Herta held her teacup, tilting her head to glance at the petite figure of 'Sparkle' and let out a soft chuckle.
"So who are you this time? And why are you pretending to be a kid?"
But 'Sparkle' remained silent.
She simply walked over quietly and, right in front of Herta, reached out to hug her.
"Madam Herta, oh~ my dear Madam Herta~"
Thwack—!
The moment Herta heard that strange, exaggerated tone, a vein throbbed on her forehead.
She raised a hand and planted it firmly on 'Sparkle's' face, holding the ridiculous creature at arm's length.
"Stop acting crazy here. Or I'll throw you out right now."
"Mmph…"
'Sparkle' straightened up, pulling her face away from Herta's palm.
She met Herta's utterly exasperated and disdainful gaze, but as she looked at the Madam Herta before her, she couldn't help recalling the character card she'd drawn—that face identical to Madam Herta's, yet utterly lifeless.
A complicated feeling welled up inside 'Sparkle'.
Leaving aside whether it was Nous who deliberately sent Herta over to take the fall in that worldline, Nous itself shouldn't possess the ability to manipulate an individual's will.
To put it plainly, excluding the possibility that Herta was some kind of stubborn, spiky anomaly that Irontomb forcibly devoured, the only way she could have ended up like that was if Madam Herta willingly sacrificed herself to degrade Irontomb into Rubert III.
Thereby allowing the Lord of Silence's scalpel to pierce Irontomb's heart and quell the catastrophe.
But could Irontomb have forcibly devoured Herta?
'Sparkle' thought it impossible.
Even if the Express crew hadn't flown to Amphoreus, given Herta's personality, she would never have failed to call for backup.
Ruan Mei might not bother to go, but Screwllum and Stephen would certainly be willing to help.
Even if the Geniuses didn't take it seriously at first, once Herta broke through the defenses and realized the truth, Screwllum and Stephen wouldn't just stand by idly.
For the three Geniuses to be forcibly breached by Zandar before Irontomb even hatched, allowing Irontomb to devour Madam Herta—that seemed a bit far-fetched.
Zandar wouldn't do that either.
And if it were a normally hatched Irontomb, why would it turn to devour Herta instead of Nous?
So in that bizarre worldline, 'Sparkle' believed it was more likely that Herta recognized the threat of Irontomb's hatching and found no way to turn the tide.
Thus, she chose to sacrifice herself, forcing Irontomb—which should have destroyed Erudition—to degrade into a Rubert III completely outmaneuvered by Erudition.
All to resolve the Irontomb crisis with minimal sacrifice.
That's why 'Sparkle' had wanted to hug Herta the moment she arrived.
Madam Herta is a peerless gem! No further words needed.
But 'Sparkle's' behavior only left Madam Herta exasperated and disdainful.
Why was this creature looking at her with such a strange expression?
And that look in her eyes that said, 'As expected, Madam Herta is such a good person'—it really made it hard for Herta not to punch her.
"Speak properly! What exactly are you up to, acting all mysterious?"
She forced 'Sparkle' down into a chair with her hand.
Herta swore that if this creature didn't start telling the truth, she would really throw her out.
'Sparkle' pursed her lips.
This Herta, always so tsundere.
Talks tough, but soft-hearted deep down.
Nearby, Screwllum watched their interaction calmly and unhurriedly.
"Alright, down to business. What are your thoughts on Amphoreus and Irontomb?"
Herta paused, her cup in hand. She exchanged a glance with Screwllum, then looked back at Bai Ming:
"Wasn't it you who left the intel for the IPC? Why ask us? Shouldn't you be the one explaining properly? To even attract that Kakamond over, that place must be extraordinary, right?"
'Sparkle' shot Herta a surprised look.
"Already calling her by name directly?"
"Heh, centuries have passed. If I still didn't dare say her name, I shouldn't call myself a Genius."
Screwllum then offered his own speculation:
"Deduction: Irontomb's abilities are highly unusual, suspected to be related to Erudition. It may have been created by that Aeon to destroy Erudition."
