"ROAR—"
Just as Welt felt the situation was rapidly deteriorating, an earth-shaking roar that seemed capable of triggering avalanches erupted violently from behind them.
Then, accompanied by a shattering sound, a massive blue-and-white draconic Honkai Beast broke free from the luminous cocoon in the valley.
"The second Herrscher's companion Honkai Beast?"
Otto was momentarily stunned.
"It woke up a bit earlier than I anticipated... No matter, it doesn't change anything. After all..."
In the next instant, just as Otto had predicted, the newly awakened Bella instantly sensed her master's critically weakened state. Anxiously, Bella beat her wings, swiftly scooped up the unconscious Sirin, and flew off into the distance.
"After all, a companion Honkai Beast is no ordinary creature. Possessing a degree of intelligence, she could easily assess that the current situation was beyond her ability to handle."
"Under these circumstances, her best option was to prioritize retrieving her severely injured master and conserve her strength to protect her."
"Don't you agree, Herrscher of Reason, Mr. Welt?"
"You're with Schicksal?"
Welt didn't rush to continue the attack but instead asked abruptly.
"Took you long enough to figure it out?"
The blond jester adjusted his hat, a hint of mockery in his tone. "Indeed, whether in talent or ability, you fall far short of Joyce."
"No, it just occurred to me that your body... strongly resembles someone I once knew."
Welt shook his head. "And also..."
"I was merely stalling for time."
BANG—
A gunshot shattered the tension between the two.
Siegfried, brandishing his golden twin pistols, had arrived on the battlefield. Welt had only decided to engage in brief chatter after receiving a restored communication from Einstein.
"Siegfried, don't prolong the fight! And don't worry about me!"
A dark glow emanated once more from Welt's hand. Ignoring the protests from his body, which had already reached its limit, he activated the Star of Eden's Zeroth Power once again.
"Retrieve that girl's body!"
"What?"
Siegfried was briefly taken aback, but his combat instincts quickly kicked in, and he altered his course.
"Trying to take what's mine? The two of you aren't enough."
With a casual flick of his sleeve, Otto released two crimson streaks, interrupting Welt's charging process. Simultaneously, his other hand moved to block Siegfried, who was attempting to seize Lynelle's body.
To his surprise, however, a sly grin had spread across Siegfried's face.
"You fell for it!"
As if premeditated, Siegffried, who had been lunging toward the body, suddenly clapped his hands together. The golden pistols transformed into blazing swords, which he swung back toward the blond jester's arm.
At the same time, several golden chains descended from above, swiftly ensnaring Lynelle's body and pulling it taut.
The limp girl, light as a feather, was gently drawn into the safety of the Oath of Judah by Theresa.
"Your abilities were already relayed to us by Welt," the white-haired loli declared triumphantly, crossing her arms and looking down at the stunned mysterious blond jester. "Let's see if your strange device that dissolves Honkai energy can breach a Divine Key's shell."
"But, the more I look at you, the more familiar you seem..."
"So it's three against one? No wonder you remained unruffled even after Benares retreated... It seems I underestimated you, leader of Anti-Entropy."
Otto fell silent for a moment, then simply flicked his sleeve.
"Enough. My primary objectives are accomplished. Continuing this fight would only force me to cross blades with my colleagues."
"What? You think you can just leave after all this?" Theresa's voice rose sharply, golden chains already shooting out from behind her, attempting to restrain the mysterious man.
"Heh. While my abilities may not breach a Divine Key, if I wish to leave, you won't stop me unless you employ the Zeroth Power."
Crimson light enveloped Otto, effortlessly reducing the energy chains derived from the Judah to their raw form. He had just noticed that the Void Archives had partially recovered from its shutdown. "Until we meet again, everyone."
With that, his figure vanished from the spot.
"Completely untraceable."
Einstein's voice came through Welt's earpiece. "Additionally, Joachim, your body can't sustain further combat for now. Withdraw."
"Alright... But, Einstein, during your second transmission, you said there were no suspicious signals nearby and told me to end this quickly?"
Welt sounded puzzled. "Did that mysterious man infiltrate afterward?"
What sent a chill down Welt's spine, however, was Einstein's next statement.
"What 'no suspicious signals'?"
Einstein's voice held even more confusion than Welt's. "After my first transmission with you, our comms were jammed. We just managed to restore them... There was no second transmission."
"..."
Welt was silent for a moment. He now recalled that during the "second transmission," Einstein's voice had indeed been distorted.
And that "Einstein" had addressed him as... Welt.
"Einstein, prepare to activate the backup channels. Schicksal—no, Otto—has likely completely compromised our communications."
--+--
"Objective one: Force Sirin back into opposition against humanity by killing Lynelle. Achieved."
"Objective two: Investigate Lynelle's secrets. Well... although the Void Archives paid a heavy price, it seems it didn't obtain Lynelle's memories and instead made things more mysterious. Whatever, since Lynelle's enigmatic nature is confirmed, let's consider this half-achieved."
"Objective three: Severely injure Sirin, forcing her to seek the Honkai God's aid on the moon to heal her wounds. Achieved."
"Objective four: Eliminate the variable, Welt. Failed... Although I set a trap for him by hacking their comms, he's unexpectedly hard to kill. Why can't he take a lesson from Joyce in this regard?"
"Objective five: Retrieve Lynelle's body for cryopreservation and future research. Failed... Mainly thwarted by Theresa. With her there, this objective was unattainable."
"Sigh, I originally overestimated how enraged Sirin would be. In my initial calculations, she should have killed Patricia and critically injured Theresa, preventing her from joining this battle... Who knew Sirin had no intention of harming unrelated personnel?"
Otto sighed, putting away his terminal.
"All in all, most of the primary objectives for this operation are accomplished. It wasn't a wasted trip... However, Sirin's actions deviated significantly from the psychological model I constructed for her. It seems this Lynelle truly was the key variable."
"Next time, she'll require more targeted measures..."
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.