"Cough cough! I didn't expect you to blow back a Honkai Fissile Bomb... So you're the Herrscher of the Wind? I see, so that's how it is. I've really been played."
Otto clutched his head as he awakened once more in a brand-new soulium body, his expression dark and his head pounding painfully.
It had been a long time since he'd had to switch soulium bodies this frequently. In the past year, he might not have switched even once. But today alone, he'd already done it over fifty times.
It was like Welt Yang doing endless sit-ups!
Like Fu Hua doing infinite push-ups!
Although the soulium body was convenient, and the consciousness transfer ensured he wouldn't die, switching so frequently had left Otto's mental state fraying at the edges.
Combined with the extremely traumatic experience of having his head blown off by a Honkai Fissile Bomb just moments ago, Otto now felt like he was drunk, his head swimming with dizziness.
There was even a trace of fear lingering in his heart, which Otto found both amusing and surprising—he could still feel fear.
"No choice... we'll have to retreat for now."
As soon as Otto said this, the operators piloting the battleship instantly pushed the engines to full throttle, attempting to flee at top speed.
They had been scared out of their wits. Who would've thought the opponent this time would be such a monster?
Wasn't piloting a battleship supposed to be a safe position? The Valkyries fighting down below against St. Freya Academy hadn't lost many, yet those manning the ships in the sky were suffering heavy casualties.
But how could Elias possibly let them escape?
"Trying to run? Not a chance!"
He raised his right hand and clenched it toward the Schicksal battleship—the Herrscher of Wind's authority activated.
The sky itself was completely sealed by Elias.
The remaining Schicksal battleships were now like fish trapped in an invisible air wall. No matter how much they increased their thrust and charged ahead, they remained frozen in place, unable to move an inch.
"Fire! Fire!"
"Oh? Still trying to fight back, huh."
Elias looked at the incoming missiles and lasers with mild surprise, but he didn't even bother to dodge.
With the nearly absolute defense of his Ideal Fluid Shield, even shifting his feet would be an insult to his own power.
Sure enough, every attack was blocked by an invisible wall, not even ruffling the hem of his clothes.
"Since that's the case, I suppose I should return the favor and teach you a lesson. Tornado!"
Elias snapped his fingers.
Instantly, the air around the Schicksal battleships began to swirl rapidly, and a massive tornado stretching from sky to earth appeared out of nowhere, swallowing the remaining battleships.
Within seconds, the ships began spinning wildly in the vortex, like boats caught in a whirlpool. With their current propulsion power, there was no hope of escaping.
Inside the ships, everything spun chaotically.
Otto's already dazed mind became even more scrambled. If not for his soulium body, his brains would have been blended by now.
"Lord Overseer, ugh—!"
"Sorry, ugh—!"
"I'm... I'm dying, ugh—!"
While Otto couldn't vomit in his soulium body, the other human operators could. One by one, they began spewing rainbows, faces pale as death.
"Heh~ If we all survive and make it back, I swear I'll kill you all."
Otto twitched as he wiped his face with a sleeve. Someone had vomited rainbow right onto him. The ever-elegant man now felt like everything about him was utterly ruined.
He yanked the main pilot out of the control seat and sat down himself, waiting for the moment when Elias got bored and stopped the tornado—
Then he would slam the throttle to full power.
Using the combined centrifugal force from the spin and the ship's engines at max output, the battleship shot out like an arrow, seemingly about to break free from Elias' grasp.
But the next second—
Clang! Clang!
"What the hell is this thing?!"
Someone screamed in horror.
A pair of massive mechanical hands had clamped down on the battleship. No matter how they tried to maneuver, they couldn't budge—it was like an ant being pinched between human fingers.
Looking outside, they were greeted by the towering purple figure of a steel giant, and their battleship was now caught in its iron grip.
Elias sat leisurely on the giant's shoulder, gazing down at them from above.
"Is this the product of the Herrscher of Reason's power? To have developed it to this level… it seems you're more suited to be the Herrscher of Reason than Welt. I really shouldn't have given you the Void Archives back then."
Otto was once again shocked.
This colossal mech, hundreds of meters tall, had been conjured out of thin air. And Elias looked so relaxed—as if it were nothing. If it were Welt Yang, he'd probably already be suffering backlash from using his authority.
But Otto didn't know the truth: Elias wasn't as relaxed as he looked. He had simply found a clever workaround.
(As long as whatever I construct isn't so complex it blows up my brain on the spot, the Herrscher of Rebirth's power can instantly heal any side effects. I don't have to worry about backlash at all.)
Using the Herrscher of Reason's power strained the body and fatigued the mind. But Elias' regeneration was so strong, he could completely ignore those side effects.
This towering mech was called—MSR-7 Wotan.
Originally, Cocolia had planned to build this super-giant final battle robot. But her IQ didn't quite match her ambition, and she died before completing it.
