"No… Damn it! No!"
Sakura slammed her fist onto the ground. The ground trembled slightly, but not due to her action; it was the aftershock from the battle raging in the hundred-kilometer-wide basin behind her.
Her own insignificant punch, besides leaving a negligible fist print on the desolate plain, changed nothing.
As an assassin who needed to maintain extreme emotional detachment, she rarely let her feelings show, especially negative emotions that most affected combat effectiveness.
But at this moment, she truly felt a sense of despair and… confusion.
Sakura hadn't personally witnessed Mobius's resurrection, nor could she explain the specific principle. But she knew what she should do—Sesa's resurrection passive required a large amount of Honkai energy. Theoretically, even if she did nothing, Mobius, driven by biological instinct, should have frantically drawn Honkai energy from her, from everything around.
But Sakura had already tried multiple times to infuse Honkai energy into her corpse, with no result. No matter how much Honkai energy flowed into the body, it dissipated in an instant, with absolutely no possibility of being absorbed.
Thus, everything became painfully clear—
Mobius was dead. Mobius was truly dead.
No holding back, no reversal. Death was death, with no second possibility.
But…
"How is this possible?"
She laid her right hand flat, palm up. She could still feel a faint warmth in the cool palm. Two months ago, Michael had held her hand. She vividly remembered the dry, warm touch, and just as unforgettable was his gentle yet self-reproachful gaze that day.
No, not just that one time. Perhaps in the eyes of some, he was the "detestable Herrscher," and he had indeed given her many exceptionally bloody, even cruel, secret missions.
But back then, Sakura could sense that the reason he committed such dark deeds was solely to bring light to more people, solely to bring light to them.
He had always been so gentle towards Fire Moth, towards Anti-Entropy, towards the Flame-Chasers. Sakura had never imagined the possibility that one day he would personally kill his "family."
Mobius's cold body remained motionless, devoid of any warmth, as if silently conveying an irrefutable fact—
She was dead, killed by Michael's own hands.
And so, Sakura was utterly lost.
She trusted Michael. It was a habit maintained for many years… or rather, it had become a conviction.
Precisely because of this conviction, she was absolutely certain that doing such a thing—killing his own "family," destroying the civilization he had always protected—would be exceptionally painful for him, to the point of being impossible to do, let alone wanting to do.
Yet he still did it. That left only one other possibility—to obtain something he desired even more, he had to do this.
Was it because of Elysia's disappearance? Or was there some other hidden truth about this world?
Sakura tried to fathom Michael's motives, but this was what she understood least, what made everything happening now so bizarre—
"Michael… what exactly do you want to do? What do you need us to do? Why won't you tell us?"
Why… why wouldn't he offer even half a sentence, just a few words of explanation?
"Hahh…"
Sakura propped herself up with her left hand, fingers clenching tightly under extreme force, finally balling into a fist. She raised her hand, slowly uncurling her fingers. Fine grains of lunar regolith, blown by the wind, instantly vanished into the darkness, taking the answers she sought along with them, irretrievable.
As for the intense vibrations and explosions continuously echoing from the basin behind her, they seemed less important at this moment.
Suddenly, her heart constricted sharply—an instinct honed from long years walking the line between life and death. She quickly grabbed Mobius's corpse and rolled aside. The next moment, a thin, straight red line sliced through the spot where she had just been, carving open the ground, leaving a white trail of residual heat in the air.
Sakura swallowed hard, her left hand gripping the cold hilt of her sword, but she didn't know what to do.
"Sakura, are you alright?"
Just then, a familiar voice echoed in her mind.
"Su?"
"It's me." Su's voice sounded faint, even intermittent. "Sorry, after his Honkai energy fully erupted, this place has become a singularity of accumulated Honkai energy in space, like a black hole or spatial collapse… Ah, sorry, now isn't the time for this. Anyway, the psychic communication network's current state is rather poor, which is why I only just managed to re-establish it. What's the situation on your end?"
"I…" Sakura looked down at Mobius's corpse, unsure how to put it into words.
