Inside the Newborn World Serpent's backup base...
Within the reinforced training ground that Pardo had deliberately chosen...
Kiana supported the still-recovering Theresa as she watched the chaos unfold before them.
A familiar white-haired young man was being restrained by several others, struggling against them while cursing without pause.
That young man was Kevin.
At that moment, he could no longer suppress the rage and hatred boiling within him.
All he wanted was to charge forward and drive his fist directly into his enemy's face.
Vill-V.
Her unilateral decision had cost Kevin his parents and MEI her father.
She had made Kevin suffer.
She had made MEI suffer.
And she had inflicted that same suffering upon countless others.
"..."
Sim Kosma remained silent.
But he was anything but calm.
If Sim Griseo had not been standing beside him...
"Kosma, take Little Griseo and leave for now," Aponia advised.
Her words finally pulled Pardo out of her panic.
Pardo slapped a hand against her forehead.
She had arrived in such a hurry that she had completely forgotten. If Sim Griseo remained among so many outsiders for too long, she could easily be "stained" by them.
"..."
Sim Kosma offered no reply.
He stared fixedly at the two Vill-Vs for a long time.
"Forget it."
With those words, he followed Aponia's advice. Taking Griseo with him, he left the training ground before the situation could descend any further into chaos.
Just then...
"Vill-V."
MEI, looking utterly exhausted and no longer wearing the Key of Blankness, approached the Original Vill-V and Sim Vill-V.
"It appears that everything that happened was the result of your combined efforts."
MEI's voice was unnervingly calm.
"Congratulations. You have successfully accelerated the extinction of Earth's human civilization in this era."
"First, you secretly aided the Herrscher of Blood and the Herrscher of Thunder, causing the deaths of billions of innocent people."
"Then, you orchestrated the birth of the Sixth Herrscher and dealt a devastating blow to our remaining forces."
"You even brought this organization to the brink of collapse."
"You truly are an unparalleled... su-per-ge-ni-us."
The contempt buried beneath those words could not have been clearer.
"So..."
MEI's voice remained detached.
"Super-genius... No, the greatest Magician of this century, Vill-V."
"Would you care to tell me, to tell all of us, why you did this?"
Unable to endure the pressure radiating from MEI in her current state, Pardo had already quietly retreated to the edge of the training ground.
She possessed crucial information that everyone needed to hear as soon as possible.
But it was obvious that until the matter before them had been resolved, few would be willing to listen to anything she said.
And even fewer would seriously consider what must be done next.
For now...
"I never intended to hide anything."
The Original Vill-V and Sim Vill-V exchanged a glance.
As they quietly surveyed the people surrounding them, both of their gazes briefly passed over Aponia.
They were surrounded, and Pardo's superior spatial abilities had sealed their power of "Displacement."
Escape was no longer possible.
Therefore...
"I simply believe that all of you are far too indecisive, MEI."
The Original Vill-V spoke first.
"This era has no future. We reached that conclusion the moment we discovered that purple-black Egg Cocoon."
"So why are all of you still clinging to such naive hopes?"
"Whether it is rebuilding the Sea of Quanta Portal or carrying out the Interstellar Migration Project centered on the new Ark, why not begin immediately?"
"Why not test both approaches in successive batches?"
She looked directly at MEI.
"You can wield the Authority of the Herrscher of Reason through the Key of Blankness. Mass-producing Arks should be easy for you."
"Even if they were nothing more than old-model, single-occupant spacecraft, you should have launched them long ago."
"Someone needs to scout the path ahead, don't they?"
"Even if that person is me."
Hearing this...
"So, because you judged me to be too indecisive, you deliberately engineered everything that happened?"
MEI immediately grasped Vill-V's line of reasoning.
"You allowed the situation to deteriorate this far simply to eliminate every alternative I was still considering and force my hand?"
MEI was an exceptionally brilliant woman.
Vill-V's reasoning was not difficult for her to understand.
But that reasoning itself...
"Sim Mobius was right about you after all."
MEI's voice remained calm.
"Your inability to restrain your own malice makes you truly terrifying."
She understood it clearly now.
The Original Vill-V and Sim Vill-V were both absolute proponents of "Escapism."
They believed that Earth's human civilization should evacuate the third planet of the Solar System as quickly as possible, fleeing this doomed world of endless conflict.
Furthermore...
MEI was willing to sacrifice a portion of the surviving population in order to increase the overall success rate of the plan.
Dr. Einstein, in contrast, had insisted upon saving as many people as possible.
What Vill-V valued was something different from either of them.
She cared only about the continuation of Earth's human civilization.
That was why she proposed such a brutal, survival-of-the-fittest strategy.
She would cast the widest possible net, scattering humanity across as many attempts as necessary until something survived.
To Vill-V, every human being was merely another "possibility," and their value extended no further than the odds they represented.
She did not regard them as fellow beings.
She did not regard them as compatriots.
It was no different from the way Vill-V had once experimented upon a group of "monkeys" on P-21 Isolated Island.
Back then, after learning the full details of that experiment, even Mobius had instinctively wanted to order the accompanying soldiers of The Moths Who Chase the Flames to gun Vill-V down on the spot.
Mobius had only gone to meet Vill-V at Elysia's suggestion.
In the end, Elysia's guarantee was the sole reason she restrained herself.
In hindsight...
"Perhaps I should have left you to rot on that island," MEI said bluntly, her expression turning icy.
"But you know perfectly well that, given enough time, not even the future Abyssal Depths could have held me forever," Vill-V replied nonchalantly.
Yes.
P-21 Isolated Island was where The Moths Who Chase the Flames constructed the Abyssal Depths in the original timeline.
It was also the place Aponia would later guard alone.
And...
It was the site where the Herrscher of Dominance was eliminated.
Now...
"Yes. Mere imprisonment would only delay your escape and the next disaster you would cause."
MEI's eyes narrowed.
"Vill-V, I have to admit that you succeeded."
"I will not hesitate any longer."
Although she was not currently equipped with the Key of Blankness, MEI directly channeled her Path Power.
That formless force began gathering around her.
"Goodbye, Vill-V."
"No."
MEI corrected herself.
"Farewell forever."