Mebius… In other words, the conclusion reached by the upper leadership of the New World Serpent after their deliberation wasn't without merit.
Because she had already learned from Gray Snake that, although she came from an era long destroyed—what later generations called the "pre-civilization era"—she was granted an extraordinary stroke of luck, due to a cause-and-effect chain set in motion over 50,000 years later.
She was given a "second chance."
But the root of all this… was a malicious will that had spread across the entire world.
So under this premise—now that these "reverse-time descendants" were appearing one after another…
No matter what, the butterfly effect would follow.
She now knew quite a bit about the "Cocoon of the End."
This thing—a product of a hyper-advanced extraterrestrial civilization that intervened from beyond the solar system—was forcibly interfering in the Honkai catastrophe.
And it made no exception for the Herrschers… selecting them one by one.
After all, without the presence of Super AI Prometheus-17, no one had managed to hack the current Cocoon of the End.
Under such circumstances, the type of Herrscher, their candidates, and arrival timing in this current era all remained unknown.
Because the Cocoon adjusted every detail of Herrscher selection and appearance based on modern human civilization's structure.
Not to mention: even in the modern civilization era, over 50,000 years later—despite the secret help of Prometheus-17 and the Second and Fifth Herrschers—it was still disrupted.
The Cocoon's Herrscher emergence order had been thrown into chaos.
It had even refined the characteristics and powers of the Herrschers.
For example:
The Herrscher of Consciousness no longer relied on massive dream-worlds to destroy humanity through "sleep sickness."
Instead, she could directly shape real consciousness spaces and forcibly pull victims inside them.
Or:
Dominant Herrschers were no longer made up of "thousands of people."
Although they no longer retained some abilities of the original Nine Herrschers, they now possessed direct parasitic power, absorbing the abilities of multiple past Herrschers.
From this, it followed—
"Compared to that fairytale-like era 50,000 years in the future, we don't have the same luxuries anymore."
"That's why the Third Eruption that will surely happen… won't necessarily begin in Changkong City like before."
"And the Herrscher born from it won't necessarily be the so-called Herrscher of Thunder."
With that thought, Mebius couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
Because in her eyes, she had always liked the companion Honkai Beast gene "Shesha."
But now that history's course had already diverged from its original trajectory…
Would the "Shesha" she so desired—one that could grant her resurrection—even be born?
"We'll just have to wait and see."
Mebius looked up at the large screen in front of her and thought:
"For now, the 'bait' effect has been achieved."
"Whether or not the Herrscher of Death still appears in this world... doesn't matter anymore."
"Of course, if she does appear again, Little Follower (Kevin) will be thrilled."
"After all, Mei... Her future accomplishments outshone even mine. On the first day she was supposed to lead Fire Moth, she didn't even have the adaptability to become a fusion warrior."
"If she wants to live long enough to witness the future with her own eyes… then research into the Herrscher of Death's data is undoubtedly the safest path."
"Well then, on that note—"
She lightly tapped the armrest of her seat, a faint smirk forming at the corners of her mouth.
"According to Little Follower's words, that old saying among 'evolutionaries (gods)' goes..."
"The curtain has fallen. Time for him (Kevin) to perform today's final act."
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Berlin—
Winding mountain roads stretched out endlessly, and the blue streak continued racing forward.
At this moment, right in front of Bronia—where a regular motorcycle might have its fuel tank—the Recharge Bunny projected a translucent topographic map.
On this base layer, the Recharge Bunny also outlined an optimal escape route.
But what stood out were the several blinking red points surrounding the green dot symbolizing their location.
Those red markers clearly represented the helicopters pursuing them from above.
"How can we shake them?"
Bronia pondered silently.
A moment ago, she'd had a plan to head toward central Berlin instead.
There, she and Seele could blend into the crowd—maybe find a chance to disappear.
However...
Perhaps even Bronia herself hadn't noticed that she often instinctively measured life in numbers.
She knew very well that valuing lives with numbers was wrong.
Yet she still unconsciously clung to that mindset.
"There are too many people in the city center. If the enemy decides to act without restraint, a lot of innocent people will be affected."
