Chapter 151: Mobius: That Woman Is Really Annoying!
***
Although in terms of conventional combat power, Bronya, who could wield part of the Herrscher of Reason’s authority, was already among the elite.
But her luck seemed rather poor.
Whether it was Durandal she encountered before, or Kalpas she met now.
Even when comparing combat power across the entire civilization, they were still among the very top tier.
And in this Elysian Realm, there were only two people who could truly be stronger than this mad king of decimation.
This sweltering air was merely a prelude — anyone familiar with Kalpas understood that this unbearable heat was merely what that man would call a “warm-up.”
An unfortunate coincidence — appearing before Kalpas when his mood happened to be particularly foul. An even more unfortunate coincidence — that person happened to be a Herrscher, which Kalpas despised most.
If it weren’t for Bronya’s childlike appearance earning her some points in Kalpas’s heart, he wouldn’t even have bothered greeting her.
Killing her would be this man’s usual approach.
The ICHOR was boiling. Even though in this Elysian Realm it was merely a composite of data, it was undoubtedly the most important part of the traces left behind by the one called “Kalpas.”
That already volatile and irritable nature reached its extreme under its influence.
It also demonstrated to Bronya Zaychik, this junior who had no idea what she had provoked, the most extreme violence of that bygone era.
“Boom—!”
The Elysian Realm, existing as data, was a zone where Project Bunny couldn’t manifest, but as the Herrscher of Reason, she still managed to construct a highly realistic bunny using her authority.
Then that super-alloy shield, which in terms of strength was no different from reality — if anything, only stronger — failed to provide even a moment’s protection under a single punch from that masked man.
Terrifying power accompanied by a thunderous roar, like destroying dry weeds and rotten wood, demolished and annihilated the constructed Project Bunny, leaving only burning flame and an unstoppable iron fist continuing its momentum.
Bronya, who hadn’t expected such an outcome, was scared senseless — this seemingly fantastical event actually happened to the famous “Silver Wolf of the Urals.”
Although she had long abandoned that title, Ducky with that experience undoubtedly had great tolerance for death.
However, facing the extreme violence displayed by Kalpas, Bronya actually felt a fear that penetrated deep into her heart — something she hadn’t experienced even when fighting Durandal.
— Am I going to die?
Although she learned from Raven that death in the realm didn’t mean true death, this extremely real sensation still made Bronya unable to distinguish the essence of it.
Instinctively, her mind began to replay every moment she spent with Seele.
…I can’t die. I absolutely cannot die like this. Seele is still waiting for me!
She wanted to reunite with important things, and she wanted to protect important people.
Losing to Durandal, losing to the masked man before her — the first thing that surfaced was the helplessness of “I can’t do anything,” but immediately following was that persistent and unwilling “I must.”
The power of the Herrscher of Reason seemed to become more manageable than before — without Bronya’s awareness, her control over the core seemed to improve, and while the will remaining in the core still held a disapproving attitude toward this inexperienced little girl, part of that will relaxed and acknowledged this girl named Bronya Zaychik’s qualification as the Herrscher of Reason.
Core control rate jumped from the pitiful single digits she could barely manage before to barely reaching 30% at this moment.
She possessed more power.
How delightful.
Only—
Just this level of improvement didn’t seem sufficient to survive from that hotheaded “mad king.”
Even at 30%, she was still so powerless.
Inexplicably, Bronya recalled her previous battle with Durandal.
…This time, would someone come to save her again?
That man called Jiang Qiao seemed to have already left…
Realizing this clearly, Ducky felt somewhat desperate.
But at this critical moment, a pink figure suddenly appeared.
Just like before — remarkably similar.
What… so you haven’t left after all.
As her consciousness gradually fell into drowsiness, Bronya left behind this thought in that brief moment of clarity before collapsing with remarkable grace.
“Elysia.”
Sensing the newcomer, Kalpas slowly stopped his fist. The flame burning on his body gradually subsided. Although still filled with anger and dissatisfaction, after calling out the newcomer’s name, this “beast” gentleman’s attitude somewhat returned to calm — at least by Kalpas’s standards.
“You want to save her?”
“How could you attack such a cute beautiful girl? Although I’d like to say that… it seems there’s no need anymore.”
The Elysian Ellie who hurried over glanced at the fallen Bronya, showed a smile, then looked toward Kalpas again with meaningful words:
“After all, you weren’t planning to be ruthless with her anyway, were you?”
Indeed — Kalpas stopped because of her appearance.
But with Elysian Ellie’s eyesight, she could tell at a glance that her companion hadn’t used his full strength at all.
For ordinary people this might seem normal, but for Kalpas… that Kalpas actually held back deliberately during battle?!
Such a thing would probably be unbelievable even if told to others.
Well, if it were in the past, it would definitely be listed among “Fire Moth’s Ten Impossibilities” along with “Kevin’s team building is very popular with everyone,” “Kosma is very eloquent,” and “Dr. Mobius wearing a pink little dress.”
After all, the impression Kalpas left on people was that he never knew restraint.
Even those extremely close to him were certain of this point.
“Hmph.”
Kalpas snorted coldly, crossing his arms without speaking.
It seemed he was acknowledging it.
This was indeed something he would never do in the past.
But Bronya became an exception to this.
— Kalpas discovered that this tactless little brat.
Was very much like himself.
The Elysian Realm’s matching mechanism was divided according to the compatibility between visitors and Flame-Chasers, and Bronya being able to run directly to Kalpas’s domain from the start obviously couldn’t be explained by so-called “luck.”
Seeing that little brat was like seeing his past self. Although they might not be entirely similar, Kalpas indeed saw his own shadow in her.
Of course, his past self wasn’t this weak.
Additionally, Elysian Ellie’s arrival wasn’t entirely meaningless as she claimed.
At least, if it weren’t for her appearance, Kalpas definitely wouldn’t have stopped that punch.
And the result of that would be — even if she didn’t die, Ducky would probably experience what Kalpas’s adjutant experienced.
— Getting beaten half to death!