The Fourth Heaven, the Sun, was said to be ruled by the archangel Michael.
The heavenly city of Jerusalem, as recorded in the Book of Revelation, was situated here. The Book of Enoch also claimed that the Tree of Life grew in the garden of the righteous in the Heaven of the Sun, and that the wise and the sainted were placed in this heaven.
Corresponding to the myth, the fourth layer of the bubble universe was constructed as a colossal illusion.
It was said that only the legendary wise and sainted could pass through it. The wise could decipher it through various means, while the sainted could break through the perception-altering maze with their unshakeable faith to reach the source.
Should any mistake be made while traversing it, the pre-arranged A-Rank spell, "Path of God," would activate in a ten-thousandth of a second.
It was an iridescent rainbow that indiscriminately covered the entire area. The light seemed gentle but was immensely powerful. Any critical-level being who touched it would drop to around A-Rank in a matter of seconds. A slightly slower escape could result in them becoming a powerless normal person.
Simultaneously, hidden turrets would fire a volley of special enchanted arrows treated with Honkai energy, turning any intruder weakened by the Path of God into a human pincushion.
"Therefore, to pass this stage, we need to do this."
With utmost seriousness, Otto grabbed Fuli and Kallen. The three linked arms, standing back-to-back, each facing a different direction, leaving no blind spots.
"And then?" Fuli asked with great interest.
Otto replied with a straight face, "This way, when the turrets fire a volley of ten thousand arrows, as long as the three of us spin fast enough, the arrow wounds will be distributed evenly, and we won't be too far apart in our time of death."
The three most important things in this line of work were fairness, fairness, and goddamn fairness!
They had sworn an oath of brotherhood, after all. They didn't ask to be born on the same day of the same month of the same year, but dying on the same day of the same month of the same year was just perfect.
Kallen didn't get it at first, but after imagining the scene for a moment, she broke free from his grasp and immediately subjected Fuli to severe punishment.
"Whaddayadooin, Sish?" the boy slurred, his head being vigorously noogied.
"Otto used to have a flexible moral compass, but he was at least reliable. He must have learned to be such a clown from hanging out with you!"
What the hell did he mean, "distribute the arrows more evenly"?! Couldn't they think of a way to overcome the trial together?
"I! I ghaff a plan!"
Finally breaking free from the S-Rank Valkyrie's clutches, Fuli rubbed his reddened cheeks and fumbled around in his system space, pulling out a pair of glasses.
Kallen, who had been watching him, and Otto, who was about to start deciphering the maze, both stopped what they were doing, anticipating that this little savior would surprise them once again.
"This maze is essentially an illusion. The principle is to modify a person's underlying cognition."
Fuli handed over the glasses. Kallen took them, examined them, and, very astutely, did not put them on immediately.
Otto, who had also come closer, took them and placed them on Fuli's straight, handsome nose.
"Hey, brother, wait—PFFT!!!"
Two streams of blood shot out from the boy's nostrils as he looked at the two of them.
His body swayed and he fell to the ground, his limbs twitching and dancing uncontrollably.
Kallen was shocked and snatched the glasses away. "What is this thing? Don't tell me it's one of those perverted things that can see through clothes!"
Had her flawless, perfect body been exposed to this little creep's eyes?
Wait, hadn't he personally measured the size of her natural Stigmata earlier?
Then it's fi—it's still not fine!
The Saintess's pretty face flushed slightly red.
"Of course not, Sis!" Fuli cried, scrambling up and wiping away the blood to protest his innocence.
"Then what is it? Why did you turn into such a mess after just one look at us?"
"Just put them on and see for yourself."
Kallen doubtfully put on the glasses. Her already unparalleled beauty instantly gained a scholarly air.
With the glasses on, she first looked at the illusion. The strange glasses seemed to possess the ability to rewrite the wearer's perception as well. The seemingly endless illusory maze transformed into a collection of objects and props arranged in a specific pattern—in Eastern terms, the eyes of a formation.
As long as they could find a way to shatter them, the illusion would naturally dissipate.
And in their current state, achieving that wouldn't be difficult.
"What, that's it?!" Kallen flicked her braids triumphantly and turned to look at Otto.
