"Siegfried! I considered you a brother-in-arms, my dearest friend, and yet you deceived me!" Theresa glared furiously at Siegfried.
"Ahaha..." Siegfried scratched his head in embarrassment.
"..." Watching Siegfried's goofy smile only made Theresa angrier.
"Damn it, I've been tied up by Judah's Oath again. Wait, why did I say 'again'?"
"I was so foolish, really. I knew that you, Siegfried, possessed the strength to duel a Herrscher one-on-one and wielded the Seventh Divine Key. You couldn't possibly be easily subdued by a Herrscher, and naturally, you wouldn't lie. But the one thing I didn't expect was that a seemingly honest guy like you would betray the revolution!" Theresa wallowed in self-pity.
She really should have listened to Himeko and not rashly entered Raiden Mei's house so easily.
But who could have imagined it? Siegfried, a man who had put so much effort into fighting the Honkai, had actually defected!
If it hadn't been Siegfried explaining the situation to her, how could Theresa have possibly fallen for such an idiotic trap?
"Siegfried, doing this... is it fair to me? Is it fair to Cecilia?"
"It's exactly for Cecilia that I'm doing this."
"Ah?"
"This person here is a Curio Forger. He has a Curio that can resurrect a specific lifeform just by watching advertisements. Plus, he's a confirmed good guy; all he wants are Divine Keys. As long as I bring you and your Divine Key to him, he'll share this Curio with me. Theresa, put yourself in my shoes. If you had met him first, and he proposed that as long as you brought me and my Divine Key to him, he'd be willing to resurrect Cecilia... you definitely would have struck much harder than I did," Siegfried explained.
Moreover, Chen Li was an ironclad good guy; this had already been vouched for by many people.
"Th-that is true." Theresa couldn't help but nod.
If it meant being able to resurrect Cecilia, let alone bringing Siegfried and his Divine Key over, even if she had to string Siegfried up and whip him for three days and three nights, Theresa would gladly do it.
"And I've already obtained this Curio. The problem is that this Curio requires watching a lot of ads. It takes about 25 hours of continuous ad-watching," Siegfried scratched his head.
"Then just watch them! It's merely 25 hours of ads!"
"Although the ads require you to not look away from the screen for 25 continuous hours, it's still fairly easy. The issue is that the resurrected Second Herrscher, Sirin, also has the right to use this Curio, and she's competing with me to revive Cecilia," Siegfried sighed.
"What?! That damn Second Herrscher! Then hurry up and watch the ads!"
"I'm going to, I'm going to..."
"Wait, you still tricked me!" Theresa suddenly realized she shouldn't be putting herself in his shoes, because she was the one tied up right now.
"I didn't trick you. Look, isn't there a Homu right here?" Siegfried pointed at Chen Li, who was wearing the Golden Homu King suit.
"Do you have any bitter melons in your house? Squeeze some fresh bitter melon juice for Theresa," Siegfried turned and asked Raiden Mei.
"No need to go through all that trouble. Yukari Yakumo!" Chen Li looked up and shouted.
"Coming, coming! Here's the bitter melon juice!" A pair of slender, jade-white hands poked out of a rift in front of Chen Li, holding a glass of bitter melon juice in one hand and the latest volume of the Homu manga in the other.
"Here." Chen Li took the two items and handed them to Theresa.
"It's actually the latest volume of the Homu manga, and the limited-edition Supreme Bitter Melon Juice that even I couldn't bear to drink? Where did you get these?!" Theresa was overjoyed at the sight.
Although Theresa was bound by Judah's Oath, she still had some room to move. When Chen Li stated that if she didn't drink the bitter melon juice he would dump it out, Theresa reluctantly accepted the glass.
"Yukari Yakumo, where did you get this?" Chen Li asked.
"I casually borrowed it from the Principal's office at St. Freya Academy," Yukari Yakumo's voice drifted over.
"Pfft!" Theresa spat out a mouthful of bitter melon juice.
That's my house!
"Cough, cough! You guys are taking this too far!" Theresa flew into a humiliated rage.
"Don't get so worked up, we just wanted to take back our property."
"How could Judah's Oath possibly be your property?!"
"Do you know the origins of Judah's Oath?"
"The Key of Binding, a legacy from the Previous Era." Theresa nodded.
Theresa wasn't completely 'Teri-derp'; she still knew a thing or two about the Divine Keys.
"Then do you know which faction in the Previous Era created the Key of Binding?"
"I heard Grandpa mention it once... I think it was The Flame-Chasers."
"Then isn't that settled? I am from The Flame-Chasers. I time-traveled from 50,000 years ago to the present. Otherwise, how do you think I managed to control Judah's Oath to backstab you just now?"
