"It seems... this is the remains of a previous civilization ruin. As long as we open this door, we should be able to enter this facility, which looks like an underground shelter."
Heisenberg shined her flashlight on the circular door in front of her. She raised the beam of light, which was illuminating the shelter door that resembled a nuclear bunker, and carefully looked at the line of small characters that were lit up by the bright yellow light.
The black-haired girl walked to the blast door and gently extended her finger, touching the line of characters engraved on it, which were glowing with a faint purple light. "These are sentences left behind by the previous civilization... Finn, can you help us decipher them?"
"I'll do my best, but not all previous civilization texts have been deciphered yet. I can't guarantee how accurate it will be."
The Finn, who was also holding a lantern-style flashlight, adjusted his glasses, his tone revealing a bit of ease. Perhaps the atmosphere here was too oppressive.
In the depths of Yellowstone Park, the silent steel blast door seemed to be watching these uninvited guests, as if it still contained traces of something alive.
"Underground security facility... Shelter No. 101..."
The Finn gently raised his flashlight and looked back at Heisenberg. "This should be a civil defense facility left behind by the previous civilization, similar to a nuclear shelter. It seems that one of the reasons for the previous civilization's destruction may have been damage from a weapon of mass destruction, similar to a nuclear weapon."
"But if that's the case, it's different from our previous assumptions."
Planck gently pressed her fingers against her brow and walked to Heisenberg. "Both Landau and we believe that the Herrscher of the Finality was likely the final culprit in the destruction of the previous civilization. But... from this civil defense facility, it seems that at least in the final moments of the previous civilization, weapons of mass destruction similar to nuclear weapons were still something they feared."
She paused for a moment, considering the puzzle in front of her.
"This doesn't make sense. If they had a weapon of mass destruction like a nuclear weapon, why didn't they use it against the Herrscher of the Finality? Why did they build such a... large-scale civil defense facility?"
"I have a different opinion on this. I think at least this civil defense facility may not have been built before the Herrscher of the Finality appeared, but after the Herrscher of the Finality appeared."
The Finn gently took off his glasses and pointed his finger to the next line of characters. "The characters below, which are without light, should be similar to prayers. Although... I can't completely translate this sentence yet, there is a word that is very similar to the religious concept of 'Armageddon'. I think this should refer to the Herrscher of the Finality."
"If it was built after the Herrscher of the Finality appeared... then what was the situation like at the time? The manpower and resources required to build such a huge underground shelter don't seem like something that a human society that had just experienced a disaster would be able to organize."
The Finn shrugged. "I don't know either. This is just my guess. After all, we still know very little about the previous civilization. That word may also have a second meaning under certain circumstances."
"Well... in any case, let's open this door first. This should be a smart lock... ah, it doesn't seem to be a smart lock, just a regular mechanical lock. That's much easier."
Heisenberg gently snapped her fingers, and two Third Division guards in exoskeleton armor approached. They pried open the mechanical lock on the circular blast door with force, smashing the chain that bound it with their rifle butts. Next, they used a blowtorch to cut through a thick metal panel.
Heisenberg ran her fingers through her dark, flowing hair, her tone softening as she spoke. "Alright, as long as we enter here, we should be able to unlock the secrets from before."
Heisenberg was the first to enter the shelter.
Welt looked around at the layout and couldn't help but feel a suffocating coldness wash over him, as if the shelter was filled with a lot of cold air.
It was as if... the shelter had never been sealed. Some strange signs seemed to indicate that living beings still resided within.
"I wonder what method they used... it actually looks like it was just built..."
Planck gently raised her flashlight, illuminating a dark ceiling. Heisenberg, on the other hand, carefully put on protective gloves and slowly walked toward the corridor ahead. "It's built very spacious here... it looks like it should hold 5,000 to 10,000 people. It seems to be designed in modules. It seems that there are many such underground shelters in many places."
"In other words, the previous civilization may have still built many shelters in their final moments... Then it seems that some conclusions about the previous civilization will have to be overturned. This isn't good news for either us or Landau."
There was a hint of barely perceptible laziness in Einstein's voice, but the eyes that were carefully examining every detail around her showed her excitement was hard to suppress.
This was a bombshell in previous civilization research. If they could really decipher the information left behind in the shelter... maybe they could overturn all the previous conflicting theories and truly find the key to fighting the Honkai.
"This should be a storage room or something... The smart lock has stopped working. It should open with a gentle push..."
Heisenberg, leading the way, gently rammed her shoulder against the heavy door, and with a wave of her hand, several Third Division guards entered, pointing their tactical flashlights around the room.
Welt gently walked past Heisenberg. In the room illuminated by the tactical flashlights, he saw a string of characters engraved on it... English?
\\\ The things stored here, I have already taken away. Those who come later, if you wish to save everything you know, follow my clues and seek the deepest truth. - H.A
"This... am I imagining things? That's a string of English?"
Heisenberg, who wasn't prepared for this, was stunned. But Welt was very calm. His mind quickly identified the most likely identity of this person with the initials HA.
Leanna Brigantia's comrade from a hundred years ago, the first Valkyrie to rebel against the Overseer, Amena Ayet.
After witnessing Kallen's emotionless cruelty and authority, Ayet raised the banner of rebellion during the Great Purge. But... in the end, the Overseer used her blood to prove that the authority of the god of humanity was not to be questioned.
Could it be that she had already left her mark here before we came?
Welt gently raised the flashlight in his hand. The light illuminated the line of English. He silently repeated Amena Ayet's name, but his mind conjured up the image of the lonely, white-haired, black-clad nun.
At the moment she killed Ayet, what was Teacher thinking?
She, who once rose up against the heavens because of the corruption of Schicksal, faced Ayet, who also rebelled against the heavens centuries later, and Kallen gave her death.
Perhaps it was as she said. After those two unforgettable days of 1543 and 1544, the Overseer's last tear, containing a trace of remaining warmth, had also disappeared with Eleanor.
But... I still don't want to believe it...
I still don't want to believe that for her, I'm just a pawn in the plan to cultivate the second Overseer.
I don't want to believe that the She I deeply love and secretly admire is only cold-blooded, cruel, and merciless, and does not possess even a trace of the gentleness and kindness of the former Schicksal Saintess.
Perhaps I'm just being sentimental...
Welt sighed softly, walked to the bottom of the line of characters, and turned off his flashlight. "It seems that everything of value here has been taken away by this H.A. Let's seal this place for now and take away the notes that can provide valuable clues. Maybe we can find something."
Yes, what will we find... In any case, it will definitely be something I don't want to see.