Ten minutes later.
The vein area was utterly silent.
The previously dispersed vagrants and miners hadn't returned yet, and the Wildfire members had withdrawn as well.
Lingering here were only a few Fragmentum creatures.
And two agents from the upper district.
In the corner.
The silver-haired girl stood with arms crossed, gazing at the man before her and asking doubtfully:
"You're saying you're playing spy within spy?"
Zeig nodded frantically:
"Yes! Actually, I fell in love with this city long ago—I'm thinking of Belobog too."
He gestured:
"Look, now that we've safely reached the lower district, we have two paths, right? Solving the Stellaron or trusting the boss—both are options!"
Bronya looked suspicious:
"But Mother said you all wanted to…"
"Sigh." Zeig patted Bronya's shoulder. "Your Excellency, people need to be flexible!"
"Think about it—if we succeed, wouldn't that be way better than the boss's side? Directly solving the root problem. As long as the Stellaron remains, those Fragmentum creatures will keep appearing endlessly, like a perpetual motion machine. What do the Silvermane Guards have to fight them with?"
Bronya remained silent.
Zeig continued persuading:
"Besides, what if we fail? Could things get any worse than now? Think about it—under the threats of blizzard and Fragmentum creatures, how many more years can Belobog hold out? Can you really bear to watch more Silvermane Guards throw their lives away generation after generation, dying in the snow?"
Bronya looked into Zeig's eyes:
"So you truly have no other motives?"
"…"
Zeig was silent for a moment, then shrugged:
"What other motives could there be? The planet's already like this. To put it bluntly—if it were as your mother said, coming to overthrow your regime—what would we gain?"
"The snowy scenery? Hardly. Power? I'm already an Executor, and it's not that comfortable. Your mother and daughter… I'm not like certain readers, am I?"
After pondering for a long time, Bronya finally nodded:
"What you say does make sense."
But she still said seriously:
"However, your deliberate leniency and letting the wanted fugitives escape—I will report this to Mother."
Zeig spread his hands, completely unconcerned:
"Fine, fine—you can have a long night talk with the boss if you want. But right now, the more important thing is dealing with Belobog's eternal freeze."
"Your Excellency, this matter needs careful consideration! Let's head back—didn't Wildfire's leader say our expenses are all covered? We should hurry and take advantage of that!"
Bronya was somewhat speechless:
"Isn't it because you're spying that they're covering it?"
"Yeah."
"…"
…
Qlipoth Fort.
At this moment, Cocolia sat in her office chair, her expression unreadable.
The grand hall was empty of others—only her solitary figure remained.
Her brows slightly furrowed as ethereal voices constantly echoed in her mind, pressing on her nerves without cease.
[Abandon decadence… abandon sorrow… abandon useless emotions…]
"…"
Cocolia ignored them.
[Do you truly believe… he won't harm your daughter… Don't forget he said he was once from the lower district… Never underestimate human hatred…]
[Your daughter… is already waiting for you on the other side…]
[Stand up… Guardian…]
[Fulfill your destiny… fulfill a "mother's" wish…]
Cocolia remained silent, unmoving.
She slightly turned her head and glanced at the faint white circle remaining on the wall.
When Zeig had stepped into the light curtain earlier, it vanished, leaving only this palm-sized white ring.
Cocolia gazed faintly at the scene within the white circle.
A black-haired man was currently persuading her daughter.
"This screen seems visible only to me." Cocolia murmured.
Even the voice in her mind hadn't noticed this white circle.
"He deliberately left it here and deliberately let me see him revealing his identity in front of Bronya…"
Soon, the scene in the white circle switched to the two entering a room at the Goethe Grand Hotel. After the man and Bronya parted, the image vanished.
Cocolia was silent for a moment, no longer looking that way.
"Solving the Stellaron… do they really have the means?"
Ever since Zeig left, whenever Bronya was involved, he would activate this white circle to show Cocolia her daughter.
Including giving Bronya Winter City Shields, pulling out an AK to drive away vagrants for her, and all the ways he persuaded Bronya.
Everything was shown without reservation.
"Sigh." Cocolia let out a breath and murmured:
"He's threatening me…"
Aside from Bronya-related scenes, the white circle would occasionally play footage of Zeig at the space station—pulling a sword tip from the galaxy that blotted out the sky, followed by the devastating strike!
Originally, Cocolia thought that scene was fabricated by Zeig.
But after witnessing him instantly destroy those small automatons with mere fragments from a vagrant mask, she fell silent for a long time.
Her eyes faintly glowed purple, emotions complex.
Now her daughter was in his hands—what else could she do?
She had already resolved to walk one path to the end, yet this man suddenly appeared. Not only did he kidnap her daughter with Sampo, but he kept displaying the consequences of angering him.
In all her years, even the Stellaron only dared tempt her—this was the first time she'd been threatened so directly.
"Should I trust him or not?"
In the empty grand hall, Cocolia sat in her office chair, pensively twirling a pen.
She was utterly passive now.
Daughter in Zeig's hands aside—even if she weren't, his terrifying power could threaten all of Belobog.
No exaggeration.
The path he offered her was completely opposite to the Stellaron's.
The answer was obvious.
Cocolia pressed her forehead, letting out a helpless cold laugh.
She murmured:
"Heh, I'll remember you."
She had no choice.
…
Several hours later.
Gepard was summoned into Qlipoth Fort.
"Supreme Guardian, what are your orders?"
Gepard at this moment was covered in wounds, as if he'd just been through a fierce battle.
"Gepard, have all Silvermane Guard defensive lines pull back a distance. No need to be so aggressive." Cocolia ordered.
"What?"
Gepard thought he'd misheard.
Previously, Cocolia had deployed all Silvermane Guards to the front lines, ordering them to kill Fragmentum creatures with full force and not retreat a single step.
That order had caused countless deaths in the Fragmentum.
Yet the creatures only increased—Gepard and many others couldn't understand it.
Continuing like this was meaningless.
"Yes, Supreme Guardian!"
Gepard's expression remained unchanged, but inside he was overjoyed.
He immediately left Qlipoth Fort to bring this good news to the front lines.
In the grand hall,
Cocolia leaned back in her office chair, seeming much more relaxed.
"Who would've thought years of planning would change because of one mere person."
"He really deserves to die…"
…