Five hundred years ago... humanity, under the leadership of the Schicksal organization, continuously fought against the Honkai. Even as the Honkai Beasts constantly evolved and grew stronger, humanity, having acquired weapons to counter them, ultimately achieved victory...
However, the humans of that time were still unable to completely eradicate the existence of Honkai Beasts... They could only render them powerless, capture them, and then imprison them in the catacombs of the Schicksal organization's European headquarters, beneath the Grand Cathedral...
And at this time... the Schicksal organization was primarily supported by two families who developed 'Schicksal' together and protected the surviving humans from the Honkai...
The 'Kaslana family' and the 'Apocalypse family'. Both families possessed bloodlines capable of fighting the Honkai, and each family continuously produced heroes who could single-handedly slay Honkai Beasts on the battlefield.
Almost every member of these families possessed extraordinary power. This was their strength to slay Honkai Beasts, but it was also the reason they could control the massive organization of 'Schicksal'... Possessing supernatural powers, they more easily gained the worship and respect of ordinary people.
However... among these two families, celebrated and looked up to by the world as guardian deities, there were also 'outcasts' who were different from their kin...
And among them, the youngest legitimate son of the Apocalypse family—[Otto Apocalypse]—was just such a prominent outcast...
Although Otto Apocalypse was born into the 'Apocalypse' family, despite possessing the family's bloodline, not only did he not have powerful combat strength, but he also performed mediocrely in combat, only possessing the abilities of an ordinary person. It seemed he had no potential to become an excellent warrior.
The boy named Otto instead preferred to lock himself in his laboratory to conduct experiments that seemed somewhat terrifying and bizarre to ordinary people. Moreover, Otto also enjoyed making various models... and things like weapon forging.
However, Otto Apocalypse's actions still did not win the approval of his father and brothers...
"As a warrior of the Apocalypse family, you spend your days doing things that only lower-class people and craftsmen do?" Otto's father said, his tone one of disappointment, as he slapped the wooden weapon model from Otto's hand to the ground.
"Father..." Otto, with his short golden hair, opened his mouth, wanting to explain his new idea.
"Shut up! I have no son as useless as you!" Otto's father stood up, his imposing figure so thick and strong it seemed capable of blocking out the sun. His chest, covered by a white robe, was full of scars—medals of a warrior from his battles with Honkai Beasts... Even as the Archbishop, he had been on the battlefield.
At this moment, his face was cold, and he walked towards the sanctuary without a word. Otto's two older brothers also followed quickly behind their father with slight smiles of disdain.
"....Was I wrong?" Otto leaned against the steps of the lotus pond behind him, curling up like a wounded animal, burying his head between his thighs. His short golden hair reflected a golden light in the sun.
He once again began to doubt his own ideas...
"To fight against [God] (Honkai), one must use the power of [God]. Is that not right?" he muttered with his head buried between his legs. This was also why he focused on researching the Honkai... The power of mortals is ultimately limited. The three great families could not bear the burden of facing [God] alone... Who knows how many of their kin have died in battle over the years.
Under the gentle breeze, the clear water of the lotus pond behind Otto rippled faintly. The white lotuses swayed their pristine petals in the breeze... The surrounding silence brought Otto a trace of peace.
"Hello~..." Suddenly, a voice broke the brief peace from above his head. The somewhat disheveled Otto subconsciously raised his head to look at the owner of the voice...
"Why do you look so sad?" In the sunlight, a girl with long, snow-white hair leaned down and looked at him gently, a warm smile on her face.
This was... the first meeting between the boy named 'Otto Apocalypse' and the girl named 'Kallen Kaslana'... The girl's warm smile was deeply imprinted in the boy's heart from that moment on...
.......................
"Miss Kallen, when you Valkyries fight Honkai Beasts, you must have to fight together in groups of several people to win, right?" Otto asked Kallen, who was leaning against the table behind him, heartily eating afternoon tea cakes, while he drew a blueprint by the sunny window.
"That's right..." Kallen swallowed the food in her small mouth and said with some helplessness, "Many of my comrades-in-arms are often injured or killed in battle... If we don't have enough tacit understanding and unity, we can't defeat the monsters."
"Yeah, that's right... restraining weapons require multiple people to use in order to bind those monsters." Otto scratched his head, his slightly longer golden hair swaying gently.
"However... I was thinking, if I could create a weapon that could restrain monsters with just one person, it should make Miss Kallen even stronger," Otto suddenly turned his head, his pair of green eyes looking at Kallen seriously.
"Is that so? Otto..." Kallen's eyes lit up when she heard about a new type of weapon... She eagerly leaned closer to Otto, looking at the parchment in front of him...
"Mmm..." Inhaling the faint, fresh scent from Kallen beside him, Otto's face rarely flushed red... He fell silent for a moment before continuing confidently, "Yes, I want to create a weapon that will allow humanity to defeat [God]..."
"I believe that to fight [God] with the power of God, only Honkai can fight Honkai!"
"But... Father and the others don't seem to agree with my ideas..." Otto held his head, feeling somewhat lonely... Could it be that to defeat the Honkai, they had to rely solely on the members of the three clans? Even if they shed all their blood, victory would be impossible... Why did no one approve of him?
"It's okay, Otto..." Kallen said with a smile. "I believe in you... Since you have your own goal, don't be lost. Just keep walking down this path..." She leaned down, her azure eyes filled with seriousness, and strands of snow-white hair cascaded down.
"I also feel that relying on humanity alone is not enough to completely fight against the Honkai..." A conflicted look appeared on Kallen's delicate face, but her expression quickly became firm. "The Kaslanas are the protectors of the people, everyone's shield! I will not give up..."
"...." Otto was stunned for a moment by the girl's approval and strength before him. He paused for a moment... then it suddenly occurred to him that the person before him seemed to be the first to approve of his ideas...
"Mmm!" In the sunlight, Otto, who hadn't smiled in a long time, suddenly grinned foolishly, like a child who had been praised by an adult.
The wind blew the parchment draft in front of Otto, making a 'swish swish~' sound. A corner of the somewhat heavy parchment was lifted by the wind, fleetingly revealing a few words...
'Judah's Oath Design Draft...'
(End of Chapter)