50. Miss Rita Crashes Hard!
Rita, one of the three S-Rank Valkyries of Schicksal.
If we go by official statements alone, she is undoubtedly among the top three combatants in the world.
Though she is the deputy captain of the Immortal Blades and serves as Durandal's adjutant, in the eyes of most Valkyries, their combat abilities should be quite similar—certainly not far apart.
At least from Gao qi's understanding, that's what most Schicksal Valkyries believe.
Although Rita has always maintained a low profile, willingly playing the supporting role to Durandal, in reality, she has quite a few admirers within Schicksal. Many Valkyries look up to her elegance and composure.
In fact, compared to the somewhat… airheaded Durandal in daily life—ahem, I mean Lady Durandal—Miss Rita is the epitome of reliability.
If someone were to claim that she would fail or encounter danger during a mission, few would believe it—after all, she is the perfect and graceful maid!
However, when Gao qi heard Alvitr anxiously report that Rita was sending out a distress signal, he believed it without hesitation.
"Let's go, Alvitr. Suit up in your Valkyrie armor and deploy any Valkyries who aren't tied down to that area. Just send me the info—ha, I knew our Miss Rita would never let us rest easy."
What could he do? Ever since her debut, Miss Rita has been taking hits left and right, even during events!
Seeing Alvitr's anxious expression, Gao qi instinctively reached out and ruffled her hair. He grabbed a few flashy-looking Honkai-energy weapons from the armory and, without another word, dashed into the night.
"Eh, ehh? I meant for you to take over my duties! I am an A-Rank Valkyrie, after all… Alright, alright. Wait—how do you even know where Miss Rita is?!"
Watching Gao qi's tall figure recede into the distance, Alvitr absentmindedly rubbed the spot on her head where he had patted her, her cheeks flushing slightly. Then, she quickly hurried off to don her Valkyrie armor.
Although Gao qi's records always indicated limited combat prowess, for some reason, Alvitr instinctively felt that entrusting this man with the task would ensure Miss Rita's safe return.
——————
The night was deep, and the full moon cast its glow over the neon-lit skyscrapers of Arc City. A figure with long black hair darted swiftly between buildings, seemingly in a hurry but actually circling around.
Raiden Mei, clad in her Striker Fulminata uniform, was doing her best to lead her pursuer on a wild goose chase, buying time for Principal Theresa and Bronya.
After all, Bronya was the most professional computer hacker and mechanic. The authentication chip left on "Gray Serpent" was, at a glance, something someone had deliberately left behind, temporarily unable to crack it themselves, waiting for them to handle it before swooping in to reap the rewards.
So, after temporarily shaking off the pursuing mechs, Mei took the biological chip and faced the pursuer alone.
The identity of the attacker wasn't too surprising—Rita Rossweisse, an S-Rank Valkyrie of Schicksal. She was undoubtedly sent by Overseer Otto to track down Kiana's whereabouts!
Mei had already lost Kiana once. This time, she absolutely would not let Schicksal take Kiana away again!
Having lost the Gem of Conquest, Mei was now just an ordinary A-Rank Valkyrie, naturally unable to confront an S-Rank Valkyrie head-on. Still, with the help of smoke bombs and stealth devices, she managed to keep Rita at bay.
"This should be… enough."
Finally, sensing no sign of pursuit, Mei began running toward the predetermined evacuation point.
Soon, she saw the wreckage of several Titan mechs and a few familiar figures.
Theresa, still carrying the Oath of Judah, held a green-haired girl of similar height—who had been modified—in her arms. Nearby, Bronya wielded a heavy sniper rifle, using Project Bunny to take down the last mech.
Seeing Bronya standing firmly on both legs, Mei knew this was Bronya at her most serious.
Back in Nagazora, this cold-hearted assassin girl had given them quite a bit of trouble. Attacks could come from anywhere between the buildings, leaving the then-inexperienced Mei flustered.
But now, that power belonged to her friend.
"We're done here, Mei-senpai. The Hyperion has dispatched a transport vessel."
Bronya's calm voice came through the earpiece. To anyone hearing it, she might sound detached and emotionless, but after three years of knowing her, Mei understood that Bronya was actually a girl rich in emotions and quite willful.
Especially when it came to staying up all night playing games—neither Mei nor Theresa could talk her out of it. Bronya often said things like, "Only my dad can control me when it comes to games," showing just how stubborn she could be.
However, the happy days at the academy were gone. With Kiana missing, they had been forced to grow up.
With her Valkyrie armor enhancing her movements, Mei leaped and dashed between buildings, soon landing on the rooftop where Bronya stood.
"I shook off Rita—or so I'd like to say, but that's probably impossible, right?"
Seeing the approaching transport vessel, Mei shrugged at Bronya and prepared for battle.
"Yes, Mei-senpai. She's already here—we couldn't remove the bio-lock on this child, so we'll have to leave it to Dr. Einstein."
The radar display in Project Bunny suddenly emitted a sharp screech. Bronya raised her sniper rifle, aiming at a seemingly empty billboard atop a nearby skyscraper.
"Although Principal Theresa was once an S-Rank Valkyrie, I don't think relying on her to defeat the pursuer is very likely."
Hearing this, Theresa, standing nearby, immediately waved her shining spear in annoyance.
"Hey, hey! Bronya, don't you dare doubt this principal's combat abilities! I may not have been on missions these past few years, but my skills are guaranteed!"
