"I never thought… that I would suffer such a defeat. Heh… Haha… I truly underestimated you all."
Otto was being held midair by the throat, gripped tightly by Elias.
The once untouchable Overseer of Schicksal now looked so battered and pitiful that it was hard to believe he was the sa man who had stood so high monts ago.
Especially that once-handso soulium face—
Now, it was deeply caved in, twisted into an ugly and grotesque form.
"It's ti for you to pay the price, Otto."
"Ugh—AAAAHHHH!!"
A horrifying pain tore through Otto, forcing an agonized scream from his lips.
His soulium body, which should have been completely devoid of pain receptors, was now wracked with an agony so unbearable that even the words "soul-crushing" failed to describe it. It felt as if every cell in his body was being subjected to an inescapable torture.
This was the power of the Herrscher of Death—the most terrifying of Elias' five authorities when used against humans.
In an instant, Elias had bestowed biological properties onto Otto's soulium body, transforming it from a construct of nanochanical tal into a true, living human body—complete with hypersensitive pain receptors.
And then, he manipulated every cell in that body, forcing them to die in the most excruciating manner possible, only to regenerate again—an endless cycle of agony and rebirth.
Even the strongest-willed madman would be unable to suppress their screams under such tornt.
Previous Era soulium may have been powerful, but in the face of Herrscher authority, even it could not defy the impossible.
"This is the power of the Herrscher of Death that you've long sought after. Experience it firsthand. I know you won't die even if I destroy this body—but at the very least… I can make you suffer."
"Hahaha… By all ans, do as you wish, Herrscher of the Void. But don't think for a second that this is over."
Even as his cells were repeatedly destroyed and reborn in tornt, Otto Apocalypse still managed to smile. His gaze even flickered toward the violet-haired girl behind Elias—Sirin.
Had it not been for this girl struggling so desperately as if seeking death itself, things would not have turned out this way.
Otto had suffered failures before, but never had he imagined that one day he would lose because of a 14-year-old girl.
Otto Apocalypse would etch this mont into his mory. Feelings—especially the will to protect those one loved—were capable of producing miraculous strength.
"Cecilia, Siegfried, Theresa, why aren't you attacking? As Overseer of Schicksal, I order you—strike down the Herrscher of the Void!"
"Apologies, Overseer. We refuse."
"The Kaslana family will never be your accomplices. Forget it."
"Grandfather, the one who needs to give up is you!"
"..."
Otto stared coldly at the three of them.
Cecilia, Siegfried, and Theresa—while they were his subordinates, they were not his puppets. They would not blindly obey his every command.
"Alright, alright~ If that's how it is, then you can all die along with the Herrscher of the Void."
BOOM—!!
As soon as the words left his lips, Otto detonated his own soulium body. The explosion was imnse, but ultimately, it could not harm a single person present.
And the very next second—
Otto's consciousness reawakened.
He reconnected to another soulium body stationed on Schicksal's floating island and imdiately issued a command to the Valkyrie forces already stationed in Siberia.
"All Valkyries, hear my command! Launch an all-out assault on the Herrscher of the Void. He is the apostle of Honkai—the enemy we must defeat at all costs!"
"Furthermore, Cecilia Schariac, Siegfried Kaslana, and… Theresa Apocalypse have betrayed Schicksal and sided with the Honkai. The latter must be captured alive—the forr two are to be killed on sight."
Otto had long been prepared for war.
Within re seconds—
After Otto's self-destruction and retreat, Schicksal's forces imdiately took control of the battlefield. Over a hundred A-rank Valkyries and an array of Schicksal's advanced war chs launched their assault.
Although Cecilia was revered as the Holy Maiden among Valkyries, her reputation had little influence over these particular warriors—most of them were Otto's personally selected elite guards.
Her na alone was not enough to shake their resolve, let alone affect the emotionless Schicksal war machines.
"Cecilia, Herrscher of the Void, what should we do now? Are we really going to fight against these Valkyries?" Theresa asked anxiously.
"We'll just have to avoid striking their vitals. Most of them have been deceived by the Overseer—it's clear he's exploiting our hesitation to his advantage. But…"
"If that's all he's counting on, then bring it on! No matter how many co, it won't be a problem. After all, we've got a Herrscher on our side!" Siegfried declared confidently.
And he was right.
Even without considering him, Cecilia and Theresa were all S-rank warriors of Schicksal, capable of taking on hundreds alone. With Elias, the Herrscher of the Void, as their ally, there was nothing to fear.
After all, large-scale annihilation was a Herrscher's specialty.
Though the Valkyries had co prepared, equipped with anti-Herrscher gear such as Honkai-resistant masks and specialized battle suits designed to counter the Herrscher of Death's abilities, it made little difference.
Even without the Gem of Conquest, Elias' four remaining authorities were more than enough to dominate the battlefield.
And so—
"Hurricanes—sweep them away!!"
Dozens of towering tornadoes erupted, instantly throwing the Valkyries and war chs into complete disarray.
What could a re few hundred Valkyries do?
What difference did a thousand war chs make?
The storm howled, space trembled, flas devoured, and the mist of death spread. Even without the Gem of Conquest, Elias remained an unstoppable force.
Not to ntion—Benares was also a formidable Herrscher-level entity. Now having reverted to her dragon form, she unleashed torrents of Honkai energy, tore through enemies with razor-sharp claws, executed devastating dive attacks, and swept her tail in a massive arc.
The overwhelming power of an almost-apocalyptic Judgent-class Honkai beast left everyone in shock.
"How is this possible?! Is this the strength of a Herrscher?!"
"We can't win—damn it!"
"Even Lady Cecilia has turned against us…"
"Does the Overseer have another plan?!"
Desperation filled the Valkyries' hearts. Against a true Herrscher, even A-rank Valkyries were no different from D-rank foot soldiers.
Their only hope now rested on their leader.
And Otto—
Naturally, would never 'disappoint' them.
To Otto Apocalypse, these hundreds of A-rank Valkyries and near-thousand war chs—forces that accounted for nearly a fifth of Schicksal's military strength—were nothing more than pawns, re sacrifices to stall Elias in place.
They were never ant to win—only to buy ti for Otto's true trump card.
"Launch the Honkai Fissile Bombs—fire everything!"
"Schicksal's First, Second, and Third Armories—initiate full missile launch sequence!"
"Target coordinates: Siberia, location XX, XX, XX. All warheads set to controlled detonation mode!"
Thousands of missiles rained down from the sky—
Completely engulfing the battlefield.
To prevent Elias from using spatial authority to escape, the entire blast radius was centered around him, expanding to a full ten-kiloter-wide destruction zone.
Every single heavy missile in Schicksal's arsenal was unleashed in that instant.
But amidst them—
Lurking within the storm of destruction—
Were over a dozen Honkai Fissile Bombs.
Otto's true trump card.
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