In the early morning, before the sun could cast its rays, a thick fog already pervaded heaven and earth.
It was as if a heavy, immense curtain had descended from the sky, hanging over the mountain peaks and drifting down to the foothills with the wind.
Listening to the faint breathing coming from beneath her, Mei scanned her surroundings and focused her gaze on the panda headgear nearby.
She activated the Escape Dagger's teleportation ability, moving away from her spot. Fuli's head suddenly found itself resting on empty air.
However, the tragedy of his head hitting the floor didn't happen. The soft panda headgear filled the gap in time, becoming the second pillow after the girl's tender thighs.
After doing all this, Mei lowered her head, gazing at the face still deep in slumber.
His features were handsome, not stunningly beautiful, but very clean, and the more she looked, the more pleasing he became to the eye.
"You must be really tired. Thank you for your hard work."
Reaching out to brush the bangs from his forehead, Mei pressed her thin lips together.
Fuli was truly exhausted. Even if he didn't say it, just controlling seven Trailing Shadow phantoms simultaneously and enduring the mental shocks each time a Trailing Shadow Sword was destroyed had already consumed most of his mental energy.
In the meantime, he also had to handle, guide, and retrieve Sos, constantly monitor the movements of the mecha units, and set traps for diversion and counter-reconnaissance.
On top of that, he had to deal with the complicated, tangled mess of relationships between the three-person squad and Bronya. All things considered, he was basically working himself like a Palu (from Palworld, meaning overworked).
Even so, he had never once said he would give up on Raiden Mei, the root cause of all these troubles.
The girl stuffed a pre-written note into the panda head, retracted her hand, put on the adorably naive panda mascot suit, and stood up.
Walking to the window, she opened it, placed her hands on the frame, exerted force with her calves, and quietly leaped out.
The height of the second floor posed no obstacle to Mei. Landing softly, she took a deep breath.
The courtyard after the rain was filled with the scent of earth. The puddles by the road reflected her clear figure. Catching a glimpse of herself in the reflection, Mei froze for a moment, a bright smile unconsciously blooming at the corners of her mouth.
The redness around her eyes from crying still hadn't subsided. How could a minute of hasty tidying deceive the observant boy and cover up so many details?
Pretending you didn't know, huh? Hmph (╯^╰), dummy Fuli~
Wrapped in a sense of happiness, the girl raised her hands, untied her messy ponytail, and retied it.
Her crimson-purple hair fell gracefully, seemingly flowing with starlight in the morning mist.
"Perfect!"
Looking at the beautiful silhouette reflected again in the puddle, Mei revealed a satisfied smile.
However, immediately realizing something, she hurriedly covered her small mouth, looked up, and glanced timidly like a fawn at the window she had just jumped from.
Only after confirming she hadn't woken Fuli, who was sleeping soundly inside, did she adorably pat her chest, letting out a long sigh of relief.
Now then...
She turned around.
"Up quite early, Raiden Ryoma's daughter."
"A good habit. At least I like it better than those lazy bums who claim to be sealed to their beds."
A mature female voice she had heard a few times before entered Mei's ears without warning.
Before the girl could make any proper reaction, in less than a tenth of a second, the surrounding environment changed color.
To put it in slightly "otaku" terms, someone had deployed a Reality Marble, replacing the original scenery of the real world.
An endless void extended beyond the horizon. Under the hazy light falling from the sky, a charming blonde woman stood proudly.
Mei instinctively gripped her dagger, only to find she was grasping at empty air.
"No need to be nervous."
Seeing her instantly become alert, Cocolia said leisurely, "You are still in the same spot. I haven't found the hiding place of you little ones yet."
She gestured with the palm-sized T-shaped mechanical device in her hand. In the center groove of the device was a glass test tube containing bright red blood.
"Communication Gene Resonance Spirit Platform Generator, or Spirit Platform Generator for short. A small tool for communication, invented by a green-haired snake—a certain colleague of your father and me."
Cocolia explained slowly and deliberately, "It creates an interdimensional platform for communication through genetic resonance, forcing all individuals with the same stigmata genes within a certain range to upload their spirits to the platform for communication."
"The total communication time is five minutes. During this period, both your body and mine will remain in place. As long as someone touches you in reality, you can disengage. If your spirit attribute reaches A-rank standard, you can also forcibly exit. Don't worry about anything happening, uh... according to Bronya, it's called 'h-doujin plot' or something? Kids these days, I don't know what's in their little heads. As a mother, I have to take time to understand these things so there won't be a generation gap that makes my daughter hate me."
