For someone like Kevin—who had undergone fifty thousand years of growth and now ranked among the top three in the entire world—there were only a handful of things in existence that could truly frighten him.
For example... facing the Herrscher of Finality once more, being unable to slurp noodles, getting targeted by Mobius, or serving as the taste tester for MEI's dark godslaying cuisine.
And right now, as a certain green snake lady appeared before him, smiling in that dangerously predatory way—like a hunter who had just spotted her prey—Kevin instinctively felt a shiver run down his spine.
To be honest, the thing he admired most about Elias was not his overwhelming power or the incredible feats he had accomplished.
It was the fact that Elias had somehow managed to keep both Mobius and MEI—those two madwomen—completely in line.
"M-Mobius, do you need something from me?"
"Why so tense, Kevin? Don't forget, we're comrades. Battle companions~ How about coming to my lab for a meal? I happen to have a few questions I'd like to ask you."
"???"
Kevin's sense of danger shot straight through the roof.
He couldn't help but think that the venomous snake in front of him should really listen to herself. Mobius, do you have any self-awareness at all?
Sure, they were comrades—but in her eyes, wasn't everyone in this world besides Elias just experimental material?
And although she wasn't as extreme as MEI, she was still a dark cuisine master too, you know!
Kevin suddenly realized that among the Fifteen Flame-Chasers of Fire Moth, the ones with the highest "domestic skill" were actually the men.
Elias went without saying. There was nothing in this world he couldn't do.
Kalpas was also a culinary master. The man could carve wood and even knit clothes—could you believe it?
Then there was his good brother Su. The title of "Lady of the Lake" was not undeserved. Coupled with the compassion befitting a physician—and Kosma... though he was a chuunibyou teenager, he could at least prepare some simple dishes.
As for himself...
Kevin declared that when it came to ramen, he was absolutely master-tier! After slurping noodles for so many years, he had learned to make them himself.
(Hiss~ Now that I think about it, maybe the gender distribution among us Flame-Chasers got swapped or something... No, wait, why am I thinking about that at twenty-seven? I need to get out of here fast! No one in their right mind eats Mobius' cooking!)
"Sorry, Mobius, I just ate outside, so I won't—"
"I happen to have a bucket of the limited-edition Fire Moth premium seafood instant noodles from back then. All that's missing is a kettle of hot water."
"Let's go! I'll melt my ice into boiling water!"
Kevin swallowed hard.
Limited-edition premium seafood instant noodles. His greatest love from fifty thousand years ago! As a seasoned noodle connoisseur, how could he possibly miss that?
So what if it was Mobius' snake den? He would just activate [Diabolic] first—what was there to fear!
(Heh~ easy to bait as ever.)
Mobius curled her lips upward. Just as she thought, this guy was still ridiculously easy to hook. As long as she placed a ready-made cup of noodles on the lab table, Kevin would crawl onto it himself.
Although she desperately wanted to rush to St. Freya Academy to see the little lab rat she had been longing for, she knew the current situation was not in her favor.
Mobius decided she would first gather intelligence and make thorough preparations before departing. Ideally, she would capture a certain someone in one decisive strike.
As for how to deal with a certain pink fairy, she already had a bold idea in mind.
...Ten minutes later...
Inside Mobius' laboratory.
"Yes, yes, this is the one! I didn't expect you to still have stock, Mobius. I thought I'd never get to taste this premium seafood instant noodle again."
In his [Diabolic] form, Kevin's eyes sparkled as he stared at the cup of noodles. At this moment, he genuinely felt that Mobius had turned over a new leaf. After all, what kind of bad person would share their treasured instant noodles—unless there was no seasoning packet inside.
He immediately transformed ice into water and then used a fire-type Honkai Beast ability to heat it into boiling water.
Mobius skillfully tore open the packaging, poured the noodles and seasoning into a beaker, added the hot water, and casually placed a severed Honkai Beast limb over the top as a lid.
"Unorthodox... but professional!"
Kevin gave her a thumbs-up in approval. From her technique alone, one could tell she was a veteran with over fifty thousand years of noodle-slurping experience, just like him.
Snake folded her arms proudly. Of course. Instant noodles were strategic reserve rations in Mobius' laboratory.
Back in the Previous Era, when that unscrupulous, black-hearted MEI repeatedly drained her research funding, it had been instant noodles that saved her stomach through countless days and nights.
