"Vernal!"
An angered shout echoed throughout the camp. Not long after, a semi-bald woman hurried towards a tent that stood among others.
"Where the hell are the scouts that we sent?!" Raven Branwen shouted, red eyes practically glowing and an irritated expression plastered on her face.
"I-I don't know! I-Its been h-half a day since we sent them!" Vernal replied, scared of being at the forefront facing her leader's ire.
"Then, do you know what that means?"
"I-I don't-"
"Then it means they've been captured!" Raven cut her, "Tell everyone to prepare! At dawn we'll begin raiding Shion!" She barked and Vernal obeyed, leaving the tent in order to carry out her superior's orders.
"Fuck!"
Raven cursed, her plan had been halted and now they were forced to strike earlier than expected. She hoped they died from grimm rather than any huntsman that knew of her tribe's colors.
She had a feeling in her gut, however, that something would go wrong but in her current state of frustration, the gut feeling was buried in the depths of her minds.
-0-0-0-0-
"Once again, I thank you for helping my village with the Grimm." Elder Chen thanked, shaking Otto's hand.
Elder Chen had been one of the few people awake when Otto planned to set out for Shion at dawn. While he asked Otto if he wanted to stay for a while, Otto denied, having needed to head out to Mistral.
"It is of no problem Elder Chen, I just did what any Huntsman would do." He flashed another smile. He was not a huntsman, just pretending to use the term in order to have a consent to deal with the Geist without being denied by the elder in fear of Otto's safety.
Otto was not a samaritan, he only confronted the Geist out of curiosity and to not have any small amount of guilt of leaving the village to fend for itself when someone could have helped it.
It was nothing but Kallen's dying request to him that made him turn Schicksal into a global organization aimed to neutralizing the Honkai threats plaguing the population, after all.
"I bid you farewell, young man." Elder Chen bowed and Otto reciprocated before he soon left the village.
.
.
.
.
.
Within the dense trees, Otto checked his appearance on a small pond beside the dirt road. His hair wasn't as long as before, courtesy of him having trimmed the sides down while leaving the back untouched. He felt much more different than he was before despite the unchanged physical appearance. The outfit that he donned gave him a sense of nostalgia, back to the time when he was still a human, broken and in his grief, searched for a way to bring back the soul of Kallen after repairing her body.
He left the pond, continuing on his trek and with the help of a map which somehow gave him nostalgia, reached what was definitely Shion, Otto removed the map from his face and was welcomed with the sight of the village of Shion, being raided by bandits.
Chaos spread as they plundered the houses, spilling blood and setting fire to every structure as they continued rampaging across the settlement.
"They weren't supposed to be here a day earlier!" Otto clicked his tongue, having forgot that the absent presence of the scouts have alerted their camp into taking action earlier than planned.
They had to be stopped, unless they destroy his only chance to smoothly travel to Mistral!
Sprinting forward, he summoned dual mimicries of Water Spirit Type-II, sending yellow frost blasts that stopped the flames from raging further. The blasts caught some of the bandits offguard and he wasted no time in killing them off.
Seeing their fellow comrades die, they charged, trying to overpower him in close-range. Otto meanwhile, with a good portion of his strength, kicked a bandit in the stomache, enough for the bandit to fly away and crashing into his fellow comrades and using their surprise and downed state he shot them all in the head.
Sensing another bandit on his back about to slash him with an axe Otto smacked him in the face with the pistol and gave a spin kick which sent the bandit down to greet the ground and giving the chance for Otto to shoot him dead.
He moved to different sections of the area, freezing any large flames while utilizing the gun-kata technique to kill every bandits he encountered. As he went further into the town he could see a man fighting off bandits as well.
The man had brown hair swept to the side and wore a black-white shirt underneath a metal chestplate held by straps and a belt. The man swung sidewards with his gray sword, cutting an arm of one bandit before the striked for the neck, completely beheading the bandit.
A bandit who was a few meters away held a rifle, aimed at the man but surprising, the man knew, pressing a button on his sword's hilt which made the blade separate to two parts woth a barrel between it. The handle of the sword turned and the blade fell into place with a click, making the appearance somewhat resemble a gun but with a long blade of a sword acting as a barrel and the hilt an awkward grip. The man pressed the trigger, letting loose a blue blast that hit the armed bandit and not soon after electricity wrapped the bandit, eliciting a gargle noise from him until he passed out on the ground.
