.
"Shesha."
"What are you doing?"
Circulating plasma formed a pool of lightning, completely encircling the Sagittarius constellation fissure. The dark-gold great serpent had split himself into nine, his bodies constantly swimming through the sea of stars as if they were paintbrushes drawing lines thick and thin.
Mobius, in her half-human, half-serpent form, curiously touched one of the electric snakes that snaked out from the field.
"A formation."
"A formation?"
Describing it as a formation was a bit too classical. What Shesha was actually doing was constructing a massive high-energy magnetic field… in order to trap the Companion Honkai Beast that was about to appear within it.
"You are not skilled in combat."
Hissing arcs of electricity extended and retracted in the pitch-black space.
Having completed his preparations, Shesha re-merged his divided bodies into one. His nine heads turned simultaneously to look at Mobius, who was not far away.
"And while I may be the Third Seat, I am likewise not proficient in direct confrontation… My strength is far inferior to the first two Seats."
Shesha made no effort to hide his shortcomings.
"The only way to achieve victory."
"Is to completely exhaust the Honkai energy reserves of the Finality Companion Beast."
"The Monarch placed us together in this team because he saw that we could both use [Infinity] to wear down our opponent, no?"
Pfft!
Mobius's finger was numbed by a stray arc of electricity. This unique, lamia-like Collapsed State was the latest result of Mobius's self-modification—it guaranteed power output without interfering with delicate experiments.
As for the laugh just now…
"What, is something wrong?"
Shesha did not feel angry at her sudden snort of laughter. In truth, he didn't know much about this human who had been fused with his own genes—just as he was not proficient in using or countering human-made creations.
"No."
"My opinion is the exact opposite."
"The Monarch gathered the two of us here because he wants a swift victory, not to wear down this opponent that has yet to even hatch from its shell."
"…"
"I would like to hear the details."
Under the Monarch's training, although the serpent's "persona" often changed, he had a very rare and valuable quality: he readily accepted good advice. This was especially true when it involved a plan arranged by the Monarch.
"My Fusion Warrior surgery was completed using your factors as a base, with 'a few little' improvements."
"Although Elysia used the [Abyss Flower] to interrupt a certain connection between us."
"As long as we both have the 'inclination'… re-establishing that link shouldn't be particularly difficult for you, should it, Shesha?"
"…"
"It would be effortless."
"Lower your defenses, dismantle the trap. What follows after that will not even require ten seconds."
Shesha's words confirmed Mobius's speculation.
"As I thought…"
"In that case."
"According to my previous hypotheses, if we were to link, would you be able to influence my mind with your will?"
"Correct."
This was originally part of a plan the Monarch once had. Now that the two were allies, there was no longer a need for concealment.
"And what about the reverse?"
"The reverse…?"
Mobius's vertical pupils began to shimmer with faint pink particles, and her voice, no longer calm, was now much more excited.
"What I mean is—"
"Can I use my mind to control your body?"
---o---
"…"
"It is possible."
Shesha answered after a slight hesitation.
"It will not be easy, and it carries immense risk for me… You will need to give me a sufficiently convincing reason."
Shesha did not reject Mobius's proposal outright. If they won this battle, under the Monarch's radiance, Mobius would not have the courage to continue to "dominate" his body. If they lost, both of them would be reduced to dust not even worthy of being called space junk.
"…"
Mobius hadn't expected Shesha to not deny the suggestion. To hand over control of one's body to another was a true taboo for humans who worshipped "freedom." Even among the Honkai Beasts, any Special Species that had awakened its own consciousness would never tolerate such a thing.
For Shesha, the Third Seat under the Monarch—
Compared to his somewhat laughable actions moments ago, Mobius now felt a genuine sense of "admiration" for him.
"Knowledge."
Mobius gently tapped her left temple.
"When it comes to something like the 'electromagnetic force,' my knowledge exceeds yours by an unknown order of magnitude. In both theory and practice, the [Authority of Thunder], in my hands, can unleash power several times, even tens of… no, hundreds of times greater than it can now."
"Although the Monarch has also empowered me with an Authority."
"This body… as you said, is simply not suited for the front lines."
Mobius said with a hint of regret.
"Your body, on the other hand, is completely different."
"While [Infinity] is a powerful survival ability, a Judgment-class Honkai Beast itself exists for destruction."
"A Judgment-class Honkai Beast that can fully analyze and utilize a complete Authority…"
"Shesha."
"Don't you want to see where your own limits currently lie?"
---o---
"Can we win?"
"According to the intelligence provided by the Monarch, it's safe to say there is no suspense… It's possible that if your perception is a bit slow, it might be over before you even realize it."
The electromagnetic force. One of the fundamental forces. What it was capable of could not be described in just a few words. As one of humanity's top scientists, Mobius had never ceased her research in this field.
To be precise, for any cutting-edge scientific research project, the electromagnetic force was always an indispensable component.
Using Shesha's body, even if she couldn't achieve the theoretical maximum, crushing one or two of Finality's Honkai Beasts shouldn't be a problem… The only limiting factor was still energy consumption.
"…"
Shesha looked down at his own fine and beautiful serpentine scales.
"Is there enough time?"
"I am quite experienced with using a serpentine body. Three hours is certainly not enough to use the usual gentle method, but with [Infinity] as a foundation for the experiment, a little damage and pain is nothing to worry about."
If the exchange was successful, the one bearing these "sensations" would be Mobius, not Shesha. However, for Mobius, who had willingly experienced countless forms of death, these were the most trivial of matters.
"Then what are we waiting for?"
Pink-green and dark-gold. The serpent pupils, one massive and one contracted to a thin line, stared at each other.
"Aren't you afraid I'll pull a fast one?" Mobius asked with great interest.
"There is no need."
"Your knowledge, your power, will all become a part of the Monarch after this. They will become another means to fight against Finality—"
"That is enough."