A few minutes ago, in Otto's office.
Inside his office, Otto saw Fu Hua's face filled with rage and knew that he had evidently guessed the worst possible answer.
In the battle of the Second Eruption, Fu Hua lost many of her memories and much of her formidable power.
It was precisely because of this that Otto could more easily command this nominal partner.
But before the Second Eruption broke out, Fu Hua and Cecilia were actually rare good friends.
And before, Otto didn't know whether Fu Hua had forgotten her memories of Cecilia.
But now, the moment Fu Hua learned that Otto had used Cecilia's DNA to make clones, she came knocking the very next day.
From this, it was clear she hadn't completely forgotten their past friendship.
Trouble, big trouble.
"Otto."
Looking at the smiling but silent Otto, Fu Hua spoke in a cold voice.
"What nefarious scheme are you concocting now?"
"Heh, old friend, you're certainly not holding back today."
Otto looked at Fu Hua before him and said with a helpless tone.
"While I, Otto, may not be a good person and am indeed plotting something, but—plotting against my enemies, is there anything wrong with that?"
"Naturally."
Faced with Otto's words, which were clearly an attempt to exonerate himself, Fu Hua nodded quite naturally.
"What you said is indeed not wrong."
Hm, strange. My old friend is clearly very angry, yet why is she being so reasonable right now?
However, although Otto had already sensed that something was amiss, he still had to maintain his current expression.
The current Fu Hua was clearly different from the easily fooled, honest person of the past.
It wasn't that Fu Hua's intelligence had taken a quantum leap, but mainly...
—the 'reborn' Immortal Red Kite was clearly much more hot-tempered.
Otto felt that if he showed even the slightest weakness, she might just flip the table and start a fight.
He had no solid evidence, but from the emotional fluctuations emanating from Fu Hua, Otto sensed that she had definitely come here with killing intent.
"You see, even you agree that my actions are not wrong. Then—our alliance, it should be able to continue, right?"
Otto was frantically thinking of what to say next while smiling at Fu Hua.
"I know you've recovered your former strength. If you feel that I took advantage of your weakness to make a pact with you and now you want more compensation—that, of course, is not a problem."
"Do you want to secure more benefits and a higher international status for Shenzhou?"
"Or do you want to let Leo Ash leave the front lines and live out the rest of his life in some distant place?"
"Or if you have any other requests, whatever you want, just name it. You can name anything."
"We're friends. There's no need for things to get so tense between friends. I think—all of this is negotiable, isn't it?"
Hearing Otto's words, Fu Hua's first reaction was, of course, to be stunned.
After all, she had come to this room with visible anger and killing intent, and Otto, instead of showing any dissatisfaction, had chosen to take a step back.
Honestly, in Fu Hua's eyes, today's Otto was a bit 'un-Otto-like'.
But soon, Fu Hua felt an extremely radical, yet somewhat agreeable, thought surface in her mind.
His concession is an anomaly. An anomaly means he's hiding something. Hiding something means he's planning something big.
In other words, Otto is planning something big, which is why he hopes to use these easily disposable benefits to placate me.
This damn dog, how vicious!
However, although she inwardly agreed with these thoughts, Fu Hua's final shred of rationality curbed the murderous desire that arose within her.
No, wait.
Although Otto is guilty of great sins, I should still figure out what he's planning to do now.
Shenzhou's international status is already high enough. After all, for the secular nations of the mortal world, a country like Shenzhou that can easily handle small and medium-scale Honkai eruptions on its own already has a sufficiently high status.
Even if I were to demand an increase in Shenzhou's international status now, there's a limit to how much it can be raised.
And Leo Ash...
My dear disciple was already chosen by Otto as a sacrifice for the Herrscher of the Void, and now he's choosing to let him go?
"Let Leo Ash leave the front lines—are you willing to agree to that?"
Hearing Fu Hua's words, Otto let out a sigh of relief.
If she's not fighting, it means we can talk. If we can talk, then it's not a big problem.
Ha, although my old friend's attitude has changed a lot, in the end, she's still soft-hearted.
Since you're like this, then you can't—blame me.
"Is that such a big deal?"
Looking at the perplexed Fu Hua, Otto smiled and stood up from his chair, walking over to her and speaking softly.
"It's not like you can't see that I also think very highly of this young man, Leo Ash."
