Mobius...
Or rather, the conclusion reached after discussion among the newborn World Serpent's higher-ups, did have a certain logic to it.
Earlier, she had already learned from Gray Serpent that although the era she lived in, the era that had originally been destroyed and would later be called the Previous Era, had been lucky enough to gain a "second chance" because of a chain of cause and effect more than fifty thousand years in the future, the origin of all this came from a malice that had engulfed the entire world.
Under that premise, once those "Reverse-Time Descenders" appeared one after another, the butterfly effect would follow no matter what.
She had already learned a great deal about the Cocoon of Finality.
The Cocoon was the product of a high-level civilization from beyond the solar system. It had forcibly intervened in the Honkai disasters from the outside. It would not obediently select Herrschers step by step.
After all, the current Cocoon of Finality did not contain PROMETHEUS No. 17 secretly embedded within it.
In this situation, which Herrschers would appear, who would become them, and when they would descend were all unknown.
Because the Cocoon of Finality arranged and adjusted everything related to the Herrschers, or rather, the trials, according to the characteristics of Earth's current human civilization.
And that was not even mentioning the Current Era more than fifty thousand years later.
Even with the traitorous PROMETHEUS No. 17 secretly helping from within, even after the Herrscher types had been completely fixed, the Cocoon of Finality still disrupted the order in which Herrschers descended.
It even made small adjustments to the detailed characteristics of their authorities.
For example: the Herrscher of Sentience no longer constructed a massive dreamscape to wipe out humanity through "Sleeping Sickness."
Instead, she could directly create a real space of consciousness and forcibly drag the target's physical body inside.
Another example: the Herrscher of Dominance was no longer made up of "a thousand people."
Its members no longer began with partial abilities from the first nine Herrschers. However, in response to the "rebellions" of the earlier Herrschers, they had gained the power to directly plunder Herrscher authorities.
From this, it could be seen...
"Compared to that fairy-tale era more than fifty thousand years later, we do not have that many favorable conditions to rely on."
"So the Third Honkai Eruption that is bound to happen in the future may not necessarily erupt first in Nagazora."
"And the apostle of Honkai born during it may not necessarily be the so-called Herrscher of Thunder."
Thinking up to this point, Mobius felt somewhat regretful.
Because in her eyes...
She was actually quite fond of the genes of that companion Honkai Beast named Shesha.
Now that the course of history in this era had already deviated from its original track, would Shesha, the one that could give her something close to resurrection, still be born?
"For now, I will wait and see."
Mobius looked toward the large screen and thought to herself.
"As for this side, the bait has already done its job."
"Whether the Herrscher of Death appears in this world again is not important."
"Of course, if she still appears, that little shadow of hers, Kevin, will probably be very happy."
"After all, MEI... that foremost genius whose future achievements may even surpass mine, the one who should have been guided by me into Fire Moth, does not have the compatibility to become a MANTIS."
"If she wants to live longer and see a farther future with her own eyes, then the safest path is undoubtedly the research results related to the Herrscher of Death."
"Then, based on these considerations..."
She lightly tapped the armrest of her seat.
The corner of her mouth curved up.
"To borrow the favorite phrasing of that 'Evolver (God),' as the little shadow described him..."
"The greater trend has already taken shape."
"It is time for him, Kevin, to perform today's final act."
At the same time, on the outskirts of Berlin.
Between the winding mountain roads, the blue streak of light was still speeding forward.
At the position below and in front of Bronya, roughly where an ordinary motorcycle's fuel tank would be, Project Bunny had already projected a translucent terrain map for her.
On top of that, Project Bunny had also marked out the optimal route.
On the map, around the green dot that represented their side, several flashing red dots could also be seen.
Those red dots clearly corresponded to the helicopters following them closely in the air.
"How should Bronya shake them off?"
Bronya thought.
In truth, just now, she had considered turning back toward central Berlin.
There, she and Seele could blend into the crowd and look for a chance to hide.
However...
Bronya herself might not even know it, but her thinking often measured lives in numbers.
Even though she knew, intellectually, that using numbers to weigh the value of life was wrong.
In short, precisely because she unconsciously carried that kind of mindset...
"There are too many people downtown. If the other side stops at nothing, many people will be dragged in."
She had seen plenty of people who would stop at nothing.
For example: Otto, Ling Ke...
And also...
"..."
Bronya thought of the woman she had once been forced to watch being taken away, powerless to stop it.
Even now, she did not know whether that woman was still alive.
Mother Cocolia.
Thinking of her again, of that woman who held extremely complicated feelings toward Bronya, and toward whom Bronya also held extremely complicated feelings, Bronya's own heart became tangled.
