Chapter 116: [Raphael]

[You still remember that it was a beautiful afternoon, the sun was slowly setting in the west, the light shining on us gradually changed from bright to dim, and people's shadows were slowly lengthened]

[You and Sakura just went out to the hospital with the farewell of the medical staff... This is not something worth mentioning. After all, you have been doing this frequently since you discovered that your singing can soothe the spirits of special patients. At the same time, I don't know if it is because this strange disease has spread widely recently, many hospitals have received such patients. You can see several such patients in almost every hospital in a city you go to.]

[Therefore, with the hospital's permission, you will softly sing a few songs for them... Although this has no curative effect on their illness, it can at least make them feel less irritable, and prevent them from hurting the people who take care of them and care about them because of their inexplicable irritability.]

[Your actions have naturally been supported by most of the patients' families, and the medical staff have also expressed their gratitude to you... So it has become a routine for you to come to the hospital to find special patients and sing a few songs to comfort them.]

[You and Sakura walked along the street with your musical instrument, chatting about some trivial things. You soon talked about the huge storm that broke out some time ago. The kind of huge storm that would not occur once in centuries affected many cities, and the coastal areas suffered a great blow.]

[It is said that some high-risk items were swept into the ocean by the storm, so all governments ordered that no one should go to the offshore areas. The offshore fishing industry collapsed almost instantly, and all cross-sea shipping routes were canceled. All transport ships could only transport materials along the coastline, and the rest were all transferred by air transport... A series of strange decrees were forcibly pushed forward by major governments, causing many people to complain.]

[You and Sakura vaguely guessed that all this was because of that strange storm. Then, you thought of what Light had warned you about... Was that strange, extra-large storm the "strange disaster" that Light mentioned?]

[But soon, you and Sakura gave up discussing this matter... You know too little information, and there is no point in discussing it here. What's more, the leaders of the country must know more about what happened than you do, and can think of ways to deal with the problem more easily than you do... You don't need to worry about it here.]

[So, as usual, you all searched for food along the way, and after filling your stomach, you found a square, picked a spot, and slowly began to play.]

[This time, just like in the past, your performance attracted a lot of people to watch. There were quite a few of your fans in the crowd. After recognizing you, they happily took out their devices and filmed your performance. They also filmed Sakura, who was gradually becoming familiar with the instrument, and then uploaded the video to the Internet with great excitement.]

[Although everyone was very excited, they were also very well behaved and did not deliberately come up to disturb your performance. It was obvious that they still remembered the "rules" you set in the beginning]

[What a beautiful day... The light of the setting sun is like a golden stream, covering the entire ground. The breeze carries your beautiful song far away. If you continue like this, you will be able to welcome the night and the silver moon amidst everyone's smiles.]

[But... none of this happened]

[A sudden and bizarre disaster broke this beautiful scenery. Glass was shattered, buildings were knocked down, trees were trampled, and people who were still smiling the previous second were occupied by fear the next moment. The melodious singing was interrupted, screams resounded through the sky, and the noisy and weird "footsteps" echoed in the streets that suddenly fell into chaos.]

[But soon, the screams disappeared... They died, just lost their lives so suddenly... Or in a daze, purple lines occupied their bodies, and then lost consciousness and became "monsters", or in fear, suffered from the tall, terrifying "monsters" and lost their lives under their unhesitating attacks]

[Blood was splattered, the pungent smell of blood was everywhere, the air was filled with panic, and with it, there was a disgusting, repulsive "smell"... the kind of "smell" that made one feel a tightness in the chest as long as one got a little closer, and a nauseating, sickening "smell" as long as one got a little closer]

[You suddenly realize that this is what Light called a "strange disaster"]

["Bang!" A dull sound came, waking you from your stunned state. When you turned your head, you could see that it was the sound of Sakura using the guitar in her hand to repel a monster. It was a pity that this guitar had not been used by Sakura for long and had to be used as a "weapon" before it was even played.]

[Immediately, Sakura took out an unsharpened samurai sword from a long bag beside her and held it in her hand, thinking it could be regarded as a weapon for self-defense. Then, without caring about anything else, she directly grabbed your hand and dragged you out, running as far away from those monsters as possible.]

[You reacted quickly and followed Sakura's footsteps. At the same time, you took out the terminal to contact Light, hoping that he could find some solution... But in the end, you only got a reply of "Do your best to survive, support will arrive soon"]

[You gritted your teeth and walked quickly with Sakura through the ruined streets, relying on the broken walls to avoid the monsters...]

[Noisy, panicked sounds echoed in the ruins, attracting the monsters, and then after a sharp cry, the panicked shouts disappeared... Another life was lost]

[You feel inexplicably sad, but you can't do anything to help them, or even save them, so you can only keep moving forward.]

