Five hundred years later, Otto Apocalypse finally tasted once more the despair of being utterly powerless.
He looked up at the boy descending slowly from the sky—the [Reverse God].
In that moment, he deeply felt the gulf between god and man.
Whether it was the wisdom of a sage or the schemes of a fool, everything appeared so dull and laughable before absolute power.
Honkai Fissile Bombs capable of destroying an entire city, the self-destruction of Schicksal Headquarters powerful enough to annihilate a small nation—in front of this Savior, they were nothing more than fireworks. They could not even harm a single strand of his hair.
[That is why I told you to kneel immediately and beg for forgiveness. Making an enemy of this Lord is the most foolish thing in this world that I know of. Ah, Otto... you truly live up to the title of fool.]
Void Archives let out a sigh.
It thought to itself that ignorance truly bred fearlessness. The great achievements this Lord had accomplished were beyond description. Only those who had lived in that era and personally witnessed his feats could understand just how lofty and magnificent he truly was.
In its eyes, Otto challenging Elias was no different from challenging the Herrscher of Finality. Both were absolutely invincible beings, immune to conspiracies and tricks.
"Hmph!"
With a casual wave of his hand, Elias caused every soulium puppet hidden within Schicksal to rise into the air under his telekinesis.
"How selfish. So much soulium, all wasted on these worthless clones. If you had dismantled them and forged weapons instead, every Valkyrie could probably have been equipped with a full soulium battlesuit—or even a Godsbane series weapon."
As he spoke, Elias clenched his hand.
In an instant, all the soulium bodies collapsed. Under the gravitational authority of the Herrscher of Earth, they were torn apart and shredded, then washed over by the power of erosion.
Unlike ordinary metal, soulium could be programmed through special means to alter its own form.
Now, under the authority of erosion, Elias could reshape it into whatever form he pleased in an instant.
"A waste in your hands. Confiscated."
With that, he reclaimed all of the soulium.
After all, it was a creation of the Previous Era. As the Savior of that era—and the absolute strongest—he could take it without anyone daring to object. Doing so would be no different from courting death.
With that, Otto lost the soulium clones he relied on as a life-saving trump card. The capital that allowed him to act arrogantly had been greatly diminished.
"..."
He watched the scene in silence, suffocating in humiliation.
Yet even if Otto Apocalypse shouted, "I can do nothing," it would not grant him strength. It would not allow him to defeat Elias.
At this moment, Otto felt like a fish pinned to a chopping board, waiting to be slaughtered. Whether he would be steamed or braised, his fate rested entirely in the hands of the chef holding the knife.
Even if he struggled with all his might, he would only flop twice at most.
Because Elias—the chef—could pin him down with one hand and sever his head with a single stroke.
But could he stop now? Could he surrender and kneel?
Of course not. He absolutely could not die here.
Otto did not know that in order to prevent excessive changes to history, Elias had no intention of killing him in this timeline where "nothing has yet begun." He merely intended to torment him thoroughly.
And so this fool made yet another idiotic move, pushing himself even closer to the abyss of despair.
"How ugly. How disgraceful. I never thought that in the end, I would resort to such despicable means—so vile that even I feel nauseated by them."
"Great Savior of the Previous Era, I admit your power far exceeds my imagination. All of my trump cards are nothing but a clown's tricks before you. Since that is the case..."
"The only thing I can do now is threaten you in an ugly and contemptible manner—betting that even someone as powerful as you is still bound by human emotion!"
A trace of rational madness flickered in Otto's eyes. He casually picked up a fragment of soulium from the ground—a broken piece of his own body—and pressed it against Cecilia's neck.
"If you do anything further, I will kill Cecilia right now!" Otto shouted. The saintess was now his only remaining hostage and bargaining chip.
If this Savior Flame-Chaser truly loved this Schariac saintess, then perhaps he still had a sliver of hope.
[Otto—!!!!]
Void Archives was nearly scared to death by his actions.
The Key of Revelation could not help but wonder how this idiot had managed it. He had lived for five hundred years, yet he could still be exactly the same as he was five centuries ago.
At every single crossroads—
He always chose the worst possible option.
Did he not understand that the one thing their Savior hated most was anyone threatening harm to the person he loved?
And did this foolish clown truly believe that a mere fragment of soulium could threaten a Savior Flame-Chaser who had endured countless trials?
A man who had even conquered fate itself—how could he possibly lose to a piece of metal?
"...You really do love using this kind of trick."
Elias looked at him with deep contempt, as though staring at the most revolting filth in the world.
As for anger—there was none. Instead, he simply gained a few hundred new ideas on how to torment this fool.
"It does not suit my aesthetic, but since you enjoy threatening others with what they hold dear, I will let you experience what it feels like to be threatened."
"What?"
"Otto Apocalypse, do you still remember that day? The sky over Kolosten shrouded in dark clouds. Though it was daytime, it felt like night. Crows circled and cried overhead. Ah, yes—I recall there was even a rare solar eclipse that day. The sun itself dimmed and lost its light."
"W-What are you talking about?!"
Otto's body trembled violently. He nearly lost his grip on the soulium fragment.
Elias' words forcefully dragged his memories to the surface. How could he possibly forget that day?
"In front of the largest cathedral in Kolosten, before the eyes of the entire crowd, the gallows for the execution of the saintess stood tall."
"How do you know that?!"
"The saintess, dressed in white and gold nun's robes, was escorted to the execution ground. I recall the one escorting her wore black nun's robes—the opposite of hers. Heh, though such details hardly matter."
Elias ignored him and continued speaking to himself.
By now, Otto could no longer maintain his composure.
"The saintess, bound in shackles, had grown disillusioned with the world and willingly stepped onto the gallows. But at that very moment, a certain clown committed the most foolish crime of his life."
