━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Emilia vaguely felt the shock and disgust radiating from the golden 'pig' before it was crushed by Cynthia, though she didn't pay it much mind. "… I doubt it tastes good."
The raven-haired girl grinned. "To be honest, it tastes like nothing, really. But the burst of energy you get from it makes you feel… well, you'll only know it when you experience it yourself. Maybe you'll even forget about playing around with those little friends of yours."
Her 'temptation' would definitely have worked on Emilia had she been in her natural, curious mood. But as it was, the crimson-haired girl only shook her head with a faint smile. "I'm fine."
"Don't regret it, then." Cynthia shrugged as she chomped down on the 'apple' with delight, and the moment she did, the previously stagnating energy level quickly shot past the 100% mark.
===========
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Grade 1 Energy Reserve exceeded 100%! Evolution Unlocked!
Grade 2 Energy Reserve Unlocked!
Grade 1 Energy Reserve: 109.84%… 113.31%… 124.56%… 135.88%… 149.26%…
===========
By the time Cynthia had finished devouring the whole thing, the energy they had was already past the two hundred percent mark, and the raven-haired girl couldn't help but scream in joy. "Yes! This is more than enough, more than enough!"
Even if they were getting by fine until now, only Cynthia knew how worried she had been about how expensive it would be in the future to 'raise' someone like Emilia, who loved to splurge energy left and right on all the little monkeys she liked. Not to mention, she also had to consider the 'travel expenses' and other needs!
Oblivious to her partner's thoughts, Emilia couldn't help but frown in worry. "W-Wait, Cynthia… although we've completed our missions now, can't we wait a little longer before leaving? I-I—!"
The raven-haired girl interrupted her with a giggle. "C'mon now, relax… When did I rush you to leave? It's a pleasant surprise that we managed to finish early, but you're free to play around to soothe your mind after all that hard work if you want."
Emilia sighed. "I just want to figure out a way to clean up all this mess, you know? Even if the world will is gone, the empire is still at war with the Federation, and I just can't imagine what things might look like in the future if I suddenly disappeared at this time."
Clearly, despite her partner's claims that she'd be able to take those she wanted with her, Emilia didn't believe that she could really carry everyone in the empire.
The fact that Cynthia hadn't yet clarified how exactly she would be 'taking them back' made her more than a little concerned.
Not to mention, even if she could do so, they might not necessarily be willing to accompany her.
After all, admiring someone didn't mean that they'd just be able to abandon their roots without a thought. As far as Emilia was concerned, without some deep-seated love, hatred, or obsession, plunging one's future into a completely unknown dimension simply didn't make any sense for most people.
But just because she couldn't take them with her didn't mean that the crimson-haired girl would stop caring about them.
Their fate would naturally be in their own hands after she left, but at the very least, Emilia wanted to make sure that she didn't leave any disasters behind for the people she cared for.
Seeing the dark clouds in her partner's usually crystal-clear eyes, Cynthia couldn't help but groan. "You'll really be the death of me one day… Fine, since you're so desperate, I'll help you out, I guess…"
Emilia's eyes immediately lit up. "Do you have any ideas?"
"Ideas?" Cynthia sneered. "Do you believe I actually need to 'think' to deal with these little monkeys? Hmph. Just watch."
She clapped her hands together, and the black-gauze dress on the raven-haired girl's body fluttered as if she had suddenly been plunged into the eye of a storm.
Energy Reserve: 219.37% → 218.37%
Then, as she slowly parted her palms, a small golden bean of energy could be briefly seen floating inside before it was promptly crushed by another clap.
An omnidirectional wave of golden energy erupted with that shattered bead at its center, and although Emilia couldn't really tell what was happening, she had a feeling that what Cynthia was now using must be something she could not have done without devouring the world will.
After all, despite her partner's usually taciturn personality, the crimson-haired girl knew very well that she would definitely never stand aside and watch her be so sad if she could help it.
Before Emilia could ask her what she'd done, however, Cynthia once again opened her palms, and this time there was another small bead inside.
Energy Reserve: 218.37% → 217.87%
Although much smaller in size compared to the golden one before, the ominous feeling Emilia got from the pure emerald made it clear that the two were definitely incomparable.
Maybe… this was Cynthia's own power.
Although it was definitely created with chaos energy, despite Emilia's absurd 'talent', she had no way to grasp its profundities at all, and even had the feeling that she would suffer greatly under it with just a single thought from her partner.
Of course, Emilia was just a little curious about what it was, and didn't really feel any 'fear' in her heart. After all, if Cynthia really wanted to harm her, there were many easier ways to do so, and there was no need to even waste energy on such a thing.
===========
Skill: Titan's Will!
Thirteen Targets Located!
Energy Reserve: 217.87% → 217.74%
===========
"There, done." Cynthia dusted off her hands, a satisfied smile on her face.
"…?"
Although she found her partner's confused expression unexpectedly adorable, the raven-haired girl obviously wouldn't admit such a thing. "Okay, since I know you're smart enough, I'll let you figure it out yourself while I go recover. Be ready for the evolution when I'm back, got it?"
Emilia could only blink blankly as Cynthia returned back to her 'domain', leaving only the empty basement to accompany her thoughts… well, if Amos didn't count, that is.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr𝒆e(w)𝒆bnovel