Inside the room, when Bronya regained consciousness, she immediately pushed Leo Ash away and gave him a very playful expression.
"Eh, Brother Leo isn't going to take what Bronya just said seriously, is he?"
"No way, no way, no way, there's no way someone would actually get turned on by a little girl like me, right?"
Looking at Bronya, who had entered her brat mode, Leo Ash said in annoyance.
"Who would fall for you? Don't overthink it."
"Besides, you're the one who threw yourself at me, how is that my fault?!"
"Hmph, isn't it your problem that you didn't push me away?"
Of course, the two of them, who were currently bickering in the room, were not speaking their true feelings.
After finishing their conversation in the illusion, Leo Ash, as usual, asked his privy companion to spend a minute acting with him.
Although Otto was already playing his cards openly, everyone's perception of him was still different.
Some people just thought Otto must be crazy for creating and releasing Herrschers.
But for someone like Leo Ash, who had known Otto's true intentions from the beginning, the situation was far more terrifying.
In Leo's eyes, the idea of an insane Otto going on a rampage was far less terrifying than the idea of a sane Otto who simply wanted to do these things.
Right now, Otto didn't know what any of them were thinking. At a time like this, spending a minute to put on a show was a low-risk, high-reward move. If it didn't fool Otto, it didn't matter, but if it did, it would be a huge gain.
In a duel between masters, a small piece of information can sometimes decide the outcome.
Against a master of internal conflict like Otto, Leo felt that he could never be too cautious.
As for the lines Bronya spoke—Leo had told her them.
Even her expression was orchestrated by Leo.
One could only say that as an ace child soldier, Bronya was also a top-tier actress.
After Leo explained the key points of the lines and expressions, she actually performed better than he had anticipated.
Looking at the clearly somewhat 'annoyed' Leo, Bronya stuck out her tongue and made a face at him.
"If Brother Leo really can't hold it in, just go find Sister Mei and the others."
"I'm still very busy, I don't have time to fool around with Brother Leo anymore."
Watching the girl walk away from him with a light step, Leo Ash lightly shook his head and let out a helpless sigh.
"This little brat, really."
However, what Bronya said was indeed correct.
For the next period of time, we're really going to be busy.
Bronya, the powerful hacker who could crack the Far East Branch's database in the original story, could now even hack into the Schicksal HQ database. Having confirmed this fact, the plan Leo Ash was now going to unfold was very simple.
First, have Bronya use her hacking skills to disable a portion of the surveillance system, then Leo would take Jizō Mitama and go stab Otto's computers one by one.
If he stabs out the Rebirth Program, it's a huge win. If he doesn't...
—Then there's nothing to be done about it.
Anyway, this plan was almost risk-free. Otto wouldn't even think Leo did it, and he wouldn't necessarily deduce anything from the information revealed by the plan.
Previously, in the time after Leo used Phantasmagoria to force himself to forget the plan to capture Bronya, Su had exchanged a lot of information and details with him.
And according to Su's description, when they fought Otto in Abyssal City, Welt had once stabbed at Otto with Jizō Mitama.
It was just that at that moment, Otto had just been slapped by Wendy, which caused Welt's strike to go wide.
From this point of view, in Otto's eyes, the current master of Jizō Mitama was the top-tier, full-health Welt Yang, not the god-tier Herrscher of Binding, Leo Ash.
On this premise, even if he caused trouble, Welt Yang would take the blame in the end anyway. Otto might not suspect him, so he could continue to hide a lot of information.
Walking out of the room and strolling down the corridor, Leo Ash ended up just wandering around.
After killing some time elsewhere, Leo found himself unconsciously walking to the bar.
After greeting the familiar faces he'd met once or twice, Leo sat down at the bar, looked at the eager bartender, and immediately said.
"Hold on, I'll just have iced milk."
"...Sigh, why bother."
Seeing the look of 'fear' clearly appear on Leo's face, the bartender said with great regret.
"As the strongest person in our Schicksal, you should be drinking the strongest liquor and bedding the most beautiful girls!"
"Every time you come here, you order iced milk—it's just not right!"
"Isn't that obvious?"
Taking the iced milk that another bartender slid over from the counter, Leo Ash said in annoyance.
"It's precisely because I'm the strongest that I have to be prepared for a fight to the death with the Honkai at any moment."
"If I drink a little and end up not being in top condition and fail to defeat the enemy, that would be a big problem."
Downing the iced milk in his hand, Leo slammed the glass heavily on the bar.
"I am the strongest Knight of Schicksal. Since I bear this title, I must also bear the responsibility that comes with it."
"To just enjoy the honor the title brings without taking my responsibilities to heart—that's not a knight, that's a beast."
"Wow, well said."
Watching the bartender next to him start to applaud, the main bartender looked at Leo awkwardly.
"Is my drink really that bad?"
"Trust me, the [Honkai Killer] HSN serum tastes much better than that. I think I have the most authority to speak on this matter in all of Schicksal."
"I'd rather go one-on-one with a Herrscher than recall the taste of that drink... Hiss, so terrifying."
Seeing the strongest knight of Schicksal, who had been so imposing just a moment ago, now trembling all over with an expression of utter terror, everyone present was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter the next second.
"Hahaha, I told you that special brew of yours is undrinkable. Look how you've scared Leo."
"Wow, you can even scare Leo. Looks like you're the real strongest in Schicksal."
"Strongest of Schicksal, you should treat us!"
Watching the crowd start to jeer, the bartender calmed down his friends for a moment and then gave Leo a grateful smile.
"Ha, you really took what Wraith said to you back then to heart, huh."
"...It has nothing to do with Teacher Wraith. I just really feel that I need to relax a little once in a while."
