Hertatomb knew exactly who Herta was referring to when she mentioned the "army"—the Land of Light.
Assembling the Ultras would undoubtedly be a spectacular sight, but it also meant that in that short span of time, countless worlds in need would be left without aid.
That thought wiped the smile from her face.
She actually wanted to talk it over with Herta. In her view, dealing with Kakamond shouldn't require such an overwhelming show of force. But with the enemy right before them, now was certainly not the time to dampen their own morale.
So Hertatomb said nothing, simply waiting for Kakamond's response.
For her part, the Lord of Silence fell into a brief, contemplative silence.
She lowered her head, seeming to review the data—the information about Amphoreus she had always longed to know.
While the details were vague, the matters concerning Irontomb were laid out with crystalline clarity.
A calamity capable of destroying the entire galaxy. The Fourth Instant calculated by Nous.
No wonder even someone as proud as Herta felt the need to gather so much support.
With a silent, internal sigh that sounded like rustling feathers, Polka Kakamond recalled her final meeting with Zandar.
"If I'm not mistaken, the 'grand army' you speak of must be the Space Garrison from the Land of Light."
"Not just the Garrison~" Herta's tone was amiable, but her words were laced with deadly intent.
"The Land of Light has yet to have a proper opportunity to display its ultimate power. Thanks to you, this place now holds the attention of the entire cosmos. I wouldn't mind using you to make an example."
The collective hopes of all Ultras belonging to the Land of Light, fused into a single entity.
That was an absolute miracle, powerful enough to crush anything known or unknown.
The Knowable Domain?
What even is that? I thought it was a speed bump.
Try saying that to the bonds of our Land of Light!
The Ultras are beams of miraculous light that bring Hope.
Hope is the key word.
The reason it hasn't been used is simply that no catastrophe of such magnitude has been encountered before.
And also because Herta had her pride. She preferred to defeat fellow geniuses using her own intellect.
That was where the sense of accomplishment lay.
But if Polka Kakamond, after reviewing the data, still failed to read the room...
If she insisted on pursuing and assassinating Bai Ming at this very moment...
Then Herta would truly have to resort to the ultimate measure.
Even if she genuinely disliked the wretched state Bai Ming was currently in, that didn't mean Polka Kakamond could brazenly dismantle this Irontomb wearing her face right in front of her!
Was admiring her own posthumous likeness not enough? Did she have to see her own 'corpse' being taken apart all over again?
'Looks like that mask on Kakamond's face needs some dismantling too,' Herta thought.
When the time came, old and new grudges would be settled together. Kakamond had better pray she could survive.
A moment later, Polka Kakamond retracted her scalpel and stood down.
If there had been a genuine chance to kill Bai Ming today, she might have tried it.
But since the ultimate goal was now unattainable, with Herta herself not present and thus impossible to assassinate, and... for some reason, Zandar's other segments had jointly intervened, adopting an attitude that seemed intent on excluding her...
And with Herta clearly resolved to bring down the hammer...
Continuing this stalemate truly served no purpose.
She couldn't possibly take on the Land of Light head-on.
Even Polka Kakamond wouldn't be so stubborn as to test Herta's so-called 'ultimate power' for no reason when her primary objective was out of reach.
So, in the end, Polka Kakamond chose to withdraw.
Watching the Lord of Silence depart, Celenova then turned her gaze to Hertatomb, as if pondering what to do next.
Noticing this, Hertatomb tilted her head toward Celenova. "What, still want to fight? I don't mind, but if I win this time~"
"Speak properly!"
Before Celenova could even react, it was Herta who couldn't stand Bai Ming's tone anymore, cutting in to chastise her.
Did this creature even remember she was currently wearing Herta's face?!
But as Celenova looked at the wounds covering Hertatomb's body—at least half of which should have landed on her instead—her rising temper inexplicably subsided.
"Hmph. Too many disruptors today. I'll let you off for now. I also need to assess Irontomb's condition. I will temporarily station my army here. We shall fight another day."
