Susannah started using the scanner and she likened it into a metal detector. Running around with shades on, looking like an adorable dork.
"You're going to trip you know?" Ein said with a chuckle and Susannah just went harder. "Miss Susannah, do you need any help with that?" Catherine asked worriedly.
"No need! Ein-san, I'm a valkyrie you know? I won't triiiip!" She fell down face first on the grass and everyone gave a smile at her antics.
"Oh my heart, are you alright? Are you hurt?" Catherine massaged her temples and Susannah played it off. "I'm okay! I do appreciate some help though."
Rita went up to her and helped her to get up, she then continued her endeavors and after some time. She got a signal, there was also a secret passage under the tor.
"Rita-san! There's a secret underground passageway right here!" Susannah excitedly shouted and they went to the location.
The device Susannah used also functioned as a sonar and mapped out the passage. "Hmm, it seems this little entrance leads to an elaborate system of tunnels and chambers." Rita analyzed and her smile strained when she took out some shovels.
"Alright, I guess it's time to dig." Bianka said as she took a shovel, while Susannah and Catherine's excited smiles cramped up.
After a few moments of Bianka, vigorously shoveling. They found a stone slab with old english on it. "Here lies Arthur, king once. And king in the future. This must be it, let's go then." Rita gestured for them to enter and they started going through.
They found a flight of stairs and Rita's flashlight couldn't see the end. "How deep is this place?" Bianka asked as they've kept walking for some time now.
"According to my scanner, this place goes 6000 feet deep. How did the people from back then even made this place?" Susannah was shocked and Rita replied.
"If this is really the resting place of the 2nd key, then they must have gotten their hands on previous era tech." The explorer gang then continued their descent.
They entered a wide cave and Ein observed the place. It was riddled with a trap and he wanted to see what cliche crap would set it off. As maybe the imposter would try to, or the betrayer.
"Ohhh! This place is huuuge! Look over there, something is right on that stone." Susannah pointed at a sword that was stuck in a stone, matching the Arthurian legends.
"I... I got to see that!" Catherine immediately went up to the sword, Rita tried stopping her as the place wasn't secured. But she was too late, when Catherine touched the stone. The ceiling collapsed and they were separated into three groups. With Rita being alone, Ein and Bianka, lastly. Susannah and Catherine.
"Kyaa! Booby trap! Stone walls got between us! Rita-san! Are you still there? Kyaa! Are we all gonna die!?" Susannah hit the stone to no avail and Rita chuckled at her franticness.
"Susannah, listen to me. Calm down, you're a B-rank valkyrie, we'll find a way to get out of here. Not to mention, Bianka-san is here with us and my esteemed master." Rita replied and Susannah calmed down.
'Tch, this isn't part of the plan. I must get rid of her immediately to lower down their numbers.' Catherine pointed a gun at Susannah's head and quickly shot her. Killing her instantly.
Catherine then used a passage to get outside. "I hope lady Jackal's pet can take care of Rita immediately. The Golden Paragon and The Imperator would wipe us out in an instant if they can't." Catherine clicked her tongue and ran away with haste.
At Rita's side, she saw Stan and the cat prepared for battle. "Meow..." (We meet again, female valkyrie. I might have ran away last time, but today is different.)
"Oh dear, it seems we've walked into an ambush. Did you miss me kitty?" Rita smiled at the cat and it hissed at her. "Meow!" (I've spent 2 days in hellish training for this human! I've abstained from worldly pleasures for this ultimate goal.) Stan trained heavily with weights and refused to eat luxurious cat food, only eating kibble.
"Meow, meow!" (This is our way of survival human, the law of the alleys and streets! I sought the means of breaking my very limit!)
Stan transformed to his honkai beast form and Rita was amused by his little monologue of meows. "Rawr!" (I prince Stan, shall kill you and feast tonight!) He pounced and their battle started.
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At the surface, Catherine was seen talking with Jackal. "These Schicksal valkyries never cease to amaze me with their stupidity. They fell for my trap without thinking." Jackal chuckled and thought their plans were too amazing.
