In Pardofelis and Dystopia's room,
"Little Pardo, tell your sister Dystopia honestly—what exactly happened today?" Dystopia asked sternly, her gaze fixed on Pardofelis. "Why did Elysia suddenly leave the team, and why haven't you spoken to Silas at all? …Does he already have someone he likes?"
Even if he did, that wasn't necessarily a problem—you could always try to poach him. Of course, that would depend on who the rival was…
Pardofelis stayed silent.
How was she supposed to explain this? She really wanted to tell Dystopia the situation and get her advice, but… Lilith's circumstances were extremely unusual—something that absolutely could not be talked about.
"It's nothing…" Pardo mumbled, pulling the blanket over herself. "Don't worry, Sis Dystopia. I'm fine."
After all, some things had to be fought for by one's own hands. There was no such thing as free pie falling from the sky… well, actually, hadn't she experienced that kind of luck more than a few times?
Pardo finally remembered her own borderline cheat-level good fortune. Since her luck was already so absurd, if she worked a little harder on top of that… success might not be impossible, right?
—
In Silas and Kosma's room.
Silas stared at his phone screen, the message from Elysia still unanswered. He thought for a long time but couldn't figure out what he should send back.
He set the phone on the bedside table, closed his eyes, and decided to stop thinking about it.
He could say plenty of comforting words, but… sometimes those words only caused more trouble for both sides.
"Love, huh…" The face of a certain girl appeared in his mind. "How should I put it… After my confession failed in the previous life, I guess I stopped thinking about it entirely. After all… this isn't my world."
To be fair, he had his own childhood friend, and his own close buddies and troublemakers. But after crossing over, he had nothing. No friends, no family—not even a cheat ability.
At first, he worked hard just to see Elysia again. Later, it became about being able to stand beside her. And later still, it became about protecting everyone in the Flame-Chasers, protecting all the Fallen Angels.
Never once had he thought about "protecting humanity."
That wasn't his responsibility.
But to protect everyone he cared about, he had to fight against the Honkai. And to fight the Honkai, saving some people was inevitable—nothing more than that.
Destroying the Honkai had become his obsession.
And after defeating the Honkai? Would he even survive? If he could trade one life for the Finality itself, that would already be his limit.
He knew all too well—having truly fought the Finality—just how strong it was. And he knew his own limits. In that final battle, though it looked like they were evenly matched on the surface, the truth was…
To use an example—it was like they had the same attack and defense, but the Finality's HP and MP bars were far thicker than his. And on top of that, he was constantly bleeding out HP.
That was why he'd been so desperate to push the Chimera Project—or rather, the Ascension Project.
To ascend the throne of the gods while still in a human body.
But… Mobius's counterarguments back then were logically sound. If they carried out the Chimera Project now, would the upper echelons approve? On paper, the Honkai was still "under control." Would its results seem safe to those in power? In his previous life, many still didn't even see MANTIS as human. They fought and bled for humanity, only to be met with endless rumors and slander from those they protected.
From that, his conclusion was clear: humanity would only seek every possible solution when faced with crushing defeat—when massive casualties forced them to recognize their own helplessness.
Lost in his tangled thoughts, he drifted into sleep.
In the darkness, his phone screen lit up.
It was a message from Elysia:
"No matter what your final answer is, nothing will change. I will still keep watching you, just as you once watched me. I will share every moment with you, and keep all your stories in my memory forever."
Then, the message was withdrawn.
Replaced with:
"Good night, Silas."
—
The next morning, Silas woke up, saw Elysia's message, and fell into deep thought.
Was Elysia really okay?
Her reply… didn't even have an emoji.
Silas suddenly found himself worrying about her mental state again.
After breakfast at the hotel, the group followed Elysia's original itinerary—today's plan was to visit the amusement park.
The Puglia City Amusement Park might not be famous worldwide, but on the Italian Peninsula it was certainly well-known.
Silas remembered that in the Elysian Realm, Elysia had a huge amusement park of her own. This must be one of the activities she was looking forward to the most.
…Tch. The guilt gnawed at him again.
Rin, being a lively six-year-old, was at the perfect age for boundless energy, dragging Sakura around the park at full speed.
