Chapter 25: Sea: So, You're Good at Creating Apostles, Huh?

Kolostein, Church.

Otto Apocalypse calmly adjusted his attire, touching the Black Abyss White Flower inverted in the ground, pondering over the battle he just had with Bianka Durandal Ataegina.

It was a battle with a predetermined outcome.

Since the moment he found the white-haired girl in the crashed plane and revived her through surgery, Otto realized that within that petite body lay boundless potential.

One could even say that from that day forth, Otto Apocalypse had already determined that Bianka Ataegina would surpass everyone and become the top combat force of Schicksal.

Including himself.

Bianka demonstrated exceptional talent, coupled with her diligent training, embodying the role of "someone who works harder than those who are stronger than her."

She was like a vast sponge, absorbing all kinds of knowledge without discrimination. What's even more terrifying was that under the nurturing of the world bubbles she carried, the girl's body became increasingly perfect, blending strength with gentleness.

In just a few years, there was nothing left for the instructors at the Schicksal headquarters to teach her.

Next came continuous real-world combat. Bianka honed her skills in battles against Honkai Beasts, her marksmanship becoming even sharper.

With the latest Valkyrie armor [Bright Knight · Excelsis] and weapons, Bianka Ataegina quickly became the epitome of a Schicksal Valkyrie, an indomitable banner.

Just as the blond man had anticipated, Durandal surpassed Otto once again in the recent battle, proving once more the value of being "the number one in Schicksal."

However, victory in battle did not mean everything.

By delaying enough time through his battle with Durandal, Otto successfully [Transformed] and further [Sublimated]—he successfully linked with the Imaginary Tree and used its power to teleport Bianka to a specific location in the imaginary space.

There, Bianka Durandal Ataegina would learn the truth about her origins and grow once again.

"——!"

What was the Imaginary Tree saying, what was it conveying to him?

Rarely, Otto frowned. His gaze turned towards the distance, piercing through the boundaries of reality and imaginary, even reaching the edge of the Sea of Quanta.

Otto saw the towering trunk of the Imaginary Tree, saw its branches extending, with one beam of light linking to himself. Meanwhile, the tide of the Quantum Sea lapped against the Imaginary Tree, stirring up waves, attempting to sever his connection with the tree.

The man even perceived the emotions of the sea from these waves—anger.

Was it because he accepted the gift of the Imaginary Tree and voluntarily became an apostle of the imaginary numbers?

"Dadada..."

Otto snapped back to reality, his vision returning to normal. He stared at the red-and-white figure walking towards him not far away, revealing a mysterious smile.

"Oh, the second guest has arrived just in time."

The Herrscher of Flamescion, Kiana, looked at the blond man and the weapon in his hand, surprised.

"...Otto! And is that— Abyss Flower?"

"Yes, that's something the first guest left behind here. She's resting in the imaginary space now. I hope that doesn't disappoint you."

Otto caressed the grip of the Black Abyss White Flower, squinting slightly, continuing with his plan.

---

The Sea of Quanta is angry!

It and the Imaginary Tree can both create large armies and powerful individuals, but generally, such individuals are rare and cannot be forced.

And what did it see today?

A seemingly perfect specimen plunged directly into the arms of the tree, without any twists or turns, smoothly becoming its apostle.

Upon seeing this scene, the Tree, almost provocatively, increased the transmission of imaginary power, making its branches glitter.

Why would it be like this? What happened? Why is it like this?

The Quantum Sea emitted three soulful questions, followed by an outburst of anger—

So, you're good at attracting people, huh? Just wait, I'll find someone too!

Ah, thanks to its continuous monitoring of the area where the prey first appeared, it has now found a specimen that is very qualified to become its apostle.

Uh, what should it do next?

Feeling a bit embarrassed, the Sea gave up thinking. While it had seen humans accepting quantum power before, most of them were by chance.

To be honest, it had created many quantum lobsters, quantum jellyfish, quantum spheres... well, never human apostles.

The Sea itself had never actively promoted such a process, so it didn't have the rich experience of the Imaginary Tree, which always played with the idea of making a Herrschers whenever it felt like it.

After a few seconds of silence, it chose to give up thinking.

The Sea of Quanta condensed its tentacles, grabbed the body of the specimen, and pulled her over.

"Seele! Be careful!"

"Another me, where exactly is this... wah!"

Just subjected to strange experiments, dropping from her original world into the Quantum Sea, Seele Vollerie's eyes widened as she saw a few bandages emerge from the surroundings, grabbing her feet and pulling her.

Then, the thick quantum energy almost suffocated her, filling every inch of space around her. She coughed, clenched her fists, tears streaming down her face.

"Hold on, Seele!"

Seeing Seele's painful state, Veliona felt as if she were ants on a hot pan, desperate to jump out and exchange senses with her. However, she was blocked by an unknown force, and every attempt felt like banging her head against a wall, leaving her dizzy.

After a dozen attempts, Veliona's eyes were seeing stars as she clutched her head, forcing her to give up the idea of exchanging and instead resorting to verbal encouragement to help Seele through this difficult time.

"Ugh... Sister Bronya... I miss you so much..."

Her vision blurred by tears, Seele reached out, her strong desire driving the energy gathered by the Sea to break through the boundary between quantum and reality—

St. Fontaine, Arcane Castle Ruins.

Powerful quantum energy came from the void, passing through the blue quantum portal, spreading out like an explosion. All the quantum shadows touched by this shock wave went into a frenzy, increasing their attack strength and speed.

Even the Divine Key [Cosmic Juggernaut] maintaining the quantum portal was affected by this quantum energy shock. It vibrated wildly, causing the portal to waver. Several unlucky Honkai Beasts passed through the unstable gate at this moment, turning into pieces of debris crashing to the ground.

Several large quantum jellyfish shook, seeming to express their joy. But the next moment, the portal hit by the shock wave suddenly expanded several times, cutting these unlucky jellyfish into two segments.

An unconcious girl fell from the portal, and another girl with red eyes, almost identical to her, emerged from her body, reaching out her arms to embrace her.

Veliona acted as a cushion, cushioning Seele's landing, and somewhat embarrassedly rolled on the ground.

"Cough... Where is this...?"

Looking at the unfamiliar surroundings and then at her hands, and the Seele who had fainted beside her, Veliona froze: "How did I come out of Seele's body? Wasn't it supposed to be an exchange? And what's with this new body?"

"——!"

And is someone talking to me?

Before she could be confused for too long, the monsters around her roared, and Veliona instantly made a decision upon seeing those ferocious, bloodthirsty creatures.

Veliona picked up Seele and ran!

She exerted force under her feet, emitting a blue light all over her body.

The next moment, the blue light disappeared, and she teleported with Seele to a faraway distance.

"——!——!"

"Stop bothering me! Leave me alone!"

Veliona waved angrily, cutting off the connection between her with Seele and the unknown.

The Sea of Quanta: ?