The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

Yes, Otto was indeed heinous, sacrificing countless lives for his personal goals, and he knew it himself. But were the things he craved really that excessive? He simply wanted to win Karen's heart and be acknowledged by the one he loved.

Now, it is almost the closest he has come to his target. He has finally defeated that woman named Yae Sakura, and his sacrifice and love have finally been acknowledged after five hundred years. But... it is not the real Kallen who said these words, and he must use her to achieve his goal. He must not show any mercy.

First, I used the Herrscher of Reason's ability to create a fake Herrscher core. Then, using the Herrscher of Erosion's ability, I transformed the essentially empty Herrscher core into a virus, secretly infiltrating her body... This quality of Honkai virus, even if I deliberately control it, will uncontrollably transform her constitution towards Honkai, and even her mind will be affected, so...

At this moment, Otto felt a rare moment of hesitation. He had just received so much joy and warmth from the clone Karen, and now he was receiving the same, or even more, pain and resentment in return.

How hateful... Why... Why wasn't she real... Why did I end up like this? It's all because of him, all because of that man Su Qi!

Just as Otto was tasting the bitter fruit, Su Qi sighed softly, "Alright, since you've put it that way, I can only grant your wish."

Having said that, he casually tossed Otto aside beside Kallen, then raised his long sword, looked down at Kallen, and asked, "Will you go first or will he?"

Karen looked at Otto, who scrambled to his feet and said, "Wait, I told you, this has nothing to do with her. If you want to kill someone, just kill me."

Before he could finish speaking, Su Qi kicked him to the ground and said coldly, "Sorry, good people speak, but scum has no room to speak."

That damn bastard!!

Otto was filled with rage, but dared not clash with Su Qi at this moment. He could only look at Karen and, feigning reluctance to involve innocent people, advised, "Karen, that's enough! There's no need to go this far!"

At this point, a bitter smile appeared on his face. "It seems my plan is doomed to fail, and you are the last Karen. Although you are not the real her, I hope you can live on in her place. This will at least prove that my efforts over the past five hundred years have not been entirely in vain."

Karen said calmly, "I'm sorry, I can't pretend that none of this is my business, so let me accompany you to the end this time."

"But……"

Otto was about to try to persuade him again when Su Qi rudely interrupted him, "Enough! How long are you going to dawdle? Do you think this is a scene from a melodramatic romance novel? I'll give you five more seconds at most. Who's first and who's last? Answer me right now!"

Otto paused slightly, then sighed softly, gave Kallen a deep look, and said calmly, "Then I'll go first, but I have a request..."

Before he could finish speaking, Su Qi said decisively, "Request to reject!"

"and many more……"

"Wait, that's rejected! In short, get ready right now and experience firsthand how deeply ingrained the traditional skills of our great Celestial Empire are."

As he spoke, with a thought, he used his telekinesis to freeze Otto in place, rendering him unable to speak.

Oh no!! That bastard didn't even give me a chance to speak!

The unexpected turn of events terrified Otto, who could only look at Karen with pleading eyes, hoping she would make amends for his plan.

Yes, he ultimately decided to continue with the plan. The obsession to resurrect the real Kallen—this obsession had become so deeply ingrained in his soul that even being moved by the actions of the cloned Kallen couldn't shake this unshakeable resolve.

Otto Apocalypse, his life, his soul, everything about him, is deeply entangled in the curse of "Kalen Kaslana," from which there is no hope of escape for eternity.

"Please wait a moment."

As Otto wished, Karen spoke up to stop Su Qi, who had already raised his knife.

"What is it now?" The latter turned his head slightly to look at him, his eyes cold and sharp as knives.

Karen was not afraid, but said sincerely, "I know Otto has committed many crimes, and you will certainly not let him go. I will not object to that, but... could you please let him die without suffering?"

Having said that, he bowed down and kowtowed to the ground, respectfully saying, "Please, at least let me hear his last words, okay?"

Su Qi looked down at her calmly and said indifferently, "I am not a merciful person."

"No, I know you are a kind and gentle person, otherwise you wouldn't have rescued me before and even put an overcoat on me. So this time, could you please show some mercy to Otto, who is about to die?"

