In Europe, at Schicksal's Headquarters...
As a diligent secretary, Amber arrived at Otto's office as usual today. She was carrSakura a towering stack of documents, all of which required Otto's personal review and approval.
Knock, knock, knock.
Freeing one hand, she gently knocked on Otto's door.
"Is that you, Amber? I'm busy. Just come in," came Otto's voice from the other side. It lacked the typical authority expected of a superior addressing a subordinate.
Amber, accustomed to this, didn't hesitate and immediately turned the doorknob to enter.
Inside, Otto was intensely focused on his computer screen, sitting upright with a game controller in hand. It appeared he was engaged in a final battle of some kind.
"Well... time to whittle down this pink fox's health bar," Otto muttered, narrowing his eyes as he narrowly avoided being defeated by Yae Sakura in the game.
"My Lord Bishop..." Amber said, placing the documents on the table with a thud, adjusting her glasses with one hand.
This was the twelfth time this month she had caught Otto slacking off during work.
"Ahem... 'Karen Fantasy' is quite enjoyable, Amber. Why don't you give it a try? If you manage to surpass my points and ranking, I might consider giving you a few days off," Otto offered with a wry smile, realizing he'd been caught yet again and attempting to bribe her out of survival instinct.
"Oh, forget it. Overseer, these are all the documents you need to review this month," Amber responded, unfazed by Otto's diversion. "By the way, among these 102 documents, 71 were sent by Lady Theresa."
Knowing Otto was just trying to change the subject, Amber didn't argue. It was more effective to simply leave the work for him.
"Theresa again? I bet those documents are about the Valkyrie named Bai Mo," Otto sighed, rubbing his forehead. Ever since Bai Mo's supposed death, Theresa had been increasingly persistent.
One death certificate wasn't enough—Theresa actually wanted the body. But Bai Mo had been dragged into the Imaginary Space; there was nothing Otto could do. Out of desperation, he had been trying to stall Theresa's requests as long as possible, even going so far as to pretend to send a Valkyrie team to search for Bai Mo's body.
However, this wasn't a sustainable solution. Recently, Theresa had started writing formal reports and applications demanding an explanation.
"Same as before—just keep giving Theresa the usual responses," Otto instructed, resigned to continuing his evasive tactics.
"Understood... I'll handle it," Amber replied, a hint of helplessness in her voice. As Otto's secretary, she had no choice but to comply.
She left Otto's office, closing the door neatly behind her. Heading toward the meeting room, Amber prepared to draft her reply to Theresa.
But before she could sit down, a red alert flashed across her orange goggles. Amber's expression immediately changed.
An invasion?
Here?
Judging by the headquarters' defense capabilities, this kind of thing should have been impossible.
The alert included a video. With growing concern, Amber clicked play. Within seconds, her face turned pale.
"Headquarters has been compromised!" she gasped, her first instinctive reaction.
Without wasting a moment to respond to Theresa, Amber rushed back to Otto's office.
...
Meanwhile, in an employee passageway at Schicksal's headquarters, two figures clad in pink and one in black walked side by side. It was Bai Mo (in Elysia's form), Sakura, and Kalpas, who had just successfully infiltrated the facility.
Their journey had been smooth so far. Utilizing the power of consciousness, Bai Mo had easily controlled all the personnel and Valkyries in the area. By probing their memories, she quickly located the weapons room that stored the Divine Key.
Now, they were on their way to the weapons depot.
"Herrscher, how much longer do we have to keep walking like this?" Kalpas asked impatiently, frustrated with the slow pace. Unable to vent his anger, he kicked a wall beside him.
With a loud bang, the wall cracked under the force of his kick.
"Kalpas..." Sakura frowned slightly.
Fortunately, the kick didn't trigger any alarms, otherwise their "infiltration" would have been blown.
However, unbeknownst to them, a tiny surveillance camera was discreetly recording their every move.
"It's not time to act yet, Brother Kalpas. Please be patient for a little longer," Bai Mo said gently, trying to calm him down.
"Yes, Kalpas, you can't harm innocent people!" Elysia added. They both knew that revealing their strength prematurely would only provoke a stronger counterattack from the enemy. This was a rescue mission, not an assault on Schicksal's headquarters.
If that had been the plan, Bai Mo would have called in the other Flamechasers of the World Serpent.
"Herrscher, don't call me by that name," Kalpas retorted, reluctantly pulling back his foot. He redirected his frustration toward Bai Mo, though he didn't mention Elysia by name.
If it weren't for these two constantly holding him back, Schicksal? Ha, this so-called stronghold would have been reduced to rubble by now. Kalpas's style was direct—destroy anyone who stood in his way.
"Brother Kalpas, don't be so angry. Even though I am a Herrscher, I'm still like Ellie, so please don't be prejudiced against me," Bai Mo responded, shaking her head helplessly as she used her consciousness to manipulate a distant guard to open the next passageway for them.
"Do you want to die, Herrscher?" Kalpas growled, his voice filled with menace.
"Perhaps you should reconsider how you speak to others," Bai Mo replied calmly.
"And... just how long do you plan to live, Herrscher?"