I Work as a Saintess at Schicksal

"...Looks like Joyce really was dead."

He had never wanted to believe that Welt Joyce had truly died.

Even if the man before him had disguised himself as Welt Joyce, he could not replicate Welt Joyce's personal charisma.

"I should call you Welt Yang, then..."

Facing the true Alliance Leader of Anti-Entropy and the inheritor of the First Herrscher's core, Otto wore a deeply mocking expression.

He had once discussed great figures with Welt Joyce in a bathhouse, like Cao Cao and Sun Zhongmou discussing heroes over warmed wine.

In ancient China, a chancellor named Cao Cao had once said, "If one has a son, he should be like Sun Zhongmou."

Though it sounded like praise, he was actually comparing someone of equal standing to his own son.

Put simply... you were only fit to be my son.

That was how Otto viewed Welt Yang now.

Without Welt Joyce, Anti-Entropy had no qualifications to challenge him.

"...You infiltrated Schicksal Headquarters so openly. Aren't you worried about leaving your life here?"

"If Bishop Otto truly intends to make a move against me, I naturally will not submit without resistance. I just wonder whether Schicksal Headquarters can withstand a battle between the two of us."

Having had his true name exposed, Welt Yang confronted him head-on.

"Oh, quite the big talk."

Otto raised an eyebrow.

Though he was completely different from Welt Joyce, Anti-Entropy's ability to cause trouble for Schicksal was largely due to Welt Yang.

Of course, that was also because Otto had not concentrated all of Schicksal's forces against Anti-Entropy.

"Since you entered through inspection, as long as you obey Schicksal's rules, I naturally will not do anything to you."

After learning that Welt Joyce was gone, Otto had never taken Anti-Entropy seriously.

If he truly wanted to target Anti-Entropy, he could easily locate their base through their funding, operational range, and other channels.

Even if a battle truly broke out, Otto now held the home-field advantage.

"Since Bishop Otto is so magnanimous, how could I, as a guest, fail to obey the rules here? It is just that... Bishop Otto, playing with lives will ultimately bring retribution."

Welt Yang could not help reminding him.

Though Bishop Otto was not a qualified person in Welt Yang's eyes, humanity had not gone extinct only because Schicksal had continuously fought on the front lines against the Honkai.

Even though Anti-Entropy also regarded fighting the Honkai as its mission, its current combat strength could not replace Schicksal's Valkyries.

Even if he disliked Otto treating Valkyries as consumables, Schicksal's Valkyries had indeed stopped the frequent Honkai incidents that occurred every year.

In the end, Anti-Entropy and Schicksal were enemies only because of their differing ideals.

"Heh, is that all you wanted to say?" Otto sneered. "I would very much like to know what kind of retribution I should suffer..."

"Bishop Otto, is it really so amusing to bully a child?"

As though he had not seen Otto's expression, Welt Yang spoke calmly.

"That child is a clone made using the Second Herrscher's DNA, isn't she? And you also used the DNA of Cecilia and Siegfried's daughter... Is this how you treat a hero of the Second Eruption? Is this how you treat a hero's child?"

Faced with Welt Yang's question, Otto remained expressionless.

If Welt Joyce were still alive, he would have made his move by now.

But Welt Yang was trying to persuade him. It could only be said that this second generation had never understood him.

"How laughable. Anti-Entropy's Alliance Leader actually thinks in such an emotional manner."

What Otto found most laughable was that the other man was actually trying to persuade him with words.

The more someone was like him, the harder they were to persuade.

Because by this point, everything they did had become an obsession.

"...If a hero's daughter possesses even greater talent than the hero, would you let her live as an ordinary person, or would you cultivate her into an even stronger hero?"

Otto truly did not care about anything beyond his real objective. Even the body he was currently using was merely a Soul Steel avatar.

But when faced with the question of saving the majority by abandoning the minority, Otto would choose to abandon the minority without hesitation.

He had indeed treated Valkyries as consumables.

The Second Eruption had also been caused by Schicksal.

But... if he did not treat Valkyries as consumables, would those people not die? Without Schicksal's welfare facilities, many children orphaned by the Honkai would have long since starved or frozen to death.

Some said that Sirin, the Second Herrscher, became a Herrscher because she suffered from Schicksal's experiments.

But... even without Schicksal's experimental persecution, would Herrschers not appear? Even without Sirin, some Donglin, Beilin, or Nanlin would emerge from some corner...

"But can one hero with great talent protect the entire world? One is certainly not enough, and neither are two. But three, four, five..."

Without Schicksal, humanity would have been finished long ago.

Yet there were always organizations that liked to stand on the moral high ground and condemn what he did.

"...You say I bully children, but I gave her an education, gave her the best environment, and even gave her a personality. In fact, if I wanted to, I could use the Mimic Feather of Dust to brainwash her and create a combat puppet that obeyed my every command."

A large part of why Otto despised Welt Yang was because Anti-Entropy was too useless.

If Anti-Entropy's mechs could replace Valkyries, he would not mind listening to Welt Yang's grand words.

Unfortunately, those mechs were still far less efficient at utilizing Honkai Energy than Schicksal's artificial Stigmata, while their manufacturing costs were far higher than training Valkyries.

