Chapter 24: March 7th: You Don't Think I'm Stupid, Do You?
Himeko and the rest of the Astral Express crew had, in truth, sensed the latent, volatile power of Destruction simmering within Stelle and Caelus for quite some time.
Initially, they brushed it off as mere residual energy radiating from the Stellaron housed within their bodies. It was an easy assumption to make. After all, a mortal did not strictly require the personal gaze of an Aeon to tread upon a Path.
The Annihilation Gang served as the perfect, albeit wretched, example. That chaotic syndicate fanatically followed the Path of Destruction, yet they had never once received Nanook's acknowledgment. Their faith was too tainted by petty, selfish desires. They walked the Path, but they lacked the Ruin Author's approval, let alone the supreme honor of His direct gaze.
A true Pathstrider who awakened their power directly beneath an Aeon's watchful eye possessed an obvious, fundamental uniqueness. And judging by the casual conversation Stelle and Caelus were currently having, it became glaringly obvious that they had plunged deep into the Abyss of the Path and stood face-to-face with a god.
"Keep it down, keep it down." Leon waved a hand dismissively, though a thoroughly unapologetic smirk played on his lips. "You guys know me. I've never been one to show off."
He genuinely hadn't planned on making a massive scene out of the encounter. Yet, he certainly didn't expect Stelle and Caelus to act as his personal hype squad, casually dropping universe-shattering lore on his behalf.
Truly, they were two incredibly considerate little trailblazers.
"What exactly did this giant you mentioned look like?" Herta demanded, her puppet's synthetic voice laced with a sudden, sharp intrigue.
The genius scholar of the Space Station had always harbored an insatiable, almost obsessive curiosity regarding the Aeons. The entire foundational purpose of the Simulated Universe—the grand project she had poured countless hours and resources into—was precisely to study those elusive, god-like entities.
Aeons. What an absolutely fascinating concept!
Some of these cosmic deities were once ordinary beings, no different from the mortals scurrying across the stars, yet they somehow ascended, obtaining power entirely beyond mortal comprehension. They were mysterious, overwhelmingly powerful, eternally silent, and terrifyingly impressive. The enigmas surrounding them were endless. How were they born? Why did they ascend? What was the ultimate meaning behind their existence?
Every single unanswered question left Herta utterly captivated.
"That giant..." Caelus stroked his chin, his brow furrowing as he recalled the overwhelming pressure of the void. "He looked like a man with long, flowing white hair..."
"And his entire body was covered in deep, jagged wounds," Stelle added, blinking her golden eyes as the memory resurfaced. "There was glowing, golden blood flowing right out of them."
The oppressive image remained burned into her retinas. The sheer, suffocating shock of witnessing a god in the flesh was something she would never forget.
Of course, the fact that Leon had casually stepped up and punched that very same god right in the face was equally, if not more, mind-shattering.
A towering giant with white hair, bleeding golden blood from a scarred, shattered body? The description matched the records of Nanook, the Aeon of Destruction, stored within the Express's Data Bank with terrifying accuracy.
Himeko and Welt exchanged heavy, meaningful glances.
"It was indeed Nanook, the Aeon of Destruction," Leon chimed in, revealing the answer with the casual tone of someone discussing the weather.
"Nanook? The Aeon of Destruction? Are you serious?!" March 7th shrieked, her pink and blue eyes widening to comical proportions.
If Stelle and Caelus were actually telling the truth, Leon had not only punched the literal god of ruin in the face, but he had also strolled away completely unscathed. How was that even physically possible?
Merely being gazed upon by an Aeon was considered a monumental cosmic event. Who in their right mind would dare to strike one? Especially Nanook, the absolute apex symbol of universal annihilation! Given the Ruin Author's notoriously violent temper, if a mortal truly offended Him to that degree, how could He possibly let them live to tell the tale?
"It is absolutely true!" Stelle and Caelus declared in unison, thumping their chests with solemn, synchronized nods.
"And as everyone across the galaxy knows, children never lie," Leon agreed, maintaining a perfectly straight face.
"This is exceedingly difficult to believe." The artificial eyes of Herta's puppet shimmered with a sharp, inquisitive light. "What exactly did these two newborns do to attract Nanook's gaze? And you—" The puppet's head snapped toward Leon. "How did you even get involved?"
The genius society member rapidly processed the variables but found no logical conclusion. Neither Stelle nor Caelus exhibited any inherent, violent destructive tendencies, so why would they receive Nanook's favor?
As for Leon... the man was a complete, unrepentant fun-seeker. He radiated the chaotic energy of a Pathstrider of Elation no matter how one analyzed him. How could someone like him possibly intersect with the Aeon of Destruction?
