Schicksal HQ
Inside Schicksal HQ, Otto watched his old friend who had suddenly appeared before him and revealed his customary smile.
"Old friend, what wind blew you here today?"
However, while Otto wore a smile as he looked at Fu Hua, his heart grew wary of her due to the changes in her.
Unlike the Otto in some people's eyes, Otto, with his Soulium body and Divine Keys, was actually a very powerful Honkai Energy warrior.
Alright, putting aside his character and fighting style, just looking at his capabilities and tactical thinking, Otto was indeed a very powerful Honkai Energy warrior.
And it was precisely because of Otto's high personal qualities and equipment that he could now sense that the true qi—that is, the Honkai Energy—in Fu Hua's body had noticeably intensified.
Fu Hua, who held the title of Immortal Red Kite, was naturally not a weak person.
Even a severely injured Fu Hua could still unleash terrifying power.
It was only because in her injured state, her body couldn't withstand excessively powerful forces, which would lead to further self-injury, that she rarely used her full strength.
However, now, just by standing in front of Otto, Fu Hua exuded a much stronger aura than before. This was enough to show that—the current Fu Hua had already recovered from some of her injuries.
Sigh, my old friend has come with ill intent.
But it's strange. Her injuries haven't healed in five hundred years. Although I've developed equipment that can heal her, she doesn't know about it yet.
How did she manage to recover when she couldn't heal herself...
Is it because of Bianka?
No, that's not right.
Bianka has had no opportunity to be alone with her.
Was it that Herrscher of Death girl who healed her?
Even more unlikely.
That girl clearly can't control the 'Rebirth' aspect of her authority properly.
Besides, she doesn't know my old friend's true identity. She only knows that 'Fu Hua is an A-rank Valkyrie.' This is information I confirmed using Fenghuang Down.
"Let's not talk about why I came here first."
At this moment, staring at the smiling Otto, Fu Hua took off her glasses, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.
"I'd like to ask—Otto, what on earth are you planning?"
Ever since her injuries had inexplicably healed, an impulse had arisen in Fu Hua's heart.
This impulse was constantly trying to drive her...
—to drive her to tear the man before her to shreds.
But while the current Fu Hua had this impulse, she had not lost her reason.
A rational Fu Hua could not kill her sworn ally based on a mere impulse.
Even if Fu Hua felt that Otto might have a way to revive himself even if she tore him apart, she had no reason to attack this man before he violated their pact.
Unless—what he was trying to do was too insane.
And now, although Otto's attitude seemed perfectly normal, Fu Hua, as a martial artist, could feel that his attitude towards her had clearly become more cautious and slightly wary.
His attitude changed after he sensed I've become stronger.
As I thought, he definitely didn't tell me all the details about that 'favor' he wants me to help with.
"Hiding what?"
Hearing Fu Hua's words, Otto said with a helpless smile.
"Old friend, I can feel that you've never had any trust in me—that's perfectly normal, because I, Otto Apocalypse, am indeed not a trustworthy person."
"But for you to suspect me out of thin air like this, and ask me what I'm hiding—think about it, what could I possibly hide from you?"
"I've even told you everything about the 'Herrscher of the Void Revival Plan.' And you still suspect I'm hiding something."
"My, if you were to make this information public, I'd be out of a job as Schicksal's Bishop. We've come this far, and you still think 'Otto is hiding some conspiracy.' What more can I say?"
Hmph, this again. Using these boring rhetorical tricks to psychologically suggest things to me, and then acting like 'Oh, I've told you everything, yet you're still wary of me, I'm at my wit's end.' Ugh, it's so annoying to watch—strange, why am I having such an impatient thought?
Feeling the murderous intent in her mind inexplicably rising, Fu Hua immediately forced herself to calm down and stared intently at Otto.
But unfortunately, faced with Fu Hua's gaze, Otto, the master of expression management, would naturally not reveal any unnecessary emotions at a time like this.
However...
It's this again. The more perfectly he behaves, the more it makes me feel that he must have something to hide!
Beat him up, I must beat him up—no, wait, why do I feel this impulse getting more and more ridiculous?
Ultimately, why did I come to Schicksal HQ with murderous intent to confront Otto the moment I felt better today?
He is not a good person, but without him, Schicksal would surely fall into chaos.
This is a simple and easy-to-understand principle. I should have understood this long ago.
"Alright, I know you don't believe me—you've never believed me in the past either."
Seeing that Fu Hua's expression was a bit off, Otto sat back down at his desk with a helpless look and let out a somewhat lonely sigh.
"You may not believe it, but I truly respect you as a friend."
"If you really suspect that I'm still hiding something and want to make a move here—I won't stop you."
Otto, who had just materialized a Mimic Judgment of Shamash, suddenly pointed the gun in his hand at Fu Hua.
"However, the fact that I consider you a friend comes from the bottom of my heart."
"Immortal Red Kite, I am not lying."
There's no helping it.
My old friend's suspicion of me has reached this point... I might as well use this method to test her.
If she is still the same as before, then she won't start a big fight when she's in the wrong.
But if she's really on a warpath today and wants to fight me...
What else can I do? I'll just let this Soulium body be her punching bag.
Anyway, my old friend is soft-hearted. Even if she's angry now, after she beats me up and calms down, she'll know whether she was right or wrong...
Alright, her intuition is correct, I did hide some things.
I revealed the 'Herrscher of the Void Revival Plan' to her, but I didn't tell her all the details.
But that's not the point. The point now is what kind of person my old friend is.