'Sparkle' nodded.
"Pretty much. Irontomb exists to destroy Erudition, and it's far more terrifying than other Lord Ravagers because its creator is none other than a segment of Zandar One Kuwabara—the one who created Nous."
Herta immediately lost her composure upon hearing this.
The feat of creating an Aeon—Zandar was in a league of his own.
Although she had a hand in Noa's birth as well, that was one person alone, while she had two others helping.
The difference spoke for itself.
"Him?! He wants to destroy Erudition??"
"It's him. Irontomb's true form is a Scepter. Zandar forcibly stripped away its nascent self-awareness, used it to craft an equation to destroy Erudition, and fueled it with a thirst for life, attempting to make Irontomb devour Nous."
"Query: As Nous' creator, why would Zandar seek to destroy his own creation?"
"That, I can't really say. You'll have to ask him yourselves if you get the chance. Zandar isn't today's focus; this is just background context."
'Sparkle' took a couple sips of tea, then cleared her throat.
"Herta, let's move to a more spacious place next."
"Sure, outside is fine. That area over there is a space I specially designated."
Although Herta had no idea what trick this creature was up to, she tilted her head toward the wall to indicate the direction.
Then she stood and led the two out of the room to that vast plaza.
And there, 'Sparkle' saw something that left her speechless.
She'd sensed the presence earlier but had assumed the one here was fake and the real one was in the Land of Light.
But now…
"Wait, why is Noa still here with you? Then what's that thing in the Land of Light?"
"What else? It's not like you don't know the IPC's attitude toward Qlipoth."
Herta shot Bai Ming a look as if it were obvious.
"If the IPC saw this crystalline barrier, do you think they'd readily accept the Ultraman breaking away to establish the Land of Light?"
Hearing Herta's words, 'Sparkle' caught on immediately.
She then understood what she'd seen in the Land of Light.
Seems that one over there was the work of the Fictionologists.
"So that one in the Land of Light… it's just a shadow?"
"Yes, merely a projection from here. I must say, that batch of Fictionologists you created back then—all sharing the same origin—was a pretty clever idea. The power of Enigmata can be quite handy sometimes."
Seeing Herta's expression, 'Sparkle' raised an eyebrow.
"The method you used to block Kakamond… it wasn't because of this, was it?"
The strange tone made Herta unable to resist clamping a hand on 'Sparkle's' head.
"At first, I borrowed Noa's power. No matter how powerful Kakamond's Knowable Domain is, she can't decipher an Aeon. Of course, it's not needed now, but it's more convenient to keep Noa hidden here, so it stayed."
After saying that, Herta didn't elaborate further.
After all, failing to handle Kakamond for centuries did bruise her pride a bit.
Herta wasn't fond of discussing this with others.
"Forget that. How much longer are you going to keep us in suspense? Hurry up."
"Alright, alright. Well, brace yourself then. Don't be shocked by what comes next, Herta."
"Ha? Don't be ridiculous. Who do you think you're talking to? Get on with it."
Faced with Herta's urging, 'Sparkle' didn't drag it out any longer.
After trying to contact Ruan Mei and connecting the call, Bai Ming stepped farther away, then dropped the Sparkle act and switched to that eerie new character card.
A towering metallic frame, gleaming like bleached bones.
And upon that frame, a face with flowing long hair and a faint, unsettling smile.
A face everyone present knew all too well—
Who else could it be but Herta?!
"What is this thing?! Bai Ming!! You'd better explain this clearly!!"
Herta could hardly describe what she was feeling in that moment.
At first, when she saw Bai Ming drop the little Masked Fool act, she thought maybe he'd drawn Zandar, or was roleplaying Kakamond—she'd even mentally prepared for either generation of Rubert.
She'd already thought about how to engage.
But as that horrifying figure rose from the ground in an instant, Herta's expression instantly darkened.
No wonder Bai Ming had been beating around the bush earlier.
And considering what he'd said before, this eerie entity before her was a possible future version of herself.
Once that realization hit, Herta's expression couldn't possibly improve one bit!
--+--