A black-and-red sphere suddenly appeared in Bai Chen's hand, faintly radiating a heart-shaking power. Its blackness seemed dangerously capable of devouring everything.
"...You!!!"
Even Waltz, who had been blinded by rage, instantly regained his senses when he saw the weapon. That weapon felt so familiar—so familiar, as though it were a part of him!
"Smack!"
Behind the scenes, Cocolia abruptly rose to her feet, her expression shifting as she stared at the weapon in Bai Chen's hand. Waltz might not recognize it, but she certainly did!
Could the true Sovereign be at Schicksal right now? Then what had all these little schemes been for?!
"Do you recognize it? The true source of your power."
Bai Chen smiled and activated Eden's Star, instantly erasing all the pseudo-black holes around them.
"Impossible!!!"
Waltz actually acknowledged it somewhat deep down. After all, the weapon's output was much higher, and it gave him that familiar feeling.
But he couldn't admit it! Absolutely not!
"Hmph, poor clone."
Bai Chen pretended to pity him, then immediately invoked Eden's Star's power.
"Return to nothingness."
"No!!!"
Waltz turned and tried to flee, but unfortunately, he did not possess Bai Chen's speed, nor were Bai Chen's pseudo-black holes as feeble as his.
A massive black hole appeared in an instant and swallowed Waltz whole, leaving not even a trace behind—only a huge crater in the ground.
After seeing Bai Chen deal with Waltz, the Valkyries emerged from behind him, each wearing a different expression.
"So strong. He must have S-rank Valkyrie combat power, right?"
"Could we finally be getting an S-rank Valkyrie Knight in Schicksal?"
Ignoring the chattering Valkyries behind him, Bai Chen turned to look at Dr. Maki instead.
He was now considering letting the old man escape, because the man would not give up until he saw the coffin.
He intended to let the old man witness Cocolia's downfall with his own eyes, then jump in his face and loudly mock him while he broke down.
"Crack!"
At that moment, a group of Titan Mechs appeared out of thin air and directly seized Dr. Maki.
"!?"
The Valkyries reacted by immediately drawing their guns and firing, while Bai Chen collapsed to his knees as if drained of all strength.
"Damn it! That Herrscher clone poisoned me! How despicable!"
Bai Chen secretly took a sip of Mobius's Revitalizing Tea. His little face instantly turned deathly pale; no one would ever be able to tell that he was putting on an act.
"Little one! Damn it! Despicable Anti-Entropy!"
The Valkyries saw Bai Chen's complexion and had no reason to suspect he was faking it.
Without Bai Chen's involvement, three ordinary Valkyries naturally could not stop several Titan Mechs. Before long, the Titan Mechs safely evacuated with Dr. Maki.
"Emmm."
Otto looked at Bai Chen, who was lying in a hospital bed, with some confusion. The instruments showed that there was nothing wrong with Bai Chen's body.
"Bai Chen, you're not faking..."
"Anti-Entropy is really too despicable!"
Just as Otto was about to ask something, Bai Chen immediately spoke up and cut him off.
"I said, you're not..."
"Too despicable!"
"..."
Otto rubbed his temples with a headache, then continued, "Fine. Then I'll leave the mission of recovering the Serenity Gem to you."
"You are truly righteous, sir."
Bai Chen sprang upright from the bed, showing no sign whatsoever of having been poisoned.
So the brat had been faking it after all! Otto realized that Bai Chen could be truly punchable sometimes!
After accepting the mission, Bai Chen immediately returned to his dormitory. Early the next morning, he would head to New Zealand to retrieve the Serenity Gem.
He would deliberately slow their progress so that the little old man could personally witness Cocolia's downfall.
As for how to stop the Serenity Gem from erupting? Please. He could just toss it into an uninhabited area within a World Bubble and see whether it still dared to make a sound.
Heading to Singapore
"Why do I have to go too?!"
Inside the St. Freya dormitory, Kiana looked unhappily at Fu Hua, who had suddenly come knocking. She had been eating when that annoying class monitor showed up out of nowhere and demanded that she join the mission.
"Kiana, your credits these past few days have been terrible. If you don't want to fail your assessment, you'd better come on this mission with me."
Fu Hua adjusted her glasses as she answered. In truth, Otto had instructed her to bring Kiana along.
Although Otto no longer needed to specifically awaken Kiana now that he was working with Bai Chen, it was still necessary to take this opportunity to observe the condition of Kiana's Herrscher personality.
Fu Hua had also learned something from Otto's message that nearly made her jaw drop: Bai Chen was actually not dead.
After seeing Bai Chen turn to ashes, she had mourned that little fellow for a long time, only to suddenly be told that he had not died?!
When she first learned the news, Fu Hua stood frozen in place for quite some time, overwhelmed by mixed emotions.
But since neither Bai Chen nor Otto had told the people at St. Freya about it, that meant they must have had a plan. She should not carelessly reveal it.
Thus, under yet another misunderstanding, everyone at St. Freya once again lost their chance to learn that Bai Chen was alive.
"Uh..."
