The Lecturer's lessons neared their end. Meanwhile, the Flame-Chasers' investigation finally yielded results.
"It seems this is where Kevin was last active." In the central amusement park of the Elysian Realm, two figures slowly came to a stop. Su looked up, gazing at the deserted street ahead, purple-red light flickering constantly in his half-open eyes.
The Emperor-class Honkai Beast was the companion beast of the Previous Era's Herrscher of Sentience, possessing extremely strong psychic abilities. As a MANTIS fused with Mahāmāyūrī's genes, Su naturally gained psychic perception far exceeding ordinary humans. Leveraging his already considerable innate talent, Su developed his unique ability – [Karma Cycle].
This was a terrifying perception-based domain. With just a trivial clue, he could reverse-engineer the 'cause' of an event from the 'effect' it contained. Relying on this ability, even past events lost to the river of time could be glimpsed once more through his domain.
"What did you see?" Investigating alongside Su was Vill-V. Since Kevin's disappearance, she had taken on the task of consolidating clues, and she had actively accompanied Su on this investigation.
However, in Vill-V's eyes, all she saw was an ordinary street. But in Su's vision, the street was scattered with azure ice fragments.
Undoubtedly, these were traces left from Kevin's battle before he vanished.
"We'll know soon," Su replied casually, rising and heading towards the direction indicated by the ice fragments. At the end of the trail stood an unattended ice cream vending machine.
He reached out. The moment his finger touched the machine, a short burst of information surged into his mind through his domain. However, the content of the information made him freeze.
Just then, Vill-V's questioning voice sounded timely from behind him, "How is it? Is the information Kevin left useful?"
Taking a deep breath, Su subtly masked the change in his eyes, saying with a grave expression, "It's a bit troublesome. Let's discuss the specifics back at the base."
With that, he strode quickly towards the garden. But Vill-V remained standing, showing no intention of leaving.
He soon realized that no matter how he tried to move forward, he couldn't leave the amusement park. It was as if an invisible wall blocked the surrounding space.
At this point, how could he not understand? The supposed investigation was nothing but a trap.
"Vill-V... should I call you the Conductor, or perhaps... [Pure Evil]?" Giving up the pointless attempts, Su sighed helplessly.
"Oh my, oh my. Looks like that useless Herrscher really isn't reliable. Actually letting Kevin leave a clue behind. If I hadn't followed along, I might not have even known my disguise was seen through."
The originally composed Conductor now laughed with wild abandon, her grin wide, making no effort to hide the malice within.
"I was planning to use the Conductor persona to trick some more clues out of you. Looks like I'll just have to make you exit the stage early."
"Where is the real Conductor?"
"Erased, of course! Who told them not to hand over control of the body to me?"
"So, from the Magician at the beginning, to the Conductor later... it was all your disguise." Su's frown deepened, his eyes filled with gravity.
"Correct. Originally, I couldn't do these things. But alas, my dear ally taught me some little tricks learned from its 'Mommy'." [Pure Evil] laughed wantonly, seemingly savoring the fear of cornered prey. "It's quite comical, really. A Herrscher, actually thinking it has a mother."
"Then the Devour plan you proposed..."
"Oh, that part was genuine. After all, who wants to share the spoils of victory when they can have it all? Whether you lot kill the Herrscher, or the Herrscher kills you lot, I'll be the final winner anyway. Might as well let you fight it out."
"As for Raiden Mei, she's just a pawn to clear the path for me. When everything's over, maybe I'll even get to watch a good show."
Su said no more, silently activating his Artificial Honkai Form.
At least, before dying, I can give her one more advantage.
...
When Mei returned to the base, the atmosphere among the Flame-Chasers was so heavy it felt tangible. A quick inquiry revealed that another Flame-Chaser had died.
"With Su's perception abilities, if he was prepared, he wouldn't have died for no reason. Perhaps... there really is a mole among us." Vill-V looked exhausted, as if the prolonged command had taken a significant toll on her.
She looked up, her gaze sweeping over everyone present.
"If this continues, we might be wiped out before the plan can even be implemented. We must first clear everyone of suspicion."
Finishing her sentence, her eyes turned to Mei.
"Raiden Mei, you are the only outsider. The Herrscher cannot fake your data. Therefore, only you can distinguish who the real Flame-Chasers are."
"But..." Mei hesitated. She wasn't actually that familiar with the Flame-Chasers; identifying an imposter wouldn't be easy.
Furthermore, she already knew from the Typewriter that the imposter was [Pure Evil]. Just asking the other Flame-Chasers might reveal the answer. The biggest problem was, she couldn't guarantee the Flame-Chasers wouldn't lie, or that the one she asked wasn't [Pure Evil] in disguise.
"If you can't make up your mind, let's start with me," Vill-V volunteered.
She was the first to be attacked, right after forging the Seven Thunders. This ruled out the possibility of her being the Herrscher, making her a logical first choice for investigation.
"Right, my abilities are rather special. Each personality is segmented into an independent area. You'd best find someone to go with you."
Among the remaining Flame-Chasers, Kosma and Griseo were inseparable. Kalpas was short-tempered, and Eden seemed disinterested, leaving only Pardofelis.
"Huh? Me? Okay... If Sis Mei needs help, I guess it's okay." Pardofelis scratched her head, agreeing somewhat cluelessly.
And so, using Vill-V's hat, Mei successfully entered her consciousness space.
...
Upon entering the consciousness domain, Mei was stunned by its appearance. Unlike a normal person's mindscape, Vill-V's was not only complex but also fragmented, like a cake haphazardly cut into nine pieces.
If they were just separate areas, it might be manageable. But these nine parts were interconnected, forming a maze.
"Don't worry, Sis Mei! Navigating mazes is Pardo's specialty!"
Perhaps it was a feline talent, but even within the consciousness domain, Pardofelis could easily find hidden passages.
Thanks to her ability, Mei successfully entered the Expert personality's area. But here, she didn't find the dormant Expert persona. Even the Great Magician's area was empty.