Fire Moth Interstellar Entertainment Company.
At this moment, Kalpas was just as completely clueless as the Void Archives about what this riddle-speaking Otto meant.
He could only ask Kevin: "Kevin, what exactly does he envy about you? And what do you envy about him?"
Kevin said: "I don't know…"
Kalpas: "…"
He originally wanted to ask Hessian, but thinking about how he had treated him not long ago, he felt a bit too embarrassed.
So he quietly opened the fan group to see what everyone was saying.
"Otto envies Kevin? It's definitely because he envies Kevin's coolness and power."
"Nonsense! Otto himself said the envy has nothing to do with power."
"No way, you actually believe Otto's words? If he says it's not, then it definitely is."
"Fine, fine, then you tell me—what does Kevin envy about Otto? Does he envy him for having no power?"
"Come on, that's obviously not it. Probably envies Otto and Kallen, right?"
"Then what about Otto? What does he envy about Kevin?"
"Who knows? We'll just have to keep watching."
"…"
Kalpas didn't get any answers in the group.
He could only look around the break room.
Elysia noticed his thoughts and directly asked Eden beside her: "My dear Eden, did you understand? Do you need my husband to explain it to you?"
Eden gently shook her head: "No need. Actually, a lot of the details were already mentioned in the earlier plot. The Herrscher of Sentience said that Kevin and Otto are very similar—both because of one woman."
"Otto envies Kevin for having his love with MEI reach a conclusion fifty thousand years ago—they were probably together."
"And Kevin envies Otto for being able to abandon all responsibilities and missions, crossing through time to revive Kallen."
So that's how it is…
Some people in the company who hadn't understood finally got it.
Kalpas even sent this explanation into the group so the viewers could understand too.
Then he continued watching the television.
During this time, Theresa and the others had also begun researching the Herrscher of Domination core.
After finishing his conversation with the Void Archives and seeing that the time was about right, Otto directly contacted Rita.
Rita received the call: "It's His Excellency the Bishop's communication. I'll switch it to the public channel."
Hearing it was Otto,
everyone present immediately stopped what they were doing and became alert.
"Friends of the Hyperion, and my Valkyries… good afternoon, everyone. How's the research on the Herrscher core going?"
Theresa immediately questioned: "Grandpa… didn't you say there was nothing left to discuss with us?"
Otto said: "Oh dear, Theresa is so cold today. Are you still angry at me for killing that replica earlier? You've obviously already forgiven Rita, yet you're still holding a grudge against me?"
"—Alright, no more joking. Right now, I truly have nothing to ask of the Hyperion crew; I just have a mission to assign to Schicksal's S-rank Valkyries."
Durandal asked: "…Is it related to the journey you mentioned earlier?"
Otto nodded: "Mm, quick reaction—as expected of Durandal. That's right. I've now prepared everything—the two of you just need to come help with one small favor."
"Oh, right. The rest of the Immortal Blades members—you can all stay here and continue helping my granddaughter."
"After all, she'll soon be taking over as Archbishop of Schicksal. It's not a bad idea for everyone to get familiar with the business ahead of time."
"Speaking of which… for the vast majority of people here, this should be our last conversation. After all, I'll be setting off soon."
"Is Mr. Welt also connected with everyone? I'm truly sorry—I didn't let you have a pleasant Thanksgiving in New York back then."
"For so many years, I've always wanted to express my apologies to you. I even imagined many ways: like kneeling in front of a monument and putting on a tearful performance right there."
"But since so many years have already passed… you probably don't need such affected and theatrical gestures anymore, do you?"
Welt said coldly: "Is this what you wanted to say to me before setting off?"
Otto laughed loudly: "Hahahaha, what else would I say? To use another example—do you think the K-423 of today still needs me to apologize for things from the past?"
"You're all such perfect heroic figures. Surely you wouldn't be so petty."
Durandal interjected: "Bishop, setting aside whether what you're saying is problematic or not—the Herrscher of the Void—no, the Herrscher of Flamescion—she has her own name."
"She isn't some K-423. She is Kiana Kaslana."
Otto said: "Alright… Kiana Kaslana. That's fine too, after all, the true owner of that name already became like that ten years ago."
"…" Theresa glared at him in dissatisfaction.
Otto asked: "Theresa? It looks like you have something you want to say."
"You…" Theresa glared at him furiously. He was clearly deliberately dancing on her sore spots.
He obviously knew how painful the matter of the real Kiana was for her.
