Someone in Arknights, Starts as Griseo

But not fully trusting her was one thing, and indulging the little cutie's small wish was another.

"..."

After Talulah agreed, Griseo turned her gaze to Alina beside her, silently asking.

"Heh~" Alina chuckled, then nodded before teasing, "Go on, Griseo, I'll be entrusting Talulah to you tonight~"

"Mm, I will," the little loli nodded obediently.

"What are you saying? It's me who's taking care of Griseo!" Talulah argued with a smile upon hearing her best friend's teasing. "And you, you little thing, actually nodded!"

"Heh~"

"Alina, you're still laughing!"

After this exchange, Griseo had managed to stay, and that night, she successfully went to Talulah's tent with her.

A pitch-black night—

"Alright, get some sleep. I saw you yawning earlier when you were over there," Talulah said, standing before her own sleeping mat and reaching out to gently pat Griseo's head.

"Mm, and what about Sister Talua?"

"Me? I still have some things to look over. I'll come to sleep later," Talulah replied, pointing a finger towards the table not far away.

Hearing this, Griseo could only nod helplessly and softly say, "Okay... Sister Talua, remember to rest early."

As the leader of Reunion, Talulah naturally had many matters to attend to. However, Griseo couldn't help with those at all.

Still, she had already decided to find an opportunity to properly showcase her strength to Talulah, their leader.

This was because Griseo no longer wanted to be protected like a child. She wanted to protect others, and she was capable of fighting, very capable.

Of course, Griseo had also made double preparations regarding her desire to participate in operations. If, after she showed her strength, Talulah and the others still didn't let her participate...

Griseo planned to intervene under a different identity.

After all, she had spent more time in Yelena's embrace tonight than yesterday, and the unlock progress for [Setsuna] Sakura had directly jumped to 75%.

If nothing unexpected happened, she would only need one more cuddle to unlock a new identity. At that point, she could just go back to her old ways with Sakura.

"..."

Lost in thought, Griseo, lying on the bed, gradually felt sleepiness wash over her. She slowly drifted off into dreams, going to see Mr. Crab.

In the entire tent, besides Griseo's steady breathing, the only sound was the rustling of Talulah writing.

But, after an unknown amount of time...

"!"

ps: The second chapter today should still be before 12 AM, please give some votes.

Chapter 20: On Plucking Scales from the Black Serpent

"!"

Griseo, who was having a beautiful dream on the bed, suddenly felt an uncomfortable aura and was instantly startled awake. She opened her violet eyes, still carrying a hint of confusion.

Then, she rubbed her eyes and slowly sat up, observing her surroundings.

It was then that Griseo noticed no one was beside her. Talulah, who should have been asleep by now, was slumped over the table lit by a dim candlelight, appearing to be asleep.

However, Griseo didn't believe Talulah was simply asleep. Others might not see anything unusual, but she could see it very clearly.

In her eyes, a faint, ethereal black mist was swirling around the dragon girl slumped at the table, and this mist was constantly churning.

Griseo knew without guessing what this black mist was. As for why this situation had suddenly occurred, she believed her paintings had played a role.

Just as she was about to get out of bed to do something... an unexpected voice suddenly rang out.

[Ding, "Infinite" Mobius is unlocking, 1% complete.]

"...???)!"

"???)???"

Upon clearly hearing the voice in her mind, Griseo's movement of getting out of bed froze. Although her small face remained expressionless, her eyes were filled with shock and confusion.

Her already groggy little head, from not waking up naturally, was directly hit by this impact, leaving her completely stunned...

"..."

"!"

After a moment, Griseo finally reacted. She then reached out her small hand and pinched her face. Feeling a slight pain, she finally confirmed that she wasn't dreaming.

;?;

Subsequently, Griseo quickly summoned her status panel and flipped to Mobius's section.

Just as she had expected, Mobius, whose specific unlock method had not been displayed before, now had it clearly marked.

["Infinite" Mobius]

[Unlock Method: Collect Nightmare Value from Black Serpent (Koschei)]

[Current Unlock Progress: 2%]

The moment Griseo saw the unlock method, she was so happy she almost jumped up and cheered, but her naturally reserved demeanor limited her actions.

In her opinion, this was a case of "when you wish for a pillow, someone brings you a bed." She felt like she had hit the jackpot.

It was only then that Griseo finally realized what was happening tonight.

To verify her thoughts, she nimbly jumped off the bed and walked step by step towards Talulah.

Upon reaching the dragon girl, Griseo first took a deep look at the still-agitated black mist.

Then, she extended her small hand, gently nudged Talulah's shoulder, and softly called out, "Sister Talua... wake up."

"..."

However, Talulah showed no reaction to Griseo's shaking and calls, as if she had fainted.

