"So this is the final attraction—the execution platform of Saint Kallen Kaslana."
"Uwa... the last stop is actually this?"
The next day, the two of them visited all the remaining sights in Kolosten, and the final place they arrived at was the execution platform.
Elias' eyelid twitched as he looked at the gallows before him. This was where today's execution would be carried out—and also the place where Kallen Kaslana had died five hundred years ago.
He glanced around, making sure to etch the location firmly into his memory. Then he threw a punch through the air toward the gallows. In the next second, the entire execution platform collapsed with a thunderous boom.
"Just looking at it pisses me off. Tear it down, tear it down. And you hiding over there—if you've got something to say, come out and say it."
Elias called out toward a distant corner.
A figure then emerged—one that almost made him strike instinctively.
Golden hair tinged faintly green, emerald eyes, clad in a priest's robe. The newcomer looked at Elias and Kallen with a complicated expression.
Even if five hundred years hadn't passed, even if he were reduced to ashes, Elias would still recognize him.
This was Otto Apocalypse.
Of course, this was the fake Otto of the virtual world.
"...Just who are you, sir?"
Otto asked warily as he looked at Elias.
As the son of the Overseer of Schicksal, he naturally knew what had happened yesterday. Elias had taken Kallen on a date throughout the city, robbed the rich to help the poor—and beaten every Valkyrie and knight Schicksal had to offer along the way.
"Can't you tell? I'm an angel descended from heaven, here to take Kallen away from this false world."
Elias shook his six wings as he spoke.
"..."
Otto's eye twitched.
In truth, when Elias and Kallen had been openly dating and fooling around throughout the city yesterday, Otto had secretly followed them the entire time. And when he heard his subordinates report that the two had slept together last night—
Jealousy nearly made him vomit blood.
So today, he had decided to make contact with them. That was why he had been secretly tailing them the whole way.
"With this... Mr. Angel here, it seems the measures I prepared won't be necessary."
"Oh? You mean those Honkai Beasts?"
"...How do you know about that?"
Otto looked at Elias in surprise. He hadn't expected his plan to be exposed in advance, so he simply admitted it.
"My father—tch—the old Overseer ghost thinks his plan is flawless. He wants to kill Kallen, then use our engagement to claim the Kaslana family as her political legacy and fully absorb them under his command."
Elias looked at Otto with a subtle expression.
Unlike the Otto five hundred years later, the one before him wasn't yet such a terrifying enemy.
He was simply too young.
In Elias' eyes, he was like a child overflowing with performative desire.
And just from the way he addressed his father, it was obvious this guy was quite the filial son. Give him a signal axe and he'd probably hack at his own father.
"My original plan was to release the Honkai Beasts sealed beneath the cathedral. The chaos they cause would be enough to dismantle all of Schicksal's defensive forces within the city. Then we could leave this place openly and honorably."
Otto spoke with exaggerated gestures.
At this stage, he resembled a clown more than a fool. Elias could only think this was absolutely black history material for Otto.
"If you did that, do you know how many innocent people would be hurt?" Kallen demanded, clenching her fists.
"Ah? Don't joke with me, my goddess. The lives of those lowly commoners combined aren't worth even a single strand of your hair. Once you escape, you can begin a new life. How about we travel together? I've already arranged it. Our first stop will be the Far East you miss so much."
This Otto struck a cool yet flamboyant pose as he invited Kallen.
Elias sucked in a sharp breath beside them, feeling his internal image of Otto completely shatter.
He truly hadn't expected Otto five hundred years ago to be like this.
But that extreme personality—willing to commit any evil for the sake of the saint—hadn't changed one bit.
"...Of course, this friend may come along as well."
Otto hesitated briefly before speaking to Elias.
As long as Kallen was happy, he didn't mind turning green.
And he was deeply envious.
If possible, he too wanted to possess absolute strength like Elias—crushing all enemies head-on and personally protecting the saint he loved.
Otto truly wished he could replace Elias from yesterday.
But that was something he couldn't even achieve in his dreams.
Meanwhile, Kallen had already reached her limit.
"Enough!!"
She strode forward and slapped Otto across the face without mercy.
After eating and drinking her fill, the monstrous strength of the Kaslana family sent Otto spinning in place like a helicopter.
"K-Kallen?"
Covering his swollen cheek, Otto saw stars as he stared blankly at Kallen—who was now glaring at him with utter disgust, as though looking at trash.
