Bizarre Honkai, a Wife-Chasing Crematorium

Shakespeare lowered her head, quietly looking at the violette mask in her hand. She closed her eyes, sighed softly, and placed the mask in Kallen's hand, while also giving her a meaningful look.

"I plan to perform in various cities across Europe. Don't worry, nothing like today will happen again. If it weren't for your fiancé's guarantee and planning, I wouldn't have dared to perform at the Vienna Opera House."

"The thought of those spineless bastards' crap-eating expressions just makes me so happy, hahaha!!"

Shakespeare laughed heartily, patting Kallen's shoulder.

Kallen blushed and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "N-not fiancé, just friends..."

Shakespeare: "Oh? Is that so? Well then, I guess I was wrong. Wait, did you only hear that one sentence? Never mind, I won't tease you anymore. You have a very good 'friend'."

Kallen's eyes suddenly lit up, and she said with a beaming smile, "Yes! Otto is amazing. He's the most amazing person I've ever met, besides my father!"

Hearing someone she respected being praised made Kallen very happy, as if Shakespeare were praising her.

While Kallen was still excited, Shakespeare suddenly poured a basin of cold water on her head: "But you are not from the same world. In the end, you will go your separate ways."

"Huh? What... do you mean?"

"Literally what I said. I also hope I'm mistaken. But from my decades of life experience, my judgment of people has never been wrong. Just like this time, I believed he would help me escape successfully after my performance at the Vienna Opera House."

Shakespeare sighed deeply, looking at Kallen with a pitiful expression. She looked into her eyes, trying to see another person through those azure orbs.

"Do what you think is right, Kallen Kaslana. There has never been eternal justice or fairness in the world, no matter how much you sacrifice, no matter how much he sacrifices. The world will never change according to an individual's will."

After a pause, Shakespeare added, "The will of heaven cannot be defied."

"But haven't we already defied the will of heaven once?"

"This 'will of heaven' is not that one. Anyway, take me out of this city first. The Schicksal's people should already be hunting me down. Take this mask as a parting gift."

"Okay, thank you."

Although Kallen was full of doubts, she decided to send Shakespeare out of Vienna first. Holding the violette mask in her right hand, she, unaware of the gravity of the situation, was still full of hope for the future.

A few days later, Kallen returned to Vienna. Li Mo, with two dark circles under his eyes, appeared before her and showed her the exquisitely crafted phantom thief costume he held in his hands.

The overall color scheme was dark, a blend of deep purple and navy blue cool tones. The texture was exquisitely and intricately designed. The clothes clung to her body, easily showcasing Kallen's graceful figure and a Valkyrie's heroic bearing, without losing her feminine gentleness and grace. The short skirt allowed for flexible movement in battle, and the leg armor was inlaid with gorgeous golden decorations.

Li Mo looked at the outfit and smiled with satisfaction.

Actually, for a phantom thief, the most important thing was to hide one's figure, but Li Mo didn't think Kallen needed to hide. As long as she didn't leave any evidence, it would be fine. She needed to be recognized, to have a sense of belonging and value. A striking phantom thief costume was very important.

"Otto, how did you know I was going to..."

"We grew up together. Don't I know what you want to do? Try it on. The size should be right."

A few minutes later, Kallen came out of the changing room, looked down at the perfectly fitting, gorgeous phantom thief costume, and asked curiously, "Otto, why does this outfit fit so well?"

Li Mo: "Eyeballed it."

Kallen: "Oh, let's go pull off a big one right now! Shakespeare told me there's a real bad old guy in Vienna!"

Li Mo: "Not so fast. As a phantom thief, sending a notice first is more in style."

Kallen: "Why? Isn't it easier to just steal it directly? If we send a notice, they might be prepared. What if we fail?"

Li Mo: "With me here, failure is impossible. And what we need to do is not just rob the rich to help the poor, but to strike fear into the hearts of the wicked. Think about it, if you send a notice, and they still can't catch you or protect their money even when they're on guard, then in the future, even if you don't do anything, they'll be scared to death by just your words."

"A truly powerful weapon is not for use, but for deterrence."

