"Truly, the world is ever unpredictable. Just over a month ago, when we met at this very St. Freya Academy, we were still equals, having conducted a few 'pleasant' transactions. And now, here I am, in such a miserable state."
Otto sighed with genuine emotion.
This time, he had truly lost.
Although not completely defeated yet, never before had someone so thoroughly overturned the meticulous plans he'd crafted. It left even Otto feeling a rare sense of admiration.
For the first time in centuries, this boy named Elias had made Otto Apocalypse taste what true defeat was. He still couldn't believe the one who bested him was barely a teenager.
"Heh~ You brought this all on yourself."
Elias mocked him mercilessly.
This entire clash was one-sidedly provoked by Otto. With his self-assured confidence, he had meticulously and cruelly crafted layers upon layers of plans to bring about his artificial Herrscher project.
And in the end, Elias shattered everything head-on with absolute power. That was all there was to it. Elias had more cards to play, greater strength, and the unyielding will born from his desire to protect those he loved. He earned his power.
"Hahaha~ Indeed, everything today was my own doing. But you still managed to shock me, Elias. I already tried to estimate your potential as highly as I could, yet I still underestimated you."
Otto looked at the wind-borne wings unfurling behind Elias—a dual-core evolved Herrscher of Wind.
The boy's form was nothing short of a miraculous sight.
(But now that I think about it, just how many miracles has he triggered? Ever since Nagazora until now, how many times has this youth defied the impossible? Hah, hahaha~ It's truly...)
Otto looked at Elias with a mixture of curiosity and awe. He had always believed miracles were so named because they were rare and difficult—they weren't supposed to happen repeatedly.
And yet this white-haired boy seemed born to manifest them.
At this moment, Otto gazed at Elias as if he were a peerless treasure.
"I'm only interested in beautiful girls, so you'd better tone down that look in your eyes. I might just gouge them out if you keep staring, Mr. Otto. If you're into that sort of thing, then all I can say is..."
"Cough! Your venomous tone is oddly familiar. Regardless, let's move on from that topic."
Otto twitched, clearly embarrassed. His preferences were perfectly normal, thank you very much! Well—except that he was forever a Kallen stan! Men or women—it was all the same to him.
"Heh~ Come to think of it, maybe I owe my current strength to you. That old saying really is true: pressure breeds growth."
Elias said as he drew both Judgment of Shamash: Might of An-Utu and Godslayer: Surtr.
The two swords crossed and sparked golden-red fire... it looked like he was deciding how best to dice the dog of an Overseer in front of him.
Slice him cleanly in two? Or hack him into pieces?
"You're too kind, Elias."
Otto forced himself to ignore the undisguised urge to butcher him that gleamed in Elias' eyes.
"Honestly, at first I did regret trading you the Key of Blankness, the Gem of Haste, and the Void Archives."
"But the moment I saw you awaken as the Herrscher of the Wind today, I understood… Even if I hadn't handed those things over, you would've acquired them anyway, wouldn't you?"
Otto said with absolute certainty.
"No doubt~"
Elias chuckled.
After all, all the Herrscher Cores Schicksal possessed originally belonged to him. As for the other items... well, let's just call them the interest accrued over the last fifteen years.
Otto once again marveled at Elias' form.
Clad in the Key of Blankness embedded with the Herrscher Cores of Wind, Fire, and Reason, wielding both Judgment of Shamash and Surtr, Elias stood surrounded by floating turrets shaped by authority, wings that embodied the power of wind, and the blazing embers of the flame of origin. And there were still other abilities yet unseen—
Such as the power of quantum, and the Edge of Taixuan he learned from Fu Hua… and possibly more, unknown abilities he hadn't even shown yet.
It was all too mysterious, powerful, and unbelievable. Not even Otto Apocalypse could fully comprehend how Elias had brought all these powers together.
Could the word "miracle" alone really describe this?
"Elias, have you ever considered writing an autobiography? If you did, I'd be the first to buy it."
"Way too early for that. What's a kid like me doing writing an autobiography?"
"Hahaha, fair enough. Ah~ If I had the chance to start over, I'd definitely maintain a good relationship with you—or kill you while you were still weak."
Otto said it firmly. He had no defense against those with overwhelming power, since no strategy could stand against brute strength.
And Elias wasn't just strong—he was cunning too, a fox with hidden cards.
