"A-Alex!" Shouted Fu Hua, calling out to the boy.

Even after seeing the spear being pierced directly through his stomach for solid minute, Alex still couldn't believe what he was seeing.

At first, he had only felt a slight tinge of pain when he had gotten stabbed, however now with the shock factor over and the adrenaline going away, Alex began to now truly feel the true extent of his wound, as he grimaced in pain, holding a hand up to his mouth as he coughed up blood, staining his hand while it also trailed down the side of his mouth.

"Well well, this certainly wasn't expected. I had no intentions to harm you, however you willingly took the blow for the old timer." Said Void before sighing. "Oh well. I hope my vessel doesn't hold this against me."

The Herrscher gently lowered Alex down to the ground, as she removed the spear from his stomach and release the telekinesis on him.

This cajsed Alex to fall onto his knees and then forward onto his stomach, breathing heavily, as Fu Hua immediately rushed to his side.

"A-Alex! Alex are you alright!?" She shouted in worry.

"D-Don't worry. It's just, a stab. T-This isn't anything new to me." Said the boy, struggling to speak.

As Alex tried to get up however, he noticed just how extremely heavy he felt, as he barely raised himself an inch off the ground before immediately falling back down.

"I-I can't get up, or even move all that much." He said.

Fu Hua immediately looked up at Void but noticed that she wasn't pointing at them, meaning that she wasn't using telekinesis.

"Oh? You immediately assumed that I was the one holding the child down? That would be a smart assumption, however you are very wrong." Calmly said Void.

"Then what's going on?" Asked Fu Hua.

"Well, normally a pierce through the gut isn't all that big of a deal, however there is one crucial detail that hasn't been mentioned yet." Said Void, ceasing to speak for a moment before she eventually resumed. "That boy isn't a Valkyrie, nor does he possess a Stigmata. Tell me old timer, what do you think would happen when a human with zero Honkai Resistance were to be stabbed by a Herrscher, a being with the most Honkai Energy than any other Honkai Beast?" She asked.

"N-No. No no no it can't be!"

Fu Hua began to panic immensely upon hearing those words as she looked back down at Alex, and was horrified at what she saw.

Alex had no clue as to what was going on so seeing Fu Hua's scared expression gave him some anxiety that something awful was happening.

"H-Hey what's with, that scared look? Why're you, l-looking at me like that?" Asked the boy.

All Fu Hua could do was point down at what seemed to be his left hand.

Alex was a little confused but decided to look at his hand anyway and what he saw shocked him

Red, vine like markings had appeared and began to spread, covering his hand.

Alex then realized that he was truly in the worst situation he could possibly be in.

He had contracted Honkai Poisoning, and it was spreading all over his body.

Whether he'd end up dying or turning into a Honkai Beast, Alex was done for either way.

"F-Fu Hua, I'm......................" Trailed off Alex, beginning to feel hopeless in this situation.

"D-Don't speak you're gonna be okay! Everything's gonna be alright!" Said Fu Hua.

"Continuing to hopeful huh? You humans just won't ever get it. Now then, one more casualty wouldn't hurt."

Before Void could do anything, a slow clap was heard, as all three turned to see non other than Otto approach them, as he had been the one slow clapping.

"What an exciting confrontation. With all your beauty and splendid form, you truly are the Queen of the Honkai." Said the Overseer.

"You.................I remember you." Said Void. "You're the fool who wanted to acquire God's power and revived me."

Otto chuckled at her remark.

"I am truly honored to be remembered by you, my dearest queen. I do hope that in exchange of reviving you, that you leave these two be." Said Otto as he pointed at the two. "They're close colleagues of mine."

Normally, Void would've immediately just casted Otto aside and continue with her attack, however with how suspiciously Otto was buttering up the Herrscher with his smooth talk, and with the unsettling aura Void felt coming off of the Overseer, she decided to oblige.

"Hmph. Whatever. Killing her would be a waste. After all, I've already dealt a lethal blow to the child she's with, so I'll leave them to you." Said the Herrscher.

"With that tone of voice and speaking, you truly are the cause of the 2nd Honkai War. You really are humanity's greatest danger. Your power and dedication to see your plans through truly are extraordinary." Replied Otto, continuing to butter up Void.

"Cut it with the flattery clown. To be frank, I have absolutely zero interest in you. My job is done here. I'm gonna go rest, and then I'll be back to finish my business with the other three girls I was fighting before."

With that, Void opened a rift and walked into it, leaving the scene as it closed.