"Is there a problem? Are you looking down on me, Madam Herta?" Leon chuckled, crossing his arms. "Actually, getting Nanook's attention is incredibly simple. You just have to walk right up to Him and say, 'Nanook, I have come to bring you destruction.' For the Aeon of Destruction, that is the most polite, culturally appropriate greeting you could possibly offer."
Herta stared at him in dead silence.
Her brilliant mind quickly parsed the twisted, paradoxical logic behind that sentence, leaving her entirely speechless. Bringing destruction to the Aeon of Destruction? She had no idea if Nanook would feel a thrill of excitement upon hearing those words, but she was absolutely certain that Aha, the Aeon of Elation, would catch the scent of that cosmic joke and come sprinting across the galaxy!
What kind of deranged, genius Masked Fool came up with such a suicidal punchline?
For a brief, fleeting second, Herta genuinely began to wonder if Leon was just Aha Himself parading around in a human meat suit. After all, punching Nanook in the jaw and walking away with all your limbs intact was not a feat any ordinary Pathstrider could achieve. Even shouting a paradox like 'I have come to bring you destruction' wouldn't guarantee a mortal's survival.
Did these idiots really think the master of the Antimatter Legion was someone to be trifled with? Anyone who believed that was a certified moron. One attempt, and you would be erased from the fabric of reality.
Similar heavy doubts surfaced in the seasoned minds of Himeko and Welt, both of whom were currently reevaluating just how dangerous their new traveling companion truly was.
"Nanook... I've come to bring you destruction?" March 7th repeated the phrase, blinking twice before she couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into a fit of giggles. "Wow, how did you even think of that? That is amazing!"
Leon raised an eyebrow, feigning genuine shock. "Wait, you actually understood the joke?"
"Of course I understood it!" March 7th puffed out her chest proudly, placing her hands on her hips. A second later, her confident smile faltered as her brain caught up to his tone. "Wait a minute... you don't think I'm stupid, do you?"
"I never said that. You just said it yourself." Leon immediately tilted his head up at a perfect forty-five-degree angle, staring at the ceiling panels as he began whistling a jaunty, innocent tune.
"You, you, you, you, you...!" March 7th stammered, her cheeks puffing up like an angry blowfish as she pointed an accusatory finger at him.
So that was how Leon saw her! How utterly infuriating!
"Alright, set the terrible jokes aside," the Herta puppet interrupted at the perfect moment, cutting through the bickering. "Leon, Stelle, Caelus. Come to my office. There is something good waiting for you. I will meet you there."
The very second the final syllable left her mouth, the artificial light behind the puppet's eyes vanished. The internal servos whined to a halt, its joints locked, and it froze completely in place, looking exactly like a machine that had its power cord violently yanked from the socket.
"Huh? What just happened to her?" Stelle and Caelus immediately leaned in, curiously circling the motionless doll and poking at its stiff joints.
"Ah, sorry about that..." Asta quickly stepped forward, offering a polite, apologetic smile. "This is just a remote-controlled puppet operated by Madam Herta. She has already severed the connection."
Here on the Herta Space Station, while the puppets weren't exactly littering every single hallway, all high-security and important research zones were equipped with these exquisite humanoid terminals. Herta could instantly switch her consciousness between them at any given moment, allowing her to appear wherever she was needed.
Some of the dolls were even equipped with basic AI systems, allowing them to operate autonomously when the real Herta couldn't be bothered to direct them. Naturally, most of the time, their primary autonomous function was simply finding creative, highly vocal ways to praise the genius of Madam Herta.
"Wow, that is so incredibly convenient! That way you never actually have to walk anywhere!" Stelle clapped her hands together, her eyes sparkling with the realization of ultimate laziness.
"Then it should be totally fine if we ask Herta to give us a couple of these puppets to take with us, right?" Caelus suggested, blinking innocently.
"Well, since you two plan on asking for a pair, I suppose I will have to ask for two for myself as well," Leon nodded, stroking his chin in deep, solemn agreement.
March 7th stared at the three of them, utterly speechless. "What on earth do you guys want Herta puppets for? It is not like you have the technology to remotely control them like she does."
"Simple! When Herta wants to contact me, she can just connect to the puppet I'm carrying!" Leon declared righteously, as if he had just solved a major galactic crisis.
"No..." March 7th let out a long, exhausted sigh, slapping a hand over her face. "Then what is that smartphone currently sitting in your hand for? Can't you just use the phone like a normal person?!"
"Alright, you lot, stop messing around."
Himeko's gentle, melodic voice intervened at the perfect moment, smoothly cutting off Leon's relentless teasing before March 7th could pop a blood vessel.
With a faint, elegant smile gracing her lips, the Express navigator looked warmly at the chaotic trio.
"Leon, Stelle, Caelus. You three should head to Herta's office first. If you delay her any longer, I am afraid our resident genius lady will grow rather impatient."
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