Fairy Ellie said: "After all, it was created from the mature me's memories. To me, it feels like home too."
Mei said: "Elysia's memories are always filled with laughter and joy like this. Just as she said… it's the embodiment of all that is good."
Fairy Ellie smiled: "Hehe, not to brag, but this place is definitely the happiest in the world!"
"But… it's really strange. We couldn't find the mature me anywhere. She's so good at hiding."
"…" Mei didn't know how to tell her the truth.
Fairy Ellie said: "I get it! This must be a challenge she's issuing to us!"
"Hmph, I'll help you find her right now! Don't underestimate the power of fairies!"
"Cute human, see you next time~"
Watching Fairy Ellie leave.
Mei let out a long sigh…
Some words, she ultimately couldn't bear to let her know.
Hoo~
Taking a deep breath.
Only then did she go find Vill-V again.
Vill-V said directly: "While you were touring, I packed up my things too. Now, it's up to the reliable Miss Mei to lead us through the fog and uncover the truth!"
"First, let's start with abnormalities that aren't usually seen."
She didn't even give Mei much time to react before bringing her in front of a group of monsters: "Look, a group of guests we've never seen before."
"Or rather… maybe they're the hosts, and we're the guests?"
Mei didn't say much. Right now she needed to vent a little. After a burst of thunder, the monsters ahead had already all vanished.
She said: "These monsters… feel very similar to the atmosphere of this amusement park."
Vill-V said: "After all, it's Elysia's memory space. Even the enemies here are influenced by her—turned all pink and fluffy?"
"Influence…"
Mei asked: "If Elysia's consciousness can even affect the form of monsters, then if her state changes, would that influence change too?"
"For example… before coming here, I saw a kind of strange enemy. It looked like it had faded."
Vill-V asked puzzled: "Faded?"
Mei said: "You haven't seen them? At first, I thought they were like the monsters in the studio—Griseo's creations. But now it seems… maybe not."
Vill-V said: "I haven't encountered the kind you're describing. It's hard to imagine just from the description. But if it were me… I'd just go straight to Griseo to confirm."
Mei nodded: "Indeed… that's necessary."
The TV perspective shifted to Kosma's side.
In the plaza.
Griseo held her brush, staring at the blank paper on her easel, hesitating to make a stroke.
Kosma asked: "Still haven't decided what to paint?"
Griseo said: "Mm… I don't like any of today's colors."
Kosma suggested: "Want to go look somewhere else?"
"I…"
Griseo was silent for a moment: "…Never mind."
"…"
Clearly, the heavy atmosphere from earlier had left colors on Griseo that hadn't yet dissipated.
Griseo spoke again: "Kosma, I don't want to paint today."
"…"
Kosma also knew that aimlessly wandering like this wasn't the solution. His own unsettled emotions would only affect Griseo.
So he said: "Alright. Then let's investigate too. But if we encounter danger, hide behind me."
Griseo nodded: "Mm, I know."
The two walked down the left passage from the plaza.
As soon as they stepped in, they saw many monsters. These monsters were clearly different from the ones they had encountered before.
Griseo wasn't afraid. She quickly waved her brush. She was one of the Flame-Chasers after all… she wasn't scared of these monsters and could handle them easily.
What puzzled her was that these monsters carried completely unfamiliar colors.
Boom!!!
Thunder exploded in the sky.
Kosma decisively stepped forward to shield Griseo behind him.
As the thunder faded, Mei appeared before the two.
Kosma asked concernedly: "You okay, Griseo?"
Griseo said: "I'm fine."
Mei said: "Looks like I made it in time. We have some things to ask Griseo, so we came over."
"We?" Kosma was puzzled.
"Of course, including me." It happened almost in an instant—from a puff of smoke behind Kosma, Vill-V appeared, her neck pressed tightly against sharp claws.
Vill-V said: "What's this? Does everyone have to put a lethal weapon to my neck?"
Kosma pondered…
Vill-V… she came with the Herrscher of Thunder. In other words, she was now in the know too.
So he said: "Don't do that next time. This isn't the time for performances."
Mei cut straight to the point: "Let's get to business. Kosma, the monsters you were just fighting… were they drawn by Griseo?"
Kosma replied: "No. Griseo hasn't made a single stroke today. I've been by her side the whole time—I can testify."
