The world reflecting in Otto Apocalypse's eyes was bending. He felt as if all of creation was being unraveled in front of him. He felt as if time itself was thrown into a giant agitator. Past, present and future. Everything was blending together, coming to a halt.

Black hole.

He had read about this in one of Einstein's physics papers.

Generally, they are the result when a massive star, at least 3 times more than the Sun, collapses at the end of their life cycle.

Their force of gravity is so great that nothing can stop it.


...And eventually all is reduced to 3 parameters: mass, angular momentum, and electric charge.

By that point the gravitational field is so strong nothing can escape from it, not even light.


From the point of view of a far away observer, the process of being sucked in will be a slow one due to time dilation.

In the area known as "event horizon" all finite processes are infinite.

He received a signal from the outside——


As his consciousness is gradually breaking apart.

 「Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player」 「That struts and frets his hour upon the stage」 「And then is heard no more: it is a tale」 「Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,」 「Signifying nothing.」 ..... Y-You are... M-My... Otto Apocalypse. 「He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear.」 「He hopes 'bove wisdom, grace and fear:」 「And you all know, security is mortals' chiefest enemy.」 N-No... You... You are... 「Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill.」 From the very beginning this was a futile road. ——My Otto Apocalypse. ...Who are you!? You are scared of this discussion, Otto Apocalypse. 「I am in blood. Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o'er.」 After all this time you haven't changed in the slightest. No! You're wrong! Everything is going according to my plans! ...Your plans? There is no plan. You are trapped in the past, brooding over fate. 「And fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling, show'd like a rebel's whore: but all's too weak.」 My—— My Kallen would never say that! But it's something that you would say yourself, Otto Apocalypse. Your life is "Macbeth" without its supporting cast.

Note：

The quoted lines spoken by Kallen is from Shakespeare's masterpiece "Macbeth".

 「Thy soul's flight, if it find heaven, must find it out to-night.」 ... ..... I see now. You don't know anything—— ——Because you are Otto Apocalypse and nothing else. ...But of course I don't know you. 「Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell; though all things foul would wear the brows of grace, yet grace must still look so.」 From the beginning, you and I were different. It's been so long and yet you... Only you aren't able to accept my death. Yes. That's right. I can't accept it. I was like a kid waiting for Christmas to come. Craving for the present known as Kallen Kaslana... ...Or rather, the Santa Claus called Kallen Kaslana. ...What a silly child. How many more people are you planning to get involved in your crusade until you're satisfied? ... That's not it. The amount of people is irrelevant. Like how in a universe without observers a song praising it will never be born, There is no point to a world without Kallen! ...What a pitiful child. As you are right now, you're nothing more than a madman full of unrequited feelings. So what if I am! It's because the world has left me no other choice that I have to eliminate everything that gets in my way! Even if it is myself... ...Yes, not even I can't stop myself anymore! 「Otto」's body was no longer able to keep its human shape. The skin made out of liquid metal had peeled off, and the machine underneath can be seen. Welt clenched his teeth, as if the power of his entire body was being poured into the 「Star of Eden」. I have to do my very best. If I do my best, I can put an end to this chaotic day. If I do my best, Reanna-san may be able to regain control from him. If I do my best—— Welt-sama, watch out! Creating a black hole... What a barbaric ability. Once something falls into it it's over, not even light can't escape from it. But that also means that as long as you don't cross the point of no return, you can escape even without going at the speed of the light. ...You were careless, Herrscher. Since when were you under the impression that 「Divine Keys」 are unbreakable? This is a copy of the 「Key of Binding」 fine-tuned to my liking. By using it, I can completely seal the Houkai energy of my target. Now you're no different than a powerless insect. ... It's no use thinking, my hopeless friend. Your chance to pass judgement on me slipped away. You thought you had won so you lowered your guard, and as a result your 「Divine Key」 was defenseless. This is our difference in battle experience—— ——Regret coming at me unprepared!

In just a moment,


Schicksal's Overseer turned the tide on what seemed to be a clear victory.

My hand.

Margaret's legs.

Einstein and Tesla, who have been hurt and lost consciousness, are tied.

Everyone is trapped by these chains of hatred.


