At this moment, Dr. Magi, who had already pegged Aaron as one of Schicksal's lackeys, intended to shout at him to stay away from the Gem.
But on second thought, that didn't seem right.
Otto was a scumbag, yes, but not everyone in Schicksal was a scumbag like Otto.
Most Schicksal members acted to fight the Honkai. If this person was one of them, then perhaps this city could still be saved... wait, what the hell?!
Watching the man attempt to touch the Gem of Serenity with his bare hand, Dr. Magi froze completely.
"That thing is the Core of the Herrscher of Death! Don't touch it recklessly!"
"If you touch it without protection... Hey! Why won't you listen?!"
Seeing Aaron use his right claw to smash the container directly and grasp the Gem of Serenity, Dr. Magi watched with naked eyes as the black mist surrounding the gem began to devour the man's right hand.
The Black Mist of Death. This was the byproduct released when the Gem of Serenity manifested the Authority of the Herrscher of Death.
This mist would attempt to wither and decay everything it touched.
Even if the other party possessed the Kaslana bloodline, Dr. Magi could still see the man's arm beginning to visibly vanish.
"Ah, as expected. This stuff... is a few degrees more domineering than the black mist released by Abyss Flower."
After all, when Bianka fought me, she seemed to be controlling the output of the Divine Key. But this Gem is an inanimate object; the Authority it releases doesn't care about restraint.
Under Dr. Magi's utterly shocked gaze, Aaron took out the Soulium storage box Siegfried had given him. Then, with complete calm, he stiffened his hand into a blade and sliced off his own mist-entangled arm.
And then...
[Spirit Command: Guts, Activate!]
Before Dr. Magi even had time to change his expression, Aaron's right hand regenerated from the stump right before his eyes, in a truly horrifying display.
"This... This, this, this works too?!"
Witnessing this scene, Dr. Magi felt his entire understanding of the world shift.
If the man in front of him held the Abyss Flower, he wouldn't be so surprised.
After all, the White Flower's Authority was incredibly domineering regarding recovery. Regrowing a severed limb wasn't difficult for a wielder of the White Flower.
But this man clearly didn't have the Abyss Flower, which made his current performance terrifying.
Moreover, judging by how calmly he touched the Gem of Serenity, stored it, and *then* cut off his arm, this obviously wasn't his first time doing something like this.
No, wait—it's a severed hand! Shouldn't your facial expression change at least a little bit?!
Since when did Schicksal have such a terrifying powerhouse?
No, thinking about it... that bastard Otto has more cards hidden up his sleeve than I imagined.
Doesn't this mean there's fundamentally no one left in this world who can deal with him?
"Alright, incident resolved."
Tossing the Soulium storage box back into his storage space, Aaron slowly turned his body toward the entrance he had come through.
There, a woman clad in black armor, her face obscured by a black mask, was staring at him intently.
..................
After parting ways with Specter earlier, Fu Hua had immediately contacted Otto via her glasses communicator.
After exchanging intelligence, Otto indicated that the situation had changed and suggested Fu Hua prepare for combat.
Although Fu Hua had zero trust in that man, she still followed Otto's advice.
She knew exactly what Otto was acting for.
For Otto, who yearned to resurrect Kallen Kaslana, the Gem of Serenity, holding the Authority of [Life and Death], was something he had to reclaim.
Well, Fu Hua wasn't a total idiot. Rather than the [Gem of Serenity], what Otto wanted was the [Herrscher of Death].
Since Otto hadn't given her a container for the Core, Fu Hua had largely guessed Otto's intended approach.
Anti-Entropy wanted to trigger a Fourth Eruption to force the birth of the Herrscher of Death.
Knowing this, Otto decided to go with the flow and give Dr. Magi the chance to steal the Gem of Serenity.
The reason he told her to prepare for battle wasn't that he worried Fu Hua couldn't beat a few Pseudo-Herrschers.
Though he didn't say it explicitly, Otto telling Fu Hua to prepare was actually telling her to prepare to fight the [Herrscher of Death].
Of course, if Fu Hua had the ability to stop this Eruption, Otto wouldn't openly blame her. He might even applaud and shout, 'Well done, old friend.'
But Fu Hua, having lost most of her power, clearly had no confidence in stopping this Eruption.
Wearing [Shadow Knight], the Fourth Generation Godsbane Battlesuit Otto had built for her, a touch of irony rose in Fu Hua's heart.
Using the power Otto created for me, acting as Otto's lackey...
The current me has truly fallen.
But there's no other way. Right now, I can only think of a way to eliminate the enemies in the hotel and minimize casualties.
However, upon charging into the hotel, Fu Hua found the situation wasn't quite what she imagined.
At the hotel entrance, those Anti-Entropy staff members were lying crookedly on the ground.
And Durandal, who had rushed into the Empress Hotel just ahead of her, hadn't noticed Fu Hua's presence due to her haste.
Durandal is here too?
Otto really places a lot of importance on the Herrscher of Death.
However, why do I feel something is wrong?
Advancing cautiously, Fu Hua suddenly discovered that a group of people had entered the hotel even before she did.
Hmm, is it that group from Anti-Entropy?
Is Anti-Entropy having internal strife...
Or perhaps...
Has another faction intervened in this battle for the Gem?
With my current strength, if I really run into difficult opponents, I might not be able to reclaim the Gem of Serenity.
Otto, oh Otto. If you screwed this up, you've really spun a cocoon around yourself.
Fu Hua intended to contact Otto again, but after entering the hotel, she realized her glasses communicator could no longer reach him.
Thinking back to the report on the Third Eruption Otto gave her last time, Fu Hua suddenly realized something.
Last time in Nagazora City, Schicksal HQ and the Hyperion of the Far East Branch couldn't maintain contact.
