Just as Klein had expected, the smile Mobius had turned on her vanished the moment she saw Elysia waving at her.
"Oh my, I knew you missed me, Mobius~! Just look at that face. If you've missed me that much..."
"ELYSIA!"
Mobius hadn't meant to engage with a certain pink-haired fairy. But she knew that if she kept quiet, there was no telling what nonsense Elysia would come up with next, so she cut her off with a snarl.
"Elysia, you've got a partner now. Is it really right to say things like that to me in front of her?"
Mobius glanced at Durandal, who wore a wry smile but showed no sign of stepping in. It looked like she'd have to handle this herself.
"Huh? I don't like the sound of that, Mobius! What exactly have I said in front of Bianka? Can't friends miss each other after two weeks apart?"
Elysia didn't fall into Mobius's trap. Then again, her intent was so plain that anyone could've seen through it. Ha! If Mobius hoped to turn her and Durandal against each other, she'd have to do better than that.
"You...!"
Mobius was about to roll up her sleeves and charge when Klein grabbed her and held on tight.
"Let go, Klein! I'll teach that pink-haired fatty a lesson!"
Klein could hold Mobius back, but she'd forgotten to stop her mouth. She froze, then stared at the hint of murder on Elysia's face and gulped.
Her reason for stopping Mobius had been simple. If they came to blows, there was no way Mobius would be the one teaching Elysia a lesson. It'd be the other way around.
But now Mobius had blurted out the name she called Elysia in private. Getting through this in one piece had just become much harder.
"Mo. Bi. Us." Elysia drew out each syllable, a dangerous gleam in her eyes. "What did you just call me? I didn't quite catch that. Could you say it one. More. Time?"
A chorus of gulps filled the room. Apart from Elysia herself and Durandal, who knew she could stop things from getting out of hand, everyone swallowed hard.
That included Pardofelis and Big Orange in her arms, Klein in her role as peacemaker, and even Mobius, who'd been the angriest of the lot.
The rage had cleared from Mobius's head. She now recalled the vast gulf between her strength and Elysia's.
With death seemingly at her door, Mobius at last settled on the stigmata design she'd been struggling to choose. What she needed was Śeṣa's absurd power to regenerate! Even if she still couldn't beat Elysia, at least Elysia wouldn't be able to beat her to death so easily.
Durandal had no idea that, after all those twists and turns, Mobius had chosen a path much like the one she'd taken in the original course of events. Only the means had changed.
Stigmata offered a far more stable path than becoming a MANTIS. They barely lowered the peak of what someone could achieve, while making the baseline more reliable. Most of all, they didn't cross that ethical line.
Someone with implanted stigmata could still be called human, just like Durandal herself. A MANTIS, though... in a sense, they'd already become something else.
Pardofelis's heart hammered in her chest, and her slight frame began to shake. This was far too scary.
Elysia had seemed so warm and beautiful. Who'd have thought she'd be this fierce when she lost her temper? Just standing nearby under that crushing pressure left Pardofelis struggling to breathe.
She'd never wished more for Eden to be at her side. Then she could hide behind her tall frame.
No... Pardofelis cast the thought aside almost as soon as it came. Instead, she began to feel glad Eden wasn't here. Even if things went wrong, Eden wouldn't get caught up in them.
As fear filled Pardofelis's mind, Durandal at last broke her silence. She stepped between Elysia and Mobius.
Turning to Elysia first, she reached out a hand. Her clothes had changed into Dea Anchora, the armor that could absorb Honkai energy and turn it to her own use. She drew in all the excess energy spilling from Elysia, easing the pressure on everyone else in the lab.
"Ellie, you know what Dr. Mobius is like. She's got a sharp tongue, so don't let her words upset you so much. As for your figure..."
Durandal paused. A faint blush crept over the stern face she'd worn while stepping in, but her voice stayed firm as she went on.
"I know it better than anyone. A little more would be too much, and a little less wouldn't be enough. That describes you perfectly, so there's no need to dwell on Dr. Mobius's careless words."
Durandal felt shy giving the praise, but Elysia, who'd received it, wore a rare blush of her own. She lowered her head with a bashful look.
Somehow, hearing this felt even sweeter than the tender words Durandal whispered to her in bed.
At Elysia's response, Durandal knew she'd managed to calm things down. But it wouldn't be fair to speak only to Elysia, so she turned to Mobius.
"Dr. Mobius, however angry you were, you shouldn't have used that sort of insult toward a fellow member of Schicksal. Since this is your first offense, I won't turn it into a formal matter. Once the surgery's over, could you and Ellie settle this in private?"
"...All right."
Mobius had no wish to speak with Elysia in private, but she had little choice but to agree. With that, the storm passed, and before Pardofelis could take it all in, Klein had taken Big Orange from her arms.
Klein, Mobius, and Durandal changed into surgical gowns and took Big Orange into the operating room. Elysia and Pardofelis stayed outside to wait.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL