Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

It is said that after this battle, almost none of the participants were willing to stay in the army, and a considerable number even chose to commit suicide after they were safe because they could not bear the immense psychological terror.

This battle, which can be described as bizarre, was recorded in the database by FIS as an heretical technological phenomenon, and left her with a psychological shadow that she has not yet recovered from after accidentally reading related materials.

"You mean that battle? Well, actually I'm quite grateful to them. Their vitality is quite strong, and it greatly improved my understanding of the human body."

Lingyi quickly understood what Maria meant by what she said.

"That battle... wait, could it be that you, Lingyi, did this? No way?"

Hearing Lingyi's answer, Maria asked incredulously.

"Well, personally, I don't like to see human lives end with my own hands, so I've made considerable efforts in figuring out how to disable humans without killing them."

"Of course, I fully explained the situation and asked for their opinions before taking action, and they all said they had no objections and chose to fight me."

Zero, expressionless, uttered words that Maria found utterly terrifying.

"I'm afraid they don't even believe you can do such a thing. It's more difficult and terrifying than killing them all directly."

Maria couldn't help but complain.

She understood to some extent that it was possible to prevent the opponent from dying while simultaneously rendering them incapable of fighting, a situation that could only occur when one side held a significant advantage.

"So, Maria, do you still want to learn? I think I have quite a lot of experience in this area."

Ignoring Maria's complaints, Lingyi reaffirmed Maria's willingness to learn, as she was very respectful of other people's opinions.

"Can I take a break? Of course I will still study, but I need to control my psychological trauma a little."

Faced with Zero's inorganic yet questioning gaze, Maria hesitated before finally agreeing to Zero's decision.

After all, even Lingyi had provided a solution for Maria's desire to avoid getting her hands dirty with blood. If she refused again, Maria would despise herself.

This is all for the cause of justice, and simply learning it doesn't guarantee application. Furthermore, it's all for our cause of justice, for the redemption of all humanity...

"Well, if we're going to teach, it would be better to start with something simple like how to cause a fracture, or we could teach Maria how to use a drug that specifically injures people."

Subsequently, Maria began to hypnotize herself, while Zero began to think about how to teach, and how to hurt people without killing them was also a very technical job.

P.S. Good morning.

Chapter Eleven: Now and Before

“Death-

The pain from the accumulation of lactic acid spread throughout her body, and every movement was accompanied by a cry of pain. Xiaoqiege had never felt that walking was such a painful thing.

"Are you alright, Cheese?"

Seeing her friend in pain, Tsukuyomi asked with some concern.

"No...it's okay. Even if it's painful, I'll crawl to the dinner table and die."

Squatting on the ground and rubbing her legs, Xiaoqiege insisted on standing up.

At this time, it was already dinner time. Although Xiaoqiege's body was very sore from the previous training, she was able to persevere for the sake of food.

"Slice the sauce, or should I bring it to you after it's cooked?"

Tsukuyomi, concerned, stepped forward and helped the other person up.

"Thank you, I'll adjust it, but it won't work. Food loses its flavor and nutrition if it's not tasted immediately."

Xiaoqiege stood up and firmly made this statement.

"Okay, hang in there a little longer, Kiri-chan. We'll find Zero-chan soon. Mum said she and Maria are in the training room."

He released Xiaoqiege's hand and encouraged her.

"Tiao is really strong, even though she suffered the same level of training and death as me."

Xiaoqiege said with some admiration for her friend's performance.

"Actually, Miss Finney also helped. Miss Finney taught me how to relieve physical fatigue."

Tsukuyomi told her friend why she was slightly stronger.

"Is he still chatting with that Finney? Don't be fooled, Death."

Hearing that Tsukuyomi was communicating with Finney, Akatsuki's worries welled up in her heart.

"It's okay, Kiri-chan. I asked Rei-nee-san. As long as the device isn't broken, it's fine to just communicate. If all else fails, Rei-nee-san can come and check my body."