"Rita, that Schicksal valkyrie will be defeated soon." Jackal thought that with Stan's element of surprise, coupled with his new augments and strength. Would be able to defeat or injure her greatly.
"Your strategies and planning earned us this victory lady Jackal. The Soulium you put inside the fresco served as the perfect bait. In fact, they fell for it on day one." Catherine bowed as she praised Jackal.
"The data inside the Soulium is actually authentic. But Schicksal didn't know that the deeds of our mistress' comrade was the basis for the Arthurian legends." Jackal took pride in the fact that just a moment of their overlords' time could bring upon great results, like making Arthur a king that is still relevant today.
"Indeed, however. I fear that the overseer of Schicksal won't stop here. Perhaps we could put the 2nd key at a more secure place." Catherine suggested and Jackal went up to her.
"That will not be necessary. The key is beyond their childish reach, it has been here for millennia. And as you saw, even with their latest tech, they could not even detect it. And it was already basically in plain sight." Jackal arrogantly huffed.
"Thank you for revealing these secrets to me lady Jackal. I promise I'll repay your trust in-" Before Catherine could finish her sentence, she was shot on the chest and Jackal's handgun smoked.
"Well said, your life should suffice as payment. You've talked to Rita, Schicksal has your name. Your death will sever their leads and serve our best interests. You think you're smart, but you did not realize you are just another pawn in our plans." Jackal then started to leave, but Catherine chuckled and it wasn't her voice too.
"Heh, how cruel and heartless lady Jackal. My fine acting did actually fool you, alas. You intended to kill her from the start." Catherine stood up and Jackal was shocked.
"H-how could this be!? That shot was lethal! W-what's happening to your face?" Jackal saw her starting to morph, lo and behold. It was the overseer of Schicksal herself.
"My plan has started since Rita found the Soulium in the fresco." Tilie smiled. She thought it was suspicious and too good to be true. As the Soulium might be dated to 2 millennia ago, but the previous era were too smart to not put it in a piece of rock that would give away the information instantly.
"Your blatantly obvious trap presented me with a rare opportunity. World Serpent is a clandestine organization that has existed before even Schicksal. And it was the chance to lure you out. But Rita is too smart, I needed someone much more simple." So she and Amber found a suitable person to copy.
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Much earlier. "Amber, I need a valkyrie. Someone that isn't too smart and doesn't look clever." Tilie browsed the roster, and one Kiana Kaslana entered her sights, but she was too high profile and valuable.
"I've narrowed down the results lady Ottilie, this valkyrie seems to be suitable, no? Or should I find somebody else?" Amber presented Susannah and the blonde thought she was perfect.
"She's the one Amber. Her family has a history of digging too, call her to HQ." Tilie then started her plan.
After some time, Susannah immediately flew in to Schicksal with excitement. "Valkyrie Susannah! B-ranker from west Asia branch, reporting for duty!" Susannah saluted at Amber.
"I'm proud to serve the HQ of Schicksal ma'am!" Susannah's fervor didn't affect Amber at all and she just gave her the orders. "Go to the med bay and get a physical exam." She said with a monotone voice, dampening her spirits.
"Oh, okay..." And when Susannah finished, she went to Amber for further orders. But the android just gave her a broom.
"Here, use this. Clean the study and library of the overseer. We'll keep you here for 10 days." Amber said succinctly and immediately left the confused Susannah.
"Areh? That's it? Do they think I'm a joke? I'm a B-rank valkyrie, this is D-rank stuff... No, there's no time for crying, I must be strong." Susannah then went on with her mission of cleaning for 10 whole days.
Tilie gathered her genetic make up and studied the valkyrie closely. Physical, behavioral, personal data. And turned her latest Soulium avatar to a doppelganger. Fooling even Rita.
And before Catherine could escape, she was stopped by Tilie and she used Fenghuang down. "Tsk, so she doesn't know where it is huh? No matter, the purpose of luring them out of here is done."