But Su seemed to have asked casually. He didn't wait for Sakura's reply, instead announcing in a tone concise to the point of cruelty:
"Sakura, currently you're the only one I can contact. However, using my psychic senses, I can perceive some life fluctuations… I need you to be mentally prepared. In my perception, Aponia, Eden, Mobius, Dystopia, Ato, Kosma, and Kalpas are all… dead."
"Mobius is here with me." Sakura answered mechanically. Only after two seconds did she add an explanation: "I tried infusing her with Honkai energy to trigger Sesa's 'Shedding' ability, but nothing happened."
"Is that so…"
"Su, tell me, is it possible… that actually, no one died? That Michael just used some method to put everyone into a state of 'suspended animation'?" Sakura hesitated for a moment, then bit her lip and asked.
The response she received was a soft sigh:
"I cannot say for sure…" After a pause, Su continued: "We have no clear idea what specific authorities Michael possesses now that he has become Finality. If you say he could do such things, I wouldn't be entirely surprised. However, based on the mental states I probed, they are no different from the dead."
"So, Sakura, I just want to remind you, in the upcoming battle, you must fight with the resolve to kill and be killed. Otherwise…"
Otherwise what, Su didn't specify, but Sakura knew perfectly well.
However, knowing clearly didn't mean she could do it. Sakura recalled her earlier strike—she clearly had the chance to slash at Michael's neck, why did she choose his right arm in the end?
Although even if she had aimed for the neck, Michael likely wouldn't have been injured. But that was irrelevant to Michael; it was her choice—from her mind to her body, she resisted fighting Michael.
"Heh…" Sakura closed her eyes and exhaled sharply.
The wind on the lunar farside suddenly picked up. Her long, slender fox ears swayed with the wind. In the past, due to certain psychological reasons, she would have deliberately minimized their movement to ignore their existence.
But reflecting on it now, all of that was just meaningless self-deception.
"I understand, Su. The best end for a warrior is to be killed by the last bullet in the final battle. The resolve to die in battle has existed within me since the first day I became a warrior. At the very least…"
Sakura released her grip on the ice sword with her left hand, shifting it to the other sword at her side.
When she opened her eyes again, amidst the frost-blue of her irises associated with ice, purple arcs of lightning flickered.
At the very least, we can choose how to die—that's what Rin once said.
Her younger sister Rin had such resolve; as the older sister, she certainly couldn't fall behind.
Besides, death itself was never frightening.
Yet, just as Sakura finished her preparations, ready to return to the battlefield, her mental link with Su suddenly broke.
"Su? Su?"
A single Flame-Chaser's strength held absolutely no hope against Michael. Although Sakura had the resolve to die, she preferred her death to create some value, something she couldn't achieve alone.
Therefore, faced with Su's disconnection, she could only stand alert where she was, waiting, while praying inwardly—Aponia, Dystopia, Ato were already "dead." If Su, the last psychic MANTIS, was also killed, then she would truly have to fight alone.
After a full ten seconds, Su's voice sounded again, bringing her relief.
"Sorry, the Honkai energy fluctuations were a bit intense just now… Ngh! Connected with Mei and Vill-V!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a deliberately composed voice chimed in:
"Su! Where's Kevin… How is everyone?"
"Kevin… I'm still trying to locate his exact position. He should be Michael's primary target. But don't worry, I can sense his mental fluctuations, which means he's still alive. As for the others…"
Su sighed silently, then concisely explained the current situation.
Mei fell silent for a moment before speaking again:
"Meaning, right now, only you, Sakura, Vill-V, Kevin, and Hua are still alive, correct?"
"Yes. But I can't contact Kevin and Hua temporarily. They might still be unconscious."
Tap, tap, tap—
Mei tapped the table lightly a few times, then asked:
"Vill-V, Pardo's side… is there any hope of survival?"
"...Mei, if you're willing to believe in Pardo's usual good luck, then she… also has almost no chance of survival. However, you should be able to see the terminal's status from your end, right?"
"Yes… The terminal has reached the designated location. After this… all that's needed is for you all to activate it. But Pardo, I can't contact her…"
The communication network fell silent again briefly. Su and Sakura didn't know what Pardo's supposed mission was, nor the significance of the terminal reaching its destination. But it didn't prevent them from gleaning the most important information from Mei's words—
Pardo was dead.
