There was no doubt: Mitri had adopted Caelus's Genius-tier suggestion wholesale!
In his eyes, the plan was nothing short of perfect.
It cut down his own losses—directing that brainless swarm to destroy other bugs and the meddling bounty hunters, sparing his precious troops.
Let the bugs slaughter each other, survival of the fittest, until at last he'd sifted and tamed an unstoppable insectoid army!
Then, with this terrifying Legion, he could sweep across the Galaxy and found a civilization vaster than any before!
And he'd reclaim his true self!
Within the Simulated Universe's accelerated time-stream, three days had quietly slipped by.
Caelus had faithfully played his role as the right-hand oracle-spreader.
He hadn't crudely rewritten the core of the Ravings—just made exquisite fine adjustments. A good lie is nine parts truth, one part lethal falsehood.
A slight change, and yet it was like pouring boiling oil onto Mitri's already blazing lust for conquest.
Mitri's gaze grew hotter, more urgent, spilling into reckless madness. He could no longer tolerate advancing step by step, and he threw all his passion into Caelus's proposed plan to conscript the bug swarm.
Utterly ignoring the teeny-tiny hundred-million-point risk that deploying insectoid weapons carried.
Mitri ordered the top biology scholars traveling with the army to spare no cost and pour everything into boosting the conscripted swarms' aggression, breeding speed, and every other trait.
"Tsk, what's this Gray-hair throwing a fit over now?"
The Herta dumpling watched Caelus's retreating back.
"Darling, he's actively catalyzing a hotbed of Propagation."
The plum-blossom dumpling's voice was clear and elegant, like Wind brushing over willows.
After all, anchoring time to this point in the world had been meant to study the birth of Tayzzyronth in the first place; Caelus choosing to fan the flames was, in its own way, a valid approach.
"Logic verification: though this behavior carries high risk, it aligns with the core objective of 'observing Tayzzyronth's birth.' Data acquisition takes priority over local stability."
Screwllum voiced his agreement.
The old gentleman Screwllum was one of the mainstays reinforcing the universe's architecture, and he too doubted Caelus could stir up a commotion rippling through the entire Simulated Universe's framework the way he had the previous two times—not unless Caelus interacted with [Elation].
While the Sieglaidien biologists sweated over remodeling the bugs, Caelus's attention quietly shifted to that mysterious bounty hunter leader.
From the intel gathered from the bounty hunters:
This leader was stubborn and domineering, much like Mitri—having received a dream-like revelation, which was why she insisted on coming to the Verminstar Plains to hunt the bug swarm.
The revelation's contents weren't the Ravings played in reverse, so the possibility of the Prophecy of the End King could be ruled out.
Caelus tapped his temple in rhythm with his fingertip. Two major possibilities remained.
Either the revelation was just a bit of fun Aha had casually tossed out.
Or this leader—charm stat maxed, her behavioral pattern brimming with dramatic conflict—Serafina—was Aha herself!
"Come on, let's slip in and take a look."
Caelus signaled the Stelle-Asta fusion, and they quietly left the Sieglaidien warship. Like two drops of water merging into the sea, they blended soundlessly into the motley bounty hunter camp on the Verminstar's surface.
The Stelle-Asta fusion ranked on the weaker side among the fusion girls, yet in the universe she already counted as a fairly powerful Pathstrider. Add Caelus's veteran Masked-Fool-grade acting, and with a little trick they secured an audience with the bounty hunter leader.
When Serafina appeared before them, even the worldly-wise Caelus and Stelle-Asta fusion had to admit this leader possessed a striking radiance.
Her delicate oval face held the purity unique to a young girl; her features were exquisite, her bright azure eyes like the clearest glacial lake, tugging at the heart. Her radiant golden hair was loosely tied up, a few strands falling by her cheeks like sunlight spilled over snow.
Yet this deeply deceptive air of maidenly innocence stood in sharp contrast to her dashing gear.
Two sharply styled longblades crossed at her back, and two large-caliber pistols were strapped firmly to her long, sexy legs—exuding a lethal air of danger.
Masked Fools are all social terrorists, and with Stelle in the fusion, the Stelle-Asta fusion was a social juggernaut too, so they were soon chatting away—at least on the surface, they looked chummy.
"Friend, care to join this grand feast with us?"
Serafina's smile was exquisite as she extended an inviting hand toward Caelus.
Appearance aside, the twin-sword-twin-gun loadout inexplicably reminded Caelus of 'Aria of the Twin Swords and Twin Guns.'
"Thank you for the offer, Serafina."
A sincere smile, perfectly laced with a touch of regret, surfaced on Caelus's face, and the lie rolled off his tongue as smoothly as if rehearsed a thousand times: "But my lover and I have had good luck—we've already found the target bugs our employer needs. A few more days, and we may be leaving the Verminstar."
"What a pity. Among the bounty hunters I know, your skills are absolutely first-rate—especially you, Miss Stelle-Asta fusion. That sharpness and strength… truly impressive."
Serafina turned a crisp smile toward the purple-haired girl with ice-jade eyes, seemingly loath to miss the chance of drawing such an expert into her team.
"What I find even more regrettable is… that such an outstanding lady as Miss Stelle-Asta fusion is actually in a relationship with little Caelus…"
Serafina let out a soft sigh, her long lashes lowering slightly, as if dimming those bright blue eyes for an instant.
"Hm? What's this about?"
That was something the Stelle-Asta fusion couldn't pretend not to hear.
Serafina seemed a little flustered by the fusion's directness, a very faint blush rising on her fair cheeks.
