About an hour later, at Schicksal HQ.
In the meeting room of Schicksal HQ, Leo Ash felt immense pressure.
The pressure he felt now, of course, did not come from Fu Hua, who was no longer there.
After all, although the current Fu Hua had obtained a Herrscher Core, her situation was much better than the incredibly unfortunate state she was in in the original story.
In the original story, the Herrscher of Sentience fought against Otto and the Schicksal forces to kill him.
At that time, guided by the will of the Honkai, the Herrscher of Sentience saw the tragic scene and realized she had done something wrong.
However, that was useless for the current situation.
After Otto appeared, a little guidance from the will of the Honkai was all it took for the Herrscher of Sentience, who mistakenly believed she was Fu Hua, to erupt with terrifying murderous intent on the spot.
At that time, the Herrscher of Sentience even said something as extreme as 'if wiping out half of Schicksal isn't enough to kill you, then I'll wipe out all of it.'
Considering her mental state at the time, the probability of her following through on her words was quite high.
But now, Fu Hua hadn't been shot in the head by Otto, and her consciousness was still inside her own body.
Coupled with the fact that Leo Ash had repaired her body beforehand, allowing her to be injected with the God-Slaying Spear he had formulated while in excellent condition, she should be able to slowly solidify her advantage, even if she couldn't immediately suppress the Herrscher of Sentience.
The real reason Leo Ash felt so much pressure right now was mainly...
—Bianka, sitting next to Rita, was looking at him unhappily while whispering something in Rita's ear.
Although Leo Ash couldn't hear her words, judging from Rita's smiling and frequent nodding, what Bianka was saying was probably not very flattering.
[Don't panic, it's not a big deal.]
*I was just feeling a little pressure before.*
*But now that you've suddenly popped up, I'm really panicking!*
[Don't panic. She definitely won't scold you. After all, you're the little unfortunate soul she took in.]
*...That makes me even more panicked.*
*If Sister Rita just wanted to scold me a bit, that would be easy to handle.*
*But if she doesn't plan on scolding me, doesn't that make the problem even more serious?*
[That's the path you chose.]
[Willingly deactivating your armor for a self-harm ploy, dealing tons of psychological damage to both Fu Hua and the Herrscher of Sentience—it was a pretty good plan.]
[But the problem is, your psychological damage was basically an area-of-effect attack.]
[Su, who knew your original intention, was fine, at most thinking you were being a bit too reckless.]
[But Bianka, who had no idea about your true nature, saw that scene and nearly had her soul scared out of her body.]
*That does seem to make some sense—but she has Abyss Flower.*
[Care throws reason into chaos. Did you really expect a sixteen-year-old girl, watching someone important to her get run through and collapse in a pool of blood, to still view the situation calmly and rationally?]
*I guess not.*
*So—can you maybe help me see what the two of them are thinking right now?*
[While the System does have the ability to read minds, it's not meant to be used as your personal radar.]
[Of course, telling you a little something isn't out of the question. Anyway, she's no longer inclined to condemn you, so you can really rest easy on that front.]
*That's honestly more unsettling.*
"Alright, the situation is temporarily under control for now."
Composing his thoughts, Rita looked at everyone in the meeting room and sighed helplessly.
"Although we don't know why the Honkai chose Lady Fu Hua as a Herrscher, the damage she caused this time is, for now, within a controllable range."
"Because Miss Yuna arrived on the scene in time and used the power of the Herrscher of Death to heal our colleagues' injuries, the number of casualties is currently zero."
"As for other losses, it's just that the item warehouse where Bishop Otto stored powerful equipment was blown up by Lady Fu Hua's punch, resulting in some of the equipment being destroyed by her."
"Fortunately, equipment is ultimately tougher than people. Dr. Nagamitsu has indicated that with some time, she is confident in repairing some of the equipment and items."
"Now, the main problem for us is, moving forward..."
"—how to handle Bishop Otto's disappearance."
Hearing Rita's question, Durandal and Yuna, who had finished her healing work, both turned their gazes to Leo Ash at the same time.
Currently in the meeting room, besides Rita, Leo Ash, Yuna, and Durandal, there was only Otto's secretary, Amber.
And although Otto's secretary Amber was his confidante, she clearly had no intention of expressing any opinion at the moment.
Under these circumstances, the two of them naturally looked to Leo Ash, who was, in a sense, the most uniquely positioned and quickest-witted among them.
"Why... are you looking at me?"
Meeting their gazes, Leo Ash immediately passed the question to Amber.
"Miss Amber, Bishop Otto has been in his position for so many years. There must be a contingency plan for if something happened to him, right?"
"And, to be honest, I don't believe the Bishop would be taken out so easily—he's definitely still alive, isn't he?"
