Chapter 274: [New Echo/Authority - Painting and Staining]

　"Hiss… huh…"

　　Enduring the pain, Kosma slowly stood up. The hole in his chest healed quickly. From the skeleton, flesh, and skin, to the shell-like clothes, everything is "restored" to its original state one by one. As the damp air filled the surroundings, Kosma's breathing also returned to normal.

　　"Hahahaha!!! Kid, what's wrong? Is this not enough?"

　　Kalpas's slightly wild laughter sounded from not far away, and the sound of gentle treading water was heard, and his figure entered Kosma's sight again.

　　"No, absolutely not! Compared to who you were before, this level is totally unacceptable!!!"

　　"Well, now that things have come to this, let's not continue with that meaningless persistence... Come, give up that useless persistence, dive deeper, and obtain, seize, and get more and stronger power!"

　　"Only in this way! You will have the chance to fight against me, and... fight with me!!!"

　　"otherwise..."

　　Although it was impossible to see Kalpas's expression behind the mask, Kosma felt that he was smiling.

　　"You are absolutely not qualified to stand in front of him, let alone get close to him!"

　　"That's better than you, a fellow who succumbs to him, Kalpas."

　　Kosma squeezed out these words bit by bit from between his teeth, his words filled with anger and... incomprehension.

　　Kosma didn't understand why even Kalpas, who was so... weirdly irritable and whom no one could get close to, would eventually succumb to the "Herrscher." You know, when Kalpas was still human, he would choose to fight and battle when he met the "Herrscher."

　　It was also because of this that Nozomi was able to meet him, and with Nozomi's subsequent discussion and recommendation, Kalpas joined the "Fire Moth"... and in the subsequent confrontation with Honkai, Kalpas has always been at the forefront.

　　Although Kalpas didn't have many teammates or even friends because of his wild and crazy fighting style that didn't distinguish between friend and foe, but in general, everyone in "Fire Moth" still recognized Kalpas... Who doesn't want to have a strong comrade? Even if the other party has a bad temper.

　　It can be said that Kalpas's hostility towards Honkai is obvious to all, and his image of fighting and killing on the battlefield has long been engraved in everyone's hearts.

　　But precisely because of this... Kosma didn't understand why Kalpas would succumb to the "Herrscher"... He didn't believe that a being like Kalpas would completely lose his self-consciousness. Even if Kosma himself could retain himself, there was no reason why Kalpas couldn't do it.

　　"Surrender… Surrender?! Hahahaha!!!"

　　When he heard these words, Kalpas was still a little confused, but then he covered his head and laughed a little crazily, with a hint of sarcasm towards Kosma in his laughter.

　　But Kosma seized this opportunity and attacked him instantly.

　　boom!

　　However, his attack was easily blocked by Kalpas, and he was not even able to make Kalpas retreat half an inch. The flying water droplets around him also stopped in mid-air and turned to attack Kosma, dispersing the water flow he brought up one by one.

　　"No one can make me surrender, not even him, not even that guy... It's impossible!"

　　Kalpas first answered Kosma's previous question, and then slowly lowered his head and spoke slowly to Kosma, who was unable to move forward in front of him.

　　"And, aren't you the same now, kid? You're making rapid progress, and you're good at controlling the water flow? It looks like you and I are the same... maybe fighting more will help you grow faster?"

　　Even though Kosma couldn't see Kalpas's face, he could feel his mocking eyes and even imagine the sarcastic grin under his mask.

　　"I only have to do this so I can fight you!"

　　While Kosma was arguing, he kicked with his lower body, stirring up a lot of water, forcing Kalpas to let go of him. He then took the opportunity to retreat, avoiding Kalpas's counterattack while putting some distance between them... If it came to a contest of strength, he was no match for Kalpas.

　　Therefore, Kosma had to temporarily put aside his advantage as a fusion warrior... He was no match for Kalpas in this regard, and couldn't even break Kalpas's defense... In this case, he might as well make use of his newly mastered [Water].

