The sudden voice made Otto's emerald eyes narrow sharply. He immediately reached for the Void Archives hanging at his waist. Golden light flowed in his hand, transforming into the Judgment of Shamash, its muzzle pointed towards the direction of the voice.
However, before he could lock onto the enemy, a hard heel slammed into the wrist of his gun-wielding hand. Accompanied by the creaking sound of Soulium twisting, the Judgment of Shamash slipped from his grasp.
His wrist breaking didn't impede Otto's movements. His other hand braced against the edge of the desk, using his body's momentum to launch a spinning heel kick.
Although Otto rarely fought directly, he was, after all, the Overseer of Schicksal. His combat skills were considerable, and combined with the strength of his Soulium body, this kick was likely comparable to a multi-ton truck crashing at full speed.
However, the invading enemy simply crossed their arms, directly blocking the kick without even taking a step back.
"Haha, not bad, not bad." The girl laughed heartily, directly grabbing Otto's ankle with a backhand grip. "But if this is all you've got, I really don't understand how you managed to kill me back then."
Bang!
Otto, airborne, had no time to react. His body plummeted violently, slamming him down hard.
The solid wood desk instantly shattered into fragments, and even the metal-cast floor cracked deeply.
Blood simulated by Soulium trickled from the corner of his mouth. The heavily injured Otto supported himself, retreating backward. The next second, the spot where he had just stood was stomped into a terrifying crater.
He was in an exceptionally sorry state. One wrist was completely broken, and his left leg was twisted grotesquely. This newly replaced Soulium body looked like it was about to be wrecked again.
"Hahaha, I just wanted to see you in this pathetic state, Otto!" The one-sided beatdown was completely without suspense. Taking advantage of the fight, Otto finally managed to clearly see his enemy's face.
"It's you?"
"You're surprised?" The Herrscher of Sentience, in Fu Hua's form, became even more gleeful, answering her own question. "Yeah, you should be surprised. After all, I was already killed by you. You couldn't possibly imagine I'd be resurrected."
"Indeed, it is quite surprising." Supporting himself against the wall, Otto's emerald eyes gleamed. His surprise wasn't just at [Fu Hua]'s appearance, but also at how the other party had managed to appear silently in his office.
As the Overseer's office in the core area, it was heavily guarded by Valkyries. Bypassing such tight security to infiltrate was definitely not an easy feat.
Moreover, to prevent Ren from retaliating, he had specifically asked Durandal to stay behind. With an S-rank Valkyrie's senses and Otto's own caution, even if it was Ren, he couldn't have slipped in without alerting anyone.
Setting aside the mysterious Herrscher Ren for now, Otto was extremely familiar with Fu Hua's strength and style. If it really was her, she wouldn't have chosen this method.
"Could it be that there's some misunderstanding between us, my old friend? Is there really a need to resort to violence right from the start?" With a guess forming in his mind, Otto put on his usual smile, but his gaze remained fixed on [Fu Hua], searching for more useful information.
The clothes she was wearing seemed to be spare uniforms from the lab. Had she awakened from a treatment pod? But Fu Hua should have stayed with Kiana in consciousness form.
"Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding could there be? You killed me, and now I'm here to take revenge. Isn't that simple enough?" The Herrscher of Sentience at this moment was immersed in the pleasure of beating up her enemy, completely oblivious to Otto's subtle actions.
She took a step forward, looking down condescendingly at the heavily injured Otto. "When you fired that shot at me, did you ever think about your own end?"
"No, no, no, old friend, I wasn't lying. Firing at you was only because your physical condition was extremely poor at the time. And now I've completely healed you, haven't I?"
"Hmph, who knows if a liar like you is really thinking that. Better for me to see for myself." The Herrscher of Sentience took out the black Fenghuang Down, attempting to invade Otto's consciousness.
However, Otto was prepared. The dropped Void Archives transformed into flowing light, forming a golden Fenghuang Down, blocking the consciousness invasion.
At the same time, the miniature Honkai bombs, deployed in the office as an emergency measure, detonated with a deafening roar. The violent blast instantly swept through the confined room, engulfing the Herrscher of Sentience.
"Damn it, that cursed bastard." Emerging from the explosion, the Herrscher of Sentience looked at the ravaged office. Otto was nowhere to be seen.
「You were too careless.」 The Superego consciousness, representing reason, criticized.
