In the heart of the Hyperion battleship, Theresa paced back and forth, anxiety etched on her face. Her hands were clasped behind her back as she thought about what had happened, worry lines creasing her forehead.
Her mind was racing with questions, but the most pressing one was why Wendy was so unresponsive.
"What should I do?" she whispered to herself, her voice echoing through the empty deck. "Why is Wendy acting like this?"
Himeko saw how worried Theresa was and stepped forward to comfort her. "Theresa," she said calmly, "you need to try and stay calm. The medical facilities on this ship aren't really good enough to help Wendy. We need to get back to base so we can examine her properly and figure out what kind of treatment she needs."
Luo Mo, however, wasn't as worried about Wendy as the others. He knew what had happened in a previous timeline – Wendy had simply fainted after encountering the Titan.
He also knew that Wendy was going to become a Herrscher because of the research Cocolia had been doing with the Herrscher Gem at the Oceania branch.
"If Herrschers were so THAT easy to beat," Luo Mo said out loud, thinking to himself, "humanity wouldn't have anything to worry about."
He paused for a moment before adding, "Wendy has completely merged with the Herrscher Gem. She's basically a Herrscher herself now."
The thought of facing an enemy that powerful was intimidating. Luo Mo knew that his current system wouldn't be able to handle that much Honkai energy.
As he considered this, he realized he should probably check his emotional value. He opened his system interface and saw a bunch of message notifications he hadn't read yet.
Before he could go through his messages, Himeko announced that they were about to land at St. Freya Academy.
As the massive battleship descended towards the academy grounds, Luo Mo gazed out the window at the beautiful campus below.
"Hyperion can dock directly inside the academy?" Luo Mo marveled at this revelation, once again impressed by Theresa's resources.
Then he had a thought – was it too late to get on Theresa's good side? The realization that Theresa was incredibly wealthy was a little overwhelming.
Meanwhile, at St. Freya Academy, Theresa carried Wendy in her arms as she hurried towards the academy's medical ward. She was moving quickly, determined to get Wendy help as soon as possible. But she had only taken a few steps when she stopped in her tracks, completely shocked by who she saw.
"Grandma?" she gasped, her eyes wide with surprise. Then she noticed the members of Anti-Entropy and Einstein standing nearby. "Einstein... and you... What are you all doing here?" she asked, confused.
Before anyone could answer, Kallen, who was standing with the red and blue duo, spoke up. "Take Wendy for treatment first," she instructed calmly. "Saving lives is what matters most right now."
"We'll help, too," The one with hair like lobster chimed in. "This situation involves Anti-Entropy as well, after all."
She then turned to Theresa and frowned. "And you, Theresa, why do you only remember Mophead?"
Theresa was caught off guard by his question and quickly apologized. Then it dawned on her how strange the whole thing was. "Wait a minute... you're from Anti-Entropy... our rivals! What are you doing inside Schicksal territory?"
Despite her confusion and worry, she knew that getting Wendy medical attention was the most important thing, so she hurried towards the medical room.
As Theresa disappeared down the hallway, Einstein spoke up, her voice light. "Dr. Tesla is always so concerned with making a scene."
Tesla looked like she was about to argue but instead decided to follow Theresa.
The group soon reached St. Freya's medical room. The white tiles in the hallway gleamed under the bright lights, their shadows stretching out behind them.
Red lights flashed above some of the doors, a stark reminder of the dangers Valkyries faced every day.
Inside one of the emergency rooms was a collection of high-tech medical equipment. Tesla gasped when she saw the latest model of the K-785 healing POD.
"We're still trying to get our hands on one of those at Anti-Entropy!" she exclaimed.
With such advanced equipment at their fingertips, their chances of helping Wendy seemed even better.
Kallen watched Theresa as she hurried down the hallway, a small smile on her face.
"Theresa really does care about her students," she said softly.
It was no secret that Theresa was generous with her (grandma) money, especially when it came to her beloved students. She never wasted anything, and the large sums she spent always benefited her pupils.
That was probably one of the reasons why St. Freya Academy was so successful. It was a place where dreams could come true, a school that every student wanted to attend.
The promotional videos showed a beautiful, peaceful, and delicate place that was hard to resist, It was no wonder that people like Durandal chose to train at the headquarters.
The academy attracted idealistic people who were passionate about teaching. The headmaster led the school with unwavering dedication, hoping to inspire more Valkyries to understand what they were fighting for.
It was a somewhat naive and whimsical idea, but who could find fault with such noble intentions?
Einstein sighed, breaking the silence that had settled over the group. "As we suspected, Wendy's head injury wasn't the main problem."
Her words sparked a wave of anxiety in Theresa.
