However, if Aaron was truly being treated so politely by Otto because his power was simply too overwhelming, then under these circumstances, Seele had formed an idea.
If Aaron really had such immense influence, then... it wouldn't be strange for Seele to want his help in meeting Mother Cocolia.
But for now, Seele didn't voice her thoughts.
Unlike the *other* her, who remained wary of Aaron, Seele had already accepted the man before her as her savior.
In the Sea of Quanta, this man had pulled her out of that abyss when she was on the brink of despair.
And back then, right in front of that terrifying white-haired man, he had decisively protected her.
Although he claimed he only came to save Seele because of his contract with Bronya, one thing was one thing, and another was another.
He had already risked himself to save her. If she were to trouble him further at a time like this...
That would be a bit ungrateful.
As a good girl, Seele naturally wouldn't do something so ungrateful.
On the other side, Dark Seele, who sensed Seele's thoughts, was still guarding against Aaron. However, regarding Seele's decision not to voice this request, she held a positive attitude.
It wasn't that she felt it would trouble Aaron, but mainly because...
Recalling the scene where Cocolia summoned Titans to bombard the two of them, Dark Seele really couldn't connect the Cocolia that Seele constantly missed with the concept of a 'Good Mother'.
Dark Seele didn't know what a truly good mother should be like.
But when her own daughter wanted to find her other daughter after becoming quantumized, and Cocolia decisively commanded Titans to beat her up...
Is that really something a good mother would do?
*Heh, maybe she realized our existence might threaten her, so she wanted to root us out completely.*
In Dark Seele's view, Seele returning to the side of Cocolia, who had already hurt her, was not a wise move—even if Seele herself didn't feel that Cocolia's actions back then had hurt her.
After all, Seele's quantumization was entirely due to Cocolia's Experiment X-10.
Experiment X-10 led to Seele's quantumization, and then Cocolia immediately prepared to silence her... Why do I feel like this plot is a bit off?
Compared to Cocolia who had already hurt Seele... *Heh*, the man in front of us is indeed much more reliable.
Even if he is lusting after Seele's body... Right, considering the Stigmata we bear, it's possible that if we went back, Cocolia would start using us even more crudely because of our Stigmata.
Both sides are after our bodies, but the danger factor is at least a bit smaller over here.
*Forget it. If Seele wants to follow him, let her follow him. I can't be bothered to argue.*
It's still much better than returning to Cocolia.
"Um, Mr. Aaron, what do you plan to do now?"
Having made her decision, Dark Seele spoke up slowly.
"Are we going to Oceania now to prepare to accept Mr. Otto's gift?"
"Ah, let's give him a week."
At this moment, after using magnetic field power to confirm there were no listening devices around, Aaron spoke calmly to Dark Seele while chewing gum.
"He needs to make preparations too. Before handing the branch over to me, Otto will surely bury a hundred or so sleeper agents inside and install surveillance cameras at every location."
...So you *know* Otto harbors ill intentions.
And you still accepted his invitation? I really don't know if you're sick in the head or just audaciously skilled.
Hearing Aaron's justification, Dark Seele sighed slightly.
"...With you taking such risks, it must be hard for Big Sister to work with you."
"Save it. We play 'three protect one'. She's the safest one; she doesn't even have to step up for fights."
In other words, you're still going to bring her near the battlefield, right?
Is everyone in your team so strong they don't care, or have they all been infected by you to be this reckless?
Even with our gift, Big Sister might not be able to escape smoothly when facing multiple strong enemies...
I suddenly feel like the future is dim.
"As for what to do next... Well, since we've temporarily allied with Schicksal, there's no need for everyone to hide anymore."
After saying this, Aaron took out a trash bag, spat his gum into it, and said to Dark Seele:
"Follow me."
"What exactly are you planning to do..."
"To find someone, don't you have to put it in the newspaper?"
This...
What kind of primitive people-finding technique is this???
No, really, is moving like this actually okay?
Why do I feel like this person is becoming increasingly unreliable?
Previously, Aaron hadn't answered Kiana's call because he considered it too dangerous for Kiana to come here.
But after completing the negotiation with Otto, Aaron had essentially figured out Otto's current plans.
Otto desired the Gem of Serenity, the Key of the Void, and K423 immensely. But precisely because of that, he wouldn't dare to force his hand without guaranteeing the safety of these three things.
And Kiana... part of Otto's future plan was to let Kiana cultivate bonds with others. That way, when she regained the full Authority of the Herrscher of the Void, there would be a possibility for her to retrieve her consciousness as a 'human' through those emotions.
The deeper her bonds with others, the higher the probability of Kiana retrieving her self in the future.
From this perspective, Kiana acting together with himself, Mei, and Bronya right now already satisfied the minimum requirements of Otto's plan.
Under these circumstances, the probability of Otto tearing up the agreement right now was even lower.
And most critically, Aaron could feel that he was completely different from who he was before entering the Seed of Sumeru.
After Su helped him organize his own powers, the multiple forces within his body could now assist each other when activated simultaneously, allowing each power to display strength far beyond its original limit.
For example.
Now, as long as he activated the Meta-Morph Factors and the powerful Honkai Energy they catalyzed, combined with his Magnetic Field power, he could unleash strength far surpassing his original level.
5 + 10 originally equaled 15. But after Su helped organize the power within him, what was originally only 5 + 10 = 15 could now output a power of 30 or even 40.
