"Fire Moth, Open up!!"
"Oho~ Too late. This is what happens when you get caught up in a flashback, Doctor. Now we're probably busted."
Hearing the knocking outside, Elias immediately set down the Herrscher of the Void's body, looking helpless.
Mobius' expression also shifted, biting her fingernail in frustration and confusion.
"Damn it, how did they get here so fast?!"
"Hehe, probably because at this hour, yours is the only lab with the lights still on. Besides—what's that saying again? 'If something shady's going on, it must be Mobius.'"
"Hah? What's that supposed to mean."
Mobius frowned deeply, clearly displeased.
"Well, Doctor, you are the least liked person in the base. It's not really a stretch to say everyone singles you out… uh, or maybe it's not unwarranted. If anyone here were to steal a Herrscher corpse, you'd definitely be suspect number one."
Elias spread his hands as if to say: maybe start doing some good deeds—you're seriously overdrafting your reputation here.
This timeline hadn't reached the point where the Herrscher of Dominance had appeared, so the classic scapegoat line "It must be the Herrscher of Dominance" wasn't available yet.
So the blame? Mobius had to shoulder it herself.
"..."
Mobius went completely speechless. Listening to Elias' tone of "you brought this on yourself," she genuinely didn't know how to retort.
Thud thud thud! Thud thud thud!
Meanwhile, the knocking had turned into full-on pounding.
"Dr. Mobius, hand over the Herrscher's body at once! This is a direct order from Command! We know it was you who stole the corpse! If you don't want your funding cut to zero next month, you'd better surrender immediately!"
"Damn it! My funding...!"
The moment she heard the word "funding," Mobius' expression turned ugly.
Though she was a founding member of Fire Moth, her terrible reputation meant she was constantly under scrutiny. The First Lab's budget had already been slashed repeatedly.
If the higher-ups caught her dissecting a Herrscher without permission, Mobius didn't even want to imagine what her funding would look like next month.
Elias might be right—she really would be too broke for instant noodles.
"Isn't there some kind of hidden compartment? Or another way out besides the main door?"
Elias looked around for a hiding spot, but Mobius regretfully shook her head.
"This lab's not that big. They'll find it for sure. And once that door shuts, it's a sealed room. Ugh—damn it, I'm doomed. My funding…!"
"Tch, maybe you'll learn your lesson next time. But for now... ugh, whatever! A favor's a favor. Dr. Mobius—if you dare leak what you're about to see, I swear I'll never let you learn anything about me ever again."
"Hm? Little lab rat, what are you—"
Before Mobius could react, the Gem of the Void in her hand was snatched away by Elias.
He slapped the gem onto his shirt.
With the construction authority granted by the Herrscher of Reason, Elias could now freely alter the appearance of the Key of Blankness—transforming it from battle armor to even something as casual as pajamas.
The next moment, Mobius' eyes widened in shock.
Elias' aura suddenly shifted. He raised his hand and drew a circle in the air. A spatial gate opened instantly—
And he tossed the Herrscher's body inside.
"Little lab rat, you—?!"
"Mobius! What are you standing around for? Clean up the rest already!"
"R-Right! Got it!"
Mobius snapped back to her senses, quickly grabbing a mop and furiously scrubbing the blood from the dissection off the floor. With the Herrscher of the Void's body safely hidden by Elias, there was still hope!
As long as everything looked clean on the surface, maybe they could fool the incoming soldiers.
While the snake was panting from her frantic mopping, Elias finished tidying up the rest of the lab. But just as the two of them let out a sigh of relief—
"Mobius! Your lab coat!"
"What? Oh no, there's no time!"
Only then did they realize—Mobius' white lab coat was stained with Herrscher blood.
No matter how good an excuse they cooked up, that bloodstain would blow their cover immediately. As Mobius racked her brain for where to hide the coat—
Elias suddenly had a flash of inspiration. Without warning, he began tugging at her coat.
"I've got it! Wear it inside-out!"
"...Genius!"
Mobius' eyes lit up. Her lab coat was highly waterproof—so even though the outside was stained in blood, the inside remained pristine.
