"Huff... Joyce, Master Jingwei, I did not lie."
Using a Soulium avatar to lure Welt Joyce to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, Otto transferred his consciousness back to another body on the Schicksal Floating Island.
Rushing as if he were an actor late for a scene, he rescued his other old friend from the Second Herrscher, exchanged some heated words with her, and parted ways "unhappily."
Accompanied by the eternally classic lines, "Master Jingwei, I did not lie" and a crisp gunshot, the Schicksal Overseer gazed down at the "corpse" on the floor, falling into a brief silence.
-
"Please step aside for now, my old friend... dealing with the First Herrscher alone is already giving me a headache."
The man sighed, picked up the Valkyrie's body, and, fully aware of the warrior's true nature and past, the Schicksal Overseer hurried back to his laboratory with the lifeless shell in his arms.
The ancient warrior will not truly die. She'll sleep soundly for a while. I'll apologize to her when she wakes up.
Overseer Otto, unaware of the ordeal the gray-haired woman in his arms had just endured, naturally planned his next steps. He even rehearsed his excuses.
After all—once the deed was done, any objections from his old friend would be meaningless. At most, he might suffer a few punches.
The blonde-haired man remained completely focused on strategizing his immediate and long-term plans—until a thunderous roar, shaking the entire Schicksal Floating Island, jolted him back to reality.
-
"Otto! I'll kill you a thousand times—and it still won't be enough!"
Having been lured to the bottom of the sea by the blonde man's Soulium avatar, Mr. Joyce was clearly in a furious state. The usually mild-mannered old gentleman had completely abandoned his usual demeanor, casting aside the ideals of Anti-Entropy's model youth leader to the four winds.
Strands of seaweed still clung to the indigo-haired youth's body, and a tenacious little crab clung to the corner of his coat, stubbornly announcing its presence.
In his left hand, the youth clutched the Soulium shell of the blonde man, his eyes burning with primal fury and murderous intent as he scanned his surroundings for his true target. Behind him, a towering humanoid mecha materialized.
-
The Overseer of Schicksal watched stiffly as his old friend, piloting the Arahato, strode purposefully toward the Schicksal Overseer's Office. Glancing down at the other "old friend" cradled in his arms, Otto Apocalypse realized that sometimes, having fewer old friends was preferable.
"...Or perhaps I'm simply not good at making friends?"
Otto sank into deep thought.
-
"Lord Overseer? Lord Overseer? Can you hear me? The Anti-Entropy Leader... is piloting the giant mecha Arahato from that anime show and blocking the Schicksal Overseer's Office building. He's swearing he won't leave until he's given you a good beating..."
Overseer Otto's secretary, Amber, snapped him out of his reverie. Along with the communication came Joyce's furious shouts, still enraged from Otto's prank:
"Otto! You've got the guts to jump off Schicksal Headquarters, but not the guts to come out and face me one-on-one?"
"Eat shit, you bastard!"
-
"Amber, what's the situation?"
"Hmm... Besides the giant mecha Arahato piloted by Anti-Entropy's Leader himself, he has materialized a large number of Titan Mecha and Schicksal Divine Mecha, surrounding the Overseer's Office."
"But personnel and Valkyries can still freely enter and exit the building. The Anti-Entropy Leader doesn't seem to be obstructing our movements. In fact, these mecha forces have even helped alleviate some of the defensive pressure from the Honkai Beast Horde affiliated with the Second Herrscher."
"I see... What about the Second Herrscher's current status?" Otto asked, finally addressing his most pressing concern.
"The Second Herrscher is currently pursuing the Far East Branch's Hermes, moving away from Schicksal Headquarters' airspace."
"Who's aboard that ship?"
"According to our observations... there's only one person on board: A-rank Valkyrie Major Murata Himeko from the Far East Branch."
"K-423's teacher, then..."
"That should suffice... Amber, continue monitoring the situation."
"Understood, Lord Overseer. Are you certain you don't want to intervene with the Anti-Entropy Leader?"
"Judging by Mr. Welt Joyce's current demeanor, he doesn't seem to have left yet... Did you defeat him earlier?" Amber's voice crackled through the communicator, tinged with curiosity.
"Does the Anti-Entropy Leader seem unusually agitated and unable to take a loss?"
"No... I, well... did I stand him up?" The blonde man pondered for a long moment, unable to find a precise term. He finally settled on the vague "I stood him up."
"You stood up the Anti-Entropy Leader, Lord Overseer? Surely that wouldn't make him this angry...?" Amber's voice betrayed her confusion.
"If it were a normal case of standing someone up, probably not. But in his case... we had agreed to a duel. Then I told him to his face, 'I'm bailing today,' turned around, and jumped into the sea, vanishing without a trace..."
Recalling the scene deep beneath the Mediterranean Sea—Joyce struggling against his own clone, a swarm of marine life, and tangled seaweed in pursuit—Otto wiped away nonexistent cold sweat.
"So, you won't be returning today?"
"If I went back now, he'd probably Shoryuken me into the stratosphere and unleash an infinite combo..."
Otto gently placed Fu Hua's body, which he had been cradling, into the medical pod, tapping a few buttons on the panel. He clicked his tongue in exasperation.
"I'll reappear before him once my old friend has calmed down a bit. Amber, you'll handle public affairs for the next while."
"..."
"Amber?"
Receiving no response, Otto called out to his secretary again.
"...Lord Overseer, we have an urgent message. The Anti-Entropy Leader just targeted the collection room in your office with the Arahato's palm cannon."
"If I recall correctly, that collection room is your private storage area, Lord Overseer. You seem quite fond of keeping figurines and models there?"
"..."
"Where's Durandal?!"
"You ordered her to stall Miss Kyuusyou by any means necessary."
"Her mission is over. Tell her to immediately reinforce the Central Tower and stop Arahato at all costs! Amber! Stall Joyce for time until Durandal arrives!"
"Understood. Contacting Lady Durandal now—"
-
"Lord Overseer... I'm afraid Lady Durandal won't be able to make it... or rather, none of the Immortal Blades' first squad will be available for the time being."
"?"
"Lady Kyuusyou knocked them all out..."
"???"
"They got into a fight...?"
"Uh... not exactly."