*Ah, as expected of the young man Lord Otto favored.*
*Lord Leo Ash perceived the abnormality of the 'Bishop's death' right away?*
*The message Lord Otto sent me before was to act according to the contingency plan while observing everyone's words and actions, and forward all the recordings to him.*
*Indeed, I'm still not good at using my brain.*
*For now, it's best to proceed according to Lord Otto's original plan.*
"I am not certain about Lord Otto's life or death."
After saying something that not even Durandal believed, Amber opened Schicksal's data screen, tapped it a few times with her finger, and opened a file.
"But Lord Otto's latest contingency plan does indeed exist."
"Let me see, ah, right, it's this one. Contingency Plan Number 233."
After a moment of thought, Amber decisively chose to disclose the plan.
Otto's instruction was for her to observe and record everyone's words and actions. In the current situation, Amber felt it was better to just lay the plan out for everyone and see their reactions.
"Let me see..."
"'If I go missing and have no contact with HQ, have Theresa come to Schicksal HQ immediately to temporarily assume the role of Schicksal's Archbishop.'"
"'She may not be smart, but she is a kind child. With her ability to distinguish right from wrong, she at least won't lead the organization astray.'"
"'When that time comes, forward the message to Theresa immediately and have her come to Schicksal HQ.'"
"'I have already recorded a video to persuade her beforehand. Whether she is willing to come or not, remember to send this video to her'—that is what Bishop Otto said."
Hearing Leo Ash finish reading Otto's 'last will', everyone's face showed a variety of expressions, but their thoughts were roughly the same.
Whether it was Durandal, who felt Theresa's management was too lax; Yuna, who thought Theresa was too gentle; or even Rita, who was very fond of Theresa; and Leo Ash and Amber, who were in a sense Theresa's relatives—all of them were certain of one thing.
Otto had definitely overestimated Theresa.
She had a gentle heart, but the problem was that being the boss of an organization required more than just a gentle heart.
"Now...sigh, this is difficult."
Thinking of Schicksal's various branches, Leo Ash spoke to Amber with great bitterness.
"Miss Amber, please contact the Matriarch first and see her reaction."
"With Bishop Otto missing, it's hard to say whether the Schicksal Council and the other Branch Commanders will still listen to Matriarch Theresa's orders."
"Although the three of us S-ranks can directly support her, the problem is that if someone feigns compliance while secretly defying her, it could cause some very serious problems."
*Ah, Lord Leo Ash is indeed supporting Lady Theresa.*
*Just as he and Bishop Otto predicted, he has no ulterior motives at all.*
"And—that squinty-eyed guy outside, he is definitely a huge threat to our Schicksal right now."
At this moment, as if remembering something that infuriated him, Leo Ash spoke to the group with great annoyance.
"Last time I was suddenly kidnapped and beaten up by him. This time... hmph, although there's no evidence, I have a bad feeling about it."
"Ah, about that..."
Looking at the indignant Leo Ash, Amber spoke to him with great embarrassment.
"Bishop Otto and Mr. Su have already reached an agreement to hand over a portion of Schicksal's authority to Mr. Su."
"So, Lord Leo Ash, please temporarily set aside your grievances with Mr. Su."
"...The Bishop played such a big hand? Handing over authority to an outsider like that?"
Seeing Amber nod slightly, Leo Ash slapped his thigh.
"The Bishop is muddled! A person like that cannot be trusted!"
*Ah, just as Lord Otto predicted, Lord Leo Ash really doesn't get along with Mr. Su.*
*Truly worthy of being Lord Otto. His predictions about Lord Leo Ash are basically flawless.*
After noting Leo Ash's chagrined expression, Amber could only play the role of a peacemaker.
"In any case, Mr. Su has not made any unusual moves yet."
"Therefore, until he does something suspicious, he is still an ally of Schicksal. Lord Leo Ash, please restrain your anger."
*Sigh, I'm an expert at controlling my anger.*
*If I couldn't control my anger, I would have already pulled out Jizō Mitama, stuck it into Otto's Soulium body, and started carving him up without a second thought.*
*This old geezer is retreating in order to advance.*
*It seems like he got a pile of his Soulium bodies wrecked and was chased out of Schicksal HQ like a dog by the Herrscher of Sentience.*
*But in reality, by moving from the light into the shadows, he can now do things he couldn't conveniently do before.*
*And although Otto is the biggest bastard of this era, it's precisely because he's ruthless and shameless that the vermin under him don't dare to act out.*
*While this bastard is truly a monster who could lead all of humanity into a ditch, one must objectively admit that he can indeed intimidate other beasts.*
*After all, these days, the ones who can suppress beasts are often not good people, but rather scum even more bestial than the beasts themselves.*
*Now that Otto's gone, leaving a mess for Theresa.*
*If Theresa doesn't show enough authority to keep those monsters in line, Schicksal is bound to descend into chaos due to all sorts of troubles.*
After some thought, Leo Ash looked at Amber and asked.
