For the people of Anti-Entropy, they currently had two choices.
First, let Einstein and Tesla leave with World Serpent.
Second, abandon the others in the base and let Siegfried, Einstein, and Tesla leave with Welt.
But in the eyes of the three, there was actually no difference between these two choices and one.
After all, the three couldn't achieve absolute rationality. Asking them to abandon other employees in Anti-Entropy and flee just like that... the three couldn't do it.
Whether it was the two Anti-Entropy veterans who rebelled against Schicksal decades ago, or the current head of the Kaslana house who chose to leave Schicksal now, they all made this choice because they were dissatisfied with Otto's 'inhumane' practices.
If they chose the second option now because of absolute rationality... then what was the difference between them and Otto?
The four of them could leave, but what about the remaining Anti-Entropy employees?
These people claiming to be World Serpent beat Yuno until she lost combat capability right off the bat; obviously, they were not kind souls.
If they chose to leave at a time like this, what would happen to the companions of Anti-Entropy... they would know with a little thought.
Rather than abandoning companions and being deserters, the two founders of Anti-Entropy chose to leave with World Serpent.
This way, at least the remaining everyone had a probability of surviving.
"Mr. Siegfried, no need to glare at me like that."
Looking at Siegfried holding the pitch-black longsword, Gray Serpent shrugged helplessly.
"Mr. Welt's deeds of fighting the Honkai, this one has already informed our great Liege Kevin. He has acknowledged Mr. Welt's will and will no longer act against this [Human] Herrscher."
"Of course, we won't touch Anti-Entropy's things here. And inviting the two doctors to leave with us this time doesn't mean we plan to make you two work for free."
Gray Serpent knew that the Anti-Entropy group chose to join forces with them now only out of helplessness.
Before the Liege returned, Gray Serpent didn't dare to make the decision to hand over some data in exchange for benefits.
But now, after Kevin's approval, Gray Serpent could perform many more operations.
"We certainly know that the two doctors are indeed very dissatisfied deep down. But I think, after seeing these data, the two doctors might understand our World Serpent's sincerity—we really intend to fight the Honkai seriously."
Catching the memory stick thrown by Gray Serpent, Einstein asked back indifferently.
"Mr. Gray Serpent, chatting with us so leisurely now, aren't you afraid we'll renege temporarily?"
"I understand your experiences. If you were people who would choose to renege, you probably wouldn't have established Anti-Entropy."
"...Heh, it seems you really understand us."
After inserting the memory stick into a computer and seeing the data inside, Einstein's eyes suddenly widened.
"This is...!"
"Research data on the Moonlight Throne—these are data left behind by those sages of the Previous Era who built the Moonlight Throne."
Seeing the shocked expression on Einstein's face, Gray Serpent knew his goal had been achieved.
"This data is more detailed than the data Anti-Entropy holds. Doctors, please believe our determination to fight the Honkai."
In this moment, the door of this room was blown away by a powerful force.
And as the door was blown away, Kevin walked in from the outside dragging the still unconscious Raven, looking indifferently at everyone in the room.
"Just as Gray Serpent said, our World Serpent fights the Honkai from the bottom of our hearts. Although we had some misunderstandings with everyone at Anti-Entropy in the past, I think this data is enough to express our sincerity to everyone at Anti-Entropy."
At this moment, Tesla leaned over to Einstein's side in disbelief.
Then, after flipping through the data with Einstein, she discovered...
*Damn, this data is actually real?*
The two had been studying the Moonlight Throne data for a long time, so they could naturally see the authenticity of this data very clearly.
*These guys, after coming to our door to beat us up, actually sent us such a big gift package?*
The two who had worked together for many years exchanged glances and saw incredibly heavy suspicion in their best friend's eyes simultaneously.
To be honest, World Serpent could have been tougher.
After all, Anti-Entropy's weakness was indeed seized by the opponent right now. Even if World Serpent was tougher at a time like this, Anti-Entropy would probably have to grit their teeth and accept it.
But this group didn't strike a deadly blow after threatening Anti-Entropy, but instead made Anti-Entropy pay a price that was very uncomfortable but not completely unacceptable.
They really didn't plan to act against Welt and Siegfried, only hoping for Tesla and Einstein to go over and 'assist them'.
And after Anti-Entropy lost the initiative, this group actively handed over incredibly precious data...
To be honest, this visibly had huge problems.
After all, the current World Serpent didn't need to treat the people of Anti-Entropy with such a good attitude at all, unless...
—*Their claim of preparing to fight the Honkai is serious?*
*Conspiracy, a visible conspiracy.*
*It's just that right now, with the intelligence we hold, we can't deduce what exactly World Serpent intends to do.*
*And Project Stigma... from the legacies left by the Previous Civilization that we explored in the past, we found a few words and phrases about this plan.*
*Judging from those few words and phrases, this plan is incredibly terrifying.*
*If Warrior Kevin really intends to execute Project Stigma as he said in the video before, then I can understand what this guy intends to do.*
*But now, although their attitude seems to have softened a lot, in the final analysis, they are still coercing us.*
*We have no choice.*
*Then we can only do this.*
"Fine, then we will take a trip to World Serpent with you."
After confirming that the two had no intention of resisting, Kevin looked at Siegfried again.
Only subsequently, he still chose not to forcibly take Siegfried back to the World Serpent base.
Before the operation, after listening to Gray Serpent's comprehensive report, Kevin felt World Serpent should still invite Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla to World Serpent.
It wasn't that Kevin felt Project Stigma needed these two's assistance, mainly...
After thinking a little, he discovered one thing.
The destructive power these two women posed to Project Stigma might be much stronger than that already crippled Herrscher of Reason.
As a man whose wife was a researcher, Kevin certainly couldn't look down on the role of researchers.
