"Himeko!!!"
"Why didn't Otto teach Theresa?" Kallen asked curiously.
Otto pondered for a moment before explaining, "There are only two possibilities. The first is that I wanted the Divine Key's wielder to figure out how to use the weapon on her own. The second is that using the Divine Key might somehow harm the human body."
There was a third possibility: a fully unleashed Divine Key could introduce uncertainty into his plans, perhaps even pose a threat. Otto would never allow any flaw to appear in his plan to revive the Saintess.
"Could Anti-Entropy be using little Theresa?" Kallen asked worriedly.
"No, I know those 'old friends'." Otto smiled. "They are absolute idealists. They would never intentionally hurt anyone, except..."
"So what exactly did you do, Otto, to make Anti-Entropy hate you so much?" Kallen asked curiously.
Otto pondered and tried hard to remember.
"I don't remember."
Just as the chains extending from Judah in Theresa's hand had tracked down their target, a piercing alarm sounded. Listening to Salome's anxious report, Ziegfried learned that roughly three hundred Honkai Beasts had appeared near the Tower of Babylon.
"Hold on, I'm coming right away!"
Ziegfried had barely taken a step when Welt stopped him. He had realized the Honkai Beasts were stalling for time, so he ordered Einstein to remain at the Tower of Babylon while he, Ziegfried, and Theresa set out together.
"But..." Ziegfried wanted to argue, yet he did not know where to begin. Welt was right. The enemy could tear open space, so Salome and the others would only hold them back.
The scene shifted to Sirin's perspective. She stood atop the water, clutching her chest tightly with her left hand as blue Honkai energy spilled between her fingers. She kept muttering to herself.
"Tear... tear... tear open space..."
Sirin suddenly opened her eyes.
"Tear open humanity's hearts☆"
At the same time, the lovely Cecilia on the Destiny floating island held a bag of baguettes in her left hand and the groceries she had just bought in her right. She received Ziegfried's call, and as he repeatedly apologized for being unable to keep his promise to have dinner with Kiana, she listened quietly.
"I understand, dear." Cecilia showed her understanding, while reminding Ziegfried to stay safe during his mission.
As she walked home, Cecilia suddenly froze. Looking at the blond little boy in an ill-fitting white shirt before her, she asked in confusion, "This child... who is he?"
Then the little boy's inner voice explained everything to the audience. He was Bishop Otto, who had made a mistake in his haste and damaged his new body, leaving him with no choice but to use a spare one.
Naturally, little Otto was not voiced by President Otto, but by Patrick's fake young-boy voice.
"So gentle, so beautiful, Cecilia." Cecilia's reappearance caught the attention of the girls at Golden Courtyard. Their eyes gleamed as they stared fixedly at Yaqing.
Cold sweat seeped down Yaqing's forehead. Before Elysia could call him a good Yaqing, he hurriedly said, "That's my sister, Elysia. She's already married and has children."
"Don't be so nervous. The fairy lady hasn't said anything yet, has she?" Elysia blinked. "Still, this child would look very suitable in girls' clothes."
Following Elysia's gaze to the screen, Yaqing saw young Otto, and his heart leaped into his throat. He really had made President Otto wear girls' clothes later on.
"Otto, I never expected... hahaha." Kallen laughed so hard that she bent over.
Otto helplessly patted Kallen's back, telling her not to choke.
The Sins of Destiny
Following Judah's chains, Theresa and the other two arrived before a massive circular building. Driven by curiosity, Theresa touched the wall. Welt shouted at her not to touch it, but before he could explain, a white false hand seized Theresa's arm.
"What..." Theresa turned around in panic, only to see countless white hands extending from the wall. They forcibly dragged her inside, even covering her mouth.
Ziegfried hurried forward, wanting to rescue Theresa, but Welt stopped him. Welt told Ziegfried to calm down; charging in recklessly would only get him killed for nothing.
Welt's decision was correct, but he had chosen the wrong person to say it to. He was facing the head of the Kaslana family, the person with the greatest knightly spirit in the world. Ziegfried shook off Welt's hand, his tone solemn.
"No matter how dangerous it is, I have to save Theresa. No one from the Kaslana family will ever abandon a comrade."
Ziegfried reached toward the wall, wondering what had happened to those hands. Then, amid a cracking sound, a massive Emperor-class Honkai Beast crawled out from the wall. Ziegfried, who had just made such a heroic declaration, instantly froze.
