Let's rewind a little.
While Kevin fought the Fourth Herrscher in Central Europe, two other operations were already underway, one beneath the North Atlantic and the other off the southern coast of India.
"This is really..."
The same words left both Elysias at almost the same time.
The original and her Memory Body had split up, each diving into a different ocean.
Herrschers could survive, and even move freely, in the vacuum of space. A MANTIS on the level of the Flame-Chasers could do much the same.
That did not make the assignment simple.
The Newborn World Serpent had to assume that whoever carried out this investigation might be dragged into an underwater battle without warning. Eden's Memory Body was already occupied with protecting her main body, which left Elysia and her own Memory Body as the only pair who could handle both locations efficiently.
For all her usual antics, Elysia was dependable when it mattered.
Both versions of her were also the sort to finish an important mission, then write "Super easy" at the bottom of the report. It was a terribly timed display of personality.
Well, no. It did not merely seem badly timed. It was badly timed.
Still, strength bought a certain amount of indulgence, and Elysia had more than enough strength to support her behavior.
Before the mission, they had considered sending Cosma's Memory Body instead.
He had barely been deployed lately. Most days, he stayed beside Griseo's Memory Body and almost never left her alone.
Even Cosma's main body, along with his childhood friend Destopia, had begun looking at him strangely.
Their expressions seemed to ask the same silent question.
Was his future self planning to develop some questionable hobby that belonged in the non-recyclable bin?
Jokes aside, his behavior probably had something to do with what was happening inside the Moths Who Chase the Flames' First Research Division.
Everyone understood that much.
Besides, sending Cosma's Memory Body to investigate was not the real problem. The problem would come afterward, when someone asked him to explain what he had found.
"We'd probably need Su's Memory Body to read his mind and give the report for him."
Cosma's Memory Body: "..."
After that brief discussion, the two Elysias left the headquarters in North Africa at the same time. The main body headed west into the Atlantic. The Memory Body went east, toward the waters south of India.
And now...
"MEI, Vill-V, are you getting this?"
Elysia had already reached the depths of the North Atlantic.
An oval shell of pink light surrounded her body, holding back the crushing seawater. It was also the only reason her voice could travel clearly underwater.
When it came to precise control of Honkai Energy, no one in their camp could match her.
Although, with her Memory Body present, perhaps it was more accurate to call it a tie for first place.
"We see it. The image is clear."
MEI's voice came through the custom communication headset.
Before leaving, both Elysias had taken several pieces of portable combat equipment handmade by Vill-V.
Most of it was... how should one put this?
Not exactly designed with Elysia's tastes in mind.
She still brought everything.
During an active mission, neither Elysia was reckless enough to perform the legendary "Super Elysia commits crimes in broad daylight.jpg" routine.
After the mission was over, however, all bets were off.
Among Vill-V's equipment was one particularly useful device. Even in the near-total darkness of the deep sea, it could capture a wide view of their surroundings and transmit the footage directly to the projection systems at the Newborn World Serpent headquarters.
With both feeds running at once, the cause of the worldwide ocean current disturbances was finally coming into view.
"So this is what has been affecting the currents."
MEI and Vill-V's main body were watching from a small information room.
Vill-V's Memory Body was absent. Perhaps the two Vill-Vs had reached an unspoken agreement after the mess involving Mobius, because they rarely stayed alone together anymore.
At that moment, the Memory Body was shut inside the newly built Helix Workshop, working on some new device that no one else had been allowed to see.
Kevin's Memory Body stood at the entrance to the information room, leaning against the doorframe as he watched the screens.
"The Third Herrscher certainly has an inventive streak," Vill-V murmured.
Both live feeds showed the same thing.
The seabeds beneath the North Atlantic and southern India were covered in enormous crystal formations. Some stood dozens of kilometers apart. Others had grown so close that their outer edges nearly touched.
Every formation shared the same shape. Countless blood-red crystals spread outward from a central mass and fused together, making each structure resemble half of a giant sea urchin.
Beneath the crystal growth sat a massive temple-like base, with thick pillars supporting a stone doorway and a broad staircase leading up to it.
Elysia and her Memory Body approached one of the structures from opposite sides of the world, gathering whatever information they could.
"The closer we get, the colder the surrounding water becomes," Elysia reported.
Her Memory Body checked the readings on her side.
"Same here. The temperature is already below freezing, but the water around the structure still hasn't turned to ice."
"It may be acting like a heat pump," MEI said. "Drawing heat away and transferring it somewhere else..."
She never finished.
Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh.
Black shapes poured from the temple gates.
They looked like water snakes, but there was nothing natural about them. Dense black scales covered their bodies from head to tail, each layer thick enough to resemble armor. The creatures twisted through the water at frightening speed, changing direction almost instantly as they rushed toward the two Elysias.
"Whoa!"
"What a warm welcome!"
Elysia and her Memory Body retreated at once, firing into the swarm as they moved.
Everyone knew how Elysia fought. She was a mobile archer, or, less politely, a hit-and-run menace who refused to stay in one place long enough to be struck.
In battle, every turn and sidestep looked like part of a dance. Most people could not copy it. Trying without her reflexes and control would only end in an embarrassing mess.
The fight had barely begun when MEI fell silent.
She tried to keep her eyes on the screens.
Tried.
Pink crystals spread throughout the water around both Elysias. Every glowing arrow they released struck one crystal, ricocheted toward another, then changed direction again.
The angles shifted too quickly to follow. Within seconds, the arrows had woven an unbroken net through the deep sea, shredding the oncoming swarm before a single creature could break through.
The shots did not simply cut the snakes apart. Each arrow entered through an open mouth and tore through the length of the creature from inside, bursting out only after the entire body had been destroyed.
The battle ended almost as soon as it began.
"Elysia, try destroying the structures."
"Got it!"
"Roger!"
The pink-haired girl and her equally pink-haired counterpart answered together.
Both drew their bows.
Honkai Energy gathered around their fingertips, then flowed into the bowstrings in a rapidly growing surge.
Swoosh.
Swoosh.
Two pink arrows became streaks of light, each one racing toward a temple in a different ocean.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then both feeds turned white.
Boom!
Boom!
Two enormous spheres of pink and violet energy bloomed across the seabeds. Their light drove back the darkness for kilometers and swallowed the Crystal Mountains whole.
The formations offered no visible resistance. As the light faded, the blood-red crystals faded with it, until nothing remained but two enormous craters.
"Phew..."
MEI released the breath she had been holding.
"Good. Whatever these structures are, they can be destroyed. That means..."
Crack.
The sound came through both feeds.
MEI froze.
Blood-red crystal pushed up from the bottom of each crater. It split, branched, and multiplied like dividing cells, rebuilding the destroyed formations in plain sight.
With the surrounding sand blasted away, the truth was much easier to see.
The structures had never been half sea urchins.
They were complete spheres. Their lower halves had simply been buried beneath the seabed.
Now, with nothing left to conceal them, the crystal spheres hovered above the craters. No pillar or visible force supported them. They remained fixed in place, their position relative to Earth unchanged.
Vill-V's expression hardened.
"These things must be linked in some kind of self-repairing array."
She looked from one feed to the other.
"And we still have no idea how many are spread across the planet."
"If there are too many..." MEI began.
The two women glanced at each other.
"Then we're in trouble," they said together.