The Maverick Mobius

At this point, it was pretty obvious what had happened. Vill-V had gone to great lengths to dig a massive pit, and then, like some kind of generous demon, had jumped right into it herself...

To put it simply, to get the best possible results from this 'test,' Vill-V hadn't revealed her true intentions from the start. Instead, she chose a surprise attack—on two people, no less—roping Lin Wei and Mobius into this grand 'test' from both inside and outside, completely without their knowledge.

Lin Wei's role was that of the Herrscher of Corruption, attacking the 'cage,' to see how much it could withstand. It was also a chance to test just how effective the Elysian Realm's version of the Key of Corruption would be in this kind of fight.

Once the 'cage' area sustained enough damage from the Corruption, it would be forced to reconnect with the normal parts of the Elysian Realm it had been sectioned off from. A real Herrscher would definitely seize that opportunity to break free and wreak havoc throughout the rest of the Elysian Realm.

"Too bad! You're not a real Herrscher of Corruption, Lin Wei, so you wouldn't think like that... and even if I tried to awaken Rin here, she'd probably... Hmm, best not to take that risk."

It's rare to see Vill-V actually hesitate, Lin Wei thought. I guess the devastation caused by the Previous Era's Herrscher of Corruption really left its mark on her.

"But since inside and outside were now linked, the Herrscher inside could get out, and naturally, people outside could get in. So, as the one who started this experiment, my dearest Dr. Mobius, I had no choice but to ask you to come out for some fresh air! Always staring at data in the lab can't be good for your health, right!" Vill-V continued spouting her twisted logic with conviction, then spread her hands and said nonchalantly,

"Anyway, that's the essence of it! You know what they say, 'There's no time like the present!' Today was just perfect for this kind of surprise-filled impromptu performance!"

"She's got guts, alright. If Kalpas were here, you'd probably be explaining this from six feet under," Lin Wei grumbled internally. Pushing things right to the edge as long as it doesn't kill you... yeah, that sounds exactly like something Vill-V would do...

But you have to admit, the plan itself actually has merit.

If it worked, even if it couldn't heavily damage the trapped Herrscher, it could at least prevent being caught completely off guard and buy the Flame-Chasers crucial time to react.

After all, in the original timeline, if Elysia hadn't been taken out right at the start, completely unaware, the entire Elysian Realm lost its crucial core right from the beginning, leading to massive chaos and division.

If they'd had more time for warnings and preparation back then, that poor Herrscher probably wouldn't have lasted more than three paragraphs in the story.

Of course, if that stubborn Aponia could have restrained herself from flaunting her 'Discipline,' and hadn't used it as an excuse to push Raiden Mei into a corner until she had no choice but to fight back...

If that Herrscher, newly born and still holding onto a naive goodwill, hadn't been provoked so fiercely, maybe she could have turned out to be a sweet kid...

So... how should I put it? That gentle, charming Aponia provided crucial assistance on the road to ruin for both Herrschers of Corruption...

But regardless, Lin Wei's interference did give these Flame-Chasers, who'd been idling in the Elysian Realm for fifty thousand years, a renewed sense of urgency and got them actively preparing for future threats. You definitely can't call that a bad thing.

It's just Vill-V's methods... They certainly have her unique signature all over them.

As for Elysia, chances are she just found Vill-V's idea too amusing, so she decided to help out, just to see if it would lead to something even more entertaining.

Then, when Mobius furiously stormed onto the scene, effectively ending the 'test,' Elysia immediately stepped up to help smooth things over, playing innocent to placate the 'victims.'

If Elysia hadn't been there running interference and cracking jokes, Vill-V probably wouldn't have even gotten a chance to explain herself today. And even if she had, nobody likely would've believed her.

Even now, after hearing Vill-V's apparently logical and convincing explanation, Lin Wei remained skeptical, even suspecting it was just another act designed to hide some other unspoken goal.

Unlike Lin Wei, Yuno, who had previously been furious with Vill-V but had no outlet, had unknowingly calmed down quite a bit.

She hadn't actually understood the meaning behind Vill-V's words; after all, it had only been a year since she first encountered the Honkai.

She was still just a green recruit, worlds away from these Flame-Chasers who had battled through an entire age.

But her sharp intuition still allowed her to grasp the key point: the other party meant no harm, she just wanted to create a weapon beyond her own understanding to face a terrifying future enemy.

'Herrscher.' The term resonated deeply. Having spent so long at Schicksal HQ and among the Immortal Blades, she was certainly familiar with it.

Moreover, Yuno, who had remained an observer, also noticed that the strange little girl with long green hair nearby no longer radiated that overwhelming fury. Instead, she seemed somewhat... mocking.

"Heh. Vill-V, I have to admit, your idea does have some merit, however..." Even though Mobius had calmed down, her voice retained that oddly artificial, condescending tone as she sneered superiorly, "Isn't this entire Elysian Realm already a giant cage itself? Why go to all this extra trouble?"

She gently raised a slender hand, as if holding an invisible treasure.

Her serpentine eyes glanced over the others present, and she spoke in a subtly bewitching tone, "The way I see it, we should just smash it to pieces sooner rather than later. Let you, me, and everyone else finally leave this stagnant backwater and find limitless possibilities in the wider world outside! That way, it's just one measly Herrscher. What's truly terrifying about that? Wouldn't you agree, Vill-V?"

