NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 130: Gray Serpent Number Two
The energy fluctuations from the Eye of the Deep intensified, drawing more and more Honkai beasts. The mech units, recently battered by Schicksal's attack, suffered heavy losses.
As the situation worsened, the base commander was nowhere to be seen. The twins Olenyeva, Rozaliya and Liliya, grabbed their weapons and joined the fight. They had to find Cocolia; Bronya was gone, and they were the only ones left to protect their mom.
Passing the Eye of the Deep's exit, Liliya noticed signs that the city's isolation mechanisms had been tampered with. The base's defense systems, which should have been active, seemed offline.
She didn't understand what was happening, but her gut told her something bad was going down.
Just then, an explosion rocked the central area, the heart of Anti-Entropy's base, an area only Cocolia had access to.
"Mom!" Worry etched itself onto the twins' faces. Ignoring the anomaly, they ran towards the explosion.
A few minutes earlier…
Cocolia, nearly driven to a stroke by Ren, finally regained her composure. After all, she was a woman capable of sacrificing countless lives for her goals; her mental fortitude was far from ordinary.
By the time she recovered, Ren had vanished. Looking at the ravaged base, Cocolia gritted her teeth, fury burning in her eyes.
Just then, Gray Serpent, having just activated the Eye of the Deep, returned, still clutching his black umbrella. He paused, puzzled to see Cocolia there.
"Ms. Cocolia, it seems your mental fortitude is even more impressive than I imagined. The entire Eye of the Deep is in chaos, yet you remain unfazed?"
Before he could finish, Cocolia aimed her gun at him, eyes filled with hatred, as if she wanted to tear him apart.
"Give me back Bronya! You dragged her into this! You tricked me!" She fired, hitting Gray Serpent's shoulder. Instead of blood, mechanical components and skeletal framework were exposed.
"..." The mask hid his expression, but his confusion was palpable.
Quickly piecing things together, he chuckled.
"Well, I underestimated you. Your methods are far more ingenious than I anticipated."
"Intentionally antagonizing your daughter, expertly provoking her rebellious spirit, making her willingly replace Einstein and rush into the Sea of Quanta. Now, with your goal achieved, you simply shift the blame onto your partner."
"Now I'm even more certain you're the one we're looking for."
Every word felt like a taunt. Cocolia raised her gun, aiming for his head.
"This is all because you lied to me! The experiments on Rozaliya and Liliya were a sham. You fed me the information about Seele in the Sea of Quanta. And now you've dragged Bronya into it! Bring her back from the Sea of Quanta, or I'll kill you!"
Gray Serpent fell silent. After a long pause, he finally spoke, his voice low. "Wasn't the name 'Cocolia' signed on the experiment documents? Weren't you the one who initiated the deal with Anti-Entropy? Or was it someone who had never met your daughter who pushed her into the Sea of Quanta?"
"Heh, don't tell me you didn't do all this."
He laughed, as if mocking a clown. Cocolia's sudden reversal was expected, but he hadn't anticipated such ludicrous claims.
Cocolia's face twisted at his laughter.
Bronya trusted you so much… Bronya's words from their last meeting echoed in her mind.
Now, her beloved daughter was trapped in the perilous Sea of Quanta because of her own misguided choices. Cocolia felt a sharp stab of guilt directly to her heart.
"Bring her back!" Her finger trembled on the trigger. Her mind felt heavy, as if something was tightening around her consciousness.
But Gray Serpent, with the facade of partnership shattered, showed no fear. She was just an Anti-Entropy executive; did she really think she mattered that much?
"Unfortunately, she doesn't possess Seele's aptitude. The Sea of Quanta isn't a place you can simply leave. Perhaps you can pray that Anti-Entropy's sovereign can save her. But I suspect he'll have trouble saving himself."
"Then go to hell and make your deals there!" Cocolia, enraged, pulled the trigger. But Gray Serpent Number Two, anticipating this, shot her weapon out of her hand.
Two identical Gray Serpents stepped forward, aiming their guns at Cocolia.
"Now, who's going to hell?"
Just then, the surrounding structure exploded—a gift courtesy of Ren.
As a Herrscher of a Thousand, his ability to instigate chaos had to be maxed out.
Not only had he quietly disabled Anti-Entropy's defenses, he also needed to ensure Gray Serpent didn't have time to interrogate Cocolia, which might expose Moth of Ink.
The explosion injured all three of them. The twins, sensing the commotion, rushed to the scene.
Pulling vials of the "Honkai Beast Transformation fluid" out of his pockets, the two Gray Serpents injected themselves without hesitation.
"Mom!" Rozaliya, arriving at the scene, immediately spotted the injured Cocolia and rushed towards her.
But Cocolia's face was etched with horror. Having lost Seele and Bronya, her only solace was the twins' safety, yet now they were in danger because of her.
Boom!
The two Gray Serpents' bodies rapidly expanded, crimson and deep blue armor bursting from their mechanical bodies, transforming them into two massive Honkai beasts.
Giant gauntlets slammed into the ground, cracking the floor.
"Twin Honkai beasts? Is this guy here to pick a fight?" Rozaliya, still able to make wisecracks, seized the opportunity during Gray Serpent's transformation to pull Cocolia to safety.
Meanwhile, Theresa, having just dealt with Kukulkan with Bronya, finally returned to the upper levels. Bronya had leaped into the Eye of the Deep's open passage, leaving a panic-stricken Theresa to search for Einstein.
But Einstein was nowhere to be found, the Eye of the Deep was under attack, and now Cocolia was seriously injured. The poor principal's head was spinning.
Thankfully, after Bronya entered the Sea of Quanta, the energy fluctuations subsided, lessening the onslaught of Honkai beasts.
Arriving at the central area, Theresa spotted the transformed Gray Serpent. Having just fought Kukulkan, she had no time to rest. She immediately released her armor's limitations, allowing Vishnu's genes to surge to their potential.