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Tilie then bowed and offered her hand. "Lady Jackal, I cordially invite you to Schicksal HQ. There, you shall receive an elaboration of my plans. In exchange, I'll gladly accept any information about the whereabouts of the 2nd key." The blonde said with a smile and Jackal was enraged.
"Shut up! You won't take me as a hostage!" She fired at her, but the bullets don't do damage of course.
"Hahaha! Do stop this nonsense lady Jackal. Your bullets won't do anything to my Soulium avatar." Tilie raised her arms sideways, t-posing on her to show dominance.
"Ahh, a disastrous turn of events. And I was trying to save this shot for the blonde monster down there. Tsk, dammit Jackal. Now, I have to clean up your mess." Raven was a little bit away from them as she aimed down her sights. Wielding the 3rd key at its gun form.
"Let's make this shot count then, 3rd key." Raven said to the weapon and aimed at Tilie.
"Save your bullets, you can't hurt me Jackal. Soulium, girl. They harden in response to physical trauma." Tilie said and Ein that was shilling with Bianka underground clapped. "Huh? Why are you clapping Ein-nii? And how long are we going to play sudoku here anyway?" Bianka was getting bored and he chuckled, he patted her head and smiled. "Someone just did the thing Bianka, you'll understand one day."
"We'll see about that!" Jackal just stood there and Raven was charging up the 3rd key. She then shot the blonde and her right arm got blasted off to oblivion. The Soulium avatar starting to get atomized, getting more unstable by the second.
"Tech from the previous era could only be bested by previous era weapons. And you were hit with the 3rd divine key. You will be atomized to nothing." Jackal smirked under her mask.
"I'm surprised that you have another divine key in your arsenal." Tilie conversed while uploading her mind to a server.
"We were saving it for that valkyrie of yours. But killing the overseer of Schicksal would suffice as well." Jackal said as she didn't really know that Rita and Bianka were much higher ranked than her. As the two serve their true leader.
"A most surprising gift lady Jackal. Well played, we will meet again." Tilie's disembodied head said with a grin as her Soulium avatar atomized.
"Tch, she acted too quickly and cheated death." Jackal clicked her tongue and was infuriated that the overseer had a one up against them.
"Ugh, did we get him?" Raven asked as she stood up, arcs of electricity coming off her body along with smoke.
"Bad news, we didn't. It was only a Soulium avatar and I believe she managed to upload her mind safely. Even if she didn't she'd only suffer minimal memory loss." Jackal reported and Raven thought it was a waste.
"Well, I got worse news for you. The 3rd key is damaged, wasting a good shot." Raven replied and thought why were they even here in the first place. As Rita was technically their boss in how high up she was in the ladder.
"It's fine, we taught that overseer a lesson. And if they ever cross our paths again, they'll wish they didn't." Jackal vowed and they left the scene immediately.
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"Susannah! Can you hear me? What's going on at your place?" Rita shouted as she deflected Stan's claws with laughable ease.
"Stan, the mission is a failure. We need to go." Jackal sent a message to him again and he was done running.
"Meow, meow!" (Damnit, my silly human is interfering again! But orders are orders, you were lucky human!) Stan started retreating and he saw Bianka in front of the exit.
"Meow! Rawr!" (This must be the human's support! I'll tear you apart!) He lunged on her and Bianka just looked at the honkai beast cat while eating a skewer of Wagyu beef cubes.
She then flicked Stan with a finger, the air exploded with a shockwave and he flew like a bullet through the stone walls of the cave. Almost causing a cave in at the place.
Stan was stuck at a wall, his bones creaking from the flick. His communicator broke and he returned to his original form. "M-meow" (W-what happened? My body is in agony.) Stan was concussed and was like a staggering drunk.
"Is this the honkai beast that Rita told us about? It looks pretty cute to me. What do you say Ein-nii? Should I keep it? Or is it too much of a hassle and I just snap its neck right here?" Bianka said nonchalantly while munching on her snacks and he chuckled.
