2 Chapter 1

Beatrice waited for Raven to hand it over but when she made no motion of doing so, Beatrice rolled her eyes. She stepped forward, reaching her hand out to take the file. But, just as she was about to touch it, Raven abruptly pulled it away.

"What are you doing?" Beatrice questioned before looking up to find Raven's conflicted expression. In fact, now that she got a closer look, Raven looked exhausted. Her eyebags were heavier since the last time they met and a stern frown was etched on her face, She was sweating even though it was in the middle of a cold December night and Raven refused to meet Beatrice's eyes

"What's wrong?" Beatrice frowned, "What did you find out?" Raven opened her mouth hesitantly before letting out a long sigh. She rummaged through her pockets, pulling out a cigarette and putting it in her mouth. Raven lit it up and exhaled a cloud of smoke, her tension loosening slightly.

The smell made Beatrice's frown deeper.

"How much do you know about Honkai?" Raven asked suddenly. catching Beatrice off-guard just as she was about to raise her hand to wave the smoke away. She held off on responding, the word sounded familiar but Beatrice couldn't say she knew it for sure.

Thinking back on it though. Beatrice swore Kiana talked about Honkai before. Retelling her stories of how she beat giant monsters of pure white and glowing pink. At the time, Beatrice thought they were just hyper-active imaginations of a teenage girl but if even Raven brought it up; then there's clearly something going on.

Beatrice just doesn't know what.

"I know enough." Beatrice chose to respond vaguely, she can always just ask Kiana to explain it to her when she got home. Raven nodded, reluctantly handing Beatrice the file. Beatrice cautiously took it from her hands and opened it, setting aside the smaller secondary file tucked inside.

Beatrice hated to admit it but Raven's behavior unnerved her, just what did she find out that it could get her to act like this? Raven was usually cocky and full of herself, seeing her like this formed a pit in Beatrice's stomach. She skimmed over the words, her eyes widening in shock with every sentence she read.

When Beatrice finished reading, she closed the file silently, meeting Raven's complicated eyes with her own. "Is all of this correct?" She questioned softly, if it was, then this was a bigger problem than Beatrice initially expected.

Raven nodded, flicking away the butt of her cigarette. "Yeah. It's fucked, but my hands are tied. Even if its a favor, I can't help you out anymore than I already have." Raven's tone was filled with bitterness, It was obvious she detested not being able to do more to help Beatrice out. Beatrice sighed but didn't blame her. She tucked the file securely in her jacket, making sure it wouldn't fall out even if she did anything movement-extensive.

Raven's help would've made everything a lot more easier but at the end of the day, Raven wasn't her subordinate. She couldn't just order her around as Beatrice pleased.

"It's fine, you already did your part. I can't ask you to get any more involved than you already have. Last time I checked, I already used up the favor you owed me." Beatrice turned around to leave; she got what she came for so it was about time she went back. She needed to go over everything again and plan her next course of actions.

"Wait!" Raven's shout stopped Beatrice in her tracks. Raven gulped nervously, before she spoke up softly. "Are you sure you really don't want to join my organization? If you do, we can stop all of this for you. Just quit Rhodes Island and come with me." Raven offered, wiping her damp hands on her cloak.

"I asked around and no one's even heard of Rhodes Island. I'm sure they promised they can treat your illness but we can do that as well if you give us the chance, you don't need to cling so tightly to this organization, they're not your only hope." Raven pleaded desperately.

'Of course no one would have heard of Rhodes Island, I made it up. It doesn't exist in this world' Beatrice mused internally but stayed silent, thinking about Raven's offer.

Honestly, Beatrice couldn't deny that she wasn't touched by the offer. With what she discovered written in the files, it was obvious this world was a lot more technological advanced than she previously assumed. Figuring out a cure to cure her oripathy is probably still impossible but making inhibitors to extend her lifespan isn't out of the question.

And while it wasn't much, Beatrice did trust Raven. The main issue was that, Beatrice couldn't trust whatever Organization Raven was a part of. It was painfully obvious they were aware of what was going to happen to Nagazoro city, but they were content to just sit by and watch it play out.

If they weren't trying to recruit her, they wouldn't even care about the millions of lives that would be lost if the plan in the files was allowed to go through.

"How long have they known?" Beatrice spoke up, catching Raven off-guard, "Huh?" Raven stared at her in confusion, "Your organization. How long have they known about all of this?" Beatrice's question made the expression on Raven's face twist, looking away from Beatrice's stony eyes in guilt. "That..." Raven opened her mouth before she closed it, not answering Beatrice's question.

