Hmph!
Mobius felt a ruthless spark ignite within her. She was determined to settle things with Klein before she even finished cracking the secrets of Fenghuang Down.
There was no way she would let Elysia keep acting so high and mighty.
Mobius seemed to have forgotten that she had felt the exact same way not too long ago. Regardless, progress remained stubbornly slow.
Elsewhere, having thoroughly annoyed Mobius and dumped the research for Fenghuang Down onto her, Elysia departed with a look of pure satisfaction.
Meanwhile, Durandal—led by Fuxi and Nuwa—had just arrived to meet Vill-V inside the Spiral Workshop.
Durandal didn't have any complaints about Vill-V turning the workshop into a massive labyrinth or whatever else she pleased.
After all, she was the one who had granted Vill-V the space; what the woman chose to build there was her own business.
Vill-V had known of Durandal's arrival long ago through her robots.
Thus, when she saw them approach, Vill-V unhurriedly set aside her current task and walked over to Durandal. "I heard Connie and the others have been looking for you and Elysia."
"Yes, I've already sent Miyuki to let them know I'm back. So, is everything ready on your end?"
Durandal looked past Vill-V. Standing there was a brand-new Selene, connected to several energy storage units. It was clearly ready for deployment.
Vill-V picked up the Selene's power input interface and looked at Durandal.
"Are you sure about this? Using your body as a relay station to absorb the entire output of Honkai energy released by the Third Eruption, then funneling it into the Selene to be converted and stored as fuel?"
Hearing this, Fuxi and Nuwa—who were learning of the plan for the first time—wore looks of immediate shock.
The two stared at Durandal in unison, unable to believe that the leader of Schicksal would actually risk her life to such an extent.
This was the Honkai energy of the entire Third Eruption!
Could Durandal's body truly withstand such a violent surge?
However, Durandal's expression didn't waver. When this body was only twelve, it had been capable of anchoring an entire Seed of Sumeru within itself.
Now, she was simply using her unique constitution to gather a massive amount of Honkai energy into the Selene. Even if the risk was higher now, she had grown significantly since then.
There shouldn't be any major issues—at worst, she'd just be stuck in a hospital bed for a few days afterward.
Having already weighed the consequences, Durandal nodded to Vill-V. "This is currently the only way to lower the Honkai energy concentration in Nagazora City and the surrounding regions of East Asia."
"Besides, aren't you using several devices to record this operation? Once you have the parameters from this event, you can research a way to replace me as the relay before the next Eruption occurs. We only have to take this risk once. Don't worry so much; start calibrating the equipment."
Vill-V nodded at her words.
Then, a red light flickered in the eyes of one of Vill-V's robots, and a voice transmission reached her through her Bluetooth earpiece.
A faint smile brushed past Vill-V's eyes. She didn't waste any more breath and began calibrating the machinery just as Durandal had asked.
However, her movements were a bit slow—so slow that it didn't look like caution, but rather like she was intentionally stalling for time.
At first, Durandal didn't think much of it.
But when the delay lasted as long as it had taken her to walk from the entrance to this very spot, her expression finally changed. "Vill-V, someone else is coming, aren't they?"
Vill-V didn't answer, and she didn't need to.
Because the "someone else" Durandal spoke of had already walked up to her side and intimately hooked an arm through hers.
"Why do I get the feeling you aren't very happy to see me, Durandal? Have you already grown tired of poor little me?"
Hearing Elysia's tone—which sounded like that of a "wronged wife"—Durandal let out a deep sigh. "I thought I had hidden it quite well. So, Elysia, when exactly did you find out about my entire plan?"
"Hmm... you certainly gave the performance of a lifetime lately; you almost had me fooled. But you seem to have forgotten that Vill-V lives under the same roof as us."
"I noticed you've been plotting something with her quite often lately, so while you weren't looking, I had a little chat with her to get the inside scoop. So, I've known since pretty much right after you and Vill-V finalized the plan~♪"
Elysia's answer plunged Durandal into a brief silence.
So, back at Schicksal HQ, Elysia's initiative to take Fenghuang Down to Mobius's lab was actually just a distraction.
She wanted Durandal to believe her secret was safe, only to drop this massive "surprise" on her now.
Durandal understood that keeping her partner in the dark while undertaking such a dangerous task didn't exactly make her a "model lover."
But she knew even better that if she had been honest, the danger wouldn't have gone away—it would have just spread from her alone to both her and Elysia.
Since things had come to this, Durandal had no choice but to draw the Abyss Flower and press it into Elysia's hands.
"Elysia, listen to me. No matter how severe my injuries are, the Abyss Flower's power of creation can bring me back. As for how to activate it..."
However, before Durandal could even recite the incantation, Elysia pushed the Abyss Flower back into Durandal's hands with a look of utter distaste.
Durandal was stunned. "Refused?"
"This weapon just doesn't fit my aesthetic. You know how it is~♪" Elysia explained.
Of course, this wasn't just an excuse; it was the truth.
Once Elysia said it, Durandal remembered—the Abyss Flower had originally been crafted as Elysia's weapon, but she had rejected it because she thought it was ugly and gave it to Su instead.
After passing through several hands over the years, the Abyss Flower eventually became a "token" held by Schicksal's strongest S-Rank Valkyrie, eventually ending up with her.
But Durandal also knew that while the statement wasn't an excuse, it served the same purpose.
Simply put, Elysia had no intention of standing by and watching Durandal shoulder the risk alone. She wanted to face it with her.
Otherwise, even if Elysia truly disliked the Abyss Flower, it wasn't as if Durandal was asking her to use it forever—it was only for this one time. Why else would she refuse?
It was because Elysia's true goal wasn't to clean up the mess afterward, but to share the burden from the start.
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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL