The black spear snapped in two, and the colossal, dark green serpent crashed to the ground.
Extremely sharp icicles were embedded deep in every corner of its massive body. Covered in a layer of frost, the giant serpent exuded a palpable, bone-chilling cold.
Mobius lay on the lab floor, feeling her body gradually disintegrate in its Active Honkai Reaction state. The humiliating memory of being taken down in just a few moves by the Persona Kaslana, summoned by Ren, filled her with grief and indignation.
But no matter how grief-stricken and indignant she was, there was nothing Mobius could do... The Persona Kaslana was simply too overpowering. Mobius had thought she could at least put up a decent struggle before the fight, but reality had mercilessly slapped her in the face.
"This should be enough..."
The white-haired youth in the blue, windbreaker-style combat suit still floated silently in the void behind Ren, his ice-blue eyes silently gazing at Mobius, who was on the ground in a state of dissolution.
Ren did not dismiss the Persona. He watched as the dark green serpent continued to dissolve, pooling into a strange, dark green liquid on the floor. After its body had completely disappeared, Mobius's small, slender figure reappeared before his eyes.
According to Vill-V, he just had to defeat Mobius like he would any other shadow to obtain the Will Seed of Gluttony she represented.
Since Mobius had shown that she could communicate normally and even had intentions of cooperating with him, Ren did not completely eliminate her as he usually would with shadows. Instead, he held back most of his power, using just enough to defeat her.
He had already brought her to her knees. Surely, she wouldn't still refuse to hand over the Will Seed of Sin?
If Mobius refused to hand over the Will Seed of Sin under any circumstances, not even a third of it as a deposit for the commission, then Ren would have to doubt the sincerity of her words and choose to follow Vill-V's guide to the letter: kill her once first, and then talk.
Fortunately, things did not develop in a tense and troublesome direction.
An emerald green crystal in the shape of an Ouroboros slowly flew out from the dark green pool beneath Mobius and landed in Ren's outstretched palm.
"...Is this the Will Seed of Sin, formed from the distortion in Mobius's heart?"
Fairy Ely tilted her small pink head close to Ren's side, carefully examining the emerald green Ouroboros crystal he held in his palm. Then, she looked at Mobius, who had just struggled back to her feet in the distance, with a rather peculiar expression.
Although Mobius appeared unharmed on the surface after deactivating her Active Honkai Reaction state, her body was still suffering from the cold. She felt sluggish and stiff, and the humiliating defeat left her feeling utterly worthless.
Even though Mobius was now forcing a nonchalant expression, a sense of weakness and dishevelment still clung to her.
"Now, you should be satisfied, right?"
Mobius tidied her messy green hair and looked at Ren in the distance, who had finally dismissed the Persona Kaslana and was now putting away the emerald green Ouroboros crystal. As if to vent her frustration, a mocking smile appeared on her face, and her tone was rather sarcastic.
"Indeed. I have received this one-third of the Will Seed of Gluttony."
Having collected five different types of Will Seeds of Sin, Ren's sensitivity to them was already extraordinary. The moment he saw the emerald green Ouroboros crystal, he knew it wasn't the complete Will Seed of Gluttony, but only a one-third fragment.
And after touching the crystal, he was even more certain of his judgment.
Perhaps because she was a wild shadow, the Will Seed provided by Mobius was slightly different from those produced by normal Palace Rulers.
For example, when Ren touched the emerald green Ouroboros crystal, the memory fragments he received were much shorter than usual, like a few flashback images without any context.
In the memory of this Will Seed fragment, Ren saw Mobius's birth... Not only did she have memories from birth, but she could also perfectly understand her parents' language and speak fluently. This Mobius was definitely not a normal human.
Perhaps after killing this Mobius completely, she would drop the complete Will Seed of Gluttony, or perhaps he would have to defeat this shadow three times to collect the complete set... But Ren did not intend to do that.
After all, he had made a promise. Since he had already received the Will Seed of Gluttony fragment as a deposit for the commission, he had no intention of breaking his agreement with Mobius.
