Within a mysterious space...
"The Tenth Herrscher has failed. Its Core has been recovered by humanity. The target's threat level has risen further. Capture success rate is zero percent. The Herrscher of Finality's betrayal has been confirmed. All future processes require revision..."
An invisible, formless existence was whispering.
The instant it determined that the Herrscher of Million had failed, Honkai ended its possession of the puppet and fled.
After all, even it did not want to be forcibly knocked offline again. It was an extremely unpleasant experience. Back when it had possessed Senti, Honkai had taken a Taixuan Eminence from Fu Hua.
However, none of that mattered now. What mattered was that, with the Tenth Herrscher defeated, only the Herrscher of Binding and the Herrscher of Corruption remained.
Yet from Honkai's perspective, no matter how much it strengthened the two of them, even if it made them descend together, they probably would not pose any threat to the Current Era while Elias protected it.
Therefore...
"Proposal approved. The Pseudo God Plan submitted by the individual Otto Apocalypse is accepted. Prepare to divert resources. Grant him the Herrscher Core of Binding and assist him in connecting to the Imaginary Tree so he may return five hundred years into the past and begin everything anew."
"Thank you for your assistance, great God of Honkai. I, Otto Apocalypse, shall not disappoint your expectations. I will turn back the hands of time. May we both receive a new beginning and remedy every regret."
The blond, green-eyed man, whose hair was tied in a ponytail and draped over his left shoulder, placed one hand over his chest and bowed elegantly to Honkai like a devout believer before his god.
Although he understood that any attempt to conceal his intentions before the omniscient God of Honkai would be futile, Otto still lowered his head to hide the upward curve of his lips.
Honkai silently observed the hypocritical man before it and judged Otto to be a suitable partner. Not only did he possess sufficient intelligence and ambition, but he was also Elias' enemy.
Most importantly, Otto's plan was precisely what it urgently needed. The Current Era had begun with an impossibly disastrous situation, and by this point, the game had become essentially unwinnable. Honkai desperately wanted to flip the table and restart.
Honkai: (I swear, if I get one chance to start over, I'll choose the recipients of the Cores properly this time! I will never allow another Herrscher to betray me!)
Meanwhile, as Otto stared at the Herrscher Core containing the authority of Binding in his hand, even someone of his composure could not stop his breathing from quickening as a trace of excitement surged through him.
In the end, both parties happily concluded their conversation.
When Otto returned to his senses, he discovered that he was already back at the base, while the Gem of Judgment remained tightly clenched in his hand.
"Phew, I finally succeeded~ Now the second bargaining chip is mine as well. Still, I didn't expect Honkai to agree so decisively. It seems Elias truly has driven it into a corner."
Otto held the Herrscher Core of Binding beneath the light. Compared to this gemstone bestowed by a god, even the most precious jewel in the world would be nothing more than a worthless stone.
He took out a soulium case and carefully placed the Gem of Judgment inside, completely isolating its Honkai energy signature.
At the same time, he reviewed the next stage of his plan.
(The next step is the crucial one. Everything has proceeded smoothly so far. First, I used the Herrscher Core of Million to establish contact with Honkai. Then, just as expected, Elias successfully defeated that Herrscher. Finally, under pressure, Honkai agreed to my plan and handed me this second bargaining chip.)
Although Elias had proven so overwhelmingly capable that Otto, who should have been able to manipulate everything through strategy, had repeatedly suffered setback after setback, he was still Otto Apocalypse.
Even after losing every card in his hand, he had still managed to seize a glimmer of hope for himself.
From the birth of the Herrscher of Million to his acquisition of the Herrscher Core of Binding, everything had proceeded according to his plan.
Earlier, Theresa and the others had been so anxious to locate the final puppet that they had not paid much attention to what Otto had done to it during its confinement. They had assumed he was merely conducting research.
However, that had only been incidental. Otto's true objective was to contact Honkai through the Gem of Domination within the puppet.
And he had succeeded.
That was what had made the transaction just now possible.
"However, a single puppet and one Core do not seem to be quite enough as bargaining chips. Perhaps I still need a third. Fortunately, that should not be difficult. I need only wager everything I possess, don't I? Heh heh~"
Otto narrowed his eyes as he continuously refined his plan. He knew that if he did not act soon, it would probably not be long before a certain savior completely cleared the game known as Honkai.
Once the world truly achieved peace, he would have even less of a chance to fulfill his lifelong wish.
Therefore, he had decided to stake everything on one desperate gamble!
Three bargaining chips. The first was the Herrscher of Million's final puppet, which he had already expended.
The second was the Herrscher Core of Binding that he had just received from the God of Honkai, though the time had not yet come to use it.
The third was everything that belonged to Otto Apocalypse.
"Everything is prepared. All necessary pieces are in place. It is time to begin the plan. As for the few remaining uncertainties and unexpected variables, I can only leave them to fate."
"I, Otto Apocalypse, hereby confirm that in this approaching gamble, one more extravagant than life and death itself, I have prepared everything within my power to prepare."
"Three bargaining chips will suffice. Everything or nothing. I hope that this time, I will obtain the perfect ending."
Otto stared at the ceiling and murmured to himself. After remaining silently motionless for several minutes... he opened a hidden compartment in his drawer and took out a game console and controller.
Otto: "Kallen Fantasy, launch!"
...
Half an hour earlier, at St. Freya Academy.
"Huh? Who hung my dear Snake from a streetlamp?"
After defeating the Herrscher of Million, the Herrscher of Dominance, the Nation of Domination completely collapsed. Once Elias recovered the one million Herrscher Cores, he returned to the academy with everyone else.
Yet shortly after returning, he saw Mobius hanging from a streetlamp with an enormous lump on her head and a wooden sign around her neck that read 'The Fate of a Capitalist.'
