"Although I want to ask you how you knew us and how you found us, but…I think these questions are meaningless."
"No, it makes sense, why would it not make sense?"
Nozomi tilted her head and said with a smile.
"I know you're all weird, right? After all, the doctor often does dangerous experiments, and I'm always by her side... At the same time, I also need to deal with the aftermath of her experiments."
"Plus, I'm basically in charge of the doctor's diplomacy... so is it strange that I know about you, the 'Poison Pupa'?"
"..."
The two were silent... It seemed that what Nozomi said was correct. With Mobius's experiment almost always hovering at the "bottom line," it was almost inevitable that she would come into contact with the dark side of the 'Flame Chaser.' So it was natural for Nozomi, who was now communicating on behalf of Mobius, to come into contact with the dark side... Then it was not strange that he knew about the 'Poison Pupa.'
"But, I actually knew you guys a long time ago, but you just don't remember it."
Nozomi smiled, and moved his gloved hands gently, controlling the device on his knuckles to input commands.
The 'Soulium' flowed in the air like water, separated from the combat uniform on his body, and slowly moved to their side where they were unable to move.
"Tsk… Damn it…"
They frowned and tried to move their bodies or force themselves to move at the cost of getting injured.
But... what a pity, no matter how good their physical fitness is, they are still ordinary people. Facing the 'Herrscher,' especially the 'Herrscher' like Nozomi, they are unable to resist.
Not to mention that the water has already entered their bodies, not to mention that it is raining, or even raining heavily.
At this moment, even though Nozomi has not yet fully revealed his true appearance, with the advantage of his home court, he is able to exert 50% to 60% of his strength.
And Nozomi's 50% to 60%... ha, that's really not something an ordinary person can resist.
So, the two of them could only watch as the 'Soulium' flowed to their limbs, fixed on their wrists and ankles, and then... Nozomi's fingertips moved slightly, and he used the 'Soulium' to forcibly move their stiff bodies, little by little, step by step, out of the room and walked to the outside covered by rain.
"Hmm…"
When they walked out of the room, they all shivered... Although the room was filled with damp and cold air, there was still some warmth left.
But when they got outside... when the wind and heavy rain hit them, they felt deeply what it meant to be wet and cold.
The rain hit their heads, passed through their hair, hit their scalps, hit their shoulders, fell on their skin, wet their hair, and soaked their clothes.
The soaked clothes stuck to their skin, making the two feel extremely heavy... so heavy, so heavy, as if they were moving in the deep sea against the water pressure.
"What exactly do you want us to do... guh..."
"Shh... please calm down. It's no big deal for me to come to you. I just want to settle a long-standing [revenge]."
Nozomi raised his hand, placed his index finger lightly on his lips, and spoke slowly in a voice that was soft but surprisingly clear amid the sound of heavy rain.
"Rather, you are just incidental... My real target is actually the guys who gave you the order... Ah, don't worry, there are extra people to deal with those people, so I came here specifically to find you."
"Hmm~ That's right, the extra [existence]... Just like you thought, it's a Honkai beast, but it's just a slightly different kind~"
Nozomi smiled, reached out, and took out two small bottles from the inner pocket of his combat uniform, which contained... some "medicine."
"To be honest, when I saw this thing, I felt a little nostalgic... Although it doesn't look like sugar, its essence is the same..."
Nozomi shook the two small bottles in his hands, ignoring the terrified and panicked expressions of Al and the others, letting their lips tremble wildly and their throats surge constantly, making them unable to make any sound because their bodies were controlled by the extra water...
In the rainstorm, their perception of their bodies became increasingly strange. They could clearly feel their bodies and limbs, and their thoughts were normal, but they could not move or mobilize their bodies at all.
"Oh, yes, out of my own kindness... I want to tell you some good news."
Nozomi smiled with a slightly evil taste. In the dim rainy night, the scarlet color in his strange three-color pupils was particularly eye-catching.
"I have disposed of all your pharmaceutical factories and your subordinates. The two bottles of medicine I have on hand are probably your only remaining achievements. Well... If you are curious about how I did it, then I can only tell you... Hehe, the existence of the Herrscher is beyond your imagination~"
No matter how deep it is hidden, as long as there is water flowing and wind blowing, he will always know it.
No matter how far the distance is, as long as the rain can reach it and the breeze can blow it, he will always arrive.
It's just... a small [price] to pay, and a small step closer to "blood relatives" and "mother." It's worth it...
