148 Chapter 124: A Reason to Fight
Schicksal was cleaning up the premises when squad snowwolf was defeated. "We've taken care of the place overseer. Valkyrie Patricia Highsmith and Cheng Lixue sustained minor injuries, they will be battle ready in 30 days tops. Valkyrie Cecilia was not found, she was probably caught by the enemy." A lackey called Tilie and she narrowed her eyes.
"Cecilia Schariac is a valuable asset for Schicksal. Mobilize the intel division and find where she is right now immediately. I will retrieve her myself, if that isn't possible. Then Anti-entropy cannot get their hands on her as well." Tilie thought of AE roping her in and that wasn't good. But she still has Adelheid, though it would result in tensions if she did kill Cecilia.
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Siegfried bought a cone of soft serve for Cecilia and he made up a story. "Sorry Cecilia, it seems that the shop would need a day to find the necessary parts to fix my bike. It seems you'll be delayed in going to your base." He smiled wryly and Cecilia shook her head with the ice cream on her hand.
"But since you're here already, let's have some fun! Spot anything you fancy Cecilia? I'll take you there at once!" He puffed his chest up and Cecilia smiled at her.
"Thank you so much sir Ziggy. There's actually a few places I would like to visit." Cecilia remembered some of Adelheid's stories about the civilian life and she wanted to come there, might as well.
"Gunununu. My dear Cecilia is so naive, following that deadbeat..." Adelheid knew that Siegfried would treat her right. But knowing he was a vagabond no good man. She still felt Cecilia could do better.
"What's got your panties in a twist? I thought you want Cecilia to get a guy?" Lieserl asked and Joachim nodded.
"It's complicated Lieserl, she's a sis-con after all. And Joachim, you've been in her shoes. You should know." Ein told them while he was eating some ice cream, completely relaxed.
Joachim flinched and remembered himself calling all of them big sister and clinging to them like a leech.
"Hey, they're going to a library. Let's go!" Addy told them and they immediately followed them inside.
They followed the budding couple and they went to a couple of places. Library, stores, flower shops, a clothing store.
They then finished their tour and sat on a bench. "I never knew that the outside world is so vibrant and beautiful! Thanks for showing it to me sir Ziggy." Cecilia smiled and thanked him.
"It's nice and pretty and all. But the real fun is just about to start!" Siegfried stood up and Cecilia tilted her head.
"The real fun?" She asked, not really knowing what he's planning. He then pulled her with him and they arrived at an arcade.
"This is the place!" He showed it to her and they saw an old woman sweeping the entrance. "Hey Ziggy, I haven't seen you around. How long has it been? 2 weeks? You been traveling young'un?"
She then saw Cecilia that was with Siegfried and smiled at them. "Oh my, goodness me. You have such a beautiful girlfriend Ziggy, I thought you'll never have one." She teased him and Siegfried frowned.
"Auntie! She's just my second cousin visiting. Come on Cecilia, let's go in and start having some fun!" Siegfried and Cecilia entered and they saw a shooting game.
The highest scorer was called Ein. And the 2nd was Tilie. While Sieg was the 3rd. He then played it and Cecilia thought it looked cool.
"Fun right? I got a bit rusty, but it's a good warmup though. I'll be painting my name on the leaderboards soon." He said to Cecilia, being all macho and shit.
"Look at this guy, trying to impress a girl that could pop his head like a watermelon between her hands." Adelheid was still snarky and the other three left her to her own devices.
"Ohhh, can I try?" Cecilia got stars in her eyes and Siegfried thought she was cute as hell. "Yup, here's a token. These games are a bit tough and tricky, you might lose quickly at the start for a few times. Your valkyrie training wouldn't help you much there." He tried to brag.
She then started playing the game and Siegfried lost terribly, Cecilia was now 2nd in the rankings and she cheered. 'Curses! Valkyries and their superhuman reflexes!' He looked at the leaderboards and was defeated.
'Hmph, time to show her some super ninja moves then.' "Hey Cecilia, let's play some more games." He thought he would beat her in others.
"Un, let's go! This place is so much fun." Cecilia beamed at him and they tried others. Racing games, fighting games. But he lost them all and was agonizing.
'Damn, she hasn't even played games before and she beat me in all of them! Superhuman reflex bullshit.' He got depressed and they went to a silly homu game.