"Are you serious?!"
"Of course I'm serious. Judah's Oath's 666th Zeroth Power effect is backstabbing its master. This was a genius design I personally came up with back in the day!" Chen Li proclaimed proudly.
After all, it was Judah.
"What kind of garbage design is that?!" Theresa found it incomprehensible.
How could anyone possibly incorporate such a heaven-defyingly stupid design into an item they forged themselves?
"This is Judah's First Law—Forgetting one's roots!"
"...Then if you were the one using Judah, would it backstab you?" Theresa asked curiously.
"No, because this thing is voice-activated."
Theresa had already realized that these people probably wouldn't make things too difficult for her, so she didn't mind asking a few more questions.
If these people were truly villains, Theresa believed that even to resurrect Cecilia, Siegfried wouldn't push her into a fire pit.
Not because she trusted Siegfried, but because she believed that if Cecilia found out she was revived by sacrificing Theresa, she would probably drop dead again right in front of Siegfried out of sheer anger.
Moreover, Theresa was currently stalling for time!
Theresa still had a trump card!
Theresa knew that some people always called her a melon-head, but in reality, she was incredibly quick-witted!
She still had her great general, Himeko!
Theresa had specifically instructed Himeko that if she didn't come out within 10 minutes, she should...
"Here, this is the Himeko you wanted." Just as Theresa was visualizing herself punching Siegfried, kicking Raiden Ryoma, suppressing the Herrschers, and incidentally stripping that Golden Homu King suit off Chen Li to keep for her own collection, a tightly bound, red-haired figure fell out of a spatial rift and landed on the floor in front of everyone.
"What?! How did you guys know about my plan with Himeko? Can you read minds?!" Theresa paled in shock.
These people were simply too terrifying!
"Uh, what nonsense are you blabbering about? This is the person I requested." Chen Li gave Theresa a strange look, then crouched down and poked the tied-up Himeko Murata.
"Oh, never mind then." Theresa shut her mouth.
Heaven has doomed me; it is not a crime of war.
It wasn't that Theresa didn't resist; it was just that her resistance was completely ineffective.
Even though she had wanted to negotiate with these people from the stance of a victor and make them line up to watch ads to help her resurrect Cecilia, there was nothing she could do since she failed.
"Wait, what do you want with Himeko?"
"To play."
"What? You despicable pervert! If you have the guts, come at me!" Kiana suddenly flashed forward, shielding Himeko.
"Who is this?"
"Kiana, your eldest niece." Siegfried, who was currently watching ads and couldn't look away from his screen, judged by the voice.
"Good, as expected of my eldest niece! Homu King, whatever tricks you have, use them on me! Do not hurt Kiana and Himeko!" Theresa said, deeply moved.
"Little shorty, go play on the side." 'Kiana' turned her head and glared at Theresa.
"???"
"Oh, that's not Kiana right now. That's the Herrscher personality of the Herrscher of the Void," Siegfried said after finishing an ad and noticing Kiana's eyes had turned gold.
"What?!!"
"Alright, stop messing around. I just wanted to do a good deed. Feed this Senzu Bean to Himeko. I'm very curious if Honkai energy corruption on the human body counts as a disease, and if it can be cured by a Senzu Bean?" Chen Li tossed a Senzu Bean to Kiana.
"Boring." Queenie the Sprite blinked, and her pupils turned back to an overly clear shade of blue.
"I'll do it, I'll do it!" Kiana said excitedly.
Kiana pulled out the cloth gagging Himeko's mouth, and before Himeko even had time to speak, stuffed the Senzu Bean into her mouth.
"Mmph!" Himeko's voice turned strange.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Himeko spat out a mouthful of old blood.
"Himeko, are you okay?" Theresa, still tied up by Judah's Oath, asked with concern.
"My body feels much better, but... I can still feel the Honkai energy eroding my body." Himeko was stronger than Theresa; she quickly figured out the general situation before her, so she was quite cooperative in explaining her experience.
"I get it now. Senzu Beans still can't cure diseases. It healed your body that was damaged by the Honkai, but your Honkai resistance hasn't increased. In other words, if you want to continue being a Valkyrie, your body will eventually be hollowed out by Honkai energy again." Chen Li nodded, having figured out the Senzu Bean's effectiveness against Honkai energy.
That was the nature of Senzu Beans; they couldn't cure illnesses.
Otherwise, Son Goku in Dragon Ball wouldn't have been killed by a mere heart virus.
Still, a protagonist capable of casually blowing up planets dying of a heart attack had indeed given Chen Li a bit of a shock back in the day.
"Then is there any way to cure it?" Theresa asked next.
