Chapter 356: Alyssa? Benares?!

“….”

In simple terms, the Will of Honkai unilaterally terminated Otto’s communication request.

At this moment, Otto’s ceaseless murmuring through the illusory Tree of Imaginary Numbers within the Holy 537 Church of Korosten Town wasn’t reaching the Will of Honkai—it was reaching Selene herself, the one who had taken over in person.

“The promise? He wants me to fulfill the agreement and grant him the complete powers of the Eleventh Herrscher—the Herrscher of Restraint? Heh~”

Seated cross-legged on a a violet-red Honkai crystal within the Imaginary Space, Selene idly tugged at Alyssa’s silvery-gray hair as she sneered.

Selene had no intention of honoring the agreement between the Will of Honkai and Otto.

After all, Otto was destined to perish. With Selene here, his five-hundred-year-long obsession would amount to nothing. Why give him even the faintest illusion of hope?

“Um… Queen, who is this Otto?”

Lounging across Selene’s lap, her nose brushing against Selene’s smooth and delicate skin, Alyssa’s cheeks flushed faintly as she looked up, pouting with curiosity.

“Don’t call me Queen…. sigh, fine, as you wish.”

“Ehehehe~…”

Selene let out a long sigh, casting a glance at the giggling Alyssa. With a gentle huff, she playfully poked the girl’s cheek, her expression softening.

“Who is Otto, you ask? Good question.”

“A man of absolute rationality and unparalleled willfulness. The de facto uncrowned king of Schicksal, who regarded even his own organization as mere pieces on a chessboard. He spent five centuries in solitude, chasing a single jest.”

Otto was born into the fifteenth-century Apocalypse family, the youngest scion of Schicksal’s ruling triad. Despite his prodigious intellect, his lack of combat abilities left him scorned by his family, rendering him unworthy of succeeding the title of Overseer.

His childhood was anything but pleasant.

And then there was Kallen.

That kindhearted girl who stumbled into the only garden where young Otto could find solace, bringing with her a ray of sunshine into his shadowed youth.

Although Otto wasn’t held in high regard by his family, he still had the privilege of access to his father’s study. There, he learned of Honkai and embarked on his research. During this process—perhaps due to some accidental discovery or simply a shift in perspective—Otto’s worldview began to deviate from common morality.

However, his feelings for Kallen never wavered. On the contrary, they grew more resolute.

For Otto, Kallen remained a singular exception.

Unfortunately, while Otto’s heart belonged to Kallen, Kallen’s heart belonged to the world—or at least, it did before that fateful escape.

Their tragedy had been predestined.

“He understood humanity but cared nothing for it. Despite being the supreme leader of Schicksal, he saw it merely as a means to an end, a tool to achieve his goals.”

Selene smirked faintly.

“In a way, Otto and I share some similarities, don’t we?”

“He’s a pitiable yet pitiless man, neither deserving of sympathy nor mercy. Offering him compassion would only insult him.”

“Sounds contradictory, doesn’t it?” Selene chuckled at Alyssa’s bemused expression, her curiosity and confusion etched on her face.

“Mm-hmm.”

Although she didn’t fully grasp Selene’s complex emotions toward Otto, Alyssa nodded earnestly.

“Contradictory? Then you’ve got it right.” Selene lightly flicked Alyssa’s nose.

“The world needs more pure souls like you. Truly… they’re a rare breed these days.”

“But then… is Otto a good person or a bad one? And what does Your Majesty intend to do?”

“What to do?”

In the next moment, Selene’s tone turned ice-cold, her overwhelming killing intent suffocating. Alyssa’s hair stood on end.

“Of course, kill him!”

“Otto Apocalypse is simultaneously my mortal enemy and a man who inadvertently played a role in my creation. However, the kindness he extended was purely incidental, overshadowed by his malice toward me.”

If Otto had simply discarded Selene’s original host body after creating it, Selene might have spared him, perhaps even repaid the favor.

But no—Otto and his researchers treated her as nothing more than a pile of waste, torturing the host through endless experiments before discarding it into an incinerator.

