The cold wind howled here.
Two figures passed through the curtain of snow and stopped atop the ruins of a crumbling building.
"Mr. Welt, this is the place, hehehe..."
Sampo rubbed his hands together and laughed.
Mr. Yang said nothing. He stepped forward and looked down from above, observing the breathtaking scene before him.
The gale roared, snow filled the sky, and vision was swallowed by white. The cold pierced to the bone. The environment here was even harsher than the snowfield where they had arrived earlier. There was even a faint aftertaste of the end times in the air...
The tip of his cane lightly touched the ground. Mr. Yang raised a hand and pushed up his glasses, frowning slightly as his gaze swept across the area.
Below was a platform, with several figures standing there.
Based on past impressions and the photos Nero had sent, he immediately recognized everyone.
Dan Heng, March, Stelle, Seele, Bronya, and... Cocolia.
After that, Mr. Yang's gaze shifted elsewhere, toward those strange connected structures on the ground. Looking carefully, weren't those massive humanoid structures formed not from poured steel, but from levers and gears linked together?
This was a robot.
A huge robot.
Mr. Yang took a deep breath, then slowly let it out.
He was in a pretty good mood right now.
Although he really wanted, right now, immediately, to go over and study that massive robot on this planet... considering the message Himeko had sent not long ago, he still suppressed the excitement in his heart and decided not to step in for the time being.
Himeko hoped to let the kids play on their own a bit more, so he would just watch from the sidelines for now.
'Come to think of it...'
Mr. Yang's gaze swept over the entire scene once more. He still didn't spot a certain small figure, and so he finally confirmed one thing, someone really was missing here.
Nero wasn't here.
Mr. Yang frowned slightly and asked, "Mr. Sampo, may I ask, could you tell me where Nero is right now?"
Mr. Yang received no response.
So he turned around. Behind him was empty...
Sampo was gone. He had left at some unknown moment.
"This guy..."
Mr. Yang frowned, his fingers tapping lightly on the Star of Eden in his hand.
If Nero hadn't sent him a message not long ago saying to trust Sampo, he would absolutely have found a chance to keep this man here.
Still...
He really was a strange person. Later on, he should probably remind Nero to have less contact with this guy.
———
Bronya clutched her head, looking both sorrowful and pained.
She spoke with emotion, "…No… don't…"
Bronya felt as if something was about to drill open the top of her skull and burrow into her brain, as though invisible tentacles were reaching into her consciousness and stirring everything inside into a muddy mess.
Cocolia stood at the side and said, "Do not resist, Bronya, accept the shared will!"
Bronya clenched her teeth hard. Saliva mixed with blood seeped slightly from the corner of her mouth. Having passed through a period of wavering, her will was now incomparably firm, like the magnificent great wall erected by the Amber King at the edge of the universe.
"No… this… is not what I want…" Bronya voiced her resolute resistance.
Cocolia, still standing to the side, continued persuading her, "Look at the future they have promised, Bronya! A world without poverty, cold, or suffering; a world where people no longer need to pray for survival like prisoners; a world we can protect forever."
"For seven hundred years, we have kept trying, kept struggling, believing that the light of human nature would guide us to revival. And what was the result? Utter defeat!"
"Why is it that when faced with irrefutable power, the first thing we think of is always resistance, blocking our ears, rather than listening to its plea?"
"That is the foolishness and cowardice entrenched deep within human nature, impossible to erase. Abandon them, break free of the shackles binding you! The Stellaron will lead humanity toward evolution. It will..."
Cocolia's words did not reach their end.
Seele interrupted the Great Guardian, who had fallen into madness, with an incomparably firm and forceful voice, "That's enough brainwashing, witch!"
This shout was the voice of resistance from the people of Belobog, like a sharp blade that instantly severed the ropes Cocolia had imposed, binding Bronya.
"…Seele?"
The suddenly awakened Bronya gently turned her head. Seeing the familiar faces approaching one by one, relief, emotion, resolve, and many other feelings all filled her heart.
Cocolia felt displeased at being interrupted, but at this moment she still believed victory was in her grasp, so in the face of everyone's attitude, she displayed full arrogance.
"…So you still came. I thought this blizzard would bury you."
Seele snorted coldly. "In your dreams! Before we take you down, we're not going to fall!"
Then she turned to Bronya and said, "Bronya! I don't know exactly what happened between you two. Even if you explained it on the spot, I probably wouldn't understand all that mystical stuff. But there are two things I'm very clear about."
"First, these guys went through all kinds of hardship to get here for one reason only, to seal that thing called the Stellaron."
"Second, do you remember what I told you? If anything happened to you, I would definitely come back to save you!"
"So, do you get it? Even if you've already been brainwashed by that woman over there and forgotten our promise completely, I'll still knock you out and carry you back!"
"We need you, Bronya," Stelle spoke from behind. "Belobog needs you too."
"Seele, and everyone else…" Bronya's eyes trembled with emotion as she raised a hand to clutch her chest.
Just then, Cocolia's somewhat impatient and careless voice sounded.
