After briefly explaining her situation and comforting little Bianca, Luo Lin began to investigate what was going on in this week's refreshed Memorial Arena.
[Hellmaru]
[Jizo Mitama]
Wow, aren't these two the bosses from the Sakura Samsara storyline? I didn't choose Sakura Samsara when I selected the open-world option earlier, are they here for revenge?
The girl continued to scroll up with her eyes —
[This Week's Boss Enemy: False God Otto (+20% Points)]
"Why is it Otto!!!"
Luo Lin thought she was all set after obtaining the Vermillion Knight Eclipse. She was ready to stand proud in the Abyss and the Arena, but now she's encountering three tough opponents in the Memorial Arena.
Hellmaru has ridiculously high fire resistance, and both Jizo and Otto require physical output. They're totally incompatible with the Vermillion Knight!
Wait, can't the Vermillion Knight just wield her sword without inflicting fire damage?
[In reality, yes. In challenges like the Memorial Arena and the Abyss where points are needed, no.]
Luo Lin couldn't help but feel helpless. That's just how life is; she had to accept it.
Himeko Murata perked up her ears. "What? I thought I heard you calling the Overseer's name."
"You didn't mishear. It's indeed Otto. Otto appeared in the Memorial Arena this week."
Himeko was shocked, her mouth half-open. "Huh? Bishop Otto is a bureaucrat, isn't he?"
"That's the Otto who's controlled Schicksal for five hundred years. Do you think he'd be in his current position without some skills?" Luo Lin rolled her eyes.
"Well, when you put it that way..." Himeko started to sweat. "Wait a minute, did you say Bishop Otto has controlled Schicksal for five hundred years?"
Luo Lin looked at Himeko's surprised expression and helplessly said, "He didn't even try to conceal it, okay? Teacher Himeko, if you use your authority a bit, you'll find out that Otto has held the position of Schicksal Bishop for five hundred years."
"This is... truly..." Himeko was amazed. "I'd like to see Bishop Otto's combat style!"
After all, Himeko Murata is a warrior against Honkai. Warriors naturally have a curiosity about strong opponents, especially when they learn that the top boss of their organization is quite formidable. That just fires them up even more.
Teacher Himeko eagerly picked up the Daybreak Greatsword, but Luo Lin stopped her.
"Teacher Himeko, do you want to use the Eclipse Armor we used before?"
"What do you mean...?"
A few minutes later, the Vermillion Knight - Himeko Murata, moved her wrist, feeling the surge of power from the Eclipse Armor. The previously somewhat heavy Daybreak Greatsword felt light in her hands, making Himeko slightly uncomfortable.
Now, Luo Lin lent the Vermillion Knight - Himeko the Eclipse Armor, while she herself returned to her original form to continue supporting. Anyway, Luo Lin believed Himeko could perfectly unleash the performance of the Vermillion Knight.
Luo Lin opened the Valkyrie interface and looked at her translucent, action figure-sized self.
[Luo Lin - Valkyrie Dark Feathers]
[B-Rank (Cannot be upgraded through character fragments)]
[Lv.?? — Biologic Attribute (click to switch attribute)]
Ignoring the somewhat edgy title, the girl noticed a small bubble floating above her mini head. Unable to resist her curiosity, she poked at it.
The miniature Luo Lin shook her body and sighed, "Sigh... I don't want to go to the Abyss..."
"Pfft!" Luo Lin burst out laughing.
So even touch interaction is possible?!
Luo Lin's expression turned somewhat eerie as she continued to poke herself a few times, hearing phrases like "Good morning, good afternoon, good evening," "I really want the new weapons of Shicksal's New Elite..." "I really want more crystals..." and so on.
Could these all be her inner thoughts?
After a few seconds of hesitation, Luo Lin decided to check her skill panel first.
No Leader skill, no evasion skill, and no ultimate skill. The regular attack reads "Versatile: Launches consecutive attacks based on the weapon used."
Under passive skills, there's only "Edge of Taixuan - Heart Essence: Normal attacks and branching attacks will receive additional attack power bonuses, which change with the base attack power."
The special attack section had a bunch of flashy descriptions, all effects caused by the throwing weapons she carries. But upon closer examination of the damage multipliers, they were all disappointingly low.
"I... I'm so bad at this."
Luo Lin quickly closed her skill interface, skipped the empty Stigmata configuration, and began to study the button for switching attributes.
It turns out that Luo Lin can now freely switch between the Biologic/Mecha/Psychic attributes.
While Quantum and Imaginary attributes are also present, they are currently unusable and grayed out, presumably unlockable through some means.
The girl's face lit up with joy. Now she can adjust her attributes to gain advantage bonuses when fighting in the Abyss!
Luo Lin then examined her body. In the system space, the injuries caused by the Herrscher of the Void had disappeared without a trace. She took the opportunity to enjoy this refreshing feeling for a brief moment.
Because Luo Lin was sure that she would soon be poked into a hedgehog by Otto using Void Archives!
"Oh, by the way, I haven't had a chance to ask you yet, what's the deal with this sudden appearance of my body?"
Himeko Murata, after adapting for about ten minutes, gradually understood how to use the Vermillion Knight Eclipse. She swung the Daybreak Greatsword, leaving two scorching marks in the air.
"Consider it a reward for defeating the Herrscher of the Void, Teacher Himeko."
