Domination Puppet: Ling Ke's words hung in the air, freezing everyone's thoughts for a split second.
None of them grasped what he meant.
"What do you mean 'not just empty talk'?" Dr. Tesla demanded, her eyes wide. "This bloke… he actually thinks he can resurrect the dead?"
Her words had barely left her lips when…
"No, no, no!"
To her utter astonishment, the most vehement reaction came from Otto himself.
The old monster who had schemed for five centuries, manipulating countless lives, who claimed to believe in the power of love yet had exploited it without remorse.
They heard him say…
"This world will never allow a body to recollect a consciousness that has already dissipated."
In that instant, Otto seemed to have cast aside everything.
Alliances? Negotiations? None of that mattered now.
He had to confirm one thing…
"You can't possibly have the ability to resurrect the dead!"
"This world simply doesn't have such a convenient power!" he said with certainty.
This was the ultimate research conclusion Otto Apocalypse had painstakingly reached after centuries of scheming and suppressing his humanity.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have devised such a plan…
"Otto Apocalypse," the Domination Puppet: Ling Ke suddenly spoke, "has anyone ever told you that you're actually quite arrogant?"
"…"
Otto suddenly became extremely calm.
It was as if his recent outburst of hysteria had been a complete act.
But in truth, that wasn't the case.
He had genuinely panicked.
Because if Ling Ke truly possessed the power to resurrect the dead, then this situation… without a doubt, was the very outcome he had desperately tried to prevent.
Yet Otto was that kind of person.
His emotions had long transcended the boundaries of ordinary human experience.
Though capable of anger, he could swiftly regain his composure.
In a way, this set him apart from Ling Ke, making him another kind of "inhuman" being.
And now…
"Your arrogance can't tolerate anything that defies your expectations."
"That's why you fixated so intensely on Welt Joyce decades ago, only to later grow so furious with him."
"Because you miscalculated with regard to him… more than once."
"Over a decade ago, you launched the Honkai Fission Bomb at Siberia for the very same reason."
"Siegfried's demonstration of the power you call 'Active Reaction' stirred those feelings in you again."
"It made you profoundly uneasy, utterly furious."
"Yet, with your strategic brilliance, you could have manipulated these forces indirectly in a thousand ways — using flattery, threats, lies, and deception to limit and control them, bending them to your will."
"Instead, you chose the most direct path: utter annihilation!"
"Otto, oh Otto!"
Domination Puppet: Ling Ke's words struck a fatal blow. "In your heart, what matters more — your devotion to Kallen, or… is your obsession with resurrecting the Holy Maid Kallen merely a way to prove you can defy the iron laws of this world?"
"…"
Otto remained silent.
But the raw fury burning in his eyes… how many years had it been since such unrestrained rage had blazed so openly?
At that moment, the so-called "Tyrant in the Heavens" was far from calm.
Though he still insisted that Domination Puppet: Ling Ke's words were nothing more than blasphemy against his devotion to Kallen, still…
"The world forbids collecting dissipated consciousness," Otto mused. "So if I still manage to bring Kallen back to life… wouldn't that mean I've won?"
Domination Puppet: Ling Ke deliberately taunted, "I must say, Otto, you truly live up to your title as 'The Fool.'"
"You dared to challenge the world and actually put your plans into action, instead of just spouting slogans like some edgy teenager…"
"For that alone, I can grudgingly admire you."
"Even if your entire life has been little more than a farce, a clown show."
At this point, Ling Ke, still concealed in the shadows, indirectly revealed the truth. "Yes, just like centuries ago. Even though many at the execution ground were secretly planning to create a diversion and free Kallen, it was you… you who unleashed those Honkai Beasts, forcing Kallen — true to her ideals — to protect the people and ultimately meet her tragic end."
"And now, it's you again. Your blind indulgence — your very support — for Schicksal's secret, inhumane human experiments across multiple branches has driven me, the only one with the power of resurrection, to become your sworn enemy."
Ling Ke's voice was ice-cold. "You'll never achieve your long-cherished dream now."
"And remember this…"
Ling Ke raised his right hand, extending his index finger, and locked eyes with the silent, golden-haired figure. "You brought this on yourself."
"What goes around comes around!"
"I can't wait to see the day you, clinging to your obsession, finally break down completely."
Otto remained utterly silent.
That familiar feeling returned — the unease of a situation spiraling completely out of his control.
This time, it was more intense than ever.
Humans are complex.
Ling Ke, who deliberately provoked Otto with his words, understood this perfectly.
Was Otto clinging to resurrecting Kallen solely to defy the world?
Perhaps!
But that was certainly not the only reason.
This man's faith in Kallen was genuine too.
Who could say that a single goal can only have one motive?
Yet Ling Ke, fully aware of all this, still chose to strike at Otto's heart.
This was the foundation of his preemptive advantage as a transmigrator, the information edge he carried from his foreknowledge. It was a chess move that kept him one step ahead.
As a result, within Schicksal's ranks, only Amber, who had come along as an assistant, remained unaffected. Otto, Durandal, and Rita were all inwardly shaken, despite their best efforts to conceal it — and it was useless, because something this obvious, even Theresa could see it.
Her grandfather… In all her nearly fifty years, she'd never seen him like this.
And Ling Ke's venomous words had struck far more than just these few.
Kiana… Theresa didn't even know what to call her anymore.
The timing and setting for this revelation couldn't have been worse.
Everything had been orchestrated by Ling Ke.
How does he know so much?
The question flashed through everyone's minds the moment they arrived.
Indeed, the breadth and depth of Ling Ke's intelligence couldn't be explained by mere "skilled investigation."
Many of these secrets were known to only a handful of people — some even limited to the parties directly involved.
Moreover…
"Years ago, when Ling Ke first appeared in Nagazora, he mysteriously uncovered Cocolia's entire plan."
"And before that, there was no trace of him anywhere. No records, no history, nothing."
"It's as if he materialized out of thin air in Nagazora… a person who shouldn't exist at all."
As these thoughts coalesced, and their implications began to sink in…
"Aponia."
The name flashed through Kevin's mind.
He seemed to have grasped the truth.
"Ling Ke can predict the future!"