When that IPC command ship descended, everyone on Penacony went on alert.
Only they understood how much influence that command ship had held over them.
Putting everything else aside, the blockade of the star system alone, which had cut Penacony off from trade with other planets, was an extremely serious matter.
If Sora had not arrived when he did, Penacony might have fallen into famine within a few months.
Precisely because of that, everyone was deeply hostile toward the IPC command ship.
They wanted nothing more than to tear that ship apart and grind every last component aboard it into ash.
So even after the festival, the instant they saw that command ship, they still raised their guard.
Only when several familiar figures walked out of the ship did the atmosphere across the entire camp change.
They rubbed their eyes in disbelief, wondering if they were seeing things.
"See that? The great me brought the whole command ship back!"
Momotaros strutted out, feet splayed in a cocky swagger.
"Well now, I didn't expect you to hog all the credit like that, senpai."
Urataros shook his head.
"This is my strength!"
Kintaros snorted proudly.
And behind him, Sunday was being carried in one hand like a backpack.
"Could you people show me a little respect..."
"Oh my, most people don't get to experience treatment like this. We're letting you have a taste. Isn't that respect?"
Sora followed at the very back with a grin.
Serves Sunday right for saying I was schizophrenic earlier. Now he can enjoy this.
If the crowd had still thought this was an illusion before, then once that familiar loud voice rang out again, they were certain this was no dream.
The IPC command ship really had been flown back!
"What the hell!"
A large man holding a pistol could not help shouting once he realized it.
He had been outside drawing the IPC's fire at the time, so he knew Sora and the others had gone over there.
Originally, he had thought Sora and the others were going to carry out a decapitation strike. Who could have expected these people to bring the IPC's command ship back perfectly intact?
This was completely off the syllabus, all right?
A complete command ship was worth many times more than a wreck that had been shot down.
A command ship was not only strategically significant; it was equally important on a tactical level.
It was like capturing the marshal the enemy used to issue orders.
Even in galactic wars, there had only been a handful of cases like this.
So after his shock faded, he pointed at the ship in front of him for a long time, unable to say anything.
And there were plenty of people even more shocked than he was.
Some approached very cautiously, wanting to test with their hands whether the ship was an illusion.
But just as one of them was about to touch it, the ship suddenly began trembling nonstop.
"Do you really not know that touching someone else's body without permission is rude?"
As the mechanical voice came from the ship's broadcast system, the person who had wanted to touch it froze in place.
Such a realistic reaction already proved that the ship before them was absolutely not an illusion.
But what surprised him even more was the ship's artificial intelligence.
"Why do I feel like this ship's intelligence is even more advanced than the ones back at base?"
Especially what had just happened. If this had happened to the intelligent machines at the base, it basically would not have triggered such a reaction.
Because although those were artificial intelligences, they had been created by importing personality modules.
So although they were intelligent, they were still somewhat rigid.
In particular, touching their mechanical bodies normally would not cause any reaction at all.
Because in their understanding, that was merely steel.
But the intelligence on this ship seemed a little different...
Why did it feel as though this ship's intelligence regarded itself as...
...
"You're saying that on the ship, you directly triggered a technological singularity and created an artificial intelligence without using a personality module?!"
After hearing Sora's report, Hanunue was completely dumbfounded, as if he had just heard something impossible.
After all, no matter how he listened to it, it did not sound real.
Anyone with even a basic understanding of the field in this universe would understand one thing.
And that was just how low the probability of triggering a technological singularity truly was.
The probability was so low that even among the Genius Society members watched by NOUS, very few could trigger a technological singularity.
One had to understand—that was NOUS.
That was one of the AEONS who could predict the future through calculation.
And this prediction of the universe's future was no empty boast. THEY had truly succeeded in foreseeing the Second Mechanical Emperor's War stirred up by Rubert II.
That war had nearly dragged the entire cosmos into its depths.
Only after carbon-based and silicon-based lifeforms fought for countless years did that war finally come to an end.