Her casual words dripped with undisguised arrogance, as if it weren't the fearsome Herrscher the world trembled before, but merely some insignificant nobody beneath contempt.

In fact, by the time Vill-V laid out her ideas, the anger Mobius felt from being offended, provoked, and even humiliated had already completely dissipated.

Truthfully, as a fellow genius with incredibly high standards, Mobius actually held considerable appreciation and tolerance for the handful of individuals in the world she deemed her equals.

As long as it didn't involve matters of principle, things like someone stuffing her closet full of junk, or someone playing malicious pranks that affected her experiment data, or stupidly stealing materials from her lab, or being forced by someone else to revise a plan for the umpteenth time—for minor things like these, she'd mostly just curse them out loud and move on.

Seriously. If Mobius hadn't chosen to turn a blind eye and let things slide, who could really get away with acting so brazenly in her presence? Of course, this was something she herself would never admit under any circumstances...

As for the rest of those people...

In fact, if the Flame-Chasers hadn't dwindled down to so few survivors, a good number of them—like Hua, Su, Kosma, and others—would barely register to Mobius beyond being test subjects or necessary work contacts. She wouldn't even have the slightest interest in conversing with them.

Precisely because of this, what they did, what they thought, or how they viewed her experiments—Mobius couldn't care less. After all, in her eyes, why waste breath explaining complex matters to those incapable of understanding?

As for matters of principle—on most major issues, their principles were largely aligned, so it wasn't really an issue. For example, faced with the threat of the Herrscher of Corruption, both she and Vill-V felt an immense sense of crisis and both were actively making preparations—preparations others couldn't fathom. They simply chose different paths.

Precisely because of this, once she understood the full picture, Mobius easily let go of the recent minor unpleasantness and tacitly accepted Vill-V's 'experiment results'.

"Vill-V absolutely factored Mobius's reaction into her calculations," Lin Wei grumbled internally, noticing Mobius's shift. "Otherwise, she never would have picked her to be the 'victim'..."

"Mobius, it's not that I can't understand your idea," Vill-V said, "but even you know that leaving the Elysian Realm is fundamentally impossible."

Hearing Mobius bring up the old topic again, even Vill-V couldn't help feeling a wave of helplessness. She had actually researched this herself but quickly abandoned it when she discovered numerous obstacles insurmountable even for her intellect.

But there was no need to tell Mobius that. Vill-V knew if Mobius could be persuaded that easily, she wouldn't be Mobius. Besides, if she could see the problems, how could Mobius possibly miss them?

"Even now, are you still like those other guys, maintaining this stubborn attitude?" Vill-V asked Mobius.

Just as expected, hearing Vill-V say this, Mobius instantly felt a spark of gleeful mockery. She curled her lip and said, "Fine, forget I said anything."

But she hadn't actually considered giving up at all.

Unlike the other Flame-Chasers here, Mobius had, in fact, refused to attend the final banquet. Although she later heard about the events of that day from her companions, she ultimately lacked that shared, firsthand experience.

And because of this—though she'd never admit it—she was actually one of Elysia's closest friends. So, while Kevin, Eden, Aponia, and Vill-V, also Elysia's dear friends, each held a differently colored crystal flower, pledging to guard the memories of those past days here together, Mobius harbored entirely different feelings.

In her eyes, the so-called 'Elysian Realm' was merely a toy.

It didn't belong to the Flame-Chasers, but stemmed from Elysia's personal interests, was privately funded by the sponsor Eden, and everyone else was just coaxed and cajoled into joining.

As the Mobius in the real world, aside from occasionally returning to synchronize her memories, she felt no particular attachment to this place.

Gradually, however, she began to feel that the memory data here, being such a unique creation, might indeed hold some distinct value.

But as the memory-data Mobius within the Elysian Realm, she had viewed it from the start as a cage imprisoning her.

She even felt a degree of disgust and resentment toward everything here, vowing to escape this suffocating cage, return to reality, and become the true 'Mobius'.

Just as others couldn't fathom her obsession, she couldn't fathom why everyone else seemed so content in this godsforsaken place, acting as if it were truly some kind of 'Elysian Realm'...

As for Elysia's secrets? Mobius snorted at this— What a joke. Which memory data here doesn't have secrets?

"Take the secrets of that man, Kalpas. It's been fifty thousand years, and I still haven't managed to dig them up!"

It just goes to show, Mobius has her own reasons for not fitting in anywhere...

"Tch. How boring..." Her blazing anger vented, only a listless Mobius remained. She hummed softly, "Forget it. If there's nothing else, I'm heading back. With so many of you here, it's not like you'd welcome an extra like me anyway."

"Oh, Mobius, how could you say that?" Elysia started to ask her to stay, but Mobius cut her off with a dismissive look and a mocking tone,

"Elysia, don't think I don't know about that little scheme of yours and Vill-V's!"

Mobius swept her mocking gaze over Lin Wei and sneered, "This outsider, the little guy you all guarded so fiercely before, terrified I'd get near him... now, for some reason, he actually wants to approach me. You were worried I'd take out my previous anger on him, so you deliberately staged this whole sideshow to distract me, right?"

With that said, without waiting for Elysia's reaction, she 'floated' past Lin Wei without a second glance, leaving only a mocking voice hanging in the air,

"Little mouse, since you're so eager to climb onto my operating table, I suppose I can give you the opportunity. However, I'm in a foul mood today and have no interest in conducting experiments. So... perhaps next time~"