Chapter 47: [Herrscher]...Not tasty

[Are you kidding me?! What on earth is that guy?! ]

　[That guy should have died long ago?! How come he's still alive? And he even crawled out of the sea?!]

　[Damn it! Damn it!]

　......

　In their [meeting], every living "individual" was cursing, and in this noisy environment, the voices were decreasing little by little.

　That guy... that guy who controls water... how could he be so outrageous?! Was he this strong before?!

　An "individual" came in front of Nozomi with the cover of several other "individuals," gritted its teeth, moved its palm slightly, and a weak flame ignited in this humid environment. Then, with this tiny flame, it reached out to touch Nozomi's body.

　'Got it!'

　It was pleasantly surprised, and relying on the limitations of several other "individuals," it successfully touched him!

　It activated its abilities, and the originally tiny flame became fierce in an instant, covering Nozomi's entire body almost in an instant, turning him into a fireman. The scorching and dry breath enveloped Nozomi's body in an instant.

　At the same time, attacks from other "individuals" also arrived the next moment. In the [meeting], they had already discussed how to deal with Nozomi, this troublesome guy who suddenly appeared.

　Boom boom boom——

　The attacks continued, constantly stirring up splashes of water on the ground. The water left here was obviously very shallow, only as deep as the soles of the feet, but the splashes of water stirred up were abnormally numerous, as if they were bombarding the sea surface, as if they were fighting in the ocean.

　But fortunately, they had seized this opportunity. As long as they attacked in order and kept suppressing that guy, they could take the opportunity to bypass him and leave through the gap behind him...?!

　Before they could rejoice for long, they saw a hand stretched out to withstand numerous attacks, and the "individual" that realized something was wrong wanted to escape, but it was too late... it had already been caught by a huge "claw".

　A huge, azure crab-walked out silently, and its huge body blocked all their attacks. Through the azure, translucent body, Nozomi inside the crab could be seen.

　Their attack was indeed effective. Nozomi still had various scars on his body. There were even arcs of electricity flashing across his body from time to time, and even flames burning.

　But soon, all of this faded away, and the injuries on Nozomi's body quickly recovered and disappeared, until in the end not even a trace was left as if he had not been injured at all.

　[Wait...what is this...?]

　What frightened them even more was the inexplicable fear... They kept feeling "stared at" and angry and frantic... Why was it like this? Why did it feel like this?! It was so uncomfortable... so heavy... damn, why was it everywhere?!

　Is there anything here that is available all around...?

　They suddenly realized - it was water. In this already humid space, "water" was the only thing surrounding them!

　It was at this time that they felt more clearly the emotions coming from "water."

　The anger was extremely clear, the kind of anger that used fire again on its beloved child, the kind of anger that made its beloved child endure dryness and suffer harm again.

　It was extremely clear and extremely heavy. This weight seemed to be pressing on their hearts and bodies.

　Their body temperature begins to drop, water droplets begin to stick to their skin, and their clothes gradually become soaked... The water is gradually affecting their bodies, and the weight of the water is being truly exerted on them little by little.

　So heavy... so heavy... as if they were in the deep sea. The water here was only foot-deep, but in their perception, the water seemed to fill the entire space.

　[What…are…you…doing?! ]

　BANG!!!

　They roared, with a hint of rage and shame, but the muffled sound that followed made their roars stop abruptly.

　The "individual" caught by Nozomi and held by the giant crab's claws... was crushed to pieces, with blood splattering everywhere.

　Snap——

　He let go, and a [Herrscher Core] fell quietly, making a slightly dull sound on the ground.

　He took his hand back and licked his thumb lightly with the tip of his tongue. Nozomi frowned slightly, looking a little disgusted.

"Not tasty…"

The running water quietly came forward and wiped his face, gently brushing over the place where he had just been injured as if comforting him as if caring about him.

However, Nozomi gently slapped it away, showing some impatience and disgust, and the water just fell silently and returned to the puddles on the ground.

[Tsk——Done, let's go!]

One of them had been hiding at the end. The "individual" hiding by the wall curled its lips in annoyance, looked at Nozomi with resentment and fear, and then called on the other "individuals" to leave... Taking advantage of the time when the other "individuals" were fighting with Nozomi, it used its own ability to squeeze a gap in the wall, enough for people to barely pass through.

