Central Europe, just outside Earth's malignant tumor. Outside the Tranquil Miniature Garden.
"How exactly are we supposed to resolve a thing like this?"
Fu Hua looked at the overwhelmingly conspicuous, sky-obscuring black canopy ahead of them. She asked the question to her two comrades standing beside her.
Hearing this.
"The Fourth Herrscher should be located right inside that canopy. We need to find a way to enter it."
Kevin Kaslana spoke in a deep, heavy tone. "Or, we can simply shatter this canopy directly."
As he spoke, his grip on the flaming greatsword tightened. A searing, scorching aura began to radiate outward.
Fu Hua was relatively fine. Having assimilated the Garuda Factor and regained her peak combat strength, she inherently possessed the power of the fire attribute as well.
But the other person.
She had no choice but to step a short distance away.
Right now, the pink-haired girl raised her left hand and fanned her face. She seemed to be trying to cool herself down through this method.
Unfortunately, this action did not provide much substantial physical relief. Its effects were mostly psychological.
Of course, she wasn't complaining about it right now. When it came down to serious business, she was still quite focused.
She held a magnificently designed longbow in her right hand. Also staring straight ahead, she slowly spoke up. "Kevin. Your attacks cause far too much commotion."
"If there are still survivors inside, the mere shockwaves alone might kill them."
"So. If we want to shatter this canopy, you should leave it to me."
Hearing her say that.
"Are you no longer planning to hide your true strength, Elysia?"
Kevin neither agreed nor disagreed with her point. He simply turned his head and asked the question.
In response, the pink-haired girl shrugged her shoulders. "Oh my. Since everyone is working so incredibly hard, I'd feel bad if I kept slacking off."
She offered a lighthearted joke.
Immediately after, the playful expression vanished entirely from her face.
"Everyone, prepare to breach."
"Understood!"
Seeing that Elysia had already begun to draw the empty string of her magnificent longbow, Kevin and Fu Hua's eyes narrowed. Both of their expressions turned completely serious.
The next moment.
VMM—!
Elysia kept the index finger of her bow-wielding right hand perfectly straight.
A massive surge of pink-purple energy began to condense at her fingertip.
That crystallized Honkai Energy possessed an incredibly high density.
If it were fired, its destructive power would naturally be cataclysmic.
Kevin and Fu Hua had already bent their knees slightly, assuming a preparatory stance to dash forward.
The three supreme combatants of the reborn World Serpent were teaming up for the very first time.
WHOOSH—!
!!!
A look of pure astonishment instantly appeared on all three of their faces.
Straight ahead, from the very bottom of the canopy, a horizontal tornado surged forward like a massive tunnel boring machine. It came barreling wildly toward their exact position.
Faced with this abrupt, completely unforeseen situation.
"Sigh."
Elysia let out a soft sigh. She made a split-second decision and immediately shifted the aiming trajectory of her arrow.
However.
"Leave it to me!"
Kevin stepped directly in front of her. The Judgment of Shamash in his hands had already entered its Might of An-Utu form.
FWOOSH—!
The flaming greatsword swung forward. A tyrannical, raging tornado of fire collided head-on with the black-purple vortex.
BOOM—!
The two forces instantly began a violent tug-of-war.
However.
FWOOSH—!
Kevin stepped forward. He slightly increased his own energy output. The fire tornado directly and utterly crushed the resistance of the purple-black vortex.
Immediately after.
SLASH—!
Even Kevin had not expected the opposing force, which had made such a terrifyingly grand entrance, to be so incredibly fragile. He reacted instantly, shifting his stance and swinging his greatsword upward in a rising slash.
FWOOSH—!
In that split second, the pillar of fire pierced far into the distance. Looking exactly like an infinitely magnified blade of pure flame, it sliced cleanly through the outer perimeter of the dome-shaped canopy.
High up in the sky, a massive gap was cleaved right through the cloud layer.
An identical, gaping rift also appeared on the bizarre, purple-black canopy.
Witnessing this entire scene with her own eyes.
"Kevin, you're making me look really silly acting like this."
Elysia dispersed the crystallized Honkai Energy in her hand. She complained with a hint of a mildly scolding pout.