Otto said: "It's fine, Theresa. You don't have to force yourself to say anything. Your grandfather has done many unreasonable things, and he's well aware of that himself."
"In the time to come, perhaps earth-shattering events will keep happening one after another—"
"At that point, you might feel that you shouldn't waste even the slightest bit of emotion on your grandfather—whether positive or negative, it won't matter anymore."
Theresa immediately asked: "What do you mean? What exactly will your journey bring?"
Otto said: "You'll know soon enough, so there's no need for me to explain it here specifically. Rest assured—those matters won't pose even the slightest danger to you."
"Durandal, Rita—report to me at the Dawn Observation Deck on Kaslana Street. I need you to stand your final watch."
"As for the rest of you—we part on good terms. Farewell."
Otto decisively cut off the remote communication, leaving everyone present looking at each other in bewilderment.
"…"
Tesla finally exploded: "Tch, that damn old bastard—what he just said, does that even count as human speech? If Chicken Head hadn't covered my mouth, I'd really want to crack his skull open!"
Welt said: "Tesla, the only reason he uses that kind of rhetoric is to provoke us. But if he really intends to just leave like this… why bother provoking us?"
Einstein said: "So you're saying he might still have some designs on us…"
Fu Hua said: "If we look at it from that angle, then yes—it could explain all of his nasty performances today. However—"
"Provoking us—even provoking others around him—what good does that do? And how would it help him achieve his goal?"
Einstein was also puzzled: "Moreover, the purpose he claims to have is philosophically suspicious as well. If he only wants to go to a parallel world to find another Kallen…"
"Then in a certain sense—forgive my bluntness, Ms. Theresa—the Kallen replica he successfully created would already satisfy that need."
Welt added: "And he wouldn't even need to leave this world."
Einstein continued: "That's why I'm very concerned about what Nagamitsu said earlier—unchanging free will and a choice that has truly been made once. She seems to be hinting at some kind of relativity."
Theresa said helplessly: "If Nagamitsu were still here, we could ask for her opinion again. After all, as the actual executor, she participated in many of Schicksal's space experiments."
Durandal said: "She believes the Bishop truly intends to use the Second Divine Key to leave this world, and that, just as Otto said, the matter itself won't affect us."
"But…"
Rita knew her concern and spoke for her: "But after all, it's His Excellency the Bishop. The technical staff may believe he isn't lying… but for everyone here, that might not be the case."
"The awakening incident of the Herrscher of the Void may serve as a precedent."
Kiana, hearing this, also became worried: "Then… are you really going to follow his instructions and report to him?"
Durandal said: "We can only go and see what happens."
Even so,
Anti-Entropy's scientific personnel were still worried that this might be a trap.
Rita said: "There is one thing everyone can rest assured about: the current Bishop no longer represents the entire Schicksal organization. From the moment he announced his resignation, we must also take Lady Theresa's position into consideration."
Durandal also promised: "At the very least, I can guarantee that the Immortal Blades will never regard any of you as enemies again."
Theresa also stated: "Durandal, and Rita… if you believe that going back to contact my grandfather now is the right choice, then the Hyperion side will not stop you… Just please be extremely careful."
The two nodded to indicate they understood.
But everyone knew who they were about to face—Otto Apocalypse.
Thus, they all decided to approach it with the utmost vigilance.
A few minutes later,
Durandal and Rita arrived at the agreed-upon location.
Here, only Li Sushang was present.
"…Ms. Li? You're here too."
Li Sushang wasn't used to being addressed so formally by Durandal: "Just call me by my full name. Being so polite from you always makes me feel like something's off."
She observed the rather serious expressions on Durandal and Rita's faces.
She realized that these two knew even less about Otto's plan than she did.
"But the Bishop really didn't tell you about this? No wonder he told me not to approach you or the Hyperion group casually."
Rita said: "His Excellency the Bishop seems to want to keep it secret from us until the very last moment."
Li Sushang said: "Mm… I feel like things have become a bit more complicated than I imagined. After all, right now all the S-rank Valkyries are gathered here."
"Just yesterday, he told me a bunch of strange terms—like Imaginary Tree, higher-dimensional space, directed cleavage… and it seems related to time too. Those phenomena in the town were probably deliberately caused by him."
Durandal quickly asked: "Did he tell you what his purpose is in doing all this?"
Li Sushang answered: "That I've actually known from the very beginning. Or rather… I sensed it five hundred years ago."
