In the eyes of the Valkyries, Otto's words sounded like modesty.
After all, he was Otto—the Archbishop of Schicksal—who, with unparalleled wisdom, coordinated every anti-Honkai organization in the world. If one were to speak of who had saved the world the most times, no one could compare to him and Reanna.
As for the eighteen-year-old girl before them... who was she? She was neither the leader of any organization nor a powerful warrior. What identity did she possess? What qualifications did she have to be called a hero who saved the world?
Many Valkyries even doubted whether she had ever fought the Honkai at all. She looked so frail, her slender body and innocent temperament nothing like a battle-hardened soldier.
Conductor listened to Otto's words and burst into laughter. "Otto, you seem to have misunderstood."
Otto responded in confusion, "Oh? And what have I misunderstood?"
"Do you think I'm someone who believes 'great undertakings do not concern themselves with trifles'? But what I care about is not victory or defeat against the Honkai, nor Anti-Entropy's so-called 'war against all false beauty'..."
"...I only want to save my friend."
Beside the blazing fire, tongues of flame leapt with crackle crackle sounds. The surrounding gray mist dissipated under the firelight.
Otto's eyes flickered with the dancing flames, bright one moment and dim the next.
"Even if the world is destroyed by the Honkai? Even if humanity reaches its end?"
Was Otto himself not the same? To save Kallen, even if the price were the destruction of the world, he would not hesitate for a single moment.
And now, in Vill-V's eyes, he saw a reflection of himself.
What he did not know was that, as a master deceiver, Vill-V appeared differently to each of a thousand observers. Otto, whose own depths had been thoroughly understood, was naturally being handled with ease.
Though Vill-V showed no excess reaction, Otto felt he already understood her intentions.
Smiling faintly, Otto helped her add another log to the fire. He glanced at her profile illuminated by the flames. "There is still time. Perhaps we can talk a little more..."
"No. Your understanding still contains a flaw, Otto." Expert tilted her head slightly, her long fingers brushing over the relief of Cerberus carved into the side of the altar. "You must understand that, for this world, time itself is essentially a process of Honkai. The amount of time this world can contain is already extremely limited. Finality is approaching."
"!!"
Otto's eyes widened as though he had grasped something profound.
He did not even notice the drastic shift in Vill-V's tone.
This world... is not a world in the conventional sense?
Because I focused all my attention on resurrecting Kallen, I overlooked the essence of the world itself.
If that is the case, then perhaps through the Honkai, the world's time can be altered. Is that the so-called new path?
Expert's sorrow-laden voice sounded again. "Although striking from the shadows during an explanation is not my style, Conductor insisted I do it. And precise control of nano-blades really is something only I can manage..."
"Your Eminence!" Reanna rushed forward at a speed like shrinking the earth beneath her feet, pulling the distracted Otto away in an instant.
Several nano-blades sliced through the space where Otto had just stood, only to be severed by Black Abyss White Flower.
These nano-blades had not been meant to kill Otto, but to restrict his soulium body.
"Ah, I knew it... As expected, compared to the MANTIS warriors of the Previous Era, modern civilization's S-rank Valkyries—who mobilize Honkai energy through Stigmata—truly possess significant superiority in combat capability."
Expert's listless voice gradually faded, replaced once more by a playful tone. "Wow. So that's the reaction speed of an S-rank Valkyrie."
Now that Vill-V had attacked Archbishop Otto, Reanna would not hesitate.
She released Otto's arm and assumed a stance, preparing to strike.
Yet just as she raised Black Abyss White Flower, her arm was pressed down by Otto himself.
"It's fine, Reanna. She knows my body is made of soulium."
Otto straightened his slightly disheveled clothing and said, "So, you intended to seize my body to obtain the information within the soulium, correct?"
"No. I couldn't care less about whatever information your body contains."
Otto's expression returned to elegance. "Heh. Then the evaluation of me in the future is not a favorable one?"
"Correct." Vill-V tapped her arm lightly. "But... that's not important. I attacked you simply because I don't like that crooked, contemptible smile of yours—and because I'm displeased with what you did to Miss Reanna."
"...Me?" Reanna had no idea how the topic had suddenly shifted to her.
Regardless of what Reanna thought, Vill-V snapped her fingers. In an instant, countless cannons emerged from the surrounding gray mist, all aimed at everyone present.
Artillery forged with Previous Era technology placed immense pressure upon the Valkyries. It felt as though if they so much as moved, they would be dead in the next second.
"Expert's specially customized Combined Annihilation Artillery Array Type-B30. You're already surrounded. Come on, Reanna. Let's have a proper one-on-one like real men! If you defeat me, I'll tell you what Otto did to your body."
The weapons crafted by Expert were undeniably powerful, but Vill-V herself had never truly understood where her own combat ability stood.
It was like watching tutorial videos for Abyss or battlefield simulations—just because your character and equipment were fully optimized didn't mean you could replicate the execution. You might even get beaten senseless instead.
In reality, it was even more so. Vill-V might excel in strategy and schemes, but she had never truly fought someone head-on.
Seeing both of them turn their gazes toward her, Reanna lowered her weapon and spoke in a respectful tone.
"Although I have indeed given my body to the Archbishop, that was my ideal. To make sacrifices in order to protect others is the honor of every Valkyrie..."
The other Valkyries immediately began whispering among themselves about rumored gossip between Reanna and Otto. They had never imagined that Schicksal's strongest S-rank Valkyrie truly had a relationship with the Archbishop that went beyond mere superior and subordinate.
"Oh, no. That's not what Vill-V meant," Otto interrupted Reanna's self-account and openly revealed the truth. "Reanna, what if what Otto did was to seize your body, violate your will, and use it to slaughter your comrades?"
"?! Archbishop Otto!" Reanna's expression shifted in shock. Recalling everything that had happened before, she immediately understood much more. Her voice trembled with accusation. "You... why would you do such a thing?"