"Are you sure about this game Ziggy?" The auntie at the front of the store came to them and decided to trick the naive looking Cecilia for fun.
"What's wrong with the game auntie?" Cecilia asked and Sieg raised a brow. "It's a guessing game, you put your hand inside the mouth of the homu. And if you guess wrong, it will grow teeth and bite your hand off." The old woman said with a straight face.
"Don't scare her auntie, it's just a game." Sieg put his hand in the mouth and Cecilia looked at him with concern. "Uhh, I don't think that's a good idea."
The game then started. "Homu homu! Welcome to homu trivia, do you like chemistry kids!? Well now, there are 2 protons in a hydrogen atom, yes or no?"
Siegfried started sweating and thought that question wasn't for kids. Not to mention the majority of adults. 'What the hell did they do to the game? It wasn't this difficult back then.'
"Uhh, yes?" He guessed and took his chances. "Homu homu! Wrong answer! I'm biting your hand off now!" It grew teeth that was soft, but Cecilia took the old woman too seriously and she tackled Siegfried.
"Kyaa! Careful Ziggy!" She then looked at the game and the auntie raised a brow at her reaction. "Don't be too scared girl, the teeth are made of soft foam. It's a children's game after all."
Cecilia smiled wryly and she noticed she was on top of Siegfried. He awkwardly looked at her and blushed. She backed off a bit to let him sit and got red as well.
"Gunununu! What a cliche love trope, it's like I'm watching a romcom god damn it." Adelheid fumed and gritted her teeth.
"They're young, what do you expect? And Cecilia is very naive. Are you sure you want that kid to be with her? He looks kind of nice, but that isn't always the case." Lieserl gave her some advice, but Adelheid nodded in satisfaction.
"He's a Kaslana... And he won't do that to her." She then thought that things would be much more different now. As she grinded like hell, even experiencing burn out from all the things she did. Addy then looked at her level and was satisfied as she was now level 1000. 100 times stronger than normal S-rank valkyries. And now, she could defeat judgement class honkai beasts with relative ease due to Sushang and Hua's help.
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The couple then arrived at a restaurant and the evening lights illuminated the surroundings.
"They serve really good Wurst here, have it while it's hot." Siegfried took a seat and Cecilia looked at the sausage that didn't really look special.
She took a bite and was quite surprised it was better than it looked. "Wow, this is nicer than expected. Though nothing could beat Ein-nii's food." She ate and Siegfried raised a brow at the name and endearment.
"Ein-nii? Your brother? I thought you only had a sister, that's a surprise." He needed more information and got slightly jealous.
"Ahh, Ein-nii is the legendary Imperator of Schicksal. Even the overseer doesn't want to get on his bad side. Nor any of the members of his squad, Odin and friends." Cecilia thought it was just basic info and Siegfried could look it up so she told him.
Siegfried did a spit take and heard of him before. "Einheri Aesir? That Imperator?" Siegfried remembered the legendary squad that had a funny name but completed any mission flawlessly. And even one of them coming for a mission means it's either a world class threat, or just one of their whims. He heard stories of them from his family and thought they were the ultimate squad.
"Un, he spoils us sisters since we were young. Giving us delectable treats and food. Those were good times for sure." She beamed and Siegfried couldn't believe that his hero would spoil a valkyrie like that.
At another table Ein looked at Addy with a smug face. "Yeah, I've been spoiling you girls since you were young. I even trained you so you could be strong. And what do I get? Nothing, ahhh. Lieserl, this world is too cruel no?" He acted and Addy started to feel bad as he really did gave them a lot.
"Wait... You better not enter that territory young Schariac. Or you'll be roped in to the devil's lair." Joachim told her off and Ein clicked his tongue.
"Hah, you've really grown up Joachim. You are now an adult that ruins it for everyone. Ain't that right Lieserl?" He put a finger on her nape and sent a small charge of electricity making her melt on to him.
Adelheid and Joachim narrowed their eyes at the 2 flirting and cursed him inside their minds. "Damned riajuu! Explode!" Addy got jealous as every single waifu idolized him. Even the sovereign of anti-entropy.
Cecilia then looked up at the sky and thought of this wonderful day. "Thank you for taking me to fun places Ziggy. This has been one of the happiest days of my life. Right next to having fun with Addy and Ein-nii's squad."
