Fu Shi nodded in agreement — the earlier impulse had still left her a bit shaken. But as she looked at Fu Lin's blood-soaked clothes, she asked, "A cursed kitchen knife, huh? No wonder it felt a bit off. But your shoulder, is it okay? It's still bleeding."
"It's just a flesh wound, getting this thing off is more important — once it's off, the injury will heal on its own."
Fu Lin patted his chest, speaking righteously. But then something occurred to him, and he asked, "But can't I just cut it off myself?"
"Do you have any strength right now? No matter what, this is a God's Key. You can't just slice through it with any old knife — it still takes a bit of power."
As she spoke, Fu Shi raised the knife and swung it down again, and with the sound of something falling to the ground...
-----------------------------
Rita held the Homu Box and came to the door of Otto's office, reached out and gently knocked, then pushed open the office door, looked at Otto leaning on the chair, and softly called out, "Master Bishop."
Otto sat upright, glanced at the Homu Box in Rita's arms, a flash of fervor quickly passed through his eyes, and then he pretended to be indifferent as he looked at Rita, "Is there something you need, Rita?"
"Master Bishop, I'm here to deliver the Homu Box." Rita stepped forward, placed the Homu Box in front of Otto, then respectfully stepped aside, waiting for Otto's instructions.
Otto stared closely at the Homu Box in front of him, his eyes flickering with an uncontrollable light of desire. However, he suppressed his impulse, maintained a facade of calm, and looked at Rita as he said, "Rita, this is the reward you earned from answering the quiz. You don't need to give it to me — open it yourself."
He knew that this Homu Box might contain the possibility to resurrect Kallen.
But he also understood that it was only a possibility. Just like last time, what came out was a photo album of Kallen, and there was no guarantee it would be resurrection stone fragments every time.
Despite the desire in his heart surging like a tidal wave, Otto still struggled to restrain himself.
Otto took a deep breath, trying to shift his attention away from the Homu Box and toward Rita's expectant gaze.
Otto spoke again, "Rita, let me see what it will be."
Rita nodded slightly, placed her hand on the Homu Box, her eyes glinting with curiosity and anticipation, ready to open her reward.
At that moment, Otto, for some reason, felt a wave of disappointment surge in his heart. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, thinking, Am I really going to give up this possibility that's so close at hand?
However, reason told him that this was the right choice.
In the end, Otto smiled at Rita and said, "Enjoy your prize, Rita. I hope it brings a pleasant surprise to both you and me."
Under Otto's repeated urging, Rita opened the Homu Box. Accompanied by a flash of golden light, a golden vessel appeared inside the Homu Box.
"This is..."
A trace of doubt flashed through Rita's eyes, then she carefully lifted out the golden vessel. Looking at the item description screen that appeared, her mouth slightly parted, and a trace of surprise flashed across her face.
[Teigu of Ice, Demon God Manifestation: Demon's Extract]
[Crafted from the blood of a super dangerous species that lived in the extreme north according to legends from another world, previously stored in a jug. Everyone who drank it went insane — except for Esdeath.
After drinking, one gains the ability to freely create and control ice, mastering both offense and defense, with remarkable speed and power.
It is said to have the ability to freeze even space-time.]
"Seems pretty dangerous. Are you confident, Rita?"
A trace of interest flickered in Otto's eyes. He slowly shifted his gaze from the vessel and turned his head to look at Rita standing beside him, softly asking.
At this moment, Otto's deep and sharp gaze seemed capable of piercing through Rita's inner world, searching for her truest thoughts.
She gently lifted her head, met Otto's gaze, and the figure of Durandal surfaced in her mind.
Instantly, a determined light flickered in her eyes, "Master Bishop, as long as I can catch up to Lady Durandal's footsteps, I want to give it a try."
"Not a bad look in your eyes, Rita."
Otto nodded, not the least bit surprised by Rita's choice. It seemed that soon there would be another Valkyrie at Durandal's level in Schicksal.
Then, he watched as Rita drank the blood from the vessel in one gulp.
...
And at that very moment, in the towering, cloud-shrouded Taixuan Mountain, Kiana was quietly gazing at the Homu Box in front of her, not knowing what she was thinking, as if lost in contemplation.
"Aren't you going to open it and take a look?"
Sirin asked softly, leaning close to Kiana, her golden eyes full of curiosity. She stared unblinkingly at the Homu Box on Kiana's lap, trying to see through its mystery.
However, Kiana unhesitatingly pushed Sirin away a little, then placed her hand on the Homu Box and slowly lifted the lid at an unhurried pace.
Immediately, a dazzling multicolored light burst forth, so bright that both Kiana and Sirin instinctively closed their eyes and raised their arms to shield them.
When the light gradually faded, Kiana slowly lowered her arm, opened her eyes, and looked at the Homu Box, eager to see what good item she had gotten.
"My luck has always been good. This time won't be an exception either... huh? A red thread?"
Sirin looked at the slender red thread in Kiana's hand. After such a dramatic spectacle, it turned out to be just a red thread, and she couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, I thought it was going to be something great, but it's just a red thread — that's hilarious, hahahaha."
The corner of Kiana's mouth twitched slightly, her eyes slanting toward Sirin, who was laughing uncontrollably. Before the item description screen even appeared, she summoned a wisp of flame and burned the red thread to ashes.
Sirin suppressed her laughter, pointed at the screen that had just popped up, and said, "You... you destroyed it just like that. You didn't even read the item description."