"I don't know, your call." He shrugged and Bianka walked up to Stan, the taps of her footsteps sounding like a clock of death to the cat.
Due to his bioengineering, he was really sensitive to the power of people. And Bianka might not be as powerful as Mobius, but he knows when someone can just push on him a little too hard and kill him. As Bianka's honkai energy rolled out in waves, constantly leaking due to the immense amounts of it. Unlike Rita who prides herself in having absolute control over it.
So Stan did something that has made cats ensure the survival of their species. Act cute. "Meow, meow!" (I'm just a cute little kitty, please don't kill me!) He showed his stomach and frolicked making Bianka's eyes widen.
"Woah, what is it doing? Does this mean... I can give it a belly rub! Kyaa!" Bianka rubbed Stan's stomach and she fawned over the cat.
He then got depressed and thought Jackal's cold and detached personality was much better. 'Nyan, worst day of my life.' He didn't resist, but he flopped as he lost his strength.
"Pfft, Jackal's killer honkai monster turned out to be such a coward." Tilie appeared and her body was younger once again. As the transfer was abrupt and it would take some time for the new avatar to be a grown up again.
"Stop calling him names Tilie, he's just a poor little kitty. By the way, what happened to your battle avatar?" Bianka asked and she coughed. "Ahem, I decided to leave it behind. It was getting too much attention see?" 'It had a bigger chest than my original body and men love big chests.'
Ein then took a picture of Tilie while she was smol. He chuckled and Tilie honestly forgot that he was there. "E-Ein... Old friend, can you please get rid of that photograph?" She gave a cramped smile and started sweating heavily.
"Hmm? How about no." He raised the picture in front of him and Tilie tried to get it. Jumping around like the little kid she was right now and Bianka saw her embarrassing herself as she chuckled.
And right at Rita's place, she saw an unconscious Catherine. But Susannah wasn't there. "They must've taken her away, then I guess the information of their little base will come in handy now." As Rita made plans for her next move, Bianka bulldozed through the walls and broke them by running into it.
"A most unexpected and dramatic entrance Bianka-san. I thought you were relaxing with my master." Rita said with a little bit of sharpness as Bianka smirked at her.
"The overseer is here to give you an explanation of what happened Rita." Tilie went up and said confidently, Ein snickered and she just ignored him.
"She'll explain, she said... You look like a spoiled brat Tilie, pft." He couldn't hold it in and sputtered a bit.
"As I was saying... This is what happened." Tilie started explaining, but she glared at Ein for a second before starting.
And while the smol Tilie was explaining things. Ein's brow twitched, making Rita tense as she was super sensitive to his every move.
"Hoh? Interesting, it seems I need to leave you guys here for a bit. I have some visitors you see?" Ein then disappeared below the ground like he always did.
"I don't like the sound of that. But let him take care of it, whatever it is. What we need is to get the 2nd key. And I have an inkling on where it exactly was, thanks to this lady here." Tilie pointed at the unconscious Catherine and they started their search once again. Now, armed with the correct knowledge and without schemers trying to stop them.
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Ein returned to the base in HQ as he felt a breach at their universe. And it was done via the 2nd key. But it wasn't theirs, it came from the outside.
"Ein! Where in the world were you! You gotta turn Kevin and Su into women! You promised!" Elysia was upset and her herrscher eyes even appeared as she pouted. (pic)
"I didn't promise anything Elysia. Hah... And besides, can't you just ask Mobius or Mei for what you want? I already told you, I'm not turning them into women." He snapped his fingers, Kevin and Su that were acting really weird snapped back to reality and shook their heads as they groaned.
"Mou~ Fine. We'll do it ourselves. Mobius, I'm getting serious. I'll hold them down with all my might." She squinted her eyes and transformed, using her herrscher form freely as Kevin and Su gulped, looking at Ein for help. (pic)
"What? You guys are thousands of years old, you can fend off for yourself." He said with a raised brow and the two had grim faces on.
