Strictly speaking, Pardo's assistance to the Newborn World Serpent today had not been entirely wasted.
Vill-V's independent actions had allowed the Herrscher of Blood and the Herrscher of Thunder to achieve the result they wanted, but at the very least, Kevin's group had finally managed to hold a proper conversation with Kiana.
After learning just how dire the current situation had become from Fu Hua, Kiana temporarily agreed to travel with them.
There was little choice.
Although she remained wary of Kevin, Otto's final secret base had fallen, and everyone who remained from his faction would now be taken into custody by the Newborn World Serpent.
Among them was the aunt Kiana cared for deeply.
Principal Theresa.
More importantly, Kiana could not simply ignore what Fu Hua had told her.
The embryo of "Nihility."
If such a thing truly existed, and if it was really as terrifying as they claimed, then there was no longer any point in the humans of two different eras continuing to fight one another.
The conflict had become meaningless.
Worse, both sides had already been severely weakened by it.
If they kept going, there would be no victor.
They would simply destroy each other.
Given Kiana's personality, there was only one choice she could make.
For now, she would put aside her grievances and cooperate with the people who had once been her enemies to deal with the greater threat before them.
As for what came afterward…
She would deal with that when the time came.
For now, Kiana intended to see everything with her own eyes, remember it for herself, and only then decide what she believed.
About half an hour later…
"…And that is the situation."
Inside a virtual conference room at the Newborn World Serpent Headquarters in North Africa, MEI had just finished explaining Vill-V's "betrayal."
Along with the enormous mess the Herrscher of Thunder had left behind.
Globally, more than a hundred million people had already been modified by the violet-black Phantasm Butterflies. Their genes had been optimized, transforming them into "Long-Lived Species" with greatly increased resistance to Honkai Energy.
Whether the supposed "Immortality" truly worked as intended would take time to verify.
But there was one effect no one present doubted.
Because every modified person now possessed greater Honkai resistance, their physical abilities would also improve to varying degrees, even though the overwhelming majority of them were not Pathstriders.
Put simply…
Seele had succeeded in mass-producing "little Supermen."
This was exactly the result she had wanted when she originally planned to use the threat of a "racial war" as leverage against Kevin and the others.
Given enough time…
"So it's basically Gundam SEED."
Watching from aboard the Stellaron Train, Ling Ke offered his own assessment.
"Naturals versus Coordinators."
Meanwhile, inside the Newborn World Serpent…
"…"
Kevin's expression darkened.
He understood human jealousy far too well.
And even now, there were still plenty of "Conservatives" around the world who regarded Superhumans as something fundamentally separate from ordinary humanity and rejected them on that basis alone.
Those two factors were already enough to ignite countless conflicts.
And that was before accounting for the far greater complexity of human nature.
There would always be opportunists willing to exploit resentment for personal gain.
There would always be fools eager to follow them.
Fear, envy, prejudice, ambition, and countless other emotions would only make the situation worse.
So…
"MEI, if we use the Key of Blankness to channel the Herrscher of Death's Authority…"
"It's worth considering."
MEI already knew what Kevin intended to suggest.
"But we probably don't have enough time."
She shook her head.
Kevin's idea was straightforward.
If humanity had already been pushed into this situation, then perhaps they should simply finish the transformation themselves.
Use the Key of Blankness and the Authority of Death to convert the rest of humanity into Long-Lived Species as well.
They could even create a superior version of the transformation.
If everyone received the same benefits, the source of inequality would disappear.
And at the same time, it would lay the groundwork for the future "New Project ARK."
Unfortunately…
"The Herrscher of Blood and the Herrscher of Thunder have already made their move."
MEI's expression remained grave.
"There is no chance this ends here."
"They will have prepared something else."
"And whatever comes next will almost certainly be designed to exploit the Herrscher of Death's unfinished contingency plan and turn humanity against itself."
She paused.
"If we act rashly now, there's a very real chance we'll walk straight into their trap and make the situation even worse."
At that thought, Vill-V surfaced in MEI's mind again.
She still could not understand why Vill-V would choose this moment to "betray" them.
And there was another problem.
"What about the other Vill-V?"
MEI turned toward another figure in the virtual conference room.
A young woman with gray-white hair stood there.
Sim Su.
After stepping onto the Path of Nihility to observe that bizarre Egg Cocoon, she had become one of the primary defenders stationed at MOTH Headquarters on the Mu Continent.
At MEI's question…
"She's gone."
Sim Su sighed helplessly.
"As soon as I heard what happened on your side, I went to find Sim Vill-V."
"But I was too late."
"By the time I reached the Helix Workshop, she was already gone."
Kevin's expression grew even colder.
"So this rebellion was something Vill-V and her Sim planned together?"
Previously, they had only guarded against the possibility that the two Vill-Vs might turn against each other, much like the two versions of Mobius had.
They had never imagined the opposite possibility.
That the two might cooperate.
External enemies were already pressing in from every direction.
And now, internal betrayal had appeared as well.
Humanity had almost no time left.
Yet one problem after another continued to emerge.
Kevin was furious.
He simply did not allow it to show.
Fortunately, there was at least one positive development.
"Your situation is quite complicated too."
For the first time since entering the virtual conference room, Kiana spoke.
As she had already made clear, she did not trust Kevin or the others.
But she wanted to see their situation for herself.
Only after understanding what they were actually facing could she judge what she should do next.
Her attention turned toward one particular issue.
"The Herrscher of Blood."
Kiana frowned slightly.
"She's caused this much trouble, and you still haven't managed to defeat her?"
"When I had the best opportunity to kill her, Raiden Mei suddenly interfered."
Kevin's answer was blunt.
"That allowed the Herrscher of Blood to escape."
And the second opportunity had also been ruined because of Raiden Mei.
Truthfully, Kevin had developed almost no goodwill toward the girl who happened to share MEI's face.
But with relations between his side and Kiana already strained, he saw no reason to push the matter further.
Instead, he said only:
"I've already granted you access to our archives."
"If there is anything you want to know, you can read it yourself."
Kiana considered that for a moment.
"Alright."
Then she asked:
"I want to see Principal Theresa."
"Very well."
Kevin did not refuse.
Instead, he turned toward someone else in the conference room.
"Hua."
"You know her better than most. Guide her."
"Alright."
Fu Hua nodded.
A short while later, she and Kiana left the virtual conference room together.
As they walked…
"Kevin Kaslana."
Kiana was the first to speak.
"What does he plan to do with Principal Theresa and the others?"
"Most likely, they'll be detained for the time being."
Fu Hua answered based on what she knew.
"Durandal, Rita, and… Li Sushang are currently being held in separate isolation rooms."
Her expression became complicated when she mentioned Li Sushang.
That particular junior shared a rather unusual relationship with her.
But after a moment, Fu Hua composed herself and continued.
"As for Ms. Theresa, you don't need to worry."
"She was moved to the sanatorium to recover."
"According to Durandal, Otto controlled her mind for too long."
"She still hasn't woken up."
By then, the two had already reached an electronic door.
"We're here."
Fu Hua stopped.
"This is the room prepared for Ms. Theresa."
"Thank you."
Kiana stepped inside.
Fu Hua followed.
Theresa had already been changed into a patient gown and now lay quietly on the hospital bed.
Her face was peaceful.
Almost as though she were simply asleep.
But then…
"Hm?"
Something beside the bed caught Kiana's attention.
A pure white jester's mask.
Her eyes lingered on it for a moment before she turned toward Fu Hua.
"That mask…"
"It belonged to Otto, didn't it?"
Kiana frowned.
"You brought it back too?"