"He has outstanding personal strength, a considerable intellect, and he himself is not overly dogmatic. He's very suitable to be Theresa's right-hand man."
"If he were to die, it would be a great loss for Theresa. To be honest, from the moment I gave you the Blank Key, I couldn't bear to gamble with his life."
"As for a replacement, Siegfried and K423 have a strong bond anyway. He himself has a blood feud with Sirin. As a pawn to trigger K423's awakening, he's actually quite suitable."
Looking at the silent Fu Hua, Otto continued with great confidence.
"Of course, if you have a moral objection and feel you have to help Cecilia's lover, then just watching from the sidelines is fine too."
"When the time comes, I will have Bianka hand Abyss Flower over to you. With your current strength, defeating Sirin and using Abyss Flower to heal Siegfried's injuries should not be difficult, right?"
To be honest, Otto's words, theoretically speaking, did make sense.
As a young talent who had been inducted into the Apocalypse family, Leo Ash could indeed become a great help to Theresa in the future.
And Siegfried—Otto had been tormenting this unlucky middle-aged man all along. Shifting the target back to Siegfried now to win over Fu Hua was actually quite normal.
But Fu Hua just felt that something was not right.
If it were the Fu Hua of the past, she might have suppressed this feeling of unease and looked at Otto's words rationally.
But now, the moment she thought about Leo Ash's child, Otto's so-called Cecilia clone, the K-series clones, and all the other problems Otto had single-handedly created, Fu Hua suddenly felt...
—Like hell I'll believe him!
I believed him in the past, and that's why I was severely wounded in the Second Eruption.
And now, fourteen years have passed since that incident. In these fourteen years, not only has Otto not restrained himself, he has become even more ruthless in his evil deeds.
The fact that he has been able to wreak havoc to this day is largely related to my indulgence of him.
If I had killed him with one punch back then, things wouldn't be this bad now.
Kill Otto...
Kill Otto.
Kill Otto!
As the desire in her heart continued to swell, even though Fu Hua sensed that her state of mind was not right, she could no longer muster the thought to suppress it.
At this moment, Otto, who thought everything was settled, sensed a strong surge of killing intent and, at the fastest possible speed, switched Void Archives to its most destructive mode, the Mimic Judgment of Shamash.
Otto was undoubtedly one of the strongest T0.5 fighters among the existing warriors.
Although his Divine Key [Void Archives] was not as powerful in combat as other combat-focused Divine Keys, he had compensated for his lack of combat power with his Soulium body. Ordinary Herrschers were no longer a match for him.
But now, Otto was not facing an 'ordinary Herrscher', but an 'Immortal Red Kite' whose killing intent was surging, and who was in close proximity to him.
Even though Otto reacted at top speed, he couldn't even get his finger on the trigger before Fu Hua sent his weapon flying with a single strike.
"Wait! Old friend, I—"
"You what?"
Looking at the disarmed Void Archives, Fu Hua's eyes turned blood-red as she spoke to Otto with immense anger.
"You damn dog, you really were up to no good!"
"To actually materialize the Judgment of Shamash during negotiations—it seems you really want to have a go with me."
*You were the one who burst out with killing intent first! This is entrapment!*
But the current Otto really didn't dare to provoke Fu Hua any further.
He truly didn't understand what had happened to her.
She was fine just a moment ago. Why did she suddenly erupt with killing intent?!
"I've been framed!"
Looking at Fu Hua before him, Otto said in a panic.
"Immortal Red Kite, I really wasn't lying!"
"Bullshit! How many lies have you told in your life?"
"One-Inch Punch—Mountain Crumble!"
Facing the clearly flustered Otto, Fu Hua leaped up lightly and drove her knee into his neck.
Inch-Heart Fist Style was supposed to be a very powerful fist technique.
But for a martial arts master like Fu Hua, using a knee strike to achieve the effect of a punch was not difficult at all.
The moment this strike hit Otto's neck, a disturbing crack echoed from it.
Feeling a sense of dread, Otto directly gave up resisting.
Giving up resistance didn't mean Otto had decided to admit his guilt and accept his fate. It was mainly because—he felt that he couldn't beat the enraged Fu Hua right now anyway. It was better to just let himself be beaten up so she could blow off some steam.
Besides, for Otto, this was clearly an opportunity.
At that moment, Otto had already activated a program he had long prepared in his mind.