But just as Elias pulled the coat off and helped her put it back on inside-out—
"Aah!"
Mobius slipped on the still-wet floor and crashed straight into Elias, sending them both tumbling to the ground—with her landing right on top of him.
(Oh no! So soft and... wait no—don't tell me this is that kind of scene...)
Elias had a very bad feeling.
He looked desperately toward the lab door, praying it wouldn't open right now. Just a few more seconds, please—just enough time to get up!
But then—
BOOM—!
As if on cue, the door to Mobius' lab burst open.
A squad of fully armed soldiers wearing sealed biochemical protective suits stormed in. Identical rubber boots, protective goggles, respirators, portable oxygen tanks—
All tailored for handling Dr. Mobius specifically.
If it were any other inspection, these soldiers would wear tactical armor. But for Mobius' lab, only full hazmat suits would suffice.
Yet the scene they had prepared for—a mad scientist dissecting a Herrscher corpse—was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, what they witnessed was far more awkward.
"..."
"..."
Both sides stared at each other in stunned silence. Time itself seemed to freeze.
They gazed at the white-haired boy pinned beneath a breathless, sweaty Mobius.
The soldiers were utterly speechless.
Elias wanted to cry. Of all moments, it had to be now. Did they plan this or something?!
"Ahem... Dr. Mobius, Captain Elias, were you two... perhaps—"
"Wait! Don't misunderstand, it's not what it looks like—mmph!"
"Ah yes yes yes, it's exactly what it looks like."
Before Elias could finish, Mobius suddenly went wild. She shoved the boy's face straight into her chest, silencing his words—
Then wrapped him in a tight embrace, a devilish glint flickering in her eyes.
Elias: (Doctor, what are you saying?!)
Mobius: (Let them misunderstand. It'll distract them. Hmph~ consider it your lucky day, little lab rat.)
Elias: (I didn't sign up to be sacrificed like this!!)
For the first time, Elias regretted helping her clean up.
Looking at the soldiers through their goggles, he realized they were all staring at him like he was some kind of legendary hero.
He was now 1000% certain—they had completely, utterly misunderstood.
"Uh, so... Dr. Mobius, you were... ahem, not the one who took the Herrscher of the Void's body?"
"Herrscher of the Void's body? What body? I don't know anything about that. My dissection request is still pending, you know. Or are you implying I'm the kind of person who'd break the rules and secretly dissect something on my own?"
Mobius blinked innocently.
"Uh..."
The soldier really wanted to say, yes, that's exactly what we think, but one look at the glinting scalpel in her hand was enough to make him gulp and shake his head vigorously. He chose self-preservation.
"But, Captain Elias, you're... um..."
"..."
Elias turned his head in silence, expression saying, I've given up, think what you want.
"The Herrscher's body isn't here. If you don't believe me, feel free to search. But be careful not to break anything in my lab, or if you ever end up on my operating table, I promise I'll remember every scratch."
Mobius' voice dropped into an ominous growl.
The soldiers could practically hear a venomous hiss as their skin crawled.
After a quick sweep and finding no Herrscher body, they immediately backed off.
"Our deepest apologies, Doctor, for the intrusion."
"Since you know that, then get lost already! Can't you see we're busy here?!"
"Y-Yes ma'am!!"
The soldiers fled from Mobius' lab like their lives depended on it. One even thoughtfully closed the door behind them before they all sprinted away from the snake's domain.
Outside, they buzzed with excitement.
"Holy crap! Who would've thought?! Dr. Mobius and Captain Elias are that close!"
"Yeah, and in the lab, no less. Hardcore."
"Tch tch tch, Captain Elias is something else. He's only been with Fire Moth for, what, three or four days? And he's already got Mobius wrapped around his finger. Legend."
"No, no, no—you guys saw Elias' face back there. It had to be Mobius who forced him!"
"We should totally ask Captain Elias for details later. I mean, Dr. Mobius may be a mad scientist, but she's still a total bombshell."
"Uhh... wait a minute, wasn't Captain Elias' girlfriend supposed to be Miss Elysia?"
