May 5th 2014 / Somewhere west of Xiachuan Island
Nintou: According to the legends, Jiuling should be around here
The mangaka, Nintou said from the ship's controls.
Nintou: Is everyone ready?
He looks over his shoulders to see Himeko, Fu Hua, Kiana and Akiri all suited up in their diving equipment and battle gear which were delivered by air a few minutes prior.
Himeko had her greatsword on her back while Akiri had his sheathed swords strapped to his back in a cross. Kiana holstered her pistols on her hip while Fu Hua is wearing her reinforced gauntlets.
Akiri: I'm surprised they had a men's sized suit ready
He said as he moved around to feel how the suit fits him.
Himeko: Oh, no. That one's just designed for girls with a smaller package
Akiri: Oh...
Fu Hua's gaze went downwards to her chest for a brief moment before looking away, red on her cheeks.
Himeko: Well then, Fu Hua, can you check the radar?
Fu Hua: Y-yes, ma'am
She then raised her left arm to look at a device that is strapped to her forearm and looked at its readings.
Fu Hua: Major, the scans indicate that there's a large cave below the water's surface, and it contains traces of Honkai energy as well
Akiri: Looks like we've found it
Himeko: Don't get our hopes up just yet. Let's go down there and investigate
She said as they started to walk to the rear of the yacht.
Akiri: (thoughts) But more importantly, how does a mangaka know all this stuff?
Akiri thought to himself as he looked at the guy with narrowed eyes.
Nintou: Hold on a moment, let me get my diving gear
Himeko: Hurry up, don't waste our time
Nintou: No worries, I'm a skilled diver. I don't think I'll be holding you back
He said while he went to put on his gear. However, as he walked past Himeko, the Major raised her arm and smacked the back of his neck, knocking him out as he drops head first to the floor.
Himeko: Sorry, I never had any intention of letting you come with us. If you get corrupted by Honkai, you'll die and come back as a zombie
Akiri: You sure it's okay to leave him alone here?
Himeko: Better than letting him go with us
With that settled, the team went to the rear of the yacht and put on their helmets before diving into the water.
Himeko: Coms check, can everybody hear me?
The major called out to everyone on their coms device.
Kiana: Loud and clear!
Fu Hua: Affirmative
Akiri: I hear you
Each one of them gave a firm answer.
Himeko: Right. Make sure to monitor your oxygen levels regularly. And try not to use your propulsion jets unless absolutely necessary
Akiri: Copy that
They continued to slowly sink downwards. Kiana saw the colourful undersea wildlife and was entranced by it.
Kiana: Woah! So it's so pretty! I wonder if we'll see any monsters down here?
Akiri: Don't jinx it
A few moments later, they've seemingly reached the bottom as their feet had touched the seabed.
Kiana: Where's the cave?
Fu Hua: The readings indicated that it's at a deeper point than this
Himeko: Let's try following the traces of Honkai energy. Down here
They made their way down a ledge and they saw that their surroundings are gradually getting darker as they went deeper down the ocean.
Akiri: We're going pretty deep. You sure these suits can handle the pressure?
Himeko: Positive. They're specially made to withstand the toughest underwater conditions
As they continued their descent, Akiri then notices what he thinks to be faint light further in the distance and he narrowed his eyes at it.
Akiri: Guys, do you see that?
Kiana: See what?
Kiana and the others looked towards where he is pointing. The object seems to be getting closer, and a moment later, they saw that it was actually multiple things coming straight at them.
Kiana: Wh-what are those?!
It was revealed to be a swarm of shark-like Honkai beasts, swimming towards them at top speed.
Himeko: Curse you and your big mouth, Kiana!
Akiri: Honkai beasts! A whole swarm of them!
Himeko: Let's get out of here! Activate your propulsion jets!
The thrusters on their backs started to emit a low hum as a blue glow came out from the exhausts. A brief second later, they were launched upwards, accelerating away from the pursuing Honkai beasts.
Kiana: Are all the fish here corrupted by Honkai energy?
Fu Hua: At this rate, we'll run out of fuel for the jets. They'll catch up to us
Akiri: What should we do?
Himeko looks around the surrounding area, trying to find a way out. She then spotted a broken submarine, split in half at the centre.
Himeko: There!
She immediately turns towards it and the others followed.
