First Blood

At that moment, Kiana closed her eyes.

In the girl's eyes, the boy, who was filled with hatred for the Honkai, would surely become the most impartial judge and take away her life, the life of a sinner.

That's good.

I am not Kiana Kaslana. I took that girl's name and identity, and even caused the deaths of her and many innocent people. I have no right to live in this world.

Xiao Yi... I'm not qualified to be her mother.

With this thought in mind, Kiana felt herself suddenly become incredibly relaxed.

However, in the next instant, the pain that Kiana was waiting for did not reach her body.

When the girl opened her eyes, she was shocked to find that Lin Yu had suddenly pulled her into his arms.

As Kiana entered Lin Yu's arms, she couldn't help but feel a sense of peaceful security.

However, what followed was a feeling of self-loathing that eroded the girl's heart.

"Alright, stop struggling. It's easy to die, but death doesn't mean atonement."

After firmly embracing the struggling girl, Lin Yu whispered in Kiana's ear.

"I need enough 'brothers' to avenge myself against the Honkai. Do you think someone like me would let you die so easily?"

"Kiana, you made mistakes in the past and did indeed kill countless innocent people, but that's why you cannot die."

"To atone for your sins, you must carry this guilt and fight for humanity until you die."

At this moment, Kiana raised her head slightly and met Lin Yu's eyes in a daze.

Faced with the bewildered girl, Lin Yu forcefully kissed Kiana's lips.

A few seconds later, as the two separated, Lin Yu spoke to the girl in front of him whose cheeks were slightly flushed.

"Perhaps the guilt in your heart will gradually crush you, but if your guilt is really that strong, then—give up thinking and become mine."

"Leave everything to me, and I'll make you forget all your troubles."

"Until you atone for your sins..."

"—I will not let you die."

Chapter 263. First Blood

A secret base of Schicksal

In a secret base of Schicksal, Otto, who had been plotting something, tapped lightly on the table in front of him with his fingers.

In his office, where he was all alone, Otto, without needing to put on any pretense, naturally revealed his truest emotions.

Anger?

Resentful?

These are emotions that Otto may have once felt.

He had been angry about his own foolish actions and resentful about Kallen's death, but five hundred years later, Otto knew very well that these emotions were of no benefit to his plans.

Perhaps on ordinary days, Otto might act rashly due to uncontrollable emotions, but now...

Sigh, we really need to be more careful and cautious in our actions.

Otto originally held the reins of Schicksal, had plenty of resources to squander.

In this situation, Otto's occasional slight capriciousness doesn't actually affect his plans.

But now, ever since Fu Hua awakened her Herrscher Persona, Otto has been forced to become a member of the underground party.

At the time, without fully understanding the situation, he chose to remain patient and lie low, leaving Schicksal to observe the situation before launching any action in secret.

But now three weeks have passed, and Otto hasn't returned to Schicksal. Does that mean he doesn't want to go back?

It's not that he doesn't want to, it's that he's afraid!

Otto was certain that if he returned to Schicksal now, Fu Hua, who had already reclaimed the name of the Crimson Heron Immortal in Shenzhou, would definitely rush to Schicksal Headquarters to have a good talk with him.

If it were the reasonable Fu Hua of the past, it wouldn't be a big problem for Otto to have a talk with her.

In any case, their conversations would usually end with Otto spouting some high-sounding principles to persuade Fu Hua to do things for him.

As for what price Otto paid in the process—being able to win over the Crimson Heron Immortal as an ally—as long as the price wasn't too high, it was a huge gain.

But that's all in the past now.

In the past, Fu Hua was not in good condition and lacked strength. Moreover, she would reason with Otto, so Otto did not see this old friend as a threat.

But now, her body has been inexplicably repaired, and she has been Fu Hua with the Herrscher Core...

—Okay, she should still be the reasonable person she used to be, but she has more than one personality inside her.

Fu Hua would listen to his reasoning, but that Herrscher only wanted to talk to him about physics.

Given the fact that the other party went so far as to harm other innocent Schicksal members in order to kill Otto twice, once Otto returns, that Herrscher will definitely come knocking on his door immediately and cause chaos at Schicksal Headquarters.

If he could accomplish his plan, Otto would certainly not hesitate to sacrifice his subordinates who were destined for Schicksal.

The problem is, his plan is now going further and further astray.

The person who will fight the Herrscher of the Void is not yet determined.

The Void Key was also taken by the Herrscher of the Void.

Although my idea is to choose between Siegfried's and Lin Yu's Daughter, the problem is—I can't get my hands on either of them.

Siegfried is still in Kevin's hands, but Kevin refuses to hand Siegfried over to me, and his attitude becomes very cold when I contact him later.

As for that little girl Lin Yi...

Why is she so wary of those unfamiliar members of Schicksal who are only seventy days old?

The thought of that little girl made Otto feel that the kid was incredibly sinister.