"Very simple, just wait for her to die and then resurrect her, wouldn't that work?"
"...Is there a way that doesn't involve dying?" Theresa asked tactfully.
"There is, but you'll have to wait a while." Chen Li nodded.
Once Chen Li managed to hack into the Cocoon of Finality and freely gifted a Stigmata to every single person in the world, raising the global population's Honkai resistance, Himeko's problem would be solved.
"That's good then. Although I still don't quite believe you returned from 50,000 years ago, since you guys clearly hold the absolute upper hand, you can just take Judah's Oath. Sigh, I just don't know how I'm going to explain this to Grandpa." Theresa sighed.
Losing the Divine Key personally entrusted to her by her Grandpa right from her own hands made Theresa feel like a massive failure.
"If you're worrying about that, then you can set your mind at ease." Chen Li seemed intent on comforting her.
"What? Are you going to give Judah back to me?" Theresa rejoiced.
"No. What I mean is, the First Divine Key in your Grandpa's hands is also going to be robbed. Plus, rather than worrying about how to explain it to him, you'd be better off worrying about whether you'll even have a Grandpa in a little bit."
"???"
"The true Herrscher of the Void, Sirin, has gone to Schicksal to seek revenge on Otto."
"What?!"
"Theresa, there's no need to panic, and don't be sad. Even though you might lose your Grandpa, you still have me! I can completely take over Schicksal in your Grandpa's place to fight the Honkai. You can even treat me as your Grandpa; I don't mind having an extra 50-year-old granddaughter." Chen Li, wearing the Golden Homu King suit, patted Theresa's head.
"???" Theresa was so furious at this speech she almost overheated.
...
"Oh, my dear Second Herrscher, join Schicksal. No one wishes for the tragedy of the Second Eruption to happen again, and now, your resurrection has given me the opportunity to compensate you. Join Schicksal, and you can have anything you desire. Let the past remain in the past," Otto said, wearing a smile that made people want to punch him the moment they saw it, speaking to the Herrscher of the Void, Sirin, who was hovering in the air.
And the reason Otto had such confidence was naturally because standing behind him were Schicksal's two S-Rank Valkyries.
Durandal and Rita.
Of course, in Otto's eyes, the main force to combat the Herrscher of the Void could only be Durandal.
Rita? She was just there passing by.
"See? Your Grandpa is extremely punchable," Chen Li said to Theresa, who was still tied up by Judah's Oath.
With Sirin's permission, Chen Li opened the live-streaming function of his Friends Circle terminal.
And right now, it was broadcasting a live feed of Sirin braving the Schicksal Headquarters.
"..." Although Theresa didn't really want to admit it, what Chen Li had said to her was pretty similar to what her Grandpa was saying to Sirin.
"Otto... right?" Defying everyone's expectations, Sirin wasn't angered by Otto's seemingly provocative declaration.
In truth, Otto was sincerely and genuinely making a declaration of wanting to cooperate with Sirin. It was just that Otto suffered from a common flaw among scientists—his emotional intelligence wasn't very high.
He always managed to use his utmost sincerity to say things that sounded completely sarcastic, thus causing people's blood to boil.
Just like now.
Just like how he genuinely wanted the first Herrscher of Reason to become his successor... only for the two of them to bare their souls to each other in a bathhouse and resolutely break off all ties.
"This is a letter. A letter gifted to the present you by the future you. I hope you will accept it." Sirin directly tossed the letter Chen Li had given her before her departure to Otto.
Back when the Otto from the future had written this letter, Sirin had been present, and her memory hadn't been erased, so Sirin roughly knew what was written in it.
Therefore, Sirin paid no mind to Otto's provocations. Instead, she couldn't wait to see what kind of expression Otto would reveal after reading this letter.
It was truly something to look forward to.
The letter Sirin threw at Otto cut through the air like a sharp blade, but was intercepted by Durandal.
"The future me? Sounds quite interesting." Otto offered no comment on Sirin's statement.
After all, it sounded like pure nonsense.
However, out of respect for Sirin—or at least to let Sirin see that he was showing respect—in order to achieve their subsequent cooperation, Otto took the letter from Durandal's hand and tore it open.
Even if there was poison hidden in the letter, Otto wasn't afraid, because his current body was made of Soulium.
Otto was full of smiles.
Otto's expression grew solemn.
Otto gradually became furious.
Otto's face contorted into a savage grimace.
"It seems the future you has told you everything, right? And this is the [Myriad Phenomena Severance]. This is the pair of scissors that snipped the long river of history." Sirin pulled out the [Myriad Phenomena Severance] and displayed it to Otto.
"Durandal, kill the Herrscher of the Void!" Otto was already beyond furious.