[I don't know how long it took, but in a hurry, you met a few policemen who seemed to be searching for others. When they saw you, they were nervous for a while, but then they quickly calmed down. They quickly checked your condition and confirmed that you were fine. Then they told you that there was a shelter in a designated place and you could go there to hide from monsters.]

[Immediately, they assigned one person to lead the way for you, while the rest of them kept as quiet as possible and moved forward quietly to look for other survivors.]

[When the police officer takes you into the shelter, he tells you seriously that no matter what, do not open the door of the shelter, even if you hear someone calling for help outside. This will affect the safety of everyone in the shelter.]

[As for the police officers... they carry the keys to the shelter and can go in and out on their own. The support team will also open the door from the outside on their own, so don't worry... 'Remember, don't open the door until they come back or the support team opens it from the outside.']

[After that, the police officer quickly left, apparently to search for survivors again. Now that you and Sakura have reached a safe place, you can finally... take a breath.]

[Here, you saw panicked people and children sobbing softly... theye wanted to cry loudly, but they held back their voices and only made slight sobs... Obviously, they had also encountered something that was enough to be engraved in the depths of their mind]

[You are silent, snuggling with Sakura, looking at everything in front of you, silent]

[After a while, a slight cry for help was heard outside the shelter. I don't know which lucky guy found this place, and he kept banging on the door, hoping that you inside would open the door and let him in... He didn't want to stay outside with those monsters. He was very scared and wanted to stay in a safe place.]

[But... no one moved, and no one paid any attention]

[The person outside started begging you again, saying that he was injured and he really couldn't hold on outside any longer. If he continued to stay outside, he would die...]

[But... no one moved. Even if someone was moved by his sincere plea, they were quickly stopped by others.]

[No one opens the door]

[Your eyes stayed on the door. You almost opened your mouth and tried to move forward several times, but in the end you looked away and stopped moving... The police officer said that the door cannot be opened, no matter what. This concerns the safety of everyone in the shelter.]

[Finally, he discovered your "heartlessness" outside, so he could only curse and blame you, accusing you of not saving him. In the end, he lost his original voice in the wailing and crying, leaving only some roars belonging to monsters and some harsh sounds of scratching the door of the shelter.]

[You held your breath and stared at the door of the shelter nervously, fearing that the monster outside would dig the door open. As a result, the inside of the shelter fell into a deathly silence for a short time. Fortunately, the monster did not seem to have a clear consciousness. After trying several times and finding that it could not dig the door open, it growled and slowly left.]

[The people in the shelter breathed a sigh of relief, but soon, an inexplicable sense of guilt surged into their hearts... Just now, they personally gave up a living life. Even though the final facts proved that the man had turned into a monster if he was let in, the consequences would be disastrous, but... everyone still felt heavy in their hearts.]

　[Fear, hesitation, guilt... these emotions intertwined together, as if forming a huge rock pressing on everyone's chest, making it difficult to breathe]

　　[What's even worse is… the police officers never came back, and there was no sign of the shelter's door opening again. All that could be heard was the faint roar of monsters outside, and the sound of buildings collapsing.]

　　[As time went by, the pressure on everyone became greater and greater. The panic in the shelter became more and more severe, and a hint of despair began to brew... Some people even began to lose control of their emotions and burst into tears... If they had not been able to use their last bit of consciousness to cover their mouths and make their cries as low as possible, their crying would have filled the entire shelter and even overflowed outside.]

　　[Fear wantonly tears at everyone's hearts, despair laughs wildly, exerts pressure bit by bit, and enjoys the sad and ridiculous postures that everyone displays before they collapse]

　　[What do you think I should do?]

　　[you spoke softly, letting the gentle song flow like water and blow like the wind, washing away panic and dispersing despair. you gently drew their attention to yourself, smiled, and gave them some hope.]

　　[Wait, wait with hope, salvation will come]

　　[Your voice is very light, so gentle that it seems to flow through their ears and into their hearts. With the gentleness of water, it gently soothes their anxious hearts and calms their panic.]

　　[Some people recognized you, opened their mouths, and showed a surprised expression. You immediately noticed them. You raised your hand, placed your index finger on your lips, and closed one eye slightly. In a handsome and cute gesture, you signaled them not to disturb you, which made them stunned.]

　　[You just sang softly like this, never stopping, and you didn't want to stop... Just like this, sing the song you gave them like this, let their eyes stay on you who are smiling, stay on you who are radiating brilliance, this way, panic will not spread, despair will not spread]

　　[The lights used for illumination shine all around, but everyone feels that none of the light is as bright as you]

　　[Outside, there are faint roars of monsters and sounds of buildings collapsing. All kinds of noisy sounds interweave together, which can easily make people have doomsday fantasies... But at this moment, they don't have the mind to care about those. They just want to listen to your song and focus on this small, faint "hope" like a candle flame.]