"I see." Beatrice massaged her brow. "Sorry Raven." She shook her head, "I'm willing to trust you but I can't trust whatever organization you're a part of." Beatrice bent her legs, "I can solve this with or without your organization's help. This is my duty as an operator from Rhodes Island." Beatrice jumped away, leaving behind a silent Raven.

"Tsk." Raven clicked her tongue, "If you're paying too much attention to the enemy in front of you, you're gonna miss the snake lurking in the dark. You'll be swallowed whole before you know it." Raven whispered as she watched Beatrice disappear from her sight. She lingered under the starry sky before vanishing into a flutter of red feathers, leaving behind a silent warehouse.

Back in her room, Beatrice took off her jacket and blindfold, stuffing them back in her the closet. 'I'm sure that wouldn't be the last time I encounter Raven or what organization she's a part of.' Beatrice sighed. She pulled the switch on her lamp, turning it on before she spread the documents in the file on her desk. She glanced at the smaller document, setting it aside for later.

A month from now; in the basement of the biggest building in the city, the headquarters of Masssive Electronics, the company of Mei's father, will experience a freak accident and cause the honkai-core powering the entire city to meltdown. Due to the date being on a public holiday, there will be no staff in duty to control the core, leaving it to explode. The blast radius would cover up to 850 square miles of land, the entirety of Nagazora city.

None a single one of the 10 million population of Nagazora city would survive.

'This is horrible.' Beatrice felt her stomach roll in disgust. No matter how many times she went over it, she can hardly believe what she's reading. 'Just what does anyone hope to get out of this?' Beatrice went over the next document; it was a paper filled with graphs and numbers that went over her head but as she looked to the bottom of the page, she found what she was looking for. A summary section that explained the whole thing to dumb people like her.

[From what our data indicates, the honkai energy gathered from erupting the massive core used to power the city would be enough to emulate the environment in which a Herrscher core would be the most likely to form in an individual. Madam Cocolia will be pleased by these results.]

'Herrscher core?' Beatrice frowned, biting her lip in thought. Nothing in the file had anything about what a herrscher core is, not what it's used for or whatever the hell it is. The name Cocolia sounded familiar as well and when Beatrice went over the papers again, she figured out why.

Cocolia was the leader of the radical branch of Anti-Entropy, a North-American Anti-Honkai organization.

Looking up the name Anti-Entropy on search engines also netted her results. Apparently, they were considered as a terrorist organization by the Schicksal, a union comprised of the countries of Eurasia. Or at least, Beatrice thought that's what they were. But no. According to what she found on the files, apparently, they were the same as Anti-Entropy, an Anti-Honkai organization as well.

"If Anti-Entropy are terrorists, everything would make a lot more sense but," Beatrice pulled out another paper from the stack, "If Raiden Ryoma is also from Anti-Entropy, then why would Cocolia, his ally, frame him and take over his position?" Sure, they were from opposing factions but it didn't feel right. No matter which faction they're from, it looked like they all still answered to the same leader.

"There's no point thinking about this. I can figure it out later. Right now, all I know is that Cocolia's plan is to use this explosion to form whatever a 'Herrscher Core' is. So, stopping this bomb is my top priority. Not trying to figure out whatever the hell is going on." Beatrice sighed, leaning on her chair. "How the hell am I suppose to do this?"

The bomb was located in the basement of the building, the only entrance being an employee-only elevator that you needed a level 5 access card to enter. "Since it powers the whole city, it's obviously heavily-guarded. I'll have to ready myself for the possibility that I'll have to fight my way in." Beatrice scratched her in frustration.

The thought of pretending to be an employee passed by her head before she scrapped it. "That's way too cliché, I highly doubt that will work." She looked over the files again, pulling up the building's blueprints. The vent system expanded throughout the entire building but none of them were connected to the core room. Probably as a safety precaution.

"I can gain access the elevator if I go by the vents but I'd still need a level 5 keycard to enter. I'll have to swipe one off a guard if I want to get inside." While Yato didn't have any specific skills to increase her stealth, her expertise as an assassin should help Beatrice get inside and go somewhat undetected.

Beatrice glanced at the 91% on her operator tab.

Cocolia's plan doesn't start until a month from now. Beatrice could wait, stay low and max out the progress bar for her next operator and hope that it had something to do with stealth but she wasn't sure if that was the correct course of actions.

'Not sure if I'm willing to wait that long.' The more time that passes, the riskier it gets. If Cocolia ever gets impatient and implemented her plan early. No matter what operator she pulled, Beatrice wouldn't survive a direct blast. 'No, it's better to act as fast as I can. I'll check out the building tomorrow night.' She sighed, packing up the papers back into the folder.

