The Deep — Outside the Sea of Quanta
The battle around the entrance to the Sea of Quanta continued.
Honkai beasts swarmed across the battlefield, forcing Theresa, Rozaliya, and Liliya to remain constantly on the move.
Theresa: "Lili, watch Roza's six!"
Theresa: "Stay frosty. I'm not detecting any more unknown hostiles, but the Honkai is still attacking!"
Rozaliya looked toward the sealed Eye, panic spreading across her face.
Rozaliya: "Theresa, Bronya… Bronya jumped into the Sea of Quanta!"
Rozaliya: "Why… Why did she do that?! The hole closed, she can't come back anymore!"
Theresa immediately turned toward her.
Theresa: "Calm down, Roza!"
Theresa: "Bronya does not act on impulse. There must be a good reason."
Theresa glanced toward the closed Eye.
Theresa: "The Eye has already closed. We need to control the battlefield and then try to contact her!"
Liliya: "Da. Theresa is right, Roza."
Liliya moved beside her sister and prepared her weapon.
Liliya: "I'm worried about Bronya too, but we need to get rid of the enemies first."
Rozaliya clenched her fists, forcing herself to calm down.
Rozaliya: "You're right… We shall fight! We can't let Matushka baby us all the time!"
She raised her weapon.
Rozaliya: "Come on, Lili! Let's protect Matushka and Theresa together!"
Theresa sighed.
Theresa: "I can defend myself."
She looked at the two sisters as they returned to the fight.
Theresa: 'The kids have calmed down. They should be able to handle the Honkai beasts.'
Her eyes briefly returned to the Sea of Quanta.
Theresa: 'Please be safe, Bronya.'
The Deep — Upper Zone
Far above the battlefield, the atmosphere suddenly changed.
The Eye had completely closed.
A system announcement echoed throughout the facility.
SYSTEM: "Space-time curvature has been reset. Honkai level is now ZERO. The Eye has closed."
Cocolia stared at the monitor in disbelief.
Cocolia: "WHAT?! Bronya…"
Her heart sank as Bronya's communication signals abruptly disappeared.
Gray Serpent stood nearby, seemingly unfazed by what had happened.
Gray Serpent: "She jumped into the Sea. What a brave girl."
Cocolia's expression hardened.
Cocolia: "Gray Serpent… why did you open the Eye on your own?!"
Gray Serpent calmly turned toward her.
Gray Serpent: "Opening the Eye was part of the deal. I simply chose the right timing."
Cocolia stepped toward him.
Cocolia: "You dragged Bronya into this! She wasn't part of the deal!"
Gray Serpent: "It was you who brought her in."
He tilted his head slightly.
Gray Serpent: "Your clumsy security didn't keep Einstein out. She should be the one going inside."
Cocolia's fists tightened.
Cocolia: "Our deal is over if anything happens to Bronya!"
Gray Serpent gave a quiet chuckle.
Gray Serpent: "That's not how you do business."
Gray Serpent: "Unfortunately, she lacks Seele's immense resistance. The Sea isn't exactly an enjoyable place."
He turned his gaze toward the closed Eye.
Gray Serpent: "I can only pray that your Sovereign would save her life."
Cocolia's anger finally boiled over.
Cocolia: "Do you think I'm joking, worm?"
Swoosh…
Cocolia suddenly drew her pistol and pressed the barrel against the back of Gray Serpent's head.
Gray Serpent did not even flinch.
Gray Serpent: "…And what are you doing this time?"
Cocolia's voice was cold.
Cocolia: "I'll say this one more time. I want Bronya returned without harm."
Gray Serpent slowly turned his head.
Gray Serpent: "Cocolia, we both know who we are. We stop at nothing to get what we want."
Gray Serpent: "That's why I was so impressed by your "improvisation"."
Gray Serpent: "You provoked the rebel in Bronya and maneuvered her into entering the Sea instead of Einstein."
Gray Serpent: "You convinced me that you're the one we're looking for."