"W-wait!!"
"Well said."
Kiana at St. Freya Academy, Kevin at Golden Courtyard, Ziegfried at home, and Kallen in the little love nest she shared with Otto.
Different places, different people, yet they all spoke in unison at the exact same time.
"At least he has some conscience." Theresa clicked her tongue. It would be impossible to make her change her opinion of Ziegfried with the anime's plot alone. Then her teeth began grinding angrily.
Slightly drunk, Himeko silently moved away from Theresa and sat beside Fuhua Shishi.
"Huh?! Himeko, why did you come sit over here? Ugh, what a nasty alcohol smell. Stay away from me." Fuhua Shishi was confused for a moment, then covered her nose and mouth while waving her hand in disgust.
Himeko smiled mischievously, leaned onto Fuhua Shishi's shoulder, and deliberately breathed out.
"Ahhh!!! Old antique, aren't you going to do something about this?!" Fuhua Shishi scrambled behind Fu Hua on all fours.
Fu Hua had not wanted to get involved and had planned to watch the movie quietly, but she sighed helplessly. "Ms. Himeko, you're drunk."
"I'm not drunk." Himeko stubbornly insisted, still hugging a beer bottle.
"Sigh." Fu Hua sighed helplessly.
Inside the space within the building, Theresa saw Sirin's past. The original evil had come from Destiny's temptation. As the needle pierced Sirin's arm, Theresa suddenly turned back, witnessing Sirin's suffering as an experimental subject.
"It hurts... it hurts... it hurts."
Sirin endured unimaginable pain.
As the researchers casually dismissed her as trash, the space changed as well. Sirin stood in the snow, facing gravestones made from nothing more than three branches. She muttered, "Aurora... Agata... Bella... rest well."
Theresa hugged Sirin from behind and softly said, "I'm sorry."
"Hehe, you only think to apologize now?!"
Sirin sneered. Azure energy carried her slowly into the air, and the white coat of an experiment subject she wore seemed to burn away, turning into purple Herrscher attire. Long ribbons swayed in the wind as her golden eyes stared hatefully down at Theresa.
"It's too late. I want revenge. Not a single person from Destiny can be allowed to live!☆"
"Sirin had it way too rough." Kiana always bickered with Sirin, but she could not help sighing emotionally.
"Kiana, Sirin Kaslana is your second older sister, right?" Bronya suddenly asked.
"Yeah." Kiana looked at Bronya in confusion. "What's wrong, Bronya?"
Bronya's expression turned strange. At first, she had assumed Yaqing had made his own boss into the final villain. She had not expected Yaqing to be even more ruthless than she thought, directly using his own niece as the main antagonist.
"Then how is your uncle's relationship with Sirin?" Bronya asked curiously.
"Um." Kiana thought for a moment, her pretty face revealing a disgusted expression. "Not good. That stinky uncle used to tease Sirin and me all the time when we were little. Stinky Dad told me that when I was really young, stinky uncle took me to the company, so now whenever he sees me, he says, 'I even held you when you were little, Kiana.'"
"Pfft."
It was not that funny at first, but Kiana's imitation was so bizarre that everyone present burst out laughing. Little Knowledge laughed the loudest.
"Hahaha, old antique, did you hear that? I never thought Yaqing would do something like that. I thought he had always been the gentle type." Fuhua Shishi slapped Fu Hua hard.
Fu Hua frowned. This girl was quite strong, and it hurt a little. "Little Knowledge, stop hitting my chest."
"Ah, chest? I thought that was your back..."
Before Fuhua Shishi could finish speaking, Fu Hua punched her. A large bump rose on her head, and tears filled her eyes.
"Him? Gentle?" Kiana looked utterly incredulous as she recalled the things Yaqing had done, such as stealing her lollipops, adding bitter melon powder to Sirin's snacks, and stealing the toilet paper before Sirin went to the bathroom, leaving Sirin stuck there for three hours.
Kiana shuddered.
Bronya also wore a strange expression. She had heard of Yaqing's exploits: making a century-old Destiny family disappear completely in three years, sending forty-seven researchers to the bottom of the sea in a single day. What part of that had anything to do with being gentle?
The scene shifted outside the Tower of Babylon, where the long-forgotten Salome and Shub were. Shub listlessly gnawed on dried squid and even intended to offer Salome a piece.
Salome grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard, reminding her that they were still on a mission.
