Inside the Ice Queen's palace, the Tsaritsa was listening to reports from her subordinates.
Pierro, Columbina, La Signora, Scaramouche— and one Executor Su Ran had never met before: Sandrone, the Puppet.
Suddenly—
BOOM!
The palace doors were kicked open, drawing everyone's attention.
No one in Snezhnaya had the audacity to act so recklessly before the Tsaritsa.
No one… except one man.
The Second of the Fatui Harbingers— "The Genius."
Su Ran walked in carrying a large box.
"Well now, quite the crowd."
Seeing Sandrone, he cheerfully freed one hand,
lifted her bangs—
"I thought your hairline would be higher."
He saw the anger flare in her expression and stepped away before the massive puppet body behind her could react.
Then he strolled straight up to Columbina and leaned close.
"Miss me?"
She just smiled quietly, unfazed.
But the tiny Columbina in her arms reached out with both hands clearly asking for a hug.
"I'll hug you later.
This is a serious occasion. Not appropriate."
Everyone in the hall collectively cringed.
If you know it's a serious occasion…
then why have you not behaved seriously at ANY point since you walked in?!
The Tsaritsa opened her mouth to speak, delighted:
"You—"
But Su Ran cut her off.
He opened the box, pulled out a syringe.
"Don't talk. I brought you something fun."
Right in front of every Harbinger, he unceremoniously jabbed a Synesthetic Anchor into the Tsaritsa's neck.
She felt something brushing her nerves, a sensation she normally would have rejected instantly.
But since it was from Su Ran… she allowed it.
Of course it must be something good.
"How do you feel?"
"…Nothing much."
After the Anchor merged into her nerves, she felt nothing unusual anymore.
Su Ran grabbed a few more Anchors.
He walked to Pierro and tossed one to him.
"Here, Grandpa. Do it yourself."
Pierro frowned, glanced at the Tsaritsa— she nodded.
He stabbed it into his own neck without hesitation.
Su Ran ignored Scaramouche entirely.
"No point injecting a puppet. Waste of resources."
Scaramouche's glare sharpened like a drawn blade.
Then Su Ran approached Signora.
"Neck or backside?"
"I'll do it myself," Signora snapped, snatching an Anchor and jabbing her own neck.
"You don't need one."
Su Ran passed over Columbina.
This immediately made her pout.
Everyone else got one— why not her?
As for Scaramouche…
He wasn't human.
Injecting him wouldn't achieve anything.
Those who had been inoculated all noticed something off.
Why didn't Columbina get one?
By logic, she should be among the first Su Ran cared about.
"What exactly do you want?"
Sandrone asked warily, arms instinctively crossing over herself when she saw Su Ran's playful stare fixed on her.
"Neck or butt.
You choose."
"I CHOOSE NEITHER!"
She hadn't met the Genius before, but she knew he nearly killed Capitano and trampled the Doctor on his way up the ranks.
She had been cautious of him from the start.
And once she learned he was—like herself and the Doctor— a genius among mortals?
Her vigilance doubled.
"Be good."
Su Ran's tone carried the authority of a parent scolding a child.
"Everyone else has one.
If you don't, won't you feel… left out?"
Sandrone glanced at Signora… then Scaramouche.
Half the room hadn't been injected.
How was she the one being "not in harmony"?!
By numbers alone, not getting injected was the majority choice!
"…I just don't want whatever that is."
Sandrone thought to herself.
Who knows if it's poison?
"Which rank are you again?" Su Ran asked.
Sandrone froze.
So what if he outranked her?
Rank only measured combat capability.
Contribution was what mattered.
And her contribution to Snezhnaya far exceeded this lunatic's!
He had done nothing except create weird dolls and… blow a huge crater in Snezhnaya.
But faced with overwhelming pressure— and Signora's reminder that Su Ran could grant god-level power—
Sandrone's resistance crumbled.
With extreme reluctance, she allowed him to inject her.
"Good," Su Ran said cheerfully.
"Now all of you have been dosed with my poison."
Instantly, panic flared around the room.
And the one who reacted the strongest— was Sandrone.
She clutched her neck in horror.
I JUST GOT INJECTED!
AND NOW YOU SAY IT'S POISON?!
The Tsaritsa, however, looked calm.
He would never harm me, she thought confidently.
Columbina nodded as though enlightened.
Ah. So that's why he didn't give me one.
Because it was poison.
"Enough messing around," Signora snapped.
"What is that thing really?"
She absolutely did not believe Su Ran stabbed poison into every Harbinger "just for fun."
Even if he was occasionally insane— he wasn't insane to that degree.
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