Durandal did not refuse Otto's order. After all, Durandal didn't know the moral alignment of the Herrscher before her, and considering the other party was the Second Herrscher who had caused immense destruction to the entire world during the Second Eruption, launching a crusade against her under these premises was perfectly justified.
Wielding the Sixth Divine Key, the Abyss Flower, Durandal pushed off the ground, her entire figure vanishing from her original spot and instantly appearing by the Herrscher of the Void's side.
Seeing the Abyss Flower thrusting toward her, a look of nostalgia flashed in Sirin's eyes.
Blocking the Abyss Flower with a Subspace Lance, Sirin's face remained full of smiles.
"Do you know, Durandal? I once met Schicksal's former strongest Valkyrie, Cecilia. She also attacked me wielding this exact Divine Key in the past. You right now really look just like her."
Having undergone Big Herta's hellish special training, fully mastering the authorities of the Herrscher of the Void, along with the usage of the Herrscher of Death's core within her body, Sirin treated Durandal's attacks like a leisurely stroll in the park.
The authorities of the Herrscher of the Void might not be the absolute strongest in terms of raw damage, but when it came to dodging, they were truly unmatched.
"Honestly, I completely don't understand why Otto is so angry," Sirin said loudly while casually dodging Durandal's strikes.
Durandal remained silent, continuously pressing her assault on Sirin.
"All I did was accidentally ruin his plans, making it impossible for his Holy Maiden to be revived. Yet he treats me like a sworn enemy, fighting to the bitter end. Although Otto has lost his Holy Maiden Kallen, I can perfectly help him fight the Honkai, can't I?"
Sirin's figure suddenly vanished from Durandal's side and appeared right in front of Otto.
A scythe gleaming with cold light slashed toward Sirin, while an overly calm Otto raised the Judgment of Shamash—mimicked by the Void Archives—and aimed it right at Sirin.
"Speaking of which, the anniversary of the Holy Maiden's martyrdom is coming up soon. I'm very sorry that you won't be able to spend it happily, Otto. Let me think about how I should express my apologies..."
"If you'd like, Otto, I can completely go to Kolosten and put on a grand performance of weeping bitterly in front of the Holy Maiden's gallows. How does that sound?"
Rita's scythe was easily blocked by a Subspace Lance. The bullet fired by the Void Archives seemed destined to successfully pierce Sirin's forehead, but an almost imperceptible spatial portal appeared right in the bullet's trajectory.
Bang! Otto collapsed to the ground at the sound.
The bullet had been teleported behind him by Sirin, successfully striking Otto right in the chest.
Kneeling on one knee, Otto glared at Sirin with a gaze cold enough to freeze hell itself.
Since Otto was in a Soulium body right now, a mere fatal wound had absolutely no effect on him.
"I've always wanted to see this expression of yours... this expression of deep, bitter hatred directed at me! This is absolutely fantastic!" Observing Otto's expression from such close range, Sirin felt a high like never before.
"The long river of time was snipped by me. It's already impossible for you to rewind time and travel to the past via the Imaginary Tree to alter the fate of Kallen's death, because the furthest you can travel back is to the end of the Second Eruption. And if you really do travel back to that time, what will greet you is the Honkai Fission Bomb that you personally launched!"
"Oh? Is your heart dead? No need for it to die so quickly, you still have a sliver of a chance. See these scissors? Snatch them from me, snip the long river of history once more, and then splice it back together. That way, it might be possible to salvage all these tragedies." Sirin extended the scissors in her hand toward Otto, only to abruptly yank them back right as Otto reached out, staring at him with a look of pure mockery.
Sirin didn't understand just how deep Otto's obsession with saving Kallen ran. All Sirin knew was that because of this idiot Otto, she was tortured in the Babylon Tower for countless years!
Her happiness was utterly destroyed because of this idiot Otto. Since that was the case, why should she put herself in Otto's shoes?
"Don't look at me with those eyes. I'm not joking, pull yourself together! Otto, I can actually cooperate with you to fight the Honkai. Really."
"Yikes, why so fierce?" Seeing Otto stand back up and swing the Void Archives—now mimicked as the Shamash Greatsword—at her, Sirin's figure vanished, reappearing high in the sky far beyond Otto's reach.
As the Herrscher of the Void, one should make good use of their mobility to play with, tease, and torment their enemies.
"Durandal, kill her! Seize those scissors," Otto commanded coldly once again.
Yes, that's right. I haven't lost yet!
Rationally speaking, if the Second Herrscher fully cooperated, she would indeed be an ace in the hole for the Current Era to combat the Honkai.
But to Otto, Kallen was gone—what the fuck was the point of saving the world?!
