue eyes wide with astonishment, saw her hand reaching out to him, and saw her instantly swallowed by that pale white light.
Immediately afterward, an irresistible, violent tremor, as if acting directly on his soul, swept over him!
It wasn't a physical impact, but a deeper, more fundamental shaking targeting the essence of life and spirit!
His ears were instantly filled with an indescribable, sharp ringing, and his vision was covered by a pure, pale white that stripped away all color and detail!
He felt his consciousness being thrown into a raging vortex, torn and churned madly. His body lost all strength, and the Honkai Energy protection was as fragile as paper in the face of that bizarre tremor.
His last sensation was the weight of Theresa collapsing into his arms, and the uncontrolled feeling of falling backward.
Then, boundless darkness swallowed everything... After an unknown period, Theresa's consciousness struggled out of a state of chaos and intense pain.
She felt as if she had been dismantled and reassembled, every part of her body screaming in agony, especially her head, as if countless needles were pricking it simultaneously. She laboriously opened her heavy eyelids, and her blurry vision gradually focused.
It was the familiar ceiling—a ward in the Schicksal Headquarters' medical department.
She suddenly tried to sit up but fell heavily back onto the bed due to her weakness and pain, letting out a muffled groan.
"Lady Theresa, you're awake? Please don't move around, you need rest," a gentle nurse's voice said.
Theresa, however, ignored her. She grabbed the nurse's hand, her voice hoarse and urgent, "Where's Kael? Where's Captain Kael? Where is he? And Sirin and Bianca? How are they?!"
Her heart pounded wildly. The last image before she lost consciousness—Captain Kael pulling her behind him, then being swallowed by that pale white light—played repeatedly in her mind like a nightmare.
The nurse's face showed a troubled and sorrowful expression. She opened her mouth, seemingly unsure how to speak.
Just then, the door to the ward opened.
Otto Apocalypse walked in. She was still wearing her elaborate bishop's robes, but her face appeared unusually solemn and... tired? Deep within her emerald eyes, an unspeakable 'sadness' seemed to hide.
"Grand... Your Eminence!" Theresa clutched at him like a drowning person, struggling to get up, "Where's Captain Kael? How is he? Which ward is he in? I want to see him!"
Otto quickly walked to the bedside and gently pressed Theresa's shoulder, stopping her rash movement.
Her actions were gentle, but her tone was heavy with sorrow as she slowly shook her head.
"Theresa... calm down," Otto's voice was low, with a perfectly appropriate hint of hoarseness. "You've suffered severe shock injuries and need bed rest."
"I'm fine!"
Theresa cried out agitatedly, tears streaming uncontrollably. A huge, cold, ominous premonition coiled around her heart like a viper. "Tell me! What exactly happened to Captain Kael?! Where is he?!"
Otto looked at her, an extremely complex and unreadable light flashing in her emerald eyes, too quickly to catch. She took a deep breath, as if having made a decision, and spoke word by word in a tone filled with 'sorrow' and 'regret':
"Captain Kael... he... alas..."
Otto: No, I can't laugh yet.
That sigh struck Theresa's heart like a heavy hammer.
Otto avoided Theresa's desperate, pleading gaze, turning her head slightly. She continued, "...The Third Empire's final madness... that specially made Honkai Energy shockwave bomb... Captain Kael, to protect you, bore the brunt... When we found him... he had already... shown no signs of life..."
"No... impossible..."
Theresa's voice trembled uncontrollably, her face instantly turning ashen white. She shook her head violently, as if trying to cast off this terrible lie.
"You're lying to me! Kael... he clearly said... he wouldn't die that easily! He just came back! He promised to make me dinner! You're lying to me!!!"
Her voice was tearful, full of desperate accusation.
Otto let her vent, maintaining that sorrowful expression on her face, even having a perfectly appropriate hint of moistness in her eyes.
She reached out and gently patted Theresa's trembling shoulder, her voice carrying a heavy 'comfort':
"I know this is hard to accept... Theresa. Captain Kael was a brave warrior, his sacrifice... we are all deeply saddened. But precisely because of this, you must pull yourself together. Don't forget, before he left, he entrusted Sirin and Bianca to you."
She timely brought up this responsibility, trying to pull Theresa back from the brink of collapse.
Theresa felt as if all her strength had been drained, and she slumped onto the sickbed, tears gushing out and soaking the pillow.
Otto's words, like a final confirmation, completely shattered the last shred of hope in her heart.
Kael... dead?
The Kael who would gently ruffle her hair, patiently listen to her nagging, indulge her mischief, and say "I won't die that easily" then truly return safely every time... was gone?
Immense sorrow and overwhelming regret instantly engulfed her.
If... if she had reacted a little faster then, if she had stood in front of Kael, if... "I could have... saved Kael..." She curled up, burying her face in the pillow, letting out uncontrollable sobs like a wounded little animal, her shoulders trembling violently.
Otto stood by the bed, watching Theresa's heartbroken state. The sorrowful expression on her face remained unchanged. Only when she lowered her head, her gaze sweeping over Theresa's trembling back, did a subtle glimmer, a mix of cold satisfaction from a successful plan and a twisted sense of fulfillment, flash in the depths of her emerald eyes, then vanish.
She had successfully 'protected' her most cherished 'treasure' from everyone's sight.
Now, Captain Kael belonged entirely to her, and only to her.
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