With those words, Celenova shrunk her giant form back to normal and vanished into her legion, her whereabouts unknown.
The Legion of Destruction came to a halt at the opposite end of Amphoreus.
Celenova's choice took everyone by surprise.
But since they were already here, and Amphoreus clearly seemed to be undergoing some transformation...
They might as well stick around to see what would become of this Irontomb.
And while they were at it, figure out how to defeat that infuriating creature!
--+--
Watching the legion settle down peacefully, Hertatomb arranged the portion of the army she had commandeered right next to the Legion of Destruction.
Only then did she find a moment to chat with Herta.
"Why do you still have time to monitor outside affairs? What's the situation inside Amphoreus?"
"With another 'me' and Screwllum there, what could possibly go wrong? That Zandar fellow seems to be keeping his word, genuinely intending to compete with us."
Herta gave a light humph.
Watching Hertatomb maneuver these Legions of Destruction, she changed the subject. "It's you I'm more concerned about... If I hadn't stepped in just now, were you really planning to fight Polka to a mutual demise?"
The displeasure in Herta's voice was almost tangible.
If it were a genuine case of being outmatched, that would be one thing.
But Hertatomb had held back significantly, due to her considerations for Screwllum.
And then she would have gotten herself killed by Polka Kakamond while wearing Herta's face.
The very thought was infuriating.
"Ah... sorry about that. I forgot I was wearing your face. Next time, I'll make sure to change my appearance before pulling a stunt like that."
Hertatomb could clearly hear Herta's irritation.
Given the other's level of narcissism, her annoyance was perfectly understandable.
"You think there's going to be a next time?!"
But apparently, Herta grew even angrier upon hearing her response, her voice pitching several notches higher.
Why did that make her more upset??
Hertatomb felt a wave of helplessness internally, but refrained from voicing it.
"Well... Kakamond has been trying to kill me. I had to test her capabilities. Besides, even if this mimicked body is destroyed, I'll be fine. Don't worry about it."
Herta was momentarily speechless.
Her retort had been almost reflexive, blurted out without much thought.
Hearing Bai Ming's explanation, she quickly realized the other's approach was actually correct.
She must have been genuinely infuriated earlier.
"Hmph. Can't be bothered with you. Just don't come crying to me for rescue if you really get yourself killed one day."
"Could you maybe wish me well for once? By the way, when did you implant a vocal unit in me?"
Hearing Hertatomb's question,
Herta's mood improved considerably, even prompting a light chuckle.
"You've been running the code we developed through your body, completely unprotected, who knows how many tens of thousands of times. I should be asking you where you got the confidence to think your body still entirely belongs to you."
"..."
Why did this woman have to phrase it so strangely?
And wait, you all collaborated on this without telling me?!
"No, that's on you. It started as a whim—I left a program behind just to mess with you for fun. Who knew you'd have absolutely zero sense of vigilance?"
As if guessing what Hertatomb was thinking, Herta explained breezily, her tone light and amused.
At the time, she had genuinely just found Hertatomb's appearance unnerving and wanted to play a little prank for her own entertainment.
She never expected Hertatomb would let the program implant itself without a shred of detection.
Seeing that complete lack of guard, Herta found herself inexplicably spurred on.
She grew curious—just how far could she go before this creature noticed something was wrong?
And the result?
Complete! Utter! Unawareness!
Here she was, bearing the title of Rubert III, yet completely oblivious to the piles of code buried within her own body.
In the end, it was Ruan Mei who, feeling somewhat guilty, quietly intervened to put a stop to it.
Only then did Herta, somewhat reluctantly, cease her 'mischief.'
As for Screwllum... He had been standing by, gently observing his colleagues' little schemes, saying nothing and doing nothing.
"Herta, you! Holding a grudge for centuries, is that it?!"
"Mhm~ You tell me?"
Hearing Bai Ming's flustered, indignant scolding, Herta couldn't explain why, but it simply put her in a good mood.
Even though this reaction was entirely within her expectations—she had anticipated this very exchange—
She just couldn't resist hearing it with her own ears.
--+--