Back with Theresa and Rozaliya
Rozaliya: "…Lili?"
Rozaliya stared at the monstrous figure before her.
The massive blue carapace shifted as the creature breathed, its body radiating an oppressive Honkai presence. Somewhere inside that grotesque shell was the person Rozaliya had been fighting beside for years.
Her sister.
Her partner.
Her Lili.
Rozaliya: "Lili!!!"
She took a step forward, but Theresa immediately moved to block her path.
The Gray Serpent's monstrous form loomed over them.
Gray Serpent: "Do you regret this, Rozaliya? You delivered her into my hands."
Rozaliya: "Give Lili back to me!!!"
The creature's mouth curled into a grotesque grin.
Gray Serpent: "Good. Get angry and let it take over. Give in to the beast within you."
Gray Serpent: "You will taste even better than Liliya."
Rozaliya's hands tightened around her weapon.
Rozaliya: "You despicable bastard!"
Theresa: "Rozaliya, calm down."
Theresa: "Roza, calm down now!"
Theresa stepped forward, keeping her weapon ready while carefully watching the creature.
Theresa: "He's trying to make you angry on purpose!"
Rozaliya: "But… Lili… she…"
Her voice trembled.
Rozaliya: "Lili isn't talking to me anymore…"
Rozaliya gazed at the giant beast with despair.
There was no response.
Only a deep, feral growl emerged from within the creature.
Gray Serpent: "Hmm, I like this sound."
Gray Serpent: "Click-clack… something cracking and slowly falling into the abyss."
Theresa's expression darkened.
Theresa: "…You maniac!"
A vortex of chains suddenly tore through the air.
WHOOSH!
The chains lashed toward the Gray Serpent, forcing the creature to retreat several steps.
Gray Serpent: "Your strikes are weak, Theresa. I guess you don't want to harm Blue."
Gray Serpent: "Of course. You're a school Principal and she's just an innocent, young girl."
Theresa: "…!"
His words struck directly at Theresa's hesitation.
The Gray Serpent had understood the situation perfectly.
The girls dared not attack with full force.
Not while Liliya was still trapped inside him.
Every passing moment pushed Liliya into greater danger.
Theresa was suffering from the same problem.
The activated Honkai genes were steadily gnawing away at her consciousness. Desires for blood and destruction clouded her thoughts. Her senses became unnaturally heightened, while even minor cuts sent waves of extreme pain through her body.
Yet that heightened sensitivity also allowed her to notice something she normally wouldn't have detected.
Theresa: "…Hmm?"
Theresa glanced down.
The sensation wasn't coming from her arms.
It was coming from the chains wrapped around them.
The Chains of Judah were sending irregular vibrations through her body.
Theresa: 'What is this?'
BAM!
A Titan suddenly crashed down directly in front of Rozaliya, deploying its shield between her and the Gray Serpent.
Through the comm links, a weak voice broke through the static.
Cocolia.
She was gravely wounded and could barely remain standing.
Cocolia: "Theresa…"
Theresa turned sharply.
Theresa: "Cocolia?"
Cocolia: "This mech won't last… take Roza to safety…"
Cocolia: "I'll… try to… buy some time…"
Theresa: "No, wait…"
Cocolia struggled to breathe.
Cocolia: "We had our differences… but I'm begging you, please save her…"
Theresa's expression softened for only a moment before becoming resolute.
Theresa: "No, Cocolia, I'm not saving just her…"
Theresa: "I'm saving both of them!"
BAM!
The Assaka lunged forward.
Its enormous arm smashed into the Titan, tearing through its armor and sending fragments of metal flying in every direction.
The mech collapsed into pieces.
But before the Gray Serpent could advance, dark chains erupted from the wreckage and wrapped tightly around its massive body.
Theresa's eyes narrowed.
She had noticed something.
Something important.
Theresa: "Roza, calm down and listen to me."
Rozaliya: "What is it? Theresa…"
Theresa: "You have a keener sense of smell. You must have smelt her…"
Theresa looked directly at Rozaliya.
Theresa: "Lili is still around."
Rozaliya: "What?!"
Theresa: "It's very faint, but she's calling out to us for help."
Rozaliya's ears immediately perked up.
She inhaled deeply.
For a moment, she seemed confused.
Then her eyes widened.
Rozaliya: "Oh… it's true!"
