Chapter 275: Give [Echo/Authority - Exploration]

"...Hehe…hahaha…hahahahaha!!! You really dare to say that, little brat!!!"

　　After a brief silence, Kalpas covered his face and laughed wildly, his laughter filled with excitement and insolence.

　　"Good...good! Very good! That guy! At least he didn't break his promise! Even though it's not him, if that's the case... it would satisfy me!"

　　"Come on... Come on! Little devil! Free them! If they are just the shells you drew, I will tear them to pieces! Together with this painting of yours... burn them to ashes!!!"

　　Whoosh——

　　There was a slight sound of flames burning, and red flames ignited from his body. The bright light of the flames gushed out from the gaps in his mask, igniting everything around him. The azure sky was also forced to be covered with a layer of warm tones belonging to the flames... and it became deeper and hotter, finally turning into a dazzling red.

　　Just as the white clouds were melted bit by bit like real marshmallows, the sun in the sky seemed to fade away and blend into the surrounding sky... At the same time, the people "portrayed" by Griseo seemed to sense all this, and they moved and attacked Kalpas.

"Hahahaha!!! Good! That's it!"

　　"This kind of fighting is truly refreshing! This kind of smell of blood...hahahaha! Kid, you did a great job!!!"

　　"Come on! Keep going! Don't stop! Let's fight! Kill each other! Until one side falls! Until one side perishes!"

　　"Come on, kid! Let me see what this [Echo/Authority] given to you by him can do! Let me see whether I will be crushed first! Or your painting will be burned first!!!"

　　"Ha ha ha ha!!!"

　　"......"

　　'I always have a feeling that Kalpas has become crazier than before, but he seems to be no different from before... Is it an illusion?'

　　Kosma thought so unconsciously.

　　However, the power displayed by Kalpas shocked Kosma even more... The gushing flames dyed the sky red, as if to burn it completely; but under his body, there was a blue water flowing. Occasionally, he raised his hand to summon huge waves that could even cover the sky. The light that originally belonged to the flames was replaced by darkness in an instant, and the dryness and heat suddenly turned into dampness and coldness... But after the waves, red flames ignited again on the blue water, dispelling all the dampness and coldness around.

　　The surrounding environment kept changing back and forth between the two states. In Kalpas's hands, fire and water were constantly used and displayed in a rough yet delicate way, bringing equal destruction and ruin to everything around.

　　The power displayed by Kalpas at this moment was not at the same level as that displayed in the previous battle with Kosma... In other words, when Kalpas was fighting Kosma, he was holding back and letting him win...

　　'Are you kidding me... wasn't that his full strength before?' Kosma's eyes twitched slightly.

　　'If Kalpas has such power, then how powerful is the "Herrscher" above him... the "Herrscher" who moves with Nozomi's skin...?'

　　'Facing such an enemy, can humans... really win?'

　　Kosma's faith was shaken, and his thoughts became a little hazy... 'No, no! I can't let my thoughts run wild! I can't let my thoughts have loopholes, I can't let the Honkai, and let those monsters take advantage of the opportunity...'

　　"Will it make you uncomfortable, Kosma?"

　　Griseo's concerned voice came from the side, and Kosma also felt his sleeve being gently tugged.

　　"If you're worried... it's okay. Brother Nozomi will take care of everything. Everyone... will be fine."

　　Griseo said so.

　　'Wait... That's right! Griseo!' Kosma finally realized what was going on and turned to look at the person next to him... Uh...

　　stare--

　　Before he could even look at Griseo, a huge shadow enveloped him... It was the knight "portrayed" by Griseo who lowered his body and was "looking" at him as if examining whether he was a threat to Griseo.

　　"......"

　　Kosma didn't move for a moment... He felt that the knight in front of him seemed familiar, but the aura he exuded was very dangerous...

　　'No, it should be said that it is more dangerous. It should not have such a strong power... Hmm? Why do I feel this way?' Kosma was still a little confused about himself at this moment.

　　"Don't worry, Kosma... it knows you."

　　Griseo spoke softly, and she seemed to have remembered something beautiful, with a beautiful arc at the corner of her mouth.

　　"You've seen it before, Kosma."

　　"What are you talking about, Griseo... No, why are you here?!"

　　Kosma stroked his head, feeling that something was about to surge up again... but soon, he suppressed the feeling again and asked instead.

　　"You shouldn't be here... Where's Kevin? Where's Dr. Mei? And that girl named Pardofelis... wasn't she with you? Damn it..."

　　"Why can't I be here?"

　　Griseo looked confused.