"Hmm, all this talk of being kind and giving me the 'friend card,' I didn't realize you were so good at flattering me..."

After speaking, Su Qi glanced at Karen, who was kneeling in worship, and then at Otto, who was frozen in place, unusually yielding with pleading in his eyes. Finally, he sighed softly, "Alas, there is a saying in our land, 'When a person is about to die, their words are good; when a bird is about to die, its song is mournful.' Besides, you have already prostrated yourself in pleas. If I were to refuse you now, it would seem that I am very heartless, wouldn't it?"

We won! Karen! This covert confrontation is our victory!

Otto was overjoyed at the sight, but at that moment... a flash of light, blood splattered, and Su Qi suddenly swung his sword, severing Otto's right arm.

what! ?

A sharp pain shot through him, and before Otto could even process the shock in his heart, his pupils contracted. He then heard Su Qi coldly say, "But I refuse! Because one of my favorite things to do is to give scumbags hope first, and then plunge them into even deeper despair!"

Puff!

The longsword pierced Otto's chest, blood gushing out from the broken blade protruding from his back. Because of the passive ability to cut through spirits inherent in Reverse Scale, Otto experienced a pain akin to his soul being pierced.

But this unparalleled pain was nothing compared to the blow of hope suddenly turning into despair, and the impending shattering of a goal he was determined to achieve no matter what.

At this moment, Su Qi leaned down, his head close, a devilishly pleased smile on his face, and whispered in his ear, "Otto, you wicked thing, you must have been plotting something again, right? But I'm sorry, your emotional fluctuations have already betrayed you, and I don't really believe in the saying 'a dying man's words are good.' Anyway, a scumbag like you will definitely be full of evil until the day you die, right?"

It's over... It's finished... Karen... Is this the end of my goal...?

At this moment, the psychic power that had immobilized Otto had quietly dissipated, but he remained as stiff as a stone statue, his heart seemingly sinking into an inescapable hell. He continued to sink, sink, and sink until finally being swallowed by endless despair.

Chapter Seventy-Six: The End of Blood

"Why...?!"

Karen was shocked by the sudden change. She got up from the ground and looked at Su Qi in disbelief.

Su Qi smiled in response, "I'm sorry, my mercy isn't cheap enough to be given to scum like Otto, so I can't grant your request. Besides, rather than dying with someone like Otto, I think you'd be better off going to find Yae Sakura and rekindle your romance."

Meanwhile, Karen's voice and Su Qi's pause startled Otto, who was surrounded by despair.

No! How can we stop here?! Even if we're in dire straits, as long as we're not dead, it's not time to give up...

His eyes flickered slightly, and he forced himself to calm down despite the excruciating pain that felt like his soul was being pierced. He quietly mobilized the Honkai energy he had just recovered, preparing to seize any opportunity to escape should Su Qi falter even slightly.

But just as he thought of this, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Su Qi pulled the longsword out again, splattering a large amount of blood. Then, with a soft thud, it was immediately thrust back in, and this time, the tip of the blade pierced his Herrscher core located inside his heart with unparalleled precision.

Ding! !

Otto seemed to hear a soft sound in his mind, and then... a cracking sound that meant the last glimmer of hope was shattered.

puff puff!

The gleaming blade pierced through his back once more, and he convulsed in even more intense soul pain, collapsing to the ground.

"Oh, still thinking of making a last-ditch effort?"

The man's mocking voice rang out above them, "But unfortunately, you are no different from being naked in front of me. Every bit of energy you move is clearly perceptible to me, so there is no way you can fight back."

Damn!

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and residual Honkai energy flowed out of the wound along with the blood. His body was gradually becoming weak and cold.

That damn bastard!

At this moment, Otto had an unprecedented premonition that his life was about to come to an end. And at the end of all hope, he discovered for the first time that besides his obsession with resurrecting Kallen, there was something else in his heart: a desire for life and a fear of death.

But it was too late; everything was already settled. Whether it was resurrecting Kallen or continuing to live, it was all an unattainable dream for him. Therefore, his heart, already depleted, was once again filled with something new—resentment and anger.

