A few minutes ago. Schicksal HQ
Inside Schicksal HQ, Theresa looked at Isla Ash, who had been following her around since the morning, and couldn't help but feel that there was something strange about the girl today.
Okay, Isla usually felt a bit strange to Theresa, but that strangeness was mainly because Theresa found her to be far too intelligent and sensible for her age.
However, today, Isla, who normally assisted Himeko with Schicksal-related affairs, wasn't by Himeko's side as usual. Instead, she had latched onto Theresa, shouting, "Grandma, play with me!"
Logically speaking, Isla was a sensible child; she shouldn't be acting like a little kid.
But then Theresa remembered that the girl was less than four months old, and she felt that Isla's current behavior was actually more like that of a normal child.
Of course, the Isla Ash currently following Theresa wouldn't tell her what was really on her mind.
Since this morning, Isla, who was now treated as a regular member of Schicksal, had received news of the great commotion Leo Ash and the others had caused at the bar.
As Leo Ash's daughter, Isla naturally didn't want to see her own father get chopped to pieces over relationship drama, so she had immediately rushed to the scene.
Hiding in the shadows, Isla had figured it out in an instant.
Aside from Rita, her perpetually busy father, her two mothers, and her two aunts were, in fact—not the real ones.
This level of substitution was enough to deceive others, but for Isla, with her powerful intuition, she saw through the truth with just a glance.
Realizing her father had started to make his move, Isla didn't hesitate and went straight to find Theresa.
She was just a kid, after all. Even with several weakened Herrscher abilities, it didn't mean she had much combat power.
To avoid holding her father back at a critical moment, she had to ensure her own safety.
Besides, based on how the Oath of Judah had reacted last time Leo Ash was in danger, Isla knew that as long as she stayed near the Oath of Judah, she would know if her father was in peril.
For all these reasons, Isla chose to abandon the clerical work she usually took on and stick by Theresa's side to guarantee her safety.
Of course, she had no intention of telling Theresa a single word of this.
After all, during this time, she had come to realize that while Theresa was kind-hearted, many problems couldn't be solved by kindness alone.
No matter what, Theresa was now the Archbishop of Schicksal.
If Isla's speculations caused Theresa to take inappropriate actions at such a critical time, throwing Schicksal into chaos, she would become the culprit.
She didn't want to be the one dragging everyone down while they were all working hard to fight the Honkai.
"Hmm, why are you so quiet today?"
Watching the pensive Isla, Theresa suddenly frowned, staring intently at the girl who was only a dozen or so centimeters shorter than her. "Are you hiding something from me?" she asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice.
...Crap, I forgot Grandma is a Kaslana at heart.
Her intuition is almost as strong as mine. If this keeps up...
"Eh, I really can't hide anything from you, Grandma."
Her mind racing, Isla put on an innocent expression and said to Theresa.
"I was just wondering how many moms Dad is planning to find for me."
???
Stunned speechless by Isla's words, Theresa felt a profound sense that this child was indeed far too mature for her age.
And because of this shocking topic, Theresa, who was never good at catching details, was even less likely to notice the subtle abnormality in Isla's expression.
"You two," Himeko said, exasperated, as she watched the two white-haired figures, one big and one small, chatting idly beside her.
"Isla is just a child, so it's fine, but Theresa, don't you think you should be shouldering a bit more of your responsibilities?"
"Huh?"
Confused by Himeko's comment, Theresa retorted.
"But right now... there doesn't seem to be much work for me to do."
"That's no excuse for you, the Archbishop of Schicksal, to be squatting in your office drinking bitter melon juice!"
Himeko felt a flicker of uncharacteristic impatience rise within her and suddenly realized she was being a bit unreasonable today.
Theresa saw the expression on Himeko's face shift from annoyance to surprise and immediately felt a sense of unease.
In reality, staying on standby in the HQ office was a decision Himeko and Theresa had made together.
For Himeko to suddenly reprimand her for it today clearly signaled to Theresa that something was off about her.
Normally, if Himeko were to scold her without reason, Theresa, while not one to pull rank, would at least bicker back like the frenemies they were.
But Theresa, who had been feeling restless all day, looked at Himeko and, quite uncharacteristically, offered an apology.
"Himeko, I'm sorry. I was being a bit childish."
"No... it's not you. It's me."
Himeko gently rubbed her temples and let out a heavy sigh.
"I don't know why, but I've been feeling anxious since this morning."
"What a coincidence."
Hearing this from her friend, Theresa hopped onto her chair and spoke to Himeko with a grave expression.
"I've been feeling the same way today."
If only one of them had felt it, they might have dismissed it as a mere illusion.
