'Is this what Pride feels like?... Seeing the most honest and stubborn Valkryie resort to tricking me. I feel like a parent watching their kid grow up.' Otto smiled warmly at himself.
"What's with that face? It's kinda scaring me." Bianka muttered as she put her somehow undamaged phone in her pocket.
"Nonsense, it's my happy face! I am so proud of you, sweet child. Forcing me into a spar, then using your trump card to put me in a situation where I had no choice but to fight back, and the part where you acted as if my words saddened you. What a splendid performance! I just want to hug you, but it seems I'm stuck on this well-made throne."
Bianka felt her face twitch in bafflement.
"I can't believe you still have the energy to be messing with me...Yeah, I did want to fight you at full force, but I underestimated how strong you were. When you started to trash-talking me...I knew you didn't do it out of malice, but something just snapped, and I went a little too far...My bad."
"Oh, I thought you just wanted to show off how much stronger you got, especially with that Battlesuit. So you didn't have that armor before our match, quite a shame, I didn't get to see it fully bloom its wings."
Bianka let out a smirk of unyielding fury, "You trying to provoke me! We can go again, but this time I ain't holding back anything, you devilish man! I will demolish you with these so-called unfinished wings."
The incomplete golden illusionary Battlesuit appeared on Bianka; it shone brighter than ever, but its luster seemed to have dimmed.
The sitting man clapped in his bound seat. "Still stubborn as always. Ha, why don't I call you Durandal instead? It seems more fitting for you with your current status, but just as a sword can dull, we both know...You can't handle the drain on your energy with that Battlesuit, can you?"
His guess was right as the golden pieces began to crumble into the air and disappear one by one. Bianka let out a scoffing tsk at the clear results of her deplating Honkai Energy.
"Can I ask?... How did you manage to get that strong in three days? Did I severely underestimate you, or were you holding back that much?" The blonde Valkyrie asked with curious eyes.
Otto answered straight to her face, "I cheated with magic potions!"
"What's that supposed to mean!? I get the excuse of modifying your body, but this? Really?"
"Yes. Don't you know that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, and I forgot to mention I stopped Time so that my first hit would connect." Otto honestly confessed.
"...You are a piece of work. Is this your trick of letting me down easy? I know when to accept that I lost, especially against you."
"Where's your confidence, Bianka? What happened to the Valkyrie who would rush through enemy lines to save their Squadmate? Weren't you pushing me back in that Battlesuits of yours, I would have lost if you kept it up."
"Then I would have run out of stamina because you'll keep on doing everything like a clown!" She grumbled, "Well, thanks to you, I learned something about myself...I hate it whenever you start talking like a villain, and I like fighting you because of that. Is it weird that I have this sort of complex?"
"That's for you to find out for yourself...At least you're not harming anyone other than your unfortunate future victims...Now come along, then we have to speak with Miss Nagamitsu about her findings...Luna, you come too! Maybe the McSmith found something about you, too."
"Already finished? Alright, I am coming." Nearby, Luna stood up from the bench and started to rush toward the two blondes.
Otto stood up from the throne and took a look around the room. Numerous craters, a cracked floor, broken ceilings, and a couple of holes in the room.
He grimaced and let out a tsk.
"Property damage will always be the bane of my existence."
Soon, the party of an Overseer, a Goose, and a Bat made their way to the still absent-minded Nagamitsu
...
Nagamitsu couldn't believe what she had just seen in the few minutes of Bianka's fight with Otto. She had thought that Bianka would have the upper hand because of numerous factors, but she figured that Overseer would have some tricks up his sleeves.
There were rumors about Otto since the start of March that he had started acting more human, talking to trash cans, making jokes, and shooting at the range. Quite bizarre.
It was as if the Overseer was in a phase of empathy, and not to mention, a plethora of people spotted him training with Bianka. That was even more strange. When did training fit in that man's definition?
Many were chalking it up to the man messing around, since nobody knew what was going through his mind.
Nagamitsu even believed the rumors were a bunch of baloney. She knew what he was like, the thumb-twiddling, scheming man who monopolized the entire industry of Honkai Energy-based products and the defense force.
