After a long drive, Shin and Raven finally stopped at the foot of a mountain.
"We can't drive any farther. From here, we walk," Raven said, stepping out with a black duffel bag slung over her shoulder and shining a high-powered flashlight toward a narrow path winding up from the roadside.
"Where does it lead?" Shin asked, mirroring her actions with a similar bag slung across his back and a flashlight in hand.
He had no idea where Raven had driven them. There wasn't a streetlight in sight for what must have been miles, and the path ahead was so dark that even the moonlight failed to reach it.
Although Shin could see perfectly in the dark thanks to his abilities, he still turned on his flashlight to match Raven, the organization's top operative.
"You'll see when we get there," Raven replied with a mysterious smile.
They made their way up the path at a swift pace. With Honkai energy enhancing their bodies, neither the twisting terrain nor the darkness posed any challenge.
Before long, they reached the end of the trail. Rounding a final bend, a grand structure loomed before them.
It was a castle, like something ripped straight from a knight's tale. Massive stone walls surrounded the mountainside, built in a staggered design with arrow slits for defense. Tall towers stood at the corners, and within the walls, a Gothic-style main hall exuded both grandeur and solemnity.
Yet unlike the regal castles of legend, this one was dark, lifeless. The structure had clearly been abandoned for years—sections of the wall had collapsed, and not a single light flickered within.
Bathed in moonlight, the castle looked like the broken corpse of a giant, waiting for mourners who would never come.
"This is the ancestral castle of the Raymonlet family," Raven explained.
"Are we really going to find Olivia Raymonlet's treasure in there?" Shin asked, frowning in disbelief.
A thousand years was a long time. Nations had risen and fallen in less. Expecting any treasure to still be intact after so long felt as naïve as believing the First Emperor of Qin could rise from his tomb, roll the dice, and instantly get promoted to general.
"According to our scans, Honkai energy fluctuations appear here during every full moon," Raven said as she pulled out a palm-sized device, its screen rippling with waveforms. "Something is definitely hidden here, just not something ordinary people can perceive."
Seeing how serious Raven was, Shin simply nodded.
It might not sound scientific, but the explanation actually made sense. Optical camouflage alone could render something virtually invisible. And if Raymonlet had wielded pre-civilization tech, the limits of possibility would have been long broken.
Honkai energy combined with ancient tech was practically divine in less advanced eras, and the things it could accomplish were far beyond the scope of human imagination.
In fact, many ancient myths across civilizations could be traced back to these relics.
Stepping over the collapsed gate into the castle, the two were greeted by desolation.
Weeds had overtaken every inch of earth. Crumbled bricks and rotted wood were strewn across the grounds, and skeletal remains could be seen here and there, long since bleached by time.
"Apparently, this place was still in use up until World War II," Raven said as her eyes scanned the surroundings with intrigue.
"Vandalizing historical architecture... too bad we can't fine those people now," Shin muttered.
He spotted what looked like explosion damage, but the evidence was so old it was impossible to confirm.
"This castle was rebuilt over a century ago. None of the original stones remain," Raven said with a shrug as her boots crunched over fallen debris.
"And yet, Olivia's treasure still hasn't been found?" Shin couldn't help but admire her skill in hiding.
Clearly, that knight would have gotten along well with certain ancient doctors who spent fifty thousand years holed up in multiversal bunkers.
"Exactly," Raven sighed. "Records suggest the relic she possessed may have involved spatial manipulation."
Space manipulation, always one of the trickiest powers to deal with.
"Did Schicksal never catch wind of this?" Shin asked. The Overseer had always been obsessed with space-based abilities.
And Sicily wasn't far from Schicksal's floating headquarters.
"World Serpent's tech isn't the same as theirs," Raven replied with a hint of pride, holding up the scanner. "This is our latest Honkai energy detector."
Without this breakthrough, they might never have detected anything in the first place.
"That explains it," Shin said thoughtfully.
Despite often being grouped together, the Big Three operated with entirely different tech philosophies.
Take bioengineering, for example, Schicksal's artificial Stigmata aimed to improve Valkyrie compatibility, while World Serpent outright discarded humanity and tried to turn people into Honkai beasts.
It wasn't surprising that World Serpent outpaced Schicksal in certain fields.
"Still..." Shin stepped through the collapsed entrance into the great hall, a bit uncertain. "Where do we even start?"
Even in ruins, the castle was enormous.
Standing at the entryway, they looked like children in a giant's home.
Exploring every inch would take a large team weeks. They only had two people.
"No need to search every corner. We'll take a more modern approach," Raven said, pulling out a disk-shaped device from her bag. "Install these throughout the castle. I've already sent the positions and instructions to your terminal."
Over a thousand years, treasure hunters had likely torn through every part of this castle.
Finding anything the normal way was a fool's errand.
Luckily, they weren't fighting alone. World Serpent's science division was backing them up.
When Shin opened his terminal, he saw a complete 3D model of the castle. Every break, every flaw was marked out clearly.
He couldn't help but say in awe, "Natasha really is an elite in the organization."
Clearly, Raven's legendary mercenary status wasn't just for show. Shin still had a long way to go to catch up.
"Now you appreciate your big sister, huh?" Raven said smugly as she walked deeper into the castle. "Hurry up. Even with the detectors in place, it'll take time for the results to come in."
They had to gather and cross-reference a lot of data, and even with specialized equipment, it wouldn't be quick.
If they didn't finish before sunrise, they'd have to wait another month for the next full moon.
"Got it."
Shin nodded and headed off in the opposite direction.
The castle was huge. Splitting up was more efficient.
The air was thick with rot and dust. Cold crept through the stone walls, biting at his skin and sending shivers down his spine.
Even the most seasoned tomb raiders might have been scared off by now.
But to Shin, now a Herrscher, this was just an enjoyable adventure. He even found the time to reposition a fallen skeleton in a more respectful pose.
Whoosh!
A gust cut through the silence. Three claws suddenly shot out from the darkness, slashing toward Shin.
With a subtle shift of his step, he dodged the attack and countered with a fierce kick.
Bang!
The figure flew back faster than it came, slamming into a wall and crumpling, motionless.
"A Deadwalker? Must've been a drifter who sought shelter here during the full moon," Shin muttered, examining its clothes. "Pretty ugly, huh?"
Without a PG-13 filter, Deadwalkers in the Honkai world were truly horrifying.
Pale, ashen skin. Eyes filled with madness. Some even screeched when attacking.
And no, they didn't turn into hot women in matching uniforms.
All in all, turning into a Deadwalker was an especially miserable fate for a Valkyrie. Many would rather die than fall that far, often asking friends to end them the moment symptoms appeared.
Because technically, Deadwalkers weren't corpses. They were still alive.
And external wounds accelerated the process. This one probably turned because of an untreated injury.
Otherwise, the ambient Honkai energy here, while elevated wasn't enough to trigger a transformation, even during a full moon.
Raymonlet wouldn't have chosen a spot that would kill her descendants, after all.
With a sigh, Shin slammed his fist into the wall, burying the Deadwalker under rubble, and continued toward his next objective.
Nearly an hour passed before he finally returned to the hall around 2 a.m. to regroup with Raven.
*********
Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 200, 400 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch!