Chapter 138: The Meaning of New Life
In his not-so-long life, Rovel had come to understand a certain truth.
A person's capabilities had their limits; the more one schemed, the more one seemed to stumble into the most unexpected predicaments…
"You two sisters go and catch up properly. I have something to discuss with Rovel alone," Mobius said, her voice deceptively sweet as she addressed Yae Sakura and Higokumaru.
"Uh… Big Sister, did I get him into trouble?" Higokumaru couldn't help but shiver, looking at the dark, oppressive aura practically rolling off Mobius in waves.
"...Probably?" Yae Sakura admitted, equally unsure of the situation.
She had almost never seen Mobius like this. If she had to put a name to the doctor's current state… it was like a slightly controlling little girl who had just had her favorite toy snatched away by someone else.
The moment the thought surfaced, Sakura was startled by her own conclusion. Mobius was actually feeling this way toward a Descender!
Was this still the same Mobius she knew?
Even Klein, her most trusted assistant, had only earned Mobius's acceptance after spending a very, very long time by her side. And this Descender… he had appeared less than two months ago, hadn't he?
However, Sakura was not one for gossip. Sensing the imminent storm, she gave Rovel a silent, apologetic glance before immediately whisking the nervous Higokumaru away.
"Alright, the irrelevant personnel have left the stage," Mobius purred, the sound devoid of any warmth. She took a deliberate step forward, closing the distance to Rovel. The shadows beneath her feet began to surge restlessly, tendrils of darkness uncoiling and slithering across the pristine lab floor. "Now, can you tell me what that little thing meant by 'Brother-in-law'?"
The scene was a chilling echo of their first meeting. Mobius was in a deeply unpleasant mood, and the fine hairs on Rovel's arms were standing on end.
His brain kicked into overdrive, circuits firing at maximum speed.
'Wait a minute…'
Aha! He had it!
Wouldn't it all be fine if he just kissed her again?
The idea exploded in Rovel's mind with the force of a revelation. As everyone who knew her was aware, the great Dr. Mobius was a classic tsundere, accustomed to hiding her true self away in dark, lonely corners. She was utterly unafraid of malice directed toward her; her heart was forged from something far stronger than steel.
But… she became completely flustered the moment she encountered genuine 'love' or affection.
Normally, Mobius displayed her 'tsun'side—arrogant, wild, and possessing a set of values so alien to ordinary people that it scared almost everyone away. But as long as one could treat her with one hundred percent sincerity and trust, she would, eventually, reveal her'dere'side.'Yeah… let's go with that!' he decided.
Rovel braced himself, preparing to emulate their first, fateful encounter. However…
At some point, without him even noticing, the shadows had crept up his body. Dark, silken ribbons snaked up his legs, coiling around his torso and arms, binding him firmly in place. He was completely immobilized.
His brilliant scheme of 'kissing Mobius to make her shy and thus get away with it' had been utterly and completely seen through.
"You didn't think the same trick would work on me again, did you?" Mobius's voice was a low, dangerous whisper in his ear.
The last time, she had been caught completely off guard, never expecting that someone as weak as Rovel would have the sheer audacity to do such a thing while knowing full well who she was. This time, the moment she noticed his gaze pretending to casually sweep over her red lips, she had already guessed his entire plan.
"Snake, let me explain!" Rovel tried to say, but the shadows had already converged over his mouth, sealing it shut and leaving him to make only muffled, desperate whimpers.
"Klein," Mobius said, her gaze still fixed on Rovel, "did you have a hand in this?"
"Doctor, I have been working the entire time," Klein replied from her workstation, her tone perfectly neutral. She had decisively distanced herself from Rovel without explicitly stating she hadn't helped him. The art of language was a subtle one.
At this moment, Rovel had two choices.
First, he could drag Klein down with him. But there was no real benefit to that, and it might offend her, making it difficult to ask for her help in the future.
Second, he could help clear Klein's name and gain her favor. Maybe she would even feel indebted enough to help cover for him later.
With a surge of effort, Rovel managed to break the shadow seal over his mouth just enough to speak. "Snake, a man has to take responsibility for his own actions!" he declared hurriedly. "I was the one who asked Klein to help me. In order to purify the malice within Jizo Mitama, I had to enter my own Stigma Space. I only asked her to be on standby in case I fell into a desperate situation."
"Oh my. I didn't realize you were quite the man," Mobius said, putting on a theatrical expression of surprise. "Then… how does you purifying malice relate to the term 'Brother-in-law'?" She tilted her head, her green eyes boring into him as she pressed for an answer.
"Cough, that's because inside the Stigma Space, Higokumaru constructed an Illusionary Samsara," Rovel explained, his eyes darting away nervously. "To break the endless cycle, I had to fundamentally change the plot's direction. That was the only way to force Higokumaru to reveal her true form and solve the problem at its source."
"There are many ways to change a plot's direction, yet you chose this one," Mobius noted with biting sarcasm. "Why? Was that 'sister' of hers pretty?"
"She… her name is Yae Sakura, and her sister is Yae Rin. Uh… and Yae Sakura looks a lot like our Sakura."
"Sakura? Rin?" Mobius's attention was successfully diverted. The names connected with her.
Such a coincidence… and they were sisters, too. The names were inextricably linked to the Previous Era's Yae Sakura and her tragic sister.
Could it be… something akin to reincarnation?
The possibility successfully piqued Mobius's insatiable desire for research. Just as Rovel thought he might have temporarily escaped his fate, however…
"We'll talk about them later," Mobius said, her focus snapping back to him with terrifying intensity. "For now, let's talk about you. You're… unexpectedly 'warm-hearted.'"
"Haha, a lot of people say that about me…" Rovel chose to continue playing dumb, offering a weak, strained laugh.
"Is that so? As it happens, I have a research project that requires a girl's body to be completed. Rovel, a warm-hearted person like you will surely help me, right?"
Mobius's words sent a phantom coldness shooting through him, a primal fear for his very manhood. also… from the look in her eyes, she wasn't joking in the slightest.
"This… this isn't right… I'm a guy, after all. The genes in my body are male… Even if I become a girl, it would be very different from a real one." Rovel didn't dare meet her gaze.
"Rest assured," Mobius said, patting his cheek with a chillingly gentle touch. "I guarantee I can completely transform you into a 'girl'."
"Then… can I change back?" Rovel asked, sounding as if he had already resigned himself to his fate.
"Ah, that's hard to say," Mobius mused, blinking innocently. "I haven't tried it yet, after all. How about this? I'll turn you into a girl first, and then I'll experiment to see if I can change you back?"
From her expression, Rovel read a few unspoken words: 'You definitely can't change back!'
His intuition screamed at him that if he were turned into a girl, his little brother would be beyond saving, gone from his life forever.
"Let's not, Snake! How about letting Raven do it?" Rovel suggested, desperately offering up a good candidate.
Miles away, on a mission, Raven felt a sudden, inexplicable shiver run down her spine, as if some deep malice had just been directed at her.
"Has the weather gotten colder lately?" she murmured to herself, pulling her collar tighter.
Back in the lab, Mobius's expression turned cold. "Sakura just wanted to see Jizo Mitama, and you didn't hesitate to risk your life to purify it. Yet when I want you to help me with a simple experiment, you keep making excuses."
She leaned in closer, her voice a venomous hiss. "Could it be that in your heart, I'm not even as important as someone who just happened to save you?"
Rovel was left completely dazed by her twisted logic.
"Snake is obviously more important!" he blurted out, the words escaping before he could stop them.
"That's right, then," Mobius said, a satisfied smile finally blooming on her face. "Don't worry, it won't hurt. It'll all be over after a little nap."
She picked up a syringe filled with anesthetic from a nearby tray and began to walk slowly toward the bound Rovel.
At the last possible moment, with the needle glinting under the lab lights, Rovel could only roar out his true, unfiltered feelings:
"I don't want to become a girl! Because I want to discuss the meaning of the birth of new life with Snake!"
Across the room, Klein, who had been typing furiously on her keyboard, suddenly stopped. Her fingers froze mid-motion.
And on the computer screen, glowing in the silent lab, the last key she had just pressed was… '6'.
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