　　Although using this power would make him fall further towards them, towards the "Kaiji," and make him seem more like the "Kaiji," but... this is a necessary sacrifice—Kosma believed so.

　　He put his five fingers together to form a knife shape, and his fingertips slid across, creating transparent water blades. At the same time, his whole body moved, raising his legs and simultaneously moving up the accumulated water on the ground to form numerous water blades, which passed through the falling rain and attacked Kalpas.

　　"Against us? Hahahaha!!! Isn't that just against yourself?"

　　However, Kalpas didn't seem to care about this. He took a step forward, moving slowly, letting the accumulated water on the ground carry him forward quickly. He slightly tilted his body to avoid some water blades that were deliberately left with gaps, which were obviously "traps." He stretched out his hand and lightly tapped the water blade which was his "killer move" with just one finger, directly breaking it into pieces, turning it into useless water that dissolved again in the accumulated water on the ground.

　　The whole process seemed orderly, relaxed, and comfortable. It seemed that to Kalpas at this moment, all the counterattacks launched by Kosma were just a game.

　　"Besides… [Sacrifice]? Hahahahaha!!! Are you taking this too seriously?!"

　　"Ugu... you monsters, stop snooping into my thoughts!"

　　"Snooping? Disgusting. Who the hell wants to spy on your thoughts?! You said it yourself! And who would care about such a trivial matter?!"

　　Kalpas cursed first, then raised his hand in the direction of Kosma, with his palm facing up and his five fingers relaxed and slightly open.

　　'It's coming again!'

　　Kosma's eyes narrowed, and he gathered his mind, preparing to deal with the next attack...

　　"Besides…"

　　Kalpas's voice became meaningful.

　　"You are already the same as us now... That guy was right. From the moment he started to prepare, everything was doomed."

　　"in other words..."

　　"You are now also a 'Kaiji'!"

　　Kalpas clenched his fists! Countless blue, tiny water blades burst out from Kosma's body, piercing his skin with bright red blood as if to cut him into several pieces.

　　"cough..."

　　Kosma coughed lightly, coughing up some blood mixed with azure water, and at the same time quickly retreated, putting some distance between himself and Kalpas again. The wounds on his body were recovering quickly, and the flowing blood quickly stopped. Then he quickly reached out his hand and blocked the fist that suddenly attacked his abdomen.

　　Although the huge force made it difficult for Kosma to resist, but... he finally blocked it.

　　"I am not a 'Kaiji,' I am a human being... The blood flowing is proof of that, you are the one who is moving in his skin."

　　"What? Now you think I'm not the same person I used to be?"

　　The smile beneath Kalpas's mask became more arrogant and presumptuous, but the mockery in his voice never changed.

　　"Your standards are so flexible, it's disgusting."

　　He Clenches his fist, and then punches Kosma!

　　boom!

　　A huge roar was heard as if Kosma's body would be smashed into pieces with one punch... But this time, Kosma took it and did not punch through Kosma's abdomen like the previous time.

　　"Hahahaha!!! Not bad... Not bad! As expected! You are a very good! Much more exciting than that guy Kevin! Come on... Keep going! Keep going!!!"

　　"Just saying this is not enough! Not enough at all!"

　　"Abandon that boring persistence! Accept more power! Only then will you be qualified to continue fighting with me!"

　　boom!

　　He turned over and kicked Kosma on the neck. The huge force pushed Kosma's body down a little, and his knees bent, almost touching the ground. Faintly, one could hear the sound of Kosma's neck breaking.

　　"Um… cough…"

　　However, this time Kosma managed to hold on again.

　　"oh?"

　　Kalpas raised his eyebrows, but Kosma seized the opportunity, waved his hand to gather the water, turned around, and swung, the water hit Kalpas from bottom to top, knocking him into the air, and then quickly added several water blades, and finally raised his hand, summoning a torrent to knock Kalpas away.

　　"Hoo… Hoo…"

　　Kosma was breathing heavily and adjusting his breath quickly, and the scars on his body were recovering quickly... After becoming like this, this recovery ability that was even more outrageous than that of a fusion warrior was the only thing that made him happy.

