Time rewinds to a short while earlier.
P-21 Island, The Deep.
Staring at the chilled "Himeko" sealed within the container, Vya curiously stood on her tiptoes and gave it a couple of pats with her small hand.
Thump, thump. The muffled sound and the icy, cool sensation...
"Big Sister, what's wrong with Himeko?"
Vya looked up and asked Elysia beside her.
Elysia crouched down and patted Vya's head. "It's nothing~ She's just sleeping. It'll be a while before she wakes up."
"Oh, Vya understands."
Vya nodded, then suddenly extended her other hand.
"...Big Sister, this pretty thing just ended up in Vya's hand somehow, I don't know why."
She opened her small palm, revealing a fiery red crystal lying there. Looking closely, one could almost see flames dancing within it.
"This is... a Herrscher Core?"
Elysia said with some surprise.
She reached out and gently touched the crystal, immediately feeling a scorching heat.
"Interesting, Vya. How did you manage this?"
Mobius had somehow drifted over without anyone noticing.
"Vya doesn't know either..."
The little girl blinked in confusion. "She just touched the ice, and then..."
Performing a painless extraction of a Herrscher Core was already quite a remarkable feat.
...
Later, Elysia took Vya back with her.
Mobius and Mei, however, stayed behind. For them, a living Herrscher was certainly worthy of study.
Kevin remained there too, responsible for protecting the two.
'Tsk, that little one is acting more and more human.'
'Showing restraint towards those she knows...'
'Heh.'
Mobius thought to herself.
In previous situations, Herrschers would have been eliminated directly, albeit in a gentler manner.
But this time...
She looked at the "Himeko" sealed in ice, then at the fiery red crystal in Kevin's hand nearby.
She must have been reluctant to harm an acquaintance.
"The Herrscher Core has been extracted, yet her vital signs persist. This is also a strange matter."
Mei pondered, watching the data on the instruments.
"I'm rather curious. Since the little one came into contact with the Sixth Herrscher, why didn't she just 'revive' her?"
"Someone was present at the time and should have witnessed the Sixth Herrscher's power."
Kevin's expression remained blank. "..."
Indeed, all signs indicated that Vya possessed the abilities of multiple Herrschers, but most were weakened versions and couldn't be actively used at will.
"Perhaps her capability is insufficient, or perhaps it's a consciousness-related issue..."
Mei began to speak.
"However..."
"More importantly... according to Kevin, just as he was about to kill the Herrscher, he was stopped by some kind of force."
Did this suggest a flaw in their plans?
"Mmm, that should also be the little one's doing."
Mobius stated.
Kevin agreed with this. He had indeed heard Vya's voice at that moment.
"Wouldn't that imply that after using the Metamorphosis 'Harmony Factor', the use of power becomes restricted by Vya?"
"Not necessarily. Currently, he's the only MANTIS. It might be an individual case? Or perhaps it's a good thing?"
Mobius said with a laugh.
Because Kevin had indeed unleashed power exceeding the experiment's original projections.
"That remains to be verified..."
Mei continued to think.
But the matter was already settled.
If Vya were to turn against them one day in the future, humanity would have no means of resistance.
Well, even now, they didn't.
That's right. They simply had no way to neutralize the threat posed by Vya.
If they truly acted against her, making Vya genuinely feel humanity's malice, that would undoubtedly be the worst outcome.
"What should we do?"
Mei asked softly, more to herself.
Mobius shrugged. "Keep observing. At least for now, the little one seems very friendly towards us."
"Don't you think?"
Mobius wasn't worried in the slightest.
Kevin suddenly spoke. "Vya is not an enemy."
His voice was calm, yet firm.
Mei looked at Kevin, then at the ice-sealed Herrscher, and finally sighed. "I hope so."
Through their long association, this had always felt true to them. Yet the doubts in people's hearts naturally took time to fade.
...
Just then, another figure walked in.
"Hey, are you all really that comfortable leaving her here with me?"
"What if this thing goes out of control?"
It was Vill-V. As the nominal "master" of this place, she naturally had to step forward and say a few words.
Mei turned to face Vill-V. "If you're trying to use this to ask for more funding..."
"I recall quite clearly you've destroyed this place more than once."
"In a sense, you're more dangerous than a Herrscher."
After hearing this, Vill-V replied with a perfectly serene expression.
"No. I want that."
Vill-V pointed at the Herrscher Core in Kevin's hand.
"The Herrscher Core? You're still hung up on that?"
Mobius chuckled. She knew Vill-V had applied for it many times.
She wanted to study the Herrscher Core.
"But the Divine Key Project can't really proceed without me, can it?"
Vill-V said, full of confidence.
"Mmm, you're not wrong. But the experiments on the mutual interaction between Herrscher Cores and Honkai Alloy are still ongoing."
"I know that, of course. What I mean is, these weapons... must be forged by me."
She spread her arms, her face alight with excitement!
Such earth-shattering, heaven-defying creations should come from the hands of Vill-V herself!!
…
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