For a moment,
watching Kiana trapped within the Barrier of Binding,
all the viewers felt a wave of panic rise in their hearts.
It was as if they themselves were experiencing Kiana's confusion and helplessness—
and sensing Otto's unprecedented power and mystery!
Could this… truly be the might of the Will of the Honkai?!
Otto was about to take over divine authorities one by one.
God.
What an overwhelming title.
What a mysterious existence.
Power that stood above all Herrschers—
Just how terrifying would it be?
And would the world… truly be destroyed by Otto's hand?!
[Keqing: Hang in there, Kiana!!]
[Xiangling: Damn it… if only we were a bit earlier…]
[Klee: Otto! Big bad guy!! Don't run!!]
[March 7th: That's right! Go for it! Defeat Otto!!]
[Kiana: I have to stop this lunatic! Kiana Kaslana—let's go!!]
[Himeko (Star Rail): You can do it.]
[Theresa: This… is the Authority of Binding?!]
[Einstein: It really is… just as Amber said?!]
[Tesla: Otto… Otto actually mastered the Herrscher of Binding's authority?!]
[Tesla: How is that even possible?!]
[Herta: So this is… the Imaginary Tree's gift!]
The scene shifted.
While Kiana was trapped within the Binding barrier—
Inside the church,
Otto's voice echoed, almost as if he were speaking to himself.
"Yes. This is perfect."
"Come and try to stop me—Durandal, Kiana, and… Theresa."
"Consider it your farewell performance, dedicated to me."
Otto gazed toward the radiant light shrouding the outside of the church.
It was so sacred—
like the stairways to heaven described in myths.
Meanwhile, outside the church—
(What… is going on? I can clearly feel my power, yet I can't use it…)
Having lost her greatsword, Kiana could only watch helplessly as Otto strolled away, merging into the eerie curtain of light.
But when she tried to cross the light screen to continue her pursuit,
her hair stood on end.
It felt as if every cell in her body was warning her to stop.
(What is this…? This light curtain is wrong…)
In the face of an extreme sense of danger,
Kiana ultimately retreated from the light screen instead.
At that moment, Bronya arrived at the church's perimeter.
"Kiana, are you alright?"
"I'm fine… but I couldn't stop Otto. During our fight, this light curtain suddenly appeared and separated us. He's on the other side now…"
Kiana's voice was filled with deep frustration.
Bronya sensed the abnormality as well, frowning.
"The closer I get to this place, the heavier my body feels. This sensation… it's similar to when my power was stolen by puppets—but also different…"
Just then, a communication came through from Theresa.
"We detected a massive light barrier appearing around the church from the Hyperion. The energy readings are extremely abnormal—what have you observed on site?"
"The barrier seems to be something Otto deployed to keep us out. After it rose, he entered the church alone."
"And when it appeared, he mentioned something about a gift from the Imaginary Tree, and divine authority."
"Oh—and when I arrived, he was holding Black Abyss White Flower, saying it was left behind by the first guest."
Kiana quickly summarized the situation.
Upon hearing Black Abyss White Flower, Theresa immediately tensed.
"Black Abyss White Flower? The first guest… could that be… Durandal?"
"Isn't she Otto's subordinate? Did they turn on each other?"
"I don't know. All I know is that everyone's been cut off outside the church by this barrier. Black Abyss White Flower is planted right in front of us. And what's strange is—this barrier drains and suppresses Herrscher powers."
"…"
"There's no longer any doubt. All signs point to this barrier being a manifestation of the Herrscher of Binding's authority!"
"Like the Grace Field!"
"The Herrscher of Binding?! Are you saying one has appeared in this town?!"
"Stay calm. We're talking about the authority of the Herrscher of Binding. At the very least… we haven't detected the emergence of a new Herrscher core."
"A mimicked Oath of Judah couldn't possibly generate a barrier on this scale. Combined with what Otto said, this looks more like a power originating from the Imaginary Tree."
