Honkai, Traversing Otto, Path to Godhood

"Noisy."

As expected, Otto lazily uttered two words, and then, the Jackal's voice faltered as if its throat had been squeezed.

Raven saw the Schicksal Bishop in front of her flick his finger, and the golden feather floated in the air, swaying as it flew towards the Jackal.

—She suddenly remembered seeing an image of something similar at World Serpent.

The Eighth Divine Key, Feather, of, Dust.

"Ugh!—Ah!—No! Don't!—!!!"

A weak and terrified cry reached her ears. Raven swallowed, lowered her head, and tried to shrink her body.

"I agreed to let you go back," Otto's voice was slow, but every word struck Raven's heart, "but I didn't say... in what condition I would let you go back."

The Jackal's voice gradually faded, and a golden glow passed before Raven's eyes. The feather returned to Otto's hand.

"I know, I've known for a long time, that the MANTIS has the original decrypter of Feather of Dust,"

The man's voice was still lazy, "But—I don't need to control you, little one. By knowing the memories in your mind, I've grasped the usage of the Staff of the Underworld, and I've grasped the foundation of World Serpent. When the time is right, Schicksal devouring World Serpent won't require wasting resources."

???

"MANTIS...?!"

Raven almost jumped out of her chair but was held back by the chains.

Amidst the clinking of the chains, she stared at Otto, her eyes branded with a terror she would never forget in this life.

World Serpent is finished.

She thought.

World Serpent currently had no high-end combat power to rival Schicksal, its remaining Divine Keys were seized, its foundational information was obtained by the enemy, and its biggest secret, MANTIS, was also learned by Otto.

In this situation, with the enemy having the desire to devour again—how could World Serpent fight back this time?

What team was Otto leading, and what team was Gray Serpent leading?

Unless it was a deus ex machina, inviting the "leader who will not fall" back; however...

"The Eye of the Abyss is the entrance to the Sea of Quantum,"

Raven suddenly spoke, her words exceptionally clear, "World Serpent's Lord is trapped in the Sea of Quantum. If they wish to return to the real world, they must..."

"Oh?"

Otto raised an eyebrow, interrupting Raven's leak of information, "Although I know Kevin must be in the Sea of Quantum and requires certain external forces to return; I also know the geographical coordinates of Sea Abyss City. But—World Serpent cadre, Raven Natasha Xiora, what are you doing?"

I knew it.

Raven thought sadly. If you already know about MANTIS, what are a couple of things about Sea Abyss City?

She had always believed that World Serpent's continuation relied on the Lord's great power; and now, they might not be able to wait for the Lord's return.

The power that World Serpent believed in, the power that could overturn the world, under Schicksal's plan, would only be empty talk.

"I want to defect, I don't need Feather of Dust to search my memories,"

Raven replied, "I'm just a mercenary, with no ambitions. I just want to live well."

"And then save money to buy a villa island?"

Otto tilted his head and teased.

"You even know that,"

Raven slumped in the prison chair, her expression dejected, "You should know what kind of person I am. So you must also know how sincere my surrender is—as long as you don't use Feather of Dust to search."

"Are you sure, little Raven?"

Otto stood up, pressed his hand on Raven's forehead, forcing the woman to meet his gaze.

"Give up everything from World Serpent? Give up your mercenary career? Come into Schicksal so nakedly, and serve me?"

"..."

Raven's mind raced, pondering Otto's words.

Suddenly, the woman's eyes narrowed.

She understood.

"Then, my dear little Raven,"

Otto looked at Raven's enlightened expression and smiled knowingly, "If you wish to submit to me, let out a 'Woof'; if you wish to return to World Serpent, let out a 'Meow'."

"A kitten, or a puppy? Which would you choose, little Raven? I'm looking forward to it."

Raven swallowed hard and called out without hesitation:

"Meow."

Otto's smile deepened, his eyes unfathomable and profound.

The room fell silent, save for Jackal's low whimpers as his memories were extracted.

Finally, a second clear tone rang out, with a hint of weakness, a hint of submission.

"Woof."

"Good boy."

Otto lowered the finger he had placed on Raven's forehead, stroking Raven's soft gray hair as if tending to a pet, then let his hand drift to her smooth, fair, and delicate face.

Then, a golden light flared in Raven's terrified eyes.

"It's just that even if I used this, you wouldn't be qualified to know."

