Chapter 145: The Duped Otto
The moment Sirin's consciousness took over Kiana's body, the air across the entire battlefield seemed to freeze.
Purple ripples formed by Honkai energy spread out with her at the center. Rubble and metal fragments on the ground defied gravity, levitating and slowly spinning in the air. Those golden eyes swept across the battlefield, carrying an inhuman coldness and scrutiny.
But her gaze quickly locked onto a single direction—Irene, who had been sent flying by the explosion and caught by a Titan.
"Tsk, how pathetic," Sirin muttered to herself. Her tone carried a trace of deliberately acted mockery. If she hadn't known beforehand, she probably would have genuinely thought Irene was severely injured.
But using the Authority of Death like this... she wondered if God would get angry. Then again, Irene usually used her Authority in even more unorthodox ways, so it should be fine, right?
Subsequently, Sirin's body vanished directly from her spot. When she reappeared, a purple rift suddenly tore open from within that Titan's body.
The purple rift forcefully ripped the Titan apart, and Irene's body was gently caught in Sirin's embrace.
A flash of surprise crossed Irene's eyes. She hadn't expected Sirin to use such a method, but this was fine too. At least this way, Otto would be able to immediately judge what was happening at a glance.
"Ki... a... na...?" Irene spoke with "difficulty," her eyes somewhat unfocused. But then she suddenly went limp, as if she had completely lost all her strength.
"Shut up," Sirin interrupted her, her voice icy, yet the arms holding her were exceptionally steady. Her voice carried a familiar electronic reverberation. "Don't die, human. Your life is mine. Only I can decide when to take it."
This scene, falling into the eyes of the others, triggered entirely different reactions.
"Kiana?" Bronya, who was closest, looked at the somewhat unfamiliar Kiana. "Hurry up and bring Sister Irene back. There are still many Titans over there."
"These pieces of scrap iron?" Sirin lightly snapped her fingers.
The Authority within her body immediately responded. Countless rifts randomly tore open across the battlefield, engulfing those Titans. After the rifts closed, those Titans completely vanished from this world.
Mm, she had learned this move from a game. It was incredibly cool, and much more fun to play with compared to her previous moves.
Seeing those purple rifts tear open, Theresa's eyes widened. She stared at Kiana in utter disbelief. "The Herrscher of the Void? How is this possible?"
Meanwhile, far away at Schicksal HQ, Otto clearly witnessed everything transpiring on the battlefield through the cameras Rita had hacked.
When Sirin tore through space, appeared beside Irene and caught her, and when countless rifts suddenly ripped space apart to devour the Titans...
The wine glass in Otto's hand paused in mid-air. His pupils shrank slightly, and the signature composed smile vanished from his face, replaced by an expression that was a mix of surprise, excitement, and deep thought.
"Interesting..." Otto muttered softly. "The Second Herrscher, Sirin, is actually taking the initiative to protect Irene?"
It didn't make sense. There shouldn't be any connection between Irene and Sirin. If it had been rescuing Raiden Mei, Otto could still understand it, since Mei still carried her gem.
But why Irene? Could it be that Sirin had still been influenced by Kiana over all these years, causing her to develop some different feelings toward the people of St. Freya, or perhaps toward Kiana's closest companions?
Or perhaps there was another reason behind it. How fascinating. Emotions truly were something that would pose a difficult problem for him in the most unexpected of places.
Just as even someone as brilliant as him could make mistakes regarding emotions, sinking deeper and deeper, yet never once considering pulling himself out.
However, it didn't matter whether his guess was correct or not. If it was, then his plan had actually taken a massive step forward ahead of schedule. Even if it wasn't, it still didn't matter.
What he needed could be Sirin, or it might not be Sirin. Right now, regardless of the truth, there was one confirmed fact before his eyes: Sirin had awakened.
This meant his plan could proceed to the next step.
"Rita." Otto spoke into the communicator, his voice returning to its usual composed elegance. "The time has come. Use the item I gave you to invite Miss K423 back."
On the surveillance feed, Rita's figure paused slightly before she softly replied, "Understood, Lord Overseer. In addition, do you also need Miss Irene?"
"Either is fine." Otto gently swirled his wine glass. "Do it if you wish, Rita. I only need the results. Durandal will also arrive to support you shortly; she is nearby."