"Okay~ First, please allow me to complete my first little revenge."
Nozomi moved his fingers slightly, moved Al's body to the side, opened the lid of the medicine bottle, pried open Al's friend's mouth, and then...
Let him raise his head to catch the rain falling from the sky, and let the rain pour the medicine directly into his throat.
At the same time, Al could only watch from the side. Even though his eyes were filled with anger and panic, he could do nothing... He, they all knew very well what this so-called medicine was. It was a kind of addictive psychotropic drug that they developed to facilitate the control of their subordinates.
As long as a certain amount is consumed, a strong sense of dependence will arise, and it must be consumed regularly afterwards, otherwise it will feel like life is worse than death... and as the number of times it is taken increases, the sense of dependence will become stronger and stronger, and the daily dose will also increase.
And if you take too much of this obviously problematic drug at one time...
"To be honest, there is actually no big conflict between you and me."
Nozomi poured the second bottle of medicine into the mouth of the person in front of him, controlling his body and making him swallow it directly with the rainwater in his mouth.
"After all, you and I were still [friends] back then... well, at least on the surface."
"As long as we don't break each other's window paper, as long as you don't deliberately target me in some way... To be honest, I still like you very much."
"After all, in a sense, you helped me and Sakura take the first step successfully... It's a pity that 'that time' didn't lead to any result in the end."
"Even later on, I actually didn't have much resentment towards you... After all, you were in charge of my [Logistics] and helped me with many things."
"It's a pity... You were a little anxious at that time. You came to find me after I finished the operation with the doctor, and even... threatened Sakura with the Rin, and then threatened me..."
Having said this, Nozomi suddenly paused. His face turned cold and calm. The rain falling around him seemed to sense the change in his mood and it rained even harder. The noisy sound of the rain covered up everything around him.
"… Never mind. I'm tired of it."
Looking at the man in front of him whose eyes rolled up, foam was coming out of his mouth, and his whole body was twitching, Nozomi said expressionlessly.
"That time has already passed. It is a little too late to take revenge on you now, and... it is meaningless."
"So... I'm tired of it."
Nozomi waved his hand expressionlessly, then turned around and no longer looked at the man whose body had begun to [dissolve].
"..."
Al, with his eyes wide open, watched his friend being swallowed up by the rain bit by bit in front of him. Not even his hair, skin, flesh, bones, or even clothes were left.
He just [dissolved] in the rain and lost all trace of his existence in the world.
"And you, my good commander, my former [benefactor], my former [superior]... Al."
Nozomi looked at Al who had been "fixed" by him, reached out his hand, gently touched his forehead, and spoke softly.
"I also have to thank you, thank you for letting me meet Sakura... Although your actions were somewhat excessive, I have to say that your original [Plan] was indeed successful. Sakura has indeed become irreplaceable to me."
"The [knife] has indeed been put back into its [sheath]."
"But unfortunately, you don't remember it, and you don't need to remember it."
"Out of mercy on this side...I will give you a better death."
"At least, there's no pain."
Nozomi said this softly, then took two steps back without taking any other action.
'He seemed to have done nothing...' Al thought so.
Tick-tock——
It is the sound of rain falling on oneself.
Al moved his eyes, and what he saw... was a body that was rapidly [dissolving] with the rain.
And unlike his friend's [Dissolution], he... his body was like paint caught in the rain, quickly washed away by the rain, and his human figure gradually became distorted and weird, and even the color became lighter.
"Please rest assured, your identities will not be exposed..."
Nozomi spoke softly as if to comfort him.
"After all, you exist as the 'knife' in the dark. As long as the top leaders of the 'Fire Moth' have the intention, they will not deliberately expose your existence."
"Therefore, you will only exist on paper and in data as victims."
"You will become one... no, two victims of a special Honkai disaster that will be engraved in the records of the Fire Moth."
"Of course, this is the first time, but it will definitely not be the last."
"From now on... 'Fire Moth' will remember that the Honkai beasts that crawled out of the [Ocean] are different from the Honkai beasts on land."
"From now on, Fire Moth will remember that rainy days are the most dangerous weather."
"From now on, the 'Fire Moth' will know what the 'Mother's' offspring looks like."
"So..."
Nozomi looked toward the direction where no one but only rain was falling and bowed slightly.
"Good night."
"..."
"Haha…"
After completing the necessary etiquette, Nozomi sighed.
