Veronica strides through the deserted hallway with nothing standing in her way. The "wings" extended from her back cast shadows in her wake.
The support units that previously covered the arena and laid down suppressive fire against her now lie in grotesque, twisted heaps.
Rargh—
^#$%*&——
All of the support units, apparently having fallen into bizarre chaos, are attacking one another.
Shattered parts of them litter the corridor before they get stained with vital fluid leaking from their broken bodies.
One of the support units, apparently having sensed Veronica's approach, pivots and locks its visual module on her.
Its visual module, usually aglow with a steady blue gleam, now frantically flashes with rapid pulses of crimson.
Rargh—
Are you... infected?
She raises her lance and impales the energy core of the now-corrupted support unit. As the frenzied red light in its eyes fades, its piercing wail falls silent.
Is that you, Veronica? I'd recognize those footsteps anywhere.
The lance slices through the air and shatters the ornate folding screen. Beyond it, Veronica finally sees her—the human girl hidden away all this time, the one behind all this brutality and suffering.
Veronica descends through the darkness like Death, ready to take Dolores' life.
Dolores, however, remains unfazed, maintaining her composure without budging an inch.
She reclines on her sumptuous bed, enveloped in soft velvet and lace. Beneath these luxurious fabrics, her face is pale to the point of appearing translucent.
Yet, without so much as a glance at Veronica, she treats the mechanoid as nothing more than a long-expected visitor.
Instead, she keeps her attention fixed on the array of monitors before her, which display live footage of the hellish arena below.
In the arena, the match has concluded—the loser's metal limbs lie torn and crushed beyond recognition, no longer resembling the mechanoid gladiator they once were.
The victor's visual module pulses with the same frenzied red glow as the support units.
Instead of savoring its "victory," however, it launches itself skyward with terrifying force and soars straight into the audience stands.
The crowd doesn't erupt in cheers for the "champion." Rather, the arena brims with desperate pleas for help and terrified screams.
Help!!!
The m-mech—it's gone berserk—AAAHH!!!
Ignoring all the cries for help from the humans, this "champion" mindlessly swings its weapon as it carries out the same killing spree it did in this arena.
Locking target. Attack.
Attack—%*&#$&#—
The weapon thrusts again and again into human bodies, each strike blossoming with vivid crimson.
Through the mechanoid's corrupted visual module, it's no longer able to tell vital fluid from human blood.
In the exit corridors, the guide robots—once precise and helpful escorts—are now merciless weapons that butcher fleeing spectators.
More and more fragile bodies fall to cold, unfeeling metal arms and fall into gruesome heaps at every exit.
As time passes by, more mechanoids join the slaughter, while the number of human survivors dwindles rapidly.
A few survivors hide in the shadows, desperately trying to call for help, but every terminal now displays nothing but white static.
No one in the arena knows exactly what's causing the chaos.
As mechanoids pierce through flesh and bone, none of the victims realize it is the Punishing Virus that wreaked this havoc on humanity.
A new age of unprecedented cruelty has quietly begun.
What... in the world is going on?
Help me—! Someone please—anybody—!
I don't want to die—!
These desperate human pleas don't last long. Soon, the once-vibrant arena falls into utter silence.
The only things that are now still moving are the mechanoids. In all shapes and sizes, their visual sensors pulse with the same manic red glow.
Yet the human girl witnessing this carnage shows no trace of fear or panic—instead, she wears an excited smile across her face.
You're doing so well. You always manage to crush them all, no matter the circumstances.
A sickly flush spreads across Dolores' pale face as her eyes gleam with desperate hunger.
Dolores ignores the bloodshed and gunpowder hanging in the air, her greedy gaze sweeping over Veronica again and againDas if she's looking not at a terrifying war machine, but at a...
Veronica, you truly are a flawless work of art.
"And the perfect new body to house my mind."
This unspoken desire floods Dolores' eyes, impossible to hide.
You done? I don't have time for this nonsense.
Now, meet your fate.
Veronica approaches Dolores, but Dolores doesn't make any attempt to escape. Not even a flicker of fear crosses her eyes.
An ornate handgun rests by her pillowDuseless against a mechanoid as powerful as Veronica, and she shows no interest in reaching for it at all.
Fool.
In the cold blue glow coming through the massive aquarium, Veronica finally sees Dolores for what she is now.
Beneath her elegant clothing, countless tubes snake in all directions, their rough edges piercing her skin—imprisoning her within an exquisite cage of her own flesh.
In that instant, it finally dawns on Veronica what Dolores meant just now when she said she needed a "perfect new body."
All the clues that Veronica has gathered so far connect like strands in a web, leading to the venomous spider—she who has orchestrated everything behind the scenes—at its center.
With her broken body, Deloris has been plotting something audacious—to transfer her consciousness into what she believes is the most powerful mechanoid.
And now, the human—the "parasite" in this case—finally meets her desired "host." The human can't escape—in fact, she can't even raise a hand against the mechanoid.
Well, well, well. Are you going to strike me down now that you've seen the truth, my dear heroine?
Dolores, however, utters these very words with a mocking smile on her face. Her vulnerability doesn't seem to concern her at all.
As soon as Dolores finishes talking, Veronica's pupils contract sharply. Her sensory systems flood with warningsDsomething is approaching at incredible speed.
As the dust settles, the object that was coming at Veronica reveals itself—it's none other than Overseer, now standing obediently by Deloris.
Now... it's time we get some cleanup done.
