The Fire-Chasing Herrscher Who Destroyed the World

"Come, have a taste. This glass of red wine was hidden by me five hundred years ago."

Mikael took the wine glass from Otto's hand and shook it gently. The blood-like bright red liquid sloshed around in the crystal glass, leaving shallow traces on the wall of the glass.

He leaned in and took a sip, his eyes narrowing unconsciously.

"Otto, I don't dare to drink this wine from you."

Otto sat on the shining golden bishop's chair, caressing the velvet cushion with one hand, and brought the wine glass to his mouth with the other hand, taking a sip.

"Ah - I didn't expect that the strongest man of an era and the first Herrscher of the previous civilization would be afraid. This is really surprising. I thought that heroes like you have no fear in your hearts."

"snort."

Mikael relaxed his straight back and leaned back into the seat as deeply as Otto. Before he spoke, he glanced at the three-dimensional projection on his right, which showed an image of a group of Valkyries answering papers in a classroom.

Of course, as expected, the center of the picture is Kiana... no, it is the experimental subject numbered K423.

Seeing her scratching her head at the blank test paper, Mikael chuckled, and then turned to look at Rita, who was standing upright not far away from everyone, seemingly thinking about whether the other party could Listen to the conversation here clearly.

After half a minute, he slowly answered Otto's previous words:

“As long as you are human, you cannot completely abandon fear.”

"But you are different, Mikael, are you really a human being? Not to mention other things, you have lived for more than 50,000 years. What does the so-called 'human being' look like in your eyes? Just like humans themselves. There’s not much difference between the Chao fungus who doesn’t know Hui Shuo and the cricket who doesn’t know Spring and Autumn. Does the ‘human nature’ that we Chao fungus and crickets summarize really apply to you?”

Mikael shook his head, but Otto knew that it didn't mean "inapplicable".

"Hua is the same age as me, but I awakened her five thousand years ago, so she is considered to be five thousand years old. And you, Otto, are almost six hundred years old, aren't you?"

Otto didn't answer. While sipping his wine, he glanced at Theresa who was sitting behind the principal's white card further away, looking anxiously here from time to time.

"Otto, you should know that when the quantity accumulates to a certain extent, the accumulation of quantity becomes meaningless. Is there really a big difference between fifty thousand years, five thousand years and five hundred years?"

Mikael said softly and drank all the wine in the glass.

Otto did not lie. This glass of wine was indeed buried under the ground of Klosten five hundred years ago. On the day he led the rebels back to Klosten, on the day he avenged Kallen, on the day he became On the day when he became a bishop, he buried the bottle of wine that Karen drank at the door of the Cathedral of Destiny.

In the mouth, the wine is a bit thicker and colder than normal. If it weren't for the astringency, sourness, and the little fruity flavor left, in terms of taste alone, Mikael would have felt like a glass of blood that had been frozen in the cellar for five hundred years.

And this is indeed the case.

What Otto buried was wine, but it was never wine.

That is the bitter fruit of all that happened five hundred years ago.

What created it was the tragedy of his and Kallen's personalities, as well as the fate of Mikael's intervention.

"How's it going? Does it taste good?"

Mikael's eyelids drooped, and even when he heard Otto's voice, he only raised them slightly.

"fine."

His tone was as calm as water.

"I still have wine that has been buried for 50,000 years. Do you want to try it?"

A smile spread across Otto's face. Of course, wine is more than just wine, but he is still happy to hear the stories from fifty thousand years ago.

At first, he was so idle that there was very little in the world that could attract his interest except that one thing.

Secondly, most of his current understanding of the history of the previous era still comes from some fragmentary information in the void. Not to mention that this information is incomplete... In short, just like this man's comrades, Otto Apokalis also cannot understand this man.

No, it’s not that I can’t understand it.

"You said before that what you want to do is the same as me?"

Mikael nodded, then shook his head.

"Same, but a little different."

Otto stared at Mikael's trembling eyelashes and did not continue to ask.

