Hare's mood at this moment was quite complicated, and even her expression looked very subtle.
But Bronya did not notice and simply said with an expressionless face: "Now… have you found it?"
Hare nodded: "Yes, I know now. Precisely because I know, I feel disappointed."
"Although it may be offensive, this is indeed what I think at this moment——"
"The Herrscher of Reason is nothing more than this."
Bronya: "…"
Hare explained: "Don't misunderstand. I greatly admire what he did."
"When the time came, it was the day to devour the tyrant in the heavens."
"He is worthy of the name of hero and is an outstanding human."
"But precisely because of that… to me personally, his existence is nothing more than this."
"He did not transcend the pain I once felt. The only difference between him and me…"
"Is merely that what he received at birth was a gift, not a curse."
Bronya refuted: "…What truly matters is the choices he once made, not the form in which he came into the world."
Hare said softly: "Of course I understand the reasoning——but that is not the answer I wanted."
"In your view, how many of the choices I once made can truly be called wrong?"
"And the result… what of it?"
"Although saying this may be too arrogant… but in the sense just now, the Finality you know is the same kind of existence as me."
"It wholeheartedly wanted to embrace humanity, yet because of that became an inescapable end for the world."
"You have witnessed the disaster I caused. Since the past me was already seen as deeply sinful by the world…"
"Then in order to stop Finality, the Stigmata Plan is the only correct answer."
"I know that Schicksal and Anti-Entropy are not without plans that can sustain them…"
"But forgive my bluntness, those are merely humanity taking the wrong path of eternal war against Honkai."
"You say… compared to the me of the past, how much difference is there?"
"…"
Facing Hare's long speech, Bronya said: "Bronya understands."
"If we want to reverse the Stigmata Plan… before Kevin, we must first get past you."
Hare smiled slightly: "If you treat it as a dungeon-clearing game, then in terms of difficulty, that is indeed the case."
"However, if we are only talking about attitude, I'm afraid I will not be any softer than my Lord."
"So… what do you plan to do next?"
"Successfully returning to reality is indeed worthy of praise."
"But at the same time, you have also lost the only power you could rely on."
"…"
Bronya did not speak. Only a trace of imperceptible cunning flashed in her silver-gray eyes.
"Before considering that… since you have already taken the authority of the Herrscher, the remaining part——"
"Can you return it to Bronya?"
Hare asked in confusion: "…The remaining part?"
After a moment of thought, Hare understood what Bronya meant and looked at the dim Core floating between the two of them.
"Oh, you mean this crystal? It's fine, take it…"
Hare said generously: "That is the relic left behind by a great hero. It should indeed be properly preserved."
Under Hare's words, Bronya stepped forward and took back the crystal with extraordinary significance before her.
For a long time, it had constantly defined the girl, yet now it had become a dead object.
Hare continued: "Just as the meaning of the word 'relic' implies——it now only holds commemorative value."
"Even if I wanted to return the authority of the Herrscher to you as well, I cannot actually do so."
"As you can see, the three hundred thousand thoughts that constitute the Herrscher of Reason have already merged into the Stigmata Plan."
"They can only become Eidos Seeds and cannot regather within this Core."
At this moment, as the victor, Hare undoubtedly held a complete advantage.
Even the audience watching from a god's-eye view could not see any chance of victory for Bronya.
"Damn, the dog director is addicted to tormenting Duck-Duck, isn't he!"
"She's already been tormented so many times, yet he still arranges such an opponent, and even her Herrscher authority was taken away."
"Duck-Duck is truly miserable, but as a member of the main trio, I don't believe she will just give up like this!"
"That's right. The protagonist of this segment is Duck-Duck. This strong girl who walked out of the snowfields will definitely not fall here!"
"Is the dog director here? Come out and make a sound, give us a definite answer!"
"…"
While the group chats were very lively, Hessian in the company was watching the TV.
Not only him, but many actors including Kalpas were doing the same.
On the TV.
Bronya said without fear: "Bronya understands, but… that is not important."
"Bronya only needs a symbol."
Hare said in surprise: "…Oh?"
Bronya continued: "Actually… not only you, Bronya is also curious about the mode of existence of the Herrscher of Reason."
"Obtaining the inheritance does not mean Bronya truly understands this concept."
"On the other hand, more importantly——if I had shown from the beginning that the Core was very important to me…"
"Then I wouldn't have been able to take it back so easily now, right?"
Hare became even more puzzled: "Very important? You…"
At that moment, she suddenly recalled something.
Bronya had used an almost self-destructive method to escape from those memories first.
That was indeed a fact.
But if so…
When she returned to reality, where did that flash of light that rapidly swept across the already dried-up Core come from?
At that moment, Bronya's voice rang out.
"Bronya admits that in terms of power, the Stigmata Plan is clearly superior to the Herrscher of Reason."
"But don't forget, Bronya is also one three-hundred-thousandth!"
As her words continued to fall, the originally dim Herrscher Core now emitted an incredible shining light.
In this light that was almost blinding, the Herrscher form reappeared on the girl who should have been at the end of her rope.
Four-turbo anti-duck, ahem.
Under the form of the Herrscher of Reason, a delicate sphere that could not be ignored materialized out of thin air.
"Eden's Star!"
It had to be said that Bronya, who had turned the tide from despair, seemed even more powerful than at any previous moment.
Even Hare couldn't help but exclaim: "…Splendid."
"Pseudo-Metamorphosis, that's what Prometheus said, right?"
"Regardless, after obtaining their recognition, you are indeed now a part of that consciousness collective."
