Occultist began refining the [Honkai Antibody Serum].
Back when she had accepted MOTH's experimental subjects, Occultist had already conducted extensive research into antibody serums for Honkai Sickness. She had merely lacked the opportunity for clinical verification.
Very quickly, she refined the antibody serum. Thanks to the abundance of "materials," Occultist even prepared an extra vial for practice.
After injecting the serum into Ido's body, Occultist knelt beside her.
"What remains now... is prayer. Genius who loves to sing and dance, please bless this girl and grant her a healthy body."
Ido's vital signs had disappeared, but that did not mean she was completely dead. The erosion of Honkai Sickness differed from that of ordinary viruses. Before true death, there existed a prolonged state of suspended animation.
According to Occultist's research, this was not a good sign. The Honkai was devouring a human's "soul."
Ordinarily, when human consciousness dissipated, the soul would vanish as well. But the Honkai seemed intent on confirming that a person had been utterly erased. It would not relent until it had devoured the soul entirely. Hence this prolonged false-death phase.
Based on currently available data, even with the antibody serum, the probability of successfully rescuing Ido during the suspended animation stage did not exceed fifty percent. Vill-V had already done everything possible for her.
What Occultist had not expected was that Su stepped forward as well and began praying alongside Vill-V.
Su was, after all, an intelligent man. Combining the personality shifts he had witnessed earlier, he had begun to brush against Vill-V's secret.
"Could it be... that Vill-V is what psychology calls multiple personalities?"
But even knowing that, Su found himself unable to accept it on an ethical level...
He wanted to simply pilot the aircraft away. Yet after calming down slightly, he became trapped in a conflicted struggle of values.
That young girl had nearly died to save his closest friends, Kevin and Mei.
In this desperate apocalypse, there were no miracles, no magic. To save something often required sacrifice.
In such an end of days, he himself could accomplish nothing. Yet Vill-V still clung to an indomitable fighting spirit. To save that girl's life, she was willing to shoulder sin and walk forward alone.
Besides, exchanging the bodies of the dead for the hope of the living—wasn't that also what doctors did?
Even if it was a sin, what right did he have to condemn Vill-V?
After thinking it through, the anger in Su's heart faded. His gaze grew steady as his eyelids lifted.
He chose no longer to avert his eyes. Instead, he looked directly at that cold, terrifying mountain of flesh and gained a new understanding of the girl bathed in blood within it.
Even the strange scent of blood clinging to her no longer seemed entirely unacceptable.
Scholar: "Please... stay a little farther away from me."
Su: "..."
Scholar: "The blood on me carries Honkai radiation..."
Perhaps the prayer had worked. The antibody serum gradually began to take effect. The Honkai markings on Ido's body visibly receded, and her breathing slowly returned. Occultist let out a long breath of relief.
Because Vill-V's protective suit carried high concentrations of Honkai radiation, it was Su who carried Ido into the rear seat of the air-cushion aircraft.
Before Su could speak, Conductor Vill-V preempted him.
"This aircraft can only carry two people. You take her and leave."
"And you?"
"You saw what happened just now. Still not reassured?" Vill-V gave a self-mocking smile. "I'll take Ido's place and ensure Kevin and Mei's safety."
"The personality you displayed earlier... what was that?" Su finally voiced the question that had lingered in his heart.
Vill-V sighed and explained, "Do you know? To travel from the future to the past carries considerable risk."
"So the future world selected geniuses from different fields—including me—and combined us into the being known as 'Vill-V' to deal with the complex challenges of the past."
"The one just now was called 'Pure Evil.' In our world, he was a notorious criminal known to every household."
"He was proficient in all forms of crime. That was why he was chosen to join this operation."
"So that's it. No wonder you feel nothing like a typical case of dissociative identity disorder." Su nodded in sudden understanding. Then another question surfaced. "Then... whose body is this?"
"Oh, you want to know about the owner of this body?" Vill-V tapped her head and replied casually. "She's a native of this world, an ordinary girl named 'Vill-V.' Nothing special about her. By your standards, she'd be the sort of useless shut-in type."
"I know what you're about to ask. The control of this body naturally still rests with her."
"If we meet again, I'll introduce you. There's no time to arrange that now. Hurry and go, or you won't make it out of the lightning storm's range."
Su looked deeply at the girl and said, "I can join your organization. I can share part of the burden for you..."
Then he started the aircraft and left with Ido.
...
After Su departed, Vill-V immediately collapsed to the ground, unable to hold on any longer.
In truth, the earlier Conductor-like tone had been an act put on by Id. By the time the prayer ended, she had already reverted to Id Vill-V.
It was precisely because of this that Id had explained everything to Su. Had it been the real Conductor, she would have dismissed Su at once. She would never have wasted so many words in such circumstances.
The reason for reverting to Id might have been because Id's kindness did not wish for the other personalities to bear this sin.
It might have been because Scholar's psychological pressure had reached its limit.
Or perhaps Conductor had done it deliberately, aiming to reshape Id's timid heart.
Or maybe Pure Evil's taunt—that she did not dare shoulder sin—had provoked her.
Id did not wish to judge it too deeply.
"Huff... huff..."
A pair of filthy hands, stained with thick blood, stretched out before her eyes, trembling.
Looking at her shaking hands, Id Vill-V gave a self-deprecating smile.
"So in the end, I'm not as strong as I thought. Without everyone's help, I can't do anything."
She had once believed that after experiencing the apocalyptic world of the Three-Body, her heart would be harder than most people's.
When reading the story in a comic, the idea of one thousand people for one vial of medicine had only been a number—shocking, sigh-inducing, but nothing more. It had not even counted as a blade to the heart.
Only when she stood before that mountain herself did she truly understand: beneath their different faces, they had all once been living, breathing lives—her own kind.
Not long ago, they might have been chatting with family in this very city, laughing with friends.
Even now, Vill-V could recall the warmth of their bodies when she touched them, and the intense numbness in her fingers born of psychological shock.
"But at least this means... I haven't become numb yet. I can still carry the weight of other people's lives and move forward."
"Until... we defeat the Honkai..."
Clenching her fists, Vill-V's gaze grew resolute.
"If I can't even walk forward while wearing these shackles upon my soul, then I'll never be able to bear [Origin] in the future. Only by facing my truest self do I qualify to receive 'Finality.'"
Vill-V's mindset shifted, if only slightly.
...
[Magician]: Here's a joke—how could a scholar who gazes upon the stars reach psychological limits? (#laugh)
[Occultist]: I hope that "I" can step onto the path of faith because of this.
[Lecturer]: Thank you, Id. You can use my leopard-print pillow tonight.
[Conductor]: Excellent. Id has taken the bait.
[Pure Evil]: Excellent. Id has taken the bait. +1
[Id]: I get it now. So the "twisting a companion's will" was about me. You all saw that I'm soft and easy to bully, so you teamed up—with myself—to mess with my mentality, huh? My mentality has exploded... sob, sob... At least Expert still gives me a bit of warmth.
[Expert]: zzzZZZ... Hmm? Is there work for me again?