She set aside the smaller document, putting away the rest into a safe under her desk. '1124' She inputted the lock, the date she met Kiana. Beatrice went to the bathroom to wash up and readied herself to go to bed. But when she came out, the document she aside caught her eye.

Wiping her damp hair, she picked it up gently, taking off the clip that kept it shut and slowly opened it.

The next morning, Beatrice finished her daily physical training early and visited the market to buy some ingredients. Kiana was a heavy eater, so Beatrice usually had to restock the pantry once every other day. When she got home, Beatrice washed up, wrapped an apron around her waist and got started on making breakfast for both her and Kiana. Since she had the time, Beatrice decided to make Kiana's favorite meal.

Maybe lured by the smell, Beatrice heard the sound of Kiana's bedroom door opening not long after. When she turned around: Beatrice found Kiana rubbing her eyes sleepily, a trail of dried drool on her chin. Her pajamas were loose, revealing her pale shoulders and slender clavicles. Kiana yawned, lifting her shirt up to scratch her toned stomach, "Beatrice?' She softly called out, "Is that you? You're back already?" Kiana mumbled sleepily.

"Yeah, I just set an alarm so I don't lose track of time." Beatrice rolled her eyes, stepping forward to button up Kiana's pajamas. She didn't really care about being late to school but it made her feel guilty making Kiana go out of her way to fetch her every morning.

"Mmm, that makes sense..." Kiana nodded, showing no resistance to Beatrice's actions.

"Alright, go to the bathroom and go wash up. Breakfast will be ready in a bit." Looking at Kiana's buttoned up pajamas, Beatrice nodded in satisfaction before sending Kiana away. "Make sure to brush your teeth properly." She reminded, hearing Kiana's shout of 'okay!' before she closed the door.

By the time Kiana finished and got out of the bathroom 30 minutes later, the food was already set on the table. The familiar smell made Kiana's eyes sparkle before she excitedly walked to the table and sat down. "You made fried chicken today?! What's the occasion?!"

Beatrice dried her wet hands on her apron before she took it off, hanging it on the back of her chair. "Nothing. It was on sale today so I bought some." Beatrice took her own seat before remembering. "Oh right. I have some things I need to talk to you about."

She didn't have that much confidence in Kiana's ability to explain it to her but it was obvious Kiana knew more about Honkai than she currently did. The documents last night treated it as if the name was wide-spread knowledge but nothing came up when she searched it online.

"Then Kiana will gladly accept Beatrice's bribe!" Kiana's eyes lit up as her teeth broke through the crispy skin of the chicken, her toes wiggling happily. "So good! Beatrice really treats me the best!" Chewing, Kiana stared at Beatrice questioningly, "Whmat did yhou whant to talk abwout?" She asked, her cheeks bulging with food.

Beatrice frowned, "Don't talk with your mouth full." She scolded, watching bits of food fly out of Kiana's mouth. "I wanted to ask you more about Honkai." Beatrice's question made Kiana tilt her head, "Thwat's it?" Kiana swallowed, taking a sip from her cup of water.

"With how serious you looked I thought you were finally about to ask me to be your girlfriend. I was even getting ready to accept." Kiana pouted, tone laced with disappointment, "Are you sure you didn't want to say something else?" Kiana urged, making Beatrice sneer. 'This kid is really asking for a beating.' For a second, Beatrice really contemplated doing it.

Sure, Kiana's strength was above average but from what she's seen it was still in the realm of human limit. With the oni physique Beatrice inherits from Yato, it shouldn't be that hard to pin her down right?

Shivering, Kiana quickly stopped messing around, answering Beatrice's question. "Uhm, you were asking about Honkai right?" Kiana massaged her head with fingers, trying to go through her memory. "I don't really know much aside from what shitty dad told me. So don't be surprised if I tell you things you might know about already." She warned, causing Beatrice to snort.

'I don't have a single clue on whatever Honkai is so, you don't need to worry about that part.' Beatrice mused, ignoring Kiana's puzzled stared and gestured for her to continue. A bit lost as to what Beatrice found amusing, Kiana put it out of her mind for now and started to explain.

"Honkai is uh, uhm, this thing that's...how did dad put it again?" Kiana's brows furrowed, deep in thought, "I think dad described it as...as a force of chaos." Kiana's solemn tone raised Beatrice's brow, sitting straighter. "It wants to destroy humanity. And it tries to do that in all sorts of ways; disasters, giant monsters, illnesses and herrschers." Beatrice's ears twitched, excitedly reaching over and grabbing Kiana's hand, interrupting what she was going to say next.

