After the short cutscene ended, Siberian Duck could control the character again.
In this brand new map, she could see quite a few Fragmentum monsters wandering around.
But for now, Siberian Duck ignored those roaming monsters and directly followed the quest marker through the forest path.
After Nero entered sword-riding flight mode, the speed while traveling felt very strong. There was no need to worry about monsters attacking either. Because of the wind field, monsters in front even got pushed forward.
So Siberian Duck quickly circled behind a patch of forest, then entered another cutscene.
The three members of Seven-Star Fish wandered around in the world of Real Aether Spirits, then suddenly stopped and saw several Aether Spirits approaching an open area aggressively like a gang in a bad movie, making people instinctively start hearing the Crows Zero BGM in their heads.
The Aether Spirits in front of the three of them, the Fragmentum monsters, were split into two groups. Let's introduce the group on the right first.
This was a team made up of a Blazing Prowler, Frostspawn, Incineration Shadewalker, Frostspawn, and a Voidranger: Reaver.
Meanwhile, on the left side, there was only one monster.
Judging from its appearance, it should be the same species as Sampo·Korski because it had also used mimicry.
Right now it looked like a giant honey badger, white-backed and black-bodied, nearly two meters tall while standing on all fours.
Whether honey badgers existed in the Honkai: Star Rail universe, and whether a creature like this should exist in Belobog's Fragmentum, could be put aside for now.
At this moment, Stelle and March actually saw very human-like emotions in the giant mimic monster's pitch-black eyes.
"Wow, what kind of monster is that? I've never seen one before! Didn't they say this place was simulated from the environment data provided by the Fragmentum Factory? Belobog has animals this huge?" March cried out while staring at the giant honey badger.
Nero raised his eyebrows, many thoughts appearing in his mind. "Isn't this a honey badger? A honey badger this huge would be insane. Though where did this thing even get this image from?"
The giant mimic honey badger lightly shook its body and stepped forward. Looking down at the alliance formed by the Fragmentum monsters, it raised a front paw and lightly tapped the ground with one claw.
The next moment, it actually spoke human language, producing a crisp and clean girl-like voice completely at odds with its massive body, "This place is my turf, got it?"
"And I don't plan on sharing it with anyone, understand? If you get it, then hurry up and scram. I'm in a good mood today, so I'm not killing anything."
The three members of Seven-Star Fish watching from behind all froze at the same time.
Then March said, "Wow... the Fragmentum monsters here are actually fighting over territory. Their whole bodies are giving off this beauty untouched by the Fragmentum Factory!"
"How did the Fragmentum Factory become pollution?" Nero said from the side. "The extra spending money you get was earned from the Fragmentum Factory too!"
"Hehe..." March stuck out her tongue.
Meanwhile, Stelle looked up at the mimic honey badger, then lowered her head to look at Nero. "So it wasn't my imagination. That big guy's eyes look exactly like Nero's!"
Nero: "Huh?"
After hearing Stelle's words, March narrowed her eyes and carefully observed for a while, then nodded seriously. "It's true."
"That big guy's eyes are looking down from above, like it completely doesn't take the other Fragmentum monsters seriously at all."
"The way it looks at them is exactly the same as how Nero is looking at this group of Fragmentum monsters right now."
"My god, Real Aether Spirits really did it. This honey badger's voice sounds pretty good. Which voice actor did they get for this?" The moment the honey badger spoke, Siberian Duck completely lost it and burst out laughing.
Mainly because the contrast was too huge, and the voice acting sounded extremely arrogant. But mixed into the arrogance was also this bratty-girl feeling.
Combined with the giant body that felt oppressive while also somehow cute, it created a twisted kind of absurd cuteness.
[Love Gate: Thought it was a macho guy, didn't expect a big sis. At first I thought it was a big sis, then it turned out to be a bratty girl.]
[Aha's Emanator: What do you mean? What do you mean beauty untouched by the Fragmentum Factory? Looks like Little March doesn't want her allowance anymore.]
[Belobog Savage: Very good. I declare that all of Little March's allowance will now be confiscated and handed to Nero.]
[So Handsome I Get Beaten On The Street: Damn, you Aha followers are teaming up to bully March now?]
[Knight of Beauty: I have no objections.]
[Ice And Steel: Knight of Beauty? More like Knight of Fish!]
[Madam Herta Fan Support Club: What the hell? Similar to Nero? Guys, this is giving me a certain feeling.]
[Nero's Sword: I have the same feeling too.]
[Jump Slash Immortal: This should be the introduction story for an event, but judging from how this is unfolding... even though Nero doesn't have a companion mission, they gave him a companion event instead...]
The animation still hadn't ended here. While the three members of Seven-Star Fish quietly discussed things and watched the show, the Fragmentum monsters being treated forcefully by the mimic honey badger started getting annoyed.
"Why do you get to hog this place?" the Incineration Shadewalker shouted loudly.
He looked like a hot-blooded young man, perfectly fitting people's stereotype of most hot-blooded anime protagonists.
From the current situation, it seemed that in order to let trainers and Aether Spirits communicate and train better, Giovanni gave these Fragmentum monsters the ability to "speak" when designing Real Aether Spirits.
Maybe a huge Synesthesia Beacon system had been implanted into the game system.
"Yeah, exactly!"
"This place doesn't belong to you alone. Everyone lives here!"
The Blazing Prowler and Frostspawn immediately started chiming in.
"Indeed, you're going too far." Frostspawn let out a heavy sound. It sounded like a powerful elder-type character, its voice carrying an uncle-like feeling.
"Everyone lives here. Driving everyone away just because you want to isn't very appropriate, is it? And for your own sake, you should hold yourself back a little too. If everyone attacks you together, what can you do no matter how capable you are?"
"Hah, what skill could a bunch of weaklings like you possibly have that I'd need to care about? Right now I'm willing to talk to you, so you should already be grateful."
The mimic honey badger clearly did not care about the other Fragmentum creatures at all. She seemed absolutely confident.
"&@(!", The Voidranger: Reaver behind them let out a muffled screech.
Who knew where Real Aether Spirits even got this thing from, this "remnant soldier" that served Nanook, with no clear intelligence at all, whose chaotic mind and consciousness were filled only with killing instinct, destruction instinct, battle instinct, and ruin instinct.
The Voidranger rushed toward the mimic honey badger almost like a phantom. Blade-arms formed from Imaginary energy extended out, slashing toward the mimic honey badger.
The next instant, a black shadow flashed past. The honey badger bit down on it in one bite, then smashed it against the ground twice before tearing it apart and swallowing it.
The surroundings instantly became quiet...