Boom!
Accompanied by a continuous series of explosions, billowing smoke rose from the Schicksal HQ building. The walls, cast from alloyed concrete, were no stronger than fragile paper, easily torn to shreds by unimaginable force, collapsing with a deafening roar amidst the sound of shattering.
"You can't escape, Otto."
Inside the building, the original corridors had been completely sealed off the moment the alarms sounded. However, whether it was the thick walls or the metal vault doors, all were torn open, leaving gaping, jagged holes.
Clack, clack.
The soft sound of heels crunching on rubble was exceptionally clear amidst the chaotic alarms. The Herrscher of Sentience walked through the walls she had destroyed, entering the final room on this floor.
Sharp eyes scanned the chaotic room. In the Herrscher of Sentience's mind, a picture formed of a pitiful Otto, trembling and shrinking into a corner of the room, waiting to be killed by her. The smile on her face grew even more exuberant.
"Stop hiding, the passages to the upper and lower floors are completely sealed. There's no way I'll let you escape." Full of confidence, the Herrscher of Sentience leisurely searched every corner behind the equipment where someone could hide.
However, with each fruitless discovery, her pace grew faster and faster.
Until finally, the entire room had been thoroughly searched, yet Otto was nowhere to be found. The Herrscher of Sentience's expression finally darkened.
"Damn it, you bastard! Where did that guy hide?" Enraged and frustrated, the girl kicked aside an expensive piece of equipment in the room. Recalling her confident demeanor just moments ago, she now felt like a complete fool for coming up empty-handed.
But she had searched all the other rooms and found no one. Otto couldn't have run to other areas.
"That cunning bastard, he's as irritating as a gopher." Disappointed, the Herrscher of Sentience cursed a few times and left the room.
A few minutes after she left, in the deathly silent room, a figure gradually materialized. Otto was leaning against a corner of the wall, pressing down on his collapsing wound.
"That was close."
Otto's injuries were severe, but he was not one to simply surrender. Choosing to escape served two purposes. First, to transmit the situation here, at least to buy time until Durandal's reinforcements arrived.
Second, to confirm the enemy's identity. The opponent possessed Fu Hua's full strength, even stronger than the peak state he had witnessed. However, in their brief confrontation, he had quickly noticed the difference between her and Fu Hua.
Arrogant, frantic – this was completely unlike the personality of that taciturn girl.
"She possesses Fu Hua's memories, even retaining her hatred for me, yet her style is like that of a young child."
Otto wasn't worried about a powerful enemy, because anyone, no matter who, would have their own desires. Even someone as powerful and intelligent as Ren, he was confident he could reach a deal with.
But this Fu Hua was simply like a bratty kid, completely impossible to communicate with. During his escape, he had repeatedly tried to talk to her, but the other party showed absolutely no sign of understanding his intention to negotiate, meeting his attempts with nothing but a punch.
To be honest, facing such an enemy, Otto also felt a headache coming on.
"Hopefully, Durandal can…"
"Can what?" Unexpectedly, the Herrscher of Sentience's voice echoed from above Otto's head.
"!" Otto's pupils constricted sharply. He immediately stood up, but before he could complete the movement, his Soulium cheek took a heavy punch.
The left cheek, bruised from Ren's earlier attack, was still faintly throbbing, and now the right cheek was also not spared, creaking under the Herrscher of Sentience's fist.
Bang!
Otto was sent flying directly by this punch. The terrifying kinetic energy ripped through a large amount of equipment until he finally embedded himself in the wall, slowly sliding down amidst countless cracks.
"Didn't expect it, did you? That I'd come back again." Finally catching Otto, the frustration in the Herrscher of Sentience's heart vanished completely. Laughing wildly, she spread out her hand, and the black Fenghuang Down slowly spun.
"I have to say, you really are better at hiding than a rat. If it weren't for my precious feather, I really would have been fooled by you."
The black Fenghuang Down was Ren's consciousness clone. Otto could deceive the Herrscher of Sentience, but not Ren. Even without direct control, he wouldn't let Otto escape easily.
"Cough, cough." Blood continued to spill from the corner of his mouth. The Soulium-simulated body was too realistic, even the excruciating pain was fed back to his consciousness. Otto slumped against the wall, powerlessly watching the approaching Herrscher of Sentience.
He tried his best to widen his eyes, using his last chance to search for useful information.
"Fenghuang Down…" The Void Archives had simulated the Key of Sentience many times, Otto was extremely familiar with it. Previously, he had only assumed that the enemy had used the Fenghuang Down's abilities to infiltrate the base.
However, as the Herrscher of Sentience approached, he finally noticed the strangeness of this Divine Key.
"Threads, creation, weaving." The clues in his mind all connected, and the puzzled Otto gradually relaxed, regaining his usual elegant smile.
Coral Island - he had fought Ren there before, and the other party had demonstrated similar creative abilities. Clearly, this enemy was definitely related to Ren.
Otto knew that Ren and he were kindred spirits, and would never tolerate being schemed against. Now that he had used Ren on Coral Island, if Ren didn't retaliate, Otto would actually find it unbelievable.
However, since this [Fu Hua] was related to Ren, Otto was somewhat relieved. He certainly couldn't stop the other party's retaliation, he could only try to minimize Schicksal's losses as much as possible.
"Tsk, muttering about something again. And you're about to die, yet you can still laugh." Otto didn't show the fear the Herrscher of Sentience expected, which made her feel very bored.
She was clearly in a dominant position, but why did she still have a feeling of being played?
Especially in the memories from before her rebirth, Fu Hua had been used by Otto many times, which made the newly born Herrscher of Sentience, who inherited Fu Hua's memories, particularly annoyed.
"No, no, no, just figured out some answers, my friend."
"Oh? Have you thought about how you're going to die?"
"That naturally depends on you." Otto completely gave up resisting. His consciousness itself had been severely damaged when contacting the Honkai Will. Now facing such a powerful enemy, even he had no chance of turning the tables.
"..." The Herrscher of Sentience looked at the slumped Otto, her irritable emotions growing stronger. The person in front of her seemed to be talking to her, but his gaze was always fixed on the Fenghuang Down, as if the Fenghuang Down was the main attraction.
"Give my regards to Ren, I owe him one this time."
"Ren? Who… is that?" Hearing this name again, the confusion in the Herrscher of Sentience's mind grew stronger and stronger. She had an indescribable feeling that she seemed to have some connection with the person named Ren.
Unfortunately, Otto had no intention of answering her, simply closing his eyes and leaning against the wall, waiting for his death.
"Tell me, who is he?!" Frustrated, the Herrscher of Sentience grabbed Otto's neck with one hand, lifting him off the ground.
"You'll naturally know when the time comes."
"In that case, just die." The simple-minded Herrscher of Sentience deeply loathed these riddle-speakers. She completely lost her patience and directly snapped Otto's neck.
After killing Otto, the Herrscher of Sentience had expected to feel the exhilaration of completing her revenge. But now, not only did she not feel happy, but she also felt a sense of stifled frustration at being deceived.
"Don't want to think about it. Anyway, the current me is no longer the timid self I once was. Now I possess power, whoever it is, I just need to kill them." The Herrscher of Sentience didn't want to ponder it further, but silently etched the name "Ren" in her heart.
At this moment, Durandal, stationed at Schicksal HQ, finally arrived at the area where Otto was.
Looking at Otto's corpse lying on the ground, Durandal's expression turned grave. And the Herrscher of Sentience, who was feeling frustrated, sensed the other party's powerful aura, and a manic smile reappeared on her face.
"Perfect timing!"