Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

The brothers are still very accommodating to Fiona. Just like their self-designation, they used to have their own names, but now they all call themselves "brothers." They are not necessarily all older than Fiona, but they are all doing their best to fulfill their obligations and want to protect this poor girl.

But what Fiona didn't know was that the reason her brothers were so anxious was because the frequency of Originium Arts going out of control was getting higher and higher.

Originium Arts originated from the Consciousness Empire. Originium can carry spirit, and the Consciousness Empire guides and projects a person's spiritual power through Originium casting units—this is what is known as Originium Arts. The reason why Originium Arts are so diverse, and even siblings may not possess the same Originium Arts, is precisely because of the irreproducibility of the spirit.

The Sarkaz's Originium Arts are powerful due to bloodline inheritance and the enhancement of sorcery; Letania's Originium Arts are strange because of accumulated knowledge and the modification of their staffs; the Originium Arts of the Long-lived are powerful because of the accumulation of years and the sedimentation of time. Columbia, however, has none of these, so they devised a simple and brutal method.

—If one person's Originium Arts aren't powerful enough, why not just have a group of people? By binding a group of people together, wouldn't that create a powerful caster?

This is the function of the consciousness binding implantation unit.

But where there is restraint, there is also the possibility of breaking free. Each time Fiona's Originium Arts spiraled out of control, it meant another soul within the bound consciousness unit was breaking free. The breaking free spirit dissipated, and the Originium Arts were released. With each soul that broke free and a bit of spirit dissipated, Fiona grew weaker. However, this dissipation also meant she no longer needed to be bound by restraint in releasing power; each dissipation was an unconventional Originium spell! This spell would continue unabated until the last soul dissipated, until Fiona died!

The brothers are anxious because their numbers are dwindling, and the frequency of Originium Arts malfunctions is increasing, meaning their numbers are disappearing at an accelerating pace. Their days are numbered, and Fiona's days are numbered too!

They really can't wait any longer.

[Fiona, no matter what, this is our last try.]

The brothers said:

After this attempt, regardless of victory or defeat, we will all disappear, leaving only you. Whether you want to return to Ms. Himer or start a new life alone, we can no longer stop you. So, just this once, let's give it our all, okay?

After fighting with Williams, will the brothers "leave"?

Fiona opened her mouth in silence.

She didn't want her brothers to leave. Their symbiotic relationship had lasted so long; she had long been accustomed to having them around. But she also didn't want to stop them, because if it weren't for her brothers, she wouldn't have secretly slipped out of the house, run into the wilderness, and had to meet that terrifying man again.

After a long silence, she finally nodded.

"No lying allowed."

【certainly.】

"Then I promise you, this time, I will do my best."

The brothers expressed their relief.

Did they lie? Yes, but Fiona had no idea it was a lie.

The so-called "doing everything possible" means completely releasing all the remaining members of their group.

And how could Fiona possibly ignore it?

These alienated souls, as they claim, are the most Colombian of Colombians, and besides selfishness, betrayal is something ingrained in their very bones.

They can even betray themselves.

Chapter 71 Kal'tsit learns very quickly

Wayne used to think he was a bit like Lelouch.

You see, they are all heirs to the British Empire in another world, but none of them were first in line to the throne initially; they all came to power through coups. They each have a younger sister, who is very cute and beloved by everyone. They also each possess an ability similar to the power of words, allowing them to manipulate others.

But now, Wayne understands that, putting aside other aspects, just considering this ability similar to word-based control, his Originium Arts are somewhat conservative compared to Lelouch's Geass. After all, he can't control others through a screen like Geass. Those he controls must be within his mental range, and no matter how strong Wayne is, he's not strong enough to cover the entire Terra with his mental power.

So even knowing that Fiona was in the wilderness of the frontier region, he couldn't pinpoint her exact location. Nor could he directly order her back over the phone.

What's more, Fiona doesn't even answer his calls.

After searching for nearly an hour without success, Wayne looked helplessly at Kal'tsit beside him:

"How did this kid know that Loken Williams would take that route? Even we couldn't find out that."

The prisoner's transport route was, of course, not published in the news media. Like Wayne, Fiona only knew that the convict, Locken Williams, would be transported to Mansfield Prison to serve his three-thousand-year sentence. Similarly, Wayne didn't know the way and couldn't find Fiona, but Fiona had already begun staking out the prison vehicle. How did she manage that?

Kal'tsit pondered for a moment; she had just been thinking about this very question. When Wayne asked, she shared her guess:

"Perhaps it's because of Fiona's Originium Arts."

