29. Theresa: Kids, I'm home / 30. Otto: Theresa, you really do have a little of her in you

Seeing the abnormal blush on Xia Ling's face, Bronya secretly made up her mind that after this mission was over, she would go back to Seele and apply the mask a few more times.

This school principal is always leading the way in showing off their love, how are they supposed to live?

"So, is the headmaster going to bring Sister Xia Ling along too?"

"Well, there are some things I want to ask Grandfather in person. As for Xia Ling... we can't just leave her here and ignore her."

"That's good. Seele and the others seem to have finished their mission and are heading towards St. 537 Church. We can leave Xia Ling in Rosalia and Lilia's care then."

"So... apart from Fu Hua and Sirin's side, the battles in several other battlefields ended almost instantly?"

"Based on the current situation, that's certainly the case," Bronya confirmed.

"What exactly is Grandfather trying to do...?"

"Old—Ancient—Dong—"

"Let me out!!!"

"Didn't you agree that I would go and beat up Li Sushang?! How come you locked me back into your body halfway through the fight?! Is this what you meant by 'borrowing my power,' and then returning it later?!"

"If you've got the guts, let me out. I'll take both of you with me—hey, you actually let me out?"

Just as if he was being jolted off a door that suddenly opened while he was leaning against it, Sirin was violently "rolled" out of Fu Hua's body.

"You Old Fossil with no sense of martial ethics! I said I'd let you go, and you really did! You caught me completely off guard..."

Sirin had just floated up, and Li Sushang, who was supporting herself with her sword, stared at each other for a second.

"... have?"

"Uh, the Herrscher of Consciousness? Sorry, I didn't mean to see you like that just now..."

"I think you need a little memory therapy. Don't worry, you'll be fine soon."

Under Li Sushang's gaze, Sirin's face changed from astonishment to flushed red, then from flushed red to pitch black. Finally, holding a black feather in her hand, she slowly walked towards Li Sushang.

"Help!"

After a chaotic scene, Sirin finally calmed down.

"So what do you mean by saying that you helped the Old Fossil completely shatter the Sword Heart?"

"I'm not quite sure either. This is what my Grand Master said herself. She speaks in a roundabout way, like Rakan. I really can't understand the principle behind it."

Sushang sat on a clean patch of ground and told Sirin what had just happened.

"In short, just as I was about to release the Sword God, I saw my Grand Master suddenly lock you inside his body, and then he blocked the Great Void Sword God himself without getting hurt."

"She told me that she needed to completely shatter her Sword Heart in order to break free from the shackles of Divine Sound and restore her other trump card... As for what Divine Sound was, my Grand Master didn't say."

"After this attack, I no longer had the ability to unleash the Sword God technique again, so I fought my final battle with my Grand Master using pure Great Void Sword Technique. Well, that's it."

"So you don't know anything at all!" Sirin retorted angrily.

"No, I also know why my Grand Master locked you up."

Sushang shook her head and mysteriously raised her finger.

"Oh? Why?" Sirin took the bait and showed an interested look.

"Well, Grand Master said that your skills are not yet proficient and you may not be able to react to what she wants to do immediately. In addition, it is indeed risky to take the initiative to block the bullet with your Sword Heart. So, she was afraid that you would forcibly stop her out of worry, so she locked you up first."

"Who... who's worried about her?!"

As expected, just as Sushang had anticipated, Sirin once again retorted with a flushed face.

Alas, even the Grand Master has successfully found his place in the new generation.

While dealing with Sirin, Sushang couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Theresa: Children, I'm Back

"This is it..."

Kiana carefully made her way along a relatively quiet path.

She didn't use her teleportation ability, since she had already reached the outer perimeter of the St. 537 Church. If she used her ability, the Honkai Energy fluctuations she emitted would be easily detected by Otto, thus revealing her location.

Even if we didn't do this, we would most likely be exposed anyway, but intermittent exposure is better than an open and aboveboard infiltration.

"I wonder how things are going with the headmistress and Sister Xia Ling... I hope they don't go too far in their fight."

From the very beginning, Kiana's detector and terminal both crashed simultaneously. However, judging from her inability to contact the Hyperion as well, it seems that her signal was being blocked.

This made Kiana, who was completely in the dark, worry about her companions' battle.

However, compared to the battlefield on Fu Hua's side, Kiana was actually more worried about Xia Ling.

After all, Miss Li Sushang's respect for Fu Hua seemed to come from the bottom of her heart, and she herself said that she would only help Otto fight Fu Hua.

In any case, the worst outcome would be that neither side would be able to participate in the next battle.

However, Theresa and Xia Ling's battles were different. Although they both solemnly assured that as mature adults, they would not go too far.

But... their eyes and figures made their promises seem very unconvincing.

Kiana was all too familiar with the look in their eyes when they met; she and Mei had that same look during their rooftop battle, and back then, the commotion and consequences they caused were far from ordinary.

Just then, a soft, ethereal whisper appeared from afar, pulling Kiana back to reality.

"Now, it's time to place the new piece..."

"Even in situations beyond human control, there is still room for planning; this is not an exaggeration."

"If it were my old friend who had come, things would have been even more complicated."

"Having survived that tragedy... she was, after all, more experienced."

