Kiana remained in the Elysian Realm, while Koji and the others headed for Schicksal Headquarters. Their goal: Durandal wanted to question Otto directly.
"Oh, my dear friend, you've finally come," Otto said with a beaming smile, spreading his arms wide. When his gaze landed on Himeko, the corners of his mouth curled higher.
"Archbishop Otto, being your 'friend' doesn't mean we'll get stabbed in the back, right?" Koji said dryly.
"For example… the Crimson-Plume Immortal? I didn't say anything."
Bang!
Koji mimed pulling a trigger. A normal man might have been embarrassed—but Otto was no ordinary man. Five centuries of life had given him a face as thick as steel.
"Heh, though I had no choice but to blow my old friend's head off, I did restore her body afterward," Otto said, completely unapologetic.
Koji couldn't help but chuckle. So this is like saying: "Sure, I killed your dad, but I brought him back."
"My friend, can you truly resurrect the dead?" Otto asked.
Koji nodded calmly.
Seeing that, Otto exhaled with relief, then asked seriously, "What do you want in return?"
Durandal opened her mouth, unsure what to say.
"The whole of Schicksal… or the entire world?"
Rita didn't look surprised—she knew anything related to Kallen Kaslana carried deep meaning for Otto.
"Helping you revive Kallen isn't a problem," Koji said evenly. "But I do have conditions."
"Go ahead," Otto replied. He'd agree to anything if it meant bringing Kallen back.
"First, you must abandon your original plan. No more world-scale schemes that could push humanity into ruin."
Otto nodded. If Kallen returned, there was no need for the Tree of Imaginary Numbers plan anymore.
"Otto, you've never gone all out against the Honkai, have you?" Koji's tone sharpened. "You've been so obsessed with saving one woman that you let the rest of civilization collapse."
Otto fell silent.
"You don't want Kallen to awaken to a world already destroyed, do you?"
"…I understand."
Strange as Koji's foreign phrasing sounded, Otto didn't take offense. He bowed his head slightly. "I'll do everything I can to fight the Honkai."
Durandal and Rita stared in disbelief. This was the first time they had ever seen Otto so serious—his eyes full of conviction, as if he were pledging allegiance to something greater than himself.
"So motivated…" Rita murmured.
"Any other conditions?" Otto asked calmly. Whatever it took to see Kallen again, he would do it.
"That's all," Koji said. "But tell Durandal the truth about her past."
Durandal froze. She had no childhood memories at all.
"Of course," Otto replied lightly. "She would have learned sooner or later."
"Your parents are Siegfried and Cecilia," Koji said plainly. "You are the real Kiana Kaslana."
"Lady Cecilia…?" Durandal frowned slightly. That name—one of the greatest Valkyries of the previous generation—stirred something faintly familiar, but no memories surfaced.
Knowing her true lineage didn't move her much. Those memories were lost long ago.
"And your current self," Koji continued, "exists largely thanks to Otto's meddling. If not for his intervention, Siegfried and Cecilia might never have come together."
To Otto, breaking up lovers was just another experiment—a "two-kilogram weight" on the scale of fate.
Durandal looked at Otto seriously. If he stood against humanity, she would stand on the opposite side. But if he truly meant to fight the Honkai, she would fight beside him.
Despite her personal resentment, she acknowledged that Otto had guided her, taught her, and protected her.
"Heh. Do as you wish," Otto said with a faint smile, unconcerned.
"So… that Kiana is technically my sister?" Durandal asked, genuinely surprised.
"In a sense, yes. K423 carries your family's blood," Otto confirmed.
"Archbishop, she's named Kiana—but I'm no longer that person," Durandal said quietly.
Though she knew her original name, she had no desire to reclaim it. The name Durandal carried her current life's memories—she would never abandon it.
"I see," Otto mused. "But doesn't it bother you that Siegfried gave your name to another girl? The Kaslana family's brilliance never ceases to amaze—even their naming sense defies logic."
"No," Durandal replied calmly. "I'm not close to Siegfried. I don't even remember him."
Rita lowered her head. "My deepest apologies, Lady Durandal. I should have told you sooner."
Durandal smiled faintly. "It's fine. I understand. You never exploited me. You've always treated me as a true friend."
Rita blinked, touched. Her Lady really was too kindhearted.
"Rita," Otto said, handing her a file. "A new mission. Cleanse the world's Anti-Entropy bases. I won't allow them to obstruct humanity's fight against the Honkai."
Anti-Entropy—an offshoot of Schicksal—had never concerned Otto much. They had been tolerated only because they posed no real threat. But now that he was focused on destroying the Honkai, he couldn't leave them unchecked.
"They'll either submit," Otto said coldly, "or be imprisoned."
"Yes, Archbishop," Rita replied with a slight smile.
Compared to Schicksal's might, Anti-Entropy was small. Their mechs were impressive, but Schicksal had countless countermeasures. Headquarters knew the coordinates of every Anti-Entropy base. They had never stood a real chance.
"Archbishop, the current Anti-Entropy leader is in the Quantum Sea. He won't return anytime soon."
Otto waved dismissively. "Then let them crumble. Without the Herrscher of Reason's control, their factions will turn on each other. Gather their resources—they'll be useful to us."
Even with Schicksal's vast wealth, Otto would never reject more assets.
(End of Chapter)
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