　　"Aunt Mobius is here... Brother Nozomi is here too... More importantly, Mom and Dad are here. This is my home."

　　Griseo tilted her head.

　　"If that's the case, then why can't I be here?"

　　"No… that's not right…"

　　"Besides, everyone will be here from now on... We will all be together, Brother Nozomi and Aunt Mobius will take care of everything... You don't have to worry about anything from now on, and we can always be together in the future."

　　"No... you're not... you're not Griseo! Damn it! Damn it!"

　　"Kosma, I'm right here... why don't you try? You can do it."

　　Griseo reached out and tried to hold Kosma's slightly trembling hands, trying to give him some comfort and strength.

　　"I believe, and everyone believes, that you can do it, just like 'before', and make the [monster] in your heart calm down, and even coexist peacefully with it... Kosma, you have done it many times, and this time... you will definitely be able to do it too."

　　"Don't come over here!"

　　Feeling the slightly cool body temperature of Griseo coming from her palm, as well as the strange feeling coming from her and even from her words, Kosma subconsciously slapped her hand away and put some distance between them... He wanted to show his hostility to her but ultimately failed to do so.

　　stare--

　　The tall knight stared at him silently, motionless, but as some bright colors flowed like water, a huge sword made of a harmony of three primary colors, with an overall color of white and sky blue, appeared in its hand, as if it was alerting Kosma.

　　It was "drawn" to protect Griseo, so this "instruction" naturally has the "highest priority."

　　"Don't worry, Mr. Knight... Kosma just can't accept it for the time being."

　　Griseo gently touched its heavy armor and spoke softly.

　　"It's okay."

　　"You're not... you're not supposed to be... damn it... how is this possible?"

　　There was a hint of pain and deep confusion in Kosma's voice.

　　"You monsters, these 'Kaiji'... how can you..."

　　"I know! This is the temptation of Honkai, a trick of Kaiji… He thought that couldn't conquer me, so he turned to use Griseo…"

　　"Don't even think about it. You won't succeed... I won't... I won't be tempted. I won't..."

　　Kosma gritted his teeth, tensed his body, and slowly raised his hand towards Griseo as if he had made some kind of decision.

　　"...Kosma?"

　　Griseo tilted her head.

　　"I will never be bewitched by you..."

　　The azure water flowed together and wrapped around Kosma's arms, outlining a ferocious claw...

　　And then... a voice that made Kosma somewhat terrified began to echo in his ears.

　　"Kosma... I'm a little surprised that you're so stubborn on this point."

　　It was Nozomi's voice.

　　"But it's also good. Your persistence in this regard is commendable... But it seems that I pushed you a little too hard, and your thoughts went to some extremes... Compared to Griseo, it would be better to let Hen persuade you?"

　　The dangerous atmosphere spread quietly, covering the surroundings.

　　"This kid has always been like this, Nozomi, please don't mind it too much..."

　　"Oh~ I'd like to see him fall into self-doubt, maybe I can see his 'former' appearance again? After all, whether he can also enter 'artificial Honkai' in this state is also something worth studying~"

　　It's a slightly familiar voice.

　　"Brother Nozomi, Aunt Mobius... and Dad!"

　　There was a hint of joy in Griseo's voice.

　　"Why do you still call me Auntie?"

　　"Why am I the last one…"

　　However, after Griseo said this, Mobius and Hen immediately complained subconsciously...

　　'What's going on? Why does Griseo keep talking about Nozomi? Even if Griseo had established a "bloodline" connection with him for some special reasons, and even in a sense, became the "original body" of their current relationship... isn't this closeness too much?'

　　"Hen... Dr. Mobius..."

　　On the other side, after Kosma glanced at the newcomer, his thoughts became agitated again, and his thinking ability dropped sharply... The "fragments" in his mind kept impacting his consciousness, making him review his "past."

　　However, he chose to put all of this aside for the time being and suppress all the complicated thoughts... These were all the Honkai that were affecting him, corroding him, it was the "Kaiji" who wanted to seduce him, to make him corrupt... He absolutely could not give in... Even in front of him, in front of the "Herrscher"!

　　"And... [Herrscher]!"

"Alright, Kosma... you don't have to react so strongly."

Hen touched Griseo's head, then looked at his daughter, who had been close to him for a while, and then ran back to Nozomi to stay with him. He first glared at Nozomi with some complaints and then slowed down his voice and persuaded Kosma.

"Don't let resentment cloud your mind, and don't let anger blind your eyes… Try to calm down, and while staying true to yourself, sort out your past bit by bit…"

"Shut up!"

Kosma shouted harshly, with a hint of disappointment and pity in his words.