Chapter 55: It belongs to the little goose...

Midnight approached. Schicksal headquarters, usually brightly lit at this hour, was unusually dark.

In the lightless night, a golden-haired girl sat by the window, silently gazing at the rarely seen stars.

It seemed like a long, long time since she had last looked up at them so peacefully.

"Lady Durandal, your tea."

Wisps of steam curled from the cup, a rich and tranquil aroma filling the night.

"Ah, this is... lavender tea?"

"Yes, lavender tea has a calming and sleep-inducing effect, perfect for drinking at night."

Durandal picked up the cup and took a sip, seeming about to say something, but then hesitated shyly.

"Lord Bishop... no, the maintenance personnel said it would take a while longer for the power to be restored. Until then, please relax with some tea."

Bishop?

The golden-haired, dazed goose narrowed her eyes, her brain, inherited from the Kaslana tradition, efficiently whirring to life—and it was efficient because it had been activated quite frequently lately.

What was the connection between Rita's slip of the tongue about Bishop Otto... and the power outage on the floating island?

Could it be his experimental error?

And who was the test subject?

Could it be... her?

Thinking of that woman, the little goose's cheeks puffed out.

How could she have left so quickly yesterday?!

After just saying "Well done, your S-rank Valkyrie exam is passed," she had abandoned her (Durandal), who had been defeated!!!

Abandoned! Gone!

I wanted a hug!!!

For some reason, whenever she thought of Senior Cecilia, she felt herself becoming childish, as if she were no longer a mature and powerful quasi-S-rank Valkyrie, but a silly, laughable, awkward, and clumsy ordinary girl.

She couldn't help but think of her close friend, Rita Rossweisse. When interacting with everyone else, Rita was so elegant, poised, mysterious, and charming, but when she spoke with her parents, she had a tone of playful affection.

"Lady Durandal?"

Rita's question brought her back from her thoughts. She touched the slightly cool tea and looked at the Valkyrie who had been by her side:

"Oh right, Rita... is your hand okay?"

"Ah, no need to worry, Lady Durandal. The roundhouse kick just now didn't injure me."

This answer left the girl a little helpless. She knew that taking that kick would have hurt.

...But she also knew that this perfectionist maid was not expecting an apology.

Even though the incident stemmed from the girl's foolish misunderstanding.

"In the future... don't wait for me in the dark during a power outage, Rita. I don't want to accidentally hurt you."

"I will be careful, Lady Durandal." Rita bowed with a light laugh, her eyes full of tenderness.

The clock hands ticked quietly. The tea was finished, its sweet aftertaste lingering in her mouth.

"This lavender tea is nice, it's a little sweet. Did you add honey?"

"It's hand-pressed honey, with a clear sweetness that isn't cloying."

"Your tea is always so delicious," Durandal said sincerely.

"You flatter me, Lady Durandal."

The girl looked up at the clear starry sky again, her earnest and innocent expression seemingly unchanged.

Beside her, the maid merely watched the girl lost in the starry sky with a quiet smile.

"Ah, I feel like the starry sky tonight is brighter than I remember."

"Perhaps... this is what they call a blessing in disguise? With the power outage, there's no interference from ground lights, so the starlight has become much clearer."

"Schicksal Headquarters experiencing a power outage... that's quite surprising."

"Yes, it's the first time in all these years."

There seemed to be a hint of emotion in Rita's voice.

Yes. It was the first time.

The first time... this grand.

"It's nice to have this experience once in a while," Durandal said. "If it weren't for the sudden blackout, we wouldn't have had the chance to sit down and chat like this."

"It feels like it's been a long time since we've spent time like this. The last time we chatted like this... was when we met up with friends in a World Bubble, wasn't it?"

The brown-haired girl thought for a moment and nodded.

"Yes, time has flown by without us realizing it. And as the end of the year approaches, there are more and more missions. Schicksal received a batch of important resources during Christmas, and we still haven't fully integrated them—time to sit down and talk has become even scarcer than usual."

Rita glanced at the clock. It was a minute and a half until midnight.

"Lord Durandal has also worked very hard this year."

"No, it's not enough. There's still so much I can do... It's a shame this year is ending just like this."

The blonde girl shook her head, her large blue eyes filled with self-reproach.

Rita simply smiled gently, offering no comment.

"Then, in the new year, please let Lord Durandal and everyone work together to accomplish more of the things we couldn't do this year."