Damn it, I can't take this anymore! I'm going to take you down with me!
"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Looking at Durandal continuously launching attacks at her, Sirin shook her head.
Even Sirin had to admit that Durandal was indeed very strong.
Sirin even suspected that if Durandal actually managed to land a solid punch on her face, Chen Li would have to watch ads to resurrect her before he could get affectionate with her again.
Is this the ceiling of talent and hard work, Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, Durandal?
Truly terrifying.
But so what?
Even having gained the ability to fly with the help of her Valkyrie armor, Durandal still couldn't even touch the hem of Sirin's clothes.
I know your attack power is incredibly high, but if you can't even touch me, how are you going to deal any damage?
"Durandal, you flying around everywhere is really annoying. Go spend some time inside a World Bubble." When Durandal circled back in the air and flew toward Sirin again, Sirin snapped her fingers. Using the principle of spacetime oscillation, she instantly forced Durandal into a deceleration zone, then picked up a World Bubble and smashed it right into her.
It was a World Bubble brimming with Honkai energy. If an ordinary person entered it, they would turn into a zombie in less than 10 seconds. But for Durandal, she could stay in there for a whole day without suffering any ill effects.
That was the Honkai universe's ultimate talent freak—Durandal.
A figure emerged behind Sirin.
Boom! A massive explosion of fire erupted in front of Sirin. Through the endless flames, Sirin could see Otto's savage expression.
Otto had charged at her again, wielding the Void Archives in the form of the Shamash Greatsword. However, protected by multiple layers of Imaginary Barriers, Sirin only got a slightly dirty hem on her dress.
Big Herta said that in the magical girl world, this was called multi-casting, but Sirin felt Big Herta didn't count as a magical girl at all.
The power of a Divine Key mimicked by the Void Archives couldn't compare to the original. Defending against it wasn't difficult.
"Now's the time!"
Snip! The crisp sound of scissors closing echoed.
The Void Archives, along with one of Otto's arms, plummeted downward.
Perhaps Otto hadn't even noticed, but Sirin had swung the [Myriad Phenomena Severance] several times in the exact spot Otto was currently occupying. What Sirin had cut was whatever would appear in this spot ten seconds, twenty seconds, thirty seconds in the future—which turned out to be the current Otto.
Otherwise, how could Sirin have just floated there like a target?
Big Herta called this 'pre-calculation' and 'combat intelligence'.
A portal appeared beneath the falling Void Archives, allowing it to drop smoothly into Sirin's hand.
"I definitely won't forget to collect my spoils this time. Hiss, it's hot!" After tossing Otto's severed arm aside, Sirin burned her hand on the temperature of the Shamash Greatsword. She quickly transformed a Subspace Lance into a Subspace Ribbon and wrapped the entire Shamash Greatsword tightly in it.
Big Herta had once given Sirin a book titled On the Many Uses of the Subspace Lance.
Sirin found it to be very practical.
Boom! A pillar of fire shot into the sky once more. Durandal, clad in golden armor, shattered the World Bubble and returned to reality.
"Hmm? I think I hit something on my way out." Durandal frowned after emerging.
"You beat your Overseer Otto to death," Sirin offered a friendly reminder.
Sirin knew Durandal would be able to break out of the World Bubble, which was why the exact spot where Otto's arm was severed was directly in front of where Durandal had vanished.
"Ah?" Durandal was stunned for a moment.
"..." Only then did Durandal realize just how incredibly troublesome the Second Herrscher before her truly was.
If the opponent was this difficult to deal with just by using the authorities of the Herrscher of the Void, how on earth did Cecilia and Siegfried defeat the six-core Sirin back then?
Cecilia was truly terrifying!
But Durandal only doubted herself for half a second before resuming her combat stance.
If she wasn't strong enough, she just had to keep training hard; sooner or later, she would become as strong as Cecilia!
"As expected of Cecilia's daughter, your spirit is incredibly resilient." Sirin nodded in satisfaction.
"Of course it... what did you say?" Durandal frowned.
"I said, you are the daughter of Cecilia and Siegfried, the true Kiana. Sigh, don't tell me you didn't know? I originally thought everyone in Schicksal knew about this. If you don't believe me, just ask her." While Durandal was dazed, Sirin pointed at Rita.
Although Durandal suspected this was Sirin's stalling tactic, she still couldn't help but look at Rita.
It wasn't until Rita nodded with a complex expression that Durandal's face was completely filled with bewilderment.
Wait, everyone in Schicksal knows, and I'm the only one who didn't?!
"What?! Durandal is Kiana?! But her hair color is wrong!" Theresa, watching the live stream, was equally bewildered.
I'm part of Schicksal, how come I didn't know?!