When we start fighting, I'll just parry a few hits before she pins me to the ground and beats me up. After she's vented her anger, the self-pity trick will have succeeded. She'll feel bad, and then everything will be easy to talk about.
And on the other side...
This scoundrel Otto, how dare he point a gun at me?
He's rebelling—no, wait, I'm the one on a warpath today. His reaction is actually quite normal.
Everyone has a temper. If someone suddenly came to my door and questioned me, I'd definitely get angry too.
Feeling that she was becoming more and more unlike herself today, Fu Hua took a step back and once again forced herself to retract her murderous intent.
"You see, you yourself know that you're not quite right today."
Noticing a flash of guilt on Fu Hua's face, Otto didn't press his advantage, but instead said magnanimously.
"Everyone has their bad moods. I can understand that. If you want to punch me a couple of times, you're welcome to."
Looking at Otto's expression, Fu Hua, having calmed down, finally said reluctantly.
"...Forget it. It was my emotions getting the better of me today. My apologies."
Apologize for what—this bastard is clearly not a good person. Just punch him!
Sigh, why is my mood so irritable today.
Could it be that my excessive worry for Leo Ash has caused me to find Otto more and more disagreeable?
"There's no need for apologies. Friends don't need to say such things."
Seeing that Fu Hua had completely calmed down, Otto expertly put on that smile again.
"You came here today for more than just finding a Soulium punching bag because you were in a bad mood, right?"
...
Actually, I haven't really figured out why I came here at all.
I'm really not myself today.
My body has clearly been healed, but my mind seems to have some kind of problem.
Strange, does overusing Fenghuang Down have this kind of side effect?
"Forget it. I came to see you today mainly because..."
After thinking for a few seconds, Fu Hua suddenly asked Otto.
"You've been having Schicksal conduct archaeological excavations, and you've indeed obtained many relics left behind by the Previous Era. That's correct, right?"
"Ah, that is indeed the case."
At this moment, Fu Hua looked at Otto and suddenly threw out a term Otto hadn't expected.
"Then—what about the Blank Key?"
"That—naturally, it has long since fallen into my hands."
Hearing this term, Otto looked at Fu Hua with a strange expression and asked.
"Valkyrie armor was developed based on it. Old friend, have you been too tired lately and forgotten about this?"
"What, are you interested in this thing?"
"...Give it to me."
"Alright, no problem."
After randomly tapping a few times on the light screen in front of him, Otto said to Fu Hua with a smile.
"Amber will take you to the third armory to retrieve the Blank Key later."
"...You're just giving it to me like that?"
Looking at the current Otto, Fu Hua couldn't help but feel—had she been too suspicious of him?
After she had thrown a tantrum, Otto still went along with her idea and gave her the Blank Key...
To be honest, if it were anyone else doing this, Fu Hua would have been somewhat moved.
Although he's really not a good person, he does trust me.
Sigh, forget it, forget it. The moment Kiana awakens, I'll resolve this matter and help him finish this boring farce.
Now that I have regained my past strength, although my Sword Heart is shattered, Sirin only has one core.
Facing a Sirin with only one core, I can take her down just by relying on Fenghuang Down.
As for the Blank Key... it's better than the Godsbane Armor, I suppose.
I'll give this to Leo Ash to protect himself.
When necessary, even if Leo Ash wants to forcefully drive Herrscher powers to fight like he did in Jiuyou, it's far too dangerous for him to rely on the Key of Domination to absorb power.
If he uses the Blank Key, his body should be able to handle absorbing the power of a single blast from the Herrscher of Thunder.
After all, the reason Dr. Mei ended up like that back then was because she switched between three Herrscher Cores in a short period, which caused irreparable damage to her body.
I have become stronger, and Leo Ash has new equipment.
Under these circumstances...
—There shouldn't be any more accidents, right?
With this thought, Fu Hua departed from Otto's sight.
And after seeing Fu Hua off, Otto's face instantly darkened.
My old friend is not right recently.
She's disliked me since way back, that's true, but she would usually tolerate it for the sake of the bigger picture.
But today... before I tried to bait her with the self-pity trick, she genuinely wanted to tear me apart.
This is not good.
And giving her the Blank Key was a move of desperation.
As the sacrifice, Leo Ash now has a chance of winning against the Herrscher of the Void even without the Blank Key.
With the Blank Key, Leo Ash's chances of defeating the Herrscher of the Void have increased.
But what I want is for 'the Herrscher of the Void to awaken her own will during battle with others,' not 'the Herrscher of the Void gets beaten unconscious and then injected with HSN serum.'
If Leo Ash becomes too strong, the course of events will clearly shift from the former to the latter.
And if the ending of this play truly becomes the latter, K423 might not achieve a true awakening, and my plan will be delayed as a result.
What's more—my old friend still doesn't know the details of my plan.
If she joins the fight, along with Theresa, the Herrscher of Thunder, the Herrscher of Death, and other opponents...
This is bad.
Originally, I had to find a way to prevent Sirin from killing Theresa and Leo Ash, but with this lineup...
My old friend at her peak plus Theresa who will fight to the death with Divine Grace. With this lineup, how is Sirin supposed to win?
If the play is to continue, I must divide their forces.
Damn it, how did things turn out this way? And my old friend's body...
—Su!
It must be his doing!
My old friend's injuries haven't healed for so many years, but the moment he shows up, her injuries get better.
Damn it, this guy, just how far will he go to obstruct my plan!
I can't delay any longer. I must find a time...
—to kill this bastard who is interfering with my plan!
...