Silence.
Then all at once, they turned their thoughts to the sleeping pink elf.
And mourned.
That vibrant pink hair... now seemed to be turning green.
Maybe she really would need a new name: Green Elf.
...
"Phew~ Finally got those guys off our backs."
Mobius sighed as the noise outside faded. She rolled off Elias.
"Though it probably won't matter. Everyone will still assume you stole the Herrscher's corpse."
"Heh~ So what if they do? Without proof, without a body, even if they know, they can't charge me."
Mobius reversed her lab coat while she spoke. Even with all the scorn and isolation, she was still one of Fire Moth's founding elders.
Without evidence, no one could touch her.
"Fine, fine. But Doctor, you totally screwed me over. Don't you think I deserve some kind of compensation?"
"Compensation? How about a full-body exam, free of charge? You should be thrilled, little lab rat. Or are you saying... you're turning me down?"
"I wouldn't go that far, it's just..."
Images flashed through Elias' mind—of a certain pink elf, and also Raiden Mei, Himeko, Bronya, Kiana, Rita...
For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
Instinctively, he raised a hand and rubbed his face.
(Hmm, putting everything else aside, that actually felt pretty nice.)
Mobius' facial cleanser really was top-tier.
Elias gave the Herrscher Core a light pat. When he became a six-core Herrscher moments ago, the surge of Honkai energy had nearly gone out of control. He barely held it in before the entire base went into alarm mode.
(Wait a sec, why is this Gem of the Void still warm? Where exactly was Mobius keeping this just now?)
He was a little suspicious.
Meanwhile, Mobius had only grown more curious about him.
"You're becoming more and more interesting, little lab rat. No—Elias~ Being able to use the Herrscher of the Void's power... And when I held it, there wasn't even a reaction."
"Just keep it a secret, Dr. Mobius. In return, I'll keep the whole Herrscher corpse incident under wraps."
Elias pressed a finger to his lips.
"No problem. Hehe~ Looks like we're both holding each other's secrets now. No turning back on each other, right?"
Mobius smirked, eyes gleaming with uncontainable curiosity.
Those green-pink gradient eyes examined Elias from head to toe, as if she could devour him at any moment.
"Yeah, I guess we've gotten a bit closer now. Even if this wasn't part of the original plan. But Doctor, you really owe me a big favor this time."
"Hehe, that's true. So what do you want from me? Should we pick up where we left off? I might be in the mood now. Who knows, I just might say yes~"
"Yeah right."
Elias rolled his eyes. This snake was anything but easy. Maybe she was interested in him, but to think their relationship would just jump straight to that? No way.
Besides, he didn't want to end up strapped to an operating table halfway through.
"Shame. Anyway, how about joining my lab instead? Leave the killing to others. Be my assistant—I'll keep you alive a lot longer."
"Pass. I think dying in battle is less risky than dying of exhaustion in your lab. And why do all you scientists like stealing people so much?"
Elias thought of Mei.
He shook his head and opened a portal, pulling the Herrscher of the Void's body back out from the imaginary space.
"If you're gonna keep researching her, fine. But find a better hiding spot. Next time we might not be so lucky. Not that I'd call this 'lucky' anyway."
He recalled the soldiers' faces, all wide-eyed like they'd seen the juiciest scandal.
Maybe he should have let Mobius get caught and lose her funding.
Mobius stared at the portal, her eyes gleaming as she whipped out an analyzer to start collecting data.
"No rejection. Core stable. Authority usage normal. Gem of the Void has reactivated... Hm? Are these readings surpassing the original Herrscher of the Void? Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating. Elias, you are... truly fascinating."
"Doctor, don't. What are you trying to do? Stay back."
"Don't run, you're already here~ The night is still young. Let me observe you just a little more!"
Watching Mobius' eyes sparkle like a predator spotting prey, Elias really wanted to string her up on a lamp post.
But...
"Fine. Alright. I'll keep you company for the night."
"Aww~ Little lab rat, I think I'm starting to like you."
"...Yeah, I think I'd rather go back and cuddle with Ely."