They then vanished as Elysia teleported them to the sea of quanta. Ein sighed and beckoned to Eden and Mei. "We've got a situation, the 2nd key entered our universe. And as you all know, it's not our version." Ein broke the news and MEI's preoccupied mind in wanting to see Kevin as a girl focused on what he said.
"Really? So parallel versions of us are coming here?" Eden asked and she wanted to see what they might look like.
"Umu, though I only noticed two people on board. And MEI, it's your lucky day. You can do whatever you want with them kukuku~" He laughed evilly and would save his bros from damnation.
"Wait, they're women? And is it Kevin and Su?" MEI pieced the puzzle, Ein nodded and she got excited. Thinking that this was much better, she didn't really care either way if it was her Kevin. But it was convenient that they came.
"Okay then, let's go!" Ein gestured for them to welcome the guests and they waited at a location that they seem to be going to.
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"Fufufu~ It seems we are being welcomed. Wait a minute..." Sus said as she stopped the Cosmic Juggernaut and frowned heavily. "Kate, we got a problem." She uttered alter Kevin's similarly generic white girl name.
"Krishna? What's wrong?" Kate asked as she got tense, Su's counterpart always had her eyes closed and she never opens them. Just like Su, but she went wide eyed.
"T-they're complete. The flame chasers are all there. Our counterparts are missing, along with Elysion. And your lover, she's alive here." Krishna couldn't believe it and knew that they were already trapped.
"Hey! Get out of that vessel before I make it explode." Vill-v threatened and she could smell the genes of Parvati from Kevin's counterpart, triggering Kevin killer mk. 5. And she was not afraid to kill her if they do anything funny unlike Kevin.
The two women immediately went off the vessel and raised their hands. "Yeah, that's right nya. Put your hands where we can see em!" Phyllis shouted as she aimed Shooting Star Ortygia at them and the two felt immense danger from the cannon. While Can started to transform into his form of Primal Murder.
"W-we're friendly." Krishna lied through her teeth, and Aponia didn't like that one bit. "You lie, what a disgrace you are. Unlike Su who has stayed true to his principles. And for that, you will experience untold sufferings." Krishna went limp as her eyes turned lifeless, experiencing Aponia's signature discipline. But the counterpart of Kevin was still silent, just silently staring at one person. MEI.
"Hmmm? A fine specimen indeed, it's what I exactly imagined how Kevin would be if he turned into a woman." MEI nodded in satisfaction and would try other things, later.
Kate then started walking up to MEI, SAKURA didn't really felt anything from her. So she raised her hand and let her do her thing.
MEI just stared at her and raised a brow. "Hmm, athletic build. Did you do sports at high school as well? You have the anatomy of a person who played basketball and did track. Interesting, you're exactly like Kevin." MEI just analyzed her and Kate gritted her teeth hard. Audible to everyone present.
"C-can you tell me your name? Doctor." She asked with a shaky voice and MEI introduced herself. "I am Dr. MEI, say. Is perhaps my counterpart a man? Do you have any pictures of him? I want to see what he looks like." MEI was curious.
Kate gulped and she lifted her hands, shaking violently with tremors as she touched MEI's face. But she quickly took them off of fear that she'd give her frostbite. "You're as beautiful as the day I lost you. I love you in every universe." Her lips trembled, but her voice was as clear as pure water.
"Ohhhhh. We forgot that Kevin is like crazy in love with MEI." SAKURA commented and they face palmed.
"Ahhh, Kevin's got some serious competition. I want to see how they'll react to each other. And this female Su, let's just think about what we'll do to her later." Ein shrugged and carried Krishna like a sac of potatoes.
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Thanks for reading everyone. And yes, we now have leaks for Herrscher Elysia, though there's still no translation. But she is actually a herrscher since the day she was born. Kind of like a pure herrscher, similar to the herrscher of the end. Anyways, ciao.