Sowhere in Nagazora City.
A woman in a Russian-style military uniform, a cotton-collared, red-lined white cape draped over her shoulders, sat before a Titan cha and a Thunder cha, observing a virtual screen.
Judging by appearances alone, the woman nad Cocolia was undoubtedly an extraordinarily charming figure.
She had purple eyes, waist-length golden curly hair, and a tall stature. Though clearly in her thirties, her face still retained a girlish youthfulness.
The saying goes that ti is a relentless blade, each stroke hastening old age, but on this woman, one could only perceive a mature allure, finding no scars left by the passage of years.
Regrettably, such a beautiful woman was an absolute madwoman.
In August 2013, at the Okhotsk Submarine Laboratory, Seele, one of her most beloved children, underwent the X-10 experint she directed and beca quantized.
Another child, Bronya, also underwent the experint; her brain and legs were eroded, and her emotional circuits were damaged.
Unable to endure her children disappearing and becoming disabled in experints she herself had spearheaded, Cocolia descended into madness, resolving to use any ans necessary to reclaim her lost daughter.
Even if that so-called thod involved instigating a Great Honkai Eruption to force Raiden i—who, like Seele, was a natural Stigmata wielder—to beco a Herrscher. Through this, Cocolia hoped to explore the possibility of turning her own daughter into a Herrscher, thereby allowing her to escape her quantum state.
Honestly, this was a profoundly reckless notion.
In the region known as the Sea of Quanta, besides the quantized Miss Seele, there was also Kevin Kaslana, who had been sealed inside by his closest companion, who had risked his own life to do so.
And this Mr. Kevin was the strongest Fusion Warrior of the Previous Era, a survivor who was irreconcilably opposed to the Honkai, a ruthless character capable of tearing Herrschers apart with his bare hands.
If Miss Seele truly beca a Herrscher within the Sea of Quanta, her most probable fate would be to be slain by Kevin 'Aotian' (Overlord Kevin), who desperately needed power to escape the Sea of Quanta, thus becoming a re stepping stone for Kevin's return.
If that avenger—who planned to activate the Stigmata within human bodies by triggering a Honkai Eruption, uniting the survivors to launch a decisive battle against the Honkai—were to return, Ms. Cocolia would face a veritable nightmare.
The children she treasured as jewels would perish one after another in relentless, successive Great Honkai Eruptions. Those who survived would be forcibly conscripted by Kevin as soldiers, dispatched to the battlefield, and ultimately et their deaths in combat.
Perhaps she could resist, but any resistance she could muster against that monster, second only to the Herrscher of the End, would be as futile as a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
Ms. Cocolia, still oblivious to this possibility, commanded her subordinates to deploy various cha around the periphery of Nagazora City.
When the opportune mont arrived, she would completely seal off Nagazora City, trigger an artificial Honkai Eruption, transform the daughter of her nesis Raiden Ryoma into an incomplete "god," and capture her.
If the experint succeeded, Seele, trapped in the Sea of Quanta, could finally co ho, and Bronya, with whom she was currently estranged, would surely return to her embrace.
Cocolia watched the staff mbers receiving orders and executing the plan, a faint smile gracing her lips.
At that ti, she would definitely buy the finest cake for Seele, and then take all the children from the orphanage to play at a sun-drenched beach.
"Lady Cocolia, there's a problem."
Just as Cocolia was beginning to envision a beautiful, reunited future, a researcher's extrely urgent voice cut through.
"What's wrong?"
Suddenly hearing that sothing seed very amiss, Cocolia frowned, walked towards the researcher, and inquired.
"Raiden Ryoma's daughter is rapidly fleeing Nagazora City—no, she has already fled Nagazora City!"
The researcher's voice was filled with terror.
"What in the world is going on?!"
Cocolia, who was banking on this experint to save her daughter and nd their mother-daughter relationship, found her voice suddenly turning chillingly sharp.
She stared at the profusely sweating researcher, her purple eyes seeming to brew an endless, icy wind.
"Because we confird the target—Raiden i—was inside the experintal site, we didn't conduct close-range surveillance on her. Instead, we opted for electronic equipnt for positioning and monitoring."
Stared at by that piercingly cold gaze, the researcher, whose body was trembling slightly, did his utmost to explain.
"So, because of your laxity, the Raiden family's daughter escaped?"
The coldness in Cocolia's voice intensified, as if it emanated from a glacier.
"Raiden i did not escape on her own."
Just as Cocolia was questioning the staff, an utterly devoid-of-emotion voice sounded.
Then, a petite figure walked in from a distance.
It was an unbelievably beautiful girl, with gray hair and gray eyes, her hair styled into twin pigtails with ribbons. She was hugging a doll that slightly defied popular aesthetics.
As this girl walked in, Cocolia's expression, which had previously resembled a sheet of ice, suddenly softened.
She took a step forward, intending to give her beloved child a hug, but the petite girl deftly turned her body to the side, causing Cocolia to embrace empty air.
Cocolia's expression stiffened. She opened her mouth, wanting to say sothing, but no sound ca out.
After a long mont, her expression returned to calm, and she spoke to the girl nad Bronya.
"Bronya, do you know sothing?"
"Bronya has been regularly checking the surveillance around Senba Academy."
The girl, an undisputed computer genius, walked to the side of the large screen, took over control, and then brought up the surveillance footage from the grocery store.
The girl nad Raiden i was walking towards the grocery store, and then, the recording was ruined.
Because the light at the cara's position was distorted by magecraft, what appeared before everyone was sothing akin to a pixelated mosaic.
By the ti the mosaic-like image disappeared, Raiden i had also vanished.
Bronya then switched the screen again, and a photo of the destroyed records room in Senba Academy appeared.
"The records room of Senba Academy, where Raiden i studies, was destroyed by an unidentifiable individual. The culprit took Raiden i's file."
"If nothing unexpected occurred, Raiden i was kidnapped by that person who couldn't be captured by the cara," the girl stated, her face devoid of any emotion.
"Then, Bronya, could I trouble you to retrieve the abducted Raiden i ahead of schedule?" Cocolia asked the very petite girl, fully aware of the extraordinary talents her daughter possessed.
"Leave it to Bronya."
Without much hesitation, the girl nad Bronya nodded.
"You've really helped Mom out a lot, Bronya."
Cocolia looked at the girl who no longer smiled, her eyes dimming for a mont before she forced a smile and spoke.
"Bronya is not helping Mother Cocolia."
The girl, who had lost the most important person in her life six months ago, said calmly.
"Bronya is just looking for Seele."
As soon as she finished speaking, the girl nad Bronya turned around and walked towards the exit of the laboratory without looking back.
Cocolia watched the departing figure, reached out her hand, and then let it fall limply.
The chasm between them was not so easily bridged.
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