"Understood, Lord Overseer." Rita nodded. After bowing slightly once more, she closed the comms screen. Subsequently, her fingers lightly brushed against the specialized pouch at her waist.
Aside from some standard consumables, it specifically contained three of a certain type of anti-Honkai weapon Otto had specially handed to her, known as the Godsbane Spear.
It could drastically suppress or even strip away Honkai energy within a short period of time. Theoretically speaking, it was incredibly effective against any organism that heavily relied on Honkai energy, and Herrschers just so happened to fall into this category.
This was something Otto had prepared in advance to deal with various unforeseen circumstances. Otto would never send anyone into an unprepared battle at any time, and right now was exactly the time to put them to use.
On the battlefield, the atmosphere was eerie and tense.
Sirin hovered in mid-air with Irene in her arms. What came next was exactly as they had initially agreed upon. A Herrscher's awakening naturally had to be accompanied by the things a Herrscher's awakening should have.
Destruction.
And right now, there just happened to be something worth destroying that wouldn't cause any disputes. Behind Sirin appeared the Lance of the Void, manifested through her Authority.
With a mere thought, those Lances of the Void immediately shot out from behind her. Like dancing swordsmen in the sky, they pierced through the sturdy armor of one Titan after another.
The originally sturdy armor was easily pierced through, as if it didn't even exist in the face of the Lance of the Void, which possessed spatial severing capabilities.
And she herself, still holding Irene, floated through the air toward a horrified Cocolia, whose face carried a distinct flavor of terror.
"Kiana! Wake up! Don't let her control you!" Theresa shouted loudly, the Judah in her hands radiating golden light. She still hadn't completely wrapped her head around what was going on.
But she was very clear on one thing: the current Kiana was absolutely not the original Kiana. That purple rift and the Lance of the Void weaving through the swarm of Titans—Theresa would never forget them for the rest of her life.
"You idiot Paramecium! Get back here right now!" Himeko also realized something was wrong and yelled for Kiana to return, but Sirin naturally ignored her completely.
However, Sirin just stared with somewhat vacant golden eyes at Cocolia, who was gradually retreating under the cover of the Titans. In her heart, she was continuously poking at Irene: What should we do next?
The original plan was for them to stay in place, wait for the others to arrive, and put on a show of a fake fight. They hadn't anticipated Cocolia's presence at all.
After all, even now, Irene didn't understand why Cocolia had come all this way. But it seemed somewhat inappropriate to just ignore her.
Given that Irene had been "injured" by Cocolia and Sirin had appeared to save her, doing nothing at all would make the situation look a bit flawed.
Watching this increasingly strange Valkyrie floating steadily toward her, Cocolia immediately raised her weapon. "What exactly are you?"
"Noisy." Seeing Cocolia finally react, Sirin breathed a sigh of relief. Subsequently, a golden light flashed in her eyes as another Lance of the Void materialized, shooting straight toward Cocolia.
Just then, Bronya's figure suddenly blocked Cocolia, shielding her behind her back. Project Bunny 19C fiercely charged forward and swatted the Lance of the Void away.
"Step aside, human." Since Bronya was blocking the way, Sirin spoke indifferently. "Or do you wish to be pierced through along with her?"
"Kiana, something is very wrong with you right now." Bronya hid behind Project Bunny 19C. Even though Cocolia had just tried to do that to her, she couldn't simply abandon her in this situation.
"What a foolish human." Sirin raised her hand, as if preparing to command the Lance of the Void to skewer Bronya and Cocolia together.
Right at that moment, a dark shadow approached silently. Rita, having changed into a Godsbane Battlesuit, leaped into the air, using the surrounding Titans as a springboard.
However, Sirin had already noticed her. Or rather, Irene had noticed Rita approaching long ago. As the Herrscher of Death, sensing a living organism was the easiest thing in the world.
And this was exactly what they wanted Rita to do. Therefore, when Rita suddenly leaped from the shadows, the syringe in her hand plunged precisely toward the side of Sirin's neck.
Sirin imitated the expressions of villains she had studied in comics, looking somewhat surprised at the ambushing Rita. She felt the sensation of the needle piercing her skin as a cold liquid was injected into her body.