She smiled and Siegfried looked at her melancholic expression. 'She will definitely be caged up in Schicksal when she returns.' He then wiped off a bit of sauce on the side of her mouth. "I can take you to more places you know?"
"No, they won't allow it." Cecilia looked down on the ground and Sieg stood up. "Yeah, I know all about the stupid bases locking you up. But you deserve some R&R every now and then."
He looked at her and smiled. "I've been locked up in a house too by people. That's how I learned kickass ninja skills. I'll teach you how to break out of the base!" He puffed up his chest and Cecilia looked at him with stars in her eyes.
"Can you really?" She asked with excitement and Sieg nodded. "I sure can, I ran away from home and toured the world. I enjoyed the dumpling festival in Shenzou, had flower viewing picnics in the far east under sakura trees, I hunted lions in Africa with the locals there."
He then raised his hand. "The world is a big and exciting place... I can't imagine being locked up in a house all my life. It'd be a shame, knowing that you missed the majority of the world."
"And all those games you played will be surpassed by new tech! You ever heard of 3-d? They're going to be releasing games like that in the future. Aesir corp. would be releasing call of duty next month. I'll see you in the grand release okay?" He smiled and offered his hand to her.
Cecilia smiled at him and was about to take his hand. But she remembered a certain memory of hers that still haunts her to this day.
"Grandma! You can't do this to Adelheid! I won't allow it!" Theresa protested as Tilie will start experimenting with Adelheid to increase her honkai manipulation.
"This is for the future of Schicksal Theresa, and Adelheid agreed to it as well no?" The blonde countered and Theresa looked at Adelheid that had a resolute face.
"Are you sure about this Addy... If you undergo these expriments, then your body would change forever. And you won't be able to go outside much." Theresa lightly put it as she would basically be a prized possession of Schicksal.
"It's fine aunt Theresa. And it doesn't matter if I can't go outside, this is my home now. And if Cecilia is here. Then there's no problem." She said with confidence. And Cecilia overheard it all.
She then decided to undergo the experiments as well so she won't leave Addy. For her sake, and for hers as well...
She finished her unpleasant flashback and gripped her chest. "Cecilia, are you alright? You've gone quiet..." Siegfried was concerned and was about to tap her on the shoulder.
"No! Ziggy... I can't leave Schicksal. I will have the base pay you for this trouble and let's forget about this." She felt pain on her chest and thought it was a side effect of the tests. But it was her unconscious plea to be free, making her chest hurt.
"Hah, no way! It isn't about the money anymore Cecilia. I have to defend the honor of every ninja out there. And I won't give up until I beat you fair and square on our games." He stubbornly said to her and she started tearing up.
"Oh crap, I forgot about the time! Come on, let's go. We'll go and see a kick ass movie!" He pulled her to the theaters and they looked at a poster for a movie.
It was a crossover of Arahato and gundam. Made by Aesir corp. of course. "This Cecilia, are mechs made of 100% pure awesomeness." He showed her the tickets and Cecilia didn't understand of course.
"Do you really like these robots that much Ziggy?" She tilted her head and he frowned from her words. "Bruh, Cecilia. Once you see this movie, you'll be a gundam and Arahato fan for sure!" He then ranted about the awesome robots and Cecilia remembered something.
'Wait, I saw those robots as a prize on the claw machines in the arcade. Maybe I should get it for him... We won't be meeting anymore after this, and I have 20 minutes left before I went missing for 24 hours. Schicksal would probably find me quickly after that.'
"Ziggy! I'll be going to the arcade for a bit! Don't worry, I'll catch up with you later!" She ran to the arcade and Sieg thought it was weird.
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"Yes, Yes! I got it! But why isn't it going down?" Cecilia looked under the area where the prize comes out. Einstein then kicked it and the box with the toy finally went out.
"Prizes tend to get stuck at some point. It's especially true with this crane game, you just have to hit it at the right place with the correct amount of force." Einstein appeared to save the day and was ice cold with her drip.
Cecilia hugged the prize and smiled at her. "Thank you very much for your help." Einstein blew a bubble with her gum. "It's alright. What I'm about to do next won't be very pleasant at all."