The investigation results showed it was because the Honkai Energy emitted by the Herrscher of Thunder interfered with surrounding electromagnetic waves, cutting off communications.
So... the Herrscher of Thunder is here too?!
What a mess.
Then I have to act.
Even after burning most of my memories, I couldn't take down Sirin, who held six Cores.
And now I don't have the strength I had back then. If I encounter a Herrscher holding both the [Thunder] and [Death] Cores...
Even with [Shadow Knight], I'd be hard-pressed to gain any advantage.
I can only pray the Herrscher of Thunder hasn't touched the Gem of Serenity yet. Otherwise, this event might turn into a massive disaster comparable to the Second Eruption.
I don't know how Sirin got the four cores of [Thunder], [Wind], [Death], and [Fire] back then.
But if that bizarre situation happens again now...
[Wind] is still inside the Oceania Valkyrie Wendy, but [Fire] is at Schicksal HQ, and [Death] is right near the Herrscher of Thunder.
Moreover, no one can guarantee the Will of the Honkai won't summon the Cores of [Ice], [Stars], or [Sentience].
Damn it, damn it, damn it! Otto, you bastard, why are you such a pit?!
Estimating it this way, isn't this situation catastrophic?!
Realizing the severity of the matter, Fu Hua really felt like cursing.
If Otto were in front of her right now, she suspected she might not be able to suppress her anger and would unleash a flurry of Inch Force punches right into his Soulium face.
She wasn't the same as she was fourteen years ago. She couldn't use the Eminence of Taixuan, and because her physical injuries hadn't recovered, her control over Divine Keys was far inferior to before.
Just thinking that this might evolve into a disaster like the past made Fu Hua feel her head swelling to twice its size.
But just before she reached the scene, she suddenly felt the energy fluctuations emitted by the [Gem of Serenity] vanish directly.
A Herrscher was born?!
No, that's not right. If a Herrscher was born, the Honkai Energy shockwave should have erupted by now.
Does this mean... someone interrupted Cocolia's plot?
Speeding to the scene, Fu Hua breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the man who appeared before her.
The Gem of Serenity is gone, the large-scale Eruption was clearly interrupted, and the people of Singapore are safe.
Then she immediately realized something was wrong.
The Gem of Serenity is gone????
Then how does she explain this to Otto... explain my foot!
That sinkhole Otto actively allowed the Fourth Eruption to break out. It would be polite enough not to punch him twice when they meet; he dares ask her for an explanation?
But saying that, Fu Hua couldn't leave the Gem of Serenity in someone else's hands.
The man before her interrupted the Fourth Eruption. From this point of view, he should be someone who doesn't wish to see a massive Honkai outbreak—relatively kind-hearted.
But the problem lies in the fact that the form this man displayed was clearly that of a [Fusion Warrior].
Of the people alive who master Fusion Warrior technology, Fu Hua counts as one.
But the problem is, after burning her memories, she forgot which terminal region the data was stored in.
And Su and Kevin, those comrades from the Previous Era, cut off contact with Fu Hua fifteen hundred years ago. Their status is unknown.
Although Fu Hua felt that with Kevin's power and Su's intellect, they should be fine, they wouldn't have cut contact with Hua unless they encountered some crisis.
Then calculating left and right, thinking carefully...
The only one who could create a Fusion Warrior-like lifeform—other than the Kaslana clan suddenly awakening their bloodline—is Otto, who created [Theresa].
Regardless of whether this man is a Kaslana or a new Fusion Warrior created by Otto, Fu Hua felt she couldn't leave the Gem in his hands.
If he is a Kaslana, it would be effortless for Otto to threaten him.
If he is Otto's subordinate, then while he interrupted the Eruption out of conscience, the probability of him taking the Gem back to Otto is high.
Fu Hua felt she couldn't watch helplessly as the Gem of Serenity returned to Otto's hands—God knows if that guy, after failing to create the Herrscher of Death this time, would find a new location to continue his 'Big Bang' operations.
And if she showed she knew he was Otto's man... then Fu Hua would have no legitimacy to act.
After all, Fu Hua is ostensibly a Schicksal Valkyrie. In this situation, if she moves against Otto's people to snatch the Gem, how could she justify it later?
Although Otto is annoying, Fu Hua didn't want to fall out with him just yet.
*Sigh*, in the end, I can only use the power of the 'Feather' to check his memories before making a decision.
If he is Otto's man, I'll have to ask him to hand over the Gem.
"Sir, where is the Gem of Serenity?"
"In my hands. And to be direct, I don't intend to hand this Gem over to you."
Facing the man before her, Fu Hua sighed slightly.
From his perspective, his actions were faultless.
But right now, to prevent Otto from taking the Gem and causing more trouble...
*My friend, I'm sorry.*
In an instant, Aaron felt a subtle fluctuation spreading between them.
"Tch, this thing...!"
Concentrating his mental energy to the limit, Aaron activated the Power of Dominance, combining the power within his body with the Dominance Authority to create a giant avatar of energy.
And the moment the energy giant appeared, Fu Hua successfully activated Fenghuang Down, temporarily controlling the enemy before her...
That was how it was supposed to go.
After entering the opponent's consciousness world via Fenghuang Down, Fu Hua failed to manipulate the feather to disrupt his consciousness as she usually did.
Or rather, the opposite occurred—she had fallen into *his* consciousness world.
"Ah, it seems activating the Power of Dominance in time was the right choice. I won that gamble."
"Although I still don't quite get the exact relationship between soul and consciousness. But for now..."
Outside a massive castle, Aaron looked at the enemy before him and spoke with utter indifference.
"Celestial of Empyrea. Compared to you, who cannot command the [Key of Sentience], my power in the realm of consciousness is a cut above."
......................