"Congratulations, Lord Otto. You've escaped successfully."
"Mm. Good. But… Amber, have you been crying?"
Otto removed Amber's goggles and saw that her eyes were red. Those blue irises—gentle as water—looked at him with unmistakable emotion.
She seemed as though she wanted to say something, but ultimately restrained herself.
"You've worked hard," she finally said softly. "Lord Otto."
Otto's brow furrowed for a moment before relaxing. A faint glint flashed through his eyes.
"Oh, you mean the matter with Void Archives?" He waved a hand dismissively. "It's nothing. I've lived like this for five hundred years."
…And Amber's gaze softened even further.
From the Schicksal London branch, she had witnessed everything through satellite feed. She hadn't heard their conversation, but she had seen it—
The childlike body change into a form unfamiliar to her.
The adult Otto raising a dagger.
The blade sinking into his own wrist.
When she saw that moment, her heart felt violently clenched. Even now, it still throbbed faintly.
So this was how Lord Otto had lived for five hundred years?
Standing in the shadows.
Licking unseen wounds.
Guarding himself against demons lurking in the dark.
Claiming indifference toward humanity—yet nurturing hope for Schicksal, for the world.
People only saw Valkyries fighting for beauty and justice. They cursed Otto for his ruthlessness.
But who saw this man—rejected by heaven, abandoned by all—whose own artificial intelligence constantly sought an opportunity to take his life?
And even so—
He cultivated countless outstanding Valkyries.
Lord Otto… you are too gentle.
Amber instinctively lifted a hand, as though to embrace him. After hesitating, she instead performed a formal curtsy.
"Lady Kallen will surely remember everything you have done for this world."
Ah. Yes, yes. I did it all for Kallen.
Otto exhaled and adopted a lonely expression.
"You saw an unsightly side of me. Don't worry. If it truly comes to an emergency… I still have you, don't I?"
His original meaning was simple—if Void Archives turned hostile, Amber remained as a final failsafe.
But under Otto's subtle framing, Amber interpreted it differently:
If something happened, you may temporarily assume the role of Overseer.
"I would not dare," she said quickly, lowering her head in humility.
"Slowly, slowly," Otto replied lightly, placing a casual piece on the board that was Amber. He had no intention of overthinking it. "Right now, the most important matter is the recovery status of our S-rank Valkyrie."
Amber nodded and shifted the projection to Cecilia and Jörmungandr.
Otto did not immediately focus on the battlefield.
Instead, he watched Jackal pacing anxiously in place and clicked his tongue twice.
"She's earned some pride," he mused. "Since the Second Honkai War, this is the first time I've suffered such a loss."
He paused, a faint mischievous smile forming.
"One Soulium body."
"Overseer," Amber said, enlarging a tactical map beside the projection, "Schicksal sensors have detected another cluster of Honkai constructs near the Thames. Estimated to be Jackal's backup forces, intended to continue attacking Lady Cecilia. Shall we dispatch a Valkyrie squad for reinforcement?"
Otto did not answer immediately.
On the projection, Cecilia moved with increasing fluidity. Her footwork steadied. Her control over Black Abyss White Flower deepened. The swirling black mist grew more refined.
Gradually—
Her silhouette overlapped with the S-rank Valkyrie of the past.
Otto watched with a warm smile.
Then he parted his lips and softly spoke a single word.
"No."
He turned away.
The gentle smile vanished entirely. His voice turned cold.
"Activate the device we prepared earlier. Scan fifty meters above the Thames."
"Yes." Amber hesitated briefly, then complied. Two minutes later, she reported:
"Overseer. Spatial magnetic distortion detected. There appears to be a warped space region forming, but we cannot access its interior."
"As expected," Otto murmured, eyes dark. "Next. Fire a concentrated Honkai energy beam. Pierce the spatial barrier."
He raised his right hand, fingers curling as though grasping something intangible—
And slowly clenched.
"Don't think about its origin, Jackal."
—
Thames Riverbank.
Cecilia's figure flashed past Jörmungandr.
No blood fell to the ground.
The serpent appeared unharmed.
Had the charged strike truly been blocked by its scales?
Cecilia stood still for several seconds, breathing heavily.
Her eyes remained fierce.
But at the corner of her lips—
An oddly mismatched smile appeared.
Jörmungandr seemed to sense something wrong and looked down at its own body.
Jackal also stared intently at her prized Emperor-class Honkai beast.
At first, she noticed nothing.
But as she turned, about to offer a sarcastic "inquiry"—
The lower half of Jörmungandr's body darkened visibly.
Yes.
Darkened.
Its luminous sheen rapidly faded. Scales became semi-transparent. The flowing blood dulled, slowed, thickened—
Then evaporated.
At last, the serpent's midsection split open like a ship breaking apart on the water's surface.
The lower half disintegrated into fragments, dissolving into the ruined landscape like ice beneath sunlight.
In Cecilia's ragged breathing.
In Jackal's widening eyes—
The lower half of Jörmungandr shattered completely, dispersing into dust.
Jackal stood frozen.
Even as the upper half crashed to the ground, spewing toxic blood, she remained unmoving.
Just now…?
Only when Cecilia limped forward, raised her lance, and pierced the serpent's skull did Jackal finally snap back to reality.
"How… did you do that?" she croaked hoarsely.
Cecilia did not answer.
She had come for vengeance.
Not conversation.
She pulled the lance free and stabbed again.
And again.
And again.
Mechanically.
One. Two. Three…
"AAAAAAAH—!" Jackal finally erupted. "Schariac, you're finished! Honkai beasts, all of you, attack—"
A crimson light orb plummeted from the sky, cutting off her scream.
When the dust settled—
A small blue puppet wielding a greatsword stood between Cecilia and Jackal.
"That's… Lord Kevin's puppet?!" Jackal exclaimed in both shock and reverence.
Heaven helps me!
She looked upward.
High above the Thames, the faint outline of a blue locomotive shimmered in the sky.
So Schicksal tried to bombard this area—
But accidentally struck our Thousand Realms One Ride!
Ha! How could Schicksal possibly know that within this Divine Key resides a puppet of that great Lord?!
Consumed by fury and hatred toward Cecilia, Jackal barely thought at all.
Facing this sudden reinforcement, she roared in savage delight:
"Even at only one percent of Lord Kevin's power, it is enough to sweep away Schicksal! Schariac—"
"You're dead!!!"
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