Besides, Ren was also very interested in the idea of personally modifying the collective unconscious.
Even if it was just a trick, it would be invaluable practical experience for him.
If he could successfully modify the collective unconscious once under Mobius's guidance, and successfully grasp the concept of modifying it, he would undoubtedly be able to deduce a resistance to it.
A final battle between the Trickster Ren and the false god Yaldabaoth was inevitable. If he could smoothly acquire a resistance to the false god's authority to modify the collective unconscious, this advantage would be invaluable to him.
"Mobius, you want me to modify the collective unconscious in the Elysian Realm Palace, right? I've received the deposit. What exactly do you want me to do?"
Ren turned his gaze back to Mobius. Although he was full of enthusiasm for the next step, he maintained a calm and composed expression on the surface, simply asking her quietly.
"Modify the collective unconscious in the Elysian Realm Palace... That's not wrong," Mobius stretched lazily and sat on a floating black briefcase, her pink-and-green serpentine pupils fixed on Fairy Ely, who was hovering near Ren.
"Speed is of the essence. It's impossible to modify the collective unconscious under the Palace Ruler's nose. Therefore, we must get rid of the enemy's eyes first."
Mobius snapped her fingers. The swamp-like, dark green pool on the ground instantly expanded to Ren's feet, enveloping both him and Raiden Mei.
"What is this—?!"
A feeling of weightlessness came from her ankles, as if she were really being swallowed by a swamp. Raiden Mei's pupils dilated. She instinctively gripped the hilt of her Raikiri, then noticed Ren shaking his head at her.
Realizing that Mobius was sinking with them in the rippling dark green pool, Raiden Mei suppressed the urge to draw her sword and silently felt her body's rapid descent.
When the ominous, dark green liquid completely submerged her head, Raiden Mei's vision instantly went black, as if she had arrived in a vacuum where she couldn't even breathe.
But this unpleasant experience soon came to an end.
Like rising from the unfathomable depths of the dark sea back to the surface, Raiden Mei took a greedy breath. The intoxicating fragrance of flowers instantly filled her nostrils, slightly soothing her tense body.
"Were we teleported to another area?... This method of teleportation is really crude and brutal."
By now, Raiden Mei had gotten used to the feeling of being teleported. The MetaNav app's teleportation was very gentle and didn't cause any discomfort. After getting used to the portals opened by Hare a few times, she could quickly adjust her physical state.
However, Mobius's sudden and different method of transfer made her feel a long-lost sense of unease.
After taking several deep breaths, and soothed by the fragrant flowers, Raiden Mei finally adjusted her physical state. Her slightly pale face regained its rosy color. She glanced at Ren's profile beside her and saw that he showed no signs of discomfort, his expression remaining calm and composed.
"You left Fairy Ely in your lab... Where is this place? Is it related to our goal of modifying the collective unconscious in the Elysian Realm Palace?"
Ren surveyed his surroundings. The twilight cast a soft, warm glow on the cobblestone streets. Gothic and Baroque-style buildings lined the streets. The branches and leaves of the trees swayed gently with the breeze, making a pleasant rustling sound.
The clear fragrance of flowers drifted through the air, and the occasional chirping of birds could be heard.
In short, the environment did not seem like something the real world could create. It was perfect from every angle and at every moment, so dreamily beautiful that it was as if the stereotype of paradise had been brought to life.
Ren did not think Mobius had brought him and Raiden Mei here for a vacation. This area, which he had never visited before, must be connected to the core secret of modifying the collective unconscious of the Elysian Realm Palace.
"Could it be that this is the deepest part of the Elysian Realm?"
Combining his own experience as a Phantom Thief and Mobius's request, a realistic guess quickly formed in Ren's mind.
"You guessed right. This is the hidden, deepest part of the Elysian Realm, a world of the heart created entirely from a certain girl's memories. The true Elysian Realm, which should not have been open to outsiders... Or, as the Palace Ruler would say, you can call it Everlasting Paradise."
