"I don't think there's any need for us to continue fighting here."
The man, who was originally full of aristocratic aura, was now in an extremely sorry state. Only the golden cube in his hand could give him a little confidence.
Otto Apocalypse had not expected that the worst possibility would still come to pass. Someone had discovered his true purpose and followed him all the way to this location, the Imaginary Brink.
—A place that could change the world.
The black-haired young man's expression was calm, completely unfazed by Otto's vigilance.
His gaze swept over the crimson land beneath his feet, finally focusing on the 'Tree' in the distance that was emitting a soft glow.
"The Imaginary Brink, the Imaginary Singularity..."
"That's what you call that thing, right?"
"Even with the Honkai's obstruction, you still discovered the truth of this world and even found a chance to realize your wish. Otto, you truly are a genius."
"It is merely the obsession of a fool." The final step to fulfilling his wish was right in front of him, but Otto was in no hurry.
There would be obstacles on the way to the Imaginary Brink, but those obstacles were nothing compared to the alien in front of him.
He who had seen through his plan was the greatest danger!
"If even you, who can do such things, can only be considered a fool, then there are no smart people in this world."
A light laugh interrupted the conversation.
"Alright, let's get down to business."
The decisive moment was now. Even Otto couldn't help but feel nervous.
Although his Soulium body did not have normal physiological functions, Otto still felt an involuntary sense of tension.
If they really were to fight, he stood no chance against a Herrscher in his current state. If this guy was determined to kill him...
Even if he had to kneel on the ground and beg, even if he had to marry off Theresa, he would nod and accept without hesitation.
As long as he was allowed to live, he would do anything!
"I'm not actually interested in killing you. You should also know the price of changing the past. Whether I kill you here or not, you won't see tomorrow's sun."
Otto relaxed slightly.
What he feared most were people like Kiana, who held a deep grudge against him and liked to resort to violence at the slightest disagreement.
The current situation was, in his mind, the best possible outcome.
"However!"
"If you do something I don't want to see, then I'll have no choice but to collect this debt from your fiancée after you die."
Otto: "..."
Using the Saintess in his heart as a threat was far more effective than threatening him, the fool, directly.
He didn't care about death; his mind and body had died five hundred years ago.
But he could not accept his Saintess being harmed.
Otto could imagine that if he did something detrimental to this guy and hurt the people around him...
This guy would definitely make Kallen in the basement, in front of his tombstone, in his room...
His Saintess Kallen should not be subjected to such treatment!
Even if the original plan was to return the Real World to five hundred years ago, he had to open up a completely new timeline to prevent Kallen and this guy from being in the same world.
"I understand. I will definitely prevent such a thing from happening."
They would not interfere with each other. The two men reached a consensus!
"That's good. After all, I'm not some villain who has to harm the white moonlight you've held in your heart for five hundred years."
The dead white moonlight is the most invincible. Using her as a threat just when she is about to be revived is simply a checkmate!
Brian continued to state his conditions: "After you die, I will take the Key of Revelation, Void Archives."
"In addition, you need to hand over all the research results on Imaginary Renormalization to me."
The power of a false god was indeed undeniably powerful.
This power directly touched the essence of the Imaginary, achieving a leap in the essence of life.
Although there was a risk of being controlled by the Imaginary Tree upon obtaining this power, it was a power that one could choose not to use, but could not be without.
It is better to have a sword and not use it than to have no sword at all.
If confronting Kevin proved impossible, his only option would be to try using the power of a false god against that man.
"I understand." After all the conditions were stated, Otto was relieved. "I will leave the relevant data with Void Archives."
With that, Otto turned towards the Imaginary Brink.
His back was completely unguarded.
He took a few steps, then stopped again.
"Thank you for your tolerance."
Then, he embarked on his final journey.
On the crimson land, the disheveled fool stumbled forward, like a warrior who had cut through thorns and briars, yet was covered in wounds.
Black human figures formed layer upon layer of human walls blocking his way. The golden Pseudo Might of An-Utu was the indomitable courage in this man's heart.
All obstacles were broken through by this man. His body finally touched the Imaginary Brink he had dreamed of.
"Kallen, I'm coming..."
He disappeared.
Brian picked up the golden cube left behind by Otto, silently witnessing the past being changed in this place closest to the world's essence.
