Saria's Departure / Treatment and Connecting the Clues

At this moment, Saria, who could no longer suppress her anger, roared at her best friend who was sitting on the high platform with a nonchalant expression.

Looking at her furious best friend Saria, Kristen's lips curled into a smile again, and she retorted in a louder voice, "Then let's not let the outside world know the truth."

"Kristen!!!"

Upon hearing this, Saria's face darkened, and she roared out her best friend's name in anger before slamming her fist into the supporting pillar beside her.

"Bang--!!!"

With a loud bang, one of the massive load-bearing columns in the top-floor office snapped and crashed down toward Kristen, who was sitting at the back.

Faced with the sudden crisis, Kristen made no move and remained remarkably calm.

The next instant, a mechanical alarm sounded in the huge office.

[Beep--]

[Physical attack detected. Emergency defense system activated.]

"Beep--"

"Whoosh--"

"Buzz--Buzz--"

As the mechanical electronic voice faded, the entire office seemed to come alive, with the surrounding walls and ceiling opening up to reveal silky "ribbons" inside.

"Whoosh--!!!"

"Bang--! Bang--! Bang--! Bang--!"

However, these seemingly thin and silky "ribbons" suddenly burst out, piercing and shattering the huge load-bearing pillar, leaving only a pile of rubble.

Taking advantage of this moment, Kristen, who had been sitting calmly, slowly stood up, walked to the desk, opened her arms, and asked the person in front of her with a smile, "What's wrong, Saria?"

"What happened to the idea that [venting emotions is meaningless]?"

Saria ignored Kristen's question and said to herself with a stern face, "You installed the [Wave Terror] system in your office... which shows that you still have a fear of threats from the mortal world."

"Well, perhaps suffering some physical pain will bring you back to your senses."

"Saria ..."

Her close friend's words must have struck a nerve with Kristen, causing her to completely suppress her smile.

She waved her hand gently, and with a hum, the smooth ground quickly opened up, revealing a platform containing a special control device that rose rapidly in front of her.

"Click."

With a crisp click, Kristen, who had the control device strapped to her left wrist, pointed at Saria and said, "Look up and look further ahead."

"Ecology, energy, Originium infection... Only by exploring with all our might and completely overcoming all these difficulties can we see the day when humanity is truly saved."

"Swish--swish--swish--"

As her voice rang out, numerous supple "ribbons" in the room rushed towards Saria like sharp blades.

"Bang!"

After using her sturdy shield to block all the attacks coming at her, Saria retorted loudly, "You should look down at your feet!"

"If scientific exploration ignores human suffering and dignity, you will eventually fall on this earth and never see the day you pursue!"

"Buzz--Buzz--"

Despite Saria's rebuttal, Kristen remained unmoved, coldly continuing to operate the office's defense system with her left hand.

With her control, all the "ribbons" in the office were unleashed, slicing through the air and hurtling towards Saria, who was holding the shield.

Just as Saria's expression turned serious as she raised her shield to defend herself, Kristen's resolute voice rang out.

"In order to explore the unknown answers of humankind, I have long been prepared to sacrifice everything."

"Boom--!!!"

P. S.: Ah, I really love seeing pretty girls fight, in every sense of the word. There'll be another chapter later, I'll try to write quickly, it's been a long time since I went to bed early, I even forgot to log into the railway yesterday.

Chapter 146 Saria's Departure

"Boom--!!!"

The moment countless "ribbons" struck Saria's shield, a tremendous sound erupted, and the violent impact also kicked up clouds of dust in the office.

A moment later, the dust settled, and the shield and Saria's figure reappeared, her deep voice echoing from behind the shield.

"I know you were prepared all along..."

"That's why I've always protected you, protected the path you chose. Later, you used that protection to shield and cover up for me..."

At this point, Saria raised her head, looked over the shield, and stared directly into the eyes of the person before her. Her voice rose, and she angrily rebuked, "You've gone too far astray!"

"What you are doing now is harming this land, harming the people we are supposed to protect and save!!"

"Click--"

"Swish, swish, swish--"

Saria's rebuke was met with "ribbons" that rapidly swirled and gathered in the air, weaving into a large net, and Kristen's unwavering words.

"What harms people is hunger, war, and Originium infection, and the endless cycle of suffering. My path will bring that end as soon as possible!"

With a rustling sound, numerous calcium particles rapidly emerged and gathered, coalescing into a cone shape in front of Saria. Then, she unleashed a powerful punch from her Calcification arm and fist, blasting it towards the large net in the air.

At the same time, she loudly refuted Kristen's previous words.

"The path forward isn't limited to 'any means necessary,' and we could have avoided sacrifice!!!"

"Bang--!!!"

With a deafening roar, the large net formed by the "ribbons" in the air was instantly destroyed, and even the ceiling behind it was blasted open by the punch, revealing the blue sky outside.

