Honkai x LOTM: Godish of Mysteries

Turning back the time when Rita and Bianka were facing off the Shepard from the very top of the Gopura.

The elevator came down to ground level, where various broken religious relics, vases, and fragments of statues stood. Those hooded figures rushed out like packed sardines when the lift door opened.

As they picked their paces one of the followers started a conversation with their fellow bloodsuckers.

"Say, what are the chances of us surviving this encounter?" Said a follower with a soft childish face.

Hearing his question, an aging woman replied, "Zero percent...We are honestly going to die from an S-Rank Valkyries." After answering, she pulled a cigarette from her clothed pockets and lit it with a snap of her fingers.

Her words stopped as the entire building and area shook for just a moment. Then she replied regretfully

"See we're going to die."

"Welp at least we'll die in a glorious battle of blood and guts...To be honest I would have run if it were my old self but hey I am far too deep! I got a craving for human flesh all because I had a single bite of a man's thigh

...Praise our Lord who devours everything and for giving me the chance to savor one last meal! I won't eat you guys though, we're a true family! The real bloodshed is within our hearts!"

"Speak your sh*t, my cannibalistic fiend of a brother. We ain't got to worry about nothing if we dying in the end!"

As they exited the building, one follower thought he saw a shadow flicker on the upper corner of the ceiling, but he paid no attention to it and chalked it up to his imagination.

Following his fellow brethren he questioned, "What would be tastier the heart or blood of an S-Rank Valkryie?"

"Both of course!" They all responded in unison

Once the madman was gone, the previous spot where the follower gazed surged as a single crimson-slited eye appeared from within the shadow. The darkness shifted into a flock of scarlet feathers that converged into a feminine figure.

She was wearing a hooded cloak that covered half of her face, with the crimson-slit eye of a raven. Under the cloak, she wore a gray tracksuit adorned with various straps that clung to her body.

No one would know her from a single glance but within the world of hired arms...She was known as Raven or Natasha Cioara.

Her lips parted a bit and her right hand adorned with claws that shone a bloody light. She let out an irritated Tsk of not being able to take out those deviants...Raven was morally gray at best and evil at worst but...She wasn't a monster like them and being in the same room with them made her nauseous.

If she wasn't on a mission this room would have been painted red, the wall splattered with their blood and cold lifeless bodies on the ground nevertheless she made with purpose toward her target.

The lift where those madmen descended from, she entered the elevator and from what was in front of her was a metal wall of normalcy. Ignoring the voice to choose what floor to go to, Raven lifted her feet and sent a horse kick toward the wall.

*BANG*

It creased from the impact and a large enough hole for a human to fit in was breached into its structure. Her body flicked into a swarm of illusionary feathers and went through the opening. 

An open depression was within her sight and she went down into the rabbit hole of bloody gloom.

Immediately her "eyes" adjusted to the darkness of the sudden hidden passage and she gilded down with her light mass of feathers. Upon reaching the ground her figure condensed back into her usual appearance.

Within her sight was a dug-in passage to a one-way tunnel toward the darkening void. As she made her way through the rocky path, numerous hieroglyphics started to litter the area.

Raven wasn't much of a scholar but took whatever pictures she could with her phone if her employer needed them after all History can be a good use of information.

"Who knew those crazed blood fiends could draw."

They all varied differently, with numerous styles of art, but each hieroglyphic had one singular symbol.

A dark vortex that seemed to contain every single possible color devouring everything within its maw.

"If only they knew what our Sire is...How would they react that even False Gods will fall to his hands."

Raven continued on her journey passing through the rocky terrain and damp atmosphere until she came across a block-off wall with a large two-gated metal door. She didn't immediately go for a strike to unlatch it but instead attempted to open it in the normal fashion.

Her hands latched onto both door handles and she pulled back with enough force for the doors to creak open.

"Open Sesame...Did they eat their brains so much they left the door open?"

It loudly rumbled again and closed as Raven went inside. What lay bare to the mercenary eyes was the amount of dried blood splattered onto the stoned walls, ceiling, and ground.

She pinched her nose at the disgusting sight and continued forward. The whole area was dedicated to recording, storing, and archiving what the Church deemed fit for storage. She walked past the shelves of numerous papers and books caked with blood. 

Useless for the job as who wanted to read the ramblings of a madman? Even Gray Serpent and Jackal wouldn't listen to such crap only if it were interesting. 

Nevertheless, she went to plunder the entire room until the Mercenary made her search on the wooden file desk standing in the back of the room. Her fingers pounced onto the lower drawer and slid it open revealing a golden bloody chalice.

"Bingo."

The exotic item was soon within her hand and once it was, she took a single glance onto the bottom of it. Her fingers pried into its hidden compartment until it revealed a single symbol of a Serpent devouring its own tail shined brightly and beeped quietly.

It was a World Serpent...The name and symbol of a Secret Organization that has been active since humanity walked the Earth. 

Various members have infiltrated many of the organizations around the World, including Schicksal, and Anti-Entropy. 

The World Serpent does have similar goals of wiping out the Honkai but their methodology is quite different to the others...Very cruel and unethical but even Anti-Entropy and Schicksal have their own hidden shadows.

As a member of World Serpent, Raven was tasked to receive a product they sold to the Shepard of Baptism, Inzalo Syed, and using the fact that Gray Serpent was a renowned Broker it went perfectly smoothly to sell it to every single Shepard of the Church of the Monster

The Chalice of Ouracha was what those deviants called it...It had the ability to amplify the surrounding Honkai Energy in the area within a concealed manner and could be modified to fit whoever uses it...

