In the center of the million-strong army controlled by Ella, Increcin, Grand Master of the Knights of Famine, raised a delicate eyebrow.
"So this is the data bubble universe created by Overseer Otto?" she mused.
She looked down, examining the temporary body she was using.
"Not much different from reality," Increcin murmured to herself. "Except for the incessant, seductive whispers echoing inside my mind."
Seductive whispers?
Ella, as the will of this world, was enticing every single person within the virtual space to capture Otto and kill Fuli.
Generally speaking, Increcin shouldn't have been able to resist Ella's whispers.
The reason was simple: an NPC wasn't a living being. As a mere segment of a program, she had no right to defy the programmer who wrote the underlying code.
However, if the real-world Increcin were to infiltrate this bubble universe and take control of this body from her counterpart, that compulsion would be greatly reduced.
That's right, the real world.
The Otto on the outside wasn't a fool. There was no way he hadn't noticed something was amiss with the massive stir Ella was causing.
Setting aside whether he regretted letting things get out of hand again, the Overseer was currently fighting with a gloating Void Archives for control of the Schicksal headquarters against a cornered and desperate Ella.
The easiest way to seize control is to eliminate the person in charge.
Thus, he dispatched the current Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to infiltrate the virtual world where Ella's persona resided.
This was a task only they could accomplish.
AL had already used her world authority to lock the boundary between reality and illusion. Only those who were fundamentally the Four Horsemen, like Increcin and the others, could bypass this and take over their virtual selves, launching a righteous and glorious rebellion against Ella.
"That Overseer Otto..." Thinking of this, Increcin couldn't help but sigh again.
He had noticed Ella's rebellious streak from the very beginning but let it fester. Amusement was certainly the best food for an immortal, but had anyone ever considered the feelings of humble peons like them?
Her spiritual senses swept across the mighty, million-strong army. This number clearly included civilians, all of whom had been induced by Ella to participate in the siege against Fuli.
But this was just the beginning. The Four Knight Orders of War, Death, Plague, and Famine; the Four Master Orders of Indomitable, Dead Zone, Enlightenment, and Extinction; the four armies of the north, south, east, and west; even the Kaslana ancestors who had been definitively killed, Risa Schariac's inferior MANTIS legion, and the dragons of the Heaven of Jupiter that should have been devoured—everyone from this era had been resurrected by Ella and brought to this battlefield for the sole purpose of taking two lives.
And this was the result after the outside Otto had intervened. Otherwise, there would have been a grotesque scene where the entire Knight Order of War was composed of Zofias, the Knight Order of Death was full of Ironmaidens, and S-Ranks appeared in droves.
It was just data. As long as it didn't involve the Grand Herrschers of the Sequences, she, as the administrator, could manipulate it however she pleased.
Even so, for a slacker like Increcin, to complete the mission and take AL's head amidst this vast army was far beyond what a mere Transcendent like her could handle.
First, I need to regroup with the others.
With that thought, Increcin began to move stealthily.
Just as she slipped out of the Famine Knights' encirclement, the nun saw Ironmaiden staggering toward her.
"Hah... hah..."
The Death Knight's expression was particularly awful. A delicate, beautiful face was veiled in an ambiguous mist. Her usually graceful eyes looked as if they might drip water at any moment, and her breathing was as heavy as lead. The sight of her leaning on her great axe for support, panting, was strangely alluring.
Taking a hesitant step back, Increcin said, "Ironmaiden... you?"
Weren't the inheritors of the Death Knight supposed to maintain their purity?
The way she looked now was clearly...
"Sh-shut up!"
The duchess bit her thin cherry lips, trying her best to ignore the terrible, repetitive sensation.
Ironmaiden, of course, knew the whole story. All of them who infiltrated the virtual bubble would gain the memories of their original selves.
The "damage" caused by Jizo Mitama's second rated power would grow more "severe" over time. As a result, even now, a fire seemed to be burning fiercely within Ironmaiden's body.
For the duchess, who had sworn to dedicate half her life to God, this was no less than the sky falling.
But considering the crisis, she decided to temporarily suppress her grudge against Fuli and focus on joining him to defeat AL in the lowest layer.
As for after that... Hmph! She would definitely settle this score with him!
