Honkai Diary: Start With Picking Up A White-Haired Treasure

Siegfried had undergone a complete transformation; barring the deployment of extraordinary powers that were either impossible to manifest or still developing, he was practically invincible.

The outcome of this battle was clear from the start.

Within fifteen minutes, all one hundred and eight A-rank Valkyries lost their ability to fight.

For Siegfried, the only cost was his now tattered clothes.

He dusted off his ragged shirt, then cracked his neck with audible pops.

"As appetizers, you weren't half bad. Sleep well; by the time you wake up, I'll likely be gone—either way...I'll have left. In any case, there will be a conclusion."

Siegfried shrugged nonchalantly.

Suddenly, he looked up and spotted a massive beam eclipsing even the sun's brilliance.

"Hey, come on, seriously? You're just abandoning so many A-rank Valkyries? Or do you believe I'd protect them? Otto!"

Siegfried scratched his head, troubled. Then flames erupted around him as he clashed both spears together in his hands, causing them to transform and merge into a colossal ball of fire cradled within his grasp.

"You guessed right, Otto! Bring out your dirty tricks! Let's see if your schemes prevail or if my damn luck holds up!"

"Heaven's Fire - Draw!"

"BOOM!!"

The torrential clash between flames and light beams dyed the sky half-red, half-white.

The immense force generated a scorching hurricane that ravaged the land for miles, even dispersing clouds from the skies above.

After several minutes, everything returned to calm.

Siegfried collapsed onto the drastically altered wasteland, panting heavily, his shirt completely burned to ashes.

He burst out laughing.

Once done, he noticed the unconscious Valkyries were no longer nearby, realizing they had likely been blown far away by the storm. Despite this, Siegfried hastily rose and swiftly headed towards Schicksal Headquarters below—Otto was utterly heartless, and staying put risked exposing those Valkyries to further attacks.

Above, in the observation room...

Amber looked up from her control interface and reported, "Aurora's Light has consumed 70% of its stored energy, Lord Bishop. We cannot execute another attack like that."

"No matter; I merely wanted to enjoy some fireworks. I never expected much from such cumbersome machinery anyway. The real show is about to begin!"

Sipping his tea with a smile, Otto pressed a button.

Siegfried arrived beneath the Schicksal base and looked up. Unobscured by clouds, he clearly beheld the awe-inspiring sight of that floating Sky City.

"Tsk, I was quite excited when I first laid eyes on it. But now, just thinking about how it's Otto's territory makes me want to bring it crashing down!"

Lying on the ground, panting, Siegfried rested while awaiting Otto's next wave of attacks.

The wind stirred up dust swirls around him.

And then, Siegfried heard footsteps approaching.

"Valkyrie troops again? Truly lacking any creativity... Oh...Otto!!!" Siegfried's fist punched a small crater into the earth, his teeth grinding with fury.

Before him stood a regiment with stiff movements and mechanical expressions, carrying various hot air balloons. Yet amidst them were only two distinct sizes and two contrasting faces—one mature, one youthful: Cecilia and Kiana.

Otto had deployed clones of Siegfried's beloved ones to form this army.

In reality, these beings were mindless automatons incapable of consciousness; once removed from their stable nutrient tanks, they would quickly deteriorate. Otto had programmed them with movement commands and equipped them with Honkai Energy weapons, but at best, their combat potential resembled mere Valkyrie candidates.

But combat prowess mattered little here. To Siegfried, this was his most formidable adversary—arguably more disempowering than even the Second Herrscher loaded with six cores.

"Siegfried, are you there?"

Otto's relaxed voice echoed from all directions.

Siegfried glared at the Sky Base overhead and roared furiously.

"Got some balls? Show yourself, Otto Apocalypse!"

"No thanks. Although I have many backup bodies, each one comes at a hefty cost. I won't waste them on you."

"Otto! You despicable bastard, I'll curse your ancestors to hell!"

"Don't get so worked up. Considering your long journey here, I've prepared a special gift just for you—a family reunion. Isn't it beautiful? Aren't you happy?"

Siegfried's face turned ashen. He had thought nothing could shake his resolve, but now, his flesh hand holding the gun trembled slightly.

Then, with a tone suggesting he suddenly remembered something, Otto spoke, a hint of amusement in his voice:

"Oh right, you know I'm quite old now. At this age, confusion tends to creep in... For instance, it seems I might not have been clear enough about distinguishing between clones and the true form. Perhaps—just perhaps—I accidentally included the real Kiana among them? Well, no time to individually identify and recover everyone now. This stage is yours next; I wouldn't want to interrupt such a reunion. Farewell for now, Siegfried."

"Another one of your cheap tricks!" Siegfried gritted his teeth. Initially, he planned to bypass these troublesome opponents and head straight for the Main City in the sky, but now he couldn't risk it.

Otto's intentions were unpredictable; this could be a bluff or genuinely true. Siegfried dared not gamble on it.

He had only one choice—face this battle head-on.

"Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!"

The stiffly moving legion gradually closed in, surrounding them.

A struggle flickered in Siegfried's eyes, and finally, his trembling hand steadied.

"I'll be very gentle; bear with me," Siegfried said softly to the clones.

Despite knowing they might just be mindless automatons, Siegfried still showed tenderness, a hint of warmth lingering on his face.

With that, he sprang into action, becoming a blur like wind-whipped shadows as he swiftly charged into the enemy ranks.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The clones initiated their attack, focusing a torrential hail of bullets towards Siegfried without any regard for their own kind.

After knocking out several "Cecilias," Siegfried's expression shifted abruptly. He could easily dodge these attacks, but doing so would lead to the clones self-destructing.

"Otto, you son of a..."

Before he could finish cursing, Siegfried chose to withstand the gunfire head-on with his bare body.

"BOOM!!"

Enduring all the assaults, Siegfried systematically rendered each clone unconscious and carefully laid them on the ground.

By the time the last clone fell, Siegfried was disheveled and exhausted, collapsing onto one of the "Cecilias" nearby.

The Valkyrie vanguard was merely an appetizer, not particularly challenging.

However, defending against a single blast from Heaven's Fire, even in its weakest dual pistol form, had drained more than half of his energy reserves.

Now, after suppressing his emotions with immense effort and performing precise maneuvers amidst gunfire, Siegfried felt profoundly fatigued.

Despite this, as he looked at the seemingly peacefully sleeping "Cecilias" and "Kianas" around him, Siegfried believed it was worth it. And if among them lay the real Kiana, it would be an incredible bonus!

Siegfried stood up, planning to examine each "Kiana" while they were immobilized.

"BANG!"

Suddenly, there was an explosion, and splattered gore covered his face.

Stunned, Siegfried looked down. Beneath him, what had been "Cecilia" now lay as a pool of shredded flesh, devoid of her former beauty.

Moments later, all the clones—including both "Cecilias" and "Kianas"—began displaying expressions of struggle even in their unconscious state, as if enduring immense agony.

"No... Otto... don't do this, please no!" Siegfried whispered, his voice filled with fear and helplessness.

"BANG! BANG! BANG!"

The sounds of exploding bodies echoed relentlessly one after another.

In mere seconds, the ground within hundreds of meters around Siegfried transformed into a blood-soaked hellish scene.

Standing amidst it all, Siegfried's body smeared with fragments from "Cecilia" and "Kiana." He clutched his head, sobbing uncontrollably, teetering on the brink of collapse.

"Ahh... Ahh... AAAAAHHH!!!"