Still holding the little girl protectively in her arms, Theresa wanted to argue further, but when she saw Rita—who had deactivated her stealth and appeared on the billboard, clad in moon-white, gown-like Valkyrie armor and wielding a deep-blue scythe—the rest of her words trailed off into a mumble.
"…The fourth-generation armor is a different story."
Argent Knight: Artemis—the moment this fourth-generation Valkyrie armor, designed by Schicksal, appeared, the girls felt the surrounding air grow frigid.
"It seems you've all been waiting for me."
Her well-proportioned figure clad in moon-white armor, Rita—having deployed in her new armor—casually deactivated her stealth. Amidst a faint chill, she flashed forward and landed in front of Bronya.
The Overseer's orders were only to retrieve the information from Gray Serpent's android and to ensure Theresa didn't get caught up in it. Beyond that, Rita had free rein.
"This adorable little child would be better off entrusted to a maid's care, wouldn't you agree?"
With a slight smile, Rita tossed the now-unlocked prosthetic eye in her hand, aiming it at the child.
"Rita Rossweisse, taking over highest authority. I command you to upload the information, then… format."
Over the years, Rita had done a lot of dirty work for the Overseer, but if she had a choice, she would never let a child self-destruct.
Soon, the short-haired, android girl's helmet flickered with flashes of information reception, and she muttered softly to herself.
"Authority recognized. Entering self-destruction sequence. Please evacuate to a safe area before detonation. Countdown: five, four, three—"
"Huh?!"
Now, not only were Mei and Theresa panicking, but Rita's expression also turned anxious.
"Wait, repeat command: halt the self-destruction sequence."
Glancing at the prosthetic eye in her hand, Rita felt a wave of panic. She hadn't come here to kill a child in front of everyone.
With a subtle movement of her feet, accompanied by a shimmer of ice crystals, Rita instantly appeared before the android. Cold energy surged in her hands, and the translucent, cicada-wing-like gauze structures on her back began to scatter flickering points of light.
The particle flow system of the Stygian Nymph battlesuit could use "Crescent Particles" composed of Honkai energy to rapidly absorb thermal energy, disabling machinery and lowering the body temperature of living beings. It could both harvest lives and protect injured teammates.
"Awaken, master of frost."
Uttering the activation command, Rita immediately prepared to freeze the android—at least to save her life and deal with her later.
But the next moment, she suddenly saw the small android look up and give her a faint smile.
"Just kidding, Aunt Rita. You're a bit silly~~"
Only Rita could hear these words. The android's voice was no longer mechanical but filled with… a serpent-like coldness and mischief.
The next second, a flash of purple light lit up thousands of meters away.
Swish.
As if carried by the wind, a streak of purple lightning shot over and shattered the Gray Serpent prosthetic eye in Rita's hand.
"The power of a Herrscher? No… a Divine Key?"
The familiar power made Mei freeze for a moment before she realized—it was the power of a Thunder-attribute Divine Key, something she had never seen before yet felt strangely familiar with.
Without hesitation, she closed the distance and swung her blade at Rita—whoever was providing support was a friend on their side!
Similarly, the familiar sniper technique made Bronya's eyes widen slightly. As she maneuvered Project Bunny to press toward Rita, she waved in the direction of the shot.
—
"Heh, this little one is really sharp. She seems to be doing well."
Thousands of meters away, atop a tall building, Raven held a black sniper rifle shimmering with blue-purple lightning.
The Third Divine Key—Seven Thunders of Retribution.
"Of all people to bully, you had to pick our kid."
Raven's mission was to ensure the "android" was eventually taken onto the Hyperion. Even if Rita destroyed the data within, it wouldn't affect her.
But Raven… had a protective streak.
Although she needed to avoid conflict, taking a shot at this S-rank Valkyrie shouldn't be a problem, right?
Thinking this, Raven hesitated for a moment before dialing a number.
"Hello—miss you? Miss you my foot. Who are you? We're not close."
Originally, Raven had intended to inform her "partner" about Rita being surrounded, but hearing the irritating voice on the other end of the line, she hung up without hesitation and sent a coordinate to the A.E.G.I.S. "Logistics Officer."
Let him save his own superior. If she died, it wouldn't be good for the World Serpent.
—
"A Divine Key—someone from the World Serpent."
With the prosthetic eye in her hand shattered, a numbing sensation instantly passed through the Valkyrie battlesuit and spread across her body. Memories flashed in Rita's mind, allowing her to instantly identify the source of the attack.
Two years ago, Rita had already clashed with members of the World Serpent. Even the Overseer had suffered a setback against this Divine Key.
There was no choice but to use force!
Cold energy surged around her as the scythe in her hands began to spin rapidly. Phantom-like humanoid illusions appeared, and Rita's body became encased in glacial armor, dispelling the Divine Key's power and blocking the attacks from the three Valkyries around her.
But the next moment, a dark blue butterfly appeared before Rita.
Without Rita even noticing, an equally massive scythe pressed against her slender neck.
"Big sister, please don't move—you're not the only one who knows how to wield a scythe. And when it comes to taking care of children, you're far worse than that guy!"
Hearing the voice behind her—the same tone but with a different demeanor—Rita's delicate hand silently pressed the distress signal button at her waist.
She had to admit that things were slipping out of her control.
Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
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Raw: 崩坏模拟器,你找的人是我么?