Hearing his friend's words, Kevin didn't say much, but Su, sitting opposite him, could sense that Kevin's mood had clearly worsened.
Objectively speaking, Otto's support had been indispensable for Kevin's escape from the Sea of Quanta.
At the time, Otto had not only sent the Gem of Haste as the key to open the Eye of the Deep but had also brought two top-tier combatants, including himself, into the fray.
To be honest, if Otto hadn't shown up to cause trouble, even if World Serpent had both Wendy and the Gem of Haste—the two 'keys'—they wouldn't have had enough combat power to free Kevin from the combined forces of Siegfried, Welt, and Su.
But now, Kevin's opinion of Otto was undoubtedly worse than before.
In the past month, besides recovering from his injuries and readjusting his condition, Kevin had spent the remaining time gathering a great deal of intelligence.
Combining this intelligence with what he had seen through the Kaslana Stigmata on Siegfried fourteen years ago, Kevin could easily deduce that what Otto was actually doing was different from what he appeared to be doing on the surface.
Back then, when Siegfried awakened the Kaslana's Power of Salvation, he was powerful enough to slaughter an average Herrscher.
And according to subsequent intelligence, Siegfried was even able to seal the Second Herrscher's core with his beloved wife, causing Kevin's prediction that [this catastrophe will spread to half of Asia] to be off the mark. He must have unleashed an even greater power.
If Otto were merely a 'leader' who would do anything to fight the Honkai, then making good use of a powerful tool like Siegfried would have been a fine choice.
With Siegfried, in subsequent battles, apart from the elusive Herrscher of Sentience, the Herrscher of Domination who couldn't be solved by combat power alone due to their numbers, the simply difficult-to-deal-with Herrscher of Binding, the hard-to-capture and tech-countering Herrscher of Corruption, and the despairingly powerful Herrscher of Finality, the remaining six Herrschers—Thunder, Wind, Ice, Death, Flame, and Star—should not have been a match for an awakened Siegfried.
And yet, faced with such an incredibly powerful subordinate who could clear the path of Herrschers for him, Otto's choice was...
—to drop a Honkai Fission Missile on Siegfried and Cecilia right after they had just sealed the Herrscher core.
To use such a weapon of mass destruction on his own powerful subordinates either meant Otto was incompetent and failed to realize the core had already been sealed, or it meant Otto had no intention of actually defeating the Honkai, so he unhesitatingly tried to kill Siegfried, the greatest threat to it.
Although Kevin had only met Otto a handful of times, he could tell the man was no fool.
If Otto wasn't an idiot, then he was definitely a bastard.
A man who controlled a vast legacy from the Previous Era and had led Schicksal, an anti-Honkai organization, for so many years should have been the central figure in the fight against the Honkai.
But Otto took that legacy, enjoyed the benefits that came with it and the title of Schicksal Archbishop, yet failed to fulfill his responsibilities. Kevin naturally had no goodwill towards such a person.
As for why Otto did it, Kevin had no interest in knowing.
All he needed to know was that Otto Apocalypse was not right in the head, absolutely could not be trusted, and was very likely his enemy.
It was precisely because Kevin had reviewed this data and analyzed this intelligence that he went against his oath to Otto and did not hand over the beacon.
He may not have a diploma, but he's not stupid.
Otto was clearly not a good person. When faced with such a deviant, why bother with any code of honor about keeping promises...
—If Kevin were that kind of rigid person, he wouldn't have chosen to go down the unorthodox path of human experimentation to prepare for the Stigmata Project fifteen hundred years ago.
"Then, how about this."
After a moment of thought, Kevin said to Su.
"I will also participate in this battle against Otto."
"As for the Elysian Realm, I'll go speak to Leo Ash myself. Whether he believes me or not... we'll see when the time comes."
"...You're actually going to make a move."
Slightly surprised to hear that Kevin had chosen to participate in this battle, Su sorted through his thoughts and realized that this was, in fact, the path Kevin would choose.
It was true he wanted to execute the Stigmata Project, but that was a means to an end, not the end itself.
Kevin was a warrior who fought tirelessly against the Honkai. This fact had not changed from the past to the present.
Perhaps he had other thoughts in his heart, but in Su's eyes, everything Kevin did was indeed in service of fighting the Honkai.
And now, Otto had clearly become a stumbling block for humanity's fight against the Honkai. At such a time, it was perfectly reasonable for Kevin to choose to help humanity remove this obstacle.
Moreover, Su felt that his other comrade, Hua, would also recover in time to participate in this battle.
The three of them, who had not fought together against an enemy for a long time, were about to join forces again because of Otto...
Honestly, Su was quite happy in his heart.
Even if they might still cross blades again after this battle due to their different choices, even a temporary collaboration brought him a small measure of comfort.
"Alright, remember to send me the detailed plan later. After all..."
"—Otto Apocalypse is indeed a man not to be underestimated."
"Ah, I understand."
After finishing their conversation, the two used the Quantum Teleportation System to return to their respective territories.
Upon returning to Anti-Entropy, Su, while organizing a large amount of intelligence, habitually placed a clone of himself inside Schicksal HQ, disguising it as an ordinary Schicksal member.
Although he hardly needed to use such methods to steal intelligence from within Schicksal after Leo Ash's return, he felt that the closer they got to battle with Otto, the more careful he had to be.
However, about eight hours later, Su suddenly heard a voice he shouldn't have been able to hear.
Somewhere in Schicksal HQ, Su suddenly sensed a powerful psychic force.
And this psychic force was broadcasting psychic waves with a special frequency that only those with extremely strong psychic abilities could detect.
[Hey, hey, can you hear me? Su, if you can hear me, answer quickly. I have something urgent.]