Su Qi...it's all your fault...it's all your fault...you stole my destiny! You ruined my plans! You destroyed everything I had!

Useless reason crumbled at the last moment. Apart from the day Kallen died, this was the second and the last time Otto was dominated by madness, resentment, and anger.

"I'll kill you!"

He used his already filthy arms to support himself on the ground, trying to stand up and launch a final attack on Su Qi, but his painful and powerless body couldn't even complete this simplest task. He could only scratch the ground again and again, weakly trying to stand up before slipping and falling down, so that he was covered in mud and looked like a monkey rolling in a swamp.

“Otto…”

Seeing Otto in such a disheveled state, Karen felt conflicted. She stood up and tried to help him up, but at that moment...

Snapped!

Su Qi suddenly appeared behind her and knocked her unconscious with a chop to the neck.

"I'm not some kind of demon, so you don't need to stand by and watch what happens next."

After saying that, he used telekinesis to move the unconscious Kallen aside, then walked over and kicked the still struggling Otto to the ground, then stomped heavily on his chest, knocking him backward to the ground.

"Otto, the high and mighty Archbishop of Destiny, how does it feel to be looked down upon and trampled on like this?"

Su Qi looked down at Otto, pouring another bucket of gasoline on the latter's heart.

"Su...Qi!!!"

Otto stared intently at Su Qi above him, his eyes bloodshot, his teeth clenched, as he growled and relentlessly pounded the leg pressing down on his chest with his blood-stained, nail-scratched hands. But the leg remained unmoved, unresponsive, and wouldn't budge an inch no matter how frantically he attacked.

Ignoring Otto's madness, Su Qi calmly said, "You used to be just like this, looking down on others and letting them become your victims without a care, right? Now it's your turn. Are you ready?"

Otto ignored Su Qi's words, glaring at him and growling, "It's all because of you! It's all because of you! If it weren't for you, my plan..."

"It won't succeed!"

Su Qi suddenly interrupted him in a cold voice, then raised his ego, the blade pointing diagonally into the sky reflecting a cold light.

Then, with a flash of light, Otto's neck was cleanly severed with a snap.

puff...

Fresh blood, still steaming, spurted out, and a head with distorted and swollen features, its face unrecognizable, flew low before quickly rolling back into the dust.

"That felt amazing!"

After glancing at the unseeing pig's head at his feet, Su Qi finally let out a long breath and sheathed his sword.

Well, although he had previously said that he would let Otto experience the traditional arts of the Great Celestial Empire and execute him by slow slicing, it was just a threat. He had no interest in putting in so much effort for someone like Otto, nor did he intend to humiliate Otto to that extent.

After all, he really wasn't a demon, and he didn't have any deep-seated hatred for Otto; he was just very unhappy with his actions, so that was enough.

"Next, let's go to that underground base and find the 'key'..."

Su Qi put the Reverse Scale back into his personal space, used his telekinesis to lift Kallen, and was about to return to Otto's secret base when he suddenly stopped and realized that the concentration of Honkai energy in the surrounding area was rising rapidly.

"What's going on? Is the big boss making an early appearance?"

He looked around and, with his incredibly keen senses, discovered that a continuous stream of Honkai energy was seeping out from the imaginary space on the other side of the real space, while a huge wave of Honkai energy was gathering above his head.

Su Qi looked up and saw countless energies of collapse converging from all directions, forming a massive cloud vortex that seemed to cover the entire Antarctica. In the very center of the cloud vortex, a gigantic eye was rapidly taking shape... It was the "Eye of the Heavens" he had seen after the battle of Canaan, but this time it was even larger in scale.

"very good……"

A moment later, the Eye of Heaven was fully formed, and a powerful wave of consciousness was projected from it, directly connecting with Su Qi's consciousness.

“You did a good job, outsider.”

The other person's voice echoed in his mind, its tone cold and sinister, every word filled with undisguised malice.

Su Qi raised an eyebrow and fearlessly replied through the mental connection, "I took down your number one henchman, and you're cheering for me? Didn't you take your medicine today?"

"Of course, because this trial can end early."

"Ending prematurely, you mean humanity is going to become extinct prematurely?"