Mobius applauded appreciatively. Ren's sharp and experienced performance pleased her greatly.
After all, the more outstanding Ren was, the higher the possibility of him being able to modify the cognition of the Elysian Realm Palace, and the more likely it was that Mobius could achieve her wish of tens of thousands of years.
"The hidden, deepest part... In that case, it's no wonder that things like modifying cognition can be done here."
Ren nodded in understanding. Being in this so-called Everlasting Paradise, he finally understood why Mobius was so confident that she could achieve the grand feat of modifying the Palace's cognition.
The Elysian Realm was already a Palace close to the deepest part of the impression space. And this Everlasting Paradise, located in the core of the Elysian Realm, was probably already at the deepest level of the impression space, reaching the location of the Holy Grail.
And in this chaotic, multi-loop worldview, the false god Yaldabaoth was most likely no longer in the deepest part of the impression space. Due to his conflict with other gods, the main control room where the Holy Grail was stored was vacant.
Being in the same deepest level of the impression space, with the false god Yaldabaoth not in his place, it was not entirely impossible to take the opportunity to steal his authority to modify the collective unconscious.
However, with Mobius's abilities, she clearly could not steal and exercise the false god's authority on her own, and had chosen to entrust Ren, the Trickster, to act as a proxy for exercising divine power.
And according to their previous conversation, this theft and borrowing of the false god's authority clearly could not fully achieve the same level as when Yaldabaoth personally exercised his authority.
At most, it could only modify the collective unconscious in the Elysian Realm Palace, and could not spread its influence outside of it to affect the residents of the impression space and the real world.
"Follow me. Before the Palace Ruler has time to react, we must get to the core item that manages this Elysian Realm Palace as quickly as possible."
Mobius quickly got her bearings, then waved to Ren and Raiden Mei. She rode her black briefcase and flew quickly towards a certain direction with a clear purpose.
Chapter 153: Snake Lady: Are you kidding me? I have to be beaten by Kevin twice in one day?!
"Is this the important item that manages this Elysian Realm Palace?"
Following Mobius's guidance, Ren and Raiden Mei twisted and turned until they arrived at a secluded and hidden wooden cabin.
"A... typewriter?"
In the quiet, study-like environment, Raiden Mei looked at the vintage typewriter on the desk, an undisguised look of suspicion on her face.
"This typewriter doesn't seem to have anything special about it."
In the quiet study, the typewriter seemed to be being typed by an invisible hand, constantly working.
But that was it. Raiden Mei did not notice anything else unusual about it.
If it were just automatic typing, let alone a place like a Palace where thoughts and feelings were made manifest, even the real world could easily achieve this function through various means.
Therefore, just by looking at the surface, Raiden Mei could not connect this ordinary typewriter with the management authority of the entire Elysian Realm Palace.
"Since you trust your eyes so much, half-baked Herrscher of Thunder, why don't you pick up the paper that the typewriter just produced and see what's written on it?"
Mobius was clearly displeased by Mei's questioning tone. She propped up her cheek with one hand and spoke to Mei in a strange, sarcastic manner.
Faced with Mobius's somewhat aggressive words, Mei frowned slightly, but she did not argue with her. Instead, she did as Mobius suggested and picked up a piece of paper that the typewriter had just ejected, reading its contents carefully.
"I see. If we compare the Elysian Realm to a computer, then this typewriter is equivalent to its system log."
Ren also picked up a piece of paper scattered on the desk. After a quick glance at the text, he quickly realized that what was recorded on it was the record of his actions as a visitor in the Elysian Realm Palace.
To be able to collect all the actions of a visitor to the Palace and transcribe all the information onto paper... As expected of a Palace that could reach the deepest part of the Mementos, it was indeed completely different from a normal Palace.
"That's right. This typewriter can collect every single piece of trivial information that happens in any corner of the Elysian Realm. In other words, if we reverse-engineer this typewriter, we can easily access the central management system of the Elysian Realm and tamper with its entire data."