And an event that shook the universe like that had been caused because Emperor Rubert I triggered a technological singularity.
Within that technological singularity, he comprehended the Anti-Organic Equation and used it to begin purging organic life.
The influence of that war still lingered across the universe even now.
To this day, there were still many planets in the universe unwilling to use mechanical creations.
From this, one could see just how difficult it was to trigger a technological singularity.
Yet what had Hanunue just heard?
He had merely handed some intelligence to Sora, who wanted revenge, and then Sora had triggered a technological singularity aboard the command ship.
"Hahaha, you people really love joking with me."
Hanunue laughed.
He felt that these people were absolutely joking with him.
If a technological singularity could be triggered that easily, the IPC would have started charging fees long ago under the name of "clearing the influence of the Anti-Organic Equation."
So this was definitely something they had made up to scare him!
Seeing Hanunue like this, Sora and the others exchanged glances and chose not to say anything more.
Explaining it clearly would take more effort. Since he was willing to treat it as fake, then fake it was.
In any case, the truth was sitting right there on that ship.
The matter of the technological singularity was set aside for the time being. As for Sora managing to bring back the enemy command ship this time, Hanunue was both tremendously shocked and overjoyed.
"With this, we'll be able to find the hidden locations of the IPC's supplies and munitions."
Why had Penacony been in such a difficult position before?
Was it not because their supplies and munitions could not keep up?
Now that they had the enemy's command ship, they could seize extremely confidential things like supplies and munitions in one go.
Penacony would finally no longer be strangled by the IPC.
"Thank you so much. Thank you so much!"
Before this, he had still been thinking about how they could withstand the IPC's coming sanctions.
Now, they finally had a way.
So Hanunue did not even know how he should thank Sora and the others.
However, Sora and the others did not care much about that.
As long as the remaining train cars could be repaired as soon as possible, that was already what they wanted most.
After Hanunue learned this, he immediately stated that he would gather every person in Penacony who had experience repairing spaceships.
He would have them repair the remaining train cars at once.
This decision won the Imagin's nods.
However, there was one thing about this sortie that left them somewhat dissatisfied.
For example, they had not found the person who gave the order to attack them aboard the command ship.
"Apparently, that guy Martin Hall just happened to leave because something came up."
Sora found it a little regrettable.
They could have taken them all in one go, but the biggest fish had gotten away.
"That's what they call 'Good people don't pay with their lives, and rotten disasters stink for a thousand years.'"
Kintaros nodded in agreement.
"Hmph. He'd better not let me find out where he ran off to, or I'll give that guy a few punches too."
Momotaros spoke viciously while cracking his fists.
Once everything was settled, Urataros possessed Sora and prepared to go into the command ship to copy out the data.
The other Imagin prepared to get some proper rest.
Next, once the train cars were finished being repaired, all that remained was to set out on the return journey.
This journey across time finally seemed to be drawing to a close.
Even Sora could not help stretching.
These nightmarish days were finally about to end. He could finally go back and rest properly.
...
March 7th had originally wanted to say goodbye to Robin and rejoin her companions, but she very quickly discovered that on Penacony's network, she had already become a wanted target.
The reason was simple enough: she was the person who knew the most about Robin's scandal.
There were even people guessing that her true identity was actually the nanny taking care of Robin's illegitimate daughter.
"Hey! I'm youthful and pretty, so how did I become a nanny?!"
After seeing those comments, March 7th felt deeply wronged.
She very much wanted to drag the person on the other end of the internet cable out and ask them face-to-face where they had ever seen such a beautiful, youthful, and radiant nanny.
But in the end, she let out a long sigh.
"How has it not even been a few days since I came to Penacony, and I'm already this tired?"
She carefully calculated it. From the moment she arrived at Penacony to experiencing this whole series of events...
It seemed that, adding everything together, not even two full days had passed.
No wonder she was so tired.