Unable to escape, unable to resist.

Eh? Wait... What's that?


...A helicopter? Did it crash?

Have you been captured too——

Professor Planck?


Joachim?

What is the meaning of this?


Why are they here!?

 There is a saying that goes 「You can wear out iron shoes in fruitless searching, and yet by chance you may find the lost thing without even looking for it」. Are you that eager to die? In that case executing everyone at the same time is no good. I have an idea. How about I take care of each one of them in front of you? Of course... you will be last, Welt. 6 people, 6 chains, 6 deaths... ...Shall I start with the little kid? ...Hm? Oh, so you plan to sacrifice yourself in his place? How boring. But, in honor of your spirit of self-sacrifice, I'll start with someone else. ... Do you have any brave words this time, Owner? ... ...I can't hear you, your voice is too low. ——Step forward and talk! (Heh.) You are the one who lowered his guard, Otto! (W-What is this!) (What happened? Was the signal cut?) (No... It's something else...) (There is a disturbance in the Soulium...?) Welt-sama! Quickly! Do you remember the pepper spray that is always in your coat's pocket? It's a drug made to suppress Soulium! It'll harden his liquid skin temporarily! Get rid of this piece of garbage right now! ...Emergency hemostasis of my wounds—— Complete. ...Entering mimicry mode. My fist, become an 「Oath of Judah」 that's not inferior to the real thing! Get out of Reanna-san's body, you damn smug clown! (...Hmph. Idiot.) (This is just a borrowed body——) (——destroying it to take you all out won't hurt me at all.) ...? (What is the meaning of this?) (Was the self-destruction program disabled?) ...You did something really awesome there, my dear Otto-sama. I-It can't be... Y-You are.... What's wrong? Have you forgotten already the voice of the body you stole control from? ...By the way, did you ever imagine things would end up like this the first time you remodeled my body using the 「Void Archive」? ...The end of this 100 years old 「Theseus' Ship」. Otto-sama sure is a perserverant person. But... did you know? 「Theseus' Ship」 was called that because of Theseus himself!

Note：

There was a hero of the Athenians named Theseus. He was so great that the locals consecrated the ship he sailed as a monument.

But time is merciless, and the wood from which the ship was made gradually decayed. So that the great ship would not end up being burned as a sacrifice, they came up with a good idea: every few years, all the parts of the ship should be inspected, and if any were rotten, they would be replaced with new ones.

So, many years later, when a philosopher came to visit, all the parts on the ship had been replaced at least twice.

When the philosopher heard of this, he was very upset. He asked the local people, "Is this still the same ship?”

The locals replied nonchalantly: "If you say no, Mr. Philosopher, when do you think it started not to be? You have to know that even when going out to sea, ships need to replace parts from time to time.”

 R-Reanna-san!? Don't worry... For a robot, losing one or two parts means nothing. The ones I'm worried about are... (In a call) ...Yes, the Professor and the child are okay. ...What was that? ...Say it again! What happened? I received a message from Cuba. It seems Schicksal has raised its alert level to 「Zero」. ...! Welt! Can you make a radar!? Radar? Make one?? Don't play dumb! If the 「Void Archive」 is the 「1st Key」, then you as the 「1st Herrscher」 should be able to do the same! If you don't understand what I'm saying take a look at my data! ..... The Earth's atmosphere is like a Mille-feuille.

Troposphere. The most dense layer. This is where clouds can be found.

Stratosphere. Due to the rise of temperature there is almost no vertical mixing in this layer.

Mesosphere. Being past the Ozone Layer makes this the most diluted layer.

And above them the thermosphere can be found.

At this altitude, solar rays ionize molecules——

——to create ionized plasma.

This layer is called Ionosphere——


——It acts as a capable reflector of radio waves, allowing them to travel from one side of the Earth to the other one.

Due to this it's possible to locate objects that emit electromagnetic waves even if they can't be seen with the naked eye.

