When Mobius escaped from the illusion, the first thing she saw was Elysia, who was helping Eden walk over from the other side.
"Oh my, isn't this our Dr. Mobius~" Elysia waved cheerfully, eyes curling in a smile. "Did you have fun in your dream?"
Mobius gave a cold snort. "Hmph~ Elysia, don't tell me you were seducing Van in the dream again?"
"Again… oh? Are you jealous?" Elysia blinked playfully. "Too bad, the me in the dream was perfectly well-behaved~ I was just throwing a party with everyone~"
"Heh, a party?" Mobius narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me it was that same old trick of yours, 'making everyone happy'?"
As the two exchanged sharp words, the others gradually woke up from the illusion.
Van arrived last, bringing Sirin with him.
"The maze core has been destroyed," Van said, scanning the group. "Sirin will use the Herrscher of the Void's ability to send everyone back."
With one portal after another opening, they finally returned to reality.
Seeing the familiar resort, everyone was just about to let out a sigh of relief when Hanabi's light and carefree voice rang out again over the broadcast.
"Did everyone have fun? Because I sure had a blast~"
"Masked fool? You still dare to show up?!"
"Oh, don't be so fierce, little black hair~ I came this time to bring you all a surprise~" Hanabi said with a laugh.
"I've prepared ninety-nine little fireworks around the resort for you to find. You've got ten minutes~"
At her words, Kalpas smashed the nearby statue with a single punch. "You're courting death!"
"Don't be hasty~ I haven't finished talking~ If you manage to find all the fireworks within the time limit, I'll give you a mysterious grand gift. But if you fail…"
"Then I'll treat everyone to a grand fireworks show~"
"Oh~ right!" Hanabi continued, "Let me give you a little demonstration first~"
Far out at sea, a massive water pillar shot dozens of meters into the air, the shockwave sending giant waves crashing toward the shore.
This wasn't a "little firework" at all, it was practically a medium-sized bomb.
"Well then~ now there are only ninety-eight left. Have fun~"
As soon as her voice faded, Van noticed resort guides fluttering down from the sky, maps marked with the precise locations of the "fireworks."
Everyone sprang into action immediately.
Aponia and Su took charge of guiding and evacuating tourists, bringing them to safe areas.
Elysia and Eden assisted while simultaneously trying to track Hanabi's movements.
The others raced non-stop to locate and gather the bombs.
Before long, every single bomb had been collected on the beach.
"Leave it to me," Sirin said firmly, stepping forward. "I'll use the Herrscher of the Void's power to send them high into an uninhabited area…"
But her confidence quickly turned to shock.
Because she was horrified to find that her powers had absolutely no effect on the bombs.
With the ten-minute countdown nearing its end, Sirin bit her lip and said, "If that's the case, then I'll personally carry them up..."
"Wait!" Van grabbed her. "If these bombs are unaffected by Honkai energy, then it's very likely they can't defend themselves against non-Honkai power either."
Sirin's eyes reddened. "But this is my responsibility! I'm the one who caused this in the first place. If someone gets hurt, or worse, because of it, I'll never forgive myself. So let me..."
"There's actually one more suitable candidate…" Van interrupted, his voice steady. "And that's me."
Mobius cut in sharply. "No. You can't go. If anyone should, it's me. I happen to want to see if these bombs can do what even the End itself cannot."
As her voice fell, everyone else immediately protested as well, insisting that they should be the one to handle it.
"Enough arguing," Van said again, golden light rising around him. "You all know I possess power beyond Honkai. It can withstand the blast. This is the safest and most logical choice…"
Seeing that they were about to argue further, Van smiled and shook his head, his expression unwavering. "Everyone, trust me."
With that, and under everyone's worried gazes, Van shot into the sky with the bombs in tow.
The next moment, a blinding white light swallowed his figure.
When the light faded, he was gone from the sky.
"Van!" Sirin screamed, her voice breaking.
Suddenly, the night sky exploded with gorgeous fireworks, colors painting the heavens and bathing the entire resort in dazzling light.
Far away, the evacuated tourists cheered in waves, children laughing and jumping as they pointed to the sky.
But those standing on the beach had solemn faces.
The light of the fireworks reflected on their faces but could not drive away the worry in their eyes.
"That idiot…" Mobius ground the words out between clenched teeth.
"If you're so worried, why not go check on him yourself~"
Hanabi's teasing voice suddenly drifted through the air.
Everyone turned, and there she was, not far away, pointing toward the peak of the nearby mountain.
And from there, they could feel a familiar energy wave pulsing, unmistakably Van's.
When Van finally came back to his senses, he realized he was standing on the peak of an unfamiliar mountain.
Looking around, he quickly deduced that this was probably one of the peaks not far from the resort.
From this height, he could still see the neon lights of the resort flickering in the distance.
Just then, his gaze was drawn to a figure lying in the grass not far away.
It was a girl dressed in a black-and-white sailor uniform.
Her long, straight black hair was scattered across the grass, her black-framed glasses slightly askew, and next to her lay a shattered fox mask.
Van walked over slowly and softly called to wake the girl.
The girl slowly opened her eyes, her face full of confusion.
The moment her gaze fell on Van, she instinctively crossed her arms over her chest and said in a trembling voice, "You… who are you? What do you want from me?"
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