A feverish restlessness was currently lingering in Academy City.
Even girls who didn't participate in any club activities could feel this oppressive restlessness.
Spring was supposed to be a dry and comfortable season, but for Mahiro Shiina, it seemed to be hiding a bloody smell that was constantly monitoring her.
She was originally drafted to this place simply because she routinely ran away from home.
She was trying to hide from the endless storms at home.
But the family unit was originally an organizational structure that resisted social risks. This was a remnant of the previous agricultural era.
The crueler method of social production in modern industrial society could easily destroy any family. You didn't even have the chance to hide in the mountains, because the land that was suitable for humans had almost been completely developed.
Mahiro Shiina was 'luckily' caught and sent to Academy City. She had survived the first stage thanks to the investments made by Anti-Entropy and Schicksal.
But the real trouble was the second stage…
The things that she learned after entering the academy were completely different from what she imagined, especially regarding something called the Honkai. It was like telling her that this world was about to end.
Even though Mahiro Shiina had posted these things online, those outside thought that Academy City was joking. People who had never seen a Valkyrie wouldn't consider what kind of things that powerful existence was fighting against.
They would just think 'Are they making a movie?' 'If they were so strong, they would have already taken over the world.' 'With such a powerful force, how could they stay hidden?'
The general idea was that if they had a Valkyrie force, they would have already started building a country and declared themselves an emperor.
In reality, Mahiro Shiina believed that this top-level board of directors was not very different from a senate or a group of emperors.
After all, she hadn't participated in any kind of election. Right from the start, these things were determined, like they were a corporation. The students here had all been caught and sent here by the Japanese government.
So she was still living a boring, monotonous life.
But this calm and boring life was a rare, relaxing, and happy time for the young girl.
The relationship with her parents, which she had been desperately trying to repair, had also collapsed.
'Academy City has saved these children.'
Mahiro Shiina truly felt that the higher-ups in Academy City were good people. They not only took in many boys and girls whose families were broken, like her, but they also provided them with a more strict and excellent education. To a certain extent, they had indeed saved those who were wandering in society.
They could study again, master new skills again, and have new friends.
Even though there were many troubles, rivalries, and dangers in between, like those who jumped from buildings…
But they all endured and successfully left behind their own shadows in the school.
The student security guards also provided enough restraint over these people.
Curls of smoke floated out from the door of the dorm. Mahiro Shiina tidied up her apron and prepared to take a good break and enjoy her dinner.
Kiana, who had just managed to escape from Tesla's oppressive presence, pushed open a nearby sewer entrance and crawled out of it as a muddy monster.
'Geez, why did he have to do that to Tesla? It was so hard for me to escape, you twin-tailed bitch! You masochistic pervert who likes being electrocuted by tentacles every day!'
Kiana cursed Tesla in her heart, but she didn't dare to say it out loud in front of everyone. She knew that Tesla's research capabilities were much higher than hers. If Tesla were to quit, she would be the embarrassed one.
After coming out, Kiana quickly regained her human form and changed into a black and cool leather outfit.
Kiana subconsciously sniffed her arms. Even though she had come out from the sewer, there was no stench on her body. These things were automatically processed and broken down by her body.
'No matter how many times I see it, I still think it's so amazing, and so subtle…'
The dark side of humanity that she saw after following Noldrei around was several times, or even dozens of times greater than what she saw when she was wandering around by herself.
And you could imagine, she often saw corpses in the sewer. The wounds on the corpses didn't seem like they were self-inflicted at all. The residual molecular substances on them had almost completely dissipated and it was basically impossible to find the location of the source.
"Isn't this a bit too chaotic?"
Ever since she knew about Japan's crime-solving rate, Kiana didn't have a good impression of this country. But after learning about the situation in North America from Tesla, Kiana had a new understanding of this society.
"Why do I have to manage so many things? What can I even do?"
She complained about the responsibilities that Noldrei had arranged for her.
If it was about fighting against the Honkai or launching a surprise attack, Kiana would have done so without any complaints, even if it meant sacrificing herself on the battlefield.
But maintaining an organization against the Honkai, and having that organization continuously produce new people, that was too difficult for Kiana.
She didn't even know how long she could keep this up.
At this moment, Kiana truly admired the Overseer of Schicksal and the Leader of Anti-Entropy.
Just then, she smelled a delicious scent.
"It's food!"
An idea flashed in her mind, and her tentacles immediately shot out, grabbing a plate.
Mahiro Shiina looked blankly at the disappearing plate, wondering if she had seen things wrong.
It seemed that a dark shadow had flashed by and taken away the food she had made.
When had she ever experienced such a thing?
'Who do I contact if I encounter a Honkai incident? Do I talk to a student security guard?'
Mahiro Shiina was a little scared, and she immediately took out her communicator.
But just as she took out the communicator, the shadow flashed past again and took away the communicator in her hand.
These things were made specifically for dealing with Honkai incidents to prevent electromagnetic interference and other problems from affecting communications.
Mahiro Shiina swallowed her saliva, took a few steps back, and nervously pressed herself against the wall.
"Who? Who is it?"
She asked with a trembling voice.
There was no response from anyone in the empty room.
Mahiro Shiina began to regret choosing to live alone in the dorms when sharing a room with someone could have given her a bigger and better dorm room.
"Sorry, sorry… I subconsciously wanted to eat it just now, I'm so sorry. I don't have any worries at home, so I usually just grab and eat whatever I want. I didn't expect to forget to control myself outside."
A young girl's voice came from outside the door. It sounded a bit goofy, and it calmed Mahiro Shiina down a bit.
"This is your tableware. I'm so sorry. These are the ingredients and your labor fees."
Mahiro Shiina was just about to see who it was, and she saw an unforgettable scene.
A pink, jelly-like tentacle wrapped around a very clean plate and stretched in from outside the window.