Even though androids may be much smarter than their peers, the intelligence this kid is displaying is still a bit frightening.

Hoping that Amber can send people to capture Lin Yi is extremely difficult.

If necessary, the best course of action would be for Otto to personally go and capture the little girl.

Now, Otto's desire to personally execute the plan has grown stronger.

Just recently, Li Sushang, who used to keep in regular contact with Otto, suddenly stopped contacting Otto.

According to intelligence gathered by Schicksal's agents who were lying in wait in Shenzhou, Li Sushang has recently been associating with the Tai Xu Sword Sect and assisting them in killing Tai Xu Sword Sect Honkai Beast.

Although there is no evidence, the fact that Li Sushang, a girl who has a subtle affection for Otto, has chosen to distance herself from Otto is, in a sense, a dangerous sign.

Alas, Su Shang.

It's perfectly normal that someone like her, who enjoys fighting for justice, wouldn't want to talk to me after finding out what I did.

In any case, I must remove her from the original plan for future actions.

Another usable card is gone from my hand.

While Otto was still pondering a solution, he suddenly received a communication from Amber.

Amber will proactively contact Otto, usually because Amber has discovered information at the Schicksal Headquarters that must be relayed to Otto.

This time, Otto was stunned when he saw the message and video that Amber had forwarded.

Then, Otto's eyes widened, and he almost shouted out loud.

In the video sent by Amber, Raiden Mei and Yuno, the two Herrscher Candidate whose cores were taken by Sirin, are trying to do something in Changkong City.

Then, Sirin, who had been hiding and not making Otto worry about his safety, suddenly stormed out in a rage.

When Otto saw Sirin appear, he knew something bad was going to happen.

Wasn't he worried that these two little girls—who had lost their Herrscher Core and were no longer of any use—would die out there? What did that have to do with Otto?

The person Otto is truly worried about is, of course, Sirin seems very strong now but actually has a very high chance of failing.

And the fact that Amber sent me this video means it's affected my plans...

—Holy crap, Lin Yu???

Otto felt even worse after seeing Lin Yu and the crimson barrier appear in Changkong City, easily suppressing Sirin and stripping her of her power.

The day has finally come.

I didn't implement my plan immediately before, but now...

Lin Yu and Sirin finally faced off.

Moreover, Lin Yu has now become the Herrscher of Constraint.

Although the colors of his Constraint Barrier don't match those of the data from the Void Archive, but...

—Sirin is falling!

This shows that her power is truly disappearing!

Although Sirin managed to escape from Lin Yu's sight at the end of the video, Otto was not at ease just because he saw this scene.

The reason why Otto regarded Lin Yu had made Otto's plans go smoothly after he started carrying out missions in Changkong City, but also because Lin Yu's personal abilities were very strong.

Although there was no concrete reason, Otto could conclude that Lin Yu was capable of finding Sirin after seeing that Lin Yu had also disappeared.

The ability that Lin Yu currently possesses is clearly the Quantum Teleportation System from the Anti-Entropy side.

He has been in contact with people from the Anti-Entropy side. Based on my understanding of Joachim, he must have told the whole truth about what happened back then.

I don't know how much Lin Yu actually believed, but if he believed more than 30%, he would no longer consider me a trustworthy superior.

And it wasn't just Joachim...

—If Sirin also remembers those events from back then, then when both sides in the conflict are corroborating one thing, there is a very high probability that it is true.

This person has completely transformed from my subordinate into an enemy I need to be wary of.

After recognizing this fact, a cold glint flashed in Otto's eyes.

Since that's the case, I can't continue with this lukewarm approach any longer.

With Lin Yu's return, Sirin is likely to fall into his hands.

However, under these circumstances, Sirin would inevitably be injected with HSN Serum by Lin Yu, might not be able to maintain her peak level in terms of ability strength.

The two Herrscher, Rai and Death, who were defeated by Lin Yu after his power was interfered with by the HSN Serum, actually experienced a certain degree of decline in their subsequent power tests.

If Sora is like the other Herrscher, then the kind of Herrscher of the Void that I need will not appear in the short term.

Damn it, this plan has been completely ruined because of these things?

Are you kidding me!

At this moment, Otto, who was angrily pounding on the table, suddenly felt a strange sensation after smashing the desk through with his Soul Steel Iron Fist.

Hmm, wait a minute, what's this...?!

Otto, having noticed something, suddenly lost all his anger and revealed a playful expression.

Ha, what do you mean by giving me this?

It seems that not only me, but you are getting even more anxious.

You hindered my actions before, and now you want me to do things for you?

You've got a really good idea.

But fine, I'll help you this time for the sake of my plan.

Now we're all in this together, let's hope that by then...

—Please don't hold me back, God.

May 18, 2014, somewhere in Shenzhou.

As a ray of sunlight streamed through the window and fell on the girl's face, Kiana, exhausted from staying up all night for the past few days, slowly opened her eyes.