Had Selene not awakened early, she would have been obliterated at the very start.

“To speak of the ’kindness’ of creation after such treatment is laughable. The data from Project K-404 alone suffices as repayment!”

Selene’s gaze darkened as memories of Project K-404 resurfaced, her hand instinctively pressing against her chest. The crimson glow of her eyes intensified as veins bulged along her temple.

“Even after all these years, my body remembers… it reminds me.”

The agony of being burned alive, her flesh cooked, her cells torn apart, her bones melted, and her soul shattered into fragments… these sensations were etched deeply into her being.

“Such pain.”

Selene’s raw emotions and endless malice spilled out, and the Imaginary Space itself trembled under the influence of her Herrscher of Finality powers.

A massive violet-red vortex began swirling around her, rapidly distorting the surrounding Imaginary particles.

In mere moments, the once-static Imaginary Space transformed into a suffocating domain of oppressive energy. Light flickered ominously, space distorted, and waves of terror radiated outward, engulfing everything within a radius of thousands of kilometers.

“Wuuu! Y-Your Majesty, don’t be mad! I won’t ask anymore—Alyssa won’t ask anymore!”

“Huh?”

Snapped out of her rage, Selene immediately withdrew her aura. Like a switch being flipped, the suffocating pressure vanished, leaving only a trembling Alyssa, her teary eyes looking up in fright.

Selene’s expression softened instantly, her arms wrapping tightly around the smaller girl.

“It’s not directed at you, and it never could be. My dear Alyssa, I’m sorry. I lost my composure in front of you.”

Pulling Alyssa closer, Selene’s tone was filled with genuine regret.

The memories of Project K-404 haunted her. The torment endured by that lifeless host body—the agony of being dissected, burned, and reduced to ash—persisted as a visceral, unshakable imprint.

Returning to this world had only stirred these memories further.

“Truly, I’m grateful to you, to Mother Katie, to Father Brauchitsch, and to Sebas for being there. Without you all, I might’ve become… something unrecognizable.”

Otto had only one ray of sunshine in his life.

Selene? She had many.

As she patted Alyssa’s back, Selene’s expression grew even more tender.

No matter how cold she appeared on the surface, the truth was undeniable: Selene cared deeply for her loved ones.

Sebas, Alyssa, and her adoptive parents—they were her anchors, her moral compass, the last bastions of humanity within her.

Without them, without their early guidance, the lonely and prideful Selene might have spiraled down the path of a pure chaotic, evil god.

And that was a future she couldn’t afford.

“Enough crying. I’ve got a task for you. See that Otto over there?”

Setting Alyssa down and straightening her posture, Selene placed one hand on her shoulder and pointed at the crystalline screen, where a golden-haired, blue-eyed man was displayed.

“I see him!”

Alyssa vigorously nodded, wiping away her tears.

“Hit him.”

“Got it!!”

At the flick of Selene’s fingers, every particle of Honkai energy within view began to swirl and converge.

Like a solidified vortex of violet-red liquid, the energy spiraled toward Selene’s outstretched fingertips, gathering momentum until, with a rippling sound, a massive spatial portal—hundreds of meters in diameter—tore itself open.

“The coordinates are locked. I’ll grant you partial control over the Honkai Beast legion, and I’ll deploy the Sisters of Silence as well. Go—deliver him my blessings.”

With Selene’s words of command, Alyssa darted forward like a comet, her blue and violet tail flames streaking across the air and rippling through the space around her as she vanished into the portal.

“Now then, it’s about time I properly cleaned up this Imaginary Space.”

Selene narrowed her eyes, turning away. The warmth and tenderness she had shown Alyssa evaporated instantly, replaced by the cold arrogance of a supreme ruler.

“This place is like a sieve.”

Despite being the supposed domain of Herrschers, the Imaginary Space was riddled with intrusions—a chaotic crossroads for all manner of beings, coming and going as they pleased.

“Very well. At the Will of Honkai’s request, it’s time I swept out the remnants of the previous civilization.”

While the Will of Honkai had given Selene no specific directives for testing the current civilization, its stance toward the remnants of the previous one was clear:

Total eradication.