She laced her slender fingers before her and tilted her head slightly. When those azure eyes turned back to Caelus, they brimmed with a smile and undisguised admiration: "It might be a bit forward to say this…"
Her gaze swept boldly over Caelus's face, her smile brilliant: "But a type like little Caelus really fits my ideal partner."
"If we'd met a little earlier, I might just have worked up the courage to… properly fight you for him, Miss Stelle-Asta fusion!"
An impeccably flattered look appeared on Caelus's face, even carrying just the right touch of the awkward unease of an innocent boy.
Heh heh.
Aha-tier credibility.
Putting on a love-at-first-sight act for me, are we?
Like hell I'll believe that!
"Aiya, it's not too late to fight for him now~"
The Stelle-Asta fusion lazily propped her chin on her hand, her pose free and breezy, with the offhand air of a tearful clearance sale: "Sure, Caelus-cub is the dearest darling of my heart, but~"
Drawing out her tone, her ice-jade eyes blinking slyly, the fusion looked at Serafina: "As long as Boss is willing to throw in just a teeny hundred-million-point more cash."
She deliberately pinched thumb and forefinger into an extremely tiny gap, then flung her arms wide in an instant: "I can absolutely bite the bullet, part with my treasure, and gift-wrap him for you!"
"Really!?"
Serafina's azure eyes lit up at once, delight written all over her, as if she'd whip out her wallet and pay a deposit the next second.
But before the fusion could name a price and sell off her cub, a stone-faced hunter in a hat walked over, cut off their conversation, and took Serafina away on the pretext of some business to discuss.
Caelus pulled the fusion into a secluded corner at the camp's edge, piled with discarded supply crates, and the two put their heads together—looking, to outsiders, like a couple on a secret tryst.
"What do you make of her?"
"Can't tell."
The fusion sat sideways on Caelus's lap, her fair arms looping lightly around his neck, her smooth forehead pressed affectionately against the side of his.
A thin flush spread across the girl's flawless face, and her long lashes trembled like butterfly wings, betraying obvious shyness.
This was one of the reasons Caelus liked fusing Stelle with other girls.
Because with Stelle present, the fused girl was guaranteed to catch her narcissism.
And since Asta's relationship with Caelus lingered at more-than-friends, not-quite-lovers—reserved and green—the Stelle-Asta fusion could show off this long-lost bashfulness, a trait all but extinct in Stelle herself.
As for Stelle…
Forget blushing shyly—she rode cowgirl with pure gusto!
When the two of them curled up under the covers playing versus games, Stelle would even pull dirty off-board tricks to distract Caelus—and since her Stellaron-spirit constitution was stronger than his, he couldn't bring her to justice—er, to baguette—all on his own.
Every bath, Caelus never had to make the first move; Stelle would lather up the body wash herself and use her armor to help scrub.
After all, the two shared full sensation, and she also found that getting your back rubbed with something soft and squishy feels amazing!
"Quit fooling around, we're talking business."
The fusion puffed out her cheeks with a coquettish huff, yet didn't stop the hand Caelus slid under her clothes: "What do you think? Is she a Masked Fool?"
"Low odds. If she really is tied to Aha, I'd lean toward her being the real deal."
A Masked Fool's act isn't so easy to see through, let alone the God of Games'.
"Mm~ actually, I picked up some interesting intel just now."
The fusion lounged lazily in Caelus's arms, her slender fingertip drawing circles on his cheek, her eyes glinting with mischief.
"That bounty hunter who interrupted us just now—he's long been smitten with Serafina."
Her credibility might have its little issues, but there was no denying Serafina possessed a uniquely captivating charm—otherwise there'd be no explaining why, at a single wave of her arm, the bounty hunters of the Verminstar streamed endlessly to gather under her banner.
All you could say was that simps and fat cats really were something else!
"And then?"
Caelus withdrew his hand and instead wrapped his arms gently around the girl in his embrace.
"Should I dye that thing on his head green?"
Meaning the hat.
"Uh, that's not the point!"
The fusion cracked up first, her expression turning wonderfully animated: "What I'm getting at is—Serafina didn't turn that hunter down, and she's even shown him some affection!"
"Hm?"
Holding the girl, Caelus leaned back tactically: "So I've become a fish in the pond?"
"I don't think she looks like a sea-queen, though."
Nearly toppled along with Caelus, the fusion steadied herself, shrugged in confusion, and kissed him with a blush.
Then, as if struck by something hilarious, her eyes sparkling, she first mimed twin-tails at either side of her head with her fingers and began snickering behind her hand: "Caelus-cub~ tell me, is there any chance that Aha guy might actually show up looking for you later as a white-haired, red-eyed, twin-tailed little l0li?"
The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed, and her shoulders shook with laughter: "Went and trained up the skills on purpose—just for you?"
"…"
An indescribable look crossed Caelus's face.
"Even if it is Her… well, given how low Her standards sink, that's exactly the sort of thing She'd pull."
After all, Aha had no bottom line.
"Over the next couple of days, let's go 'probe' this Miss Serafina a little more 'deeply,' shall we?"
A troublemaking gleam flickered in the fusion's eyes.
"You want me to run the handsome-man honey trap?"
Caelus caught on at once.
"I don't even mind wearing a green hat, so what are you on about?"
The fusion planted her hands on her hips and gave two little huffs.
Two days later…
When Caelus and the Stelle-Asta fusion came to the settlement again, meaning to find Serafina.
The noise and gossip had suddenly been smoothed away; the normally gregarious bounty hunters had abruptly gone silent and still.
The stench of blood bored into Caelus's nostrils. Colorful slime mixed with fresh blood was smeared across the ground, and the corpses of bugs and humans lay everywhere.
____
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on (P). with 50 advanced chapters available on (P)
👻 Join the crew by searching Leanzin on (P). You know the spot! 😉