Beep beep beep—!
Just as the three were bickering, Bronya's Project Bunny suddenly rang with an incoming call.
Bronya recognized the number—it was Cocolia.
"Project Bunny, answer the call."
Although Bronya hated that woman, she didn't know what Cocolia might want.
What if it was something important?
"My daughter, I knew you'd answer. You know I hate betrayal. You can still return to my side. Abandon them and come back to Anti-Entropy."
Right off the bat, Cocolia tried to manipulate her.
But Bronya was no longer swayed by her words.
"Why are you calling Bronya? If you have nothing important to say, Bronya will hang up."
"Haha, very well, Bronya. I see your choice now."
Seeing Bronya's attitude, Cocolia knew she couldn't persuade her, so she gave up.
Then, she smiled and switched the call's video feed to another scene.
"My daughter, does this person look familiar?"
"That's... Wendy!"
Seeing the girl in the wheelchair, Bronya immediately recognized her.
Her gaze locked onto Cocolia.
"What do you want?"
"Have you forgotten what I desire? Of course, to extract the Herrscher core and complete that mission."
"You!"
"Wendy, oh Wendy, I'll give you one last chance to say goodbye to them. Be grateful for my mercy."
"Cocolia!"
Seeing this unfold, Bronya was filled with hatred.
But Cocolia didn't care.
"Miss Bronya, I'm glad to have met you all in the final moments of my life. You truly are good people, but I can't go back now. Please apologize to Principal Theresa for me."
At that moment, the screen went black.
"Ah—!"
Seeing the dark screen and hearing the screams of pain from the other side, Bronya clenched her fists.
She hated herself for being powerless, for being unable to save Wendy.
Kiana and Mei also felt the same, hating their own weakness.
If only they had been stronger, perhaps this tragedy could have been avoided.
But the scene on the other side was different.
Just as Wendy finished her final line, a certain black-haired Fu Hua made her entrance.
With her sheer strength, she easily took down all the guards.
Then, she used Fenghuang Down to hypnotize Cocolia.
"Fu Hua-senpai, you came just in time. So, is it time to remove the gem now?"
"Yes, and I've brought an expert for this. Dr. Vill-V, if you would."
"Sigh, I guess it's up to me."
Using her portable space device, "Expert" Vill-V instantly set up a sterile operating room.
The surgery took half an hour, after which Wendy woke up.
"Well, if it weren't for the plot, I'd really like to keep that power."
Feeling the loss of her power, Wendy felt a bit regretful.
Even without the Herrscher core, she was still an A-rank Valkyrie, close to S-rank.
But with that power, she could have been even stronger.
"Well, true strength comes from within. External power is only temporary. Real strength comes from oneself."
"Yes, yes, Fu Hua-senpai, no need to lecture me. I should get going now."
With her mission complete, Wendy left. All she needed to do now was stay away from the main cast's area.
Fu Hua also used Fenghuang Down to implant false memories in Cocolia.
Meanwhile, Vill-V repaired all the Titan mechs.
After finishing everything, the three left.
Cocolia woke up in a daze.
Seeing the core in her hands, she assumed she had just zoned out for a moment.
"Has the Herrscher's body been disposed of?"
"Commander Cocolia, we've taken care of the body. We can retreat now."
"Good, full retreat."
Satisfied, Cocolia left with the Herrscher core in a special container.
Meanwhile, the three heroines were still mourning Wendy's death.
"We're still too weak. We must become stronger, strong enough that no one can bully us, strong enough to protect those we care about."
The three vowed that one day, they would overcome all evil.
However, this nearly made Himeko, who was eavesdropping outside, burst out laughing.
She had just received a call from Wendy.
While Kiana and the others inside were crying over Wendy's "death," Himeko was outside chatting and laughing with Wendy.
Click!
Hearing the door open, Himeko quickly composed herself.
She then looked at the visibly downcast Kiana and asked, "What's wrong? You all seem upset."
"...Himeko-sensei, we failed the mission. Wendy-senpai was captured by Anti-Entropy, and they extracted her Herrscher core. Wendy-senpai... she's gone. Waaah!"
Kiana hugged Himeko and buried her face in her chest, sobbing.
Himeko gently patted Kiana's head.
"Sigh, then you must avenge her. But to do that, you need to study and train hard. Otherwise, you won't stand a chance."
"I will, Himeko-sensei. I will avenge Wendy-senpai."
Breaking free from Himeko's embrace, Kiana declared with tearful eyes.
She swore eternal enmity with Anti-Entropy.
They claimed to have left Schicksal because they opposed human experimentation.
But now, Kiana saw them as nothing but hypocrites.
They preached against Schicksal's experiments, yet they treated human life as worthless.
...
"...?"
"Kiana, can you explain why your total score in liberal arts is only 60?"
Looking at Kiana, who just a few months ago had vowed to study and train hard to avenge Wendy, Himeko's lips twitched.
This was what you called studying hard? If Wendy were really dead, she'd probably be cursing you from the afterlife with grades like these.
"Ugh, but I just can't understand it! Those classes make me so sleepy. And I've improved a lot, okay? I got 60 points across several subjects!"