But what would happen if certain errors were placed into it, where such amplification wasn't hidden and could be picked up by Organizations like Schicksal or Anti-Entropy? This would also require having a well-hidden tracker that could be traced regardless of location.

...That's right World Serpent was going to pick them off one by one without doing a single thing and with Schicksal currently attacking one of their Shepards it would be easy pickens.

Now, Raven had to remove the evidence of World Serpent's involvement and leave before they found this place. 

Her movement stopped as sudden footsteps reached her ears. She pulled out her bow tucked behind her back, crimson claws humming with power and now was prepared for a fight.

"Hey, Miss are you here for my dinner...I haven't been fed in ages!"

Raven noticed an open door coming from the side of the room and what came out of it was a young girl.

She had pale but flushed skin, and crimson eyes, and was wearing a black-and-white sundress. The most notable feature of her was the small, toothy fangs in her mouth.

The young lady noticing the difference in attire from the followers let out a joyful smile.

"Are you here to let me out, pretty Miss...I have been stuck here in this stinky cave for years. If you don't trust me I can even tie myself up. I've been bounded by rope so much I can untie them with my eyes closed."

"Do you have a name and are you hurt anywhere?" Raven lowered her weapon for a bit and asked. 

Her guard was still up just in case...A situation where she had to actively hurt and kill a child left a bitter taste in her mouth and hopefully, this wouldn't be like the others.

"They didn't give me one but I wanna be named, Luna! As for if I am hurt...Nah I'm okay. Whenever they drain me of my blood or slash open my skin, my wounds usually heal up pretty well."

The Mecernary's eyes took a dark crimson glint hearing this and her thoughts were suddenly filled with regret...Regret that she didn't kill them with her own hands. 

"Would you like to come with me...I can take you to a shelter with food and warm water."

It was a bit selfish to save her but hey what difference would make of her being a hypocrite...As a mercenary who takes lives and saves children from horrible fates.

Luna eye's sparkled hearing this, "I can't believe my first kidnapper is so kind...I wish all people on the outside were like this and not trying to drink my blood."

The Mercenary was speechless and slowly approached her, her weapon drawn back. Once close enough, she removed her cloak, covered the pale girl with it, and then asked.

"Have you ever been to a beach?"

The child shook her head and responded "No, but I heard they're real pretty."

The Mercenary let out a comforting smile, "I'll take you to one...Let's just get out of here."

"Sweet before we leave, can I set the place on fire? I don't want to ever remember this place ever again!"

Raven let out a crooked smile and lampooned within her mind, 'What type of child is this?'

"Let's just get out of here before the entire place collapses." 

"Great I don't have to do my job then...Goodbye, crappy cave may we never meet again!" As Luna screamed out those words she latched open the two heavy metal doors with a single kick.

"Freedom!"

The Mercenary looked on with disbelief, "What have they been feeding you?"

...

Nearby, a Murudeshwara Fishermen Beach, two figures lay. A young white-haired girl lay on the coarse sand, making distinct patterns of numerous animals. She smiled toothily as the sunlight reflected off her fangs.

"So this is the beach it's so pretty and rough? Are those fishes...I wonder if they taste as good as human blood." She pondered with a sweet voice.

"You wouldn't want your dress to get wet, would you? Just sit tight and wait...I'll give you some cherry-flavored candies if you want some." 

Raven let out a heavy sigh hearing the girl's words, who knew that being held captive in a cave would make her so energetic and...Have a penchant for drinking blood? That would be a problem unless she buys some bloodbags...It's clear that a regular orphanage couldn't take care of her.

'I can't believe Gray Serpent had me sneak into a building filled with cultists then at the same time have the entire surrounding area be bombarded by 2-S Rank Valkyries...Thankfully he's paying me extra for all of this.'

When she finished the job, she went to a faraway beach to forget her worries before returning to the meet-up location with Gray Serpent.

It was unfitting for her to do this while on the job but going through all of that...She deserved it in her books and that robotic snake bastard wouldn't care. Plus a child should be able to see and bask in the sun's light, not in a damp cave with a whole bunch of cultists.

"You ready to go Luna?" She asked.

"Already? but the Sun is so warm and pretty to look at. Since you are the one who saved me, I'll listen. Where are we going anyway?"

Raven couldn't respond as a sudden voice interrupted her answer.

"Hey, you two! You can't be here there's an investigation going on here...Please leave the area before you get hurt." 

Soon the voice appeared closer and the sound of running footsteps was apparent 

The Mercenary cursed to herself, did she get sloppy because of Luna with her, or was it because she chose the wrong area...Well, it didn't matter no witnesses and luckily she actually brought her memory-wiping pills otherwise it'd be a mess.

The voice was strange and it seemed eerily familiar. 

Raven quickly turned her head, and her body immediately became cold. The blood surging throughout her veins froze, and her mind lapsed into utter stillness upon seeing the figure who called out to her.

A blonde man wearing a Doctor's coat appeared and his emerald eyes gazed at her with a peculiar amusement...It was Otto Apocalypse.

The Overseer smiled warmly and said, "~Hi~ are you two lost?"

With his words reaching Raven's ears, she was suddenly reminded of a Pink Elf and she soon screamed within her mind, 

'DAMMIT GRAY SERPENT' 

A/N: Sorry for my lateness...I was getting into Project Moon. As for this Luna child in this chapter...Teri, Teri!