I Am a Saintess at Schicksal

Fiery projectiles, symbolizing destruction and combustion, slammed directly into the ground from the air. The moment they hit, a firestorm erupted, and the metal floor melted under the scorching heat.

Welt manipulated his own gravity, suspending himself in mid-air. Immediately, dozens, even hundreds, of compressed gravity spheres appeared around him.

"Finished with your last words?"

As Otto spoke, ripples distorted the space behind him, and dozens of golden Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgments materialized.

The First Herrscher's ability was to replicate laws and concepts, capable of copying weapons and items whose construction principles the user understood.

The First Divine Key possessed the same ability.

Copying weapons whose construction principles the user understood did not mean it couldn't be replicated in large numbers.

"First Divine Key, Seventh Pluralistic Mimicry—Rain of Heavenly Flowers."

Dozens, hundreds, a dense mass of golden Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgments materialized behind Otto, then simultaneously opened fire on Welt.

"Attacks like these are useless against me."

Hundreds of gravity spheres, each only the size of a ping-pong ball, warped the surrounding space. All the fiery projectiles, affected by the distorted gravity, had their trajectories deflected.

The port was once again caught in the crossfire. Some staff and Valkyries who couldn't escape in time were engulfed by the flames.

The entire area instantly turned into a sea of fire, with only Welt and Otto unaffected, continuing their assault on each other.

Welt hurled dozens of gravity spears at Otto, but they all passed straight through Otto's body.

Without a doubt, the figure left behind was merely an illusion.

This time, the volley of simulated Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgments attacked Welt from another direction. Fortunately, Welt had positioned gravity spheres around him, and the distorted gravity once again deflected the fiery projectiles.

However, it wasn't a complete defense. Over a dozen scorching fiery projectiles, defying the twisted gravity, struck him. Welt manipulated gravity to dodge the attack.

The fiery projectiles, symbolizing destruction and combustion, could burn through even the distorted gravity formed by the Ninth Divine Key.

After dodging the attack, Welt immediately retaliated towards the direction from which the simulated Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgments had just fired.

Gravity spheres reformed around his airborne body, then transformed one by one into gravity spears, plummeting towards the ground.

The metal floor was smashed, creating one pit after another that revealed the space below.

Yet, Welt's attack still didn't hit Otto. However, a large number of simulated Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgments attacked from various directions, time and time again.

Seeing Otto appear with a smile, and the Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgments hovering behind him.

Welt knew it was another illusion; the real attack was from behind.

He immediately turned around, clashing his gravity spears against the fiery projectiles.

"Not bad, not bad."

Otto's figure vanished again, as if toying with him, launching attacks with a multitude of simulated Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgments.

It was clear he had reached the upper limit of how many attacks his gravity spheres could deflect.

Otto's combat style was incredibly bizarre, like a fleeting dream, making it impossible to distinguish reality from illusion.

This reminded Welt of the 'clown' he encountered during the Second Eruption.

The moment the blond man wearing a clown mask appeared, he dodged Welt and Siegfried's attacks in a way they couldn't comprehend, and gravely wounded them through means they couldn't perceive.

Afterward, Welt and his companions investigated but found no information about this clown.

"So it was you back then."

If not for this current conflict, Welt would never have imagined Otto would interfere during the Second Eruption.

At that time, the Second Herrscher, who didn't understand the terrifying nature of human civilization, had completely lost its combat capability after being baptized by the ultimate weapon of modern human civilization—the atomic bomb.

At that point, Welt was only a step away from defeating the Second Herrscher.

If it weren't for the appearance of this blond clown, the Second Eruption wouldn't have claimed so many lives, and the Second Herrscher, who had escaped, wouldn't have gained the Herrscher energy left by the previous era on the moon, becoming so powerful that it nearly wiped out humanity.

Of course, because the Second Herrscher suddenly gained such immense power, and she was just a child, she inevitably became arrogant, which gave him and Siegfried the chance to turn the tide.

But ultimately, it was Bishop Otto's decision to let the Second Herrscher escape that caused the Second Eruption to continue.

"You bastard!!"

Welt roared in anger.

Crimson light condensed into the shape of gears within his brown eyes.

While he had always known Otto was a scoundrel, he had never imagined he could be such a profound scoundrel.

The Second Eruption directly caused countless deaths, leading to innumerable tragedies of broken families and separated loved ones.

Facing resource shortages after the disaster, an equally terrifying number of people died on the roads while fleeing.

But—

The world only knew that the Second Eruption was ended by Schicksal.

Cecilia Schariac, who perished along with the Second Herrscher, was hailed as the hero of the Second Eruption.

And Schicksal, after the disaster, engaged in charitable work, establishing welfare facilities everywhere to shelter wave after wave of orphans and widows, gaining immense prestige internationally.

"You're going to die here, Otto!!"

The Ninth Divine Key, Eden Star, created with the First Herrscher's power, unleashed its full might.