Shub said that was true, but their allies were too powerful for them to get involved. At the same time, she looked toward Einstein above the Tower of Babylon.
As though playing a game, Einstein used the controller in her hand to command machines that blocked every Honkai Beast.
"An easy battle," Einstein remarked. "However, it seems we've forgotten something..."
"Achoo."
With a sneeze, the scene shifted to Anti-Entropy's encampment thirty kilometers away. A layer of snow had already accumulated on the head of a certain red-haired doctor, who shivered and muttered to herself, "So slow. Why hasn't chicken-head sent a message yet?! I'm going to catch a cold..."
"Why is chicken-head so cool in the story while I look like some comic relief? I refuse to accept this!" Dr. Tesla snapped.
Dr. Einstein remained calm, even having Joyce bring her a cup of coffee as she said casually, "Dr. Tesla, I think you are very well suited to playing a comedic role."
"Chicken-head, I'm going to fight you!"
"The coffee! You'll spill the coffee!"
"So we're just extras." Shub typed a complaint.
"Pay attention, dead extras," Salome added.
"Hehe." Cheng Lixue looked at the chat messages from her colleagues on her phone, the corner of her mouth twitching. There was no need to keep reminding them that none of them would survive the later plot.
Help Me, Mr. Welt
Having revealed her true Herrscher form, Sirin's hatred for Destiny had reached its peak. However, Theresa's appearance was too misleading, making Sirin think she was a girl around her own age. So Sirin intended to spare her and have Theresa pledge loyalty to her.
Sirin tried to recruit Theresa, while Theresa tried to persuade Sirin to give up her thoughts of revenge.
Rejected, Sirin did not get angry. She merely found it boring. Remembering Theresa's kindness toward them at the Tower of Babylon, Sirin had no desire to kill Theresa. After forcibly confiscating Judah's Oath, she casually teleported Theresa to Lake Baikal, on the southern edge of Siberia.
"Here, calm down first."
"After I kill the others who came to investigate, we can have a proper talk."
The icy lake water reminded Theresa of what Einstein had once said: Judah could track targets according to Honkai energy. Without time to think, Theresa immediately took action.
Using Judah's counter-tracking ability, Theresa successfully returned to Sirin's location. Her relentless persistence angered Sirin, and with a raise of her hand, a spear shot toward Theresa.
Theresa hurriedly used Judah's Oath to block it, but the spear passed through Judah as though it were intangible. It even passed through Theresa's body, yet left no wound behind.
"Was it just an insubstantial phantom?"
Before Theresa could finish speaking, Sirin snapped her fingers crisply. Theresa's beautiful eyes suddenly widened as blood appeared on the screen. The once intangible spear shifted between illusion and reality, piercing Theresa's petite body.
"This spear... is real."
"Ah, my little Theresa! This truly breaks my heart." Otto dramatically covered his chest. Though he claimed to be heartbroken, there was not the slightest trace of pain in his voice.
Kallen rolled her eyes at him. "Little Theresa was still too careless."
"Still, it fits her character, doesn't it?" Otto smiled.
"Otto, if little Theresa heard that, she would throw a tantrum at you." Kallen was amused.
"I would very much like little Theresa to return to my side from the Far East just to throw a tantrum at me over a single sentence." Otto sighed. Ever since Theresa had gone to the Far East, she had rarely contacted him.
"Getting instantly beaten in her very first battle." Bronya somehow produced a microphone, her expressionless face filled with seriousness. "Headmistress, what are your thoughts?"
Theresa wanted to bury her head in the sofa cushions.
"I..."
Bronya did not know that while she was teasing Theresa now, Theresa would mock her even harder in the future. Bronya was one of the rare Herrschers in Honkai who suffered such humiliating defeats.
Meanwhile, Ziegfried struggled to hold off the Emperor-class Honkai Beast. After he said, "Help me, First Herrscher, Mr. Walter Yang," Walter Yang finally acted. With a wave of his hand, the Honkai Beast vanished into smoke. Using his Herrscher powers, he forcibly tore open the Imaginary Space barrier with his bare hands.
Walter Yang and Ziegfried found Sirin, along with Theresa lying unconscious on the ground. Walter Yang immediately told Ziegfried to take Theresa away first while he stayed behind to hold back the Second Herrscher.
Just as Ziegfried picked up Theresa and prepared to leave, the ignored Sirin finally attacked. Walter Yang instantly stepped forward and blocked the Spear of the Void shooting toward them.
Before you continue