The two men reached another deal in just a few words. Even though every word of it has nothing to do with the content of their transaction.

However, for Mikael and Otto, the grandfather and grandson, such an obscure exchange is also a kind of confrontation, and the way it looks now is just right.

If you really want to tell everything in detail and frankly, there is no need. That's something only a fool like Kevin needs to do.

but……

"That idiot Kevin, after five hundred years, he should have figured it out, right?"

However, thinking of Kaslana's ancestor, Mikael naturally glanced at Kiana under the surveillance camera.

The girl's neatly arranged braids had been pulled into a mess by Mei Yi early in the morning. She pulled the paper helplessly with both hands. Compared with the blank space at the beginning, there were finally more scattered pieces on the paper. A few black spots.

All I can say is, it’s not surprising. Tutoring is not gold, it requires long-term persistence to be effective. After tutoring for two days before the exam, Mikael estimated that at most, Kiana could leave two less spaces on the test paper, so that the score would not be two fried dough sticks and one egg. ——A big "0" and two underscores.

"Teriri—Teriri, Teriri! Teriri—Teriri, Teriri!"

"Ugh! Ahem! Ahem!"

Otto just took a sip of wine and almost spit it on Mikael before he could swallow it.

He covered his mouth hard, held his neck, and finally swallowed the sip of wine. When he turned to look at Theresa, he saw that his granddaughter was helplessly pushing her disheveled hair forward, as if this could isolate everyone. Sight.

The ringtone for starting the exam is obviously normal, but why did the ringtone for winding up exams become like this?

Theresa wanted to get under the seat, but she thought about her grandfather being here and everyone watching, so she stubbornly accepted it all.

As for who did this... Theresa felt that this was not a question that needed to be thought about at all - it must have been Kiana!

"Ahem!"

"Tsk! You can actually be so rude sometimes."

Mikael curled his lips in disgust. In the surveillance video, the examination room had begun to collect papers. Kiana completely gave up and even raised her feet on the table provocatively.

"Ahem! Haha, my granddaughter is quite naughty, and I didn't expect that she would actually use this part as a winding ringtone to make you laugh... Ah, no need, I can do it myself."

Her throat was extremely uncomfortable after choking on the wine. Rita, who was standing far away, heard the bishop's cough and immediately turned around and walked over. Her steps were quick but not too eager to make her lose her bearings.

But Otto just shook his head and handed the unfinished wine to Rita. Rita had a smile on her lips, her scarlet pupils swept over Mikael, and then she turned around and left silently.

"The Bishop's maid is really sensible."

Mikael commented pretending not to know.

Otto narrowed his eyes and looked at him for a moment. He didn't believe that Mikael knew nothing about Rita, but since the other party insisted on doing so, he didn't care to play along.

"No, no, no, you are wrong, this is not my maid. Let's meet - the destined S-class Valkyrie, Rita."

Rita had already taken several steps forward. When she heard the sound, she immediately turned around and bowed to Mikael respectfully. She was also very curious about Mikael. In the past two years after she became an S-class Valkyrie, except for missions and vacation time, she spent most of the time with Bishop Otto as a maid. This was her This is the first time I have seen a bishop talking so much to another person.

Of course, she couldn't actually hear anything. She could feel that when the two of them were talking before, their whole body was blocked by a thin layer of Honkai energy, and no sound could be heard. She didn't know what kind of technology it was, at least she hadn't seen it before.

But it doesn't matter. From the corner of her eye, she could clearly see the expressions of the two people. The excitement and resonance hidden under the calm expressions really appeared on the face of the bishop for the first time, at least in this way. Rita's perspective is the first.

It was not that Bishop Otto never spoke to others in the past, but it actually felt more like he was talking to himself.

Because no one could understand him.

But after introducing Rita, Otto remained silent and seemed to have no intention of introducing Mikael.

Mikael understood what he meant, how should he introduce his identity? The First Herrscher of pre-civilization? This identity is too scary. But if St. Freya is just an ordinary teacher...

