Upon hearing the name Kevin Kaslana, Raven's pretty face turned pale. She was far too familiar with that name, because Kevin was her direct superior—the boss of World Serpent.
Otto had directly exposed Kevin and World Serpent's existence.
Raven instinctively reached toward her body, wanting to grab a weapon, but when her hand touched her perky backside, she remembered that she had long since been stripped bare. Nothing had been left on her.
She could not force her way out.
In her current state, even if she escaped this room, Schicksal would easily catch her.
The only optimal solution was to seize the Bishop of Schicksal before her as a hostage. But Otto had appeared before her so openly; only an idiot would think he had no backup at all.
The moment she attacked Otto, the Valkyries lying in wait would definitely suppress her instantly.
Rather than having a Valkyrie press her head down, Raven chose to remain as she was.
She looked at Otto. He still wore that calm, unruffled expression.
As expected of the Bishop of Schicksal.
She had nowhere to run. He had effortlessly clamped a hand around her throat.
Raven moved the pillow aside and sat upright. Her previous delicate appearance vanished, and her entire presence became sharp and imposing. Her rose-red eyes resembled a snake's, staring fixedly at Otto.
She no longer intended to conceal anything, because no amount of concealment would be useful.
She did not bother covering her body. As a mercenary who lived with blood on the blade, she would not care about something so trivial.
Her stomach was a little cold, though. The room's temperature was low, and waves of chill constantly stimulated her.
Raven knew that this was actually fear in her heart. That fear had transformed into coldness and invaded her.
After hesitating for a moment, Raven hugged the pillow to her chest again. In this enormous room, only this pillow could give her a little warmth.
"As expected of the Bishop of Schicksal."
Her voice was slightly cold and haughty as Raven forced herself to calm down.
"How much do you know?"
Otto's expression did not change. Raven's sudden change had startled him a little, but to hide his psychological pressure, he casually said,
"I know a great deal. I know Kevin. I know World Serpent. I know Gray Serpent. I know Jackal. I know the Pink Fairy in the Imaginary Tree."
"I also know you, Miss Raven of World Serpent."
"Or perhaps I should call you Miss Seele?"
Sure enough, Otto knew a great deal about World Serpent. He even knew her real name and the Imaginary Tree.
Raven truly wanted to spray Jackal in the face with blood. This was the foolish, ignorant Bishop of Schicksal whom Jackal had said knew nothing?
Jackal, you giant idiot—beep!
Raven felt as though Schicksal had already dug up the identities of her entire ancestry.
When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you. That saying was indeed true. World Serpent watched Schicksal from the shadows, while Schicksal also watched World Serpent.
At the thought that everything she had done had actually been under Schicksal's watch, Raven shuddered.
"So, what does the dignified Bishop of Schicksal want by bringing a weak woman like me to a place like this?"
Raven's mind spun rapidly. Since Otto had given her a chance to speak, it meant that he must want something from her.
Before her brother died, he had told her, "Live on." Those words were her code for survival. No matter what happened, she had to live. No one could take her life away.
Not even Schicksal!
"Of course, I wish to spend a lovely night with a beautiful lady like you. If I am fortunate enough to become the only interlude in your life, it would surely be something wonderful."
Otto joked. Joking in a situation like this better displayed his composure.
Yeah, right!
Raven curled her lips in disdain. Everyone knew Otto was ascetic. Schicksal lacked no beauties, yet Otto had never made a move on any of them. That was enough to show that this man had no worldly desires.
No matter how hard she thought, she could not imagine that the Otto before her had actually become someone else.
"Roses have thorns. Your Excellency, when picking one, do be careful not to hurt your fingers."
"It's fine. The rose will bleed, not my forearm."
Otto said with a smile, but he did not want to dwell on this slightly derailed topic. If they kept talking, things would get censored.
"Miss Raven."
"Quit World Serpent and come to Schicksal."
"Huh?" Raven opened her mouth. She had not expected Otto to be trying to poach her. "Why?"
She asked the question instinctively.
"Because I think you are an outstanding lady. A place like World Serpent does not suit you."
"Come to Schicksal, and you will receive treatment far superior to what World Serpent offers."
Otto was indeed poaching her, because he knew Raven had no sense of belonging toward World Serpent. She remained there only because she had nowhere else to go, and because World Serpent paid her well.
But Schicksal had plenty of money.
Only then did Otto feel that being the Bishop of Schicksal was not entirely without advantages. He was now one of the richest men in the world.
Even if it were a limited banner requiring 300 pulls, he could whale through it with a flick of his finger.
"You know what World Serpent pays me?"
Raven could not help asking. She wanted to probe just how much Schicksal knew about World Serpent.
"I don't."
"But I can add a zero to that number."
Otto said indifferently.
Raven was stunned by Otto's lavish wealth.
He said he did not know what World Serpent paid her. He was clearly telling her to name her price, since Schicksal had no way to verify whether Raven was telling the truth.
