As terrible as the scenery around him looked, Alex knew he could waste no time in trying to fully take it in.

'Focus Alex. Gotta find one of the St. Freya girls and help them out. Or in Fu Hua's case, punch her right in the face.' Thought Alex.

He immediately withdrew his sword and dashed ahead, trying to join the battlefield as quick as possible while also looking out for anyone familiar.

On his way, he had come across numerous hoards of Honkai Beasts just scouring the area.

As quickly as Alex had gained their attention, he also had immediately slained them as quickly as he mowed through multiple monsters.

With whatever had happened so far, especially with the massive inferno burning off in the distance, Alex knew he could afford zero time to waste.

As he kept running through the base taking down many monsters Alex began to tire a bit, wondering how long it'd take until he found somebody.

That was until he looked off to his side and found a familiar someone.

'Bingo. Target spotted.' Thought Alex as he immediately dashed towards their direction.

[Meanwhile]

With all that was happening right now, hell with was what happening to her at this very moment, this was NOT what Fu Hua had expected.

After she had successfully taken out and brought both Kiana and Alex to Schicksal HQ, Otto had informed the girl to stand by and wait until he gave out any orders.

Once the forcefield protecting the base was broken followed by the Far East Branch invading, Otto had issued the orders to engage in combat.

Fu Hua had immediately began taking down any Far East Valkyries as well as Anti-Entropy mechs as AE had offered to assist Theresa on this mission.

Eventually, Fu Hua had ran into Rita and the two teamed up to take down any more invaders and mechs.

The two had encountered Himeko working alongside one of AE's top scientists, Nikola Tesla.

The duo made quick work of Tesla and took down Himeko.

Rita had attempted to behead Himeko right then and there, but Fu Hua immediately shot that down and instead locked up both Himeko and Tesla in cells.

After that encounter, the duo took a break from the action.

That was until the massive explosion that had occurred earlier immediately sprang Fu Hua back into action with Rita following suit.

The two ran back into the battlefield and after taking down a group of Honkai Beasts at a entry port, Rita had radioed in to the Overseer.

What had occurred in that conversation caught Fu Hua by surprise as instead of Durandal engaging the Herrscher like she had expected and was told by Otto, she was instead headed on over to their location while Theresa would engage the Herrscher.

This immediately got Fu Hua into a panic which only grew more when the conversation had abruptly ended due to the communications system shutting down.

Then after Fu Hua had told Rita to fix the systems, contact Durandal to bring together the Valkyries and that she'd delay the Herrscher, the maid declined Fu Hua's request.

Rita immediately explained that Otto never ordered them to attack the Herrscher and that even with multiple trump cards up his sleeve, the Overseer still had everything going according to his plan.

Even after Rita had sternly informed Fu Hua that the Overseer wouldn't appreciate them taking matters into their own hands, Fu Hua shrugged all that off stating that she had to engage the Herrscher, especially after all the calamity and harm she had caused to the innocents.

With that, the maid and martial artist had engaged with a fierce battle.

After a while, Fu Hua had noticed that Rita wasn't trying to win but rather just delay her even further.

This caused Fu Hua to separate as she tried to reason with Rita once more.

"Rita please listen! That Herrscher is already well beyond our control and will only cause more diasaters should we let it keep going! I have to go delay it before even more harm occurs!" Pleaded Fu Hua.

"I understand where you're coming from Master Fu Hua. I really do, however, I'm merely upholding my duties and keeping the Overseer's plan intact. If he claims that everything is still well under control, then I see no reason to interfere. It's nothing personal. I'm just doing what my job recquires me to do." Stated Rita.

As Rita said that, she had noticed a familiar figure in the distance as they were headed straight for Fu Hua.

The maid simply gave out a small laugh as she pointed behind the martial artist.

"Looks like you have company Master Fu Hua."

After hearing that, Fu Hua immediately turned around and held her hands up, which ended up being a smart move as her gauntlets had blocked a slash from Alex.

"A-Alex!?" Said Fu Hua in shock.

The boy didn't respond as he kept trying to strike her.

"A-Alex hold on! Hear me out I don't wanna fight you!" Shouted the girl.

"Yeah right! Like I'm gonna buy that after what you did!" Said the boy, continuing his attempts at slashing down the martial artist.