—What entered her vision was a stunningly beautiful, tall, sickly-looking blond girl.
Her hair, as bright as the sun, fell naturally over her shoulders and back. Silky strands cascaded down, with neat, smooth bangs framing her forehead. Her face, so beautiful it was almost bewitching, was heart-stopping. Perhaps due to the recent fatigue of their journey, the girl's small face was tinged with a sickly pallor, giving her the delicate and pitiable air of a fragile narcissus.
"PFFT!!!"
Kallen staggered, barely managing to support herself. She pointed at this... person, and stammered, "You-you-you-you-you! You-you-you-you-you!?"
"That's the effect of the 'Genderswap Goggles'." The boy spread his hands, looking utterly exasperated. "It distorts the wearer's underlying cognitive logic. In short, everyone you look at turns into a girl."
It was the last item he had gotten from a single pull before setting out—four single pulls and a ten-pull per month, you know.
Two negatives make a positive. The illusion's modification and the wonder's canceled modification each other out, restoring a normal field of vision.
"You even have something like this... Honkai is truly magical."
Kallen took off the glasses, just about to hand them to the eager Otto.
Suddenly, she remembered something.
THWACK!
A hand gripped Fuli's shoulder.
"Little bro," the silver-haired Saintess said, narrowing her brilliant, ice-clear eyes, which shimmered like a river of stars. "You had a nosebleed just now, didn't you?"
"Uh, huh? Yeah? What's up?"
"You've spent so much time with your dear sister, but you've never had such a strong reaction, have you?"
"Um, I guess so?"
"Then why, after just one look at this Otto fellow, was your reaction so intense?"
Kallen smiled a dangerously beautiful smile. "Surely you don't think that a female version of Otto is more attractive than your sister, do you?"
Her last few words were spoken through gritted teeth, practically enunciated one syllable at a time.
Yes, in Kallen's heart, Fuli was more like an interesting and reliable little brother.
They had only known each other for two days; no matter how fast he worked, they couldn't possibly become a couple that quickly.
But she was still jealous, though not the jealousy between lovers.
It's one thing to be unmoved by a great beauty like me, but what's with that huge reaction to a gender-swapped Otto? Is blond hair and blue eyes that much your type?
Is the great Saintess of Schicksal less captivating in your eyes than a mere Otto-girl?
Her pride as a woman had been challenged!
"Huh? This, uh..." The boy's eyes darted around, subconsciously looking to his brother for help.
Otto, wearing the Genderswap Goggles, gave him a thumbs up. "Brother, you're a real beauty!"
Who the hell knew what he was seeing.
"Get lost!" Fuli kicked out at him.
With the help of the convenient little gadget and Otto's intellect, the group easily shattered the nodes that made up the illusory maze.
As a price, the Genderswap Goggles shattered into pieces from the cognitive conflict with the A-Rank spell.
Kallen was still sulking, clearly unhappy that her feminine charm was apparently inferior to Otto's.
Seeing this, the two shameless scoundrels went over and showered her with compliments.
The Saintess was the type to be easily placated, so seeing that both of them were willing to bow their heads and admit their mistake, she gave a light "hmph" and forgave them for their earlier behavior.
...
The Fifth Heaven, Mars.
A desolate grassland stretched as far as the eye could see, like a giant tomb of ruins.
White night and black day appeared in the sky simultaneously, one in the east, one in the west.
"In mythology, the northern part of this heaven is a desolate ruin where the prison for angels is located. The south, however, is pleasant and comfortable, and the souls of martyrs are granted residence here," Otto explained. "The way to pass this level is simple. Find the martyrs who wander the ruins, defeat all of them, and we can proceed to the next level."
"Well said," Kallen huffed. "I'm sure the world's smartest man, Lord Otto, holder of Void Archives, can easily find the stage boss who has run off somewhere."
Fuli polished the Black Swan in his arms, thinking to himself that the still-pouting, adult-sized Kiana was super cute.
Otto, however, had a complicated expression. "No, we don't need to look for her."
The black day on the horizon drew closer, and the curtain of the white night pressed down, layer by layer, finally forming a black spear of Wither and a white spear of Creation, which were grasped by the woman who had just arrived.
