"Doctor, you just said the core that fell into the Sea of Quanta was the Gem of Serenity... So, can I assume that Sovereign Welt might not have been entirely confident in his ability to intercept it?"
"Correct."
Einstein nodded. "You have to understand, among the four Herrscher Cores, the Gem of Serenity, due to its authority of decay, was once one of the most difficult cores to contain."
"I even suspect that only the Previous Era possessed truly stable containment technology."
"Otto has the Previous Era's database provided by the Void Archives, and World Serpent is itself an organization from the Previous Era. But we lack both of these…"
"Even if Welt could manage a temporary containment, it would inevitably divert his original strength, breaking the balance between him and the Serpent."
"I see..." Lynelle sighed. "So now, even if we can close the Eye of the Deep, we mustn't."
"After all, closing the Eye of the Deep now would be practically equivalent to abandoning the rescue... Who knows what the situation down there would be by the time we could open it again."
"..."
Einstein fell silent.
After a moment, she spoke with difficulty. "No... This time, we close the Eye of the Deep. We'll wait for the next opportunity."
"Joachim isn't so easy to kill. I believe in him. But, letting you go down there to face a terrifying enemy that even the Sovereign couldn't defeat, an enemy who most likely holds significant hostility towards us... it's far too dangerous."
"I can't let you bear such risks just because I'm worried about his safety."
"What if Lynelle and I go down together?"
Theresa thought for a moment. "With me there, at least I could..."
"That's not possible for you," Einstein said without hesitation.
"Your affinity with the Sea of Quanta isn't high. You feel slight discomfort even just being near it outside. If you were to enter the Sea itself, you'd likely end up becoming a burden to the others."
"Then..."
"Doctor, let Bronya go."
Bronya suddenly spoke up. "Bronya inherently has quantum adaptation talent. It was Seele who initially took Bronya's place in the experiment back then."
"Furthermore, Project Bunny's detection capabilities are not interfered with by the Sea of Quanta. Bronya would have a much easier time locating the Sovereign and Seele."
"But..."
"Alright, no more 'buts'," Lynelle patted Einstein's shoulder.
"I know you're worried, but if you don't let Bronya go, this one might just find a chance to jump in on her own... She would never give up this chance to save her sister."
"Then I'll go with you as well," Einstein said after a moment's thought.
"Otherwise, you might not be able to pinpoint the Gem of Serenity's exact location."
"Actually, Bronya can locate it, Doctor." Lynelle reached out, a faint phantom image of the Black Abyss White Flower appearing in her hand.
"I've personally touched the Black Abyss White Flower, and I've fought Otto who used the Gem of Serenity as the core for his Blank Key. The energy signature of this core is all too familiar to me."
"Besides, if you go too... we can't exactly have Theresa take over directing the research team, can we?"
"This Headmistress can't really argue with that... We can manage without anyone else here, but we absolutely cannot manage without you, Einstein."
"...Very well. Remember these coordinates."
Einstein input three sets of extremely complex-looking coordinates into Lynelle's terminal.
"These three coordinates: one is for the Eye of the Deep, one is for Schicksal Headquarters... and the last one is for a research base located in the polar regions."
"These three locations are all places where we have conducted Sea of Quanta observation experiments; they are areas where bridging our dimension and the Sea of Quanta is relatively easier."
"If you encounter danger, assess the situation and choose the nearest coordinate to escape to... I will notify Nagamitsu's side and have them cooperate in initiating the experiment."
"While this might expose the coordinates of our core base to World Serpent, in such a situation we can't worry about that anymore... Prioritize your own safety above all else."
"Understood."
Lynelle nodded gravely, then synchronized the data with Project Bunny.
"Don't worry, I'll bring them all back. After this mission is over, I still need to go back to Kiana and Wendy..."
"Lynelle, don't jinx it like that!" Bronya cried out, visibly alarmed.
--+--
Amidst a groggy, dizzying sensation, Bronya slowly opened her eyes.
"Huh? Where is this..."
The surroundings consisted of floating rock walls and fragments, drifting slowly through the air in defiance of physical laws.
In the far distance, a few flickering Honkai beasts seemed to fade in and out of sight. But as Bronya looked their way, their forms rapidly solidified.
This bizarre scenery immediately confirmed to Bronya that she had now entered the Sea of Quanta.
"But, where's Lynelle? Did we get separated during the transfer?"
"No, that's not right... It doesn't seem like that..."
As the girl's consciousness gradually cleared, fragments of memory surfaced.
She seemed to remember that she and Lynelle had been attacked by something, and then... what happened?
"You're awake, Bronya."
A familiar voice interrupted Bronya's thoughts. She turned, puzzled, and found a young boy who bore a slight resemblance to Welt standing before her.
"Do not doubt it. I am Welt, Sovereign of Anti-Entropy... and also the Teacher Welt who taught you for several years at St. Freya."
"My true body is not here. Or rather, I likely no longer possess a true body in the conventional sense, only a Herrscher Core housing my consciousness. What stands before you is my mental projection."
"So that's it... Wait, Mr. Welt!"
Bronya nodded, somewhat comprehending, then immediately pressed, "Have you seen Lynelle? She entered together with Bronya..."
Bronya's words trailed off involuntarily as she saw Welt shake his head, his expression darkening.
"I'm afraid not, Bronya. The moment you entered the Sea of Quanta, you were attacked by the Serpent."
"Or perhaps it is more fitting to call him the Lord of World Serpent—Kevin."
"I did not anticipate that he had already accumulated enough power to break the seal, so I was unable to stop him. Lynelle reacted in time, but perhaps because she had just entered the Sea of Quanta, her power was being rejected."
"After casting a protective layer over you, her energy signature grew very faint... From my perspective, I could only observe that she was barely able to offer any resistance before Kevin... swallowed her."
"And as he left, I noticed he seemed to casually pluck something from a World Bubble... Judging by the energy signature, it seemed to be a girl, whose attributes highly resembled the Gem of Serenity."
"Not only Lynelle, but even Seele too..."
Hearing Welt's account, Bronya's legs nearly gave way. Fortunately, Project Bunny behind her swiftly moved to support her, preventing the girl from collapsing to the ground.
"It's all Bronya's fault. Bronya dragged Lynelle down. If Bronya hadn't insisted on coming down, Lynelle might have had a chance to hold on until Mr. Welt arrived."
"Bronya... can't do anything."
--+--
T/N: Crazy how back then i thought kevin was an unintimidating name, but hi3 really be changing my impression on the name Kevin cause mans has too much aura
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.