"You want the Key of Corrosion? Take it!"
Lin Wei laughed maniacally, venting the excruciating pain from the power overload. In a flash of lightning—quite literally—he zipped past Fu Hua, heading straight for Otto!
"Damn it!"
Fu Hua was completely stunned.
How did this guy pull off something so huge when I looked away for just a second?
But no matter how caught off guard she was, Fu Hua was still one of the world's top warriors. Even though her battered body was a shadow of its former glory, the combat instincts honed over countless battles were etched into her very bones.
Even before her brain could fully process what was happening, her body had already moved. She instinctively punched Yae Sakura back, then twisted and, without hesitation, unleashed a punch to her side. The trajectory was perfectly aimed to intercept Lin Wei's path, and it would have hit him squarely!
But at this moment, Lin Wei wasn't panicked in the slightest.
Although the "Herrscher power" granted by this counterfeit battlesuit would only last for a dozen seconds, perhaps only enough for a single strike, it didn't matter.
Even a weakened replica, even borrowed power that wasn't his own—a Herrscher was a Herrscher.
Lin Wei traced a "Z"-shaped lightning bolt in the air, dodging Fu Hua's strike by a hair's breadth with thunderous speed.
The next instant, Yae Sakura returned, her sword thrusting with breathtaking precision at the side of Fu Hua's armored wrist, deflecting the second punch that was meant to follow.
In the next moment, Fu Hua had completely lost her chance to stop Lin Wei.
Seeing her mission accomplished, Yae Sakura smiled with satisfaction. Her form dissolved into the purple-black lightning, merging once more with Lin Wei, returning to the sea of consciousness.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
When Fu Hua fully came to her senses, Lin Wei had already broken through her defenses and was thundering toward the ground, toward the Second Divine Key and Otto. She gritted her teeth, and an unprecedented orange glow erupted from her battlesuit. She pushed the Shadow Knight: Moonbeam to its absolute limit and chased after the receding bolt of lightning!
But alas, one step behind meant every step behind. Lin Wei had a decisive lead, and the distance to Otto was only a few hundred meters. How could she possibly catch up in such a short time?
"Damn it..."
She had no choice. She couldn't give up midway. She could only chase with all her might.
"Overseer!"
Meanwhile, Durandal had also noticed the change the moment the thunder roared. Her heart skipped a beat, and the exhilarating thrill of fighting a worthy opponent vanished in an instant. She didn't hesitate to turn back to rescue Otto, but just as she moved, a sword thrust out from the side, blocking her path.
The Kevin puppet remained silent, but its message was clear—You shall not pass!
"Move!" Durandal barked. In her anger, she was forced to unleash her ultimate power—the unstable Starfall Armor. With a spear throw that seemed capable of piercing the stars, she barely managed to force the Kevin puppet back.
Then, she transformed into a dazzling meteor, trailing long "tail wings" as she shot back toward Otto!
But by now, the lightning bolt that was Lin Wei had completely breached Fu Hua's defensive line and was now inches from Otto.
"Damn it!"
Durandal cursed herself. No matter how much she pushed her power, she couldn't get in front of Lin Wei to stop him.
"Not good!"
On the other side, Rita, who was closest to Otto and currently pinning down Yuno in a corner of the launch silo, also heard the thunderclap that seemed to explode right above her head. She looked up, realized the gravity of the situation, and quickly abandoned Yuno to support the Overseer.
But the moment she turned, several frost-covered vines, like demonic tendrils, blocked her path. Behind her, Yuno roared, "You're not going anywhere!"
Though Yuno was still inexperienced, she understood her responsibility at this moment—to hold back Rita and prevent her from interfering with Lin Wei's fight!
"You!"
Rita was furious. This delay meant she, too, was destined to be too late.
Faced with Schicksal's "all-star lineup"—a force that would make any Herrscher, save for Kevin himself, despair—Lin Wei had played all his cards. In a desperate, terrifying battlefield, he had achieved a stunning reversal in a way no one could have imagined!
Soldier against soldier, general against general. Once Otto's formidable chess pieces had been traded away one by one through Lin Wei's various methods, what followed was inevitable—king meets king!
