Pale moonlight filtered through the newly pierced hole, scattering over the utterly ruined underground laboratory.
Severed wires hissed, spitting errant sparks.
The distant wail of sirens began to rise; it seemed someone had called the police.
Cecilia lowered Abyss Flower, looking slightly fatigued.
The depletion of her blood had left her feeling weary.
Cecilia turned, scanning the surrounding wreckage, before finally resting her gaze on Kiana, who had been staring at her throughout the entire ordeal.
Immediately, unfamiliar memories surfaced in her mind.
They were memories belonging to 'her' own self within the false timeline Lierre had created.
All the riddles had been unraveled.
Through Lierre's explanation, Cecilia had already understood the specific sequence of events regarding the experiences of Kiana and Siegfried in the Real World.
She felt worry and sorrow for her biological daughter, whose fate remained unknown, and a heartfelt affection for the girl before her who had endured such a difficult destiny.
Seeing Cecilia looking at her, Kiana nervously gripped the hem of her shirt with both hands, not rushing forward to claim their relationship.
This was not the place for conversation; the police sirens were drawing closer.
Cecilia's stern expression softened, her gaze turning tender as she looked at Kiana.
She had too much to say, but she also understood her time was limited.
Thus, a thousand words condensed into a single sentence: "Kiana, you've grown taller."
Kiana's nose stung, and she could no longer hold it back. She ran forward and crashed into Cecilia's embrace, her tears flowing uncontrollably.
"Mom..."
"I'm here."
Cecilia gently stroked Kiana's hair with her left hand, pulling her into a soft embrace.
For a moment, the atmosphere was incredibly warm.
Sweet.
Just then, Lierre walked over, slinging the unconscious Raiden Mei over her shoulder.
Due to Lierre's short stature, Raiden Mei's long, slender legs dragged along the floor.
"Sorry to interrupt, but if we don't run now, we're going to be thrown in jail by the police."
Lierre shattered the heartwarming atmosphere and handed Raiden Mei over to Cecilia.
Cecilia quickly caught Raiden Mei, then looked down at the blonde little girl who was both a stranger and strangely familiar.
Her heart was a mess of conflicting emotions.
In the memories of her other self, Lierre possessed the power to take people through time. Consequently, she had brought Cecilia a daughter from the future and clamored about being the aunt to the two little ones.
Theresa had been displeased on the spot upon hearing this, refusing to agree under any circumstances.
In the end, Lierre abandoned all decorum and summoned Kallen Kaslana—the Holy Maid of Schicksal from five hundred years ago—to forcibly suppress Theresa with martial force.
This was because Kallen could not disobey Lierre's orders.
The aggrieved Theresa remained stubborn, so she went to her grandfather—the current Overseer of Schicksal, Otto—to seek justice.
However, Theresa ended up being lectured by Otto instead and was forced to make a grumpy concession.
...
Cecilia did not know if these memories were real, but they served as a side-note to Lierre's power.
This was no longer something a typical Herrscher could be compared to.
The fact that she, who had died in Siberia, could appear in this time period was proof enough.
As if she had X-ray vision, Lierre led the group away from everyone's sight, successfully departing ME Corp with total ease.
Upon leaving, Lierre used her Authority to delete the surveillance footage regarding them, as well as the backups stored in the cloud.
In the base of the Anti-Entropy reformist faction.
Cocolia and a group of Anti-Entropy members stared blankly at the darkened screens.
"...The, the dead have risen!"
"Damn it! That was definitely Cecilia herself! Aside from her, the current Schariac Family possesses no Holy Blood of that caliber!"
"The intelligence was wrong! Cecilia definitely faked her death back then. This must be one of Otto's schemes!"
"Lady Cocolia! Should we immediately notify the Sovereign of this news?"
Everyone looked toward the current leader of the reformist faction, Cocolia.
Cocolia frowned in thought for a moment before suddenly laughing. "Naturally, we must inform the Sovereign, and quickly. We cannot rule out the presence of the Conservative Faction in Nagazora, and the characteristics of Cecilia's Holy Blood Unleash are too easy to identify. We are destined to be unable to hide this."
"However, we currently have no way to contact the Sovereign directly. The only ones who can are those few people."
At this, Cocolia rose from her seat. Before leaving, she cast a cold glance over everyone, like a predator about to devour prey. She said chillingly, "Until I finish making a deal with Dr. Tesla, keep your mouths shut. Do you hear me?"
"Yes!"
Everyone quickly lowered their heads, not daring to meet her gaze.
Cocolia intended to use the information gap to profit from intelligence that would become worthless over time.
Titan mech technology was becoming a bit outdated; it was time to secure some new-model mechs to fill the gap in her combat power.
Cocolia walked down the base corridor, organizing all the clues she had gathered in her mind.
As every detail was analyzed one by one, they all pointed toward a single person.
"Cecilia's appearance seems to be related to that blonde little girl..."
Thinking of this, Cocolia felt she needed to take action.
She then opened her communicator to contact one of the trump cards in her hand.
Bronya Zaychik.
When Bronya answered the call, Cocolia began her instructions: "Bronya, I have an undercover mission that requires your help..."
Several hours passed.
Anti-Entropy Headquarters.
Bang!
"Mop-head, disaster has struck!"
Tesla violently kicked open the door and rushed toward Einstein, her twin tails swaying.
"Sigh... Dr. Tesla, I hope next time you won't treat the door that way. Repairs require funding."
"Forget the door! What I have to say next is extremely important!"
"Fine."
Einstein rubbed her temples and sighed helplessly, then asked calmly, "Tell me, what exactly happened to make you this anxious?"
"Mop-head, tell me, can the dead be brought back to life?"
"...Dr. Tesla, I have no wish to discuss mysticism with you, nor do I want to delve into subjects like life and death."
"No! Cocolia just told me that she discovered Cecilia and Kiana in Nagazora!"
"Cecilia and Kiana..."
Einstein's brow furrowed slightly. "Let me confirm one last time. Is it the two people I'm thinking of?"
"Abyss Flower has appeared, and Cecilia used Holy Blood Unleash to purify the out-of-control Honkai energy reactor beneath ME Corp!
The surveillance footage was mysteriously deleted, but it seems local residents witnessed it. I've already sent people to investigate; we'll know soon enough if that vixen Cocolia was lying!"
Tesla was about to say more when she noticed Einstein walking out without looking back.
"Hey! Mop-head, where are you going!"
"To contact Welt. And while I'm at it, to say hello to our old friend, Theresa."
Einstein replied without turning her head.