There's No Place for You Here!

"..."

Although her expression looked displeased and her tone was far from amiable, Mobius put down what she was holding and turned to Lee: "What is it?"

"I, I wanted to explain to you, Doctor."

Seeing Mobius's displeasure, Lee pursed her lips and said softly, "Rin, she has a Herrscher reaction, but her consciousness hasn't changed. She hasn't hurt anyone, so I..."

"Hasn't hurt anyone... That's an interesting way to put it."

Mobius narrowed her eyes slightly. "Klein also hasn't hurt anyone. She also doesn't have a Herrscher reaction, nor does she have a Herrscher Core."

Mobius picked up the materials on Rin that she had just put down and shook them at Lee.

"From the direct data, Rin's data is far more like a Herrscher than Klein's – no, she is a Herrscher."

"That's not it. At that time, Klein actually had killing intent towards you, Doctor—"

"So what? Even if Klein really was a Herrscher, how could she possibly be my opponent without a Core?"

Mobius's voice sharpened for a moment, but softened when she saw Lee's somewhat dejected expression. "Enough. I don't want to discuss this with you anymore, Lee."

"Whether you kill the Herrscher or not... that's a decision you made." Mobius sighed and put down the documents.

"And the person who makes the decision is always responsible for the consequences. Lee, I won't stop you from making your choice, but I can't fully accept your choice..."

"I don't know why you suddenly changed your mind, but if you've decided to take responsibility for this choice, then go ahead."

"Responsibility... is it?"

Where Mobius couldn't see, Lee's hands wrung nervously, but her face looked no different than usual.

"Ahaha, that's a big burden~ Maybe I should just dump this on Su and Mei and come work as a lab assistant for you, Doctor..."

Seeing that Lee seemed to have perked up a bit, Mobius, who had initially been worried that she had been too harsh and hurt Lee's feelings, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She rolled her eyes at Lee and turned back to her analysis of Rin's data and biological samples. "What nonsense are you talking about? There's no space for you here."

Lee: "..."

Not seeing the stiff expression on Lee's face behind her, Mobius said casually, "You've basically become the de facto leader of humanity now. The decisions you make affect the fate of humanity. How can you be like them... Don't you want to be a savior? Your position is similar to that now, so go and busy yourself with those important matters."

"...Yeah, you're right."

Lee lowered her head and said softly, "I'll do my best, Doctor."

"Lee?"

A strange feeling suddenly arose in her heart, and Mobius abruptly turned around, only to find that Lee was no longer there.

It must have been my imagination.

After thinking for a moment and confirming that nothing strange had happened, Mobius turned back and immersed herself in her experiments.

.....

"Not killing the Twelfth Herrscher?"

In the meeting room, Kevin and the others, who had rushed over, frowned in confusion and looked at Lee, who was sitting silently to the side.

"Are you really going to do this, Lee?"

"Yes." Lee simply nodded silently.

"Currently, although the Twelfth Herrscher does indeed have the same reaction as a Herrscher, no Herrscher Core has been detected on her. At the same time, her mental state is no different from a normal human."

Mei displayed various data on the screen that ordinary people couldn't understand, and said calmly, "This is a rare and unprecedented case. The opportunity to obtain a large amount of data from a living Herrscher cannot be missed. At the same time, the Twelfth Herrscher's identity is rather special. She is Sakura's sister. We should be mindful of the impact when dealing with her."

"I see, that's why someone's missing..." Pardofelis flicked her tail.

Honestly, she felt that although she was present, her contribution in a fight would probably be about the same as Sakura's, who wasn't present – in short, useless.

"But she's still a Herrscher." Su hesitated. As the nominal supreme leader of humanity, he needed to consider the safety of all mankind. "If something goes wrong—"

"I'll take responsibility," Lee said calmly.

"Lee, that's not what I meant—"

"I understand, but since it was my decision, I should be the one to take responsibility."

Lee silently scanned the people present. Not every MANTIS Soldier had arrived. Those who were less adept at combat, like Griseo, and those stationed further away, like Elysia, were not yet present – and of course, Sakura, who hadn't been notified, was also absent.

"Miracles do exist..." Clenching her hand, Lee took a deep breath and said resolutely, "Therefore, I choose to believe."

"Understood." Although he didn't know what had changed Lee's mind or the reason for her decision, Kevin didn't oppose it.

"But such a decision isn't made by one person. Even if there is responsibility to be borne, it's ours together."

"...Thank you, Kevin." Lee smiled, but her smile contained a hint of sadness.

.....

Rin's location was hundreds of meters underground in Fortress Three, arguably the most secure prison in human history. Even the Abyss, built by Vill-V previously, paled in comparison.

And at this moment, the only prisoner here was a young girl, Rin.

Numerous guards, a massive number of Honkai energy restraint devices, ubiquitous soul steel alloys... Even the cell Rin was in was supported by glass, offering a clear view of the inside from the outside, leaving no privacy.

When Lee entered this place, Rin was huddled in the corner of her cell, whimpering softly.

"Rin."

"?!"

Rin clearly hadn't noticed Lee's arrival.

It wasn't until Lee's voice sounded that she shrank back into the corner like a frightened animal – only to find that she had nowhere to retreat.

Lee naturally noticed the needle marks on Rin's arms and the injuries on her body.

Clearly, the staff who collected the biological samples and the guards had not treated this Herrscher kindly.

"...I'll tell them not to do this again later."

Although Lee tried to make her voice sound gentle, the vigilance in Rin's eyes didn't diminish in the slightest.