"You... you're one of Otto's people, aren't you!"
Ryn didn't know why the guy who was chatting and laughing just a moment ago was now giving him a deadpan face. But if you're going to give me attitude, I'm not going to bother with you either.
"Who else? I'm from Schicksal. If not Otto, whose person could I be?"
"I knew it... Siegfried, that bastard. I'll kill that son of a bitch sooner or later. He's a f—"
Raiden Ryoma cursed Siegfried angrily, but after a while, as if he had made up his mind, he looked Ryn in the eye and said, "Ryn, go tell that dog Otto that Mei... she's also a natural Stigmata awakener. Mei awakened her Stigmata at the age of eight, but she couldn't withstand its power back then and was on the verge of death. I sealed the Stigmata.
Go tell Otto. He'll know what this means. If that bastard Otto still dares to use Mei as a humanity's anchor for the Herrscher of the Void, as a sacrifice, I'll damn well take Anti-Entropy and go down with him!"
"Mei is also a natural Stigmata awakener? That's truly shocking news." Ryn was shocked for a moment, but he quickly recalled the treatment the last natural Stigmata awakener received after being invited by Otto, and then said with a smile, "I'll tell Otto. Otto will be very happy to accept Mei and have her join Schicksal. What's this about a humanity's anchor for the Herrscher of the Void? What's a sacrifice?"
"It had better be that way... Heh, she's different from you."
Ryn was starting to get annoyed with Raiden Ryoma. What does that even mean?! Why are you being so cryptic? If you don't want to talk about it, then don't bring it up! I'm a boy, she's a girl, what other difference could there be? I have a Stigmata too.
"So cryptic. I'll ask one more time, do you need my help contacting someone from Anti-Entropy?"
"Yes. Help me contact fellow Executors Einstein or Tesla. If you can reach the Sovereign, Welt, that would be best." Raiden Ryoma nodded. No one from Anti-Entropy had contacted him yet, and he was desperate for information.
"Fine, give me their contact information. On second thought, here's the phone, you call them yourself."
Ryn handed the phone to Raiden Ryoma, who took it in a daze, unable to believe it.
"Just like that? Just make a direct call?"
"What else? Do you expect me to hack into your Anti-Entropy's communication systems and send them a message?" Ryn shrugged. It wasn't that he couldn't hack in, but he was very annoyed with him right now and didn't want to.
In the end, Raiden Ryoma gave in and used the phone to call a number that only produced telegraphic noise. From the moment the call connected, Ryn heard a barrage of static, truly worthy of the Red-Hot Lobster.
"Cocolia modified your case and made it public. Damn it, that bitch's preparations were very thorough. Your ME Corp is now full of Cocolia's people. We can't get you out immediately.
That damn Cocolia also sent people to steal my Gem of Conquest. You have no idea, that bitch goes on and on about how much she loves her children, but she actually installed a tactical chip in her daughter's brain! Damn it, and I don't know where that slut got a suit of armor for that Ural Silver Wolf. That little brat used that armor to slaughter all my guards watching over the Gem of Conquest. Damn it, that was an elite unit fully equipped with heavy weapons!"
(For those who can't imagine Bronya's rampage, you can watch Bronya's animated short. It's super cool.)
Raiden Ryoma fell silent for a long time upon hearing about the Gem of Conquest. The Gem of Conquest Tesla had was a fake... he had swapped it out long ago. But he didn't say anything. Let Cocolia take the fall for this.
Raiden Ryoma and Dr. Lobster talked for a long time. Suddenly, the phone flickered, and a palm-sized holographic projection of Cortana appeared, startling Ryoma.
"Emergency situation. Kiana is engaged in combat...
Combat mode activated.
Warning, Kiana has been shot and has fallen unconscious. Mei has been abducted.
Positioning system activated. Based on movement speed, the opposing party possesses an aircraft."
"What! Damn it, how dare they lay a hand on my Mei!" Hearing that Mei had been abducted, Raiden Ryoma forgot all about his conversation with Tesla.
"What about Kiana? How is Kiana?" Ryn snatched the phone back, performing a series of operations on Cortana while running towards the destination of the tracking signal.
"According to the scan results, Kiana is not in any serious danger, just currently unconscious. The opponent's target was clearly Raiden Mei. The scan shows that the opponent has heavy weapons and high-energy weapons, but they only used tranquilizer rounds."
"Keep tracking Mei's coordinates at all times. Submit an application to Schicksal for an aircraft. At the same time, send a message to Mushoku Kika and tell her to activate her armor and be ready for support at any time."
He touched the Stigmata on his right hand. He couldn't use Herrscher authorities right now, but he had recently figured out the abilities of his own Stigmata. After all, this Stigmata's original owner was Deified Na, but its current owner was Ryn himself.
With the help of Cortana and his Stigmata, Ryn created the LINK System and constructed a weapon, the "Phantasmal Armament Array," which had three special forms: greatsword, dual daggers, and heavy cannon. These weapons could use the LINK System to absorb different weapons or Honkai energy to achieve various effects.
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Additionally, the Stigmata contained the combat techniques of Deified Na. Although it was only close combat, it was enough to benefit Ryn immensely. (He would still learn the Sword Ki of Taixuan later, because the Sword God is just too cool.)
Not long after leaving the prison, Ryn found the unconscious Kiana. Kiana wasn't seriously injured. The opponents had acted quickly, taking down Kiana and injecting her with a large dose of anesthetic. But her Kaslana bloodline was still potent. While Ryn was still checking her, Kiana had already woken up.
Kiana grabbed Ryn's arm, signaling him that he didn't need to check. As she stood up, her face was grim. The enemy had moved fast. Before Kiana could react, Mei had been shot, knocked out, and taken away. Then she herself was shot. Seeing that one shot had no effect, they fired a few more.
Upon waking up, Kiana urgently said to Ryn:
"Ryn... Mei's been captured! We have to go save her!"
Ryn nodded and said to her, "Yes, we have to save her. But the people who kidnapped Mei have an aircraft and have already left the academy city's range. I've already applied for combat equipment from Schicksal. Kika will bring an aircraft to support us. All we can do now is wait for Kika to arrive."
"Damn it... I'm too weak..." Hearing that they could only wait, Kiana clenched her fists. She couldn't accept that Mei had been taken right in front of her, and now she was powerless to do anything.
"No, it's not your fault. After all, none of us expected this. Cortana, prepare some antidotes to bring along just in case."