On the big screen, the video slowly plays.
A line of subtitles appears.
[22 hours after Kiana was captured, Schicksal Headquarters.]
In the video, Otto's figure appears in the laboratory, his voice carrying a trace of mockery, "Continue injecting Honkai energy into the experimental chamber, this level of concentration isn't enough to wake her up."
Inside the experimental chamber, Kiana is bound. Otto looks at her with eyes as if gazing at a perfect piece of art.
He smiles faintly, his tone laced with some sarcasm, "Heh… long time no see, welcome home, K423."
As the Honkai energy concentration rises, the solution inside the cultivation pod starts boiling, fine bubbles continuously emerging.
The unconscious Kiana gradually awakens, the alarm of the monitoring device blaring wildly. Her eyes slowly open, the originally sky-blue pupils gradually replaced by golden light.
"Come to my side, my kin." Her voice is ethereal and majestic.
At the same time, beneath the Siberian glacier, a blue giant dragon bursts through the thick ice layer, soaring straight into the sky.
"Raaaaah!"
Benares's roar echoes across the firmament, as if declaring the queen's arrival.
"Oh? Come to protect your queen?"
Facing the incoming Honkai, Otto remains calm, "Deploy full-domain defense satellites, notify all Valkyrie squads. Level 1 combat readiness."
———
[Real World]
When Otto appeared on screen, many netizens immediately sent him warm greetings. And at the moment they saw Otto turning Kiana into a Herrscher, those greetings peaked.
[I'm speechless, what's with this Otto? Isn't Schicksal supposed to be an organization protecting the world? Why are they artificially creating Herrschers?]
[Isn't this exactly how it goes in movies? The leader of a justice organization turns out to be a conspirator trying to rule the world.]
[So from the looks of it, Otto must be the final big boss, right?]
[Based on my years of experience, the next plot should be saving Kiana, then the king-versus-king battle where they defeat Otto.]
On the other side, the real-world priest Otto watches the video version of himself, completely dumbfounded.
He finally understands why his colleagues and the children at the welfare institute have been looking at him strangely lately.
Fear, suspicion, even a trace of disgust.
At this moment, his sister Risa leans over, grinning, "Wow~ As expected of you, didn't think you even had the talent to be a villain."
Otto immediately wants to refute, but when he notices the complicated look in his wife Kallen's eyes, he feels like sitting on pins and needles, a thorn stabbing his back, a fishbone stuck in his throat.
"Kallen, you know me," he hastily explains, "I couldn't even bear to kill a bug since I was little, how could I possibly be a villain?"
Kallen frowns slightly, as if wanting to speak but stopping.
Risa, on the other hand, fans the flames on the side, "But, isn't that how it always goes in movies? On the surface a priest, in reality a pervert or something..."
"Risa, shut your mouth!" Otto glares in anger.
Silenced by being pinched, Risa cheekily sticks out her tongue, no longer speaking, but her heart is already filled with glee.
———
[Back to the video.]
Three hundred kilometers away from Schicksal Headquarters, a ship is rapidly flying toward the base.
As the camera moves closer, when those familiar figures appear on screen, people in the real world also feel greatly uplifted.
Besides the main cast Raiden Mei and Bronya, Theresa and Himeko also appear on screen.
To rescue Kiana, St. Freya Academy has sent out all their elite forces.
———
And most reassuring to the netizens is, that man also appeared on the battleship.
[All-star lineup!]
[With Emperor Van, this wave is guaranteed!]
[Didn't Van get seriously injured before? How is he fine so quickly?]
[Don't ask, if you ask, it's just because Van is awesome!]
———
[Back to the video.]
"We're about to enter the airspace over headquarters. Everyone, prepare for battle."
As expected, just as Himeko finishes speaking, they're attacked by the headquarters. Looking at the swarm of drones ahead, Himeko clicks her tongue in dissatisfaction.
"If we had the Hyperion, these enemies wouldn't be anything."
"Stop complaining, Himeko," Theresa comforts her, "Before that thing's modifications are complete, we still can't let the Hyperion sortie."
"Of course I know, after all, that thing determines whether we can rescue Kiana or not."
With that said, Himeko fully focuses on piloting the battleship, dodging enemy attacks.
As for the others, they're not idle either, all controlling the battleship's turrets to counterattack.
After taking down wave after wave of drones and even a battleship, Schicksal's attacks finally come to a halt. Just as everyone takes a breath of relief, an unidentified communication comes in.
After confirming connection, Otto's punchable face appears on the battleship's main screen.
"Theresa, my dear granddaughter, what do you plan to do with those toys? Go back obediently, everyone goes through a rebellious phase, I won't blame your immaturity."
"Still as gentle as ever, Grandpa."
Facing Otto's persuasion, Theresa clenches her fists.
"But, this is my answer!"
Just as she finishes speaking, the ship's main cannon finishes charging.
With a massive beam firing out, the protective shield deployed by Schicksal Headquarters is effortlessly shattered.
"This time, I won't yield to you again!"
After saying that, Theresa ends the call, commanding the ship to officially break into Schicksal Headquarters airspace.
———
Seeing St. Freya Academy's crew piloting the ship forward without hesitation, netizens in the real world are boiling with excitement.
[Well done, Theresa! That's how you slap Otto's face hard!]
[That damn Otto still wants us to go back? I swear I won't go back unless we beat that ugly mug of yours to a pulp!]
[Though saying this now might kill the mood a bit, but… Theresa is already 40, isn't using "rebellious phase" a bit off?]
[Damn, I didn't even notice until you mentioned it!]
[What's off about it? A grandpa calling his granddaughter rebellious, what's the issue? If not rebellious phase, you want him to say menopause?]
[Theresa: "Menopause? Come here, let me add a buff for you with my Judah!"]
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