When dealing with Ren, Mobius's attitude was exceptionally friendly. She smiled and nodded slightly, giving him the method to modify the collective unconscious of the Elysian Realm Palace.
"Just use the power of Jizo Mitama on the typewriter. Be quick. The Palace Ruler will be here to stop us soon. We don't have much time."
Although Mobius had prepared numerous tools and traps for this day, she knew that against Elysia and the other Flame-Chasers, her inventions could only delay their steps and buy some time for Ren to rewrite the rules of the Elysian Realm.
"I understand."
Raiden Mei took the initiative to step aside, allowing Ren, who was holding the Jizo Mitama tachi, to stand in front of the desk with the typewriter.
Ren held the hilt of Jizo Mitama with both hands in a reverse grip, pointing the suspended black blade at the typewriter below. Wisps of crimson-black corrosive mist quietly rose from the blade, and the swirling, smoke-like aura quickly seeped into the typewriter, causing its pure white keyboard to glow with a faint, dark red light.
Looking at Ren, who was using the corrosive authority of his weapon to reverse-engineer the central management system of the Elysian Realm, Mobius, despite her usual meticulousness, was so nervous that she subconsciously held her breath, even worrying that the sound of her breathing would disturb Ren's use of his power.
Click-clack, click-clack, click-clack—
In the empty wooden cabin, only the crisp sound of the typewriter's automatic typing echoed. Mei secretly glanced over from Ren's side and saw that the speed of the typewriter's keys was slowing down. The characters it printed on the white paper were also gradually changing from pure black to the same crimson-black as Jizo Mitama's aura.
As Mobius was intently watching Ren control Jizo Mitama to corrode and take control of the Elysian Realm's central management system, her expression suddenly changed. She turned to look at the entrance of the study.
"So fast... Someone has already found this place..."
Mobius hissed through her teeth in displeasure, her tone somewhat urgent as she asked Ren.
"What's the progress on the intrusion? How much longer will it take to complete the cognitive modification?"
"Although I've successfully hacked into the Elysian Realm's database, it will still take some time to complete the cognitive modification... At least twenty minutes."
Ren maintained his posture of holding the black tachi sideways. He roughly estimated the remaining time needed to rewrite the Palace's cognition and then answered Mobius truthfully.
He had not encountered much resistance in the process of invading the Elysian Realm's database with Jizo Mitama. With just a little concentration, he had managed to connect to the internal system of the database almost unimpeded.
The difficulty in modifying the collective unconscious of the Elysian Realm Palace was not in the process of invading its database.
It was that, after he had smoothly entered the database, he found that the amount of data stored within was simply too vast, as if it had accumulated tens of thousands of years of complex information.
As a visitor who had forcibly logged into the Elysian Realm's database through a shortcut, Ren did not have true administrator privileges. Being extremely unfamiliar with the Palace, it was difficult for him to sift through the vast sea of data to find the information that needed to be rewritten.
To fulfill Mobius's wish, Ren had to first use the power of Jizo Mitama to create a temporary administrator privilege for himself, then use that privilege to filter and list all the information related to Mobius, and finally, rewrite all of that information.
Compared to the fifty-two thousand years of information that needed to be processed, twenty minutes was already a very efficient and short amount of time.
Perhaps if a professional top-tier hacker like Bronya were to perform this task, she would take less time than Ren, but Bronya was not in the Elysian Realm Palace right now, and she could not wield the power of Jizo Mitama.
From beginning to end, the only person who could complete Mobius's commission was Ren.
"Twenty minutes... Alright, fine. I'll go outside and buy some time. You hurry up as much as you can."
Mobius bit her nails anxiously. She knew that twenty minutes was a very normal and reasonable time requirement, but the time she had was too tight. She wished Ren could finish in two seconds.
To buy as much time as possible for Ren, Mobius could only choose to go out herself and face the Flame-Chasers who were rushing here, guarding the study door for him.