Mei continued asking: "Then… could they be ones she drew earlier?"
"No, Big Sister Mei." Griseo poked her head out from behind Kosma: "Though they have the smell of paint, that color is very strange… I didn't draw them."
Mei pondered again.
Since they weren't drawn by Griseo, someone must have used her. But… who had that ability?
Griseo spoke up: "Big Sister Mei… are you looking for strange colors? If so, there are more over there."
Mei asked: "Griseo, can you track information about those monsters?"
Griseo nodded: "Mm… but only a little."
Mei said: "Let's go take a look."
Vill-V beside them got excited and began recounting her times performing magic tricks with Kosma. The difference from the present era was… none of those tricks had any mechanisms.
She still vividly remembered the startled cry Kosma let out when he entered the box.
Kosma didn't want to bring up those things: "…Let's just go."
The others tactfully didn't mention it either and followed Griseo, moving according to her guidance.
Sure enough!
"It's the faded monsters."
Mei said, then drew her blade and charged forward. With a crack of thunder, the monsters were already eliminated.
Griseo looked at the monster corpses and said: "Strange… how could this be?"
"…Griseo?" Mei also looked at her.
Griseo continued: "The strange colors… there are two kinds…"
"Those faded monsters have my paint on them…"
"But another kind of paint… only one… one kind…"
"One kind… that feels familiar?"
After learning this, Mei instructed the two to stay safe, then continued tracking the clues with Vill-V.
Watching them leave.
Griseo asked: "…Kosma, did we help Big Sister Mei?"
Kosma said: "Maybe."
Griseo asked again: "Will Mommy Aponia be in danger?"
Kosma said: "…With Eden there, it should be fine."
Griseo asked: "Should we go check?"
Kosma shook his head: "…No. Like Eden said, we should stay away from danger."
"…"
"Kosma is lying." Griseo suddenly stared at him angrily.
"Griseo?" Kosma was puzzled.
Griseo said: "You clearly don't want to stay away from danger."
"…"
Once again, the boy felt that in front of this girl who could read hearts, any disguise was futile.
Griseo continued: "You don't like waiting here, do you?"
"Kosma has been thinking about other things since earlier."
"When Big Sister Mei and Sister Vill-V left… you stared at them for a long time."
"…" Kosma couldn't refute.
Griseo went on: "I know. Kosma wants to go with them."
"It was the same back then. Kosma wanted to fight alongside everyone, but was told to board that ship."
"Griseo…" Kosma tried to stop her from saying this.
But Griseo kept going: "Kosma likes spaceships and stars. I know—that's Kosma's dream."
"But why… are you not happy at all?"
"So I went to Sister Vill-V and told her I wanted to take Kosma's place and board that ship."
"…"
Kosma fell silent.
The ship Griseo mentioned was naturally the Ark Project. Originally, he was supposed to be its executor, but the plan changed.
"So… that's how it was."
"I asked Vill-V many times, but she insisted it was her own spontaneous idea…"
Griseo said: "I asked Sister Vill-V to keep it secret. I didn't want Kosma to be sad."
"So… after that… did Kosma fulfill his wish?"
Kosma said: "I… I don't know."
"Maybe I just threw my life away in vain, didn't accomplish anything, and couldn't become a hero."
"I… never asked anyone else about my ending. I didn't have the courage. I was afraid to hear answers I didn't want to face."
Griseo asked: "Then… why do you want to become a hero?"
"…"
Very suddenly, she placed the question the boy had asked himself countless times in his heart right in front of him.
Griseo continued: "Is it because heroes are very strong?"
Kosma said: "That's only part of it."
"…A hero is someone who can help everyone and lead people to victory."
Griseo asked: "Does that person have to fight?"
"…Mm."
Kosma nodded.
Griseo said somewhat dejectedly: "Oh… then I can't be a hero."
Kosma shook his head: "No… that's not true, Griseo. Sometimes, the 'fighting' we talk about isn't just one way."
Griseo asked again: "Then… do heroes always have to die?"
"…"
Kosma wanted to say no, but he knew—for the girl in front of him, an answer he himself couldn't believe didn't need to be spoken.
"…"
Griseo immediately said: "Then I don't want Kosma to become a hero."
"…"
The girl's tone was so firm. That clearly wasn't his color.
This seemed to be the first time he heard the girl express her own color so vividly.
