Otto spoke casually.
"Mm, Rita thought so too."
The woman with dark golden hair nodded.
"Let her stir things up within Anti-Entropy. It will benefit Schicksal instead."
Otto rested his crossed hands beneath his chin and spoke indifferently.
Schicksal had neither reason nor need to help Anti-Entropy resolve its internal conflicts. If anything, he was happy to see such things happen.
He did not actually care much about Cocolia. That woman was not worthy of being his opponent.
Compared to that so-called mastermind behind the scenes, there was clearly something else he cared about more.
"What is the situation with the Herrscher?"
"It has been confirmed that the Third Herrscher is Raiden Mei. According to Rita's observations, Kiana Kaslana has also come into contact with her."
Rita reported.
Otto said, "That girl with the Gem of Conquest implanted in her body? This outcome is hardly surprising."
The Herrscher Gems born from the Second Honkai Eruption had always been key targets of Schicksal's surveillance.
Of the four Herrscher Gems, only the Gem of Conquest was in Anti-Entropy's possession. The remaining three were under Schicksal's custody.
"I came into contact with the Third Herrscher aboard the Hyperion. Although her emotions were somewhat unstable, she did not appear to have any major problems at present.
"As for Kiana Kaslana... she seemed to have been fighting for survival at Chiba Academy throughout this incident, but she did not display any power beyond expectations."
The dark golden-haired woman continued her report.
"Hehe, she is still an unpolished jade. She cannot control the power inside her."
Although the Herrscher of the Void's core was embedded within her body, without the corresponding training, she was not qualified to control that power.
Whether in body or mind, she was still far too immature.
"Are there any other people worth noting?"
"Besides them, Theresa also recovered one man and one woman: Bronya Zaychik and Ming Yu."
Rita pulled up information on the two of them.
Compared to the investigative capabilities of the Far East Branch, Schicksal Headquarters naturally possessed far broader intelligence networks and tracking capabilities.
Thus, one layer of Bronya's identity was uncovered and placed before Otto.
—The Silver Wolf of the Urals, a famous assassin who had once appeared on the "Assassin List."
Her title was enough to strike terror into ordinary people, but after a certain period, the terrifying assassin vanished without a trace and was never seen again.
Some speculated that she had failed during an assassination mission and was no longer among the living. Others believed she had washed her hands of the underworld and retired.
However, to Otto, the answer was obvious—
"Cocolia's pawn is her, isn't it?"
"Should we eliminate her?"
Rita asked.
"She is just a minor character. There is no need to pay attention to her."
As Otto spoke, he shifted his gaze to the final survivor.
"...Male?"
Upon seeing Ming Yu's photograph, he showed a rare hint of surprise.
"Yes, Overseer. Is there a problem?"
"Hehe, Rita, you may not know this, but not a single man qualified to involve himself in the Honkai field is simple to deal with—this is a lesson I have learned over my long life."
The former First Herrscher, Welt Joyce; the current leader of Anti-Entropy, Welt Yang; and the head of the Kaslana family, Siegfried Kaslana.
All of them had caused him quite a bit of trouble to varying degrees in the past.
—Otto had never liked anything beyond his control, and unfortunately, all these men fell into that category.
Mm. As the most outstanding sage of the Apocalypse family, Otto's intuition told him that this man was no ordinary person.
And the intelligence Rita had gathered on Ming Yu made Otto take him even more seriously.
"After confirmation, this individual is not the Third Herrscher, yet he displayed authority similar to that of the Herrscher of Thunder. He controlled electromagnetic force and destroyed fifteen Anti-Entropy tactical mechs. The principle is unknown."
He read it word by word.
Only one Herrscher could be born from a single Honkai Eruption. That was an ironclad law.
The Herrscher Core undeniably existed inside Raiden Mei's body, so this Ming Yu could absolutely not be a Herrscher.
Was he imitating a Herrscher's power? Or did he possess some other special ability?
Over his five hundred long years of researching Honkai, he had never encountered a similar case.
It sparked Otto's intense interest.
If it was confirmed that he could imitate the power of the Herrscher of Thunder, then could the powers of other Herrschers also be replicated one by one?
For instance... the one he cared about most: the Herrscher of the Void.
Although the plan concerning Kiana was already extremely complete and only awaited the natural passage of time, Otto would naturally never object to having more contingencies prepared.
"Where is he now?"
Otto asked.
"Miss Theresa has brought all four of them back to the Far East Branch. From what I have learned, she intends to enroll all four survivors in St. Freya Academy as students."
Theresa's actions did not exceed Otto's expectations.
She, too, was an out-and-out idealist. Unfortunately, she was still somewhat immature in the way she handled things—perhaps even childish.
—Well, that was partly because he had spoiled her too much as an elder in the past.
