Chapter 188: The Direction of the World is Skewing

[The reunion with your "blood relatives" is indeed something worth celebrating, but... when you return to the "Fire Moth", you learn some bad news.]

[Vill-V "disappeared"]

[Vill-V mysteriously disappeared in her own "Spiral Workshop", along with her extremely precious "Immortal Flower" that you gave her]

[From the traces left at the scene, it is very likely that Vill-V was injected with an overdose of Honkai energy and Originium, and ended up... like everyone else, contracted Originium Disease, and then was covered in crystals all over her body, and eventually shattered without leaving any trace.]

[In other words, Vill-V is most likely "dead", but in order to reassure people, "Fire Moth" replaced her with "missing"... After all, that's Vill-V, so it's normal to disappear for a few days.]

[But you don't need to go through so much trouble... When you heard the news and rushed to the "Spiral Workshop", you unexpectedly saw Vill-V, who was maintaining the same state as "them" and was still curiously testing her own condition.]

[It's just that after seeing you coming, especially seeing that very "bad" smile on your face, Vill-V laughed a few times awkwardly, trying to get away with it.]

[And you naturally have no way to deal with this...]

[As mentioned before, this "liberation" is irreversible. Once Vill-V has done it, there is nothing you can do. You can only simply reprimand her and helplessly "take" her with you.]

[Seeing that you didn't blame her too much, Vill-V gradually relaxed her hands and feet. She was impressed by her own strange state and regretted that she couldn't touch those instruments now... But she would find a way to overcome this problem.]

[At the same time, Vill-V also expressed surprise at "them" around you... It turns out that the people who died of "Originium Disease" before were not really "dead". They were actually "liberated" just as you said.]

[Although they couldn't touch many things, they did get rid of the invasion of Honkai... Especially when Vill-V saw Himeko, she was even more surprised.]

[But Vill-V was more thankful, thankful that she was willing to believe you... the "liberation" you mentioned was not simply "death"]

[Then, regarding Skadi, who had always been by your side, this "blood relative" who suddenly appeared and had an extremely special identity... When Vill-V first saw her, she expressed strong dissatisfaction]

["Brother, don't be fooled by those bad women out there! Only me! Only me who loves you! Ouch…" — She said this, and then as expected, she was beaten by you]

[And Skadi... looks at you in confusion, asking if Vill-V is your other "partner"]

[This actually surprised Vill-V. Her previous words were more of a "bullshit" but now after hearing what Skadi said... she became more interested and a little unhappy.]

[As the "older brother", when choosing a "partner", how can you not let her, the "sister", assess them?]

[And according to Skadi's description, you seem to have more than one "partner", which makes Vill-V even more upset, and she even starts to quarrel with you without caring about her image.]

[Skadi expressed doubts about this... She doesn't think it's strange for you to have multiple "partners". After all, she doesn't care about it. As long as you can remember her and be with her, that's enough.]

[Nothing is more important than "blood relatives", this is the view she has always held]

[You are stuck between the two of them, feeling helpless and distressed by their inexplicable debate... while "they" are happily enjoying the "family comedy" performed by the three of you, enjoying themselves]

[Well, although the process was somewhat funny, you still spent some effort to calm the two of them down. Well... it was mainly because of Vill-V. After not getting a "rest" for a long time, her emotions were somewhat unstable.]

[At the same time, in order to squeeze out Skadi, who has been clinging to you as a "blood relative", tugging at your clothes and refusing to let go, and refusing to leave at all, Vill-V also rarely showed the attitude of a "sister", or "attached" to you in front of "them"]

[Hmm... I can see that she really tried her best]

[Of course, compared to your relaxed and even playful interactions, the situation in the outside world, or on the Fire Moth's side, is not so good.]

[Although many people are reluctant to admit this, it must be said that Vill-V is the best engineer and designer in the "Fire Moth" engineering department, no doubt about it]

[Even though many of Vill-V's designs seem to be wild and unrealistic, and even have many useless and quite outrageous designs, the things she designs and makes are indeed useful, and often have unexpected effects]

[In other words, Vill-V's departure dealt a huge blow to the Fire Moth... If it weren't for the large number of design drawings left in Vill-V's Spiral Workshop, the Fire Moth would have been in turmoil for a while.]

[But even if "Fire Moth" obtained a large number of blueprints, manufacturing is still a hassle... Especially when seeing some outrageous designs left by Vill-V, "Fire Moth" has even more headaches.]

[For example, there is a cannon-type weapon. In Vill-V's design drawing, a design that can produce small flowers on the muzzle was inserted. When "Fire Moth" discovered this, they thought the design was strange and useless, so they asked the engineering department to "optimize" the design.]

[Then... the people in the engineering department discovered that if they removed the design that could produce small flowers, the weapon would be useless.]

[Not only will there be problems with firing, but also with power supply... In the end, this cannon will probably become an ordinary "hammer"]

[Instead of wasting resources to create such a "useless" thing, it is better to just redesign it]

[It seems that Vill-V did not design the small flower design after designing the cannon, but after completing the small flower design, she designed a cannon based on it.]

[Hiss… Okay, okay, the "underlying code" cannot be changed, right?]

[The Fire Moth who discovered this was also speechless and could only ask the people in the engineering department to do their best to analyze Vill-V's design. On the one hand, they manufactured weapons according to the original design, and on the other hand, they tried to analyze Vill-V's design and gradually optimize it, or even design new weapons.]

[At the same time, because the Spiral Workshop had lost its original owner, the Fire Moth also recovered it and handed it over to the Engineering Department, allowing the people in the Engineering Department to analyze the design left by Vill-V.]

