Silence. Speechlessness.
Even though it was only a few fragments of Fu Hua's past, they were enough to make Theresa and the others sigh deeply.
She had lived for up to 50,000 years.
Previously, they had only marveled at the exaggeration of this number.
But now, they could vaguely feel the sorrow and pain hidden behind it.
"…Afterwards, if you want,"
Theresa whispered,
"You can continue to stay at St. Freya Academy."
The successive revelations had turned Theresa's initial anger upon learning that Fu Hua was an undercover agent into sympathy. Her impression of Fu Hua—once vague—now grew stronger.
Of course, that wasn't all.
Beyond sympathy, Theresa also saw value in Fu Hua's identity:
—Jingwei of Shenzou.
If she remembered correctly, according to the legends of Shenzhou,
This person had protected and blessed the land for centuries with unimaginably powerful.
No wonder Grandpa had sent Fu Hua to infiltrate her own St. Freya Academy.
If she really was Jingwei—also called the Immortal Phoenix—then Fu Hua was undoubtedly stronger than Theresa herself, even as an S-rank Valkyrie.
…
After learning about her grandfather's sinister plans from the earlier footage, Theresa's long-held decision was finally confirmed.
—To break away from Schicksal and work independently.
This idea had first come to her after the Second Eruption, when she witnessed the truth behind Babel and the darkness within Schicksal.
Later, when Siegfried defected from Schicksal, Theresa's resolve only deepened.
But Otto had deceived her with lies she could not resist.
So the idea could not become reality.
However, Theresa still chose to distance herself from Schicksal's headquarters, moving to the remote Far East.
This decision was her quiet act of rebellion against Otto.
Yet the Far East Branch still operated under Schicksal's banner.
Naturally, it was impossible to escape Schicksal's influence.
Under Otto's deliberate interference, the Far East Branch endured extreme hardship.
As the dean of St. Freya Academy, Theresa could only watch helplessly as her students graduated, then were deployed by headquarters to various fronts.
Each death notice that came in broke Theresa's heart—especially when she recognized the names. Her grief gave way to growing discontent.
Until today, when she learned of her grandfather's mad schemes—
Theresa's dissatisfaction with Schicksal and Otto completely exploded.
"I understand your hesitation."
Seeing Fu Hua's reluctance, Theresa spoke in a low voice
"I'm guessing the deal you made with Grandpa was to protect Shenzhou?"
Although the video had not revealed the specific details of the transaction between Fu Hua and Otto,
Through the scattered clues—and the legend of the Immortal Jingwei—Theresa had basically figured it out.
Fu Hua nodded slightly.
Seeing this, Theresa let out a breath of relief—she had guessed correctly.
She continued.
"The Far East Branch is closer to Shenzhou than any other branch. If Grandpa could make a deal with you, so can we."
"And we can act faster than Grandpa."
With her status as Jingwei, Fu Hua was undoubtedly a top-tier warrior.
Since Theresa was already preparing to rebel against Otto, she would never let go of such a valuable ally—one who was originally destined to become part of St. Freya.
And now that the truth had been revealed, she no longer needed to worry about Fu Hua doing anything like what happened in the video.
Fu Hua remained silent.
She was weighing the feasibility of Theresa's offer.
After a long pause, she finally spoke, her voice calm.
"Please give me more advice."
—The Q&A was not over yet.
[4. In the battle at Schicksal Headquarters, Theresa Apocalypse, a member of St. Freya Academy working with the Anti-Entropy conservatives, faced the awakened Herrscher of the Void and was strangled by her.]
[Who helped Theresa escape this situation and worked together with the Oath of Judah to suppress the Herrscher of the Void?]
A. Shadow Knight / Fu Hua
B. Yamabuki / Bronya Zaychik
C. Argent Knight: Artemis / Rita Rossweisse
D. Vermillion Knight: Eclipse / Himeko Murata
…
Theresa was only slightly surprised by the so-called battle at Schicksal Headquarters. She had expected it.
If the future played out like the footage had shown, then with Otto's determination, she would definitely go all out to retrieve the captured Kiana.
But what truly stunned her—
"Cooperate with Anti-Entropy?!"
Looking at the information in the question, Theresa felt doubtful.
How could she be linked with Anti-Entropy?
Though the two sides had worked together during the Second Eruption,
In terms of ideology, it was a small miracle that St. Freya Academy and Anti-Entropy didn't fight on sight when they met.
Still, it wasn't completely unthinkable.
If she had led a team to Schicksal Headquarters at the time,
Given Anti-Entropy's attitude toward the Honkai, Theresa believed that if she explained the situation, they would help.
What troubled Theresa the most about this question was the way it was summarized.
"Faced the Herrscher of the Void and was strangled."
This made it sound like she was instantly defeated.
She was an S-rank Valkyrie!
She also wielded the Oath of Judah, a powerful anti-Honkai weapon.
Shouldn't the description be something like:
"Theresa encountered the Herrscher of the Void, engaged in a fierce battle, and ultimately lost"?
Although she felt deeply wronged by how the question phrased it, Theresa had no room to argue.
She could only read the question in frustration.
It didn't reveal much—just supplemented the footage from the second question.
The only thing worth noticing was the strange answers.
"What do the answers refer to?" Mei seemed especially curious.
"…They should be Valkyrie Battlesuits."
Though she didn't recognize the others, the word Yamabuki in front of Bronya's name gave Theresa a rough idea.
"To help Valkyries fight Honkai beasts more effectively, the headquarters developed special Valkyrie Battlesuits after the Second Eruption."
Remembering these expensive pieces of equipment clearly, Theresa looked pained.
"But these armors cost too much. Due to budget constraints, we don't have many of them here."
If possible, Theresa would have given each of her students a set to improve their survival chances.
But the Far East Branch's finances couldn't support it.