Could anyone in the world replicate an Artificial Stigmata?
'Gripping the World in a choke hold, and I still don't know why he does what he does...'
Nevertheless, her opinion changed once she saw him in action.
'What a cheater, monster, and illogical castosphere! What type of technology does it take to achieve near the speed of light?'
Her eyes glared at the alarming speed of the data on her tablet as a flush started to appear on her face.
'Is it wrong to get off on how many interesting things this man keeps on bringing me...I am essentially evil at this point.'
"Nagamitsu..." A voice called out to her, but it went through her head.
'Otto Apocalypse, the man covered in mysteries...One day, I'll truly see who you are. You interesting and damned smiling bastard.'
"Elizabeth McSmith..."
The mention of her actual name got the lady out of her research stupor, and her eyes widened at the one who woke up.
It was an Otto with two ducks trailing behind him.
"Sorry for my absence of mind, Overseer. I can't wrap around what I just saw. I didn't know Bianka could suddenly transform into an entirely different Battlesuit on command
...From what I understand, that Bubble World of yours can be seen as a tilted cup, and with each moment of instability, the liquid would keep on spilling.
The good news is that Battlesuit represents your deeper control of your Bubble World. So your fragile balance has some resurience, but the most important thing is that dying is the worst outcome for you."
Bianka let out a heavy sigh, "I already knew that responsibility when I decided to take on that burden. If the fate of the World that I cherish is at the cost of my livelihood, then so be it."
"Given the chance, if an opportunity for your Bubble World could be safely extracted and grafted onto the Universe (Imaginary Tree), would you take it?" Otto asked her.
"Of course!" She replied with ear-bursting energy.
Nagamitsu pushed up her monocle and remarked with a smirk, "Is that foreshadowing I hear or a lie?"
"It's not a lie, I could think of a solution but it would be half assed one so I would rather wait in the future for a train to aid me in this endeavor for a permanent solution."
'The Second Divine Key or Sequence 1 Attendant of Mysteries of the Fool Pathway would help Bianka's condition, but getting a Divine Key under a bridge in London is much easier than ascending to near Godhood.' Otto thought to himself.
"Hah...Hearing you curse sounds weird, but natural coming from you." Nagamitsu remarked to herself.
Bianka beamed positively, hearing the man's words, "How much time? If you managed to help me...I'll call you Master Otto while saluting in the honor of Schicksal until the day I die."
"Isn't that too much?" Luna chimed in.
"The exact time frame is just an estimate, but if I can't help you within 3 years...You have the right to call me a Fraud. Moving on....Luna."
"Y-Yes." She stuttered upon being suddenly called out.
"Do you always crave the warmth of human blood, or can you eat food normally?"
Nagamitsu had to double-take that question as she suddenly choked on her saliva, "Alright, I wasn't expecting that, but coming from a girl who can control blood like Dracula, it's appropriate."
"I can eat food fine, but sometimes it's rather bland, and the only thing I can enjoy is cherry-flavored things. Luckily, I can drink from you, "Gramps."...Hehe."
"If that's the case, can you eat a croc covered in cherry flavoring?" The Fool of a Man questioned with a light, teasing smile.
"......Bianka was right. You are a piece of work."
"Half the time, I have no idea what he's saying." Bianka nodded along with Luna.
Otto chuckled at the two's antics, "I was just trying to lighten up the mood, especially with how beautiful that art of blood was. Hardblood right? Seeing it up close...Are you conjuring blood out of thin air, then manipulating it into condensing into whatever you want?"
Nagamitsu had realized and started talking as well, "I almost forgot, I was about to ask about that as well...I was chalking it up as a Stigma ability. Some Valkryies have the most simple to the most absurd abilities. There was one case of a Valkyrie that could perceive multiple Timelines, but she went insane and locked herself up.
Luna's head started to malfunction from the onslaught of words. "...I don't know how to explain it. I just do it instinctively, and it's like a muscle that I can work out so it'll get stronger the more I use it. I've always been practicing while in an unfortunate place."
"Sorry if that brought a sore spot in your mind, I was just curious, that's all." Nagamitsu apologized.
