Leaving behind a simple sentence, the space gate leading to the Theater Domain began to slowly fade.
It seemed that Ling Ke had a truly twisted mind.
He was deliberately delaying the closing.
After all, when urgently needed, that door opens in an instant.
And closes just as quickly.
—Today he tried everything. He learned from Old Wang, an Archmage from the neighboring Marvel Cinematic Universe, and used the space gate to play "cut."
Off-topic.
At this moment...
—No, no!
Bronya struggled to break through the invisible barrier in front of her, but she could only watch as the space gate shrank smaller and smaller—
Until the scenes of the Theater Domain completely vanished before her eyes.
Once the barrier was gone, she stumbled forward and collapsed weakly to her knees.
She was stunned, unable to react for a long while.
Even now, despite having inherited the power of the Law of Reason...
—I still can't do anything!
Bronya knew very well that her feelings toward Cocolia were extremely complicated.
She knew her "mother" had committed countless atrocities and killed too many people.
In Changkong City alone, millions of innocent citizens had lost their families and futures because of her.
But even knowing that...
Bronya still didn't want Cocolia to suffer.
Over all these years, the sense of justice in her heart and her contradictory emotions had been clashing constantly.
Originally, after the events in Haeyeon-seong and accompanying Cocolia to prison, Bronya had gradually started to emerge from the shadow of her past.
She could finally stop thinking about it.
She began to comfort herself—Mama Cocolia has already been punished.
But...
The ruined city of Changkong. And Singapore, which nearly suffered the same fate...
Can someone who causes artificial collapses so recklessly, repeatedly disregarding the lives of innocents, truly be punished with mere imprisonment?
Bronya feared to face that question.
Yes, she was running away.
Because that choice was too painful.
She had wanted to believe that from then on, she could pretend the problem no longer existed.
But with Ling Ke's arrival...
He was right.
His existence, Cocolia's, and the entirety of their dark history...
Had now come back for vengeance.
The millions of innocent souls that perished in the Changkong marketplace had no choice.
But he did.
He became the judge.
—Xier!
Suddenly, Bronya shuddered.
She remembered the last words of the gray-haired girl she had just left behind.
That person's goal wasn't only Mama Cocolia.
Also...
—No, Bronya has to go back, she has to get to Xier... and everyone else!
Panic completely overtook her.
She was already broken inside, and suddenly it all clicked—anyone she cared about was now in danger!
Too many thoughts collided in her mind.
She was so dazed that her whole body seemed to have lost its soul. Even though she had decided her next move, her body still staggered, rising from the ground like a wandering ghost.
Her expression would fill anyone who saw it with deep sorrow.
Behind her, the special ops agents of Anti-Entropy looked at each other in silence.
Fu Hua didn't know how to comfort her.
But Kiana stepped forward quickly and grabbed Bronya by the shoulders.
—Bronya, calm down!
The Kiana of today, after everything she had been through, was no longer the carefree, lazy, flirty, and naïve girl of before.
Little by little, she had become a warrior with a mature and steady heart.
Her spirit no longer wavered so easily.
That's why...
—Don't worry. We'll protect Xier, Lilia, and Rosalia. We won't let anything happen to them.
—But you can't shut down.
—Bronya, we'll all help you.
—You're not alone.
Hearing that...
—Kiana...
Bronya's body trembled slightly, and she barely managed to regain her senses.
She was about to say something...
—Hahahahaha! IT'S_SHOWTIME!!
—Watch out!
Fu Hua reacted with lightning speed, pushing Kiana and Bronya into a nearby cell.
But the SWAT agents from Anti-Entropy who had come with them—
Bang-bang-bang-bang!
A tall figure suddenly appeared in the crowd, blazing through the corridor.
That "person" wore a red leather jacket and held a black revolver in each hand.
Without hesitation, he began shooting like a madman!
For a moment, a rain of bullets turned the corridor into hell.
It lasted only two or three seconds.
Plop~
Plop~
All of the Anti-Entropy special ops agents fell one by one, riddled with bullets and drenched in blood.
All around—was death.
—Yes, now you're no longer alone.
The red-clad figure... "Domination Puppet Billy," didn't continue the attack.
He stood with arms outstretched, shrugging, spinning the revolvers with his mechanical fingers.
—Camaraderie, bonds... You really like playing with those things.
—Well... better that way...
The red figure laughed.
He raised a finger and pointed at Bronya.
—My revenge against you... will be to make you completely alone again.
—The world's number one killer, who once topped the "Charon List" and struck fear into countless hearts...
—The Silver Wolf of the Urals.
At that moment, a space gate unfolded behind him.
As he stepped back...
—From this day forward, I will indiscriminately hunt and kill every active member of the Anti-Entropy organization.
The red figure laughed.
—Will you make this "preview" public?
—I'm waiting for your answer.
Zzzmm!
The space gate closed.
Around them, only corpses remained.
Kiana, Bronya, and Fu Hua stood in silence.
Ling Ke is a person with a twisted mind.
That has been said countless times.
So today, the puzzle he left for Bronya—this dilemma, this emotional torment...
Was intentional.
He had foretold that he would hunt and kill all active members of Anti-Entropy.
And if this information became public...
One time...
—There's no stopping him.
Because if all members of Anti-Entropy find out...
Without a doubt, panic will spread through the organization like a virus.
After all, not everyone is willing to die fighting the Honkai.
And even among those who are... many have families, loved ones, people to protect.
The threat of "targeted assassinations" is terrifying.
And that's the dilemma.
If they go public, the organization will collapse from within.
If they don't...
—Then how are we any different from Otto?
Night fell.
At the Anti-Entropy headquarters in the North American Salt Lake base, Dr. Tesla erupted in fury.
—That lunatic bastard!
She couldn't even come up with enough insults.
In front of Otto, a cunning old fox with over 500 years of life, Dr. Tesla could spit out every profanity in the book.
But after learning about Ling Ke's past...
—He's the "villain" we created with our own hands!
In the conference room, Dr. Einstein also had a splitting headache.
Karma.
Ling Ke was the "karma" Anti-Entropy left behind due to fate.
At that moment...
—Ling Ke... I heard Mei mention him once —Kiana suddenly said—. Back then, Mei and I were still in Changkong City, during the time of the Third Great Collapse.
—She regretted not trusting him, not listening to his warnings... She blamed herself, believing all the disasters in Changkong were due to her ignorance.
—At the time, we all thought Ling Ke had died, just like the millions of other Changkong citizens.
—Later...
—Later, Sister Mei asked Bronya to secretly investigate his whereabouts.
Bronya, who had regained some composure, spoke seriously:
—But we found nothing.
—There wasn't even a photo. All the surveillance footage from Changkong City had been destroyed. At that time, I didn't even know he was the ordinary civilian arrested under Mama Cocolia's orders.
Hearing those words...
Bronya fell silent again.
—Notify them.
Walter Young, current leader of the Anti-Entropy Alliance, had no choice but to order:
—Make the "preview" from the Herrscher of Domination public, highlighting how dangerous he is.
—Anyone who still wants to stay must be prepared to die.
Clearly...
They had chosen to cut off their own arm—
To remain true to their conscience.