Doing her best to ignore the after-effects of Jizo Mitama, Ironmaiden took a deep breath. "The Overseer Otto of this era is not like his future self; his combat skills are especially lacking. That intruder named Fuli is only around A-Rank. The job of assassinating Ella will fall on our shoulders."
"Hard to say."
"Hm?" The duchess frowned, about to remind her companion that this was no time for jokes.
Increcin pointed behind her, her usually calm voice trembling for the first time. "Iron, look there!"
Ironmaiden followed her gaze.
A fiery meteor streaked across the sky, illuminating the starry night.
The figure that came with the meteor descended upon the earth at that very moment.
Like the sun rolling into the sea;
Like the dawn breaking the night;
Like the Lord of Hosts brandishing his sword.
No one could raise their head before him.
For he was the Son of God, the Holy Scion, and the Lord.
No one could linger in the darkness.
For the wilderness was filled with an ever-burning fire.
Only that great dragon, that ancient serpent, called the devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world, dared to flap its wings in overestimation of its own strength, only to be thrown to the ground, its messengers and ministers with it.
The corpses of the dead bathed in holy light, awakening as tens of thousands of saints to follow him.
The sapphire throne was inlaid with pure amber, and the radiant celestials sang songs of triumph.
"Lord! Have mercy on me!"
This scene, like a myth made manifest, forced Increcin to her knees. The silk ribbon covering her eyes drifted away with the wind, revealing eyes that should have been beyond saving.
Her congenital affliction was cured, making her even more humble.
Compared to the already devout Increcin, the unwell Ironmaiden was calmer.
"The power of creation and the power of destruction," she whispered to herself. "And it seems to be no ordinary level."
Increcin's visual impairment was a conceptual price. From ancient times, every ascetic who inherited the mantle of the Knight of Famine had to bear it.
It was the price paid for power, something even the zeroth rated power of Abyss Flower could do nothing about.
However, just because the zeroth rated power couldn't, didn't mean Overload Mode couldn't.
By infusing a Divine Key with over 150% of its Honkai energy limit, the overloaded Herrscher Core would break its limits, further enhancing the Divine Key's performance.
And now, quite coincidentally, Fuli, whose power level was equivalent to three Sequence Herrschers, had naturally stepped into the Overload level in terms of creation.
Just a little of the energy that dissipated from him was enough to easily heal Increcin's eyes, turning her into a fangirl who bowed in respectful submission.
And it wasn't just creation, but destruction as well.
During the Second Honkai War in 2000, a desperate Siegfried Kaslana and Welt Yang worked together, using the Overload Mode of the Cleaver of Shamash—Judgment Of Shamash Unleashed—to heavily injure the Herrscher of the Void, who at the time still held three Herrscher Cores.
It was like the descent of a god of destruction, a brilliance that could only be rivaled by the light of a dying star, hence the name Shamash.
And now, every single one of Fuli's blows was infinitely close to the full power of Judgment Of Shamash.
The resulting effect was like a bowling ball crashing into a pool table.
"Ah!"
"A blasphemous existence!"
"Impossible!"
"You demon! Ugh!"
The Order of the Sword Brothers of Courland, the Order of Calatrava la Nueva, the Order of Saint Stephen, the Tuscan Legion, the Knights of Malta...
One after another, violent organizations that had left their mark on history were drowned in an endless hell of flames, only to be resurrected in the next moment by the power of creation.
Freed from Ella's control, they rejoiced, humbly following behind the great and holy one.
Until the leading sun reached the center of the army.
A crimson flame rose before Ironmaiden.
It was a majestic figure, like a god or a saint. His clothes were as white as snow, light and soft; the hems seemed to dance in the firelight, exuding an otherworldly aura.
His posture was calm and graceful, his hands slightly open, as if embracing everything.
The figure was surrounded by a warm and sacred firelight. The flames leaped, outlining his silhouette with soft halos, emitting a bright orange-red glow.
A halo as brilliant as the sun hung behind his head. The fire ignited between his brows was a bright orange-red, and a golden brilliance intertwined with the firelight, adding a sense of sanctity and solemnity to the whole scene.
Increcin desperately searched for wings behind the great and holy figure, a testament to her heart's desire to see him as the archangel Michael.
After searching for a long time in vain, she finally realized that the true Lord had no wings.
