Chapter 264: "Blood Relatives", Close, Good!

'Although I know that Eden has been successfully connected to the Song of the Century, and I can indeed bring Eden back, even so... it still has to be postponed for a while.'

'After all, if you press too hard at once, even the spring will be crushed directly... We can't let people give up like this.'

'Only under high pressure can people show their beauty, the beauty that is unique to human nature... ah, of course, ugliness is the same.'

'So, I need to be a little prepared.'

Nozomi turned around, tapped his toes, and let the water carry him away to the slightly dilapidated urban area... There were constant sounds of wild laughter, as well as the sound of the earth shaking, and buildings collapsing or shattering. In addition, there was also soft humming mixed in, which seemed somewhat out of place.

Even from a long distance, one could still see Kalpas's fighting figure and the pile of "corpses" belonging to "Kaiji" beneath him.

On the other side, in mid-air, there was a bright red figure floating.

The bright red skirt swayed along with the wave-like white hair behind her, like seaweed. Although she was clearly in mid-air, she gave people the illusion that she was in the sea.

She grasped the two ends of the conch-like short staff with both hands and gently placed it under her body, swaying slightly like a swing. Little fish in blue and bright red swam happily beside her.

Her red pupils would occasionally fall on Kalpas, who was still fighting, but more often, she was looking at the sky covered by rain clouds, as if in a daze, humming a soft melody. That was the song that 'Blood Relative' taught her for the first time, and it was also the first song she learned.

"Ah, 'blood relatives'…"

Sensing Nozomi's arrival, Skadi stopped humming, leaned forward slightly, held the short staff, and quickly swam in the air to Nozomi's side. She squeezed into Nozomi's arms intimately and gently rubbed Nozomi's chin with her head and soft white hair.

Although Nozomi's efforts have increased her number of 'compatriots,' as expected... in comparison, she still prefers 'blood relatives' more.

Rather, as her [compatriots] increased in number, she became closer to her 'blood relatives.' Even a short separation would make her feel 'lonely'... Even though her [compatriots] were right beside her, she still felt like she was alone. How strange.

"Thank you for your hard work, Skadi."

Nozomi rubbed her head, the softness of her white hair passing through his palms, and he stroked down along the hair, feeling the water-like feeling coming from his fingertips. Until the ends of her hair fell from between his fingers, he vaguely felt that he had touched her hair all over.

"It's not hard, just look at him, it's not hard..."

Skadi shook her head and spoke softly, then raised her head and held her hair with both hands, gathering all her scattered white hair in front of her and gathering it in her arms. She held her soft hair like offering a treasure, blinked her eyes, and asked her dearest 'blood relative.'

"Do you like my hair, my blood relative? You can touch it more, and I will be happy too."

"Certainly."

Nozomi's response followed immediately, and according to Skadi's thoughts, he touched the hair in her arms again.

"I love everything about my blood relative."

As a 'return gift,' Nozomi slightly took her hand so that she could touch his hair and head in the same way.

Of course, in comparison, Skadi likes to touch Nozomi's face more and occasionally tries to reach out and pinch Nozomi's tongue... I don't know where she learned it from.

However, naturally, some people will not be able to stand seeing these two people 'showing off' like this.

Whoosh—

A slightly harsh sound of breaking through the air came from below as if someone had directly thrown a piece of building debris up.

This kind of 'attack' naturally could not escape the perception of the two, and an attack of this degree would not cause any harm to the two... and the other party naturally knew this.

In other words, this is really just a 'reminder.'

Although Nozomi didn't care, Skadi... was somewhat unhappy.

Slightly turning sideways, the eyes that originally seemed gentle, docile, and even a little cute in front of Nozomi suddenly became sharp and dangerous. The shallow layer of water on the ground trembled slightly and then surged rapidly, and a huge 'tail fin' suddenly appeared.

With a light tap, the flying building debris was knocked aside, making the already small debris become like small gravel on the Street.

"You are not allowed to harm my blood relatives."

Skadi spoke word by word, with a hint of annoyance in her tone. It was unclear whether it was because she really hated people attacking Nozomi, or because her intimacy with Nozomi had just been interrupted...

Well... it should be both, but the latter should account for a larger proportion.

"Hahahahahaha!!! If he can be injured to this extent, then that means he's just that bad!"

Kalpas didn't care about Skadi's threat. Seeing that the 'Kaiji' around him no longer came, he even had an interest in provoking Skadi again.

Then, Kalpas turned his gaze to Nozomi again. Even though his face was hidden under the mask, one could feel his excitement and... fanaticism through his eyes.