Sirin immediately felt a powerful suppressive force spread throughout her body. Her originally overflowing Honkai energy receded like a receding tide. This sensation truly felt awful.
She didn't even need to pretend; her body went completely limp, rendered powerless by the massive loss of Honkai energy.
And Irene, who was in her arms, was also conveniently scooped up by Rita, holding one girl under each arm.
"Rita, why are you here?" Theresa's eyes went wide as she stared at the suddenly appearing Rita. If this had been any other time, Rita stepping in to save the day would have naturally been welcomed by everyone.
But that wasn't the case now. Rita had already left a long time ago. Why was she here? Could it be...
Looking at the severely injured Irene in Rita's arms, was this the conspiracy of her Grandpa that Irene had mentioned earlier but refused to elaborate on? Just what exactly was her Grandpa planning to do?
"My apologies, Lord Theresa." Carrying one person in each arm, Rita looked at Theresa, her expression carrying a hint of apology.
"The Lord Overseer has ordered me to invite these two to Headquarters at all costs. Now that I have them, I will be taking my leave."
"I haven't agreed to this yet!!" Seeing Rita turn to leave, Theresa immediately lashed out with her chains. However, just as the chains were about to strike Rita, Theresa suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of her head. A wave of dizziness violently assaulted her mind, and she collapsed to the ground.
Standing behind Theresa, having just lowered a karate chop, was Fu Hua, who had donned a set of black armor at some unknown point. After subduing Theresa, Fu Hua took a step forward, blocking the path between the others and Rita.
"Fu Hua? You..." Theresa struggled to lift her head, staring at Fu Hua, who had just attacked her, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"I'm sorry, Principal," Fu Hua's voice was calm. "But I must ensure they are safely escorted to Headquarters. I do not wish to fight you."
"You're betraying us?" Himeko's voice turned ice-cold, her greatsword already pointing straight at Fu Hua.
"It is not betrayal, but the fulfillment of my duty." Fu Hua shifted into a combat stance, a trace of apology in her eyes. "Rita, take them away. I will buy you time."
Rita nodded without the slightest hesitation. Her Argent Knight: Artemis armor deployed wings of light from its back, and carrying Sirin, she soared into the sky.
Theresa wanted to pursue, but Fu Hua was already standing in her way.
"Get out of the way, Fu Hua!" Theresa's voice burned with anger. She couldn't just let Rita take Irene and Kiana away.
"I'm afraid I cannot comply, Teacher Himeko." Fu Hua took a deep breath, her Shadow Knight armor fully activating. "Please forgive me, but this is necessary."
"I don't care what you consider necessary." Himeko hoisted her greatsword and stood before Fu Hua. "We didn't agree to this meeting. Let them go."
"I'm truly sorry."
High above in the sky, Rita, who was preparing to leave with the two girls, unsurprisingly ran into Wendy, who had just returned after dealing with the three battleships.
Wendy was flanked by cyan hurricanes. "Miss Rita, we haven't agreed to your departure. Please stay right where you are."
"Sigh, how troublesome." Rita looked at Wendy blocking her path. She had intended to resolve this quickly and leave before Wendy could return.
Rita honestly didn't know if she could defeat a Herrscher in her current state. Even though her opponent was a Herrscher who hadn't fully awakened yet, judging from her movements when fighting the Titans, her combat prowess was at least far beyond that of an A-Rank Valkyrie.
Dragging this out wouldn't benefit Rita either. Yet she couldn't possibly abandon the Overseer's orders. What should she do now?
Just as Rita was pondering this, a reassuring voice sounded in her earpiece: "Rita, I've arrived. What do you need me to do?"
Hearing the voice in her ear, Rita breathed a sigh of relief, regaining her confident smile. "I am truly sorry, Miss Wendy. Please forgive me, but I cannot comply."
"These are the Lord Overseer's orders."
"Since you refuse to put them down, then I'll just have to do it myself." A hurricane swelled behind Wendy. Just as she was about to hurl it toward Rita, the voice of the wind warned her that someone had appeared behind her.
Wendy hastily turned around and threw out a wind blade. However, the blade, which was sharp enough to slice straight through a battleship's armor plating, shattered on impact like a mere breeze against the blonde woman engulfed in an ethereal blue light.
"What?!"
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