Chapter 6 Squad Charlie

It has been about three months, and our life inside the AE base is quite peaceful for the most part, I have not dreamed about honkai-chan since then. Also since Otto failed to kill Sirin and acquire the void core, Schicksal has been quiet, too quiet in fact that it made me think that they are planning something. I think Otto already knows that we are sheltering in AE since the only other organization that can rival Schichsal at this time is only AE. Although Otto is silent, I'm sure he will not stop until he reaches that goal of reviving Kallen as my world Otto does.

'I must say, even though I hate him for creating and using me and all those around me, his dedication and ingenuity are worthy of respect. I am sure that everything that happens, from my reawakening, Aunt Himeko's sacrifice, to nee-san's journey to the stigmata space, even to the end, is in his plan.'

How I wish he use that brain of his to save humanity rather than to sacrifice them, but maybe in his eyes, the sacrifice of many strangers pales in comparison to saving that one person who matters so much to his life. If I were to be faced with the same choice, to save my family or to save the world, what would I do? would I choose to go the same path as him? sacrificing a lot of people for a chance of reuniting with my family? Maybe I will do that.

'Ugh, I hate the thought of becoming like him'

He sacrificed so many people already, would it be a wise decision to help him achieve his goals to stop him from sacrificing others? or should I eradicate him and destroy his plans? which one is more morally correct? Everything falls in the gray zone here. Wait I have an idea, I heard that usually, a criminal has a terrible childhood. Even if the judge sympathizes with him, he will still be sentenced to punishment but with a more lenient term and perhaps rehabilitation. I've got two choices. Although I still don't know a lot about time travel and creating a new branch of the world tree, I can say for sure that it is doable with enough energy or when the imaginary tree's law is momentarily broken. Maybe I should help him with his goals. so that he won't experiment with others like Sirin and her friends, and stop committing mass murder. I wish that nee-san was here, she is smarter more robust than me.

"Captain Liana, you are nearing the area of contact" A voice sounded on my intercom

"Roger that, command" I responded. That is the command, the HQ so to speak. Currently, I am traveling to a region in NA that has reported numerous sightings of honkai beast and a rumor that the Judgement class Chiyou is present, I don't know how Chiyou got here but I am not taking any chances. After some thought, Welt decided to use us as a captain of AE squads. Cecilia and Siegfried will be tasked to lead the base's guard squad. Sirin and Kiana will be enrolled in school somewhere in Salt lake city. Bella will be a couch potato waiting for her queen, I must say I kind of envy her. And I became the leader of squad Charlie. This squad is made up of what I could describe as a Schicksal valkyrie. It turns out that even if the majority of their fighting force is comprised of mechs, AE still recruiting honkai-resistant people to act as human squads. The reason they use mechs is because of difficulty in finding honkai-resistant humans in only the NA region while Schicksal can use the entire world's human pool so to speak. AE call these human squad, infantry. After some time studying the military composition of AE forces, I find that they are run very similarly to a professional military rather than Schicksal's model of an academy. So no matter how powerful you are as a human fighter, you still need to follow your squad leader like a military even if you are stronger than her. No S-rank, A-rank something like that.

I looked back at my squad which comprises 3 other members.

"Alright, this time we are facing a probable judgment class beast, usually we need more manpower to fight this but due to it being in the close proximity of a population center, we need to neutralize it ASAP, as I said before when we departed, this is the strongest honkai beast class that existed, our goal is to slow it down for reinforcements to arrive, don't charge at it alright?"

"Yes, captain!" the three girls said. I must say, I never thought I will be able to lead a squad but I guess I have matured somewhat huh? I still remember the childish me nagging mei-senpai at our dorm back in St. Freya days. My squad consists of 3 members, Libertia, Griselda, and Lilia. Libertia has long blonde hair with brown eyes, an NA native, and her weapon is a lance. Lilia is black-haired with yellow eyes, her weapon is katana. Griselda has red hair with flame-colored eyes, her weapon is a catalyst. I have also fought with a gun, Welt has suggested in I not using my Herrscher powers, there are only two eruptions that have occurred and known by the soldiers of AE, the first which created the first Herrscher and was inherited by their sovereign, and the second one, which currently enrolled in a school with supervision from Welt. If a word got out that a third Herrscher, aka me, even if I am not really the third Herrscher, more like the 2.5th Herrscher, then it can cause a shock for the soldiers and perhaps disturb AE's normal operation.

