"ex.........wake up................Alex!"

Feeling his body being shaken and a faint voice shouting at him to wake up, Alex slowly opened his eyes to see that it was Theresa.

"Oh thank goodness you're okay." Said the girl with a sigh of relief.

"T-Theresa?"

The boy groaned as he slowly sat up, holding his aching head in pain.

He looked around and saw that they were in the middle of a brightly lit facility.

"Uh, where are we Theresa?" Asked the boy.

"That doesn't matter. What matters is the fact that you two trespassed into a private area of St. Freya and got sucked into the simulation. You two shouldn't be here right now." Said the girl, confirming that this was indeed the present Theresa.

"L-Look, it was all Kiana's idea that I got dragged into. More importantly, where is Kiana?"

Theresa pointed over as Alex turned to see Kiana just standing their motionless, almost as if she was in a trance.

"It seems like she's still in the simulation. Look, I don't know how you got out but I'm thankful that you did. As soon as Kiana awakens, we gotta get her outta here so we won't get caught."

Alex nodded as the two waited for the white haired girl to awaken.

Eventually, the two noticed Kiana beginning to move a bit, signaling that she was about to exit the simulation.

The two approached her as the girl looked around.

"What the hell are you doing here Kiana?" Asked Theresa.

"Hm? Sorry but you're a little too late Auntie Theresa. Me and mom already took care of the 2nd Herrscher." Proudly and smugly said Kiana as she then turned to Alex. "And where the heck were you? You just suddenly vanished right before we got the key card."

Alex really didn't wanna tell Kiana that all she had just experienced was merely a simulation and not the actual past.

"Kiana, what're you talking about? There's no one else here but us three." Said Theresa.

Kiana though just laughed a bit, clearly not believing her.

"What're you talking about? Look, my mom is right her-........."

As Kiana turned to see nobody, she gained a look of confusion and sadness.

"M-Mom?" Asked Kiana in a desperate tone.

"L-Look Kiana, Theresa can explain everything. Let's just leave before we get into anymo-."

Alex stopped himself talking as he felt a sudden gust of wind from behind them.

Suddenly, a massive dust cloud covered the area as Theresa and Alex would get knocked back as they smacked into the wall.

"A-Aunt Teri! Alex! W-Who's there!?" Shouted Kiana.

"To let nothing get in the way of our mission, please, leave the battlefield you two." Said a voice, as the dust cloud went away to reveal it was Fu Hua.

The girl looked at the two, before turning her attention back to Kiana.

'Fu Hua? Just what the hell is going on now?' Thought Alex.

"Kiana, your mother was not here. She was never here." Stenrly said the girl.

Kiana gave her a smug look before sighing.

"Seriously? Not you too class monitor." Said Kiana, sounding genuinely annoyed now.

"Kiana please, listen to me. This place never had any virtual environment or A.I. Babylon Lab and Cecilia Schariac weren't real."

That sentence broke the camel's back as Kiana had finally snapped.

"Shut up! Just shut the hell up! What're you even saying!? You're just lying! My mom was here! I was always by her side! We even defeated the 2nd Herrscher just now!"

Kiana began to spiral into denial, as she then forcefully grabbed Fu Hua's shoulders, with the girl looking down at Kiana with a stoic expression.

"Where is she then huh!? Where's my mom! I want her back!" Shouted the girl.

"All that you stated were merely just your fantasies. The entire time you've just been here, standing in one place. You've been played by a Herrscher. A Herrscher that immersed you in your deepest dreams. I'll say this one last time, none of what you experienced was real. The girl you were protecting, the one you called mom, was all just an illusion. A facade."

Kiana now just absolutely lost, as she fell onto her knees tearing up.

"N-No that can't be. I-It's impossible. I-I don't believe it. Mom is here. She has to be here. I will find her!"

Things went quiet for a moment, as Alex heard Kiana mutter some words to herself on repeat.

"Ich liebe dich. Ich liebe dich. Ich liebe dich!"

