1475 AD. Schicksal's expedition to Shenzhou.
However, Schicksal's Valkyrie forces, which had swept across Eurasia, were halted at the borders of this most ancient empire.
Left with no other choice, Schicksal deployed their trump card—Honkai energy weapons.
On the Kipchak Steppe, Shenzhou's forces retreated again and again under the might of these weapons.
But just as Schicksal believed the scales of victory were tipping in their favor, a lone figure stood before them.
People were astonished by her beauty, like that of a fairy descended to the mortal realm, inviolable.
The people of Shenzhou respectfully called her the "Celestial Emissary, Chiyuan."
This was the guardian deity who had protected Shenzhou for countless ages, a being before whom even the most revered emperor had to bow his head.
The Celestial's exquisite face was devoid of expression, but the slender body clad in a form-fitting white cheongsam possessed unparalleled power.
With but a single person, Schicksal's ambitions were shattered.
A single punch, and the heavens and earth cracked.
The Celestial showed no mercy. With every strike, all the foreign soldiers within her vicinity perished.
The Honkai energy weapons in the hands of the Schicksal army were like insignificant fire pokers before her.
One person shattered Schicksal's spirit.
Otto stood behind Fu Hua, watching her unleash her full power upon the crowd. He had to admit, the sight was magnificent.
So this is Fu Hua at her peak? I love it.
Fortunately, this woman was on his side.
Her everything was within his grasp.
However, Otto gazed into the distance and could see that the morale of the Schicksal army had already broken; they were beginning to fall into disarray.
Well then... it should be time for "her" to make an appearance.
Indeed, Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, Kallen Kaslana, entered the field.
Her white ponytail swayed in the air. Her slender body was clad in a Schicksal Valkyrie uniform, a golden cross slung across her back.
Otto let out a whistle.
This was the first time he had ever seen Kallen.
She really is beautiful.
If she were willing to be my concubine, if she were willing to bow her noble head at my feet, I suppose I could deign to accept her.
Otto mentally disparaged Kallen, because he felt his own heart thump violently the moment she appeared.
It was like a curse left behind by the name "Otto Apocalypse."
But he suppressed the palpitation, using disparaging thoughts to distract himself.
Otto is Otto.
But this Otto is not that Otto.
Otto's gaze returned to its calm state, like a god looking down on all with indifference. He watched the two women face off.
Kallen Kaslana stood before Fu Hua.
Fu Hua's eyes fell on the cross on her back. It was the Divine Key, the Oath of Judah.
However, Fu Hua could see that the white-haired girl seemed a bit lost.
Because Kallen, born into the Kaslana family, had always held doubts about the righteousness of this expedition.
But as a member of Schicksal, as the captain of the Valkyrie forces, Kallen still chose to fight.
The Oath of Judah activated, golden chains shooting toward Fu Hua, but she caught them with ease. The Honkai-sealing effect of the Oath of Judah was completely useless against her.
A pink feather drifted down. An instant later, Kallen found that the figure was already in front of her.
Fu Hua met Kallen's gaze, and then, she threw a punch.
Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie was knocked to the ground in a single exchange.
Even Otto, standing to the side, had to marvel at how Fu Hua was a woman of few words and brutal action. He didn't look at the collapsed Kallen, however, instead scanning the surroundings as if searching for something.
Fu Hua looked at the stunned Kallen sitting on the ground and said slowly, "The weapon you wield is a weapon of protection."
"And you lack the resolve to protect. You don't even know what you ought to protect."
The Celestial Emissary, who had not spoken a word throughout this battle, finally spoke.
Because she could see that Kallen was not a bad person.
Kallen looked at the Celestial Emissary, wreathed in flames and swirling clouds. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately remained silent.
But Otto's eyes widened slightly, because he saw the person who was supposed to appear.
He took a deep breath, waiting for what would happen next.
The Celestial Emissary was about to turn and leave. The foreign army had been broken; the rest could be left to Shenzhou's forces.
Just then, a figure charged toward them, crossing the mountain of corpses and sea of blood. Fu Hua sensed his presence and felt a bit helpless.
I've already defeated the strongest among these invaders, yet someone still wants to rush to their death.
But the figure carried no killing intent. Instead, he ran to Kallen's side and spread his arms, shielding her from Fu Hua.
As if to say, if you want to harm Kallen, you'll have to step over his dead body.
Fu Hua's gaze fell upon the man standing before her, and for the first time, a stir appeared on her face, which had been as still as an ancient well.
Her cherry lips parted, revealing pearly teeth, and her azure eyes widened.
"O...tto... Big Brother."
Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's hum, inaudible to anyone.
Otto Apocalypse stood before Kallen, preventing Fu Hua from harming her.
And Otto, the one who had been a transparent man by Fu Hua's side, looked at the face that was identical to his own. All he could say was that this Bishop of Schicksal truly loved Kallen. Though he was non-combat personnel, he had accompanied her onto the battlefield and had even crossed a mountain of corpses just to be by her side.
"Otto!"
Kallen looked at her childhood friend shielding her, and she reached out to grab the hem of his clothes.
Hearing Kallen's name for the golden-haired man, Fu Hua took two steps back. Her memory drifted back over fifty thousand years, to a time when a man just like this had stood before her, protecting her.
But!
Why did they look so alike?!
Big Brother Otto!
Fu Hua had never imagined that after searching for the disappeared Big Brother Otto for an entire era, she would meet him again in this world, more than fifty thousand years later.
But rationality pulled her back.
In the eyes of the Otto before her, Fu Hua saw the courage to defy life and death. He did not fear her. But she did not see the gentle gaze that her Big Brother Otto once had for her.
He didn't recognize her.
This... was not her Big Brother Otto.
A pink feather fell. Fu Hua decisively used Fenghuang Down.
But from Otto's body, a golden feather fell, blocking Fu Hua's attempt to read his memories.
It was a mimic Fenghuang Down.
It was... Void Archives!
As a warrior of the Previous Era, Fu Hua was no stranger to Void Archives. The man before her had used a mimic to block her own Divine Key.
But...
But...
Fu Hua took another two steps back, pressing her left hand to her forehead. She felt her head was about to split open.
The pink feathers in her eyes almost condensed into a physical form.
After more than fifty thousand years, the Big Brother Otto she had been searching for was standing before another woman, standing against her.
And then, a warm hand took her right hand.
The Otto who had been by her side all along took her hand.
Fu Hua's body trembled slightly.
Even an immortal, though they may be few, has things they care about.
For example, Shenzhou.
And for example, the person she had never forgotten.
This... was this the Big Brother Otto she had been imagining all this time?
Was he comforting her?
Was he saying that this was just a similar flower?
The person shielding Kallen was Otto, but not the Otto she knew.
Fu Hua's eyes lowered, a storm of emotions raging within her.
Her Big Brother Otto had disappeared more than fifty thousand years ago.
But...
Her gaze froze.
Because, she saw it.
Her own hand, being held, by a man's hand.
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