"Alright, let's go then" I lead them through the snowy regions of Canada, which reminded me of Siberia.

"Captain, I detected a honkai signature in front of us" Griselda said as she look at her honkai detector.

"I see it, captain, it is a group of Templars" Lilia said as she look through her binocular

"Alright, let's go and neutralize them" I said as I ran to the Templars along with my squad.

A group of Templars is no match for our squad since our team is just filled with high-quality people. I would rate the 3 of them as similar to an A-ranked valkyrie.

"Good work guys, is there any other honkai signature in the area?"

Griselda then checks her honkai detector, "Nothing is currently near us captain."

"That is strange, aren't we suppose to find Chiyou?" Libertia asked

"Hmmm, maybe it is just a rumor?" Lilia shrugged, I too feel that logically Chiyou shouldn't have existed since Fu Hua killed it.

Then the ground shook, and split revealing a dragon-shaped honkai beast, similar to Benares's form but this is all black. That is not Chiyou.

"Squad form up, battle formation" Our squad immediately readied ourselves to fight the dragon.

The dragon roared and tried to attack us. We dodge the attack and counter-attack the dragon.

"Lilia, I will distract the dragon, you will enter its blind spot and attack its wings alright? you two support her"

"Yes captain"

Now, how should I distract the dragon? Let's kick his head. I jump high in the air and kick his head squarely causing it to be dazed for a while. It looks like it has marked me as the priority target, which is good. The dragon jumped at me, intending to crush me with its body, I swiftly dodge backward while shooting my gun which dealt a bit of damage to the dragon. Our goal is to slow it down until reinforcements arrive, thus our target should be its wings since we can't fly and deal with it unless I transform into a Herrscher.

"Now guys"

"Eat this you oversize lizard" Griselda unleashes a torrent of flames on the dragon causing it to panic, Lilia then uses this opportunity to jump into the air and attack the dragon's left wing. The strike was heavy, but it seems that it only scratches the wing. Before Lilia could react, the dragon turn around and attack Lilia causing her to fly and crash into the snow a couple of meters away. She is bleeding heavily, that attack has hit her very hard.

"Lilia, stay back" Libertia comes in front of Lilia with the intention of protecting her.

"Lilia, let me give you first aid" Griselda came running and tried to lessen Lilia's bleeding.

"Griselda, I can still hold on, we need to stop the dragon first" Lilia said while wincing in pain, she knew that the dragon is more important now than giving her first aid, she just need to stay calm and lower her heartrate to lessen the bleeding.

"Guys, Watch out" I was a bit farther away from the three of them since I distracted the dragon earlier, I saw that the dragon suddenly roar and open his mouth, in it I see a dark energy ball pulsing, and was about to launch a beam at the three of them. Judging from the power, they can't survive this if hit directly. I am running out of time, running over there will not work, it is too far.

The dragon finishes charging the energy ball and unleashes a strong wind beam at them. Damn it, if it is this case, they will die, after spending time with them, I grew attached to them. *sigh I hope that Welt will not get angry at me for this.

I immediately teleported in front of my squad and open a portal in front of the beam. It is so strong that I can't really manipulate it efficiently so I can't use it to attack the dragon by opening a portal above the dragon. I can only open a portal behind the squad and the beam hit the ground, instantly blowing the snow and dirt to create a huge crater.

"Are you guys alright?"

"Cap...tain? what is that?" Libertia asked tensely since she has just experienced a near-death experience.

I look at them and found all three of them staring at me with round eyes, clearly shocked to see the portal.

"We'll talk later, I will deal with the dragon, you guys stabilized Lilia ok?"

I don't wait for their response and change into my HoF form, I summon a couple of lances, aiming to immobilize the dragon since I deduce that this lance cannot kill it. The lances pierce the dragon's arms and legs pinning it to the ground.

"Now it's my turn, no problem with that, right dragon?"

Time slows as I ready my greatsword and get ready to deliver the ultimate slash that will surely kill the dragon, but at the last second, I don't know how to describe it but I felt the dragon's fear and its effort to survive, it is enough for me to slightly alter my slash to only injured and immobilized the beast rather than killing it. The dragon's body touched the ground because its legs and wings are injured, it looks like it has finished. The dragon is no longer a threat, it is laying on its belly groaning in pain. I don't know why I feel sad looking at it, it is similar to how I see Benares back in Nagazora, maybe she is the same as Bella? Maybe Sirin has more than one pet dragon?