So what if Anti-Entropy had a human touch?

On Honkai battlefields across the world, it was still Schicksal's Valkyries who fought the Honkai.

"But I did not do that, because I also believe in the power of emotions. That is precisely why I will treat K422 as a person, and later raise K423 as a human as well. Of course, that will require Siegfried's help."

"..."

Welt Yang sighed.

He had always wanted to have a serious conversation with Schicksal's Grand Bishop.

But... he felt that this man had to be insane.

Though Otto spoke of believing in the power of emotions, in his eyes, emotions were merely a means to be used.

In the end, he could not persuade Bishop Otto.

I Really Just Wanted to Repay a Favor

This man was an enemy. He should not harbor any fantasies.

Welt Yang calmly looked at the man before him, disappointment filling his heart.

Besides coming to see the experiment subject created with the Second Herrscher's DNA, Welt Yang had also hoped to persuade Bishop Otto.

Even if the chance of persuading Bishop Otto was only 0.01%, he still wanted to try. What if a miracle truly happened?

Even if he could not persuade Bishop Otto, influencing his actions even slightly would still be a gain.

However, the miracle he wanted did not exist.

From the very beginning, the chance of persuading Bishop Otto had been zero.

Welt Yang sighed. "I will not disrupt Bishop Otto's plans. I only hope Bishop Otto will allow me to continue my current work and let me repay the favor I owe Miss Theresa Apocalypse."

"To make Anti-Entropy's Alliance Leader owe a favor... It seems I underestimated my granddaughter..."

After saying that, Otto withdrew his smile. He had nothing more to discuss with Welt Yang.

Welt Joyce truly was gone.

"Oh, right. That child is now called Kiana Kaslana. Please do not get her name wrong. That would make her sad."

After leaving those words behind, Otto departed the inspection room.

Left behind, Welt Yang could only let out a deep sigh.

Even now, he still held onto the fantasy that Bishop Otto could change, but Bishop Otto had personally destroyed that fantasy.

Just now, he had even felt the urge to fight Bishop Otto.

But the Bishop Otto standing before him had merely been a Soul Steel avatar.

Fighting an avatar would not be worth the cost.

"Looks like I was still a little naive. Tesla was right. Schicksal's Grand Bishop is not someone worthy of trust. Our hostility is not simply a difference in ideals..."

At this point, he could confirm that Bishop Otto's true purpose was not to resolve the Honkai.

Precisely because Otto was not sincerely fighting the Honkai, Welt Yang knew that he and Otto would eventually fight. Otherwise, Otto would push this world toward destruction.

Thinking of this, Welt Yang could only sigh again.

If peace could be achieved through dialogue, Welt Yang would never seek battle.

After all, whether he or Otto achieved the final victory, humanity's strength against the Honkai would be greatly diminished.

Even if he rejected Otto Apocalypse as a man, he could not deny the fact that under Otto's leadership, Schicksal had always remained active on the front lines against the Honkai.

However, Otto was not sincerely fighting the Honkai.

It had to be said that Bishop Otto's choice disappointed him.

"I truly hope our battle will not drive this world into a desperate situation."

At this moment, K422, who had no idea that Schicksal's big shot and Anti-Entropy's big shot had just had a small exchange, was troubled by the sight of her incredibly adorable little aunt apologizing to her.

"Aunt Theresa, you didn't do it on purpose."

Theresa kept hugging her, making it impossible for her to continue training.

She had only done fifteen sit-ups, with thirty-five still remaining.

As for the standard Captain Ragnar had set for her, she had tossed it aside on the second day of training.

If she only did twenty sit-ups a day, when would she ever be able to punch Schicksal and kick that dog Otto?

So let go of me already, I need to train!!

"But Aunt Theresa truly feels sorry for you. Aunt Theresa never expected that the friend she found by calling in a favor would turn out to be this kind of person."

Honestly, the fact that a traitor had appeared among the friends she found through favors was also a blow to Theresa.

"Let Aunt Theresa give you a proper hug."

"...But I think Aunt Theresa is deliberately stopping me from training."

Even if she was apologizing, did she need to hold her so tightly?

Anyone unaware of the situation might think Theresa wanted to take advantage of her.

After all, she had a history of doing that.

Who could guarantee that Theresa, who might have had something going on with her mother Cecilia, would not transfer her feelings onto her after her mother's death?

Though she could not remember her past life, she knew that such plots had indeed existed there.

After some old ghost's wife died, he simply married his daughter, who looked very much like his wife, and even had her bear him another daughter. To avoid anyone finding out, he fabricated rumors of a Golden Witch.

For all she knew, Theresa might be lusting after her body right now.

Besides, those medical researchers had not done much. They had merely scanned her with various devices and pricked her once with a hidden syringe.

If she had not found a tiny red spot on her arm, she would not have realized that they had taken a drop of her blood.

Of course, Bishop Otto would definitely not allow her DNA profile to leak.

Naturally, she remained completely calm and did not worry that twenty thousand little sisters would suddenly appear one day.

When questioned like that, Theresa immediately began playing dumb.