The Bishop of Destiny and St. Freya, an ordinary teacher, exchanged glasses of wine, chatted and laughed, and the always arrogant bishop was even polite to him... Well, there is a question mark on this, Mikael is sure , if he was powerless now, Otto would definitely shoot him in the head without hesitation. After all, he was one of the culprits of Kallen's death, and he was also part of the hatred he had not yet avenged. Moreover, Otto's plan can be implemented smoothly even without him.

Now the reason why the two of them can live in peace and even treat each other politely is not an inner resonance, and the blood relationship is even more nonsense. It is just that Mikael's plan also needs Otto, but Otto's plan does not. Mikael, it doesn't matter whether he is alive or not, it can even be said that he is one of the people in the world who wants him to die the most, but he can't kill him.

Even though five hundred years have passed, Otto still remembers the battle of Klosten and the giant cross that appeared on the moon. Not to mention that Tianming probed the moon decades ago and sent back traces of battles on the back of the moon...

I'm going too far. In short, it's not impossible to say that Mikael is an ordinary teacher, but... will Rita believe it?

Rather than this, it would be better for the two of them to tacitly agree not to say anything, leaving Rita with enough room for imagination to complete Mikael's identity.

"Okay, Rita, you can follow Theresa to arrange the auditorium for the afternoon simulated combat assessment. Remember to prepare two cups of coffee in advance. I am still the same, how about you, my old friend?"

"Just the same as you."

Mikael sometimes thinks he is funny too. When he was with Hua, he would always talk to himself like Otto, as if he wanted to make up for all the words he hadn't said in fifty thousand years, but when he opened his mouth, it was all nutritious nonsense.

But when he was with Otto, he became silent again. Silent to the point of cherishing words like gold, as plain as water, and as cold as ice.

Rita left with full of doubts, but she seemed to have forgotten to take away the cup in Mikael's hand.

"This child was stimulated when she was a child, so she is very interested in playing the role of a maid. Just think of it as her personal evil taste."

"My service as a maid is impeccable, but I don't know if her combat prowess is worthy of the title of S-class Valkyrie."

Mikael threw up the crystal goblet in his hand and caught it firmly with his index finger. It was hard not to feel a hint of joking in his tone.

"If you want to fight with her, I won't object. Just remember to keep your hands on it. These two S-class Valkyries are the only ones who have the destiny."

"Forget it, I'm not interested in No. 2, but I would rather meet Youlandel for a while."

Mikael and Otto looked at each other and smiled, and the two of them completed another round of confrontation invisibly.

Otto naturally wanted to have a real fight between Mikael and Rita, even if he beat Rita to death without holding back, it didn't matter.

Since Klosten's battle with the moon five hundred years ago, Mikael has disappeared for a long time. Even if he reappeared in the past ten years, there is no information about him fighting seriously.

Otto needs to make a comprehensive quantitative assessment of Mikael's combat capabilities based on real combat examples, so as to formulate countermeasures if he interferes with his plan. Although Mikael has made it clear and hinted many times that he will not interfere with Otto's plan, this does not exclude him from the enemy list - yes, in this world, everyone except Otto himself is there. in his enemy sequence.

Moreover, he also has a very simple fluke - what if Mikael was seriously injured in the battle five hundred years ago, and until now, his combat effectiveness is absolutely useless, and he is no match for the S-class Valkyrie?

Naturally, Mikael couldn't invite him to watch another fighting show for free, and of course he couldn't show his cowardice and lead to some misunderstandings that would cause trouble, so his answer was simple - he could fight Rita, but It's not necessary. It can be considered if the opponent is Youlandel.

So Otto could only laugh dryly. Hollander was not Rita. What he was talking about here was naturally not the gap in combat power, but it meant that in his subsequent plans, there were many possibilities that could not be missing from Bianca. Existence, unless there is no choice, or the plan is advanced to the point where Hollandel is no longer needed, then naturally it is impossible to risk letting Mikael fight her.