Of course, Meta-Morph Factors and the Magnetic Field Rotation power Aaron now mastered couldn't be calculated with simple numbers; this was just an analogy.
Furthermore, the act of linking powers would drastically increase in difficulty based on the number of powers Aaron used.
Currently, Aaron could only easily link two powers. If he wanted to link three, he would have to do so with extreme concentration.
If he forcibly added the Power of Dominance to an attack after linking Meta-Morph Factors and Magnetic Field Rotation, it would certainly boost the destructive power of the blow even further. But if he wasn't careful, suffering Qi Deviation would be the least of his problems.
And this was only possible because his Perfect Realm had reached about forty to fifty percent mastery.
If, under these conditions, he tried to blend the two modes of the Revive Hourglass into his tactics... it was better not to attempt such courting of death.
Failing to control the power within his body would only expose larger openings during combat.
Unless he was risking his life because he was about to die the next second, such a move was simply too stupid.
But even combining just two powers, Aaron felt that unless Otto suddenly hacking and turned into a Pseudo-God right now, the forces currently in Otto's hands could no longer threaten him.
And the prerequisites for Otto to become a Pseudo-God were numerous; at least the current Otto didn't have that ability.
If not for the fact that this old bastard's declaration to Kevin—'If you mess around, I'll take the whole world down with me'—wasn't a joke, and that Otto still had some use for the future, Aaron probably would have stormed Schicksal HQ and killed this old bastard already.
He had previously thought about assisting Otto in reviving Kallen.
Even now, as long as there was a chance, he would try to find a way to revive Kallen.
But in a situation where he couldn't find an opening, Aaron, unable to assist Otto in reviving Kallen, could not truly ally with Otto.
For Otto to complete his plan, Kiana was an indispensable factor.
And as a companion by Kiana's side... how could Aaron just watch helplessly as Otto tormented Kiana?
He wasn't confident right now, but he already had a rough concept.
As long as he could complete the upcoming concepts, then even if Otto planned to cause trouble, Aaron could gun Otto down before Otto could gun down the world.
.....................
Several hours later, when Bronya carefully connected to the internet again, preparing to check other information online...
Bronya choked up.
She didn't know how many times she had been dumbfounded recently.
But she had to say, her Master's actions were often too...
Too illogical!
Previously, when Aaron hung up on Kiana, Bronya and Mei thought Aaron felt London was too dangerous and was warning the three of them to hide well.
But now, after Bronya connected to the network, she discovered something incredibly awkward.
Nothing happened.
Absolutely nothing happened.
As for why she had this thought, the reason was simple.
In the intelligence network related to London, Bronya saw Aaron directly squatting inside a KFC store, gnawing on fried chicken with Seele.
Judging by Seele's slightly awkward eyes and Aaron's nonchalant demeanor, they... probably... weren't being threatened...
No, this definitely wasn't being threatened.
*Bronya, remember before we left London, Schicksal's main force had already surrounded the area we were in, right...*
*The location Master returned to was also near there, right...*
There was no intelligence of massive chaos on social networks.
Which meant, a fight never even broke out...
Even if Schicksal had the ability to take down Master, they couldn't possibly take him down without making a single sound.
In other words, Master and Schicksal didn't fight at all.
"Bronya, what's wrong?!"
Seeing Kiana, who was worried but deliberately didn't want to speak, Mei helplessly chose to speak up, asking the inexplicably silent Bronya.
"Did you see some bad news?"
"...No, Master and Seele are fine."
"That guy... how is he right now?"
After blurting out that sentence, Kiana immediately added:
"That guy is so reckless. Your friend isn't hurt, is she?"
"No. Kiana-oneesan, Mei-oneesan, you might not believe this."
"But Master isn't just unhurt; he has also sent us a message via other social media."
"What message?"
"He said things are fine for now and told us to meet him in London."
"The location?"
"A KFC near the River Thames."
*That guy...!*
*Forget it, as long as he's fine.*
Hearing Bronya's words, Kiana immediately manipulated the Key of the Void, activating the concealment ability of the Key, which had already finished auto-charging.
Kiana, who could now control the Key of the Void even further, could activate its abilities without physical contact.
In just an instant, Kiana used the power of the Key of the Void to teleport the three of them to the area near the River Thames.
After walking for ten minutes or so, Kiana could confirm that the surroundings were indeed much safer.
At least after she and Mei scanned the vicinity together, they could confirm that no one was monitoring them anymore.
Moreover, after connecting to the network, Bronya also discovered that most of the hackers who were originally targeting her had voluntarily given up their attacks.
*Wow, what exactly did Aaron do during this time?*
*It feels like our enemies suddenly decreased a lot... He hasn't defected to the enemy, has he?*
Upon seeing Kiana, Aaron immediately led the way out of the shop.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Seele also immediately followed Aaron's footsteps.
"Hey..."
Seeing Aaron looking natural, Kiana asked in confusion.
"What exactly did you do?"
"Just some trivial work. We won't have to run when we see Schicksal in the future."
"...Huh?"
"In a week, I will take office as the Branch Head of Schicksal's Oceania Branch. At least for a short while, Schicksal won't make a move on us."
Hearing this news, the three of them looked at each other in dismay, seeing the confusion in each other's eyes.
Yesterday they had to retreat immediately upon seeing Schicksal; today Aaron actively joined Schicksal, making it so Schicksal wouldn't touch them for the time being.
This change...
Isn't it a bit too sudden?
...........................