"My apologies."
Kevin offered a simple response. He then immediately turned to look at his two comrades behind him.
"It's time to go."
"Understood!"
"Alright, alright."
Up ahead, the massive rift in the canopy had already begun to seal itself shut.
The three of them blurred into motion, dashing forward at breakneck speeds.
In virtually no time at all, they traversed a distance of dozens of kilometers in mere seconds, closing in on the edge of the canopy.
Ultimately, before the canopy could completely stitch itself back together, they successfully breached the interior.
At this exact moment, as the three of them watched the towering wall slowly close shut behind them, a look of mild surprise surfaced on each of their faces.
Because, looking outward from the inside, they realized the boundary area was not a solid wall of purple-black at all.
Only the exact spot where Kevin's accidental, forceful rising slash had carved open the rift had purple-black fog swirling around its edges.
It was as if the camouflage and protective coloration at that specific location had been damaged, causing the disguise effect to enter a brief period of failure.
But as the gap completely sealed itself shut, all of those functions were fully restored.
And right now, looking around at their immediate surroundings and gazing into the distance.
"It's so beautiful here."
Elysia murmured softly.
She had spoken the exact thoughts running through the minds of her two comrades.
It was tranquil. It was peaceful. There was warm sunlight. There was absolutely no conflict or war.
This place seemed to encompass every single beautiful thing in existence. It was the complete, polar opposite of the apocalyptic impression it projected to the outside world.
Within this Miniature Garden, it felt as though the weary could peacefully enjoy their twilight years, and those in agony could completely cleanse their souls.
That is, if several uninvited guests hadn't forcefully broken in today.
At that exact same time, within the central region of the Tranquil Miniature Garden.
Seele crouched beside a wooden bed. She rested her face in the palms of her hands, quietly watching the sleeping face of the gray-haired girl before her. Her heart was incredibly calm.
But.
CRACK... CRACK.
Behind her, the massive, purple-black fog seemed to solidify into a physical substance. It completely restrained Project Bunny, which was currently in its quantum robot form, rendering it entirely unable to move even a single millimeter.
"You saved my life once. So. I will give you a single chance as well."
Seele did not even turn her head to look back as she spoke. "Play your part as a tool. Protect Big Sister Bronya well. As for everything else. Stay out of it."
"And absolutely do not even think about ruining my final, peaceful life."
Having said that, Seele stood up. Only then did she turn to look at Project Bunny.
She slowly raised her right hand. The tips of her five fingers trailed across the robot's mechanical arm.
HISS...!
It was exactly as if the metal had been submerged in highly concentrated sulfuric acid. Five glaring, deeply corroded scar marks were instantly eaten into Project Bunny's mechanical arm.
But very quickly, those scars were completely healed.
"I don't want to turn you into a fully sealed, mute puppet as well, you hunk of metal. Even though you couldn't speak in the first place."
Seele retracted her right hand and stared directly into Project Bunny's electronic, mechanical eye. "Before I return, do not do anything unnecessary."
"Otherwise. You know exactly what the consequences will be."
Following the cold, menacing warning, Seele's body seemed to dissolve like dissipating fog. She transformed into thousands of phantasmal butterflies and vanished from the spot.
Bronya showed absolutely no signs of waking up. She was sleeping incredibly soundly.
Just moments ago, when the abrupt anomaly occurred, she had been forcefully coaxed into a deep sleep by Seele.
However, while Bronya was asleep, Project Bunny was still wide awake.
It had witnessed that massive rift in the sky. It had seen that soul-shaking brilliance of roaring flames.
Because of that, Seele had no choice but to issue a cold, severe warning.
Of course, she was no longer naive. Back when she stroked Project Bunny's arm, she had already planted a hidden fail-safe.
Right now, the restraints binding Project Bunny instantly dissipated.
It hovered in mid-air. It seemed to be calculating... undergoing some sort of internal, logical struggle.
But ultimately.
It chose to continue playing the role of a tool.
[Priority One: Protect the physical safety of Bronya Zaychik.]
This was the wish—the absolute command—of both Seele and "Seele."