"Sorry. I'm partly responsible for this too."
Robin's face was full of apology.
After all, her relationship with Kohane was absolutely real.
"There should be people watching around The Reverie right now. Why don't you hide here for a while first? Afterward, I'll take you to find your companions."
Robin proposed a feasible plan.
After thinking for a moment, March 7th nodded and agreed. After all, she could not think of any truly good solution either.
It would be better to let Robin safely take her to find the Astral Express crew.
Only, when she arrived on the familiar floor, her brow twitched unconsciously.
Crap. She had only just remembered what happened before.
The lingering signs of battle in the hallway immediately made her recall what had happened earlier.
It seemed she had brought Dan Heng here to make trouble, then run off.
Yet who could have expected that after circling around, she would come back here again...
Those people shouldn't still be staying here, right?
March 7th poked her head out from behind Robin and carefully looked around.
Just then, hearing movement in the corridor, one of the Iron Cavalry opened the door and looked out.
"Huh? Aren't you the little girl who just left earlier?"
She looked at Kohane, then her gaze shifted to Robin, who was holding her hand.
"Robin-san, why are you with her?"
Robin was also surprised by her reaction. "Asatsuba, you know her?"
"How could I not?"
Asatsuba recounted what had just happened.
"A person with the same hair color as that girl brought her over to our side earlier. Wait, no!"
Asatsuba suddenly turned her gaze toward March 7th, who was trying to sneak away right under their noses.
"You were the one from earlier!"
March 7th immediately ran the moment she realized she had been found out.
But this time, no one was helping her draw attention away, so she was caught before she had run far.
"I-I-I can explain!"
She was lifted by the back of her collar, her hands and feet flailing in midair.
Robin looked at March 7th, then at Kohane, who was hugging her leg tightly, and seemed to understand something.
It seemed there were some things here she did not know.
"So, what exactly happened?"
Robin asked Asatsuba her question.
Asatsuba soon answered all her doubts.
"Hotaru-nee just woke up. She said she wanted to find that girl..."
As she spoke, Asatsuba's eyes drifted toward Kohane, who was trying to hide behind Robin.
"I see."
After understanding the cause and effect, Robin raised an eyebrow.
"In that case, I'll go see how she's doing now."
When Kohane heard Robin's decision, she reached out and tugged on the corner of her clothes.
"Can we go a little later?"
Robin asked softly, "Why?"
"I want to prepare myself."
Prepare herself? Prepare herself for what?
Robin was puzzled by her words, while Kohane took two deep breaths before nodding to show she was ready.
At this moment, Robin told Asatsuba to take March 7th over first, and that she would arrive shortly.
Only after the mother and daughter were the only ones left there did she ask with concern,
"Did something happen?"
Why did Kohane need to prepare herself before going over?
After struggling for a long while, Kohane finally said one thing.
"Hotaru-nee always goes 'hehe' when she sees me."
Kohane recalled the scene in her memories. In that scene, she had originally been playing when she suddenly heard a strange sound and turned to look.
There, on the balcony, she had seen someone staring at her while going "hehe."
That scene had left an enormous impact on her young heart.
This was also why, when she saw Hotaru earlier, she had pressed herself closely against March 7th.
"You never told me about this?"
Robin was puzzled.
Would she really not know about something like that?
"Of course I told you. But after I told you..."
Kohane lifted her head and stole a glance at Robin before continuing.
"Then you made a really scary face and dragged Daddy back into the room."
Hm?!
Robin froze completely after hearing this.
What did that mean? Did this have something to do with Sora?
With the doubts in her heart, Robin pressed further. "Did I tell you what it was about?"
Kohane shook her head.
That made things strange. What exactly had happened that would make her do something like that?
Judging by Kohane's reaction, it seemed her future self had not told her young daughter the truth of the matter.
This only raised the difficulty of the puzzle by several levels.
So after thinking for a while, Robin directly gave up on continuing to think about it.
Whatever. Those were things that happened in the future.
