Although the future looking completely dark right after the world's birth might sound somewhat exaggerated—the departure of a young man named Otto Apocalypse was, for the vast world, for humanity, and even for human civilization, merely an insignificant interlude.
Just as he once said—only when one tries to change the world does one realize how minuscule individual power is.
However, it's undeniable. For this period of history, that complex man indeed played a role that was quite difficult to replace.
For instance, now, [Theresa] posed a question to Kallen.
"Next, what are you planning to do?"
"...Overthrow Schicksal's tyranny?" The latter sounded somewhat uncertain—though full of rebellious spirit, Kallen wasn't the type with strong personal opinions or adept at planning the path ahead.
"And then?"
"And then... uh... establish a new Schicksal." Kallen attempted to answer using the 'answer' she received from Otto.
And this was precisely the problem.
As Schicksal's top enforcer at the time, the Saint in the people's hearts, she indeed possessed ample martial strength to overthrow the old Schicksal. But for the future, this was merely an insignificant beginning.
Destroying something, creating something—these are always the easiest parts. But when it comes to maintaining, governing something, because things are inherently always in motion, it becomes incredibly difficult.
The era Otto and Kallen lived in was the old era before the cultural enlightenment, the European Middle Ages. Restricted by the rulers' needs, constrained by environmental factors, the populace at this time was generally ignorant and unenlightened.
Indeed, they might raise arms under the Saint's banner to overthrow something. But expecting them to maintain something, govern something... no one had taught them how!
Without effective governance, and having destroyed the upper structure, the only result would be a disaster named 'rebellion'.
"The worst order is better than no order at all."
The girl sighed softly.
For this era, true wisdom resided with the old nobility—existences like Otto.
And they were naturally opposed to Kallen and the populace rebelling against Schicksal.
In the original history, Otto filled this vacant ecological niche.
This learned old nobleman supported the newly established Schicksal through its most difficult period, preventing it from becoming a mere historical footnote of 'rebellion'.
And in the following years, regardless of whether that man betrayed his former comrades-in-arms, he indeed upheld the entirety of Schicksal for over five hundred years.
Schicksal changed much, yet much also remained constant.
Just as the Saint he believed in had hoped, just as he had promised Kallen.
—Those good fights, I have fought. The course I had to run, I have finished. The faith you believed in, I have kept.
And now, starting over from scratch, but solely missing Otto's figure.
Is there a second person capable, like Otto, of weathering the most difficult initial period of the new Schicksal's establishment, upholding the will of those who sacrificed themselves for its birth?
The world will change because of this.
It might become better, or it might become worse—one day, this new Schicksal, built with so much effort, might also become the 'evil dragon' to be slain. But all this already has nothing to do with Otto.
"What a truly selfish guy."
[Theresa], clearly understanding the arrangements that Otto fellow made, helplessly offered this evaluation.
He gave everything, just to mend the regret in his heart, just to save Saint Kallen, giving her a new life.
As for what happened after—that clearly wasn't something a dead person should consider.
Or rather, Otto entrusted the future of Kallen's new worldline to the ethereal 'ideal,' just like the 'love' and 'emotions' he always believed in.
He believed Kallen could overcome the difficulties. Even if she couldn't, he knew, given Kallen's personality, she would absolutely not cling to life for five hundred years like him. This Saint of Kaslana lineage would only burn her life brightly, fighting for her ideals until the very last moment.
For Kallen, this was happiness.
And this was already what Otto wanted, what satisfied him.
As for afterwards... Kallen is gone, what happens to you lot, what's it got to do with me?
If you're lucky, you pass. If not, roll off to the Sea of Quanta and vanish beneath the waves along with failed Bubble Universes like Old Yang's.
Though this couldn't necessarily be called an incorrect way of 'letting go'.
Still, regarding that old geezer's terrible 'after I'm dead, who cares if the floodgates open' move, Jiang Qiao—currently as Theresa—definitely had to lend a hand.
After all, who told that guy to be 'his' grandpa?
"Let's just consider it practice before taking over as Overseer," he sighed thus.
And Kallen, after understanding the stakes, looked at the reliable-looking 'Good Saint' before her and instantly entered an 'uh-uh-uh' state.
"Although I don't quite understand, still... just doing this should be fine, right?"
She seemed eager, quite excited.
If you talk to her about using her brain, that's definitely not going to work well. The most effective experience summarized by the brilliant minds of the Kaslana family is only one—action!
But if you say, be an obedient fighter who follows orders, hitting wherever pointed, then Kallen can only say, that hits the spot! You understand me!
Not to mention, the current [Theresa] not only possessed a 'reliable aura similar to Otto's,' 'was Otto's and her granddaughter,' but more importantly, was also a cute pretty girl!
With multiple buffs stacked, Miss Kallen felt the DNA hidden deep within her bloodline stir.
"..."
Although being stared at felt a bit uncomfortable, [Theresa] still focused his thoughts on this era.
In reality, overthrowing the old Schicksal according to normal procedures was a very troublesome matter.