"Mommy and Daddy disappeared. The grown-ups said they were heroes."
"Sister Theresa disappeared. You all said she was a hero."
"In the end, Kosma also has to leave me to become everyone's hero."
Kosma said: "Griseo…"
Griseo kept going: "Everyone becomes a hero… then what about me?"
"This time… does Kosma want to become a hero too?"
"…"
The girl's starry eyes looked at him. Staring into those eyes, he couldn't speak for a long time.
"…"
He could only say in his heart: Griseo… it's not that you want to become a hero and then you become one. When a certain moment comes, you'll know… you must—regardless of the cost—do something.
Maybe for someone, maybe for something else…
And this time… the thing I couldn't do fifty thousand years ago, I…
Looking into those eyes, Kosma silently recited the answer in his heart, hoping she could read his silence.
But in the end, he chose another way—a promise.
"This time, I might… still want to become a hero, Griseo."
Griseo fell silent.
Kosma continued: "But that will absolutely not be to die."
"It's to light the hope of life."
"We step into the dark night… precisely for that dawn."
The boy smiled gently—rare for him—trying to comfort the girl.
But as she looked at him, the sadness on her face only deepened.
"…"
She said: "Kosma, do you know? Every time you want to hide something from me and go do something alone, you make this exact expression."
"But I don't want that. I don't want to be protected by everyone. I don't want to be left behind by one person. I want to have my own color too… just like everyone else…"
"So… tell me, okay…"
"Kosma… what are you planning to do…?"
Seeing this.
At Fire Moth Interstellar Entertainment Company.
Kosma was so moved that tears streamed down his face: "That's exactly it… this is the hero I've always wanted to become. This is the hero in my dreams. He doesn't need to be incredibly great—just at the moment it arrives, he does everything in his power to do something. That's enough."
"Wuwuwu, thank you, Director He. You made my dream come true. I think… in the audience's hearts, I've gradually become the image of a hero, right?"
Everyone else in the company knew this boy's dream.
From the very beginning when he tried to assassinate Hessian to enter the company, he had always dreamed of becoming a hero like Kevin.
Everyone knew that the kind of hero Kevin was could never be imitated, and it didn't match Kosma's image at all.
But back then, Hessian had made a promise.
As long as he stayed by Kevin's side, he would become a hero.
Now… on the TV, he was moving in that direction. Or rather… he had already become one.
Kiana was also deeply touched: "This scene really moved me so much. They're clearly just two kids, yet Griseo and Kosma already have such awareness."
Theresa's nose felt a little sore, her eyes misty: "Yeah… Griseo living in the end times really isn't easy. Everyone thought she'd easily take on other people's colors, but no one noticed how brilliant and firm her own color is."
Himeko took a deep breath: "For writing these two kids so well, I won't hit the director today."
The others also agreed: "Indeed… from this part, you can tell Director He isn't doing it for revenge. He's putting real heart into shaping the characters."
Bronya asked: "What about Pardofelis? Where's Pardofelis's highlight moment? Even Griseo has this kind of awareness—Pardofelis can't just stay a thieving cat forever, right?"
"…"
In an instant.
Everyone fell silent.
The actors playing the Thirteen Flame-Chasers all shut their mouths.
Durandal and the others were curious but didn't dare speculate casually—after all, with the dog director in charge, the plot could go anywhere.
Seele said: "There will be one… I think Director He will give every Flame-Chaser their highlight moment. He's always been like that."
Hessian nodded in satisfaction, walked over to Seele, and rubbed her head: "Not bad. Seele understands me best—not like the others."
Bronya said unhappily: "Hmph! Don't touch my little Seele so casually!"
Seele just showed a cute smile.
Then she looked back at the TV. She really loved this Elysian Realm storyline.
The others gradually turned back to the TV as well.
On the TV.
What Kosma planned to do still wasn't shown.
Instead, the screen cut back to Mei's side.
She and Vill-V kept tracking those strange monsters, but each time they would escape in unexpected ways.
Mei said: "Don't you think it's strange? Every time, even when we've already spotted its trail, it ends up escaping in a way we didn't anticipate."
"It's as if it can predict our pursuit direction. Monsters in the Elysian Realm shouldn't have that kind of intelligence. It's almost like…"
Vill-V asked: "Like someone is controlling it from behind?"
Mei nodded: "That's the only possibility I can think of."