"That should be enough, shouldn't it? I've already given you plenty of time… time to say your goodbyes."
Then she looked at Bronya. "Another reason I brought you here, it's time to tell you, Bronya. I want to witness your choice."
Bronya turned around, her eyes widening slightly as she looked at Cocolia.
Cocolia calmly narrated, "I've told you all the truths, about the deal with the Stellaron, about the wish I made to it. Between us… there are no more secrets."
"Many years ago, the voice of the Stellaron first rang in my ears, and like every Guardian before me, I closed my eyes and blocked my ears. Back then, I was just like you now, desperately clinging to the so-called Preservation of the Architects…"
"My belief was once incomparably firm… until a sudden variable disrupted everything; another choice appeared before me, one that meant overturning the old order and welcoming the arrival of a new world."
"But compared to the vague, illusory Preservation that grew ever more distant, it was so real…"
Bronya remained silent. Her gaze lowered, lips pressed together, fists clenched…
At last, Cocolia revealed her true feelings to Bronya, "I have been racking my brain, thinking again and again about how to convey all this to you. The tomorrow promised will always come, but if you cannot stay by my side and watch over that new world together with me…"
"Then I will fall into pain, Bronya, pain that cannot be erased."
After that, Cocolia slowly turned her head and looked at the three members of the Express crew. "Perhaps I should thank you, outsiders. Pressured by what you brought… I was finally able to face my last weakness."
Then Cocolia looked back at Bronya once more, ready to let her make her choice. Just as she was about to speak, Stelle's voice came through.
The Galactic Baseballer had already pulled out her bat, the pitch-black staff pointing straight at Cocolia.
"Ha! Sounds nice, but the fact is, the choices in front of you are still only two, and even now, it's not too late to decide."
"And yet, in this situation, you still refuse to think, still refuse to listen to others, you're just tired of it all, that's all."
"Stop dressing yourself up with grand-sounding ideas. Helping us seal the Stellaron could clearly solve this world's crisis too."
Stelle narrowed her eyes, her gaze sharpening until it looked like a keen blade. The moment Bronya saw that look, she was reminded of when Nero had talked her down, his eyes had been just as sharp.
"Standing here right now, is it truly your will, Cocolia, or the will of the Stellaron?"
"I don't know. All I know is that from the moment we arrived on this planet until now, everything you've done has not been for the purpose of protecting this world."
"What's pushing you from behind is nothing more than your own arrogance."
"No need to explain anymore. I'm too lazy to listen to your excuses, you're not worthy of speaking! Your arrogance will lead you to failure!"
March poked Stelle's shoulder from the side. "What's with you? Why did you suddenly start talking like Nero?"
Dan Heng sighed beside them. "After spending so much time together, it's inevitable you'll pick up some similar habits."
In that instant, a look of panic appeared on Bronya's face. She looked at the outsiders, then at her mother. She knew that the moment had come when she had to make a decision.
———
Mr. Yang frowned, gripping the Star of Eden in his hand, his face tinged with anxiety as he muttered to himself.
"Still too young, those kids… is it a matter of personality? At times like this, the one who would act the most decisively might actually be Nero…"
Mr. Yang was really getting anxious.
:Don't just stand there listening to Cocolia talk!'
If Nero were here, Cocolia would probably have been taken down already.
What's the point of listening to that woman ramble on?
Sure enough, Himeko was right. The kids were still too young and needed more experience.
Thinking carefully, that kid Nero's personality, upright to an almost frightening degree.
———
After the silence, Bronya finally made her choice.
"Lady Cocolia… thank you for raising me, and thank you for leaving the power of choice to me.
"But… I'm sorry, Mother. This last time, I cannot stand by your side."
Hearing this, Cocolia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then trembled as she let it out.
Bronya continued, "You said that deep within human nature lies foolishness and cowardice. That may not be wrong, desperation can reflect the darkest side of the human heart."
"…But you overlooked those who struggle to survive and fight on in desperate situations. I saw the light within them, on the front lines of the restricted zone, in the Underworld, in the corners you ignored."
"Our ancestors built this city with their own hands, striving to carry on civilization amid wind and snow. Even if this world is destined to fall apart, the road to its end should be paved by humanity's own hands, not by handing our fate over to this seed of calamity!"
Cocolia kept her eyes closed and said nothing. Only the Stellaron's voice echoed in her mind.
After a brief silence, Bronya continued, "Mother, Stelle is right. Even now, you still have the power to choose. You don't have to throw yourself into another abyss just as hopeless."
"We are Guardians chosen by ordinary people, Mother! Our duty is to preserve the world built by humanity! We are not gods, not judges!"
"You cannot trample human nature underfoot while playing the roles of god and judge at the same time..."
Bronya's words were interrupted by Cocolia. "I see… so your choice is… I understand, Bronya."
"It's a pity… a pity you won't get to see the beautiful world. You can't break through the shackles of your thinking… you know? You should have been… the mother of the new world."
As Cocolia's voice fell, the ground suddenly began to tremble violently.
Above, Mr. Yang struggled to keep a straight face, his hand gripping the Star of Eden tightly.
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