But with both of them feeling the same way, the shadow of unease in their hearts instantly began to grow.
Of course, they knew about the commotion Leo Ash had just caused at HQ.
But operating under the principle of 'Thank God he's finally taking a break, just let him mess around with his relationships,' neither of them had proactively told Leo Ash to prepare for battle.
Now, however, they had to regretfully admit that Leo Ash's break time was over.
"I'll go inform Leo Ash. Have him and the others get ready for a fight."
Theresa opened up a data screen, preparing to contact Leo Ash and the others to tell them to pause whatever they were doing.
But at that very moment, a face she knew all too well, yet hadn't seen in a long time, popped up before her.
"Hi, Theresa, and to all my comrades in Schicksal, it's been a while."
At that moment, not just on Theresa's screen, but on every display device and data screen within Schicksal, the face of Otto Apocalypse appeared.
Seeing her grandfather 'appear' at a time like this, Theresa felt no joy of a family reunion.
It wasn't that she had no affection for Otto, but as his granddaughter, Theresa knew all too well what kind of person he was.
Since leaving Schicksal HQ, Otto's series of actions had proven that he had completely dropped his final disguise in front of those who knew the truth.
For Otto to show his face now, Theresa could only conclude that her rotten old geezer of a grandfather was, one hundred percent, about to pull something big.
"Himeko! If I'm not mistaken, Grandfather must have already—"
"Now, now, Theresa. Whether you've figured it out or not, I must tell you one thing: it's too late to shut down the display systems."
In the video, Otto smiled and spoke to himself.
"When you see this recording, it means I have encountered... certain circumstances."
"And these circumstances... well, never mind. Allow me to briefly recount some stories from the past."
The other members in Schicksal HQ were still unaware of Otto's true nature.
Aside from unlucky souls like Wraith, who had been exposed to too much intelligence and was nearly silenced, and people like Dr. Magi, who had been screwed over by Otto, the vast majority were quietly waiting to hear what he had to say.
After all, to the uninformed, Otto wasn't a criminal who condoned, assisted, and protected the Honkai, but the Archbishop of Schicksal who had led them in battle for centuries.
Although Theresa had been acting Archbishop for some time, what were forty or fifty days compared to five hundred years? Was there even a comparison to be made?
Right now, most Schicksal members were wondering if the long-missing Archbishop had come up with a plan to lead them in a counterattack against the Honkai.
After all, in the current situation, humanity's circumstances had improved significantly.
Even without knowing about the Herrscher of the Void's revival, from their perspective, the Herrschers of Thunder, Death, and Binding were on their side, and the Herrscher of Binding had even defeated Kevin, the strongest warrior of the Previous Era.
With powerhouses like Durandal and Theresa, who wielded Divine Keys, it was perfectly reasonable for everyone to conclude, 'We have a significant advantage.' On the surface, this judgment seemed flawless.
Unfortunately, most of them didn't know that Otto had no intention of fighting the Honkai.
At least at this stage, Otto was merely preparing to fight the Honkai; his subjective actions did not make him an enemy of the Honkai.
And now, only a few people within the entire headquarters knew parts of the truth.
The anxious Bronya was desperately trying to use her electronic warfare skills to hack and shut down the broadcast.
But because this incident had occurred so suddenly, she couldn't manage to turn off the damn video.
Amber, who had always been Otto's inside agent, could only let out a soft sigh upon seeing this recording, which Otto had prepared as a contingency.
As someone who knew parts of Otto's plan, Amber's heart was a tangled mess.
She knew that some of Otto's actions were not right in a broader sense, but as someone brought into existence by Otto, she couldn't bring herself to oppose him.
Thus, at a time like this, she could only choose to be a spectator, watching everything unfold with a cold detachment.
Nagamitsu, who had been working overtime, knew that everyone would have to face this sooner or later after she submitted that plan.
But she truly never expected that Lord Bishop Otto would choose to act at this particular moment.
Well, while blowing up the rest of the world is indeed extreme, the proposal I wrote for Lord Bishop Otto should have mentioned... transferring everyone to Kolosten first to preserve our effective forces and technical personnel.
Lord Bishop Otto's current actions look like he's about to wipe Schicksal off the map... This is going to be a disaster.
Rita, who was still with 'Leo Ash' and the others, saw Otto's face, and the smile on her own face vanished.
She once thought Otto would, at most, threaten high-level combatants like herself.
For that reason, to avoid alerting him, she hadn't taken further action after Leo Ash rescued her parents from Kolosten.
But now, Rita realized she was wrong.
She had gravely misjudged the depths of Otto's depravity.
From Otto's current actions, it was clear he intended to drag the entirety of Schicksal down with him.