"Come on! Continue! The fight between us is not over yet! I am fed up with this bunch of rubbish who are nothing but skins and have nothing to commend them except their numbers!"

"You! Only you! Fighting with you! Killing you! Only this! Can make me feel happy!"

"Come on! Go on! Fight me! This is what you promised!"

"Or do you want to continue to waste my time with these boring things? Or do you want to increase my anger in this way?"

"Hahahaha!!! Ridiculous! My rage is endless! Even you! You! Can't extinguish it!"

"I will burn the sky! I will set the sea on blaze! I will evaporate everything you rely on! I will burn it all!"

(TL: Firefly: ?... )

"…Your vocabulary is becoming more and more extensive, Kalpas."

However, facing Kalpas' declaration of war, Nozomi just gently hugged Skadi's waist to prevent her from slapping Kalpas back to the ground with a wave of her hand... At the same time, Nozomi's focus was also very strange.

"It seems that you have accepted it much faster than others... No, it should be that you have adapted faster?"

"Ah↗?! What (obscene words) are you talking about? If you mean the mess you put in my head, I can only tell you... it's useless!"

Kalpas growled.

"I don't need such messy stuff, and I don't care about it!"

"I just need to fight! I just need enemies! And then tear them all to pieces!!!"

"Yes! That's right! I'm talking about you! You guys!!!"

"Ah...it seems like you haven't fully accepted it yet?"

Nozomi tilted his head again as if thinking about something.

"Well, that's only natural. After all, you are a [non-human]... so it will be more difficult to make you a [compatriot]."

"But it doesn't matter..."

Nozomi gently hugged Skadi's body from behind, tapped his toes, and took a few steps back, avoiding the provocative attack thrown by Kalpas.

He are stepping in the air, but it feels like he are stepping on the water. Strange ripples appear in the air, but his body seems to be moving in the seawater, with a wonderful sense of floating and a slight sense of resistance.

"You will soon be like us, one of our [fellow countrymen]."

"What the hell (obscene word) are you talking about?!"

"Hmm... Looks like we need to be careful. We can't let you lead everyone astray~"

"I've already said it! Come! Fight me! Fight me! Since you've taken off that hypocritical skin, it proves that you've started it, right?! You agree, right?! Come! Continue! I'll crush your wet and disgusting body into pieces!"

"I'd like to, but unfortunately... you've already lost, haven't you, Kalpas?"

Nozomi picked up Skadi slightly, put his chin on her shoulder, and rubbed her cheek gently, asking her to give up her plan to attack Kalpas. He showed a happy and comfortable smile and softly reminded Kalpas.

"Hah↗?!"

"Your current posture is proof of that, isn't it?"

Nozomi raised his hand and gestured, asking Kalpas to touch behind his ear or the side of his neck.

There, on both sides, there is a pair of somewhat strange 'gills.'

"..."

Kalpas suddenly fell silent.

"And, do you still think that the mask you are wearing is still the same one as before?"

Nozomi raised his hand again, tapped his own brow, and reminded softly with a smile.

"...What do you mean?"

"It means exactly what it says. Your mask has been changed. Now it is alive and is your [compatriot]."

"Ha?!"

"You have to treat it well, okay? It knew that you don't like to be in the spotlight, so it took the initiative to change into the mask style you like, and it has been hanging on your face. And because it knew you might not like it, it didn't tell you. Um... maybe it was worried that you would think too much, so it didn't say anything in front of you, okay?"

[Compatriots, I don't like to be exposed.]

As if to echo Nozomi's words, Kalpas heard a voice that was obviously very childish, like that of a newborn baby, with a hint of timidity.

[Don't be afraid, compatriots, protect it! Don't tell it!]

"..."

This time, there is really no way to deal with Kalpas.

"By the way, Kalpas, you're quite handsome."

"Are you looking for death?!"

When Kalpas heard Nozomi's comment, he immediately understood. Nozomi saw his appearance under the mask, and naturally, he had an outlet to vent the frustration that had been accumulating in his heart.

Of course, the more important thing is that his brain just crashed for a while, and now he has an excuse that allows Kalpas to stop thinking about those annoying things.

He wanted to fight, and he just had to fight, that was all... As for the rest, he didn't care.

As long as it can help him fight, he can accept it... probably.

So, driven almost instinctively, or perhaps with the help of his compatriots, Kalpas learned to roughly control the water almost instantly, stepping on the rushing water from the ground and rushing straight towards Nozomi.

Then...