Luo Lin called up the system panel and lightly pressed the "Challenge" button for "False God Otto," "Anyway, this space has already brought us enough surprises."
"You're right."
Amidst the familiar alarm, Luo Lin and Himeko took their positions facing the golden-haired man in formal attire as he materialized from the void.
Otto Apocalypse had a slight smile on his face as he floated in the air.
"Otto..."
This wasn't the first time Luo Lin had seen Otto's true face. After all, she had worked on the floating island of Schicksal Headquarters for some time, and had seen Otto go out for inspections from afar, causing screams from the staff and Valkyries.
Even if Luo Lin had a lot of opinions about Otto himself, she couldn't help but admit that when the golden-haired man used his personality and charisma, he looked like a true saint.
Every move he made was particularly eye-catching, his smile was natural, and his lake-green eyes were sharp but not aggressive, making him a leader who could lead humanity across the Honkai and into a brand new future.
But the Otto standing in front of them now had retracted all his gentleness. Despite still smiling, the tilted corners of his eyebrows and the contracted pupils made his smile devoid of warmth, even chilly...
A boiling intent to kill!
"Bishop-sama..."
Himeko had never imagined that Bishop Otto could show such an expression. She even felt a cold sweat forming on her back.
Without saying a word, Himeko reached out and held the Daybreak Greatsword.
Luo Lin adjusted her posture, ready to take action at any time.
But just as Himeko and Luo Lin were about to strike, a golden light suddenly enveloped the entire area, and Otto's white formal attire instantly melted, twisting and stretching into a combination of gold and black.
A black V-shaped mask covered the man's face with the supreme authority condensed into a core, and the power of imaginary numbers flowed behind him, finally forming a circular object representing divinity —
"Silence!"
A golden harp-shaped shield suddenly appeared in front of Otto, and after a dull sound, Himeko's attacks couldn't advance an inch. Meanwhile, the False God Otto lifted a giant sword overflowing with energy high into the air and fiercely chopped downwards!
Exaggerated crescent energy spewed from his blade, blocking Himeko's hurried defense. Then came the second, and the third sword!
Flames clashed with arc lights, and the dispersed energy even formed a moderate-sized gust of wind, blowing Luo Lin's hair and making her face look ugly.
She held her assault rifle, and the bullets made of soulium material sparked brightly against Otto's black constructs, leaving hardly any marks.
So Luo Lin aimed at the rotating ring behind Otto instead, eliciting a new reaction — the wings of the False God Otto began to spin, and flying daggers made of imaginary energy flew out from the core, targeting Luo Lin like floating cannons.
"I'm doomed, aren't I?"
A strong sense of crisis made Luo Lin throw down a smoke bomb and take cover, using the smoke as a shield to fly away.
The next moment, six black and golden energy cannons swept across the area, dissipating the smoke that obscured their view.
Luo Lin was somewhat disheveled, laying on the ground but she couldn't help but smile.
At least she wasn't instantly killed, right?
Under pressure from Himeko Murata, the False God Otto had to focus most of his attention on the Vermillion Knight, giving Luo Lin a considerable attack window.
She stood up and smashed two flying daggers surrounding Himeko, then threw grenades and flashbangs to hinder Otto's assault.
Himeko also took advantage of the timing of the grenade explosions to advance. The lyre-shaped shield that should have blocked her sword was pushed aside by the grenade shrapnel and she cleverly bypassed the shield, landing a blow on Otto.
"Crack!"
Himeko's face lit up with joy. There's hope!
She clearly saw a large piece of the black construct of Otto being chopped off by her sword. Although Himeko had exerted a lot of effort, this proved that Otto was not an opponent they couldn't defeat!
Next was the showdown between the Vermillion Knight and the False God Otto, with towering flames and golden light occupying half of the battlefield each, and Luo Lin struggling to survive amidst the barrage of bullets, lasers, and sword slashes.
As time passed, Luo Lin slowed down due to the consumption of her stamina.
Which resulted on her getting sent out of the battlefield.
First, she was pierced in the stomach by the shards of the flying daggers, then due to being unable to dodge because of the intense pain, she was directly hit by Otto's sword slash, sending her flying diagonally.
But Himeko also seized this opportunity when Otto switched targets to try to deal with Luo Lin.
The Valkyrie activated the Eclipse Armor and injected high-concentration Honkai energy from the handle into the Daybreak Greatsword, and two circular energy rings became increasingly bright.
Then, with a roar, Himeko slashed out the flames!
This time, Otto didn't have time to raise his shield. The construct body was completely dispersed by the flames and crashed onto the ground with a clatter.
"Did we succeed?"
Himeko looked at the scene in front of her in disbelief, deeply feeling the power of the Eclipse Armor.
Wait, it's not over yet?
Himeko looked at the scattered parts on the ground, and as she was about to strike again, she saw her blade pass through Otto's body as if he was mere air.
Phase Shift of the Herrscher of the Void?!
A weak voice came from the side: "Hit... cough... the golden core...!!"
The core?!
Himeko looked around and saw a golden sphere drifting away surreptitiously.
The next moment, the flames illuminated its shell —
[Congratulations, "Boss Enemy: False God Otto (C-Rank)" challenge successful!]
Although it's much weaker, at least it's done in one go, It was very satisfying.
Luo Lin mused as she closed her eyes with satisfaction while waiting to be revived.