No matter what was said, invoking the name of a Genius Society member was evidently more effective than any other argument.
To the Interastral Peace Corporation, Jarilo-VI had always been a bad debt.
Recovering it would naturally be a good thing—but failing to do so would not cause the IPC any real loss.
Topaz knew that once she reported this matter, others would arrive at the same conclusion she had.
They would give Lady Ruan Mei face.
Even if the person before her was merely borrowing Ruan Mei's name as a shield, it did not matter.
She was willing to grant that courtesy.
And besides, the other party had already said this was only temporary.
"Since this is a place Lady Ruan Mei has taken an interest in, I won't press the matter further," Topaz said. "If you need assistance, you may contact me at any time. I would be more than happy to help."
Whether it was the Astral Express or Ruan Mei—
Both were figures worth befriending.
As Aventurine would put it, this was a deal that guaranteed profit without loss.
Realizing that it was no longer appropriate for her to remain, Topaz still could not resist offering Cocolia one final remark before leaving.
"Supreme Guardian, when you have the time, try listening to the opinions of your people. Autocracy is not a good habit," she said. "Consider this advice from an outsider who has been moved by Belobog's history."
"Until next time."
After bidding farewell to the members of the Astral Express, Topaz departed without looking back.
To be fair, the decisions Cocolia made in response to her were not wrong in themselves.
But during her asset evaluation, Topaz had learned many things about this Supreme Guardian from others.
It was precisely because of what she had heard that Topaz believed Belobog entering the IPC's embrace would be a good thing.
"Belobog exhausted every effort yet failed to make that IPC director yield even half a step. And you, with just a single name, secured peace for Belobog," Cocolia sighed, finally willing to speak in detail. "Thank you for resolving this matter before the IPC. I am Belobog's Supreme Guardian—Cocolia Rand."
Under the IPC's relentless pressure, Cocolia had even considered tearing off all pretense.
The authenticity of the debt and the astronomical figure claimed still required further verification.
The IPC had pressed her step by step, even setting a deadline, forcing her to decide.
That pressure had not made her consider signing the contract.
Instead, it had only further inflamed her anger.
And now another group of outsiders had arrived.
With only a single name, they had dismissed that troublesome woman who sought to force her hand.
Cocolia's feelings were complicated, to say the least.
"I did not say those things to help you," Acheron replied calmly. "They were simply facts."
She had no desire to involve herself further with Cocolia. Her intention had always been to resolve the Legion's threat and then leave this world.
"It's like this, Supreme Guardian," Gepard interjected, taking the opportunity to recount what Acheron and the others had previously told him.
He explained why the Stellaron had disappeared, and why some among them had suddenly gained new powers within their bodies.
Cocolia listened in silence.
She met Acheron's eyes for a long moment.
Before the Stellaron had been sealed, Cocolia had already resolved to cooperate with it in order to carve out a new world.
Because Belobog would inevitably perish beneath the eternal frost.
She had seen no hope.
Just as she was about to abandon the desperate reality and seek a new world instead, the Stellaron vanished.
The Fragmentum stopped expanding.
Belobog finally gained a chance to breathe.
The shadow of despair that had hung over the city simply disappeared.
Cocolia had felt lost.
But she quickly gathered herself.
No matter how the Stellaron had vanished, the cessation of the Fragmentum's spread was undeniable.
Although...
Within that despair, a new hope seemed to have appeared.
Just as Cocolia reclaimed her original resolve and believed the disaster had ended—that Belobog would finally see tomorrow—the IPC arrived.
They brought with them a massive debt from seven hundred years ago, left by the Architects.
They came to purchase the entire world.
It was an astronomical sum Belobog could never repay.
And signing that contract would mean that all of Belobog's people—present and future—would lose their freedom and their dreams.
They would become the IPC's "property."
As if misfortune alone were not enough.
When she had yet to find a way to break the deadlock, the Antimatter Legion—frozen within the blizzard for seven hundred years—began to revive one after another.
The battle against the Fragmentum was not yet over.
