“Of course, everything I’ve shown you is, in the end, nothing more than what could happen. Maybe the actual situation isn’t as pessimistic as all that.”
“So ultimately, the choice is still yours to make.”
“Back when you were at St. Freya, Mei, you were a Valkyrie under Schicksal. And after you followed Theresa in breaking away from Schicksal, you’re now… technically working for Anti-Entropy. So it wouldn’t be wrong to say you’re an employee of theirs.”
“And now, for personal reasons, I’m hoping you’ll join World Serpent. Really, I’m just asking you to switch jobs temporarily. Joining World Serpent won’t plunge you into darkness, and Kiana’s future isn’t necessarily destined for the light either. So… don’t put so much pressure on yourself. Take it easy, think it over calmly, and just follow your heart.”
“I have one last question. Since Kevin—or rather, World Serpent—is the one carrying out the Project Stigma, and I’d be going in with the goal of stopping it, why would they even…”
Enoxia shrugged.
“Because Kevin knows full well that Project Stigma is the worst possible plan. Its only purpose is to prevent something even worse from happening—to serve as a safety net. I just gave you a very detailed breakdown of Project Stigma, and even if Kevin found out, he wouldn’t care… in fact, I’d say he’s been hoping all along that someone would come up with a better answer.”
Then came a long stretch of silence. Enoxia watched Mei, who was either deep in thought or consulting with her second personality, and didn’t say another word.
“…I agree.”
Enoxia snapped her fingers. The [lunar base] around them, the craters in the distance, and the [Earth] far beyond all vanished in an instant, leaving nothing but pitch-black darkness. The only things Mei could still see were Enoxia beside her and a portal in the distance.
“Go through the portal—someone will be there to receive you. And don’t worry too much about Bronya and Seele over there. I’ll let them know you’re safe.”
After Raiden Mei left, Enoxia pressed her palms together.
“Looks like things went even more smoothly than expected. Sirin, Misteln—you can wrap it up now.”
(Switching to Seele’s perspective…)
In front of the portal, just as Seele was hesitating, countless quantum-type monsters surged in from every direction—as if she and the others had teleported straight into the monsters’ own backyard.
Bronya activated the authority of the Herrscher of Reason, and hundreds of floating cannons materialized in the sky. Though the monsters were overwhelming in number, with that “fear of insufficient firepower” now thoroughly addressed, no matter which direction they attacked from, they were all wiped out before they could even get close to Seele.
Dark Seele observed the situation and shook her head.
“Seele, we need to figure out a way to resolve this. Sure, Bronya looks like she’s handling things for now, but she doesn’t have our kind of constitution. If these monsters just keep coming endlessly, she’s bound to run out of steam sooner or later.”
Seele understood that this was no time to hesitate. She leaped straight into the portal ahead, and the other two followed right behind her. Once all three were through, the portal vanished from where it had been. The horde of monsters could only stare blankly at the empty space, and before long, they scattered and went their separate ways.
After stepping through the portal, Seele felt everything around her turn white. The blinding light made her shut her eyes instinctively.
When the light faded, Seele found herself in yet another unfamiliar place, completely alone. But on the wall in front of her—which looked incredibly high-tech—there was a somewhat familiar emblem.
“This emblem is… Fire Moth?!”