"Miss Amber, are there any combat missions at HQ recently?"
"I think I've rested long enough. It's about time I started stretching my muscles."
"But..."
Recalling Otto's orders, Amber replied to Leo Ash with a troubled expression.
"You are still under Lord Otto's confinement order. I cannot help you disobey Lord Otto's command."
"Come on, Miss Amber, one must learn to be flexible."
Looking at Amber's troubled expression, Leo Ash spoke to her with great seriousness.
"The news of Bishop Otto's disappearance definitely can't be suppressed."
"Matriarch Theresa is too kind, and in this day and age, kind people get bullied—don't look at me like that, even if she becomes the Acting Archbishop, I'll still say it."
"With her being such a soft-hearted pushover, if other scoundrels whisper sweet nothings in her ear and pull some tricks behind her back, it won't be good for the reputation of the entire Apocalypse family in Schicksal."
"Rather than letting Schicksal fall into chaos because of others' schemes, I think—I should start by carrying out Honkai Beast extermination missions."
"As long as I'm active, others will see the power of the 'S-rank under Theresa's command.'"
"At that point, even if they want to cause trouble behind the scenes, they'll have to weigh their own strength before making a move."
*But, your strength is already more than enough.*
*You've already resolved two Herrscher-related incidents. Your prestige within Schicksal has, in a sense, already surpassed that of the semi-retired Lady Theresa.*
However, Amber ultimately chose not to voice these thoughts.
After all, in a sense, she and Theresa could be considered sisters.
Although the two didn't interact much, with Otto now missing, Amber was actually quite pleased that someone was willing to step up and act out of consideration for Theresa.
However, Leo Ash's actions, in the eyes of others who knew him better, clearly did not carry the same meaning as they did in Amber's eyes.
To Durandal, Rita, and Yuna, it was obvious that Leo Ash had been resting for too long and his hands were itching to beat up some Honkai Beasts.
With the stereotype of the 'Avenger' now firmly established, as long as Leo Ash's actions even slightly fit this stereotype, everyone would automatically define his actions in their minds according to the prepared logic as 'the Avenger is finding ways to continue his revenge against the Honkai.'
However, at this point, the three of them knew that trying to stop Leo Ash was meaningless.
They couldn't stop him, and even if they did, he would find a way to get around them and take action.
Rather than obstructing Leo Ash's desire to beat up Honkai Beasts, they might as well choose to act together with him.
As long as someone was by Leo Ash's side, at least someone could pull him back if he acted recklessly and got into trouble.
As for the possibility of being dragged into the abyss along with Leo Ash...
It wasn't that they hadn't considered it, but because Leo Ash was too important to them, no one cared about the risk.
After recording all this information, Amber forwarded the entire video to Otto.
*Sigh, with a loyal and capable minister like Lord Leo Ash, Lord Otto can probably rest a little easier.*
*As for what Lady Theresa plans to do...*
*I have a feeling she's already been completely arranged for.*
*At this point, it's probably out of her hands.*
.
Almost at the same time, at a certain Schicksal branch base.
Inside the Schicksal branch base, Otto, who had been running for his life, recalled the day's events and could only think...
—Damn it, Honkai, you deserve to die.
*I used to help you by getting rid of all those brats who threatened you, and this is how you repay me?*
*I just had a thought about helping World Serpent, and you went to such lengths as turning an old friend into a Herrscher to kill me?*
*You really deserve to die!*
As for what Otto planned to do now...
To be honest, he had a plan, but he had no confidence in it.
In the current situation, if Otto were to say he was confident, he would just be lying to himself.
The Honkai of the past, though ruthless, at most forced humanity to progress at an ever-increasing pace to fight against it.
But now, not only has the Honkai quickened its pace, it has even pulled out its weapons.
At first, Otto thought the short interval between the two Herrscher was due to his deliberate arrangement for Yuna to come into contact with the Gem of Serenity.
But now that things had come to this, he finally understood.
Otto was the culprit behind the Singapore Honkai Eruption, that's true.
But even without his arrangements, the Honkai would have definitely found a time to accelerate and bring about the Fourth Eruption.
Now, has it even been a month before the Fifth Eruption?
And judging by the choice of Herrscher, his old friend transformed into a Herrscher the moment her body recovered.
So, who's the next Herrscher?
Is it that damned Su? Or Kevin, the pioneer whose whereabouts are still unknown?
*Damn it, if the future Herrschers are all transformed from such powerful hosts, then my plan...*
*—won't it be even harder to succeed?!*
....