Kiana thought about how her recent credits really had been poor. At this rate, the assessment would indeed be dangerous.
Damn it, what was with the class monitor?! She had helped Kiana when those Anti-Entropy people invaded last time.
"Then let's go, Kiana."
Fu Hua dangerously grabbed Kiana. That hand clamped around Kiana like an iron vise, leaving her unable to move in the slightest.
"No! I haven't finished eating!"
Kiana desperately clung to the door, trying to remain in the room. Her grip was so strong that she even squeezed cracks into the wall.
But Fu Hua would not let go so easily. Only after Kiana tore off a chunk of the wall did Fu Hua drag her outside.
"..."
The people still eating in the room stared at the hole Kiana had gouged out and fell silent.
"...Theresa, will the academy reimburse this kind of damage?"
Himeko looked at the gap. If they did not patch it up, the room would leak wind from now on...
"Himeko... even the landlord has no surplus grain."
Theresa gave an awkward smile, but then she suddenly seemed to remember something. Hadn't Grandpa transferred several sums of money to her a few days ago?
"Bronya..."
Seele suddenly spoke.
"Yes, Seele?"
Bronya turned gently toward Seele. Since Seele had only recently arrived, she was rather shy and rarely spoke while they ate.
"I don't know why, but I feel like I've been able to sense something these past few days."
Seele covered the Stigmata on her chest and spoke softly. It felt as though something was resonating with her.
"Seele, don't worry. The Headmistress will help everyone."
Bronya comforted Seele, then looked toward Yuno, who was eating nearby.
When Bai Chen had supposedly died, Yuno had reacted the most intensely. Yet for some reason, about an hour later, she had gone from sobbing uncontrollably to looking perfectly normal.
It was as if nothing had happened. When asked why, she had said things like, "Bai Chen isn't dead, so why would I cry?" Himeko had been so worried that she took Yuno to see a psychologist, but even the doctor could find nothing wrong...
Thinking of that, Bronya once again began to miss Bai Chen.
In New Zealand, Bai Chen stretched toward the sky as soon as he got off the plane.
He could originally have opened a Dimensional Wall and come directly here, but he had deliberately taken a normal flight to buy Cocolia time to activate the Serenity Gem.
After wasting so much time, that old woman Cocolia should be ready by now, right?
"Finally, so this is a city in the current world?"
After changing into a formal outfit, Mobius got off the plane and looked at the scenery around her, discovering that it was actually not too different from the world inside the World Bubble.
"Alright, Mobius, stop sightseeing. You'll have time to look around after we finish the mission."
Bai Chen waved at Mobius, then walked toward the hotel provided by Schicksal's intelligence.
According to Bai Chen's understanding, the entire New Zealand government was now cooperating with Anti-Entropy. Unless necessary, it was best not to cause too much of a commotion; Bai Chen did not want to make things overly troublesome.
Still, it had to be said that this was rather funny. Although the New Zealand government was cooperating with Anti-Entropy, Cocolia was about to sacrifice everyone in the city the very next moment.
After entering the hotel, Bai Chen brought Mobius to the lounge and gave her a few simple instructions.
"Stay here for a while. Wait for me to find something, then I'll come back for you."
Then Bai Chen left Mobius behind and departed.
Mobius narrowed her eyes at the direction Bai Chen had gone, muttering inwardly, "Does that guy think I'm really a child just because I look so young now?"
She had clearly come out to serve him, yet he had not let her do any work these past few days.
If Bai Chen heard Mobius's thoughts, his lungs would probably explode from anger.
Listen to that nonsense?! Was it that he had not let her work? Hadn't she done enough?!
She had ruined everything she did, alright?!
When asked to pour water, she poured Mobius's Secret Water. When asked to cook, she made instant noodles. When asked to clean, she arranged the items in the room even messier than before!
Utterly ridiculous! Mobius from the proper world definitely was not like this!
It had to be because of the World Bubble!
"Wow! So much food!"
At that moment, Kiana's distinctively lively voice reached Mobius's ears.
"Hm? Cecilia's younger daughter?"
Mobius naturally recognized at a glance the daughter of the woman who had bought Black Abyss White Flower.
She could not exactly be called close with Cecilia, but they were acquaintances. After all, St. Freya had received funding from the laboratory.
That also meant she could recognize Kevin's descendant at a glance...
Suddenly, Mobius felt a trace of incongruity. Just how old were these people?
"Hm?"
Kiana had just stuffed a roasted chicken into her mouth when she noticed Mobius staring at her. She curiously walked over and asked, "Do you know me?"
"Kiana..."
Fu Hua behind Kiana did not share memories with Feather, yet the instant she saw Mobius, goosebumps rose all over her body!
It made the immortal's heart involuntarily fill with shock!
Just who was this person? How long had it been since she had felt something like this?!
The last time she felt this kind of fear was when she pulled six hundred times in a game with no guaranteed drop and got nothing!
"Of course I know you. You're Cecilia's second daughter, right? I was chatting with Cecilia just a few days ago."
Mobius rarely had the chance to put on the airs of an elder, so naturally she did not hesitate to say it.
Before you continue