Throughout their past encounters, Lynelle had always been an opponent full of surprises for Otto.
Like her rather unstable resurrection ability, the technique to awaken Sirin ahead of schedule, and the girl's peculiar connections to the Previous Era, to name a few.
But…
When faced with a female version of himself, even Otto finally lost his composure.
How to put it? It wasn't that he felt displeased about the girl turning him into a woman.
After all, as someone who never placed much importance on his own gender—even willing to fully become female if he so desired—Otto's own Soulium body repository already contained various female Otto forms of all shapes and sizes.
What really made him crack was Lynelle's aura—that fragile, timid vibe of hers, combined with his own female appearance, gave Otto the strange sensation of looking at his childhood self, back before he'd met Kallen.
Weak, vulnerable, lacking confidence, as if anyone could've pushed him around.
Only… Lynelle's demeanor was just a facade, while back then, he'd genuinely been completely powerless.
"What a remarkable ability…"
Thorn-covered branches continuously sprouted and spread from the girl's hands, effortlessly neutralizing the Herrscher of Death's decay powers with a sizzling sound. Otto couldn't help but marvel.
"I can sense this power doesn't seem to be driven by Honkai energy… Is it an ability from the 'Sea'? Or did Miss Lynelle come upon some other opportunity?"
"That's classified information, you know?"
Lynelle gave a slight smile, one hand resting on the coffin behind her.
Honestly, even though she'd previously trained with Luocha for a time to learn how to use Abundance powers, she hadn't really learned much about offensive abilities—most of her training had focused on recovery.
After all, she already possessed the power of Destruction, so she certainly didn't lack offensive power.
But in this specific situation… she was in a bit of a bind.
If she couldn't raise her attack power, she'd be stuck on the defensive.
While the Abundance power meant even several Ottos couldn't kill her, if things ended up with "Lynelle-chans" scattered all over the place again, not only would Sirin go mad, but even Wendy over at the Third Air Terminal would probably lose it.
By that point, Schicksal Headquarters would likely end up like that certain island of the SP+3 lady.
'Whatever, since I don't have any good ideas, I'll just rely on the system's built-in skills…'
Lynelle pushed down with one hand, slamming the coffin behind her firmly in front.
"Eternal sleep is not the end...the dead will return—"
A flood of black and white branches burst from the coffin's seams, madly spreading, entangling, and then precisely "locking down" Otto, who made no move to resist.
"Not going to dodge?"
"Ahem, ahem…"
A moment later, after about half his body had been eroded away, Otto finally used the Herrscher of Death's core to erase the vines wrapped around him and restored his body.
"I was just curious about what you shouted, so I wanted to experience firsthand how your erosion feels… If mere survival is the mark of life, then your words certainly hold true."
"Unfortunately, this kind of power doesn't meet my requirements."
"So…"
Before Otto could finish his sentence, a nearly imperceptible gunshot rang out, and Otto's head instantly exploded.
"Wendy?!"
Lynelle whirled around, looking toward the distant Third Air Terminal.
"And me, the School Director, too!"
A petite white-haired figure hopped up from the edge of the floating island—apparently, she hadn't taken the normal route, either.
"The front lines were too hard to break through, and everyone was worried about you, so they sent the strongest one—me, the School Director… Huh?"
Staring at the two "Ottos" on the floating island, Theresa's brain seemed to short-circuit.
"Two… Grandfathers? No, is the other one… Grandmother?"
"What do you mean, 'Grandmother'?!"
Lynelle protested indignantly, "It's me, Theresa! I just turned into Otto's form!"
"R-Really?!"
"No, no way!"
Just then, seeing Theresa's dumbfounded expression, Otto—who had just regenerated his head—felt a mischievous impulse.
"Actually, I'm Lynelle, Theresa. Don't be fooled by that fake Otto! He's trying to use reverse psychology to gain your trust!"
"…Huh?"
Theresa looked back and forth, noting that aside from their genders, the two seemed completely identical.
However, the male Otto was bizarrely wearing a set of Valkyrie armor that looked unisex—as if he'd suddenly changed from female to male.
The female Otto's outfit, on the other hand, looked much more natural, styled like papal robes, and she also carried a coffin on her back similar to the one her grandfather used in his youth…
The wise Theresa reached a conclusion!
"What weird thing are you thinking?!" Seeing the strange look in Theresa's eyes, Lynelle cried out in embarrassed frustration, "Didn't Wendy just blow the real Otto's head off? Do you really think Wendy would shoot me?"
"Also, do I have to reveal that you've hidden a full set of Cecilia photos, figures, and merch in your office before you'll believe I'm Lynelle?!"
"???"
Otto immediately shot Theresa an astonished look. "My dear granddaughter, since when did you have such… tastes…"
"!"
Theresa's face flushed bright red at her secret being exposed.
"You just said it all out loud! And why are you smiling so happily, Grandfather? Don't you have a bunch of Kallen figures hidden in your basement?!"
"Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree…"
Seeing that Otto had no intention of keeping up the act, Lynelle couldn't help but sigh.
"Tch… Anyway—"
Theresa raised the Oath of Judah, aiming at Otto, who responded with a French salute.
"Grandfather, your days of capturing people left and right are over. Give Kiana back to us, and stand down before the Valkyrie forces at the Third Air Terminal take any casualties!"
"So there haven't been any casualties yet? Hmm… my dear Theresa, aren't you being a bit too kind…"
Otto frowned slightly, then let out a helpless sigh.
"Returning Kiana to you is no problem… but please, everyone, remain calm and wait a few more minutes."
"After all… the experiment's results are about to come out."
"Experiment?"
Theresa looked puzzledly at Lynelle.
"Don't look at me. I don't know what result he's hoping for, but before you arrived, neither of us could gain the upper hand—we were stuck in a stalemate."
Lynelle spread her hands. "But I believe in Kiana, and I believe in Sirin."
"How wonderful young emotions are. Very good, very good… Maintain that confidence, Lynelle. Your faith in Sirin also proves that my experiment is indeed on the right track."
Otto gently clapped his hands, and just then, a small golden cube suddenly flew over from the horizon at high speed, merging into his body.
And then… Theresa was shocked to see—
Otto's expression slipped beyond his control.
--+--
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.