Welt directly created a simulated black hole at the Heavenly Celestial headquarters' port.

Originally, he had been concerned about the innocent Valkyries and cadets within the headquarters, as well as the staff and researchers who were unaware of Otto's actions.

But now, even at the cost of innocent lives, he was determined to kill Otto.

Space began to collapse around the simulated black hole created by Welt, with both air and flame being devoured by the extreme darkness.

The fireballs launched from all directions were also swallowed by the simulated black hole.

Even light could not escape that extreme darkness.

Space continued to collapse, and the entire floating island began to converge towards the simulated black hole.

The transport ship, laden with supply crates, was torn to shreds by the terrifying gravitational pull of the simulated black hole. The supply crates, crew, and the fragmented hull were all consumed.

"Get out here!!"

Even so, the simulated black hole still hadn't captured Otto's figure.

Otto, standing before Welt, dissipated like a phantom bubble.

But in the next moment.

The distorted gravity around him vanished, and even the Herrscher Core within him felt an uncomfortable sensation.

Otto's figure reappeared at that instant.

However, in his hand, he held a strange injection gun, with a red liquid resembling blood swirling in its syringe.

Upon seeing the red liquid, Welt felt a sense of dread.

"Then, you shall die here, Welt II."

"44. This might lead to Bishop Otto silencing me."

With that, Otto charged at Welt.

But shortly after he lunged forward, this new body became unresponsive, allowing Welt to create distance.

Seeing Welt pull away, Otto let out a sigh.

His triumphant declaration had failed.

He felt a bit embarrassed.

Tsk.

After the simulated Feather of Dust's ability was also nullified by the Anti-Honkai Blood, he lost the opportunity to ambush Welt.

Otto had indeed wanted to test if the holy blood extracted from K422 would have any effect on Welt.

Although he had become the First Herrscher merely by inheriting a Herrscher Core, he was still a Herrscher-level enemy, the only one currently.

Such a rare test subject, Otto naturally wanted to experiment.

But Welt didn't give him the chance.

After creating distance, Welt deactivated the simulated black hole.

In fact, as Otto approached with the injection gun, the simulated black hole showed signs of losing control.

If he had continued to maintain the simulated black hole, the outcome would have either been his death, or the simulated black hole consuming all nine floating islands and expanding endlessly.

"What is that thing?"

"How should I put it? It's a secret weapon."

As a researcher, Otto didn't dislike others knowing about his research results.

It was just that most people were ignorant, but Welt before him was indeed a good person to confide in.

Just as he possessed the First Divine Key, Welt had inherited the First Herrscher's Core.

"...It's a substance capable of eradicating Honkai Energy."

"Schariac Holy Blood?"

As soon as Otto finished speaking, Welt blurted out.

"Hoh, you know about it? So... you found the lab in the Far East? It seems your infiltration of the Heavenly Celestial headquarters wasn't just for Kiana and K422."

The surroundings were in ruins, a massive crater had opened up in the port, and the floating island itself had deviated from its original position. The aftermath of the battle had already crippled most of the island's functions, and it was actually beginning to descend.

It might even crash into the Mediterranean Sea like this.

Yet, Otto still appeared to be in control under such circumstances.

Tesla's urgent voice came through Welt's earpiece.

"You idiot, it's time to retreat. That floating island is going to crash into the Mediterranean in half an hour."

But Welt pretended not to hear, his gaze still fixed on Otto.

"It's not strange that I know about Schariac Holy Blood. Anti-Entropy once obtained Cecilia Schariac's blood. As for this term, it was simply discovered in that secret laboratory in the Far East."

"So that place was exposed after all."

Otto felt a great sense of regret.

After all, that place was where he had previously extracted Schariac Holy Blood.

It was just that there was now a superior substitute.

The Cecilia-version of the holy blood could theoretically damage Herrschers.

And K422's holy blood could theoretically kill Herrschers directly.

If not for the Anti-Honkai fluctuations dispelling the simulated Feather of Dust, he might have obtained a precious First Herrscher remains.

"Perhaps I need to modify the syringe," Otto sighed.

Welt narrowed his eyes. Even from a distance, the blood swaying within the syringe exerted immense pressure on him.

It was a terrifying power that completely erased Honkai Energy.

"Is that really Schariac Holy Blood? Whose? Kiana's, the one you hid away? No, it's that Substitute Little Princess!"

After a rapid self-questioning, Welt quickly pinpointed his target.

"No wonder they found a substitute for that little princess. It turns out her importance has long surpassed the previous generation's Schariac Saintess."

"Yes, that adorable little princess is indeed very important, even more so than the original," Otto admitted frankly.

Equipment damaged by the residual forces of their battle exploded.

The sound of the explosion did not drown out Otto's voice.

Seeing Otto take a small step forward, Welt quietly increased the distance between them.

In the face of that new holy blood, he, a Herrscher, was not even as capable as a petite and adorable researcher like Tesla.

"Siegfried will take her away."