"Uhh, what... Do you mean by. That?" Cecilia got groggy and then went unconscious immediately. "Guten nacht, my little fraulein." Einstein then took out a syringe to get a sample of her blood.
"The sleeping gas worked as intended, target is down. I'll be taking a sample now, be on guard Joachim. The paladin of Schicksal agreed to this, but she might blow a fuse with how she acts toward her sister." Einstein took a sample and warned Joachim that was watching Addy confront Siegfried.
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'Ugh, she's just been gone for a few minutes and I feel like my heart's gonna explode.' "Calm down Ziggy, she's just been gone for a few minutes... She will return for sure." He then heard cries of help.
"Help! There's been a gas attack at the arcade!" Siegfried propped up and immediately ran to the arcade.
"I knew it! My super ninja senses felt something was wrong! Good thing I know this shortcut here! Wait for me Cecilia!" He ran to an alley, but he was cut off by someone.
"C-cecilia?" Adelheid narrowed her eyes at him, wearing her signature battle suit with crimson highlights. Abyss flower on her hand as she walked up to him.
"You better forget about him boy. You can't protect her. I don't want to hurt you, but you should mind your own business and just travel the world like you're supposed to." Adelheid tried testing his mettle just like how Joachim would and pointed the lance at him.
'This girl must be her sister... This isn't ninja at all. But as a Kaslana, I must uphold my promise to her.' He bowed and put his hands together to beg.
"Big sister, just give us a few more hours to watch a movie!" He then prepared himself to try and incapacitate her.
"Hmph, you should just get the hell out of here before I lose my patien." Before she could finish her sentence, Siegfried lunged at her.
"Eat my shorts valkyrie! Even if you're Cecilia's sister. I won't let you take her freedom away! Your fancy lance won't stop this ninja!" He bravely ran it down. But he got tripped as a vine caught his foot and then it grew. Binding him to the ground.
"Your endeavors are meaningless. Now be a good boy and stay down." She then stabbed his thighs with the vines.
"Ugh! She just wants to see the world!? Why can't you grant her that wish? You're her sister aren't you!?" He then took off the vines with newfound strength.
"I'm a ninja, I'll save my girl you hear! You people always poop on people's dreams and crush them! I oughta sock you in the face for putting your sister in that situation!" He walked slowly and Addy nodded in satisfaction.
So she decked him on the face to shut him up and he lost consciousness. "Good, it seems you haven't changes Siegfried. Train well, and I leave Cecilia in your hands..." She then disappeared from the premises as the overseer would quickly arrive.
"Ziggy! You aren't too injured... That's good." Cecilia quickly woke up and looked at Siegfried that was on the ground. Starting to gain consciousness.
"I was gassed, and I thought they would kill you. Good thing I woke up in this alley." She said to him. Lieserl carried her to the alley and quickly left with Joachim with a sample of her blood.
"Cecilia. You've grown careless, you are expected to be better than this." Tilie looked at the scene as she arrived and thought one of her valkyries was playing hooky.
"Overseer! Please give me a few minutes! Please!" She begged, but Tilie mercilessly shot her plea down. "We will go now. Your overseer has spoken."
"Cecilia, you can't leave... I need to beat you in a game fair and square. It's a ninja's promise." Siegfried said weakly while he was on Cecilia's lap.
Cecilia teared up and looked at him with sadness. "No, sir Ziggy. You've already won." Her tear dropped onto his face and she stood up.
Looking at Siegfried one more time before she left with Schicksal's overseer.
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'I woke up and there I was in my room. I asked everyone in town if they knew Cecilia, but nobody knew her. Like she was just a dream, that everything we did was like a fairy tale.
Schicksal erased every trace of Cecilia in the town and Siegfried thought it was like a nightmare.
He visited every place that they went together, remembering the memories they experienced. 'I can still feel your tears on my face Cecilia. And it bore a hole through my soul. And it hurts god damn it.'
He punched the mirror in his apartment, and everywhere he looked, he could see Cecilia's face.
"What the hell are you doing Ziggy. I'm a god damned ninja. When did I let those Schicksal pansies let them do whatever they want?" He then contacted Schicksal's overseer.
To get Cecilia out of her cage. And to show her sister that he is more than capable of doing so.
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Two long years passed. And Cecilia wasn't able to smile like in the past, even when Addy got her Ein's treats.