"You're out of chances, Otto. From now on, it'll only be me killing you, one-sidedly. Sure, consciousness transfer is a cheat, but your supply of soulium bodies isn't infinite, right?"
Elias slowly raised his blade toward Otto.
When it came to killing this dog of an Overseer, he had all the patience in the world.
Even if it took a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand times—he would never tire of it. Just thinking about all the inhumane things Otto had done made his sword arm surge with strength!
Otto chuckled helplessly and shrugged, as if accepting his fate. After a pause, he asked,
"Before you destroy this body, let me ask you one last thing. If—and I mean if—the one you love were to die someday, what would you do?"
His eyes narrowed with curiosity.
"Would you choose to accept reality, living in a world without her, carrying only memories?"
"Or would you defy everything to undo her death—regardless of the price—just to see her one more time?"
Otto stared straight into Elias' eyes, as if trying to read his soul.
"That question doesn't even make sense."
Elias crossed his arms with a blank expression.
"What?"
Otto blinked in surprise.
"The one I love will absolutely live forever, undying and eternal. That is my truth. And I will not allow any threat to shake that truth—including you, Otto Apocalypse!"
Elias raised Judgment of Shamash, the blazing and razor-sharp tip aimed directly at the fool's heart. But Otto didn't flinch.
Because those words had struck a chord deep within him. Yes, that's right! The eternal life of the one he loved—that was also Otto's pursuit!
And yet, the fool still found the answer unsatisfying.
"That's why I said if. Tell me, Elias—what would you do, if it did happen?"
Otto pressed, undeterred by Elias' displeased gaze.
"What would I do? Heh... If such a thing truly came to pass—then even if I had to cross mountains of blades, seas of fire, traverse across worlds and the ends of time, I would find her and bring her back!"
"Even if I had to travel through time, repeating the cycle thousands, tens of thousands of times—I would erase her death from every timeline! What? Is that answer good enough for you?"
The searing blade had already pierced slightly into Otto's chest. Against a Divine Key, even a soulium body was no different from flesh. Yet Otto remained unfazed.
Elias' response was filled with madness, resolve, and absolution—echoing in Otto's mind again and again.
It struck him right in the heart.
Otto couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Hmph, hahaha, hahahahaha—! Yes, yes, I never expected you to be my kindred spirit. You really are full of surprises, Elias."
Otto felt his soul resonating.
He never imagined Elias shared the same mindset.
To absolutely reject the death of a loved one. The difference was, Elias had succeeded in protecting his love, while five hundred years ago, Otto had failed.
"Satisfied now? Then it's about time you died again. Don't worry, Otto—as long as I judge you to still be a threat to my girls, I will never let you go! I'll kill you over and over until your last soulium body is destroyed and you're no longer capable of doing anything!"
"I sincerely wish you the best, Elias. But unfortunately for you… as the saying goes, the good die young while pests live forever. It's not me who's saying farewell—it's you who's about to die!"
"What?!"
Elias' expression tightened instantly. He raised his guard to maximum.
Otto remained unshaken, because he still had a hidden trump card. No matter how strong the opponent, this move was a guaranteed kill if it landed.
(Miss Raven? Miss Raven! It's your cue. Fire at my enemy—this is my current location. Hmm? Miss Raven?)
Otto kept calling out through the comms for Raven, but there was no reply.
With no choice, he changed tactics.
(Miss Raven! Time to work! I'll add another zero to your payment once this is done!!)
"Huh? What? Two extra zeroes?! Sure, sure, I'm on it! I wasn't sleeping, I was just… meditating with my eyes closed!"
Raven wiped the corner of her mouth and stifled a yawn.
Otto was speechless. A so-called professional mercenary had dozed off mid-mission? Unacceptable!
"Hey~ I've been stressing about my villa island the last two days, staying up late. You guys said this would be a low-effort gig, so I just closed my eyes for a moment."
Raven quickly transformed the Seven Thunders of Retribution into its sniper form.
Incidentally, she'd just had a dream where her villa island sank. The thought alone made her knees weak.
She slapped her thigh hard and shouted, "Impossible! No way!" to steady her resolve.
"Alright, back to work. Let's see… who's the target… huh?!"
Looking through the scope, Raven caught sight of the young man.
And all the earlier excitement vanished in an instant.
