Froth.
Before the Grand Cathedral.
"Moriarty, what are you doing here?"
Prescience Vita (Blue) arrived with two Paradise Sentinels to find Moriarty. Seeing the two Paradise Sentinels, Moriarty showed no signs of panic whatsoever.
After all, the true control over the Paradise Sentinels actually lay with him.
"I am provoking the god in the sky, if she can see."
Moriarty looked up at the giant phantom in the sky, something invisible to those bound by fate. Just as humans couldn't resist their creator, the people of Froth naturally couldn't either.
And those who resist the creator are only outsiders, or the creator herself.
"See that bloated body in the sky? Larger even than the beasts roaming outside the city walls. Guess if we'd just vanish into thin air if he threw a punch down?"
As Moriarty spoke, he glanced towards the high walls outside Froth. A huge hole gaped in the wall, the mark left behind by the Honkai Beast's passage.
That Honkai Beast, if described using Earth's scale, was undoubtedly a Judgement-class behemoth.
"..."
The answer was beyond question. Not just Prescience (Blue), but the other Little Vitas knew as well. They had discussed it based on their memories. The conclusion was that the god Sa, capable of destroying Froth with a single slap, did exist, and Sa was indeed destroying this civilization.
However, in reality, this mysterious and powerful existence didn't even need to appear personally. Merely relying on her supreme divine power and majesty, she could effortlessly trigger a Great Flood vast enough to submerge the entire continent of Froth.
Such memories still served as a reminder in the minds of Prescience (Blue) and the other city agents who had recalled the truth.
That torrential flood, roaring like untamed horses, swept over everything. Wherever it passed became stagnant water. Countless lives seemed so small and fragile before this sudden catastrophe, instantly swallowed without mercy.
Houses collapsed, bridges broke, farmland was destroyed. Prosperous towns and villages turned into ruins and bubbles in the blink of an eye. People fled in terror, but facing the overwhelming waters, there was simply nowhere to hide.
Civilization, life, humanity—all were insignificant before the flood unleashed by the god.
They had experienced such cycles several times. After encountering this truth and receiving Moriarty's help in driving away the giant Honkai Beast, Moriarty's words about "launching a rebellion against the creator god" became even more believable.
"Yes, we all know the answer."
Moriarty looked at the projection in the sky. "And precisely because we know the ending, we must launch a rebellion, to display our existence to the god."
"I came here to ask you, is there really no room for negotiation between you and Fu Hua and the others?"
Prescience Vita (Blue) said, "Although our memories are incomplete, isn't our target the same god?"
"Of course. Didn't I invite them here to watch a good show precisely to ease our relationship?"
Moriarty maintained his Fake Smile.
Build a good relationship with Fu Hua?
Impossible. As a criminal, he could never receive the great detective's forgiveness. He knew his own character well, understood his own sins.
Furthermore, that woman named Vita was even more hateful, more abominable!
He had been locked in that display case for hundreds of years, conscious for hundreds of years! Hundreds of years of imprisonment, hundreds of years of immobility—the mental torment he endured couldn't just be forgotten!
If his consciousness hadn't been born from data, possessing patience far greater than ordinary humans, he would have collapsed long ago.
To exact Revenge on that abominable woman—Vita—Moriarty would willingly resort to any means, just to make her taste pain.
Of course, Moriarty wouldn't let the god in the sky off either. After all, this was a marvelous performance!
"So, for our shared goal, you should go prepare to activate the Holy Relic at any moment. After all, that's one of the few methods you could call effective."
"Understood."
Prescience Vita (Blue) nodded as if reassured. "I understand. Then, good luck."
Watching the city agent leave, Moriarty couldn't help but sigh internally. In the eyes of little children, good and evil are so simple. Just a few nice words, a little kindness, and one can be defined as a good person.
"But that's fine too. Although I feel a bit sorry, this lesson will cost you your lives."
Moriarty couldn't suppress the laughter bubbling up inside him. "Vita, such an intimate name. I wonder if someone as malicious as you will regret your past actions!"
Fu Hua's group didn't keep Moriarty waiting long. After receiving his notice, they arrived two hours early at the designated highest point of Froth—before the Grand Cathedral.
"Look who's here. The great detective, two city agents, a boy about my size, and an abominable woman."
