Honkai, Traversing Otto, Path to Godhood

But Otto shook his head, not optimistic about a brief moment of brilliance.

His sigh was soon validated. The Mimicry Oath of Judah was overwhelmed by surging Honkai Energy, like a torrent bursting through a hastily built dam; the Mimicry Star of Eden obstructed Siegfried's movements, but it was utterly incapable of stopping the Fehu Rune's divine smite; the Mimicry Void Sword Qi and Mimicry Fehu Rune repeatedly struck the crimson greatsword, showing no signs of altering its trajectory.

In an instant, the weapons Otto had simulated and constructed exploded one after another, yet the Fehu Rune's advance continued!

"Kallen be with us."

The man let out a soft sigh, then turned to face Cecilia, his face as pale as paper, blood still uncontrollably flowing from the corner of his mouth.

But he was still smiling, smiling so gently, like a brother softly coaxing his sister after stumbling into a dark place, masking the unpleasant world with a smile.

"See you at headquarters."

He said.

Immediately, Otto turned his head, took a step forward, and reached out again, grabbing for the blade of the Fehu Rune!

The Fehu Rune finally slowed its assault—at the cost of Otto's body.

Scorching flames advanced with the greatsword, consuming Otto's outstretched arm. Where they passed, flesh and bone vanished, but a curve formed on his lips, looking mockingly at Siegfried's eyes, filled with madness.

The blade pierced through Otto's back, and flames burned his body, yet his expression remained unchanged, as if it were not him being scorched by the destructive flames.

"Do you remember what I said, Siegfried Kaslana?"

The man allowed the crimson and flames to delve deeper, even taking another step forward and placing his remaining hand on the hilt of the greatsword.

"You attacked Cecilia, regardless of reason, and confiscated the Fehu Rune."

A metallic grinding sound echoed. Siegfried let out a beast-like roar, his wrist snapping. The Fehu Rune was so easily taken from him by Otto.

The greatsword finally stopped its advance, and the flames gradually died down, but the Calamity Flames on the man's body did not extinguish for a long time.

"How pathetic, being attacked by a Divine Key again after the Seven Thunders of Repose," Otto sighed, stroking the sword hilt amidst the flames. "Next time, I'll turn off the pain system for my Soul Steel body."

The pain system... was on?

Cecilia's eyes widened.

So, Lord Bishop truly... completely took the brunt of the Fehu Rune for her, an attack even the Herrscher of the Void would avoid?

Didn't it hurt him?

"Yes, he showed me the power to part the Earth down the middle, truly terrifying."

She recalled Otto's words to her at the end of the Second Honkai Outbreak. The reason he deployed the Honkai Energy fission bomb in Siberia was his fear of Siegfried's terrifying madness.

Yet this time, for her, the man had used his body to forcefully withstand this attack. Apart from not dying, he experienced all the pain and physical suffering as if he were enduring it himself.

How could she be worthy... How could she be worthy?

Cecilia covered her lips, her delicate body trembling slightly, tears falling in large drops.

She wanted to rush forward to extinguish the flames on Otto, but at that moment, a transparent barrier appeared before her, blocking her path.

—He couldn't even guarantee he could withstand the Fehu Rune himself. He desperately created a defensive line for her, and then, beyond that line, he held back the flames for her, even if it meant being engulfed in the Fehu Rune.

"Siegfried Kaslana."

Otto finally spoke. Cecilia could hear the weakness in his tone and saw him raise his remaining, burning arm, holding the Fehu greatsword he had just acquired.

"I don't know your reasons, but they aren't necessary."

"I just want to do what pleases me most."

If it were just a few minutes ago, she might have hesitated to stop him, perhaps gently persuaded him.

But now, she only wished for her brother's consciousness to quickly leave this body, to reduce the agony of being burned by the destructive fire by a few seconds.

She had saved that person once, even going against her brother, yet... he had caused her daughter to fall from thousands of meters in the past, and now, he had nearly killed her with the Fehu Rune.

Cecilia owed Siegfried nothing. After this strike of the Fehu Rune, their relationship was severed.

At this point, even if Otto told her to kill that person, she might only hesitate for a few seconds before doing it... but her brother would never ask her to do anything that tarnished their honor, and clearly, this time was no different.

Otto coughed, and a golden cross slowly appeared, binding the fallen Siegfried.

The man who had wielded the Fehu Rune with such arrogance was still struggling, his eyes seeming to spew fire, roaring hoarsely.

But the previous sword strike had exhausted all his energy. The injured use of the Fehu Rune had already burned out his language center, leaving him only able to emit guttural sounds.

Siegfried's peripheral vision caught Cecilia. For a moment, he genuinely wished that Cecilia herself had returned.

But seeing her motionless, the man had already made his conclusion.

As expected. Wielding that sword was not wrong.

He looked at the eyes that had once captivated him, only to see that in those Holy Blue irises, there was not a trace of affection for him.

You deserve it.

Siegfried felt that she was saying this with her eyes.

People pushed to the extreme of anger never reflect on their own issues; they only shift the blame to others. Even if it were truly their fault, they would still hold their heads high and vent their emotions without restraint.

This is a weakness of human nature.

A weakness that is difficult to escape.

Siegfried was an even more stubborn person. In his youth, he had fled Schicksal because of anime, failing to see that the price of his freedom was his mother's desperate pleas to Otto.

Furthermore, the power of the gods had infinitely amplified his extremism.

