Seeing that Aisty was unharmed, Reanna felt somewhat relieved. Although Archbishop Otto's conduct could hardly be called noble, at the very least he would not casually sacrifice the lives of Valkyries—at most, he would sacrifice a few expendable possessions.
Reanna cast an inquiring look at her bishop. "Lord Otto, where should we go next?"
"The host here has already given us a hint." Otto folded his arms confidently, as if everything were under control. "Reanna, do you remember what kind of magic Vill-V said this was?"
Nibbling on snacks she had taken from the Cat Café, savoring their soft sweetness, Aisty's eyes lit up. "Time magic... I know—it's the Time Corridor!"
Yet she watched as her bishop appeared to "walk" backward into the Anti-Entropy Library.
"Correct, but not quite complete, Aisty..."
"Entropy is the arrow of time. And anti-entropy is the reversal of time."
...
Anti-Entropy Library.
For the convenience of the elderly, the weak, and the infirm, Vill-V had installed an accessible elevator that led directly to the top floor. Of course, one could also take the stairs. There was even a hollowed-out vertical shaft, convenient for riders like that silly goose to charge upward on Krishna. Vill-V had even thoughtfully placed enormous boulders in the passage that could be smashed apart, so they would not grow bored while making their grand entrance.
Unfortunately, Schicksal's current Valkyries had no riders among them. Although they possessed flight equipment, once they saw the corridor filled with massive rocks, they retreated.
Nor did they feel at ease taking the elevator. Who knew whether it concealed some mechanism that would deliver them straight to the "Navigator Residence"? Thus far, they had encountered no traps that directly claimed lives—but devices that wasted time were everywhere.
So the group of Valkyries obediently followed their bishop up the spiral staircase.
As she climbed, Reanna lifted her head and looked upward. Books surrounded them on all sides, a dazzling array stretching as far as the eye could see—at a glance, numbering in the tens of millions.
She nodded, but her thoughts were elsewhere.
"Why would Anti-Entropy want to stall for time?"
"Indeed, why? I would also like to know." Otto smiled faintly, a chill glint in his eyes. "Delaying us would only allow us to gather more forces and wipe them out in one stroke."
Though Tesla and the others had the backing of the United States, Otto knew that mobilizing the American military would not be easy for them.
And Tesla had already experienced this firsthand. The previous appearance of the Emergency Management Bureau with nothing but a handful of ragtag personnel and battered tanks made it clear that the U.S. authorities were hardly invested in such matters—let alone willing to assist Tesla in opposing Schicksal.
"But they've done it anyway. Perhaps it was Edison's arrangement."
"In that case, their true objective is not us. This is merely a feint—luring the tiger away from the mountain."
"Luring the tiger away from the mountain!" Reanna exclaimed in surprise. She had not expected that Otto, a master of schemes, would fall for something so obvious.
"Could it be that Anti-Entropy's true target is Schicksal Headquarters?"
"Correct, Reanna. You've grown much more mature than before."
Otto's tone remained calm and indifferent, clearly unconcerned about being drawn away.
"Unfortunately, their cleverness may prove their undoing. They do not realize that Schicksal's strongest combat force... no, the strongest warrior in this world, did not come with us."
...
Otto extended his slender index finger and tapped a book on the shelf. Its projection materialized in his hand.
He reached out to touch it. There was no tactile sensation, yet the pages turned in response to his motion.
"Interesting. Knowledge of the future?"
A faint gleam flashed in Otto's eyes. The scene resembled searching for knowledge within Void Archives. Likewise, this Anti-Entropy Library had not opened its catalog index to him, nor had it even opened its doors.
They had reached the end of the spiral corridor. Before them stood an enormous gate bound in heavy chains.
A lock hung upon the chains, inscribed with densely packed text.
"It must be just another screen projection like the books around us," said a hot-tempered Valkyrie, convinced she had grasped the nature of the surroundings.
She had long grown tired of this slow, painstaking maze exploration. She wanted battle—wanted to clash with the enemy. She was utterly fed up with these tedious tricks.
Drawing the greatsword from her back, she hacked furiously at the chains.
"Don't, Sesigan—" The Valkyrie beside her had no time to stop her. The Valkyrie named Sesigan was blasted backward by an unknown pulse surging from the chains.
Bang!
Her body tumbled down the stairs before being caught by a Valkyrie below.
The one who caught her stared in shock, her voice trembling. "She... she's dead!"
"How is that possible?!"
Such a sudden life-and-death crisis left the surrounding Valkyries at a loss. They had encountered no real danger along the way—so why had someone suddenly died for no apparent reason?
"Move aside. Give her to me!" Reanna quickly took Sesigan from the other Valkyrie's arms. If this were some kind of infectious affliction, others might be affected. Only her soulium body would remain immune.
Reanna used Black Abyss White Flower in an attempt to revive Sesigan. After repeated efforts, however, she sorrowfully shook her head at Otto and the others.
"Damn it... I knew her recklessness would be the death of her!" Sesigan's teammate roared in grief and fury.
A pall of mourning settled over the group. Even Valkyries who had faced life and death many times before had never allowed their hearts to grow numb.
Otto stepped past Reanna, who still held Sesigan's body, and approached the gate. He examined the inscription on the chains. The text was engraved in Greek:
"I must find a new purpose in life, a path that leads toward the light."
Otto slowly read it aloud. Yet the lock did not open.
A Valkyrie asked, "Does it mean we're supposed to find a new road? That the current path is actually a dead end?"
"No. This line comes from Homer's epic, The Odyssey. In this passage, the protagonist Odysseus seeks the path home and travels to the underworld to consult the blind prophet Tiresias."
Otto rested his chin on his hand, murmuring repeatedly, "Home..."
Most of the younger Valkyries present were unfamiliar with the Greek reference.
"Lord Bishop, could you explain it in more detail?"
"Allow me," Reanna stepped forward when she saw Otto deep in thought. After all, she possessed over a century of accumulated knowledge, and her soulium body aided her memory tremendously.