"Release Honkai Beasts to attack the people and escape in the chaos? Otto, are you insulting me? Even if this body is false, the Kaslanas are the protectors of the people—the shield of the people! I don't need your plan!"
Kallen shouted angrily.
In truth, although she had told Elias that she had tried every possibility in her tens of thousands of cycles—there was one possibility she had never attempted.
A method placed before her every single time, yet rejected every single time.
Accepting Otto's plan.
Though she was only a virtual personality and not the true Kallen Kaslana, she wasn't imitating the saint.
She was making a decision with her own will.
And this was the one thing she would never accept.
Even knowing this was a false world.
Even knowing its people weren't truly real.
Even if no matter how many died, they would revive upon her next death.
She would never treat ordinary people as sacrifices.
"One slap isn't enough! Hit him a few more times!" Elias shouted from the side.
Kallen blinked—then nodded vigorously.
"Otto, are you prepared to repent?"
"K-Kallen, wait, I—"
What followed was a completely one-sided beating.
Kallen showed no mercy as she beat this Otto half to death.
Though she possessed the saint's memories, she felt not the slightest goodwill toward this Dog Otto.
If anything, her affection value was negative.
There was nothing but disgust.
And that was only natural.
In every one of her tens of thousands of cycles, the Honkai Beast that killed her each time had been released by Otto.
Elias had even told her that this endless looping false world itself was created by the Otto Apocalypse of the real world.
Her disgust had already reached its peak.
The one who claimed to want to save her was also the one who killed her and imprisoned her here.
She wished she could smash Judas straight into his skull.
"K-Kallen, listen to me, I—"
Otto struggled to raise a hand while sprawled on the ground.
But Kallen ignored him completely.
Instead, right in front of him, she stepped forward and gave Elias a huge hug.
"Otto, don't come see me again. I'm afraid Elias will misunderstand. And... I don't want to see you anymore!"
"Puh—!!"
K! O!
The lethality of that sentence was off the charts.
Rejected harshly by the saint he worshipped, openly despised—Otto collapsed into an OTZ kneel, his entire world losing color.
(Ah... that feels amazing!!)
The corners of Elias' lips curled uncontrollably upward.
Seeing Otto in such a defeated-dog state filled him with indescribable delight.
At the same time, he returned Kallen's embrace, pulling her soft, fragrant body tightly into his arms.
Meanwhile, in the real world, Otto also suffered ten thousand points of critical damage. His soulium body twitched as if malfunctioning.
Amber: "Um, Overseer, please stay strong."
Otto: "I-I'm fine. I'm very fine. Not a problem at all. Everything is within expectations."
...
After teaching Otto a lesson, Elias and Kallen continued their robbery of the rich and redistribution to the poor from yesterday.
Realizing they had no way to stop them, Schicksal could only lie flat and give up.
After all, every Valkyrie and knight was still in the hospital recovering.
Elias had already beaten this era's Schicksal organization into submission.
"Now that we've dealt with Otto, will the Honkai Beasts still be released?" Elias asked.
"They will. No matter how I tried to stop them in the past, they were always released. Even if I warned Otto in advance, in the end those Honkai Beasts would break free due to some 'coincidence.'"
Kallen spoke helplessly.
She had even tried killing the Honkai Beasts in advance—but in the end, they would simply appear out of thin air again.
"Heh... Whether in the real world or the virtual one, that kind of corrective force is always a headache."
Elias shook his head, recalling unpleasant memories and understanding her frustration.
But this time, everything would change because of him.
Not to mention mere medieval Honkai Beasts.
There wasn't even a single high-tier species among them.
In Elias' eyes, they were no different from ants.
And the corrective force of this virtual world wouldn't apply to him either.
"It's almost time."
"Yes... I'm a little nervous..."
Kallen's body trembled slightly.
In the past, she had become numb—even execution couldn't stir her.
But now, because of Elias, hope and anticipation had returned.
And with them, tension.
"Then hold my hand."
"Mm. Thank you."
Seeing the white-haired boy extend his hand, Kallen took it without hesitation.
At the same time, the moment of fate arrived.
"Roarrrrr—!!" xN
Thousands of Honkai Beasts burst from underground, roaring to declare the city's peace at an end.
In that instant, civilians, nobles, and even Schicksal itself were stunned by the sudden crisis.