"It's really not easy for Sakura to take care of her little sister all by herself," Dystopia said with a helpless smile. She had thought about helping Sakura look after Rin for a while, but the little girl seemed especially attached to Sakura. And besides, she didn't know what Rin liked—if she accidentally made her cry, what then?
Kevin nodded. "Indeed."
"Since we're at the amusement park, everyone probably has something they want to do. Let's split up here and meet back at this spot later."
"No objections." Kevin nodded again, his gaze shifting toward the giant Ferris wheel. Puglia's Ferris wheel was said to be among the top ten tallest in the world, high enough to overlook nearly half of Puglia City. The Atagina family estate was also in that area.
Perfect for observation.
Though first, he'd need to buy a pair of binoculars—he didn't exactly have clairvoyance. Height was one thing, but he still had to see clearly.
Su, already guessing what Kevin had in mind, sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"In that case, I'll go with you, Kevin—"
Kosma didn't get to finish before Dystopia suddenly grabbed him by the arm. "Hey?! That roller coaster over there looks really fun! Come on, Kosma, let's go check it out together!"
Kosma: "!"
He was terrified of heights!
He turned, intending to call to Silas and the others for help, only to realize that Silas and Pardo had already vanished, while Kevin and Su acted as if they hadn't seen anything.
Kosma: "…"
I'm doomed.
—
Elsewhere, Sakura was still debating what to take Rin on first when Silas walked over. "The haunted house here is pretty well-designed. Want to go take a look? Conveniently, it only has an age restriction for under four years old, so Rin can go too."
"But Rin…" Sakura hesitated and glanced at her sister.
"Haunted house! Haunted house!" Rin raised her hands and cheered.
Pardo's face went pale—this was the thing she feared the most!
But there was no helping it. If both Rin and Silas wanted to go, and Sakura didn't object… then she had no choice but to follow.
Noticing Pardo's troubled expression, Silas added, "If you're scared, just stick close to me. If it's too much, you can even hold my hand."
The four quickly bought their tickets and entered the haunted house.
"Si-Silas… are you sure this haunted house is really nothing scary?" Pardo clung to one of Silas's arms, trembling.
"I'm right here—what's there to be afraid of?" Silas showed no reaction whatsoever to the cold-air mechanism blowing at his neck. He had come here mainly because he remembered Rin liked these kinds of thrilling attractions.
He'd even played horror games with her before.
Seeing her younger sister's eyes sparkling with excitement, Sakura gave Silas a surprised glance—she hadn't known Rin enjoyed this kind of thing.
By now, Silas was already thinking about what to do next. Roller coasters and pendulum rides were also things Rin liked, but she wasn't old enough yet. The only option was the pirate ship. If he remembered correctly, the pirate ship here had a minimum age requirement of six years—perfect for Rin. After that…
Because Rin was a child, the haunted house staff weren't allowed to scare her directly. So after Sakura and Rin passed, the staff member in that section poked his head out to give Silas a jump scare—only to find himself shoved back into hiding because he blocked Silas's view.
Staff member: "…"
Could you at least respect my profession?
Pardo: "…"
Silas is invincible!
After leaving the haunted house, Sakura was just about to ask Rin if she wanted to ride the carousel when Silas spoke up: "Next, let's try the pirate ship."
"Yay!" Rin immediately let go of Sakura's hand and grabbed Silas's instead. "Pirate ship! Pirate ship!"
Sakura: "…"
Why… does it suddenly feel like this isn't my little sister anymore?
After the pirate ship, Silas suggested bumper cars.
Seeing the strange look Sakura gave him, Silas explained, "Rin likes thrilling rides, but if there aren't any, her other favorite type is something she can enjoy with her big sister. I thought bumper cars would be perfect."
Sakura: "…"
Why does it feel like I'm failing as a sister…?
"Well, you rarely get the chance to go out and play with her," Silas continued with a smile. "And when you do, it's usually Rin taking care of you. You're her sister—whatever you take her to do, she's going to enjoy it."
Sakura: "…"
Stop… stop, I get it…
While they were talking, Silas noticed someone watching them. Tilting his head slightly, he caught a glimpse of pink in his peripheral vision.
He knew it—there was no way Elysia wouldn't show up. And if she was here… Eden might be nearby too.
He had a feeling that if Elysia saw him, she'd run. He'd have to come up with a plan…
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