Kristen looked up through the large hole in the ceiling at the vast sky outside, then slowly withdrew her somewhat gloomy gaze, focusing on Saria charging towards her. She slowly raised her hands and said:

"The cost of hesitating and taking detours is far more expensive."

As she raised her hands, two devices quickly popped out from the previously empty spaces on either side of her.

"Saria, perhaps your hardened Calcification gives you the luxury of being conservative, but I don't."

Seeing Saria and her fist so close, Kristen suddenly clenched her left hand, which was equipped with a control device. In an instant, the devices on both sides of her body emitted a loud buzzing sound.

"!!"

The next instant, Saria was shocked to find that the calcium attached to her right arm and fist was rapidly falling off and turning into dust.

However, by the time they realized it, it was too late; the fist had already been thrown...

"Thump--!!!"

With a loud thud, Saria's right fist, no longer covered in calcium, slammed hard into the transparent wall in front of Kristen, splattering blood everywhere.

Kristen, inside the transparent wall, seemed to have anticipated this scene, her expression remaining unchanged.

"..."

Instead, Saria, who didn't pull her fist back and let the bright red blood slowly slide down the "wall," lowered her head and remained silent for a moment before saying incredulously in a soft voice, "... You applied synchronous resonance technology to [Wave Terror]?"

"You said the purpose of developing the synchronous resonance device is to study the structure of minerals..."

"It is indeed used to study the structure of minerals," Kristen said calmly, gazing at Saria before her.

"It just so happens to be able to destroy my Originium Arts creations?"

Although Saria's tone remained relatively calm at this point, a hint of disappointment quietly surfaced in her heart.

"You taught me to be cautious in everything I do."

"Bang--!"

Kristen's last words made Saria's eyes darken, and completely ignited the emotions within her. She released her right hand, letting the shield fall with a loud crash.

Then, she raised her fist and swung it at the transparent wall in front of her...

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Seeing Saria's fists, now a bloody mess after being struck several times, Kristen, with a serious expression and calm tone, "commanded," "Saria, stop."

However, Saria, determined to stick to her decision, showed no sign of stopping, continuing to grit her teeth and pound the transparent wall with each punch.

"Saria, stop!"

Seeing the blood blooming in front of her, the usually calm Kristen finally panicked. She raised her voice and shouted at the person in front of her, trying to stop her from self-harming.

However, Saria quickly responded to her words with her actions. With another loud "bang!", the once solid transparent wall was instantly blasted open with spiderweb-like cracks.

Seeing this scene before her, Kristen's pupils contracted slightly, and her expression instantly changed from panic to shock, leaving her frozen in place.

However, Saria didn't give Kristen time to react, and immediately followed up with another punch.

"Bang--!!!"

A deafening crack rang out, and the transparent, solid wall shattered instantly, like glass, as Saria's fist smashed it, sending fragments flying everywhere.

Then, he withdrew his fist again and threw another punch... but this time the target was no longer the wall, but Kristen's delicate face.

Her clean, powerful punch created a gust of wind that ruffled her brilliant blonde hair.

However, Saria ultimately showed mercy...

Apart from a drop of blood that splattered across Kristen's face due to inertia, the dripping fist didn't land on her face, but stopped just in front of her nose.

"As expected of you, Saria."

"..."

"Click--"

Upon hearing this, Saria did not respond. She simply withdrew her fist, straightened her body, turned around, picked up her shield from the ground, and left without looking back.

"Where you go?"

Watching Saria's departing figure without any hesitation, Kristen felt a pang of panic and quickly asked...

"I'm leaving Rhine Lab Insurance."

Upon hearing this, Saria answered without turning her head.

Saria's answer confirmed Kristen's inner panic, causing her pupils to shrink and her face to turn somewhat pale as she said, "No, you can't."

"I can't let you destroy Rhine Lab, I can't let you destroy yourself." Kristen's words did not move Saria in the slightest; her back remained as resolute as ever.

"Then stop me here."

"I can't change you here, Kristen. I'll do it my own way and get everything back on track."

"..."

Kristen remained silent for a moment, then, just as Saria was about to leave the office, she threw out her last bargaining chip, saying, "I can retrieve and revive that experimental subject regardless of the cost."

"No need."

"I will find Ifrit, and I will not allow you to touch a single hair on her head again."

P. S.: I have a small question. A year and a half before the start of the game's story, roughly where was Rhodes Island's main fleet at that time?

Chapter 147 Treatment and Connecting Clues

The commotion in the headquarters office was quite loud, and many people witnessed Saria, with blood streaming from her fists, carrying a shield as she exited the elevator. In no time, various rumors began to circulate among the employees of Rhine Lab.

However, no matter what's going on inside Rhine Lab, Mobius can't hear it now.

She had already left the office building and gone to her pre-arranged location before Saria and Kristen a conflict.

Mobius's Secret Laboratory--

'Are you ready, Miss [Radiant Knight]?'

Having completed all the pre-operative preparations, Mobius smiled as he mentally connected Bianca with him.

Everyone says not to use this title... Fine, I'm ready, summon me now.