The battle between Sirin and Otto affected more than just Russia.
The aftermath of their fight was broadcast live to the entire world. Everyone now knew that the Schicksal Overseer, who was supposed to be a hero resisting the Honkai, had been judged like a criminal by the Herrscher Sirin, who was supposedly trying to destroy human civilization.
A dossier on Sirin, as if prepared in advance, was delivered to the desks of government officials in every country.
After confirming that Sirin was not the original Herrscher who caused the Second Honkai Eruption, but a clone created by Otto, the Schicksal Overseer, they abandoned any thought of pursuing a public relations campaign against her.
Why a public relations campaign? Because any other form of pursuit was impossible.
All they could do was indulge in some verbal sparring.
Watching the news, Welt Yang was filled with a mix of grief and indignation. He felt like laughing but couldn't.
"Einstein, I thought only our politicians in North America could pull something like this. I never thought Schicksal was this rotten! Truly, those who live by injustice will die by it!"
Dr. Einstein looked mortified. Wasn't that a bit harsh to say about his own turf?
"Take my orders immediately and send a notice of condolence to the Schicksal personnel. Ask them when they're holding the funeral. I will definitely be there on time!"
Welt Yang barely managed to maintain his composure. If not for the occasional twitch of his facial muscles, one would think he was completely emotionless.
He picked up a violin he had prepared earlier and began to play.
The piece was "Ode to Joy"!
Dr. Einstein looked down at Welt's feet. He was tapping so lightly he was about to break into a dance.
Is he really that happy? Without Otto, you're the only one left to face the man from the future. Now, all power over the anti-Honkai organizations is concentrated in Noldrei's hands. There's no Otto to help share the burden of humanity's future.
Dr. Einstein didn't think Otto's disappearance was a good thing. Noldrei had clearly been planning to purge the people of the old era for a long time. He had only acted now that the structure of Academy City was fully mature.
It was impossible to say what would happen next, especially since Dr. Einstein didn't think Tesla had what it took to rein in the man from the future.
But before that, it was time to celebrate.
Welt Yang, a man of elite education, was a professional violinist. In his hands, "Ode to Joy" was transformed into a joyous send-off.
---||---
Meanwhile, many Valkyries in Academy City were also facing public scrutiny.
Everyone knew that for Schicksal to do what it did, there had to be collaborators. Collaborators meant research teams, and research teams meant protection details.
And where did you find protection details? From the Valkyries, of course.
Although the Valkyries still had a history of fighting the Honkai, their reputation was now mixed, tainted by Otto's actions.
Among them, a young girl named Susannah, who greatly admired the Valkyries, was hit hard.
Especially since her idol, Durandal, was at the center of the storm. All sorts of opinions were swirling in the live chat.
This was actually Noldrei's way of dismantling the internal unity of the Valkyrie organization. By destroying their public support, they would soon begin to waver due to their own education.
Not to mention, their own Overseer had become a new Herrscher in front of the whole world.
The blow was almost apocalyptic.
But this didn't affect Horikita Manabu much. Otto's role as his teacher had always been clandestine. Although he had long suspected his teacher's identity was formidable, he was still surprised by the extent of it.
Academy City's purge was thorough. It was a true execution of both body and spirit.
Horikita said to Amber, "The master is gone. Miss Amber, please go and take care of the Valkyries. And comfort the Valkyries in the United Student Council. Many of them didn't know about these things either."
"Also, from now on, don't emphasize the 'Valkyrie' title within Academy City. Let the past be judged by future generations. People are angry right now; they can't calmly judge the merits and demerits of the Schicksal Valkyries."
"And one more thing, try to shift the public opinion toward other national governments. Without those local governments lending them land and selecting candidates, Schicksal wouldn't have been able to gather so many people for human experiments so easily."
"Schicksal will bear the mistakes it should, but it won't be a scapegoat for mistakes it shouldn't. However, this will be difficult. You won't be able to change Schicksal's image in people's minds overnight."
Amber was used to handling these matters. She herself had been stained with many of Otto's sins. The only reason she had held on until now...
Was thanks to Otto's past favoritism toward her.
But right now, Amber wasn't worried about the Valkyries. She was worried about another forty-something-year-old girl far away in the Middle East.
Theresa Apocalypse.
---||---
Theresa was completely stunned. She never thought her grandfather would have such a day.
Sent to see the Imaginary Space by a Herrscher, just like that.
What was the Imaginary Space? It was the source of infinity, a place where order did not exist. For an ordinary person, just entering subspace was an incredible feat, let alone seeing the Imaginary Space.
The relationship between the Imaginary Space, Stigmata, and the Honkai was no secret among the upper echelons of Academy City.
To send her grandfather to "see the Imaginary Space" was, to put it bluntly, to return him to the true "great outdoors."
Otto was certainly not a good person, otherwise Theresa wouldn't have broken with him and run off to the Far East Branch.
But the problem was, Otto had been extremely good to Theresa. Not just ordinarily good.
Theresa's mind was blank. She felt as if all the strength had drained from her body. She stared blankly at the Babylon Labs on the live stream, a landscape so ravaged it was unrecognizable.
A thousand words were stuck in her throat, but she couldn't say a single one.
Theresa's lips trembled as she asked the person next to her, "Is he... is he really dead?"
Miyuki Shirogane felt that this wasn't a question for him. He was just there to submit a work report.
Otto's affairs had been made very public. At a time like this, he didn't know what to say to the Overseer's granddaughter.
"My condolences."
He had never experienced anything like this. He scurried away before he could even finish his report.
Leaving Theresa alone in the room.
Cecilia was gone, and now Otto was gone too. In the future, Theresa no longer had a shoulder to lean on.
She had truly become the elder, and there would be no one left to lull her to sleep.