Otto was indeed a persistent man, a fool who could abandon everything to make up for his regrets.
"He's thoroughly dead. That's great."
If this guy ever came back from the dead, he would definitely nail his coffin shut and sink it into the Sea of Quanta.
Weighing the Divine Key in his hand, the black-haired young man froze for a moment, belatedly realizing: "I forgot to make that old bastard arrange a marriage for Theresa. What a miscalculation."
Not being able to go back and tease that white-haired old hag who still looked like a child despite being over forty was a huge miscalculation.
But he still had the Key of Revelation in his hands. It wouldn't be much of a problem to use it to activate one of Otto's Soulium bodies to tease that shorty, Theresa.
----------------------------------
Schicksal Headquarters...
"Rita, just how much paperwork is there?"
The small girl with snow-white hair and blue eyes sat dazedly in her office, her hand mechanically signing her name with a pen.
Theresa Apocalypse.
The huge transition from a traitor of the Schicksal organization to the new Schicksal Overseer not only intrigued the outside world.
It also subjected the girl who inherited this position to immense torture.
There was too much paperwork!
The S-rank Valkyrie Rita Rossweisse, dressed as a maid, placed another stack of documents on the desk, a gentle smile on her exquisite face.
"Lady Theresa, you can't rest yet."
"..."
With a flick of her pen, Theresa relaxed all her muscles, slumping in her chair like a salted fish with no dreams.
"Why... is there so much paperwork!?"
When she was the Branch Head of the Far East, the amount of paperwork she handled wasn't even a tenth of what she had now. Yet, after her promotion, it had been doubled and then had a zero added.
Theresa felt that she had inherited the position of Schicksal Overseer for nothing. Otherwise, how could there be no one to help her with these trivial administrative tasks?
Archbishop's secretary Amber walked over with another stack of documents and said, "This is just the backlog of issues that piled up after Lord Otto's departure. The usual amount won't be this much."
A single sentence gave Theresa a glimmer of hope.
As expected of a good sister from the same series as her, she knew how to care for her older sister.
"Amber, is that true?"
"Really?"
"There won't be this much in the future?"
Amber: "..."
Silence speaks louder than words at this moment.
As the Schicksal Overseer who ruled the world and was about to welcome the return of the Anti-Entropy organization, how could there be any time left for Theresa to slack off?
Keep in mind that when Otto was the Schicksal Overseer, that man could fight continuously for dozens of hours with his Soulium body and still have the energy to clear his Kallen Fantasy afterward.
Her beautiful hopes were cruelly shattered, and the aura of a salted fish around Theresa grew even stronger.
"Amber, Rita... you guys should find me a successor."
She didn't want to do it anymore. This position of Overseer was too tiring. Whoever wanted it could have it!
Hearing this, the two young women looked at each other, speechless. Rita then put on a smile like a little devil.
"Since Lady Theresa wants a successor, how about giving birth to one yourself?"
"After all, although you're a bit short, in a social sense, you're already a middle-aged bachelorette in your forties."
The bloodline of the Kaslanas, an age of over forty...
The former gave Theresa's body enough endurance, while the latter endowed Theresa with the experience of a mother.
The combination of the two would create a cute pregnant woman that would make Rita involuntarily clench her thighs!
The simultaneous presence of maternal and cute auras on Theresa's body—just thinking about it was exciting!
This one sentence made Theresa want to smash this shameless S-rank Valkyrie into a meat paste with Oath of Judah.
It was one thing for this woman to shamelessly interfere in others' relationships, but now she even wanted to drag her down into the mud with her.
What successor?
She had never said that, and even if she wanted a successor, there was no way she would give birth to one herself!
"Rita, are you itching for a beating?"
"My Lord Overseer, my boyfriend treated me before, and it still hurts a little now." As she spoke, a brilliant blush rose on Rita's fair and delicate face.
That heart-pounding and charming allure made the other two girls present involuntarily look away, unable to imagine just how many times this S-rank Valkyrie had been played with last night to show such an expression.
Shameless!
"Have you no shame!"
"My Lord Overseer, love between a man and a woman is a serious matter of human relations and a necessary process for the continuation of life. You can't look at it with prejudice."
The enchanting Valkyrie temporarily acted as Theresa's teacher, patiently guiding the new Schicksal Overseer.