She had seen her share of unscrupulous people.
People like: Otto, Rinco...
And someone else—
Someone she could only watch as they were taken from her… and now, she didn't even know if they were still alive.
As for that woman… the one who had such a deeply complicated connection with her—Bronia's emotions swirled.
And then—
"Fwoosh~"
A sudden eruption of airflow.
What was once a quiet moonlit night sky was now instantly illuminated by a fan-shaped column of fire, rising rapidly through the air.
It was as if a new sun had suddenly risen.
And then—
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Several gunships exploded mid-air.
In an instant—they were gone.
The helicopters crashed. Everyone perished.
Seeing this scene unfold before their eyes, Bronia and Seele's pupils shrank in terror.
Especially Seele—it was her first time witnessing something like this.
It wasn't even "gory"—because the bodies had vaporized in an instant.
Only molten remains of helicopter frames fell through the sky—red hot with heat, pulled downward by gravity.
Maybe it was the suddenness.
Maybe it was sheer fear.
Seele instinctively wrapped her arms around Bronia's waist.
At this point, her feelings for Bronia were just as tangled.
Due to her limited understanding, she mistakenly believed Bronia was directly involved.
"But… I just feel safe being close to this silver-haired girl I've known for less than a day."
She felt she could trust her.
But then—
"Whoosh~"
More flames surged from ahead.
"!!!"
Bronia reacted instantly.
Or perhaps... someone was going easy on her.
Regardless, she jerked the handlebars—and the motorcycle-mode Recharge Bunny corrected its trajectory in a flash.
"Hei!"
A high-temperature fire column scraped by them, dangerously close.
Like a high-speed train, blazing down the tracks—
Everything seemed to slow down.
Bronia's eyes widened.
Even the Block Array energy shield on the Bunny had been torn through like paper from just the edge of the fire column.
The sheer thermal diffusion was immense.
"Ngh~"
Bronia felt her arms burn.
And Seele behind her—
"Ah!"
A fully normal girl—she screamed.
There was nothing Bronia could do but grit her teeth, raise her burned right arm, and forcibly summon a floating shield from the Armed Bunny—
Placing it at Seele's side as protection.
But then—
"Bang—Bang—Bang!"
The Armed Bunny struggled to turn—knocking over several dead trees—before finally skidding to a stop.
If anyone had seen the terrain from above, they'd witness a scorched trail miles long, red-hot earth, blackened trees, and a crater dozens of meters deep.
In the future—if it were cooled and filled with water—it might even become a new lake.
And all this…
Was just a casual attack from a certain "strongest fusion warrior."
Even while holding back.
At that moment, in the forest—once silent but now full of crackling flames—a white-haired youth (?) advanced rapidly toward Bronia and Seele.
His black trench coat billowed behind him.
His expression—ice cold, and his eyes razor-sharp.
"Titikaka~"
The Recharge Bunny transformed back into Quantum Robot form.
It held Bronia and Seele protectively within its large robotic arms.
A new Block Array was deployed.
But everyone knew—
If this man truly meant to kill them, it would all be for nothing.
Even Bronia, with her Herrscher powers from before, would stand no chance.
And finally—
"That's enough."
The white-haired youth (?) —Kevin Kaslana—spoke coldly.
The "Sacred Judgment of Heavenly Fire" was already raised high, a divine weapon of calamity and destruction.
At that moment, he recognized Bronia…
The silver-haired girl he had once met in the Sea of Quanta.
But in his eyes—
She was clearly the enemy.
Even compared to the body of the Herrscher of Death—which might still be useful in the future—
This silver-haired girl named Bronia Zaychik…
Had no reason to be kept alive.
So—
He raised his blade.
"BOOM!"
A blazing blade, precisely angled—only to be met just in time by a crackling lightning strike that blocked it.
"BOOM!"
The earth trembled.
Rockslides broke loose.
Amid the chaos, Bronia—still held within the Bunny's arms with Seele—barely managed to open her eyes.
She saw—
A familiar figure.
Long hair fluttering.
Fists flying.
Before she completely blacked out, she couldn't help but murmur a name:
"Mei… Sister~"