Kallen tilted her head, not quite understanding. "I don't really get it, but I trust you! Let's start the first phantom thief plan tomorrow!"

Li Mo breathed a sigh of relief. If they had carried it out today, he wouldn't have been confident in protecting Kallen's identity from being leaked. He had to negotiate with those nobles in advance.

Li Mo glanced discreetly at the documents on the table behind him. They were all blackmail material on the targets. Using this leverage, he would make them willingly cough up some wealth to give to the people in the slums. Li Mo believed they wouldn't refuse, and they wouldn't dare to. At most, the process would just be a little more complicated, with the addition of a phantom thief theft.

But on the other hand, it was better for them this way. After all, they needed a reason for their wealth to decrease, or rather, a scapegoat. They would be more than happy for Kallen to come and steal, so they could take the opportunity to embezzle some more for themselves.

Heh, he could imagine the faces of those nobles with his eyes closed. In their secret ledgers, Kallen was probably going to be called the Great Sage of Balancing the Books.

The days passed peacefully. Kallen actively played the role of the righteous phantom thief, Violette, while Li Mo acted as her logistical support, carefully planning everything to prevent her from leaving any evidence. Most nobles, under Li Mo's coercion and persuasion, chose to turn a blind eye, feigning anger to satisfy Kallen's little wish.

The peaceful routine ended the day Kallen saw a noble from the Apocalypse family forcibly abducting a commoner girl. So, without following Li Mo's plan, she broke into the Apocalypse family's territory that night and took the girl out.

Just as she was feeling pleased with herself for saving another person, the head of the Apocalypse family, Nicholas, came to the Kaslana territory with the girl and accused Kallen.

Even among the three great families, one could not easily enter another's territory without permission, let alone steal something belonging to them.

The Kaslanas were already weak. With this leverage, the Apocalypse family could suppress them and snatch the few shops the Kaslanas still had in Europe.

The expenses of a warrior were indispensable. Protection was not something that could be achieved with just words; it required a realistic economic foundation. In recent years, the Kaslana family had already been tightening their belts. This incident would force them to sell off family assets...

But that was just a temporary solution, not a cure. Sooner or later, the Kaslanas would have to become vassals and enforcers for other nobles in order to receive economic support, thus losing their pure nature.

Kallen didn't know all this. She didn't have the talent for it. The family's finances had always been managed by Li Mo and the elders.

Li Mo had managed to secure some financial reserves outside the purview of the three great families, but it wasn't much, only enough to feed the Kaslana family members. The reason was simple: the cost of purchasing and maintaining weapons, as well as daily training expenses, was too great.

There was only one way to solve this problem...

Compromise with reality, and use each other.

Take advantage of the era's worship of martial strength and join the Apocalypse family. Only then would the Apocalypse family not use this opportunity to overthrow the Kaslanas.

The combat power of an S-rank Valkyrie was worth much more than a few shops. An S-rank Valkyrie could lead a team to find ruins from the Previous Era and bring back any weapon, which would be a huge profit, something a few ordinary shops couldn't compare to. Not to mention the strategic value of an S-rank Valkyrie.

On the day the Apocalypse family was officially established, many nobles gathered, including the Kaslanas.

On the stage, the head of the Apocalypse family, Nicholas, announced that a new member was joining the family. Everyone was curious what kind of talent the profit-driven Apocalypse family would recruit that they would introduce them publicly at such an important festival.

When Li Mo walked out in front of everyone, the crowd fell silent. The air seemed to freeze. They were all too familiar with this Kaslana outsider who had repeatedly appeared in the public eye and achieved great military merits.

Why would a Kaslana, a symbol of chivalry, join the merchant-backed Apocalypse family?

"From this day forward, your name shall be: Otto Apocalypse."

Nicholas's wrinkled old face was beaming. Seeing the Kaslana family members below gnashing their teeth, his smile grew even wider.

The Kaslanas had always been stubborn. No matter what kind of treatment or reward the Apocalypse family offered, they would never betray their family. But times had changed. Today, Schicksal's second-strongest combatant, Otto Kaslana, had changed his name and officially joined the Apocalypse family.