She stood three meters tall, her upper body bare. Her figure was exquisite, her face beautiful.
Her skin was a deathly pale, like ashes that had been trampled upon. The tips of her hair were a sky-blue, close to the color of the firmament.
And from the waist down, she was an eight-legged spider.
Her sharp, arched legs gleamed with a cold light, leaving no doubt that they could slice steel in two with a single strike.
In fact, it wasn't just steel that could be sliced in two, but also battle-hardened A-Rank Valkyries.
"Eleanor..." Otto murmured the name of the spider-like monster.
The second strongest in Schicksal, wielder of Abyss Flower, and captain of Schicksal's pursuit squad. She was once an ace Valkyrie, second only to Kallen.
Years ago, Otto had saved her from the Black Death, given her the Schariac surname, and adopted her as his sworn sister.
Eleanor did not disappoint, quickly becoming the face of the Schariac clan.
In her normal state, she was at the critical level. With the all-around enhancements from the Divine Key, Abyss, she could even contend with an S-Rank Valkyrie.
Such an Eleanor should have had a bright future.
But Otto's treatment had planted a seed of love in her heart, a seed that grew more and more twisted due to his feelings for Kallen and his neglect of her.
Ultimately, Eleanor couldn't resist the temptation of the Divine Key Box and stood alone before Kallen, who was trying to leave Schicksal.
She believed that if she killed this troublesome woman, her dear brother would have a change of heart.
Her end came when she was killed in a surprise attack by Otto, who wielded a mimicked Might of An-utu.
Afterwards, Eleanor's remains, which held great research value, were recovered by Risa. After some modifications, she was banished to the Heaven of Mars to wander day and night.
After listening to Kallen's whispered explanation of the backstory, Fuli let out a soft sigh.
Love is a multiplication. If one side is zero, the result will always be zero.
It was true for Otto's love for Kallen, and for Eleanor's love for Otto.
But setting aside these complicated relationships, the Eleanor of today was no easy opponent.
She was already at the top tier when she died, and before her end, she had been heavily modified by the Herrscher of Erosion within the Divine Key Box. After her death, she was subjected to Risa's insane secondary experiments. Now, her strength was solidly S-Rank.
Not to mention, the complete Abyss Flower was still in her hands. Even if she had lost her sanity and couldn't unleash the Divine Key's true essence, its passive abilities alone were enough to give the three of them a run for their money.
See? She was just standing there, and Otto, who had the lowest Honkai resistance, was already starting to age.
It was only because Fuli secretly used his Outer Path to take a bite of Abyss Flower's life-giving power that the dazed man was restored to his youth.
My brother must feel guilty about her. After all, he's not yet the Schicksal Overseer who has completely severed all worldly ties. Fuli thought sadly.
Then he saw Otto reach out and gently stroke Eleanor's gleaming, spider-like foreleg.
In a magnetic, sexy baritone, he said, "Eleanor, my girl. Help me one more time, will you?"
Fuli: "Huh?"
Wait, that works?
You might be a little too scummy.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"
Hearing Otto's affectionate words, the spider-girl made from Eleanor's remains began to dance with excitement.
She spun in place many times before realizing something. She quickly knelt before Otto and respectfully offered up Abyss Flower with both hands.
The man took the Divine Key and lightly tapped Eleanor's shoulders with the tip of the spear.
A simple knighting ceremony was thus completed.
After it was done, Otto turned around. "I used a little trick."
At his fingertips, a golden feather dissipated in the wind.
"A mimicked Fenghuang Down can't actually fool an S-Rank," he shrugged. "Unless their mind is in an extremely agitated state, or they have complete trust in me."
Theresa Apocalypse disliked this.
The resurrected Eleanor could be considered an independent entity, but thankfully, the scattered memory fragments in her mind still vaguely remembered that she had someone very, very important.
This gave Otto room to maneuver.
"With the S-Rank Eleanor and her weapon, we can basically consider the fifth layer cleared... Uh, why are you all looking at me like that?"
"It's nothing," Fuli shook his head. "Let's get Miss Eleanor some clothes. It's improper to stare, and I feel a bit embarrassed."
"Indeed, indeed," Kallen agreed.
