After Delphina rushed off on her own, the girls were forced to chase after her in the dark forest, their concern for the stranger growing by the second.

  By the time they caught up with Delphina, she seemed to be in an encounter with...three cyborgs?

  The girls hid in the bushes, observing the encounter between Delphina and the cyborgs with curiosity and caution.

  "The Onyx Key, huh?" Delphina asked, her arms crossed.

  The three cyborgs eyed Delphina skeptically, their mechanical eyes scanning her from head to toe. One of them spoke up, its voice flat and emotionless. "Yes, the Onyx Key. Hand it over.”

  Delphina raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed by the cyborg's demand. "I don't have the darn thing. The so-called Traveler Bros do."

  The Traveler Bros rang familiar to the cyborgs, who exchanged glances before facing her again, the leader asking: "Where are they?”

  "How should I know!" Delphina replied, her tail flicking irritably. "They left the area not long after you guys did."

  The cyborg leader scrutinized her for a moment, his gaze lingering on her tail. "You're a shark girl, huh?”

  "What's it to you?" Delphina retorted, folding her arms defensively. "Got a problem with shark girls?”

  The cyborg leader's expression remained stoic, giving away nothing. "Not at all. I just find it intriguing."

  One of the other cyborgs sneered, a hint of mockery in his voice. "More like…amusing.”

  Delphina bristled at the sneer, her annoyance growing. "Amusing, huh? Watch your mouth, metalhead.”

  The cyborg's smirk widened, undeterred by her warning. "Or what, shark girl? You gonna attack us with your sharp teeth?”

  Delphina glowered, her irritation rising to the surface. "Don't tempt me, you metal trash."

  The cyborg leader intervened before the situation escalated, his voice cold and controlled. "Enough. We're not here for a fight. We're here for the Onyx Key."

  "It's in our hands now," Giovanni's voice rang out from the darkness, the cyborgs turning their attention from Delphina to the Traveler Bros, who were all standing side by side among the bushes.

  The cyborgs tensed, immediately on guard. The cyborg leader's eyes narrowed, assessing the Traveler Bros.

  "You have the Onyx Key," he stated, his voice still devoid of emotion.

  The Traveler Bros shared a smirk, their confidence radiating. "Nah, our boss does," Luca confirmed, his arms crossed. "Sorry to disappoint ya, but even if we had it right now, we'd never hand it over that easily.”

  The cyborg leader's expression remained stoic, unfazed by their words. "Then we'll take it by force."

  The other two cyborgs nodded in agreement, assuming a combative stance.

  Delphina, sensing the impending battle, turned her head to the bushes Alice and her friends were hiding behind. "Girls? You can come on out now. We have trouble here.”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The girls exchanged an anxious look, realizing they had been discovered, before reluctantly stepping out from behind the bushes. Rachel clenched her fists tightly, ready to fight.

  At the sight of the girls, the cyborg leader's expression remained stoic, but the other two cyborgs' eyes widened with a mix of surprise and curiosity.

  The cyborg leader turned his gaze to the girls, assessing them with calculating eyes. "Who are you?”

  The girls, taking their turn to assess the cyborgs, found themselves uneasy at the trio's emotionless expressions and cold demeanor. Alice, taking the lead, replied.

  "Who we are isn't currently important. But we're not here to give you that Key. We need it ourselves.”

  "I see," the cyborg leader replied, his gaze still fixed on the girls. "And what makes you think you can stop us from taking it?”

  Rachel stepped closer, determination visible in her eyes. "Because we won't go down easily. We have a mission to complete, and that Key will help us achieve it. We won't let some cold, emotionless cyborgs stand in our way.”

  The cyborg leader's expression remained unchanged, his voice as cold as ever. "You underestimate us. We are not simply 'cold, emotionless cyborgs.' We are efficient, precise, and ruthless. Your puny human emotions will only hinder you in battle.”

  Alice scoffed, a hint of defiance in her tone. "We're not just weak humans, you know. We have our own strengths and abilities that will give us an edge over you, no matter how efficient and precise you are.”

  The cyborg leader's expression finally showed a hint of annoyance, his eyes narrowing. "You're overestimating yourselves. We have superior strength, speed, and resilience compared to humans. You'll find yourselves outmatched in any battle."

  "Ey, don't forget us!" Giovanni reminded, looking as ready as ever for the inevitable clash.

  The cyborg leader's gaze shifted to Giovanni, his eyes studying him coldly. "You and your friends don't seem intimidated by us. How interesting. Let's see how long that confidence lasts."

  The three cyborgs then unleashed their auras on the spot, making for an impressive display of power. Their auras seemed to match that of the Traveler Bros without the Onyx Key.

  The girls and the Traveler Bros braced themselves as the cyborgs unleashed their auras. The sheer force of the aura pressure was enough to make even the trees shake.

  "Damn..." Rachel muttered, taken aback by the power display. "These guys are not messing around.”

  The leader's emotionless voice echoed through the clearing. "You now see just a fraction of our power. If you value your life, you'll hand over that Onyx Key without further resistance."

  "Heh, like I said," Giovanni replied with a chuckle, "Our Boss has it, and he won't hand it over to y'all that easily. You'll have to answer to us now!”

  The cyborg in black smirked, amused by the Traveler Bros' confidence. "Oh, I see. You're loyal to your boss? How admirable."

  Luca scoffed, a hint of sarcasm in his tone. "We're not just loyal. We're family. And we always have each other's backs.”

  The cyborg in black chuckled softly, a dark amusement in his tone. "Family, is it? How cute. Too bad that won't save you from the beatdown of your lives.”

  Delphina, annoyed, retorted. "We're not afraid of you, metalhead. We've faced plenty of tough opponents. You robots don't intimidate us one bit."

  "...A three-way brawl, huh..." Alice pondered out loud, her eyes fixed on the others.

  "Yeah, a free-for-all!" Rachel said with a grin, conjuring her railgun.

  The cyborg leader's expression remained emotionless. "You underestimate our capabilities. We are advanced cyborgs, enhanced with technology beyond your comprehension. You are merely humans, bound by flesh and emotion. You have no idea what we're truly capable of.”

  Giovanni scoffed, his hands clenching and his eyes narrow. "We may be human, but we're not weak. We have abilities and strength that you can't even imagine. And our emotions are our strength, not a weakness. You'll see just how strong we are when we kick your metal asses.”

  Rachel stepped up, eyeing Delphina. "Hey you! You better not use me as a human wrecking ball again like you did earlier, my legs are STILL killing me!”

  "Aw, stop whining, Rachel. You looked like you had fun," Delphina teased back with a smirk.

  "Oh, yeah, it was a blast. I mean, who doesn't love being thrown at enemies like a ragdoll?" Rachel shot back, sarcasm dripping from her tone.

  "Hey, it worked, didn't it? You nailed all four of those goons in one go," Delphina retorted with a playful tone. "And since we're up against TWO groups of opponents...well, you could prove quite useful again.”

  Rachel rolled her eyes, feigning annoyance. "Oh, great. So I'm just the team's walking wrecking ball now, am I? Fantastic. Here goes nothing, then.”

  Delphina smirked, her tail swaying playfully. "Hey, sometimes all you need is a little brute force, right? And let's be real, you're pretty good at it. Just don't complain too much afterwards.”