On the evening of March 20, 2017, the Hyperion successfully arrived at Abyssal City just before the large-scale clash between Anti-Entropy and Schicksal.
Facing the arriving reinforcements, Cocolia personally greeted them at the gates of Abyssal City.
“Lady Theresa, and Einstein—you’ve come just in time. Although we’ve had our differences in ideology and even clashed quite fiercely in the past, at least for now, we need to stand united against our common enemy—Schicksal.”
“Of course. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be here.”
Theresa studied Cocolia carefully. Compared to a few years ago, her eyes seemed much clearer now, and she appeared far less scheming and cunning. It seemed that what Enoxia had done that day had left a considerable impact on her.
Although Cocolia was speaking with Einstein, her peripheral vision kept drifting past Theresa and settling on Bronya, who stood at the very back.
“As you’ve all likely seen, Schicksal’s forces are assembling about a hundred to two hundred kilometers from Abyssal City. But oddly enough, it’s been over six hours since we first detected their fleet, and I have no idea if something’s gone wrong on their end, but their efficiency is—frankly—far too slow.”
“Have you identified the commander yet?”
Cocolia shook her head.
“As of now, Anti-Entropy has tried multiple times to breach Schicksal’s network, but we’ve found nothing.”
Einstein sank into thought.
“Based on the intelligence we have, there are two possibilities: first, the fleet attacking Abyssal City is merely a decoy meant to draw our fighting forces here, while Otto’s real target is Kiana in Tiangong City. After all, Schicksal’s painfully slow assembly speed is just too abnormal.”
“But we can’t rule out that Otto is doing this to lull us into complacency. The Alliance Leader should arrive in about an hour. Everyone, take some time to familiarize yourselves with Abyssal City’s layout, and we’ll discuss the detailed battle plan then.”
The group dispersed, and Cocolia immediately made her way to Bronya’s side.
“Bronya, I heard you were at Schicksal’s headquarters when the fifth Herrscher eruption happened a few days ago. Did you—”
“Cocolia Mama, the principal, Miss Himeko, and many others protected Bronya. Bronya is fine.”
Cocolia looked at Bronya’s demeanor and broke into a relieved smile.
“It seems you’ve been happy at St. Freya Academy these past few years. That puts my mind at ease. Go on—they’re in the lounge. It’s been years since you’ve seen each other, and they’ve really missed you.”
Following the map of Abyssal City that Cocolia had provided, Bronya quickly found the lounge. But before she could even open the door, she heard familiar voices drifting from inside.
“Liliya, Liliya! What do I do, what do I do?! The cherries I hid under the bed went bad!”
“Idiot Rosaliya. Of course they went bad—you haven’t eaten them in ages.”
“No, no, that’s not it! I just stored two bottles yesterday, but now only half is left! Liliya, Liliya, did you see where they went?”
“Yeah, I noticed yesterday that most of the cherries you’d stashed away had already gone bad. So, to not waste them, I put them in my stomach. See? I even saved half.”
“What?! Liliya, you—”
Listening to the ruckus inside, Bronya pressed a hand to her forehead outside the door.
“These two… haven’t changed one bit.”
As the door swung open, the bickering sisters simultaneously turned their heads in unison.
“Ah! It’s Bronya!”
Rosaliya tossed Liliya—whom she’d been clutching—onto the bed, and before Bronya could react, she dashed to the door and threw her arms around her.
“So Cocolia Mama wasn’t lying—I really get to see Bronya today!”
“Idiot Rosaliya, can’t you see Bronya’s standing there completely frozen? You scared her.”
Liliya landed on her feet, rose slowly from the bed, and shot her sister an exasperated look.
“That’s not true! Bronya’s just like me—too excited to speak!”
Liliya looked at her sister’s not-so-bright expression and wondered if she should tell her, right in front of Bronya, that after the X-10 experiment, Bronya’s emotional modules had been severely damaged, leaving her almost completely expressionless—a stone-faced—
Liliya’s eyes went wide. Because when her gaze landed on Bronya’s face, she clearly saw the corners of her mouth curl upward. She was smiling.
Seeing the impulsive, warm-hearted Rosaliya and the ever-composed Liliya, Bronya felt as if she had been transported back to the orphanage—back to the carefree days before the X-10 experiment.
Only… the most important person wasn’t there.
“Oh, by the way, where’s Sin?”
“Cocolia Mama said Sin had other tasks to handle—something about ensuring communication lines stay open for Raiden Ryoma and the other Anti-Entropy divisions, so she’s not in Abyssal City.”
Hearing that Sin was safe, Bronya let out a sigh of relief, yet at the same time, a faint ache lingered in her chest.
“Seele…”