Even Otto only managed to return after being exiled for over a decade following his failed succession attempt—during this process, the new Overseer Marcel and Otto's sister Lisa colluded, directly pushing the populace into a state of unavoidable rebellion through tyranny. Precisely because of this, Otto could rally them under the Saint's banner.
And now, the one in power was still Otto's father—Nicolas Apocalypse.
A cunning old fox.
Although Schicksal's management in this era was already extremely corrupt and dark, to the point where Kallen became the phantom thief Violet Myrtle, robbing the rich to aid the poor, under the careful management of the older generation, they successfully maintained the populace under 'sustainable exploitation'.
Clearly, they understood one point very well—as long as the populace saw even a glimmer of hope, they wouldn't resort to extremism, wouldn't rebel against their rule.
Therefore, at this current point in time, there was actually no basis for rebellion.
As for a coup, setting aside the fact that the Overseer position would only belong to an Apocalypse, just considering Kallen's Kaslana family... due to their creed, the Kaslana family was practically extinct by now. Besides Kallen, there was only Luca, a useless head of house considered utterly lacking in spirit by Nicolas.
Jiang Qiao calculated the usable leverage in this era and felt his head ache.
—Otto and Kallen's supposed reformist faction had an absolutely disastrous start.
Besides possessing considerable martial strength... according to the original timeline, Kallen died too, leaving only Otto, the intelligent but disgraced nobleman.
A complete lack of everything necessary.
And now... now the brains were gone, only the brawn remained... seemed even worse.
"Forget it. Since that's the case, I'll just have to resort to some cruder methods." [Theresa], somewhat broken by the current conditions, sighed, finally abandoning the usual 'reasoning'.
He realized that dealing with those parasites through proper, upright means was truly not an easy task.
Since that's the case... then he could only learn from Otto.
—In the following five hundred years of upholding Schicksal, to ensure it wouldn't deviate from its intended path, 'his' seemingly very reasonable 'Grandpa' actually employed methods that were incredibly 'bloody' and violent.
White gloves like Rita practically received orders until their hands went soft.
Amidst Kallen's puzzled expression, [Theresa] waved her hand.
The next moment, a figure suddenly materialized before her.
'Thump—'
A muffled sound, like flesh colliding.
Sound good? Good sound means good meat.
"Ugh... what's going on..."
Scrambling up from the ground somewhat disheveled, undoubtedly the high-quality meat—Miss Raven looked puzzled and confused. After getting up, she instantly understood and couldn't help complaining:
"Seriously... can't you find me using a more normal method?"
"Also, where is this... who is this person..."
"Saint Kallen from the Schicksal textbooks, counts as 'my' grandma."
"Specifically..."
[Theresa] explained concisely. Raven quickly understood everything, looking at 'Kallen' with amazement.
A 'Saint' worth an entire world; how come she never encountered such good fortune?
As if sensing her thoughts, Jiang Qiao teased:
"If you want one, I can open a line for you later too."
"...Eh? Really?"
"Do I look like someone who tells lies?"
"Forget it, forget it... I'm not interested in that kind of thing." Raven waved her hand, then said: "Alright, alright, I understand the situation... but you have to give me some intel or something, right? Otherwise, I'm unfamiliar with this place and people, I don't know the way."
Undoubtedly—the reason she was summoned here by Jiang Qiao was simple.
The latter had a need, intending to place an order with this professional mercenary lady.
Although doing it himself wasn't impossible, he really disliked getting his hands dirty with such crude matters.
Adhering to the principle that professionals should handle professional matters, who better than the gold-medal mercenary, Raven?
"Mm, let me sort it out... Okay, these should do."
[Theresa] acted exceptionally fast, directly handing a stack of files to Miss Raven, startling her: "This many?"
"Can't be helped, there are too many parasites in the old era. Since we're cleaning things up, might as well do a thorough job all at once... Anyway, my grandpa did it once. Now that he's not here, I have to make up for his part."
Risa Apocalypse, Marcel Apocalypse, Nicolas Apocalypse... Schariac, Castle Parliament... The list contained hundreds of names, along with their photos and detailed information—obtaining these took Jiang Qiao some effort, but by using the 'Herrscher of Truth's' analysis of Reason and this world, he still obtained the data easily.
In the original history, the filial Mr. Otto, after establishing the new Schicksal, basically killed off everyone from the other two major families besides the Kaslanas, especially his own Apocalypse family, causing rivers of blood—in later generations, although Theresa held the title of family head, in reality... the family only consisted of her and Otto, two living people.
And now, with Otto gone, [Theresa], knowing just how inhuman the people in the three major families were, naturally wouldn't be polite.
The weapon of criticism cannot replace criticism by weapons. Since reasoning with them was impossible now, they could only discuss physics with these parasites.
Open the door, physical elimination!
"Don't worry, the final payment won't be delayed. Additionally, there are bonuses based on time and quantity."
To better motivate Miss Raven, [Theresa] said with a smile.
Sure enough, hearing the word 'bonus', the former's eyes instantly lit up, filled with excitement.
At this moment, a notification sound seemed to ring in her mind.
—Ding—Hello, there's a new order in the job grabbing hall. You have one new 'AreTheyDeadYet' order.