He smiled.
Gray Serpent: "Please don't tell me I'm mistaken."
Cocolia remained silent.
Cocolia: "…"
A memory suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Bronya's voice.
Bronya: "Matushka lied to the Bronya."
Bronya: "The Bronya… used to trust Matushka most…"
Cocolia's eyes trembled.
Cocolia: "…"
She lowered her gaze for a moment.
Then she raised her weapon again.
Cocolia: "…You're wrong, snake."
Her voice became firm.
Cocolia: "We're different!"
Cocolia resolved herself and tightened her grip on the pistol.
She was about to pull the trigger—
When another voice came from directly behind her.
Gray Serpent: "Humph, hell?"
A second Gray Serpent appeared from the shadows, brandishing a gun of his own.
Gray Serpent: "Guess who's going to hell now."
A gunshot rang through the chamber.
Cocolia's body collapsed to the floor.
The second Gray Serpent lowered his weapon.
The second Gray Serpent walk toward and stand beside the first, a perfect mirror image of his counterpart.
The two stood side by side and gazed down at the fallen Cocolia in perfect synchrony, as though they shared the same mind.
Gray Serpent: "You disappoint me. You allowed foolish animal instinct to get the better of you."
Gray Serpent: ""We're different"? Did you even hear yourself?!"
Cocolia's eyes widened.
Cocolia: "What?"
Back with Theresa, Liliya and Rozaliya
A sharp gunshot echoed through the facility.
Liliya immediately turned toward the sound.
Liliya: "A gunshot? What happened?"
The three rushed toward the source.
When they arrived, they found Cocolia lying on the ground.
Standing over her were two Gray Serpents.
Rozaliya's eyes widened in shock.
Rozaliya: "It's… Matushka?!"
Theresa immediately raised her weapon.
Theresa: "Gray Serpent? Why is he here?!"
One of the Gray Serpents turned toward them.
Gray Serpent: "Miss Theresa, gratitude for your hospitality aboard the Hyperion."
Gray Serpent: "I hope you still remember me. Our deal is not yet done."
Liliya stared at the two identical figures.
Liliya: "There are… 2 of them?"
Rozaliya pointed at them in disbelief.
Rozaliya: "Whoa, these guys are twins too?"
Cocolia struggled to lift her head.
Cocolia: "Roza, Lili, run!"
Rozaliya immediately rushed toward her.
Rozaliya: "Matushka! Are you alright?! We're here to save you."
The two Gray Serpents exchanged a glance.
Gray Serpent: "Cocolia, do you know why we left you alive?"
One of them stepped forward.
Gray Serpent: "Because I want you to pay for your choice. It will be worse than death, I guarantee that."
Their voices carried an unmistakable threat.
Gray Serpent: "The World Serpent does not tolerate betrayal."
The two Gray Serpents moved in perfect synchronization.
They reached into their pockets and pulled out strange injectors.
Theresa's eyes narrowed.
Theresa: "What… are they up to?"
The two cyborgs simultaneously pressed the injector needles against their necks.
Then—
Click.
They pulled the triggers.
The liquid contents were injected directly into their bodies.
Their bodies suddenly began to swell.
Muscles and armor expanded at an unnatural rate as their silhouettes rapidly grew larger.
Their mechanical frames distorted beneath layers of newly forming carapace.
Within seconds, the two metallic cyborgs had transformed into enormous creatures covered in magenta and cyan-colored armor.
Nothing about their original appearance remained except the unmistakable intelligence in their eyes.
No one looking at them would have known that these monsters had once been two cyborgs known as the Gray Serpent.
Theresa stared in disbelief.
Theresa: "How did the Gray Serpents turn into Honkai beasts?"
Rozaliya pointed at the two monsters.
Rozaliya: "HEY! Honkai beasts and twins?! They're ripping off the Vodka Girls!"
Liliya immediately snapped at her.
Liliya: "Roza Idiotka, this isn't the time for your nonsense."
