Chapter 4: The Stubborn Snake
For a long, breathless moment, Mobius forgot to resist. She forgot to push him away. The fangs of shadow that had coiled around Rovel, poised to strike, seemed to soften with the passage of each second before finally melting back into the darkness at her feet.
Three seconds later…
Slap!
The sound was sharp, echoing in the silence. A stinging blow landed squarely across Rovel's face.
[-98]
A crimson number materialized above his head, a stark proof of the force of the strike. Rovel's health, a meager 99 points, plummeted instantly to just 1. Had she put even a fraction more strength into it, he would have been a corpse on the floor.
Yet, even as the pain bloomed across his cheek, Rovel felt as if the ghost of her touch still lingered on his lips. It was a sensation like a potent, intoxicating venom, a memory worth savoring despite the danger.
"You… What do you think you're doing?!" The glacial coldness on Mobius's face shattered, replaced by a furious, scarlet blush of shame and anger.
This man… this stranger actually dared to—
Rovel glanced at his single remaining point of health, a cold wave of delayed fear washing over him. His heart hammered against his ribs. That was too close.
"Dr. Mobius," he began, his voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through him. "I knew no words of mine would ever convince you. I could only prove my sincerity this way…"
He met her furious gaze without flinching.
"The aura you project… it fills me with a primal fear," he explained. "But I can guarantee, with absolute certainty, that this fear has nothing to do with you being 'Mobius'."
"Shut up!" Mobius snapped, her composure frayed. She looked flustered, even a little lost.
Her first kiss… stolen by someone she hadn't even known for five minutes.
It wasn't as if she cared about such trivial things… she didn't care…
Like hell she didn't care!
Forcing a breath, Mobius reined in her chaotic emotions and studied Rovel again. He was, by all metrics, an ordinary human. He was weak—so fragile that a careless squeeze from her could crush him into paste. Aside from a face that was admittedly easy on the eyes, there was nothing remarkable about him.
Oh, except perhaps for his audacity. That was certainly significant. Did that count as a highlight?
She shook her head, banishing the stray thoughts. When she considered his actions in light of his words, it… almost made a twisted sort of sense.
Within the confines of the Elysian Realm, Mobius never bothered to restrain her aura. There was simply no need. Even Pardo Felis, the weakest of the Flame-Chasers, would vanish in a puff of smoke the moment she caught a whiff of Mobius's presence. The man standing before her now possessed less than one percent of Pardo's physical fortitude; the fact that he could even stand upright was a feat in itself.
So… was his fear truly just a biological instinct?
And if that was true… then were the compliments he'd offered her earlier… genuine?
After a moment of rapid-fire internal debate, Mobius seemed to reach a decision. The truth was, his words had moved her. She had never expected anyone, let alone a stranger, to understand her so deeply.
To the world, she was a mad scientist. The path she walked was one of perpetual condemnation, yet it was a path that had saved humanity from the brink of extinction time and time again. She never cared for the infamy, never gave a thought to how others judged her.
But… sometimes, just sometimes, she yearned for someone's unwavering, unconditional trust. The kind of trust she once had from… Klein.
Trust. That was the one thing Mobius craved most, a desire buried so deep in her heart it even surpassed her obsession with 'Infinity'.
If it hadn't been for the raw, undisguised terror in Rovel's eyes, she might have believed him from the very beginning.
Had she been the one who was inconsiderate? Or had she simply overestimated the resilience of these so-called 'Descenders'?
"You. Come here," Mobius commanded, her voice regaining its usual cool tone.
Rovel pointed a finger at his own chest, a look of confusion on his face.
"Is there anyone else here?" A vein pulsed on Mobius's temple. She turned on her heel, her back to him. "Follow me. And stay close."
Rovel didn't ask where they were going. He simply fell into step behind her, his obedience absolute. He had already spotted several hulking Honkai Beasts lumbering in the distance. The place he had spawned was clearly not some safe starting zone on the outskirts of the Elysian Realm; he was somewhere in the middle, or perhaps even deeper.
For all he knew, this could be Kalpas's personal hunting ground.
Sticking close to Mobius was, without a doubt, the only correct choice.
