"I object!"
Right at that moment, a childlike voice cut through the conversation between the two.
"Grandpa, this is St. Freya... You wouldn't try to take my student away without my permission, would you?"
Theresa, gripping Judah, stood blocking the path of the three.
"And you, Fu Hua... I always thought you were an exemplary student."
"Ah..."
Fu Hua let out a sigh. "Principal, I will explain all the reasons to you myself in due time. But for now, please step aside."
"Otherwise, if Kiana loses control, the entire St. Freya Academy will..."
"I have Judah."
Theresa slammed the golden cross onto the ground, and a multitude of light spears instantly extended from the unfolding cross.
"Dear granddaughter, everyone here is well aware of your Zeroth Power Maximum Output."
It was then that Otto, with a smile, spoke up. "I don't doubt you can suppress Kiana. But how long can your Zeroth Power Maximum Output last? Half a minute? A full minute?"
"If Kiana loses control, is there truly anyone at St. Freya right now capable of stopping her?"
"Grandpa, you..."
"Alright, let's end this little game here."
Compared to Theresa, who hadn't quite grasped the full situation, Otto was clearly more pressed for time.
Although he'd previously received evidence from Wraith that Lynelle was usually a very heavy sleeper, often sleeping well past noon, if the commotion he was making became too loud and actually woke Lynelle, their departure would become much more difficult.
"Theresa, it's time you grew up a little. As the Overseer of Schicksal, I am responsible for the safety of every student at your St. Freya. Therefore..."
A small golden cube materialized behind Otto, instantly morphing into a massive golden cross. Identical light spears to Theresa's shot forth, completely suppressing her from all directions in an instant.
In terms of combat skills and weapon mastery, the only two in Schicksal who could potentially rival Otto were likely Fu Hua and Durandal.
Even with decades of battle experience and a more powerful, authentic Judah, Theresa was utterly outmatched by Otto.
Unless, of course, she chose to activate the Zeroth Power Maximum Output and challenge him head-on with pure force.
But in that case... who could guarantee whose Zeroth Power Maximum Output would exhaust whom first?
"Alright, let's go. Rita, old friend..."
Whoosh—
Before Otto could even finish his sentence, a brilliant pink arrow shot forth from the distance. Attached to the arrow was a 'toy' that made even Otto's expression shift.
Others might not know, but Otto could never forget this thing—during the Second Honkai Eruption, it was this very object, which Lynelle called a 'Punklordian Regards,' that had destroyed four-fifths of his Soulium bodies.
So this time, having learned his lesson, Otto had no intention of making contact with Lynelle's arrow.
The light spears entwined around Judah retracted instantly, coalescing into a small gold-and-blue sphere.
Simultaneously, pillars of ice erupted from the ground, directly intercepting the crystalline arrow.
Then, without a moment's hesitation, Otto immediately turned tail and ran—plain and simple, while sweet-talking Fu Hua and Theresa was one thing, trying to deceive Lynelle... given their history, Otto knew he wasn't capable of that.
However, Lynelle didn't give him the chance.
The first arrow seemed to have been purely a feint.
Taking advantage of the dazzling arrow's flight, an extremely faint gunshot sounded at the same time. And aside from Fu Hua, probably no one else present noticed it.
Fu Hua did notice, but driven by a slight sense of petty revenge, she didn't block the shot for Otto.
Almost the instant the gunshot rang out, one of Otto's legs instantly vanished, revealing the flowing Soulium liquid already repairing the wound.
'Oh no...'
Otto's heart sank, but he was nothing if not decisive.
He immediately turned his head and said, "Rita, take Fu Hua and Kiana onto the airship and leave! I'll buy you time!"
Under normal circumstances, this scene of sacrificing himself to save his comrades would have been quite touching.
However, considering Kiana was still floating unconscious behind them, the scene was rather comical.
"Void Archive, emulate Oath of Judah!"
Whoosh!
Almost the instant Fu Hua and Rita departed, Otto unhesitatingly deployed the emulated Judah again. But this time, alongside Judah, several golden gears materialized.
Huh—?
Lynelle sucked in a sharp breath. "Otto actually managed to develop this? No wonder he dared to come personally to take Kiana away..."
"Lynelle, this..." Wendy's face showed panic. "My probes and bullets... they seem to have been completely neutralized!"
"Don't panic, it's only for the duration of his ultimate move... Let's use this time to get over there."
Lynelle sighed. "With the Zeroth Power Maximum Output on their side, him taking Kiana away is a foregone conclusion now... Actually, it's fine. We originally wanted him to take Kiana anyway. Forcing Otto to reveal one of his trump cards isn't a bad outcome."
Otto's emulated Elysion Pedion field didn't last very long.
After merely a dozen seconds, the golden gears automatically crumbled.
But judging by Otto's still composed demeanor, it clearly wasn't that his body couldn't handle it, but that the Void Archive had reached its limit.
"Long time no see, Miss Lynelle... It seems this time, you were just one move short."
Although he'd only delayed her for a little over ten seconds, that was more than enough time for two S-Rank Valkyries to reach the aircraft waiting beyond St. Freya.
On the surface, it appeared Otto had successfully accomplished his mission to buy time, allowing Rita and Fu Hua to take Kiana away.
"Don't get cocky, Otto."
Seeing Otto's confident smile, Lynelle could barely suppress the corners of her own mouth from twitching upwards.
Yes! That's it! You absolutely must take Kiana back to Schicksal Headquarters and pump her full of Honkai energy!
Just thinking about what would happen after Otto returned made Lynelle practically tremble with excitement!
However, even though she was internally laughing maniacally, Lynelle's face remained a mask of grim fury.
"Otto, don't you dare gloat. I will immediately mobilize Anti-Entropy forces to pay a 'friendly' visit to your Schicksal Headquarters—and to take Kiana back."
"I'll make you realize just how clownish your plan truly is... Let's see if you can still smile then."
"Take her back? Haha... Rest assured, my old friend, I have no intention of stealing your beloved. When you come, I will personally hand over your Kiana—"
BANG—
Before Otto could finish, a projected version of Deadzone had already appeared in Lynelle's hand. She aimed it squarely at Otto's head and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
"Overseer Otto, I wasn't lying."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 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.