The man sighed, before turning to look at Otto who had watched him. His eyes looked at him with suspicion before it disappeared, realizing that Otto wasn't a threat judging by his looks.
"Are you a huntsman?" The man asked.
"Yes, I was on a journey to Mistral until I caught sight of Shion in flames." Otto replied.
"Then I'm afraid your out of luck right now as you can see, bandits are raiding the place and there isn't any incoming airships until four hours." The man grimly stated.
A pity, until then he'd have to provide assistance to the village.
A sound of an explosion on the north of them erupted and the man quickly ran towards the explosion, with Otto deciding to follow behind.
Getting into the scene they encountered multiple bandits looting houses while one of them who had a grenade, threw them inside the house which bathed the interiors in flames that covered any despaired screams from within.
Enraged at the scene, the man charged, not giving any yell and using the distraction to his advantage by quickly stabbing the nearest bandit from behind before he could notice him.
By then Otto assisted by picking off any ranged fodders while mainly focusing his attention on dousing the flames with Water Spirit Type-II.
In under a minute they finished to dispose of the entire bandits in the area.
The man panted in slight exhaustion while he sheathed back his sword. "Thanks for the help."
"My pleasure" Otto replied
Stepping towards him, the man held his hand for a handshake, "The name's Sean Kaze, resident huntsman of Shion." The man introduced himself.
"Luocha, a traveling huntsman." Otto shook Sean's hand, giving an alias of his name.
"It's a blessing you came here. Thanks to you, the flames won't be spreading much."
"Where are the people?" Otto asked, curious as he had noticed the short amount of residents.
"They have mostly evacuated to the station and barricaded it. Unfortunately, some decided to stay in their homes..." Sean sighed, his mood going much down after wording the last sentence.
Poor souls, hopefully their bodies were still intact for the people to bury.
"While you're here, would it be too much if I ask for your further assistance until this situation is solved?" Sean asked.
"Of course. Until this raid is halted I, Luocha, will do my utmost for Shion." He obliged.
"Thank you" Sean sighed, "The bandits have scattered around town and our guards are forming a barricade around our transport station."
"While I would like to continue killing these scums, I still have a duty to make sure my people are safe. I need to go and make sure not one of the bandits get around our fort. In the meantime, I'd appreciate it if you quench the remaining fires while I check the station."
"Alright then, I'll see you later." Otto replied. While he wasn't one that like being ordered around, he was a stranger here after all, and he didn't have a position in this world to establish, yet.
"Thank you. I'll look for you when the coast is clear." Otto waved at Sean's disappearing figure until he went completely out of his sight.
And now that the man was gone he could proceed with the animal that had been eavesdropping on them.
"You can reveal yourself now, you know." Otto said, looking at the raven that stood perched on the broken street lamp.
The raven, in reponse, flew off the street lamp and in a mass of feathers, landed on the ground revealing a woman with long wild dark hair and her face covered a grimm-like mask which had four slits. She wore a red and block top wrapped around her secured by a red sash from her abdomen. Scarlet gauntlet plates covered her arm from the elbow down below until reaching the wrists form which black fingerless gloves protuded. She wore a pleated skirt along with boots that reached mid-thigh. A tasset was wrapped around her waist which had her weapon dangling from the side.
Based on the memories he stole, this woman was Raven Branwen, leader of the Branwen Tribe.
Beneath the mask, Otto could sense the anger alongside a small amount of curiosity.
"Who are you?" The masked woman demanded.
"That is what I should be asking you, no?" He retorted
"It matters not, you have forced my hands in raiding this place early than planned." The woman said, irritated which gave Otto a clue.
"Ah so you know me?"
"I've been following your traces from where my scouts were killed." She snarled, sheathing out her sword, a red blade came out, with tints of flame surrounding it.
Omen, the memories described. An Odachi with a built trigger and a cross-guard different from the tsuba. The blade is made from solid dust, each color representing different elements with the thick sheath having a rotary chamber housing different dust blades that are manually connected to the hilt or can be fired as a projectile.
