"Huh? Is that a prop knife for a magic trick?"
Kiana, being the closest, tilted her head, thinking she was witnessing one of those horrifying magic tricks she'd only ever seen on TV. It wasn't that she didn't consider the other possibility, but... how could that be possible? It couldn't be, right? Absolutely impossible.
"Idiot Kiana! Stay away from her!"
Bronya immediately raised her pistol and aimed at Mei, but she found that Seele was even faster. If not for the fact that Mobius, Mei, and Kiana were practically on top of each other, she probably would have already pulled the trigger.
"Huh? What are you guys doing? Mei's just showing everyone a magic trick! Why so tense—"
Kiana flailed her arms, trying to explain. She might be an idiot, but she didn't believe wishful thinking could rewrite reality. She just... still refused to believe the truth.
And shattering that wishful thinking only took a soft gurgle of blood from Mobius.
"Gack—"
The crimson blood made Mobius's face look even paler. She raised her left hand and gently placed it on the blade embedded in her body. Seeing this, "Mei" twisted her wrist. Purple lightning snaked up the blade, and Mobius's wound instantly turned a charred black. The sickeningly sweet smell of cooked flesh filled the entire armory along with the rising white smoke.
"Mei, your magic trick has a sequel, huh? Ahahaha..."
Kiana stroked the cowlick on her head. She seemed to be playing the ostrich, continuing to act dumb, but her other hand finally found the grip of her pistol—though she snatched it away a moment later, grabbing the baseball bat behind her instead.
"Shut up! You don't understand anything!" "Mei" snapped. When she turned her head back, she saw that the hand Mobius had initially extended toward her was still outstretched.
One of Mobius's hands was gripping the blade sunk deep into her heart, yet she made no attempt to pull it out. On the contrary, she gripped it tighter, pulling the sword—and Mei—closer, bit by bit. Her right arm remained stretched forward. Before "Mei" could react, her fingers, crackling with green lightning, lightly tapped Mei's forehead.
CRACKLE—
After that single, crisp sound, the purple light in Mei's eyes instantly dimmed. Her gaze became vacant, confused. Her eyes darted back and forth between her own hand, the red blood flowing down the blade, and the stunned Kiana beside her.
Only when Mobius moved closer did she open her jaw, her lips trembling as she let go of the sword.
Mobius staggered but didn't fall. Instead, she quickened her pace, reached Mei, and leaned forward, resting her chin on Mei's shoulder.
Her chin was already sharp. If she had put her full weight on that single point, it would probably have been very uncomfortable.
But Mei felt hardly any weight on her shoulder. Mobius was certainly slender and petite, almost childlike, but even a real child wouldn't be this light!
Mei felt as if it wasn't Mobius resting on her shoulder, but half an apple. Realistically, that was impossible, of course. It was this detail that made her believe, even now, that she was still in the dream from a little while ago.
But even if her mind told her it was a dream, she instinctively reached out and hugged Mobius, holding her tight.
Blood continued to spill from the corner of Mobius's mouth, sliding down her chin and spreading across the T-shirt on Mei's shoulder.
The smell of blood was masked by a strange fragrance. The blood wasn't scalding hot like in the stories; it was cool, just like Mobius's body temperature.
"This is a dream, this is a dream, this is definitely a dream!"
Listening to Mei's incessant chanting, the corners of Mobius's mouth twitched.
"Silly girl, this isn't a dream..."
Mei's jaw trembled open, but only a hollow, raspy gasp came out. Her eyes darted left and right, uncontrollably shifting toward Mobius, only to flinch away as if shocked the moment they met her green ones.
"I'm sorry..." Mobius murmured.
"I'm sorry..." she repeated, her right arm slowly bending, her five fingers, crackling with green lightning, once again reaching for the back of Mei's head.
But in the end, that hand only gently cradled Mei's head.
"I'm sorry, Mei... Don't blame yourself, Mei... I was... here to kill you... what a pity..."
Saying that last sentence completely exhausted her strength. Her vision blurred, and her consciousness was completely swallowed by darkness.
"Mobius? Mobius?"
Mei called out softly twice, but Mobius's only response was a body that was growing colder and stiffer by the second.
"Hah... hah... hah..."
Mobius's final embrace was so tight it was almost suffocating. Mei pushed her body away, bit by bit, only to realize something and pull her back into a tight hug.
"Why? Why did this happen?"
She turned her head to look at Kiana, but the other girl could only stand there with her mouth agape, staring blankly at the dead Mobius, saying nothing.
"Why did this happen?"
Mei turned to Bronya, but all she saw was the dark muzzle of a gun and a cold, questioning voice.
"Who are you?"
"I... I am... Raiden Mei..."
Such an answer naturally couldn't satisfy Bronya, let alone Mei herself.
Or rather, with her intelligence, she should have understood everything the moment she realized this wasn't a dream.
But she still clung to a final sliver of hope and turned to Seele.
"Why did this happen?"
Seele opened her mouth as if to say something, but then strangely turned her head away.