[In addition, Vill-V's "disappearance" has also led to a series of problems... especially about you]

[Although all signs indicate that Vill-V committed suicide, it is still inevitably related to you]

[After all, your "Immortal Flower" also disappeared along with Vill-V. When Vill-V received it, she was very happy for a long time. Everyone who went to the "Spiral Workshop" could see the "Immortal Flower" that Vill-V protected in a special container.]

[If that's the case, then could Vill-V's "death"... be related to you?]

[Although there is no concrete evidence, it doesn't matter. Conjecture and speculation don't cost anything, and don't cost anything, right?]

[Especially after Vill-V "disappeared", your attitude didn't even change... No sadness, no regrets, only calmness on your face, as if you didn't care about Vill-V's life or death]

[You and Vill-V are so close, and sometimes people even tease you as a pair of "siblings" with strange personalities and relationships... But this is how it ends? When your "sister" leaves, you, as a "brother", behave like this?]

[This makes everyone believe even more that... you are no longer the "doctor" you were before, but a heartless, emotionless, and ruthless "monster" in human skin.]

[You are actually quite helpless about this... You can't explain anything to them, and you can't prove anything to them... But it doesn't matter, you don't really care]

[However, the incident with Vill-V has set a very bad precedent, especially for the "Rescue Knights" that you once led.]

[Those members who have nothing to do with the church are fine. They don't feel anything about this matter, but their misunderstanding of you has deepened… But those who come from the church are different.]

[Led by the theologian who taught you "meditation", they begged you to give them liberation... including Father Enrique.]

[In fact, their request is not excessive. As a rescue force that has been active on the front line for a long time, the death rate of the "Rescue Knights" is not as high as that of real combat troops, but there are many injured. Therefore, most members suffer from "Originium Disease", which is a problem left over from the large-scale use of "Ore Disease Therapy" in the past.]

[After the appearance of "Sariel", you, as the leader, turned into a "monster", and the "Ore Disease Treatment" also had problems... It can be said that the entire "Rescue Knights" is on the verge of disbanding.]

[The "Fire Moths" even thought about breaking up and reorganizing this team, but in the end, it was only with the full efforts of your "student" Irine that they were able to barely keep the name of a team.]

[However, the members of the team also began to be divided, and some members with excellent combat capabilities followed Irine to form a combat team (after all, Irine's excellent combat power "Fire Moth" cannot be used)]

[The other members who still have the root of the disease are assigned to the rescue team and perform some medical or logistical tasks in the rear.]

[In other words, the "Fire Moth" is slowly taking back the command of the "Rescue Knights"... This is understandable and natural, but it still causes dissatisfaction among many people, especially Irine.]

[However, for people who come from the church, this kind of thing doesn't matter, they don't care.]

[After enduring the torture of "Originium Disease" for a long time, after seeing what happened to Vill-V, and after seeing your expression without sadness, they came to beg you, begging you, the one who is favored, to give them "relief"]

[To be honest, you are quite resistant... In your opinion, although death is not worth fearing, it is not worth desiring either. Only life should be cherished.]

[But... in your "perspective", their spirits and souls are tortured by misfortune and suffering, which makes you feel sorry for them]

[Perhaps, at this moment, you are already standing at the crossroads of choosing your "destiny"]

[Should we let them continue to endure the pain of "living", let them move forward in suffering, and overcome misfortune alone?]

[Or should we grant them "death" and "liberation" so that their spirits and souls no longer have to suffer?]

[Skadi gently tugged at your sleeve, telling you that you don't have to worry about it your "blood relative" being by your side]

[Vill-V turned over and sat on your shoulder, and put her favorite magic hat on your head, saying that she didn't care and she would support your decision. After all, no matter what, you are Nozomi, and to her, Nozomi is just Nozomi]

[What's more... everything after "liberation" doesn't seem so bad, right?]

[...…]

You decide

[You gave them "liberation", allowing people including Father Enrique to join "their" big family and follow you]

[Of course, your actions were discovered by others, causing fear among the people and... Mobius's fanatical interest.]

["It seems that the matter of Vill-V still has a great impact on you... I'm glad that you finally let go of that boring persistence, little white mouse~" - This is what Mobius said]

["Now, take me to see it~", Mobius stretched out his hand to you, "Let me see the world after all living beings are 'liberated'"]

["And I am also curious… can 'death' conquer me as I am now?" —She said this]

[You pondered over this and finally agreed to Mobius's experiment request. After all, Mobius's ability as a fusion warrior is very special. She can be "resurrected" after "death", so... is the so-called "liberation" actually "death"?]

[And the answer is obvious - no]

[When the crystals covered Mobius' body, and when the crystals shattered and dissipated, Mobius' body disappeared, and the only thing left was Mobius who had changed her existence.]

[This surprised Mobius, especially after seeing Vill-V, Skadi, and "them"... But after the surprise, the desire to study continued to burn.]

[She wanted to understand what kind of existence "they" were at this moment, soul? Spirit? Or something else?]

[However, Mobius' joining was not welcomed, but instead caused a burst of wailing. After all, they had hoped that Mobius could help them research a method to shape the body.]

[Now, Mobius has joined "them", isn't this the end?]

[But Mobius is not worried. After all, her assistant Klein is still there. All she needs to do is to relay her words to let Klein continue her research... Then she saw Klein joining in.]

[As for the reason... naturally, Klein wanted to follow Mobius. As one of the few people who "understood" Mobius, Klein was also a little worried about Mobius's condition. Therefore, after asking you for help, she was "relieved"]

[Oh wow, this is over]

[Two of the three top figures in the research department of "Fire Moth", Mobius, Mei, and Vill-V, have passed away. It can be said that the direction of the entire world has deviated to another path because of this.]

[And their plan to obtain a body has also failed. What should they do next...]

[It doesn't matter, because the problem was solved immediately]

[If I were to ask why… it was because the "Eighth Great Eruption" had occurred.]