Moriarty still couldn't suppress his desire to perform. "I didn't expect you to be such good sports, arriving two hours early."
"Moriarty."
Fu Hua frowned at him and asked, "What exactly are you planning to do?"
"Oh, nothing much. Just inviting you all to watch a Grand Performance together."
Moriarty looked around and said, "And the theme of this grand performance is, of course, about revenge."
"Revenge? You could have just come for me."
Fu Hua said with a frown, "Why target the city agents?"
"No, no, no. Compared to the grudge between us, the abominable woman beside you angers me even more."
Moriarty glared viciously at Vita. "This woman, wicked at heart, locked me in that tiny space, keeping my consciousness awake the entire time."
"If my consciousness weren't unaffected by hormones produced by a body, I probably would have become a madman long ago! And the best revenge against this woman is naturally to torture her family, to make her experience a sliver of the emotion called pain!"
"Oh, my apologies then."
Vita was indifferent to Moriarty's hatred. After all, many had hated her; she couldn't empathize with him from the depths of her heart.
Vita: "So you didn't like your display case? You never mentioned any objections for so long, I thought you enjoyed staying in dark corners."
"Wasn't it you who shut off my communication with the outside world?!"
Moriarty was quite furious. If the Little Vitas hadn't accidentally turned on the communication system while cleaning, he might never have been able to speak again.
"Forget it. The grand performance is imminent. I won't engage in these verbal squabbles with you."
Moriarty casually signaled all the Paradise Sentinels beside him to advance, only for them to be instantly frozen solid by Jun An.
"Is this your grand performance?"
Vita looked at Moriarty quite smugly. "It wasn't even worth the price I paid earlier~"
"Destroying monsters in the eyes of ordinary people in an instant... you really know how to surprise me."
However, Moriarty didn't panic because of this. Instead, he sized up Jun An. "I see. So this is the weapon you prepared for god-slaying? Excellent."
Moriarty's praise made everyone feel uneasy. Clearly, the 'good show' Moriarty mentioned wasn't this.
"Well then, this red-haired boy, or should I say, Captain."
Moriarty asked, "You must exercise often, right? Have you ever raced against time?"
"If you have something to say, say it quickly. Vita paid the price. Otherwise, I'll twist your head off directly."
Jun An wasn't someone fond of nonsense, especially nonsense with such a face. If Vita hadn't said she wanted to teach him a lesson, Jun An would have wanted to kill him long ago.
No help for it, this guy really looked too much like his grandpa Otto. Seeing him made Jun An feel somewhat triggered.
"Alright, long story short."
Moriarty continued nonchalantly, "Do you know the true nature of the Paradise Sentinels? Besides guarding the city, their duties include another function."
"Essentially, they are the same as Miss Vita beside you—Dogs created by the creator god in the sky. And a dog's job, besides guarding the house, naturally includes another role: 'Hunting,' killing those who luckily survived the great flood, one by one."
Vita instantly frowned. "You activated the Cleanup Function?"
"Correct guess, Sa's little dog."
Moriarty looked down at the chaos unfolding in Froth below. "I have already distributed the Paradise Sentinels throughout Froth. And the place with the most Paradise Sentinels is, naturally, there—"
Moriarty pointed towards the center of Froth. "The place where the little city agents hold their Vita gatherings. Look, with such panic, plus my little suggestion, they've already activated the Holy Relic. The flood brought by the Holy Relic will submerge this entire town!"
As the Holy Relic activated, heavy rain began to fall from the sky, and the water level started to rise slowly.
Vita said faintly, "Is that all?"
To her, only the seven Little Vitas mattered; the rest was irrelevant.
What Moriarty was doing was merely replaying something that had appeared before her eyes in the past.
"Of course not."
Moriarty said, "The Paradise Sentinels I positioned outside the city will also lure the giant Honkai Beast previously drawn out of Froth back here. Although, as former parts of Sa, the Paradise Sentinels cannot completely kill them, the Honkai Beast can."
Before Moriarty finished speaking, a twenty-meter-tall behemoth rose from outside the city walls.
"Flood, Paradise Sentinels, Honkai... Although the original plan had two fewer people dying out of the seven, it doesn't matter."
Moriarty looked up at Sa in the sky. "I'm very curious, Sa. You once placed hope in the seven Little Vitas, treating them as the most convenient tools. Can you still remain composed now?"