After watching the video sent by Otto, Fu Hua truly felt that Su seemed very off right now.
But this was definitely not Su's fault.
Thinking about it carefully, for a Su who had observed other worlds for fifty thousand years, ending up like this was, on the contrary, quite normal.
And Otto's words were, without a doubt, like pouring fuel on the fire, igniting all the dissatisfaction in Su's heart at once.
So, in the end—of all the faults, it was right for Otto and the Honkai to each take half the blame.
"How about it, old friend, you—"
"Don't talk to me, Otto."
Just as Otto was about to ask for Fu Hua's opinion, he saw her expression turn frosty and knew that he had really messed things up this time.
On the other side of the light screen, Fu Hua was clenching her fists tightly, a terrifying rage clearly burning in her heart.
This rage, of course, could not be directed at that man. After all...
*Sigh, the way my old friend is glaring at me is honestly a bit scary.*
"Su was supposed to be a gentle and refined good man."
Gentle... and refined?
Otto recalled his recent encounter and felt that this description had absolutely nothing to do with that squinty-eyed man.
Perhaps at the very beginning, his tone had been polite enough.
But before Otto had even met him, he had already given Leo Ash a severe beating.
Although he didn't take Leo Ash's life, no matter how you looked at it—what kind of gentle and refined good man would lay such a heavy hand on a hero fighting against the Honkai?
Furthermore, the killing intent Su emitted at that time was definitely not an act.
The enraged Su back then had nothing to do with the gentle and refined good man Fu Hua spoke of.
Honestly, recalling Su's move to charge straight at them with the Thousand Worlds, Otto was genuinely terrified.
He wasn't afraid of his subordinates dying—after all, he wasn't the kind of good boss who truly cherished the lives of his underlings.
What Otto truly feared was that when Su rammed them with the Thousand Worlds, he might have casually set off a few more fireworks inside it.
Don't ask Otto why he thought that; Su had, after all, already used the Thousand Worlds as an explosive weapon before.
He was truly insane.
Faced with such a terrifying mad dog, how could Otto dare to gamble with his most precious Thousand Worlds?
The more Otto thought about it now, the more he found Fu Hua's assessment of Su as 'gentle and refined' to be ridiculous.
*Sigh, considering my old friend's gullible nature, I bet she's been deceived by others all along.*
"Such a good man, and now he's become like this—Otto, you've really done a fine job."
"Wait, hold on, I just said a few harsh words—"
"As the last straw that breaks the camel's back, weren't those bastardly words you said outrageous enough?!"
*Sigh, just a few words, how could I have known things would nearly escalate to such a terrifying point.*
*Honestly, he's a fifty-thousand-year-old man. He should be a bit more composed. Who knew his temper would explode like that.*
"Alright, alright, I admit, this is indeed my fault."
After taking the initiative to admit his mistake, Otto spoke to Fu Hua helplessly.
"But old friend, since you were comrades, then—could you please help me persuade Mr. Su to stop messing with the Thousand Worlds?"
"This thing, whether to me or to the world, is an incredibly precious treasure. If he continues to abuse the Thousand Worlds like this, I, I, I..."
Otto, who had intended to put on a sob story, was cut short when he saw Fu Hua hang up the communication with a dark expression.
Beside Otto, Amber glanced at him cautiously and asked softly.
"Lord Otto, should we contact Lady Fu Hua again?"
"No need."
After Fu Hua cut the communication, the bitterness and helplessness on Otto's face vanished in an instant, like a face-changing performance in Sichuan opera.
After all—that expression of his just now was indeed an act.
Otto cherished the Thousand Worlds, that was true, but he wasn't so distraught as to lose his composure like that.
Over these five hundred years, Otto had experienced many things. Tempered by these events, even if he lost control of his emotions, it wouldn't be for long.
And now, upon calmly analyzing the situation, Otto discovered that fate was still on his side.
Originally, Otto had no idea where the Key of the Void was and could only send the perpetually unlucky Leo Ash out to see if he could stumble upon it by sheer chance.
Now, Otto—Leo Ash wasn't a blind cat; he was a lucky charm!
And the prize had arrived!
Admittedly, having the Thousand Worlds in the hands of someone who would use it as a firework at any moment did make Otto a bit uncomfortable.
But looking at the overall trend, having the Thousand Worlds in a madman's hands was still far better than not being able to see it at all.
After conceding some benefits and authority, he had successfully gotten Su to agree to his request.
