Before she could finish, a bat came hurtling through the air.
Cocolia swung her ice lance, knocking it away, her expression blank as she looked at the newcomers.
"You still came. I thought the blizzard and Fragmentum army would've swallowed you."
Using the bat's noise to draw Cocolia's attention, Stelle successfully grabbed Bronya's wrist, pulling her away from the spot.
"Would a hero fall mid-journey?"
Glancing at the deflected weapon, Stelle curved her left hand, summoning it back to rest on her shoulder, then extended her right hand forward.
"Cocolia, your days of sowing chaos and doing as you please are over. Hand over the Stellaron."
"If you want it, come take it yourself," Cocolia said coolly.
Seele flashed to Bronya's side, seeing she was unharmed and breathing a heavy sigh of relief.
"I kept my promise from below. No matter what happens to you, I'll come save you."
"Listen! First, we must seal the Stellaron; second—"
She paused. "Even if this woman brainwashed you, I'll knock you out and drag you back!"
Feeling the murmurs in her mind weaken, Bronya struggled to lift her face.
"Seele… everyone…"
Stelle tilted her head toward her. "I hope you remember your experiences and resolve in the Underworld."
Otherwise, Leon's painstaking efforts would lose meaning.
Bronya's eyes brimmed with emotion, flashing with determination.
"Of course I haven't forgotten!"
Stelle nodded quietly, pulling out the item Leon had entrusted to her and planting it in the ground.
"We brought it for you. I hope you understand what it symbolizes."
She released her grip on the rifle.
As Bronya's gaze fell on the rifle, so did Cocolia's, her eyes heavy with meaning.
Bronya didn't reach for it.
"Bronya, I brought you here for another reason: to witness your final choice."
"I've told you all the truths—the deal with the Stellaron, the wish I made to it."
"Now, there are no secrets between us, mother and daughter."
"Years ago, the Stellaron's voice first whispered in my ear, and like past Guardians, I shut my eyes and ears."
"Back then, I was like you now, clinging to the so-called Preservation of the Architects."
"My faith was once unwavering until a sudden variable disrupted everything—"
"A new choice appeared before me, one that could overturn the old order and usher in a new world."
"Compared to the vague, ever-distant Preservation, how real it is…"
Listening, Bronya clenched her fists.
Cocolia continued speaking, heedless.
"I've been racking my brain, thinking how to convey this to you."
"When the tomorrow promised by the Stellaron arrives, if you're not by my side to watch over the new world, I'll be in pain—"
"An indelible pain, Bronya. Do you understand?"
"From childhood to now, I've never forced you to obey my will, but you'll always have to choose someday. It was true then, and it is now."
"Now, choose, my daughter."
Bronya's body trembled slightly.
Years of mother-daughter bonds and nurturing weren't without impact.
Stelle couldn't listen anymore, launching into a tirade without needing to think.
"In the face of right and wrong, you're still playing the emotional card?"
"It all boils down to you finding a grandiose excuse for betraying Preservation."
"Overturning the old order, welcoming a new world? Does this new world only have room for you and Bronya?"
"What about the Guards who died for their homeland, felled by Fragmentum monsters? Don't they deserve the new world?"
"What about those sealed in the Underworld, living in darkness, worse than prisoners? Don't they deserve to dream of a new world?"
"For over a decade, how many fought for Belobog, for this last bastion, giving everything?"
"With one phrase—'a sudden variable'—you dismiss everyone's efforts."
"You even cast aside the will and faith passed down by generations of ancestors!"
Her resounding words thrilled countless players.
"Well said, keep going!" Ah Xian immersed herself fully.
[What a sharp mouthpiece.]
[Stelle's so cool and badass. Being a non-mute protagonist feels this good!]
[Keep talking, love it. Hope you make Cocolia break down.]
[If Leon were here, with his trickster and venomous tongue, he'd probably leave Cocolia lost.]
[Miss Father when he's gone one day.]
Stelle kept going.
"The chaos and disasters you caused cost countless lives in blood."
"Do you know, Bronya, your mother brought you here and unleashed the Fragmentum monster army on the restricted zone frontline?"
"If Leon weren't holding the line, the Landau siblings and the Guards alone would eventually die."
"When that happens, all of Belobog will fall."
"Remember the crimes Cocolia accused us of? Infiltrating Belobog, subverting the Architects."
"How laughable now. What a thief crying 'thief' act."
"The one truly subverting the Architects is your mother—Cocolia, the 'great' Supreme Guardian."
Recalling Leon's resolute, expectant gaze before they parted—
Stelle's look at Cocolia unconsciously carried anger.
"Cocolia, don't paint your stance as so just and correct."
"We're not here to debate meaningless right or wrong, only stances. Ours is simple and unchanging—"
"That Stellaron over there? We're sealing it."
"This world? We're saving it."
"The Nameless travel world after world, helping those worth helping, saving worlds worth saving."
"But the Nameless owe no one, and Leon, standing against countless Fragmentum monsters, owes you nothing!"
"If a brainwashed lunatic stands in our way, we'll settle it with action."
"Cocolia, you must pay for the dead, for the blood spilled by warriors!"
"Oh my gosh… so badass!"
"If I were a girl, I'd fall for myself."
"What a commanding declaration. This protagonist is so well-crafted!"
[Stelle still remembers Father Leon. He raised her so well.]
[Her presence is maxed out.]
[Said it so passionately, I'm itching to fight. Show your health bar, Cocolia!]
Cocolia's pupils trembled, her gaze growing colder.
"As expected, human arrogance can only see so far."
"You stroll through this world once and think you've seen the truth. Mere outsiders, put away your self-righteous justice!"