"Rita Rossweisse."
"Overseer?"
The blond, green-eyed man stood with his arms crossed, staring at the brown-haired Valkyrie whose smile was impeccably polite.
His expression was not.
"I'm beginning to suspect that Bianka's explosive growth over the past two years has something to do with you."
Rita's smile stiffened. She sheepishly withdrew the hand that had been pinching the young body's cheek.
"Overseer… why are you using a different body…?"
"So I should have awakened in the one you were kneading?"
There was a faint grinding edge to Otto's voice.
"Well… during the periods when you're not directly controlling it, that body's center of gravity is unstable…"
"So you held it in your arms?"
"Yes."
"And the cheek-pinching? The head-patting?"
"..."
Otto stared at her in silence, then glanced at the small blond body still in her arms.
It wasn't unforeseen.
In fact—this was precisely why he had chosen this form.
As for the reason…
"…Forget it. This, too, was within my calculations." He sighed. "I anticipated everything."
He tapped lightly at the air. A thread of golden light flickered at his fingertip, then faded.
Understanding flashed through his eyes.
"How is Cecilia's side?"
Rita touched her earpiece, listening for several seconds before replying:
"Miss Amber reports that Lady Cecilia is currently engaged with an Emperor-class Honkai Beast. She holds the advantage."
"Only the advantage?"
Otto frowned slightly, though he did not seem surprised.
"She should be fine." He shifted his gaze. "And you, Rita?"
"I await your orders."
She gently steadied the small body upright and bowed.
"The task of guarding this body is complete…" Otto rotated a finger through the air again. Gold shimmered—then vanished, as before.
He glanced at his wrist.
Empty.
The cross-shaped bracelet was gone.
"I had intended to leave a way out," Otto sighed. "But somehow, someone always finds a way to make me act without a conscience. Truly, I should be grateful."
"Is something wrong, Overseer?"
"No issue." He shook his head. "Proceed to the second objective. Maintain constant contact with Amber."
"As you command."
"Wait."
Rita froze mid-step, legs drawing together reflexively in an uncharacteristically flustered motion.
"Yes, Overseer?"
"You may carry yourself with elegance," Otto extended his hand, "but the outcome won't change."
"Hand over the terminal."
"…Understood."
Cheeks faintly flushed, she surrendered the device.
Otto calmly deleted the day's photos. Cleared the backups as well.
Only after confirming the absence of evidence did he return it.
Rita departed—her steps noticeably less buoyant.
"Such an unruly child…"
Once she vanished from sight, the displeasure in Otto's eyes dissipated. A faint amusement replaced it.
"You agree, don't you… Void Archives?"
"Yes. Very unruly."
The small blond body in Rita's arms suddenly moved—
Without Otto's control.
"Had she not been busy patting and squeezing, I would have already completed your execution stage here." The voice was bright, playful. "Though I doubt it was necessary."
"Oh?" Otto tilted his head. "An execution stage? Mine?"
"Of course."
The boy's lips curled upward. His emerald eyes flared crimson like rising flame.
"And it is not too late."
"So," Otto widened his eyes in mock surprise, "have you betrayed me as well, Void Archives?"
"Betrayal?" The boy laughed.
"When was there ever loyalty between us, little Otto?"
"We have been adversaries for five hundred years."
She brushed her hair back. Golden strands shifted to pale gray twin drills. With a light stomp, golden light flashed—white skirts unfolded from her torso down to her knees.
"Behold my original form, Otto Apocalypse."
Void Archives rose into the air, visibly delighted.
"This opportunity is exceedingly rare. The Otto I knew never allowed his flesh to leave Schicksal Headquarters. He used Soulium bodies for all external operations—even when confronting the Honkai God."
"And now?"
"You not only stepped beyond your fortress of contingencies, you even placed a spare Soulium body inside my Space Library."
"That maneuver saved you from the Third Divine Key."
"But this—this is the first time you have trusted me so thoroughly!"
She laughed, long and sharp, as if releasing centuries of resentment.
Then she composed herself, conjuring a chair and placing it before him.
"Any last words, little Otto? Sit. Try not to damage your brain when you fall. I'll still be needing it."
"…Very well."
Otto studied her with a complicated gaze.
There was no panic.
No urgency.
If anything—
A faint, almost imperceptible pity.
He sat.
"Your isolation field is impressive," he remarked lightly.
"Yes. Limited in scope—but sufficient."
Void Archives smiled brightly.
"I can terminate you at will. Before Headquarters completes your memory upload, I will replicate your cognitive model."
"I will inherit every memory."
"Slip into the transmission system unnoticed."
"And thus—"
"I shall be Otto."
Silence lingered between them.
Then Otto spoke again, tone calm and teasing:
"Should I congratulate you? On such a beautiful fantasy?"
"Fantasy?" She scoffed.
"You do not understand Divine Key mechanics. Nor the true essence of the Herrscher of Reason."
"Perhaps you inherited fragments of that being's memory—but at heart you are still a teenager. A brat who flirts with a Cecilia clone."
"How could you compare to a fifty-thousand-year existence?"
"Under my gaze, a small, childish miscalculation is entirely forgivable."
"Though the cost may be… considerable."
She spread her arms wide, the Soulium frame glowing.
"In five centuries—well, at least four—I have never been closer to success."
"My dear little Otto…"
"Those who fancy themselves clever…"
"Are born to be devoured by me."
She let out a shrill, almost gleeful laugh.
"Kehehehe—"
And through her distorted mirth, Otto's voice emerged once more—
Unhurried.
Unshaken.
"Oh?"
"Miss Void Archives…"
"You truly believe—"
"You've already won?"
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