An icy, gloomy aura slowly emerged.
The shadows cast by the lights stretched out, weaving a web that seemed to envelop the entire room.
"BAM!"
Sakura was the first to react, stepping forward to shield Dr. Mei. A chilling, pale azure aura emanated from her slightly drawn blade, helping her resist the encroaching cold.
Simultaneously, Mobius instantly transformed into her Over-Metamorphosis state.
A fusion of pale green and deep ink, she appeared on the spot in her "snake woman" form. This was Mobius's latest research achievement: maintaining a partially humanoid Over-Metamorphosis form while wielding power equivalent to an Artificial Eruption state.
Unfortunately, Mobius was currently the only one in the entire Flame-Chasers who could accomplish this, and she was, through and through, a scientist, not a warrior.
As Mobius transformed, Vill-V forcefully slammed her cog-adorned staff on the ground. A brass-colored mechanical apparatus instantly covered her entire body.
[Anti-Kevin Armament · Model 777]
The designation "Anti-Kevin Armament" signified that this piece of machinery was a product that had been "tested" by Kevin, not one actually meant for fighting him. As Vill-V's latest exoskeleton, this suit allowed her to barely display the strength of a front-line Fusion Warrior.
However, against the opponent they were about to face, the meaning of the word "barely"... was meaningless.
"Is this it?"
The writhing shadows on all four sides of the room gradually coalesced.
The spacious area, over thirty meters high, was instantly filled by lantern-sized serpentine eyes, followed by the colossal bodies that slowly emerged from the darkness.
"Nine of them!?"
Vill-V's body was completely hidden within her "armor," but the astonishment in her voice was impossible to conceal. It was inconceivable that the spatial lockdown device she had worked so hard to create could be breached by nine Honkai Beasts at once without any detection.
The bulk of Shesha's body remained hidden in the depths; this underground space was simply not large enough for him to fully reveal his true form.
Coupled with Sheshe's own unique nature, it appeared as if nine Judgement-class Honkai Beasts had appeared simultaneously.
"No."
Mobius's perception was more accurate. This wasn't insight from technology, but her very "origin" alerting her.
"The Thousand-Headed Serpent."
"This creature... is Shesha."
Mobius was stating a fact.
At the same time, it was the most unbelievable fact.
Never mind the Shesha that Kevin had "dealt with on the side" when he slew the Third Herrscher. Even compared to the Shesha that was blasted to death by "Gonggong" during the defense of the Mu continent... the rate of improvement for this nine-headed monster before them was far too exaggerated.
When the Black Emperor first launched his surprise attack on the Flame-Chasers' base, the power he displayed was merely at this level. If Mobius's guess was correct, the Shesha of that time was likely still in the form of a small snake.
In truth, Sheshe had volunteered for this operation targeting the Flame-Chasers' base. He had no other motive; he simply wanted to replicate the Monarch's glorious achievement from that time—an event that, in Sheshe's mind, ranked as the number one most epic display of power.
To possess strength but not show it off...
Sheshe was already finding it difficult to keep up with the Monarch's current level, but no matter how the world changed, hiding his power was absolutely not his style.
Therefore—
"CLANG!!!"
"BOOM!"
In a flash of exploding fire, Sakura's body was sent flying by the impact!
"THUD!!"
With a heavy crash, a new figure appeared beneath one of Shesha's serpentine heads.
"Drip."
A drop of sweat trickled down Su's chin.
The surprise attack had failed. Seizing the moment Shesha revealed himself, Su and Sakura had launched a coordinated assault: Su used his psychic powers to bind Shesha's mind and slow his movements, while Sakura unleashed her strongest strike. Using the Armed Automaton's body meant Sakura couldn't replicate the state in which she had once cut down the Monarch, but a simplified version of [Myriad Phenomena, No Light] called [Fleeting Blossom] could still inflict considerable damage on Shesha, who was weaker than the multi-cored Monarch.
The two didn't aim for a kill, only to weaken him.
But—
"Lord Shesha."
"Please do not be careless."
Shesha was not the only one here on this mission.
The full-body, blue-silver heavy armor, and the shield-axe that had returned to its greatshield form, all revealed the newcomer's identity. The Famine Temple had unhurriedly blocked the slash before viciously cleaving her opponent into the distance. If not for Sakura's swift change in tactics, sacrificing her [Frigid Purgatory] by shattering it, that last blow would have sliced the Sakura who had already been reborn once as 'Sakura-chan' directly into 'Sakura-pieces'.
"Hmph!"
"Meddlesome."
The forked tongue lashed out, cracking with lightning.
The round pupils, which had momentarily lost focus, sharpened back into deep purple slits as Shesha looked at Sakura, who was struggling to her feet using her broken sword.
"This one couldn't have hurt me at all."
From beneath a solid, heavy helmet, the Famine Temple's voice finished Shesha's thought:
"I have faith in your power."
"But even if only a single scale were to be scratched... allowing the Monarch's colors to be tarnished, even by a fraction, in my presence, would be a dereliction of my duty."
"..."
"Tsk."
The word "fanatic" ultimately remained unspoken by Shesha.
After taking a super-breakthrough strike from the Famine Temple head-on, Sakura had not been completely knocked out of the fight, but given the current state of the Armed Automaton, her ability to influence the battle was now negligible.
Shesha completely ignored Vill-V and Mobius. They might be able to handle an ordinary Judgement-class beast, but to contend with him... even doubling their current strength would be like trying to put out a forest fire with a cup of water.
Moreover...
"VMMM!"
At the edge of the rippling shadows, threads of thick ink drew circles in the void, and two new "comrades" joined the battlefield.
Xiao Zi's followers.
They now flanked Vill-V and Mobius, pinning them down.
The Monarch was always fair when assigning missions. Considering that Mei's Key of Blankness had been "sealed," there were only four combatants left in the base. Thus, Lu Xing had very cooperatively prepared an individual opponent for each of them.
"Herrschers?" Vill-V stared intently at the opponent before her.
As a great machinist, she had never seen such a bizarre yet exquisite mechanical structure... perhaps only the Herrschers of Domination who possessed a portion of the Authority of Reason could create something like this.
"No."
"They are all Honkai Beasts," Mobius denied Vill-V's guess without turning her head.
"To be precise... they are all subordinates of the Black Emperor."
Through several encounters and a large amount of intelligence, Mobius had come to a certain understanding of the Black Emperor. To him, Herrschers were merely tools. Whether they were useful or not was another matter, but they were definitely not trusted by him.
The ones that man commanded...
"Human."
Mobius's train of thought was interrupted.
Although it was not directed at her, the voice—laced with a bone-deep coldness that made one's heart clench—forcibly dragged her thoughts back to the present.
Shesha spoke slowly to the wary Su:
"Hurry up and turn into the big peacock."
"If I'm in a good mood... I might just let you all live."