On how PhDs become human evil

Otto is in a complete panic. Although he came here with Chen's half-hearted encouragement, he was really not prepared at all to meet Karen!

Don't tell him to prepare mentally on the way here. Just like no matter how much you prepare before the college entrance exam, you'll still panic when the exam actually comes. Otto thought he was mentally prepared, but he wasn't.

"What should I do... I hope I won't get beaten up... What if Kallen doesn't remember me? Should I change my clothes... Is purple too conspicuous?"

Looking at the restless Otto, Rita, who was standing beside him, suddenly felt that this Archbishop of Destiny was essentially still just a child. Look at him now, people would believe he was a son-in-law who was about to meet his mother-in-law.

“Your Excellency, please calm down. No matter how anxious you are, you will eventually have to see Lady Karen.”

"But Rita, I don't know what expression or attitude to use when facing Kallen. Should I be cold? Or gentle? What if I behave too badly and Kallen dislikes me?"

Otto was as anxious as a foolish husband waiting for his wife to give birth in the operating room. Even though he was a powerful and cunning figure in the Honkai world, he was just a child in front of his beloved.

"Pfft! You're so funny, Otto!"

Just as Otto was extremely anxious, a clear, bell-like laugh rang in his ears. The moment he heard the voice, Otto was struck dumb, as if he had been hit by a calamity drug, and stood there in a daze.

"What's wrong? Aren't you going to turn around and look at me?"

The owner of the voice urged, but Otto just stood there, not turning around, and even lowering his head little by little, like a child who was scolded at school and dared not look at the teacher.

"Sigh—" The person behind him sighed, and then Otto heard footsteps. Just as he was about to turn and leave, a pair of hands cupped his face, causing his gaze to involuntarily shift upwards.

Karen's face instantly filled Otto's field of vision.

"Long time no see, Otto."

Karen said with a light smile, but Otto, upon hearing this, felt a storm raging in his heart.

She still remembers herself; she hasn't forgotten herself!

“Ka...Karen?” Otto’s tone was uncertain.

He was afraid, afraid that the Kallen in front of him was just like his previous clones, a doll with Kallen's appearance.

"Hmm, what's wrong, Otto?" Karen responded with a smile. "Haven't seen you in five hundred years, don't you recognize me?"

"How could that be! Even if I suffered irreparable memory loss, I could never forget you!"

Otto suddenly reached out and hugged Karen tightly. The real touch almost made Otto cry tears of joy!

It's really Karen!

It's not an illusion, it's not a dream, it's the real Kallen!

"I miss you so much... my Karen..."

Five hundred years, 182,500 days—that's how long Otto has been missing Kallen. Every hour, every minute, every second of that long period of time, Otto has been thinking of Kallen.

Although Otto only said one sentence, Kallen could sense that he had truly waited for her for far too long.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Otto."

"Not long... as long as you can come back, I'm willing to wait another five hundred years."

"Otto... you idiot," Karen said playfully. "Okay, stop hugging me like that. What if someone sees us?"

"So what if you see it? Anyway, I don't want to let go of your hand again. I'm afraid you'll leave me again like you did five hundred years ago."

Otto waited five hundred years for this hug, but he didn't want to wait five hundred years for just one hug!

Karen felt that she had underestimated Otto's longing for her. She was summoned right after Otto's execution, so her memories were still stuck five hundred years ago.

Just as there is a generation gap between two generations, there is also a generation gap between Kallen and Otto, and it is a five-hundred-year gap. The two have been separated for five hundred years, and this long period of time cannot be filled in a short time.

So all Kallen can do now is silently accept Otto's embrace.

After a long while, Otto finally let go: "I'm sorry, Karen, I showed you my out-of-control side."

"It's nothing, it's just... is five hundred years really too long? You've become a little unfamiliar to me, you've grown so tall already."

Otto felt a chill run down his spine when he heard the first part of Karen's sentence, but he immediately laughed when she said the second part: "How can I protect you if I don't grow taller? Aren't tall men supposed to give people a sense of security?"

"Oh dear, I was the one protecting you for five hundred years, how come we've started fighting after five hundred years?"

"After all, I can't let you suffer anymore. You used to protect me, and now it's my turn to protect you."

Five hundred years ago, Otto could only watch helplessly as Kallen dragged her weakened body to fight the Honkai Beasts. He hated his weak past self, so Otto trained himself so that he could protect Kallen after she was resurrected.

"Protect me... You've really changed a lot. You would never have said something like that before. It's a little strange." Kallen chuckled awkwardly. "Speaking of Otto, I've heard quite a bit about you from Master... Bai Jie."

Upon hearing this, Otto's heart skipped a beat—

(The professor told Kallen about my embarrassing past? Oh no! I'm doomed! Kallen will definitely hate me! Oh no!)

"Thank you, Otto."

Unexpectedly, Karen said this to Otto with a serious expression.

"Thank you for doing so much for me. You've worried about me for five hundred years. Thank you. And... I'll have to trouble you again in the future."

"You're welcome... Eh? From now on?" Otto was stunned.

"After all, you have to be punished for doing wrong. Since you've done so many wrong things over the past five hundred years, you naturally have to pay for them one by one. You're not trying to run away, are you?"

After hearing about Otto from Bai Jie, Karen made this decision. In the eyes of the world, Otto was a person who had committed a heinous crime, but Karen knew that she was the culprit. If it weren't for her, Otto would not have made such a mistake.