"No worries, I've gotten over it and stabbed it till it burned as fuel for my dreams." Luna started to sweetly smile at the blonde man.
Otto coughed at the sudden attention and diverted the topic, "Nagamitsu, is there anything wrong with Luna, biologically speaking?"
"Shouldn't you be the one asking me that question, Gramps? I know my body better than anyone else." Luna said.
"You have a point, Luna, but an X-ray and scanning is more viable than feeling yourself."
Nagamitsu started to press on her tablet and finally found her results. "Well, since she was checked up when she got into HQ, her files would be accessible to me."
"Checks up, huh...Did I forget I was afraid of needles, or was it something else?" Bianka for the life of her couldn't remember.
The wine-haired scientist continued, "Luna is technically human, but her genetic makeup got scrambled, maybe because of her Stigma...She has to consume human blood since it's engraved into her genes. Garlic, Water, and, unless it's Honkai-based, normal wooden stakes wouldn't kill her."
"Anything else?" Otto questioned.
"Well, with time, the more blood she consumes...The stronger her vitality would be. You know, Super Strength, Stamina, Durability and etc...At this point, I think all Natural stigmas are reality-breaking at this point."
Done with the explaining, Nagamitsu put down her tablet and took a moment to catch her breath.
"That's so...Thank you for the check up, Miss Nagamitsu, I'll be sure to pay you extra for your time. Now with business done, I'll walk you home, Luna." Otto extended his hand to the girl.
"But I don't have a house." Nevertheless, Luna took his hand and grabbed it tightly in a possessive hold.
Both of them walked out of the room promptly, and with them out of sight, Nagamitsu broke the silence.
"Welp, I should be going now unless you want to do some catching up to do?" She stated as she got up from the metal bench.
"I would love to, but it's mostly gonna be about work unless you're interested in the picture I got of our Overseer," Bianka suggested.
"The one where he looks like a deer in headlights...That's on the boundary of becoming blackmail. Alright, hit me with it." Nagamitsu went to straighten her monocle, but all she felt was her warm face and her lens gone out of sight.
"I swear it was on my face..." The Researcher checked her pockets and lab coat, but alas, her monocle was nowhere to be found.
Bianka stared at Nagamitsu with a worried gaze, but as she touched the pocket of her shorts.
"Where'd my phone gone...No it can't be."
...
'The final lesson of a Maruder is that Stealing is only a means, not the end goal.'
And with that, as Otto walked through the halls of the Schicksal Dorms toward Luna's room, he felt a shattering sensation in his soul.
The Marauder Potion was completely digested. He could feel his senses sharpened and his hands feeling nimbler than ever.
With the feedback of stealing a "S-Rank" Valkryie's Phone right in front of her face, it jumped up straight to 90%, and with the last 10% being the lesson he learned, and the Monocle he stole from Nagamitsu was extra.
Of course, Otto would give it back...If only they found him. What a good Overseer who treated his employees with respect, maybe he should get the Best Boss of the Year.
'Thank you, Bianka, I'll be sure to repay for my investment.'
His thoughts stopped as the familiar door of Luna's room appeared in his sight, and his hand grabbed onto the handle to open it.
"How did you know I was getting tired all of a sudden?" Luna yawned her words even at the time when the sun shone.
"Just a guess. Fighting a Valkyrie is straining on the body. Make sure to shower so you don't get your bed covered in sweat...Good Morning." She didn't resist his hands as they guided her into her room.
The last thing she noticed before the door closed was the still overpowering and delicious scent coming from his body...'Ah, one day I'll get strong enough to protect you, Pretty Princess.'
With Luna about to go to sleep, Otto pulled out the "borrowed" phone he had and thought to open but was it worth deleting the picture of him with an expression of a pigion.
It was worth it...Pettiness is in the definition of Otto Apocalypse. With the use of his Spiritual Intuition, the phone password was cracked, which was 1234, and soon, opening the photos app, the man made sure to delete the stain of his image.
'My name is Otto Apocalypse, and I will forever be a petty man.'
Unbeknownst to the man, a maid with honey blonde hair was stalking the area, and in her hand was a phone viewing an image.
"...Master Otto does look like a Deer in headlights."