*This familiar psychic wave... it's Mr. Ash.*
*I can hear you. Please speak.*
Leo Ash, currently surrounded by a crowd of gossip-mongers in the bar early in the morning, was dealing with his colleagues while communicating with Su via psychic link.
[I suspect that son of a bitch Otto has caused even more serious problems during this time, and the Honkai hasn't stopped its scheming either.]
[Dragging this out any longer is not in our favor. So I think it's time we launched an all-out attack on Otto.]
*I think so too.*
Looking at the organized intelligence in his hands, Su sent it to Kevin through a special channel before replying to Leo Ash.
*I have a piece of intelligence here that should be useful in this battle.*
[I see. That's excellent.]
*And judging by your current performance, you probably intend to continue using this method to deceive Mr. Otto, correct?*
[Yes, it is Otto we're talking about, after all.]
[When fighting him, I wouldn't think twice about using twelve thousand different tricks.]
[But since you're here, many things will be much easier.]
[Forward what I'm about to say to Kiana, Mei, Yuna, and Bronya via psychic link. Then we can proceed to the next stage of our tactical discussion.]
About a minute later, after hearing what Leo Ash had said, Su was speechless for a few seconds before asking.
*Mr. Ash, is it really necessary to go to such lengths?*
[Of course. I plan to make a move today. But if the news that 'Leo Ash is still surrounded in the bar' gets out, Otto will relax his guard, at least a little bit, right?]
About ten minutes later, inside the Schicksal bar.
In the Schicksal bar, Kiana, Mei, and Yuna suddenly walked in from several entrances, their expressions hostile as they looked at Leo Ash.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Everyone! Make way, make way!"
Mike, who happened to be on leave today, watched the three approach with clear killing intent and said to his companions with a grin.
"The leading ladies have arrived! Hurry up and make room for them!"
"Oh, oh, oh! The scene I've been waiting for is finally happening!"
"Hee hee hee, even Schicksal's strongest, Leo Ash, must be sweating bullets right now."
"Actually, I don't think there's anything wrong with having a harem."
"Leo Ash is so handsome and strong, of course there's no problem with him having a harem, but—on the condition that he can handle his little girlfriends."
Looking at the crowd, who were clearly just there for the show, the already 'sweating' Leo Ash took a step back.
*I know I'm acting, but you people...*
*Damn it, you really love to watch a good train wreck, don't you?*
The killing intent emanating from Kiana, Mei, and Yuna was undoubtedly real.
It was just that, unlike what the clueless crowd imagined, the three of them were not fighting over him at all.
Kiana, who was not in a good state but putting on a brave face; Mei, who had just felt a moment of happiness yesterday; and Yuna, who was currently worried about her daughter, didn't feel they should be engaging in something as meaningless as fighting over a man.
*Senior/Leo/Senior is already tired enough. Are we really going to add to his troubles? Is that something a human being would do?*
The reason their killing intent was so terrifying was mainly because Leo Ash, through Su, had used a psychic message to inform the four of them at Schicksal HQ, including Bronya, that he was preparing for a final battle with Otto today.
Now that the four of them knew Otto's true colors, they all had, to some extent, a blood feud with him.
The thought of that damned villain still at large naturally caused them to erupt with intense killing intent directed at Otto.
As for why Leo Ash hadn't told Durandal and Rita, the reason was simple.
He trusted that his sister, who was even smarter than him, would understand the situation in a second.
As for Bianka... sigh, Bianka wasn't sharp enough.
Even Mei had learned to act during this time.
If Bianka came over and her poor acting gave the game away, then all his efforts would have been for nothing.
*As for now...
Wait, the killing intent from everyone isn't directed at me, but what's with this resentment?*
[Having a harem often leads to facing the chopping block. Didn't you have even that much resolve when you started this?!]
*So you finally show up.*
*If you hadn't, I would have thought you were already dead.*
[Cut the crap. Even if you kick the bucket, this System won't.]
*Stop talking about me. Why did you suddenly pop up?*
[Isn't it obvious? The great drama this System has been waiting for is here. Of course, this System has to jump out to watch the fun!]
[And here's a hint for you: the resentment they're giving off right now is one hundred percent because of you.]
*...Alright, I admit that having a harem is indeed unfair to these good girls.
But for them to be resentful at a time like this, isn't the timing a little... inappropriate?
In fact, is this really an emotion one would have at a time like this...*
[Humans are emotional, and women are more emotional than men.]
[You actually expect Herrschers, a group prone to extremism, to remain rational at all times? Why don't you take a look in the mirror first?]
[Someone who split his own personality in half and forgot his memories for the sake of revenge has the nerve to say that, huh?]
Completely unaware that the trio's resentment was because 'Leo Ash was planning to work himself to the bone again without any rest and not taking care of himself', Leo Ash cautiously said to the three of them.
"Um, everyone, I think..."
"Ara, Leo, what are you doing here?"
At the entrance of the bar, Rita, who had learned from others that Leo Ash was at the bar, had rushed to the scene immediately.
After all, no one knows a little brother better than his big sister. Her dear little brother, who usually didn't touch a drop of alcohol, was at a bar early in the morning—this was one hundred percent suspicious.
But now, seeing Leo Ash surrounded by the three girls, Rita hadn't expected her brother to mess up this badly so quickly.
*Sigh, it seems it's up to me to find a way to resolve the awkward situation Leo is facing now.*
Just as she was about to speak, everyone suddenly heard another voice.
"Rita, what are you doing near the bar so early?"
Behind Rita, Bianka "Durandal" Ataegina walked to her side with a puzzled look on her face and saw Leo Ash surrounded by the three girls.
"Leo Ash, and everyone else?"
"Why are you all at the bar so early in the morning?"
......