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Chapter 54 - Choosing the Lesser Evil

The next morning, the investigation squad gathered beside Fire Moth's transport plane.

"Morning, Silas~ Did you sleep well last night?"

Elysia greeted him cheerfully as soon as she saw him. After all, even though the two of them had been chatting on their phones until late, she still had no way of knowing how things had really gone.

"Vill-V didn't do anything to disturb your rest, did she?" Sakura asked with concern as she walked over.

Silas chuckled.

"Relax. Those little tricks of hers? I got used to them in the last cycle."

Elysia and Sakura exchanged glances.

Well, at least Silas really didn't look affected.

Of course, what he didn't say was that the moment he got back to his quarters, he tore down the surveillance cameras in his bathroom. Just as he'd expected, Vill-V had installed not one, but several of them—three-hundred-and-sixty-degree coverage, no blind spots. What was she trying to be, the Avenger Edmond Dantès?

After giving Vill-V a light warning, Silas had forced himself to go to bed early—since there was a mission the next day.

That was when he discovered something even worse.

His blanket.

His sheets.

Even his pillow—

All of them carried a fragrance.

A fragrance he'd smelled on Vill-V before.

If not for the exhaustion of a full day's training, he might not have been able to sleep at all.

Just what the hell was making her this twisted? It had to be Pure Evil's doing—but why were the other personalities letting her do things like this?!

Helix Workshop,

"Why… why would I do something like that?!"

The Original Vill-V clutched her head in despair. "Now I can't calm down at all whenever I think about it!"

The Expert forced herself into a pose of stern rationality, though her cheeks were red.

"From the standpoint of universal reason… it was insane."

"Uuugh… Silas must think we're all perverts now…" Flavorful squatted on the floor, drawing circles.

"What's the big deal?" the Magician shrugged. "If Silas ever finds out, we just blame it on Pure Evil. Say we didn't react in time to stop her."

"Heh." Pure Evil sneered. "Oh really? Weren't you the one who snatched control after me, rolling around on his bed? Or was that just my imagination?"

"That's only because, compared to everyone else, our time with Silas is so limited. Only maybe Mobius sees him as often as we do. No, actually, since we spend half our time monitoring her workouts or cooking her instant noodles, we might see him even less." The Conductor tried to excuse herself.

"Pure Evil is part of Vill-V. All of us are influenced by her to some degree. Doing something like that is… perfectly reasonable," the Magician pressed on, still trying to stir trouble.

"Fine." Pure Evil rolled her eyes. "When Silas asks, I'll just say it was all me. He already knows what I'm like. Next time I pull something like this, he won't even be surprised. But as for you lot—"

"Ahem… Well, we all took part in it anyway."

"We did it, so we have to take responsibility."

"That's right."

"…Hehehe."

Back at the airfield.

After Elysia, Sakura, and Silas arrived, the next one to show up was Pardo.

"Morning, Felis! You're earlier than I expected," Elysia waved brightly.

Pardo still looked a little uneasy.

"Since it's my first official mission… I figured better to be early. Usually, I'd just sneak away if I could…"

…And now her first battlefield deployment was against the Finality itself.

Kosma and Dystopia arrived next. Kosma, ever serious, was advising her:

"This is your first mission. You need to be mentally prepared."

"Yeah, yeah, I know already. Honestly, Kosma, you're the one who looks nervous," Dystopia teased, waving him off.

Kosma: "…"

(It's not for myself. I'm afraid you won't be able to bear it… After all, this really is your first time. Whereas for me… it's far from the first time I've had to face what could very well happen out there.)

"Alright, since everyone's here, let's get going~" Elysia said, preparing to board the transport plane.

But then a voice called from not far away.

"Wait. Kevin and I are coming too." It was Su.

Everyone turned, only to see Su supporting Kevin as they slowly made their way over.

"..."

Forget about Su for a moment—Kevin, seriously…?

"There's still some time before the transport reaches the destination. I can recover a bit during the flight. It won't be perfect, but it'll be enough." Kevin explained calmly.

Silas looked at Su.

"Kevin I can understand—he's the type who refuses to bow to his injuries. But Su, what about you?"

"My teacher wants me to take part in this mission too," Su said with a wry smile. "He said it would be a good chance for me to gain experience. If I run into anything I don't understand, I can ask him directly. And since most of the team are people I know, it'll be easier for me as well."

Kosma stared at Kevin with quiet respect.

(As expected of Kevin… Even with my memories from the last cycle, I still have much to learn from him.)

The group boarded the transport. Inside the cargo bay, everyone settled into their seats. Spotting her chance, Pardo immediately rushed to sit beside Silas—before anyone else could take the spot. Elysia, of course, had already secured the seat on his other side.

Kevin blinked at this for a moment, then thought it over.

Pardo's first official mission… It wasn't surprising she wanted to stick close to Silas and ask questions. Nothing wrong with that. No—the one he had to keep an eye on was Elysia.

The moment everyone sat down, Pardo blurted out the question that had been burning inside her since yesterday.

"Brother Silas, yesterday you all mentioned something about… some 'helpless solution' or whatever? What was that all about?"

Silas glanced at Elysia. She sighed and turned her face away. Kosma and Kevin could have explained, but as "new recruits" in name, it wasn't their place to speak.

Su, though not part of the last mission, had pieced some things together. He decided to break the silence.

"If I'm not mistaken… this investigation might require you to raise your hand against humans, correct?"

And not just to fight—he meant to kill.

"Eh? Why?" Dystopia frowned. "Is it because the mission site is deep in the mountains, and the locals might be hostile? So we have to defend ourselves?"

"If that were all, it would be much simpler." Silas crossed his arms. "Dystopia, after your time here at Fire Moth, how much do you really understand about the Honkai?"

"Uh… it's a kind of natural disaster?" Dystopia thought for a moment. "Its effect on humans depends on their individual resistance to Honkai energy. High concentrations of Honkai energy can spawn Honkai Beasts, Zombies… even Herrschers."

"Then do you know where Zombies come from?" Silas asked.

"Zombies… aren't they humans who've been corrupted by Honkai energy? They lose their sanity, can't communicate, and thus can no longer be regarded as human," she answered.

Silas pressed further.

"Then what do you do with someone who's only half-corrupted?"

"Of course you'd confine them—" Dystopia froze mid-sentence. She looked at Silas's calm expression, then at Elysia deliberately avoiding her gaze, then at Sakura… A sinking feeling welled up inside her.

Her voice trembled as she asked, "You… confine them for treatment, right?"

She remembered Dr. Mobius too had shown signs of Honkai corruption before. Silas had ordered her to stop all Honkai-related experiments and strictly supervised her diet and training until she recovered.

Su spoke up.

"For mild cases, like Dr. Mobius's earlier condition, avoiding exposure and taking certain medications can indeed allow for recovery. But… once the corruption has advanced to the point of red lines appearing on the skin—no matter how normal they may seem—they're beyond saving."

He knew this all too well from his past life as a doctor. Even up until the Eighth Herrscher appeared, humanity still had no way to save those corrupted.

Much less now.

To prevent further spread of Honkai corruption, those afflicted had to be dealt with.

"Is there really… no other way?" Dystopia asked weakly.

"If the numbers are small, and the symptoms light, they can be taken back to Fire Moth," Silas said evenly. "But without an effective treatment, they'll only end up as test subjects. If the condition is serious… the only mercy is to grant them a quick end."

Dystopia's pupils shrank.

She turned desperately to Kosma, hoping he would object.

But Kosma only lowered his eyes and said softly:

"…When forced to choose between two evils, there is no choice at all."

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