Damn it, doesn't this mean that besides me, the families of all my other colleagues are no longer safe?!
Miss Bronya must have noticed this by now. As an expert in electronic warfare, she must be working hard to deal with these broadcasts.
I can't interfere with her actions, so right now...
—I must inform Lady Theresa!
At the same time, inside the bar, Wraith watched Otto on the screen and knew that with things having come to this, it was...
—about time for her to 'despair'.
Ever since Otto's failed attempt to ambush her, Wraith had lost all faith in Schicksal.
What future could an organization have when its very leader was a traitor?
Moreover, this leader wasn't a newcomer like Theresa, who had only been in power for a month, but an old man who had controlled Schicksal for five hundred years.
A man who could run Schicksal as his personal fiefdom and influence the entire world was a dog of the Honkai...
Just thinking about it, Wraith couldn't stop herself from wondering just how many comrades fighting the Honkai Otto had backstabbed and how many disasters he had orchestrated over the past five hundred years.
The more she thought, the more pathetic everyone in Schicksal seemed.
As her negative emotions surged, today, when Wraith realized Otto was about to drop a bombshell, the disappointment in her heart reached its peak.
Ah, so what's the point of living, anyway?
In the end, we're all just tools in Otto's hands.
Our entire Schicksal is a failure, and what good ending can failures expect?
As for Himeko and Theresa, who knew the truth but hadn't yet despaired, they could only watch and see what Otto had to say, unable to stop the broadcast.
"Ah, this is a very long story. From the past to the present, I have been striving for one thing, striving for five hundred long years."
A look of nostalgia crossed Otto's face as he continued to speak to himself in the video.
"Of course, thanks to the kindness of all my comrades, I have indeed received a great deal of help from everyone in Schicksal over these five hundred years."
"But today, there are some things I must tell you. After all, there is an old saying in Shenzhou—paper can't wrap up a fire."
"Regrettably, although Schicksal is an anti-Honkai organization, I personally have little desire to fight the Honkai."
"Yes, not only that, but I have even been secretly assisting the development of the Honkai for the past five hundred years."
As he said this, a faint, unreadable smile appeared on Otto's face.
"At this point, I imagine some comrades might be thinking, 'Ah, this person must be an impostor, a fake trying to slander Lord Bishop.'"
"That's perfectly normal. After all, I've put on a very good disguise for the past five hundred years. Almost no one could see that Otto Apocalypse was allowing the Honkai to fester."
"Of course, Schicksal is full of talented people. Even if I hid it well, there were still some who saw through my true nature. So, to show my high praise for their intelligence and wisdom, I, of course..."
"—chose to kill them at the first opportunity."
"Ah, everyone, please don't look at me like that."
After uttering these infuriating words, Otto put on an incredibly exaggerated smile.
"Although I'm not a good person, sometimes, I do have my moments of kindness."
"After they learned that the Archbishop of Schicksal was a lackey of the Honkai, they would surely be tormented by their inability to share this secret with others, wouldn't they?"
"And as it happens, I'm a kind person. I can't bear to see them suffer, so—sending them on their way should be a fitting way to honor our time as colleagues, don't you think?"
Watching Otto's one-man show on this 'stage,' Himeko and Theresa felt a chill run down their spines.
For various reasons, both of them knew some of the truth about past events.
But knowing the truth from others was a completely different experience from hearing Otto himself casually speak these unspeakable words.
Especially now, if even they, the insiders, were feeling a chill, then the other colleagues in Schicksal must already be confused, or even thrown into chaos, by Otto's performance.
"Of course, empty words are not proof. I suppose I should present something more concrete to show that I am not lying."
In the video, Otto snapped his fingers.
With that, another video feed appeared within the broadcast.
"The reason Anti-Entropy, which was once Schicksal's North American Branch, suddenly rebelled was not because they were bad people or fools."
"On the contrary, they were too smart. So smart that they obstructed my plans. So, with no other choice, I decided to take care of those overly clever fellows."
"Of course, the reason their city met with disaster was also because I dropped a Honkai Fission Missile on them."
"Not good!"
Hearing Otto's words, Himeko immediately said to Theresa.
"If I remember correctly, many of our colleagues in Schicksal have family in Kolosten, right?"
If my guess is correct, then right now...
"Are you saying Grandfather is going to make a move on Kolosten?!"
Instantly understanding Himeko's thoughts, Theresa immediately contacted the intelligence department.
"Wraith! Quickly have—"
"Theresa, it's too late."
At that moment, Wraith, her heart shrouded in darkness, spoke calmly to Theresa.
"Just now, other colleagues have already detected a weapon with a strong Honkai Energy signature heading towards Kolosten."
