"This attire... analysis matching... You are Belobog's Supreme Guardian!"
Svarog's electronic eyes quickly focused and scanned, retrieving official visual data of the Supreme Guardian from his database.
"You could say that. A youthful, high-spec version that even comes with a transformation."
[Cocolia] flicked her wrists, her twin ice-crystal spears twirling into a dazzling display of flourishes. The resulting chill instantly froze several nearby Automaton grunts into ice sculptures.
"Now, answer my multiple-choice question."
She held up a finger, her smile bright but devoid of warmth.
"A: Get scrapped into junk by me, and then we take the Ore Vein ourselves. B: Join our deluxe'Stellaron Solution' package, share the Ore Vein, and enjoy a promising future. Take your pick, metal man."
The word "Stellaron" acted like a critical error command, instantly triggering Svarog's highest alert protocol.
The red light in his eyes flickered violently, almost at the frequency of a strobe light: "Warning! Warning! Insufficient variables! Based on seven hundred years of data extrapolation and analysis of Stellaron characteristics, the probability of a successful resolution is lower than 0.01%! This plan is invalid and will accelerate ultimate destruction!"
"Variables? Of course there are."
[Cocolia]'s smile deepened. She casually thrust her spears into the ground and slowly spread her arms.
"We—are the greatest variable!"
Before her voice even faded, a blinding white light erupted from her chest!
It wasn't a warm light, but one of extreme cold.
Fine ice crystals spread outward with a "crack-crack" from her center, and the moisture in the air instantly condensed into tiny, drifting snowflakes.
Her attire transformed within the light. More ornate and complex ice-crystal armor covered her body, her skirt resembled a frozen aurora, and four massive ice-crystal spears materialized behind her, rotating slowly and emitting a heart-palpitating pressure.
Her originally golden hair turned into a flowing silvery-white, and the depths of her body seemed to reflect shattered stars and a boundless universe of ice.
Form: [Cocolia, Mother of Deception], enters the stage!
"You say the Stellaron cannot be defeated?"
Hovering in mid-air, looking down at the battle-ready Svarog and the stunned Clara protected behind him, [Cocolia]'s voice carried an ethereal echo, yet remained crystal clear.
"Then, does a 'person' who has mastered the power of the Stellaron and can still stand here bargaining with you—no, giving you a choice—count as a significant enough 'variable' in that massive database of yours?"
She lightly raised her hand, and with a "shing," countless massive, sharp ice spikes shot up from the surrounding rock walls and ground. They formed a closed, glinting Ice-Crystal Arena, completely isolating the three of them from the outside world.
Even the few Automatons in the distance trying to approach were frozen outside the ice wall, stuck in charging poses like ice sculpture decorations.
"Make your choice, Svarog. Will you be smashed into scrap metal that needs to be melted down and reforged, or will you join us to excise that real 'tumor' on Jarilo-VI?"
Svarog's processor whirred frantically, his cooling system emitting an overloaded hum.
Seven hundred years of data and a profound understanding of Stellaron erosion made it impossible for him to trust any entity deeply bound to a Stellaron.
In his view, the appearance of Stellaron power in the Lower District was itself a prelude to ultimate disaster; destruction was inevitable.
Then, at the very least...
His logic circuits reached a tragic yet "optimal" conclusion.
He abruptly shielded the terrified Clara behind him, his massive mechanical body leaning forward slightly into a standard combat stance. His palm cannon charged once more, glowing brighter than before.
"I do not trust the Stellaron. Leave Clara. At once."
His synthesized voice was cold and resolute.
"Tsk, negotiations have broken down."
[Cocolia] shook her head regretfully.
"I knew I couldn't talk flexibility into a stubborn robot."
Svarog's laser cannon fired at full power. The thick beam slammed into the heavy ice-crystal shield that had automatically condensed in front of [Cocolia], but it only kicked up a spray of ice shards and mist, without leaving even a single crack.
"The gap is too wide."
[Cocolia] sighed, seemingly finding it a bit boring.
She casually drew one of the ice spears floating behind her. Her figure vanished like a ghost, reappearing in front of Svarog the next instant.
Svarog only had time to cross his arms in front of him.
"Clang—Crack!"
A tooth-gritting crash of metal snapping and ice shattering rang out.
The ice spear easily pierced through his sturdy alloy arm defense. With unabated momentum, it hoisted his massive frame up like meat on a skewer before slamming him heavily into the ice wall behind him. He then slid to the ground with a dull thud.
Electric sparks flickered from the hole in his chest, and the red light in his eyes dimmed, leaving only a few stray sparks occasionally popping from his mechanical joints.
"Mr. Svarog!!!"
Clara finally snapped out of her extreme shock and terror. Letting out a heart-wrenching wail, she stumbled over to Svarog's slumped, massive form, her small hands uselessly pushing against his cold outer shell.
Svarog's remaining energy allowed him to emit one last intermittent electronic sound: "Cla...ra... Safe...ty... proto...col... Run..."
Then, total silence.
"Waaaaah—!"
Clara broke down in tears, her sobs like a string of broken beads, nearly freezing in the cold air.
[Cocolia] deactivated her transformation and landed lightly, her silver hair returning to gold.
Looking at the bawling little girl and the "corpse-like" giant robot beside her, she scratched her head, a rare expression of near-embarrassment appearing on her face.
"Uh... did I use a bit too much force?"
She muttered softly, walking over to poke Svarog's unresponsive shell.
"This Old Timer is more fragile than he looks... Well, whatever, it's not a big deal."
She completely ignored Clara's heartbroken sobbing (or rather, chose to ignore it) and rubbed her chin, calculating: "Anyway, the core data shouldn't be physically destroyed, right? I'll take him back and let [Little Herta] take a look. Doesn't she love taking things apart and putting them back together for research? Fixing a robot should... not be too hard, right?"
At that thought, [Cocolia] instantly felt relieved. She didn't want to be the enemy of such a small girl.
She looked at the Ore Vein, then at the "big" one and the "small" one on the ground, and nodded: "Alright, mission change. Original plan 'Persuasion (Physical)' achieved. Bonus objective: Recover one 'malfunctioning' robot and one 'little accessory.' Now, how should I carry this big guy back..."
She began to seriously ponder the logistics of transport, while Clara's crying remained the only background sound effect in this Ice-Crystal Arena.