In fact, the reason the warriors of the Previous Era could stand before Finality was largely thanks to the researchers.
If not for them constantly perfecting technologies like Fusion Warriors and Divine Keys through experiments, Kevin and the others would have been defeated by previous Herrschers long ago.
In Kevin's view, compared to the habitually missing Welt and the halfway recruit Siegfried, Einstein and Tesla were the main force of Anti-Entropy.
After taking them away from Anti-Entropy, this organization's threat to World Serpent could be said to have been neutralized by more than half.
As for why he didn't choose to kill these two directly...
Kevin wasn't a fool.
These two were definitely not fools either.
The reason they submitted, aside from not wanting to abandon their Anti-Entropy companions, was partly because the two judged that they had utility value to Kevin and his group, so they wouldn't die anytime soon.
If his side chose to make a move, the two having the quantum teleportation system could leave his sight in an instant.
And in the end, Tesla and Einstein were undoubtedly heroes fighting the Honkai.
Toward such heroes, unless absolutely necessary, Kevin didn't want to strike a killer blow.
And handing over the complete version of the Moonlight Throne research data to the two...
*Heh, it shows I've lost confidence in my future.*
*Although my state in this battle didn't reach peak level, I don't know if Aaron used all his trump cards either.*
*In a one-on-one situation, I don't have the certainty of victory.*
*And since Aaron chose to negate Project Stigma, if I am defeated in our future battle, he will inevitably destroy everything related to Project Stigma.*
*At that step, if humanity cannot choose Project Stigma, they must choose other means to fight Finality.*
*Although the Moonlight Throne can only cause sufficient damage to the Herrscher of Finality under overload conditions, no matter what, this is an armament confirmed to be able to threaten Finality.*
*If I am truly defeated, then... these two Anti-Entropy doctors can perfect the Moonlight Throne based on the data we left behind. In the future, when Aaron and the others face Finality, they will naturally have one more chance of winning.*
*Truly laughable.*
*Even at this step, I am actually wavering.*
*On one hand, feeling humanity has no time and must rely on Project Stigma to defeat the Honkai.*
*But on the other hand, I am actually still fantasizing that other human heroes can come up with a way to defeat Finality, so humanity can defeat the Honkai without using [Project Stigma].*
After everyone teleported to a World Serpent branch base, Kevin buried the thoughts in his heart again.
Humanity had no time for him to act out this boring melodramatic monologue now.
This world didn't need wavering people.
*Next, I have only two things to do.*
*Recover my power, then complete the first part of Project Stigma.*
*Then use that strongest power to resolve Aaron.*
*If you don't want to be buried by me like this, then try to surpass the complete me, Aaron.*
*If you can surpass me...*
*Perhaps you can really walk a [Path of Salvation] that belongs to you.*
.....................
A Few Minutes Ago. The Deep
Aaron, who failed to kill Kevin with the Whale-Slaying Cannon, circulated the power of Magnetic Field Rotation when those gray serpents turned Honkai Beasts self-destructed, blocking the shockwave generated by this explosion with the Royal Ultimate Indestructible Body.
However, The Deep where he was located wasn't so lucky.
Accompanied by the chain explosion of these artificial Honkai Beasts, The Deep, whose space was already unstable due to multiple violent energy outbursts nearby, exploded on the spot.
Not only that, the space that had shattered once due to Durandal and Welt's blow, before it had time to stabilize, was blasted again by the newly appearing terrifying energy shockwave.
Looking at the spatial rifts appearing constantly around him, Aaron very decisively switched the Revive Hourglass to Gale Mode, distancing his body from this terrifying area at maximum speed.
In the next instant—everything inside The Deep was swallowed completely by the spatial rifts.
Not only that, even the areas around The Deep were constantly swallowed after being absorbed by the spatial rifts.
If Aaron hadn't adjusted the Revive Hourglass's speed to the limit he could use right now in this moment, he estimated he would have been swept into the Sea of Quanta along with this Previous Era ruin.
Although it wasn't impossible for him to get out, that place, the Sea of Quanta...
Better not go if he didn't have to.
"...In the end, I still failed to kill that man, sigh."
Looking at the gradually stabilizing space, Aaron exhaled a breath of turbid air gently.
Only after his body relaxed did he realize his spirit was incredibly exhausted.
In this duel with Kevin, the physical damage he received could be completely repaired using Guts.
But Aaron, who used powerful Spirit Commands multiple times in battle, felt his mental energy was exhausted for the first time in a long while.
And it was true he defeated Kevin this time, but the oppression Kevin brought him was also real.
That man, without knowing Aaron's fighting style, actually predicted his tactics in advance and instead checkmated him using the Star of Eden's gravitational field.
The title of Strongest of the Previous Era really wasn't for show.
Even if the current Kevin hadn't absorbed the Honkai energy he held, and his combat power compared to Kevin in his peak period was at most a discount version, his brain was still there.
Aaron repelled Kevin this time, but Kevin also probed more of Aaron's trump cards.
Kevin would inevitably find a way to fill his deficiencies during this time, finding a substitute that could replace the Star of Eden as a 'second core', and stop being in a weakened state.
Next time they met, Aaron felt he would probably have to face a Kevin who could use Judgment of Shamash freely and was even more cautious.
*Sigh, headache.*
*An enemy with brains who can also fight...*
*Forget it, won't think so much.*
*Me going up against Kevin is a matter of time.*
*The person who should really have a headache right now isn't me, but that man.*
*Heh, take this opportunity to probe him.*
After floating from the sea to the surface, Aaron took out his communicator and proactively contacted Otto's secretary, Amber.
"Miss Amber, this is the Oceania Branch Head Aaron. I have an important matter to tell Overseer Otto right now."
"Excuse me, is the Overseer available to meet me today?"