With Elias around, the mech—which required a Herrscher Core to activate—never had the chance to appear as it did in the original story.
Its unfinished frame was still collecting dust in an Anti-Entropy base, stuck at 90% completion.
Back when Elias took down Cocolia, he obtained the blueprints for MSR-7 Wotan. Bored in the Valkyrie dormitory, he memorized the schematics.
And now, he casually constructed one for fun.
"How should I put this... it's meh."
Elias, sitting on the mech's shoulder, disapprovingly tapped it with his heel.
Now that it was built, he realized—
"The performance is only two or three hundred times better than a standard Titan mech, and that's mainly due to its size. It can barely take on some third-rate Honkai Beasts. Basically, it's just a giant figurine."
Its appearance didn't suit his taste either.
The design was bulky, the color scheme bland, and it didn't even have a weapon system—just fists. This wasn't his idea of a cool Gundam. Elias rejected it!
He had finally obtained the Herrscher of Reason's power, and this was all he could make? Unacceptable.
He resolved to one day acquire the Authority of Truth and build a mech that was both insanely strong and ridiculously cool!
Otto: "Um, Elias, would you mind putting us down first? Let's talk this over."
Elias: "Heh~ Sure... Huh, hang on. I'm getting a call—Welt?"
He picked up the phone and saw an emergency call from Welt Yang.
And the moment he pressed answer—
"Hello? Elias? I just got word that Schicksal launched a large-scale assault on St. Freya Academy. Are you guys okay over there? Hang in there! Anti-Entropy HQ is also under attack—it looks like Otto's trying to pin us down so we can't support you!"
"I've already dispatched an elite squad to break through the blockade—they're en route to your location at top speed! Once I finish dealing with the enemies here, I'll head over with reinforcements as well. But until then..."
Listening to Welt's anxious voice and the occasional explosions in the background, Elias had a rather complicated expression.
"Ahem, well, Old Yang, don't stress. Focus on your own front. We're pretty much done over here. Should I bring people to support Anti-Entropy instead?"
"Wait... you guys are done?"
"Just about. Almost there."
"...Sorry to bother you."
Back at the battle-ridden Anti-Entropy headquarters—
Welt awkwardly hung up, holding his forehead with one hand, unsure of what to say.
While his side was still embroiled in chaos, Elias had practically ended the fight on his end.
And here he was, boldly claiming he would send support. Even a composed veteran like him couldn't help but blush in embarrassment.
"Sigh~ I really worried for nothing. Makes sense, though. St. Freya's high-level combat power now surpasses ours. And with Elias there, even Otto wouldn't stand a chance."
"Uh... should we call our people back to support ourselves instead? It's just me over here, kinda hard to hold the line."
Welt had hastily sent out all of Anti-Entropy's top fighters—like Cecilia, Sirin, and Bella. Now only he and Siegfried were left holding the fort. It was a bit much.
But he quickly shook his head and thought better of it.
Elias' victory meant he now had the strength to face Otto head-on. It was also the perfect time for Sirin and the others to reunite with him.
The timing was just right.
"Wait a second!"
Suddenly, a realization struck Welt, and he tensed.
He pushed his glasses up and, ignoring the backlash from his authority, constructed a modern military unit for full-scale suppression!
At the same time, he called out to Siegfried, who was still fighting fiercely nearby.
"Siegfried, accelerate! Quickly neutralize these Valkyries—we have to get to St. Freya Academy, fast!"
"Huh? Something happen over there?"
Siegfried furrowed his brow, worried.
Welt nodded solemnly.
"Yes, something very dangerous. I'm afraid if we're late, we'll miss it."
"Miss what?"
"Elias' love polygon imploding."
The always-serious Welt said something entirely unserious.
Welt Yang was currently trying hard to keep a straight face.
He already knew Elias was dating Raiden Mei, and he also seemed to have a special relationship with Kiana. Recently, he heard Bronya and Himeko were also falling for him.
That made four already. But Welt Yang was certain Elias' record went beyond that.
Anyone with eyes could see it—every girl in the Valkyrie dormitory had feelings for Elias. And now, after more than a decade apart, Sirin and the others were about to reunite with him too.
Welt could hardly imagine what kind of scene that would be. In some ways, for that white-haired boy, it might be an even bigger ordeal than Schicksal's assault.
Siegfried was stunned for a few seconds.
Then he instantly went berserk, clearing out enemies in a flash.
"...Give me thirty seconds to mop up these Valkyries. Welt, start constructing the fastest ship you can! Hey! Ryoma! Wake up! Stop pretending to be dead! Elias is about to get wrecked—wrap this up and let's go spectate!"
"Huh? Something that good's happening? Then what are we waiting for!"
These two fathers—who had always held grudges against Elias for stealing their daughters—suddenly returned to full power, unleashing tremendous strength and wiping out the remaining Schicksal enemies in one sweep.
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