Schicksal HQ — Infirmary
Two hours after Otto's final death, Anna Schariac, who had been struck by Leo Ash's God-Slaying Spear, finally opened her eyes.
And upon opening them, she unsurprisingly saw the person she most wanted to see.
"Ah, you're awake?"
Looking at the slowly opening eyes, Leo Ash asked softly.
"How is your body feeling?"
"A little uncomfortable, but..."
Seeing Leo Ash, Anna let out a sigh of relief, but she couldn't stop herself from recalling what had happened to her.
When Leo Ash made his move today, he hadn't told Anna his plan.
On one hand, unlike Mei, Yuna, and Bronya, who had only recently joined Schicksal, Anna, as a direct member of the Schariac family, held deep trust in Otto, the former Bishop who held immense prestige within Schicksal.
And recklessly telling Anna the plan... for one, as a B-rank Valkyrie, even if she knew the plan, it would only put her in more danger.
On the other hand, it was mainly because Anna was, after all, a Herrscher Host.
Telling a Herrscher Host, whose entire conviction was fighting the Honkai, 'Hey, Schicksal's leader for the past 500 years is a bastard who defected to the Honkai'—just thinking about saying that, Leo Ash felt the destructive potential was too high.
And speaking of which, since he returned from the Sea of Quanta, it had only been...
[Day one, you 'hit' on Kiana.]
[Three days later, you returned to Schicksal HQ.]
[One day after that, you 'hit' on your two Masters.]
[Continuing, he 'hit' on Mei and the Herrscher of Thunder...]
*Wait, hold on! It wasn't 'hitting'! It was helping them adjust their mental state!*
[Yes, that is true.]
[But 'hitting' and 'adjusting their state' aren't mutually exclusive. Is the System wrong this time?]
*Okay, fine, you're not.*
*But now—I don't have time for you.*
*I've been back for so many days, and I was planning to solve their problems one by one.*
*But there wasn't enough time. Today is my seventh day back. In seven days, I've helped several people adjust their mental states and led a team to kill Otto. I think my efficiency is pretty high.*
*But, no matter how high my efficiency, the fact that Anna and other Schicksal comrades were harmed because I couldn't make perfect preparations... was also an undeniable fact.*
Watching Anna's expression grow increasingly frightened, Leo Ash activated a low-power Phantasmagoria, soothing her mind with his mental energy as he spoke softly.
"It's all over. Don't think about it too much."
"Otto has been executed. No one in Schicksal will ever be able to act so flagrantly evil again."
"But..."
Anna, now recalling those sights, had tears welling in her eyes.
"I feel like I saw... everyone from the Schariac family... they all seemed to die because of Otto's actions..."
"Oh, that was fake."
Casually opening the data screen, Leo Ash immediately contacted the current head of the Schariac family, letting Anna see their current situation.
For the next few minutes, Anna watched as everyone in her family worked to fight the Honkai and deal with the problems Otto had caused, only then realizing she had been deceived by an illusion.
Before Otto entered the theater, he didn't know Anna would enter as a Herrscher and become one of his 'mission objectives'.
Even the nigh-omniscient Otto couldn't have perfectly targeted Anna's inner weaknesses in that situation. He could only have the other Ottos—the ones with a lightweight Herrscher of Sentience ability—hypnotize Anna and show her images of all her relatives dying in the chaos.
Of course, if it were just that, Anna wouldn't have immediately believed the illusions; she would have calmed down and made her own judgment.
But Anna suffered more than one blow today.
The first blow. Early in the morning, Anna had heard from others in Schicksal about the commotion Leo Ash and the others had caused at the bar.
Anna, thinking she had already lost, blessed Leo Ash in her heart but couldn't stop the resentment she didn't want, but couldn't control, from welling up.
Second, Anna was also one of those in Schicksal loyal to Otto.
Leo Ash didn't want Anna to know the desperate news, but Otto had no such qualms.
These two successive blows were the last straw that allowed Otto's illusion to completely break Anna.
At this moment, although Anna felt relieved by Leo Ash's words, she also couldn't forget that pang of bitterness she had felt this morning.
Even though she knew everyone else felt strongly about Leo Ash, and that she, being unremarkable, was likely to be the first one out of the running, being mentally prepared didn't mean she could face it calmly when it actually happened.
Her heart a complicated mess, Anna resisted the urge to get the answer directly from Leo Ash and immediately tried to change the subject.
"You said... Otto has been executed. In that case..."
"—How is everyone in Schicksal?"
Hearing Anna's transparent attempt to change the subject, Leo Ash proactively walked over and sat on her hospital bed, closing the distance between them.
"Of course, they're all fine. Other than a few of Otto's loyal dogs who refused to repent, there were no other casualties."
"As for the cleanup... you don't need to worry about that either."
"Trust in everyone. They're all very capable. Even though that damn dog Otto caused so many problems, everyone will bounce back quickly."
What Leo Ash said wasn't just comforting words meant to downplay the problem.
In his heart, he truly believed it.
Right now, Schicksal and Anti-Entropy were working together, and they had the help of the Previous Era's pioneers. Dealing with the problems Otto left behind was incredibly simple.
Su, a psychic MANTIS; Fu Hua, the Herrscher of Sentience who also possessed Fenghuang Down; and Void Archives, who had willingly submitted to Leo Ash... as this 'two-person-one-key' team began investigating the other Schicksal members, many problems were easily solved.