　　At least this ability is extremely useful in combat.

　　At the same time, Kosma also turned his gaze to the distance again... Just now in the torrent that was attacking Kalpas, he deliberately hid some spikes made of water, which successfully pierced Kalpas's throat and heart. This should cause some injuries to him, right?

　　...Haha, that's impossible. Kosma also knows this. He only hopes that such an injury can make Kalpas weaker, which will be more beneficial for his next battle.

　　"Hehe…hahaha…hahahahaha!!! That's it! That's it!!!"

　　However, Kalpas's voice was still full of energy.

　　"Ah... this is a battle, this is a fight! This feeling! This smell of blood! It's so refreshing!"

　　Kalpas stood up again with a wild laugh. Although there were still scars on his body, he did not show any signs of weakness.

　　Not only that, the wounds on his body healed as quickly as Kosma's, even faster than Kosma's. What's worse is... the aura emitted by Kalpas was becoming more and more dangerous.

　　But these are not the most important things. What surprised Kosma even more was that... the blood flowing from Kalpas was bright red.

　　"...It's not real, it's not real, it's fake, it's the temptation of Honkai... It's the red blood deliberately created by Kaiji."

　　Kosma shook his head, suppressing all those thoughts, and talked to himself.

　　"Okay, kid, stop hypnotizing yourself. You've seen it so many times, and you're still unwilling to admit it?"

　　There was a hint of malice in Kalpas's tone.

　　"The person standing in front of you is a living person, not something else."

　　"That's even more impossible! If that's the case, you will never submit to him, to the Herrscher!"

　　"Who the heck told you to give in? No one! No one can do it!!!"

　　Kalpas cursed out loud very bluntly.

　　"I just want to fight, and I only need to fight. I don't care about anything else!"

　　"Besides, he has more or less fulfilled some of my wishes, such as..."

　　Having said that, Kalpas paused slightly as if he had swallowed back the answer he was about to give. He then put on a slightly sarcastic smile and spoke in a slightly frivolous tone.

　　"It's a chance to give you and Kevin a good beating."

"Just for this?!"

　　"Oh yeah, just for this, what's the matter?"

　　Kalpas responded somewhat perfunctorily as if he didn't want to continue the topic.

　　After all, even if he gave the answer, no one else would believe it... because the answer was so different from who he was.

　　Especially after being forced to access his "thoughts," his thoughts sensed by others, Kalpas was severely "ridiculed." The consolation that followed made Kalpas feel ashamed and annoyed... He didn't know how to respond to those who really cared about him, and he could only sulk there alone.

　　Kalpas was very reluctant to give that answer, as that would only make him suffer from "ridicule" once again and be teased by everyone again, and he didn't want that to happen.

　　So... let Kosma think so.

　　"You... you traitor..."

　　"Haha, [traitor]? That's hilarious. I'm different from you, right? It's not like you didn't realize it at the beginning, it's just that no one told you."

　　Kalpas sneered and did not continue to argue with Kosma on this topic. He just stroked his hair slightly, and a hint of inexplicable power arose around him, making Kosma feel uneasy.

　　"Ah... By the way, you are really too naive, too naive."

　　"You used the power you got from him and from us to fight me and kill me... You even enjoyed the power and the gift brought by this disgusting rain. You enjoyed all of this, but you tried to use this power to defeat me?"

　　"Hahahaha! That's so funny!!!"

　　Kalpas's laughter was full of sarcasm.

　　"Water! Look carefully at everything around you. The most abundant thing here is water! Rainwater, stagnant water, seawater... everything around is water! Since these are your powers, they are also mine!"

　　"You can recover quickly in this environment; what about me? I can do it too!"

　　"And you, you want to use such power to defeat me?!"

　　"How ridiculous!!!"

　　"Ah... Although I hate that guy who has been wearing leather all the time and is now wet and looks disgusting, he really said something good. Sometimes you can be really stupid."

　　Kalpas stroked his mask, and vaguely, Kosma seemed to see him smiling.

　　"Let me show you a little bit of what should be done to defeat us!!!"

