Chapter 239: The Realm of Binding
"This price you've kept hidden all along — what exactly is it?" Einstein looked at Otto. "I don't believe a thing like this comes without a price."
"Mm, there is indeed a price. Of course there's a price." Otto nodded quite candidly. "But this price has nothing whatsoever to do with you."
"As for the success rate." Otto looked at Einstein. "In Dr. Einstein's eyes, am I really the sort of man who would set about doing something without being absolutely certain of it?"
"..." On this one point, Einstein could only respond with silence, because Otto really did seem to be that sort of person. He always had a firm grasp on whatever he did, and the very fact that he dared to bring it up meant that, to some degree, he had already done something...
As Einstein was thinking this, her gaze slowly drifted toward Korosten behind her. Otto chuckled at the motion.
"Dr. Einstein guessed correctly. This place is already gradually overlapping with 500 years ago. Information from another world is leaking into this one, gradually forming the phantoms you saw earlier."
"To put it precisely, they aren't phantoms but the projection of another world into ours. Once a certain threshold is reached, you'll even be able to communicate with them."
"So it isn't that some plan is about to be launched — this plan is already in the midst of being launched."
Before anyone else could say a thing, Durandal cut in first, a trace of anger in her eyes: "If that's the case, Lord Overseer, am I to understand that you're prepared to abandon this world?"
"And what about everyone else — the people outside this little town? Do you intend to simply cast them aside like this, Overseer?"
"That isn't quite right." Otto shook his head. "Durandal, you still haven't understood. The point in time we're returning to is 500 years ago."
Otto extended his hand: "For example, right now this hand of mine is a branch of the Imaginary Tree, and it also represents our world..."
As he spoke, his finger slid along his arm: "The growth of a bud, in our eyes, is the passage of time. What we mean to do is nothing more than return to..."
Otto's finger, which had already reached the knuckle, moved back to his wrist: "We aren't abandoning our world. We're merely returning to one of our own points in time."
"The branch is still the same branch — only I imagine you wouldn't simply do nothing once you were there. As long as you did certain things, you'd change certain outcomes."
Otto's finger continued to move, but this time it slid toward another finger.
"So you wouldn't be giving up anything. 500 years ago, outside that little town, almost no one has even been born yet. And I think that, even if you went back 500 years and they were sacrificed, what you'd gain in exchange would only be a better outcome — wouldn't it?"
"As for the method of carrying it out, I'll leave that to you when the time comes. We could even repeat just these 500 years over and over, until you feel that one day you'll be able to challenge Finality."
Otto spread his hands as he looked at them all: "An endless cycle of 500 years, until one day we've accumulated enough power to challenge Finality, to defeat the enemy we originally couldn't defeat."
"We'd have infinite chances, infinite time — isn't that wonderful?"
"But that would also mean abandoning everyone else, wouldn't it?" At last they caught on. Yes — if they returned to 500 years ago, then what about now?
Would the people of the present simply be cast aside by them? They couldn't accept that. The education and conviction they had received as Valkyries was to protect this beautiful world.
They were the shield of the people, the shield of civilization, the one and only line of defense between civilization and the Honkai.
There was no way they could accept Otto's current proposal, and even less could they accept that Otto's approach was to flee to 500 years ago to do his accumulating.
Once they had made a single attempt and given up, would the countless billions of people other than themselves — billions of people — be abandoned because of their flight?
They couldn't accept it. No matter how fine Otto made it sound, nothing could conceal the fact that, once they left for 500 years ago, the people of the present would be the ones they had abandoned.
There was no accepting it, no approving it.
"Overseer Otto, stop what you're doing now." Durandal drew out the Abyss Flower and looked at Otto. "We haven't yet reached the point where we need that."
"Haah, you just can't accept it." Otto shook his head. "Why can't you..."
Before Otto could finish, a flaming slash was already lunging toward him — but before the fiery slash could reach his body, it was blocked by a layer of golden barrier. The flames bored into the barrier and gradually dissipated into nothing.