"Miss Raven, I will give you time to consider. Please do not disappoint me."
Otto revealed a faint smile. The index finger of his left hand lightly tapped Judgement of Shamash, and the room filled with the sound of "tap, tap, tap."
Raven felt as if that sound were striking her heart, like the ticking clock on a bomb. The countdown had begun, and when it stopped, it would be time for her to answer Otto.
So, should she agree to Otto's offer?
Otto shifted his gaze away from Raven and secretly sighed in relief. He had bought himself time. Now, he only needed to hold out until Schicksal found him.
Damn, I finally got her settled down.
It would be even better if Raven agreed. Once they reached Schicksal territory, wouldn't this long-legged Raven be at This Bishop's mercy?
As for keeping his word—please, did she really dare trust Otto's character?
He chuckled softly, feeling that he had already started to immerse himself in the role of the Bishop of Schicksal.
However, he could not help thinking about something.
When he returned to Schicksal, could he hand the position of Bishop over to someone else and extract himself from this mess?
But he quickly dismissed that thought. Holding power was the safest choice. Protecting himself required strength. No matter how secure a place he hid in, there was always a possibility that someone would find him.
The ones who wanted his life were all among the strongest people in this world. He absolutely could not underestimate them.
Besides, if he did not become Bishop, then wouldn't Theresa become the next Bishop? If Theresa became Bishop, Schicksal would surely be doomed.
Once Schicksal was finished, he would be dragged out and sent to the guillotine.
Discarding those unrealistic thoughts, the only way for him to live peacefully was to firmly secure his position as the Bishop of Schicksal.
He had no desire to become some pitiful wretch sent to the guillotine.
So he looked toward the system panel floating in the air, visible only to him. A blacksmith needed iron of his own; to improve his own strength, he had to rely on the system.
But this system was truly a scam. It had thrown him into such a dangerous place right away. If Judgement of Shamash had been at World Serpent headquarters, wouldn't he have delivered himself right to their doorstep?
"System, how can you use someone else's belongings as rewards? This is robbery!"
Otto condemned the system's actions in his mind, and the system's voice rang out.
Host, please show some self-respect. You were the one who asked me to claim the reward for you. This system will not take the blame. If you do not want the system to claim rewards on your behalf, you may claim them yourself.
Otto froze. It seemed the system really had asked him whether it should take it for him, and he had agreed. But how could he have imagined that it would control his body and come directly here to steal it?!
"The items in your supply draws... don't tell me they all have to be stolen from other people?"
If the system truly worked like that, then wasn't it a complete piece of trash?
What can't I, the Bishop of Schicksal, steal? Why would I need to draw it from you before stealing it?
Divine Keys are special. If the host can provide or draw a Herrscher Core, this system can help you create a Divine Key.
"Oh? You can draw Herrscher Cores too?"
Yes.
"Then do I have to dig them out of someone else?"
No.
"Then can I draw one?"
With the host's current luck, please stay far away from Hua before drawing.
"Then that's not bad."
The further Honkai World progressed, the more it became a battle among gods. The core of the later versions was those Herrschers who could fly through the skies, vanish into the earth, ignite flames, and cook meals.
If he had twelve cores, who could threaten him?
Even Kevin would have to shout, "Long live Schicksal!" for This Bishop!
Thus, Otto summoned the mission panel. A standard supply draw cost 280 crystals, while a Friendship Supply draw cost 200 Friendship Points. He had neither at the moment and needed to complete missions to obtain crystals.
He paid no attention to the Friendship Supply.
What kind of trash was Friendship Supply? Even dogs would not draw from it.
Daily Mission Hold hands with any Valkyrie for five minutes. Mission Reward: 100 crystals. Mission Status: Incomplete. Main Missions (Please complete within 180 days of mission activation, or it will be considered a failure) Capture one core member of Anti-Entropy or World Serpent. Mission Reward: Second-generation Schicksal Divine Machine design core. Failure Penalty: Anti-Entropy Titan technology breakthrough Kill Cocolia. Mission Reward: A method to open the gate to the Sea of Quanta at any time. Failure Penalty: Schicksal randomly loses one Herrscher Gem Schicksal possesses one Herrscher (requires awakening of a Herrscher Core). Mission Reward: An enhanced new body. Failure Penalty: Become a girl.
Oh?
Otto raised an eyebrow. These main missions actually came with penalties for failing?
And these failure penalties were rather severe. They all weakened Schicksal while strengthening other organizations.
But...
Becoming a girl? System, you have to be joking with me, right?
Bronya: Open the door!
Become a girl?
This Bishop liked girls, but he did not want to become a girl himself!
Otto nearly lost his composure, but at that moment, the system popped up again.
Please actively complete the main missions. Once the values become negative, the host's body may undergo changes that cannot be reversed even by changing bodies.
What!?
Otto had greatly underestimated the system's lack of limits. What kind of freak system had he ended up with?
For a brief instant, he thought, Could Otto himself have become the system and deliberately be messing with me?
Before you continue