Far, far away from Belobog, over a hundred thousand miles away, the Herta Space Station.
At this moment, the virus inside the space station had already been resolved through the joint efforts of two geniuses.
The researchers who remained on the station were finally able to work in peace.
They no longer had to endure the torment of mind-numbing noise drilling into their heads.
However, the two geniuses who solved the virus were sitting in Herta's office, with no joy on their faces at all.
Ruan Mei softly parted her lips and said, "One system hour ago, Herta left the space station and stayed in constant contact with it. But after she jumped into the Jarilo star region, communication was cut off."
If it had been someone else's ship suddenly losing contact, Ruan Mei wouldn't have felt anything.
But those ships belonged to Herta.
Ruan Mei suddenly felt that Asta's kidnapping wasn't actually aimed at the space station, nor at Asta herself or her family.
It was aimed at the owner of the space station, Herta.
The two of them looked serious. Ruan Mei kept thinking to herself about whether she should go provide support.
But if she left the space station, only Screwllum would remain.
Given the abilities the enemy had shown, controlling Screwllum would be almost effortless.
At that point, the entire space station would fall into the enemy's hands as a toy.
But if she sent Screwllum to help, he would likely run into the same situation as Herta, possibly even adding combat power to the enemy.
Looking at Screwllum, who was still running self-diagnostics, it wasn't that Ruan Mei didn't trust his strength.
It was that the enemy's demonstrated ability against machinery was simply too overwhelming.
Even Screwllum himself was beginning to doubt his own reliability.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
The office door was knocked on, and the voice of a space station staff member came from outside.
"Station Master Asta is back!"
The two people in the office exchanged glances.
'Asta is back?'
'I didn't expect to be teleported back myself.' Facing this situation, Asta was also a bit surprised. She had originally planned to stay with the Trailblazers for a while longer.
She hadn't expected the chat group to send her back as well once maintenance ended.
Looking at it this way, she must also have been counted as someone participating in the chat group's mission.
Then this really wasn't Mr. Cold Feet' doing, it was just a chat group bug.
Asta thought this with great certainty.
After all, Mr. Cold Feet wasn't even in the chat group.
Asta pulled her thoughts back to reality and kept reassuring the worried staff that she was fine.
But too many people had rushed over after hearing the news.
Just answering each person once made her feel dry-throated, but out of politeness she couldn't not respond.
She could only give the briefest replies possible.
Things didn't improve much until Ruan Mei and Screwllum arrived on the scene.
———
[On the Other Side]
Kiana, who had likewise been classified as a missing person, wasn't having a good time either.
The moment she returned to St. Freya Academy, Theresa, who had been watching the surveillance, found her, tied her up with Judah, and hung her upside down in front of everyone.
"Auntie, what are you doing?!"
Kiana looked confused, not understanding why she was being tied up the moment she got back.
"Explain to me where you went and hid for most of the day."
Theresa's gaze was icy, as if the moment she didn't get a reasonable explanation, she'd throw Kiana into the sea.
Himeko stood beside Theresa with her arms crossed.
Even Raiden Mei, who usually spoke up for Kiana, stood calmly to the side, watching Kiana sway back and forth.
She showed no intention of intervening.
Bronya put down her game console and complained, "Idiot Kiana…"
It wasn't just the Herta Space Station that fell into chaos after learning Asta had gone missing.
When St. Freya Academy discovered Kiana was missing, Theresa, her aunt, had nearly ordered an attack on Anti-Entropy.
As Schicksal's sworn enemy, kidnapping a Schicksal Valkyrie was exactly the sort of thing Anti-Entropy was most likely to do.
If Himeko hadn't stopped Theresa, the Hyperion would probably already be carrying a full ship of Valkyries, heading straight toward Anti-Entropy's base.
Kiana was completely dumbfounded. She hadn't expected that just disappearing for a while would nearly start a war between Schicksal and Anti-Entropy.
But Theresa wanted an explanation…
How was she supposed to explain this?
Was she supposed to say she went to save the world?
Looking at Theresa's cold stare, Kiana swallowed hard.
Even if she dared to say it, someone had to believe her.
In this situation, forget believing it, if she actually said that, Theresa really would toss her into the sea.
'What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?!'
'Should I ask Levi for help?'
'No!'
The moment the thought appeared, Kiana firmly rejected it.
'I have to prove that I'm not just a useless group leader!'
"I went to save the world."
"Save the world? Heh… hehahaha!"
The gloomy-faced Theresa suddenly burst into laughter. Himeko glanced at Kiana and shook her head.
"Come on, you two. The next part isn't really suitable for kids."
———
[Kiana: Ah! My butt hurts so bad!]
[Lumine: ?]
[Elysia: Is it the kind I'm thinking of?]
Seeing Kiana return safely, the others in the chat group weren't particularly surprised.
In their impressions, Levi had never failed.
On the contrary, they were extremely curious about Kiana's "butt hurts" comment.
[Ding! Chat member "Elysia" has been muted by "Group Leader" Kiana for ten minutes!]
[Kiana: The chat group forbids dirty jokes!]
[Kiana: @Levi, just you wait! Once I get free from Theresa, I'll come find you and cause trouble!]
Hanging upside down in midair, Kiana grit her teeth and endured.
"Oh? Still not convinced?!"
"I'm convinced, I'm convinced! I'm totally convinced!"
An enraged Theresa hoisted Kiana onto her shoulder and ran off.
As the pond got closer and closer, Kiana's screams grew even louder.
[Stelle: @Kiana, you probably don't have the chance anymore. That mission-required Stellaron has already been crushed by @Levi.]
Crushed the Stellaron…
Just thinking about it made Stelle feel a tightness in her chest, a wave of panic rising in her heart, but when she focused on it, that feeling vanished again.
Kiana didn't reply in the chat group.
Stelle looked over at Levi. He had originally been preparing to leave, but after noticing the freezing wind around them, he decided to help them one more time.
Snap!
After a crisp finger snap, Levi nodded at Topaz and Stelle, "Remember to come to the Luofu. As long as you come, I'll treat you to Milk Soda!"
With that, ignoring the complicated look in Dan Heng's eyes, he flew straight up into the sky.
Being a Herrscher was great, not only could you fly, but you were also incredibly strong.
Of course, that was assuming there was no Herrscher consciousness involved.
Not long after Levi left, the finger snap he made took effect.
Belobog's temperature began to rise, and the ice and snow started to melt.
Soon, everyone felt a hint of heat.
This feeling was completely unfamiliar to Bronya and Seele.
From the day they were born, all they had ever felt was cold. Even with geomarrow heating, it was just warmth, not this kind of stifling heat.
This sensation was unfamiliar not just to them, but to every single person in Belobog.
"March 7th! Are you guys okay?!"
Seeing the two figures running toward them in the distance, March 7th waved excitedly.
"Mr. Yang! Himeko!"
———
[Elysia: @Levi, don't forget, my party!]
[Levi: ZZZZ… Already forgot. You'll need to pay again for me to remember]