"Heh."
Looking at the two who claimed not to care but had already scurried ten meters away, Otto couldn't help but chuckle.
The boy asked warily, "What are you laughing at?"
"I just thought of something happy."
Pointing behind him, Otto said, "Look, what's that?"
Fuli turned around.
Holy crap! A great humiliation!
Eleanor had somehow appeared behind him. The three-meter-tall monster-girl reached out and pulled the small boy into her arms. From time to time, she would bury her face in his thick black hair and sniff, an expression of pure satisfaction, like a cat owner huffing their cat, appearing on her face.
Fuli, his face smothered in her chest, was completely stunned. He quickly shot Otto a look, signaling, Brother, I was wrong, let's not joke around. A size like this, which could be called a 'cluster humiliation' even in Azur Lane, is more than my small frame can handle.
On the surface, Otto cheerfully indicated that it was no big deal. Since she liked him so much, they should get to know each other better on the way.
But secretly, he was extremely curious.
There was something he hadn't said earlier.
As the ace guarding the fifth layer, Eleanor's orders were to kill all enemies on sight.
Risa had already placed thousands of restraints on her mind. Even if she vaguely remembered Otto, she should never have appeared so peacefully.
The reason she had was Fuli.
According to the fragmented information coming back from Eleanor, she had inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity from the little thing in front of her, to the point that even her basic friend-or-foe identification had malfunctioned.
That was why Otto had been able to seize the opportunity to use Fenghuang Down on her.
But from the looks of it, my brother doesn't seem to know that he has this special affinity for Imaginary-type creations?
The man stroked his smooth chin, his eyes reflecting the scene of Eleanor holding Fuli while Kallen squawked in protest.
Meanwhile, Fuli, who was being used as a cat-sized hug pillow, was initially quite unhappy about it.
A proud man like me, how can I become a living hot water bottle for another woman's amusement?
This is unacceptable, absolutely not!
Until he discovered the fun in it.
For some reason, Schicksal in this era had a policy of capturing Honkai Beasts rather than killing them.
For example, one of Kallen's most famous achievements was capturing over a thousand Honkai Beasts single-handedly.
And after these Honkai Beasts were brought back to the headquarters, they were imprisoned here, in the Fifth Heaven of Mars.
Like Eleanor, they were classified as wandering martyrs, the very targets the trio had to defeat.
Among them were many powerful individuals, with thirty-meter-plus types being common, most of them transformed from animals, with bizarre abilities and characteristics.
These Honkai Beasts should have taken the trio a very long time to deal with.
"Hahahaha, go, Eleanor! Kill 'em all!"
"ROOOOAR!"
Eleanor, holding Fuli, charged ferociously into the wandering horde of Honkai Beasts.
"Just like that! Eleanor, go for its head!"
"AWOOOO!"
The unlucky beast swept aside by the lance let out a miserable final roar.
"Help me, Lady Eleanor!"
"Squeak, squeak (Leave Fuli-li alone)!"
A strange Honkai Beast trying to sneak-attack Fuli was sliced in two by her spider-like lower limbs.
"I am the black that descends to hell; I am the white that comes from heaven; I will turn the world upside down and restore order to the human realm—Second Rated Power, released! Sacred Lance, Reverse Flow!"
The Divine Key, which should have been impossible to release, was unlocked by the effect of the Stigmata of Reason. The spreading power of life and death formed a heaven-and-earth-spanning black-and-white storm that radiated outwards from Fuli and Eleanor, instantly clearing the fleeing tide of beasts.
"Hmph!" The boy crossed his arms, the very picture of an unrivaled champion.
Back in the day, Eleanor and I charged in and out of the Honkai Beast hordes on Mars seven times, slaughtering everything in our path!
And I was half a body length ahead of her!
"Ah, this."
In the distance, Kallen stared blankly as the Third Child, Fuli, piloted Evangelion Unit-01, Eleanor, on a rampage. Judah, which had shrunk to the size of a bracelet, swayed back and forth, as if annoyed that it had no chance to shine.
"They hit it off right away, didn't they?"
Otto thought to himself that this superpower of getting along with people so quickly was something he would probably never learn in his life.
