This Chat Group's Vibe is a Bit Off Chapter 29

Heracles Armor, Combine! (Third Update)

One hundred and ninety-eight.

This was the number of Soul Steel bodies Otto had prepared. Every single one possessed strength comparable to an S-rank Valkyrie, formidable defenses capable of withstanding Durandal's continuous assaults, and regenerative abilities that would give any enemy an unpleasant surprise.

Such immense power was one of Otto's greatest trump cards.

But now, his greatest trump card had rebelled in an instant. The Soul Steel bodies, whose consciousnesses had Otto Apocalypse as their sole master, refused Otto's orders. A few had already begun attacking him, and even his own consciousness was starting to suffer interference and erosion due to its overly close connection with the Soul Steel bodies.

This was the most vile Divine Key, the one that had cut off humanity's last hope in the Previous Civilization: Key of Erosion: Ksitigarbha.

All technology and living beings would suffer erosion before it!

Yet this was exactly what Otto wanted.

"Just as I expected, you took the bait."

"Since I already knew you had obtained that Divine Key in Changkong City and had even used it on Durandal, how could I possibly not prepare against it?"

"Void Archive, Mimicry: Feather of Dust."

With the power of Feather of Dust, Otto temporarily halted Ksitigarbha's erosion, regained control of the Soul Steel bodies, and then activated the program he had carefully planted over the past two hours.

Activate the Super Invincible Self-Destruct Program.

Otto's consciousness entered the depths of every Soul Steel body, cold and merciless. As the command was issued, explosions rang out one after another throughout Heavenly Mandate headquarters. Amid the explosions, certain mixed-in programs forcibly traveled back along Ksitigarbha's black mist.

They were... junk programs!

An enormous volume of worthless, meaningless junk data; bundled software like 630, Bird Wallpaper, and 2345; "This Is a Gift," all sorts of pornographic websites, and more. Otto had planted these things in his Soul Steel bodies beforehand, waiting for Qianyi to use Ksitigarbha to erode them so he could activate them and forcibly send those programs to Ksitigarbha.

Sure enough, those rogue-like things worked exactly as expected. Ksitigarbha began smoking on the spot, like a girl who had read far too many dirty comics.

"H-How can this be so obscene?!" Ling cried out before crashing on the spot.

Qianyi sheathed Ksitigarbha. He was not at all surprised by the result; he had long known Otto would forcibly trade away his Ksitigarbha. What puzzled him was that Ksitigarbha still seemed usable, only Ling apparently was not very willing to work anymore. And why had Ling's scream been so...

Uh, indescribable.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Qianyi asked, "What did you put in there?"

Otto spread his hands and explained, "Some junk software, programs, and data. Of course, there were also plenty of things unsuitable for children—sisters, bondage, forced love, non-humans, taboos, and so on. I specifically stole them from the collection archives of Heavenly Mandate's Valkyries."

"Send me a—ah, no, wait. You're showing this stuff to a child? You're utterly unforgivable!" Qianyi was furious!

Otto, you were fucking despicable!

"She is not a child. She is the demon who cut off the Previous Civilization's hope, the chief culprit behind the death of that saintess of Salvation. You should be glad that I am interested in her abilities, so I merely made her crash temporarily rather than completely scrapping her."

Otto tugged at his collar. Though he was merely talking tough and could not destroy Ksitigarbha at all, he could still target the Little Girl who had already been won over by Qianyi and force her out temporarily. But intimidation was also one of the most important parts of battle. "This Key of Blankness hasn't been properly adjusted. It's really tight to wear. Now then, witness the sight of stars being shattered!"

A violent crushing pressure descended from above. Gravity a thousand times stronger than normal, no less powerful than that of the Herrscher of the First, erupted with unprecedented force. This was the wrath of a tyrant. The ground sank, everything around them trembled, fire hydrants burst, columns of water shot into the sky, and even the Floating Island was falling.

Everyone could feel their bones suffering an unprecedented crushing force. Twisted gravity kneaded and tore at them, and there was no way to resist it!

"This is Welt's power?!" Siegfried was shocked.

"More accurately, it is the power of the Herrscher of the First. I normally would not want to use such unstable and uncertain power, but once a gambler sits at the table, how can he not stake all his chips?" Otto spoke lightly, as if putting his own life on the gambling table was nothing worth caring about.

"I have to say, gravity truly is a useful ability. Against powerful elite units, it can temporarily weaken their strength. And against units weaker than me—"

Otto looked at Toyokawa Shoko, Bronya, Siegfried, and the others, who were already sprawled on the ground and unable even to stand. He tapped his head and uttered four words: "Highly effective."

Siegfried had already unleashed Shamash once. His body had long since reached its limit—or rather, it had reached its limit long ago. The fact that he was still alive was a miracle in itself.

The others were not particularly durable either, typical glass cannons.

"Let's talk."