She took another breath.
Rozaliya: "It's so light… but only Lili has this sweet scent!"
Rozaliya's despair began to turn into determination.
Rozaliya: "That monster is emitting Lili's scent! I got it! I know where Lili is!"
Theresa nodded.
Theresa: "Gray Serpent swallowed Liliya but could not incorporate her quickly enough."
She looked toward the struggling beast.
Theresa: "We must cut the monster open and free her!"
Rozaliya raised her greatsword.
Rozaliya: "Right! Time to chop this freak into a million and one pieces!"
Theresa: "Calm down, girl! We only have one shot before Lili is lost forever."
Theresa tightened her grip on the Chains of Judah.
Theresa: "Listen carefully to what I say. We're doing this together."
Theresa: "I will keep him busy and immobilise him."
Theresa: "You'll locate where Liliya is. When he stops moving, you'll deliver a precision cut and open its carapace and matrix."
Rozaliya's confidence immediately faltered.
Rozaliya: "Wha-What? I can't do it!"
Rozaliya: "I'm only good at breaking up things. Being precise is Lili's role!"
Theresa looked at her firmly.
Theresa: "Roza, you're the only one who's connected to Lili's heart and soul."
Theresa: "Aren't you and Lili the best partners?"
Theresa stepped closer.
Theresa: "Have faith in yourself. Because Lili trusts you!"
Rozaliya lowered her head.
Rozaliya: "Bu-But…"
Rozaliya: "…"
A long silence followed.
Then Rozaliya slowly tightened her grip around her weapon.
Rozaliya: "Alright…"
She looked toward the trapped beast.
Rozaliya: "Let's get her back, Theresa!"
Dark chains danced around Theresa, their links moving like serpents around her body.
Her eyes shone like the setting sun.
SYSTEM: WARNING: Active element level critical.
The cold voice whispered in her ears, reminding her that the decision she was about to make could very well be fatal.
Theresa knew the risks.
But she had already made up her mind.
Theresa: "The stage is set. Time to shine, Roza."
Theresa: "This is the performance of your life!"
SYSTEM: Level 4 restrictions lifted.
Theresa's battlesuit began to change.
The crimson energy surrounding Blood Knight intensified, then darkened.
Theresa lifts the final restriction of her Godsbane battlesuit in a last ditch effort to defeat Gray Serpent:
Theresa: "Blood Knight, if you haven't shown everything you've got…"
Theresa: "Now is the time!!"
Theresa: "We shall not lose!"
Crimson blood gave way to dark twilight, like a bleeding sun fleeing before the ebon night.
The armor of Blood Knight: Moonlight finally assumed its true form.
The battlefield seemed to darken around Theresa.
Gray Serpent: "…What is this?"
Theresa raised her weapon.
Theresa: "You've never seen this before, right?"
Her eyes remained fixed on the monster.
Theresa: "Looks like you need an intel update."
SWOOSH!
Theresa clenched her chains.
They shot forward and wrapped around the Gray Serpent's massive body, forcing its limbs backward.
Theresa: 'I gotta… create an opening for Roza…'
The beast struggled violently.
Theresa: 'Almost there…'
The pitch-black chains leaped, twisted, and danced back and forth.
The Soulium links groaned and screeched under the tremendous pressure, each link threatening to snap.
But Theresa refused to let go.
Slowly, the chains tightened.
The Gray Serpent was finally bound.
Gray Serpent: "…Hngh!"
Theresa gritted her teeth.
Theresa: 'It worked. It's been stopped!'
She looked toward Rozaliya.
Theresa: "Roza, now!"
…
…
Rozaliya stood frozen.
Her hands trembled around the greatsword.
Rozaliya: 'No one…'
She swallowed.
Rozaliya: 'No one… has my back…'
Her tail shook uncontrollably.
Rozaliya: 'I'm feeling a teeny bit too nervous without Lili around…'
Rozaliya: '…Just a teeny-weeny.'
Her eyes shifted toward Theresa.
Rozaliya: 'Theresa is fighting… I'm not sure if I can do this.'
Rozaliya: 'We only have one chance, and my tail can't stop shaking…'
Rozaliya: "…"
Her grip tightened.
Rozaliya: 'But… but…'
She remembered Lili.
Their battles.
Their victories.
Their failures.
The countless times they had stood back-to-back.