"Shut up!" Enraged and frustrated, the Herrscher of Sentience punched through the wall, heading towards the corridor within the building.
Such a violent explosion had completely triggered the Schicksal HQ's alarm. Silently eliminating Otto was no longer possible. If the battlefield expanded, conflict with a large number of Valkyries, even killing some of them, would be unavoidable. [Fu Hua] would not do that.
「He was just stalling for time. Find him, kill him!」 The Id consciousness, driven by instinct, kept urging.
"I know that without you needing to say it!"
After saying that, the Herrscher of Sentience ignored the other two consciousnesses and pursued Otto, following the traces he left behind.
She didn't realize that while she was communicating with the Id consciousness, the black Fenghuang Down had been emitting a faint glow.
…
Long ago, the Will of Honkai had already chosen the Herrscher of Sentience to be born. However, at that time, the Herrscher consciousness was still in gestation, and the Herrscher of Ice and Herrscher of Earth had not yet been born, so it couldn't be considered awakened at all.
Afterwards, the Will of Honkai was destroyed by Ren, but the Honkai itself did not cease to exist.
As time passed, the Herrscher consciousness, based on Fu Hua's body, gradually matured and began to accept memories belonging to Fu Hua.
Fu Hua was a MANTIS Warrior from the Previous Era, dating back more than 50,000 years. These 50,000 years of memories were too vast, not only greatly delaying the Herrscher's birth but also causing this newborn soul to manifest an extra consciousness.
The consciousness constructed from Fu Hua's memories inherited Fu Hua's characteristics: self-discipline, restraint, and morality.
50,000 years of memories overwhelmed this newborn Herrscher, causing her to subconsciously see herself as Fu Hua.
And this was the origin of the Superego consciousness.
In contrast, naturally, there was the Id consciousness, representing desires.
The essence of the Id consciousness was the destructive desire given by the Honkai, just like Honkai beasts, it only needed to attack.
Coincidentally, the Id consciousness should have been transformed from the Will of Honkai, but the Will of Honkai of this world had already been erased by Ren. Therefore, the Id within the Herrscher of Sentience was actually a partial division of Ren's Hive Consciousness.
The black Fenghuang Down was a trap Ren had left for Otto. Its essence was merely a part of the Core of the Domination Authorities, its purpose was precisely to awaken the Herrscher of Sentience who was still in gestation.
After provoking the conflict between the Herrscher of Sentience and Otto, it should have returned to Ren's side.
However, the newborn Herrscher of Sentience subconsciously regarded this core as an extension of her own authority, transforming it into the black Fenghuang Down.
Because the Herrscher of Sentience believed herself to be Fu Hua, and Fu Hua would not use the Authority of Consciousness, so to convince herself to use the Authority of Consciousness, she needed a medium.
She regarded the black Fenghuang Down as the medium for her authority. In this way, the Id consciousness was also influenced by Ren, subconsciously gravitating towards Ren.
It was precisely for this reason that the Herrscher of Sentience instinctively paid attention when she heard the name Ren from Otto.
…
"Unexpected trouble." Ren, who was dozing lightly with Kiana leaning against him, suddenly opened his eyes. Looking at the sleeping face of the girl resting on his shoulder, he sighed softly.
The Herrscher of Sentience was merely a means for Ren to retaliate against Otto; he himself had no interest in her.
And in theory, the Herrscher of Sentience was supposed to restrain Ren's Hive Consciousness. Once, to prevent the Herrscher of Sentience's erosion, he had even specifically learned the Tai Xuan Swordmistress style from Li Sushang.
For Ren, this kind of uncontrolled Herrscher would only be troublesome to deal with. If he couldn't eliminate her, he could only avoid contact.
Of course, the Herrscher of Sentience was occupying Fu Hua's body. Ren couldn't eliminate Kiana's class monitor. Therefore, he could only choose to avoid contact.
However, now the Herrscher of Sentience had unknowingly come into contact with a part of the Core of the Thousand Authorities. Due to the instinctive attraction of the Hive Consciousness, she would sooner or later seek out Ren.
Whether with good intentions or hostility, it meant disrupting Ren's current peaceful life.
One must know that this leisurely time, during which his relationship with Kiana was warming up, was something he had finally managed to obtain.
If the Herrscher of Sentience arrived, it would inevitably ruin his and Kiana's rare vacation.
"I have to find a way to stop her." Ren murmured to himself, starting to formulate a plan in his mind.