Putting away the generator, Cocolia began to ramble, "According to that scoundrel snake, the principle involves quantum entanglement and recessive stigmata genes, but an old thing my age really can't learn such complicated stuff."
Mei remained silent.
"Staying silent is a smart move. As long as you keep quiet, you won't reveal anything, naturally including the location of you little ones."
The woman clapped her hands. "But rest assured, I never intended to trick that information out of you. Rather, I've actually been going easy on the three of you."
"Heh!"
Mei couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.
"No need for that expression, little girl. I'm just telling the truth."
Cocolia spread her hands, listing evidence methodically. "Look, I haven't plastered your hundred-million-dollar bounty all over the internet and streets, inciting the millions of people in this city to launch a pervasive human wave tactic. Nor have I mobilized the Belobog aerial combat group, which just finished exercises over the Whale Sea, to fly to Nagazora City and conduct a carpet search with all their detection methods."
In reality, she couldn't move them because Einstein had cut off her authority.
But Mei obviously didn't know that.
So the woman continued to push her luck. "I admit, that little guy named Fuli among you is indeed capable. He plays tricks with that Trailing Shadow Sword skill and throws clothes with your scent all over the place, making those useless temp workers and mechanical dogs run around in circles, covered in dust. But look, despite all these problems, didn't I still obtain the right to speak directly with you, the person involved?"
Observing Mei's stunned expression, she beamed. "Wait, you didn't know about throwing clothes everywhere? It seems that child worries more behind the scenes than you imagined. You guys didn't blame him as a pervert collecting girls' underwear because of this, right? Right? Right?"
"What exactly do you want to say!"
When it came to Fuli, the inexperienced Mei couldn't hold back.
[Finally expressed a desire to communicate.]
Having achieved her goal, Cocolia smirked.
Then, wiping the smile from her face, she stepped forward, getting straight to the point. "I'm just wondering, Raiden Mei."
"You—how long do you intend to keep dragging those two down?"
The pressure of a superior, like an impending storm, rushed toward her like a wild dragon. The atmosphere seemed to freeze in that moment!
Unlike the chatty, gossiping older woman who previously teased Mei in various ways to provoke a willingness to communicate, the Cocolia of this moment was truly an Anti-Entropy Enforcer holding great power!
At the same time, the moment she heard the word "dragging down," as if her inner thoughts had been pierced, Mei subconsciously took half a step back!
Although she quickly stepped forward again as if trying to be brave, Cocolia saw it all!
"To be honest, I always thought few people could drag others down with a clear conscience."
So she pressed on step by step, her words laced with thorns:
"Putting myself in your shoes, if I were being hunted and my friends saved me but ended up provoking a leader of one of the world's strongest organizations because of it, I would definitely turn and leave without a second word, terrified they'd be swept up in the disaster and lose their heads. At the very least, I'd find a chance to leave a farewell letter and depart silently to avoid implicating them. Because that's a person's duty."
"But what about you?"
She asked sarcastically, "Shamelessly curling up behind someone else, occasionally waving that twenty-centimeter toy dagger, pretending to signal 'boo hoo, I'm trying too, I'm resisting too,' while watching those two who had nothing to do with this get bruised and battered, yet unable to muster even an ounce of courage to leave them and bear everything alone!"
"Do you actually expect them to carry you out of this inescapable net? Or do you just simply want a cushion before you die, dragging that young boy and girl in the prime of their lives to the underworld with you, hoping to continue your fate in the afterlife?"
THUD!
"Raiden Mei, that's enough!!!"
The plump thigh encased in an iron boot stomped violently on the platform of unknown material, making a loud noise like steel colliding!
Like a sledgehammer, it smashed the girl's wavering heart into pieces!
Profiling.
It refers to inferring others' psychological states through data collection and other methods, thereby analyzing their personality, habits, behavioral tendencies, growth potential, and so on.
Cocolia wasn't very good at these things, but her deputy had studied this deeply.
Family changes, a life falling from heaven to hell, the sudden shift in attitude from the outside world, the constant cold violence from the academy's teachers and students... all these things had already made Mei's originally confident and cheerful heart sensitive and reactive.
Add to that the many events on the escape route, watching helplessly as Fuli and Kiana stood in front, relying on them while she could do nothing herself.
Never mind that Mei was only seventeen; even a physically and mentally healthy adult would have been breathless under such invisible pressure.
Wait, her birthday on April 13th is still over ten days away, so the current Mei should be considered at the peak of sixteen years old, Great Perfection stage?
Well, it didn't matter to Cocolia how old Mei was.
What she needed to do was add this last bit of fuel to the girl whose heart was filled with guilt.
After that, if she threw herself directly into Cocolia's arms, that would naturally be best.