　　Crackling——

　　There was a slight sound as if some kind of fire was lit.

　　What came immediately was the heat that dispelled the dampness and cold, the red that dispelled the blue, and the fire that pushed back the tide.

　　"......"

　　"Hahahaha!!! Are you scared already? Boy, you are not good enough! Not even close!!!"

　　Amid the raging flames, Kalpas's laughter was still as wild as ever, and against the backdrop of the flames, his words added a sense of oppression, making it difficult for Kosma to breathe, and even his thinking came to a brief stagnation.

　　He... can't quite understand the current situation.

　　If Kalpas was still the same Kalpas as before, then why could he use the power of fire? You have to know that even though Kalpas's physical fitness was far superior to that of ordinary people, and he had clearly stepped into the realm of inhumanity, it was only limited to physical fitness... At least Kosma had never seen Kalpas use the power of fire before.

　　If Kalpas is not the previous Kalpas, but a "Kaiji" who replaced him... that would be even stranger. As a special Honkai beast born from the sea, "Kaiji" naturally hates and rejects fire, and only fire can kill it efficiently...

　　But... then why...

　　"Why... can you control... fire?"

　　Kosma muttered in a daze.

　　If Kalpas controls the power of fire, why doesn't he fight against the "Herrscher"?

　　If Kaiji controls fire, why should he be afraid of it?

　　"Feeling weird? Why? What are you facing? It's Kaiji! It's Honkai! It's an incomprehensible existence! So, why are you weird?!"

　　"Does the fire alone make you so confused? Or... do you feel fear? Interesting... Hahahaha! Really interesting!"

　　Kalpas took a stance, and flames began to gather, like a strange stream of water, slowly wrapping around his arms and staying between his fists.

　　"It's normal to feel confused and unable to understand! Because this is the Honkai!"

　　"So... come on and try it! Try to defeat me! Use your water flow! Hahahaha!"

　　"Only in this way... and only in this way! Can you have the opportunity to tell your own identity as a human being!"

　　"Or do you want to give in?"

　　Kosma seemed to visualize Kalpas's mocking expression before his eyes.

　　"...No, I would never do that."

　　"Very good!"

　　The next moment after Kosma responded, Kalpas followed up with his words, as if he couldn't wait any longer.

　　"Then... let's continue, let's fight, let's kill! Enjoy it all!!!"

　　Whoosh——

　　It is the sound of burning flames.

　　It is the sound of roaring flames.

　　In a flash, the red flames enveloped Kosma's vision, and Kalpas's figure wrapped in flames suddenly appeared in front of him.

　　Dryness and heat instantly swept through Kosma's perception. The original damp and cold comfort suddenly receded, and the sense of control over the water flow also disappeared in an instant. What remained was only a slight repulsion to the flames...

　　only...

　　swosh--

　　It's like the sound of a paintbrush gently moving across the canvas, softly and slowly, followed by a myriad of colors.

　　The sky is outlined, depicting a deep blue. The clouds are white and soft like cotton candy, yet also sticky and sandy, like the beach at the sea, making one wonder if there are crabs or shells hiding in them.

　　The surrounding flames seemed to be extracted into a crimson color, depicted as the sun in the sky. The raindrops falling from the sky were stained and were no longer transparent, but azure blue like the stream flowing around them.

　　The scenery around them had also changed. The grass on the ground was green and looked particularly fresh, and the scent it emitted had a lemon fragrance... just like red and green become yellow.

　　Everything around became strange, like a painting drawn by someone.

　　"What are you doing, little brat?!"

　　Kalpas, who was not far away, turned his head and looked not far away, questioning in an irritable tone.

　　"Brother Nozomi said... it's not good for you to use that power to fight your compatriots..."

　　Griseo's timid voice came from the side... She was still not used to contact with Kalpas.

　　"Even if we want to use that power, no one else can know about it… Otherwise, everyone will lose motivation… That's what Brother Nozomi said… Uncle Kalpas."

　　In the end, Griseo hesitated for a while before muttering out the name she called Kalpas.