Compared to Akatsuki's excessive worries, Tsukuyomi had considerable confidence in Zero's skills.

"Alright then, ah, we can see the training room now. Zero, Maria, are you here, Death?"

Faced with her friend's confidence, Xiaoqiege suppressed her worries and noticed that the two had arrived near the training room. So, while talking, she pushed open the door to the training room.

"Considering the fighting style of Gungnir in your possession, Maria, my suggestion is to first memorize a few common weaknesses and non-weaknesses of the human body, and then make choices as much as possible during combat."

As soon as they entered, the two children saw that Lingyi and Maria were standing in front of a human-shaped mannequin in the training room. Lingyi was holding a red knife and explaining something to Maria.

"How should I put it, Lingyi, you are really experienced in this area."

Listening to Zero's explanation, Maria learned for the first time that there was such a way to fight.

In the past, she had also learned combat skills, but those were basically about how to protect herself while inflicting damage on her opponent.

This kind of power use, which achieves the goal of crippling without harming the person while having the upper hand, is outside her area of ​​knowledge.

"These are just some little tricks that I've accumulated from habit. Alright, let's stop here for today. After you've mastered this knowledge, Maria, you should also understand how to temporarily seize the enemy's mobility."

"Turn off the illusory image of the human model," Lingyi said, turning around to shut down the equipment in the training area.

"Phew... Got it."

I think I understand now why Rei rejected Mum's plan before.

Maria breathed a sigh of relief after mentally reviewing what Zero had taught her. As she watched Zero turn away, she briefly recalled the incident that had occurred before the operation began.

It was the eve of the operation to launch Nephilim, and Zero and Mum were discussing the operational plan for launching Nephilim.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Naztasha, to have Maria declare herself on stage as the leader of the newly formed organization Finni, take the people in the venue hostage, demand territory, and force the Japanese government's agents to fight?"

At that time, after reviewing the operation plan created by Naztasha, Zero asked this question while rubbing her temples.

"This is a necessary sacrifice for the cause of justice. We must not be afraid of getting our hands dirty with blood. We must save all mankind by any means necessary."

Naztashya explained her view that in order to prevent the moon from falling, she had to eliminate all risks and use any means necessary, even if it meant playing the role of a terrorist.

"I don't know what to say, but I refuse to carry out this plan."

Zero directly rejected Naztasha's proposal.

“I know, Lingyi, you are a gentle child, but to accomplish a harsh mission, we must abandon all the gentleness in our hearts.”

As Naztasha spoke, a resolute look was visible in his eyes.

"Don't get me wrong, there are countless reasons to reject it. To be honest, I just don't understand how you could connect saving the world with being a terrorist, which are completely contradictory things."

Faced with Naztashia's resolute statement, Zero spoke with a hint of helplessness, and then began to explain her evaluation of the Mum Project.

"First, those who act justly gain widespread support, while those who act unjustly find themselves isolated. Since our goal is to save this planet, we should naturally strive to gain the support of as many people as possible. Why choose to become a terrorist, a self-inflicted wound?"

"Secondly, we are now an exiled organization without a base, and being hidden in the shadows is one of our advantages."

"What is the purpose of this opening move, which exposes our organizational origins and identity, and completely removes the fog of war?"

"Third, and what I find hardest to understand, is that preventing the moon from falling is something we are doing now, not something that requires dedicating one's entire life to."

"Naztasha, after doing something like this, how do you think she'll go to school? How will Maria continue her acting career?"

According to Zero, Naztash's plan, while not entirely without flaws, is certainly self-contradictory.

It's like having a firm conviction in your heart, but being so half-hearted that you end up being swayed by that conviction.

"...I understand. You'll be in charge of planning this operation, Zero."

Ultimately, Naztashia abandoned her own opinion, perhaps persuaded by something Zero said.

“Alright, let me rethink it. Based on your plan, Naztashya, after all, Maria’s performance is already confirmed.”

