Clara’s first attempt had failed. Maintaining her invisibility, she retreated to Jeanne’s side not far away.
The “Psycho” who had just tried to approach Labi was actually Clara disguised using a Combat Body.
Staying invisible meant she didn’t need to show her facial features, and having no expression made it harder to recognize her identity.
She originally thought that with her superb (in her own opinion) acting skills and mimicry, she could at least fool Labi somewhat.
But she didn’t know where she had slipped up; even her hand, which had tried to land on the other’s shoulder, was almost bitten off…
Although, that hand was a prosthetic limb transformed through Extraction.
‘Maybe their relationship was always this terrible?’
“Not even allowed to put a hand on a shoulder? The relationship between these colleagues is too awful!”
Clara didn’t understand the corporate culture of the Fourth Calamity, nor did she know the relationship between Labi and Psycho.
The lines she had just spoken were all pieced together by Nyx from fragments of information extracted from Psycho’s speech.
“Nyx, even using this Combat Body, I can’t win against Labi?”
Clara was still in Psycho’s form.
Nyx explained: [Psycho isn’t a character suited for this kind of head-on confrontation. Besides, Labi has so many subordinates with her.]
“Then, could I get close to her as Blue Cavalier?”
[No, she would not allow a mere pawn to touch her.]
In the end, that woman was still so cautious.
“…Is there really no way left?”
Clara gazed at the Resort, which seemed especially bright under the night sky. The Moon Rabbits had temporarily halted their attacks to synthesize the antibody, but its fall was only a matter of time.
“…Wait.”
At that moment, a new plan began to form in Clara’s mind.
***
Resort Temporary Hangar.
Fran and Lucia were modifying the lunar bus.
They were reinforcing the armor of the civilian bus and installing makeshift, locally-produced weapons, turning it into a firepower platform for slaughtering Moon Rabbits.
But exactly how effective it would be was still a question mark.
After all, no matter how thick the armor, it would be like a biscuit in the face of a Moon Rabbit’s teeth.
“We’re finished!”
Dharma Okata seemed to have already given up.
It wasn’t because she was afraid of dying, but because learning that the Fourth Calamity had also started live-streaming made her despair for the “Sigma Series” project.
The complete annihilation of the Sigma Heroes—there was no worse piece of negative news than that.
Even Producer S had lost contact; she couldn’t reach him at all, even using the quantum network…
Fran just tried to console her. “Don’t be so pessimistic. Didn’t we agree that crisis is an opportunity?”
“Is there any possibility of turning things around at this point? Even Sister Clara hasn’t returned to the Resort. Could she have been taken out too?”
Just as Dharma Okata voiced this pessimistic thought, a voice from outside the door denied it.
“No, Miss Clara is still alive. She’s still fighting.”
“…Huh?”
When everyone inside the temporary hangar looked up towards the source of the voice, they saw two rabbit-eared girls walk in…
“Pure White Storm and… Blue Cavalier?!”
Compared to the decisiveness of the white-haired girl, the blue-haired girl seemed conflicted. She hesitated at the entrance for a moment before being forcibly dragged into the hangar by the white-haired girl.
She was only wearing underwear and a few large pieces of cloth. Besides not knowing whether she should “defect,” she also seemed uneasy due to her memory issues.
“What about your past memories? Don’t be afraid. This is the place where you truly belong.”
“Second Brother, let Miss Fran take a look at you. Perhaps she can help you recover.”
“Who decides where one truly belongs?”
For Blue Cavalier, who had no memories, Pure White Storm’s guidance wasn’t very effective.
“So, who am I, really?”
The so-called “place to belong” didn’t exist for her anywhere. Stripped of the hero’s magnificent mask, the artificial humans of the Sigma Series were no one…
It sounded somewhat tragic.
But who was she, exactly? And what kind of person should she become?
For Sista, however, this was a subject to be considered from now on.
Sista explained this and then said, “I wasn’t brainwashed. I also managed to persuade Second Brother to come back.”
“…It’s fine! We can just say you were captured by the enemy and transformed into beauties, but managed to break the brainwashing on your own!”
“Can we help with the Resort’s defense?”
“Never mind the defense for now! Hurry and prepare a live stream to explain things to the audience!”
Before the words had fully left her mouth, Dharma Okata had already rushed in front of Sista, gripping her shoulders and shaking her vigorously. For her, the return of the two was a long-awaited piece of good news.
If they could explain it as breaking free from brainwashing, even heroes transformed into Moon Rabbits could become a heartwarming story.
The public would still hold respect for heroes who regained their senses on their own, so at least their reputation wouldn’t completely collapse.
Although the main reason Sista wasn’t brainwashed was Clara…
However, the current situation hadn’t improved. Even with Sista added, the two of them couldn’t handle the swarms of Moon Rabbits flooding in. Like a plague of locusts, they were powerless to stop them.
The Moon Rabbit infestation was a type of “natural disaster.” Heroes could fight tangible enemies, but it was difficult to oppose such a calamity.
“Huh? Sista actually woke up? And brought Blue Cavalier back?”
Unsure if the two had truly broken free from brainwashing or if they had been sent back by Labi as spies, Fran chose to verify with Clara via video call.
“Sista is probably trustworthy. Her brainwashing process was interrupted, and she was unconscious before… As for Blue Cavalier, you’ll need to keep an eye on her. That one is practically Labi’s lapdog.”
Clara fell silent for a moment before continuing.
“We don’t have much time left. It’s about time we go all out.”
“Oh, perfect~ Please also ask them to prepare something flashy for me!”
“Hmph~ If we had used the ‘rabbit killer’ earlier, maybe we wouldn’t have so much trouble now.”
Faced with Fran’s teasing, Clara still said, “…The Moon Rabbits have changed too. This period of waiting wasn’t meaningless.”
Although it was only a small group, Clara’s persistence had indeed borne fruit—a force led by Jeanne that had truly become a “Moon Rabbit Rebel” army.
Although, they didn’t have much combat power either.
“So, what do you need us to prepare here?” Fran asked.
Thud—
But just as the two were talking, Sista and Blue Cavalier collapsed without warning…
Their faces were deathly pale, yet flushed with an unhealthy redness; their bodies were weak, yet they were breathing heavily.
“Ah! What’s happening to them?” Clara asked.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Leave it to me.”
Fran had already made a judgment about their condition…
As Moon Rabbits, they had been infected by their own virus.
Poor things.