"Here's the specific situation. Back when Kiana was fleeing Schicksal with her father, Siegfried, she was hit in the head by an aircraft and went into a free-fall from thousands of meters in the sky, crashing into the snowy mountains. But she didn't die. Ragna brought her back to Schicksal for treatment."
"Otto encased her body in Soulium and forcibly induced her latent potential to successfully save her life. The side effect, however, was that her hair became curly and turned blonde," Chen Li explained from the side.
"Oh, right. The great Principal of St. Freya Academy, Head of the Apocalypse Family, and Commander of the Schicksal Far East Branch—Theresa probably doesn't know either. But this is just Theresa being Theresa. Heaven knows how many times Otto used Fenghuang Down on her on a daily basis? Even if Theresa truly was a child prodigy, she's probably been brainwashed into a husky by now, so it's normal for her to be a bit dense," Sirin said on the live stream.
"..." Theresa was absolutely furious.
"Even so, I still need to neutralize you, the Herrscher of the Void." After accepting this rather outrageous premise, Durandal continued speaking.
"Oh, is that so? Even though Siegfried successfully defeated me during the Second Eruption, Otto considered Siegfried a massive threat and planned to launch a Honkai Fission Bomb to wipe him out?" Sirin asked.
"..."
"Even though Otto originally had the chance to kill me, but backstabbed Welt instead, allowing me to successfully escape, which ultimately led to the death of your mother, Cecilia?"
"..."
"Even though I was originally just an ordinary orphan, but was captured by Schicksal's subordinate Babylon Tower and used for human experimentation, which directly caused the tragedy of the Second Eruption?"
"..."
Three questions, and Durandal kept her mouth shut three times.
"Even if... the moment my scissors snip this string, your friends inside that World Bubble, along with their entire world, will be destroyed?" A cunning smile suddenly appeared on Sirin's face.
And indeed, dangling from the blades of the [Myriad Phenomena Severance] in Sirin's hand was a string of unknown origin.
"Hmm?" Durandal froze.
Wait, what did you just say?
"That's why losing focus during a battle is a massive taboo. Why do you think I exiled you into a World Bubble instead of an Infinite Corridor? It was specifically to force you to use the power of the World Bubble inside your body, allowing me to find the connection between you and that World Bubble. Since these scissors can sever the long river of time, they can naturally sever the lifeline of the World Bubble inside your body." Sirin said smugly.
This was combat intelligence.
Although despicable, it was highly effective.
"Hehehe. You wouldn't want to see your friends, and the very World Bubble they reside in, vanish into thin air, would you, Durandal?"
"What exactly do you want?" Veins bulged on Durandal's forehead, yet she didn't dare to act rashly.
The Herrscher of the Void is too despicable!
Durandal could indeed gamble that the string in Sirin's hand was just an ordinary string, but the stakes were the world her friends lived in.
Furthermore, the fact that Sirin's scissors could sever the long river of time had already been proven by Otto's actions.
"I think you should know where Otto's other Soulium bodies are, right? Drag him out here; I want to practice my boxing on him," Sirin said, cracking her knuckles.
"...Fine." Durandal hesitated for half a second before deciding the Overseer could suffer a little grievance.
...
"The sound of Otto's Soulium face crunching under my fists is truly delightful." Sirin looked at Otto's Soulium body, which she had nearly beaten to scrap, thoroughly satisfied.
Otto's consciousness was inside this Soulium body; Durandal had personally dragged him over.
Durandal even thoughtfully helped Sirin cripple the mobility of Otto's Soulium body.
"Are you satisfied now?" Durandal asked.
"Not enough. Evacuate everyone from the floating islands of Schicksal Headquarters. I'm going to blow Schicksal HQ to kingdom come! But I don't want to harm the innocent."
"You don't want to harm the innocent?" Rita sneered.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't look at Herrschers through tinted glasses. Just a few hours ago, I stopped the descent of the Third Eruption. Besides, do you want to bet whether I can cut the red string of fate connecting you and Durandal?" Sirin maliciously threatened Rita.
"You can cut that too?"
"These scissors can even cut the river of time; what do you think?"
"I'm sorry, I was wrong," Rita said with utmost sincerity.
"Good girl. Now go evacuate the people."
...
"Didn't you say you were going to blow up Schicksal HQ?"
"I felt blowing it up would be a bit of a waste, so I decided to make it into an ornament. Look, isn't it pretty?" Sirin showed off a crystal ball reflecting a perfect model of Schicksal HQ.
However, this was a World Bubble that encapsulated the entirety of Schicksal Headquarters.
Rita and Durandal exchanged a glance, gaining a brand-new understanding of Sirin's power.
