Seeing the canopy finally close and the [Stage] complete, the Herrscher let out a long sigh of relief.
With this, he had finally completed the first step of his plan... and gained the leverage to make that monster hesitate.
Although this thin canopy probably couldn't stop that monster from breaking through at full force, he didn't believe that person could bring himself to harm so many "hostages."
The battle next to the train had already shown him the other's true nature: a goody-two-shoes who wanted to help everyone. That was someone who could be threatened.
He couldn't even bring himself to kill this woman...
The Herrscher thought, raising his hand to pull the threads that were already bound to Kiana.
Suddenly, a brilliant, dream-like light appeared out of thin air. In the next moment, the threads before the Herrscher were ignited and consumed by the dazzling flames.
Seeing the flames rapidly spreading toward him along the threads, the Herrscher abruptly severed them, scrambling back several steps before staring at Kiana with a mixture of vigilance and terror.
Another [Stage]?! Was it set up in advance by that monster?!
No, there's an anchor... he left an anchor here too! Damn it... did that guy anticipate my surprise attack? Or was he willing to bear such a cost just to set up this kind of all-encompassing protection?!
The Herrscher's heart suddenly wavered with uncertainty about whether the other would view his "threat" rationally. What if he lost his head and, just like their last battle that erupted at the slightest disagreement, chose to shatter the canopy and take them both down?
He had a purpose; he wasn't willing to perish with him just like this!
Did he have to send someone out to inform the other of his "threat"...?
No, it was too late... He had already blown up the bridge. To get a person to that monster, he would have to go himself, or use a puppet...
He glanced at his tattered puppet, his eye twitching.
No! He couldn't lose her!
But with the other's [Stage] here, he couldn't create a new puppet either... Only by destroying the anchor left by the other could he begin to create one.
It was a vicious cycle...
After a long silence, the Herrscher suddenly looked up, a resolute expression on his face.
Then let's do it... I'll bet that you can calm down... As long as you give me time, what anchor, undefended by you, can possibly hold out against me?
Just a little longer... and everyone here will become a part of my flawless drama!
The grandest performance is about to begin...
---||---
On the Mediterranean coast, approximately three minutes ago.
As the last illusory note faded, all the emotions stirred within Shu settled. The various pieces of furniture in the room, which had been dancing as if they had a life of their own, returned to their original positions.
Shu raised a hand and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He felt as if he had just watched a peculiar Hollywood musical, where everything started to provide accompaniment and dance along with the song.
Even he had felt the urge to join in.
He had resisted that rather bizarre control by clashing with it using his own power.
If it were just that kind of control, it would have been fine. But the baton in the other's hand could freely manipulate the objects that danced to the music.
If he had fallen under its control, he might have been trapped in a one-sided battle orchestrated by the other...
Shu shook his head. The clash of powers had left him a little dizzy. His opponent's mastery of their abilities was not weak; they had even been able to deliberately attack him during their confrontation.
But in the end, he was still the superior one. And it seemed his opponent hadn't been going all out, either.
Shu glanced at Noah's delicate face and saw a trace of pallor.
He couldn't help but be taken aback. Was the boy's power consumption that high? This didn't seem like the output a Herrscher should have... It felt similar to the time in Depascal, when he had faced Memory after successfully rewinding time.
It was an incomplete state...
Shu turned to look at Cocolia. "Was he at the orphanage before?"
Cocolia had been completely unaffected just now. Shu had curiously scanned her, but there was still no trace of any power within her.
Did Noah deliberately avoid Cocolia? It seems Noah's reliance on her is indeed very high...
"Of course. Before you all announced the existence of Herrschers, I thought he was some kind of psychic who awakened during the apocalypse."
Shu was silent for a moment, then turned to look at Cocolia.
I didn't expect you to read those too...
"I did a lot of research after the apocalypse broke out, including novels from Shenzhou," Cocolia said. "I strongly agree with the methods of those protagonists. Eliminate the problem for good, hehe..."
Shu took a tactical step back. He felt Cocolia's values were seriously questionable.
Cocolia, however, looked at Shu as if she'd discovered something, a smile on her face.
"After that, I brought him here alone. I could feel he meant me no harm, but only me."
At this point, Cocolia's expression darkened slightly. "He won't initiate conversation with anyone but me. Others who try to talk to him get no response. Only under my command will he answer, and even then, he looks unwilling."
"It makes it so I don't dare leave him for too long. In fact, most of the time, I have to be by his side just to keep his emotions stable."
Shu frowned slightly. He looked at Noah. From the moment he had started scanning Cocolia's body, the boy had been staring at him motionlessly. Shu couldn't sense his emotions, but he could tell it wasn't a friendly gaze.
Is he warning me...?
"I have a general idea of the situation... Let's head back to the orphanage first. We can start preparing to coun—"
His voice cut off abruptly—
Cocolia froze, turning to look at Shu, who was standing right beside her. But she saw his body trembling violently.
"Shu?" Cocolia frowned and called out his name. The next moment, Noah suddenly ran in front of her, grabbed her hand, and started pulling her toward the door.
It was the first time Cocolia had ever seen him so anxious. The two abnormalities combined, deepening the confusion in her heart.
She didn't leave with him. Instead, she walked closer to Shu, reaching out to pat him. Noah could only follow beside Cocolia, his full attention fixed on Shu.
"Ngh—!" Shu suddenly clapped a hand over his mouth. His whole body bent over as if he'd taken a massive blow, and he fell to his knees on the ground, completely losing his composure.
A startling amount of blood seeped from between Shu's fingers. He clutched his chest tightly, looking—
As if he had just died a painful death.