"You are not Hen. How could Hen... How could he..."

"Nothing is impossible, Kosma."

Hen's voice was very relaxed and easygoing.

"My wife and my daughter are both here, so it's normal for me to choose to stay... Besides, in a sense, I am still benefiting from my daughter, haha..."

Hen still had time to make a joke... but Kosma didn't find it funny, and it even made him more angry.

"[Herrscher]…"

Therefore, Kosma naturally turned his attention to the "culprit" of everything and focused all his anger on Nozomi... because he was the root of everything.

'As long as I can defeat the Herrscher... everything will be over! Everything will be fine!'

The azure blue water gathered and enveloped his body, outlining a slightly hideous and strange appearance... Faintly, the sound of rushing water could be heard.

"[Herrscher]!!!"

"Really... you're using my power against me, are you crazy?"

"I kill you!!!"

"Don't shout so loudly. It makes it impossible to launch a sneak attack. It's really boring."

Nozomi moved his fingers slightly, and the water that originally surrounded him imprisoned him instead... It was a bit funny to use the power of water in front of the "Herrscher" who controlled water, right?

"First of all, I have to apologize to you, Kosma... As a [compatriot], you have fallen into extremes due to my series of actions... Well, I'm sorry, I went a little too far."

Nozomi walked forward and spoke softly to Kosma, his voice still so gentle.

"Who told him to be so stubborn? But it doesn't matter, I have already solved the problem."

On the other side, Mobius casually looked at her own slender hands, especially the "ring" she wore on her hand. That [Echo/Authority] really made her love it.

'...Oh, by the way, when Eden wakes up later, I can show off this to her before giving the little guy to her' Mobius thought secretly in her heart, and at the same time, she turned her snake eyes and glanced at Kosma, who was still struggling.

"I have put in a lot of effort to help you accept all this more smoothly... Really, I understand why you picked me first, little guy, and gave me this [Echo/Authority] so straightforwardly... It seems that you just want me to be a laborer, right?"

"But... I am willing to do it~"

Mobius also stepped forward and gently stroked Kosma's face. With her fingertips slightly moving, she restrained Kosma's body with a more powerful posture than Nozomi's.

"Okay, Kosma, don't move. If the little guy hadn't taken a fancy to you, I wouldn't want to spend so much effort to deal with these trivial matters. Well... you can't say that? After all, if it succeeds, it will also benefit the people behind~"

"What are you going to do?!"

"Don't worry, Kosma... it's just like it used to be."

Mobius smiled happily.

"It will be over soon, and... it won't hurt~"

…

......

"Haa... Nozomi, does it really have to be Kosma? I can do it instead."

"Hen, you've seen so much, you should understand that Kosma is the most suitable."

Nozomi looked at Kosma, who had fallen asleep again in the bubble and said softly.

"The [power] he originally possessed is very suitable... Therefore, I want to promote it and then... benefit all [compatriots]."

"What's more, the doctor wants to go to space, to higher places, to find more places that can be optimized... Then he will definitely need this power."

Nozomi raised his hand, and along with the inexplicable power, the water flowed and gathered. Nozomi's "blood" also separated out one by one and gathered into the shape of a pendant... It was exactly the same style as the pendant that Nozomi gave to Kosma during the "third time."

"'Blood relatives'... If it was a place like that where there was nothing, I would have been able to do it, right?"

Skadi, who was following Nozomi closely, gently tugged at the corner of Nozomi's clothes and reminded him softly, with a hint of pride in her words.

"Yeah, I know, 'blood relatives' is the best."

Nozomi praised Skadi without hesitation, making her smile somewhat happily, and then continued.

"But... this power will ultimately benefit us, all of our compatriots."

"And he, Kosma, has his own [power], which can undoubtedly help us a lot, and is in perfect harmony with this power..."

"He will take us to explore the unknown, to touch everything that we don't know yet, or don't understand yet... Then, the doctor will carry out targeted 'evolution' on it, again and again... and continue to do so."

"From now on, until the distant future... we will all go further and further, and more and more... there will be no end."

Nozomi raised the corner of his mouth slightly, moved his fingertips slightly, and hung the pendant around Kosma's neck, handing over the power to him... and this sudden "transfer" of power also made Kosma frown.

"Aren't you afraid that this guy will lead us into trouble?"

Hen said half-jokingly.

"That doesn't matter."

Nozomi said it easily.

"If we fall into a trough, we will fill it up. If we fall into a quagmire, we will swim in it... Nothing can stop us in the end, and nothing can stop us."

"After all..."

"We don't need boundaries."