Somewhere on the land of Terra, aboard Rhodes Island.
Inside a medical ward, Kal'tsit suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
"…Strange. Why do I feel like this?"
As a guardian of the land, a sage who had foreseen the apocalypse, and a near-omniscient intellect, Kal'tsit did not believe this feeling was mere imagination. More likely, something she had overlooked had occurred—something significant enough to disturb her inner calm.
"Has anything major happened on Terra recently?"
Pulling out several intelligence reports brought back by operators on external missions, Kal'tsit began reviewing them one by one.
Victoria, Kazimierz, Yan, and the other nations showed no particularly alarming developments.
Only Ursus—
"Duke Talulah launches a lightning strike on the Holy Capital; coronation and military parade to be held soon?"
"From adopted daughter of a duke to authoritarian Emperor of Ursus — a brief biography of Talulah?"
To be honest, Kal'tsit didn't particularly care about a change of emperors in Ursus. Even learning that Talulah had overthrown the royal family in less than ten days using the Third Army Group and her self-raised Infected forces merely told Kal'tsit that the new ruler possessed exceptional military capability.
But suddenly, something clicked in her mind.
"…Wait. The Doctor!"
That was it.
She remembered—the sarcophagus containing the Doctor was still placed in a ruined laboratory site somewhere in Chernobog, Ursus. That sudden sense of unease she had felt… could it be that something had happened to the sarcophagus?
No. Just in case, someone had to check on it—
No. She had to go personally.
With that decision made, Kal'tsit immediately left the medical ward.
"Dr. Kal'tsit? Did something happen?"
By chance, Amiya, who was still somewhat younger and smaller than in the original storyline, happened to pass by and asked upon seeing Kal'tsit walking briskly.
"Yes. There's something I need to confirm in person, so I'll be leaving Rhodes Island for a while."
Kal'tsit nodded slightly as she spoke.
"I see… Do you need to dispatch some operators to protect you?"
"No. I'll go alone. If my intuition is correct, then whatever is happening in Ursus is likely not simple. If so, I'll also attend the coronation ceremony of the new Emperor of Ursus."
"I understand, Dr. Kal'tsit."
After giving a few final instructions, Kal'tsit's figure gradually disappeared from Rhodes Island.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
After leaving Chernobog, and taking into account the Doctor's physical condition, An Xora deliberately chose not to use the Shadow Troop's rapid transfer methods during the return journey.
After all, the Doctor had only just awakened from cryogenic suspension. She was fragile and weak, and rushing her would be unwise.
Thus, An Xora spent several days traveling back at a normal pace before finally returning to Holy Capital.
The moment they arrived, An Xora led the Doctor straight to the imperial palace to meet Talulah.
Inside the palace, Talulah had just finished handling a batch of administrative affairs. Upon hearing that An Xora had returned—and that he wanted to see her—she immediately ordered for both An Xora and the Doctor to be brought in.
"Talulah, this is a high-level talent I specifically went out of my way to recruit."
An Xora got straight to the point.
"You can call her Doctor. I want her to serve as the Imperial Chancellor of Ursus, assisting you in governing the empire."
If it were anyone else speaking like this in front of an emperor, their entire clan would already be six feet under. Appointing high-ranking officials was one of the most fundamental imperial prerogatives, and no ruler would tolerate subordinates encroaching on that authority—especially not someone who casually brought in a stranger and demanded she be made Imperial Chancellor.
Yet Talulah merely nodded.
Then, on the spot, she drafted an official letter of appointment.
Imperial Chancellor.
Ducal rank.
All assigned in one step.
In other nations, such an act would have been unthinkable—appointing someone with no foundation directly to a position second only to the emperor would almost certainly cause turmoil and provoke backlash from nobles and high officials.
But this was Ursus, as it stood now.
Even though Talulah had not yet officially ascended the throne, appointing anyone was nothing more than a sentence spoken and a document signed.
After all, what was the current situation in Ursus?
The nobles who dared to oppose Talulah had already been exterminated by the Wendigo Legion days ago. The dukes who controlled the remaining Army Groups had been cleanly removed through a seamless combo of Shadow Troop reconnaissance and Imperial Guard assassinations, their forces absorbed in advance by Talulah.
In other words, all armed forces in Ursus—Army Groups and Imperial Guards alike—were now firmly under Talulah's control.
Even if someone harbored rebellious thoughts, seeing this situation would make them obediently crawl back into their holes.
Ursus had officially entered an era of absolute centralization of power. At the top of the empire, Talulah's word was law.
As for the common people at the bottom?
The corpses of the executed nobles had been publicly displayed, with officials explaining in detail the crimes each had committed. Seeing those once high-and-mighty aristocrats executed en masse brought immense satisfaction to the long-oppressed populace.
As a result, even before Talulah's formal coronation—and before any new policies had been officially enacted—her support among the common people had already skyrocketed.
Not to mention that Mebius would soon be delivering improved grain seeds and various other forms of support.
One could already foresee it: the future Ursus would remain exactly like this—
there would never again be a second voice.
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Mebius for a while now."
After settling the Doctor in place, An Xora thought to himself.
"I wonder what she's been cooking up since returning to the One Punch Man world."
With that in mind, An Xora decided to head back and take a look.
One Punch Man World — Research Base
A test tube filled with a liquid radiating warm, sun-like light was placed before An Xora.
Staring at it, An Xora fell silent for a moment before lifting his gaze to Mebius, who sat across from him.
"This is the Kryptonian factor you extracted, cultivated, and modified from that Kryptonian blood sample—the one that can be used for fusion warrior procedures?"
Mebius nodded calmly.
"That's right. I originally planned to finish a few more experiments before informing you, Master—but since you happened to come by yourself, there's no need to wait."
She smiled faintly.
"Let's begin the procedure now."
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