"Hey~ Mobius, do you have time right now?"
In the First Research Institute of Fire Moth, Elias walked in carrying five large cups of milk tea.
At once, he saw the twin sisters Cangxuan (Fuxi) and Danzhu (Nuwa) slacking off, Klein buried under mountains of work, and Mobius dissecting a Honkai Beast on the test bench.
"My my~ if it isn't my dearest little lab rat. What brings you to me today~? Did you miss me?"
Seeing Elias come to her, Mobius was delighted. She casually stabbed her soulium scalpel into the Honkai Beast's shell, then coiled around him like a serpent.
"Of course I missed you. Here, I brought milk tea for everyone. Hm? Mobius, why are you lighter again? Did you die?"
"Just a little accident, but not dead~"
Mobius sipped her milk tea as if nothing had happened. She had indeed died, but revived again.
The genes of Sesha allowed her to resurrect almost infinitely. But without enough Honkai energy as nourishment, a side effect occurred: her body would regress in age.
A certain pink elf once admitted envy—being able to lose weight just by dying once was far too enviable!
"Next time you do these dangerous experiments, at least let me know first. If not for your own sake, then at least for Klein's… and, well, also for Cangxuan and Danzhu."
Elias turned to the newest additions to Mobius' lab.
Twin sisters from Shenzhou with long black hair.
They had joined after the Fifth Eruption and were said to be Klein's juniors.
The elder sister, Cangxuan, was calm and level-headed but an extreme money-grubber. The younger sister, Danzhu, was lively and warm but also a hardcore otaku.
"What do you mean 'also for Cangxuan and Danzhu'? Our safety isn't important? You're too mean, Elias."
"Danzhu, you're reading manga during work hours…"
"Ahhh! I'll drink my milk tea and get to work!"
Danzhu hurriedly snatched up her cup and scurried off to lower her presence. Beside her, Cangxuan shook her head helplessly. Her foolish sister… why couldn't she just stay quiet and watch?
"In any case, be careful, Mobius. You and I both understand how fragile and precious life is. Whether or not one can revive doesn't change that."
"Since you put it that way, Elias, fine. Next time I'll tell you first."
"Mm~ then no problem."
Elias stroked Mobius' cheek and slender waist. The snake's waist was a deadly weapon, even greater than the Pink Elf's charms. He absolutely adored it.
Mobius licked her lips, snake eyes gleaming with excitement. Just moments ago she'd been irritable over a failed experiment, but the instant she saw Elias her mood soared.
"Wow, so jealous…"
"Doctor, that's unfair…"
Danzhu and Cangxuan looked on with the bitterness of single dogs, their eyes filled with resentment. Cangxuan's face was stoic, but Danzhu puffed into her straw, making her milk tea bubble noisily.
After all, they were pretty girls too.
Yet no one ever dared pursue them—for the simple reason that they worked in Mobius' lab.
In this place known as the 'Devil's Den,' even beauty couldn't save them.
If everyone had to stay single, that would be one thing. But the culprit herself—Mobius—had secured Elias, a dreamlike partner handsome beyond belief and perfect in every way.
The sisters couldn't help but feel envious.
Of course, they knew full well that their Dr. Mobius was locked in fierce competition with Elysia, Sakura, Mei, Eden, and others. They understood just how cruel and dangerous this love war really was.
But so what if it was a love war? So what if there were many rivals? At least Mobius had a seat on the battlefield. Unlike them—single dogs stuck drawing power from their doujinshi.
Sha sha sha sha…
"Hm? Danzhu, what are you doing?"
Hearing a strange sound, Cangxuan turned her head, only to see her sister sketching something.
"Big sis, move over. Elias rarely visits the lab, I have to seize the chance to collect inspiration."
"…Send me a copy when you're done."
Cangxuan raised an eyebrow at the sight of the drawing. She almost forgot her sister was an artist. Danzhu was skilled at sculpting figures, drawing doujin, and writing novels. She had secretly created many works that had become classics circulating throughout Fire Moth.
Her current masterpiece was about a certain white-haired, golden-eyed boy entangled in daily love triangles with several heroines. Of course, it was purely fictional—any resemblance to reality was, absolutely, not coincidence.
"Elias, after work we're planning to eat out. Want to come along?" said Klein, finally finishing the stack of documents on her desk.
"Sure—wait, did you just say… after work?"
Elias froze in shock, staring at the green-haired girl before him. Her dark circles were almost as heavy as a panda's. The sheer impact of her words left him speechless.
Good heavens! Did he just hear what he thought he heard?
The flawless Klein… said she was getting off work?!