"But regardless, the situation is extremely dire. We need to find a way to deal with the barrier and get inside to knock Otto down as soon as possible!"
"Kiana, Bronya—have everyone retreat to a safe area and stand by. I'll discuss countermeasures with the Doctors. Remember! Do not approach the barrier! If this truly is the power of Binding, it could cause irreversible damage to your bodies!"
For a time,
internal communications were filled with frantic discussion.
Theresa and the others quickly reached a conclusion—
This light barrier was indeed created by the Authority of Binding.
As unbelievable as it sounded, based on Kiana and the others' reports…
Otto must have used some extraordinary method.
Or perhaps, just as he claimed—
This was… divine authority?!
No matter what,
they had to resolve the barrier as quickly as possible.
Outside the screen,
all the extraordinary beings clenched their fists.
Others might not fully grasp it—
but they knew.
Kiana and Theresa had less than twelve hours left.
If what Otto said was true…
After twelve hours!
Otto would become unstoppable!
The entire world would cease to exist—
reset to the state it was in over five hundred years ago!
[Himeko (Honkai): Kiana, be careful!!]
[Theresa: Who can still stop Grandpa…]
[Ningguang: Durandal has already been sealed in Imaginary Space…]
[Tesla: Damn it! We're running out of time!!]
[Candace: The key issue is… time!]
[Kamisato Ayaka: There's no time to slowly think this through…]
[Jing Yuan: Gradually acquiring divine authority…]
[Kafka: Otto's plan truly is layered to perfection.]
[Kiana: Is he really going to succeed…?! How can that be allowed!]
The atmosphere in the chat grew increasingly tense.
If the Doctors of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy failed to break this barrier within the next eleven—or twelve—hours…
Then everything would be meaningless.
On-screen, inside the Hyperion's command center—
"Ahhh, this is making me furious!! That bastard—if he's got guts, he should come out and fight fair! Hiding inside a church—what kind of cowardly nonsense is that?!"
"Calm down, Dr. Tesla. Complaining won't change the situation. Besides… we still have some methods worth trying."
"Huh? Egghead, if you've got an idea, spit it out already!"
"Perhaps… we can try using the Moonlight Throne aboard the Hyperion to break the barrier."
"The Moonlight Throne? Isn't that weapon designed to deal with Herrschers?"
"The reason the Moonlight Throne can counter Herrschers is because it converts Honkai energy inside a Herrscher into conventional energy. In other words, its attacks themselves do not belong to the Honkai category."
"As long as we supply it with additional Honkai energy, it can function as an extremely high-output energy beam weapon."
"Against the Authority of Binding, using Herrscher powers or conventional Honkai weapons would be like smashing an egg against a rock."
"But conventional energy weapons are different—we wouldn't need to worry about that, and could bombard it freely."
"Damn it! If I'd known, I would've brought all the Silver Bullets!"
"In any case, one thing is certain: no matter how the barrier realizes the Authority of Binding, it must rely on some operational mechanism to dissipate energy."
"As long as there's a mechanism, there's a tolerance threshold."
"The Authority of Binding will naturally neutralize conventional energy as well—but precisely because that's not its primary focus, our output has a better chance of exceeding that threshold!"
At once—
Einstein's reasoning left everyone feeling as if they'd had a sudden revelation!
That's right!
The Authority of Binding was deadly against Herrschers—
but its defense against conventional attacks had to be weaker!
Like a boss with maxed-out magic resistance—
you only needed overwhelming physical damage to defeat it!
And right now, the Moonlight Throne was perfectly suited to play that role!
[Ningguang: As expected of Dr. Einstein!]
[Keqing: Anti-Entropy's doctors really deliver when it counts.]
[Herta: …Einstein, is it?]
[Tesla: Egghead, you're amazing! Hahaha!]
[Kiana: That's great! They came up with something so quickly!]
[Himeko (Honkai): It's definitely worth trying—I think the feasibility is high!]
[March 7th: Everyone, go for it!! Rush in and scare Otto half to death!!]