The wielder of the Key of the Void was still Su; others, even if they entered the key's interior, could not activate its powers.
But through Otto's efforts, Su agreed to bring the Key of the Void to Schicksal HQ to allow Schicksal's researchers to analyze this Divine Key.
Moreover, after Su had reined in his emotional fluctuations at the time, he had spoken to Otto very calmly.
"My lifespan is only one year, after all. In a year, the Thousand Worlds will eventually need a new master."
"In that case, allowing Schicksal to familiarize themselves with the Thousand Worlds in advance is no problem for me."
To be honest, Otto didn't believe a word of it.
But he couldn't be bothered to care about what the other party was thinking.
The Key of the Void had arrived at Schicksal HQ, and that was enough!
*Can't smile, not yet!*
*Hmph, since the Thousand Worlds is a Divine Key, then Void Archives' library must contain more information about it.*
*I'll just play along with this guy for a while longer.*
*If he can just obediently die, then I don't mind swallowing my pride for a while.*
*But if it comes to a fight...*
Recalling the powerful mental pressure Su had emanated earlier, Otto inquired with the pilot of his transport ship and confirmed that the intensity of the mental pressure was indeed quite strong.
Just its diffusion was enough to nearly immobilize these Schicksal elites. If he got serious...
*Hmph, ordinary soldiers might not fare well against him.*
*Even though I've trained Bianka's resistance to mental attacks, she still wouldn't be able to maintain her peak combat strength against such an assault.*
*If it really comes to a fight... I feel like I'd have to go myself.*
*Relying on my Soulium body and the advantage of numbers, the possibility of defeating him isn't nonexistent.*
*But in the end, the biggest problem is that he can use the Key of the Void to threaten me.*
*As long as the Key of the Void is in his hands, and I'm not confident I can kill him in one shot, I can't make a move...*
*Forget it. In any case, the situation is steadily improving.*
*I'll just keep observing. Perhaps...*
*—a new opportunity will arise in the future.*
...
Meanwhile, inside the Thousand Worlds.
Within the Thousand Worlds, Su looked at the maintenance personnel before him, his face devoid of joy or sorrow.
But in the eyes of those maintenance workers, Su's expressionless demeanor translated to, 'Oh god, is the great demon king about to kill someone? So scary.'
Su, however, didn't find this situation particularly bothersome.
Before preparing to test Leo Ash, he had already prepared himself to be misunderstood by others.
And now, he had merely gone from being misunderstood by one person to being misunderstood by a group of people.
For Su, this was hardly something difficult to accept.
As for why he agreed to Otto's request to bring the Key of the Void to Schicksal HQ and allow maintenance personnel to service the Thousand Worlds, the reason was also simple.
Otto wanted the Key of the Void, that was true, but to think that having the key would make Otto obediently submit would be somewhat laughable.
Admittedly, Su could use the threat of 'I can make the Key of the Void explode at any time' to pressure Otto.
Within Otto's threshold, he would indeed back down.
But once Su's 'offense' exceeded Otto's psychological threshold, it was hard to say what Otto would do.
This was, after all, a ruthless man who, when desperate after failing to defeat an enemy, would resort to bombarding innocent civilians with fission missiles.
Su was pretending to be mad, not truly mad. How could he dare to push Otto too hard?
When dealing with someone like Otto, he and Leo Ash had long since discussed their strategy.
They needed to let Otto know that 'Su is not to be trifled with,' while at the same time not letting Otto lose all hope.
Only in this way would Otto be the one being suppressed, not the one who goes crazy and suppresses Su.
*Sigh, now that I have obtained some authority from Mr. Otto, I can also use the information I saw while executing Project Sahasrara to lay down some contingency plans.*
*Although these plans might not be effective against the Herrscher of Finality, they can at least save a few more people in normal times.*
*The sacrifices of this era are so few compared to ours.*
But having too few sacrifices has never been a bad thing.
Although this place is not that uncontrollable illusion, the overall conditions are still quite good.
I hope that after my arrival, Mr. Otto...
*—will restrain himself a little under the pressure of a 'madman' like me, and not do too many bad things.*
...
An hour later, Fu Hua, having received a message from Leo Ash, returned to the dormitory filled with anger.
During that hour, Fu Hua had reflected on many things.
And the more she thought, the more she felt she needed to land a couple of punches on Otto to vent her anger.
Her contract with Otto was for him to help her protect Shenzhou.