"Schicksal has a Valkyrie known as the Saint—Kallen Kaslana, right? You should also know that she was the Bishop's—Rakshasa's—childhood friend."
Li Sushang paused for a second or two here.
"How should I put it… his longing for that person even makes me feel quite lonely."
"A long time ago, in the desert, he just sat there alone all night… You should understand that kind of feeling."
Durandal asked: "So, do you think he's serious? Is he really meticulously laying out everything here just to revive Kallen Kaslana?"
Li Sushang said curiously: "Does the way he expresses himself make you feel like he's joking? He's always been very serious."
"And the reason he awakened me from deep hibernation… is precisely because his revival plan has entered its final stage."
Rita was shocked: "Ms. Li Sushang… are you saying that the fact you were recently awakened by His Excellency the Bishop itself means that, in his view—"
"He already has considerable confidence that he can revive the Saint from five hundred years ago?"
Li Sushang nodded: "Mm, yes. After all, that was his promise to me."
"Promise??!" Durandal was puzzled.
Li Sushang continued: "You should also know that five hundred years ago, during an accident, I suffered a serious injury. At that time, that kind of wound was very difficult to fully heal."
"So Rakshasa—the Bishop—had me enter deep hibernation until he figured out a way to cure me."
"No matter how people evaluate him personally in other aspects… speaking purely on this matter, he is undoubtedly my lifesaver."
"And five hundred years ago, when he asked me—in the event everything went smoothly—in what kind of future I would like to awaken—"
"Out of curiosity toward him, I didn't choose the era when humanity defeats Honkai, but the era when you fulfill your own wish."
"Back then… I really wanted to witness the moment he realized his dream. You could call it some kind of inexplicable selfishness."
Rita said: "In other words, following this line of reasoning… the current Bishop is very confident that he can realize his dream."
Out of caution, Rita rephrased and confirmed her previous question once more.
Li Sushang nodded: "That's right. And most likely, someone will suffer collateral damage because of it. I heard the Herrscher of the Void incident was like that."
Durandal asked: "Do you plan to stop him?"
Li Sushang shook her head: "No, unfortunately, I cannot break the promise I made to my lifesaver. Moreover, that person has already kept his promise to me once. Think about it—he could have completely refused to treat me or awaken me, right?"
"But having said that—if you really want to stop him, I won't stand in your way. That doesn't fall under the debt between him and me."
Durandal said: "You mean… in the time to come, no matter what conflicts arise, you intend to remain neutral and not help either side?"
Li Sushang answered: "Ah, not entirely. I will choose to help him fight one battle—just one. After that fight, we'll be even. No one owes anyone anything."
Rita said: "But at that time, you will still be a Valkyrie of Schicksal, Ms. Li Sushang."
Li Sushang nodded: "Mm, you're right. If I still have the strength then, I'll turn around and help you clean up the mess that man leaves behind."
"He's definitely going to leave a mess, right?"
On this point, they truly could not refute.
After last year's Herrscher of the Void experiment, small-scale Honkai outbreaks occurred one after another. The Immortal Blades had been on continuous duty worldwide for over three months before gradually suppressing and clearing them.
Although everyone knew the Herrscher of the Void's revival was inevitable and that disaster could not be avoided,
everyone also understood that it was all because of Otto—because he needed the power of the Herrscher of the Void.
No one wanted that kind of thing to happen a second time.
Durandal said: "Yes. The ultimate mission of the Schicksal organization is to eliminate Honkai. I believe no one here has forgotten that."
Then she asked again: "In any case, if I decide to get to the bottom of the Bishop's plan and break it open completely—you won't stop me, correct?"
Li Sushang nodded: "That's right. Although five hundred years ago I did hope to witness the day he fulfilled his wish… one thing is one thing. I have no reason to interfere in any conflict between you."
"Of course, if you really decide to take action to stop him, then you should also prepare yourself with sufficient resolve."
"After all, no matter what details his plan actually includes—it represents all of his obsessions over these five hundred years."
Durandal said: "I know."
Rita remained silent beside them.
Li Sushang stretched lazily: "Alright, I think I've said everything I needed to say. Let's all go find him together!"
"After all, we still don't actually know what that person wants us to do, right?"
The two also agreed.
They followed Li Sushang to the observation deck at the target location and found Otto there, gazing out over the town.
Noticing the three arrive, he turned back and said: "Hello, everyone—my dear S-rank Valkyries."