The Will of the Honkai had made its move.
The Schicksal-issued communication terminal sat on the desk, displaying a holographic projection of Nagazora City and its surrounding areas.
On the image, pink spirals indicated the convergence paths of Honkai energy.
This trace amount of Honkai energy was slowly gathering toward Nagazora from the air.
Clearly, this was not a natural phenomenon.
If the Will of the Honkai wasn't behind this, Otto would rip his own head off and give it to Fu Hua to use as a chest pad.
But this made things extremely tricky.
The Will of the Honkai had played its card.
Although the current Honkai energy concentration in Nagazora was still very safe, if all of this mobile energy were to enter the city, it would be a case of many small streams forming a great river. What would follow was a Honkai disaster.
A Great Eruption would break out in Nagazora.
At that time, the Gem of Conquest inside Mei's body would absorb enough Honkai energy for her to awaken as a Herrscher of Thunder that Otto could not control.
The only reason Otto could freely taste Miss Herrscher of Thunder's lips now was because she couldn't beat him.
If she had enough Honkai energy to fight back, forget kissing—she would probably use her beautiful, high-heeled legs to stomp on his face.
Furthermore, for the Will of the Honkai to make such a move, it must be preparing to descend personally.
After all, the Thunder Queen alone wasn't enough to kill him.
Watching the holographic projection, Otto frowned. Fu Hua stood beside him, also observing the image.
For Otto to wear such an expression, something major was about to happen.
"If the Herrscher of Thunder and the Herrscher of the Void awaken, I alone will not be enough to suppress them," Fu Hua stated. To fight a Herrscher, she would have to use the Feather of Cocytus.
But her body was already worn out and tattered from the past use of the divine key and old injuries. Using it again would place too great a burden on her.
"Wait."
Otto suddenly realized something.
He raised a hand and pointed at Fu Hua.
"What did you just say?"
"That I alone won't be able to suppress them?" Fu Hua asked, confused. But Otto shook his head, gesturing at her insistently.
"The line before that."
"If the Herrscher of Thunder and the Herrscher of the Void awaken?"
"That's it!"
Otto clapped his hands together. He looked toward the next room, where his two girls were sleeping.
How could he have forgotten?
Besides the Herrscher of Thunder, there was also a Herrscher of the Void here!
Otto knew that the Herrscher of Thunder was capable of blocking the Will of the Honkai's connection. The last time It had descended was an accident, caused by Otto giving the Seven Thunders of Retribution to Mei.
So even if the Herrscher of Thunder were to awaken now, given her protective nature over Mei, she might not try to kill him outright.
But the Herrscher of the Void was a different story!
The Herrscher of the Void, Sirin, was the only one under the Honkai's command who actually got things done!
With her rock-bottom IQ, she had caused more destruction than any other Herrscher.
And the current Queen personality was the culmination of all of Sirin's past negative emotions and malice.
If the Herrscher of the Void were to awaken, the current Kiana would not necessarily be able to suppress the Queen's personality.
Therefore, the Herrscher of the Void was a far more suitable vessel for the Will of the Honkai's descent than the Herrscher of Thunder!
The Herrscher of the Void, with the Will of the Honkai playing as a substitute... that was a final boss from an old version of the game. But the Fu Hua who could solo that boss in the past had been nerfed, so who could possibly deal with It now?
Durandal?
No, the current Durandal couldn't even stabilize the power of the world bubble inside her.
She couldn't even properly use her "Golden Goose" armor yet. If she encountered the Herrscher of the Void being puppeted by the Will of the Honkai, Otto figured she'd be beaten into an airheaded goose within ten rounds.
(Dumb Goose.jpg)
Otto's brows locked tightly.
The atmosphere in the room was heavy. Fu Hua crossed her arms over her non-existent chest, carefully studying the projection.
"Is this our location?" Fu Hua asked, pointing at the image. Otto looked where she was pointing and nodded.
"The Honkai energy concentration in the air around here is displayed in a cyclone pattern. The surrounding energy is all moving this way, so why isn't the concentration here increasing?"
That was because someone here was unconsciously absorbing the Honkai energy.
And there were two of them absorbing it together.
Honestly, what's so great about absorbing Honkai energy? You'd be better off absorbing me.
But Fu Hua's observation made Otto realize that he needed to get Kiana and Mei out of Nagazora as soon as possible.
Otherwise, the consequences would be severe.
Yet, even if he took them back to Schicksal HQ, he couldn't just keep them as caged birds for the rest of their lives, never letting them take a single step outside.
The Will of the Honkai would surely stick to him like a plague, waiting for an opportunity to eliminate the guy who was disrupting the order of its examination hall.
The insane idea that Otto had suppressed earlier surged forth once more.
Otto's fingers gently tapped his temple. He fell silent. After a long moment, he finally made his decision.
He decided he would personally go to meet the Will of the Honkai, instead of sitting here and waiting for Its descent.
Otto had always been a man who liked to take the initiative.
"Notify Durandal and Rita. Have them lead the Immortal Blades to Nagazora."
"Instruct the Schicksal personnel in Nagazora to begin evacuating the populace. Move them toward the city's outskirts as much as possible."
"And you must clear out an uninhabited area in Nagazora for me."
"If Anti-Entropy interferes, chop off their hands."
"Tell them that Nagazora is Schicksal's territory. If anyone from Anti-Entropy dares to make a move, they had better be prepared for war."
Otto issued the commands decisively.
Although the Useless Blades were often just background decoration, their members were all outstanding A-rank Valkyries.
"And..."
"Notify Theresa. Tell her to come and see her most beloved grandpa."
Otto decided to temporarily entrust Kiana to Theresa's care.
Since he was going to proactively seek an audience with the Will of the Honkai, he only needed the tool known as Raiden Mei. He wouldn't be at ease if Kiana remained in Nagazora.
He chose Theresa simply because St. Freya Academy and Nagazora were both in the Far East. If something were to happen over there, he could react immediately.
If Kiana were to get into trouble at Schicksal HQ, he would be too far away to help.
Besides, Theresa probably wouldn't treat Kiana poorly.
Once he was done with matters in Nagazora, he could just go and pick Kiana up.
Otto wasn't worried about Theresa refusing to hand her over, either.
He would just have to crush all of her life's work before her very eyes.
She would know what to do.
Your grandpa is still your grandpa.
After making all the arrangements, Otto tugged at his collar, steadying his slightly ragged breath.
I will win.
Otto told himself. If the supreme leader had no confidence, then everything was already over.
His gaze fell upon the image of Nagazora, considering where would be a suitable place to confront the Will of the Honkai. The jungles of humanity were no place for It to run wild.
But then, his eyes suddenly narrowed.
He had noticed a place in Nagazora where Honkai energy was also converging, forming a small cyclone of its own.
It was much fainter than the one at their location. If one didn't look closely, it would be easy to miss.
But it was definitely there.
Placing a finger on the image, Otto frowned. It seemed something else was absorbing Honkai energy here as well.
But Mei and Kiana were both with him. What else was there in Nagazora?
Bronya?
No, she wasn't the motorcycle-riding Motorol-duck just yet.
Then... who was absorbing Honkai energy here?
Otto's eyes widened slightly. He pointed at the area, his left hand pressing against his forehead, an intelligent glint shining in his emerald eyes.
He slowly uttered two names.
"Higokumaru and..."
"The Donkey Fiend."
(My wife.jpg)