She was inside a training room and she thought of the memories in that little town two years ago.
'Maybe if I took his hand... I'll be living a different life right now.' She then shook her head and thought that was foolish.
'It's fine. He already gave me wonderful memories that will stay with me forever. In that little town that bustled with life.' She then thought of Addy, Theresa, and Ein's squad. Thinking it was enough that she had them.
"It's your turn Cecilia, don't worry. Your training today won't be as harsh." Theresa smiled at her, with a surprise for her that would surely make her happy.
"It's fine auntie Theresa. Any training Schicksal could throw at me pales in comparison to master Sushang's anyway." Cecilia shuddered as her body could still remember the exhaustion that feels like you've died.
The lights inside the room then opened. And her eyes dilated when she saw who entered. "Heya Cecilia. Remember me? I promised that I would beat you fair and square. And I used tons of ninja techniques to get here." He scratched his head. His face was still full of bruises and cuts from the training the valkyries put him through.
"Wha..." Cecilia just went wide eyed and looked at him like he wasn't real. "Ziggy! You came here for me!" She dropped her training weapon and immediately went to him and hugged him tight with tears on her eyes.
"Thank you grandma, you used to hate that boy so much that I thought you'd never let them reunite." Theresa was with Tilie as they watched their reunion.
"This pathetic excuse of a Kaslana contacted me 2 years ago. I told him to best my valkyries if he wants to see her again. I intend to teach him a lesson, for running away from Schicksal." Tilie swirled her glass of wine and looked at the scene. A certain plan in her mind.
"The lad couldn't even beat a lowly A-ranker. And he has a habit of getting back on his feet. He's tough, I give him that. But toughness could only carry you so far." Theresa nodded and smiled wryly at his attempts to fight the A-ranks.
"I knew something was wrong when he fought Cheng and he only got out of it with 9 broken ribs. You girls were training him huh?" Tilie looked at Theresa and she gave a cramped smile.
"I think we need to thank you for not exposing this to them, or ordering us to kill him. Look, Cecilia's finally smiling again. She hasn't smiled like that since the incident 2 years ago." Theresa excitedly said with a smile.
"For not exposing you? It seems you haven't learned a thing from me my sweet little Theresa." Tilie sighed and shook her head. Thinking that Ein or his squad are the only ones that could match her thinking.
"The overseer mustn't get distracted by foolish notions like hate nor mercy. Cecilia proved to be weak, unlike her sister. And combining the blood of Schariac and the Kaslanas might bring us a much stronger herrscher killer..." She narrowed her eyes and suddenly had a vision of Kallen as she saw Cecilia and Siegfried kiss.
"You're not being mean Tilie. Thank you for letting them be together. Don't give up on kindness, I always knew you had it in your heart." Tilie then closed her eyes and thought it was not the case. As her heart has died a long time ago with Kallen.
"Heh, so you're being a matchmaker now eh? You've been awfully quiet for the past few years. So this is your grand plan huh?" Ein appeared beside her and put his arm over her shoulder. Snatching her wine and drinking it.
"Ein, you already know that I'm not a matchmaker." She sighed and smiled a bit at his antics.
"Kukuku~ you should get married 1st before you play matchmaker Tilie. Theresa, you should find your grandma over here some love you know? Help her get some hahaha!" He teased her and Theresa thought Ein is the only one that could do that to her grandmother. Making her smile wryly and just nod at his words.
"Stop your tomfoolery Ein! I do not need such things." She pinched his side, but it did not do anything to him as usual.
"Hmm, but you must've forgot? You were looking so intently on my little friend back then. And you especially liked it when I pinched your little cherries here." He pinched her nipples with blinding speed and stimulated it to the max.
"Ahn~ Ein! Th-theresa. Don't believe a word he says. It isn't true!" She panicked and immediately told her grand daughter excuses. Making her even more suspicious.
"Ein-nii... I didn't know you and grandma are like that... Please take care of her." She bowed and gave her blessings.
"Hoh, it seems your only relative have given their blessings Tilie." He then traced her nape, making her almost melt to the chair she was on.
'Ahhh, Kallen. Please save me from this accursed devil.' She fidgeted and tried hiding a stain on her pants.
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Thanks for reading, the 2nd honkai war is happening next. And the duck would be on her way.