And now the very culprits who had ignited Belobog seven centuries ago, plunging it into this state, had returned.
"So you came to Belobog because your friend planted a power here that does not belong to this world?" Cocolia's eyes darkened. "May I ask—what exactly is this power you call Honkai?"
"...It is an extremely corrosive form of energy," Acheron explained. "It can accomplish many things beyond human imagination."
"Life, corpses, even machinery—anything may be eroded by Honkai energy."
"Organisms infected by it become Honkai entities. And when the concentration of Honkai energy rises, Honkai creatures may emerge, much like the beings born from the Fragmentum."
It sounded like yet another danger.
Fragmentum.
IPC.
Legion.
Honkai...
"But you may rest assured," Acheron continued. "The Honkai energy in Belobog has not yet reached the concentration required to spawn Honkai creatures."
"Moreover, after Honkai energy appeared in your world, Ruan Mei granted your people resistance to it."
"Those who bear stigmata possess even stronger resistance. Through their own will, they can influence the stigmata and wield the power of Honkai itself."
After a pause, she added, "Honkai energy can also infect other beings—such as Fragmentum creatures and Voidrangers. I came here to resolve that issue."
"As for Honkai itself..." She considered for a moment. "Kiana will likely find a way to retrieve the Honkai energy from your world."
"...It almost sounds entirely beneficial."
All the disadvantages seemed to have been accounted for.
Even the most troublesome threat—the Antimatter Legion—appeared to have a plan in place.
"I will help you eliminate the Legion's threat," Acheron continued. "If possible, I hope you can provide me with intelligence. It would save me time."
"Miss Acheron, I believe these revived Legion forces are not Belobog's greatest crisis," Himeko suddenly spoke. "What we must ensure is that news of the Legion's revival does not spread."
"A Legion frozen for seven hundred years reigniting war in this world—Belobog, having endured both the Legion and the eternal frost under the protection of Preservation, may attract far more attention than you expect."
Himeko's expression grew grave.
"We cannot rule out the possibility that a Lord Ravager, upon hearing the news, would lead the Legion to invade Jarilo-VI once again."
...
"I want to go take a look."
In the lounge, after honestly staying put for two days, Kiana could no longer suppress her urge to leave.
The moment she saw Ruan Mei return, her eyes lit up and she eagerly hurried over.
"Jarilo-VI?"
Ruan Mei had just come back from the laboratory and was still deep in thought. But after hearing Kiana's words, she immediately guessed what she meant.
"Mm-hmm!"
Kiana nodded repeatedly.
She felt perfectly fine. There was no need to keep her here under observation forever. Two days should have been enough.
Ruan Mei did not answer immediately. Instead, she took Kiana's hand and checked her physical condition.
"...Not much different from before."
"I think my condition is great," Kiana said quickly. "I just made eye contact with Nanook and exchanged a little... that's all. I don't think I'm that easily influenced by other Paths."
"I have a question for you," Ruan Mei said after a moment's thought. "Why are you so eager to go to Jarilo-VI?"
Afraid she might not understand, she clarified more directly.
"Is it a sudden impulse? Or something else?"
"It's not like that," Kiana immediately understood what she meant. "I changed the trajectory of that world's fate, so it's only right that I handle the aftermath. After all, the Honkai was brought there by me."
"Jyahnar and Mei have both sent me updates. The Voidrangers on that planet really are starting to revive one after another, and most of them have been affected by Honkai energy."
"I want to go take a look. If you're worried, I'll come back once every day."
Kiana gave her this assurance.
She had originally asked Acheron to go to Jarilo-VI first with the intention that once Acheron reached Belobog, she could teleport there directly and skip the journey.
"...Alright," Ruan Mei said. She had considered more factors than Kiana. "But you don't need to return so frequently if something comes up. I'll contact you whenever I have time."
"So it's settled?"
Ruan Mei nodded. "I truly haven't discovered any problems with your condition. However, going to Jarilo-VI might lead to unexpected gains for you."
Kiana, who had formally embarked upon Izumo's path to godhood and had recently made eye contact with Nanook, was undoubtedly a special existence.