"Her Originium Arts?" Wayne was taken aback; he had never witnessed Fiona unleashing her Originium Arts.

Kal'tsit was clearly aware of this as well, and explained:

"Based on my observation, Fiona's Originium Arts is an ability to manipulate iron."

Controlling iron...

Wayne nodded. This wasn't particularly rare an ability; compared to the bizarre Originium Arts Wayne had encountered recently, it was almost ridiculously normal.

But "ordinary" doesn't mean "unremarkable." Originium Arts have no inherent hierarchy, but the effects vary greatly depending on the user's strength. For example, both Originium Arts involve strengthening the body, but Saria can unleash a wide-area calcification, making enemies feel as if they're wading through mud, unable to move an inch. Meanwhile, some can only utter, "All along, I've had a slight doubt about whether you're truly stronger than me," before being overwhelmed by Saria's attacks, their wine glasses smashed, and forced to kneel on the ground singing "Queen."

While Originium Arts like [Steel Control] may sound ordinary, if they are powerful enough, they can far surpass human imagination compared to those fancy spells.

Kal'tsit used just one example, and Wayne couldn't help but gape in astonishment:

"She trapped mon3tr in place, completely helpless. She couldn't even send me a distress signal."

"Are you serious?"

Vayne knew exactly what mon3tr was. It was an Originium behemoth that could rival Ursus's "Emperor's Blade - The Hunter." Although it was at a disadvantage in the battle, its exaggerated display of power still placed the Great Lynx among the top-tier combatants of Terra, second only to Patriot Bojokast and Pegasus (Nearlight's grandfather), who were among the strongest on land (excluding non-human gods like Nian and Xi).

And Fiona was able to directly imprison mon3tr?

Wayne dared not underestimate them. If that were the case, then Columbia's ambitions were far too great. They were probably mass-producing Ursus-level war weapons.

However, in doing so, Wayne understood Kal'tsit's meaning.

If Fiona's Originium Arts are that powerful, she might actually be able to detect passing vehicles across the vast wastelands. After all, vehicles are made of metal. Instead of wandering aimlessly like a headless fly through the wastelands like Wayne, she could simply find a commonly used roadway, stay nearby, unleash her Originium Arts, and detect a prison van appearing in the dead of night.

One is like finding a needle in a haystack, the other is like waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump; the difficulty levels are naturally incomparable.

But Wayne's problem remained unresolved. Even knowing Fiona might be lurking near the driveway, the driveway from Silicon Valley through the frontier to Mansfield State Penitentiary was over a hundred kilometers long. Fiona could hide anywhere within that driveway; even excluding the parts closer to the city where she might be spotted, she had seventy or eighty kilometers of cover for cover and ambushes. Wayne, however, couldn't search that far. He and Kelsey were both on the military and political blacklists, under surveillance, unable to act freely, and had to consider Victoria's reputation.

—You, a prince, just claimed that you were treated unfairly in Colombia and wanted to return home! The next day, you sneaked out of the hotel late at night and wandered around Colombia recklessly, disregarding your own safety. It's hard not to suspect that you were setting a trap and that Victoria was up to something.

Wayne had no choice but to turn to the all-powerful Kai Cat, hoping she could offer some advice.

Kal'tsit glanced at him, called back the mon3tr that was searching in the distance, and ordered it to curl up and lie on the ground. She then sat down and leaned against mon3tr, closing her eyes.

Wayne looked at her, puzzled, and asked:

"What are you doing? Aren't you going to look for it anymore?"

"We won't find her. If she's deliberately hiding from us, with her Originium Arts abilities, we'll never find her in this lifetime unless you throw away all the iron items you have..."

Kal'tsit gritted her teeth, watching Wayne take out his phone and keychain one by one, and said:

"Even if you bring all that out, it won't help... Taking off the medals won't help either! Your pants still have a zipper! Are you planning to find Fiona or make the front page of the Columbia Daily News tomorrow for streaking!"

Wayne paused, thought about it and realized it was true, then stopped taking off his coat.

Damn it, he even tried to use this excuse to trick Kal'tsit into taking off her coat too.

"Then what should we do now?"

“Wait!” Kal'tsit replied. “Wait, the commotion won’t be small. I’ve already ordered mon3tr to lie on the ground and listen to monitor the surrounding sounds. Fiona’s Originium Arts are currently in a semi-out-of-control state. She can control the release of Originium Arts, but she can’t stop it or limit its output. This means that once she attacks, she will definitely use all her strength. At that time, given her hatred for Loken Williams, a large amount of steel will definitely be controlled by Originium Arts to launch an attack. The commotion won’t be small.”

