Just what in the world is Elysia up to...
Mobius narrowed her eyes, subtly observing the interaction between Fairy Ely, Ren, and the others. Her now-calm mind began to work furiously.
From the ELF's attitude towards her, it was clear that Elysia herself, who had yet to make an appearance, was the one in control.
For some unknown reason, however, Elysia seemed to have kept her true identity from Joker and his companions, choosing to interact with the two visitors through the guise of the ELF.
Out of caution, Mobius remained silent after being interrupted by Fairy Ely, falling into a brief moment of quiet.
"Why did you stop talking? Does it have to do with this shadow's presence? Or are you wary of the one who created her, the one behind Fairy Ely?"
After Fairy Ely appeared, Mobius, who had been speaking to him in the guise of an innocent little girl, had completely calmed down. She was clearly wary of something.
Fairy Ely herself was incredibly weak. Even if she had the potential to awaken a Persona, Ren could tell that she hadn't yet awakened her own power. Her combat strength was questionable at best.
Mobius couldn't possibly be wary of the combat-ineffective Fairy Ely. In that case, what she was concerned about must be Fairy Ely's creator.
"...It seems you're not some fool who can be easily manipulated. That's good. Cooperating with a fool can be very tiring."
Mobius's eyes widened slightly. A look of surprise appeared in her pink-and-green eyes as she looked at Ren.
Since Elysia had chosen to contact Ren through the guise of the ELF, she would not have voluntarily revealed her own existence. To be able to sense the presence behind Fairy Ely despite Elysia's deliberate concealment, Ren's perceptiveness was far beyond Mobius's expectations.
But for that very reason, Mobius was even more satisfied with Ren.
"Very well. Even if our conversation is overheard by her creator hidden behind the scenes, it doesn't matter."
Mobius shrugged. Realizing that Ren was intelligent and not deceived by Elysia like the others, her demeanor became much more relaxed and casual, her entire aura softening.
"I want to become the one and only, true Mobius. To achieve this, I need your help... With your Jizo Mitama, you can destroy all the data related to the existence of 'Mobius' in the Elysian Realm, making the me here the one and only!"
Although she had calmed down, when she spoke of her long-cherished wish to Ren, a fervent gleam still appeared in Mobius's eyes.
"Destroy the concept of 'Mobius' in the Elysian Realm?! Mobius, you want to do something like that?!"
Fairy Ely covered her small mouth in astonishment. Even though Elysia knew of Mobius's tendency to go to extremes, she had never expected her to be this extreme.
"I see. You want to become a unique existence. I can understand that feeling. But if I were to destroy the relevant information in this Elysian Realm Palace, you would lose the ability to return to that concept. You would no longer be able to be reborn from the concept named 'Mobius'... Are you sure you want to do this?"
Ren nodded in understanding and then confirmed with the increasingly gentle-looking Mobius.
The shadows that existed in the mementos were all derived from a certain concept in the collective unconscious.
Take the classic Jack Frost for example. No matter how many Jack Frosts Ren defeated in the mementos, they would not be completely eliminated. They would simply return to the source of the concept in the Sea of Souls, awaiting their next manifestation, and would even retain a vague memory of their last encounter.
To truly and completely erase the existence of these wild shadows, one would have to do as the false god Yaldabaoth did and completely erase the corresponding concept from the collective unconscious.
And what Mobius wanted Ren to do was something very similar to that.
"Of course. That's exactly what I want."
A satisfied smile appeared on Mobius's lips. She was very pleased that Ren could follow her line of thought, and her tone became even more flirtatious.
"After all, life is a precious treasure, meant to be lived again and again~~~~"
A single life is a priceless treasure... And Mobius, who could be resurrected from death, possessed a treasure that surpassed that of ordinary people by an unknown number of times.
After fusing with the ICHOR Fof the Judgment-class Honkai beast, Mobius had gained the ability to transcend death. She could return from the abyss of death countless times, as long as she had enough energy.
As long as she had a sufficient reserve of Honkai energy, Mobius was confident that she could live longer than anyone else, even achieving the feat of immortality that no one had ever accomplished.
Therefore, the data tracking and backup function, which was meant to ensure the continuation of the Flame-Chasers' legacy and could mass-produce several Mobius data constructs at the same time, was something Mobius no longer needed.
"Is it enough to just destroy the concept of Mobius in the Elysian Realm Palace? There should be other Mobius-es outside of the Elysian Realm, right?"
After a slight pause, Ren voiced his doubts to Mobius.
The Elysian Realm Palace was indeed very close to the deepest part of the impression space, but it was not the absolute deepest part.
The authority to modify the collective unconscious in the Sea of Souls was still held by the false god Yaldabaoth. To bypass the false god's authority and tamper with the collective unconscious was extremely difficult, if not impossible.