In terms of classification, she was the mastermind, while Otto was an accomplice. And since they had made mistakes, they naturally had to atone for them. Otto had to pay for all the mistakes he had made over the past five hundred years!

The two of them will repay it together.

"I will be with you, Otto, because of the tragedies caused by us, we will atone for them in the future, together."

"Karen... um, let's do it together."

Nodding, Otto gripped Karen's hand tightly.

At this moment, Archbishop Otto Apocalypse emerged from five hundred years of wandering and took his first step into the future—together with the one he loved most.

P.S.: Update

P.S.: I revised the Otto and Karen pairing nearly ten times before finally settling on this—the two of them aton for Otto's past actions later in life. That should be reasonable, right? Readers who think this setup is bad are welcome to share their opinions.

P.S.: Please recommend, vote with monthly tickets, and give me a reward!

Section 114, Chapter 16. The King's Feast? Silver Boss!

According to records, the Holy Grail War was a ritual in which seven magicians summoned their respective Servants, allowing these mythical or historical heroic spirits to engage in a battle of gods. The magicians who summoned them could simply watch from the shadows.

However, in this Holy Grail War, let alone a battle of gods, apart from the very first night, the Servants didn't fight each other even once. They were all frantically probing each other like espionage agents, even though they were already at each other's doorsteps, they just wouldn't go in.

Other people's Holy Grail Wars are all about earth-shattering battles and the loss of the sun and moon, as if they're afraid the fighting isn't intense enough. But this Holy Grail War of White Knight is unusually quiet—although when it actually happens, it's a battle of gods.

Now, a group of people, seemingly unable to bear the overly peaceful environment any longer, have brazenly arrived at Bai Jie's doorstep.

"So you just walked in like that?" Bai Jie looked at Waver and Iskandar, who were being held at the neck by Red with a dagger as soon as they entered the room, his eyes radiating the look of someone looking at an idiot. "Red, put the dagger away. I don't think they mean any harm."

"No, the enemy?"

"Not at the moment."

Hearing her doctor say this, Red put away her sword and her chilling killing intent, and went to the side to stroke the Kingslayer's tail. Although it couldn't compare to the ones from Provence and Texas, the Kingslayer's tail still felt very comfortable to touch.

Kingslayer: Someone save me! My tail is about to disappear!

Sensing the presence behind him leave, Weber's legs went weak and he collapsed to his seat, cold sweat beading on his forehead; it was clear he was terrified.

Not everyone can withstand the gaze of a wolf pack. Even Broken Bones was still scared to death by Red.

(The author was just one hit away from breaking the bone when the red buff was ready, and the attack was so powerful it scared him to death.)

"Wow, I didn't expect you to have so many capable subordinates. That assassin was really decisive; I didn't even have time to react," Iskandar laughed, clearly showing his admiration for Red.

"So, what are you doing here, orangutan?" Sirin asked coldly from her sofa. "You're not here because you've been in the real world for too long and you're begging me to send you back, are you?"

"Hahaha! How could that be! I haven't even had a proper chance to compete with all of you heroes yet. Wouldn't it be a shame to leave like this?"

"Then what are you doing here? I don't have time to chat with you."

"As expected of the Queen, she speaks so frankly. Well then, I'll get straight to the point—"

--------------------------

Inside the Einzbern Castle in the forest, Artoria and Irisviel were walking when suddenly a roaring sound rang in their ears.

Moreover, the deafening roar that tore through the night also put a tremendous strain on Irisviel's magic circuits, and the dizziness almost caused Irisviel to collapse on the veranda.

The booming sound came from nearby thunder, and the ensuing magical shock meant that the barrier in the forest outside the city had been attacked. Although the barrier was not something that could be easily destroyed, the spell had been broken.

—Has someone made a direct breakthrough?

"Irisviel, are you alright!" Artoria, who was standing beside her, immediately helped Irisviel up as she was about to collapse. "That thunder just now, and that reckless tactic... the opponent must be Rider."

"I think so too."

In the current Holy Grail War, only two people possess the power of lightning: Sirin and Iskandar. Sirin and her Master are clearly not the kind of people who act rashly. Rather than engaging in a laborious head-on attack, Artoria is more inclined to believe that Whitebeard will sabotage things from the shadows.

Don't ask her how she knew; it's Merlin's fault.

"Hey, King of Knights! I've come here specifically to meet you. Come out now, okay?"

What are you doing here, Rider?

Artoria, dressed in silver armor and on high alert, was completely stunned when she saw Iskandar outside the castle.

What did she see? The great king who almost conquered the world was now wearing jeans and a t-shirt! And he was carrying a large wine barrel on his arm and at his waist!

This doesn't look like someone coming to cause trouble at all; it looks more like a boss coming to deliver alcohol.

In response to Artoria's question, the Conqueror King clapped the wine barrel in his hand and laughed loudly, "Can't you tell? I'm here to drink with you! Stop standing there and lead the way. Is there a courtyard suitable for a banquet? This castle is all dusty, no good."

Artoria sighed helplessly, the anger that had been building up in her chest vanished. Looking at this seemingly harmless opponent, she couldn't maintain her fighting spirit.

"Oh, right, I also brought some people with me. The Queen is here too."

"You said you were going to hold a banquet, but you chose this place instead. I can't help but suspect you're making fun of me." In the sky, Sirin spread her light wings and said, "This castle, filled with a chilling atmosphere, really reminds me of bad things."

"Oh? Is it related to your past life? Could it be that you, Queen, were also imprisoned in a castle before?"

Do you want me to tear your mouth apart, you ant!