After realizing Mei's scheme, Vill-V chose to fight her directly—of course, this was also Mei's intention.
After a fierce and perilous battle, Mei managed to dismantle many of Vill-V's weapons. However, when the true Malice entity appeared, a green aura emanated from Vill-V, forming a protective shield that rendered all of Mei's attacks useless.
Malice even had the leisure to taunt: "Oh! You certainly have some skill, but…"
"If you had encountered a Herrscher from the previous era, you would understand…"
"Just how insincere my earlier praise was."
"What a pity. Now, when you die, the expression on your face won't be one of [helplessness], but the [resentment] of facing an opponent who's cheating…"
"How boring."
With Erosion giving Vill-V what amounted to an invincibility hack, Mei was left panting and exhausted, her efforts completely useless.
"Finally given up?"
"...Friend?"
Malice nodded: "Mm, that's right. We can't keep calling it [it, it, it] forever."
"Though, you returned a bit faster than I expected. It seems dealing with Kalpas… wasn't that difficult after all."
As Mei lost consciousness, Vill-V kindly explained everything to her. The true mastermind behind it all was the other one Mei had brought—the Herrscher.
[Star]: "How dare you ruin my morale! Brother Kalpas must still be fighting desperately!"
[Silver Wolf]: "Malice, damn cheater!! You'll get banned sooner or later for this!"
[Raiden Mei]: "As I thought... I'm still too weak. I truly can't do anything!"
[Elysia]: "There, there, Mei, you did your best ♪"
[Sunday]: "I can't believe it. Malice actually chose to submit to Erosion."
[Herta]: "She might betray the Flame-Chasers, but she would never submit to Erosion. Vill-V has the pride of a genius, and Malice is the most genius among them."
[Kiana]: "So you're saying we might see Malice betray Erosion again?"
[Dan Heng]: "We can't rule out that possibility."
The scene shifts to Kalpas...
"He was all too familiar with [fights to the death]."
"Therefore, he knew very well the steps by which a person's senses gradually fail when they are about to lose consciousness... or even their life."
"First, [sight], just like he was now, plunged into darkness, seeing nothing."
"Next, [touch], just like he was now, feeling as if he'd fallen into an ice cellar, his entire body numb."
"And the last to go... was [hearing]—the only sense he could barely maintain now. It was only by relying on his hearing that he could make out the faint whispers in the darkness and know..."
"That he had indeed reached the end of his journey."
The scene gradually brightened, revealing Kalpas's tragic state to everyone:
His body was in tatters, most of his chest cavity gone, his right arm also missing. If not for Kalpas being a MANTIS, if not for his incredibly strong willpower, he would have long since died.
"...Kalpas?"
Shocked, Eden and Aponia tentatively called out Kalpas's name, but he showed no reaction.
This was only natural. By the time he reached them, even his last sense had already faded.
Faced with such a miserable state of her comrade, Eden instinctively moved to support him, but Aponia stopped her, even preventing Eden from getting close.
After carefully sensing his condition, Aponia said, "As expected, his memory body is riddled with holes, and... it's only a hair's breadth away from completely dissipating."
Kalpas's consciousness had already scattered. This broken body had only reached Aponia's place by instinct alone—something only Kalpas could have done.
To understand what happened to Kalpas and to learn about the enemy hidden deep in the shadows, Aponia chose to delve deep into Kalpas's heart with all her might, while Eden guarded Aponia's physical body during this time.
[Bottio]: "Damn, Kalpas, you're a real man!"
[Hi3rd - Void Archives]: "Fought until the very last moment. I have to say, that's Kalpas for you."
[March 7th]: "It's over. Now even I think Erosion deserves to die."
[Star]: "Erosion, you ** pay with your life for all the fallen Flame-Chasers!"
[Sparkle]: "Truly the best of friends. Even with his consciousness gone, Kalpas's instinct was to visit Aponia!"
[Pardofelis]: "...Could it be you're actually a genius?"
Aponia delved into Kalpas's faint consciousness. Sure enough, it was filled with Erosion's faded monsters. But such a level of obstruction couldn't stop Aponia. Soon, she reached his side.
"You're too slow... Aponia."
"It got away."
Seeing that Kalpas still had a sense of self, Aponia couldn't help but feel relieved for him. "Kalpas, that's wonderful, you... truly wouldn't dissipate so easily."
"None of your business…"
"You've seen my body?"
"Mm." Aponia was full of sorrow. "It's already... on the verge of collapse. Why did this happen?"
In this situation, Kalpas couldn't even be bothered to argue with Aponia. "...It was a strange thing. It found me while I was destroying the Elysian Realm."
"After a fight, it ended up like this."
Faced with Aponia's questions, Kalpas replied with some disgust, "See for yourself... isn't that what you always like to do?"
"...Alright, my apologies."
Having received Kalpas's permission, Aponia didn't hold back.
As usual, she reached out a hand towards the side of Kalpas's head. His past experiences flowed backwards, all appearing in her mind.
After seeing the memories, Aponia was struck by an indescribable shock. In an instant, she had analyzed what it was. "Kalpas, that isn't a [thought], nor is it a [memory] like ours, but rather…"
"What, only figured it out now, is that it?"
Aponia didn't answer. Her murmur contained boundless fury:
"So it's it... the existence that has been trying to evade my probing?"
"And it's also it…"
"Treating their final echoes in this world so lightly?"
[Star]: "Good grief, even Aponia is angry."
[Kiana]: "Aren't you angry?"
[Star]: 'I am!'
[Feixiao]: "Dying on the battlefield is a warrior's romance, in a way!"
[Fuxuan]: "On the surface, Erosion has fully developed now, and the Flame-Chasers have suffered heavy losses. But looking at the situation, the Flame-Chasers must have a trump card to turn the tables. I just can't see what it is yet."
[March 7th]: "...I can't see it either."
[Guinaifen]: "Little Gui can't either."
[Sushang]: "...Me too?"
......
That's all for this morning. The rest will be in the evening. I got carried away playing games, so the update fell behind a bit.