At this moment, Lin Wei was like a lightning bolt splitting a mountain. He had carved a fissure straight to the earth's core through the terrifying lineup of "a Divine Maiden from Shenzhou, two S-rank Valkyries, and three Godslayer battlesuits."
And now, this "lightning bolt" followed that tiny yet fatal fissure, striking directly at the planet's most powerful, and also most fragile, core!
"Otto, prepare to die!"
Lin Wei laughed and shouted, reveling in this peak moment of "turning the tide," an aggressive pleasure known as "conquest"!
At this moment, he no longer cared about the consequences of killing Otto. After all, in a life-and-death battle, why show mercy to the enemy?
As for whether others would seek revenge for him, Lin Wei didn't care about that either. I defeated him fair and square. On the battlefield, swords have no eyes. What right do you have to seek revenge on me?
At this moment, his thoughts were clearer than ever. His previous worries and feelings of inferiority were shattered by this bolt of lightning. His eyes, filled with murderous intent, were fixed on the helpless Otto below.
The Seven Thunders of Retribution in his hand shone brightly, then tightened, a layer of corrosive black light enveloping it, pointing a deadly, stinging blade straight at Otto's face!
Now that your rooks, knights, and cannons are all tied up behind me, who's left to protect your pathetic life?
At this moment, after single-handedly overthrowing the entirety of Schicksal, Lin Wei looked down with contempt at the man the whole world looked up to!
The one who needs to kneel and beg for mercy is not me, it's you!
Overseer Otto?
Hah, is that all you've got?
Whatever cards you still have hidden, whether your final "savior" is Theresa or Li Sushang, so what?
At worst, I'll just crush Pandora's Box and let the long-slumbering Sirin join this grand feast!
"Damn it!"
The reversal was too sudden, too fast for anyone to react. Just as Lin Wei's murderous thunder was about to strike, a furious curse exploded in Otto's mind.
The next second, a golden box materialized in front of Otto's chest. Void Archives, which usually treated him with nothing but contempt, now shouted frantically in his mind.
"I'll hold him off! You run!"
It was actually willing to sacrifice itself to buy time for the man who had imprisoned it for five hundred years.
"Mm."
Otto nodded, slowly backing away. He looked up at the approaching thunderbolt, his expression grave, as if he were contemplating a countermeasure, or perhaps waiting for something...
At this moment, Lin Wei, riding the lightning, was inches from Otto. He raised the purple-black blade, condensed with immense killing intent, as if in the next second, he would destroy, corrode, and pulverize both Otto and the Void Archives standing before him!
But in that second, another small, new accident occurred...
Bang!
A gunshot. A sound that should have been loud, but under the cover of the thunder Lin Wei brought, it was a pathetic, crisp sound, like a bottle cap hitting the floor. It should have stopped nothing, drowned out by the raging storm.
But this insignificant gunshot was like a pause button, and the whole world seemed to freeze.
Lin Wei saw it clearly. A bullet flew past about two meters in front of him.
It wasn't aimed at him, nor at anyone else. It just disappeared into the distant sandstorm, as if drawing an invisible line in the middle, overestimating its ability to separate the about-to-collide Lin Wei and Otto.
It was so small, it should have stopped nothing, but it did make Lin Wei pause for an instant. Not because he was worried it would hit him, but because...
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
Looking in the direction of the gunshot, he saw Anna, her hands gripping a still-smoking pistol so tightly they were white, as white as her bloodless face.
She trembled uncontrollably, her whole body shaking as if it were about to collapse.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
The shot seemed to have drained all of Anna's strength. She crumpled to the ground like a pile of noodles, her pale face streaked with tears.
With what little strength she had left, she threw the gun away as if it were a venomous snake she had been holding. She repeated "I'm sorry" in a near-desperate tone.
"I'm sorry... I can't... I can't..."
Sorry for what? Can't what?
Unfortunately, she seemed to have lost the ability to form words. She just looked with desperate eyes at Lin Wei, then at Otto. She suddenly clutched her head and let out a heart-wrenching scream.
"Aaaah!!!"
Why did it turn out like this?
At this moment, Anna's heart was filled with indescribable pain and despair.
