"B-Bronya?!" Cocolia's vision went black. She nearly passed out again. How had her precious daughter been transformed into... this... in just a few days? It was impossible! Unacceptable!
"Mueehehehe! Surprised, Cocolia? Your subordinates have all been converted! They are now my Four Heavenly Queens!" Mo Wang cackled. "You're too late! They have been branded by me, and they can never go back to their old lives!"
"You're despicable! Using such methods!" Hook yelled from the crowd. Turning Natasha and Seele into some kind of evil generals was the work of a true villain. But... she had to admit, their outfits were pretty cool. She kind of wanted one.
"S-Serval?!" Gepard stared, unable to believe his eyes. Where was the sister who always smelled of engine oil and had all the feminine grace of a wrench? Who was this beautiful woman in an idol costume, making strange expressions on stage?
The rest of the crowd was equally stunned by the contrast.
"Boss Seele? Is that really her? She... actually looks pretty good in that."
"Lady Bronya, wearing that kind of outfit? And making such a cute face? What kind of dream am I having?"
"Dr. Natasha, an idol? I... I guess I'm okay with this?"
It seemed the general populace was surprisingly receptive to the change.
But the so-called Four Heavenly Queens looked like they were on the verge of collapse.
"Gepard... I can't... I think I'd rather die," Serval whimpered, tears welling up in her eyes. Her dignity as an older sister was gone, shattered into a million pieces.
"Don't cry," Bronya whispered, fighting back her own tears. "If he sees you, he'll make us do those humiliating poses again." She thought she had become immune to shame, but performing in front of her friends and family... it was a whole new level of mortification.
"So that's the Honkai Girls Unit that's supposed to save Belobog?" March 7th asked. "Where did he even get those outfits?"
"Probably from Sampo," Dan Heng replied. "Who else could find such strange things in this frozen wasteland?"
"I can't believe Mo Wang made them wear that. It's so..."
"So amazing, right?! I'm so jealous!" March's eyes were sparkling.
"Huh?" Dan Heng looked at her in disbelief.
"So that's what he meant by the Honkai Girls Unit? They're idols? If I had known, I would have signed up in a heartbeat! Why didn't he ask me?! Am I not cute enough? Do I not have the idol spirit?!" she fumed.
"You... wanted to join?" Dan Heng asked, still processing.
"Of course! Every cute girl dreams of being an idol! It's perfectly normal!"
"I... see," Dan Heng said, not seeing at all.
"Even so, we will not give up!" Cocolia declared, having apparently popped a few nitro pills to recover.
"Hmph! Is that so? Then what about this?" Mo Wang snapped his fingers, and four giant screens rose from the ground.
"Welcome to the debut performance of the Honkai Girls Unit! People of Belobog, please watch the screens!"
An infectious beat filled the air, and the screens lit up with a video of the four girls dancing to "Gokuraku Jodo." The crowd was mesmerized. The catchy tune, the energetic dance moves... it was strangely captivating.
"Wh-What is this?" Cocolia gasped.
"Lady Bronya... is dancing?"
At first, the people were just confused. But the rhythm was undeniable, slowly seeping into their bones.
"This song... it's kind of a banger," a young man muttered, tapping his foot.
"Hey, this dance is pretty cool!" another said, starting to mimic the moves.
Under some mysterious influence, the crowd's mood began to shift.
"Boss Seele... she's such a good dancer!"
"Lady Bronya is so cute!"
"Gwah! More! I need to see more of this!"
"Yeah! Lady Bronya, we love you!"
On stage, the girls' faces were a mixture of rage and despair. This wasn't part of the plan! That was footage from their rehearsal last night!
"Well, you refused to perform today," Mo Wang said with a shrug. "So I had to improvise. The effect is pretty much the same."
The girls felt a sharp pain in their chests. This was his reason?!
"Oh, and don't worry about the video quality," he added. "I had Sampo upload it to the Interastral Network last night. You're already a viral sensation. Congratulations on your successful debut~"
That was the last straw. Seele, her eyes burning with rage, summoned her scythe.
"Let me go! I'm going to kill him!" she screamed, lunging at Mo Wang. The other girls half-heartedly held her back.
"Calm down! You'll get yourself killed!"
"Yeah, it's not worth it!"
They weren't trying very hard. In fact, they were kind of hoping she'd get a few good hits in.
"Are you guys even trying to stop me?!" Seele yelled at her "best friends."
"Well, you seemed so determined, we thought we'd just go through the motions," Serval said with a weak smile.
Seele gave them a look that could kill. Traitors, all of you!
"Enough!" Cocolia roared. "How dare you do this to my Bronya! Mo Wang, I will defeat you today!"
"Hmph, I'd like to see you try," he said, unfazed. A mother-in-law trying to take back her daughter? Not on his watch.
"Now! Mr. Welt!" Cocolia yelled.
"Nani?" Mo Wang looked around. He hadn't noticed Welt was missing.
The ground began to shake violently. In the distance, a mountain began to move. A giant robot, the size of a mountain, slowly rose to its feet.
"Holy crap! A giant freaking robot?!" Even Mo Wang was stunned. Wasn't this just a special skill from the Cocolia boss fight? It could actually be piloted?
"Of course! With my help!" Welt's voice boomed from inside the robot.
"W-Welt? What are you doing in there?!"
Mo Wang was genuinely surprised. He thought that without the Stellaron, the robot was just a useless hunk of metal.
"I became the core, to make it move!" Welt declared. You're not the only one who can rewrite the script, Mo Wang!
"Hmph! A giant robot? What is this, a museum piece? Pathetic!"
"Silence, you who have no soul of steel! A super robot never grows weak with age! The older, the stronger, that is the way of the super robot!"
"Bullshit! What part of this is a super robot?!"
"It's powered by Honkai energy! How is that not super?!"
"It's a piece of junk! One shot and it'll fall apart! That's not super at all!"
"Shut up! Today, you will witness the power of the Arahito Mk. II!"
"Arahito Mk. II? More like Scaramouche Mk. II!"
"You know nothing! This robot may be old, but it is filled with a powerful soul of steel! It is the embodiment of my dreams! You would never understand! praise the omnissiah!!"
"Is it just me, or has Uncle Yang gone a little crazy?" March whispered to Dan Heng.
"Ever since Mo Wang arrived, he hasn't had a single normal day," Dan Heng replied, unfazed.
"Hahahaha! So you've finally done it, Welt! I've been waiting for this moment for so long!" Mo Wang was ecstatic. A final battle wasn't complete without a giant robot.
"Since you have challenged me, then I shall respond with my full power! Descend! The Divine Arsenal AA-ZEUS - Sky Thunder!"
The sky darkened once more, and a palpable pressure descended upon the city.
"It's finally here! Sky Thunder!" Welt's hands trembled with excitement.