"Brother! Mimicked Might of An-utu!"
Fuli had the real one, but he couldn't use it casually, or he might end up killing himself.
"Catch!"
Without a moment's hesitation, the man mimicked the golden twin pistols and threw them over.
Fuli was just about to catch them and play around when he saw the twin pistols in mid-air being shattered by a spear tip that intercepted them.
"Ugh..." Eleanor let out a low growl, staring at the dissipating Key of Destruction like a wounded animal.
Fuli then remembered that she had been killed by a surprise attack from Otto using the mimicked An-utu. Even if she didn't resent the wielder—or perhaps precisely because she couldn't hate him—she held a deep-seated anger toward the weapon that had killed her.
He quickly reached out, maneuvering around the two towering peaks above him to pat Eleanor's head. "There, there, don't be scared. We won't use that gun. We're still invincible together!"
The spider-girl's tense body gradually relaxed under the boy's touch, and a cute "purrrr" sound came from her throat.
Setting aside her ferocious lower half, she was by all accounts a beauty.
Of course, some people preferred her just the way she was now.
With the help of Eleanor, an S-Rank Valkyrie wielding a Divine Key, the Heaven of Mars, the largest of the seven layers, was soon cleaned up.
"It's a pity she can only wander the fifth layer and can't continue on to the lower levels to help us," Otto said with regret.
It seemed unreasonable at first glance, but it actually made perfect sense.
In the real world, they could have relied on Eleanor to fight their way through all seven heavens.
But this was a data world.
Unlike Otto and Kallen, who were given more freedom, Eleanor was programmed to be the wandering martyr of the Heaven of Mars. Her fundamental template was different. A boss was a boss; she couldn't leave her designated area.
Even though Abyss Flower was striking sparks against the barrier, Eleanor could only pace back and forth at the entrance to the sixth layer, unable to advance.
Kallen watched this scene fixedly and said in a low voice, "This is the power of programming."
"That's why an AI like you, Sister Kallen, who can develop a self, is so precious. It's like a single spark in an endless cycle of repetition."
Fuli stood on a lotus of condensed void energy and held the agitated Eleanor in his arms.
He was nearly 1.8 meters tall, but she was still much taller.
"By the way, brother, you should comfort her too," the boy said, turning his head in dissatisfaction. "She's been fighting as our tool for so long. Don't be stingy with a farewell hug."
"I refuse," Otto said flatly.
"It's no use," Kallen said with one hand on her hip. "That's just his personality. Use and toss, no sentimentality. If he were on the enemy's side, I'd smash his head in first thing!"
"Thank you for the compliment," Otto said cheerfully.
"Sigh."
Fuli sighed helplessly and gave the wronged-looking Eleanor another hug.
He had tried to find some proper clothes for her while "piloting" her earlier, but as any pet owner knows, dressing up a cat or dog is a huge, unwilling hassle.
And he couldn't beat a struggling S-Rank.
And so—
"Pitching a tent, are we?" Kallen teased.
"No way! My tastes are very normal! I only like normal human women!"
As Fuli was refuting her slander, his vision flashed. A black and white lance with silver patterns appeared before his eyes.
He froze, then looked at Eleanor, who was holding Abyss Flower with both hands.
"This is for... me?"
The monster-girl didn't speak, just nodded vigorously.
Her innocent, amber eyes stared at the boy expectantly. She then pointed to her stomach, as if to say, "Let's play together again in the future."
Fuli fell silent for a moment, about to refuse.
He never made promises he couldn't keep to anyone other than his enemies.
A pair of hands reached out from the side.
"Leave it to me," Otto said, taking Abyss Flower. "After you leave, I'll come back to keep her company. I'm sure Eleanor would rather be with me than with you."
"Hey!" Fuli half-closed his eyes, relieved.
Surprisingly, Eleanor didn't seem overjoyed to see Otto make the promise.
She hesitated for a long time, and under the gazes of the three, she split Abyss Flower in two, handing over the White Flower part while still clutching the Black Abyss tightly to her chest.
"Hahahahaha!!!"
Kallen, watching from the side, burst into unprecedented laughter. She slapped her childhood friend's shoulder hard.