It might not be possible to get Theresa to create a little Theresa in one go, but getting her accustomed to the human relations happening around her and then gradually going deeper was a very feasible method.
After all, at the Far East Branch, the forbidden door had already been opened for Theresa. Perhaps she would even curl up under the covers at night for some fun and games.
Since she had already been tainted, it was perfectly fine to turn her completely white.
There is only zero or countless times for lewdness. Once the forbidden door is opened, there is no going back.
Just like waking up from bed in a kneeling/prostrating pose emoticon, not even needing to drink milk for breakfast.
0 to 1 is from nothing to something; 1 to 2 is just doubling.
"I get it. I don't need you to give me a lesson on personal hygiene." Knowing she couldn't win an argument with this woman, Theresa wisely chose to switch tracks.
"Rita, is everything I asked you to set up ready?"
"Currently, the root servers distributed around the world are fully monitored, and all important network nodes and transnational communication networks have been deployed."
Switching from joking and scolding to a serious posture in just a single sentence.
Otto became the Herrscher of Binding and then used that to become an arrogant false god.
That man solved the most troublesome Herrscher for Earth, so the Schicksal organization naturally moved on to action against the next Herrscher.
Using the Herrscher girl residing in the Key of Corruption, Jizo Mitama, as a reference, the last Herrscher of this generation will definitely leave traces on the internet.
With the device developed by Schicksal and Anti-Entropy through analyzing Jizo Mitama, they can effectively restrain the upcoming Herrscher of Corruption, preventing him from causing large-scale destruction.
With a well-thought-out plan against an unsuspecting enemy, it's even possible to resolve this disaster without bloodshed.
Of course, the most crucial key figure is indispensable.
"Where's your boyfriend? Where is he now?"
"Has Lady Theresa agreed to Rita's previous proposal?"
"Ri! Ta!"
"He is cultivating his relationship with Lady Durandal."
Theresa: "..."
Oh no, that bastard isn't even targeting her yet; he plans to make her two grand-nieces into a superb sister rice bowl!
"Lady Theresa, would you like to go and talk to him?"
"No, I'd rather handle the paperwork."
Compared to the Inner World Protagonist, Theresa felt that the paperwork troubling her had become much simpler.
Getting bent over wouldn't solve the problem; it would only lead to more and more paperwork.
Since it was a waste of time either way, it was best not to get involved from the beginning!
The Theresa who was seriously handling her paperwork kept her knees together. The movements of her hands dealing with the documents didn't stop. Beneath her serious little face was a forced calmness, who knows what she was thinking about.
Rita, who was assisting Theresa, maintained her expression, but her eyes were exceptionally playful.
Just like herself, no matter how stubborn she was at first, she would eventually have to face the majesty of the Inner World Protagonist.
When it came to dealing with beautiful young girls, that guy was more than just good with his kidneys.
...
Training Chamber...
"Try this move of mine!"
The Valkyrie in golden armor was valiant and heroic. It seemed Durandal treated every training session as a real battle, going all out.
Outside the training ground, Kiana watched her older sister's murderous demeanor and subconsciously worried about her boyfriend.
If that guy got hurt by her sister, wouldn't her and Raiden Mei's, and many other friends', happy life be gone forever?
Should she go in and stop them?
But doing so seemed like it would offend the sister she had just reconnected with.
"So annoying!"
The snow-haired girl was full of worries, while the battle in the training ground was already in full swing.
A long leg clad in golden armor came crashing down like an axe splitting a mountain, mercilessly chopping down from above.
In the training ground's system evaluation, the force of this kick could even instantly kill a Judgement-class Honkai Beast. It was simply terrifying.
Even an ordinary Herrscher wouldn't get any advantage in the face of this blow.
After the Kolosten incident, Durandal was no longer the same. Even without using her power as a 'Celestial', she was strong enough to take down a Herrscher with a few punches and kicks.
But her opponent was no ordinary person either. The mere existence of multiple Herrscher Cores was enough for him to make a reasonable response.
He raised his palm lightly, supporting Durandal's ankle. Using the force-deflecting technique he learned in Fu Hua's bed, the powerful force was instantly redirected, with ninety percent of its momentum dissipated.
Then, his muscles tensed, withstanding the heavy blow with his own flesh and blood.
Finally...
His warm palm gently caressed Durandal's exposed skin.
"Sister-in-law, your legs are as smooth as ever."
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