For Kali, Raiden Mei was nothing more than her enemy.
No matter how twistedly she had behaved toward her, in truth... she harbored not a shred of genuine goodwill.
Under such a mindset, Kali should have refused any request Mei made. In fact, she would have gone out of her way to sabotage or obstruct anything Mei tried to do.
Yet now...
"..."
For some reason, at this very moment, Kali found she couldn't bring herself to refuse.
It was as if Mei's request... in its very essence... had formed a strange, inexplicable connection to her most devout faith.
The words of rebuttal and mockery were on the tip of her tongue, yet she couldn't force them out.
After a long silence...
"You're right," Kali said, her voice cold. "I don't trust you, nor will I ever trust anyone again."
"In this world, only 'God' is worthy of trust... No, even saying that is a form of blasphemy."
Her expression turned grave. "Only 'God' *must* be worshipped."
Hearing this...
"I see!"
A wry, helpless smile crossed Raiden Mei's face. "Then..."
She had already given up.
Though a lingering regret still tugged at her heart, she could no longer bring herself to strike the girl before her.
Even if this was merely a clone.
In that moment, she steeled herself, ready to bid farewell to this world with her final regret still unresolved.
But just then...
"I will be watching you."
The Spawn, remotely controlled by Kali, spoke the words before its form began to shift.
In an instant, it transformed into a small, blood-red serpent, slithering onto Raiden Mei and coiling around her neck.
The blood-red serpent flicked its tongue, its gaze as cold as ever.
Raiden Mei could feel its icy touch against her skin.
Yet, she did not resist.
Instead...
"Thank you," she whispered softly.
Kali did not respond.
Raiden Mei clearly had no idea that Kali's sudden change in behavior had absolutely nothing to do with her earlier request.
This was simply a devout believer remaining faithful to her creed.
For in the unseen depths of her being, Kali sensed...
Perhaps by following Raiden Mei—by accompanying this sworn enemy on this final journey, bound by their bizarre and irreconcilable relationship—she would finally meet the true "God" she worshipped.
Without a doubt, for any truly devout believer, this was...
the ultimate dream.
Meanwhile, in North Africa, within the underground base of the Newborn World Serpent Headquarters in the Sahara Desert.
As Kevin annihilated the last intruder with a single sword strike, only Aponia and a legion of grey-haired, red-eyed girl-shaped figures remained by his side, all of whom were floating in the air.
At this time, the vast majority of the base's personnel had been relocated to a temporary shelter several hundred kilometers away.
Fu Hua, along with Sims like Kosma and Griseo, were serving as guards there.
Aponia had not accompanied them, partly because Fu Hua and Xiao Shi were already there, and partly because... she needed to thoroughly inspect the headquarters base to see if any remaining intruders were hiding in the shadows.
Only by doing so could they prevent any further problems from arising.
Just then...
"A highly dangerous viral gas has been detected in the base's air."
One of the young female-shaped androids beside him suddenly spoke, "Preliminary analysis indicates that the gas will not cause any adverse effects on MANTIS who have undergone Meta-Morph Surgery and completed genetic modification. However, it poses a threat to those with average physical constitutions—that is, ordinary people—and its infection rate is extremely fast, with high transmissibility."
"Pathstriders... there is too little relevant data. I will reserve my judgment."
"This unit recommends: Immediately conduct comprehensive health checks on all sheltered personnel within the organization and isolate all infected individuals. This will effectively prevent the spread of the epidemic."
Clearly, one of the hidden traps left by Otto had been swiftly detected by the super-AI, Prometheus.
Kevin's brow furrowed even tighter.
A virus... a biochemical weapon.
This once again stirred distant, unpleasant memories for him.
And all the encounters he had faced today...
"The Herrscher of Death."
At this moment, holding the Flame Sword, his gaze turned frigid.
"Prometheus, can you locate the enemy's lair?" he asked.
Kevin was still quite familiar with this super-AI, even though she had only just been born in this era. She had always been by MEI's side, tending to her daily needs and serving as her research assistant.
Thus, his tone with her was not formal or distant.
Upon hearing his words...
"I have retrieved hidden records from the Void Archives and confirmed the existence of 13 World Bubble bases established by the enemy leader, Otto Apocalypse."
"Shall I teleport you there?"
In the hand of the girl-shaped figure beside him, the First Divine Key—a Golden Hexahedron—materialized.
To this...
"Teleport me," Kevin decided instantly. "The virus situation here... I trust you all can handle it."
MEI, Vill-V, and even Prometheus, who had stepped onto her Path the moment she was born, were indeed trustworthy.
The white-haired youth(?) tightened his grip on the Judgement of Shamash. "I will go and deal with the things I can solve."
"Command confirmed," the girl-shaped figure replied expressionlessly.
Then...
"Beginning teleportation!"
----
At the same time, within the World Bubble where Seele was trapped.
"Sister Bronya..."
"Yes, I'm here."
The short-haired girl and the gray-haired girl, who had just awakened, sat side by side on a stone bench.
Beside them, Project Bunny, with its blue and white color scheme, had reverted to its quantum robot form and hovered nearby.
It continued to diligently guard the girls' safety, just as it had when it was first created.
At the same time, it silently observed and recorded everything about them—their joys and sorrows, every single detail.
Perhaps it had long known that as their guardian, it could not truly do much, nor could it do anything more for them.
The current outcome had already proven everything.
So, it hoped that it could at least witness... the girls' not-so-grand final moments.
But just then...
"Otto, withdraw your disgusting trick."
Seele's voice was cold.
She looked directly into the eyes of the gray-haired girl beside her. "Bronya... she never refers to herself as 'I'."
"Is your so-called keeping of your word really this cheap?"
"..."
The gray-haired girl remained silent.
Seele's gaze sharpened. "You don't need to do any more of this."
As she spoke, she let out a long sigh. "I will help you. I'll help you hold off Kevin."
"Even if I'm completely unwilling."
Yes, she had compromised.
She had compromised with the person she loathed most in this very moment—someone she despised even more than Kevin.
So humbly, just for...
"I just want to say a proper goodbye to her now."
"Are you really going to strip me of even this much right?"
The anger and resentment in the girl's voice were suppressed to the absolute limit.
Facing her like this...
"My apologies. I was too abrupt."
A man's sigh seemed to faintly echo.
Seele didn't know that this was the very essence of the method Otto, who had walked the Path of Elation, used to control others' minds.
An Avatar.
From beginning to end, it was merely an "Avatar."
It was just that Otto, who had always been skilled at transferring his consciousness, could transfer the consciousness of his Avatar into another person's body, thereby achieving a state similar to "semi-possession."
Yes, it was disgusting.
This was how the current Theresa was being controlled.
And now...
"!!!"
The gray-haired girl's eyes gradually cleared.
Clearly, even Otto, the villain he was, would choose to respect someone else's genuine feelings at a moment like this.
His Avatar's consciousness, within Bronya's body, voluntarily dissipated.
Without a doubt, for a man accustomed to calculating everything with cold blood, such a move was by no means safe.
Yet, at this moment, Otto still chose to withdraw.
Perhaps this conviction was the only line he still refused to cross to this day.
The gray-haired girl was no longer under his control.
"Seele, you..."
In that instant, the familiar feeling, the familiar person, reappeared before her.
A smile finally graced Seele's face.
"Bronya."
She no longer used the "big sister" suffix that did not belong to her.
She spoke softly, "I'm sorry for forcing you to stay by my side all this time, Bronya. Playing along with a self-deceiving fool like me in this fake game of house."
"But..."
She sighed, "Now, it's all over."
"It's time for us to say goodbye."