Otto stared in shock at the Honkai Beasts about to run rampant, utterly confused.
He had clearly canceled the plan—so why had they still been released?
"So they came after all."
Kallen's face turned pale.
No matter how many times she'd seen it, thousands of Honkai Beasts remained a terrifying sight.
With this era's Schicksal strength, resistance was impossible.
"Just a bunch of trash mobs. Give me five seconds."
Elias remained perfectly calm.
A mere thousand Honkai Beasts—none even Emperor-level.
In the Previous Era, they wouldn't have required the deployment of a fusion warrior.
But just as he was about to instantly wipe them out—
Boom—!
"Hm? Lightning?"
A crimson bolt suddenly struck.
Elias blocked it barehanded.
Then he saw a familiar figure.
"Mei?"
Raiden Mei in her Herrscher of Thunder form had somehow appeared in this world.
And not just her.
Kiana in her Herrscher of the Void form, Bronya, Theresa, Sirin, Cecilia, Welt, Benares, Siegfried, Durandal, Rita—and even Elias himself in his Five-Core Herrscher form.
In addition, there were tens of thousands of Honkai Beasts.
Unlike the medieval ones—with no high-tier species—these included numerous Emperor-level and Judgment-level beasts.
Every lower-tier species was present as well.
Without exception, all of them directed hostility toward Elias.
"W-What is this?!"
Kallen stared in shock.
None of these enemies existed in her looping memories.
For the first time, she felt as though the world itself had malfunctioned.
Elias squeezed her hand slightly, undisguised disgust in his eyes.
"Tch! Only that bastard could pull something like this. Get out here, Otto Apocalypse!"
"Ah, this wasn't done by me."
The Otto who had been listlessly kneeling since being rejected looked up blankly, denying responsibility.
But in the next second, accompanied by a bang, his head exploded.
"He wasn't talking about a virtual personality like you—but about me. The real Otto Apocalypse. Heh—seeing myself from five hundred years ago is nauseating. What unbearable black history."
Clad in the purple robes of the Schicksal Overseer, Otto appeared.
He looked down disdainfully at his fallen virtual self, smoke curling from the barrel of his gun.
"Heh. As expected of you—even killing yourself."
"You're too kind, Elias. That foolish clown has no right to live. In fact, if I could rewind time to five hundred years ago, aside from saving the saint, the second thing I'd do would be to kill my past self."
As he spoke, Otto pulled the trigger again, emptying the remaining bullets into his virtual self.
"What is this, some Red Archer behavior..."
"But you're indeed someone who deserves to die. This situation—your handiwork, I presume?"
Elias surveyed the Valkyrie data bodies, Honkai Beast data bodies, and Herrscher data bodies completely surrounding him.
He already understood Otto's intentions.
"Correct. My arrangement. How do you find the spectacle, Elias? Are you satisfied?"
"Satisfied my ass. Otto, itching for another beating?"
"Heh. It's only been a short while, yet Elias grows ever more frightening. But even you should be doomed in this situation, shouldn't you?"
Otto spread his hands, presenting his masterpiece.
"3,761 Valkyries. 212,872 Honkai Beasts. And four Herrschers. In this virtual world where you cannot use your Authority, what can you possibly accomplish against so many enemies?"
"And by the way, if you die in this virtual world, your consciousness will be completely erased. In the real world, you'll become a living corpse."
"So, Elias—today is the day of your death."
Excitement gleamed in Otto's eyes.
He had loaded every powerful combat data entry within Schicksal's database into this virtual world—and severed its connection to reality.
As long as Elias was defeated here, his consciousness would become an electronic ghost, forever imprisoned in this endless loop.
With that, his greatest threat would be resolved.
Just thinking about it filled Otto with pleasure—he had probably already asked Amber to prepare the champagne.
However...
"You think this level is enough to kill me? Otto, is your soulium brain malfunctioning?"
Elias said coldly.
In truth, Otto's understanding of him was still stuck at the Five-Core Herrscher stage.
"Otto Apocalypse, you know nothing of my current power. Now let me show you what it means to be a Flame-Chaser of [Deliverance] and [Eternity]!"
Elias clenched his hand.
In an instant, the Judgment of Shamash appeared within his grasp, blazing flames already igniting along its blade.
At the same time, the Authority of the Herrscher of Earth was released.
Terrifying gravity crushed down, forcing every enemy to the ground.
Elias: "Shamash—Assault!!!"