26. The Classic Soul Steel Face Scene / 27. Himeko Arrives, and Otto Is Confused

"Even at the Schicksal Headquarters, if you wish, you can bring your people and appear when Durandal and Sirin are fighting. For whatever reason, Durandal will not refuse to join you in taking down Sirin on the spot."

"You went to great lengths to weaken Sirin's power, even going so far as to personally set a trap to stop me, all so that you could create a space for Sirin and the Hyperion to have a one-on-one duel?"

"The only difference between you and me is that you offer a higher margin of error, which is why you're here blocking me from destroying the Hyperion's main gun, right?"

"Tsk, although what you said is all true, I think there are still some differences between you and me." Xia Ling didn't want to explain further and just smiled.

"However, I didn't expect, Your Lord Bishop, to have such a high opinion of me. In that case, why don't you let me take the position of Bishop of Schicksal?"

"Heh, that's easy to say. Now that you've joined Schicksal, you can train by my side for a while, and it won't be difficult for you to take on the role of bishop."

Otto's voice was full of mockery. "Let's see if you can let go of these feelings."

"Sigh, never mind then. In my eyes, the position of the Bishop of Schicksal is not as important as the weight that Theresa and the others hold in my heart."

Xia Ling took out Crescent Rose.

"Well then, Your Lord Bishop, since you admire me so much, I wonder... if I could trouble you with a favor?"

"Oh? What is it? Are you going to entrust little Theresa to? Absolutely. If you'd like, we can recruit you into the Apocalypse Family immediately. With someone like you helping her, I believe her future path will be much smoother."

Otto said something so serious that Xia Ling almost couldn't believe her eyes.

"Okay, thank you, Bishop. I've recorded that. I'll use it to flirt with Theresa later." Xia Ling unfolded her scythe, making no attempt to conceal her murderous intent.

"But what I really want to say is... could I beg Your Lord Bishop to die here today?"

"Hehe, although I admire you, I also have my bottom line when it comes to the Sirin Project." The golden cube condensed into the shape of a feather in Otto's hand. "Based on my understanding, it's best not to leave the core of this main cannon behind."

"After all, only by leaving no way out can we better unleash their limits."

Before she finished speaking, Xia Ling's body instantly appeared in front of Otto, and her crimson scythe slashed directly at the golden feather.

Otto retreated several steps, avoiding the sharp edge of the Crescent Rose. His Mimicry: Feather Dust immediately emitted a golden glow, but just before it enveloped Xia Ling, it was neutralized by the verdant power emanating from her.

"This is... the power of the Forerunner?" Otto was slightly taken aback, then immediately realized. "That's right, if you drifted from the sea to the Intrinsic World, you certainly wouldn't escape the eyes of that Forerunner."

"It's normal for you to have some contact, but I didn't expect that you would actually gain his approval."

"However, even if we don't gain the upper hand mentally..."

The golden feathers instantly transformed into two short swords. Otto gracefully slashed through Xia Ling's scythe and slashed down at her body without hesitation.

Xia Ling's body suddenly burst out with a red light, and her speed suddenly increased, barely dodging Otto's counterattack.

However, due to the overly aggressive attack just now, Xia Ling's current position is still considered dangerous.

Sure enough, with several swings of the twin swords, the impenetrable blades pierced through the scythe's defense, and Otto quickly left several wounds on Xia Ling's body.

"We need to create some distance from this position first."

Xia Ling condensed the Honkai Energy into a tangible barrier, which then spread out rapidly. At the same time, she pushed her scythe forward, fired a bullet, and used the recoil to quickly retreat.

"Miss Xia Ling, although I don't fight much, you might not be able to beat me in martial arts."

As Xia Ling retreated, Otto switched his twin swords to Mimicry: Heavenly Fire Judgment, quickly firing several more shots to block Xia Ling's escape routes with explosions. At the same time, the twin pistols transformed into golden crosses the moment the bullets left the barrel, and several chains tightly bound Xia Ling, who was unable to teleport in time.

"How about you reconsider the olive branch I'm extending to you?"