And then, new questions arose in their minds.
Just how did Schicksal defeat the Herrscher of the Void back in the day?
Were Cecilia and Siegfried really that overpowered?
"Is this enough now?" Durandal asked next.
"Not enough. Have Schicksal personnel dig up every single item marked on this map."
A map flew out from a portal and landed in Durandal's hands.
Normally, Otto could rely on uploading his memories to resurrect in another Soulium body, but that connection had been severed by Sirin.
This meant that if Otto died again now, he would truly be dead; he couldn't revive from any other Soulium bodies.
And with Otto currently kidnapped by Sirin, Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, Durandal, was completely capable of temporarily commanding Schicksal's personnel.
Meanwhile, Otto, knowing that reviving Kallen was hopeless, acted like a walking corpse, seemingly devoid of any will to resist.
But Sirin still wasn't at ease, suspecting Otto might be faking it. So Sirin borrowed a burlap sack from Chen Li and stuffed Otto inside.
Sirin felt that when dealing with Otto, using ten 1-star Curios wouldn't be overkill.
Otto was the true master of deep sins, which was why kidnapping him with a burlap sack worked every single time.
Otto did have some merit, but he had far more sins.
"What is all this?"
"Treasures left over from the previous civilization era. If you run into any other factions looking for these treasures while excavating them, don't fight them for it," Sirin said.
This was the map Chen Li had given Sirin. It recorded the current locations of the weapons with special attributes that Chen Li had forged using the Synthesis Platform, which he had seen floating in the river of time.
And the 'other factions' naturally referred to World Serpent.
Gray Serpent was still putting in the work!
Gray Serpent had even forged Cocolia's orders, making Anti-Entropy put in the work too.
In short, Gray Serpent being the MVP was a certainty.
...
"The orders have been issued. Is this enough now?" Durandal asked patiently.
She had to be patient; her friends were in Sirin's hands.
"Not enough."
"Herrscher of the Void, don't push your luck!"
"Relax, this is the final request."
"Spit it out." Durandal forcibly suppressed her urge to punch someone.
"Swear upon this gold coin that from now on, you will only refer to yourself as my younger sister, and you must yield anything I want to me. As an equivalent exchange, I will not use this privilege to go too far with you."
"???" Durandal's head was full of question marks.
"Are you going to swear or not? If you don't swear, I'm going to cut it."
"I swear, from now on I will only refer to myself as your younger sister in your presence, and I will yield anything you want to you."
As the Compulsory Transaction Gold Coin radiated golden light, Durandal felt a sudden bad premonition in her heart. However, since the contract Sirin established wasn't overly strict, Durandal cared more about her friends.
"Here, take it."
The string resting on the [Myriad Phenomena Severance] suddenly vanished and was delivered to Durandal's hand via a portal by Sirin.
"Careful! How am I supposed to return this?" Durandal asked nervously.
"Oh, it's just a normal piece of string. Throw it wherever you want."
"???"
"What? Surprised? A genius once told me that the highest form of poisoning is making others think they are poisoned. Because that way, they will never be able to cure themselves," Sirin said casually.
Durandal, this idiot, was easy to trick, but Rita was not.
However, by heavily implying through Otto's lips that these scissors could cut absolutely anything, Sirin ensured that these two didn't dare to gamble.
Coupled with the fact that Sirin's demands weren't overly outrageous, her scheme succeeded flawlessly.
"..."
Charged punch!
With a zero-frame startup, Durandal shattered the Imaginary Barrier in front of Sirin with a single punch.
"!!!" Realizing she had genuinely pissed Durandal off, Sirin subconsciously took a step back.
Durandal, Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, was indeed no fraud; a single punch had shattered five layers of Imaginary Barriers in front of Sirin.
Fortunately, Sirin was no slouch either; she had layered seventeen Imaginary Barriers in front of herself.
"Uh, calm down a bit. I really can cut the connection between you and the World Bubble! So strictly speaking, you weren't completely tricked," Sirin comforted Durandal.
"...Then why did you use a fake string to trick me?" Durandal threw another punch, shattering six more layers of Imaginary Barriers, but she couldn't keep up with the speed at which Sirin generated them.
"Because it gives me a sense of intellectual superiority! And it's fun!" Sirin stated the real reason.
Boom! Clad in golden armor, Durandal punched straight through nine layers of Imaginary Barriers. The sheer intensity of this strike surpassed the output of the Shamash mimicked by the Void Archives.
Durandal was slightly overheating with rage.
Sirin had absolutely no doubt that if this punch landed on her, it would blow a hole clean through her.
"Be a good girl and call me big sister," Sirin maintained her smug expression.