Against the other Flame-Chasers, Mobius had no confidence in winning, but relying on her special ability to be resurrected from death, she believed she could successfully stall for time.
"Joker, I'll go out and take a look too."
Mei felt that she would just be a spectator if she stayed in the study, so she said a temporary goodbye to Ren and followed Mobius outside.
"It seems you still retain some of a normal person's thinking ability. That's a surprise, half-baked Herrscher of Thunder."
Seeing Mei leave the study with her, Mobius raised an eyebrow in slight surprise and spoke to her in a tone that was hard to tell whether it was a compliment or sarcasm.
"I don't understand where your hostility towards me comes from. Since you can tell that I'm a half-baked Herrscher of Thunder, you should know that I still retain my human consciousness. Although I am wary of you, whom I've just met, that's only natural. It shouldn't have caused you such dislike... Do you hate Herrschers that much?"
Mei frowned and asked Mobius, who was sitting sideways on her floating briefcase.
Although she had learned about the harm Herrschers posed to the real world and human society from her father, Raiden Ryoma, and the Anti-Entropy Sovereign, Welt, thanks to Ren's constant efforts in the mementos, neither the Gem of Conquest in her body nor the Herrscher of the Void's Core in Kiana's had manifested in their proper, disastrous forms, allowing a truly complete Herrscher to descend upon the world.
Therefore, although she knew about the terrifying threat Herrschers posed to the real world, Mei, who had not witnessed a major Honkai Eruption and the descent of a complete Herrscher in person, did not have a real sense of the true disaster a Herrscher could cause.
"Hehe, hate Herrschers? How many people in this world don't hate Herrschers... However, if you can retain your human heart and fight to protect the real world, I can force myself to tolerate you as a half-baked Herrscher."
Mobius touched the corner of her lips with her fingertip, a sarcastic look on her face. However, when she looked at Mei, a complex expression appeared in her pink-and-green serpentine pupils.
"..."
Mei did not say anything more. She seemed to be gradually realizing that, besides Mobius's inherently malicious personality, she seemed to see the shadow of someone else in her, and was thus unconsciously targeting her.
In this situation, it was impossible for Mei to reason with Mobius, but she didn't need to. After all, they were from two different worlds, and their patience for standing here and talking was not endless.
"I suggest you get ready for battle, half-baked Herrscher. The enemies you're about to face will likely be far beyond your imagination."
Seeing that Mei was no longer responding to her, Mobius felt a little bored. She propped up her chin with her hand and gave Mei a final piece of advice in a sullen tone.
In her incredibly naive and immature half-baked Herrscher state, Mei could not defeat any of the Flame-Chasers... except for Pardofelis.
Besides Pardofelis, if Mei wanted to fight any of the Flame-Chasers, she would have to become a complete Herrscher of Thunder first, just to have the qualification to stand before them.
And if she wanted to contend with them, she would have to master the power of sublimation.
To be honest, Mobius did not think much of Mei's combat strength, but it was better than nothing. Having support was always better than having none.
Whether Mei could be of any use depended on which of the Flame-Chasers arrived here first.
If the first one to arrive was Elysia herself, given her temperament, she might actually show some mercy to a beautiful girl like Mei.
Thud, thud, thud...
The sound of heavy footsteps, as if deliberately announcing its presence, suddenly rang out.
The figure that slowly walked out from a street corner in the distance instantly attracted the attention of both Mobius and Mei.
"How could it be... The first person to arrive here is him?!"
An expression of extreme distortion once again appeared on Mobius's face. Her eyes even went a little blank, as if she were questioning what she was seeing.
After all, normally, a person does not fall into the same river twice—especially on the same day, or even within the same hour.
"...Kaslana?! Why are you here?!"
Staring at the back of the ice-cold, white-haired man who was slowly approaching, Mei's purple, gem-like pupils dilated.
A look of astonishment appeared on her pretty face, and she even subconsciously glanced behind her, thinking that Ren had secretly released the Persona Kaslana to help them guard the gate.