 The principle behind a radar is not complicated. The amount of energy required is not a lot. If Welt is the 「1st Herrscher」 then—— ——Such a machine can be made even with one hand. ..... ..... Is this... an intercontinental ballistic missile? Is the estimated kinetic blast too big? No... this one is more dangerous than that. ...After the Houkai incident in Berlin, HQ has been working on something—— ——An Anti-Honkai missile. What is that? Anti-Honkai missiles artificially condense and release vast amount of Honkai energy by producing a physical chain reaction. As a result, everything around it is exterminated. In short, this weapon is the latest triumph card developed against Honkai beasts and Herrscher. If it explodes in a place like this—— ...Not only us are in danger, but everything that Edison-san did to protect the city would had been for nothing. ..... Damn it, that's crazy! ..... Calm down. We still have a way to save everyone. To protect everyone... I'll need your help, Welt.

Reanna explained the plan in a calm manner.

The logic was very easy to follow——


Before the Anti-Honkai missile hits the ground, Abyss Flower will destroy the missile's detonator.

Her machine body has a small rocket propeller. Once she knows the location of the missile she can approach it while it's still in the air.


「This is where things get complicated.」 she said.

「Destroying the detonator will deplete Abyss Flower and my own combat capabilities.」

「——To be specific, if we're lucky Abyss Flower will survive due to being made from special materials. As for myself, the Soulium that my body is made of will evaporate immediately after being exposed to extremely high temperatures.」

「This is the price one has to pay to use power that exceeds the standard output... Just like what Schrodinger did in another way.」

「...But this alone won't stop the missile's kinetic energy. It will continue to fall while carrying a lot of Houkai energy.」

「While a chain reaction won't occur, it will still cause devastating damage to regular people and buildings.」

「So, Welt, your job is...」


「...To not hesitate and avoid the destruction caused by the missile no matter what.」

「By using the same principle the 『Star of Eden』 operates on, you should be able to make a shield to protect the entire city.」

「...A range of 20 kilometers. By waking up all the Herrscher Core within your body that make up your DNA you should be able to withstand it—— Assuming Professor Schrodinger wasn't mistaken.」

「Needless to say, this will put a tremendous strain on your already injured body.」

「However the cost of making one of these Anti-Honkai missiles is too high. Otto's intentions aside, he shouldn't be able to make another one for at least 10 years.」


「In short—— This is the last card he has to play—— And all we have to do to win is to destroy it.」

 But then... you will... I am of no importance, you don't have to worry about me. ...Maybe there could be a better solution. But the missile is already in the air and will be here in 10 minutes. We don't have the luxury to take our time. ... ...No need to feel bad about this. Also... Welt, I'll say it again—— When we are carrying out this plan, if your energy output exceeds the limit of what you can handle... The wounds caused by the 「Key of Binding」 could reopen and get worse... ...To the point they may claim your life. Still... T-This is something only I can do—— It's the same for me. Destroying the detonator before the missile hits the ground. That's a job only I can do—— That's all there is to it.

Reanna inserted her fingers in the liquefied Soulium in her waist.


As she moves her arms slowly, you can tell her power is going up. Two small propellers, about the size of tea cups, came out of her body.

