I Am a Saintess at Schicksal

"…It seems Joyce is truly dead."

He had always refused to believe that Welt Joyce had really died.

The man before him, despite impersonating Welt Joyce's appearance, couldn't replicate Welt Joyce's charisma.

"I should call you Welt Yang, shouldn't I…"

Facing the true leader of Anti-Entropy, and the successor who inherited the First Herrscher Core, Otto wore a deeply mocking expression.

He had once discussed great figures with Welt Joyce in a bathhouse, like heroes discussing their deeds over wine.

In ancient China, there was a prime minister named Cao Cao who said, "If you must have a son, let it be like Sun Zhongmou."

Though this statement seemed to praise the other person, it actually placed someone of equal status to himself on the same level as his own son.

In simpler terms: You're only fit to be my son.

Otto felt the same way about Welt Yang at this moment.

Without Welt Joyce, the Anti-Entropy organization had no right to challenge him.

"...Sneaking into Schicksal HQ so brazenly, aren't you afraid of leaving your life here?"

"If Bishop Otto truly intends to make a move against me, I naturally won't surrender. I just don't know if Schicksal HQ can withstand a battle between the two of us."

Welt Yang, his true name revealed, met Otto's gaze.

"Oh, quite the boastful tone."

Otto raised an eyebrow.

Although he was a completely different person from Welt Joyce, Welt Yang had undoubtedly contributed to Anti-Entropy causing trouble for Schicksal.

Of course, this was also because he hadn't focused all of Schicksal's strength to target Anti-Entropy.

"Since you passed the screening to get in, as long as you abide by Schicksal's rules, I naturally won't do anything to you."

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

If he truly wanted to target Anti-Entropy, he could easily find their base of operations through financial means, scope of activities, and other avenues.

Even if a fight were to break out, Otto currently had the home-field advantage.

"Since Bishop Otto possesses such magnanimity, how could I, as a guest, not abide by the rules here? It's just… Bishop Otto, toying with lives will eventually bring retribution."

Welt Yang couldn't help but remind him.

Although in Welt Yang's eyes, Bishop Otto was not a qualified person, humanity had not gone extinct entirely because Schicksal had always been fighting on the front lines against the Honkai.

Even though Anti-Entropy shared the mission of fighting the Honkai, their current combat power couldn't replace Schicksal's Valkyries.

Even if he found Otto's practice of treating Valkyries as expendable distasteful, Schicksal's Valkyries had indeed prevented the frequent Honkai events that occurred annually.

Ultimately, the reason Anti-Entropy and Schicksal were at odds was simply a difference in ideology.

"Heh, is that all you have to say?" Otto scoffed. "I'm rather curious about what kind of retribution I should face…"

"Bishop Otto, is bullying children really that fun?"

Welt Yang, as if not seeing the expression on Otto's face, said calmly.

"That child is a clone created using the Second Herrscher's DNA, isn't it? And you even used the DNA of Cecilia and Siegfried's daughter… Is this how you treat the hero of the Second Eruption? Is this how you treat the hero's child?"

Facing Welt Yang's retort, Otto remained expressionless.

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

But Welt Yang was trying to persuade him; it could only be said that this successor had never truly understood him.

"How laughable, the leader of Anti-Entropy thinking so sentimentally."

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

People like him were precisely the hardest to persuade.

Because at this point, their actions were driven by an unwavering obsession.

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

Otto truly didn't care about anything outside his true objective. Even the body he was currently using was merely a clone made of soul steel.

However, when faced with the dilemma of saving the many by sacrificing the few, Otto would unhesitatingly choose to sacrifice the few.

He did indeed treat Valkyries as expendable.

The Second Eruption was also caused by Schicksal.

But… if he didn't treat Valkyries as expendable, would those people not have died? Without Schicksal's welfare facilities, many children orphaned by the Honkai would have starved to death long ago.

Some say the Second Herrscher, Sirin, became a Herrscher because she was persecuted by Schicksal's experiments.

But… even without Schicksal's experimental persecution, would Herrschers not appear? Even without Sirin, someone like Donglin, Beilin, or Nanlin would have emerged from some corner…

"But, can a single hero with great talent protect the entire world? One is definitely not enough, two are also not enough, but three, four, five…"

If not for Schicksal, humanity would have perished long ago.

Yet, there were always some organizations that liked to stand on moral high ground and condemn his actions.

"…You say I bully children, but I've given her education, the best environment, and even a personality. In fact, if I wanted, I could have used Mimic Feather of Dust to brainwash her and create a combat puppet that would obey my every command."

A large part of Otto's contempt for Welt Yang stemmed from how useless Anti-Entropy was.

If the mechs manufactured by Anti-Entropy could replace Valkyries, he wouldn't have minded listening to Welt Yang's boasts.

