Down in the arena, Theresa gripped a thick bundle of golden threads, digging in her heels like she was in a tug-of-war against the simulated Shu.
"This thing's strength... is insane..." Theresa gritted her teeth, her entire face contorted with effort.
"Aunt Teri! I'll help you!" Kiana, being the closest, immediately saw how much Theresa was struggling. She rushed forward, wrapped her arms around Theresa's waist, and started pulling with her.
Seeing this, the others prepared to rush in and help, but Bronya's sharp command stopped them cold.
"Everyone, stay on high alert!" With the neural link severed, Bronya had to revert to verbal commands.
"The enemy may not be so easily trapped!" she warned, her eyes fixed on the "shackled" construct. She had a nagging, ominous sense of déjà vu.
She had several hypotheses, and if Judah's link were still active, she could have explained her reasoning in a couple of seconds. But now, relying on basic speech, how was she supposed to convey her complex suspicions without a time-stop monologue?
Besides, it was debatable whether the combined strength of everyone else could even match one of their two humanoid mechs, Theresa and Kiana. Rushing in to "help" would be useless.
The girls who were about to charge forward paused. It wasn't because they were questioning Bronya's command; even without the overpowered neural link, they all maintained a basic level of battlefield discipline: follow orders.
Even if Bronya had issued a command that made absolutely no sense, they would have done their best to carry it out after a moment of confusion.
No, their hesitation came from a single, simple reason:
They had to understand, then translate Bronya's verbal command.
Stay on high alert? How?
Do we maintain a defensive posture or prepare to attack?
Should we be ready to support Theresa and Kiana, or focus on our own safety? Or should we fall back into our previous formation and coordinate with each other?
A single sentence can carry a lot of information, but it can also carry a lot of ambiguity.
You might think that fraction of a second doesn't matter. But often... that single moment is all it takes.
The construct had only been immobilized for two seconds. It was clear it didn't possess the raw stats to overpower Theresa and Kiana in a contest of pure strength.
It had other tricks.
The construct's hard, nanomachine-composed surface suddenly began to "melt." The golden threads lost their purchase, sinking into its body as if it were quicksand.
Bronya's breath hitched.
She knew why she felt that sense of déjà vu. It's the T-1000!
"Bianka!" Realizing the construct was about to break free, Bronya didn't waste a second. She spun around and yelled toward Bianka's position.
Over on the other side, still unable to break free from the damn wall, Bianka's heart tightened at the sound of her name. She took one last look at the wall—a perfect fusion of durability, protection, and bullshit plot armor—and raised her free hand one last time.
She formed her hand into a blade. A layer of frost crystallized over her skin, creating a razor-sharp edge of ice.
It's just a hand, she thought. You can have it!
"Wait!" Joachim yelled, watching Bianka's movement. He whipped his head to the side.
As expected, Shu was gone.
Appearing in the arena out of necessity, Shu grabbed Bianka's wrist, stopping the headstrong goose from actually chopping off her own hand.
There was no need for that.
Bianka stared blankly at Shu, who had immediately let go after stopping her. The next second, it hit her.
How could she have forgotten?!
Taking a deep breath, Bianka closed her eyes and focused inward, feeling for the power she was still not entirely accustomed to using. She was a MANTIS... but she was more than just a MANTIS.
She had another ability!
A prismatic energy shimmered to life around Bianka's body. Her eyes snapped open. With a sharp cry, she gave a mighty heave... and promptly sent herself tumbling onto her back.
Shu, who had been mentally debating how to adjust tactics for a one-handed Bianka: "?"
Oh!
After all that, Shu had completely forgotten that Bianka also possessed the power of [Wish].
Against a problem like this—one that wasn't reinforced by Honkai Energy or Authority—[Wish] was truly the perfect tool for the job.
Bianka quickly rolled to her feet, looking with satisfaction at her completely unharmed hand. She then shot a grateful look at Shu.
As expected of Lord Shu... My combat experience is still far too lacking. To think my first solution was self-mutilation...
It seems I still have much to learn!
Shu: "..."
At this point, could he still deliver his originally planned line: "Since you made this decision, you must now accept the consequences"?
No, on second thought, that sounded way too chuuni.
Maintaining a stern expression, Shu gave Bianka a curt nod. He glanced over and saw that Bronya was already directing the rest of the squad to regroup with them.
In the end, Shu didn't say a word. He simply turned, vanished, and reappeared back in his original spot in the stands.
Bianka quickly regained her bearings and rejoined Bronya and the others. But without the neural link, the new formation they formed was noticeably looser than before.
Meanwhile, Theresa and Kiana could clearly feel the construct gradually slipping from their control.
"This isn't working," Theresa said through gritted teeth, watching the golden threads sink deeper and deeper into the construct's body.
"Kiana, ease off a bit. If this thing suddenly breaks free and the backlash exhausts me, you grab me and run."
Letting go wasn't an option; they had to keep up the struggle. But if she poured too much energy into the tug-of-war, the exhaustion she'd feel when it inevitably broke free would leave her wide open. But if she held back, they wouldn't even be able to restrain it for this long!
Fortunately, just as the construct had found a clever way to escape, the pressure on Theresa's side had also lessened significantly.
"Got it, Aunt Teri!" Kiana nodded seriously, gradually disengaging from the struggle and providing only minimal support for Theresa.
The simulated Shu's "liquefaction" was rapidly weakening the chains' hold. Many of the threads had already passed straight through its body.
Amidst the struggle, the construct slowly turned its head, aiming its blurred, featureless face directly at Kiana and Theresa.
An invisible pressure washed over them. It was as if it were declaring its next target.
"Threatening me?" Kiana scoffed at the construct's implicit challenge. She tilted her chin up proudly, her nose in the air. "Even the real Shu wouldn't dare threaten me!
"Just you wait, I'm gonna beat you back into your component parts!"
SLAP—
Joachim glanced over in surprise at the man beside him. Shu had a hand covering his eyes, utterly speechless.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. My eyes are just sore."