After giving Raiden Mei and the bug girl a brief explanation of Anti-Entropy's existence, Nagami added a few key facts about Schicksal as well.
Everyone was seated in the spacious living room. Surrounded by stunning girls with strikingly different auras, Nagami spoke in his usual calm tone.
"We're splitting up into two teams."
"I'll go with Mei and Sirin—we'll take a car and leave Nagazora City through the main road."
"Kiana, you'll go with C.C. She'll drive a separate car and follow us at a distance, staying hidden."
There were two main reasons for this arrangement.
Nagami and C.C. couldn't act together—if something went wrong and both of them died at the same time, the resurrection process would become exponentially more difficult.
And let's be real—Sirin was on a whole different level from the bug girl. If Cocolia mistook her for just some clueless airhead...
Well, then Nagami would just have to play the role of her strategist and explain to Cocolia in the most impactful way what a real surprise feels like.
"Ugh! Why? If something happens, I won't be able to protect Mei right away!" Kiana puffed up her pale cheeks, her sapphire eyes flashing like the sea.
She looked adorably annoyed.
"It's okay, Kiana. I'm sure Nagami has his reasons for this setup. Don't throw a tantrum like a little kid."
Like a mother calming her sulking daughter, Mei gently patted Kiana's head.
"Fiiine..." Still a little pouty, Kiana grumbled, but deep down she knew Nagami was way smarter than her.
This was just a symbolic protest.
Sirin, meanwhile, watched the adorable bug girl with exasperation and pressed her palm to her forehead.
Please don't act like that while wearing my face...
"Alright, gear up. It's almost go time!"
Nagami shoved a high-end katana into his guitar case and pulled out a Colt Defender revolver, handing it to Kiana.
"Huh? Where'd you get this, Nagami?"
Kiana was surprised by the weapon's cold, heavy weight.
This wasn't something just anyone could get their hands on.
Then again... Nagami wasn't exactly an average person either.
"A gift from Sirin," he replied.
It was one of the weapons Sirin had brought from the Honkai Gakuen 2 world.
"Works really well~," Sirin added, spinning one of her silver pistols around her finger before sliding both of them into holsters hidden beneath her flowing coat.
"This one's my favorite."
"..."
"..."
Mei and Kiana exchanged glances, then both turned their eyes toward the calm-faced Sirin—then to Nagami, who stood with a gentle smile on his face.
Yeah... there was no way this "Sirin" was ordinary.
They left a two-seater sports car for C.C. and Kiana.
Meanwhile, Nagami, Mei, and Sirin headed to the underground garage.
"This car… you sure it's okay?" Kiana eyed the black-and-white sedan skeptically, then glanced at Nagami, who was already in the driver's seat.
"Of course." Nagami sounded totally confident. He twisted the key, and the engine let out a deep roar. "It's a modified AE86. A legend, in its own right."
Once Kiana and Mei were buckled in, the exhaust spat out bright blue flames, and the AE86 launched like a phantom, tearing through the automatic gate and vanishing down the highway with a roar.
Soon after, a blue sports car followed its path, speeding off in hot pursuit.
Back at the garage entrance, a gray-haired girl had appeared at the corner without anyone noticing.
Her pale gray eyes silently watched the AE86 disappear into the distance.
Once the intel was sent out, Bronya twisted her bike's throttle.
Her motorcycle, spewing blue flames like a blade of fire, soared into the air, leaving a blazing arc behind it.
It was also modified—its rear thrusters burning bright even in daylight, ghostlike in appearance.
She wore no protective gear, but her slim, delicate hands gripped the handlebars with unshakable control.
Her twin spiral ponytails whipped in the wind like dancing streams.
She didn't have the Herrscher of Reason's core.
And at her age, she definitely didn't have a valid driver's license.
But that didn't stop Bronya from burning rubber like a pro.
Thanks to the upgrades from her time in the Shiraori world, Nagami didn't even need to activate his Alpha Stigma to handle high-speed driving anymore.
Rather than choosing the fastest way out of Nagazora, he deliberately picked a more remote and less traveled route.
C.C. didn't tail them directly.
She sensed something off—like a faint gaze watching her.
So she drove in loops through the city's network of roads. Only after several detours did the feeling finally fade.
She hadn't exactly shaken them off.
It was just that she and Nagami were headed in completely opposite directions, so the watcher had given up.
After all, they only saw an unknown green-haired girl and someone entirely cloaked in robes wearing a Homu mask.
Without a Herrscher core in sight, it hardly seemed worth monitoring.
No one in their right mind would think that this was actually Raiden Mei in disguise.
What, you think the high-concentration Honkai energy around the Conquest Gem was just for show?
As for C.C. and Nagami, calling their coordination "perfect" might be misleading—after all, they were technically the same person.
After several twists and turns, C.C. eventually looped back onto the same path, following Nagami from afar once more.
"Mei, something wrong?" Nagami didn't look back.
His black irises had already shifted into glowing violet hexagrams—his Alpha Stigma was active, giving him total awareness of everything around them.
Nagami's eyes shifted to the back seat, where Mei was looking increasingly pale.
In his altered perception, her heart had completely transformed into a dark violet core.
From it, countless arcs of electricity writhed like serpents, branching outward in all directions.
"I... I think I just remembered something…"
Mei's voice trembled with unease.
She clutched her head, bowing it slightly, as fragmented, chaotic images flashed through her mind.
She saw a younger version of herself crying—tattoos of strange symbols glowing on her body, surrounded by purple-black lightning.
Her father's face—twisted with fear and concern—lingered in her memory.
Her body felt like it was resonating with something... something both foreign and familiar.
Something deep inside her was waking up.
A wave of dread washed over her like a thick, unrelenting fog.
Her eyes locked onto Nagami's figure in the front seat, as if he was the only anchor keeping her grounded.
"Nagami! Ten o'clock! I'm picking up a strong Honkai energy signature—and… something's off about the ambient levels too!"
Kiana narrowed her eyes.
A faint golden gleam flickered within her bright blue irises, glowing like molten magma.
The power of the Shaniat family's holy blood—if Cecilia were still alive in this timeline, there's no way Kiana wouldn't know how to use it.
"I see it."
Nagami's voice was calm, but focused.
In his vision, deep violet particles were swelling through the space around them, spreading at an unnatural, accelerating rate.
"Cocolia must've directly flooded the area with Honkai energy. Very much her style…"
His foot eased off the accelerator slightly, slowing the AE86 down.
"But this actually plays right into my hand."
He gave Mei a reassuring nod, then turned his head toward Kiana.
"Get ready. If I'm right, what's waiting for us ahead is—"
Just as his eyes narrowed, the space in front of them rippled unnaturally—like a heat haze, but far more sinister.
A moment later, hulking blue machines emerged from the distortion—fully armored, metallic titans.
"Titans," Nagami said coolly.
As one of Anti-Entropy's top agents, it was only natural for Cocolia to deploy Titans.
After all, AE specialized in this kind of tech.
"I've dismantled at least a dozen of this model," came Sirin's quiet, elegant voice from the front passenger seat—delivering a line that sounded absurdly casual for what it meant.
Kiana's deep blue eyes shimmered with a cold, cutting wind.
"I've always wanted to try taking one of these apart with my bare hands… but I guess I won't get the chance today~" She grinned, but it didn't reach her eyes.
Nagami remained relaxed.
Titans were no longer the kind of threat that could make him break a sweat.
His caution wasn't for himself—it was Mei he was worried about.
Still, if Cocolia had more tricks up her sleeve, all the better. He welcomed the challenge.
The streets around them were completely empty now—clearly a move by Anti-Entropy.
For a power that large, shutting down traffic in an entire city was almost too easy.
But that suited Nagami just fine. At least this way, no innocent civilians would get caught up in the crossfire.
The AE86 skidded to a stop with a sharp screech, tires carving dark lines into the pavement, a faint mist of smoke rising from the friction.
Nagami reached out and gently patted Mei on the head.
He was careful not to mess up her silky hair.
"Don't worry. I'm here."
"Mm…"
Feeling the warmth of his hand, the storm in Mei's heart seemed to finally calm.
She nodded quietly, long lashes falling like soft shutters over her gaze.
Kiana, sitting in the back, felt the atmosphere shift to something... pinkish.
She shook her head, exasperated.
Then suddenly, it hit her.
Wait a second.
Nagami is C.C.!
This damned soul-sharing setup… she would never get used to it!