Mimicry of Judas' Vow begins to unleash its power, sealing off Xia Ling's abilities.

Otto slowly walked towards Xia Ling and continued to persuade her.

"Look, I didn't even intend to hurt you just now. Otherwise, my actions would have been to use Judah to block your movement and then use Heavenly Fire Judgment to severely injure you."

"I think this level of sincerity should be enough."

Then he saw Xia Ling, who was tightly bound by chains, suddenly give him a triumphant smile.

"That's more than enough. Thank you for your Lord Bishop."

Otto's eyes narrowed, and the spikes on the chains instantly rose, aiming for Xia Ling's vitals.

However, it was too late.

Suddenly, a book with a pink cover made of metal appeared in front of Xia Ling.

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Classic Soul Steel Face Scene

Before Otto could react, the Void Archive emitted a sharp explosion in Otto mind.

"Otto, get out of here quickly, that thing is..."

However, Void Archive had no time to finish speaking.

The pink book moved on its own without any wind, quickly unfolding in the air and then settling on the first page.

Otto could clearly see that on this page was a golden cube that looked very familiar to him.

In an instant, the page transformed into a pink streak of light and entered the golden chain that had come into contact with Xia Ling. At the same time, a fleeting pink glint also flashed in Xia Ling's eyes, as if they were mirroring each other.

Then, as if encountering a natural enemy, the golden chains began to dissolve rapidly, the dissolution spreading all the way to the cross itself, and then to the golden cube in Otto's hand...

Under Otto's utterly shocked gaze, Void Archive directly severed its connection with his body.

"???"

"Void Archive? What's your situation?"

No matter how Otto called out, the Void Archive in his mind no longer responded, as if it had been forcibly shut down.

At that moment, Xia Ling seized the opportunity, rushed forward, and punched Otto in the face.

Caught off guard, Otto's body flew out and crashed heavily into the wall.

"Indeed, Sirin's words were correct. This creaking sound is quite addictive."

"Vill-V's things are really useful... It's a pity that they can only temporarily shut down the Void Archive, not directly sever its connection with you."

Xia Ling moved her arms, which were still a little sore and numb from being bound, and spoke in a flippant tone.

"However, without the Void Archive, Your Lord Bishop, you should also be unable to transfer the memories from this body."

"Oh, my Lord Bishop, he's so upset about not being able to transfer his memories that he's having a mental breakdown. He's crying and making a scene, sob sob sob, so pitiful~"

"Well, Your Lord Bishop, I wonder if this trump card has brought you any surprises?"

"..."

Otto's eyes were filled with apprehension.

"That's really... Heh, I underestimated you."

"It seems I've lost completely this time; I've been thoroughly outmaneuvered..."

"You had already prepared a way to counter me, which is why you dared to face me alone... Ha, I originally thought you had underestimated my strength, but it turns out I was the arrogant one."

"No, no, no, Your Lord Bishop, there's no need to be discouraged." Xia Ling smiled. "At least I will help you achieve your experimental goal."

"Well, I really have to thank you... or rather, I should be glad that you and I have the same goal? Otherwise, we would have really lost everything this time."

The outcome was already decided, but Otto was filled with lingering fear.

The Sirin Project was a crucial part of his plan to revive Kallen, and the Herrscher of the Void was almost irreplaceable. He couldn't imagine what would happen to him if Xia Ling intended to sabotage his plan, given that he had been completely outmaneuvered.

"Alright, Your Lord Bishop, let's stop this small talk. Anyway, your backup won't have this memory. So, who knows, maybe I'll outsmart you again next time."

A magnificent longsword appeared in Xia Ling's hand.

"The Corrosion Key is also in your hands, ha..."

Otto shook his head with a wry smile, his eyes shifting several times before finally choosing to put away the hidden Holy Blood in his hand.

"Fortunately, you have Theresa as a connection, otherwise I might have really gone to any lengths to get rid of you."

"Is that so? Then you probably won't have a chance."