If he were to do as Mobius said, Ren could at most destroy the concept of Mobius within this Elysian Realm Palace, preventing any new Mobius-es from being born here. As for the Mobius-es outside the Elysian Realm, he would have no way of dealing with them.
As Ren posed this question, Mobius's previously relaxed and cheerful expression instantly turned gloomy.
"The Mobius outside the Elysian Realm... Hmph, that's none of your business. You just need to get rid of the 'Mobius' concept in the Elysian Realm."
Mobius's expression flickered for a moment. Finally, she composed herself again. With a cold snort, she turned her head away, her complex pink-and-green eyes staring at the blank ceiling of the lab, no longer looking at anyone.
Mobius's obsession with being the one and only was immense. To become the one and only, true Mobius, she had even sent a subtle mental suggestion of suicide to her original self... For Mobius, who could be resurrected from death, only a willing suicide could truly end her life.
However, the original Mobius was also Mobius. They were equally outstanding. Even Mobius herself admitted her original self's extraordinary, era-transcending talent. Her only advantage was the element of surprise, catching her original self off guard and exploiting the fact that she had to connect with her to synchronize memories.
After the complete destruction of the Previous Era, the data constructs of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers in the Elysian Realm had never received any updates from their original selves. Their knowledge of the Current Era could only be obtained through the accounts of the Successors.
Because of this, although she had sent a mental suggestion of suicide to her original self, Mobius did not know if it had been successful.
The original Mobius might have fallen into the abyss of death along with the Previous Era, or she might have already transcended the corpse of the Previous Era and was now lurking in the world of the Current Era, observing everything with indifference.
"The thought that there might be a woman in the real world with the exact same appearance, acting wantonly under the name of Mobius, makes me feel like I have a fishbone stuck in my throat. It's so disgusting it makes me want to vomit."
The desire to return to the real world and personally erase that woman, who might still be alive, now became even more profound and urgent.
"I can't just stand by and watch this, Mobius. You should know what you're saying, right?"
Although she was still smiling, the playful aura around Fairy Ely had faded considerably. She flew in front of Mobius and looked at her with a serious expression.
"Hehe, of course I know what I'm doing. And I also know that you can't do anything to stop me."
Mobius sneered. She reached out and grabbed the little pink fairy's white wing, twirling her around a few times before throwing the now-dizzy ELF out of the lab.
"No, Lord Joker! If you do as Mobius says, it could affect the overall information of the Elysian Realm and even lead to its destruction!!"
Fairy Ely flapped her wings just before hitting the ground, narrowly managing to fly up again. She pleaded with Ren, hoping to dissuade him from being incited by Mobius.
Tampering with the Elysian Realm's database with the corrosive authority of Jizo Mitama would inevitably cause varying degrees of damage and destruction, depending on the user's control and precision.
Of course, the part about the Elysian Realm being destroyed was an exaggeration on Fairy Ely's part.
But even if Ren could perfectly control the corrosive authority of Jizo Mitama, Elysia would never want to see him fulfill Mobius's wish.
The reason was her understanding of Mobius as a person.
Simply destroying the backup data of the "Mobius" data construct in the Elysian Realm's database was not enough.
Even if the "Mobius" data was corrupted by the corrosive authority, the other Flame-Chasers in the Elysian Realm could still reconstruct a version of Mobius that existed in their cognition through their own memories of her... And this was something Mobius would absolutely not tolerate.
Therefore, to become the one and only, true Mobius, Mobius would inevitably have to completely erase all information about herself in the Elysian Realm, including the other Flame-Chasers' memories of her, effectively changing the Thirteen Flame-Chasers to the Twelve Flame-Chasers in their cognition.
Elysia did not want to forget her comrade, Mobius, nor did she want Mobius to be forgotten by the other Flame-Chasers. Therefore, she would absolutely not allow Ren to tamper with the Elysian Realm's database.
"The Elysian Realm Palace might be destroyed because of this... That's not a big deal. No matter how long this Palace has existed, it will eventually meet its fated destruction. It's just a matter of sooner or later."
However, faced with Fairy Ely's impassioned plea, Ren remained completely unmoved and calm.
No Palace could last forever. No matter what, a distortion of the heart would eventually be corrected. A Palace formed from such a distortion would naturally be destroyed along with it.
In fact, the destruction of a Palace would have a more positive impact on the real world than its continued existence.
"Lord Joker, is that what you think..."
Fairy Ely's expression became a little unnatural. She lowered her small pink head, and a gloomy aura began to emanate from her.
"However, it would be a shame for the Elysian Realm Palace to be destroyed so easily. If possible, I would like it to exist for a while longer... Mobius, you should have a way to control the intensity of the event, so that the Elysian Realm Palace itself is not destroyed along with the erased concept, right?"
Just as Fairy Ely, after a long delay as if she were lagging, was about to look down at the ground, Ren's tone suddenly changed. He turned his head and confirmed with Mobius beside him.