Putting everything else aside, Hotaru was currently her friend as well.
It was perfectly normal for her to care about Hotaru's current physical condition.
And most importantly, why had the NIHILITY within Hotaru gone berserk after seeing Kohane?
That was what they needed to resolve most right now.
As for the answer to Kohane's question, she might learn it sooner or later.
For now, the most important thing was to resolve the matter before them.
So Robin said to Kohane, "The Aunt Hotaru right now doesn't know you, so you don't need to worry so much."
Kohane's eyes brightened. That did seem to make sense.
In that case, she did not need to worry so much.
"Then let's go!"
She mustered her courage and took Robin's hand again.
Robin brought her to Hotaru's room.
At this moment, Hotaru's face showed no remaining traces of the NIHILITY going berserk earlier. She was pacing uneasily around the room because of what Asatsuba had told her.
When she heard the door open, she turned her gaze over.
And when she saw Robin and Kohane, she immediately greeted them excitedly.
"Finally, finally I waited until you—"
"Good thing I didn't give up?"
Kohane instinctively followed up.
But she quickly realized the current situation, coughed twice, and then looked at Hotaru before her.
Although she had already gathered her courage, the moment she saw Hotaru, she still gripped Robin's hand tightly.
So Robin understood that she had to step forward at a time like this.
"Hotaru, is there something you need from her?"
After seeing Robin, Hotaru looked back and forth between the two of them in surprise.
Wasn't this resemblance a little too strong?
"What is your relationship with her...?"
Hotaru could not help asking the question, but all she received was a cough from Robin.
It was clear that Robin did not want their relationship revealed in advance.
Because if they said too much about certain things, perhaps other problems would arise.
Right now, she only wanted to understand exactly why Hotaru was looking for Kohane.
Seeing that Robin was unwilling to say more, Hotaru did not ask further.
In her view, the two looked so alike that she simply treated them as extremely close relatives.
After all, this was Penacony, Robin's homeworld. Having a relative who looked very much like her was perfectly reasonable.
As for Hotaru's true purpose in seeking out Kohane, it was very simple.
"I want you to..."
Hotaru's expression became extremely complicated and serious as she said to Kohane,
"I want you to help me soothe my friends, so they will no longer be trapped by NIHILITY."
Hotaru revealed the truth behind why she was looking for Kohane.
She wanted the protections from her friends that dwelled within her to completely dissipate, freeing them from being trapped by NIHILITY.
Although these protections were guarding her, they also kept those friends who had once helped her trapped within the confusion of NIHILITY.
They had gathered their power in one place and sent her out.
Because of the help of her former friends, she had finally escaped from NIHILITY, and at the same time, they had hidden themselves within her body.
Whenever Hotaru was in danger, they would automatically emerge to protect her safety.
But this also left them within the eternal erosion of NIHILITY.
When Hotaru saw Kohane, that light spilled out.
The desire to break free from this erosion made them lose control, letting instinct drive them to reach out toward her with hands longing for salvation.
After Hotaru calmed the power inside her, she began thinking about this power within her body.
This power was meant to protect her.
But now, she no longer needed the protection of the people she once knew.
She had new companions by her side now, and people capable of protecting her.
Yet her former friends were still being eroded by NIHILITY.
So Hotaru made her decision. She wanted to let her former friends be freed.
"Although I don't know where your power comes from, I hope you can use it to help me."
Hotaru directly bowed to Kohane, who was not even half her height, and requested this of her.
"I don't want my old friends to keep struggling in NIHILITY anymore."
Robin had never expected that this would be why Hotaru was looking for Kohane.
And faced with Hotaru's request, Robin naturally wanted to fulfill it.
But this was not something she should decide. The person Hotaru was seeking was Kohane, not her.
So under Robin's gaze and Hotaru's request, Kohane made her decision almost without thinking.
"Daddy always says that if you have power, you have to do something with it. With great power comes great responsibility."
