"System, you'd better not drop the ball on me this time."
After threatening the System in his mind, Otto materialized the Seven Thunders of Retribution in his hand.
[Please rest assured, Host. This System will be with you. You may commence the battle of vengeance at your leisure.]
The System's voice rang out.
Miss Herrscher of Thunder looked at the Seven Thunders of Retribution, its electromagnetic field affecting her slightly.
First, she had to adjust her own electromagnetic field to prevent God from descending before she was ready.
But where did this man pull this Divine Key from?
Miss Herrscher looked left and right, but could only conclude that the weapon had appeared from thin air. It didn't look like it had been pulled from a pocket of Imaginary Space.
Could this be what humans call the power of technology?
Truly incomprehensible.
"Where do you hide it?"
Miss Herrscher asked. Otto just smiled and tapped his own chest.
"Miss Herrscher, have you ever heard of the milky-scented slash?"
Using this joke to ease his tension, Otto looked up at the sky. The azure heavens were cloudless, with only the sun hanging high above.
It's a beautiful day.
"In a moment, I'll give this to you. Then, you let the Will of the Honkai descend. You can leave the rest to me."
Otto explained. Miss Herrscher nodded. She and Otto were now grasshoppers on the same string.
"System, how exactly do I usurp the authority of the Will of the Honkai?"
Otto asked again in his mind, just to prevent any last-minute accidents.
[The Host only needs to touch the Herrscher vessel that the Will of the Honkai has descended upon. This System will then send the Host's consciousness to face the Will of the Honkai directly.]
With that confirmation, Otto extended his hand toward Miss Herrscher.
"We need to hold hands the entire time."
This way, when the Will of the Honkai descended, the System could transport him there instantly.
Looking at Otto's palm, Miss Herrscher snorted coldly.
"There won't be a next time."
She simply clasped hands with Otto. He regulated his breathing and looked at the Seven Thunders of Retribution in his hand, his gaze trembling slightly.
He was a little worried.
But, in truth, there was nothing to worry about.
If an accident happened, he just needed to un-equip the Seven Thunders. Without its influence on the Herrscher's electromagnetic field, the descent of the Will of the Honkai would once again be blocked.
So, don't be afraid.
I'm the one in control.
Otto told himself.
His emerald eyes regained their luster. Seeing Otto like this, Miss Herrscher gave another cold snort.
Hmph. This look is more fitting.
"Let's begin."
Without further delay, Otto reversed his grip on the Seven Thunders and offered the hilt to the Herrscher.
The Herrscher of Thunder immediately took hold of it.
The two Herrscher of Thunder cores resonated with each other. Miss Herrscher could feel her own electromagnetic field, which had been blockading the Will of the Honkai, being disrupted by the Divine Key in her hand.
A savage light flickered in her scarlet eyes.
But in an instant, that savagery vanished.
"Zzzzt!"
An electric current exploded in her hand, forcing Otto's and the Herrscher's clasped hands apart. Otto's expression sharpened. He reached out to grab her hand again, but dark purple arcs of lightning were already slithering up her arm.
Otto looked at the being before him.
The same eyes that regarded all life with indifference, so empty as if all emotion was alien to It.
It was God. It was the Will of the Honkai.
It lowered Its head, looking at the Seven Thunders in Its hand, then looked up at the... foreign object before It!
[I have arrived.]
The voice of God boomed in Otto's mind, nearly shattering his composure. He subconsciously took a step back.
No, there's nothing to fear from the Will of the Honkai.
Otto stepped forward again. He raised his right hand. If he failed to touch the Will of the Honkai this time, he would just un-equip the Seven Thunders, tie his hand to the Herrscher's, and start over.
Arcs of lightning lunged toward Otto like snakes. Facing the dark purple electricity, the warrior's instinct granted to him by the Cecilia Stigmata screamed of imminent danger. He hastily retreated two steps, dodging the lightning that reeked of death.
But those two steps had widened the distance between him and the Will of the Honkai.
Dammit!
Otto knew he had failed. But the cost of failure was low; he just needed to un-equip the Seven Thunders now.
However, Otto's eyes went wide. He stared at the Will of the Honkai. It had actually just thrown the Seven Thunders of Retribution away.
The Divine Key landed on the ground and, for some reason, transformed into a slingshot.
Simultaneously, the Will of the Honkai's left hand reached for its own chest.
Fingernails pierced through skin and flesh. Blood sprayed from the chest of Mei's body.
Is it committing suicide?
Or is it about to use the milky-scented slash?
No, neither!
Otto was stunned.
A flash of lightning was forcibly ripped from within the body. Its left hand was bloody, but it couldn't conceal the thunderous light within.
It was... the Gem of Conquest!
It was the Herrscher of Thunder's Core!
The Will of the Honkai had gouged the Herrscher Core out of its own body!
The Honkai energy throughout Nagazora City surged, converging entirely on the Will of the Honkai.
A horrifying, bloody hole appeared in the chest of Mei's body, but the Honkai energy crazily poured into it. In an instant, the surrounding area was swept clean of all energy.
A transparent, diamond-shaped gem glowing with a faint blue light appeared in the bloody hole.
Flesh rapidly grew around it, filling the original wound, leaving half of the diamond-shaped gem exposed.
The Will of the Honkai lowered Its head, looking at the Herrscher Core in Its left hand.
Lightning flashed. With the Gem of Conquest as its focus, the electricity formed a razor-sharp blade of thunder, like a Divine Key without its Soul Steel shell.
Then, It looked at Otto.
[Outsider.]
[Your transgression ends here.]
The words held no emotion. It was simply doing what needed to be done.
It would eliminate the BUG that did not belong to this world. It would return this world to its proper course.
"System!!! What the hell is this!!!"
Otto un-equipped the Seven Thunders, but Miss Herrscher did not regain control of Mei's body, because she was now being held in the Will of the Honkai's hand.
The Will of the Honkai had directly sealed off any possible action the Herrscher of Thunder could take.
It had completely checkmated Otto's original plan.
This was God.
Right now, it was a case of: inviting the god was easy...
...sending it away was hard.
[This is a Pseudo Herrscher Core, created temporarily by the Will of the Honkai to maintain control of the Herrscher's body.]
[If you wish for the Third Herrscher to recover, you only need to place the Gem of Conquest back inside her body.]
This time, the System didn't play dead after the Will of the Honkai descended.
[Host, please do not panic. The Will of the Honkai used the ambient Honkai energy in Nagazora City to create this Pseudo Herrscher Core. Once that energy is depleted, this imitation core will dissipate.]
[Therefore, please hold out until the Honkai energy is exhausted, or touch the Will of the Honkai's body before then.]
A Pseudo Herrscher Core???
That was just plain cheating.
Otto's mouth hung open.
"Then... how long do I have to hold out?"
[Approximately three minutes.]
Damn it...
Otto looked at the Will of the Honkai and managed a strained smile.
"So, you're an Ultraman after all..."
He tried to stall for time with trash talk.
But his only reply was a sky-blotting flash of lightning.
Mixed with the scent of blood, the milky-scented slash, carrying unstoppable thunder, cleaved toward Otto.
The Will of the Honkai was a being of few words and decisive action.
It chose to simply crush Otto.
---o---