Once Otto walked away, Theresa and the others finally snapped out of their shock and hurried after him.
But when they reached the church entrance — they found only Amber waiting outside.
"Lady Theresa?"
"Amber, where did your bishop go?"
Amber bowed respectfully. "My apologies, Lady Theresa… Lord Otto instructed me to safeguard his privacy."
"But since you've obtained the Herrscher of Domination's core, shouldn't you return to the Hyperion and begin the analysis?"
Theresa crossed her arms. "I was going to do that anyway. You don't need to remind me."
Then she turned toward Durandal.
"Durandal, are you coming with me?"
Durandal hesitated, completely unsure of her place now.
Up until a few minutes ago, Otto had been her leader. Now… he hadn't given her a single instruction.
"I… don't know if I should…"
Before she could finish, Rita stepped in gently.
"Of course we'll return with you, Lady Theresa~"
"Huh? Even you, Rita?"
"Certainly~" Rita smiled with soft amusement. "You may consider our period of service under Lord Otto officially concluded."
"In the foreseeable future, our loyalty will be yours, Lady Theresa."
That one sentence was enough to confirm it:
Otto was absolutely going offline.
On the way back, Rita and the others discussed the oddities of the entire situation.
Even together, they couldn't understand why Otto orchestrated such a grand setup, gathering all of them at the church.
If the only goals were to destroy a soulsteel body and retrieve the final Herrscher core…
There was no need for theatrics.
Theresa, Durandal, Rita — two and a half S-rank Valkyries combined.
Even a fully awakened Herrscher would get torn apart by them.
So they came to one conclusion:
Recovering the Herrscher core must have been part of a larger plan.
Because to Otto, reviving Kallen was always priority number one.
Retrieving the core was comparatively minor.
Yet this time, Otto had poured enormous effort into the "minor" objective.
That alone was suspicious.
…
Players were just as confused.
Was the whole thing really just Otto "entrusting his last wishes"?
But the next moment, a block of narrator text appeared on screen:
The Bishop's conspicuously abnormal behavior led Valkyries from different factions to begin exchanging deeper intelligence.
But none of them realized that everything they understood up to now —
was simply a stage play Otto Apocalypse allowed them to see.
A true crisis lurked beneath the performance's surface,
and its final outcome would far exceed their expectations.
Viewers facepalmed collectively.
Of course.
It was Otto.
There was always another scheme.
All that "parting affection" and "final words" nonsense…
Total bull.
Even Elysia couldn't help but complain:
"Honestly… I almost got emotional watching Otto talk like that~"
The chat scrolled:
"Elysia, you're telling me Otto doesn't deserve sympathy?"
She laughed softly.
"I think it's fine, actually~"
"For someone to spend 500 years researching for the sake of the one they love… mhm…"
"He did a lot of terrible things, sure — no defending that — but his conviction is admirable."
Eden subconsciously nodded.
And her thoughts grew deeper.
Otto was a villain. Yes.
But compared to every antagonist she had ever encountered in fiction…
Otto was uniquely unforgettable.
Honkai Impact's storytelling was frighteningly strong.
Every character had astonishing emotional presence — even the worst ones.
Otto's character had always been well-constructed.
And now, this arc clearly centered around him.
Every Honkai story arc elevated one character.
This time… it was Otto's turn.
Eden couldn't help feeling anticipation.
She didn't believe Otto could be redeemed.
He'd done far too much.
But the question was—
What kind of final impression would Otto leave behind?
…
The game shifted to the Hyperion.
And immediately — Tesla's furious voice blasted through the speakers.
"DAMN IT!! ARRGHHH I'M GONNA LOSE IT! THIS STUPID USELESS CORE!
WHY DON'T WE JUST SMASH IT AND END THIS?!"
Her rage was so cute the entire chat burst out laughing.
The scientists began discussing the Herrscher core.
And here, a major piece of foreshadowing appeared:
Why were Herrschers in the previous era different from those in the current one?
The scientists eventually proposed an experiment:
Compress as much Honkai energy as possible into an extremely tiny space using Herrscher powers.
They called it:
The Herrscher Core Collision Test.
Changguang chimed in, saying she could grant them access to Schicksal's equipment for the experiment.
Later, a quiet conversation took place between Durandal and Kiana.
Durandal awkwardly explained why she once served Otto, and reaffirmed her commitment to fighting Honkai.
The talk was simple — but afterward, a mysterious narration appeared:
The blonde knight and the silver-haired ranger left shoulder to shoulder.
She had yet to realize the dramatic intersections their lives had once experienced…
nor the ones that still lay ahead.
This sent the livestream chat into chaos.
Everyone felt it was hinting at something — but what?
Eden thought:
"Feels like the only thing it could be hinting at…
is some hidden connection between Durandal and Kiana."
Elysia ignored the speculation and pushed the story forward.
After Rita and Bronya had a brief "professional killers' conversation," the core collision test began.
Kiana and Bronya both activated their Herrscher forms and injected Honkai energy into the Domination Core.
The experiment succeeded in one try.
But before anyone could celebrate, Rita received an incoming transmission.
She calmly explained:
"It's Lord Otto. I'll switch it to public broadcast."
Then Otto's irritatingly cheerful voice came through:
"Good afternoon, friends on the Hyperion — and my dear Valkyries~"
"How is your research on the Herrscher core going?"
"Grandpa… didn't you say you were done talking to us?"
"Aiya… Theresa, you're being cold today~" Otto chuckled.
"Still upset about me killing that little replica earlier?"
"You forgave Rita quickly enough — yet you're still holding a grudge against me?"
"Hehe~~ Anyway, I'm not here to chat. I have a task for the S-rank Valkyries of Schicksal."
"Oh — and the rest of the Immortal Blades may stay to assist my granddaughter.
Only Rita and Durandal need to come help with a small errand."
Then, strangely, Otto did not end the call.
Instead, he continued casually:
"Sir Walter, I assume you're listening as well? I still owe you an apology for that Thanksgiving in New York so many years ago~"
"These years, I've always wondered how to make it up to you.
Perhaps kneeling at a memorial… tearfully wailing on the ground…"
His tone became deliberately comedic — obviously mocking.
It was clear to everyone he was intentionally provoking Anti-Entropy.
Whether Walter got angry or not was unclear.
But the players?
They were furious.
"He's begging for a beating!"
"I swear, Otto is the most punchable man in existence."
"Elysia please, PLEASE take our place and beat him up."
"Requesting Elysia to avenge the entire player base!"
Then someone realized:
"…Wait. Why is Tesla so quiet?"
"Uh oh. She's been muted."
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