"That voice..." Kiana suddenly raised her head upon hearing that familiar, irritating tone.

She hurried forward a few steps, and sure enough, the mastermind behind the whole plan, the one who manipulated everything in this town... their owner was standing at the entrance of St. 537 Church, seemingly talking to the golden cube floating beside him.

"Oh dear, our second guest seems to have arrived a little early."

The arrival of the White-haired Ranger Girl was not unexpected for Otto, or rather, he knew the location of each of them perfectly from the beginning.

"Otto! And that's... the Black Abyss White Flower?"

Kiana's gaze was unsurprisingly drawn to the black and white lance in Otto's hand.

"Yes, that's what the first guest left here. She's gone to rest in the Imaginary Space now, hopefully that won't frustrate you."

"Next, this church will become the starting point for changes in the world. For your personal safety, it would be best if we maintained a safe distance, using this Black Abyss White Flower as a boundary."

"... Do you think I'll just give up like this?"

Crimson flames began to burn fiercely from the Flame-Chaser Greatsword in Kiana's hand.

"Honestly, I don't want to fight at a time like this..."

Otto deftly dodged a slash backward, looking somewhat troubled.

"After all... the gift from the Tree of Imaginary has already begun to manifest in me..."

"Xin Yan, draw your sword!"

He unleashed all the destructive energy from the greatsword; even Herrscher would not be able to escape unscathed from such a level of power.

But Kiana felt no sense of relief at that moment.

Because... this battle has been going on for several minutes.

Otto wasn't without flaws, or rather, he didn't use his exquisite martial arts skills at all.

Faced with Kiana's attack, his choice was... to eat it all.

However, even though Kiana was certain that her output had far exceeded the limits of her Soul Steel body, Otto remained unscathed, fighting her as if he were strolling in a garden.

Or rather, I'm fighting alongside her.

"This guy... something's not right. What exactly is this so-called gift from the Tree of Imaginary that he's talking about...?"

"Herrscher of Flamescion, has the intensity of our battle become so easy that you have time to overthink things?"

While Kiana pondered the source of his power, Otto decisively seized the opportunity.

The golden cube instantly transformed into Kiana's familiar weapon: a golden cross.

"Oh no!"

Kiana's eyes narrowed, and she wanted to quickly use teleportation to leave the area.

However, the golden chains did not give her that chance.

"Ha, a pointless struggle... huh?"

Otto's gaze drifted to a spot not far away.

"Oh, perhaps your struggle is still worthwhile, after all..."

"Like water, it follows its shape!"

Before the words were even finished, blue chains identical to those mimicked by the Void Archive had already entangled themselves around it. Although these chains were not as high quality as the Void Archive, their quantity...

The chains, five times stronger than the Void Archive, successfully freed Kiana from the gradually forming cage.

At the same time, several floating cannons materialized from the sky, and pale blue laser beams shot out toward Otto.

"Stay away from Kiana!"

The giant robot appeared in front of Kiana in an instant, Heavy Armor Rabbit was already swinging its fist, smashing it towards Otto without hesitation.

"Oh, what a touching friendship."

Even as the situation quickly changed from one-on-one to three-on-one, Otto's tone remained calm and unhurried.

"Since my lovely Valkyrie are so determined, I have no choice but to show some strength in response."

As he spoke, the golden cross instantly unfolded, and a familiar light curtain began to envelop the three of them.

"This is... a simulated Divine Prayer Barrier!"

Having witnessed Otto's use of the Mimic Judah against the real Judah, MewMew immediately recognized Otto's current skill. He hadn't used his own powers, but rather the Mimicry of the Void Archive... But what was his reason for doing so?

MewMew was at a loss for the moment, but even a mimicry of divine grace was not something they could touch at will.

"Bronya has already contacted the headmistress. She should be nearby. As long as the headmistress arrives..."

Bronya said as she quickly retreated.

As she spoke, a look of joy appeared on her face.

On the radar of the Heavy Armor Rabbit, a familiar friendly icon has been detected.

"Everyone, I'm back."

Theresa, carrying the unconscious Xia Ling in her arms and the authentic Golden Cross on her back, rapidly grew larger in the distance.

At the same time, although the person had not yet arrived, the same golden barrier was already rapidly canceling out Otto's simulated barrier.

Chapter Thirty Otto: Theresa, you do indeed resemble her somewhat.

"Auntie, you..."

Honestly, the biggest shock Theresa gave Kiana wasn't her carrying her sister on her entrance, but rather... her height, which was about the same as Kiana's.

Theresa's sudden growth caused Kiana to completely freeze up, even forgetting to address the headmistress properly.

"A lot has happened... I'll explain it to you properly when we get back. As for my current appearance... haven't you noticed that something is missing from me?"

Bronya could only see that the headmistress had something new on her...

Bronya and MewMew's gazes both fell on Theresa's chest.

Although it still can't compare to Himeko's scale, Theresa's magnanimity is now showing signs of surpassing Kiana's.

"It seems that Xia Ling's plan has succeeded. You have finally completely freed yourself from the restrictions I left for you... my dear Theresa."

Otto's voice answered for them, but at that moment, in Otto's eyes, Theresa saw a longing and complexity she had never seen before.