She suddenly remembered what Captain Jell had once said, and couldn't help but think as if confessing from the bottom of her heart.
Captain, I'm sorry... In the end... I couldn't protect either half!
.....
Why did it turn out like this?
On the other side, Yuno also saw this unexpected scene, her mind a complete blank.
She remembered a conversation she had with Lin Wei a few days ago while training in the desert...
---||---
"Yuno, do you really believe that by joining me, we can rescue Anna from Otto's grasp?" Lin Wei had asked abruptly one night while they were resting.
"Huh?"
Yuno, who was cleaning sand out of her long hair, was taken aback by his question.
"Do you not have confidence, sir?"
Her confidence came from Lin Wei. She did whatever he said. So when he suddenly asked such an unexpected question, of course, she was confused.
"Heh heh, of course I have confidence. If I wanted to, I could definitely get her out," Lin Wei said with a reassuring smile. Then he added, "But have you ever thought, what if Anna doesn't want to leave with us?"
"Doesn't want to leave?"
Yuno became anxious, leaning closer to him. "Why?"
"I'm sorry, to help you understand, please allow me to use a slightly cruel analogy," Lin Wei said with an apologetic smile, his tone turning serious.
"Yuno, suppose your family were still alive, and to continue being with me, you had to break ties with your parents and relatives. In that case, what would you choose?"
"I..."
Yuno was stunned, then fell into thought.
The analogy was indeed cruel, like reopening a bleeding wound. But because of that, it was easy for her to understand.
"Unlike you, Anna has a family. But unlike you, Anna grew up in Schicksal. To her, Schicksal is her home..." Lin Wei sighed.
"Born there, raised there. Schicksal, Valkyries, mission, battle, even the Overseer himself, have all become inseparable parts of her life. It's not nice to say, but to Anna, I'm the outsider who appeared out of nowhere, the one who threw her life into chaos..."
"I..."
Yuno opened her mouth, but was at a loss for words.
That's right. I was just a passerby in Schicksal, with no deep emotional ties. But what about Anna?
She remembered when she first met the girl. At that time, Anna was far from the silent, sad person she had become. She was like a cheerful, happy lark, taking her all over the Schicksal floating island every day, happily sharing the people and things she had experienced in every place.
The Anna who had never left Schicksal headquarters was happy, innocent, and blessed, just like she had been in Nagazora City before the Honkai Eruption...
"Isn't it ironic? The Schicksal that is hurting her now is the 'home' she can't let go of, the place where all her dreams, pursuits, and values are vested. And I, the one who wants to protect her, am in fact the one who pushed her into this awkward situation. The ways of the world are strange, aren't they?" Lin Wei smiled helplessly.
"It's my fault too. My personality is too indecisive. If I had been able to firmly refuse her kindness when we first met on Coral Island, she wouldn't have ended up in this no-win situation..."
Unfortunately, there were no "ifs" in life, only "consequences" and "results."
And Lin Wei didn't have real foresight. That meeting on Coral Island was just a coincidence. How could he have predicted everything that happened afterward?
"...Then what do we do? Do we give up?" Yuno was even more confused, not knowing what to do.
"Give up? How is that possible?" Lin Wei laughed.
"Otto has his eyes on me. To find me, he will inevitably hurt her more and more to test my bottom line. And what about me? Whether for myself or for Anna, it's inevitable that I'll have a life-or-death battle with Otto. The mistake has been made, and Anna is caught between me and Otto. How can a simple 'give up' solve anything?"
"Then... what should we do?" Yuno was still lost.
"Of course, we make the best of a bad situation and cut the Gordian knot," Lin Wei said.
"If things go smoothly, we can get her out as quickly as possible, and she'll be forced to wander the world with us. In that case, after her initial gratitude fades, she might come to hate me. After all, by doing so, I would be taking everything from her..."
"...And if things don't go smoothly?"
"Not smoothly?"
Lin Wei smiled.
"If things don't go smoothly, I'll just escalate the situation and take out Otto completely. Solve the problem at its root, right?"
"Huh?"
Yuno was dumbfounded. Are you even listening to yourself?