"…I think I must have misheard. Klein, could you repeat that?"
Elias was dumbfounded. Klein taking time off? He might sooner believe the Herrscher of Finality was about to descend—that sounded more realistic.
"Enough, Elias. Don't look at me like that. You make it sound as if I never let Klein rest."
"Mobius, put your hand on your heart and answer honestly—have you ever actually given Klein a break?"
"Uh…"
Mobius quietly averted her gaze. Maybe, probably, perhaps she had… though she couldn't recall. Maybe she had just forgotten.
"Yes. I'm off work."
Klein smiled with bliss, a face that finally saw the light of day. She hadn't left the lab for a whole week, working over twenty days straight.
And now, miraculously, she had earned a brief respite!
Klein swore she would savor every minute, every second of this rare freedom.
Suddenly her body wavered, and she nearly collapsed—only for Elias to catch her.
"Klein, are you alright?"
"Thank you for worrying, Elias. I'm fine. It's just that after working twenty days straight, my body reached its limit before my mind did. Doctor told me to clock out and rest for half a day, and return in six hours."
After nearly a month of nonstop work, Klein had finally received half a day's rest.
It was not easy. Truly not easy. She had thought she'd work herself into the grave, never imagining she'd see a day off again.
Gratefully, she accepted the milk tea and drank. The sweet warmth spread not only to her stomach but to her very soul.
So good. Milk tea even tasted better after work.
Lately, she'd even been planning to apply for the Meta-Morph procedure. Once she became a fusion warrior, she could work endless overtime without fear of collapse, hemorrhage, or fainting.
Elias shot Mobius a reproachful look.
(Mobius, if you end up hanging from a lamppost one day, you'll deserve it. No capitalist could be crueler. And yet…)
"I'm sorry, Klein. This is my fault."
"Eh? Elias? Why are you apologizing?"
Klein blinked, caught off guard by the white-haired boy's sudden apology, a very bad premonition rising in her chest.
The next instant, white flowers of Creation bloomed around her, sweeping away all the fatigue and strain she had built up. Mental exhaustion aside, her body was now fully restored to peak health. Which meant…
"This way, you can keep working overtime."
"W-what?"
"Sorry, but I've got new work that requires the whole Mobius lab to put in overtime. Don't worry, I'll make it up to everyone. So… keep working, Klein."
Elias patted her shoulder solemnly, guilt flooding his heart. But still…
(Klein, for the greater good—please sacrifice yourself.)
"…"
Though she didn't yet know the details, Klein understood clearly—her long-awaited vacation had just been ruined. New work had appeared, and she could no longer rest.
Captain Elias, I thought you were a good person!
"Don't look at me with such pitiful eyes, Klein. Come on, you can do it. The world needs your overtime. Once we finish this project, I'll personally grant you ten days of vacation!"
"R-really?!"
The light returned to Klein's exhausted eyes. Ten days off? That was heaven!
Since joining Mobius' lab, her longest break had never exceeded five hours. Forget ten hours— even ten minutes of rest was precious.
"Wait, Elias! Who gave you the authority to give Klein time off?! Without her, my research efficiency will drop by fifty percent at least. How do you think you can decide that?!"
Mobius slammed the table in protest. Anyone could be missing from the lab—except Klein. Even if Elias was the man she liked, she couldn't allow him to make such a decision on his own…
"I'm making this decision as the lab's male head. Is that acceptable?"
"…Yes! Absolutely acceptable!"
Mobius' lips curled into a smile.
She was the lab's mistress, and if Elias called himself the master… then, rounding it up, that made them husband and wife, right? Great! She had finally overtaken Elysia!
Elias wore a gentle smile, but to Cangxuan and Danzhu, it was as if a white fox's tail was wagging behind him.
A sly fox spirit!
Doctor Mobius, you gave in just like that? Where's your pride as a cold, mad, yandere scientist? As your subordinates, we are disappointed! Who knew you were such an easy pushover!
The next moment, Elias turned his gaze to the twin sisters.
"Once this is done, Cangxuan, you'll get this much in bonuses. And Danzhu, however many figures you want, I'll buy them for you."
"Work! Time to work! I love overtime!"
"For the sake of figures, I won't slack off this time!"
The twin sisters were instantly bought over.
Watching their rising morale, Elias smiled in satisfaction. Birds of a feather flock together—everyone in Mobius' lab was just as easy to handle as she was.
Thus, just as the lab was about to clock out, the Mobius Research Facility restarted its operations. Elias solemnly announced:
"This emergency task is to develop a medicine that can be universally applied to completely cure Honkai disease."
