Chapter 26

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The next day, as dawn broke and the duty Valkyries were still half-asleep, a figure quietly appeared at Schicksal's airport.

With one hand on her hip and her uniform slightly disheveled, the girl scanned her surroundings cautiously, as if engaged in some illicit activity—rather reminiscent of a thief sneaking off with stolen goods.

Perhaps due to her familiarity with Schicksal, she managed to avoid encounters along the way. The young woman didn't breathe a sigh of relief until reaching the floating warship docked at the port.

Standing beside the Hyperion, Ana gently pressed a hand to her chest and carefully glanced back towards Schicksal Airport. Only after confirming no familiar faces were nearby did she fully relax.

Then, she meticulously adjusted her appearance, pulling up her collar to barely conceal the trail of strawberries adorning her collarbone.

This was truly outrageous!

Those two scoundrels had no honor, ganging up to ambush their old comrade! How did that brat Bianka also turn rotten like that witch Rita?!

No veteran cadre could withstand the combined assault of two S-rank Valkyries from Schicksal. Ana truly felt weak, pitiful, and helpless.

Fortunately, her physical strength was quite robust thanks to the enhancement provided by the holy blood; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to escape at all.

"No way, I'm never coming back to this Schicksal Headquarters again!" Ana muttered under her breath as she turned and boarded the Hyperion. Soon, the ship powered up and set course towards the Far East Branch with Ana aboard.

On a high platform within Schicksal Airport, two figures stood side by side, watching intently as the fleeing silhouette below disappeared hastily.

Unquestionably, they were Bianka and Rita.

"Lady Ana is truly adorable," Rita remarked with a smile as she observed Ana leaving.

"...Indeed, very cute." Recalling Ana's demeanor from the previous night, a hint of amusement also appeared on Bianka's face.

Without a doubt, Ana's smooth departure was only possible because Rita and Bianka allowed it. Otherwise, even if they themselves were exhausted, the Immortal Blades squad would have been waiting outside. This was, after all, their territory within Schicksal Headquarters.

After all, Schicksal Headquarters was their turf.

"However..." Rita turned to gaze at Bianka, her eyes narrowed with a gleeful smile. "Lady Durandal's performance last night truly impressed me as well."

Seeing Rita's smiling face, Lady Durandal shuddered involuntarily. In her pursuit of pleasure yesterday, she had forgotten that she and Ana were on the same side.

Now, with Ana gone, it would be just herself against Rita. This realization...

Bianka felt an immense pressure weighing down on her.

It was easy to manipulate Ana due to her naturally sweet and docile personality. However, Rita could control Bianka so effectively because she knew Bianka inside out.

"Rita, let's skip today," Bianka cautiously suggested.

"Certainly, Lady Durandal."

Rita maintained her gentle smile; she wasn't cruel by nature. Lady Durandal had finally taken a stand for herself—how could Rita immediately deflate her newfound confidence?

"Let's discuss it tomorrow."

"..."

In truth, lesbian relationships were quite common within Schicksal. The organization was predominantly composed of beautiful and talented young women, with most men working in industrial departments, rarely interacting with these Valkyries.

Naturally, during their downtime from training and combat, the Valkyries often sought companionship among themselves.

Moreover, as if under some debuff, many found it challenging to find suitable partners. Murata Himeko exemplified this predicament.

Perhaps it was due to Himeko's overly outgoing personality? Regardless, finding someone like Himeko who frequently pursued relationships yet never managed to establish a lasting one was indeed rare.

Maybe deep down, Himeko simply didn't desire a partner after all.

On that night when lilies bloomed across the land, on the other side of the ocean, the former North American branch of the Original Schicksal—now known as Anti-Entropy—made the decision to launch a surprise attack on Saint Freya Academy.

In truth, holding this meeting solely for invading Saint Freya Academy was unnecessary.

Despite the various factions within Anti-Entropy, attacking Saint Freya Academy was a shared consensus.

The ambitious Cocolia aimed to recover the 3rd Herrscher, Raiden Mei, intending to study her and ultimately create artificial Herrschers.

Raiden Ryoma simply wanted to protect his beloved daughter at all costs.

Einstein and Tesla, aligning with Welt Yang's objectives, needed access to information related to constructing the Moonlight Throne from Saint Freya Academy. To facilitate this, Welt had already infiltrated the academy beforehand.

Although their goals aligned, Cocolia sought greater benefits and influence within Anti-Entropy, prompting her to push for this meeting.

Otherwise, a child like Sin would never have qualified to become an Enforcer or attend such gatherings.

During the meeting, Cocolia even introduced her Welt clone—the "Welt One." Faced with a Herrscher replica, the conservative faction found themselves powerless and reluctantly yielded.

Of course, this concession was part of the plan all along. However, the hot-headed Tesla couldn't bear seeing Welt replaced by such a counterfeit.

Einstein could only sigh, feeling exasperated at the situation.

Tesla's impulsive reaction was understandable; compared to Einstein, her feelings for Welt Yang were even stronger.

Moreover, Tesla had always been a big gossip. In this situation, Cocolia couldn't risk revealing more information to her, leaving Tesla with no choice but to endure the slight.

With Tesla subdued by Welt-1, Anti-Entropy launched their assault on Saint Freya Academy.

Although part of Schicksal, the Far East Branch lacked the robust defense systems found at Schicksal Headquarters. To be fair, when establishing Saint Freya Academy, Theresa never anticipated it would come under attack.

In her view, such an invasion defied logic.

This academy was merely a branch of Schicksal, primarily focused on training Valkyries. What could enemies possibly gain from attacking here?

Well, quite a bit actually. To keep prying eyes away, Otto had hidden some crucial experiments and data within the church beneath Saint Freya Academy, making it Anti-Entropy's primary target.

However, Theresa remained unaware of this. She only knew that her grandfather had sealed certain forbidden technologies inside the church, nothing more.

To avoid drawing too much attention, Anti-Entropy opted for individual infiltration tactics. Under the cover of night, several small groups stealthily entered Saint Freya Academy.

So, what was our esteemed Principal doing during all this?

Hmm, conducting special training for the adorable Kiana-chan, naturally.