"Killing Otto would be like destroying Schicksal. After the initial chaos, Schicksal could find a new leader. Then, all would be peaceful in the world," Lin Wei said, then frowned and added in a low voice, "I'm just afraid Otto and I are thinking along the same lines, and he'll pull some tricks on this issue. After all, when it comes to 'playing with people's minds,' I have to admit I'm no match for that guy..."
Hearing this, Yuno grew anxious again.
"Are you saying Anna might become our enemy? Like Captain Durandal and the others?"
"That's a possibility," Lin Wei said after a moment of silence. Then he smiled.
"Actually, from an irresponsible point of view, if Otto turned Anna against me, it would actually be freeing me from my shackles. So from that angle, he probably wouldn't do that. The most likely scenario is..."
Lin Wei pondered for a long time, running through his entire battle plan several times, then said slowly, "He will make her his last 'guard,' forcing her to make a choice. From that perspective, Anna will become his 'trump card' against me."
It was despicable, but he had to admit, it was also very effective.
"..."
Yuno was lost again. This time, she didn't understand.
"If it really comes to a point where Otto is in mortal danger and Anna has to 'save his life' for him to survive, it's not necessarily a completely bad thing..." Lin Wei said softly.
"At least then, I can leave with peace of mind. As the greatest hero for 'saving the day,' after Anna 'breaks' with me, Otto will have no reason to continue persecuting her."
Lin Wei sneered, speaking calmly.
"After all, he and I both know the truth of the situation. If he continues to have any improper ideas about Anna, he'll have to consider a realistic problem: if he provokes this massive threat that can overthrow all of Schicksal again, can he bear the consequences a second time?"
There's a saying, "fight for peace." Righteousness is no different. Nothing is more persuasive than a physical fist.
"And so, as long as I can demonstrate the ability to stand against Schicksal in the upcoming battle—even if it's only for a short time, even if it's only on the surface—even so, after I leave, Yuno, as my 'envoy,' when you deal with World Serpent as an outsider, you probably won't be so easily bullied."
"..."
This was how he had always dealt with World Serpent—mutual deterrence, mutual use. And now, if he wanted his people to continue to enjoy this "benefit" after he left, a sufficiently intimidating "head" was essential.
"..."
Yuno was taken aback, not expecting this to involve her. She looked up and asked, "Can't you stay?"
Then, seeing Lin Wei's mocking but silent expression, she couldn't help but lower her head.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Yeah, why?" Lin Wei looked up at the brilliant starry sky and smiled.
"Probably because, like Anna, you're a handful. Anna is serious and prone to getting stuck on things. And you're not much better, stubborn and prone to extremism. If I don't give you a heads-up now, I'm worried you'll do something rash out of impulse."
"You!"
Yuno shot her head up, glaring at Lin Wei angrily. What are you trying to say?
"Heh heh, in short, I just want to tell you that if Anna really refuses our good intentions and efforts, you must not blame her. After all, in this life, everyone has their own difficulties and can't just revolve around someone else unconditionally like a puppet. You, me, her, or anyone else, we're all the same."
Lin Wei said, "You are her friend. After I leave and before I return, I can only entrust that stubborn, heart-wrenchingly foolish girl to your care. After all, as I just said, that girl has a pure heart and easily gets stuck in a rut. When that happens, I'll have to trouble you to comfort her."
"..."
---||---
Back to the present.
Anna's gunshot, and Lin Wei, with a sigh, halted his advance. Things had finally come to this.
The moment Lin Wei stopped, Durandal and Fu Hua arrived.
The former took Otto and retreated without hesitation, while the latter stopped, gently holding Anna in her arms, using her feathers to soothe her on-the-verge-of-shattering heart, letting her temporarily forget the cruel reality and return to her old dreams.
She then gave Lin Wei a deep look.
"Is this what you wanted?"
"Hahahaha! Overseer Otto's methods are truly brilliant! I am thoroughly impressed!"
But Lin Wei didn't even look at Fu Hua. He just laughed mockingly as he flew toward the Second Divine Key, his voice booming.
"In that case, I'll be taking the spoils of war!"
........
Author's Note: Anna's gunshot was decided back during the Manila arc.
After all, daring to tear up my outline has its consequences (not really).
Translator's Note: Now i Hate Ana...