"…Huh?" ×4
At once, Mobius and the others froze. The morale they had just regained visibly withered.
"Elias, maybe we should pick another project?"
"Yeah, yeah, this one is impossible."
"Knew it wouldn't be something easy…"
"Uuu… my vacation is a distant dream again."
It wasn't that Mobius and the others lacked confidence—the truth was, this simply couldn't be done. Across the world, medical experts and biologists had been researching cures for Honkai disease.
Fire Moth was no exception. Mobius herself had attempted to solve it before, but the best result was only slowing its progression, never curing it.
Honkai disease was a death sentence.
That seemed to be an absolute truth.
"Oh? Why is everyone so lacking in confidence?"
"Ahh~ Elias, I understand your feelings, but this isn't something we can achieve in the short term. To develop a perfect cure for Honkai disease is, in some sense, the same as researching how to defeat the Honkai itself."
Mobius shook her head. Honkai disease was the result of Honkai energy eroding the human body. Once contracted, even replacing the body with mechanical parts did nothing.
Even a genius like her could only slow the erosion, never stop it—and certainly not cure it.
And though it was called a disease, Honkai wasn't a virus or bacteria. Human medicine for pathogens was useless against it.
Mobius had once thought:
To truly cure Honkai disease, one would have to find an energy capable of eradicating Honkai energy. If such an energy could be found, its meaning would be equivalent to defeating the Honkai itself.
"Emmm, maybe not defeating the Honkai exactly, but it can indeed produce an almost absolute restraining effect," Elias muttered to himself.
"…Huh? What do you mean?"
Mobius and the others froze. Did Elias actually have something up his sleeve? Even if he could punch Herrschers and kick Vipralopa-class Honkai Beasts as if nothing, finding an energy to restrain Honkai energy itself—that was too unbelievable.
Honkai energy being all-powerful wasn't an exaggeration. It was far more domineering than any elemental force.
Yet Elias only gave a mysterious smile.
He walked to Mobius' workbench, picked up the soulium scalpel still stuck in the Honkai Beast's shell, and cut a small wound on his own finger.
A single drop of bright red blood fell from his fingertip onto the Honkai Beast.
The Honkai Beast melted.
"What?! What just happened?!"
"Eh? Ehh?! What's going on?!"
"One drop of blood melted an Emperor-class Honkai Beast?!"
Klein and the others were dumbfounded. Mobius rushed over, staring hard at the Honkai Beast's corpse on the table, then at the blood on Elias' fingertip.
Even magma wouldn't have harmed an Emperor-class Honkai Beast. How could a drop of blood dissolve it?
And Mobius had seen it with her own eyes—this wasn't physical melting. The Honkai energy had been purified by Elias' blood.
"Ahem. I'll lay it out—I have a special trait. My blood neutralizes Honkai energy. Just 0.5 milliliters can reduce an Emperor-class Honkai Beast to ashes, and drive away all lower-class Honkai Beasts."
A super-concentrated version of Schariac Holy Blood. A single drop could kill lesser Honkai Beasts instantly. If Elias wished, one mouthful of blood could probably kill a Herrscher.
Mobius gulped hard, her hands trembling as she accepted the blood sample Elias handed her. She felt like she was dreaming. What kind of divine blood was this?!
Elias, just what kind of genetic mutation did you undergo to produce blood this powerful?! No wonder you never let me test it before!
"Elias, you really are a monster!"
Mobius exclaimed, unable to hold back her excitement.
She felt the long-forgotten impulse to slice him open and study him. The snake's eyes gleamed with madness—before her stood a temptation as alluring as the forbidden fruit of Eden.
Surely he had more secrets hidden inside. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to secure Elias' genetic material.
"Klein, run the most detailed examination possible! If Elias' blood really has that effect, then producing a true cure for Honkai disease will be no problem!"
"Ah, actually… I've already figured out the basics," Elias said.
"…What?"
Under Mobius' dumbfounded stare, Elias pulled out a serum from the Current Era—the [God-Killing Spear Pro Max]—along with its full manufacturing formula.
Mobius quickly flipped through the pages, and her face went blank. If the formula was correct, then yes—this could cure Honkai disease! But…
"You've already made this yourself, so what do you even need us for?"
"Well, it still has flaws. For example, the production cost is way too high."
Elias scratched his head. This was the fruit of a civilization 50,000 years in the future. Under his guidance, Dr. Maki had already begun working on a mass-production version of the Honkai serum.
But when he crossed into the Previous Era, it hadn't yet been perfected.
"My demands aren't that high. Mobius, just help me improve it so it can be spread worldwide—so that every Honkai disease patient can be saved."