Xia Ling did not understand what Otto meant. She raised the Kishinuma and inserted it directly into Otto's body. The Corrosion Virus instantly invaded Otto's body, destroying the defenses that Void Archive had previously set up, and then took over Otto's body.

"Well then, goodbye, Your Lord Bishop. I look forward to our next encounter."

As the words fell, Otto's data and memories within this body were completely deleted, and at the same time, this Soul Steel body was completely formatted.

"Take these Soul Steels to Vill-V later. They might be able to complete this page of the Void Archive. This stuff is quite useful against Otto."

"So... what's next...?"

Xia Ling turned her gaze toward the deck.

"It all depends on when it ends over there..."

On the other side, on the deck of the Hyperion.

Theresa's pressure gradually increased as Sirin's attack frequency rose.

In their battle plan, Mei was needed to act as bait, and she was responsible for protecting Mei to buy time so that Yae Sakura and Bronya could quickly deal a heavy blow to Benares.

But the reality is... Sirin probably thinks the same way.

Theresa felt that her twelve spears of light were starting to become insufficient, as the Spear of Subspace attacked from all directions, and the bizarre and varied attack directions left her somewhat overwhelmed.

As for Mei, although her second personality wanted to give her more power, the problem was that Mei was far behind Sirin in both physical endurance and control.

The Conquest's Lightning from her body was gradually becoming insufficient to counteract the decaying power emanating from the Core of the Herrscher of Death.

"This can't go on."

Bronya looked at Yae Sakura and nodded slightly. Yae Sakura immediately understood and unleashed another sword strike, blocking Benares's momentum as he tried to charge down.

"I originally intended to save this move for the Second Herrscher, but now... I have no choice but to take care of one of them as soon as possible."

Bronya closed her eyes, recalling the methods Seele had taught her before.

"Sister Bronya, actually... the Heavy Armor Rabbit can be overloaded for a period of time."

Upon hearing that Bronya was going to face off against Herrscher, Seele's voice couldn't help but sound worried.

"However, the cost is that the Heavy Armor Rabbit will self-destruct due to overloading its energy and will need to rest for several days."

"I was thinking that if Sister Bronya knew about this feature, she would definitely exploit Rabbit again, but I can't worry about that now..."

"Sister Bronya, remember this: to activate this state, you need to..."

Following Seele's instructions from her memories, Bronya suddenly opened her eyes. Behind her, the Heavy Armor Rabbit was covered in black and red patterns due to energy overload.

Have you ever seen what it looks like when a star shatters?

"Star of Eden, Zero Rated Power Simulated Black Hole - Liberation!"

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Himeko Arrives and Otto's Puzzle

With Benares's sudden growl, a thick blackness instantly enveloped them, distorting even the light.

Under the gravity of the Simulated Black Hole, even Benares was temporarily unable to move.

Although controlling a unit of this size is still somewhat difficult for Bronya, even if she only manages to control it for a few seconds, it will be enough for Yae Sakura to react.

With a fierce slash from Yae Sakura, a large gash was instantly torn open on Benares' left flank.

With one wing severely damaged, Benares immediately lost his balance and began to become unstable, gradually falling towards the sea.

Beside her, the Heavy Armor Rabbit had disappeared, and seeing Benares vanish from sight, Bronya instantly lost her strength and released her control over Star of Eden.

"Phew—finally taken care of one..."

Before she could even relax, problems arose on Theresa's end.

While Benares was injured, Sirin seized the opportunity when Mei was distracted and appeared directly in front of Mei. Dense black mist enveloped her body and quickly dissipated the lightning on Mei's body.

"Come, my half, let's continue our unfinished ritual."

Sirin slowly raised her hand, and an invisible force rendered Mei unable to move, leaving her suspended in the air, struggling incessantly.

Under Sirin's control, the Herrscher Core, which was not fully fused with Mei to begin with, gradually emerged from Mei's chest and was then grabbed by the Queen.

"Good, that gives us another source of strength..."

With Mei aside, Sirin quickly absorbed the Herrscher Core.

At this moment, she already had three cores in her body, which was half of her peak.

"So, what's next..."