Glancing at the now lively atmosphere of the bar, Leo Ash muttered to himself in a low voice, as if speaking to the bartender.
"I can more or less hear the rumors within Schicksal now. They praise me to the high heavens, making me out to be omnipotent..."
"—The problem is, I'm not that strong. The so-called 'strongest in Schicksal' is just a failure who couldn't protect his parents."
"Hey, don't say that."
Personally pouring Leo a glass of iced milk, the bartender suddenly said to him very seriously.
"You've resolved so many major incidents. Objectively speaking, the number of people you've saved is at least in the nine digits."
"Maybe, but..."
As the two were chatting, the lights in the bar suddenly went out.
"What the hell? A power outage? No, wait!"
Although Leo Ash couldn't see the bartender's expression at this moment, from his changed tone, Leo heard something completely different from usual.
"Enemy attack! Damn it, those guys in the security department, someone actually cut the power supply to HQ. What the hell are those ****ing idiots doing???"
"Damn it, doing this on our day off?"
"Grab your weapons, grab your weapons—have Leo stay put for now!"
Hearing this, Leo, who was about to walk out, immediately said to the voice behind him.
"Damn it, the enemy is at our doorstep and you're telling me to sit here?"
"Damn it all, after I came back, I heard that a World Serpent spy had voluntarily revealed their position while I was gone."
"Our headquarters definitely has more than one mole. This incident is absolutely the work of World Serpent!"
"If they dare to cause trouble, we'll dare to send them to their graves! Catch the mole, catch the mole! We must catch the mole today!"
Hearing Leo's murderous words, the others who expected him to rush out now felt that...
This reaction was too normal.
In everyone's eyes, Schicksal was the organization Leo was loyal to, and also the foundation for his revenge.
Leo could handle high-end combat threats on his own, but he couldn't go around the globe killing Honkai Beasts day and night.
Under these circumstances, for Leo to complete his revenge against the Honkai, he had to rely on Schicksal's grassroots combat power to clear up ordinary Honkai incidents.
And now, if it really was World Serpent causing trouble, then for Leo, this was new hatred piled on old.
The Avenger was still the same Avenger. This was truly the most in-character episode.
As for the Leo who had rushed out, he was now dashing directly to the coordinates Bronya had sent him.
About half an hour had passed since he and Bronya had parted.
In half an hour, Bronya had not only hacked the surveillance system but had also casually cut the power supply to some areas.
Sigh, might as well make a big scene.
In such chaotic times, it's more convenient for me to carry out my actions.
Quietly arriving at the coordinates Bronya had given, Leo Ash glanced outside...
As expected, it was unguarded.
For these truly secret places, Otto didn't dare to reveal his emphasis on them.
In that case...
Quietly arriving at this room, Leo directly activated Phantasmagoria to cover the surroundings while materializing the Blank Key and Jizō Mitama.
Not only that, he even entered the Stigmata Space and called out Rin, who was slacking off in Yae Village.
"Huh? Why did you suddenly call for me?"
After scanning the surroundings, Rin asked, puzzled.
"This doesn't look like an enemy attack at all—besides, you don't need me to come out for an enemy attack."
"Rin, I'm being serious. You have to help me this time."
Having completed the link between the Divine Key and the Blank Key, Leo Ash said to Rin with great solemnity.
"No matter what you think, for both of us, killing Otto only has benefits and no drawbacks."
"Never forget, that old geezer loves his fiancée, and you were the Herrscher who nearly killed him and injured his fiancée. If he gets the chance, he will definitely not let you go."
"Eh, a fiancée, huh?"
Rin, who had been staying in Yae Village for the past few days, suddenly revealed a malicious smile.
"Haha, he loved her so deeply, but wasn't his fiancée still stolen away by Yae Sakura?"
"Is a mere green-haired turtle worthy of 'Warrior Leo Ash' treating him with such caution?"
Looking at Rin, who was clearly mocking Otto, Leo Ash was at a loss for words.
Wow, is this fox really that floating big sister monster?
I feel like Rin's character has gone completely off the rails.
"Alright, objectively speaking, he is indeed a green-haired turtle, but..."
"—Even if he's a green-haired turtle, he's the strongest green-haired turtle in the world!"
"If you want to laugh at him, you can do it after he's dead—I'll laugh with you then!"
"For now, let's get down to business—Go!"
"Alright, alright, business it is."
Rin casually walked to Leo Ash's side and pressed her newly acquired physical body tightly against his.
Completely caught off guard by Rin's action, Leo Ash felt the softness from behind and couldn't help but sigh...
—As expected of Sakura's sister. After growing up, all her parts have grown quite large.
"Okay, don't get distracted."
Gripping Leo's hand, Rin said to him in annoyance.
"It's not a bad thing that you connected Jizō Mitama and the Blank Key. With me, the master of the core, guiding it, plus the enhancement from the Blank Key, it should be able to compensate for some of the deficiencies in our understanding of how to use the power of Corruption."
"I won't mention myself for now, but..."
Leo Ash looked back at Rin behind him with a suspicious gaze.
"You're the Herrscher of Corruption, right? How could you forget how to use your powers?"
"Nonsense. Fifty thousand years have passed. My consciousness still remembers everything from the past, but under the guidance of the Honkai, the hatred in my heart has become my greatest obsession. As for other things..."
At this point, Rin cleared her throat twice.
"Some people forget things from the past after ten years. Is it so strange that I forgot the most efficient way to use my powers after fifty thousand years?"
...
If that were really the case, you wouldn't have had such a strong corrosive ability on others five hundred years ago.
Somehow, I feel like the Honkai started micromanaging again, causing you to have a small slip-up at a critical moment.
..