"..."
Klein watched everything with a subtle expression. She had just seen Mobius secretly add something extra. After hesitating for a second, she decided to continue pretending to be in standby mode.
After all, there was no poison in this world capable of killing a Chimera MANTIS. So nothing major should happen. (PS: excluding Dr. MEI's dark godslaying cuisine.)
Five minutes later, Kevin eagerly began slurping.
First, he took a sniff.
(Hmm? Why does this smell a bit strange?)
Then he inhaled several large mouthfuls.
(Hiss! Why does this taste bitter?)
Finally, when Kevin glanced at the color of the noodles in the beaker, his face had already turned the same shade of green.
(As expected of Mobius, who loves green. Even her instant noodles are green. Is this some newly released bitter melon flavor? The taste is kind of weird... maybe one more bite.)
"...Is there something wrong with his brain?" Klein couldn't help but ask.
She felt that this white-haired husky definitely had a massive hole in his head. He had already deduced from the color, aroma, and taste that something was wrong—yet he was still eating it!
His devotion to slurping noodles had truly reached legendary levels.
"Kevin, how does it taste?"
"Emmm, not great. And wasn't this supposed to be premium seafood instant noodles? Why did it turn into bitter melon flavor? Mobius, you lied to me!"
"Bitter melon flavor? Hehe~ Kevin, I didn't lie. It really is premium seafood instant noodles. It's just... slightly expired. By fifty thousand years."
Mobius revealed a sly smile.
"!!!"
Kevin's eyes widened in shock. Only then did he grasp the critical point.
How could instant noodles from fifty thousand years ago possibly still be preserved until now?
If Elias were here, he would definitely sigh and shake his head, lamenting that this primitive paramecium ancestor with well-developed limbs and a simple mind would never grow any smarter no matter how many psychic-type Honkai Beasts he devoured.
"Originally, the serum would have taken effect with just one bite. Since you finished the whole thing, the effect should be even better."
"Mobius, you poisoned the noodles?!"
"How could I~ It's merely a tiny bit of truth serum. The kind that works even on Chimeras. Now then, obediently answer my question—what state is Elias currently in?"
Mobius narrowed her eyes. The cold, dangerous gleam in those serpentine pupils made Kevin tremble uncontrollably. For the first time in his life, he felt that staying single might not be so bad after all. Women were simply too terrifying—especially these mad female scientists.
In this critical moment, the first figure to appear in the husky's mind was his good buddy, Su.
Kevin: (Brothers really are better! Women are far too dangerous.)
At that exact moment, Su—who was working at the hospital—suddenly felt a chill run through his body.
Su: (I have an ominous feeling. It feels like some husky is thinking about me. It couldn't be that blockhead Kevin, could it?)
In the end, under the effects of the truth serum, Kevin confessed every piece of information he knew in painstaking detail.
Afterward, he felt utterly miserable.
Kevin: (I'm done for! This time I'm going to be killed by MEI's dark godslaying cuisine. Su, Elias, save me!!)
Back then, Kosma had ignored MEI's warning and told Griseo about Elias' situation. As a result, he was still hiding outside, not daring to show his face for fear of being punished by dark godslaying cuisine.
After all, no matter how strong a Chimera's resistance was, it could not withstand cuisine capable of giving even the Herrscher of Finality a stomachache.
Meanwhile, after learning everything—
"Good, good~ So that's how you want to play it? Every single one of you secretly ran ahead. Fine. In that case, I won't hold back either. Just wait and see if I don't wipe all of you out tomorrow!"
"D-Doctor, you're not planning to—"
"Hmph~ I'll let you witness the terror of the Infinite Ouroboros soon enough. Klein, go wake up the 'pets' beneath my laboratory!"
A fierce glint flashed in Mobius' eyes. But before setting off, she still needed to deal with the greatest threat—the pink fairy.
Thus, the next day, Kevin and Klein watched in cold sweat as the exit of Elysian Realm was completely sealed shut.
"That's ruthless. You locked Elysia inside?"
"Merely blocking the exit is already me showing restraint. According to my original plan, I was going to use Vill-V's Armament No. 667 to blow up the entire Elysian Realm—along with Elysia."
"..."
Among Vill-V's many inventions, Armament No. 666 and Armament No. 667 had only one function—to completely destroy the Elysian Realm. The former deleted the Realm directly at the data level, while the latter physically obliterated it.