The blade she wielded was red, signifying her use of fire dust.
Thanks to the memories, Otto knew her weapon and had an idea of how she fought from what he could gather from whatever memory of spars the dead bandit named Ligma(no kidding) had initiated with the leader.
Otto dispersed the mimics, replacing them with a katana. He brandished Ice Epiphyllum before setting on a Iaido stance.
Raven reciprocated as well. Both stood a few meters from each other on the road, no sound coming from both. It was only when the sound of a distant gunshot erupted that they both charged at each other.
They unleashed a flurry of slashes, fire and gold frost colliding as the two fought. Otto parried or blocked every power strikes head on, not flinching from the impact.
Raven meanwhile, had a difficulty trying to wittle down the man. Every attack she sent was either parried or blocked without even flinching. His strikes from his sword created from his semblance was dangerous, her dust blade groaning whenever the blades met and she could feel the cold that the blade emitted, making her fingers shiver from each clash.
They continued, neither side gaining a hit from each other but it was obvious who was being pushed back. Otto striked harder and the dust blade of Raven broke like shards of glass.
She stepped away from his range, quickly sheathing her blade less hilt and unsheathed it, revealing a yellow blade that replaced the broken one. She charged back into the fray and Otto jumped up to avoid a slash aimed for his waist and while midair he aimed swung the katana downward with both hands, only to find empty space as Raven had stepped to the side. Upon landing he immediately rolled to the front, marring his robe in dirt and ash.
Standing up he blocked another striked from behind with one hand. With his other arm free he created a mimicry of Water Spirit Type-II. With the katana he pushed back her blade and turned around, gun aimed he let loose a charged shot of fire that covered her face.
Had Raven been a normal civilian, she would have died from such shot at blank range. But she was a former huntsman and an expert fighter, she long had her Aura unlocked and her mask allowing them to protect her from the hit but the radiance of the fire had blinded her sight for a moment, a moment that Otto exploited by unequipping Ice Epiphyllum and punching her in the stomach hard enough for her to let out a surprised grunt and sending her to a house wall with a loud thud.
Her Aura helped her, but it still did not help the pain she felt from such a strong punch that had sent her back afar. Recovering from the hit she stood back again and intent to engage once more with her Odachi-
Only to realize that it was not in her grasp, the blade had fallen to the ground where she last stood before he punched her.
Otto grabbed the yellow Odachi, inspecting at the blade for a second before he tossed it towards her, making the blade stab the ground near her.
The huntsman gave back her blade, whether out of honor or pity but she took it as a sign for her to get more serious.
Otto dispelled all his mimics, equipping the Grips of Tai Xuan. Getting into a stance similar to Fu Hua's martial arts, he imitated her stance and he disappeared in a flash of golden feathers.
Raven walked away from the wall and quickly looked around her surrounding, alert.
Before she knew it, an armored fist made contact with her mask, shattering it to pieces and revealing her face. What followed after the punch was Otto unleashing a one-handed barrage of punches that wittled down her Aura and dazed her enough for him to stop and proceed with a barrage of side kicks at an impossible speed. Finally he stopped by ending it with another hook to the face which sent her rolling and tumbling on the ground.
She groaned as she felt the pain that came from the punch and tried to stand up, only to roll aside as she dodged a fist that buried itself on the ground.
In all the battles she spent, this man was the only one able to come close if not surpass Ozpin in pressuring her.
Her opponent had a wider array of weapons thank to that semblance of his and they were more than capable of competing with her own sword. His physical ability was more superior to hers and the whole time she felt like she was being assessed.
He was skilled, powerful, and he hadn't even taken a single damage while she had her Aura in the red.
A grin broke out from her face. Her opponent was strong.
"Your strong, stronger than expected." Raven admitted
"Why thank you, I must the same to you as well~" He praised, despite the sweet tone of the voice, Raven could almost think that it sounded like a mocking tone.
"Prepare yourself" Her red eyes glowed, emitting a fiery red light.
Otto sensed something change within her. He could feel an unknown energy burst from her.