"No, I'm fine, 'Mother.'"
Feeling the care and comfort coming from the rain, Nozomi shook his head and spoke softly.
"It's just a bit of a pity... This kind of [revenge] is meaningless."
Tick-tock——
The rain fell on Nozomi's head as if caressing his head as if trying to give him some comfort.
"Well, thank you 'Mother,' I'm fine."
Nozomi smiled gently and answered softly.
Afterward, Nozomi felt that his combat suit seemed to have some reaction. The "Soulium" that was originally used to restrain the two people was not integrated into the combat suit after returning but gathered into a special device on Nozomi's shoulders, and then connected to Nozomi's communication equipment.
"...be honest, Brother."
Vill-V's voice came over the communication.
"Do you hate both of them?"
Her tone was calm, so calm that it didn't sound like Vill-V.
"If I have to say it, it's definitely annoying."
Nozomi didn't seem surprised by Vill-V's communication.
"After all, they were one of the main culprits in that worst 'time'... Well, the biggest problem at that time was probably me."
"What's wrong? Are you unhappy when you see what I did?"
"How did you know that, Brother?"
Vill-V's voice suddenly changed back, becoming a little timid and embarrassed. After all, stuffing a camera and private communication into Nozomi's combat uniform... this was somewhat... ahem.
"After all, the 'box' and combat uniforms are basically kept by you, and you often add equipment and functions, so I am not surprised..."
Nozomi said in a relaxed tone.
"And you always leave [backdoors] in your work, don't you?"
"Well! I must say this first! There is absolutely no [backdoor] in the work for [Brother]!"
"Really? Then this camera and private communication don't count?"
"…Not really!"
Vill-V chose to be stubborn.
"I am just a [younger sister] who is concerned about my [brother's] safety... That's right! That's it!"
"Ha... that's a good excuse."
Nozomi didn't dwell too much on this topic.
"However, after you merged with the Originium and accepted all the 'memories' of 'that time'... your personality changed a little too quickly, Vill-V."
"... As expected, it was right to prepare for you in advance. Otherwise, you would be overwhelmed by your 'previous self' and go crazy."
"..."
Vill-V didn't say anything. After all, Nozomi was telling the truth... that was [eight selves]... it was really exaggerated.
"That..."
Vill-V spoke softly... Nozomi was very familiar with this tone, it was the voice of "attachment."
"Brother, do you hate this? Hate... this kind of Vill-V?"
"No, how could that be?"
Nozomi found it somewhat amusing.
"To me, Vill-V is always Vill-V."
"Besides... you have tried your best for me, exhausted your thoughts, and found ways to leave your 'memories'... How can I hate or reject such kindness?"
"This love alone is enough to move people, how can I hate it?"
"It's better to say that I like you too late..."
"..."
Vill-V was silent for a while before responding in a matter-of-fact yet excited tone.
"Brother, you seem to be more talkative than last time... Is it because you have accepted the past?"
Huh... As expected, she, Vill-V, has advantages over everyone else!
"Besides, Brother... you know that sometimes it is dangerous to say these nice words."
"…Um?"
"I mean~"
Vill-V's tone was light, even full of a certain sense of bad humor.
"If you do this, it will be easy for people to..."
"If you dare to keep talking, I'll go back and spank you."
"…snort!"
Vill-V snorted coldly and immediately changed the subject.
"So... Brother, are you going to continue? I know you can get help from the ocean and rain, but the time left... isn't enough? That old woman Mobius will probably come looking for you."
"Continue? No, not necessary."
Nozomi smiled and shook his head, then looked up at the heavy rain, which showed no signs of stopping.
"Vill-V, don't forget that this rain is abnormal. It was deliberately created by [us]... Just like I said, there will be special beings to help me deal with the other guys..."
"It doesn't matter if I miss it. Even better, I can tell the Fire Moth that a new threat unit has appeared."
"...I feel like [Brother] has a bad taste this time... Compared to [last time], does [this time] he really want to be a [Great Devil]?"
Vill-V complained subconsciously.
"Why not?"
Nozomi replied with a smile.
"In order to [move forward], you always have to pay a [price]... For the [end] I expect, I can and am willing to pay everything."
"It's just a matter of playing the villain for a little while, what's wrong with that?"
"And... Vill-V, you have to work hard too, okay? Your position will be very important in the future."
"Yes, yes, I will help my brother."
Vill-V answered casually with a perfunctory attitude, but Nozomi knew that she answered very seriously.