A bright smile appeared on her face. When March 7th saw that smile, she seemed to glimpse a certain man within it.
"Especially when it's something that can help others. Then you can act first and think later."
The girl reached out and accepted Hotaru's request.
"And as his daughter, I can't let him down."
Hearing this answer, Robin smiled and sighed inwardly. As expected of Sora.
Although he was not the most handsome, some of his cooler traits had still been passed down.
Kohane agreed, and Hotaru was naturally moved beyond words.
However, this could not be done inside The Reverie.
Because the commotion would be far too great.
The battle marks left throughout the entire corridor already proved just how desperate those lives sunk within NIHILITY were to escape it when driven by instinct.
And this also could not be done within Penacony's Twelve Moments. It would be troublesome if someone was accidentally hurt.
After thinking it over, there seemed to be only one place that satisfied both conditions of being open and free from disturbance.
That was Dreamville, reached by taking the Compass.
The town occupied a large area, but in reality, it had many open spaces.
Completing this matter there would be more suitable than anywhere else.
Once they decided, they acted. The longer they delayed, the more the living beings inside Hotaru would be tormented by NIHILITY.
Not to mention, March 7th could conveniently leave from there and find the Astral Express crew.
It was simply a choice that killed two birds with one stone!
And so Robin immediately took Hotaru and Kohane aboard the Compass bound for Dreamville.
The Iron Cavalry chose to follow behind the train, drawing out a long silver-white trail.
At the same time, this scene was also taken in by the birds hiding in the shadowed corners.
...
Gopher Wood looked at the departing train and murmured inwardly, Oh? After capturing a hostage from the Astral Express, she's pressing the advantage immediately?
Robin, you've changed so much it almost seems unbelievable.
Decisively pursuing the enemy after seizing the advantage in order to expand that advantage—how long had it been since he had seen such a ruthless decision?
Who could have expected that he would see it from Robin?
"In this regard, even your elder brother cannot compare."
Gopher Wood sighed.
If Sunday had listened to his advice back then and not worried about so much, that dream of ORDER would have been completed long ago.
There would have been no way for Sora to disrupt the plan.
But he had still been indecisive.
He had given Robin and Sora far too many chances, ultimately ending in failure.
Gopher Wood believed that if the current Robin had been the one in charge, she absolutely would not have hesitated like that.
At the very least, the force with which she now led all her subordinates out to pursue the enemy proved that she was absolutely stronger than Sunday.
However, from her actions, Gopher Wood could also understand one thing.
"It seems Sora should have been defeated by those two Nameless."
Otherwise, Robin would not have moved out in full force.
As for how those two had defeated Sora...
"Did they use the special equipment Mikhail left here?"
From the beginning, he had known that Mikhail had left something special here.
Only, no matter what he did, he had been unable to find where it was.
Precisely because of that, he had lingering concerns and had to perfect his plan until it was almost impossible to fail before he dared implement it.
Because he had always been afraid that the thing Mikhail left behind would come out and disrupt things during his ascension to godhood.
But now that he sensed Sora might have lost, he could only associate it with those Nameless using whatever Mikhail had left behind.
Otherwise, how could those two Nameless possibly defeat Sora?
And because Sora had been defeated, they had then rushed nonstop toward Paperfold University to take Robin down.
Only they had not expected Robin's methods to be so formidable.
Not only had she repelled those Nameless, she had even captured a hostage from the other side, March 7th.
And now Robin was taking all her subordinates and the hostage to press the advantage, preparing to let the other side reunite.
The logic was airtight, with almost no flaws.
It just so happened to solve every problem Gopher Wood was facing.
"If that is truly the case, then it means there is currently nothing left in Penacony that can stop me."
Gopher Wood looked at the Stellaron in his possession, and the smile on his face grew wider and wider.
Now was the moment when his plan was least likely to fail!
"Astral Express, Robin, I must thank you!"
Amid his laughter, the birds hidden in the shadows flapped their wings and disappeared.