I move closer to the dragon, and it growls weakly, raising its head to look at me before lowering it back to rest on the ground. I touch the dragon and feel my body emitting honkai energy to the dragon, healing him just as I did to Benares back then.

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Griselda looked bewildered at the scene

Just now she tried to administer first aid to Lilia who is injured because of the dragon, but the dragon has other ideas and open its mouth and unleash a beam of wind on us, I was sure that we are dead when suddenly a portal appear and the captain comes out from that portal right in front of us. She also opened another portal in front of the beam and a loud sound can be heard behind her. When she looked back, she saw the massive crater. Causing her to shudder at the thought of getting hit by that wind.

"Are you guys alright?"

"Cap...tain?, what that?"

The captain asked us about our condition but she was too shocked to respond, either because of the near-death experience or due to seeing the captain's ability. Libertia also is shocked and asked the captain about her powers but it looks like the captain is focusing on defeating the dragon. Lances materialized around the captain, similar to the second Herrscher, but that Herrscher should be in school right now and under Sovereign's watch, why is the captain able to have her powers? The captain then transforms into a new form brandishing a greatsword.

Her thoughts were interrupted by coughing to her side.

"Lilia, are you ok? you are vomiting blood." Griselda asked with worry as she looked at Lilia remembering that she is injured, and immediately applied first aid.

"I'm fine Griselda, just stop the bleeding for me, I am not that injured." Lilia said to calm Griselda down.

Meanwhile, the captain managed to immobilize the dragon and she then unleash a slash that ruptured the air causing a huge shockwave followed by a wave of heat as the flames on her sword danced, splitting the sky into two as the dragon falls to its belly groaning in pain.

'She has always known that the captain is a special individual since back then squad charlie only consist of the three of them with Libertia as the leader. Although she is not of captain rank, since she is the leader of the squad, she is treated as one. But suddenly the sovereign comes and introduces captain Liana to us saying that she will be the leader of the squad. It is surprising to see the sovereign cares so much about this captain that all three of us know that she is somewhat of an important person. At first, we thought of her as a freeloader, someone the sovereign knows personally and helping to gain a rank inside AE and we don't really like her' Griselda thought to herself

'After some time, we found out that captain Liana is actually an excellent fighter thus we grew closer to her. But today's demonstration of power is just out of this world. Lilia can't inflict serious wounds on the dragon and I have known her as a strong swordsman, yet captain Liana easily pierces them with her lance and that slash .... It is so powerful that it rips the air and burns the snow around them.' Griselda thought to herself as she finishes fixing up Lilia

"Lili, the captain ..."

"Rise, that slash ... it is scary"

(A/n: Rise is Griselda's nickname, it is pronounced Ri-se (ri - seh)

"Rise, are you finished tending to Lilia?" Libertia asked as she kneeled down and inspect Lilia

"Yes Berti, she should be fine for now, more importantly, the captain's power"

"It looks like she has some secret that hadn't been exposed yet, makes sense since the sovereign personally put her in squad charlie." Libertia said

"Berti, it is similar to the second Herrscher" Lilia said

"Yeah, I do find similarity, but aren't the second Herrscher at school now?" Libertia answered

"Anyways, it looks like the dragon is down, what is captain doing? finishing it?" Griselda asked

The three watch as the captain touches the dragon, the dragon's wound slowly closes and the dragon started to stand up.

"What? why is the captain healing the dragon?" Libertia shout

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After healing the dragon, the dragon growled and lower its head and snuggle into my face.

"Whoa, easy there hahaha, it tickles"

"Captain" I saw Libertia running to me with Griselda supporting Lilia at the back slowly walking.

"Are you guys alright? Lilia, how are your injuries?"

"I'm fine captain, more importantly, the dragon?"

"Oh yeah, the dragon should not attack humans now, it is no longer aggressive"

The dragon growls slightly.

"You can communicate with the dragon captain?" Griselda asked me

"Well, kind of? I just feel that I can understand the dragon's feelings"

"Captain, who are you? why can you have these powers and tame a honkai dragon?" Libertia asked shockingly.