Their lingering presence had disrupted the natural progression of this world’s civilizations, skewing the balance of Honkai’s tests.

“Flame-Chasers, Fusion Warriors (MANTIS), the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, World Serpent, that so-called ’savior’ Kevin, Elysian Realm, the traitor Elysia….”

Meanwhile, in Saint 537 Church, Korosten Town

Hovering in midair, arms outstretched, Otto Apocalypse remained silent, his golden eyes closed.

“….”

An awkward tension filled the air.

Even for someone as cunning as Otto, this turn of events left him utterly dumbfounded.

The Tree of Imaginary Numbers continued to glow with radiant golden light, but where was the Honkai Will? Why wasn’t it responding? What of their agreement?

Where had things gone wrong?

Frustration bubbled beneath the surface.

The world must be truly collapsing, Otto mused bitterly—when even God (the Will of Honkai) could no longer be relied upon to keep its promises.

Currently, Otto held two distinct Herrscher abilities: one derived from the Tenth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Domination, whose power he had partially extracted; the other from the Eleventh Herrscher, the Herrscher of Binding, for which the Will of Honkai had delivered only an advance payment.

While he should have been content with wielding two Herrscher powers, the reality was frustrating—neither was complete.

Boom! Boom!

A thunderous rumble shattered the uneasy quiet.

Two deafening explosions echoed from outside the church, causing the ground to tremble violently.

Through his connection to the surrounding area, Otto easily sensed the source:

The golden barrier encasing the church was shaking, cracking under pressure.

Crack!

With a sharp, brittle noise, the barrier shattered completely.

The combined forces of the Herrscher of Reason and the Hyperion’s main cannon had obliterated it in an instant.

“Theresa, Kiana… impressive work,” Otto muttered, his brows furrowing as he reconsidered his plans.

Was it time to activate his backup contingencies, or perhaps to retreat and wait for a more opportune moment?

Hummm!

Suddenly, Otto felt an ominous ripple from the glowing Tree of Imaginary Numbers behind him.

The golden halo encircling the tree’s trunk began to shimmer with a dense, violet-red energy, and from its center, a black void tore through the fabric of reality.

This wasn’t the power of the Eleventh Herrscher, Otto realized with alarm.

No—this aura felt more like that of the Second Herrscher, Sirin, and its intensity surpassed even Kiana’s connection to the same Herrscher core.

How could this be?

Sirin was supposed to be dead!

WHOOOSH!

A powerful gust of wind blasted out of the void, engulfing the church. The biting chill clawed at Otto’s very core, sending shivers through his Soulium body.

His pupils contracted sharply.

Before Otto could react, a massive surge of physical energy burst forth from the void.

ROOOOOAAAAARRRRRR!

A bone-shaking roar tore through space, shaking the church to its foundations.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Fissures splintered across the building’s walls, spreading like a spiderweb.

BOOM!

The entire Saint 537 Church exploded in a cloud of debris. Thick walls crumbled like tofu, sending fragments hurtling in all directions. The shockwave spread nearly a hundred meters in every direction, kicking up a storm of dust and rubble.

“Wait, wait, wait! You’ve got to be kidding me! That Honkai energy surge—we’ve seen it before, haven’t we?!”

Onboard the Hyperion, Tesla clutched her head in disbelief, staring at the fluctuating energy readings on her monitor.

“Wasn’t she supposed to be dead?!”

“Judging by the energy output and monitoring data, there’s no mistake—it’s the accompanying Honkai Beast of the Second Herrscher, Sirin.”

Despite her usually calm demeanor, even Einstein’s fingers trembled slightly as they danced across the console.

If Sirin had truly returned, it spelled catastrophe.

Her previous global-scale Honkai disaster remained fresh in their memories.

Damn it, Otto! How far was he willing to go? This wasn’t just reckless—it was humanity’s doom!

On the ground, Kiana, shielding Bronya from the flying debris, stared wide-eyed at the massive blue-and-white wings slicing through the smoke and ash.

Her voice trembled as she gasped:

“Benares?!”

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