68. Theresa: Has there ever been a crown prince who reigned for fifty years? / 1. Xia Ling: Damn you, Otto! Is this what I gave you my Core for?!

After quickly eliminating the core evil intention, Xia Ling did not choose to wake up in order not to interfere with the subsequent plans, but continued to pretend to be unconscious.

While her body was asleep, she sent a portion of her core to Otto. After Otto completed the fusion of the core with his Soul Steel body, she took over a temporarily modified young female version of Otto as her temporary body.

After that, he and Otto researched how to contact the Honkai Will, and the subsequent projection, etc...

Because she was using Otto's body, and with Xia Ling's deliberate concealment, apart from Sushang, who had some contact with her, no one discovered that Xia Ling had come to Kolosten.

Here, I'd like to specifically name a certain Dumb Goose. Xia Ling had impersonated Otto and handed over missions to her at least five times, but the Dumb Goose hadn't noticed anything amiss at all, simply regarding this body as the Lord Bishop's strange hobby.

Xia Ling's reason for coming to help Otto so early wasn't out of kindness, but rather because she wanted to know how to connect with the Honkai Consciousness.

Since she already knew when the Herrscher of Corruption would descend, she couldn't allow Mei to become a "closely connected individual" again. Moreover, the Mei here hadn't entered the Elysian Realm.

As for how to deal with this erosion... to be honest, Xia Ling hasn't quite figured it out yet. However, given the current situation, the erosion isn't a high priority.

"Hi, Sushang."

At this point in Kolosten, Sushang was arguably the only one who knew Xia Ling's true identity.

Of course, there was another reason why Otto assigned Xia Ling to help Sushang Chang integrate into modern society: Sushang was not familiar with other people.

Therefore, even if Sushang knew Xia Ling's true identity, there was nothing wrong with it. On the contrary, this action could demonstrate his trust in Sushang to some extent.

It must be said that Otto always does his best in these small details, and sometimes, great advantages come from these small accumulations.

"It's you, Xia Ling... Ah, sorry, sorry, I should call you Rakan now."

Sushang quickly changed her mind halfway through her sentence. She and Xia Ling had made an agreement that when they were out in public, she would treat Xia Ling as Otto.

"It's okay, there's no one else here anyway."

Xia Ling waved her hand, not caring, "What are you looking at here so early in the morning?"

"When I went out this morning... I saw some things about Rakan, I mean real Rakan... uh, anyway, those things that look like will-o'-the-wisps."

"That's just a projection created by spacetime... originating from some strong consciousness here five hundred years ago." Xia Ling smiled and explained to Sushang again, "You saw Otto's past?"

"Yeah, so I'm a bit emotional... You know, that Rakan guy is really something, I can't even tell if he's a good guy or a bad guy."

"People like him can't be simply categorized as good or bad..." Xia Ling shook her head slightly. "However, at least for you, he should be considered a good person."

Chapter Sixty-Eight Theresa: Can there be a crown prince for fifty years?

"So, does that mean his behavior doesn't qualify him as a good person in the eyes of others?"

Sushang tilted her head. "Then... what about his actions this time? From what I heard, it seems he wants to reset the world back to five hundred years ago?"

"That's just the surface of the plan, a cover-up for another plan." Looking at Sushang's "wise" expression, Xia Ling couldn't help but chuckle. "But even if I explained Otto's real plan to you, you probably wouldn't understand."

"I can't help it... After all, we are separated by five hundred years. It's already quite difficult for me to integrate into modern life normally."

Seeing that Xia Ling seemed about to spout a string of technical terms again, Sushang quickly shook her head. "As for the Rakan's plan... well, I just want to repay his life-saving grace."

"Since Xia Ling says his plan won't harm most people, then I'll just play the role of a sword for him for once... Anyway, both you and Durandal are very upright people. If he really has ill intentions, you won't help him."

"Hehe, that's not necessarily true..." Xia Ling looked into the distance, and in her field of vision, she spotted a bunch of branches that had just sprouted new buds.

"Look, Sushang."

Xia Ling pointed to the new shoot.

"This is Otto's plan."

"How come you've learned to tell riddles like those Rakan people too!"

Meanwhile, at the Salt Lake Base, at the Hyperion's dedicated berth.

"Headmaster... are you conducting a spot check on the Hyperion maintenance?"

Fu Hua looked at Theresa strolling on the tarmac and asked her a question.

"I guess so. There haven't been many Honkai events happening globally lately, so it's been a rare period of relative calm..."

Hearing Fu Hua's voice, Theresa turned around and said, "It's a pity that Xia Ling couldn't enjoy this rare vacation."

Is the headmaster worried about her?

"Worried? Not really. Xia Ling's condition is very stable, and there's no chance of it suddenly deteriorating... We can't just lose her one day, can we?"

Theresa answered half-jokingly, but there was a hint of worry in her eyes.

"I'm just... feeling a bit down lately."

"When Xia Ling was not around, I looked back on my life and found that... many of my decisions were actually influenced by my Grandfather."

"You mean... Bishop Otto?"

"Yes, whether it's establishing St. Freya Academy or rebelling against the Schicksal Headquarters, these are things that my Grandfather did. Without realizing it, I have also embarked on a similar path to him."

"But that won't do. I must eventually forge my own path so that I can be responsible for Xia Ling, for St. Freya, and for the Far East Branch."

"The headmaster's words remind me of a rumor I overheard when I was working at the Schicksal Headquarters."