"After regaining the Core, although the starting point of your power is merely one three-hundred-thousandth of the past…"
"In nature, you are indeed still a genuine Herrscher of Reason."
Looking at the weapon that appeared in Bronya's hand, that was the most obvious proof of the above statement.
Bronya showed no pride or arrogance and simply said calmly: "It is merely something Mr. Welt once accomplished."
"Using the mechanical memories left within my body by the distributed Core."
"Even if the starting point of power is so small, thought can once again arm us."
Hare smiled: "However… even if you say that——in terms of power, you ultimately did not gain any increase."
Bronya admitted: "Indeed. If used to fight against you, merely reaching this step may not help."
"But… in terms of practical use, it seems you have made the wrong judgment again."
"Although you were very polite to Bronya, I hope you will also welcome them."
As Bronya's words fell, imperceptible spatial cracks spread once again.
After thoroughly understanding the nature of the threads themselves, using the small yet familiar authority.
Bronya completely tore open the net that had trapped everyone!
The next moment, Kiana's voice suddenly rang out.
"Thank you, Bronya."
From within doors similar to memory fragments, Kiana and Mei stood on either side of Bronya.
Mei looked at Hare and said: "…We're back, Hare."
Hare laughed somewhat helplessly: "So… up until now, you were actually scheming against me all along?"
"Very well… now it has become one against three again."
"As the saying goes, the same move cannot be used twice. It seems I will have a hard time dealing with the current situation."
Mei sneered: "There's no need to be so modest, is there?"
"Turning the characteristics of the Stigmata Plan into your own methods, those dirty tricks of yours are not easy to deal with."
"In my view, taking the opportunity while Kevin is still sealed to defeat you in one go is our only chance of victory."
Bronya immediately said: "Wait, Mei."
Mei turned her head in confusion: "What's wrong?"
Bronya said: "The pseudo-black hole has already disappeared. Kevin… he should have already left this entire ruin."
"…"
Kiana did not speak. She kept looking around, and finally turned and spotted Fu Hua's figure.
"——Class President?!"
At this moment, Fu Hua was unconscious on a rock at the edge.
Bronya said: "The Class President and the Herrscher of Sentience stayed in the black hole for too long and have not yet recovered their power."
"Kiana, Mei, can I ask you to go take care of the Class President first?"
"Bronya can handle the battle here alone——and this is very important."
Mei looked at the girl in confusion: "…Bronya?"
"Even if Kevin won't appear, now is not the time to act on impulse."
Bronya said: "Don't worry. Just now, Bronya has already thought of a sure-win strategy."
"The prerequisite——is actually for Bronya to fight alone."
Hare spoke: "…Oh?"
Under the gazes of Kiana and Mei, Bronya explained: "In short, based on the current situation…"
"Bronya hopes that what happens next will only occur between me and her——two Herrschers of Reason with completely different connotations and forms."
Hare asked curiously: "…Even if I am merely a usurper?"
Bronya nodded: "Mm, even if you are merely a usurper."
Hare became even more curious: "So, you want to use the power of one person to try to fight against three hundred thousand people, or even the entire Stigmata Plan?"
"And you believe you will surely win?"
Bronya said confidently: "That's right."
"After all, through the previous attempt, Bronya finally understood one thing."
"To the Herrscher of Reason, one and three hundred thousand are actually no different."
"In the past, the reason why Mr. Welt and I found it difficult to control those three hundred thousand thoughts…"
"Ultimately, it was because we feared them from the very beginning."
"I am not saying we should not fear these three hundred thousand thoughts. On the contrary, precisely because we fear them and fear the history of the Herrscher of Reason…"
"In actual action, we must treat them as an ordinary force, as something that can be conquered by ourselves."
"Welt Joyce, Joachim Yang, Bronya Zaychik…"
"Any one of us is not merely one of those three hundred thousand people, but also the entirety of those three hundred thousand people."
"The reason the name of the Herrscher of Reason has been passed down to this day is that its power and will have long been integrated."
"Hare, what you took away was merely an empty form."
"…"
Hare was silent for a moment: "You mean, all my previous arrangements were actually meaningless…"
"This is truly… very interesting."
Bronya said calmly: "Whether it is true or false, we will know once we fight."
Hare said happily: "Alright. However, I must remind you of one thing…"
"You have only seen how the past me hurt others when there was no other choice."
"Although that curse no longer exists… this brand-new body and this power that can easily connect the Stigmata with reality…"
"When facing a Herrscher one-on-one, it will not fall behind."
Bronya shook her head: "…It seems you still don't understand."
"The one challenging you at this moment is actually not the Herrscher of Reason, but…"
"Bronya Zaychik!"
Hare said in a daze: "…I see. I understand."
"However, in that case, the way we each designed this confrontation is actually the same in different ways."
"Perhaps you won't believe it, but whether in power or will…"
"To me, Herrschers are insignificant."
Stepping forward, at some point Hare's transformation seemed to display the true form of a Herrscher.
Like a queen who conquered the harsh winter, or a female general with the subtle fragrance of plum blossoms.
A long spear resembling a banner waved in her hand, and vague human figures appeared and disappeared one after another.
"What you are about to face is no longer individual Eidos, but everything transcribed by me… under a certain definition."
As her words fell, a powerful aura instantly erupted, putting Bronya on full alert.
No matter how much long-winded talk there had been before, the power Hare possessed at this moment was undoubtedly real.
Yet even so, Bronya's shining silver-gray eyes were still filled with confidence.