But over so many years, Otto's so-called 'protection of Shenzhou' was in practice more inclined towards 'not meddling with Shenzhou' rather than truly protecting it.
For the past five hundred years, the people of Shenzhou fought the Honkai relying on two things: mechanical patrols, and the efforts of martial artists and researchers both on and off the stage.
Schicksal's aid to Shenzhou only increased in intensity after the damage from the Second Eruption spread to the Shenzhou region.
Normally, Fu Hua should have felt that Otto had fulfilled his contractual obligations by doing these things.
But now, the moment Fu Hua thought of the Second Eruption, without even recalling the details, her desire to beat up Otto intensified.
For no reason at all, just the thought of the Second Eruption would cause Fu Hua's killing intent towards Otto to skyrocket.
On her way back, the cold-faced Fu Hua even seemed to hear a voice in her heart, urging her to charge into Schicksal HQ and, together with Su, dismantle Otto into a Soulium frame on the spot.
But unfortunately, Fu Hua knew that impulse was the devil.
Part of the reason she had made the contract with Otto was that while Shenzhou might not need Otto's help to protect it, if Otto were to meddle with Shenzhou, he could definitely deal it a vicious blow.
And now, after five hundred years of Schicksal's technological development, if Otto really went mad, he could not only deal Shenzhou a vicious blow but could even turn every major city in the world into a sea of fire on the spot.
It was precisely because of this that no matter how displeased Fu Hua was with Otto, she wouldn't be too impolite to him.
*It's so strange, why is it that when I think of the Second Eruption, the killing intent I feel towards Otto is magnified so many times...*
*What exactly did he do during the Second Eruption that makes me harbor such terrifying negative emotions towards him, even after forgetting about it?*
*Burning too many memories has caused problems with my body, and at the same time, the information I possess is far too little.*
*I can ignore Otto's request, but Su... I have to meet him sooner or later.*
*If I can learn some things from him that I've forgotten or never knew, perhaps our situation wouldn't be so passive now.*
*And...*
*If the Herrscher of the Void really awakens as Otto planned, with Su, the wielder of the Thousand Worlds, participating, then many problems will no longer be problems.*
*His willingness to come out is, after all, a good thing.*
*So now, I... perhaps I should, relax a little.*
*If everyone in the dorm and I can relax a little, maybe Leo Ash will be carried along by the atmosphere and loosen up a bit too.*
*Although Otto is no good person, the order he gave this time is certainly praiseworthy.*
*Leo Ash really needs a good rest.*
*Before, we would hold a ball whenever we defeated a Herrscher, but now...*
*Sigh, Schicksal did have a ball last time, it's true, but Leo Ash had to face not his comrades-in-arms, but a group of scheming higher-ups.*
*They might not have been foolish enough to directly provoke Leo Ash and the Otto behind him, but in the face of such boring people, how could Leo Ash possibly relax?*
Having already begun to formulate a plan of action, Fu Hua arrived at Himeko's front door, took out her key, and opened it.
And then...
—Fu Hua saw a sight she had never expected.
Inside the dormitory were not only Leo Ash, Kiana, Mei, and Yuna, but even Himeko and Theresa, the two high-ranking members of the Far East Branch, had returned.
As for the little girl who looked a bit lost and helpless among the crowd...
*I've seen her file. Is she from the Schariac family?*
"Ah, Class Rep is back."
Seeing that the last person in the dorm aside from Bronya had returned, Kiana said to everyone.
"Alright, we can start now!"
"Today is both a welcome party for Anna and a day for everyone to celebrate something wonderful."
"Cocolia—can finally stop making trouble!"
Upon hearing Kiana's words, Fu Hua, who had already entered the room, looked at the group with a twitching eye.
*Alright, even though I hadn't started my plan, having Leo Ash and everyone else this relaxed is indeed a good thing.*
*But still...*
*Bronya's mother just died, and we're having a party here. Is that really appropriate?*
Noticing the fleeting awkwardness on Fu Hua's face, Himeko smiled at her and said.
"Alright, Fu Hua, I know you're a serious person and might feel this timing is a bit inappropriate."
"But Cocolia's death... heh, for us, it's a phase victory, you could say."
"After all, this woman caused so many huge problems and harmed so many people, and now she almost got even more people killed over in England—at a time like this, her passing is a good thing for everyone, including Bronya."
"Major Himeko, I... understand."