Fu Hua had eventually got annoyed as she grabbed the boy's arms and held them behind his back, pinning him to the ground.

"Look just listen please! T-This isn't what I expected to happen!" She said.

"Why should I believe that!?" He asked.

"I was told by Otto that Durandal would be engaging the Herrscher. Instead for some reason the plan changed and now Theresa is engaging the Herrscher. I need to go to where they are so I can help. However Rita won't let me through. Look, you can distrust me as much as you want. I fully understand how you feel and I deserve it but please, the Herrscher has already caused enough calamity. We have to stop it as soon as possible." Pleaded Fu Hua.

Alex heard the desperation in her voice and could tell that what she was saying was the honest truth.

Though he was still greatly upset by her, he knew that now was the time to set aside personal grudges and look at the bigger picture.

"Get off me." He said.

The girl did as the boy got up and dusted himself off as he looked at Fu Hua.

"You're right. While I still don't forgive you for what you did, the main priority is the Herrscher. I'll help you, just this once." Stated Alex.

Fu Hua gave a sigh of relief as she nodded, the two turning their attention towards Rita.

"My my, to think the two on one situation would come back to bite me. How most unfortunate. Regardless, I will fulfill my duties without fail." Said the maid as she firmly held her scythe, ready to engage in battle once more.

Fu Hua readied her gauntlet covered fists and Alex held his sword out.

Before any person could make a move however, Fu Hua had sensed something.

"Incoming!"

All three immediately backed away as directly in the middle, stood a lance stabbed into the ground.

Upon seeing that lance, everyone immediately looked around and surely enough, there she was.

Durandal had arrived, now donning a new battlesuit as she wore silver armor with streaks of dark blue, a dark blue skirt, black knee high socks, silver boots, and a silver crown like accessory. Her lance now also being silver and blue, matching the color scheme of her outfit.

As the blonde surveyed the scene in front of her, Fu Hua and Alex stayed on guard fully expecting Durandal to join Rita and even up the odds.

"Master Durandal. You've finally arrived." Said Rita.

"Stand down Rita. Put your weapon away." Said Durandal.

Much to the boy and Fu Hua's shock, Rita obliged as she put her Scythe away.

"She put her scythe away just like that..." Whispered Fu Hua.

"Guess that just goes to show how much respect and power Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie has." Whispered Alex back.

Durandal then directed her attention to Fu Hua.

"Go on Fu Hua. You can approach the Herrecher." Said Durandal.

This caught both Fu Hua and Alex immediately by surprise.

"A-Are you sure about this Master Durandal?" Asked Fu Hua.

"Though we clearly aren't gonna be allowed to offer you any support, as Valkyries we fight for our beliefs and the people we love. I would've made the same decision as you if I were in your place, Ms. Fu Hua." Explained Durandal.

Fu Hua simply bowed and thanked the blonde.

"T-Thank you. I'll repay your kindness one day." She said before looking at Alex and thanking him before running off towards the inferno.

"H-Hey Fu Hua wait!" Said Alex he started to chase her, only to then impulsively block a sudden attempted stab by Durandal's lance.

This caused Alex to stagger backwards before regaining his footing.

"What the heck was that for!? I gotta go help Fu Hua!" Said Alex.

Durandal motioned Rita to step aside which she did, as the blonde turned her attention back to Alex.

"My apologies Alex Mustang but don't forget that I'm also here on business. On my way over here, the Overseer stated that he'd allow Ms. Fu Hua to move on ahead and engage the Herrscher. However..."

She trailed off as she then aimed her lance directly at Alex.

"He also said not to allow you to pass as well. In his words, he didn't need a wild card getting involved in this minor setback." Stated Durandal.

"Ms. Durandal please. I have to go help her in case she's severely harmed!" Pleaded Alex.

"I fully understand Alex, I do. However, it is an order and as a Valkyrie of Schicksal, I must set aside my principles and morals to perform my duties. Don't worry, I have no intent to seriously harm you. I'm just gonna stall you until the Overseer says that my job is done. It's nothing personal Alex. It's just business." Said the blonde.

Alex knew that he had no choice but to get physical if he was gonna continue moving forward.

"So be it. If I must battle Schicksal's strongest to move on, then I'll do it." Said Alex, pointing his sword directly at Durandal, as he was about to partake in what could be the biggest battle in his entire life.

--------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 33: Complete