"By my estimation, it's likely a Honkai Fission Missile. In our current state... do you think anyone can stop it?"
"Let me!"
Looking at the Divine Key [Oath of Judah] that had flown to her side, Theresa replied to Wraith decisively.
"If it's the Divine Grace Field—"
"Oh, right. I forgot to mention something."
In the video, Otto suddenly looked as if he remembered something, and a mocking sneer slowly spread across his face.
"Perhaps my outstanding subordinates have already detected a weapon heading for Kolosten, but unfortunately, that's just a feint."
"What you've detected is just a diversion I arranged in advance. Let me see... hmm, about thirty seconds left. It should detonate soon."
At that moment, a 30-second countdown timer appeared before everyone's eyes, along with a live feed showing a peaceful scene in Kolosten.
To the ordinary Schicksal members who were unaware of Otto's schemes, it was clear that Otto had gone insane.
Putting aside why Otto was spouting such nonsense, the main problem was...
—even if Otto were an ambitious schemer with other plans, he shouldn't be suddenly revealing his inner thoughts now and then nuking what was, in a sense, everyone's hometown right in front of them!
And Otto himself didn't actually have such an idea.
Kolosten held special significance for him, and he had contingencies buried there. Even now, at this desperate hour, Otto had no intention of actually nuking Kolosten to smithereens.
But right now, he needed Schicksal to descend into chaos.
And for the majority of people in Schicksal, they were here either to protect their families or to seek revenge against the Honkai.
Now, the avengers discovered they were working for a stinking dog who was letting the Honkai run rampant, and the protectors discovered their hometown was about to be blown up by Otto.
At this point, aside from the group still deluding themselves with 'This isn't Lord Otto, it's a trick by Anti-Entropy,' the rest were on the verge of a complete mental breakdown.
As if to catalyze this atmosphere, Otto even broadcast the video of 'Kolosten'.
In the video, the normally peaceful Kolosten was suddenly turned into scorched earth by a weapon of mass destruction descending from the sky.
Amidst the scorched earth, all signs of life were utterly extinguished.
Upon seeing this, some people on site began to clutch their heads and wail in agony.
Rita, still on her way to Theresa's side, looked at the warriors around her and felt the atmosphere growing increasingly wrong.
No, something is definitely wrong.
We are all battle-hardened warriors. Even if that scoundrel Otto released this video, in the past, most of us would have watched it with a bit of dark humor and then laughed it off, saying, 'It must be Anti-Entropy's doing.'
But now, everyone's... mental state is collapsing a little too quickly, isn't it?
It's almost as if...
As a thought formed in her mind, Rita suddenly saw a group of people turn their gazes towards her.
"Rita... Rossweisse!"
"She was Otto's most useful dog! In other words, she must be on his side too!"
"Otto is a traitor, so she must be a traitor too! Kill her! We must avenge our families!"
I see. So this was that scoundrel Otto's plan.
Leo and the other high-level combatants each have a high chance of defeating him one-on-one. So, with his lack of direct combat power, his only option is to throw our rear into chaos to buy time and increase his chances of winning.
Instantly equipping her Godsbane Armor, Rita's eyes turned ice-cold.
Although she hadn't drawn Skadi of Celestial Frost, at this moment, Rita had fully entered combat mode.
Based on her deduction, once this atmosphere of despair spread, there would be very few people left in Schicksal she could trust.
Schicksal's elite wouldn't break down this easily. For this to happen, it had to be the Honkai and Otto working together.
After Leo's return, he had shared a lot of information with his adoptive sister in private.
Having learned the details about the Herrscher of Domination from Leo, Rita was now almost certain that Otto's actions were an attempt to create a Herrscher of Domination.
In the past, the Herrscher of Domination was able to wreak havoc on the Previous Era's world partly because they initially lacked sufficient intelligence, which led to excessive casualties.
But now, with the upper echelons of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy aware of the Herrscher of Domination's abilities, Otto had likely changed his approach.
Schicksal is a powerful organization, and everyone within it is more or less an elite.
So now, if he used the condition of 'the Archbishop of Schicksal betrays everyone, creating disaster and killing their friends and family,' combined with the Honkai's subtle guidance and corruption, Schicksal HQ would undoubtedly 'incubate' a large number of Herrschers of Domination.
The previous Herrschers of Domination were mostly ordinary people, and even they were a handful.
But now, if everyone in Schicksal HQ were to be converted into Herrschers of Domination...
—Then, not only would Schicksal HQ become non-functional, but the Honkai would also gain a large number of elite humans as its new lackeys.
To go to such extremes must mean that Leo and the others are making good progress on their end.
So now, what I can do is...
—knock out these colleagues first, and try to keep them from holding Leo back.
.