Himeko: If we could lure the monsters in that wrecked submarine and smash the boulder underneath the hull, we'll be able to trap those bastards in there
Akiri: A bit unorthodox, but it could just work
Kiana: But how are we supposed to break such a large rock? We don't have any explosives!
Himeko: Fu Hua, I'm leaving that to you
Fu Hua: Understood. But I will need three minutes to get ready
Kiana: Fighting off a bunch of sharks for three minutes should be easy peasy!
The four of them entered the wrecked submarine through the broken hull and the Honkai beasts behind them followed.
Kiana: Come at me, stupid fishies!
Kiana pulled out her guns and began firing while Himeko pulled her backwards. As the monsters were attracted to Kiana's attacks, Fu Hua silently peeled away from the group, heading towards the boulder underneath while the rest of the team lures the Honkai beasts, swimming further into the submarine.
Kiana: Looks like they've all followed us in!
Kiana kept shooting at the enemies and they then had to stop moving as they were blocked by a wall.
Akiri: We've hit a dead end!
Himeko: Then we need to hold them off!
Himeko grabbed her greatsword off her back while Akiri unsheathed his dual glowing blades and the three of them started to fend off the Honkai beasts.
Meanwhile, Fu Hua is standing in front of the large boulder. She extends her arm and places her hand on the rock with her eyes closed, feeling its rough surface as if searching for something.
Fu Hua: Focus...
She tries to calm herself down by taking some deep breaths. She sharpened her senses as she moved her hand around the surface of the object in front of her.
Fu Hua: Focus...
Back with the rest of the team, they were starting to get overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the Honkai beasts.
Kiana: There's no end to these things! Three minutes should be up by now, right?
Himeko: Fu Hua, what's the hold up?!
Himeko shouted as she holds back the jaws of one of the sharks with her blade.
Right outside of the wreckage, Fu Hua is still standing in front of the huge boulder, her eyes are closed as she is controlling her breathing. She ignores the loud noises coming through her coms device, trying to keep her focus.
A brief moment later, her eyes snapped open as she reels her fist back as she had found a weak point in the stone.
Fu Hua: There!
She thrusts her fist forwards and hits the boulder with tremendous amounts of force, breaking it into pieces.
With the boulder now destroyed, the wreckage began to collapse, and its two broken halves were joined together, sealing the submarine shut.
Himeko cuts a hole in the hull with her sword, small enough for them to slip through and the rest of the team got outside safely and they regrouped.
Himeko: Well done. Those beasts won't be bothering us anytime soon
???: Hey there!
A familiar voice suddenly comes up on their coms device and they looked up to see that it was the self-proclaimed mangaka approaching them.
Nintou: We meet again! I'm not that easy to get rid of, Miss Himeko
Himeko: (thoughts) What's with this guy? I didn't put all my strength into that punch, but no normal person could possibly recover that quickly
Just as she was wondering that, a massive Honkai beast suddenly appeared behind the guy, heading straight towards them.
Akiri: What the hell is that?!
Kiana: That Honkai beast is massive!
Its jaws are opened wide as it got closer to them.
Himeko: Don't just stand there, get out of the way!
The major pushes the two girls out of the way while Akiri had reacted and activated his booster jets and swam to safety.
However, this means that both Himeko and Nintou couldn't get away in time as they were both devoured whole by the Honkai beast.
Kiana: Himeko!
The monster then continued to swim away, carrying the two in its mouth.
Akiri: Quick! We have to follow it!
Kiana + Fu Hua: Right!
The three of them activated their propulsion jets and gave chase to the monster.
Meanwhile, not far on the surface, a Schicksal vessel is seen moving across the waters at high speed. A Valkyrie squad is seen on the ship, all suited up in diving equipment.
Valkyrie #1: According to Major Himeko, she and her team have already gone underwater to look for Jiuling. Our mission is to find them and provide support
Everyone: Roger!
The other five girls answered.
It had already gotten dark outside. The ship had activated searchlights to help it navigate towards its destination.
A Valkyrie is looking through a pair of binoculars, scouting forward when she saw a small ship a few distances ahead.
Valkyrie #2: Captain! There's a strange vessel over there!
Valkyrie #1: Where?
She handed the binoculars over to the captain and she looked closer at the unidentified vessel to see a recognizable crest on it.
