"Look out! Get down!" Yuudachi shouted, hastily grabbing the stunned Sha Jin'ou beside her and rolling to the side.
"Whirrr!~" The deep-blue humanoid mecha raised its right arm high, its massive fist smashing down with unstoppable force onto the spot where Yuudachi and the others had just been standing!
"Bang!!" A terrifying crater instantly appeared on the asphalt road. Debris flew everywhere, and cracks spread across the ground. This was the Titan Mecha, a weapon developed by Anti-Entropy using the human tool known as 'technology,' powerful enough to combat ordinary Honkai Beasts.
"..." Yuudachi stared blankly at the scene. Although she had been prepared, she still couldn't believe how far Anti-Entropy had advanced in mecha development.
As the second-in-command of the Hyperion, Yuudachi knew… Schicksal had once considered learning from Anti-Entropy and applying Honkai energy to mecha, developing something similar to their mechs. But… because Honkai energy was not an ordinary energy source and was highly corrosive, the materials used to build the mecha were very easily corroded and shattered by it…
The fact that the materials themselves were easily destroyed by Honkai energy meant the mecha had a very short lifespan, and the materials used to build them were extremely expensive… This was a huge burden for Schicksal…
Therefore, to combat the Honkai, Schicksal turned its attention to biology… For some unknown reason, Schicksal discovered that Honkai energy was very fond of attaching itself to the bodies of pure young girls, which was also the reason why girls became Honkai Zombies.
Schicksal then collected Stigmata samples from various 'chosen people'—that is, Stigmata wielders—and through long-term research and imitation, they were finally able to autonomously create Artificial Stigmata. Engraving Artificial Stigmata onto girls could turn their bodies into the best vessels for Honkai energy, and the power of the Artificial Stigmata could reduce the erosion of Honkai energy on the girls' bodies, preventing them from turning into mindless monsters, 'Honkai Zombies.' Instead, they could use the Honkai energy within their bodies to enhance their various strengths, allowing humans to fight against the Honkai phenomenon with their own power and weapons that utilized Honkai energy.
Schicksal called these girls, who were engraved with Artificial Stigmata, "Valkyries."
This was how Schicksal managed to not be outmatched in terms of combat power by Anti-Entropy's intelligent humanoid mecha… although the Artificial Stigmata were not perfect…
"Captain, what do we do?" Sha Jin'ou asked, her voice trembling slightly as she got to her feet. After all, she was a new recruit in this squad, and this was her first time facing an Anti-Entropy mecha in reality, so it was natural for her to be a little panicked.
"Don't be afraid! This is just an ordinary Anti-Entropy Titan Mecha… with the combined strength of two B-Rank Valkyries, we can defeat it," Yuudachi said as she stood up. They had been taught about this at St. Freya High School, so she wasn't too flustered.
"The Titan Mecha is relatively clumsy. We just need to dodge its attacks in time," Yuudachi said, drawing the weapon from her back—the 'Energy Greatsword,' a standard greatsword designed by the Schicksal-affiliated Saint 7308 Research Institute for Valkyries. Based on the old model greatsword, the Honkai energy intensity within the blade was enhanced, and correspondingly, the blade would emit the purple glow of Honkai energy.
This was a Honkai energy weapon similar to the long sword Li Xuan had made with his Stigmata ability. Its sharpness completely outclassed ordinary alloy weapons.
"Let's go!" Yuudachi shouted, raising her Energy Greatsword and charging at the slowly rising Titan Mecha. The greatsword, its center glowing with purple light, struck the mecha's body with a flash of sparks and a piercing screech.
"System detects damage to the unit from Valkyrie attack. Auto-combat system activating." The artificial intelligence system installed in the massive Titan Mecha began to operate automatically, then extracted data on battling Valkyries from its vast database.
"Ding!~" The symbol on the Titan Mecha's head screen, which was both an expression and a logo, lit up. Its body, which had been knocked back by Yuudachi's attack, stiffened again. Its right fist instantly launched an attack, swinging fiercely at the Valkyrie who was recklessly slashing at its body.
"Clang!~" Yuudachi, who reacted in time, blocked with her long sword, stopping the Titan Mecha's iron fist. But the sheer mechanical force still sent her flying.
"Aah!" Sha Jin'ou, who had just drawn her Energy Greatsword, was hit by the flying Yuudachi. The two of them were caught off guard and crashed into the wall of a building behind them before coming to a stop.
"Are you okay?! Little Sha," Yuudachi said, putting down her Energy Greatsword and getting to her feet. A trickle of blood flowed from the corner of her mouth. The Titan Mecha's punch had injured her internally. Although it wasn't serious, her insides were churning.
"I'm fine…" Sha Jin'ou said, forcing a smile as she stood up.
"Good! Then let's go again!" Yuudachi charged forward again, holding her Energy Greatsword with both hands. Sha Jin'ou followed close behind.
"Use Plan A!" Yuudachi shouted. This was one of the simple methods taught at St. Freya High School for defeating Anti-Entropy mecha.
"Right, Captain Yuudachi!" Sha Jin'ou lowered her body and ran behind Yuudachi.
"Now!" Yuudachi instantly moved to the left. The Honkai energy in her body erupted, allowing her to dash to the side with great speed.
"Boom~!" Sha Jin'ou, now exposed to the Titan Mecha due to Yuudachi's movement, raised her long-charged Energy Greatsword high and brought it down heavily on the Titan Mecha's incoming fist. "Clang!" A clear, resonant sound, like a wooden pillar striking a large bell in an ancient temple, rang out.
"Crack~" The impact tore open the skin between Sha Jin'ou's thumb and forefinger, and fresh blood flowed out. A crack also appeared on the black blade of the Energy Greatsword. Of course, the Titan Mecha's fist was also shattered by the impact and the sharp blade, revealing a bowl-sized crack that exposed the precise circuitry beneath the armor.
"Whirrr!~" The Titan Mecha, unlike a human or a living creature, didn't need to recover after an impact. It raised its iron fists again and brought them down on the temporarily paralyzed Sha Jin'ou.
If this punch hit the now defenseless Sha Jin'ou, it would definitely cause her serious injury.
"Whoosh!~" The massive fist tore through the air, carrying the aura of death as it rushed towards Sha Jin'ou's small body… but it stopped just ten centimeters away.
"Thud!" The massive mecha, the Titan Mecha, suddenly lost power and crashed to the ground… A black and purple greatsword was embedded in its back power unit. Captain Yuudachi stood on top of the massive Titan Mecha, giving her a victorious smile.
No matter how powerful the Titan Mecha was from the front, its back was its weak point.
"Finally took it down…" Yuudachi wiped the sweat from her forehead, pulled out the Energy Greatsword, and jumped down from the Titan Mecha. It was only by using Sha Jin'ou to attract the mecha's attention that Yuudachi was able to launch a successful sneak attack.
"Boom!" The blue Honkai energy flowed out from the Titan Mecha's back power unit and then suddenly erupted, exploding like a bomb.
"Captain, look out!" Just as Yuudachi let out a sigh of relief, a shadow loomed over her, and a gust of wind hit the back of her head. The petite Sha Jin'ou suddenly erupted with power, instantly pushing her down and raising her own greatsword to try and block the attack from the behemoth behind her.
"Crack! Bang!~" Yuudachi, who was unharmed because she had been pushed aside, saw the Energy Greatsword Sha Jin'ou held up let out a mournful cry as it was shattered into two pieces by a massive white fist. The small girl was sent flying, and fresh blood bloomed like a flower…
The massive shadow revealed its true form—the 'Berserk Titan'!