「I leave the rest to you.」

 Yeah, leave it to me. This is something only I can do. I'll make sure to do it properly. That day, we tried to stop a frightening Anti-Honkai missile. Me and Margaret-sama—— No, even if the Professors had been awake—— Nobody would had opposed to this crazy plan. I say crazy plan because in the previous civilization—— Even they who had used the core of the 「1st Herrscher」 to make the 「Void Archive」, had seemingly never once created anything of this scale out of nothing. The reason is very simple. The 「Void Archive」 can't withstand the ridiculous energy output needed in the first place. Welt-sama—— The Herrscher who tried to do this didn't come out unscathed. As for the ignorant citizens of New York, it was as if a sudden 「Meteorite Rain」 fell on the city. The Empire State Building collapsed and the 5th Avenue became a sea of fire. But the citizens lived. Aside from certain people who weren't from this city, we managed to achieve 「zero casualties」. Yes... Truly amazing, but it wasn't a miracle. Because he knew it would be possible if he did his best. Winter has passed and Spring has come. Professor Einstein and Tesla woke up one after the other from their hospital beds. It was a bit surprising... ...How calmly they accepted everything that happened over this Winter. Thanks to Professor Planck's 「Empty City Stratagem」 —— presenting a bold front to conceal a weak defense, Otto took no further hostile actions. Using the power of the Herrscher of Reason, Joachim changed his appearance to that of Welt's, and, together with the Professors, accepted numerous interviews by the media. We kept our heads down—— But our enemy knew we were still alive, and seemingly as strong as ever. ...That was enough for us. And the price we had to pay for that was... the boy who was once known as Joachim... ...Rather than healing, the wounds in his heart only grew bigger. In a single day he not only lost his father, the hero he admired, and even his previous life—— ——but also, the innocence of his childhood. Today is a very special day. For the 53-year-old Architect, John Smith, today is the first Thanksgiving Day he has celebrated in 22 years. As someone from Brooklyn... I am proud of what we've accomplished. We managed to rebuild that building. The former Empire State Building—— Now known as Welt Obelisk. Now I truly feel like Manhattan is back. Welt Obelisk is the result of the skyscraper restoration project by ME Company. The design follows the 1930 version of the Empire State Building to the letter. General Mechatronics went through rough times after the 「Thanksgiving Disaster」, but now reborn as ME Company they've become one of the Fortune 500 companies in the world. As both a New York citizen and a ME Company employee, this must not have been easy for him. What he is feeling surely cannot be encapsulated by a slogan like "build back better". At the time I was just an electrician in charge of the building's security. When at around 3-4 o'clock, the security guard on duty suddenly started banging on my door. I was sleeping and he dragged me out to the street in my pajamas. That's when I realized the city's electric network wasn't working. In those chaotic and perilous twilit hours, people like John Smith inspected every corner of the building to eliminate any potential hazards. We just followed procedures, really. In situations like that, it's impossible for your brain to figure out what to do, so the only thing we could do was to follow existing disaster management procedures. But I gotta give thanks to everyone who was in the building, they respected our instructions and evacuated the building without panicking. Otherwise it would had been impossible for the building to collapse and still have 「zero casualties」. As everyone knows, the Empire State Building was hit by a sudden meteorite at exactly 12:55pm and collapsed one hour later. According to the expert calculations, most of the meteorites from the 「Thanksgiving Disaster」 burnt up at altitudes of more than 300 metres—— So besides the meteorite that fell into Raritan Bay, this is the only building in New York that was directly damaged. However, the panic brought by this disaster still affected the economy, causing the Dow Jones Index to drop below—— ...Let's go back. ...We are going back? Yeah. Let's go back. To the home where everyone is. ...You mean 「Anti-Entropy」? ...Yeah. Seriously. What am I doing, running away from home. I'm so dumb.... But when it is time for 「Sovereign of Anti Entropy」 to appear, you have to change your appearance... I don't think they are doing the right thing in the long run. Yeah. I don't like that either. But try to see it this way. Just like the Empire State Building was rebuilt as it were before—— An organization born from a person's sacrifice has no choice but to follow that person's image. ...History will inevitably turn a new page. But before that we have to admit our mistakes. ...Do you feel bad for running away from home? Yeah... but not only that. That battle changed a lot of people. Welt sacrificed himself to protect everyone. Professor Schrodinger's whereabouts have been unknown ever since undergoing Quantization; and the Abyss Flower could not be located after it fell to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. As for Einstein and Tesla... they had their bodies permanently changed. And I, as the only person there fit for it, inherited the core of the 1st Herrscher. Having said that, I am, after all, not the original 1st Herrscher. The Herrscher core, these decentralized nanobot-like creatures changed my cells into zombie-like machines. So that I can be prepared against future threats as much as possible. And when necessary, to change my body into the one of that hero. Like I told Professor Planck the day I left home—— This shouldn't have been my burden to carry. Not at all. But... Look at that. That architect that was on TV a moment ago... I noticed, walking around for the last 2 years. The scars that were made on that day are still there 20 years later. Though blood no longer flows from the wound, the scar still remains. Only...there are all these countless people who are braver than I am. ..... The name of 「Welt」 is not a burden to be cast aside. Never. Staten Island. Queens. Brooklyn. Bronx. Manhattan. ..... Can you see it, Ada? All of this is—— Welt!