Valkyrie #1: That crest... That's an Anti-Entropy ship!
The top hatch of the ship opens and a mysterious figure is seen launched out of it and landed on top of the Schicksal ship.
Valkyrie #3: The hell is that?!
The Valkyrie squad was confused as they quickly drew their weapons and pointed them at the figure in front. It was revealed to be a girl, wielding a long spear.
Valkyrie #1: Fire at will!
They fired their pistols and rifles at the girl, who then ran at them while slicing their bullets with her weapon.
Valkyrie #2: She cut up our bullets?!
The enemy had a maniacal grin on her face as she charges towards them.
Sin Mal: Go to hell!!! Death to Schicksal!!!
(Timeskip)
Himeko opened her eyes as she slowly regained her consciousness. Her senses are gradually returning to her, feeling the cold, rough ground she is currently lying on.
Himeko: Where am I...?
Her vision cleared up and she looked around to see that she is now inside of a dimly lit and slightly damp cave. She then noticed that the glass face of her helmet was cracked and she took it off.
Looking around, she noticed that the mangaka she had saved earlier is nowhere to be found.
Himeko: That guy... Where is he...?
She was put on alert as she heard noises echoing from afar and she reached behind her to grab her sword. However, she then realized that it is missing.
Himeko: Huh? Where's my sword?
As she looked around the surrounding area some more, she then notices something shining in the distance.
She started to walk closer to the glowing object to see that it was a golden sword, stabbed into a rock.
Himeko: This sword... Could it be...?
She went closer to the weapon and she reached out her hand.
Himeko: This is the legendary Xuanyuan Sword...
She curls her fingers around the handle of the sword, gripping it tightly before pulling it out from the stone. Looking closer, she inspected the weapon, feeling the beautiful engravings, admiring its craftsmanship as the blade reflects the image of her face.
Himeko: I expected it to be heavier. It's pretty light...
At that moment, she felt something unusual, and she started to feel light-headed. Her eyelids started to feel heavy as her legs began to give in and she drops to the ground.
(Timeskip)
Currently, Akiri, Kiana and Fu Hua are swimming through the depths of the ocean, trying to find the Honkai beast which had taken Himeko as they had lost sight of the creature.
Fu Hua is using the device on her arm to track Himeko's location.
Fu Hua: Following Major Himeko's life signal, this is the last place where I could trace it
They found themselves in front of what seemed like an entrance to an underwater cave.
Akiri: A cave, huh? Do you think this is...?
Fu Hua: Only one way to find out
With that, they swam inside the cave's entrance and saw somewhere they could surface.
They exited the waters and took off their helmets and the propulsion jets on their backs to lose some weight.
They shined their flashlights as they looked around the cave, trying to look for any signs of where Himeko is. Fu Hua then went back to use the device on her arm.
Fu Hua: The scanners are acting up. There's some sort of interference in this place that's messing with the sensors
Akiri: Must be because of the strong Honkai energy concentration. We just have to look for her the old fashioned way
As they searched the area further, they were then shocked as they saw someone lying on the ground, a golden sword stabbed into her stomach.
Kiana: That's aunt Himeko!
With an intense feeling of concern, the three of them started to run towards her to provide aid, however, they were then stopped as they saw her getting up on her feet.
Fu Hua: Major...?
Himeko then grabbed the handle of the golden sword and pulled it out from her wound as blood started to drip down her suit. She stared at them with a lifeless gaze as the blade started to get covered with flames.
Akiri: That sword...
Kiana: Come on, she needs help!
She was about to run to her injured teacher, however, Fu Hua then stopped her by grabbing her arm.
Fu Hua: Wait. Something isn't right...
They were completely shocked as the major then swings the sword, sending a torrent of raging hot flames towards them.
Fu Hua: Kiana, get down!
Fu Hua pushes the silver-haired girl out of the way as she was still caught in a trance. Still on the ground, they looked back to where the flames hit and saw that it had completely melted a large chunk of stone behind them.
Kiana: Wh-what...? Why did aunt Himeko just...
Fu Hua: That's no longer the major...
They stared at the red-haired woman in front of them completely speechless. She was no longer the teacher they once knew. What stared back at them, is only a lifeless body with the primal desire to kill and destroy everything in its path...