"Well, I guess at some point I need to tell you guys huh? I am a Herrscher, similar to Sirin, I just able to control it better than her thus I am tasked with helping AE rather than going to school, plus I don't want to go to school to study, I hate studying."

"A Herrscher? but there are only two eruptions," Lilia asked

"I don't know, when I wake up I already become like this, I was wandering around Siberia when AE picked me up and take care of me." I decided to lie to them, I don't want to expose my time-traveling back story to them right now.

"So you are saying you are in Siberia? is it around the second eruption?" Lilia asked again, seemingly interested.

"Yeah probably, anyways enough of me, I already send a notification to command that we encountered a honkai dragon, but the situation is under control and we manage to tame the dragon. I also have been granted the permission to fly the dragon back to base so hop on."

I jump to the dragon's back and signal for the rest of the squad to follow.

"Riding a dragon? seems fun" Lilia said with a cheerful smile, even if she is injured, probably the thought of riding a dragon is exciting for her.

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During the flight

"Hey guys, what do you say about picking up my sister, Sirin with the dragon from school? it should be her go-home schedule now"

"WHAT!!!, captain are you crazy? not to mention that you are bringing a honkai beast into the city, but picking up your sister?" Libertia screamed, logically speaking, she is right.

"But I want to become an ideal onee-chan for her, isn't picking them from school an onee-chan move?"

"Ugh, Captain, you always look and act smart normally but why now do you look like an idiot? guys, help me put some sense into the captain's head" Libertia sighed as she turns to the other two.

"Hey, I am your superior, moreover I am not dumb"

"But captain, Berti is correct, it will only create commotion, and can cause trouble for your sisters, you wouldn't want to trouble your little sisters right?" Griselda said

"Fine, we will go back to base" I relented, now that I think of it, it is a stupid idea, no wonder Libertia so strongly disagrees.

"More importantly you said Sirin and Kiana is your sister?" Lilia interjects.

"Yeah, do I never told you guys? it is not a secret or anything, I thought you guys know since I sometimes walk with them"

"I thought it is just protecting them, but you are actually their sister? then that means you are the daughter of Cecilia-sama?" Lilia asked

"Yeah"

"No way, now that I look at you captain, you are like a perfect copy of Kiana, woah I never thought I can get close to Cecilia-sama's daughter?" Lilia said with stars in her eyes

"Cecilia-sama?"

"Yeah, do you know that your mom is actually quite famous with the soldiers, back when we still fight her, we respected her as a strong enemy, now that she joins AE, we respected her as a strong ally, an unofficial fan club is also founded in the base, men and women meet up to discuss the latest happening with her, now that I know that you are her daughter, I can brag to the others that you are my captain." Lilia said with excitement in her tone.

Eh? mom is that famous in AE? I know mom is a very influential person, back in Schicksal, there is also mom's fan club and I know that Kira is her fan too.

"You don't know captain?" Libertia asked "It is so widespread in the base that frankly, I am surprised that you don't know about it."

"Well maybe because I lived in the High ranking sector of the base?"

"I guess you are right, I first thought that you are Welt's daughter or lover or something since he takes care of you so well, but now that I know you are Cecilia-sama's daughter, I could understand his actions." Griselda adds

"Wait, what do you mean lover? I am not Welt's lover"

"I mean could you blame us, you both always walked together when you go to our squad room, everybody is basically guessing that you are his lover," Lilia said.

"Wait, do you mean that the entire base thinks I am Welt's lover?"

"Probably, since it is a rumor, I'm sure it traveled fast" Griselda said

"Noooooooo!!!" I gripped my head and hide my face in the dragon's back.

"We will help you to get rid of that rumor captain" Lilia said

"Thank you, Lilia, you are an angel in human clothing"

"Stop exagerating captain, anyway captain, there is also a rumor that your dad, Siegfried is a beast that violates women and even tried to do it on honkai beast. Is it true?" Libertia asked

"Unn, I don't know, maybe?" I deliberately sounded ambiguous, hehehe dad, this is my revenge for you, hope you like it.

"Guh, how can Cecilia-sama marry a man like him, Captain, make sure to not follow his teachings ok?" Lilia said to me

"I get it ok, anyway dragon, land us there in the helipad"

the dragon growl and lower our altitude. It seems that time passed when talking, so in no time, we arrived at Salt Lake base.