"What are herrschers?" Beatrice questioned. Her sudden action made Kiana flustered but she quickly answered, if a bit confused. "According to dad; they're the people chosen by the will of Honkai to destroy humanity. Dad said they basically have god-like powers so if I ever meet one I should run away as fast as I can and try not to fight them."

'Then I'm guessing a herrscher core is what gives them power.' It clicked in Beatrice's head. 'It all makes sense now.' Feeling a pit form in her stomach, she quickly asked Kiana, "Say, if a massive honkai eruption occurred, how likely is it for a herrscher to form?" Beatrice's question caught Kiana off guard but she still answered honestly.

"It'll have to be a really big eruption but its usually guaranteed that a herrscher would be born. Why are you asking?" Concern and anxiety immediately erupted in Kiana's eyes as she met Beatrice's. "Is something about to happen?" Kiana's grip tightened on Beatrice's hand, as if she was seeking security.

Kiana's question and action immediately snapped Beatrice awake. She swallowed thickly, calming her nerves before she rustled Kiana's hair. "No, no. It was just a question. Nothing is going to happen." 'Because I'm not gonna sit back and just let it all play out.' Kiana still looked hesitant but chose to believe Beatrice. The tension loosened from Kiana's shoulders, she pouted, shaking Beatrice's hand off her head.

"Next time you shouldn't say scary things like that, and you messed up my hair!" She whined, gradually returning to her active self. Beatrice felt guilty for deceiving her but she let out a sigh of relief when Kiana didn't look down anymore. "Yes, yes. I'm sorry. I'll help you fix it up later alright?" She offered, rubbing a thumb over Kiana's hand.

Kiana instantly stopped whining, cheering up. "Okay! You can't take that back!" Kiana let go of Beatrice's hand, going back to her meal happily. Beatrice sighed, watching Kiana eat with a soft smile. Honestly, the conversation with Kiana raised more questions than answers.

Just what was Cocolia trying to accomplish by summoning a herrscher? Is it a simple desire for power? From what Beatrice got from Kiana's explanation, it was obvious these herrschers only had the desire to destroy humanity. Either Cocolia was foolish enough to assume she could control one or she wanted the power you can get from a herrscher's core.

If it was the former: there was a likely chance Cocolia's plan would fail. Beatrice has seen enough shows to know that someone attempting to control something they shouldn't usually doesn't turn out well for whoever tried.

But if its the latter: if you already had the strength or method to defeat or subdue an herrscher, beings of god-like powers according to Kiana, then what was Cocolia trying to do artificially making one? 'Just what is your goal here?' Beatrice couldn't understand Cocolia's motives. Was there something special about a herrscher's core besides granting unparalleled strength?

She'd ask Kiana but, glancing at Kiana's carefree smile, Beatrice decided against it. If she continued to ask anymore questions, even a simple-minded person like Kiana would notice something was amiss.

By the time they finished eating, they only had half an hour before class started so they quickly got dressed up and went out. "Hey," Beatrice spoke up, stopping Kiana who was about to run off, "Hm?" Beatrice fiddled with a strand of her hair, "If you don't mind me asking, when was the last time you saw your dad?"

Kiana blinked, thinking. "Probably 4 years ago, why?" Beatrice looked away from Kiana's puzzled eyes, seemingly in thought before answering softly, "No reason." She reached out, kneading Kiana's cheeks. "Let's go, we're gonna be late at this rate." Kiana looked at her watch before screaming in shock, "Ahh! It's cause you took so long fixing up my hair! I'll see you at school!"

She ran off, almost bumping into a worker moving furniture into the apartment next to them if Beatrice didn't warn her in time. "Sorry!" The worker shook his head with a smile, his blue eyes squinting.

Beatrice laughed, seeing Kiana's figure get smaller in the distance. 'If only she could stay that way forever.' She mused, her soft smile shifting into a frown. Whatever price she had to pay, Cocolia's plan needed to be stopped, if not for the people of Nagazora, then for the current life she had with Kiana.

Suddenly: a chill went down her spine. Tensing up, Beatrice looked around but found nothing out of the ordinary. She glanced at the workers suspiciously before shaking her head. No matter how she looked at them, they were just normal people.

But if there was nothing then, where was this feeling of being watched coming from? 'Maybe it's the stress getting to me.' Beatrice shook her head, running off to chase after Kiana. Never noticing the worker's eyes that lingered on her before he went inside.