Against this duo-plus-one that could hypnotize others, even if someone could lie without batting an eye, they couldn't hide their true thoughts.
Before Anna woke up, they had already sent reports, rooting out several factions of Otto's diehard loyalists in various branches who were planning to lay low and avenge Otto.
As for certain people outside of Schicksal, although they learned of the internal turmoil through their own channels, the entire incident lasted less than an hour from start to finish. To those who didn't know the specifics, it naturally seemed like a big fuss over nothing.
It wasn't that no one wanted to test Schicksal's current weakness, but rather that all the major players were smart enough not to be the first bird out of the flock.
Leo Ash didn't know what trouble they might cause later, but at least for now, these bastards hadn't made any major moves.
As for what to do later...
Leo Ash had nothing to say to these people who planned to stab him in the back for their own benefit while he was preparing to fight the Honkai.
His morals and bottom line were reserved for good people. He felt no psychological burden in dealing with these animals.
Leo Ash had already instructed Wraith, now back in good condition, to start gathering intel on this group.
Killing them wasn't his follow-up plan. If these animals died, new animals would just take their place.
Compared to killing them and creating new problems, Leo Ash preferred the method he used in Su's illusion: dox them all, and then just brainwash them one by one.
Once Wraith gathered the intel, then Leo Ash himself (wielding Phantasmagoria), plus the 'two-person-one-key' team, could completely brainwash them all in a short amount of time.
It wasn't a noble method, but often, the ignoble methods were the most effective.
"Is that so?"
Even though she tried her hardest not to think about it, Anna regrettably found that just by being near Leo Ash, she felt her anxious heart gradually calming.
Reason told her she shouldn't waste Leo Ash's time at such a critical moment, but no matter how rational Anna was, she was still just an ordinary girl.
Her beloved was right beside her, and her heart yearned more and more for him to return her feelings. In this situation...
[Waah, what a heavy atmosphere.]
[Faced with her like this, your choice is, of course—]
*That's enough, System! I don't need you to say it!*
While Anna was still hesitating, Leo Ash suddenly pulled the unprepared girl into his embrace.
"L-Leo Ash? What are you doing!"
Anna, feeling Leo Ash holding her tightly, was completely caught off guard.
"I... I... I..."
"I can feel that your heart is still uneasy. If I had dealt with Otto sooner, you and the others wouldn't have had to face this hopeless situation."
Holding Anna, Leo Ash whispered softly in her ear.
"Perhaps it's too late to apologize now, but I feel some things are better said late than never."
"I'm sorry, Anna. I was too late."
They were just simple words, but after hearing them, the emotions Anna had been suppressing completely burst forth.
"I was so scared... At that moment, I felt like everything was leaving me."
"The darkness was about to swallow me, and I... I wasn't myself anymore..."
"Mm. You don't have to be afraid anymore."
Gently stroking the girl's back, Leo Ash continued softly.
"From now on, I'll always be by your side."
"But..."
Although the atmosphere between them had reached a critical point, Anna's mind was suddenly flooded with all the scenes she had imagined earlier.
"Leo Ash... what about the others? Besides me?"
[Ooh, ooh, here it comes! At a time like this, your answer is—]
"..."
After a second of silence, Leo Ash immediately released Anna and looked at her with a solemn expression as she awaited his answer.
"Anna, I am a greedy person."
"Ever since my parents died at the hands of the Honkai, I began to crave everything I couldn't have."
"At first, I thought I craved the power to take revenge on the Honkai, but later, I realized my greed far exceeded my expectations."
"I... am greedy for love."
"The familial love between relatives, the romantic love between partners, and the platonic love between friends..."
"I am just too greedy. And because of that, I don't want to give up on anything."
Leo Ash didn't say it explicitly, but the intelligent Anna understood the meaning behind his words perfectly.
Leo Ash, who craved the love of family, partners, and friends, would not give up on Anna Schariac, a girl with whom he shared mutual affection.
But at the same time, Leo Ash would not give up on the other girls who were in the same situation as Anna.
For an ordinary girl, this declaration of wanting a harem would have been enough to make her angry.
But hearing these words, although Anna did feel disappointed, she also had to admit...
—She... truly felt relieved.
Leo Ash, while embracing her with love, had not chosen to abandon the other lovers connected to him.
This was, without a doubt, the behavior of a scumbag, but Anna felt that, for Leo Ash, it was the treatment he deserved.
A man who was practically perfect in appearance, personality, and ability would naturally attract many women.
There were too many people who liked Leo Ash, and too many people whom Leo Ash liked.
Since monopolizing him was already impossible, Anna, not being abandoned, was already content with this situation... or was she?
No. Not at all.
Even after partially PUA-ing herself, Anna found that she couldn't stop the jealousy from rising in her heart.
As Leo Ash waited for her to speak, Anna suddenly grabbed him and pushed him onto the hospital bed.
"Anna, you—"
Without giving Leo Ash a chance to react, Anna, usually gentle, kissed him forcefully.
When their lips parted, Anna, her face flushed, stared at Leo Ash and said.
"Don't talk anymore, Leo Ash. Those things... I'll work hard to accept them."
"But at least for now, right here..."
"—I want you to hold me tight... and give me the happiness of being a woman."
...