[Silver Wolf: Otto probably never imagined his firewall could be cracked this easily!]
"But… what if the Moonlight Throne's output still can't reach the barrier's threshold?"
"Then we'll have to find another solution."
"In other words—just to be safe, we should dump all of the Hyperion's stored energy into it and gamble!"
"But if we let the Moonlight Throne fire at maximum output and still fail… we'll lose all of the Hyperion's combat capability."
"True. Given Otto's calm demeanor, he likely still has contingencies. But regardless—the plan itself is sound. The Moonlight Throne's power settings and preparations should be left to the two Doctors."
As everyone had discussed—
there were no other options left.
Even if it meant exhausting all of the Hyperion's energy,
this was the only path forward!
Otto had left them no alternatives.
After notifying Kiana and the others to retreat to a safe distance,
Tesla and Einstein finished calibrating the Moonlight Throne.
"Test firing power set to 20%, as per Dr. Einstein's plan. The Moonlight Throne is ready at any time."
"Good. Kiana, have you all withdrawn to safety?"
"We've regrouped at a safe location!"
"Dr. Tesla, we're ready!"
"Hyperion anti-Herrscher weapon—main cannon, Moonlight Throne—activate!"
As the Moonlight Throne unfolded,
the Hyperion resonated with the roar of energy gathering—
like countless turbines spinning at once!
"System control—ready!"
"Output control—ready!"
"Target—locked!"
"Range deviation—adjusted!"
"Moonlight Throne—fire!!"
At the order—
a beam of white light shot forth like lightning, striking the barrier!
With a thunderous explosion!
The earth shook violently!
Before everyone's stunned eyes—
a clear breach appeared in the barrier!
Instantly—
cheers rose among those watching!
But in the very next second—
to everyone's utter shock—
the barrier… repaired itself at an astonishing speed!
"Tch… damn it… as expected, it wasn't going to be that simple!"
In the command room, Tesla clenched her fist.
"That bastard didn't just prepare this damn shield—he even accounted for how to repair it! Or is this part of his authority too?!"
"Egghead, and Changguang—based on that test shot, have you calculated the barrier's threshold?"
"Of course, Dr. Tesla. We have one piece of good news, and one piece of bad news."
"Huh?! Now of all times you pull this routine? Just say it!"
"The good news is—the Moonlight Throne's attack is effective, and we've obtained a precise energy threshold."
"The bad news is—the threshold is extremely high. Even if we expend the remaining 80% of the Hyperion's energy, it still wouldn't be enough to completely destroy the barrier."
"If the barrier isn't fully destroyed, it will regenerate automatically—just as Miss Kiana observed."
"To completely destroy it, we would need to simultaneously mobilize five times the Hyperion's total energy in Honkai output."
The command room fell silent.
Even Einstein's voice carried a hint of bitterness.
"Leaving aside how we'd even concentrate that much energy into the Hyperion… just the theoretical power requirement alone far exceeds the Moonlight Throne's maximum firing capacity."
Einstein's words echoed through the command room—
and into the hearts of everyone watching.
The Moonlight Throne's attack did work against Otto's Binding barrier.
It could breach it.
But to truly destroy the barrier—
to exceed its regeneration threshold—
would require five fully charged Hyperions,
and a Moonlight Throne capable of firing five times its maximum output!
No matter how you looked at it,
none of that was achievable for Schicksal or Anti-Entropy right now!
[Keqing: That doesn't sound like something that can be done at all…]
[March 7th: Damn it… we're so close, and yet…]
[Herta: It's simply a matter of stacking energy beyond the defense threshold—yet it's an impossible task.]
[Tesla: Exactly. And they're under too much time pressure to consider more options.]
[Theresa: Five Hyperions' worth of energy… how could that ever be possible…]
[Kiana: But… are we really supposed to just let that bastard Otto carry out his scheme?!]
[Himeko (Honkai): If the most direct method won't work, then we'll have to find another way!]
[Himeko (Honkai): I believe Schicksal and Anti-Entropy's people can still save this world!]
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