Mobius stared at the pair of long, slender, pink ears floating in the nutrient solution, lost in thought.
Whoosh... The hydraulic door slid open, followed by the asured, almost too deliberate footsteps of soone trying to suppress their excitent. They stopped behind Mobius.
"Are those... the ears of the... yaksha... we defeated in R'lyeh (Ruruye)?"
"Tch! Elysia, must you speak in that tone?"
"My! Mobius, what's wrong? So grumpy?"
Mobius took two deep breaths, suppressing the urge to snap. Mikael's request echoed in her mind, silencing her retort.
"Did you co to my lab just to state the obvious?"
Elysia twirled a strand of hair, her true purpose clear. She wanted to know what Mikael had said and done here, but, as usual, both he and Mobius had chosen to keep her in the dark.
Though she was used to it, it still irked her. Mikael, is there sothing... you can't tell Elysia?
"Is he alright?"
"Fine, perfectly fine. Didn't you just see him?"
"I did... He even said he'd take and Seele to that orphanage tomorrow."
Perfectly fine, huh... He seems like his usual self, but that's even more worriso.
"Mobius, I heard your MANTIS soldier project stalled because you lacked human test subjects?"
"What? Want to volunteer for my operating table?"
"Sure! Why not?"
"Are you serious?!" Mobius whirled around, staring at Elysia, who wore a deceptively innocent smile.
"Ha! You're all insane!" Mobius clenched her fists, storming to the lab's closet. She yanked out a pink maid outfit and flung it at Elysia.
"Get out!"
"Oh my, Mobius, don't be so angry!"
Ignoring her protests, Mobius shoved Elysia out of the lab, slamming the door shut.
"One after another! Can't you be rational?!"
Though, at that mont, she was the least rational one.
"Heh... Ha..."
"My experint did run into a problem... But I don't need... this kind of... Hmph!"
The lab fell silent.
"Elysia... such a... irritating woman..." Mobius muttered, facing the cold, sterile wall.
"Why? Mikael..."
"Yasha isn't suitable for Elysia. She wouldn't like such an... uncute Honkai beast... So, if she really wants to undergo the procedure, I'll get her one she likes."
His words echoed in her mind.
Mobius finally understood why she was so agitated.
It was... envy.
...
Yes, envy.
i envied Mobius, envied her for having such a dedicated assistant.
"Doctor, Test Subject Number One, male, survived for 32 minutes after the injection of Yasha genes. Test Subject Number Two, female, survived for 251 minutes. Should we maintain this variable and expand the sample size, or control for a new variable in the next experint?"
Klein asked, still scribbling notes with an old-fashioned fountain pen, without looking up.
"Expand the sample size! It doesn't matter. We have plenty of volunteers. We must ensure the validity of every conclusion!"
Lucien rubbed his hands excitedly, his green eyes gleaming.
i's gaze, in contrast, was much dimr. She looked at Klein, who stared back blankly, seemingly unwilling to carry out Lucien's orders.
i closed her eyes, then opened them, giving a quick nod.
Klein's pupils constricted, a flicker of resistance, but a quarter of a second later, she nodded obediently.
"Squad Leader Kevin, please bring Test Subjects Three through Twenty into the lab."
i glanced at Lucien's back, ramrod straight. Silence fell over the lab after Klein spoke, amplifying Lucien's manic muttering:
"Yes, yes, that's right! Ah... Combining God's creations... to create a being with ultimate power..."
i wasn't interested in politics, nor did she care about the feud between Lucien and Vashak, but she was aware of their ideological differences.
Vashak was a known purist, believing in humanity's own strength, while Lucien advocated combining human power with the Honkai... She wondered how these two had ever beco allies. Is this... the ugliness of politics?
It doesn't matter. I, i, am just a scientist. Nothing more.
Nine pairs of male and female volunteers, faces filled with anticipation and excitent, entered the incubation pods, then were anesthetized...
i retreated into the shadows. She wasn't needed here... for now.
"Kevin..." i and Kevin stood side-by-side, leaning against the wall.
"You said... what we're doing is right... right?"
Kevin's chest rose and fell, silent. He knew he couldn't articulate his thoughts. He also knew i didn't need soone to talk to, but soone to listen.
"If the Second Eruption was still manageable with humanity's own strength, then the Third and Fourth have shown us... how much we would have to sacrifice without Mikael and the others...
"The MANTIS soldier project isn't the only option. There's the hundred-ter humanoid weapon project, the human-machine integration project... But... Hoo...
"The MANTIS soldier project... it was never officially sanctioned. If Mikael hadn't reminded about Klein and Mobius, it would have been buried completely. I chose this project not only because Mikael supports it, but also because... according to Klein... Mobius has already completed the experint."
"Completed? What do you an?" Kevin finally spoke.
"Exactly what it sounds like. Rember how we almost didn't recognize Dr. Mobius when we saw her again? Those were the side effects of fusing with the Śeṣa factor... and that's not all! Klein is hiding sothing from . I followed that line of thought and secretly examined Mikael's discarded body... I found a large amount of the Śeṣa factor in his genes."
"Th-this..."
"Then I discreetly questioned Captain Hiko, Aldemir, and others who participated in the Shanghai City battle. I've roughly deduced that both Mikael and Mobius's procedures were completed within a single day and night—the day before we encountered the Herrscher in Nagazora City. And I haven't found any data on human trials in Mobius's files. In other words, Mobius completed two MANTIS soldier procedures within a single day, with a 100% success rate."
"But our success rate is still zero, right?" Kevin gently wrapped an arm around i's shoulders, letting her rest her head against him.
"Mmm... Kevin..."
"What's wrong?"
"...You... I... nothing..."
"Hey, i, are these volunteers all Fire Moth soldiers?"
"They should be... right? What's wrong?"
"I don't recognize a single face."
Whoosh...
The hydraulic door slid open again. Mobius, without turning, asked, "She's here?"
"Mmm." The newcor replied with a single syllable, as concise as her actions.
But then, a hint of reminiscence colored her voice: "Are those... the ears of the yaksha we encountered in R'lyeh (Ruruye)?"
"Heh, you two, why do you always say the sa things?"
"Just tell , Mobius. What do you need for?"
"...Mikael has a favor to ask."
"...I understand." After a brief hesitation, she unbuckled the ice katana at her waist, shedding her clothes until the icy nutrient solution enveloped her, the specialized anesthetic seeping through her pores, reaching her bones...
Her last conscious sensation was the prick of a needle in her forearm.
"Hmph... Another one..."
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