Three hours after the original Mobius died.
Mu Continent.
"Dr. Einstein, from today on, I'll be in charge of your personal protection."
The girl spoke in a stiff, formal tone. She had already been announced by the Newborn World Serpent in advance.
She was one of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers.
Hua.
Or more accurately, Hua's Memory Body.
Mobius's original body getting killed had thrown the Newborn World Serpent into chaos. MEI decided that whatever research Dr. Einstein was working on right now was too important to risk. Even if Memory Body Mobius probably wouldn't target anyone else, they couldn't afford another incident. They had to be careful of assassins from other sides — especially Otto Apocalypse and the Valkyries following him.
After thinking it over, MEI concluded that Hua was the best choice for this job right now. The others were either too busy with more important things, like Aponia, or just not suited for working alone outside.
Griseo's Memory Body was too easily influenced by whatever was around her. Too risky. Sakura, Kosma, and even Elysia's Memory Bodies had appearances that were too eye-catching. They couldn't stay in public for long without drawing attention.
Hua's Memory Body had her own problems too. Fu Hua had already shown up in public multiple times — fighting Durandal in India, then stopping Raiden Mei in Nagazora. On top of that, The Moths Who Chase the Flames had been spreading bad rumors about her. Her reputation was in the gutter.
So for now, she had to use Vill-V's facial camouflage film to hide her real face while working on the Mu Continent. Eden's Memory Body was using the same thing.
The person she was protecting right now was her own original self.
Eden's influence was massive. Top star, top artist, richest woman in the world. One word from her could move a lot of people. The Newborn World Serpent needed that kind of power. If they used it right, together with Aponia's control, they could fix a lot of problems.
At least they didn't have to worry about Eden suffering the same fate as Mobius. The original Eden trusted her Memory Body completely. They even talked about things they both liked in private. The two Edens were similar to the two Elysias in that way. When it came to facing another version of themselves, they chose to get close instead of staying distant.
Anyway.
"I'll leave it to you, Miss Hua."
Dr. Einstein was still confused about a lot of things, and she was starting to disagree with how the Newborn World Serpent did things. But she knew how serious the situation was. She wasn't going to drag her own side down right now.
Memory Body Mobius wanting to kill her other self no matter what was an extreme case. She and Memory Body Pardofelis had similar views, but their actions were completely different. Now that she only cared about herself, it wasn't strange for her to cause trouble at a time like this.
But that was her problem.
Dr. Einstein still wanted to save this era that had already been destroyed once.
"You don't need to be so formal," Hua's Memory Body said. "Just call me Hua."
Her voice was flat. Almost cold.
She had always been one of the people who didn't really understand MEI. In that sense, she wasn't that different from Dr. Einstein right now. But she would still follow orders from above.
Even if…
Even if after leaving the Elysian Realm, she found out that Fu Hua and the young student Hua from this era were both staying by Father's side. The person she actually wanted to protect the most was Captain Himeko, who had been sent to Nagazora in the Far East.
"Captain Himeko has her own mission. You cannot appear by her side."
That was what MEI told her. No explanation. Just the order.
Hua had accepted it without saying anything.
And now…
"Captain Himeko has been transferred from the Australian Continent to the Far East."
"Fortunately, the original Dr. Mobius never told The Moths Who Chase the Flames about her future. About how she would suddenly become the Seventh Herrscher."
"Maybe this time, Captain Himeko can survive."
Hua could only comfort herself with that thought. She was already carrying out orders. She couldn't go anywhere else.
At the same time, still on the Mu Continent.
Inside the First Research Division of The Moths Who Chase the Flames.
Su's Memory Body had already slipped inside.
Among the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, he was one of the few with strong spiritual perception. That made him suitable for this kind of job — infiltrating The Moths Who Chase the Flames' own territory.
He originally planned to take Madam Blanca, Klein, and the still young Little Griseo to the North Africa Headquarters for protection. Now that the original Mobius was gone, the High Council would eventually send people to take over the First Research Division. It wouldn't be safe for them to stay here anymore.
So he came.
But the moment he arrived, he stopped.
Something was wrong.
Unlike Hua, Su hadn't sent any notice before coming. This was the place where the original Mobius had been attacked. He needed to check the scene himself while also getting the people out.
The first thing he saw was another Mobius.
She looked exactly like the original one who died. Same face. Same clothes. Same way of speaking. She was even doing the same research and spending time with Little Griseo like nothing had happened.
Madam Blanca and Klein didn't seem to notice anything strange. Neither did Little Griseo.
They probably didn't even know the original Mobius had already been killed. The Newborn World Serpent hadn't told them the full story.
Su was the only one who knew the truth.
And right now, that truth made his blood run cold.
He started checking everything carefully. Then, without making a sound, he reached out with his spiritual perception and tried to read that "Mobius's" mind.
For someone like him, this kind of silent probe was hard to detect. Even people with spiritual perception usually wouldn't notice it right away. Unless they were on Aponia's level.
In that instant, he understood.
It wasn't Mobius.
It was one of those things. One of the mass-produced monsters created by the Third Herrscher.
It had taken the original Mobius's place and become the top person in charge of the First Research Division.
Then what about the others?
What about Madam Blanca, Klein, and Little Griseo?
They were close to the original Mobius. They should have noticed something was off.
"…"
Su did another probe. This time, he went deeper.
He didn't say anything.
There was no point in trying to take them to North Africa Headquarters anymore.
There was no one left here to protect.
He had come too late.