As the group stepped into Saint 537 Church, the otherworldly Otto suddenly cried out in surprise.
"That is…?"
"Hm? That's the statue of Saint Kallen,"
Theresa explained, looking toward the sculpture in front of the church.
"Grandpa once said these should all remain in their original historical form, so they might look rather weathered now."
"…So this statue replaced the gallows?"
Otto? murmured thoughtfully.
"It's a pity. Saint Kallen herself won't come back to life just because people remember her."
"The gallows?"
At the side, Durandal explained calmly,
"It's said that this was the very site where Kallen Kaslana was executed by hanging."
Otto? sighed softly, carrying a trace of grief.
"Yes. The saint who was betrayed by everyone—who was once willing to use her own death to awaken those ignorant, material-bound masses."
"The night before her execution, I met her. She wasn't a fool…"
"It's just that when someone truly wants to change this world, they finally realize how small their own strength really is."
"During the period after her second arrest, she despaired. She rejected every escape plan, single-mindedly seeking death. She even made radical statements in court, just to ensure she would receive the harshest possible sentence."
"Perhaps, in her eyes, that was her final act of resistance against an unfair and unreasonable world."
Otto?'s words plunged everyone present—and everyone watching—into silence.
This past had never been described so clearly in Otto's known history.
No one had expected that when Kallen Kaslana lost all hope in Schicksal, she would reject every rescue attempt and even actively demand the harshest punishment.
When she realized she could not change this unjust world,
the saint chose the final method still within her control—
to resist.
[Keqing: Sigh… For any Otto, in any world, this would be a devastating blow…]
[March 7th: Kallen… she was really brave…]
[Silver Wolf: A final act of resistance…]
[Himeko (Star Rail): Maybe that's why Otto could never forget Kallen, even after all these years…]
[Theresa: The Saint's spirit will be passed on forever.]
[Theresa: Grandpa founded the new Schicksal for this very reason! Schicksal will protect the world under the Saint's ideals!]
[Tesla: Kallen is worthy of admiration—but Otto… that guy has completely gone bad!]
Just as everyone was immersed in reflection over Kallen's fate,
a voice no one expected rang out.
"Perhaps so."
"But the reason the Saint is a Saint is because the spiritual strength she represents is, in fact, far greater than she herself ever imagined."
In an instant—
everyone was startled and turned toward the church entrance!
There stood Otto, dressed in his immaculate Overseer's robes, walking forward at an unhurried pace.
"Grandpa?!"
Theresa froze.
She should have been prepared—
yet she still couldn't help repeatedly glancing between the two Ottos.
This was… an epic meeting of two Overseers of Schicksal, separated by five hundred years—or even by parallel worlds.
"Ah, Theresa. You've worked hard these past days. I know you have many things you wish to say to me—but allow me to take care of something important first."
Compared to the otherworldly Otto, the real Otto appeared far more composed.
Yet beneath that elegance lay a chill detachment—
as if he no longer possessed any mortal warmth.
The true Otto invited everyone inside the church as he spoke.
"I have already secured 99.9% of the Herrscher of Domination's core.
And the remaining 0.1%—the final piece of the puzzle—is about to fall into place."
"Come, everyone. Let us welcome this landmark moment together, inside these church ruins."
At the side, Amber bowed slightly.
"Please proceed inside. I will remain outside to maintain security."
Though Otto's appearance put everyone on guard,
they still followed him into the church.
What awaited them inside was unexpected.
Only pillars and fragments of walls remained standing within the ruined church.
Under the gloomy sky, hundreds—no, thousands—of gem-like objects resembling Herrscher cores floated in midair, each radiating light.
Theresa murmured,
"This is—"
"Nine hundred and ninety-nine distributed Herrscher cores.
I used the spatial manipulation capabilities of the Second Divine Key to dismantle their aggregate form."
"The purpose, of course, was to lock onto the location of the final piece."
Otto explained calmly.
Durandal immediately reported,
"Dr. Tesla from Anti-Entropy said she can also derive the Herrscher core's location soon using her test data."
"Ha-ha, I have full confidence in her abilities,"
Otto laughed lightly.
But halfway through, his tone turned faintly unsettling.
"However—I, Otto Apocalypse, have a more convenient method.
And one that doesn't require dirtying her hands."
Instantly—
everyone froze.
A more convenient method?
Dirtying hands?
What did Otto mean?
The very next second—
"—It's time, Rita. Retrieve our experimental material."
At Otto's icy command, killing intent erupted!
A cold scythe slashed through the shadows,
leaving behind a sound neither fully dull nor sharp!
In an instant—
everyone was struck with terror!
The guest they had brought along—
the Otto from five hundred years ago—
collapsed to the ground, his body lifeless!
Otto… ordered the killing of his five-hundred-years-younger self from another world?!
Otto… killed Otto?!
At that moment—
as they stared in disbelief at the fallen noble clad in aristocratic attire,
the otherworldly Otto—
who had been humble, gentle, and left such a good impression—
had become a cold corpse.
And the order had come from Otto himself!
[Keqing: ???]
[Durandal: ???]
[Hu Tao: ???]
[Xiangling: ???]
[Furina: ???]
[Silver Wolf: Huh?]
[Kiana: What happened?!]
[Raiden Mei: Rita… killed Otto?!]
[Theresa: It was Grandpa's order…]
[Tesla: Otto… has he gone insane?!]
[Himeko (Honkai): Why?! That was also him!]
[Sparkle: Even I didn't see that coming~]
[March 7th: What is Otto even planning?! Killing himself too?!]