And the three-second silence that spread in this supposedly time-critical moment was the last thing they, her comrades, could do for her, for the previously sacrificed.
A silent mourning.
"Don't give up!" Mei suddenly slammed the table, encouraging loudly: "Humanity still has one final weapon unused. Vill-V…"
"What? Is it my turn to take the stage again?"
Mei silently shook her head. Of course, the others in the psychic network couldn't see her gesture.
Actually, Mei knew too. With the battle having reached this state, there was no longer any possibility of victory.
Besides, Prometheus's terminal had already entered Finality's domain through the path previously opened by Michael and Elysia. The only meaningful objective in this battle had been achieved.
Logically, it was time to retreat. At least… at least Kevin, Su, Sakura, Vill-V, and Hua could still survive.
But… having come this far, how could she be willing to give up at the very end?
Moreover, Mei wasn't fabricating things. Humanity did indeed have one weapon, long held in hope, yet never deployed in actual combat… except, it had a small problem.
"The massive accumulation of Honkai energy has disrupted the electromagnetic field. Without manual control, the Moonlight Throne cannot complete its near-lunar braking and thus cannot reach the designated position. Therefore, Vill-V, it has to be you."
"Huh? Is that all?"
"Besides you, there's no second candidate, Vill-V. You should know well, all our remote commands for the Moonlight Throne are transmitted via electromagnetic waves. Given the current situation, someone must personally enter the satellite for manual operation. And the only ones capable of this are the Moonlight Throne's designer and manufacturer, namely you and me."
"Sigh… Fine, guess I'm just too capable for my own good. But the situation here is also pretty bad. So many precious gadgets were damaged in the previous fight, so many Blank Keys I hadn't even had a chance to use…"
"Blank Keys? When did you copy…"
"Er… cough cough cough! Anyway, I need to repair some equipment first before heading to the Moonlight Throne. Conservatively estimating, this will take over half an hour… I need someone to buy me time."
"Buy time…"
Sakura had been listening silently to their conversation, her gaze gradually hardening:
"Leave it to me!"
"What?"
"The task of stalling for time, leave it to me." Sakura repeated firmly.
"You intend to use the 'Space-Freezing Slash'? No, that might work against other enemies, but against Michael… it probably won't be effective. Even if it is, it can't stall for over half an hour."
Sakura pressed her lips together. Mei's analysis was sound, but…
"There's no other way. Among those who can immediately join the fight now, I have the strongest combat capability. We have no other choice, unless we're willing to bet Michael will stand perfectly still."
Mei closed her eyes painfully. She certainly knew Sakura was right. But if the sacrifice couldn't achieve its intended purpose, then it might be better to gamble on Michael doing nothing, generously granting them preparation time.
But just as Sakura said, they had no other choice… Hmm? Huh?
A flash of inspiration struck Mei's mind:
"Sakura, how long can you stall Michael at most?"
"I can't say for sure, but… although I hate to admit it, maybe one minute, maybe two or three. No longer."
"That's enough!" Mei adjusted her glasses. "No matter what direct means we employ, we can't hold him for half an hour. But what if we could make one minute become half an hour?"
It was truly ironic, thinking back…
For Mei, her initial contact with Fire Moth was because she published a paper on relativity, which caught Mobius's attention.
But she never expected… that at the end of this civilization, she would have use for it again…
"This…"
"Oh? I understand."
"I understand too."
Only Sakura remained懵懂, unclear of Mei's meaning.
Mei, of course, understood this. If possible, she wouldn't explain further at such a critical juncture, just tell Sakura what to do:
"Sakura, you just need to get close to Michael, then release the rated power of the Ninth Divine Key, creating a pseudo-black hole. Hold on for one minute, that will be enough—the gravitational time dilation effect will make the one minute you spend near the pseudo-black hole equivalent to sixty minutes passing in real space!"
Mei paused, not waiting for Sakura to digest her words, and turned to order Su:
"Su, trouble you. Can you locate the Ninth Divine Key?"
