Saint Maria. (Continued)

As if remembering something, Gladiia's expression became even more complicated, and she took a small step back, trying to avoid Maria.

But Maria's response was only a cold, indifferent reply.

"Stop."

"Waaah..."

Gladiia's body stopped moving on its own.

Approach, reach out.

Cool fingers slowly slid down the girl's body, from the side, little by little, until they reached her chin.

The strange, detailed, and subtle sensations made Gladiia extremely uncomfortable, yet she was unable to escape them.

It's like a whirlpool... constantly pulling it towards its very center...

With her powerful physique, her heart was circulating blood at a speed that surpassed even the most advanced machinery in Terra. The excessively forceful blood surged through her body, making her body instantly more terrifying than red-hot steel!

But... Maria overlooked these things.

She simply reached out and gently stroked the girl's skin.

How long has this been going on?

Maria spoke, her voice cold and sharp.

Although a normal person wouldn't notice anything, from Maria's perspective, the girl's skin didn't look like what a human should have.

That delicate, pink skin is actually composed of layers upon layers of incredibly fine scales!

They were finer than the finest hair, denser than the smallest pore... These things were layered on her body, forming a suit of armor that clung tightly to her skin!

From a combat perspective, this is undoubtedly extremely powerful, but...

How can scales grow on a person's body?

If it were only one or two pieces, Maria would consider it a unique characteristic of humanity in this world.

The problem is that the scales on the other person's skin are too dense!

Previously, Maria hadn't noticed because she hadn't recovered much of her strength, but now... after the two were completely honest with each other, Maria finally saw it.

This is offensive.

Even more terrifying, Maria could sense that these scales might not be a simple exoskeleton; she could sense that these things were parts of Gladiia's body that she could control...

In other words, Gladiia's body has one more controllable organ than that of ordinary people, or even these Deep Sea Hunters!

This is absolutely abnormal!

"... shortly after you left."

Gladiia gritted her teeth.

She knew she couldn't hide these things from Maria, but even after Maria revealed them, she was still filled with resentment.

After a long period of indignation, he finally managed to speak.

"Exactly how many years ago was that?"

Ten years ago.

"... I see."

Maria blinked and withdrew her hand.

Just when Gladiia thought she could finally breathe a sigh of relief, Maria suddenly grabbed her waist.

To Gladiia's astonishment, Maria unceremoniously pushed her into the pool!

"Huh?!"

"Thump!"

Water splashed out, creating ripples.

Gladiia popped her head out of the water almost instantly... As an Aegir, as a Deep Sea Hunters, no one knew more about water than them.

"You..."

Gladiia seemed to have some doubts when she saw Maria raise her blade...

"Are you going to kill me...?"

Watching this scene, Gladiia pursed her lips, but her face quickly softened into one of relief.

"As expected... you haven't changed at all..."

Maria has always been like this. Even though all the modified Deep Sea Hunters regard her as their mother, respect her, and love her, she will not hesitate to kill them if there is any change in her.

They... are merely tools in the hands of women.

"Whatever you want."

Gladiia didn't say anything more. Instead, she silently steadied herself in the water and looked directly at Maria.

"If you're going to kill me... then go ahead and do it..."

Gladiia hid her hands in the water.

Although she was supposed to accept death, it was clear that she only accepted her own death.

She knew she couldn't escape Maria's pursuit.

So she didn't want to struggle... but she was also prepared to unleash her power immediately if Maria made a move, to tell Skadi and the others to run away quickly.

Although the chances of the message getting out were slim, and Skadi and the others' chances of survival were also very slim, she couldn't just do nothing.

She is the honorary legion commander of the Deep Sea Hunters... She must take on the responsibility of caring for all the Deep Sea Hunters!

Gladiia's eyes were piercing; she was already prepared to die.

But...

"Pfft..."

Maria did not act as she had imagined.

Or perhaps Maria wasn't as ruthless as she thought.

She simply pierced her wrist with the long knife, then lowered her body slightly, letting the blood flow slowly down the tip of her knife into the pool.

In just a few drops, the entire clear pool turned bright red, obscuring the murky bottom!

After the blood was detached, it actually began to expand on its own!

This made Gladiia's eyes widen in surprise.

But then, she felt as if her body was reacting in some strange way...

After the blood was mixed with the water, it actually began to actively converge towards her body!

She could feel her body opening up, every scale desperately expanding, trying to devour the blood-stained water!

At that moment, it was as if countless straws had been inserted into her body, and every inch of her skin seemed to be filled with self-awareness, drawing the water from the pool into her body!

Itching, stinging, burning sensation...

A series of adverse reactions occurred to her, causing her to widen her eyes in disbelief!

Eyeballs... completely bloodshot!

"Um?"

Sitting obediently on the first floor, Skadi seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up in surprise.

"Second Captain..."

Skadi stood up, a rare hint of worry appearing on her usually calm face.

She could hear an extremely faint sound of pain, as if it were coming from hundreds of meters away...

The sounds traveled through the air, becoming extremely distorted as they reached her ears.

This made her realize there was a problem, and she immediately took up arms, trying to help her fellow human beings.

But the Doll slowly stood in front of the girl.

"Please move aside..."

Skadi tensed up, telling herself that the person in front of her wasn't her mother, while worrying that something might have happened to the second captain.

Skadi certainly didn't believe Maria had done anything to her, but she was certain that if anything happened to the Second Captain, Maria would also be in danger!

Although... Maria never needed their help.

"Sorry, girl, not yet."

The Doll's tone remained calm as always, completely ignoring the other person's anxiety.

This made Skadi somewhat uneasy.

The cries in my ears grew increasingly painful, and faintly, there were signs of some distortion.

This immediately made Skadi think of some unpleasant things.

She began to worry, worried that Maria would discover the truth about them!

This made her increasingly anxious, and she even wanted to force her way through the Doll's defenses.

But...

"No, Miss Skadi."

The Doll remained standing in the same spot, smiling gently.

This made Skadi somewhat anxious.

In the past, if someone tried to stop her at this time, she could simply rush past them.

But faced with a figure that looked almost exactly like Maria, she couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

They could only stand there anxiously, at a loss for what to do.

Fortunately, the wailing gradually subsided, as if everything had settled down and things had calmed down.

Skadi understood that things were gradually coming to an end. She pursed her lips and slowly returned to her original position, her gaze becoming increasingly uneasy.

Beside her, the Deep Sea Hunters named Specter was still fast asleep.

As for Mizuki.

He remained hidden in the corner, not uttering a word.

This has nothing to do with me, so please don't let your fighting get dragged into it...

Are you a little more awake now?

Standing by the bathtub, Maria calmly sheathed her blade.

On the floor beside them, blood had completely stained everything around them.

Within a radius of less than half a meter around Maria, there wasn't a drop of blood...

"Cough cough cough..."

Not far from Maria, ** Gladiia knelt on one knee, coughing incessantly.

Blood stained every inch of her skin, and her body was deathly pale.

And the knife wounds on her body were healing at a chilling speed.

In just a few moments, it gradually returned to its original state...

"Looks like he's awake now."

Maria's eyes remained unmoved as she watched the girl struggle to lift her head and look at her.

"My body..."

"It's been temporarily suppressed."

Maria answered.