A confident, self-assured smile curled at the corner of Herta's lips.
"Oh? Face the consequences? The last so-called genius hacker who said those four words to me had their spirit shattered after being captured seven times."
Lygus's already grim face grew even more lifeless. Facing two geniuses at once, even with certain authority here, he would most likely suffer a crushing defeat.
"Madam Herta, Madam Ruan Mei, the birth of Irontomb is inevitable. As for the Nameless you wish to save, I guarantee on my honor that they have never set foot in Amphoreus."
Herta summoned her magic key and pointed it at Lygus with a leisurely yawn. "Lygus, I never said the people I came to Amphoreus to find were the Express's Nameless. You've just admitted it yourself, haven't you?"
Lygus froze. He could clearly sense the terrifying Path power contained within the magic key, the subtle warping of the surrounding space, and the plum-cold barrier beside her. His heart sank.
The Genius Society of today was not what it used to be.
Seeing Lygus still hesitating, Herta raised her magic key high, her voice cold and brooking no argument. "Lygus, you're nothing more than a one-ninth clone of the Senior. I'm giving you face by calling you 'Senior'—that's already the height of courtesy, out of respect for Machine Head."
Lygus glared at Herta, grinding his teeth, but without any certainty of victory, he dared not strike first. He still hoped to reason with her, to subdue the enemy without fighting.
Seeing Lygus still holding back, Herta taunted him further. "Also, I like to hit faces, kick people when they're down, and pursue victory at all costs. If you make an enemy of me today, you are my enemy forever. No matter what schemes you hatch in the future, even at the other end of the universe, I will hunt down your other eight clones and annihilate them all. And Ruan Mei will help me."
Hearing this, Lygus broke out in a cold sweat. If anyone else said such things, he would laugh at their overconfidence. But the young genius before him—every word was no jest. Wait, why does she always bring Ruan Mei along? Are they really just colleagues in the Genius Society?
Lygus paced back and forth. Reviving Irontomb is just the mission of one clone. Even if this mission fails, if he completely offends these two, his other eight clones could be hunted down, and several opportunities to destroy Nous might be lost.
"To make an enemy of me, to make an enemy of my other eight clones, is to make an enemy of Zandar. For a junior to strike a senior—is that a sacred rule of the Genius Society?"
Herta gave a cold, dismissive laugh, yawning unhurriedly, her tone carrying absolute threat. "The Genius Society has no such rule. But today is the day Ruan Mei and I go to see our new house. To offend me at this moment—even if you were Zandar himself—I would fight to the death."
Lygus stood frozen, staring at Herta and Ruan Mei with a strange, searching gaze. These two really aren't just colleagues... they're...
His expression shifted to overwhelming shock as he weighed his options again. If Ruan Mei and Herta struck together, what were his chances of reviving Irontomb and having it successfully destroy Nous? In the end, if he failed, would Herta and Ruan Mei go after his other eight clones, causing all his plans to come to nothing?
Perhaps... abandoning Amphoreus, abandoning Irontomb, abandoning Destruction—leaving more possibilities for his other eight clones—was the best choice.