In Kiana's hands a greatsword wreathed in blazing fire had condensed: "An approach like yours is nothing less than a desecration of all of our sacrifices. It's true that the very finest Valkyries are gathered here — but what about the rest?"
Every Valkyrie in every Schicksal branch sacrificed herself for the sake of the fight against the Honkai, standing between the people and the Honkai, even at the cost of her own life.
It was their sacrifices that had bought the peaceful lives of the vast majority. If they went back 500 years, then what would those sacrifices even amount to?
To cast them aside as well — Kiana couldn't do it. This world, here and now — Kiana couldn't bring herself to turn a blind eye to it, still less abandon it, still less flee.
"Then why are we still talking?! Hit him!" Tesla, who had long since been ready, pulled out a small missile launcher from behind her back and fired it straight at Otto.
But as the missile entered the barrier, the flames erupting behind it gradually died out, and then it was simply locked in place in midair.
"The Power of Binding?" The instant Theresa saw the scene before her, she recognized it. This was the phenomenon produced by the Power of Binding — a situation that often occurred when Irene used Judah or Kallen.
Theresa reacted with extreme speed and immediately unfurled Judah, its chains coiling around her body. Then, with a forceful swing, she flung the heavy Judah straight into the barrier.
At the same time, Judah itself radiated the Power of Binding to counteract the Binding coiling around it — but just as Judah was about to slap right into Otto's face, it was brought to a standstill in midair.
"What?!" Surprise showed in Theresa's eyes. The matter of Binding being able to counter Binding — she had discovered it earlier, during her training with Irene, which was precisely why she had swung Judah without the slightest hesitation.
As she saw it, the most Otto could have was a mimicry Divine Key conjured up by the Void Archives — a fact that, in their eyes, was common knowledge.
A counterfeit could not beat the genuine article; Theresa understood that perfectly well too.
So what was going on now? How could Judah be brought to a standstill in midair?
Joyce reached his hand toward Project Bunny and rested it on Project Bunny's arm. Bronya immediately released her Authority, and with the additional help, Judah appeared in Joyce's hand.
Even though he could now exert a certain amount of the Authority of Reason without needing a core, when it came to constructing larger objects, having Bronya lend her Authority was faster.
The moment Judah appeared, Joyce swung it like a meteor hammer — but he wasn't so arrogant as to think the Judah he'd constructed could be stronger than the genuine Judah in Theresa's hand.
So he merely let his Judah rest against Theresa's Judah, and with the two forces of Binding acting together, Theresa was finally able to wrench her own Judah back.
"I know this is hard for you to accept." Otto's face showed not the slightest concern over having nearly taken a Judah to the face just now — as though he didn't care in the least.
"After all, I'm aware this isn't something everyone can accept. I won't force the matter; you don't have to accept it. But what's done is done."
"Unless..." Otto gave a soft laugh, as though he completely disbelieved that the people before him could do anything — and as though he were the arrogant arch-villain that only appears in scripts. "Unless you can kill me."
The instant Otto finished speaking, the golden light-screen that had been quietly hovering near him advanced toward the group like a city wall.
"Move, now!" Theresa immediately pulled up Kiana, who was nearest to her. Something was wrong with this situation. That just now was absolutely the Power of Binding — but by all rights, shouldn't Grandfather only be using a mimicry Divine Key simulated by the Void Archives?
A mimicry Divine Key could never, under any circumstances, compare to the genuine one — which was exactly why Theresa had been so shocked to find her own Judah being controlled.
Something was absolutely wrong now; they had to withdraw at once. And as for the capabilities of Binding, Theresa understood them better than anyone else present — once you were locked down by a Barrier of Binding, what would the consequences be?
The others knew its menace too, and they all retreated toward the cathedral doors. Bronya even had Project Bunny grab a doctor in each hand and run for the exit.
By the time everyone had run out, the entire cathedral had already been sealed, its surface coiled with golden chains — and that barrier was still continuously expanding outward.
"Tch..." Theresa frowned tightly as she watched the barrier. This situation wasn't looking good — in fact, a very bad thought had already taken shape in her mind.
That's right. If it were a Judah mimicked by the Void Archives, it could absolutely never stand on equal footing with the genuine Judah. But what if this wasn't a Judah mimicked by the Void Archives?
Theresa's gaze flicked across Ana and Kiana. The Herrscher of the Legion Core that Irene had handed over to Otto earlier had never resurfaced to this day. But what if —
What if Otto had used the Herrscher of the Legion Core on himself? What if, on top of that, Otto had, by some method, obtained an additional Herrscher's Authority?
Theresa turned her gaze toward Einstein. Einstein's brow was furrowed as well — clearly, she had thought of something similar.
"Principal Theresa, let me just confirm something first. Just now, you really were using your full strength, weren't you?"
"That's right. If it were a mimicked Judah, there is absolutely no way it could have blocked Judah." Theresa nodded forcefully, her eyes resolute. She was extremely confident about this.
There's no logic by which a forgery can triumph over the genuine article — this isn't fgo, after all, right?
"Haah, then it's probably the bad scenario." Einstein heaved a sigh, facing the barrier that had already taken shape and was steadily growing larger.
"Overseer Otto has very likely already become a Herrscher. And in all likelihood, a dual Herrscher of both Legion and Binding."
Einstein pinched her head, clearly a bit pained. Earlier she'd been saying their combat power was absolutely sufficient, that they'd win no matter how you sliced it just by steamrolling through.
But who could ever have imagined that this guy Otto would actually become a Herrscher of Binding — now that made things difficult. They'd talked at length with the Flame-Chasers of the Previous Era, and from them they knew exactly what kind of mechanism-freak Binding was.
This guy was a pure mechanism-freak — so much so that it didn't even quite seem like a Honkai-side ability, but rather a pure counter to Honkai energy, restricting the activity of all energy, especially Honkai energy.
This included bioelectricity, and even kinetic energy and the like. For the Previous Era, whose combat strength relied purely on MANTIS, this sort of thing could be said to be playing a pure counter card.
Utterly sickening.
And now, they too were about to start facing this sickening thing.
"Haah, why on earth did Irene have to hand the core over to Otto." Theresa pinched the bridge of her nose, thoroughly exasperated. Wait — the reason this guy isn't here, could it be precisely because she knew this sort of thing would happen, and so she just didn't come at all?
The matter of Corruption could probably be dealt with at any time, but at this particular moment, given Irene's earlier act of aiding the enemy, she likely didn't want to be here, because she'd be an easy target for a dressing-down.
The more Theresa thought about it, the more sense it made. No — she had to call Irene and bring her back, to make her go deal with the trouble she herself had stirred up.
Even as she thought it, Theresa whipped out her phone and called Irene directly. But the line on the other end rang for a long while, and Irene never picked up.
Theresa called several more times in a row, the expression on her face growing darker and darker. This girl really was running away. Since Irene wouldn't pick up, Theresa simply called someone else.
"Hello, Principal Theresa, may I ask what this is about?" The call placed to Rin connected very quickly. Rin's cheerful voice came through from the other end.
In the background noise on the other end, a few rather strange low growls could also be heard.
"Is Irene over there with you right now?" A smile spread across Theresa's face. On the other end, Rin's voice stalled for just a moment.
"She is, she is. Why, is something the matter?"
"Then I'll have to trouble you to put Irene on the phone." Hearing Rin's words, the expression on Theresa's face grew darker and darker. If Irene was there and wouldn't take the call, that meant Irene was doing it on purpose.
And if she wasn't there, that likewise proved Irene had made an excuse and fled. So Theresa continued: "There's something I'd like to have a good, long talk with her about."
"Mm, Sister Irene's busy with something right now. Could you call back in a little while?"
"Then have her hurry up and finish." Theresa hung up. She could already be certain: this girl Irene had known it would turn out like this, and that was exactly why she'd bolted.
It was just that, at this moment, what Theresa failed to notice was that, on the other side of that ceaselessly expanding golden barrier, a single figure quietly slipped inside.
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