The first program was one Otto had prepared to deploy in this room.
For Otto, being beaten up wasn't a big deal.
He had long since backed up his consciousness in Schicksal's computers. After his 'death', he would rely on a prepared Soulium body to load the stored consciousness from the computer and achieve 'rebirth'.
For Otto, his death was of little consequence, since it wasn't a true death.
Compared to the trivial matter of his 'death', ensuring that Void Archives didn't fall into the hands of others was what Otto truly cared about.
The Void Archives, transformed into the Mimic Judgment of Shamash, was on a metal floor that suddenly opened up, 'swallowing' it.
The other program was, of course, Otto's improved memory storage program.
The program Otto created fourteen years ago couldn't perform real-time memory backups to the computer.
That was why, after meeting the 'God of Honkai', he had immediately returned to Schicksal HQ and told Amber not to activate the rebirth program.
Fourteen years had passed. How could Otto make the same mistake as back then?
Otto was not only a conspirator but also an excellent gamer.
As a gamer, he naturally knew the importance of instant saves.
"One-Inch Punch—Heaven Splitter!"
As Fu Hua let out a furious roar, Otto, his neck already broken, had his head smashed into the ground by her punch.
But just before he 'expired', Otto had completed his memory backup, successfully saving the plan he had just devised in Schicksal's computer.
*Old friend... no, Fu Hua.*
*Since you've made your choice, then there's no need for me to back down any further.*
*I'll let you have your moment for a few days. Schicksal HQ... heh, so what if I let you and Su have it?*
*My future plans still require Schicksal's forces to execute, but for now, I'll leave this place under your control.*
*You unilaterally tore up our alliance. No matter.*
*After all, I have already found a more suitable ally.*
After beating Otto to a pulp, Fu Hua truly felt an incomparable sense of exhilaration.
*Yes, what I did was not wrong in the slightest.*
*In fact—I should have smashed that bastard Otto's dog head a long time ago!*
At this moment, a triumphant smile appeared on Fu Hua's face as she saw Amber rush into the 'murder scene'.
"Oh, it's just Amber."
*Otto's bio-android dog... ah, forget it. Killing Otto today is enough. I'll spare her for now.*
After reining in her killing intent, Fu Hua spoke to Amber in a commanding tone.
"Go tell everyone that I've killed Otto."
"From today on..."
"—I call the shots in this Schicksal!"
At this moment, Amber, who already had her suspicions, immediately took action.
First, she secretly activated the rebirth program, and then...
After the secretly activated program failed to start, Amber received a mental communication from Otto.
[Maintain stability. Let Fu Hua do whatever she wants. I will continue to act in the shadows.]
*I see. As expected of Lord Otto. He had already prepared for everything.*
*He doesn't even need me to activate the rebirth program... It seems Lord Otto has his own plans.*
*Then I should do as Lord Otto says.*
"I understand, Lady Fu... Bishop."
Seeing the visible satisfaction on Fu Hua's face, Amber spoke to her with perfect composure.
"I will go and inform everyone immediately that Bishop Otto has abdicated in your favor. You are now the one in charge of Schicksal."
"Wait, that's not right!"
Looking at the overly calm Amber, 'Fu Hua' suddenly felt that something was off.
"Otto is dead. Why are you so calm?"
"Well, uh..."
Although Amber was Otto's secretary, as a 'descendant of Kallen' in a sense, she clearly had no talent for acting.
Caught off guard, a drop of cold sweat trickled down Amber's face as she suddenly felt that the situation was not looking good.
"Just as I suspected!"
Looking at Amber, 'Fu Hua' stomped the ground furiously and said with resentment.
"Otto died too easily. There must be something fishy about this!"
"Hmph, he definitely hasn't escaped Schicksal HQ yet, so..."
"I'll find you even if I have to dig three feet deep!"
"Bishop Fu Hua! What... what are you planning to do?"
"Huh? This is my turf, right?"
With a chilling smile, 'Fu Hua' spoke to Amber nonchalantly.
"Well, since this is my turf, then..."
"—To find Otto, even if I have to tear this place down, no one would object, right?"
It's over, it's all over.
*Lord Otto, you pushed Lady Fu Hua too hard. She's really gone mad now.*
Watching Fu Hua break through the ceiling, Amber immediately contacted Rita and Durandal, who were still on standby at Schicksal HQ.