Thus, having received Naztasha's delegation of authority, Zero took over full control of the plan without any reservations.

Chapter Twelve: Gold and Food

At the time, I just thought Lingyi was being more thorough in her considerations, but now it seems that her usual habits also played a role.

Recalling Lingyi's conversation with Mum, Maria had a vague understanding of what was going on.

"Maria, good evening, Death."

Just then, a voice from behind interrupted Maria's thoughts.

Turning around, Maria saw Xiaoqiege waving to her, and Tsukuyomi standing quietly beside her.

"Good evening, are you here to practice singing and tuning as well?"

Maria smiled and nodded to the two of them, then subconsciously asked a question.

"No, no, we've already experienced enough Death in training today."

Upon hearing Maria's question, Xiaoqiege immediately shook her head vigorously, like a rattle drum.

"We're here to ask Sister Lingyi to prepare dinner."

*〉囷$c6壹琦1尔拔死-to quietly add to the Tsukuyomi tune beside him.

"Oh, I see. It's already dinnertime."

Hearing the two say this, Maria realized that it was already evening when she was studying with Lingyi.

"That's how it is. We trained for a long time and our stomachs were growling."

Xiaoqiege covered her lower abdomen to indicate this, otherwise she wouldn't want to leave her bed.

"Regarding tonight's dinner, I'd like to discuss with Lingyi what we should cook. If possible, I'd like to offer my help."

On the other side, Tsukuyomi spoke with a serious expression.

“Zero, mediate with Kirika and the others… ah.”

Hearing what the two were saying, Maria was about to call out to Zero when she found that Zero had already finished shutting down the equipment and was walking over.

"Okay, I understand. Tonight, let's have something a little more substantial. After all, training is tiring, and we need to replenish our nutrition."

“I remember buying some beef, so I’ll have beef stew rice for dinner, and mix it with the fruit I bought beforehand.”

Lingyi, who seemed to already know the purpose of their visit, came over and answered Diao's question.

"Beef Death!"

Xiaoqiege's eyes lit up; she looked very happy.

"Okay, I understand, Sister Lingyi, it's beef stew rice, right?"

Upon hearing about tonight's meal, Tsukuyomi's face broke into a smile.

"Gulu--Um, Zero, do we have enough funds left to afford such good food?"

Swallowing hard, Maria rationally asked Lingyi this more practical question.

In her memory, after leaving the United States, their funds were never abundant, and they had always been saving, saving and saving.

"To correct you slightly, the funds for food cannot be described as surplus. Maria, no matter what, the nutritional supplementation of the members is always the top priority."

"In the end, given the size of our organization, the little bit of food expenses you save is not much anyway. It would be better to reduce unnecessary equipment spending and use the saved money to replenish your energy."

Lingyi expressed her opinion that compared to equipment that costs millions of dollars, there's really no need to be too frugal with the food expenses for just a few people.

"Moreover, on the other hand, although the organization's disposable funds are still tight, after making every effort to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, it has reached a point where there is no need to sacrifice its quality of life."

Lingyi then added. (The rest of the text appears to be gibberish and unrelated to the previous sentence.)

"Open source and reduce expenditure, well, I know about reducing expenditure, but what does 'open source' mean? Haven't we already lost our source of funding?"

Hearing Lingyi's addition, Maria asked with some confusion.

"Phew... Maria, have you forgotten your identity? Don't forget that besides being a performer, you're also a world-class singer. You're underestimating the earning power of a world-class singer, aren't you?"

Lingyi looked at this songstress who seemed unaware of her own fame with a sense of exasperation.

"In addition, you just had a collaborative performance with top Japanese artist Kazanari Tsubasa, and coupled with your fearless performance on stage, you are currently riding high and your CDs are selling like hotcakes."

Lingyi explained this to Maria with a sense of helplessness.

"But, as far as I remember, the gap between a singer's income and the value of those devices is still quite large, isn't it?"