Rozaliya: 'I'm doing this no matter what!'
A memory of Bronya flashed through her mind.
Rozaliya: 'Bronya would never hesitate if it was Seele. And I'm definitely not losing to her!'
Rozaliya raised her weapon.
Rozaliya: 'Lili and I are meant to be together forever!'
Her eyes opened with determination.
It was her time.
Theresa: "Roza, now!"
Rozaliya: "I'm coming…!"
Rozaliya began to run.
She leaped over the chains and scattered debris, sprinting directly toward the trapped beast.
The closer she got, the stronger the faint presence of Liliya became.
Then, like a stream flowing directly into her heart, Liliya's "voice" guided her.
Rozaliya: "Sleeping Beauty, help me now!"
Rozaliya accelerated.
Rozaliya: "Lili, come back! I'll be… lonely without you!"
She lifted the greatsword high above her head.
Every ounce of strength she possessed gathered into the blade.
Then she struck.
Gray Serpent: "…This isn't the end of me!"
The monster suddenly broke free from the chains.
Its enormous arm swung toward Rozaliya.
Theresa: "No!"
Cocolia: "Roza!"
TING!
The attack missed.
The Gray Serpent's fist glanced across Rozaliya's blade by a hair's breadth before being viciously deflected.
Rozaliya landed safely.
She had anticipated the attack.
Rozaliya: "I knew you would ambush me…!"
She had seen Liliya retaliate against her enemies countless times before.
She knew the movement.
She knew the timing.
And now, Liliya's signature move would carry Rozaliya through.
Rozaliya twisted her body and brought the greatsword around in a powerful arc.
Rozaliya: "I'll turn you into stardust!"
Rozaliya cuts through Gray Serpent and saves Liliya
Rozaliya: "Lili Idiotka…"
Rozaliya: "Rise and shine!"
The massive carapace split apart.
Blue energy erupted from within as Liliya's body was released from the Gray Serpent's interior.
Rozaliya immediately caught her.
Rozaliya: "Theresa, Matushka… I did it!"
She looked down at her sister.
Rozaliya: "Lili… Lili's fine!"
Theresa allowed herself a relieved smile.
Theresa: "Good job, Roza! Now get away from there!"
The Gray Serpent staggered.
Its body was broken, pieces of its carapace falling away.
Gray Serpent: "Ugh…"
Theresa stepped forward, chains still coiling around her.
Theresa: "You lost, Gray Serpent. No more tricks!"
The monster gave a weak laugh.
Gray Serpent: "Humph, this wasn't expected. I underestimated you, Theresa."
Gray Serpent: "But this isn't over yet…"
The Gray Serpent's damaged body suddenly began to destabilize.
Cracks of energy spread across its carapace.
Then—
BOOM!
Its broken body exploded.
Ash scattered across the battlefield, carried away by the wind.
Theresa stared at the remains.
Theresa: "Did he just self-destruct? Who the hell is he?"
A voice suddenly came from behind them.
???: "It appears that problems have been solved in my absence."
Theresa immediately turned around.
Standing among the ruins was a familiar figure.
Her blue hair were unmistakable.
Theresa: "Oh, Dr. Einstein?!"
Einstein walked toward them, her expression unusually serious.
Einstein: "Madam Theresa, sorry for making you worry."
Cocolia's expression changed the moment she saw Einstein.
Cocolia: "Einstein…"
Einstein looked directly at her.
Einstein: "Cocolia, there are quite a few businesses to settle after this."
Her tone was calm, but there was unmistakable tension behind her words.
Einstein: "Be glad that we're in the same boat right now."
She glanced toward the battlefield.
Einstein: "Hand over command of your forces in The Deep. I need them to stop the Schicksal Valkyries."
Cocolia remained silent.
Cocolia: "…"
After a moment, she gave a tired sigh.
Cocolia: "Humph, I understand… it's "mutually beneficial"."
Cocolia's gaze softened as she looked toward Rozaliya and Liliya.
She was still badly wounded.
Cocolia: "I beg you, professor…"
Einstein's expression softened slightly.
Einstein: "I'll let your daughters tend to you. We'll take over from here…"
Einstein then looked toward the sealed Eye of the Deep, genuine concern appeared in her eyes.
Einstein: "Events in the Sea of Quanta may be worse than we thought."