"For the sake of his own one-sided idea of salvation, Otto Apocalypse released the Honkai Beasts imprisoned beneath the church, allowing them to slaughter civilians and cause countless casualties, hoping that in the chaos the saintess would escape."
"But how could the Kaslana saintess—whose faith was to protect the people—stand by and ignore the tragedy before her? Dragging along her exhausted body after a night in the freezing dungeon, she fought those Honkai Beasts bravely."
"In the end, to protect a little girl, she died beneath the claws of a bipedal, werewolf-like Honkai Beast."
"How does it feel? Your imposed kindness turned into malice. The result of your self-righteous attempt at salvation was that the saintess—who should have died upon the gallows—ended up dying at the hands of an ugly Honkai Beast instead."
Every word Elias spoke struck Otto Apocalypse's heart like a heavy hammer. His very soul trembled as the secret he had buried for five hundred years—too shameful to ever confess—was laid bare before all the Valkyries present.
The Valkyries of Schicksal stared at Otto in stunned disbelief. None of them had imagined that their Overseer had such a past.
Like a hopeless fool—the most ridiculous clown in the world—he had personally caused the death of the woman he loved.
And that was the greatest difference between him and Elias.
Fifty thousand years ago, Elias had faced a similar choice—one whose meaning and consequences far surpassed this.
He, too, had once become a fool, trying again and again to save the Miss Pink Elf he loved.
Though he had failed many times, unlike Otto—who had personally brought about the saintess' death—Elias had always protected Elysia until the very last moment.
When Kallen was killed, what she felt in her final moments was pain, cold, and despair. Even at the end, she had not been able to defeat the Honkai Beast. All she could do was watch as it ravaged everything before her.
Perhaps in that final instant, resentment toward Otto—the one who had caused the tragedy—had flickered through her heart.
But Elysia was different.
At the end of every cycle, she lay in the arms of the one she loved most—Elias. With boundless happiness, reluctance, and blessings, she chose to sacrifice herself.
"Why do you know all this?!"
Otto stared at Elias with bloodshot eyes.
It would have been one thing if he merely knew what had happened. But Elias' description was far too detailed.
It was as if he had personally witnessed the tragedy.
The answer lay in the path of time.
In order to return from the present to the past, Elias had once spent over ten thousand years walking the road of reversed time.
On that road, as a watcher of history, he had personally witnessed everything that had transpired over fifty thousand years—including the tragedy five centuries ago.
"I told you already. I have no obligation to answer your questions."
Elias crossed his arms as his wings beat slowly and he descended to the ground. His golden eyes fixed on Otto with icy threat.
"If you dare harm even a single strand of Cecilia's hair, I will kill Kallen Kaslana."
"What did you say?!"
Killing intent burst from Otto, so intense that for a fleeting moment he even broke free from his fear of Elias.
But the fear quickly swallowed him again.
Because the white-haired youth said, devoid of emotion:
"Otto, I know that the reason you have clung to life for five hundred years is to resurrect that saintess. I can tell you clearly—your future self succeeds."
"!!!"
For the first time, Otto trembled uncontrollably with excitement. Never before had anyone so firmly told him that he would fulfill his long-cherished wish. Though his reason doubted, his instincts believed.
At that moment, Void Archives spoke again.
[Otto, every word spoken by our Savior of the Previous Era is true. This Lord possesses the ability to foresee the future. Rejoice. If he says you will resurrect Kallen, then you certainly will.]
[And now despair. Having made an enemy of this Lord in the present, even if you revive the saintess in the future, it will be meaningless.]
[The Kallen you revive may very well die beneath this Lord's blade... Heh. At least Kallen Kaslana should feel honored. Dying at the hands of a Savior Flame-Chaser is far preferable to dying to an ugly Honkai Beast.]
The corner of Otto's eye twitched violently. He hurled Void Archives to the ground and kicked it far away.
Elias let out a cold laugh and said firmly,
"Void Archives is right, you wretched dog. Your actions now have earned my hatred. In the future... I may very well destroy the wish you spent five hundred years trying to achieve—right before your eyes."
"No, no—no, you can't!" Otto panicked completely.
"Can't? Why can't I? Are you the only one allowed to threaten others with what they cherish? But when it's your turn, it's forbidden? Where does such a convenient rule exist?"
Elias stepped closer to Cecilia.
He had no hesitation, no fear. In truth, regardless of whether Otto accepted his threat or not, he could save the girl he loved.
He was already strong enough—strong enough to rescue the one he loved from any crisis.
Otto staggered backward in terror. The soulium fragment fell from his hand.
Elias had used his greatest weakness against him, repaying him in kind.
He could no longer bring himself to harm Cecilia. He could no longer even muster the will to resist.
Just imagining it filled Otto with unbearable fear—after finally resurrecting Kallen in the future, only for her to die again because of the sin he committed at this very moment.
At that point, he truly would go mad.
He could not dismiss it as a bluff. The absolute power Elias had displayed proved that he was fully capable of carrying out his threat.
He was a death far more terrifying than the Honkai Beast of five hundred years ago, more terrifying than the Herrscher of Finality, even more terrifying than fate itself.
An existence Otto Apocalypse could never defeat.
One who could easily destroy what Otto valued more than life.
And after understanding that—
Otto knelt.
Before all the Valkyries, he shattered his usual elegance, arrogance, and lofty pride, and in the most pathetic and wretched posture imaginable, began to beg Elias for forgiveness.
Elias looked down at Otto's repentance and pleas with cold indifference.
He felt no pleasure. No sense of triumph.
But neither did he feel guilt or pity.
Because he knew that everything was Otto's own doing.
After all, it was this damned dog who had dared to threaten Cecilia.
—
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