After reluctantly accepting the party, Fu Hua inadvertently glanced at Leo Ash.
*Leo Ash... hmm, he's not particularly relaxed, but at least he's not particularly tense either.*
*Fine, fine. A phase victory should be properly celebrated anyway.*
*The Third Eruption, the Jiuyou incident, the Fourth Eruption... if any of these three great human calamities hadn't been handled by everyone, many more innocent people would have died.*
*And yet now, apart from a small number of innocent people who died during the Third Eruption, there have been no civilian casualties in the Fourth Eruption or the Jiuyou incident.*
*Leo Ash has worked very hard, so if he has decided to rest well today, why should I be a killjoy?*
As for Leo Ash, who Fu Hua currently deemed as 'not particularly tense,' he indeed wasn't particularly tense.
But it wasn't because he was truly relaxed, but simply because...
—he felt that being tense was useless, so he had completely given up.
Anna was here, increasing the number of Herrschers in this dorm by one.
But honestly, was that a lot?
After Yuna inherited the Herrscher of Death's core, the dorm already had three Herrschers: Void, Thunder, and Death.
And in the future, if nothing went wrong with Fu Hua and Bronya, they would sooner or later become Sentience and Reason.
There were already five. Adding one more in the future didn't seem to make much of a difference.
What's more, Himeko had already been injected with the HSN serum he gave her. After her power declined, she probably wouldn't be the one to teach the final lesson.
Who knew if a living Himeko would become the Herrscher of Flame, just like Himiko from the Previous Era.
Thinking on the grim side, this place was already slated to have six Herrschers.
So, what difference did one more make?
At this point, being tense was useless.
*When faced with difficulties, just slack off*—that, of course, is not right.
But scaring yourself 24/7 when faced with difficulties is also completely unnecessary.
Eat when you should eat, drink when you should drink. After today's party ends, it's not like Leo Ash has nothing else to do.
Tonight, he was too lazy to train in his dreams.
After all, he still had to go to the Stigmata Space to see if Rin's psychological defenses had shown any signs of weakening.
Stan, currently huddled in a corner, had also been given plenty of delicious food.
But for the current Stan—who was in the mood to eat!
*So scary!*
*This place is really, really scary!*
*The boss isn't scary, but the young girls and old women around him are each more terrifying than the last!*
*Never mind that woman with the glasses and that short old woman!*
*Among the women around the boss right now, aside from the red-haired one, the one who looks timid, and those few who were originally from World Serpent, why do the other three young girls have such a strong, oppressive aura!*
In the vicinity of such a terrifying lineup, Stan didn't want to eat. He just wanted the boss to find him a new den, even if it meant being a stray.
But unfortunately, the current Stan didn't even dare to open his mouth. He could only huddle in the corner, trembling as he stared at the food before him.
*Damn it, damn it, why have I fallen to this state...*
*Jackal, Gray Serpent, it's all your fault!*
*Because of your reckless commands, I ended up in this terrifying place, too scared to even move most of the time.*
*Damn it, World Serpent, you guys are too much!*
But right now, no one in the dorm cared about Stan's feelings.
Except for Anna, who had just arrived, the rest of the people more or less held a grudge against Cocolia.
Theresa was dissatisfied with Cocolia for using children like Bronya and Sin for human experiments.
In Nagazora City, if Himeko hadn't preemptively blasted Cocolia's Titan forces with the Nexus System, her subordinates would have been nearly wiped out by Cocolia's Titan mech squadron.
Mei's father was framed and imprisoned by Cocolia, and she herself became a Herrscher because Cocolia was secretly plotting against her.
Kiana had not forgotten how Cocolia had tried to deceive her using Siegfried's voice.
Yuna, because Cocolia had caused the Third Eruption, transformed into a Herrscher and personally killed her own mother.
And Leo Ash, because of all the trouble Cocolia had stirred up, had almost died several times in Nagazora City.
Fu Hua had sustained new injuries when her body was overloaded while fighting the clones sent by Cocolia.
Even Raven, because Cocolia's subordinates were so incompetent, was forced to act alone and ended up in her current predicament.
Although Raven had now accepted reality and completely considered herself a member of the Far East Branch—that didn't stop her from popping champagne with everyone else now that Cocolia was dead and gone!
At this moment, the people gathered together simultaneously raised their glasses, most of which did not contain alcohol.
"Alright, no matter what, everyone let loose today, because..."
"—today is a good day!"
...