This would greatly enhance the Apocalypse family's prestige throughout Europe. Li Mo's joining would attract more talented people to join the Apocalypse family and serve them.

Li Mo's departure caused the already weak Kaslana family's influence to plummet, gradually becoming a tool for the Schicksal and the Apocalypse family.

But, at least, a living tool.

Nicholas valued him greatly. When Li Mo held a high position in the Apocalypse family, he often used his power to seek benefits for the Kaslanas. Nicholas didn't point it out, choosing to ignore it. After all, a person with a weakness was easier to control. Someone who wanted nothing would make Nicholas uneasy.

Despite this, Kallen still broke off with him and walked an opposing path. For her, she would rather die on her feet than kneel before others to survive.

Schicksal had Li Mo study a black box, trying to obtain greater power from it. However, this plan was discovered by the Kaslanas. As the family's top combatant, Kallen used her authority, and with Li Mo not being on guard, came to the black box to test whether it would become a threat to humanity.

"There's no need to test it. Once the thing inside gets out, it will kill many people. So many that you can't even imagine. Perhaps even the Black Death, which killed a third of Europe's population, can't compare to it."

Li Mo didn't hesitate, and as always, was frank, telling her the conclusion he had drawn from his research on the black box. After obtaining the Void Archives, the records of the Previous Era were laid bare.

Herrschers, Honkai, the Finality...

It was laughable. To this day, humanity didn't even have the qualifications to face a Herrscher, let alone talk about fighting the Honkai and saving the world... it was just a child's fantasy. Not even the thirteen extraordinary, mysterious, and powerful Flame-Chasers of the Previous Era could do it.

How could such an unfinished task be accomplished by two S-rank Valkyries?

"...What are you going to do?" Kallen's voice was not as gentle as it used to be. Her face was expressionless, her words only cold.

"Continue the research. I have to produce something to shut up Nicholas and the Schicksal Overseer."

"What if you fail? You know the thing inside could kill many people."

"I don't care..."

SLAP!

A loud slap echoed clearly in the lab. Li Mo's head was turned to the side, his right cheek stinging. When he looked up, Kallen's eyes were already brimming with tears. She bit her lip, glaring at him with disgust.

"You've disappointed me so much! Otto! A Kaslana never fears power or death!"

With that, Kallen ran out with the black box.

Li Mo didn't stop her. He leaned against the wall and chuckled dryly, then took out the Void Archives and had it mimic the Star of Eden.

"I don't fear power or death either..."

"But I don't want you all to die meaningless deaths. I hope you can lead your clan to live with more confidence, to live out the Kaslana spirit."

"Star of Eden, thirty times gravity."

As Li Mo gave the order, the lab began to collapse. He was instantly crushed to the ground by the immense gravity. His internal organs began to tremble, and his blood pressure soared.

The wounds he had prepared burst open, and blood seeped from them and the corners of his mouth.

"Stop."

The gravity returned to normal. Li Mo staggered to his feet, leaning on the wall. This way, he had an excuse for the black box being stolen. He was no match for Kallen and had the black box stolen from him.

"She'll go to Shenzhou to find the Celestial for help. I just need to misdirect the pursuing team a little and buy Kallen some time. With her speed, she should be able to escape easily."

"Cough... cough..."

Li Mo covered his mouth and coughed twice. He looked at his palm and saw a large pool of black blood.

"Kallen, I hope you have a happy journey. The worldly wisdom I taught you should come in handy."

"And... the news of the Saint that I had someone spread, you should be very satisfied."

Li Mo smiled bitterly, organized the lab data, and staggered out.

In the next year, he had to quickly achieve something that would satisfy the Schicksal Overseer and Nicholas. Otherwise, only death awaited him.

The two of them walked their separate paths.

Kallen went to Shenzhou to seek help from the Celestial. On her way, she helped many people, most of whom were also commoners fleeing from Europe. As a result, the fame of the righteous phantom thief, Violette, grew, spreading far and wide to Vienna and even Schicksal headquarters.