The Seashell

Outside the Sea of Quanta was the Pacific Ocean. At this time, with the activation of the Sea of Quanta's eye, tens of thousands of Honkai beasts were converging here. Most of them were in a free-floating form suitable for movement in the ocean.

The densely packed octopus tentacles were a truly horrifying sight.

The mecha forces stationed here immediately began to fight back. The battle had begun. However, when the managers of the combat department wanted to report to Cocolia, she was nowhere to be found.

The two sisters, completely unaware of the outside world, could only hide in their room. Rozaliya looked through the window at the terrifying scene outside the Sea of Quanta's barrier, her entire body trembling.

"We're doomed! We're doomed! What are we going to do?! Liliya! We're going to drown! Will we be eaten by sharks?!"

Compared to Rozaliya's nervousness, Liliya was much calmer, and calmly retorted, "Silly Rozaliya, you're a kilogram heavier than me. The sharks would definitely eat you first. After they're full, they won't eat me."

"Wow, you're still thinking about that at a time like this?! We're about to be killed by Honkai beasts!"

"So," Liliya pulled her gaze away, looking at Rozaliya, "the reason why you're so nervous, Onee-chan, is because you did something bad."

"I didn't!" Rozaliya unnaturally turned her head away, not daring to look Liliya in the eyes.

Unfortunately, as twin sisters who knew each other so well, Rozaliya's actions were essentially writing "I messed up" on her face.

With a soft sigh, Liliya reached out and held Rozaliya's small hand. "Although I'm angry that you didn't play with me, we're the Vodka Girls! I'll share the blame with you! Even if Mama Cocolia gets mad at us, it doesn't matter."

Rozaliya sniffled, and looked back at Liliya. Their eyes met, and they suddenly couldn't hold back their emotions. She hugged Liliya tightly, almost crying out loud.

"I didn't protect the secret! That's why all of these Honkai beasts are here! It's all my fault!"

Gently patting her sister's back, Liliya revealed an "I knew it" expression. "I knew there was a reason why you had suddenly learned such cool moves. Where did you learn them from?"

"From that seashell, the one we found when we were playing hide-and-seek with Bronya Onee-chan! That strange person hadn't disappeared! He was hiding in the seashell! Then, when Liliya was asleep, he appeared! He taught me some moves, and told me to keep it a secret, otherwise, it would attract a lot of Honkai beasts!"

They both looked at the faintly glowing seashell. At this time, bright, white threads were swirling around the seashell. It looked very precious.

"It was Liliya who tried to steal Onee-chan's seashell, so it's my fault." It was rare that the two of them, who would usually shift the blame onto each other after doing something mischievous, were both taking responsibility, because they clearly understood that this level of Honkai beasts was no laughing matter.

It reminded them of the Great Honkai Disaster a few months ago. Their friends had all died to the Honkai beasts, and now, the same thing might happen again. Even though they were both afraid of dying, they still wanted to protect the other, so that the other person would survive.

Fortunately, after a few minutes, the two sisters finally remembered to ask the owner of the seashell. Rozaliya picked up the seashell, and apologetically rubbed it.

"Mr. Seashell Monster, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to reveal your secret! Please make the Honkai beasts go away."

Although your sisterly love is very heartwarming, aren't you afraid that he's going to get angry if you keep calling him names at a time like this?

Ren, having heard the two's calls, shifted a portion of his attention from Moth of Ink. He looked through the seashell, and saw the two sisters obediently sitting on the ground.

Sighing, Ren controlled the seashell, making it fly up and land on Rozaliya's head.

「Sigh, I didn't expect you to cause so much trouble in less than a day.」 He didn't speak directly. Instead, using their close proximity, he directly sent his voice into Rozaliya's mind, just like whispering.

"I know I'm wrong, Mr. Seashell."

Liliya, who had heard her sister talking to herself, widened her eyes. Was there really a seashell god? Why couldn't she see him?

「This incident doesn't have anything to do with you. Even if you hadn't revealed it, those Honkai beasts would have still come.」

"Why?" Rozaliya, who had originally thought she had angered Ren, was a little curious. She looked at the Honkai beasts that were getting closer and closer outside the barrier before quickly turning her head back.

「Because your Mama Cocolia would have opened the Sea of Quanta's eye sooner or later anyway.」 Using his threads, he briefly outlined the shape of the Sea of Quanta's Eye.

With the opening of the portal, the barrier between reality and the Sea of Quanta was broken. The strong energy fluctuations not only interfered with the Sea of Quanta, but it was also bait for Honkai beasts.

"Mama Cocolia, she…" Rozaliya suddenly fell silent. Clearly, she wasn't completely ignorant of what Cocolia was doing, especially after the previous X-10 experiment. They had personally witnessed Seele's disappearance.

「She's trying to get your friend, Seele, back. She's already made a deal with someone else. But, she doesn't know how dangerous this will be.」

His tone became serious.

「Rozaliya, the reason why I found you was because you have the power to change this disaster. You and your sister's Honkai beast genes still have a lot of potential.」

Rozaliya, a confused expression on her face, clearly didn't know what her tail had to do with changing the disaster.

「I said before that I could make your dreams come true, not only helping you get through this crisis, but also bringing Seele back safe and sound, but it comes at a price. You might not be able to return to your friends for a very long time.」

The battle in the Sea of Quanta had spread to the city. The faint sounds of explosions could be heard in the distance. Rozaliya quickly said, "I'm…"

「No, there's no need for you to answer me now. Keep this seashell with you. I'll leave my powers on it, so, after you understand what the price is, you can decide.」

His words fell, and the seashell suddenly began radiating an intense light. Countless threads began to intertwine, ultimately forming a miniature seashell. The seashell was completely translucent, and in addition to the already existing Obsidian Concord insignia, there was also a small, triangular pattern.

This was an item Ren had specifically created for Rozaliya. It could activate the power of the Kaslana blood within them.

The two's modifications were something that World Serpent had done. At the time, Jackal had simply been carrying out the usual experiments related to the Stigmata Project, and coincidentally, Cocolia, who had nowhere else to turn, had sought them out, choosing to have the twins participate in the experiment.

She didn't know that World Serpent hadn't held out any hope for their experiment, and after the twins had used their own will to endure the Honkai beast's erosion, she had mistakenly believed that World Serpent was sincerely helping her, and had chosen to make a deal with Gray Serpent.

And, it was because of the twins' successful experiment that Jackal had felt more certain about the Stigmata Project, wanting to carry out a city-wide experiment in ARC City.

Although the experiment data that Ren had stolen from Jackal wasn't complete, he had still, imitating the construction method of pseudo-cores, created this item that could invoke the Honkai beast factor.

It was essentially stealing the uncontrollable Honkai energy within their bodies using his Dominance threads, before releasing it in the form of an external organ.

After giving his final instructions, Ren ended his observation of Rozaliya. Whether she accepted his gift or not didn't affect the final outcome.

And now that the Sea of Quanta's eye had been opened, it was time for Ren to "dive".