Alex began to feel a massive surge of power from Kiana as suddenly, began to transform, as she gained bright, wing like beams on her back

As she did, the building's alarm went off as an alert played over the P.A. Speaker.

"A strong Honkai energy reaction has been detected."

Fu Hua wasn't fazed by this, keeping her cool expression.

"No. This time, the world won't change according to your thoughts. Kiana, it's time you faced the truth." Said Fu Hua as her battlesuit color has changed from blue to orange, with a face guard appearing for protection

The time for talk was over as the two began to go at it, as Kiana kept her distance shooting beams at a fast, pace, all the while Fu Hua kept dodging said beams effortlessly, attempting to force Kiana into a kistake so she could close in and strike.

While this was happening, Alex watched having something that just didn't add up in his mind.

'Hold on. How did Fu Hua get here? More importantly, why is she even here? Isn't she just a typical student like Kiana?'

That one thought kept racing through Alex's mind as he just couldn't think of a single rational reason as to how or why Fu Hua suddenly arrived.

As the battle kept on progressing, Alex saw how Fu Hua really wasn't even trying to close in on Kiana.

That was when Alex realized that Fu Hua was intentionally keeping back, only striking once she knew Kiana's stamina and emotional adrenaline was up.

Sure enough, Kiana had exhausted herself as her shots began to get a lot more off target and come out less frequently.

Then, Fu Hua immediately dashed in and in simple blow head and then her gut, Kiana had been knocked out in two hits, as she fell unconscious, reverting back to normal.

Fu Hua's faceguard went away as she looked at the unconscious girl for a second.

Then as she was about to grab her, Alex suddenly dashed in, grabbing Kiana and moving her away from Fu Hua's grasp as he gently set her down behind him.

"What're you doing Alex?" Asked Fu Hua, not breaking her calm demeanor.

"I should be the one asking that question. Just what the hell is going on? How'd you get here? More importantly WHY are you even here?" Asked Alex.

"Apologies but I'm not allowed to give answers to those questions. All I'm here for is Kiana. The Overseer wishes to handle the aftermath of her entering the simulation." She said as she began to approach them.

"The Overseer? That's a little extreme for an issue that Principal Theresa could easily handle. With all that's happened I'm not in the mood for lies. Tell me what the hell is actually happening!" Said Alex getting agitated, as he transmuted and pulled out a sword from the ground, fully ready to battle Fu Hia himself.

'She may have beaten me last time, but I cannot just let her take Kiana with no resistance.' He thought to himself.

Upon seeing the blade, Fu Hua merely sighed, not stopping her movement towards them.

"Please listen Alex. You're interrupting official Schicksal business. You could be arrested for this offense. Please stand down now." Sternly said the girl, still approaching them.

"Like hell I am! If you wanna take Kiana away, then come at me!" He said.

Alex began to rush at Fu Hua.

As he did, Fu Hua sighed to herself.

Right before he struck, Fu Hua muttered these words to herself.

"I'm sorry, Alex."

As he was going in for a slash, Alex saw Fu Hua pull her hand, open palm facing him.

Then in a split second, she brought the palm foward, pressing it against Alex's chest.

In that moment, Alex's world was rocked to the core, as it felt like his soul had been separated from his body

The last thing Alex saw was Fu Hua looking at him fall down, with a somber expression, before falling unconscious.

As Fu Hua now stood before two unconscious bodies, another surprise guest had been watching from above on the ceiling, giving a little chuckle before talking to a transmission.

"Overseer, Fu Hua had already captured the objective, though, she unfortunately had to take down someone extra in the process. Theresa had also already been suppressed. Are we good to proceed?" Asked the person whose voice revealed it to be Durandal.

After a few seconds of having no response, a voice, seemingly the Overseers came through.

"Hehe. Well then, since Theresa is my cherished granddaughter, I'll let her go. That Kiana girl is the one I'm very interested in. Bring her back to headquarters, Durandal. As for that someone extra you mentioned, I'd also like for them to be brought to headquarters as well. I'm just dying to have a hopefully civilized chat with the young one."

Chapter 32: Complete