"Otto, oh Otto, little bro has only been with her for a little while and he's already conquered half her heart. If they had met in life, she wouldn't have had to suffer from that unrequited love for you!"
Fuli looked awkward at her words.
What's this gluttonous Saintess saying? Making it sound like I'm into NTR!
I'm a warrior of pure love! I've been a loyal simp for Kiana for eight years without ever straying! In the last cycle, I kept my innocence until—
Dammit, I'm thinking about that bastard Domination again!
Thinking of this, Fuli shot another glare at Otto.
The real-world version of this guy had created so many "Cecilia Schariac" clones and thrown them into the underground labs of St. Freya without managing them properly. In the end, that bitch, the Herrscher of Domination, had taken advantage and made them into a thousand-person collective.
If that were all, it would be one thing. But the key was that the motley crew had a very twisted sense of humor and controlled these clones, dressed in all sorts of outfits like the "Pure White Wedding Dress," the "Classic Black and Gold Battlesuit," the "Valkyrie Chariot," and the "Moonlight Evening Gown," to engage in round after round of "healthy and wholesome debates" with the weak, pitiful, and helpless Fuli!
He was... on the receiving end, and they had the gall to call it a necessary step to convert him into a part of the Domination collective... Ugh! No! I can't think about it! My mind will be tainted!
The tormented boy shook his head vigorously, throwing these messy, unlucky memories into a corner.
However, compared to Fuli's inner turmoil, Otto, the target of Kallen's teasing, took the White Flower from Eleanor with a somber tone. "Yes. If only a 'brother' could have fallen from the sky into our past lives."
The desolate wind howled like an untamed horse across the vast wilderness. The clouds were heavy, as if pressing down on the entire land. In the silence, only the sound of the wind, carrying a trace of coldness, echoed in their ears, chilling and desolate.
Seeing the man like this, Kallen, who had been laughing so hard she was bent over, also fell silent.
Watching Fuli clumsily comfort the now-crying Eleanor, she said softly, "Yes. If only a 'little bro Fuli' could have burst into our past lives."
Then, everyone's fate would have been different.
But reality had no "if's."
"Yes, reality has no 'if's.'"
Otto closed his eyes, then opened them and clapped his hands. "Alright, brother, we shouldn't delay. We should continue our journey."
He gave Eleanor a look, and the power of the mimicked Fenghuang Down activated.
The unsuspecting monster-girl wavered, her body slumping to the side.
She was caught firmly by a pair of hands in mid-air.
After settling her down, Fuli returned.
"Let's go. Two layers left."
"It's 'just two layers left,'" Kallen corrected, shaking her head. "To get this far by ourselves, without using any authority, is a first since Schicksal was founded."
Otto shrugged. "We mostly used tricks. If we had tried to brute force it, we would have died countless times already."
In that case, I should go check out the real Kolosten town someday, Fuli thought suddenly.
He was about to say it, but his gaze swept over the bickering gold-and-silver duo in front of him, and he silently swallowed his words.
One of them had to stay behind in this virtual space. It wasn't appropriate to say that.
The trio, each with their own thoughts, stepped onto the teleportation device leading to the Sixth Heaven, Jupiter.
Compared to the previous peaceful teleports, this one was as rough as if it were handled by a death game system. First a blow to the back of the head, then being thrown into a spinning washing machine, leaving them dizzy and nauseous.
Fuli had just landed and was about to fall to his knees and vomit when his mouth was covered by Kallen's quick hand.
"Shhh!!!"
She quietly motioned for the boy to be silent, pointing around them with a look of horror.
Fuli suppressed his discomfort and looked up. His pupils instantly shrank to the size of pinpricks.
A giant with a deformed humanoid body, its limbs studded with red and green gems;
A half-giant as large as a city, with eight tubular arms and a halo above its head;
A two-headed dragon whose body was an inverted, metallic child's face; a hundred-meter-long golden serpent, its body covered in Stigmata crosses...
There were many above A-Rank, and more critical-level ones than they could count on both hands. The great red dragon dozing in the center had seven heads and ten horns, and along with the three other behemoths occupying the other corners, it exuded an aura as deep as the abyss.
And the three of them had just appeared right in the middle of this group of monsters.