Suddenly, just as her attention drifted slightly...
"Whoosh."
The sound of air exploding rang out.
The night sky, originally dim and lit only by moonlight, was illuminated by a fan-shaped sweep of flame racing across the sky.
At that moment, it was as if a new sun had risen nearby in an instant.
Then...
"Boom, boom, boom."
Every armed helicopter in the air exploded.
In the blink of an eye, the machines were destroyed, and everyone inside died.
Seeing this with their own eyes, Bronya and Seele both felt their pupils contract.
Especially Seele.
This was clearly the first time she had seen such a... violent scene.
It was not bloody, because human flesh and blood had been vaporized in an instant.
Only the half-melted frames of the helicopters remained in the air, glowing red with heat as gravity caught them and pulled them down one after another.
Perhaps because she had been frightened too suddenly and too badly, Seele instinctively tightened the arms she had wrapped around Bronya.
Right now, she also held extremely complicated feelings toward Bronya.
Because of the difference in information between them, Seele had mistakenly believed she was the one being dragged into Bronya's trouble.
And yet, only beside this gray-haired girl she had known for less than a day did Seele feel at ease.
She felt that Bronya was someone she could rely on... perhaps even trust.
However...
"Whoosh."
A scorching blaze shot toward them from the front.
"!"
Bronya's reaction could not be called slow.
Or perhaps, without her knowing it, someone was deliberately holding back.
In any case, she wrenched the handlebars hard, forcing motorcycle-form Project Bunny off its original path.
"Whoosh!"
The pillar of high-temperature fire swept past their side by the narrowest margin.
It came like a high-speed train rushing down a long iron track, savage and unstoppable.
Time seemed to slow.
Bronya's eyes widened as she saw that Project Bunny's "Blocking Array" energy shield had merely been grazed at the edge by the pillar of flame.
Even that was enough.
It broke apart as if it had been pasted together from paper.
Terrible heat spread outward.
"Ugh."
Bronya felt as if her arm had been burned.
And Seele behind her...
"Ah!"
Seele, who right now was nothing more than an ordinary person, screamed in pain.
There was no other way.
Bronya could only grit her teeth and force her burned right arm up. She temporarily summoned one of Project Bunny's floating shields and braced it backward on Seele's right side.
But by doing this...
"Bang."
"Bang."
"Bang."
The speeding Project Bunny could no longer change direction properly. It crashed through several dead trees in a row before finally stopping.
At this moment, if someone could still look down from high above, they would see that the surrounding terrain had been completely changed.
A trench stretched for more than a thousand meters. The ground it had plowed through was burned red-hot. The surrounding trees had all been carbonized. The ravine was dozens of meters deep.
If, after it cooled completely in the future, someone diverted water into it, then creating a long strip of lake here would not be impossible.
And this was only one casual basic swing from a certain "strongest MANTIS."
One where he had even held back.
At this moment, in the mountain forest that had once been fairly quiet, but was now filled with the crackling sound of burning trees, a white-haired young man (?) was rushing toward Bronya and Seele.
The long hem of his black trench coat fluttered behind him.
His expression was extremely cold.
His eyes were sharp.
"Clack, clack."
Project Bunny had already transformed back into its quantum robot form.
It protected Bronya and Seele inside its two huge mechanical arms.
The "Blocking Array" formed again.
However, everyone present knew that if the opponent truly meant to kill, everything they were doing would be futile.
Project Bunny would not be enough.
Even Bronya from before, back when she had not yet lost the authority of the Herrscher of Reason, would not have been able to withstand even one exchange against this attacker.
Finally...
"This is as far as you go."
The white-haired young man (?) spoke coldly.
Kevin Kaslana.
The greatsword of flowing flame in his hand, the Judgment of Shamash, now in its Might of An-Utu form, was already raised high.
He had already recognized Bronya, the gray-haired girl he had once met in the Sea of Quanta.
But in his eyes, she was undoubtedly his enemy.
In fact, compared to the Herrscher of Death vessel, which "might still be useful later," this gray-haired girl named Bronya Zaychik gave him no reason to let her continue living.
So it would be better to end it here with one sword.
"Clang!"
The scorching flame blade was blocked at the last possible instant by a lightning-fast katana that had read its angle perfectly.
"Boom!"
The ground split, and the mountain forest shook.
In that dazed moment, Bronya, who had been blown away by the shockwave and was being protected together with Seele in Project Bunny's arms, barely managed to open her eyes.
She saw another familiar figure.
Long hair streamed behind her, sleeves whipping in the wind.
Before she completely lost consciousness, she could not help murmuring a name.
"Mei... Onee-chan."