As Kal'tsit spoke, she glanced at Wayne with a puzzled look and asked curiously, "What's with that expression?"

"It's nothing," Wayne waved his hand.

I initially thought you made mon3tr lie down just to make it more comfortable when you were lying on it. Sorry, I was wrong, Kal'tsit.

However, Kal'tsit has improved so quickly. If she were to follow her previous purely rational way of thinking, it would be very simple for Fiona to assassinate Loken Williams. She could simply use Originium Arts to malfunction the prison van, causing a car accident, or to be more direct, directly control the Originium energy conversion unit inside the vehicle to overload it, triggering an Originium explosion. This would allow her to easily and very discreetly complete her objective.

But Kal'tsit had already anticipated that Fiona would not let Loken Williams die so easily, and thus decided on their current strategy—do nothing and wait!

This is a process, and Kal'tsit is progressing quickly. Perhaps once she completes this process, she will become a master of emotional expression, just like Wayne and Theresa.

Those low-EQ remarks like "You and your race make me laugh" or "Don't bother me with this kind of thing" probably won't be uttered anymore.

Hmph, but as her master, Wayne will still have to take some benefits! I really want to see what a Kal'tsit with such rich emotions, capable of dozens of scene differences in a single frame, would be like!

Wayne is a lecher, this is called staying true to one's original aspiration.

"Then let's wait."

Wayne put aside his ulterior motives, nodded, and sat down, leaning against mon3tr.

Well, that's a more euphemistic way of putting it; to put it bluntly—she's also leaning on Kal'tsit's side.

To his surprise, Kal'tsit didn't move away or grumble at him; she simply turned her head away expressionlessly and did nothing else.

Chapter Seventy-Two: The Invincible Sebastián!

Colombia, wilderness, late at night.

Sitting in the prison van, his hands bound by heavy electronic identification shackles, Locke Williams experienced his life in prison through the iron bars of the window—gazing at the land across the iron bars.

However, he was lucky for the moment. The constantly moving prison van prevented him from getting lost in the unchanging scenery, and the people escorting him, the so-called staff and armed personnel, all ignored the noise that Loken Williams was making inside the prison van.

The electronic handcuffs are still on Loken Williams. The handcuffs are equipped with a smart program that will release a strong electric current if it detects any possible attempt by Loken Williams to "escape," thus immobilizing the prison van and the prisoner in place.

After preliminary investigation, they have confirmed that Loken Williams is not a lightning master who can control lightning. He is powerless to resist the pain caused by high-voltage current. Moreover, the current is just a gimmick. The armed escorts, who are actually the fighting force, have not even made a move yet.

As for breaking him out of prison?

Don't be ridiculous, that's impossible. The frontier region is vast, and the entire route from Silicon Valley to Mansfield Prison is incredibly long. Even if the enemy deployed ten thousand men, there's no guarantee that even one would be lucky enough to block the prison van's path. And it's questionable whether Loken Williams even has ten thousand loyal followers left. When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter; when the wall collapses, everyone pushes it down. In the chaos of Columbia, where could the desperate Loken Williams find such a group of "selfless" people willing to sacrifice their own lives for others?

Driving in the middle of the night can be quite boring, so much so that the escorts even started chatting with Loken Williams, who was sitting on the other side of the wall behind them.

"I'm not trying to be mean, but bro, Columbia is such a mess, why are you still doing all this crap?"

The man, speaking with a thick Ursus accent, even though his Victorian accent still had a strong Ursus trill, said, "Don't drink and drive, don't drive after drinking." The scruffy-bearded Ursus-Colombian man, unable to find a way to relax, downed his bottle of "Mountain Spring Farmer" mineral water like vodka in one gulp, muttering a few words of complaint as he drank:

"Damn it, it's all a lie. How can this *Ursus* water taste sweet?"

After grumbling and cursing, he raised his eyebrows, his cloudy eyes looking at the disheveled figure of Loken Williams behind him through the tiny security window, and repeated:

"Huh, why?"

When pressed for answers, Loken Williams gave a cold laugh and couldn't help but retort:

"Do you have so many 'whys' in your life? You and I aren't that different. Why did you take on this escort mission tonight? That's why I did these things."

Why did I take on this task?

Of course, it was all about making more money. Escorting prisoners at night, especially ordinary people who once held a certain social influence, was no easy task. The journey was long, and theoretically, there was the risk of being targeted. But the pay was high; one job like this would mean he wouldn't have to worry about making a living for the next six months. In chaotic Colombia right now, that was incredibly good news.

So, it's all about making more money?

For this reason, so many children...