Schicksal Headquarters
After sending Durandal away, Otto let out a soft breath.
At first, Otto had indeed planned to have the Far East Branch capture the Third Herrscher alive after the Third Honkai Outbreak.
He had even anticipated that the Hyperion's combat strength might not be enough to defeat a Herrscher, so he had dispatched Blade of Immortality in advance to assist Theresa.
After all, though Theresa was currently in her rebellious phase, she was still Otto Apocalypse's most beloved granddaughter.
How could Otto possibly watch his granddaughter Theresa remain in danger?
However, the moment Durandal encountered that group, Otto instantly changed his original plan.
He had many reasons for wanting to capture the Third Herrscher, but after seeing that girl, Otto felt that none of his original plans mattered anymore.
"Oh ho. It seems you'll still return to my side in the end."
Though the white-haired girl had grown from a child into a graceful young lady, Otto recognized her identity at once.
The girl's public identity was Kiana Kaslana, daughter of Cecilia Schariac, Schicksal's former S-rank Valkyrie.
But only a handful of informed people knew that this was not the girl's true identity.
"Welcome home, K423."
After taking a light sip of the red wine in his hand, Otto gently swirled his glass and pondered for several seconds.
"Hmph. It seems the plan will need some minor adjustments."
He then issued an order to Durandal.
And just as Otto had expected, Durandal began carrying out the order without hesitation after receiving it.
After confirming that Durandal had left, Otto conveyed his plan to his loyal subordinate Rita through an electronic message.
He trusted that this girl had the ability to handle this matter properly.
"The Conquest Gem has returned to the Herrscher of the Void... Heh heh, is this fate as well?"
After glancing at the silver-armored warrior in the image, Otto suddenly added another instruction for Rita.
"Rita, while ensuring the plan proceeds, gather as much information about that young man as possible."
"If possible, invite him to Schicksal Headquarters."
After watching Durandal leave, Rita Rosevelt put away her armed scythe and gave Gu Yu and the girls behind him a slight bow.
"Esteemed ladies and gentleman, I am Rita Rosevelt, vice-captain of Blade of Immortality. First, please allow me to apologize for Blade of Immortality's abrupt conduct just now."
As if to reassure everyone, Rita wore a gentle smile.
"May I ask how to address this lady who calls herself the Third Herrscher?"
Seeing Rita's smile, Raiden Mei replied uncertainly.
"Raiden... Mei..."
In Raiden Mei's mind, she had become a monster capable of harming others. No matter how she was treated, she felt she deserved it.
But Gu Yu had protected her, and this Miss Rita before her seemed to bear no hostility toward her either.
Raiden Mei, who had once been prepared to die, was at a loss at this moment.
This was completely different from the scenario she had imagined...
"Raiden, be careful."
Gu Yu extended his right hand to stop Raiden Mei from stepping forward, remaining on guard as he stared at Rita's expression.
If he, like the girls behind him, had only met Rita Rosevelt for the first time, he would certainly have been deceived by the puzzled look on her face.
But Gu Yu knew very well that if Durandal was the light of Blade of Immortality, illuminating the entire unit, then Rita was the shadow of this squad... no, even of Schicksal as an organization.
Rita Rosevelt, who was loyal to Otto Apocalypse, not only knew many of Schicksal's secrets, but had also done plenty of dirty work for Otto.
In terms of combat ability, she could casually dismantle a dozen mechs capable of beating up the Fourth Herrscher.
As for her personality, she had always been impossible to read.
Though she would become angry over the death of her comrades and would defy Otto's orders on a small scale to save them, Gu Yu knew that Rita would not show excessive goodwill toward someone she had just met.
After all, he wasn't some overpowered protagonist who could make people go weak at the knees and hand over their hearts the instant they met him.
Even if Rita was taking the initiative to show goodwill, he had to remain vigilant.
"Oh my, this gentleman is protecting Miss Mei like a knight."
Seeing Gu Yu stop Raiden Mei just like that, Rita did not get angry.
On the contrary, as though she had found something interesting, she began sizing up the people behind Gu Yu.
Yae Rin had known from the start that the situation was complicated, and had already retreated into the card before Blade of Immortality landed.
Yuno was still unconscious, held in Project Bunny's arms behind Bronya.
As for the remaining girls...
The pink-haired shrine maiden with donkey ears on her head kept one hand on her sword hilt while remaining wary of Rita and Theresa, ready to draw her sword and attack them at any moment.
The small-statured girl maintained an attacking stance, ready to coordinate with her companions in a surprise attack at any time.
However, whether it was that girl, the pink-haired shrine maiden, or even Kiana and Raiden Mei behind Gu Yu, they all shared one thing in common.
Everyone was intentionally or unconsciously moving closer to Gu Yu, watching him with either their eyes or peripheral vision.
"No, that's not right. It can't be that simple."
After overturning her own guess, Rita's smile suddenly became incomparably radiant.
"It seems all of you ladies are paying close attention to this gentleman."
"Could it be..."
"--Are all of you this gentleman's harem?"
What the hell?!
After hearing Rita say that, Gu Yu suddenly felt that he had still underestimated this girl.
The tense, sword-drawn atmosphere instantly collapsed because of Rita's words.
The group that had been on guard just moments ago, after Rita uttered that line...
--completely erupted.
He had still underestimated this woman. The old saying had always been right.
The prettier the woman...
--the better she was at fooling people!
PS1: Let me briefly explain a few things.
First, the translations.
Since Blade was freely translated as sword, I figured I might as well freely translate the other three knights too.
That's why we have translations like Garren, Holy Grail, and Scepter [the latter two haven't appeared yet, right?!].
The names of these four knights come from the four cards of the Major Arcana [Swords] [Coins] [Cups] [Wands]... Well, consider it a little trivia?
Then there's the matter of Durandal... Actually, it's not that she doesn't trust Otto. She's just that kind of person.
During the main story where Wendy became a Herrscher, Durandal went to clean up St. Freya's mess [I don't think that's wrong to say], and Theresa, the only one who knew Blade of Immortality's coordinates...
--immediately gave those coordinates to Anti-Entropy and had Anti-Entropy intercept her.
I didn't notice it when I first saw it, but thinking back on it now, something feels off.
Theresa, um... Blade of Immortality was an allied force, right?
They were there to help you deal with the Herrscher, right...
Selling out your teammates like that... that's going too far!
To put it more seriously, if anyone from Blade of Immortality had truly been injured or killed in that battle, Theresa would absolutely count as an accomplice.
This isn't meant as criticism of Theresa. I think anyone who finished the game could tell that the developers wanted to portray Theresa as a positive character with a childlike heart who valued relationships.
But from a third-party perspective, this was really unfair [Theresa, look at yourself... No, look at yourselves, miHoYo writers. Why did you write Auntie so terribly?]. It completely turned "childlike and caring" into "clueless, screws over teammates, and hypocritical"...
Which is why, about miHoYo's writers... Hold it in, hold it in. Can't curse them. Swallow it back.
And it was such an easy betrayal to expose.
Yet Durandal was like--ah, you say it was a coincidence?
Mm, I believed it. Yes, she really believed it.
That's just the kind of person she was... Nothing happened because this woman was just that strong, seriously.
PS2: As usual, please vote.
PS3: The new banner opens at midnight today, so I wish everyone gets both the weapon and character in single pulls.
Leopard Jumper, blade!
One blade for every one who comes!
Before you continue