[Herta: He already said this was his plan—to obtain the Herrscher core.]
On screen, the group stared at the fallen body.
They had spent time together—
far more time than expected.
They had even begun to truly reevaluate this gentle Otto from five hundred years ago.
And now—
"Rita! What did you do?!"
Durandal demanded.
"Please remain calm, Lady Durandal,"
Rita replied evenly.
"It was merely another soul-steel body of the Overseer."
Everyone turned toward the corpse.
As she said—
it wasn't normal human blood.
Purple liquid slowly seeped out.
Meanwhile, Otto gracefully retrieved an orange-yellow gem from the body.
"Correct. This is that 'more convenient method.'"
"You see—the final piece of the puzzle. I've collected it for you."
Theresa finally snapped back to reality.
"What did you do?!"
"Well, the explanation is a bit long—so before that, you wouldn't mind if I cleaned my hands first, would you?"
Otto smiled elegantly,
taking out a handkerchief to wipe the liquid from his gloves.
Then, under the murderous glares of the group, he spoke slowly.
"Let us reconstruct the entire matter from the beginning."
"Several months ago, test subject K423—the individual known as Kiana Kaslana—defeated the Herrscher of Domination and saved her companions."
"However, although the Herrscher was destroyed, its core vanished without a trace. Fortunately, using the power of the Second Divine Key, I entered the remnants of the Domination Theater and discovered a crucial clue."
"The Herrscher of Domination's core, due to its unique structure, can partially hide within imaginary space, searching for a new host."
"As everyone knows, the Herrscher of Domination is most interested in those who harbor despair—those willing to let the world fall into ruin."
"And thus, my recovery plan took shape."
As Otto calmly narrated,
the group finally recovered from the shock of witnessing someone they had just befriended being 'killed' before their eyes.
Durandal demanded, barely restraining her anger,
"I still don't understand—what does this have to do with the Mr. Otto who was just assassinated?!"
"Please calm yourself, Durandal. Consider my position."
"When I entered the remnants of the Domination Theater with you, I had already collected 999 distributed Herrscher cores."
"But the final one continued to slip through dimensional gaps, impossible to lock onto."
As Otto spoke,
everyone recalled the earlier events.
This entire setup—
had it all been for that final core?!
Otto folded his arms, a smile spreading across his face—
confirming their fears.
"So I decided to present it with bait—
a host it would never be able to refuse."
"…!"
"Yes. That bait was myself—Otto Apocalypse."
"Why?!"
Theresa demanded grimly.
Otto shook his head and sighed.
"Didn't that Otto already explain it to you?"
"His Saint died because of him. His life thereafter was little more than that of a walking corpse."
"Perhaps I am no longer so fragile…
but the Otto Apocalypse of five hundred years ago—
I know this better than anyone: no heart was darker than his."
"So I decided to build an unparalleled stage for the Herrscher of Domination's core fragment—an exquisite trap."
"First, I used the Second Divine Key to project observational results of a specific spacetime from the Imaginary Tree into the Domination Theater."
"Then, I commanded the 999 cores already under my control to manifest that transcribed information within our reality."
"Thus, I neither disrupted spacetime itself, nor prevented information from another era from leaking into our world."
"All that remained was to prepare a 'real Otto Apocalypse from five hundred years ago', custom-tailored to the Herrscher's preferences—
and the trap was complete."
Everyone stood stunned.
Slowly processing Otto's words.
Theresa was the first to understand, her voice tinged with sorrow and disbelief.
"You're saying—everything we saw from the past… was just information? Pure replicas?"
Otto, puzzled by his granddaughter's reaction, snapped his fingers.
"Precisely. Everything was merely a side effect of luring the snake from its hole. Beyond information, nothing else appeared."
"Everything you saw and gathered was regenerated within our own world."
"You could say I used cheating to simulate a result that could never be achieved—even by expending the energy of the entire world."
"And judging from the outcome…
I did indeed deceive the Herrscher core that had escaped."
"And that soul-steel lifeform on the ground?"
Durandal asked unwillingly.
"He was merely a simulated program,"
Otto replied calmly.
"Of course, the model was derived from real, complete historical data that crossed spacetime."
"That Otto was nothing more than a copied set of mental information from the past."
With Otto's explanation, the mystery unraveled.
Yet those watching couldn't help feeling deeply unsettled.
If Otto was telling the truth—
then the Otto from five hundred years ago had only been a simulation, a soul-steel body.
But even so—
after adventuring together,
after coming to see him in a kinder light—
watching that gentle, warm Otto lying cold on the ground
left an ache in everyone's heart.
[Sparkle: Everything… was a trap! How fascinating!]
[Ruan Mei: All of this was set up for that escaped Herrscher core?!]
[Tesla: That bastard… he treated everyone as pieces on the board!]
[Kafka: A truly terrifying scheme…]
[Hu Tao: So that Otto was fake… just a soul-steel replica…]
[Keqing: But… he still had consciousness, didn't he?]
[March 7th: I still can't accept this…]
[Raiden Mei: Five hundred years ago, Otto was kind and responsible… can obsession over five centuries really change someone that much?]
⭐ Want to read the full book (all chapters)?
Visit Patreon → @patreon.com/plotwired
✅ The book is now COMPLETE.
All chapters are finished—what remains is unlocking bonus content.
🎁 BONUS CHAPTER SYSTEM
10 reviews → Bonus Chapter
100 Power Stones → Bonus Chapter
🔥 Your support still matters—the stronger it is, the more extra content and bonuses I can release. Thank you for being part of the journey