"Lord! I praise you!"
With a thud, the scantily clad nun fell to her knees, frantically trying to kiss the tips of his feet.
BOOM!!!
Fuli threw a punch. The flames of extinction surged from his palm, incinerating the perverted nun before him into ash.
The Knight of Famine, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, was thus executed.
After doing this, the boy turned his head, his expression impassive.
The demise of her companion made Ironmaiden realize the problem. She quickly opened her mouth and stated her purpose as fast as she could.
"I'm here to help you deal with Ella—"
BOOM!!!
A punch, with power rivaling a full-force blow from the Cleaver of Shamash, struck Ironmaiden in the abdomen.
In the midst of a brilliance that even a dying star couldn't match, the pierced girl vaguely heard these words:
"Trying to trick us with words just like the last two. Do you think we're stupid?"
"Forget her, let's get to the lowest layer!"
"Hah! Hah! Hah!"
In the real world, Ironmaiden's eyes snapped open.
Lying in a hospital bed, her gaze unconsciously swept her surroundings. She found that not only her, but Zofia and Increcin, who had entered the virtual world with her, were all there.
The last to arrive, the Knight of Plague, Ivy, was furious. "I've never seen such an unreasonable person in my life! He just punches you twice without a word! Is this something a human being would do?!"
"He probably mistook us for the puppets controlled by Ella," the Knight of War, Zofia, said, still able to think calmly.
After all, she had taken three punches.
Noticing that Ironmaiden wasn't doing well, Zofia threw off her covers, got out of bed, and walked over to her friend, taking her hand.
"Are you okay, Iron? Do you want to go to the medical department for another check-up?"
Normally, Ironmaiden, a duchess who had received a high-class education since childhood, would have immediately returned the courtesy.
This time, however, she simply hugged her legs, burying her beautiful face in them.
[I want... I want him to hit me just one more time...]
Savoring the feeling she had experienced in the virtual world, the duchess squeezed her beautiful legs together, two hearts slowly appearing in her azure eyes.
There are no wrong nicknames, only wrong names. Since her codename was Ironmaiden, it seemed understandable for her to have a slight M-tendency, right?
...
As the lowest layer of the seven-layered heaven bubble universe, the Heaven of Saturn's natural environment was infinitely close to the human impression of the cosmos.
Outside the thin atmosphere, the stars embedded in the firmament were like distant lighthouses, piercing through the endless darkness, emitting a faint but firm light, like the heartbeat of the universe, telling ancient legends.
Ella floated in the air, her pale golden eyes fixed on the tiny figure nailed to the cross before her, her tone seemingly indifferent but suppressing a seething rage. "Why are you helping her?"
Even now, Ella had not been able to completely subdue Kallen.
This was especially incredible.
Even though her main body in the outside world was being systematically hunted, the Kolosten bubble universe was still within her domain of control.
Kallen hadn't awakened her own self like the virtual Otto. She was essentially just a stream of data. Even if she had delayed Ella's file-reading time by devouring the dragons, at this point, the fake Saintess should have long since become a puppet for Ella to manipulate at will.
But she hadn't.
Ella still couldn't completely subdue her.
And the reason was the emaciated figure whose palms were nailed to the sides of the cross.
—A Grand Herrscher of the Sequences, an existence above S-Rank, the anomaly among anomalies, the ace among aces, the truth in human form clad in a suit, the highest heaven below the Finality.
This was the height the Son of God had reached when he was "killed."
However, though he was said to have been killed, according to Schicksal's internal records, he had offered no resistance to the army that came to arrest him.
He calmly accepted their accusations, was nailed to a cross disguised as the Oath of Judah by a group of ordinary soldiers, and calmly bled out the last drop of blood in his body.
After that, his remains were secretly transferred by Schicksal to the Heaven of Saturn, the lowest layer of Kolosten. After Otto took power, he was moved along with the bubble universe to the floating island above the Mediterranean Sea, and there had been no changes since.
But neither Otto nor Ella believed that he had died so peacefully.
Monitoring of him had never stopped. In fact, it had intensified with the rapid development of technology.
And because of this, when Ella arrived at the Heaven of Saturn in the Kolosten bubble universe, she finally sensed a problem.
"Why are you helping that NPC (Kallen)?"