"It... it was me... Was it her?"
Mei was clearly incoherent. She kept taking deep breaths of the cold air but didn't exhale.
"Mei, you..."
Kiana summoned her courage and walked over to her. She took Mobius's body from Mei's arms. Throughout the whole process, Mei remained silent and motionless.
Seeing that she hadn't harmed Kiana, Bronya lowered the hand holding the gun, shifting her aim from Mei's heart to her legs.
But she didn't rush to question her. The armory was only so big. She had also heard Mobius's last words.
Mobius was here to kill Mei?
Bronya wasn't particularly surprised. Mobius had given her a heads-up earlier—"You'll know what it means soon enough."
So this was the so-called "surprise."
There was no time for grief. As the only one among them who was both thinking clearly, still calm, and had some informational advantage, she had to take on the role of the "brain."
Why did Mobius want to kill Mei? If she remembered correctly, Cocolia wanted to get Mei completely under her control. Why would Mobius's choice be the exact opposite?
And why did Mei kill Mobius with one stab? Was it because she sensed Mobius's killing intent and struck first?
No, that didn't fit Mei's personality at all. Given her sheltered upbringing, it was unlikely she could even sense something like "killing intent."
Compared to her behavior since noon, this wasn't the first time she had acted abnormally. This situation... the first thing Bronya thought of was a "second personality." Although it sounded incredible, when all other options were illogical and only this possibility created a closed loop of logic, then no matter how absurd, it was undoubtedly the correct answer.
Besides, it wasn't entirely inexplicable. For example: another consciousness resided within the Gem of Conquest, and as the Gem's power gradually awakened, this consciousness was slowly replacing Mei's original one.
That's why she had asked, "Who are you?"
Seeing Mei's condition gradually stabilize, Bronya asked the question again, but her tone was much gentler this time.
"Mei-neesama... are you still Mei-neesama?"
Mei remained silent as always, just slowly crouching down, curling into a ball, and inching her way to the corner of the room.
"Sigh..."
Bronya gave a look to Seele and Kiana. The three of them tiptoed to the armory door and gently closed it—the armory had no windows, so as long as they guarded the door, Mei couldn't escape even if she wanted to.
Of course, she could also grab a weapon from inside and shoot her way out. That possibility existed, but there was nothing Bronya could do about it. At least if that happened, they would have a chance to escape from outside the armory.
After leaving the room, Kiana conscientiously laid Mobius's body gently on the floor. Bronya crouched down, gave it a brief examination, and shook her head.
"No breathing, no pulse. Heart was directly mangled and cooked. Pupils are dilated. Confirmed deceased."
Bronya let out a long breath. As she stood up, she felt the whole world sway with her dazed mind. Mobius was really dead. Although this world was strange, she didn't believe anyone could survive this.
But no matter what, the whole thing felt surreal. Mobius, such a powerful person, killed so easily? Killed by a girl not yet seventeen, with an ordinary sword.
Theoretically, there was no problem. People die when they are killed. Even the strongest person is still a person. It was just that this way of dying wasn't so much dramatic as it was full of black humor.
What was this? A super-human who could easily one-shot a 20-meter-class Honkai beast gets taken out on the spot by a 17-year-old pretty girl because of a moment of weakness?
Huh?
Bronya suddenly remembered something—Mobius, had she foreseen this possibility? Otherwise, why would she have gone through the extra trouble of bringing them here to find weapons, using the excuse that she "might not be able to look after them"?
Was she planning to... no, how could that be? It was undeniable that some people were willing to sacrifice their lives for certain things, but Mobius's previous words and actions showed none of the emotions that someone about to die would unconsciously reveal.
No resignation, no nervousness, no regret. None of it.
So it really was an accident? It was just that Mobius had anticipated the possibility of being killed by Mei, so she made preparations for them in advance, giving them a chance to fight their way out alive, or hold out until Michael came to save them, even without her...
It all connected. It all connected.
When Mobius said her interests weren't completely aligned with Michael's, she must have been referring to her attitude toward Mei. It was even possible that the two had argued about it before Mobius came here.
Michael must have refused to kill Mei. The reason was simple. If he was willing to do it, not only could he have done it himself, but there would have been no reason for him to go and save Mei's father.
And Mobius chose to kill Mei, but in the end, she hesitated and couldn't do it, only to be killed in return...
Damn it! What a complete and tight line of reasoning!
As for... why Mobius wanted to kill Mei...
"The Gem of Conquest... Mei-neesama... and this disaster... Could it be that Cocolia wanted this kind of 'weapon'? Without doing anything, it easily destroyed an entire city. If she completely mastered this power... Damn it! That's just Cocolia's style!"
Bronya's fists clenched until her knuckles cracked. If that was the case, Mobius's motive for killing Mei was understandable. Such a powerful force... if it could be controlled, fine... but looking at Mei's current state, she definitely couldn't control it. From a purely rational standpoint, killing her was naturally more beneficial to humanity.
