Late at night.
Cocolia Rand sat in her office chair, glanced at the stacks of documents on her desk, silently picked up her coffee and took a sip.
Then she continued gripping her pen, reviewing one document after another.
…
Under the dim yellow light.
Bronya squatted on the steps of Qlipoth Fort.
Suddenly, she felt something poke her.
So she reached into her pocket and pulled out a cigarette that had been crushed beyond recognition.
It seemed to have been sitting in her pocket for a very, very long time.
"…"
"Damn, you still haven't thrown away that Furong Wang?"
Pela passed by from the side and happened to catch a glimpse of what Bronya was holding.
"Mm."
Bronya gave a light nod and silently tucked the cigarette butt back into her pocket.
This was from the first day Zeig arrived in Belobog—he'd tricked Bronya into buying it.
After Bronya bought it, Zeig had given one to her and one to Pela.
Back then, Pela had immediately passed the one Zeig gave her to a smoking Silvermane Guard, but Bronya had kept hers the whole time.
"What's wrong? Feeling down?"
Pela also squatted down and handed Bronya a can of soda.
The latter silently accepted it.
In the quiet night, a "pssh" sound rang out.
Then Bronya chugged several big gulps with a "glug glug glug."
Only when her thin lips left the can did she let out a sigh.
"…Pela, what should we do?"
"…"
Pela shifted her weight back, plopped her butt down on the step, stretched her legs out in front, and gave a wry smile:
"Whatever the Supreme Guardian says, that's what we do. Isn't that obvious?"
Bronya was stunned for a moment:
"…Are we really going to dump all the pressure on Mother again?"
"Sigh, there's no helping it."
"…"
Bronya hugged her knees and sat on the step just like Pela, speaking softly:
"Some things really aren't something Mother can control. She's only human too."
Pela nodded slightly:
"Yeah, I get that. That Stellaron found an ordinary vagrant and assimilated him on the spot. For the Supreme Guardian to hold out as long as she did—measuring time in years—that's already a miracle."
"She really has always put her heart into Belobog."
"Whether in the past or now."
Bronya buried her head in her knees and murmured:
"So what can we do now?"
Pela pursed her lips and smiled:
"No choice. Have you forgotten why you bought that Furong Wang for Zeig in the first place? Even you felt sorry for the people in the Underworld."
"Now some people have banded together and launched a rebellion—it should be within the Supreme Guardian's expectations, right?"
Bronya sighed:
"Then what about all the contributions Mother has made?"
"Call it bad luck on her part."
"?"
At that moment, both Bronya and Pela turned their heads.
A blue-haired handsome guy had somehow appeared, sitting behind the two of them.
Next to him was a sack that seemed to contain some cups and vessels.
Seeing the two staring at him like that, Sampo gave a carefree smile and said thick-skinned:
"It's true, isn't it? Generations upon generations of inheritance—besides blizzards and endless despair, what else is there?"
"Before big bro arrived, our Supreme Guardian gave speeches every day about not giving up, not losing hope. But she, who knew the most inside details, didn't know herself that the situation was utterly hopeless?"
Sampo pulled a scepter out of the sack and wiped it while saying:
"When you already know the outcome is despair, what's so hard to understand about taking a different path? Besides, I really did hate the lockdown order, but in that kind of situation, it was the only option, right?"
"Let me put it this way—at least the core furnace's material supplies never stopped. No matter how fiercely the Overworld Silvermane Guards fought the Fragmentum creatures, no matter the casualties, the supplies still kept flowing down to the Underworld."
Seeing Sampo talking so eloquently, Pela raised an eyebrow:
"Holy crap, since when do you pay attention to these things? I thought you only cared about yourself."
"Hey, us small-time businessmen—how can we not keep an eye on the bigger picture?"
Sampo stroked the exquisite scepter and laughed:
"As the old saying goes: In war, there is no right or wrong. On the battlefield, there are no winners!"
"Our Supreme Guardian is a pitiful person, and some folks in the Underworld are pitiful too. Relying solely on outdated notions of 'righteousness' or 'morality' isn't going to cut it in this kind of situation."
The area around Qlipoth Fort was dead silent.
Sampo's words reached Bronya's ears with perfect clarity.
"Then you think…" Bronya looked at Sampo:
"…what will Mother do next?"
Sampo silently stood up:
"Hah? You're asking me? How would I know? I'm just here to pick up goods—gotta run!"
Bronya said gravely:
"If you leave just like that, tomorrow you'll be on the death row list."
"Haha… fair point, my hands have been a bit naughty."
Sampo touched his nose, then casually tossed the scepter from the sack to Bronya.
After she hurriedly caught it, the blue-haired handsome guy laughed:
"Alright alright, now the stuff in my sack isn't so hot anymore. Even if I get caught, it's just a few days in detention at most, haha."
While laughing, his feet didn't stop—he deftly hopped down the steps and vanished into the darkness with his sack of stolen goods.
"Not chasing him?" Pela stared at Sampo's retreating figure, eyes wide.
"No time to deal with him."
Bronya gripped the scepter and silently walked away.
"Compared to him, we have more important things to do."
…
At the same time.
Dan Heng led a large group of Silvermane Guards in pursuing two men impersonating Silvermane Guards, chasing them all the way into Fragmentum territory.
"Mr. Dan Heng, be careful!!"
Seeing the surrounding Fragmentum creatures surging toward them, the Silvermane Guards behind hurriedly reached out to warn him.
"No problem."
Dan Heng said lightly, leaped up, and easily dodged the encirclement of several Fragmentum creatures.
After landing, he sped toward the two men ahead.
Further in front, a massive monster opened its maw and charged this way.
"Come back with me—there's no road ahead." Dan Heng called out to the two men in front, trying to dissuade them.
But who could have expected—
Their speed didn't slow; it increased!
The two men leaped toward that massive monster as if seeing a savior!
Relieved smiles appeared on their faces.
"Hahahaha… finally free!!"
"Come on!! Come on!!"
It all happened too suddenly.
…
After two massive booms.
Two more people vanished from the world.
…
Whether it was their actions or their words, it made everyone's eyes widen in shock.
Those two men had voluntarily thrown their bodies in front of that gigantic Fragmentum creature!
They were smashed to a bloody pulp by the monster's arm, splattered like mud across the broken walls and ruins.
Torn to pieces.
…