At this moment, Griseo was completely certain of what was happening.

Her painting tonight hadn't been ineffective; on the contrary, it had worked exceptionally well, with only a slight delay.

;

The reason she said this was because Griseo had just discovered through contact that the painting's magic had not only affected Talulah but also the serpent possessing the dragon girl.

Now, if nothing unexpected happened, Black Serpent must have seen the thing it feared most in its heart... As for what that was, the little loli had no idea.

Of course, Griseo also had no clue what Talulah was seeing or going through.

"Mister Knight... please help carry Talua to the bed."

Griseo slowly withdrew her hand from Talulah's shoulder and then softly called out to her loyal knight.

The azure Mister Knight responded to his princess's summons with the utmost speed, appearing beside Griseo almost instantly.

He then carried out the princess's command, gently and gentlemanly lifting Talulah and walking towards the bed.

Watching Mister Knight's movements, Griseo's little head began to spin.

Now that she knew Mobius's unlock method, she definitely had to exploit it to the fullest until the serpent was unlocked.

However, Griseo knew that Koschei was not a fool. Such an accidental slip-up would happen at most once. The next time, he might just run away... possessing someone else.

By then, it would be much harder to catch Black Serpent and "shear" its scales.

Therefore, Griseo needed to take advantage of Black Serpent's current state of influence and devise a foolproof method to obtain its scales...

Even if she accidentally let Black Serpent go in the end, it would have to be after Mobius was completely unlocked.

"Mmm..."

After thinking for a while, Griseo couldn't come up with a good plan.

Keeping Black Serpent around was simple; she could just paint a picture and seal him inside while he was still affected. But making him continuously afraid was difficult, as "dreams" would eventually end.

"Ah..."

As Griseo stood on the floor, deep in thought, Mister Knight, at some point, had moved beside her, picked her up, and placed her on the bed. He then gently tucked her in.

"Mmm... Thank you, Mister Knight."

Feeling the warmth of the covers, Griseo comfortably narrowed her eyes and politely thanked her knight.

"..."

After thinking for a long time and still not coming up with a better solution, Griseo decided to use the most rudimentary method to obtain Nightmare Value from Black Serpent.

As for what this crude method was... it was to prolong Black Serpent's current confrontation with its fear until enough Nightmare Value was collected.

The method to prolong it was simple: paint a picture using Black Serpent's colors and present it to Talulah.

"Mister Knight..."

Just as Griseo was about to call out to Mister Knight to state her needs, Mister Knight had already begun to act, setting up the easel.

"... Amazing."

After exclaiming her admiration for Mister Knight, Griseo once again left the warm covers and sat on her personal small stool.

Because she didn't know when Black Serpent's state would end, time was of the essence. This time, Griseo directly took out her special weapon, [Starlight of the Past], to aid in her painting.

She planned to prepare two paintings: one to prolong Black Serpent's influence and another to seal Koschei, preventing his escape...

ps: So sleepy, going to sleep, goodnight.

I need to think carefully tomorrow about what fear Black Serpent is facing...

The collection increase today wasn't great, please give some votes.

Chapter 21: An An... Talua

With an idea in mind, Griseo dipped her brush into Black Serpent's colors and began to paint.

What, you're asking why I haven't taken on the Black Serpent's color?

Don't even think about it. Never, ever think about it. Griseo absolutely refuses to let herself be stained with that pitch-black, obviously abnormal color. What if she turns bad?

And so, for the sake of unlocking the little snake, the little loli stayed up late, working tirelessly.

Inside Koschei's dreamscape...

"This, how is this possible..."

Koschei, having lost the gamble, listened in shock as his subordinate reported the news, disbelief filling his eyes.

"Ursus... how could it be destroyed by a bunch of rabble! It's impossible!"

"CRASH—"

Just then, the mansion doors were violently kicked open from the outside. As the doors swung open, scorching flames with terrifying heat swept in from beyond.

"Nothing is impossible, Koschei... it's time we settled this."

With those words, Talulah strode in from the doorway. With every step she took, the ground beneath her melted a little more...

"Settle this? Hahaha, you can't kill me, Talulah... my dear daughter."

Koschei, who had been wearing an expression of disbelief, relaxed upon seeing Talulah and burst into laughter.

"I might have lost this gamble, but if you can't kill me, I'll still have a chance to make a comeback!"

"Is that so?"

Hearing Koschei's words, the mature dragon girl's expression didn't change. She merely tightened her grip on her sword, her gaze sharply fixed on her prey.

The next instant, terrifying flames erupted, like a red dragon in the midst of a hunt, fierce and scorching hot.

"It's just a mere body... Wh- AAAAAH!"

Facing Talulah's most terrifying flames, Koschei showed no signs of panic... until he was engulfed by the fire.