Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

"Huh? What? You want to be a Valkyrie?"

Yukino Yukinoshita stared in shock at the blonde girl. She had the urge to stop Eriri Sawamura from this foolish notion.

What were Valkyries? They were tough people who had artificial Stigmas inscribed on them, pioneers who had personally withstood the Honkai energy with their own bodies.

Without them, there would be no Stigma Battlesuits today.

Everyone knew that the strongest Stigma Battlesuit in the Academy City was derived from the genes of the strongest Valkyrie family, the Kaslanas.

Although Valkyries were gradually retiring, it didn't mean that becoming one was an easy task.

"Yeah, don't you guys think Valkyries are amazing? They seem to be able to do anything. Whether it's their academic level, combat skills, or even their various elective hobbies, they're all top-notch. It's like they're the elite of all women. Like idols for all the girls in the Academy City."

'Of course I know they're amazing, but the problem is you.'

Yukino Yukinoshita glanced at the blonde girl, who was even thinner than her. Valkyries all had excellent figures, either that or they were naturally petite and didn't hinder combat.

She looked to Raiden Mei for help, hoping that Mei, a member of the "bullied trio," could properly guide this new young lady.

"Eriri, it's best not to dream like that. Every girl who thinks she's strong has the foolish dream of becoming a Valkyrie. But they all fell on the way. If you can pass the Stigma Battlesuit test, you will actually have the same abilities as a Valkyrie in the future."

Raiden Mei dissuaded Eriri from her three-minute fever dream. She didn't want this girl to step into the abyss. Even the Valkyrie training at St. Freya was terrifying for ordinary people.

It was a good thing they had genetic serums to help now, otherwise, two fights would have been enough to make Eriri meet her end in the northwest.

Eriri hadn't expected to have to suffer so much to become a Valkyrie. She flinched a little.

"No way? I heard the standards for Valkyries have changed, right? Even the way they fight has changed. Why are the requirements for becoming a Valkyrie still so high?"

Eriri felt the two of them were being a bit alarmist.

Raiden Mei explained, "It's not that they don't want people to become Valkyries, but that they don't want Valkyries to continue to exist in this world. You could even say that the existence of Valkyries itself is very cruel. Most of them are people who have been harmed by the Honkai, filled with hatred and seeking revenge on the Honkai. Some of them are from generations of Valkyries, while others are survivors of Honkai incidents. What kind of survivors? People with Honkai resistance."

"It's the genes in the Stigma Battlesuit the school gives you. And this kind of person is one in tens of thousands. If you're lucky, you'll find the next one. If you're unlucky, you might not find one even after searching through three million people."

"So it's unavoidable for Valkyries to be passed down through generations. Otherwise, the line of people fighting the Honkai would be broken. You can just imagine the cruelty of it. So the best outcome for a Valkyrie is to retire peacefully and leave this world quietly. Not to be idolized. You see them as excellent workers, but these abilities were all trained when they were Valkyries."

"Because the ones who weren't good enough are already dead. Those dead Valkyries never had the chance to tell their loved ones what was on their minds."

Eriri had thought the books were impressive enough, but to think that the books had simplified these things... she immediately gave up the idea of becoming a Valkyrie.

She asked in a low voice, "Then... what about the Valkyries who died?"

Raiden Mei glanced at Yukino Yukinoshita. She seemed to be curious about where the sacrificed Valkyries went as well.

"Do you want to come and see?"

Mei thought for a moment. Taking them to see those who had sacrificed themselves might not be a bad learning experience.

---||---

Durandal brought the android Cecilia to the current Schicksal headquarters. Here, there were still picture frames of the deceased Valkyries, and many photos of girls who had never had the chance to become Valkyries.

"The Valkyrie corps has been abolished, and even this method of pursuing Stigmas has been eliminated along with it. Just as firearms replaced swords, Stigma Battlesuits have replaced artificial Stigmas, and eliminated Valkyries."

"Although the ultimate goal is to obtain a Stigma and the power to fight the Honkai, the Academy City's efficiency is greater than the combined production of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy over hundreds of years."

"A few people in the Academy City can create their own Stigmas. Generally, after passing the fourth stage of assessment, they can basically adapt to an artificial Stigma. But this kind of Stigma is far less safe than a Stigma Battlesuit, so even if they can adapt to an artificial Stigma, there's no need to do so."

"And with the improvement of medical treatment, problems like genetic collapse caused by Honkai factor invading the body due to Stigma power have also been solved. Now... I'm thinking about what to do in the future, now that I don't have to specifically fight the Honkai."

Durandal said this, but she still wanted to be the best Valkyrie. And Valkyries weren't just not doing Valkyrie work; they had just shifted to doing other things. The Valkyrie organization still remained under the banner of Schicksal.

In the future, there would definitely be a use for Valkyries, but the object of their fight might change.

She just couldn't figure it out...

"Bianka, do you remember what happened when you were a child?"

The android Cecilia seemed to remember something and asked her curiously.

"When I was a child? I remember I fell and hit my head, and I forgot about my childhood. Otherwise, I wouldn't be the Bianka I am now."

Durandal tried to recall her childhood, but there was always an invisible force blocking her memories, which made her wonder if her amnesia was really just an accident.

"Is that so? It's fine for me to tell you now. You told Cecilia back then... that is, your mother, that you would become a hero who saves the world and a Valkyrie who surpasses your mother."

The android Cecilia's words made Durandal pause for a moment. She thought about her current situation. It seemed she didn't need to save any world.

If one day there really was a crisis that required saving the world, wouldn't the enemy she had to face be completely different from the Honkai?

"Save the world?" Durandal said helplessly. "I'm a little lost now. If the Honkai isn't the biggest problem for humanity's destruction, then who will destroy humanity? Humanity itself? If I need to save the world at that time, does that mean I'll have to kill humans?"