The man's voice was very soft, swallowed by the sea breeze in just a few breaths.
But the name in that sentence was like a brand on her mind, evoking the deepest memory in the young girl's thoughts.
Seele Vollerei...
The younger sister who, in order to protect her, revealed the natural Stigma on her body and was then submerged into the quantum domain.
In an instant, Bronya gripped the armrests of her wheelchair, her silver-gray eyes becoming as sharp as a snow wolf's.
"Who... are you?"
Ripples faintly stirred in the void behind the young girl, as if a wild beast was aiming its sharp claws at Brian's vital points, ready to take his life.
Bronya had seen Brian's file. She knew this guy had a mysterious origin, and that his entire history before Nagazora City was a blank slate.
But that wasn't a reason for this guy to know about Seele.
He had never appeared at Cocolia's Orphanage, nor was he a member of Anti-Entropy. There was no reason for him to know about the experiment that had cost her almost everything.
Absolutely no reason!
A killer's vigilance made Bronya begin to re-evaluate the events of this period.
Everything had been normal before meeting this man, but after encountering him, she felt an irrepressible urge to confide in him.
Her usual self would never be like this, much less pour her heart out to her mission target.
Without a doubt...
"It was you."
She dropped the act.
The petite girl floated up from her wheelchair, the dark muzzle of a cannon aimed directly at Brian's head.
If this man made any unusual move, Bronya would immediately send him to the next world.
In any case, as long as nothing happened to Raiden Mei, there was still a chance to continue with the plan.
Faced with the undisguised threat, the black-haired youth spread his hands, indicating he was no threat.
"I'm saying, if you still want to see your sister, then you should sit down and have a proper talk with me."
"There's no need." The girl's eyes were icy, as if looking at a pig or sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
"Is that so?" Brian's expression was unreadable. "Why do you think your actions can save the sister you lost because of an experiment?"
How did he know?
Doubt filled Bronya's heart, but she quickly found a reason.
There are no secrets that can be kept forever. As long as something has happened in history, there will always be clues pointing to the truth, from which their current plan could be deduced.
After defeating Raiden Ryoma's forces, Cocolia discovered the existence of the Gem of Conquest among Raiden Ryoma's assets.
With the permission of the Anti-Entropy Sovereign and several other conservative executives, this gem was implanted into Raiden Mei's body to suppress the prematurely awakened Stigma within her.
Originally, Cocolia didn't have grand plans for the Gem of Conquest, merely treating Raiden Mei as a vessel for it.
But then, she obtained a plan from somewhere.
To turn Seele Vollerei into a Herrscher, let her use the Herrscher's power to break free from the shackles of the quantum domain, and reunite their family.
And Raiden Mei, who, like Seele Vollerei, also possessed a natural Stigma and happened to be a Herrscher core vessel, naturally became her test subject.
Cocolia had said that by sacrificing Raiden Mei alone, they could rescue Seele from the quantum domain.
Bronya believed her and was willing to bear this sin.
"This has nothing to do with you."
A light glowed in the cannon's muzzle. Brian's life hung by a thread.
However...
"Bronya Zaychik, let me guess what your adoptive mother Cocolia told you." Young Brian's face was tinged with mockery.
"She told you that by sacrificing just Raiden Mei, by using her to complete the Herrscher-fication experiment, you would get a chance to save your sister."
"She told you that everything was according to plan, that all that was missing was a suitable test subject to bring the plan to fruition."
But!
"Born on that snowfield, living on the ruins of the Second Honkai Eruption... have you never thought about just how much destruction the birth of a Herrscher would cause?"
Mental suggestion.
"..." The girl's expression wavered for a moment, then became firm again in an instant. "The Honkai energy within the Gem of Conquest is not enough to trigger a great eruption. Our Titans will take care of everything before a disaster can occur!"
She repeated Cocolia's reply.
The results of the X-10 experiment had already been applied in combat.
Although Bronya deeply despised everything related to that experiment.
As the current person in charge of the plan, she had to admit that the Warping Titans, which applied the experiment's results, were incredibly powerful, a generational leap ahead of previous models.
In their data models, an incomplete Herrscher of Thunder could not resist the power of the Warping Titans.
"Is that so?" Brian's expression grew even more mocking. "Although I don't know where you got the confidence to defeat the Herrscher of Thunder with autonomous weapons, I think you're in for a big surprise."
"Are those your last words?" Young Brian was in mortal danger.
Everyone could die, except for Raiden Mei!
"Alright, alright, let's change the subject."
You can't wake someone who's pretending to be asleep until they hit a wall.
Brian knew he couldn't convince Bronya on this matter; her obsession had become a fixation.
"Let's not talk about the success rate of your plan, nor about how guilty your sister will feel when she learns you killed for her."
Bronya: "..."
She had thought about it, but chose to ignore it.
"Let's talk about the probability of your sister surviving after becoming a Herrscher." The bud of evil bloomed.
"You are Cocolia's adopted daughter and have had contact with Schicksal, so I assume you must know about the existence of Divine Keys."
"..." A bad feeling began to grow in Bronya's heart.
"There are twelve Divine Keys, and each one was forged using a Herrscher's core as the raw material."
"You plan to catalyze Seele Vollerei into a Herrscher. Are you trying to make her the raw material for a new generation of Divine Keys?" Brian's smile was exceptionally mocking.
Bronya's eyes were flustered and wavering. "No... it's not like that!"
"Not like that? What makes you think your shallow wisdom can compare to the weight of an entire era?"
"Or do you think that after becoming a Herrscher, Seele Vollerei will be stronger than the former Herrscher of the Void, capable of taking on the whole world?"
Bronya found her last straw to grasp: "The Anti-Entropy Sovereign! The Anti-Entropy Sovereign is also a Herrscher! He is this era's Herrscher of Reason!"
Young Brian leaned close to the girl's ear. "I forgot to tell you, the current second-generation Anti-Entropy Sovereign has been seriously ill and on the verge of death for many years."
"..."
Her world collapsed!
Her self-righteous rescue was merely forcing her dearest sister from one dead end to another.
"What... what have I done?!"
The girl's eyes dimmed, her pupils dilating.
"You are hurting your sister in your own self-righteous way."
Bronya Zaychik could not accept the existence of this possibility, and her spirit suffered a severe blow.
Hypnosis.
Mental suggestion.
So useful.
Stroking Bronya's head, Brian felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.
To turn a wolf into a dog, you just need a carrot and a stick.
He had no carrots or sticks, but he had plenty of empty promises.
And to turn the Silver Wolf of the Urals into Valkyrie Chariot, all it took was one big promise.
It was time to tame the wolf.
*Raiden family.jpg*