"Well, if it isn't Miss Sirin. Been a while, hasn't it?"
Otto calmly deflected the spears of void space materializing around him, one after another, and looked at Sirin. "Hmm, it seems you learned from last time. You're quite punctual on this occasion."
"You dare bring that up?"
Sirin's face darkened. A Herrscher's power, so violent it could only be described as frenzied, began leaking from her body.
"See? Impatient again."
Otto shook his head with an air of helplessness. "No matter. Before you make your move, would you be so kind as to answer a question of mine?"
"Cecilia and Siegfried… they were just pulled into an illusion by you, weren't they? So, how are they now?"
"Relax, I don't go around killing indiscriminately. You're the only one I'm after."
Sirin let out a cold laugh. "If you're hoping to wait for their backup, I'm afraid you're in for a disappointment. While they will break free of the illusion and get here soon, killing you… I'd begrudge even spending a full minute on it."
"So, they'll arrive in about a minute, is that it?"
Otto nodded, seemingly reassured. "Good. All my questions have been answered. So, as a reward… Miss Sirin, how would you like to experience the greatness of human technology?"
Hearing this, Sirin shot a strange look at Welt nearby. If she remembered correctly, this guy had spouted something similar when they first met.
It was just so… cringey.
"I admit, that armor of yours has indeed elevated you to a level where you can stand against me."
Sirin snorted lightly, then snapped her fingers.
Instantly, the four pseudo-Herrscher cores embedded in Otto's prototype suit flared with a blinding radiance.
"But… using authority and Honkai energy that I separated out to deal with me? Isn't that a bit too far-fetched?"
"What…? Ugh—"
Before Otto could even register surprise, Sirin's figure instantly appeared right in front of him.
Under her control, the four pseudo-cores were violently ripped out and absorbed back into her body.
With its energy source forcibly torn away and Sirin following up with a physical blow, Otto's body was sent flying instantly. The main structure of the armor disintegrated mid-air, turning into a pile of recyclable scrap.
"I told you. I don't even need a minute to kill you."
"Indeed… cough…"
Yet, even in such a state, Otto's voice remained utterly composed.
"However, much like that precious person of yours, I can resurrect myself a near-infinite number of times. Destroying one body of mine is, to me, little more than a minor injury."
"But, Miss Sirin…"
"Are you prepared to trade your life for another one of my 'injuries'?"
A profoundly eerie smile suddenly spread across Otto's face.
Whoosh—
At the same moment, a wave of Honkai energy, powerful enough to nearly send Lynelle flying, abruptly erupted outward with Sirin at its center.
"Look out!"
With lightning-fast reflexes, Welt grabbed Lynelle before she could be thrown back. His eyes then widened in alarm.
"Wait, how are you so severely corrupted by Honkai energy… That's not right!"
Welt's gaze snapped toward Sirin's location. Simultaneously, a series of alarm blares and Einstein's voice came through his communicator.
"Joachim! What's happening on your end? The Honkai energy density across the whole of Siberia is skyrocketing! Centered on your position, a large-scale Honkai Beast tide is already manifesting within a several-kilometer radius!"
There was no time to reply to Einstein.
Welt instantly appeared before Sirin. She, who had seemed perfectly fine moments ago, was now kneeling on the ground, her face contorted in agony.
Vast amounts of Honkai energy were leaking uncontrollably from her body. Judging by the scorch marks, flashes of lightning, and other phenomena appearing erratically on the ground around her, the five Herrscher authorities she wielded were beginning to act out unconsciously upon their surroundings.
"Otto! What have you done?!"
"Now, now, no need for haste, Welt."
Otto's voice was as placid as ever. "I merely made some… minor adjustments to those pseudo-Herrscher cores."
"After all, as you know, Sirin didn't truly separate out her Herrscher cores. She merely fused portions of her authority with large amounts of Honkai energy, creating something that resembles a core but isn't truly one. And since she genuinely did separate out parts of her own authority, she cannot simply abandon these pseudo-cores entirely."
"So, for something with such a simple structure, and which Sirin is bound to reuse… it's only reasonable for me to have tampered with them a little, wouldn't you agree?"
"But rest assured, I didn't do anything too extreme. Holy Blood can decompose Honkai energy, but a true Herrscher core is a highly active entity in itself."
"A small amount of Holy Blood, combined with some other supplementary ingredients, can turn the original 'Herrscher killer' into a catalyst for Honkai energy itself—much like releasing a catfish into a school of sardines. Absorbing it into the core will cause the Herrscher core to rapidly enter an activated state, persisting until these 'catalysts' are completely consumed."
"And now…"
Slap!
Before Otto could finish, a delicate but firm fist slammed hard into his face, making his Soulium cheek screech in protest. However, the punch didn't seem to damage his vocal unit.
"Miss Lynelle, you're welcome to continue venting your anger on this body. After all, I'll be transferring my consciousness shortly anyway."
"Venting anger is pointless. This punch was just to confirm your consciousness is still in this body, and you aren't just playing a recording."
Lynelle retracted her fist expressionlessly, then flashed a brilliant smile at Otto.
"Don't you worry. The worst outcome of this battle is mutual destruction. I truly cannot stop your schemes against me or against Sirin. But, operating with an equal information gap, you likewise cannot stop my counterattack against you."
"Because you have absolutely no idea in what form I will repay your little conspiracy."
As she spoke, Lynelle didn't hesitate any longer, pulling out a pre-prepared tool.
"The usage conditions for this thing are a bit strict. It only works once your body is completely powerless to resist. So, thank you for delivering yourself right into my hands."
"Well then, until we meet again. I do hope Miss Amber won't cry and fuss too much over the financial hole this leaves in Schicksal's accounts."
With Lynelle's final word, a tool resembling a toy sword was forcefully plunged into Otto's body.
Immediately, a strange energy began flowing through the network of Otto's Soulium bodies, transmitting itself into the stockpile of spare Soulium vessels the Overseer maintained across the globe.
At that moment, Otto's expression finally changed.
"Amber! Void Archives!"
Back at Schicksal Headquarters, a reserve body retrieved in advance by Amber snapped its eyes open. Otto's consciousness had already been uploaded back to HQ, but he himself didn't seem pleased about it in the slightest.
"Now! Immediately! Sever the synchronization network for all my Soulium bodies! Salvage every single one you can!"
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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!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.