　　[Breeze, blow quietly, carry your song far away, to... its "ears"]

　　["Bang!" A dull sound was heard, and a "thing" that looked like a needle and a stick pierced through the ceiling and smashed into the ground of the shelter, forcibly interrupting your song and everyone's thoughts.]

　　[Accompanied by a teeth-grinding tearing sound, the ceiling of the shelter was completely lifted up, revealing its entire body - it was a staff with a giant snake wrapped around it, and the green color was wrapped around it. It was the breeze that was dyed with color, and there were six broken wings behind it, and there were two strange rings on the top of the staff.]

　　[It is undoubtedly a monster, and this monster has mercilessly torn your shelter to pieces, leaving you with nowhere to hide and escape.]

　　[Everyone screamed, panicked, moved, ran, or crawled, all hid behind you, huddled against the wall, trembling, as if staying behind you could give them some comfort and a sense of security]

　　[Sakura pursed her lips, took a step forward, and protected you behind her]

　　[However, it doesn't seem to have any intention of hurting you. The huge snake head slowly approaches with its tongue spitting out. When it is about to touch Sakura's cordon, it just stops and then slowly shrinks back... But it doesn't mean to leave either. The terrifying snake eyes keep staring at you, as if it is waiting for something.]

　　[And you have a feeling, you always feel like you have seen it somewhere before, and you can even feel its gentle and warm breath, with a little expectation and care...]

　　[You hesitated for a moment, then gently pulled Sakura's arm, gave her a reassuring smile, and stood in front of her.]

　　["Hiss… Huh…" You adjust your breathing, look up at its huge and strange body, and at the sky that has become a little gloomy without knowing when.]

　　[Tick-tock——]

　　[It is the sound of rain falling gently]

　　[you don't know if it's your illusion, but you always feel that the rain seems to carry some kind of emotion, full of care, full of concern, gentle and soft, just like a mother asking her child how he is doing recently]

　　[The rain makes the surroundings damp, and the blowing wind makes the surroundings cold... But you don't feel any discomfort, and even feel a little... enjoying it]

　　[Its huge snake head slowly lowered, politely and modestly, like a quiet and elegant listener, waiting patiently]

　　[And you slightly raised your hand, lightly pressed your chest, exhaled lightly, exhaled the remaining tension from your body, and then gently opened your mouth, singing a song to it under the rain and in the breeze]

　　[It didn't move, and even acted very quiet, with its frightening snake pupils narrowed, as if it was enjoying your song. The breeze blew, dyed it with a verdant color, and together with the rain falling from the sky, it carried your song far away.]

　　[The sounds of the monsters around you are gradually fading, but the strange "footsteps" are slowly approaching, as if the monsters around you are attracted by your singing, and then become a well-behaved, quiet "listener", silently enjoying the song]

　　[It's just one song, it slowly opens its snake pupils, conveying a feeling of boasting and admiration to you]

　　["■■■…", you seem to hear it talking, lovingly and briskly, like a lively and gentle sister, caring for you, but…]

　　[swish--]

　　[Accompanied by the sound of arrows breaking through the air and gunfire, its body was bombarded and pierced, but it did not resist or move. It just looked at you with its snake pupils for the last time, then silently closed its eyes and accepted its own "end"]

　　["Ah~ What a wonderful scene… Even an Honkai beast like Raphael is willing to stop and appreciate your music? You are really amazing~ You are worthy of being called "Hope"~?"——A light and cute voice jumped into everyone's ears]

　　[Your sight shifts, and you see a girl with long pink hair similar to Sakura's. Her bright blue pupils have a hint of strange pink, which look similar to your pupils... but yours are even more peculiar than hers, with three-color pupils. It's just that few people notice the light scarlet circle on the outside.]

　　["Hi~ Nozomi. My name is Elysia, and I'm the leader of the second team of the Fire Moths. I've been ordered to come to help you. I'm so glad to see that you're all safe." Elysia said this, and she held out her hand to you.]

　　["Hello, Ms. Elysia… It seems that I don't need to introduce myself?" You also shook Elysia's hand, nodded politely, then let go and asked softly]

　　["Of course, I'm still your fan~ Please remember to sign an autograph for me later~?" Elysia said with a smile]

　　[Immediately, Elysia tilted her head in a cute way and talked about other topics, "However, those things will have to wait until later~ Now, I may need to trouble you~ After all... your state just now was a little too strange, didn't you? It made me feel like I was in a fairy tale~ It really makes me worry~?"]

　　[You understood and left with Sakura and Elysia. The others in the shelter followed the other soldiers and left in a trance... Apparently, the scene just now had a big impact on them. The dreamlike scene was deeply engraved in their minds.]

　　[Even the soldiers following Elysia have never seen such a scene before, and can only keep looking at you with curiosity, doubt and scrutiny... However, these are not important.]

　　[The important thing is that from this moment on, you and Sakura learned about an organization called "Fire-Chasing Moth" and a disaster called "Honkai Impact"]