"Well... this initial performance is over. I believe that Blood Relatives has left a deep impression on Fire Moth... It's time to let Blood Relatives rest."
Nozomi shook his head, raised his hand, bit his fingertips, and the blood that seeped out mixed with the rain and condensed into beads in the air.
Then Nozomi made a "blowing kiss" gesture, and the blood beads flew out and turned into several bright red small [fish], which swam happily in the air a few times, and then quickly swam their small tail fins and disappeared in the rain.
"So... let's go"
"Okay, I'll wait for you, [Brother]."
…
...
On the other side, along the coast...
"Damn it... How could such a big thing appear in the sea? It's too big!"
On a dark rainy night, Himeko, who was leading the team stationed on the shore, complained in a low voice while attacking the huge body that seemed hazy under the cover of darkness and rain, trying to prevent it from crawling ashore from the sea.
Its body is really too exaggerated, huge, and long, and it had only poked its head out of the sea. It is still unknown how big its body is under the sea!
The dark blue body had numerous "eyes" and was covered with a layer of something that was either leather or scales... It was as hard as a ghost, and the attack was useless! Not even a trace was left!
Has the strength of the body alone reached this point? This is too much!
And... she didn't know if it was Her illusion, but she could always vaguely see a hint of bright red on its huge body...
But it was too dark, and with the rain blocking her view, she didn't know if she was seeing things. After all, its body was all dark blue, and if there was a hint of bright red, it would have been very conspicuous!
'It would be great if that was its weakness... No! It's moving again! We can't let it get to the shore!'
"Damn it... Hua! What's the situation inland?! Any news?!"
While Himeko and others attacked it to hinder its advance, she began to shout... There was no other way, the rain was too heavy, and if she didn't shout, no one else would hear her.
"Captain! According to the inland team's report... the situation is not good! This rainstorm covered the entire Mu Continent. It can almost be confirmed that it is a special Honkai Eruption. At the same time, strange-looking Honkai beasts appeared in various places in the inland, and they all appeared in cities with heavy rain!"
"Damn it... Can't this Honkai be a little less complicated?!"
Himeko growled with gritted teeth, and then a great sense of crisis enveloped her heart.
Looking up, you can see a huge black shadow falling rapidly under the light.
"No! Everyone! Disperse!"
Himeko could only give the order immediately while pulling the team members beside her and running to both sides.
Boom!
Thanks to its early discovery, its "attack" did not hurt anyone... and even gave the combatants a chance to attack it at close range.
But... unfortunately, the attack on it was still ineffective. Although it failed to hurt anyone, no one present could hurt it either.
"What's wrong with this guy's body?! Is it so hard?!"
Himeko almost broke her teeth as she watched it put what was probably its "fin" back into the sea.
Fortunately, it is still wandering in the near-shore area, some distance away from the shore, otherwise, Himeko would not know how to stop it... Huh?
Himeko was suddenly stunned... because she seemed to see a hint of bright red appear on its body again.
And its body also stopped approaching the shore.
…
...
"Hmm~ blood relatives"
Skadi, standing on its huge body, looked at the bright red [fish] swimming out from the rain and shouted softly with a hint of joy in her voice.
Then, she let the bright red [fish] rub her face gently, and as a "return," Skadi also kissed the [fish] affectionately... This was something she learned, and it seemed that "blood relatives" would do this kind of thing with their "partners" to show intimacy.
Well... if a "partner" can do it, then she should be able to do it too, right?
'After all, we are "blood relatives"' - Skadi doesn't think there is anything wrong with her way of thinking.
"Is that so... Yeah, I understand."
Sensing the message of "blood relatives" from the [swimming fish], Skadi nodded, and then looked again in the direction of the coast, her sight passing through the rain curtain, looking at those people who were still on guard and even ready to launch an attack.
"..."
Then, in silence, under the confused and relieved gaze of the personnel stationed on the shore, it turned around, brought its huge body back into the ocean, and disappeared into the horizon.
"Finally…"
After confirming that it had gone far away and that no Honkai beasts would crawl out of the sea for the time being, the garrison personnel collapsed to the ground in a somewhat embarrassed manner.
"It's over…"
'...No, it's not over yet' Himeko knew that very well.
Honkai... has already started to give them "new tricks," and this kind of situation will definitely happen more and more in the future.
"Damn it... What the hell is in this sea..."
Himeko complained in a low voice while resting.