As he walked behind her, he noticed the suffocating pressure that had been crushing him before seemed to have vanished. With her aura reined in, the air felt lighter, and he could finally breathe freely.
Soon, Mobius led him into a sprawling, immaculate laboratory.
"Dr. Mobius, welcome back," a calm voice greeted them. A young woman with gentle eyes, Klein, bowed her head slightly before her gaze fell on Rovel, her head tilting in curiosity.
"Klein, give him a potion," Mobius ordered, then glanced over her shoulder at Rovel. "Drink it."
Rovel accepted the vial from Klein and downed its contents in one go. An intensely bitter flavor exploded in his mouth, so foul it made his face twitch involuntarily.
[Used Ultimate Healing Potion (Mobius Special Edition). HP restored to 100%. Obtained BUFFs: Ultimate Continuous Healing, Ultimate Damage Reduction.]
[BUFF: Ultimate Continuous Healing. Restores 1000 HP per second. Duration: 1 minute.]
[BUFF: Ultimate Damage Reduction. Reduces damage taken by 50%. Duration: 1 minute.]
Hiss… Rovel stared at the system notifications in disbelief. Had he just chugged some kind of legendary elixir?
Seeing the distorted grimace on his face, the faintest, almost invisible curve touched the corner of Mobius's lips, the fleeting sign of a successful prank.
"Could I trouble you for a few more of these?" Rovel asked, his shamelessness knowing no bounds.
"...Give them to him." Mobius waved a dismissive hand, not even looking back as she bent over a console, seemingly searching for something amidst the clutter of her lab.
Klein dutifully followed the order, presenting Rovel with a small, neatly packed box of potions.
[Obtained Ultimate Healing Potion x10.]
[Ultimate Healing Potion: Instantly heals all injuries and grants the BUFFs: Ultimate Continuous Healing and Ultimate Damage Reduction.]
[Note: Cannot alleviate symptoms of Honkai corruption. Cannot be used by the Death Soldier race.]
'This stuff is incredible!'Rovel thought, his spirits soaring.'As expected of Dr. Mobius. She's surprisingly generous to her own people.'
Hmm… did he already count as one of "her own people" now?
"You've taken my things," Mobius's voice cut through his thoughts, a deceptively kind reminder. "It's time you repaid me, isn't it?"
"Of course," Rovel replied earnestly, seizing the chance to reaffirm his position. "But even without these potions, I would follow your every command, Doctor. Everything I said before was the absolute truth."
"Then give the potions back." Mobius didn't indulge him for a second, holding out her hand to reclaim the items she had just given away.
"Alright, Dr. Mobius." Without a moment's hesitation, Rovel took out the box of potions and placed it in her outstretched palm.
"..."
Mobius stared at the box in her hand.
"..."
Rovel stared back at her, his expression perfectly sincere.
In the background, Klein continued her work, studiously ignoring the painfully awkward silence that had descended upon the lab.
In the end, Mobius was too proud to actually take them back. She hadn't expected him to be so straightforward, so utterly without guile.
"Forget it," she muttered, shoving the box back at him. "They're nothing rare. You can keep them."
"Okay."
Rovel obediently took the potions back, a faint smile playing on his lips as he observed the subtle shifts in her expression.
'Yep,'he thought to himself.'A stubborn, flustered Mobius is definitely the cutest.'
Now that she had withdrawn her oppressive aura, the fear in Rovel's eyes had completely vanished. In its place was a look of intense scrutiny, a deep and curious appraisal.
Mobius found herself feeling a bit uneasy under his direct stare, but it also served as further proof that he hadn't been lying. She was keenly aware that ever since she had reined in her power, the amount of time his gaze lingered on her had increased significantly.
The terror from their first meeting was gone, replaced mostly by curiosity.
No… it wasn't just curiosity. She noticed his eyes would often drift to her mouth, a flicker of memory in their depths. He was likely reminiscing…
Tsk.
An inexplicable irritation pricked at her. She felt a sensation from Rovel that was disturbingly similar to the one she got from 'Elysia'.
That same infuriating directness. That same disarming sincerity.
And Mobius… hated Elysia most of all.
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