Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

Not a single Valkyrie was left standing before Durandal.

"It seems everyone understands my point now..."

Durandal nodded in satisfaction, pleased with the Valkyries' silence. At least now, no one would be chirping nonsense in her ear.

"There's an old saying in the Far East: 'He who understands the times is a wise man'!"

"That's an old saying from Shenzhou," Rita gently corrected.

Durandal's face flushed slightly, whether from the recent exertion or from being caught in a slip of the tongue.

She continued, feigning that nothing had happened. "You have your own ideas, and I don't oppose them. I also don't oppose you giving up your identity as Valkyries to pursue your own paths. However..."

Durandal slammed her lance into the ground.

The sharp clang of metal on metal made the Valkyries sprawled on the floor flinch.

"However, if anyone uses the authority of a Schicksal Valkyrie to secretly serve their own interests, don't blame me for skewering you all like kebabs!"

The Valkyries had never seen this ruthless side of Durandal before.

They were only naive when it came to societal matters, not complete idiots who couldn't recognize their own interests.

They had only been spurred into a state of unease by Overseer Otto's sudden hands-off approach.

Durandal didn't actually intend to kill them. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't possibly kill them all. Dealing with traitors among their own was a dirty job usually left to Rita.

"Hmph, what a hassle. All of you, go back and reflect on yourselves. Don't forget why you joined Schicksal in the first place. Don't just blindly follow what those people in society are doing. Do you think you can outsmart them? You foolishly believe they're speaking for you."

Durandal lectured them out of habit, feeling utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally. Valkyries had been deceived by the Honkai many times before. Why did Otto cultivate them in this direction? So they would willingly participate in his Honkai energy experiments, of course.

Only when acting voluntarily does a person maximize their own will.

Just as Durandal finished, darkness descended upon Academy City.

Academy City's greatest weakness was now fully exposed to the world. The power supplied by Tokyo's major electric companies had become the decisive factor in whether the city would be plunged into light or darkness.

---||---

Tesla looked down at the device in her hand, which had suddenly lost its wireless signal.

She was speechless for a moment, wondering why people always insisted on causing trouble in Academy City.

Damn it! All I want is to do some experiments. I'd like to think I've made enough scientific contributions to this world. Why won't people just let me do my research in peace?

Tesla was completely exasperated. She glanced outside...

The entire city was pitch black. Fortunately, the satellite communication device on her person was still working.

"Bronya! What have you done?! I put you in charge of Academy City, and this is what you show me?!"

Dr. Tesla grabbed the phone and unleashed a torrent of abuse at Bronya.

Bronya was at a loss for words for a moment. She managed to explain, "I really don't have enough people. Even if I trained them, it's impossible to prevent an attack of this magnitude. Those power stations are outside Academy City; we can't monitor all of them... I..."

Bronya was enraged by the string of bleeped-out insults coming from the communicator.

She shoved the device into Noldrei's hands.

You dare yell at me! Just you wait!

"Hello, I know you're anxious, but don't be that anxious..."

Noldrei's first words silenced the voice on the other end of the line.

Tesla was silent for a long time, unable to figure out why Noldrei would suddenly be there when she was calling Bronya.

Wait, now wasn't the time to think about that.

"What about my experiments? I can't just be a generator here forever, can I? You have to find a solution."

Tesla urged His Majesty the Emperor of Academy City to do something useful.

But Noldrei didn't seem worried at all. In fact, he was rather looking forward to seeing what would happen when the old and new factions clashed. This was his goal: to make people realize the pain that came with this kind of change.

"Don't worry. You go restore the power to Academy City first. I'll compensate you for any trouble later."

The moment he made the promise, Tesla's face lit up, filled with a sense of ownership over Academy City.

When someone makes good on their promises, it's called keeping one's word. If they can't deliver, it's called empty promises and manipulation.

And Noldrei was a man who always kept his word.

"You said it! I'm on it!"

Tesla hung up the phone, put on her clothes, and left the lab, humming a tune.

Without even checking if things were in order, she went back to her old job from decades ago.

Electrician!

"Tesla is still so naive. There are definitely people waiting to ambush her at the power hub."

Noldrei's words after hanging up the phone made Bronya's jaw drop.

She looked at Noldrei in shock and whispered, "Isn't that a bit harsh on Dr. Tesla?"

"I just have complete confidence in Dr. Tesla's abilities. Besides, you don't want to be constantly scolded for having an incompetent security team, do you? Always showing up after the fact, with no preventative capabilities whatsoever. The first thing you do is comfort the victims."

Noldrei's words were as sharp as a knife, piercing Bronya and making her pale face look even more Russian.

"What about Kiana? Get her moving too."

Hearing her boss's command, Bronya didn't dare to talk back. Whether it was the real Seele or the fake one, she still needed her boss's abilities.

Sometimes, Bronya wondered if Noldrei would help her retrieve Seele from the Sea of Quanta if she just begged him nicely.

But if Kiana were to ask, it might actually work.

Bronya dialed Kiana's number. The moment the call connected, a strange, lascivious sound came from the other end.

Damn yuri! Did she finally make a move on a random passerby? Has she completely fallen into the corrupt ways of the royal family?

"Behave yourself! Every time you wake up, I have to teach you a lesson. I can't just keep hitting you! Damn it! I finally understand why he always treats Tesla like that. You can't hit her, but you can't really kill her either."

"Hello? Bronya, what do you want? The power's out. I'm trying to find some candles. Hey, wait a minute! I think I can glow on my own."

Bronya wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and explained, "Someone has attacked Academy City."

"Isn't that your security team's job?!" Kiana asked, confused.

"Well, we can't beat them, can we? That's why I called you," Bronya reported truthfully.

"Then go find Noldrei!" Kiana tried to pass the buck.

Bronya looked up at Noldrei, then back down at the phone. "He told me to find you and have you take care of it."

Kiana hesitated for a long time before saying reluctantly, "That's not going to work. Not unless he buys me ice cream and new clothes too."

This is a major issue concerning our ruling class, and you're haggling?! Fine, he agrees! Bronya indicated that she could cover that small expense herself.