He hadn't realized how terrible an impression his past actions had left on Cecilia. He didn't reflect on how much damage that one strike of Fehu Rune had caused her physically and mentally. He stubbornly and simply judged that anyone who hadn't fought against Bishop Otto and the Honkai Energy fission bomb like Siberia had, was definitely not his person.

Yes. Absolutely not.

What he didn't know was that the moment he swung his sword, he already wasn't.

At the moment of His divine arrival, he already wasn't.

The gray sky twisted violently, but no one saw it.

Siegfried struggled, immersed in his own "rebellion."

But it was futile. Although the Mimicry: Oath of Judah was faint and unstable, it still firmly locked him in place.

Otto's greatsword was finally about to fall, but at this moment, a black and purple cross suddenly appeared from the side, striking his waist. The cross binding Siegfried shattered along with it.

"What are you doing, Grandpa! You're not allowed to hurt Siegfried!"

Otto stumbled a few times, and the flaming blade of his Skyfire greatsword disappeared.

He looked at the approaching little white-haired girl, a flicker of understanding in his eyes.

"You... What are you doing! Grandpa!"

Theresa rushed forward angrily, as if wanting to punch him, but stopped when she saw the flames on his body.

"As you can see," Otto replied in a weak tone, "he was trying to kill me, and I killed him in return."

"Don't joke around!" the little white-haired girl said angrily. "Who doesn't know how many backup lives you have?"

She looked Otto up and down, the worry in her eyes flashing away instantly. Then she looked at Siegfried, who had fallen to the ground, quickly calculating ways to get rid of her grandfather in her small head.

Strangely, at this moment, her memories became clearer, and many things about the man before her flooded her mind.

"I know you have many ways to stay alive, Grandpa," Theresa said, trying to soften her voice. "You won't die over such a small matter."

"A... small matter?"

A gentle questioning tone interrupted their conversation. Cecilia murmured Theresa's words, drawing their attention to her.

"Cecilia... No!" Theresa jumped up, glaring fiercely at Otto. "Damn it! Grandpa, you actually dare to do this!"

How could he... How could he do this?!

She felt like she understood everything!!!

"Grand...pa!" she shouted loudly. "What right do you have to bring this person to my academy?! Don't think I don't know, you definitely took her from somewhere and she's a fake!"

For a moment, Cecilia and Otto fell silent. Only Siegfried let out a desperate, almost silent roar, standing up and trying to pounce on the blonde man before him.

"She is real," Otto replied. "The real Cecilia Schariac."

"Grandpa the big liar! Do you think I'll believe you?!" Theresa thought she knew everything. "If she's Cecilia, would Siegfried be this angry?"

"It's just that he thinks it's not..."

"Come on, Grandpa! Since you dare to do this, can't you let Siegfried vent his anger?! Anyway, you still have so many..."

She seemed about to say more, but Otto looked at her then. His emerald green eyes, devoid of any emotion, bore down on her, forcing her to stop mid-sentence.

"Oh, is that so, Theresa?" the blonde man replied slowly, his voice strained. "My power is a reason for him to hurt me?"

He stared at Theresa, his cold gaze making her instinctively take a step back.

"My indulgence is an excuse for you to be presumptuous?"

"..."

Otto slowly snapped his fingers. The black and purple cross that Theresa had taken back suddenly erupted, binding her.

It was a gift he had given her, after all. How could it possibly be used to deal with him?

"Grandpa!"

"I am for the sinner, I shall bear the burden,"

The man said slowly, with a hint of loneliness and desolation under the burning kalpa fire.

"Even if I were to kill him, Theresa, you wouldn't be able to stop me."

He twisted his grip a few times, then raised Fehu Rune, which had transformed back into dual guns. Only one muzzle was pointed at Siegfried; the other was hooked by a trembling little finger.

But just as he was about to fire—

Black light illuminated above Siegfried's head, shimmering with purple patterns, and then swallowed the white-haired man, making him disappear.

"Finally... Heh heh..."

Otto lowered his arm, watching Siegfried vanish from his spot. His eyes widened slightly, a hint of unexpected joy flashing within them, but he quickly returned to his previous calm.

He turned around with effort, looking at Cecilia, who was covered in tears. He raised his arm, and his dual guns drew a faint arc, landing in front of Cecilia.

"Take it and go back."

The man's entire body was burning, yet he still offered Cecilia a calm smile.

"Go home early."

With that, Otto's burning body slowly fell to the ground, transforming into a pool of liquid Soul Steel, which was then swallowed by raging flames.

The barrier vanished at that moment. Cecilia rushed forward, ignoring the flames licking at her clothes and hair, searching for something in the inferno with tears in her eyes. However, the Soul Steel had already been completely melted by the tribulation fire, the liquid even seeping into the soil.

"Grandpa... he has many bodies." Theresa looked at the disheveled woman. Although she still held a grudge, she didn't want to see someone with Cecilia's face look so devastated.

"..."

The white-haired woman simply knelt there for a long time. Then, with a complex expression, she glanced at Theresa, picked up her twin crimson pistols, and walked forward without looking back.

She was still crying, but she exuded an aura of extreme calm.

Theresa was horrified to discover that Cecilia's eyes were sharp and her expression was exactly the same as Otto's just moments ago.

"Cecilia... Cecilia..."

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something more.

"That belongs to Siegfried..."

Cecilia's body swayed, and her steps quickened.

"I'm afraid I'll end up having to connect all the Divine Keys sooner or later... cough cough..."

In the nearby forest, the golden-haired, green-eyed body stumbled, and was caught by the brown-haired, red-eyed girl beside him.

"Lord Bishop, please be careful. Schicksal needs you."

"Be careful?"