It was just that those mechs' utilization of Honkai Energy was still far inferior to Schicksal's artificial stigmata, and their manufacturing costs were much higher than training Valkyries.

So what if Anti-Entropy had a sense of humanity?

It was Schicksal's Valkyries who fought against the Honkai on the Honkai battlefields across the world.

"But I didn't do that, because I also believe in the power of emotions. It's precisely for this reason that I treated K422 as a person, and I will also nurture K423 into a human. Of course, this will require Siegfried's help."

"…………"

Welt Yang sighed.

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

But… he felt that this man was definitely insane.

Although he spoke of believing in the power of emotions, in the other man's eyes, emotions were merely tools that could be exploited.

He ultimately couldn't persuade Bishop Otto.

27. I Really Just Want to Repay a Favor (Revised)

(PS: Written at the beginning. Based on reader feedback, for a better reading experience, this has been changed from "he" to "she".)

This man was an enemy, and she shouldn't harbor any illusions.

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

Besides visiting the Experiment Subject created from the Second Herrscher's DNA, Welt Yang hadn't given up on the idea of persuading Bishop Otto.

Even if the chance of success was only 0.01%, he wanted to try. What if a miracle really happened?

Even if he couldn't persuade Bishop Otto, influencing the man's actions even slightly would be a gain for him.

However, the miracle he desired did not exist.

The chance of persuading Bishop Otto had been zero from the very beginning.

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

"To have the leader of Anti-Entropy owe a favor… I seem to have underestimated my granddaughter…"

Otto stopped smiling after speaking. He had nothing more to discuss with Welt Yang.

Welt Joyce was truly gone.

"Oh, and that child's name is Kiana Kaslana now. Please don't call her by the wrong name; it will make her sad."

After leaving these words, Otto departed the interrogation room.

Welt Yang, left behind, could only sigh deeply.

He still clung to the fantasy that Bishop Otto could change, but his fantasy had been personally destroyed by Bishop Otto.

Just now, he had even entertained the thought of fighting Bishop Otto.

However, the Bishop Otto who appeared before him was merely a clone made of Soul Steel.

Fighting a clone would be a complete loss.

"It seems I was a bit too naive. Tesla was right; Schicksal's Grand Bishop is not trustworthy. Our antagonism isn't simply a difference in ideology…"

He could now confirm that Bishop Otto's true objective was not to resolve the Honkai.

Precisely because he wasn't genuinely fighting the Honkai, Welt Yang knew that a confrontation with Otto was inevitable, or else this world would be pushed towards destruction by him.

Thinking this, Welt Yang could only let out a sigh.

If peace could be achieved through dialogue, Welt Yang would absolutely not pursue conflict.

After all, no matter who between him and Otto emerged victorious, it would greatly deplete humanity's strength in fighting the Honkai.

Even while he rejected Otto Apocalypse as a person, he could not deny that the Schicksal organization, under his leadership, had always been at the forefront of the fight against the Honkai.

However, Otto himself was not genuinely fighting the Honkai.

It had to be said that Bishop Otto's choices left him deeply disappointed.

"I truly hope that the battle with you doesn't plunge this world into despair."

At this time, K422, unaware of the brief exchange between the big shots of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, was struggling with her extremely cute aunt apologizing to her.

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

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

She had only managed fifteen sit-ups, with thirty-five left to go.

As for the standards Captain Ragnar set for her, she had already thrown them away during training the next day.

Doing only twenty sit-ups a day, when would she ever be able to defeat Schicksal and step on that dog Otto?

So please, let me go, I need to train, ahhh!!

"But Auntie really feels very sorry for you. Auntie didn't expect that a friend she found through personal connections would turn out to be this kind of person."

Honestly, having a traitor among the friends she'd found through personal connections was also a blow to Theresa.

"Let Auntie hug you properly."

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

Even as an apology, did she really need to hug her so tightly?

Anyone who didn't know better would think Theresa wanted to take advantage of her.

After all, the other party had a history.

Who could guarantee that Theresa, who might have had a relationship with her mother Cecilia, wouldn't transfer her feelings to her because of her mother's death?

Although she couldn't remember her past life, the past life she knew did have such tropes.

After a certain old man's wife died, he married his daughter, who looked very much like his wife, and even had another daughter with her. To avoid detection, he fabricated a rumor about the Golden Witch.

There was no telling if Theresa wasn't lusting after her body right now.

What's more, those medical researchers hadn't done much, just scanned her with various equipment and pricked her with a hidden needle.

If she hadn't found a small red dot on her arm, she wouldn't have realized she'd had a drop of blood drawn.

Of course, Bishop Otto would never let her DNA map get out.

She remained perfectly calm, not worrying about having twenty thousand more sisters one day.

When asked by her like this, Theresa immediately started playing dumb.