Otto then approached the two, Fu Hua still kneeling over the poisoned Alex.

"That truly was an unfortunate battle. The boy with zero resistance has contracted Honkai Poisoning, and as for you old friend, this is the first time I've seen you hurt this badly in 500 years." Said the Overseer. "No worries. I'll get you both treated. After all, we do need to celebrate the success of this step of the plan."

"W-What the hell are you talking about? Why'd you let her go!? Surely you know what she plans to do right!?" Asked Fu Hua.

"I am well aware of the fact that she's after Theresa. She'll be seeing them soon after all. This time however, nothing will interrupt the planned sequence of events. They WILL fight to the death."

Fu Hua was bewildered at how calm Otto was with all of this.

"It's about time that I finally tell you what's really going on." Said Otto as he cleared his throat. "In K423's body, there's now two souls. K423's which you all refer to as Kiana, and the Herrscher of rhe Void, also known as Sirin. Currently, Sirin is in full control of K423's body, however that isn't the ending that I plan for. Now, the roles are reserved. Sirin being active, and K423 being dormant. Now, if K423, were to regain control of her body, then we'd finally have a human with Herrscher powers in our hand." Explained Otto.

"H-Hold on. If you wanna reawaken Kiana, then.................d-don't tell me that you plan to do what I think you're gonna do!?" Shouted Fu Hua, who had now realized Otto's true intentions.

"You know me so well my dear old friend. Emotional ties, bonds, are the key to reawakening K423 from within the body. After all, emotions do create miracles. Why do you think I allowed Kiana to enroll in St. Freya? Why I had you spy on her all thw time? All of that lead up to this moment! When humanity is at its most desperate, heroes will arise to inspire hope! I truly do feel terrible for having to sacrifice my dearest granddaughter and her students, however, the hardest choices recquire the strongest wills."

Fu Hua didn't even know how to comprehend what she just heard.

Just how absolutely cold, selfish, and dark his true intentions were.

All Fu Hua could do was merely laugh at all she had just heard.

"I'll ask you a serious question old friend. I choose to tell you and Mustang prior to you everything because both of your actions are well beyond my control. Mustang has already made it very clear that he's against me. What say you, old friend? Are you also gonna turn against me? Are you still planning to stop my dream to be realized?" Asked the Overseer.

Eventually, Fu Hua's laughter had stopped as she stared daggers at the Overseer.

"Old friend huh? I sense no sympathy or decency from your words. Only pure selfishness and lies. Some kind of old friend you are. You truly are, an utterly vile, and horrid human being, Otto Apocalypse." Said Fu Hua with nothing but genuine and pure hate.

The smile on Otto's face slowly went away, as he sighed to himself.

"I didn't lie, Master Jingwei."

Midway through that conversation, Alex had just mentally checked out, as the Honkai Poisoning continued to spread across his body.

It wasn't until he noticed a bright, golden glow, that he was brought somewhat back to consciousness, but he didn't look up though.

That was until the sound of a gunshot was heard, immediately waking him up.

BGM: The Awakening(Slowed Down)

As he looked up, he saw Fu Hua tip over and fall backwards, blood pouring out from her forehead.

Alex was speechless, just in pure shock and awe.

That was until he noticed a familiar pair of legs, those being Otto's stop and kneel in front of him.

"Remember what I told you back in that room Mustang? How, you could potentially die at the Herrschers hands, and how I could potentially take you out myself, or someone else in front of your own eyes?" Asked Otto, as a smirk grew on his face. "I kept my word. I always, keep my word."

Alex just clenched his fists and gritted his teeth in anger.

"Y-You, you damn bastard! Is all of this, truly neccessary!?" He shouted.

"Sacrifices are always a constant in life Mustang. It's like I told Fu Hua, only those with strong wills are able to make the hardest decisions." Replied Otto.

The Overseer then patted Alex on the back.

"Farwell, Alex Mustang. I hope they remember you."

Otto then walked away, leaving the poisoned boy there, as all he could do is look up at the now lifeless corpse of Fu Hua.

With all the remaining strength he had left, Alex slowly crawled towards her, eventually, his body just gave up as he stopped just short.

Alex reached out his right hand, as it landed onto Fu Hua's left.

He let it rest there, as Alex began to feel cold and numb.

'I-I'm sorry. Kiana, Mei, Bronya, Theresa, Himeko, Fu Hua, everyone.'

Alex now just laid there, tears starting to trickle from his eyes.

Eventually, his eyes finally closed.

Chapter 40: Complete