"Big sister Sirin, you'd better be able to block the Sixth Divine Key!" Forced by the Compulsory Transaction Gold Coin to utter 'big sister', Durandal grabbed the Sixth Divine Key handed over by Rita and charged.
The Imaginary Barriers shattered on impact, along with Sirin herself.
"Alright, have you calmed down now?" Sitting in the Overseer Otto's seat—nobody knew when she had gotten there—Sirin asked, resting her chin on her hand.
"Since when..." Durandal was shocked.
"I've been sitting here ever since I finished beating up Otto. It's just a very simple spatial refraction trick, don't mind it," Sirin waved her hand dismissively.
"..." Durandal felt the prestige of her mother Cecilia and her father Siegfried rising once again.
Durandal originally thought Sirin was using portals to deliver items to her because she was afraid of being attacked in close quarters. She never expected that Sirin's true body hadn't been standing there the entire time.
The Herrscher of the Void was simply too difficult to deal with.
Prestige was actually a dynamic concept, much like Wendy, the Fourth Herrscher.
She was once the ultimate Herrscher who overpowered the three major Herrschers: Finality, Truth, and Origin!
Kiana + Bronya + Raiden Mei > Finality Kevin.
Wendy > Kiana + Bronya + Raiden Mei.
Therefore, Wendy > Finality Kevin!
Our Fourth Herrscher is truly too amazing!
...
"Here, the Sixth Divine Key and Durandal you asked for." Sirin flew out from the portal, followed closely by Durandal, who slowly walked out carrying the Sixth Divine Key.
Rita was left behind at Schicksal HQ because right now, Schicksal was in a state of utter chaos!
"Retainer, Retainer! Durandal and Otto are simply too terrifying! Right now, my distance from Durandal is within seven steps; you have to protect me well," Sirin hid behind Chen Li, who was in the Golden Homu King suit, speaking in the most helpless tone imaginable.
"..." Durandal felt she had something to say about that.
You practically broke the entirety of Schicksal Headquarters, and now you're turning around and calling US terrifying?
Using the most helpless tone to say the most punchable things, is that it?
And the reason Durandal followed Sirin to this unfamiliar location so obediently was because Sirin had once again dangled a string from the [Myriad Phenomena Severance] and threatened her with it.
One good trick serves for a lifetime.
With this weakness of Durandal's, Sirin would exploit her for the rest of her life.
Durandal looked at Sirin behind Chen Li, only to be met with Sirin's provocative gaze.
Durandal felt like she had become just another link in the roleplay between this Golden Homu King and Sirin.
"Retainer?" Hearing the familiar word, Kiana popped her head out and glanced at Sirin.
Kiana felt this word sounded very familiar.
Kiana remembered Chen Li seemingly telling the Herrscher of Thunder that he was her retainer.
Chen Li, oh Chen Li, exactly how many masters do you have?
Loop me in!
"Um..." Seeing Chen Li and Sirin chatting amongst themselves, Durandal was just about to ask Chen Li why he was collecting Divine Keys when she found herself surrounded by three white-haired dumplings.
One big, two small.
Theresa, Kiana, and Siegfried.
And then... the scene instantly devolved into sheer awkwardness.
All four of them wanted to say something, but none of them knew who should speak first.
Durandal instantly regretted leaving Rita behind to guard Schicksal HQ.
If Rita were here, she would definitely know what to say to alleviate the awkwardness, right?
Speak, damn it, speak!
"Speaking of which, Chen Li, did you successfully extract the [Third Eruption] entry? Did you get a Miracle Card or something? Do you need me to unleash the massive Eruption I suppressed?" On the other side, Sirin casually spoke words that sent shivers down the spines of the Schicksal members in the room.
"It was successfully extracted. And I got the Miracle Card too... So just calm down for a bit." Chen Li patted Sirin's head.
"Oh, really? Let me see what Miracle Card you got," Sirin was somewhat curious.
"We'll talk about it later, talk about it later..." Chen Li seemed very unwilling to bring this topic up.
Seeing Chen Li's expression only made Sirin more eager.
"I'll trade the Void Archives with you for it."
"Let's not..." Chen Li was still very reluctant.
"Alright then." Seeing Chen Li's reluctance, Sirin very generously tossed the Void Archives—still tightly wrapped in the Subspace Ribbon and shaped like the Shamash Greatsword—to Chen Li.
Chen Li breathed a sigh of relief.
Because if Sirin saw that Miracle Card, she would definitely be furious.
[Indeed. Anyone would be unhappy seeing their 'Retainer's' belongings become the 'Three Houses' belongings, and having it recorded by a Miracle Card on top of that.]
The little sprite spoke a word of fairness.
"..."
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