Inside one of the Flame-Chasers' branch bases.
A lone girl paced back and forth in the hallway, muttering to herself like a one-woman theater troupe.
"Where's Silas? My Silas? Where did that perfectly sized Silas of mine go?!"
"Maybe you're just remembering it wrong?"
"Impossible. I remember every single word on his file—even the punctuation! He was rescued and started training at this branch base. There's no way I got it wrong!"
"Pure Evil… don't you think this is getting a little bit… unhinged?"
"Uh…"
"Shut it. I'm not wrong! I can't possibly be wrong! I even know what time he usually wakes u—"
"Please stop. That sounded like something straight out of the abyss."
"What I meant was—"
"Hahaha! Sounds like it's time for me to put on a dazzling magic show! That'll definitely catch his attention!"
"Magician… have you considered how we'd escape afterward?"
"Could we maybe—"
"I actually think the Magician has a point. We're Vil-V. If we want to, we can! So, Magician—where do we start the explosions?"
"Pure Evil! How dare you reduce my art to mere explosions?! That's only one of my many styles, you know!"
"Flavorful, you've been trying to say something, haven't you?"
"..."
"...What if… Silas was already taken by the reborn Elysia?"
"!"
The girl—who had been putting on a one-woman play—froze like a statue. After a moment, a twisted smile formed on her face.
"…I say, why don't we just blow this place up anyway?"
"Magician… and you say your magic isn't about blowing things up?"
"Isn't this a little too reckless…"
"What are you scared of? Don't forget how we joined the Flame-Chasers in the first place. We're just accelerating the timeline a little."
"Can't we just join MOTH like normal people…"
"If we go the normal route, by the time we see Silas, he and Elysia might already have a kid!"
"…I support this plan."
"Even you, Expert?"
"To seek the lone traveler, even descending into the abyss… is a path worth taking."
Meanwhile, at the main Flame-Chasers base—
Silas had just completed his daily training objectives.
Improving physical fitness isn't something that happens overnight. His current stats still hadn't reached the baseline for a qualified Flame-Chaser soldier.
Otherwise, back then, he wouldn't have needed more than a year of training and endless missions before finally being promoted to an elite and transferred to HQ.
Even though he was reborn and carried over plenty of real combat experience, his body still needed time to catch up.
(Not counting Kevin, that walking cheat code.)
He adjusted his breathing and wiped the sweat off his face with a towel.
Just then, a pale and slender hand entered his vision—it was Elysia. She offered him a drink.
"Good job~ Looks like you hit all your targets today too," she said with a sweet smile.
"Thanks." He took the drink from her hands. Technically, it was a special energy drink formulated by the MOTH organization—designed to replenish fluids, electrolytes, and minerals lost during training while reducing fatigue.
Apparently, it was something Dr. Mobius whipped up one day out of boredom.
"So? Am I being considerate or what?" Elysia tilted her head, eyes sparkling with expectation.
Silas glanced at the evaluation form in her hand and deadpanned: "You are an extremely considerate and beautiful girl."
Ever since Elysia snatched the evaluator title from Ato, it felt like something inside her had flipped on—some strange switch.
She'd been carrying this evaluation sheet around every single day, even dragging him along to tour the entire MOTH base.
He wanted to say, "I've seen all of this already," but when he saw the evaluation form in her hands, the words just wouldn't come out.
Maybe... what she really wanted was just for him to spend more time with her.
But still—this is the second Honkai, and the third is right around the corner. Civilization is about to fall.
Was it really okay to be this carefree?
...No, let's seal that boring excuse away. The truth was… he was still trying to run away.
Trying to avoid facing the fact that Elysia actually liked him.
Rationally speaking, time was tight, but not that tight…
As Silas was caught in a storm of conflicting thoughts, and Elysia just quietly sat by his side, Ato suddenly walked over briskly.
"Elysia, the Council just issued a new mission. Someone blew up one of MOTH's branch bases."
"Huh?" Elysia blinked.
Did something like that happen in the previous timeline?
She couldn't remember it at all.
She pulled up the mission report on her communicator.
The moment she saw the familiar silhouette captured on surveillance footage, she fell silent.
Vil-V.
She remembered clearly—MOTH had only ordered Vil-V's capture after the 3rd Herrscher incident.
It was after that she personally brought Vil-V back to MOTH, and she'd ended up detained on a remote island for months before finally being approved by several people—including Mobius—and officially joining the organization.
And the base that got blown up… was the exact one Silas had been stationed at.
A wave of relief washed over her.
Thank goodness Mobius came and gave me an excuse to take Silas away. Otherwise, Vil-V would've snatched him up already.
She wasn't sure how Vill-V's other personas felt about Silas, but Pure Evil? That one was undeniably obsessed.
Could it be… Vil-V's rebirth also brought back all her other personas?
I need to go see Vil-V.
"Sorry, Silas~ I might not be by your side for a while. Make sure you miss me, okay?"
Silas gave her a small nod in response, indicating he understood.
It was probably for the best that Elysia was gone for a bit.
He could use some time himself—to sort out his feelings.
Ato, who had been watching their interaction, looked a little… odd.
When Elysia had come to him asking for evaluator status the other day, he'd already felt something was off. Did she… have feelings for this kid? How? They'd just met! Was it love at first sight?
His gaze shifted to Silas, who noticed and stiffened under the sudden encouraging stare.
Silas: "???"
What the hell is that look for?
Ato clapped Silas on the shoulder with a grin.
"Go get 'em, kid! To catch the attention of MOTH's most beautiful flower—I'm rooting for you!"
From his observations, this young man named Silas had a commendable temperament. He trained diligently every day, showing meticulous discipline. Ato was thoroughly impressed with him.
If Silas ever found out about this, he'd probably shout: "Don't go inserting yourself into the role of my future father-in-law!"
Meanwhile, the news about the MOTH division base being bombed had quickly reached Mobius. As she stared at that familiar silhouette on the screen, she slumped back into her chair with an exasperated look.
"One Elysia is already enough of a headache, and now there's a Vil-V involved too…"
Damn it. She hadn't even had a proper chance to talk with Silas in days, while Elysia, thanks to her evaluator privileges, had been glued to his side all day long! But then—
A slow smirk spread across her face.
The medical examinations... those were her domain.
Klein glanced over at Mobius, puzzled by the ever-shifting expressions on her face. Lately, she'd felt like Dr. Mobius wasn't quite the same anymore. How to describe it… she seemed less obsessive, more relaxed?
Proof? She had way fewer experiment logs to organize these days… she could even sleep a full eight hours now! Should she bring this up with Dr. Mobius?
Elsewhere.
Vill-V paced amidst the wreckage, her personas debating:
The Expert: "We left enough markers. Elysia should track us soon."
The Conductor: "But what if someone else follows the trail?"
Pure Evil's laugh echoed: "Who cares? As long as we find Elysia, the rest… hmph, we've got plenty of ways to make them disappear."
A pause. Then—
The Expert narrowed her eyes: "Before the 12th Herrscher incident, there was a stretch of time when all of our personalities fell dormant. During that time, the 12th incident just happened to take place. So… what exactly were you doing?"
Pure Evil giggled: "Ah, that's just like you, Expert. Always sharp. But that's a secret between me and Silas. Just the two of us. I promised him I'd never tell anyone~"
The Magician groaned: "Must you always be like this?"
Undeterred, Pure Evil twirled, her voice dripping with obsession: "Only I truly understand him. I'll fulfill his every desire, if he'd just—"
Flavorful Vill-V finally snapped: "STOP BEING CREEPY!"
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