Otto extended a hand toward Qianyi. "In the name of Otto Apocalypse, I swear that from this day onward, I will resign as the Overseer of Heavenly Mandate. You will succeed me and become the new Overseer of Heavenly Mandate, so long as you are willing to assist me in completing my plan."

Just as he had invited Joyce back then, he invited Qianyi to become his successor. He had already demonstrated his strength, and the other side had demonstrated theirs as well.

If the two sides went to war in full, perhaps he would lose, but the other side would still lose at least half its members. Such a loss was something no organization could bear.

At the end, he added, "After all, you wouldn't want your treasured companions to be crushed into pieces by gravity, would you?"

"Heh, Otto, your gravity trick is indeed pretty impressive. But what if I use this move?" Qianyi raised his hand and shouted, "Heracles Stone, Combine!"

Someone couldn't withstand the gravity?

No problem! We just had to all merge into one!

Now! Eat dirt together (merge into one)!

Divinity erupted from Qianyi. Dazzling divine energy surged from his body, and his commanding roar resounded majestically throughout Heavenly Mandate headquarters!

"Heracles' Body, return to your place!"

"Here I come!" Kiana shouted as she charged toward Qianyi like a meteor, the two merging into one without the slightest barrier between them.

"Heracles' Armor, return to your place!" Talulah flew out in response.

"Heracles' Summon, return to your place!"

"Heracles' Sword..." Though Artoria did not understand, she still followed the guidance of the Sword of Heracles within her body and fell into Qianyi's hand.

Siegfried, Raiden Mei, and the others stared dumbfoundedly at the spectacular sight. Every time Qianyi shouted a command, someone would turn into a streak of light and merge with him. He looked like the king of gods from myth—once his order was given, none of the others dared disobey.

Such a sight left Otto utterly shaken. Naturally, he had heard the name Heracles—the strongest hero in Greek mythology. Even true gods had to temporarily avoid him. If this group really merged into that Heracles...

"Void Archive, Mimicry: Star of Eden, Zeroth Rated Power! Pseudo Black Hole!"

Otto immediately activated the Key of Blankness and Void Archive at full power. The pseudo black hole instantly swallowed Qianyi and the others.

But in the next moment, a mountain-like figure strode out of the black hole as if nothing had happened. With a casual wave of one hand, the black hole shattered.

"Little bro, didn't eat?"

Heracles, the greatest hero of ancient Greek mythology, was the son of the chief god Zeus and Alcmene. He had completed twelve tasks hailed as "impossible," rescued the bound Prometheus, joined Jason's heroic expedition and helped him obtain the Golden Fleece. In the end, after his death, he ascended to Mount Olympus and became Heracles, so formidable that even the Twelve Olympians had to avoid him.

Now, this figure from mythology had returned to the world.

Over 2.5 meters tall, a mighty man with bulging muscles and sinews—his body had surpassed the form of a human. He looked like a statue forged by gods, his muscles and blood brimming with pure divine aura. By sheer presence alone, he completely overwhelmed the atmosphere of Heavenly Mandate headquarters.

He merely stood there, yet the pressure he exuded was even more unbearable than Otto's ten-thousandfold gravity. Everyone awaited his next move. Enemies and allies alike, none dared move before him. Yet he did not move, simply standing there in silence.

The stage had fallen silent, but the giant still did not speak. He merely watched the people before him, and with every passing second, the atmosphere grew heavier, more terrifying, more suffocating.

Back in the day, a certain German artist would remain silent for a minute after taking the stage to build up the atmosphere. But compared to the giant's control of timing and divine majesty, that artist was merely Batman's opponent in Gotham City.

Finally, he moved.

Rumble—!

The 2.5-meter giant instantly collapsed to the ground. His limbs moved in different directions, making him look like a husky that had downed several bottles of erguotou with an old man in some alley. Not a single part of his body seemed to be under the control of his brain.

Qianyi typed several question marks.

Steel Prison Big: Children, what are you doing?

Hiiragi Tina: I want to step forward.

I want to eat Mei-flavored instant noodles: I want to attack.

Talulah: Shouldn't we be swinging the sword at a time like this? Blast him to death with explosive flames.

Lower District Flying Head Barbarian: No, shouldn't we defend first and figure out how to use our strength?

Customer Service Xiangzi is at your service: I can't move?! Why isn't any position under my control? Have I been kicked out of the Dimensional Chat Group?

Child of Prophecy: Why wasn't I included?!

Outside Heracles, Artoria was on the verge of tears as someone gripped her legs with one hand and held her like a sword in the other.

For some unknown reason, after obtaining the Sword of Heracles, she had not received a weapon. Instead, it had directly fused into her body. Though she did not know why, becoming stronger still made her happy. The only problem was that when she unleashed her ultimate and fired a beam cannon, someone needed to hold her—as though she had become a sword herself.

The problem was, the problem was, even if she became a sword, it couldn't be like this!

At least put a sword-shaped shell around me!

Lower District Flying Head Barbarian: Hey, whoever's controlling the upper body, cooperate properly!

