Blue Cavalier clutched his forehead.
He watched helplessly as the Magic Girl escaped under the cover of the ink mist.
“This ink mist…”
Just from that, his head throbbed with a dull ache, as if some memory was about to awaken, about to burst from its shell within his brain.
But he couldn’t remember.
‘The past memories aren’t important.’
‘I am a Moon Rabbit. I only need to follow Mother’s will.’
He had originally thought this way—at least, he had been indoctrinated as such and had always acted accordingly—but this time, it was difficult not to care.
‘Who exactly is that person?’
Magical Girl Clara seemed to have some conflict with his original self. Just looking at that pitch-black ink mist made him feel an involuntary surge of rage.
“Mother, are you going to the front lines yourself?” Blue Cavalier asked.
Labi shot him a glance.
“Of course. I must see the final act of the stage play until the very end. As the mastermind behind the scenes, I have to make an appearance… otherwise, wouldn’t all this effort be for nothing?”
“Oh, right. Don’t those guys love live-streaming and creating ‘program effects’? Then let them keep streaming. This program is now being taken over by the Fourth Calamity.”
Destroying a competitor’s resort project and driving a rival Hero Company into complete bankruptcy—this operation to kill two birds with one stone was finally nearing its conclusion.
The only variable was that hidden Magic Girl.
‘However, what can she even do in this situation?’
“Don’t you want to prove you’re not a spy? Come, I’ll give you a chance. Go find that Magic Girl… isn’t your radar very sensitive?”
“Chirp? Oh, yes!”
Not expecting to be entrusted with a major task at a time like this, Blue Cavalier immediately perked up.
At this point, these pawns that Labi called “friends” were no longer important. Whether Blue Cavalier defected or not didn’t matter; Labi didn’t care at all.
After all, from the beginning, she had only treated these reincarnated Heroes as useful tools.
The Moon Rabbits alone were enough to level the resort, unless the opposition was hiding some weapon of mass destruction.
‘Oh, Anya said… something about a virus?’
‘But the Moon Rabbits have a hive mind. Could a mere virus really have any effect?’
—
Clara (Moon Rabbit) quietly left the basement. In the air-raid shelter where Moon Rabbit soldiers used to stand guard and patrol everywhere, not a single person could be seen now.
It seemed Labi and the others from the Sigma Series had all gone to the front lines.
‘To command the battle?’
‘No, the Moon Rabbits probably don’t need commanding. They’re likely just going to watch the show.’
The Moon Rabbit Combat Body didn’t leave the shelter. Instead, she followed the muddy tunnel all the way down, preparing to return to the rabbit hole.
“Clara.”
As it turned out, just as she entered the hole, she ran head-on into Labi, who was coming up from inside.
The other party even called out her name, which gave Clara quite a fright. ‘When did I get exposed? How does she know my identity?!’
[Look closely. She isn’t Labi.]
It wasn’t until Nyx reminded her that Clara noticed this “Labi” didn’t have those two braid-mouths on her head. Instead, she had a pair of rabbit ears that were even longer than those of a normal rabbit.
Her long, fluffy, grayish-white hair was also different from the real Labi. The two were like the difference between a wild hare and an Angora rabbit.
“… Chirp?”
While Clara was still confused, she was picked up off the ground by this rabbit-eared girl who looked like Labi but wasn’t. The latter didn’t mind the dirt and held her directly against her snow-white, fur-trimmed tube top.
Following behind her were several ordinary Moon Rabbits and rabbit soldiers.
For some reason, this group of Moon Rabbits hadn’t gone to join Labi’s general offensive.
“Chirp?”
“We… do not… obey her… commands.”
The rabbit-eared girl spoke hesitantly, but she could barely express her thoughts. At least she was better off than Clara (Moon Rabbit), who couldn’t even speak.
[The Moon Rabbit rebels who followed you were fed to the Great Rabbit. She is the result of their flesh and blood merging.]
After explaining, Nyx added another sentence.