"Then what happened?" Theresa asked, her voice filled with worry. "Why won't she wake up?"
Einstein frowned, smoothing back her blue hair as she thought about how to answer.
"Wendy has an unstable chip implanted in her brain," she explained. "The blow to her head made the chip, which was already unpredictable, even more erratic."
What Einstein didn't say was that the chip showed signs of Anti-Entropy technology.
"So, will Wendy wake up?" Theresa asked, her voice full of worry. "She's not going to..."
Her voice trailed off, unable to finish the sentence, afraid to even say the words.
"She's not going to die, at least not right away," Einstein assured her, her voice calm despite the seriousness of the situation. "The Herrscher Gem is repairing Wendy's body, but it's also causing damage at the same time. If we were to remove the chip..."
"What would happen?" Theresa interrupted, desperate for answers.
Einstein sighed. "She would probably become a Herrscher," she admitted. "And if we try to remove the chip too quickly, she could end up in a vegetative state."
"Is there any way she can go back to how she was before?" Theresa asked, clinging to a shred of hope.
Einstein shook her head. "It's not very likely," she admitted. "The Herrscher Gem's power output is too high. If we try to take it out too quickly, her body will basically just…disappear. The best thing we can do right now is lower Wendy's body temperature. That should slow down the conflict between the two forces."
She paused for a moment before continuing, "The strength of the Herrscher Gem should still be linked to Wendy's body for now. That will buy us some time to figure out what that chip does and find a suitable replacement."
Theresa looked surprised. "Isn't that a good thing?" she asked.
Einstein nodded, though she didn't look completely convinced. "It's a start," she conceded.
"Let me clarify something," Tesla interjected. "We only recently developed a sample of that chip ourselves. I had no idea Cocolia had already implanted a modified version into a human being."
she paused, letting the weight of her words sink in. "To fully understand what the chip does, we'll need at least six months," she continued. "Even if we slow down the deterioration of her body by lowering her temperature, the influence of the Herrscher Gem means she'll only have a month at most."
"This is partly our fault at Anti-Entropy," Tesla admitted, her voice tinged with regret. "We accept responsibility and we're willing to do whatever it takes to fix it."
Luo Mo, who had been listening quietly, spoke up. "Can't you just freeze her completely?" he asked.
"The Herrscher Gem can't be frozen," Dr. Einstein replied patiently. "Her body is in a very delicate state right now."
Luo Mo thought for a moment before speaking again. "If it's just a matter of having the right technology," he said confidently, "give me a month and I can fix this. All I need is a sample of the chip."
He was sure the World Serpent had the technology to help. Even if they didn't have much left, he still had the powerful Thirteen Flame-Chasers. Besides, he had been meaning to go to the World Serpent anyway to check on Fu Hua and see if Kevin was back.
"Theresa," Luo Mo said, turning to face her, "let me take care of Wendy." He spoke with an air of assurance that surprised some people in the room.
Tesla looked taken aback by his confidence. "You?" she sputtered, not trying to hide her skepticism. She was about to voice her doubts when she remembered that Luo Mo wasn't part of Anti-Entropy, so she bit her tongue.
"Mophead and I couldn't figure it out," she finally said. "Are you sure you can?"
"Of course I can't!" Luo Mo replied immediately, a mischievous glint in his eye. "But I know people who can."
When hear this Theresa looked at Luo Mo, her eyes filled with gratitude. "Thank you, Luo Mo. Please, let me know if there's anything I can do to repay you."
Luo Mo couldn't help but smile at her words. "Really? That's fantastic! In that case, besides helping Theresa out, how about you also give me the payment that you would have given to Anti-Entropy?"
He had his own reasons for wanting to help Wendy. It wasn't that he felt particularly strongly about her, but he believed in doing what he could to save a life.
As far as he could tell, based on this world's history, Wendy's death was pretty much guaranteed if things continued on their current course.
But what if she survived? He was curious to see if this was an anomaly or simply an accidental situation.
After all, there was still Himeko-sensei to consider...
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edited, thank you for reading this fanfiction.
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The upcoming side story featuring Kallen and Otto will not be released today, but rather in ten chapters’ from now. This delay is due to the extensive content of the story, which involves Kallen simulating life as it was 500 years ago.
The narrative is quite lengthy and required substantial research, as it delves into the intriguing lore of Otto and Kallen’s backstory, including elements such as Vera Otto and the Schariac blood source(Eleanor Schariac).
A spoiler alert for those eagerly awaiting the story: Kallen will abduct Otto in this narrative!
In the meantime, I will be publishing chapters like “The Mystery Behind Theresa’s Eternal Youth: Is She Truly the Offspring of Saint Kallen?!” Stay tuned!