Night fell.
Koji was staying in an empty room at the convalescent home, hands tucked behind his head as he stared at the ceiling.
He'd already met the memory constructs of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers in the Elysian Realm. Now, he could finally meet the living Thirteen Flame-Chasers.
Creeeak—
All of a sudden, the door opened. Aponia slowly walked in, wearing white pajamas, then gently closed the door behind her.
"Aponia?"
Koji looked up—and after that single glance, he couldn't look away anymore.
Those pajamas were way too thin. He could vaguely make out her sinful curves… which could only mean one thing: she wasn't wearing anything underneath.
And you call this a test of a man's willpower?
"Koji-san, I came to express my gratitude," Aponia said softly. Even someone as composed as her had a faint blush rising on her face.
It was her first time wearing something like this in front of the opposite sex. Her heart was pounding faster and faster—she was only barely maintaining a calm front.
"Aponia… you're the lewdest person I've ever met," Koji said honestly.
Her figure was downright outrageous, and that addictive, impossible-to-resist aura she gave off only made it worse.
Aponia knew her body was… excessively blessed, but it wasn't something she could control.
She walked to the bedside and looked down at Koji. Taking a deep breath as if she'd finally made up her mind, she slowly leaned down.
"I might be a little clumsy."
"Hiss—"
A suffocating, double-sided softness pressed in on him at once, like falling into clouds—an overwhelmingly intense sensation.
So much sinful "evil" that he sank right into it.
…
The next day, Koji looked refreshed and radiant—he practically had wind at his heels when he walked.
He'd already sampled Dusk Street's "local customs."
Not bad… no cap.
"HAHAHAHA!"
"Do you feel this scorching rage?!"
"Burn to ash beneath this glorious sear—vanish without a trace!"
"…"
The kitchen was in full swing. If Koji hadn't actually seen them cooking, he would've thought a battle was underway.
Kalpas was expertly tossing the wok—without spilling even a single drop.
"Kalpas's cooking is really good," Aponia said as she walked over. The moment she saw Koji, her cheeks flushed again—obviously remembering what happened last night.
After doing something like that… her face was still burning.
"You can smell it. Yeah—this does smell amazing," Koji said.
He didn't bring up last night. He knew it was better left unsaid—otherwise Aponia would only get even more embarrassed.
"The children love it too," Aponia nodded.
Chef Kalpas really could do everything. He was strong enough to carry heavy loads, and he had serious culinary skills too.
Breakfast was ready. After Koji took a bite, he couldn't help giving a thumbs-up.
The flavor was no worse than Xiangling's cooking.
It made him curious—was Kalpas just a born cooking prodigy, or did he simply learn insanely fast?
After breakfast, Koji had Pardo take him to find Vill-V.
He didn't know how Vill-V had managed to slip out from Flame Chasers, but to Koji, that kind of thing wasn't a big deal.
There were plenty of geniuses in the pre-Honkai civilization, and Vill-V was undeniably top-tier… but also extremely dangerous. Even Mobius's first instinct upon seeing Vill-V had been to kill her.
She was too dangerous and too uncontrollable. On a tiny island, she could still cobble together firearms and weapons, then set "those monkeys" loose to fight with them—no normal person would ever come up with something like that.
"We're here. This is where Sis Vill-V performs her magic. No idea why, but she disappeared for a while earlier," Pardo said, leading Koji to a house drenched in punky steampunk vibes. The sound of gears grinding, the sharp scent of evaporating fuel…
Yep. This was absolutely Vill-V's style.
"Pardo-chan, wanna be my assistant for tonight's show?" Vill-V's expression was exaggerated and unrestrained, like she could fool the entire world with a smile.
"Nope! I'm just bringing Boss Koji to meet you, Sis Vill-V. Delivery complete—so I'm out!" Pardo spun on her heel and bolted, not wanting to linger for even a second.
She'd helped Vill-V with a magic act once before. Just once—and she'd been scared senseless ever since. Those tricks weren't life-threatening, but… a weak little kitty gets scared, okay?!
"Hello there! Are you here to watch the great magician Vill-V's performance?" Vill-V threw her arms wide, beaming.
"The Magician persona, huh?" Koji chuckled.
Vill-V had many personas, each with a completely different vibe. If you married one Vill-V, you'd basically get to enjoy multiple styles of Vill-V.
Even before she became a Fusion warrior, Vill-V already had different personas. After becoming a Fusion warrior, she used thought-splitting to fully separate those parts.
"Oh?" Magician Vill-V looked intrigued. "A handsome guy like you really knows me, huh."
"Tell me—how many 'me's' do you know?"
Koji thought for a moment. "The original self. The Conductor. The Expert. The Magician…"
As for "Kevin Armament: Model Five," that persona probably hadn't been born yet.
Vill-V's smile faded. She stared at Koji in surprise—she hadn't expected him to know so many.
Some of those personas, she'd never shown to outsiders even once—especially the original self.
"How do you know that?" Magician Vill-V asked, genuinely curious.
Koji pulled out a luopan-style compass.
At a glance, Vill-V could tell it carried her handiwork.
"When did I ever make this?"
Magician Vill-V took the compass and examined it with interest.
She loved leaving backdoors—and sure enough, she found one immediately. That was her style, all right.
"Hi there~ Past me. Or maybe parallel-world me."
A voice identical to hers came out—bright and lively, with that warm, next-door-girl feel.
"The original self…" Magician Vill-V wasn't unfamiliar with that tone. But the original self was a bit socially anxious—she basically never showed herself.
"Koji is my friend. I figured he'd definitely meet the living me someday."
Magician Vill-V's expression shifted. She could hear it in the voice.
That Vill-V was already dead.
"Yep. I'm dead. Right now I'm just a data-based memory construct," the voice said cheerfully. "But thanks to my good bro Koji, I've got a body again."
Even with a body, none of those memory constructs considered it "revival."
Magician Vill-V thought it through. Memory constructs. Data.
She was starting to understand.
It was probably a world built from their memories—existing either to preserve records or to serve as a trial ground for those who came after.
That was as far as she could analyze for now. After all, they hadn't reached the end of the era yet.
"No wonder…" Magician Vill-V handed the compass back to Koji. "I never thought you'd actually meet another me."
Koji only smiled.
That Vill-V hadn't told him any of this—he just knew it from before he crossed over.
(End of Chapter)
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