The four moved swiftly, soon reaching their destination.
"It's just around that corner." Leon halted.
"I'll take point."
Gepard gripped his shield tightly and strode forward.
"I thought it'd be some three-headed, six-armed monster, but… wait—Cocolia?!"
Gepard's voice dripped with disbelief.
?!
Serval hurriedly stepped beside him, her expression turning complex.
"Something's off." Stelle sensed something wrong with this Cocolia.
Leon: "That's not the real Cocolia, just something vaguely connected to her."
The Cocolia over there noticed the four but didn't advance, instead emitting a string of incomprehensible static noises.
Stelle froze.
It was Cocolia's voice, no doubt.
Leon couldn't decipher the noise, but he could see through the essence of its existence at a glance.
"That's a living entity formed from a projection of Cocolia's desires within the Rift. For it to be this clear and solid—it's honestly tragic."
"The surge in Rift creatures in the lower district, their numbers skyrocketing—it's almost certainly this thing's doing."
"A living shadow born under the Stellaron's influence, faithfully carrying out the will to endlessly expand the Rift."
"Judging by its appearance, it's been around for a while—probably a decade or two."
Seeing it now in the lower district, Leon understood.
"No wonder Cocolia only sealed off the lower district, leaving it to rot instead of finishing it off."
"She left this as her backup plan."
Hard to say if that was cautious or just foolish.
Not exactly a sharp mind at work.
A special living entity driven by twisted desires, thinking it could single-handedly resolve the lower district?
That's underestimating humanity a bit too much.
Tch, can't expect much from the brain of someone who bowed to the Stellaron's will.
"Cocolia…" Serval's voice carried a hint of a sob.
Leon glanced at her but said nothing.
"She's talking. You guys didn't hear it?" Stelle asked.
Gepard looked puzzled: "…Talking? All I heard was chaotic noise… wait, you can understand it?"
Stelle mulled over the reason and pieced it together.
Her ability to understand likely tied back to the Stellaron.
"It's repeating you and your sister's names, like some vengeful ghost. Creepy."
Serval let out a faint sigh: "Cocolia, you really are a lingering specter."
She'd already tried everything to make peace with the past.
Yet that woman always found a way to creep back into her line of sight.
"You jerk. First, you shut down my research and wrecked my life. Now you're trying to take away what I care about?!"
"Were all those moments we shared just a lie?"
"You walked away so easily, but don't you think you owe me an explanation?"
Leon heard her but had no intention of correcting her.
Serval knew full well—and had heard him say earlier—that this wasn't the real Cocolia.
But she just needed an outlet.
It didn't matter if it was Cocolia or not, as long as it was tied to her.
Gepard's gaze darkened: "Sis, calm down. I know you want answers from Cocolia—"
"—but this… thing in front of us, it's just malice formed in the Rift. You won't find answers from it!"
Stelle chose that moment to twist the knife: "That thing just said, 'Step back, Landaus. The promised new world has no place for you.'"
Serval's heart stung. She wiped the corner of her eye, her expression swiftly returning to its usual self.
"Sorry for worrying you guys."
"I've known the answer for a while. I was just avoiding the past, unwilling to reconcile…"
"But now—whatever grudges or old debts there are, they'll all be settled today!"
She was done running.
Leon patted Stelle's shoulder, signaling her to step back and leave the space to the siblings.
Stelle got the hint and laughed loudly: "Go for it! Crush that pathetic thing that weak woman left behind."
Nameless always roar at injustice and act when it's time to act.
But right now?
This was personal grudge time—not the moment to butt in too much.
Gepard: "Sis, stay back. I'll take it down!"
Leon: "Serval, catch."
Serval turned, puzzled, only to see a familiar guitar arcing through the air toward her.
"…Thanks!"
Weird. She'd left that electric guitar at home, so why was it with Leon…?
Whatever, the reason didn't matter.
Their old friendship was forged through this guitar, so now, she'd use it to put an end to Cocolia's last remnant in this world.
"Sing for defiance!"
Serval shot Leon a surprised look, and he knew what she meant.
But what did this have to do with him?
Don't ask.
If you must, blame Aha.
"Too much, darling! You're the one who rudely ordered me to fetch it… Aha's mad now, so hurry and make it up to me!"
"Don't be mad…"
Aha's smile widened.
Heehee~~
"If you're mad, I don't care."
Aha's smile shrank back.
No heehee!
Even madder now.
But darling making Aha mad was, in its own way, a perfect fix.
Darling loved making Aha mad, and Aha felt so honored.
Heehee again~~
A fiery strum rang out, accompanied by crackling electric sparks.
Stelle's face lit up with awe.
① "It's really an electric guitar! Suddenly, I kinda want Serval to zap me."
② "That's something, but can that thing take down Rift creatures?"
"Crazy dialogue!"
Old Bear wiped nonexistent sweat from his forehead.
"I'll leave this choice to the bros. Right now, I just wanna be a normal man."
[You didn't say that when you started Genshin!]
[Who was it yelling about wanting Lisa to zap them?]
"That was then, this is now… ugh, fine, you guys. I'll pick the zap option, happy now?"
[Heh, men. You clearly wanted to pick it but were scared of the bros calling you out, so you made us push you into it.]
What the—?
Old Bear was genuinely sweating now.
Who's this genius reading minds like that?
This guy's too dangerous to keep around (emoji)!
Gotta silence them!
Stelle: "I thought the 'electric' in electric guitar meant the music vibe, not actual electricity."
"Now I kinda want Serval to zap me… with my sturdy body, I should… survive, right?"
Leon smirked: "What's got you so curious, lass?"
"Fire resistance, ice resistance, even imaginary resistance—I've already been forced to test those. Thunder resistance? Still uncharted." Stelle said, dead serious.
"If you're just testing your thunder resistance, you don't need Serval to zap you."
Leon flashed a sly grin.
Stelle blinked: "You got another way?"
Many players, seeing Leon's expression, felt a chill and thought, Oh no.
Here comes "unreliable" time!
That medicine-seller grin, straight out of Mononoke!
"There is. A rare few among the Sky Haven Clan can not only control wind but also—"
Leon opened his palm, a surge of special elemental energy rising from it.
"…wield thunder."