Fu Hua pushed up her non-prescription glasses and said, "If Otto doesn't die, Theresa will always just be a child."

"However, it seems that the headmaster's growth rate has far exceeded the expectations of the person who said those words back then."

"It's not that serious... Although Grandfather did many wrong things and acted against the tide, I really never thought he would die one day..."

Theresa looked at the distant clouds, behind which was the sun, which wasn't particularly bright that day.

"He's like the anchor of Schicksal, stabilizing Schicksal existence. If he were to die one day, it would surely cause a great upheaval..."

"Ms. Theresa."

The emergency communicator suddenly beeped, interrupting Theresa's reflections.

"Ain? What's the matter that's so urgent?"

Theresa was taken aback and quickly took out her communicator.

"This is a news video that Schicksal is broadcasting to the world, and I think it's necessary for you to see it immediately."

Along with Ain's urgent voice, a video link was sent over.

Theresa clicked on the video, and Otto, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, was giving a speech to the world.

"... The Honkai has run out of steam, while a new generation of heroes is emerging among humanity. At this time of change, you all need the truth about the world, and Schicksal also needs fresh blood."

"In conclusion, I, Otto Apocalypse, hereby resign from my position as Bishop of Schicksal and withdraw from the organization, effective immediately."

"My successor, Theresa Apocalypse, leader of the Far East Branch, will soon assume the position of bishop and take full control of the Schicksal."

"I believe that under her leadership, the world and the Schicksal will have a brighter future."

"???"

Fu Hua and Theresa stared at each other, both completely bewildered.

"Grandfather, you want to resign from your position Bishop of Schicksal?!"

"And they've designated me as the heir?"

"Calm down, Ms. Theresa, this is not the only unexpected situation."

Welt's voice then came through the emergency communicator.

"Just now, we received a fax from the Schicksal Headquarters."

"In line with the news, the other party claimed that you are welcome to go to the former site of the Schicksal Headquarters in Kolosten, outside Vienna, to attend the ceremony and succeed as bishop."

"And..."

"And what?"

Welt's stammering made Theresa have a bad feeling.

"Furthermore, they claimed that they had already located the Herrscher of Domination's core in the area and wanted us to go there in person to retrieve it."

"The core of the Herrscher of Domination?" Theresa never expected this term to appear at this moment. "Haven't we already collected most of the cores? Even if there are still some that slipped through the net, there shouldn't be so many that headquarters needs to issue a special statement to explain, right?"

"That's the problem, Theresa."

Ain's voice explained, "We received the message at the same time the other party released it."

"Xia Ling, who was in the medical pod... has disappeared."

"It's hard not to be suspicious when the other party makes such a move at this time. In addition, we did detect the residual energy of the Void Archive in the medical pod."

"..."

"Creak..."

Theresa screamed as the railing in her hands creaked.

"The headmaster...?"

Fu Hua silently increased the distance between them.

"I'm fine, Fu Hua."

Theresa's face was clouded with gloom.

"I just feel that... after serving Bishop of Schicksal for so long, it's time for Grandfather to step down and take a break... hehe."

"After he retires, let's send him to a cemetery outside Vienna to recuperate."

"Convene an immediate operational meeting... I need to prepare to go to the Schicksal Headquarters..."

"Have a good chat with Grandfather."

Chapter 1 Xia Ling: You damned Otto! Is this how you play with my core?

Half an hour's journey from Kolosten, on the Hyperion.

"Auntie, oh wait, in public I should still call you Principal..."

On the deck, Kiana easily found Theresa enjoying the breeze.

"So, is the headmaster also here on the deck to enjoy the scenery and relax?"

Since fully reconciling with Sirin, Kiana has gradually regained her memories and begun to face her identity.

At least, she has changed her address for Theresa from "Headmistress" back to "Auntie"... This also means that she has fully accepted her identity as Kiana Kaslana.

Of course, this is also related to the memories she has regained. After all, according to her limited memories, her older sister, who is also the real Kiana Kaslana, had already fallen from the plane to protect her during the operation to betray Schicksal.

For a child, that kind of free fall is tantamount to a death sentence.

Kiana sighed softly. She did have too many grudges to settle with Otto, but right now... Xia Ling and Theresa's matters were more important.

"Yes, after being in the wind for a while, I gradually calmed down."

Theresa gazed silently in Kolosten's direction.

"Grandfather's actions always had a clear purpose. If it weren't necessary, he wouldn't have bothered to sneak into the Salt Lake Base and kidnap Xia Ling."

"Moreover... there are many other strange things about this matter."

"Huh? Yes, really...?"

Kiana noticed that Theresa's intelligence seemed to increase dramatically when Xia Ling was involved.

"Of course there are. For example, the simplest thing is that the timing doesn't match."

Theresa said seriously, "Although we dare not say that we have collected all the cores of the Thousand-Man Herrscher, at least the vast majority are with us, or more precisely, with Xia Ling, and are in an 'undistributed' state."

"If Grandfather really 'seized' a large number of Thousand-Man Herrscher cores, then he could only have gotten them from Xia Ling."

"But... judging from the timeline, it's suspicious that Grandfather obtained the core first, Xia Ling disappeared later."

"Besides that, I have a feeling... Grandfather might be serious this time."

"It's alright. In any case, at least in terms of strength, we still have the upper hand, right?"

Kiana smiled and comforted her, "Both Doctor chose to accompany us on this mission. In terms of combat strength, besides me, Bronya, Seele, Class President, and Sirin... MewMew also came to help."