　　"...Humph, boring!"

　　Kalpas stared at Griseo for a long while, then glanced at Kosma, who was completely stunned and had completely shut down. He snorted lightly, stood up again, and seemed to have no intention of continuing... Humph, seeing the state of Kosma, there was no point in continuing to fight.

　　"It's you, kid."

　　Kalpas set his sights on Griseo.

　　"I didn't expect you to adapt so quickly... Oh yeah, I almost forgot that you established a connection with him during the 'first time.' If you really count, the current us are all based on your situation... Hehe, in a sense, you are older than the rest of us in this regard."

　　"Then... Kalpas... brother?"

　　"You're taking advantage of me, aren't you?!"

　　Kalpas first cursed in a low voice but made sure not to use any obscene words when speaking. Then he looked Griseo up and down, and his belligerent eyes penetrated the mask and fell on Griseo, or rather, on the brush in Griseo's hand and the feather-like headdress on her head.

　　"Humph, that guy really favors you... After all, you were one of the few people willing to stay by his side at that time... So, do you want to give it a try?"

　　The corners of Kalpas's mouth slightly lifted up, revealing a hideous smile that no one could see, and his gaze remained on the paintbrush in Griseo's hand, without moving away.

　　"Try with me. You can definitely do it now, right?"

　　After all, everything around them was "painted" by Griseo, and at this moment, they were all in Griseo's "painting."

　　And... she used the brush in her hand to "paint" everything with just "one stroke."

　　Such scenery, such magnificence, everything is so real... even the thousands of colors that make up all of this are just a stroke.

　　"don't want..."

　　Griseo shook her head slightly and refused with a slightly frightened tone.

　　"This power is not for fighting, and..."

　　Griseo hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

　　"Uncle Kalpas... you won't be able to defeat me..."

　　"How dare you say that?!"

　　Now, Kalpas became even more excited, and he wanted to start fighting right away.

　　"what you up to?!"

　　Kosma on the side also subconsciously stood in front of Griseo... Although he was somewhat aware of something, he still didn't want Griseo to get hurt...

　　However, it seems that Griseo does not need Kosma's protection now... She took the paintbrush in her hand and lightly "painted" a stroke to the side.

　　The brilliant colors flowed as quickly as water, outlining a figure... it was Nozomi's appearance.

　　A threatening atmosphere instantly enveloped the entire place.

　　Then there was another stroke, and Skadi's figure appeared immediately afterward.

　　Next came Mobius, then Hen, Himeko, and even Kosma and Kalpas himself, whose appearances were all "drawn" by Griseo one by one.

　　"......" x2

　　Kalpas and Kosma watched as Griseo "drew" various threatening characters one after another, with the corners of their mouths twitching slightly.

　　"Hmm…"

　　Griseo tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then "painted" a stroke next to herself, depicting a fantasy-colored heavily armored knight, who seemed to be used to protect herself.

　　After that, Griseo took the paintbrush and gently "painted" to the side... Then all the people she had "painted" before turned into two.

　　With another light "draw," it became four.

　　Moreover, the aura displayed by each of the "painted" people was not weak. At least in Kalpas's perception, the "Kalpas" that was depicted was only a little weaker than himself...

　　"...."

　　"Uncle Kalpas… you can play with these…"

　　Griseo stepped back slightly, entering the protection of the knight behind her, then blinked her calm and innocent eyes, and spoke in her usual timid voice.

　　"Furthermore, fighting in the [painting] won't cause any damage to the outside world... You can do whatever you want."

　　"Brother Nozomi said that the power of [Painting and Staining] can allow you to enjoy it... and it can also prevent you from always looking for [fellow countrymen] to fight..."

　　Griseo gestured to the two of them with the paintbrush in her hand... That was the [Echo/Authority] that Nozomi had given her, and even built specifically for her.

　　[New Echo/Authority——Painting and Staining]

　　[A thousand colors, just one stroke]

　　"That..."

　　Griseo asked softly.

　　"Uncle Kalpas, do you want to play with everyone?"

(TL: wow Griseo so OP)