Whoooosh...
At that moment, a powerful gust of wind swept past, causing the suspended Mobius to sway slightly.
"Uh, she still hasn't been taken down?"
"Don't take her down yet! Let me get a photo first!"
"Heh heh~ Why don't we just leave Mobius hanging there? Wouldn't she make a fine academy attraction?"
"Agreed. After all, she brought it upon herself."
As the girls stared at Mobius hanging from the streetlamp, none of them showed any intention of helping her. Instead, they eagerly took out their terminals and began snapping commemorative photographs.
They had been too busy searching for the puppet to pay attention earlier. Now that the matter was finally resolved, they naturally could not let such rare entertainment slip away!
The academy headlines for the entire coming month would undoubtedly belong to this snake who had been backstabbed by her own subordinate!
Unaware of the situation, Elias stared in stunned disbelief. Was this the collapse of morality or the corruption of human nature? And Mobius, isn't your popularity a little too terrible?
"Uh, who did something so cruel? Snake might not be a good person, but she's still our companion. Who has the right to treat a Flame-Chaser this way?"
Elias spoke indignantly and prepared to rescue Mobius from the streetlamp.
However...
"Corrupted Klein did it. As for why, Eli, you already understand," Elysia said.
"Ah... Well, never mind, then."
Elias, who had already flown halfway into the air, nearly fell. He awkwardly decided not to rescue her after all. Others might not have the right to treat Mobius this way, but Klein, as her victim, certainly did.
After all, Snake truly owed her quite a lot, such as several months of unpaid wages, an inhuman workload that completely disregarded labor laws, and endless stretches of excessively long overtime.
(Let's leave Snake hanging there. Yes, I'll just pretend I didn't see anything... And later, I'll ask Ely and the others for a few photos to add to my collection.)
Elias coughed lightly and left the scene. Mobius could get herself down once she woke up anyway. Besides, honestly, when it came to someone like her being hung from a streetlamp, one could only say she deserved it.
Capitalists around the world were strongly advised to take this as a warning.
...
After returning to the dormitory...
Under Elias' guidance, the Herrscher of Million's distributed Herrscher Cores converged into a complete Gem of Domination. At the same time, Elias' own authorities were fully restored.
The same was true for the other Herrscher Cores whose authorities had been stolen. At that moment, the Herrschers of St. Freya Academy were reintegrating their Cores without any reversals or unexpected complications.
Through everyone's account, Elias also learned the entire process of locating the final puppet.
"Oh~ So that last puppet belonged to that bastard Otto. I'm a little surprised, but I can't say it was unexpected. Still, we really owe Kiana and Pardo this time. I'll have to buy them some premium canned cat food and gifts later as a proper reward."
When he heard that Pardofelis and Kiana had located the final puppet through sheer luck, Elias did not know whether to laugh or cry.
(So this is the true power of the Current Era's and Previous Era's greatest lucky stars? They actually struck the jackpot on their first try and happened to find their target among eight billion people. That's completely absurd~)
Compared to their heaven-defying luck, even a certain Miss Pink Elf's authority of Origin, which could make wishes come true, seemed rather unimpressive.
(Come to think of it, it isn't strange that Otto became part of the Herrscher of Million. In the original course of fate, he became part of the Herrscher of Dominance. Still, I didn't expect him to cooperate so obediently this time.)
Elias toyed with the Gem of Domination in his hand, feeling certain that someone with Otto's personality must have done something else behind the scenes.
Moreover, had Otto truly wanted to cause trouble and deal with him, there were countless methods he could have used while controlling the final puppet. Elias himself could think of many, such as secretly finding a rocket and launching the puppet directly into outer space.
After all, even though Elias could screen out the malice of all humanity, unless every puppet was completely eradicated, the Herrscher of Million would still retain a spark from which it could revive.
One million enemies who could never be completely killed, each possessing every Herrscher authority, might be unable to defeat Elias, but the threat they posed to the Current Era would be unimaginable.
Had the situation developed that far, even Elias might not have been able to handle it properly.
"By the way, Elias, Grandpa said that in return for handing the final puppet over to us, he hopes you'll have a proper conversation with him. What do you think?"
Theresa spoke while drinking bitter melon juice.
"Why don't you just refuse? Grandpa definitely isn't planning anything good. We should simply ignore him."
"Haha, if Otto heard you say that, Theresa, he'd probably be so heartbroken he'd cough up blood."
Elias could not help chuckling. He raised a hand and ruffled the white-haired girl's head. By now, Otto truly could be considered utterly deserted by everyone around him, with essentially nothing left.
All of Schicksal's S-rank Valkyries—Durandal, Li Sushang, and Rita—had become Elias' people. The same was true of Theresa and Eliana Kaslana, who had inherited Kallen's will.
In addition, more than half of Schicksal's elite Valkyries had defected to St. Freya Academy. Even Amber, that man's personal secretary, had been turned against him by Elias.
Although Elias was certain that Otto would never give up and would undoubtedly continue causing trouble, he was equally confident that no matter what Otto planned to do next, he could keep the man firmly under control!
"Since that guy wants to talk, then we'll talk. But let's leave it for another few days. I need some rest~"
Elias yawned, his eyelids beginning to droop.
"Mm, you've worked hard this time, Elias. Here, the vice principal will reward you with a lap pillow. Get some proper rest."
As Theresa spoke, she pressed his head onto her short, white-stockinged legs. Elias did not stand on ceremony. Although, honestly, Elysia's soft, fleshy thighs still felt the best.
Even so, a lap pillow from a legal loli in white stockings was delightful too~
Elias: (Oh, right. Didn't Fu Hua say she'd confess to me after we dealt with the Herrscher of Million? Where did she go?)