Double insurance. Always have at least one option available.
The reason for this was Elias' request. It was meant as a precaution in case the Herrscher of Corruption from the Current Era ever invaded the Realm. Though even he himself felt it probably would never be used.
After all, while the Elysian Realm was indeed a virtual data world most susceptible to corruption, the Flame-Chasers living within were living beings. If they caught the Herrscher, they could simply kill it outright.
"I've lived here for fifty thousand years, after all. Blowing it up would be a shame~ But Elysia, you can forget about ever coming out."
"Uh, I don't think this level of obstruction can stop her."
"Enough nonsense. Kevin, you'd better start running for your life. Be careful not to get caught by MEI and force-fed her dark cuisine."
"!!!"
Kevin shuddered violently before shooting off toward the horizon. He would rather solo the Herrscher of Finality and die gloriously than face MEI's dark cuisine.
"Alright, time to go see my little lab rat~"
"Doctor, isn't this a bit excessive?"
"Hmph~ If I want to snatch him away from those women, this level of firepower is necessary."
Mobius turned around.
Behind her, countless monsters let out low growls. Every single one of them was an extremely dangerous existence—yet at this moment, they all knelt submissively at Snake's feet.
Seven artificially created Vipralopa-class Honkai Beasts. Twenty artificially created Judgment-class Honkai Beasts. And a large number of Imaginary Constructs and Quantum Shadows.
If even Jackal could artificially create Emperor-class Honkai Beasts, then for Mobius—who had immersed herself in Honkai biology for fifty thousand years—creating Vipralopa-class specimens was only natural.
As for the Imaginary Constructs and the Quantum Shadows, they were experimental samples she had captured while researching the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta. Snake had already discovered a method to control both.
Mobius: "Since I'm not particularly skilled at combat, I can only compensate in this way~"
However, when Snake arrived at St. Freya Academy with her "pet army," brimming with killing intent—
She was stunned on the spot.
Seeing Herrschers everywhere and S-rank Valkyries gathered in clusters throughout St. Freya Academy, Snake's brilliant brain instantly crashed.
Mobius: "W-What kind of monster academy is this?! What in the world is this style of the Current Era?! Why didn't Kevin mention this information?!"
Klein: "It seems Kevin's information wasn't entirely complete either... but this is really..."
The two of them stared in alarm at St. Freya Academy—which was even more outrageous than Fire Moth had once been—and for a moment had no idea what to do.
But the girls of St. Freya Academy were thrilled.
Looking at the monster army that had appeared right at their school gates, each of them cracked their knuckles, eyes gleaming.
"These Honkai Beasts look pretty strong."
"Vipralopa-class? That's higher than Judgment-class!"
"What's with those golden and purple monsters over there?"
"No idea—but it doesn't matter! Just fight!"
"Whoever was kind enough to deliver monsters to our doorstep is such a good person! As long as I defeat these things, I'll definitely earn a date with Lord Elias next month!"
"Everyone, charge!"
Under Snake's chaotic gaze, her pet army was surrounded and besieged by hundreds of Valkyries and Herrschers—reduced to nothing in an instant.
"Hm? Mobius, you came too?"
"...Sakura?"
The ones stealing kills were not just Valkyries and Herrschers. A pink-haired Flame-Chaser with fox ears was also present.
Living up to the Signet of [Setsuna], Sakura's godlike speed allowed her to secure the kills on two Judgment-class beasts, one Vipralopa-class, and several Imaginary Constructs and Quantum Shadows.
Glancing at the skyrocketing rankings on her terminal, the fox-eared girl revealed a delighted smile. It seemed next month's date rights were secured.
Then she noticed Mobius.
"..."
The two stared at each other for a moment.
They both understood. No further words were necessary.
"Come. I'll take you to the Valkyrie dorms to meet the others," Sakura said.
"Who wants to meet the others? Where's Elias? I'm here to see him!" Mobius protested verbally—but her body obediently followed behind Sakura.
"Unfortunately, you came at a bad time, Mobius. Elias has something very important to attend to today. He probably won't be home until tonight," Sakura said with a complicated expression.
"Hah? Something important? Don't tell me he's saving the world again?" Mobius frowned.
"No."
Sakura shook her head, then looked into the distance with faint envy in her eyes.
"To him, this is likely even more important than saving the world. After all... today is Raiden Mei's birthday."