"Don't hurt your blood relatives!"

Skadi raised her hand and slapped him back to the ground with a "tail fin."

And this time, Nozomi naturally did not stop her.

"It seems that your talent in combat is truly terrifying... Should I say that you are truly worthy of this, Kalpas?"

There was a hint of lightness in Nozomi's voice.

"But watching you control the water is still a little weird... Well, after all, fire suits you better."

"Ha, what? Do you want to make the thing you hate the most your strength? You're a wet, disgusting guy."

"Don't say that. After all, you are now just like me and us."

"You [obscene word]!"

Kalpas' voice was deafening.

"Even if you reject, hate, and refuse, the final result will not change, Kalpas."

Nozomi didn't care about it at all.

"After all..."

Nozomi's mouth corners slightly raised.

"From the moment the song started, the ending was already set... No matter how many twists and turns there were along the way, it would not change that."

"Don't worry, please don't worry..."

Nozomi's voice was so gentle, like water and like wind.

"I, we, are not some [disaster], and no one has ever died."

"No life will be lost, and no one will have to worry about survival."

His voice was like the rain at this moment, hazy and soft.

"People will step up the ladder of evolution, just like us."

"The sea is our home, the land is our habitat, and the sky is just a place for us to roam and play..."

"In the end, even those places where there is nothing will become our [ocean]."

"We will have an unlimited future, with no boundaries and no limits."

"Just evolve, and keep evolving..."

"And you, all of you, Kalpas, are about to become our [compatriots]..."

His voice was still so gentle.

"Don't worry, you will soon understand that we are right, and you will also understand what we are doing..."

"It doesn't matter if you refuse or resist... After all, I, like my mother, am always tolerant."

"You [obscene word]... stop saying these weird things in my head!!!"

Kalpas covered his head with one hand and growled while using the other hand, he exerted force with his fingertips, forming a claw and swung it violently in the direction of Nozomi, creating five sharp water blades out of thin air and attacking Nozomi and Skadi.

But with Nozomi snapping his fingers, the water blades suddenly shattered and turned into tiny water droplets, which returned to the puddles on the ground along with the drizzle.

"I have to sigh once again at your talent in combat, Kalpas... Well, if I think about it this way, it would be better for you to fight more. Perhaps it will speed up your understanding of us..."

"That's right, if that's your wish, then..."

Nozomi hugged Skadi in his arms again, rubbed her cheek gently, and spoke softly.

"I'm counting on you, Blood Relative."

"I still have to pay attention to the conditions of the other people later. The doctor is about to wake up, so I need to go see her. I'll leave this to you first~"

"Yeah, I understand."

Skadi nodded and responded softly.

She understood the importance of "partners" to "blood relatives," and she also understood the status and significance of several "partners" in the hearts of "blood relatives," so she would not stop it.

What's more... she doesn't need to worry about anything, she and him are "blood relatives."

Blood relations are important, no matter what.

"I will wait for you to come back, or for you to call me, Blood relative."

Skadi promised.

"No matter what, I will be by your side."

She promised.

"Yes, I know."

Nozomi kissed her cheek lightly, then let go of her hand, tapped his toes, and quickly retreated, waving goodbye to Kalpas below on the way.

"Okay, Kalpas, I will grant your request for the time being... After all, Skadi is my 'blood relative,' and fighting her is equivalent to fighting me, so... just enjoy it!"

"Don't run away, you [obscene word]!!!"

"Well, bye~"

Nozomi "swam" away quickly on the blue current, catching Kalpas off guard.

And even if he wanted to chase him, he couldn't... Skadi waved the short staff in her hand slightly, controlling the water flow to block his way.

"A blood relative is going to see his partner, so don't get in his way."

Skadi's voice was very flat as if her gentle and somewhat silly tone would only be shown to Nozomi... No, not as if, it was just like that.

After all, other people are just [compatriots], but Nozomi is her "blood relative."

"I will obey the request of my Blood Relatives and fight with you until you are satisfied."

Skadi waved her hand slightly, and a strange dark blue sword flew over from a distance, bringing with it azure water.

On the ground, the shallow puddles began to surge, and a huge "monster" gradually appeared behind her...

Just as Nozomi said, fighting with Skadi is almost equivalent to fighting with him... After all, they are "blood relatives" and both are children loved by their "mother."

"Please come."

Skadi gestured politely.

"...Haha, haha! Hahahaha!"

Kalpas was silent for a while and then laughed even more wildly.

"Good!!!"

He responded like this.

"Let's fight... to our heart's content!!!"