Only…

"Want to escape?"

The predator-like gaze swept over the next moment.

He gripped the dark sword tightly, dragged it slowly, and then slashed at them from bottom to top.

The tip of the sword cut through the shallow water on the ground, causing ripples. When the tip of the sword left the shallow water, the water moved along with the sword, and then transformed into a huge water blade, attacking them straight away, cutting the unsuspecting "individuals" directly in half.

However, this huge water blade also cut into the alloy wall, leaving a long and narrow gap. One of the "individuals" did not care to panic and immediately seized the opportunity to use his ability to forcibly enlarge the gap in the wall. Then the surviving "individuals" began to cover each other and evacuate in an orderly manner.

"Not good…"

Kevin took a step forward and wanted to chase after the fleeing Herrschers, but was stopped by Mei.

"Kevin, don't go."

Mei spoke softly, and at the same time, her eyes remained on Nozomi, never moving away, as if she was confirming something.

"he... needs an outlet for his emotions, so let's give it to him first."

"......"

Nozomi seemed to have heard her words. He glanced at her, then took a step silently, moving step by step in the direction they left.

Hmm? Those "individuals" who blocked Nozomi's retreat and those "individuals" who were unfortunate enough not to leave? They had already been beheaded by the thin, whip-like current that appeared in the shallow water, and their bodies dissolved silently into the water.

As he said, this was just a "hunt" and there was no battle at all.

In the metal corridor leading to the outside world, Nozomi walked slowly, dragging his sword.

He was walking very slowly, just taking one step at a time, but he was able to catch up with them even though they were running at full speed.

The water flowed quietly under the feet, and the damp smell soon filled the entire corridor.

[Disperse... Gubo?!]

An "individual" shouted. It was so panicked that it even forgot that they could communicate directly in the [Meeting]. But when it shouted, several bubbles came out of its mouth.

Yes, those are the bubbles that appear in the water.

There was still air around them and the water under their feet had just reached the soles of their shoes, but at this moment they felt as if they were submerged in water.

Their breathing became difficult, their movements became slow, and an inexplicable pressure began to emerge, as if it was going to crush their bodies. Even their bodies inexplicably felt a sense of "buoyancy," as if they would "float up" at any time.

"Prey should look like prey."

Nozomi's voice came faintly from behind, accompanied by a wave of sword energy. The "individual" that was unable to dodge was quickly killed and then quietly dissolved by the water on the ground.

[You!!...]

Some of the "individuals" turned around and fought back to stop Nozomi, while some of the "individuals" continued to escape. This was what they had already discussed in the [meeting].

But... when the "individuals" that were blocking Nozomi turned around, they found that Nozomi had already appeared in front of them at some point.

He held the sword high, the water flowing behind him like waves, moving forward against the ceiling, and then... swung it down at them.

They couldn't even put up any resistance as the countless streams of water knocked them unconscious with great impact force. Some of them even had their chests crushed by the water and died instantly.

Then, their bodies floated silently in the flowing water, turning into foam bit by bit and dissolving in the water.

[......]

The "individual" running ahead didn't dare to look back, or even speak, and could only silently feel the voices disappearing one after another in the [meeting].

But soon, the hair on their bodies stood up again, and that terrifying feeling came over them again. They could even feel his predatory pupils staring at them.

He is coming...He is coming!

Puff——

One of the "individuals" was thinking of stopping to stop Nozomi. This was the result they had agreed upon in the [meeting]. But in the next moment, the body of another "individual" next to it instantly split from the inside, and blood soaked its entire body... It could even see that the flying eyeball of the "individual" looked at itself at the last moment, with fear still lingering in its pupils.

'...What's going on?'

'What's going on?! Why is this happening?!'

'They are the Herrschers! They are the strong ones! Even Kevin was exhausted by us! Even Mei, who was wearing the Blank Key, was eroded by Honkai because of us. She is running out of time. If we force her to connect a Herrscher Core, she might die!'

'It doesn't matter if they all die! Human civilization will be doomed! They will never have the capital to fight against the Honkai'

'But why...why?!'

