CHAPTER 465: BEFORE THE REBELLION

"What? You’re telling me Kiana is missing?"

The hand Theresa held her phone with trembled violently. In that single moment, all her ominous premonitions were confirmed. As she continued to listen to Mei’s explanation, she pressed an emergency button.

"When we woke up this morning, we were going to ask Kiana to get breakfast with us, but she was already gone from her room..."

"What about Michael? Is he still with you?"

Thinking of the man who, from many angles, bore a striking resemblance to her grandfather Otto, Theresa knew he was an extremely dangerous character. For a moment, she didn’t know whether to hope he was "there" or "not there."

She felt she couldn’t label Michael a "bad guy" based solely on personal preference and speculation without any evidence. At the very least, during his two years at St. Freya, he hadn’t made a single "inappropriate" move. While that wasn’t enough to earn her "trust," if he truly was a good person, then having him by Kiana and Bronya’s side now would be the best way to protect them, wouldn’t it?

But if he... just as her own sixth sense suggested, was not purely a good person, and if Kiana’s disappearance was somehow related to him, then his presence near Mei and Bronya would put those two girls in real danger, wouldn’t it? Especially with Mei being the Third Herrscher—would the Gem of Conquest inside her also become a target for Michael and her grandfather Otto?

"Michael is missing too. We’ve already reported the situation to the Valkyrie units at HQ. They said they could help us pull up last night’s surveillance footage, but we haven’t heard back yet."

"So it’s true..."

Theresa unconsciously pinched the soft flesh of her chin. This was it, the worst-case scenario.

"Damn it! If I’d known, I would have done anything to stop Grandpa Otto from taking them to Schicksal HQ!"

It was too late for regrets now. From the moment she left Schicksal and ran off to the Far East to establish St. Freya High, she had, albeit reluctantly, come to view her grandfather as a "potential adversary to be defeated."

But... why was Kiana the one who disappeared? From any logical standpoint, Mei, who carried the Gem of Conquest, was far more valuable. Theresa’s worries about them going to HQ had always been focused on Mei. What value did Kiana hold for her grandfather? Was he planning to use Kiana as leverage against her again, like he did years ago? But what did she have that was worth being blackmailed over?

"Oh, right... I never really thought about it before, but now that I do, it’s so strange, isn’t it?"

It was strange. Back then, her grandfather Otto had told her that Kiana had been gravely injured while escaping Schicksal and he had brought her back to HQ. It was because he used this as leverage that Theresa didn’t leave Schicksal immediately, but instead chose to come to the Far East to pursue Cecilia’s now-impossible ideal.

Later, after meeting Kiana in Nagazora, Theresa had thought her grandfather had deceived her. She believed Kiana hadn’t died, that the one Siegfried took with him was the real Kiana. As for the one who was seriously injured and on the brink of death, it must have been the clone they had originally intended to rescue.

She hadn’t completely dismissed the opposite conclusion before, but she had always talked herself out of it. After all, who would have thought Siegfried would sacrifice his own daughter to save a clone? Who could have imagined he would give his own daughter’s name to the one who had indirectly caused her death?

But if that were the case, everything would make sense. And it would be perfectly in line with the values of those Kaslana idiots.

"Damn it! I should have realized it sooner! If this Kiana is K-423, then it’s only natural that Grandpa would want to ’capture’ her. But in that case, where is the real Kiana, the one he claimed was saved and brought back to Schicksal, gravely wounded? And why didn’t he capture K-423 the moment she appeared? What role did the equally missing Michael play in all this?"

Theresa shook her head hard and slapped her forehead with the heel of her palm, forcing herself to stop her thoughts from spiraling and focus her brainpower on the immediate situation.

"Mei, Bronya. Starting now, you need to hide immediately."

"Huh? Principal... But Principal, we’re still waiting for the investigation report from the Valkyrie units..."

"Forget it!"

In her agitation, Theresa’s voice rose. Himeko, who had just entered the principal’s office with Hua after receiving the emergency signal, turned to look at her, surprised by her tone. "Theresa, what’s going on?"

Theresa glanced over, shaking her head from side to side to signal Himeko to wait. She took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking again.

"The details are complicated to explain. I’ll just ask one question: Who at Schicksal HQ could make a Valkyrie disappear without a trace? I hate to say this, but... Mei, Bronya, prepare yourselves. Schicksal HQ... is no longer a safe place. I still have some intel I need to confirm. I’ll contact you again then, but until that time, you need to find a good hiding place and maintain radio silence. From this moment on, don’t trust a single person at HQ, understand?"

A burst of noise came from the other end of the line. Theresa didn’t know what was happening and didn’t dare to speak rashly.

This went on for a full three minutes before Mei’s voice came through again. "Understood, Principal. But I don’t think we can hide for long. And Kiana..."

"Your only mission is to hide and make sure nothing else goes wrong. Leave Kiana to me!"

"We... we understand. But we probably can’t stay hidden here for long..."

"We’ll get there as fast as we can. The Hyperion at full speed is much faster than the ship you took. You only need to stay hidden for eight hours at a minimum. Eight hours! At most, we’ll be delayed by another half-hour to an hour, but we will get to HQ. I’ll tell you what’s happening then. But until then, you must hide well, understand?!"

"Understood..."

Theresa hung up without hesitation. This kind of traditional electromagnetic communication offered no privacy or security. Especially in a situation like this, they had to limit their communication time to avoid revealing their location.

Although, in her own judgment, Theresa was completely pessimistic about whether Mei and Bronya could last for eight or nine hours...

But what was her next move...? Did she really have to break with Schicksal? Theresa tried to control her breathing, to calm her heart and ensure she was thinking with maximum rationality, not acting on a momentary impulse.