And that frozen world—
Honkai, the Legion, and the Fragmentum.
A world that gathered so many factors together might bring Kiana unexpected insights.
If she were not currently occupied, Ruan Mei would have wanted to accompany Kiana herself to observe the situation firsthand.
With one matter following another, she felt increasingly stretched thin. For a fleeting moment, she even wondered whether she should...
No.
Lowering her gaze, Ruan Mei suppressed the thought and dismissed the idea.
Meanwhile, in Belobog.
Two days had passed since the Nameless and Acheron arrived in this world, and two days had also passed since their meeting with Cocolia.
After that conversation, Cocolia arranged accommodations for them and shared some intelligence related to the Legion.
However, it was clear that the Supreme Guardian still did not fully trust them. After all, the first wave of outsiders had arrived with ill intent.
As for Acheron's group—who had used nothing more than a single name to deter the IPC and halt its attempt to purchase the planet—Cocolia's attitude toward them was complicated.
On one hand, she shared intelligence.
On the other, she avoided deeper cooperation.
Acheron did not mind.
After that day, she first visited the Underworld and found Jyahnar at a place she had once stayed for a time.
From Jyahnar, she obtained more detailed information about this world.
Afterward, she traveled to several locations she considered particularly dangerous, using Howl to cut down the Voidrangers gathered there.
"This won't work."
A single world was simply too vast.
And on such a vast world, only Belobog still housed humanity.
Every other region had already fallen.
The Voidrangers would inevitably undergo full revival. Their scattered reappearance made it impossible to eliminate them all at once.
Time and effort were secondary concerns.
What truly worried her was whether news of the situation would spread—and whether a Lord Ravager might truly arrive.
She was confident she would not lose to a Lord Ravager.
But if one appeared, this planet would undoubtedly suffer devastating destruction.
With their current strength alone, even self-preservation would be difficult.
"Mei!"
Ripples spread through the surrounding space. Then an excited voice rang out, followed by a white figure throwing herself into Acheron's arms.
Kiana had teleported over.
Acheron caught her, surprise flickering in her eyes before she asked, "Kiana? Why are you here? Weren't you supposed to remain under observation for a while?"
"I missed you!" Kiana hugged her tightly, declaring it with complete confidence.
Words like this came to her effortlessly, without the slightest hesitation.
"I haven't seen Mei for days!"
As she spoke, she rubbed against Acheron's embrace in a clingy, affectionate manner.
The corner of Acheron's lips curved slightly. Her expression softened like melting ice, helpless yet indulgent.
"But your condition?"
"I talked to Ruan!" Kiana popped her head up proudly. "She agreed. I didn't sneak here, okay?"
Gently stroking Kiana's smooth white hair, Acheron nodded once she heard that Ruan Mei had approved.
Ruan Mei understood Kiana's physical condition better than anyone.
Kiana would not lie about something like this, so it was likely there truly was no problem.
"But Mei..." Kiana admired Acheron's beauty for a moment before finally noticing the endless white surroundings. "Where are we? Isn't this Belobog?"
There were lingering traces of Honkai energy nearby, probably left behind by Acheron just moments ago.
It looked like she had just finished fighting.
"The Voidrangers that were frozen into ice sculptures are reviving," Acheron explained. "I left the city matters to the Nameless of the Astral Express. As for me, I'm clearing areas Belobog cannot currently manage, to prevent them from regrouping into another Legion."
After a pause, she added, "You came at the right time. These revived Legion forces are somewhat different from the ones I encountered at the space station. I believe they've been affected by Honkai energy."
"That's about what we expected. I'm just worried something like what happened in Izumo might..." Kiana trailed off, releasing Acheron with a sigh.
"Kami, Borisin, and now Voidrangers... honestly, it's rarer to find organisms that don't react to Honkai energy."
After thinking for a moment, she said, "I need to examine how these Voidrangers are reacting to Honkai energy first. If they're only half-finished products, their strength should be reduced—just like those Kami."