This wasn't a semblance, the power she emitted felt ancient and seeing how she was going to use her abilities to the full extent, he felt the need to reciprocate.
But not to his best, doing so would destroy the entire place after all.
"I'll do the same, no?"
Holding his hand out, a yellow flash emitted.
"Void Archives!"
The 1st Divine Key appeared in front of him floating, releasing a ripple of power that blasted every debris and cleared all the dust in its radius.
Raven tensed, seeing and sensing the power that the cube emitted.
This man before her was not a normal human, no, he was using something similar to magic. The floating cube appeared to be the source of unknown energy but she could sense how the man also exuded the same energy.
How come she had not known of him? Was he a secret pawn of Ozpin? Another spy of Salem? Or was he a man from the Age of Gods?
"You asked for my name a while ago, right?" His voice became much louder and echoed throughout the area. "It's only fair I give my name since I've already known yours."
"I am Otto Apocalypse, do remember that." He introduced himself.
His eyes, green irises with a blue pupil, shone bright. Otto felt the limitless Honkai energy generate more just as he used it. The power that he gained from the World Tree was still within him, but he couldn't feel his connection with the World Tree nor the Will of Honkai, which meant one thing;
He had accidentally made a loophole, giving him unlimited power limited by only his physical vessel.
He was excited to test how much he could use his mimicries. But first, he had to make a stage. Reaching his hand out he grasped one side of the Divine Key and soon a barrier of golden light engraved with ancient symbols covered them and a portion of Shion.
Meanwhile Raven was shocked, seeing the barrier he had created around them. Her assessment of him changed, he was stronger than Ozpin, much more than that. Her form tensed from the power he radiated but she steeled herself because for once she wanted to fight the impossible head-on.
For once Raven became what she was once before, a brave fighter and not the coward she became.
The yellow blade dropped from the ground and in its place, lightning became her blade. In response to the influx of power from her foe, her eyes grew more fiery than ever until her eyes were a blazing red.
"I am Raven Branwen, leader of the Branwen Tribe and the Spring Maiden." She revealed, her voice more prominent and with the same power as his'.
"But in this moment I challenge you, not as the Leader of the Branwen Tribe... But-" Her eyes grew brighter and Otto sensed the power from her rising tremendously to challenge him.
"Amazing...." He muttered, eyes looking at her in wonder and respect for her will to fight him making her power rise to levels she had probably not reached. Looks like he had to take the fight more seriously.
"Otto Apocalypse! I challenge you as Raven Branwen, member of team STRQ!"
-0-0-0-0-(Atlas)
Deep within the manor was Kevin, in his father's office which he had taken over.
He reviewed all the transaction history and contract agreements with a watchful eye, making sure that there was no error in what he was about to do in the coming days.
Setting aside the papers and folders, he was about to call Klein until-
"!"
A large amount of Honkai energy appeared far from where he was. Kevin tensed, eyes growing wide and narrowing. There was no one but him who had Honkai. Had his return allowed the Honkai to reach out to this world?
His eyes darkened at the thought. But fortunately, it took a few seconds until he realized the power that was coming from afar. It was no mistaking it, he could sense the presence of another Divine Key, one being the Void Archives.
As far as he knew, no one could use the 1st Key in such powerful manner unless....
Unless it was him.
"Otto Apocalypse..." He muttered the name, "It seems I'm not the only one."
With the arrival of someone like Otto, he now had a better opportunity at advancing Atlas for what was to come.
But first, he needed those noodles.
-0-0-0-0-
3.4k, nice.
Otto might be helping Shion but its only because he needs that airship to Mistral. He ain't a hero, just a man with priorities.
The start of the second phase of the battle looks cringy lmao but idc I'll change the first part someday.
Raven, in response to great power, became a "Fully Realized" Maiden lol don't ask me, I'm the writer but I aint god.
I believe that Otto can mimic weapons other than God Keys and can use them at an output equal to the original, it just isn't shown in the game or manga.
Regarding the GIF, don't forget that Otto is wearing his Shenzhou outfit instead of the drip funeral/ceremonial suit. Don't worry, it will come back later on.
What do you think bout the story? Let me know in the comments.
Shimuza out and into the sunset buck naked, peace!