There was no denying that Schicksal was the most powerful organization on the planet. Both Shenzhou and Anti-Entropy were firmly contained in their respective regions. If she left Schicksal as an individual, like she had failed to do years ago, it might be one thing. But for the entire Far East Branch to secede...

Would that be fair to the others in the Far East Branch? Without Schicksal’s protection, even if they succeeded in rescuing Kiana, how would they fend off Schicksal’s retaliation? She didn’t believe for a second that her grandfather would go easy on her just because she was his granddaughter.

Or to put it more bluntly—was it necessary for her to do all this for K-423, a girl with whom she shared no blood?

To risk everything she had, everything St. Freya High stood for...

Theresa couldn’t give a quick and definite answer. But she knew her desire to defy Schicksal, to defy her grandfather, was not just about Kiana, and it wasn’t just about this moment.

Besides, Kiana might be a fake Kiana, but the affection that had grown between them over nearly three years of living together was real. And Siegfried had accepted this girl, the very one who had once taken everything from him, and had given her the name "Kiana." If that was the case...

Then she was Kiana Kaslana, not the clone experiment K-423!

As for this rebellion, it was the culmination of decades of defiance, a continuation of the resistance from years ago. It was something that she, Theresa Apocalypse, was meant to do!

"Hah..."

She let out a soft breath, thought for a moment, then turned to Himeko. "Himeko, please relay the combat order. Under the guise of a drill, have the Hyperion enter a state of combat readiness immediately. Bring Seele aboard as well, and await my next command."

"Understood!" Himeko replied out of habit, then asked with some hesitation, "Has another emergency occurred?"

She had heard Theresa mention Schicksal HQ and Kiana. While she couldn’t make out the words from the other end of the line, the voice was clearly Mei’s. Thinking of Kiana’s track record, she naturally made a basic assumption. "Did that girl Kiana get into some kind of trouble at HQ?"

"It would be easier if she had just gotten into trouble."

Theresa sighed softly. She was no longer a teenager who got overly excited the moment she made a decision. But how she wished she could show a little more excitement, a little more fervor... She had no confidence in what she was about to do, but she couldn’t let that sense of despair show before things even started, much less let it affect others.

"I still need to confirm some things. Himeko, go carry out your orders. F... Classmate Hua, could you stay here and wait for me for a moment?"

"I think I understand." Himeko nodded. "By the way, Theresa, good news—the Moonlight Throne engine has been installed on the Hyperion. This trip might be a lot shorter."

Without another word, Himeko turned and left the office.

Hua sighed silently. Her eyelids drooped slightly, her brows furrowed, and her gaze shifted to the side.

Unlike Himeko, as someone who "already knew some information," she easily deduced what had happened from just a few keywords in Theresa’s speech.

She wasn’t surprised. Well... actually, she was a little surprised. She had thought Michael would accomplish this in a gentler way. She hadn’t expected him to be so direct...

Was he provoked by what happened in New Zealand? Or... was he deliberately being so radical, so extreme, just to attract "their" attention?

Hua couldn’t say.

She had used the first rated power of Fenghuang Down too many times. The title of "Flame-Chaser," the name "Fire Moth," had become nothing more than a hazy impression in her memory.

What kind of people they were, what kind of person she used to be—it had all become a burden she couldn’t recall.

But... they had to be different from Michael, right? They were a group of people who fought to the very end, true to their beliefs. And Michael... he had truly strayed so far from his original self.

What she, a former "Flame-Chaser," wanted to do should be the same as what they wanted to do, right?

Hua felt it should be.

But something still felt wrong. While Theresa began contacting Schicksal HQ to question Otto, Hua silently moved to the side and leaned against the wall.

She felt... as if she had forgotten something important.

But she had forgotten so, so much. Even things that had happened just ten minutes ago required a great deal of effort to recall.

This wasn’t a side effect of using Fenghuang Down’s first rated power too often. When her Sword Heart shattered, it had caused immeasurable damage to her consciousness. Too many unnecessary things were retained, accumulating in her mind and weighing down her already fragile consciousness, weakened by repeated use of Fenghuang Down’s first power.

She had a premonition that if this continued, it wouldn’t be long before her mind would be overwhelmed. At that point, she might need to use Fenghuang Down to regularly clear her memories...

And... there was one more thing she hadn’t told anyone.

Ever since using Fenghuang Down during the Second Honkai Eruption, she felt a listless fatigue no matter what she did.

After observing her own consciousness with Fenghuang Down, it was not difficult to reach a simple conclusion—

Her consciousness, ravaged by the repeated use of Fenghuang Down’s first rated power, was indeed on the verge of collapse. As of now, she had only one last chance.

After this one time, her consciousness would approach a state of infinite collapse. If she was lucky, she could drag this body along and barely survive. If it was the worst-case scenario, she would probably have to rely on the backdoor she left in Fenghuang Down to walk her final path...

"Grandpa! Do you have anything you want to explain? Fine, fine... I understand..."

Theresa hung up the phone through gritted teeth, her grip almost strong enough to crush the device.

She shot a quick glance at Hua, cleared her throat, and asked with a mixture of embarrassment and pleading, "Hua... could you pass a message to Master Li for me? I... I hope to receive some help from Shenzhou. Of course, if..."

She bit her lower lip, but her fingers seemed to unconsciously dial a mysterious contact number.

She knew that as Schicksal’s ally, Shenzhou would most likely refuse.

But she had another source of support... though whether she could persuade them, and whether it was the right thing to do... she couldn’t be sure.

"I understand what you mean, Theresa. Shenzhou will not directly intervene with armed forces, but we can provide other... things. Such as supplies, and sanctuary. As for the ’strength’ you need right now, I think... I know another group of people who might be able to help you with what you’re trying to do."