After silently cursing her Old Ancestor several times, Imhotep reluctantly accepted Gray Serpent's invitation, her face a mask of annoyance.
"So... where is the Judgement of Shamash?"
Imhotep glared at Gray Serpent, her fury palpable. The man felt as if some of the synthetic oil in his cybernetic body had frozen solid, his joints creaking with every movement.
"There's no need to take your anger out on me... The Sacred Relic is currently stored in the basement of Heliopolis Life Sciences, awaiting transfer... Your Excellency will be able to see it shortly."
"Oh? And what of its previous wielder, Siegfried Kaslana?"
"We have placed him in a suitable location. His condition is stable for now—does Your Excellency have any special arrangements for him?"
"Release him once his Stigmata fully awakens... Consider it a promise I made to someone."
"The Herrscher from the Kaslana family?"
"Precisely."
"Your Excellency, forgive my presumption, but that Herrscher... she..."
"She is unquestionably trustworthy... Gray Serpent, we have watched her grow every step of the way—the leaders of Schicksal, Mr. Su the Awakened One, your Sire Kevin Kaslana, and myself."
"At a certain point, her life's trajectory was rewritten by all of us. We bestowed upon her boundless courage and blessings—even her ancestor from fifty thousand years ago was no exception."
"She is the Chosen, and she is the One. She is the First Blessed, and she is the Last Selected."
"There is no need to doubt her, nor to question her..."
"I understand. So, what is the plan you mentioned earlier that you need our assistance with?"
After a long silence, Gray Serpent finally relented.
"...Doctor Mei's Stigmata Project, left for the Predecessor, is no longer important from this moment on, Gray Serpent—"
"We have found a better, more perfect solution—and all the foundational keystones required as prerequisites have already been laid."
"This civilization, this race called humanity—will become the Immortal Leaves and Ever-Green Branches upon that Golden Tree."
"The grand blueprint has been drawn. We have placed all the pieces and secured all the keystones—"
"Gray Serpent—your creator's former grand ambition will truly be realized at some point in the future. The human race, this civilization, will ascend to godhood."
-
"So... what do you need us to do?"
Imhotep's voice seemed to carry a strange, infectious power, drawing the man into visions of the grand undertaking she described—
"Continue to advance the Stigmata Project experiments—but ensure they fail. Let them fail completely, right here in this city, in Arc City..."
"After all... some of your companions—I'm not sure whether to call them arrogant or just plain clueless—seem to have lost their minds..."
"Jackal?" the man asked, his tone questioning yet almost certain.
"Ah, Jackal—" the girl replied, her voice detached but firm.
"Let's hope this failure clears her head a little. As for the method..."
"Just follow that scientist's plan. Spread the news that the Second Herrscher has been residing in Arc City for some time—Gray Serpent."
"It's time for Miss Kiana Kaslana to make her true heroic debut on the stage of the New World—"
"As for that grand blueprint... Gray Serpent, go ask Su and the Predecessor. They will explain everything to you."
"...I understand."
"Mr. Gray Serpent..."
"Your Excellency Imhotep, is there anything else?"
"Are you ready to welcome the world's transformation?"
Inside the small bar, a line once declared by Schicksal Overseer Otto Apocalypse to all of Schicksal was uttered by the girl in the exact same tone—
"Heh... Watch closely, Your Excellency."
-
"Hmm, it seems you've all recovered well... Now, can you tell me what exactly happened in that house?"
After Imhotep and Gray Serpent's brief conversation ended, the others who had gone upstairs to freshen up trickled back down. Once everyone was seated, Gray Serpent posed the question.
"Um... It was Sirin."
Swish! Every eye in the room instantly focused on the doll girl.
"Ahem! Not this Sirin! The bigger one, the cuter one... Hiss—"
Seeing everyone's gaze abruptly shift to her master, Benares pulled Sirin into a protective hug. As she tried to clarify which Sirin she meant, she suddenly sucked in a sharp breath.
The little doll had furiously bitten down on the dragon girl's arm, apparently hitting a particularly sensitive nerve.
"Urk... I didn't mean you're not cute, Your Majesty..."
Seeing Sirin clamped firmly onto her arm, Bella broke out in a cold sweat.
"Go on... What happened with that 'little cutie' Sirin?" Imhotep asked, her eyes glinting with amusement.
"Hiss... We were planning to stay here for a while, so we decided to redecorate the place..."
"And?" Gray Serpent prompted, looking utterly confused.
"Little Sirin offered to help decorate the rooms... and... we agreed."
"What's the connection between those two things?" Gray Serpent grew even more bewildered, completely unaware of the destructive power wielded by a certain "genius" artist.
"Er... You've probably never seen Sirin's paintings, have you?"
"Hmm... If you're mentally prepared, then take a look at this."
Benares cautiously produced a scroll painting. Oblivious to the consequences, Gray Serpent immediately unrolled the sealed artwork.
Imhotep even noticed that the cloth strip binding the scroll seemed to be the Holy Shroud stolen from a museum a few weeks ago...
Thud—
Mr. Gray Serpent, who hadn't taken the painting seriously at all, quickly paid the price. The moment his eyes swept over the scroll, the indescribable thing painted by the girl instantly wiped—or rather, short-circuited—his thought processes and sanity...
"???? Is it really that bad?"
Raven's mouth twitched as she watched Gray Serpent slam face-first onto the table. Defiantly, she snatched the painting. Before anyone could stop her, she too slammed her face onto the table with another loud thud.
"...Some people just refuse to believe, and they're incredibly brave about it."
Imhotep's mouth twitched as she watched the World Serpent duo knock themselves out on the table. She carefully retrieved the scroll from the unconscious Raven, rolled it back up, and sealed it completely with the Holy Shroud before returning it to Benares.
"This thing could probably be used as a memetic weapon... I'm serious."
Imhotep nodded at Benares in genuine acknowledgment.