"Lady Rita! Lady Durandal! Lady Fu Hua has gone mad! She might launch a devastating attack on Schicksal HQ!"
"...What did you say?"
Hearing Amber's sudden news, even Rita, who usually maintained a poised and graceful demeanor, couldn't hide the astonishment on her face.
"Didn't she just go to meet Bishop Otto a few minutes ago? Wait, where is Bishop Otto?"
"Well, you might not believe this, but..."
Walking over to Otto's 'corpse', Amber said to Rita and Durandal.
"The Lord Bishop was just assassinated."
"And the culprit, naturally, is Lady Fu Hua, who is now likely to cause destruction."
...
Meanwhile, near Schicksal HQ.
On the transport aircraft, Leo Ash truly felt a sense of restlessness.
*System, are you there?*
[What do you think?]
*This... I'm not even prepared to enter a combat round???*
[Oh, that's right, you're not. The reward mechanism won't be triggered either, since you won't be facing a survival crisis in the short term.]
*That's good, but why am I so anxious?*
At that moment, Leo Ash suddenly remembered something.
Previously, because of the resentful look Fu Hua had given him, Leo Ash hadn't delved into the strange 55+25 affection rating.
But now...
[Do you want to see?]
*Of course. I just have a feeling that...*
[Name: Fu Hua (Hua)]
[Identity: One of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers of the Previous Era, Immortal Red Kite of Shenzhou, A-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal, your master, the Current Era's Herrscher of Sentience.]
[Current Affection: 60+30]
[Note: It's her?! No... it's her!!]
*HOLY S**T!!!!!!*
*Something's wrong. How did things turn out like this!*
"Mike! Step on it! Get to Schicksal HQ at top speed! And tell me the Honkai Energy readings over there!"
"Huh? Leo Ash, why are you suddenly in such a panic?"
Hearing Leo Ash's command, Mike accelerated the transport to maximum speed while glancing at the Honkai Energy detector on board.
"Lady Durandal and Lady Rita are at headquarters. Even if a Herrscher appears... what the hell??????????"
Mike, who had intended to tell Leo Ash to relax and rest for a few minutes, now felt completely dumbfounded as he looked at the suddenly skyrocketing Honkai Energy reading.
"No, wait, the Honkai Energy reading is really surging!"
"This, this, this—jumping straight to 999HW is a bit too much, isn't it!"
*This is bad. Something really happened.*
*The Herrscher of Sentience has taken over Fu Hua's body... but that shouldn't be possible.*
*In the original story, the Herrscher of Sentience was born under the guidance of the Honkai's will and took over Fu Hua's body only after she was defeated by Otto.*
*But the current Fu Hua should be the healthy, version T0 Fu Hua. How could the Herrscher of Sentience erode her mind like this????*
[You're overthinking it. The Herrscher of Sentience's erosion of Fu Hua isn't non-existent, but the degree of erosion isn't that high.]
[Mainly... you can blame Otto for this.]
*...I think I'm starting to understand.*
*Otto acted like a scumbag and screwed Fu Hua over many times, so this time she just lost her temper?*
[Sodayo, that's exactly it. And because the thought of 'wanting to kill Otto' has always existed in Fu Hua's mind, as long as the Honkai's will guides her in that direction, then...]
*Just killing Otto isn't a huge problem.*
*But the problem is, Fu Hua is an honest person, not a true idiot.*
*The moment she realizes Otto won't die that easily, her extreme emotional state will drive her to continue hunting him down.*
*And under those circumstances, if she gets serious...*
*Sister Rita will be protected by Bianka, so she'll be fine.*
*But our other Schicksal colleagues are innocent!*
*Damn it, why does Otto's ability to screw things up have to kick in at a time like this?*
*So it's his mess, and everyone else has to clean it up again, huh?*
[Well, in a way, a major Honkai eruption is always accompanied by a disaster.]
[In the original story, when the Herrscher of Sentience awakened, there was no Honkai Energy outbreak, but the moment she woke up, she aggressively fought Durandal and dismantled a good chunk of Schicksal, indirectly causing the deaths of some innocent personnel.]
*I see, so the Honkai can operate like that.*
*Wait, so by that logic, what we're about to face is...*
*—an Immortal Red Kite with Honkai support???*
....