The transformed Gray Serpent flexed his enormous claws.
Gray Serpent: "I guess it's time to check out what the Jackal made for us…"
The two monsters advanced.
Gray Serpent: "…And how it does in the field."
Rozaliya recoiled.
Rozaliya: "They can talk?! Ewwwww!!!"
Liliya: "Quiet, Roza."
Theresa's expression became increasingly serious.
Theresa: 'That's impossible! How did they retain their human thoughts after the transformation?'
The creatures moved with frightening precision, dodging attacks and countering with remarkable agility.
Theresa: 'And they're moving with human intelligence and agility! I've never seen anything like this before!'
Theresa's chains lashed out repeatedly, forcing the giant beasts backward.
The relentless chains forced the giant beasts into a gradual retreat.
But Theresa remained wary.
Theresa: 'Something feels wrong…'
Her eyes tracked their movements.
Theresa: 'Despite human intelligence, they're just 2 Emperor-class beasts…'
She looked at Rozaliya and Liliya.
Theresa: '…Up against a legendary S-rank Valkyrie with strong support!'
Her instincts screamed that something was wrong.
Theresa: 'He must have something up his sleeve. I gotta get the kids out of here!'
Theresa turned toward the two sisters.
Theresa: "Roza, Lili, leave them to me! You girls are to bring Cocolia to safety!"
Liliya immediately grabbed Rozaliya's arm.
Liliya: "Roza, let's get out of here."
Rozaliya resisted.
Rozaliya: "No, I'm staying to help!"
She glared at the monsters.
Rozaliya: "This guy ambushed Matushka and hurt her bad…"
One of the Gray Serpents laughed.
Gray Serpent: "Theresa is right. Run, Rozaliya!"
The monster took another step forward.
Gray Serpent: "I don't really like hurting my own kind."
Rozaliya's face twisted in disgust.
Rozaliya: "BLEGH! I'm definitely NOT your kind! Try a better pickup line, you worm!"
Gray Serpent laughed.
Gray Serpent: "Hah. Remember the process that saved both you and your sister from death?"
Rozaliya froze.
Gray Serpent: "I used the same tech to turn into this."
Her eyes widened.
Rozaliya: "What?!"
Gray Serpent: "Testing on you and other subjects helped us optimise the formula for creating a human-Honkai chimera."
He pointed one massive claw toward Cocolia.
Gray Serpent: "And your foolish Matushka thought she got the better end of the deal."
Rozaliya's expression changed instantly.
Rozaliya: "I won't let you talk about Matushka that way!"
Theresa immediately recognized the trap.
Theresa: "Calm down, Roza, he's trying to anger you!"
But before Theresa could finish her words, the two giant creatures suddenly leaped into the air.
Their enormous bodies crossed paths overhead.
In mid-air, they began to merge.
Armor, limbs, and mechanical components twisted together as their two bodies fused into a single monstrous form.
The newly merged creature stretched out its arm.
Its hand shot toward the girls.
Rozaliya: "…!!"
Liliya: "Roza, be careful!"
Liliya reacted instantly.
She threw herself into Rozaliya and pushed her aside with all her strength.
But in doing so, she placed herself directly in the creature's path.
The fused monster's massive hand closed around Liliya.
Liliya: "Hngh…!!"
She struggled desperately against its grip.
Liliya: "Le-Let go of me…"
The creature examined its captive.
Gray Serpent: "Hmm… I've caught the wrong one. No matter. It will make no difference."
Its grip tightened.
Gray Serpent: "Time for a snack!"
The newly fused Gray Serpent Assaka began drawing Liliya toward its body.
A violent energy gathered around the creature as it prepared to absorb her and use her strength to further increase its own power.
Rozaliya stared in horror.
Gray Serpent: "Take a deep breath now…"
The monster opened its maw.
Gray Serpent: "Because it's going to be your last!"
Liliya looked toward her sister.
Despite the fear in her eyes, she tried to remain calm.
Liliya: "Roza… run!"