"Hehe, in any case, let our dear Miss Kiana enjoy her academy life to the fullest. The happier and more fulfilled she is, the better. As for this Ming Yu... mm, keep him under observation for a while before making a decision."
Making a girl who had wandered alone for so long fall in love with the family and friends around her again, allowing her to experience the beauty of emotions—this was precisely what he wanted Theresa to help him accomplish.
His granddaughter would willingly do such a thing herself, and he was happy to see that outcome. He was even very willing to provide all kinds of assistance.
Once the time was right, he would follow the script he had prepared and bring forth the Herrscher of the Void once more, then use the shock of her loved ones' deaths to awaken the Herrscher's humanity.
Only then could the key tool for resurrecting Kallen be considered fully polished.
As for who exactly would become the sacrifice then... Otto had only tentatively chosen a target for now.
—His granddaughter, Theresa Apocalypse, was a very suitable candidate.
Without question, Otto loved his granddaughter deeply, second only to his love for Kallen.
But if it was for the sake of reviving Kallen, everything else could be discarded. Theresa was no exception.
However, after seeing the information about Ming Yu, he developed a few new thoughts.
—There were many kinds of feelings.
The affection between family, the affection between friends, and... love.
The stronger the emotion, the better the effect it would naturally have when the time came to call Kiana's true self back.
Thus, after seeing that this man named Ming Yu would be entering St. Freya Academy, Otto came up with a new idea.
—Perhaps he would be a more suitable candidate than Theresa.
At that thought, Otto could not help but smile faintly. Then he instructed the Valkyrie under his command.
"Rita, take some leave for now. In a while, I will arrange for you to spend some time at St. Freya Academy. When that time comes, I will give you a special mission."
"Yes, Overseer."
Rita gave a slight bow, then left the Schicksal Overseer's command room.
Otto turned his chair around and adjusted the screens around the control room to transparent, allowing him to take in everything on the floating island from within.
He had spent five hundred years turning Schicksal into what it was today: a colossal organization that effectively ruled most regions of this planet.
Most ordinary Valkyries worshipped him as a god who saved the world.
Meanwhile, another group of people who knew some of his secrets saw him as a demon who brought calamity.
Yet in these five hundred years, not a single person had known the true meaning behind his five centuries of persistence.
Everything he had done, whether praiseworthy good deeds or heinous evils that enraged heaven and humanity alike, had all been for one simple purpose.
Only he himself had never forgotten the reason he had come this far.
Rise again, my beloved.
Otto slowly took a sip of red wine from his glass, then said leisurely,
"Love... is the most vicious curse in this world."
The Opening of St. Freya
Some time later, as the Hyperion slowly descended, Ming Yu standing at the edge of the deck caught sight of the full view of St. Freya Academy.
A lavish palace-like complex at its center formed the main body of the academy, while all kinds of facilities spread out in every direction.
It had to be said, an academy personally approved and funded by Otto was indeed absurdly enormous.
Even Chiba Academy, the so-called school for nobles, could not compare to this place at all. Beside it, Chiba Academy paled completely.
For such a vast area to be set aside in the Far East, where the land area was not particularly large, showed just how immense Schicksal's influence was.
"Hey, Ming Yu!"
At that moment, an energetic voice called out from behind him.
"What is it, Miss Kiana?"
Ming Yu turned around slowly and saw Kiana pulling Mei onto the deck as well.
"We've agreed to Theresa's conditions and are getting ready to enroll at St. Freya Academy. What about you?"
Kiana asked.
Although she had never heard of St. Freya Academy before this, nor had she ever met the little girl named Theresa, the other party had indeed offered her an irresistible condition.
—If Kiana could reach at least the level of an A-Rank Valkyrie, Theresa would tell her the whereabouts of Kiana's father, Siegfried.
For Kiana, who had been wandering around in search of her father, it was an offer she could not possibly refuse.
Besides, Chiba Academy had now been completely destroyed, so she had no choice but to find another place to go.
As for Mei, there was even less need to mention her.
After her sense of self awakened, she had already seen the hellish scene Changkong City had become, and she felt incomparably guilty over it.
Theresa and Himeko had promised to monitor her condition to ensure that she would not lose control again.
Of course, in Ming Yu's view, everything that had happened in Changkong City should be blamed on that old hag Cocolia.
"Of course I'll be enrolling at St. Freya Academy too. After all... I don't have anywhere else to go."
Ming Yu replied with a quiet laugh.
Although Raven had also extended an olive branch and offered to recommend him to World Serpent, this side was probably better after all.
After what happened at Chiba Academy, he had gotten to know these two girls fairly well.
"Mm-hmm, then remember to come help us clean our rooms!"
Kiana said with a grin.
Before you continue