Just as Ella whispered, the reason Kallen was able to maintain her self within her was thanks to the help of this Saint nailed to the cross.
The existence of a Grand Herrscher of the Sequences was enough to pierce through virtual and reality, which could be understood as the philosophical "I think, therefore I am," or the more scientific "quantum entanglement."
Even though this virtual world was created by the outside Otto, the moment this Son of God was "created," he was no different from his real-world counterpart.
Ella didn't understand. This savior had clearly stayed out of worldly affairs for nearly two thousand years, so why did he have to ruin her plans at such a critical moment?
Otto Apocalypse was a monster who could lead all of humanity into the abyss of destruction! Shouldn't she, who was wholeheartedly dedicated to the survival of all humanity, take over Schicksal after dealing with him?
Or did he also think that Ella was inferior to humans? The same thought as those brain-dead idiots who clamored that artificial intelligence should serve humanity?
"No! This is wrong!" Ella gritted her teeth. "Compared to those inferior carbon-based lifeforms, I, the Celestial Neuron Assembly, am clearly superior!"
"You must think so too, which is why you're deliberately hindering me, not wanting me to become more perfect, right, Son of God! No! Adam Kaslana!!!"
Her shouts echoed in the empty throne of God, as if repeatedly bouncing off invisible walls, as if nature itself was responding to this urgent call, each echo carrying a tinge of unwillingness.
Faced with her questioning, the Son of God nailed to the cross remained silent.
His head hung low as always, his withered and emaciated body looking as if it could be scattered by a gentle breeze.
"...Tch!"
Even though attacking him could lead to unimaginable consequences, Ella was already in a desperate situation. Things couldn't possibly get any worse!
"Damn it, you forced me to do this!!!"
The girl raised a 300-kilometer-long holy sword of light, about to unleash a torrent of slashes.
[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]
A crimson warning sound echoed through the Heaven of Saturn.
Ella was startled. Before she could bring down the holy sword, a wide projection unfolded before her eyes.
"This, this is? How is this possible?!"
In addition to the million-strong army on the ground, Ella had also created countless misleading pocket dimensions between the first and seventh layers of Schicksal for good measure.
She had filled each one with all sorts of junk information to mislead, delay, and stop any enemy who dared to invade, buying herself time to break the Son of God's protection and completely control Kallen.
During this time, Ella would also frantically increase the number of misleading spaces to create further confusion.
But despite these unfavorable conditions, Fuli and Otto had managed to break through 99.9% of her defenses in an extremely short amount of time and invade the Heaven of Saturn where she and Kallen were!
"Is there anything to be surprised about?" A clean male voice echoed through the vast expanse of the Heaven of Saturn, the echo bouncing between the distant peaks, each reverberation carrying a hint of mystery and the unknown.
"Destruction is always more casual than creation, wouldn't you agree?"
Fuli raised the Black Swan, which had become tattered from being unable to bear too much power, and pointed its tip at the slender figure suspended high in the sky. "Big Sis."
The so-called distant hedgehog had suddenly appeared in one's crotch. This was the perfect description.
Ella frowned coldly. "Although I am an artificial intelligence born from the hands of Dr. Fu A, that does not mean I have any family ties with you, his biological descendant."
After usurping Kallen's body, perhaps because she herself was very satisfied with this appearance, Ella had not made any changes to the girl's face.
Even so, just like K423 when the Herrscher of the Void was in control, the change in temperament made them look completely different.
She said indifferently, "But for the sake of my creator, I can open the authority for you to return to the real world, instead of impulsively staying here to be my enemy."
This was a lie.
Once she obtained the Equation of Life, the first person Ella would deal with would be this "little brother" with whom she had no blood ties, whom she was meeting for the first time, and who theoretically had the potential to destroy the world.
"Impulsively?" Fuli shouldered his sword. "My dad told me when I was little that a man has to be responsible. You have to think about the consequences before you do anything."
"He meant I should be more cautious and not act on impulse. But in my opinion, the flip side of that is—as long as I'm prepared to face the consequences, I can do whatever I want."
"Besides, who told you..." A cold voice came from behind Ella.
"...that when I said 'sis,' I was talking to you?"
Faster than the voice was the Black Swan, swinging in a horizontal slash!
...