The monsters were all lying on the ground, sleeping soundly, and hadn't noticed the three uninvited guests who had suddenly appeared in their territory.
Seeing that they hadn't been disturbed, Kallen finally removed her hand from Fuli's mouth.
She asked Otto with a look of disgust, "What are these things? Why have I never heard of them before?"
"Seraphim, Satan, angels, dragons, serpents," the man whispered back. "Any of those names will do. They are also the beings that Schicksal has been suppressing and cooperating with since its founding."
"Co... operating?"
A chill ran up Kallen's spine from the soles of her feet.
Otto said softly, "Kallen, haven't you always been curious why Schicksal has adopted a policy of suppressing and capturing Honkai Beasts, with killing as a secondary option, since its founding?"
Fuli whispered, "Schicksal's official story is that in this era, they haven't yet mastered the ability to kill Honkai Beasts—okay, that's too fake. Not just me, no one would believe that."
They had the ability to launch an expedition across West Asia to attack Shenzhou, but they couldn't even kill a low-level Honkai Beast?
You've got to be kidding me!
"That's just the official excuse," Otto said. "The real reason is to feed these monsters on the sixth layer."
"Feed them? Why?"
"To keep them content, so they have no desire to go out and cause trouble for humanity. Besides that, the most important point is to obtain power."
Otto continued, "The inheritance of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, remember?"
Kallen murmured, "Go to the lowest level of Schicksal to receive the inheritance..."
Her body shuddered, and she looked up at the "angels" that were exuding S-Rank auras.
The behemoth on the outermost edge, occupying nearly a third of the total area, seemed to sense something and its eyelid lifted slightly. But in the end, it lazily turned over and continued to doze.
The three of them finally let out the breath they had been holding.
"Schicksal feeds them, and they, through a contract, share their power with individuals or organizations chosen by Schicksal," Otto said. "Not just the Four Horsemen, but the Sword Brethren of Courland, the Knights of Kalotay, the Knights of Saint Stephen, the Tuscan Legion, the Knights of Malta... even if they themselves don't know it, the Honkai powers they possess actually come from the blessings of these dragon-types."
Fuli murmured to himself, "Seraphim... Saraph... the burning serpent."
The name "Seraphim" in Hebrew means "burning ones," and is the plural of the word "Saraph," which means "serpent."
They give power to the faithful, a future to the pious.
Aren't such serpents, in a religious sense, holy spirits and angels?
—But where did these things come from?
The above question naturally echoed in Kallen's mind.
But right now, she was more concerned about something else.
"Beings of this level are only on the second-to-last layer?"
Fuli voiced her thoughts, clearly on the same page. "What in the world is imprisoned on the final layer of this bubble universe?"
"That, I don't know—don't look at me like that, this time I really don't know," Otto said with a wry smile. "I did manage to infiltrate the lowest levels before, but this was as far as I got."
"Really? I don't believe you."
Perhaps sensing something, Fuli expressed his doubt very directly.
"In any case, let's hurry. Once we reach the final layer, we can break the curse on Kallen."
As Otto spoke, he pulled Fuli and the silent Kallen onto the teleportation channel to the final layer.
A moment later—
"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!"
Fuli, who had returned to the sixth layer through the teleportation array, couldn't help but curse under his breath. "Was that something I was supposed to see? Was that something I was meant to see?!"
No wonder Su, the founder of Schicksal, was so confident in converting and absorbing the vast power of faith generated by Christianity! No wonder Mei had such a complicated expression when she mentioned the "Faith Conversion Nexus Device"!
It wasn't a device at all! It was!
He spun around and stared at Otto. "The Seven Heavens bubble universe, originally in Kolosten, was moved to the floating island above the Mediterranean with Schicksal's advancing technology. Don't tell me the body of that person is still being held down in the lowest level of the bubble universe, impaled on a cross by that damn spear!"
"So please, don't go spreading it around when you get out," Otto said, collapsing to the ground and gasping for breath.
The Seventh Heaven, Saturn. The throne of God was established here, surrounded by flying angels, a place filled with glory.
The Throne of God.
In monotheistic religions, there had only ever been one human who bore the name of God.
...