The smell of disinfectant fills the air.
What she sees is the classic ceiling.
At first, she is a little confused, but then she remembers something and suddenly sits up.
The sudden movement makes the bed frame creak.
She looks around vigilantly and is stunned.
The windowsill reflects the sunlight.
The bracket for hanging the saline bag.
This seems to be... a hospital?
Why?
Mei remembers that she should have been knocked down by Cocolia.
How did she end up in the hospital?
"Hey, Mei is awake!"
A voice familiar to Mei comes from the side, filled with excitement.
She turns her head and looks to the side, seeing Kiana lying on the other bed, leaning on the bed rails.
"Kiana?!"
The moment she sees Kiana, Mei subconsciously breathes a sigh of relief.
Fortunately...
Although she doesn't know what happened, Kiana is still by her side.
And she looks pretty good.
Hmm... probably pretty good?
Looking at Kiana's face and all parts of her body that are tightly wrapped in bandages, and there are several bone fixation plates. Mei isn't sure if her judgment is correct.
"Oh, right!" she says. "What happened?"
Thinking back to what happened before she passed out, she finds herself in the hospital now. Mei can't figure out what's going on, so she looked at Kiana as if hoping to get the answer she wants from her.
"Click."
The door is pushed open. The two look at the door at the same time.
"Bronya?!"
"Shorty Pudding?!"
Kiana and Mei are both a little surprised to see the figure at the door. In their surprised gaze, Bronya sat on an automatic wheelchair as she entered the room.
"Bronya, do you know what happened?" Mei asks.
The question makes Bronya go silent.
Generally speaking, she didn't know what she did or went through while being eroded by the Black Nucleus. Bronya didn't even know she would become like that. But...
Bronya touches her aching shoulder, which is covered with a thick hemostatic bandage.
Then she glances at Kiana, her eyes revealing a very complicated emotion.
Although she doesn't remember, she can only look at the traces at the scene and the scars on Cocolia's body, which are exactly the same as her shoulder's injury.
Bronya knows that Kiana must have something to do with Cocolia's death.
…Although she had mentally prepared for this outcome from the beginning and even considered doing it herself, it was just a thought.
No matter how much she disagrees with Cocolia, the adoptive mother, for what she did, she is the benefactor who raised her and provided them with a safe and beautiful childhood.
"Hey, why are you staring at me?!" A little scared by Bronya's gaze, Kiana felt uncomfortable.
"Nothing, Bronya is just thinking about something."
"...Bronya, do you remember what happened when you were controlled before?"
Recalling Bronya in the state of being eroded by the Black Nucleus, Mei asks tentatively.
"Controlled...?"
Although Bronya had already suspected something, the puzzle in her mind was instantly solved when she heard Mei's words.
No wonder she had no impression of the previous events.
She was controlled.
It must have been Cocolia's doing...
Normally, Bronya would be very angry thinking about it, but considering that Cocolia is dead, she doesn't feel any anger anymore.
After thinking it through, Bronya tells Mei and Kiana what she had deduced. Of course, she processes the information, leaving out the part about Cocolia's death, Kiana's dangerous state, and how she got injured.
With Cocolia's death, the crazy artificial catalysis plan was declared a failure. As long as other anti-entropy executors deal with it later, the large amount of Honkai energy accumulated by Cocolia to implement the plan means that Nagazora City is now safe.
"Regarding Uncle Ryoma, Bronya tried to contact the other anti-entropy executors."
While recovering from her injuries, Bronya wasn't idle and had been addicted to the computers. Through hacking, she contacted the conservatives who were hostile to Cocolia, known as the famous Crazy Science Duo.
They replied quickly, stating that they would help fix the situation.
This news made Mei happy, and she hugged Bronya's cheek and kissed her.
Kiana, very jealous about this and became envious.
...
...
...
Far East Branch, Saint Freya Academy
The Principal's Office
The head of the Far East branch, the head of the academic support department of Saint Freya Academy, the granddaughter of the Archbishop of Schicksal, and the current head of the Apocalypse family—Theresa Apocalypse—who holds many titles, is lying on a soft, high-end office chair in a disheveled state. She's staring at the latest comic book with Hom as the protagonist, eyes shining and crystal saliva at the corners of her mouth, unaware.
On the wall, the pendulum clock that had been swinging stopped at some point.
Theresa notices something is unusual, puts down the Hom comic book, and looks around.
"What's going on?!"
Theresa, looking at her pale surroundings, realizes this is obviously not her office and is filled with doubt.
She immediately reaches for the Oath of Judah placed beside her but touches nothing.
"Hey, it's someone I haven't seen before!"
A voice with a bit of surprise comes from the side.
Because she is now in an unfamiliar environment and without Judah, Theresa is on high alert.
She looks in the direction of the voice.
Then she's stunned.
"This...this..."
Isn't this Kiana?!
Initially very familiar with Kiana, Theresa looks at the face which was now obviously more mature than the one she knew when she was a child, but with only a few changes. She becomes excited, but then her wariness kicks in.
Why is Kiana here?
If Theresa remembers correctly, Kiana should be with Siegfried, that bastard.
"You're so small!"
As she thinks this, Kiana approaches, her face full of surprise.
With a little curiosity, she says:
"Little sister, what's your name?"
"If you tell me, I'll give you candy later!"
Kiana completely regarded Theresa as a child who accidentally entered the Q&A space, so she used the moves she always tried to coax children.
But...
"Little sister, what's your name?"
"If you tell me, I'll give you candy later!"
Hearing these words that were used to scare her like a little devil, Theresa's reason is instantly overwhelmed. The veins on her forehead suddenly pop.
Subconsciously, she reaches behind her.
Then, she touches nothing.
"Damn it, where is Judah?!"