As Robin pondered, the elevator ascended swiftly, arriving at the eighteenth floor, where the Director of the Bureau of Anomalous Investigations had his office.
The Bureau agent accompanying Robin led her to a door and said, "This is it. The Deputy Director is waiting for you inside. I have other assignments, so I won't be joining you."
"Thank you for everything," Robin replied. After all, the agent had picked her up from the airport and guided her the entire way. It was only polite to express her gratitude.
Robin pushed open the door and stepped into the office. Her eyes swept across the room, immediately noting its immaculate condition. It was so clean, it felt like a brand-new space.
However, the person inside wasn't the Director she'd seen in the lobby. Instead, a young girl with short white hair, a maid headband, and a maid outfit was diligently wiping down a cabinet.
Robin's first thought was, "Wow, the Director's really going all out. A maid in the office? What is this, the 1950s?"
Then, Robin suddenly remembered what the staff member had said earlier: "The Deputy Director is already waiting for you." Could this petite and adorable maid truly be the second-in-command of the entire Bureau?
As soon as Robin entered, the maid immediately said, "My apologies, the Director rarely comes to this office. He's constantly out on missions, so I handle most of the Bureau's internal affairs."
"Miss Robin, please take a seat wherever you like."
After Robin settled down, the maid remained standing instead of taking the Director's chair. She pulled out a tablet and stylus, getting straight to the point. "It's quite a bother, having you travel all this way."
"However, this matter is extremely urgent. A man appeared in the Arctic Ocean a few hours ago, briefly clashed with Great Britain, and identified himself as Molten Knight SAM. He's from the same world as you, isn't he?"
"Yes," Robin nodded.
Although she had anticipated this answer, the maid still sighed softly upon hearing the confirmation.
Some time ago, when the maid first read Zhong Wanhong's report on the Martyr, her initial reaction was, "Is this guy out of his mind?"
The core issue was the Martyr's death at the hands of inhabitants of an Illusionary Realm he himself had created—an utterly absurd notion. Furthermore, the report's descriptions of Penacony, Robin's brother Sunday, and the cosmic-level power that enveloped entire worlds in a Dream Realm only compounded the absurdity.
Yet the Martyr's corpses spoke louder than any argument, serving as undeniable proof of the report's veracity.
At the time, Zhong Wanhong had only inquired about Penacony and Sunday, realizing that further questions would be pointless. After all, this was a report, not a novel; delving into irrelevant details would be a complete digression.
Still, even those limited details about Penacony and Sunday were enough to glimpse the terrifying nature of that world. Now, the maid asked, "Could you tell me more about Molten Knight SAM?"
Robin gathered her thoughts and said, "He comes from a civilization called the Republic of Glamoth, a vast and powerful empire that was ultimately destroyed. They were threatened by the Swarm Disaster and forced to create massive war machines. SAM was one of those weapons."
There were two main points to discuss about Firefly's past: her time with the Glamoth Iron Cavalry and her role as a Stellaron Hunter.
However, during their time in the Arctic Ocean, Firefly had decided the title "Stellaron Hunter" didn't suit her and began calling herself the "Molten Knight." Therefore, Robin naturally chose to focus on the former and omit the latter.
"A Swarm Disaster?" the maid repeated.
It was almost inevitable that any novel, film, anime, or game involving space exploration would include the concept of a "Swarm." This world was no different.
The maid immediately understood what Robin meant, as this world also had interstellar-themed anime and games featuring such Swarm creatures.
"But you need to understand," Robin explained, "the Swarm Disaster in my world is unlike any swarm you've seen in other anime or games. Simply put, thanks to the Aeons, the Swarm Disaster in my world is far, far more terrifying!
"The source of the Swarm Disaster is the Propagation Aeon, Tayzzyronth. He triggered this catastrophic event that swept across two-thirds of the universe..."
While swarms in other works typically reproduce by laying eggs, the Swarm in Star Rail doesn't operate that way. When Tayzzyronth was still alive, his swarm propagated through a method akin to a "memetic concept."
For example, imagine frontline soldiers fighting a war. Logistics personnel would need to manufacture weapons and ammunition, right? But here's the horrifying part: those "manufactured" weapons and ammunition would hatch on the spot, instantly transforming into Swarm creatures.
Any action related to propagation, reproduction, or duplication would cause the resulting entity to become a Swarm creature!
Even a fleeting lewd thought in someone's mind could give birth to a Swarm creature, erupting directly from their brain.
After explaining the Propagation Aeon's abilities, Robin clearly saw the maid across from her wearing a bewildered, blank expression, her face practically screaming, "Are you pulling my leg?"
Earlier, when explaining the nature of the Aeons to Zhong Wanhong, Robin had used the Erudition Aeon as an example, a detail that was also included in her report.
"Deducing the entirety of the universe—that's absurd enough, isn't it?" But after hearing Robin's description of the Propagation Aeon, the maid's lips twitched. "How did the people of your world even survive such a catastrophe?"
"Thanks to the protection of the other Aeons," Robin replied. "In truth, the Swarm Disaster during the Propagation Aeon's lifetime was utterly unsolvable; no civilization could withstand it. Only after the other five Aeons united to kill the Propagation Aeon could the civilizations of the universe mount a proper defense. The Republic of Glamoth's war against the Swarm Disaster began after the Propagation Aeon's death."
"Even so, the Swarm Disaster remained terrifying, plunging the Republic of Glamoth into a prolonged struggle."