'Why did such a guy suddenly appear! A guy who should have died long ago! He came to hunt us with a breath similar to ours and a breath full of destruction?!'

'Why?!'

Just as it was about to turn around and fight back in anger, it found Nozomi's dangerous golden-red pupils staring at it.

At this moment, time seemed to be stretched.

It clearly saw Nozomi opening his mouth, and a blue translucent shark jumped out of the water, its bloody mouth already open, and the shark's shadow already covering it.

Then, Nozomi closed his lips and teeth, and the shark bit its sharp teeth. Its body was instantly bitten to pieces, and blood splattered everywhere, smearing on the corridor.

To him, this was really just a "hunt" - this was the last thought left before its consciousness dissipated.

Then, the broken body fell down weakly and turned into foam in the water. The splashing blood faded away quietly and dissolved into the water, leaving only a [Herrscher Core] lying quietly in the place.

"......"

Nozomi wiped the corner of his mouth silently, and then continued to move forward, neither hurried nor slow.

......

.........

There are fewer and fewer voices in [the meeting]…

[Anyone else? Is there anyone else who can speak?]

It tremblingly asked in the [Meeting], but the only response it received was silence.

'No... no more?!'

Its expression became terrified, and it couldn't help but quicken its pace of escape again.

[No... No, I must survive, I must survive!]

It muttered to itself.

[Now I am the only one left... I must stay alive... I must stay alive to avenge "us"... Oh, right! A flying machine! With my ability, I can use a flying machine to leave directly! Go back to human society! Kill those people they are protecting! Kill them all!]

[We must make them pay a price a thousand or ten thousand times greater than "us"!]

Bang——

It slammed open the door, rushed to the square where the aircraft were parked in the heavy rain, and jumped directly into an aircraft. Regardless of the bad weather, it put its hand on the control panel. Its power began to spread, quickly analyzing the aircraft's system and starting it up.

[Quick…quick…]

It talked to itself anxiously, as if this could ease the fear in its heart.

I don't know if it was lucky, but when its aircraft took off and even flew to a certain height, Nozomi didn't chase it.

[That's… That's great. I escaped…]

It was a little relieved.

Tick-tock

A drop of rain fell on its face, causing it to freeze.

Tick-tock

The rain penetrated the glass and hit its face. It was obviously rain that could directly penetrate the reinforced glass, but when it touched it, it turned back into ordinary water, with only a slightly damp smell and a slightly cool temperature.

Like a prank, like a mockery.

The rain seemed to have gained incomparable impact force at this moment. Even the reinforced glass on the Fire Moth aircraft could be penetrated by the rain. Even the special outer shell of the Fire Moth aircraft could be left with a hole by the rain. However, when the rain fell on its face, it could only wet its face.

What is this? A joke?

It sat in the driver's seat in a daze, without any reaction to the rain that kept hitting its body... it no longer wanted to think.

Because in front of it, in front of the aircraft flying in the air, a huge, azure, translucent whale leaped out leisurely, just like leaping from the sea, showing off its huge and beautiful body, and then leisurely turned sideways and slowly fell down.

　　[You must be joking...]

　　Looking at the "whale" falling rapidly in front of it, it couldn't help but mutter to itself, in a daze, as if it had lost the ability to think.

　　boom!!!

　　A huge flame emerged in the air covered by rain and was soon obscured by the rain. Even the sound of the explosion was drowned in the rain.

　　Snap——

　　A [Herrscher Core] fell and was caught by Nozomi.

　　"…are you done watching?"

　　Nozomi looked back indifferently in the rain and looked at the two people standing in the building to avoid the heavy rain.

　　"......"

　　"Nothing to say?"

　　"You... you are Nozomi, right?"

　　"As you can see, I am indeed back."

　　Nozomi threw the [Herrscher Core] in his hand to the other party, and then inserted the dark sword in his hand into the ground.

　　The predator-like gaze sweeps over, giving people a strong sense of discomfort, but this feeling will soon fade away. Although the discomfort still exists, at least people will not have the illusion that "they will be eaten at any time."

　　"Fusion Warrior-Nozomi, reporting to you, Dr. Mei, Kevin."

　　He responded in a calm and friendly tone.

　　"So, can you let me see them? I... kind of miss them."