...
Inside the train, Robin felt somewhat disappointed when she did not see Misha.
She was still rather fond of this conductor.
"You two seem to have said the same thing..."
March 7th said while drinking juice.
After hearing what Robin said, the question Sora had once asked surfaced in her mind.
"Hm? You didn't see him?"
Robin said in some surprise.
But not only March 7th—even Kohane shook her head, indicating that they had never seen him.
This puzzled Robin. She did not think Misha was the sort of person who would casually abandon the train.
From the way he cleaned, keeping this place spotless, one could tell that he cared deeply about the Compass.
Could he have taken leave?
Robin could only think of this answer.
At that moment, Kohane took out a picture book from the train.
The moment Robin saw it, her eyes immediately lit up.
"Isn't this Clockie and His Friends — Special Crossover Collection, Episode 3?"
Robin remembered clearly that Episode 3 was where the climax of the Special Crossover Collection began.
Kohane also climbed into Robin's lap with easy familiarity and waited to listen.
Robin smiled faintly, then began gently telling the story within...
...
After many people worked together on emergency repairs, the DenLiner no longer showed any signs of its former damage.
In fact, because the materials had been upgraded, the train looked even newer than before.
The Imagin were very satisfied when they saw it, and Sora naturally had nothing to say.
Since the train was repaired, it was time for them to say farewell to this time.
"We're planning to leave now."
"So suddenly?!"
Hanunue was somewhat surprised when he heard this.
Although the other party had only been here a few days, they had given Penacony, which had just stepped onto its path, extraordinary help.
In the past few days, after finding the IPC's munitions according to the information from the command ship, Penacony as it stood could be said to lack nothing.
Supplies were sufficient, and munitions were abundant.
Such weapons and equipment were already enough for Penacony to endure this most difficult stage.
That was why Sora proposed leaving at this time.
"How this place is built from here on is up to you. We can only help you this far."
Hanunue heard the firmness in Sora's words.
He fell silent for a moment, but said nothing. He simply stepped forward and gave him a hug.
"I'll build this place into the most famous planet in the universe."
"I believe you."
The title of Planet of Festivities would indeed spread across the cosmos.
The farewell ceremony was not complicated. The people watched as Sora and the Imagin walked into the train, watching them depart toward the galaxy.
Only when it ended did Hanunue take a deep breath.
"Let's go, Mikhail. We'll continue building our Penacony!"
But after he said that, no response came for a long time.
"Mikhail? Mikhail?"
He turned his head and scanned the surroundings, but no matter what, he could not find him.
"Where is he?!"
"Leader Hanunue, Mikhail said he wanted to perform a final inspection on this train. He said, 'We can't let anything go wrong on a friend's journey.'"
Tiernan, who was equipped with a pistol, had previously been a guard of the Astral Express, so he understood Mikhail's feelings.
But now, his tone also held a trace of panic. He turned his head toward the train already heading into the galaxy and suddenly thought of something rather bad.
"So at this very moment, he should be... over there."
Hanunue froze. Immediately after, he turned and shouted toward the departing train.
"Don't go! Don't go!"
Give Mikhail back!
He ran wildly while calling out, wanting the train to stop for a moment.
This scene was taken in by Urataros, who had been waiting by the window the whole time.
He shook his head lightly. "Ah, as expected, parting is what hurts people most."
See? They had only stayed a few days, and the other party already did not want them to leave.
"Don't you think so...?"
Urataros's gaze fell on Sunday, who was face-to-face with Ryutaros.
He wanted to see how someone who had stayed in this place longer than they had would change.
Unfortunately, at this very moment, Sunday was only glaring at Ryutaros in front of him.
"They're competing to see who blinks first."
Kintaros explained.
The corner of Sora's mouth twitched.
And Sunday still had the nerve to say there was something wrong with his mind?
The person in front of you can't even blink, can he?
And so the train continued onward toward the future...