Polka Kakamond pretended not to hear the hostility in Herta's voice.
'We could exchange information. I'll tell you what's on Amphoreus, and you tell me who Bai Ming is.'
"Heh, as if. Why would this genius need to barter with an enemy?"
'...'
It was just too bad that Herta was currently as stubborn as a rock.
With a personality that strong, she was clearly never going to accept cooperation with Polka Kakamond. Not unless Polka Kakamond surrendered herself.
After two attempts, the Lord of Silence didn't press the issue further and chose to leave.
If it couldn't be done, so be it. In her view, Herta was just as dangerous as Zandar.
Zandar spent every day scheming to destroy the Droid Head, while Herta was obsessed daily with pushing the boundaries of knowledge.
But that mysterious Bai Ming was even more dangerous.
Just as Elio could sense something strange about Bai Ming...
The Lord of Silence, following Herta's trail, had also detected something abnormal.
But here was the problem.
She had indeed found some clues, such as the other party having imitated certain individuals.
She could even piece together the other party's trail of movements.
But their true identity?
Nothing.
Beyond a name, there were no leads whatsoever.
The one time she had the best chance to get close, Aha had single-handedly blocked her out.
And after missing that opportunity, the other party seemed to have realized she was investigating them, vanishing without a trace for the past few centuries.
Not a single hint could be found.
And the more this was the case, the more wary and apprehensive Polka Kakamond grew towards that mysterious existence.
Even though Herta had refused, she hadn't given up.
The impenetrable walls of Amphoreus weren't so easy to breach.
Once Herta hit that wall head-on, she'd surely want to reach out to friends for help.
Maybe an opportunity would arise then.
--+--
Meanwhile.
'Sparkle' was still unaware that Amphoreus had already drawn the attention of many.
But regarding Sparkle's idea of posting a video.
"Unlike the last video, this one is very likely to provoke every Lord Ravager. So, whether it can actually be posted is another matter."
With the last video, even if the Interastral Peace Corporation tried to block it, 'Sparkle' felt Aha would have gotten it posted anyway.
But this one might not necessarily catch Aha's attention.
"If you want to post it, I have no objection. You'll be the one getting hunted down later. But whether it gets posted depends on what the Interastral Peace Corporation thinks."
"Hehe~ We'll cross that bridge when we come to it~"
"Sending it to the Memokeeper group chat should work too."
Following Sparkle's request, 'Sparkle' still uploaded that segment featuring the Lord Ravagers.
But just as 'Sparkle' had predicted, unlike the previous Aeon video, the Aeons were simply too lofty; they paid no mind to the affairs of mortals.
So even if that video was posted and mortals dissected it, it wouldn't matter.
No Aeon would actually descend to mess with people.
But the Lord Ravagers were a different story.
Those guys truly lived by the creed of waging war across the entire universe.
The Interastral Peace Corporation had to conduct a careful assessment: if this video were posted, would it bring several Lord Ravagers right to the gates of Pier Point?
Director Sparkle, hiding behind Aha, could roam the world solo and unattached.
But the Interastral Peace Corporation couldn't and the subsidiary running the video website certainly couldn't.
And Sparkle waited a full day.
The video remained stuck in the backend, labeled "Under Review."
This displeased Sparkle greatly.
"How annoying. They really won't post it?"
"I told you, this video isn't so easy to get posted."
'Sparkle' sat on the nearby sofa, eating some fruit.
Hearing her other self's words, Sparkle turned her head and suddenly asked curiously:
"What do you plan to do next?"
"Go see a few old friends."
'Sparkle' was still repeatedly examining the new card.
Probably due to the peculiar nature of the form, the card now had a designation prefix to distinguish it from Big Herta.
But the prefix was 'Irontomb,' suggesting that beyond the titles 'Lord Ravager' and 'Rubert III,' 'Irontomb' might be the more significant title.
Was it really that important?
To be honest, having never witnessed the scene of Irontomb's emergence, 'Sparkle' had always been somewhat skeptical of Zandar's claim that Irontomb could 'devour' Nous.
Did Zandar exaggerate at all?
But it was hard to say.
After all, he was the genius who created Nous, and he managed it alone.
Their side needed three people to work together.
Zandar's credibility was still quite high.
If this character card truly represented a certain possibility, then one had to admit, Madam Herta in that possibility seemed to have gotten the short end of the stick.
It felt like she was calculated by Nous to take the fall for it.
Hmm... maybe I'll give Madam Herta a hug next time I see her.
'Sparkle' thought to herself.
Who knew what Herta would think if she learned she had such a worldline?
Probably not a pleasant expression.
Speaking of which, I wonder if the Corporation has started investigating Amphoreus.
If they have, they should have located it by now using the methods of the Garden of Recollection.
But actually getting in probably won't be easy.
Zandar managed to keep even Kakamond out—that speaks to his capability.
Without the Astral Express blazing a trail in, others would find it very difficult.
As for the Land of Light, when I was formulating that Path, I did incorporate some concepts of Trailblazing, but it only made up about a tenth of the whole.
If they could gather more power from the Ultra warriors, they might actually break in, but assembling a large group of Ultras seems rather unlikely.
Hmm...
If this strange Herta really is Irontomb hatched, then couldn't I just swagger right in and connect to that scepter's internal data?
Maybe I'll inquire through Herta's channels.
Even though I hadn't planned to open this 'instance' so soon, since it's come up, might as well try to give Zandar some trouble.
As for directly fighting and elbowing them out of the sky, she was still worried the traits of Rubert III might be noticed.
By the way, Zandar's lifelong wish was to destroy Nous.
If he knew that after all his efforts, he was outmaneuvered by Nous, with Herta taking the fall, causing Irontomb to morph into Rubert III...who knows how Zandar would feel.
Perhaps because she was still playing the role of Sparkle, beyond the worry, she now felt a bit of mischievous curiosity.
She wanted to see what expressions those geniuses would make upon witnessing her new identity.
Ruan Mei would probably just think it's ugly.
Screwllum likely wouldn't... he'd probably be quite calm.
But he might also erupt with intense curiosity.
Zandar's feelings would probably be complex—he'd just need to figure out how to find Amphoreus and crash his way in.
'Sparkle' really wanted to see Zandar's reaction upon seeing Irontomb Herta.
As for Herta herself...
Hmm, I have a feeling I'm in for another round of her sharp tongue.
She'd definitely say I created such an ugly thing, sullying her beauty or something.
Thinking of this, 'Sparkle' couldn't help but laugh.
--+--