[That’s what the Hive Mind says.]
“Ji-chirp?”
‘So rabbit soldiers really are just Moon Rabbits mixed together?’
[It seems multiple consciousnesses were combined to form a small-scale hive mind to compensate for the lack of individual intelligence.]
The Moon Rabbit rebels who had followed her before could now hold her in their arms. The evolution of these Moon Rabbits really did focus on “possibilities.”
Clara stepped on the “Moon Rabbit Rebel’s” chest and climbed up to perch on her shoulder, her back half hiding inside the girl’s hair.
‘I can’t keep calling her the Moon Rabbit Rebel.’
Unfortunately, she couldn’t talk right now, nor was it convenient to give her a name. To communicate, she had to rely on Nyx through the hive network.
‘Nyx, help me ask. Can these Moon Rabbits help me deal with Labi?’
[Even the Hive Mind doesn’t know.]
“Ah?”
[The reason these Moon Rabbits aren’t controlled by the Moon Rabbit Mother is because… they were cut off from the network by the Hive Mind.]
[Before being cut off, they were ordered to follow your command.]
The Hive Mind had more resolve than expected. Although it was still under the control of the Moon Rabbit Mother, it had still set aside a portion of its power to hide and completely liberate their self-consciousness as a force to liberate itself.
However…
“Chirp? Ji-chirp?” (A cry of surprise and confusion.)
‘I can’t even speak. How am I supposed to command anything?’
Except for the lead Moon Rabbit, the heads of the rabbit soldiers and ordinary Moon Rabbits weren’t particularly bright. They didn’t even have a concept of language. Even if Clara wanted to command them, could they really understand?
‘Anyway, I need to find a way to meet my Original first.’
Thinking this, Clara hid in the hair and pointed toward the exit of the shelter.
The Moon Rabbit Rebel nodded. Leading the group of Moon Rabbits who had broken away from the hive mind, she moved toward the Original’s direction under Clara’s guidance.
Ten or so rabbit soldiers and dozens of Moon Rabbits.
This number wasn’t too many or too few; it was enough to serve as a surprise force.
The “Moon Rabbit Rebel” was, after all, a special individual crafted with the Hive Mind’s full effort. Her movements were clearly superior to those of ordinary rabbit soldiers.
Aside from not being able to fly, her mobility wasn’t even inferior to Pure White Storm. The explosive power in her legs allowed her to jump from the ground into the high tree canopy. She might even reach the level of a Senior Monster…
‘If she survives, I’ll take her to the Shenyuan Management Bureau to register her mark and then introduce her to work at Naitemel.’
Although she wasn’t human, there were plenty of “non-human humans” in Central City.
Just as Clara was thinking this, the “Moon Rabbit Rebel” suddenly stopped. The Moon Rabbits behind her also stopped, watching as the “Moon Rabbit Rebel” hid behind a nearby bush.
“Chirp?”
Clara didn’t understand, but the “Moon Rabbit Rebel” pointed at a figure in the distance.
“Hateful person,” she said.
That familiar back belonged to Blue Cavalier.
He glanced back briefly but didn’t react upon seeing a group of Moon Rabbits, continuing to walk deeper into the rainforest.
Fortunately, the Moon Rabbit Rebel had hidden in the grass immediately. Otherwise, explaining the situation would have been a problem.
‘This is an opportunity delivered right to my door.’
Although she didn’t know why he was acting alone, the fact that he dared to be by himself after leaving the shelter meant he clearly looked down on Clara!
She had just lost her Ps·ycho permissions; Blue Cavalier’s timing was perfect.
“Ji-chirp!”
Clara (Moon Rabbit) patted the “Moon Rabbit Rebel’s” head and pointed at Blue Cavalier, gesturing for her to follow him quickly…
Her newly recruited younger brother (sister) was about to meet her Original.
‘Bringing a “meeting gift” would be quite polite, wouldn’t it?’
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Final Conflict, perhaps?