Natasha blinked in disbelief, rubbed her eyes, then looked again through the scope. Snow-white hair, pale golden eyes—even though he looked younger now, there was no mistaking that figure.
"Elias...?"
Thinking she must be dreaming, she pinched herself. The sharp pain jolted her fully awake, and her entire body began trembling with emotion.
(I found him, I found him, I finally found him! Elias! You bastard! You finally let me find you again! This time, you're not disappearing on me—not again, you irresponsible jerk!)
Words failed to capture the surge of emotion in her heart.
Tears streamed from Raven's eyes.
They blurred her view through the scope, and she quickly wiped them away.
(Miss Raven, don't be greedy. Time to take the shot. Three zeros—three zeros! Surely that's enough for you?)
"Hah? You want me to shoot him?!"
Otto's voice came through the comms, prompting Raven to scowl. She yanked out the earpiece and threw it to the ground.
Raven promptly redirected her scope. Now, the one in her crosshairs was none other than Otto Apocalypse.
"You want me to kill Elias, the person I finally found again? Otto, was it? Go to hell."
Without hesitation, Raven pulled the trigger on the Seven Thunders of Retribution.
A blue-violet thunderbolt shot out at a speed even Herrschers would struggle to react to—striking Otto squarely in the head just as he was hurrying Raven to act.
Boom—!
Elias: "???"
Otto: "???"
Watching Otto's soulium body begin disintegrating from the head down into atoms, Elias was completely stunned. What kind of move was that? He couldn't even begin to comprehend it.
Could this be a new breed of Otto-brand scheming? But the first step was... self-destruction? That's quite the twist.
"Was that bolt... the Seven Thunders of Retribution? Otto, were you actually trying to say goodbye for real? Is today April Fool's Day or something?"
Elias uncertainly glanced at his phone's calendar.
Otto, of course, couldn't respond—because he had just been atomized from the head down.
Still, the way his fist clenched and raised into the air looked suspiciously like a protest.
In the moment before he disintegrated, Otto internally screamed in fury:
(Goddamn World Serpent!! I want a refund!!)
But that consumer complaint would never be heard. In mere seconds, Otto Apocalypse's soulium body had vanished completely without a trace.
Elias stared blankly.
He cautiously stepped closer, then poked the spot where Otto had vanished with Judgment of Shamash: Might of An-Utu. After hesitating a few seconds, he activated Shamash Assault and vaporized even the leftover atoms.
"Emmm... so what just happened?"
"Elias—!!"
Just as he was questioning it all, a familiar voice suddenly called out.
Elias instinctively looked up, and saw a small-island-exploding Raven descending from the sky. She still had the smoking Seven Thunders of Retribution in her hand—proof that she had fired the shot.
"Natasha? You—how are you here?!"
Elias' eyes widened in surprise, but then he beamed with joy and threw his arms open to give her a big hug.
"Forget that, it's not important. Natasha, how have you been? Still doing mercenary work? Don't tell me you're still saving up for that villa island? I'm so glad to see you again! Was that your shot earlier? Thanks! You really helped me out big time!"
Faced with this old partner she hadn't seen in a year, Elias had a mountain of things he wanted to say.
"Uh, I... you... I'm glad to see you too, Elias."
Raven was stunned by the sudden hug. All the harsh words she'd prepared vanished from her mind.
She tossed Seven Thunders of Retribution to the ground and returned the hug.
(Seven Thunders of Retribution: Island-blowing Raven, are you trying to rebel?! You dare drop me on the ground?! Just wait—next mission I'm turning into a slingshot! You won't use me for a week!)
Still unaware that she'd be forced to fight with a slingshot for the next week, Natasha finally snapped back to reality half a minute later from Elias' warm embrace.
She remembered how this guy had vanished without a word for an entire year, worrying her to no end.
Immediately, she stomped on his combat boots and started hammering his chest with her little fists.
"You bastard! Where the hell did you disappear to this whole year?! Do you know how hard I searched for you? Elias, do you really think a hug is enough to make me forgive you?! Dream on! You'd better take responsibility!"
"Alright, alright, I'll take responsibility! Uh… wait. Take responsibility for what? What do you want me to do?"
Elias was thoroughly confused.
Raven's entrance had been way too sudden.
And her tone… why did it sound like he was some heartless scumbag who'd broken her heart? When did they even become a couple?
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