Everyone saves time and effort; everyone is happy.
Even if Mei didn't surrender French-style, as long as she was willing to leave a letter and depart alone as guided by the previous words, catching a C-rank rookie who lost the protection of two Breaker-level combatants would be a piece of cake, right?
She couldn't even beat a Titan mech!
...
The deep space was boundless; on the cold platform, two people stood opposite each other.
Cocolia crossed her arms, her index finger tapping rhythmically on her arm.
She was very patient. When Mei was pulled into this spiritual platform, her mind was clear.
This meant she hadn't been resting.
Either she was on watch, or she was already planning to leave.
The former would raise Cocolia's rating of these three little ones another level; if the latter, it meant Yaoyeji's profiling deduction was correct—Mei indeed intended to quietly pack up and run.
What? Since I already guessed Mei was going to leave alone, why did I mock her earlier for being shameless and planning to drag Fuli and Kiana down?
Please, me saying that ≠ me thinking that. As a dirty adult, certain rhetoric is necessary to achieve goals.
Young people of Raiden Mei's age act more recklessly the harder they are provoked.
Moreover...
Cocolia rubbed the device in her hand.
Time passed second by second; only two and a half minutes remained before the platform closed.
"U-Um..."
Here it comes!
Her dark purple gaze sharpening like a blade, Cocolia held her breath and concentrated.
"As long as I go with you, as long as I'm willing to leave Fuli and Kiana's side... Will you, will you really spare their lives?"
"Did you hurt Bronya?"
"W-We didn't hurt her! In fact, we even fed her dinner properly!"
"Then I won't!"
Cocolia said decisively, "Not only will I not, but I will also quell the chaos you caused during this period. If they want, I can even invite them to join Anti-Entropy and become my subordinates!"
This was the truth. As long as Bronya was unharmed, for the sake of Kiana's mother, Cocolia would be magnanimous enough to let Fuli and Kiana go.
If they wanted to join Anti-Entropy, even better. No one would want to let a talent like Fuli go.
As for Kiana, the daughter of the Schicksal Saintess joining Anti-Entropy... just thinking about this act of crapping on Schicksal's head felt as refreshing as eating a whole chilled watermelon in the middle of summer!
Of course, regardless of whether the two chose to join Anti-Entropy, memory seals, ideological imprints, and the like would definitely need to be done.
Let's just erase a year's worth of memories first; that's already very lenient!
—So, leave those two, Raiden Mei!
Forcibly suppressing the corners of her mouth that kept trying to rise, Cocolia tried to keep her expression plain.
But the accelerating tapping of her index finger on her arm and the constant tapping of her high heels on the ground betrayed her.
That was the Gem of Conquest!
Unlike Divine Keys which were dead objects, it was a supreme divine object truly capable of creating a Serial Herrscher!
—So, say it, Raiden Mei.
Say the reality that you will surrender!
"Yes, that's really nice," Mei said softly. "As long as I choose to go with you, everyone won't have to live in fear even when eating and sleeping. Fuli won't have to pretend everything is fine the moment I walk by while staring heart-brokenly at the chip in Mikazuki Munechika. Kiana and Bronya won't have to worry about me, an anomaly who brings a gloomy atmosphere wherever I go. I watched them playing games, and they were actually super compatible. They would probably become good friends."
She had seen it all, and she had indeed been blaming herself.
To the point where her presence became super weak for a period, like a sullen child who dared not speak after making a mistake.
But this was also noted by the busy Fuli. Realizing something was wrong, he had twice asked Kiana to comfort and communicate with her.
Some things were easier for girls to talk about amongst themselves; him joining in as a male would make the scene awkward.
After all, in his eyes, he wasn't that close with Raiden Mei at this stage.
"What a gentle guy."
Mei felt that unlike those useless male protagonists in anime and games who were labeled "gentle" only because they had no other virtues, her friend was someone who truly deserved the word "gentle."
Well, at least towards me.
She smiled sweetly, warm and bright, like pearls falling on a jade plate, illuminating the surrounding air.
"Raiden Mei! What exactly are you trying to say!"
Keenly sniffing a change in the wind, Cocolia's expression changed slightly.
"I mean to say, your proposal is very good, and very perfect. Perfect enough that even I, the person involved, can't find a single fault."
As if a nameless breeze brushed past, the hair on Mei's forehead was gently lifted, revealing eyes as bright as stars.
"But I refuse!"
"You—"
"Shut up, Cocolia! You chattered on with so much twisted logic to my face earlier; now it's my turn, you don't have a problem with that, right!"
She choked back directly and bluntly!
...