My name is Natasha Ciora. I am a mercenary, and also an executive named Raven in the organization called World Serpent.
There is a great secret within the World Serpent.
That is, this organization was not founded in modern times.
No, saying modern times isn't right. It should be said, the current civilization.
This organization was formed in the Previous Era, and it has continued to the current civilization, all the way to… now.
It can be said that this organization itself is a legacy of the Previous Era, and also the crystallization of the Previous Era's technology.
Leaving aside other technologies, I know very well that deep beneath this organization, there is a huge secret.
What is buried there is not only the legacy left by the Previous Era, but also the truth of the Previous Era.
A place called Elysian Realm.
That place holds the memory bodies of the Flame-Chasers from the Flame-Chasers, the predecessor of the World Serpent.
They are no different from living people, except that they cannot leave Elysian Realm. They have complete thoughts and Flame-Chasers-level power.
They are the heroes of the Previous Era and the pioneers of the current civilization. I have always known this.
After many trials, I could only get along with one of the more approachable Flame-Chasers.
But… what's with this guy in front of me?
Ciora watched from a corner, in disbelief, as the young man kept urging a masked man to drink, only to be punched away by the enraged man.
"You bastard! How can this cup of wine take so long to finish!"
Kalpas raised the wine glass high, intending to smash it to the ground.
"Hey, hey, hey, is Brother Kalpas going back on his word? Didn't you say you'd finish this cup?"
Ciora was certain she hadn't blinked. The young man who had been punched away returned to the side of the man named Kalpas as if nothing had happened, speaking with a teasing tone.
"Ahhhhhh!!! You just wait for me!"
Putting down the wine glass he was about to smash, Kalpas once again brought the glass to his mouth and began to gulp down the wine.
But just like before, no matter how much he drank, the liquid in the glass did not decrease at all, completely defying the laws of physics.
Although the things here are memory bodies, and the laws of physics aren't very reliable, this is too ridiculous.
"Hahahaha, that's right, that's right, Brother Kalpas, keep it up."
As Takatsuki laughed, a cup was handed to him: "Takatsuki, you drink too."
Without a doubt, Takatsuki took the cup and drank the wine in one gulp, then saw everyone else around him looking at him.
"Why are you all looking at me? Brother Kalpas, have you finished your drink?"
Kalpas, who was beside him, also stopped gulping down wine. Although he was wearing a mask, one could still sense some confusion in his voice.
"Why are you fine?"
"Ha, why would I not be fine?"
Looking at the short green-haired figure beside him, Takatsuki directly shoved the empty cup back into Mobius's hand: "Even if you drugged it, it wouldn't work on me."
"…"
Kalpas was speechless. He thought Mobius could take down Takatsuki, but he didn't expect even Mobius couldn't do it.
Although he was crazy, he wasn't stupid.
He naturally knew that the reason his wine glass could never be emptied was due to Takatsuki's ability.
So, punching him away earlier was to see if he could directly disable this ability, but the result was that it was completely useless.
"Hahahaha, this is really interesting. It's been a long time since I've seen Mobius and Kalpas suffer such a setback."
The speaker was another Flame-Chasers whom Ciora didn't recognize. She had only met Eden, Sakura, Kevin, and Mobius, and this lively pink-haired girl seemed to be called Elysia by them.
"Takatsuki, how did you do that? Can you teach me?"
"I can't teach you this. It's the same as my ability to directly revive people before, called 'Grand Deception.' It can directly erase reality and concepts, just like this cup of wine. I just erased the reality of it being finished, so no matter how much Kalpas drinks…"
Before Takatsuki could finish, the wine glass was thrown at his head by Kalpas.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't be angry, don't be angry. Didn't we agree, Brother Kalpas, if you finish this cup of wine, I won't use a script to make you fight me?"
"Ahhhhhh!!! No more fighting! Get lost!"
Upon hearing Takatsuki's words, Kalpas immediately knew he had been tricked.
"Hey, don't be like that, Kalpas. Takatsuki is a guest, and also a messenger from Throne of Heroes. Be polite."
"…"
"Hmph, please get lost."
"…"
Takatsuki hadn't expected that he could trigger a famous scene from the past here.
"Mr. Takatsuki, I have already replaced the batteries in your armed puppet. Under normal circumstances, it can operate for a hundred years without any problem."
Klein walked over at this moment, handing a puppet to Takatsuki.
"Okay, thank you, Klein."
"You're welcome, but don't you need to start it up and check it now?"
"No need. If I start it now, it'll be hard for me to explain. Anyway, it's already charged, and you taught me how to turn it on before, so there's no problem."
Klein nodded and said nothing more. He just had to complete his task.
"I wanted to ask before, Takatsuki, your armed puppet, how come it looks so much like someone I know?"
Elysia leaned over and said, looking at the small armed puppet Takatsuki was holding.
"It's Cangxuan, isn't it?"
Mobius also recovered from her failed scheme and looked at the armed puppet, saying, "My former assistant in the lab, but they were ordinary people, they should have died thousands of years ago."
"It is Cangxuan, that's right. This is the Book of Cangxuan she created to accompany Hua. After all, they can only live for a few short decades, and Hua's life is still very long. And with her personality, if the people around her constantly pass away, she will only become more and more reclusive; I prepared a surprise for her by bringing it back."
However, even an armed puppet couldn't outlast the lifespan of a Fusion Warrior.
"Hua?"
Elysia blinked and looked at the girl who had been sitting in the corner.
It was indeed the Fusion Warrior Hua, the Fu Hua of the Previous Era.
She had just heard her name and looked up.
"How nice, Hua, your main body has met good friends outside."
Elysia was also happy for Hua finding good companions in the current civilization, after all, the Hua of the Previous Era had always been a quiet person.
"So Takatsuki knows Hua? How is Hua doing now?"
The person she met turned out to be Hua's friend, which significantly increased Elysia's favorability towards Takatsuki.
Or rather, she naturally had a bonus to her favorability towards humans.
"Pretty good. She's in the same organization as us now."
Takatsuki didn't say they lived under the same roof, otherwise, explaining it would be another troublesome matter: "And she's going to participate in the Holy Grail War recently. These are her recent photos."
Takatsuki put the Book of Cangxuan back into the King's Treasure, took out his terminal, and retrieved the previous group photo and the photos he secretly took of Fu Hua training Yang Yuxin in Shenzhou.
"It seems Fu Hua has met many companions now, that's great. But Takatsuki, what is this Holy Grail War you just mentioned?"