Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Interlude: Serpent Capture
During Zeke's visit to Sky City, certain events unfolded elsewhere.
In Norville Province, Northern Russia, lies a perpetually icy and bitterly cold region with harsh living conditions and sparse population—ideal for secretive experiments that could potentially cause significant damage.
Cocolia operates a research facility here.
Currently, Judgment of Shamash is stored deep within its bowels.
And so Gray Serpent arrives, while Raven, wielding the Third Divine Key—the Lightning Blade—lurks in the distant snowfields.
Both have come for Judgment of Shamash.
Clad in a black hooded sweatshirt, white mask, and slender body where mechanical prosthetics outnumber natural limbs, Gray Serpent silently infiltrates the base, effortlessly bypassing the heavily fortified special forces guarding it.
"It indeed detects Judgment of Shamash's signature; Cocolia wasn't lying."
Holding a palm-sized detection device, Gray Serpent's sole visible red cybernetic eye flickers momentarily beneath the mask.
Originally, Cocolia had been a convinced collaborator, using Anti-Entropy's equipment and ideal subjects from her orphanage to conduct further experiments under Project Stigma. Gray Serpent would obtain experimental data, while Cocolia sought ways to cure Deterioration by Energy of Honkai, benefiting both parties equally.
However, Cocolia later changed her stance, apparently finding a more promising patron and establishing connections with Anti-Entropy's true higher-ups.
But Cocolia no longer needed Gray Serpent's experiments, and he didn't force her to continue.
To Gray Serpent, who had already lived for fifteen centuries, time was his least scarce resource. Without Cocolia, all he had to do was wait for the next suitable collaborator.
Yet just days ago, Cocolia reached out to him once more.
This time, she initiated the deal, offering Judgment of Shamash as its subject.
Gray Serpent couldn't resist; this weapon belonged to Lord Kevin himself. Moreover, it wasn't currently in Otto's hands, nor those of Anti-Entropy's top brass or that troublesome Siegfried—it lay unguarded within an easily infiltrated research facility.
Naturally, Gray Serpent considered the possibility of a trap, but initial investigations revealed no issues. So, here he was—after all, at worst, he'd lose only one android body. And outside, Raven faced virtually no risk of ambush, ready to withdraw at any moment.
"Raven, I'm inside now. How's everything outside?"
"All clear. Wrap up soon—I'm getting chilly."
"Just minor cold? If you accepted my prosthetic enhancements, this wouldn't be an issue."
"Spare me. I don't want to lose my human emotions."
Gray Serpent chuckled coldly. Eventually, she would relent, confronted with relentless time and fragile reality.
Then Gray Serpent cut off communication, his figure vanishing seamlessly as he swiftly navigated through the base.
That sly fox Cocolia was playing both sides for her benefit. On one hand, she traded favors with Gray Serpent using Judgment of Shamash, while on the other, she didn't want to expose herself so she could continue relying on Anti-Entropy's powerful backing.
Thus, she only provided the location of Judgment of Shamash, leaving the rest for Gray Serpent to handle himself.
Soon, Gray Serpent triggered an alarm.
"Woo—woo—"
"Tch! Not bad security here, but if this is all you've got, I'm taking Judgment of Shamash with me!"
Blasting through layer after layer of defenses, Gray Serpent shattered the sturdy anti-Honkai energy door and found two entirely snow-white pistols inside.
"That's it? Well, no matter—it's the real deal, so let's grab them first!"
Driven by his extreme admiration for Lord Kevin, Gray Serpent wasted no time, took the dual guns, and immediately retreated along the same path.
As he sprinted out of the base, he lost one mechanical arm in the process.
But trading such a minor loss for Judgment of Shamash felt like hitting the jackpot.
Suddenly, Gray Serpent halted. Before him, a refined, bespectacled man materialized out of thin air.
"Indeed... was it all a ruse?" Gray Serpent sighed, feeling somewhat defeated but knowing this trip had been futile.
For the person before him was Welt.
With the Lord yet to return, only a handful could escape from this man's sight, and Gray Serpent's prosthetic body certainly lacked such capability.
However, what Gray Serpent now wanted to confirm even more urgently was another matter.
"Cioara, have you betrayed us?"
Gray Serpent coldly interrogated her.
Raven Cioara, wielding the Key of Thunder, possessed high-dimensional vision capabilities, rendering everything within her sniper range unable to evade detection. It was impossible for her not to see Welt appearing here, yet she failed to issue the expected warning.
Cioara's detached and resigned voice came through the earpiece.
"I just didn't want to die. You have plenty of bodies anyway; dying a few times shouldn't bother you. Remember to find an opportunity to rescue me. As someone who can wield the Key of Thunder, I should still be quite valuable."
"Understood. Do your best to stay alive," Gray Serpent replied coolly. With a shudder, he abruptly collapsed onto the ground, completely devoid of life signs.
"Such decisiveness? The World Serpent, a mysterious organization lurking in the shadows of the world—it's truly hard to believe without witnessing it firsthand."
Welt hoisted Gray Serpent's corpse, retrieved Judgment of Shamash, and swiftly took flight, arriving soon at Raven's side as she lay motionless on the icy snow.
Dressed in a tight-fitting combat suit with her burgundy cape, Raven glanced at him and obediently set down the sniper rifle—the Third Divine Key, Key of Thunder—in her hands.
With her powerful high-dimensional vision activated, the worker bees spelling out words before her eyes and countless laser sights aimed at her body disappeared from view. However, Raven knew they were still there; she simply couldn't see them anymore.
Once Raven engaged her high-dimensional vision, nothing could escape her sight, making her an absolute master in sniping. Typically, she was also the strongest scout, capable of uncovering any ambush—a key reason why Gray Serpent brought her along.
Unfortunately, by the time she had secured her observation vantage point and connected to the Key of Thunder, it was already too late.
Countless laser weapons targeted Raven, and a swarm of worker bees formed invisible sentences spanning half the sky right before her:
[COOPERATE OR DIE]
Comply or perish.
Thankfully, she understood English; otherwise, she might have been riddled with bullets without knowing why.
A single strike from the Key of Thunder could tear through thousands of worker bees, but against such an overwhelming swarm blotting out the sky, this minor loss was inconsequential.
Raven displayed remarkable compliance, so much so that just as Welt materialized two specialized handcuffs designed to suppress Honkai Energy, she voluntarily restrained her own hands and feet.
Then, lying on the ground, she let her ample curves proudly face the heavens amidst the falling white snow, adopting a deadpan gaze devoid of conflict—as if in a manga world, what followed would undoubtedly be quite thrilling.
"You... Never mind, get up and come with me."
Welt nearly choked at her reaction, unsure how to respond.
To be fair, he had never encountered such cooperative adversaries before. He couldn't tell if it stemmed purely from fear of death or if she held confidence in being rescued despite the circumstances.