But she still felt there was more to the story. Not that her deductions were wrong—the result was probably more or less correct. But she felt she was overlooking something, like when you're doing a jigsaw puzzle and you've already guessed who the person is before the face pieces are in place...
The piece was right there in her hand, but for a moment, she had overlooked it...
That's it! "A disaster like this"!
What was a disaster like this? Wasn't the situation in Siberia back then similar to Nagazora now? And anyone with a bit of knowledge of world history should know that a "disaster" also occurred in Berlin over sixty years ago. The entire city was suddenly engulfed in a sea of fire, and three hundred thousand people died instantly...
If Bronya was still a bit fuzzy on the details of the Siberian disaster, any member of Anti-Entropy would know about the one in Berlin. Because Anti-Entropy's first leader was a hero born from that disaster, the "First Herrscher."
"So... I see... no wonder. The so-called Gem of Conquest, Gem of Serenity... they're things humans use to create Herrschers?"
A wave of fear washed over Bronya. If the X-10 experiment hadn't been repeatedly delayed for some reason, she might have... the year before last...
The bold hypothesis step was complete. Now all she had to do was gather evidence.
"Kiana, tell the Bronya the truth. Is Mei-neesama..."
"On the rooftop at noon, Mei asked me to kill her."
Kiana crouched down and took Mobius's cold arm. Her voice was low and hoarse, with a strange, forced cheerfulness.
"I don't know what's wrong with her, but of course, I couldn't let that idiot die. But, if I used words, I know I'm bad with them, so I purposely cocked the hammer and pretended to be careless so she could snatch the gun... I was trying to let her experience the feeling of death. After all, most people who experience that end up being afraid of death... but then, she pointed the gun at me."
"That must have been hard for you."
Bronya's eye twitched. She could guess what had happened. With Kiana's intelligence, the "thoughts" in her story were probably all made up on the spot. The real situation was likely that the fool had lost control of the gun and Mei had taken it, or she had casually placed it on the ground and Mei had picked it up. That was more in line with her understanding of Kiana. All she could say was, luckily, this idiot, as dumb as she was, hadn't forgotten basic gun safety, otherwise...
"Wait! You just said Mei-neesama pointed the gun at you. Then what?"
Bronya bit her lip. The real Mei would never point a gun at someone, let alone Kiana. Wasn't this exactly the same as what had just happened with Mobius? It was just that when facing Kiana, perhaps because the hammer wasn't cocked, she didn't succeed.
"Then... then Mei suddenly turned the gun on herself and pulled the trigger. It scared me at the time. Luckily I had lowered the hammer... uh, no, I mean, luckily I was prepared and had lowered the hammer beforehand."
"I see..."
Now the last piece of the puzzle was in place. There really were two consciousnesses inside Mei. One was her own, and the other was the Herrscher's, or the Gem of Conquest's?
That didn't seem to matter. What mattered was that, at least for now, Mei could still suppress the other consciousness. She could quickly regain control of her body when the other consciousness pointed a gun at Kiana. But the situation was still not optimistic. Just now, if Bronya's observation was correct, even after completely killing Mobius, Mei's own consciousness hadn't awakened until Mobius did something with her powers to wake her up.
This meant that Mei's control over her body was weakening. If this continued...
"Bronya, do you know something?"
Bronya glanced at Kiana. This idiot might be silly most of the time, but at critical moments, her mind wasn't slow, and her observation skills weren't bad.
"The Bronya probably knows what's going on with Mei-neesama now. To put it simply, Mei-neesama has two consciousnesses in her head right now. When she pointed the gun at you, it was the other consciousness. When she turned it on herself, it was Mei-neesama's own consciousness. As long as we help Mei-neesama defeat the other consciousness, the problem will be solved. We might even turn a disaster into a blessing."
"And if we fail?"
Bronya shrugged and looked down at Mobius.
"Then we'll have to go and keep Auntie Mobius company... Listen, Kiana, if Mei can't suppress that consciousness, it's not just Nagazora, it's the entire Far East, or even... so..."
Kiana interrupted Bronya with a smile. "Basically, we just have to get rid of the consciousness that's after Mei's body, right?"
Bronya looked at Kiana's smile and, in the end, didn't argue, just tightened her grip on her pistol.
She then looked at Seele. She had been so preoccupied with thinking that she had forgotten to consider Seele's feelings. With Seele's kindness, seeing Mobius, whom she had lived with for over a month, suddenly die must have been very hard to accept...
But unexpectedly, Seele was just leaning against the wall, looking at Mobius with an extremely complex expression.
"Seele..."
Bronya was about to say something, but Kiana had already thrown open the armory door.
"Mei, Mei! I have to tell you a... huh? Where's Mei?"
"What?!"
A tingling sensation spread across Bronya's entire scalp. She pushed Kiana aside and rushed into the armory, but there was no sign of Mei inside.
The armory wasn't a place where someone could hide. There was no possibility that Mei was hidden somewhere.
But a handgun was missing from the table.