Talulah: Huh? You're the one who isn't coordinating with us! Stop twisting around and shaking my view!

Steel Prison Big: ...

As the brain controlling the Heracles Unit, he suddenly discovered that the Heracles Unit's hands and feet had started fighting each other.

He suddenly felt that merging might not have been a good idea. Still, this was only a minor setback. He could still...

I want to eat Mei-flavored instant noodles: Qianyi, I suddenly thought of a question. If your hands and feet got into a fight, would you hit your feet to help your hands win?

Talulah: Of course you'd help the hands beat up the feet.

Lower District Flying Head Barbarian: Huh? At a time like this, you should obviously side with the feet. Without hands, you can still kick people with your feet, but without feet, even moving becomes a problem.

Hiiragi Tina: I feel like I can transform into a Magical Girl. Should I try transforming?

Child of Prophecy: So can I only be held in your hands as a weapon? Can you change my position? I feel like I've been kicked out of the little group.

Customer Service Xiangzi is at your service: So no one is willing to speak up for me?

Steel Prison Big: I can't stand you guys! Separate! Give all the power to me later!

Watching Heracles suddenly have every part of its body revolt as if in a massive rebellion, Otto felt as though his heart was about to leap out of his chest. He had been ready to run at once, only to discover that something seemed to have gone wrong on the other side. It appeared that... they could not properly coordinate their various body parts?

"Phew, I scared myself."

He wiped away cold sweat that did not exist on his forehead. He had not even noticed when his ten-thousandfold gravity had stopped.

That had been terrifying. The other side had shattered his full-power pseudo black hole with one slap upon appearing.

If they had held on for just a few more minutes, his consciousness might have split into countless pieces and fled in terror.

"Your fusion is indeed powerful, but you cannot control that power. This means that once you separate, your defeat is inevitable—"

"You sure talk a lot of crap."

Kiana punched Otto in the face, making his Soul Steel-mixed cheek produce a delightful sound. His body spun through the air like a top that had been flung away, instantly flying out and crashing heavily into the wall. The wall shuddered under the impact, cracks rapidly spreading as dust flew everywhere.

A fierce gust swept toward her. Kiana twisted aside, and Seele had already dashed past her like a ghostly shadow. She swung her scythe, while Otto immediately raised a hand to block it.

Clang!

The sharp scythe, carrying all of her strength, collided with Otto's hand. Her power was not enough to support the weapon in tearing open Otto's body, but it still left a shallow wound on his hand.

This shallow wound was enough for Hydra's Poison to enter his body.

Otto's body—a Herrscher of the First clone infused with Soul Steel and Honkai Beast cells—reacted almost instantly. With a hiss, Otto decisively severed his injured arm.

"Mimicry: Black Abyss White Flower."

He wanted to use Black Abyss White Flower to heal himself, but Qianyi and Talulah clearly had no intention of giving him the chance. Riding atop Talulah, Qianyi used her speed to instantly reach Otto, opening with Tens of Thousands of Proverbs. At the same time, the wind generated by the spinning weapon whipped Talulah's flames into a spiraling storm. The rotating Fire Dragon swept toward Otto in a vortex.

What was going on...

Otto couldn't understand it. They had been gathered together without any coordination, so why, after splitting up, were they now working together as seamlessly as close-knit teammates?

He wanted to move again, but everyone acted at once. All manner of weapons pierced his hands, legs, shoulder blades, abdomen, and other locations, pinning him firmly to the wall. Then, everyone retreated and made way for Kiana.

"This is for my old man."

Kiana picked up Siegfried's Divine Fire Greatsword and hurled it with all her strength, blowing Otto's head apart with perfect accuracy.

"Cerberus!"

Finally, to prevent the old bastard from reviving, the enormous three-headed hound answered Hiiragi Tina's call. The demon that represented death swallowed Otto in a single bite.

It was one of Heracles's summoned beasts, which had been given to Hiiragi Tina earlier.

"Is he dead?" Siegfried asked.

"No." Qianyi answered flatly, then looked toward the sky. "Durandal and the others are coming back."

"Hehe, you're right. If I had placed the Pestilence Gem or the Desire Gem inside the Key of Blankness, perhaps you really would have killed me by now. But those two Gems just so happened not to be at Heavenly Mandate headquarters, so I could only place the Serenity Gem inside. The Gem representing the Herrscher of Death encountered a monster that symbolized death... Hehe, don't you think fate is being rather too coincidental?"

The aura of death surged within Cerberus. The next moment, the underworld hound that represented death began to rot all over, transforming into a pool of black mud. From within it, the blond man slowly rose to his feet, the Gem in his chest gleaming brightly.

Two hours and fifty-nine minutes after Heavenly Mandate came under attack, a dazzling meteor descended from the sky. It was Durandal, with Immortal Anchor mode activated.

Then, a missile slammed into the barrier surrounding Heavenly Mandate headquarters. A crimson feather drifted down, followed by a scarlet figure landing beside Otto—the Crimson Kite Immortal, Fu Hua.