[Let go.]
The Will of the Honkai firmly gripped the arm buried in Its chest, preventing Otto's hand from leaving Its body.
It realized something: Otto had come prepared. It had been careless; It hadn't dodged.
This guy had grabbed onto Finality the moment he arrived.
"O Will of the Honkai, this is the first time I've seen you look like this."
A smile surfaced on Otto's face.
It was his first time seeing the Will of the Honkai so shaken. Could it be that he had grabbed onto something very dangerous?
What could it be?
Otto pulled hard, trying to extract his hand, but the Will of the Honkai used both of Its hands to stop him from leaving.
Quite strong.
Otto's expression shifted slightly. He felt an immense force as the Will of the Honkai channeled power into Its hands, as if intending to twist Otto's right arm right off.
Flesh and blood collapsed; Otto's right arm was beginning to fail.
Without hesitation, Otto extended his left hand—not to help pull the right one out, but to plunge it into the Will of the Honkai's body as well.
Snap!
The Will of the Honkai forcibly twisted Otto's right arm off with both hands, but It could not stop his left hand from tearing away from Its body, clutching several stars.
It had saved one thing only to lose another.
However... the importance of Finality far exceeded anything else Otto had stolen.
Finality must absolutely not be lost.
Otherwise, the trial of civilization would become a joke.
Otto stumbled back a few steps. He felt that his arms were truly prone to disaster; here was another one broken.
Will I be like Vegeta in the future, always clutching my shoulder?
But... it was all worth it!
Otto looked at his left hand, a smile that could not be concealed spreading across his face. In his grasp were six shining stars.
And their names surfaced in his mind.
They were:
Reason!
Thunder!
Wind!
Flame!
Ice!
Binding!
Otto, who had originally come merely to take the exam for someone else, had seized the rights to write nearly half the questions for the Honkai College Entrance Exam.
He could now be called [Will of the Honkai — Otto]!
However, did that mean the ones his right hand had held just a moment ago were Void, Death, Stars, Sentience, Domination, and Corruption?
Perhaps there was also the unknown Thirteenth Herrscher.
Damn, why does it feel like the ones left with the Will of the Honkai are stronger?
And what Otto could never have imagined was that he had briefly held Finality in his grasp, only to ultimately let it slip away.
The six stars radiated light. The light drilled into Otto's body, and the stars vanished, yet Otto felt that they were now one with him.
He had successfully stolen a portion of the Will of the Honkai's authority.
Otto looked at the Will of the Honkai. His severed arm was still stuck in Its chest. The Will of the Honkai gazed at Otto with calm eyes as the severed limb began to dissolve into specks of fluorescent light, burrowing into Its body.
A part of Otto had been absorbed by the Will of the Honkai.
For a split second, Otto thought he saw a flash of coldness in the Will of the Honkai's eyes.
But after a thought, he dismissed it. How is that possible? The Will of the Honkai has no humanity. Even if I slapped It a few times, It wouldn't feel any emotion.
It must have been an illusion.
Regardless, he had done what he came to do. It was time to leave.
As if sensing Otto's intent, a door of light appeared behind him.
Otto turned to look at the door. He sensed no danger from it; this was likely the escape route prepared by that damn System.
The Will of the Honkai remained standing there, watching Otto with slightly hollow eyes.
Otto walked straight toward the light door. The Will of the Honkai wasn't stopping him now, but that didn't mean It wouldn't change Its mind later. If he couldn't leave then, he'd be crying himself to death.
He didn't think about fighting for the remaining authorities. Having lost the element of surprise, Otto was temporarily unqualified to contest them.
Half of Otto's body had already stepped into the door of light, but he suddenly stopped and looked back at the Will of the Honkai, who still stood in place.
He raised his left hand and pointed his index finger at It.
A human, pointing at the God who reigned above humanity.
"O Will of the Honkai."
"Prepare yourself."
"Prepare to be defeated by humanity... by me."
With that, Otto left the pure white space of nothingness.
The Will of the Honkai stared in the direction Otto had left. Suddenly, It raised a hand to clutch Its chest. A trace of ferocity flashed through Its originally bland eyes.
Because Otto had stolen a portion of Its authority.
Therefore, It hated Otto.
This was a matter of course.
But for the Will of the Honkai, this was something utterly inconceivable.
[This...]
An emotion It had never experienced before was gushing out from Its very root.
[Is this... human emotion?]
But It knew It shouldn't have such emotions.
It should not possess humanity.
Yet, this surge of emotion was undoubtedly real.
Its face began to twist continuously. Its mouth curved upward in a bizarre manner, revealing a terrifying smile.
[So... this is Joy.]
The feeling in My heart right now—this must be the Joy that Otto Apocalypse spoke of.
Truly a strange experience.
It pressed a hand to Its forehead.
[The right arm...]
There was a problem with Otto's right arm!
Just now, it wasn't the Will of the Honkai actively absorbing Otto's arm; rather, Otto's arm had turned into energy and actively let itself be absorbed by the Will of the Honkai.
And then...
[Pollution...]
Without a doubt, It had been polluted.
Divinity had been stained with humanity.
[Why...]
Why can a human pollute a God?
Something is wrong. Something is very wrong.
There is a problem with Otto.
No, I cannot let the pollution deepen.
The Will of the Honkai covered Its cheeks with both hands.
After a long time, when It lowered Its hands and opened Its eyes again, Its gaze had returned to indifference.
However, It placed Its hands on either side of Its mouth.
Using two index fingers, It pushed the corners of Its mouth upward.
A bizarre, awkward, manual smile appeared on Its face.
[Heh...]
Nagazora City.
Otto opened his eyes to find himself lying amidst ruins.
Looking down, he saw nothing below his chest.
As for his arms, only the right arm remained.
This was the reality belonging to Otto.
(Note: In the White Space, he lost his right arm. In reality, his left arm was destroyed by lightning in Ch. 80. The damage accumulation leaves him in a critical state).
The confrontation with the Will of the Honkai felt like a hallucination.
His Soul Steel body was still disintegrating. Perhaps before long, this half-segment of a body would completely decompose.
Otto turned his head with difficulty. He found Mei lying beside him, her left hand still clutching the dim Gem of Conquest.
Mei's body had been released from the Will of the Honkai's control, but she showed no signs of waking up.
Taking the Gem of Conquest in his right hand, Otto struggled to drag his partial body over Mei. He then placed the Gem back into her body.
Flesh grew over the wound in her chest as the Gem of Conquest returned to its place.
Otto gasped for breath. She should be fine now. Even if Mei doesn't wake up for a while, the Herrscher personality will likely awaken.
His own body wouldn't last much longer, but...
Otto looked at Mei's beautiful face.
A bold idea rose in his heart.
He was curious.
When they met again after being parted by death...
How much will this girl love me then?
After all, no one can defeat a dead person.
Just as it was with Kallen and Otto.
Otto felt that he could become Mei's Kallen.