Psychic power was indeed useful for finding people, but extending it outwards like electromagnetic waves, like radar, to search for objects wasn't impossible. However, it tested the MANTIS's own level of psychic control.
Whether it was Su's good luck or his truly superb psychic control, his silence lasted only two minutes:
"Found it! The Ninth Divine Key… is with Hua!"
"Good! Sakura, go find the Ninth Divine Key and Hua. If Hua can still fight, then the task of stalling Michael falls to both of you. Vill-V, proceed with repairing your equipment as planned, prepare to head to the Moonlight Throne for manual operation. Finally, Su…"
"I understand, Mei. Leave Kevin to me. If it's him, cooperating with the Moonlight Throne, he might not be without the ability to fight Michael."
Oh? Is that really so?
Sakura wasn't sure if Mei's confidence stemmed from genuine ignorance or deliberate pretense. At least, based on her assessment of Michael's combat power, getting close to him and using the pseudo-black hole seemed far more difficult than stalling him for a minute…
Even with such inner helplessness, such pessimism about the plan, Sakura had to admit, this was currently the only chance, however slim, to turn the tide of battle.
So she didn't complain, following Su's guidance, heading towards Hua's location.
......
"Ugh…"
Hua kept her eyes tightly shut, but still couldn't shake off the dizziness. Rather, it was precisely this dizziness that alerted her she was slightly conscious again.
She instinctively tried to take a deep breath, but the thing pressing down on her head was exceptionally heavy; she couldn't even manage a simple breath… Fortunately, MANTISes wouldn't suffocate.
But sensing carefully, she felt something strange—the thing beneath her was hard as rock, but what pressed down on her… was rather soft, almost like… a person.
What exactly happened earlier? She only remembered everyone fighting Michael, then after a sudden flash of white light, her body flew backward uncontrollably, and then…
Then she remembered nothing else.
Hua's limbs still felt weak. No matter how hard she strained, she couldn't budge the surrounding soil even slightly. The soil burying her left no room for leverage.
"Damn it… Can I only wait here?"
Honestly, her mind was still fuzzy. She had no idea why Michael had become like this.
Of course, all the Flame-Chasers were the same in this regard.
"Precisely because of this… I have something I must do… I have to ask him clearly, about all of this!"
Thinking this, an unprecedented strength surged within her. She focused all her energy into her right arm and thrust upwards violently—
Pff!
She felt her right arm successfully break free from the soil's confinement; her wrist had emerged from the ground.
"Almost there… Just a little more…"
Her limbs struggled. It felt like she was just about to succeed, yet she couldn't quite cross that final tiny distance.
Fortunately, at that moment, an equally cold pair of hands grasped her right hand that had broken through the soil.
"Hua, is that you?"
A familiar voice seemed to call out faintly.
Hua heard it but didn't know how to respond. She couldn't even breathe, let alone speak.
Left with no choice, she could only curl her four right fingers and give a thumbs-up.
The next second, an immense force pulled, and her entire upper body instantly sat up.
And because of this, she saw what was pressing down on her was…
"Eden!"
Blood oozing from all seven orifices stained the beautiful face blackish-red, but her identity was still easily recognizable. Hua threw her arms around Eden's body, yet could feel no warmth from her.
Tears streamed down uncontrollably.
Sakura's eyelashes trembled. She took the Ninth Divine Key, Star of Eden, from Eden's right hand, then knelt beside Hua, gently wrapping her arms around the young girl's body, stroking her head as she once comforted Rin.
But after a long sigh, she still didn't know what to say to comfort Hua, what could be said to comfort Hua.
After all, her observation skills easily revealed that, besides Mobius…
However, the young girl had lost all her memories at once a few months ago. Her dependence on him might not be as deep as before. Compared to… her resistance during battle should be much less, right? Could this be considered a blessing in disguise?
"Huh?"
Sakura seemed to suddenly think of something. Seizing the opportunity while Hua wiped her tears, she quickly pried open Eden's closed eyelids. Seeing the red cross-shaped stars in her eyes, Sakura's gaze hardened slightly, then she quickly retracted her hand before Hua opened her eyes.
"Hua, now is not the time for tears. Listen to me. We still have a chance to turn the tide of battle. We need your help."