This was a bit cruel for Rita. For a truly ordinary person to reach the height of an S-class Valkyrie is a very remarkable thing. But ordinary people are ordinary people after all, and precisely because she is too ordinary, she has become dispensable, even the S-class Valkyrie. After all, although it seems that there are only two S-class Valkyries in this world, there is actually no lack of combat power of the same level.

"Speaking of which, Otto. Have you ever had the kind of person in your life who...even though you feel that you have gone further than him and them, sometimes you still deliberately imitate their predecessors in terms of behavior?"

It was a strange question. Otto couldn't help but frown, and then shook his head.

Mikael laughed twice, yes, people are different after all.

So what if others have it? So what if not?

When asking such a stupid question, do you want to get a negative answer to prove your uniqueness, or do you want a positive answer to deny your own loneliness?

Mikael himself didn't even know.

"But...well, if the conditions are relaxed a little, maybe Karen can be considered."

"?"

Mikael slowly typed a question mark. He didn't know how Otto was thinking, but no matter how you look at it, there aren't many similarities between Otto and Kallen now... I guess so?

"You don't understand, the Apokalis family is proud. The approachable attitude I showed in front of the crowd, and the concern in the eyes of some subordinates, are actually just disguises. But I can't tell the difference. The purpose of disguising is that what I want to do forces me to do this, or is it... just to imitate her, just to cater to her preferences. "

"Why are you telling me this? Our relationship has reached a point where we can open up?"

"Didn't you ask first?"

Otto suddenly stretched out his hand, and Michael was stunned for a moment. After reacting, he gently held Otto.

“A pleasure to work with.”

Withdrawing his hand, Otto stood up from his seat.

"Then I'll leave first, old friend. Don't miss the simulated combat assessment in the afternoon, okay?"

"I thought you, a busy and lazy person like you, should find an excuse to go back to the Tianming headquarters directly after the conversation."

"Ah, yes yes!"

Otto nodded vigorously, but his smile became more and more weird:

"But, my old friend, didn't you prepare a gift for me at some point in the near future? It would be rude to you if I didn't stay and accept this gift."

He left alone. Mikael sat alone in front of the small table. The projection on one hand showed the empty examination room. With a soft "pop", the sound and image disappeared at the same time.

Theresa also left at some point, and only a few staff members stayed at the long table in the distance to sort out documents.

Mikael placed the crystal cup gently on the table, but no matter how gently he moved, it would inevitably make a sound, wouldn't it?

It was as if he had already gone very far, he had gone further than them, he was obviously stronger than them, and he could do what they did just by hesitating a little, changing his mind, and snapping his fingers. What everyone dreams of.

He clearly knows his true past. He is not a person who grew up watching this story. He is just a consciousness generated by random quantum entanglement. He no longer needs to respect and look up to them...

On the moon, in Klosten, in Changkong City...he was obviously the one who kept looking down.

But he still imitates them. Imitate their tone and actions.

He imitates Ellie's optimism, Kevin's determination, Eden's calmness, Aponya's gentleness, Sakura's decisiveness, Hua's indifference... He will also imitate Otto's perverseness, sinisterness and indifference, as well as the hiddenness behind all appearances. The melancholy, haggardness, sadness... and the madness that I could only suppress with all my strength.

But these are all fake, not Mikael's own character... maybe.

"Alicia...what kind of person am I...?"

Mikael raised his head and sighed, but his fingers opened the phone screen familiarly, and sent a number - 4 to an account with only a green avatar and no ID.

After thinking for a while, he typed another line:

"I'm sorry, it's okay to move a little earlier, right?"

After a while, the phone vibrated slightly:

"hehe!"

Imagining that Mebius was sulking but unable to do anything about it, Mikael shrugged his shoulders and chuckled.

Five minutes later, the school’s alarm sounded:

"Teri——Teri——"

"Teri——Teri——"

"Teri——Teri——"

The alarm sound was shrill and strange, and it rang three times in one breath.