"........."
It was a very arrogant statement, but no one present objected because Mei really had the ability to say it.
As someone who proposed many plans to combat the Honkai and even produced many results, Mei, on the road to the Fire Moths' fight against the Honkai, could not be said to have single-handedly led the entire team, but at least she contributed 70% of the strength. Of the remaining 30%, 20% belonged to Mobius and 10% to the combatants.
It can be said that Mei is now the key protected object of the Fire Moth, and a thorn in the side of the Herrscher.
And when Mei put such a heavyweight as herself as a bargaining chip, the whole plan took on a different flavor... because the Tenth Herrscher would definitely try his best to stop her, or in other words, try his best to kill her.
Now that Mu Continent is sinking, if the Fire Moth loses Mei again, it can basically declare the countdown for human civilization. Even if it can still hold on for some time, it will only be a lingering survival.
So this was a trap laid out in the open, a trap to lure the Herrscher to kill her, a complete conspiracy.
"…Well, Dr. Mei, you succeeded in convincing us."
They discussed it with each other and finally approved Mei's proposal.
"But you will still need to accept punishment for [privately misappropriating the Herrscher Core]... You don't need to be confined, but you must review yourself. This is the rule."
"I will."
Mei picked up the documents again and left without looking back.
Then, as expected, the [Battle to Defeat the Tenth Herrscher]... will begin in a few days.
…………
………………
[How is it? Any news? ]
[That woman took all the Herrscher cores away, and she already has a prototype of the "Blank Key". Damn it!]
[Interesting]
[It seems like your relationship isn’t that good~ You only realized it after I’ve done everything]
[Our previous sneak attack was also unsuccessful. None of the key targets were killed, and we even sacrificed one of our own. This is really difficult.]
[There's another one that escaped, right? ]
[They escaped~ They are really embarrassed~]
[As expected, the guys in the Fire Moth are all trash~ trash~]
[Now it seems that she is planning to catch us all in one fell swoop? ]
[At worst, she can just not go. Then her plan will fail.]
[I think we can go. Otherwise, if the "Blank Key" is really developed successfully, it will be very disadvantageous to "us". In addition, the ocean has become stable recently, and there are fewer Honkai beasts in the sea for some reason. We can take a boat over there for a surprise attack.]
[Are you stupid? Do you think that crazy engineer's invention is just a decoration? And where can a ship go to the island now?! Everyone uses a flying machine!]
[The ocean has calmed down... Maybe something big is coming out~ Is it our companion? Yes! That's great! ]
[We can use a crashed aircraft to replace the ship, and then pretend that the support troops are attacked, set a trap to lure that cold guy away from that woman, and split the troops into two groups. This is a good opportunity to kill that woman.]
【Okay, okay! 】
[Yeah, that's true! After all, that woman is just a human being, she's definitely not as good as "us"! ]
【Do you want to vote? Do you want to vote? 】
[Come on, I vote in favor. As long as we kill that woman, the Fire Moth will be half-crippled. Then we can deal with that snake-like guy. In this way, mankind will be completely finished.]
[Don't you care about those soldiers? They are so difficult to deal with.]
[I vote in favor too. So what if we can fight? We will kill all the humans they protect little by little, leaving them with a desolate world and letting them live alone...Hahahaha! It's fun just thinking about it!]
[Can “we” do it…]
[Of course, as long as "we" are together, there is nothing we can't do! Just pull them little by little, separate them, and when their attention is drawn... secretly kill the humans they are protecting! Hahahaha! When they react, they will definitely show very interesting expressions! ]
[Yes, little by little, just like cutting sausages]
[Well...well, I...I agree too...]
[Agree! Agree! ]
[Hahahaha! Come on! Let's do it together! Let "we" gather together! Let's disrupt the entire civilization! Let humanity perish in chaos and suspicion! ]
Thus, a meeting that belonged exclusively to “them” ended.
----------
【hunting】
【hunting】
【hunting】
[Hunting, the ocean is so quiet recently, everything is so quiet, where are the Honkai beasts? Are they extinct? ]
[But luckily, you still have Skadi with you. It is always noisy and always wants to get close to you. This problem has become more serious after it recognized you as a "blood relative", but you don't care, so just let it be.]
【hunting】
[We hunted a great white shark today. It doesn’t taste good, but it’s the only prey we have today. You have to eat it even if it tastes bad. You can go back soon. Yes, absolutely.]
[Tried to return to land, failed again...]
----------
"........."
Lying on the sea, letting the current carry him away, Xi Wang looked at the sky indifferently... He failed again.
There were fewer and fewer Honkai beasts in the sea, and there were almost no Honkai beasts left... Were they all hunted down by him and Skadi? That didn't make sense. After all, Honkai was still active, so Honkai beasts should continue to appear.
But... there are fewer and fewer Honkai beasts in the sea, and there will be no more to hunt... what should I do next? If I hunt the last Honkai beast and still can't go back... what should I do?
Xi Wang didn’t know, but he had to continue to become stronger and keep hunting, hunting the Honkai beasts until he could return to the land.
"Come on, Skadi, it's time to hunt."
Xiwang turned over and dived into the sea, intending to continue today's hunting...but soon, Skadi swam over and blocked his way.
【Hope, blood relatives, sad? 】
"... A little, but it's okay, I'm just a little anxious... Let's continue hunting. There are fewer and fewer [prey] recently. If we don't leave soon, I'm afraid we won't be able to find any today."
[Hope, blood relatives, hunting, no]
"...If you want to rest, then rest. I can control the [ocean current] to carry you forward."
[No, blood relatives! ]
Skadi stood in front of Xiwang again.
[The prey is gone! The hunting is gone! ]
"...The ocean is so big, there must be a few Honkai beasts left. Maybe they are hiding. We can look for them again. We will find them eventually."
[No! Blood relatives! Anxiety! Return to land! Ocean, blood relatives, sadness! ]
[Blood relatives, sad! Skadi, sad! ]
[Skadi, help! ]
"Don't say it, Skadi, don't say it, please..."
Xiwang tried to dissuade it, hoping it would not say the following words... Unfortunately, he couldn't even stop it now, because Skadi communicated with him by directly conveying its meaning, and the so-called "talking" was just its chirping.
And now, he could only listen to it saying those words to itself.
[Blood relatives! Anxiety! Skadi, help! ]
[Blood relatives! Skadi! Eat! Become stronger! Return to land! ]
[Blood relatives, two-legged beasts, good! Return to land, power is needed! ]
[Skadi, Honkai Beast, bad! Hunt! Eat! ]
Skadi gently shook its tail fin, swam to your side, stuck out its tongue, and gently licked Xiwang.
[Blood relatives, happy! Skadi, happy! ]
[Blood relatives, return to land! Go home! ]
[Blood relative, Skadi! Hunt! Eat! Become stronger! Return to land! ]
Skadi leaned forward and nudged Xiwang again, as if to urge him.
"…I've already told you that I'm not your blood relative. I'm not a killer whale."
[Blood relatives! Like! Close! ]
[Hunting! Skadi! Eat! ]
[Skadi, Honkaimon! Bad! Two-legged beast, Honkai, fight! Good!]
"........."
Xi Wang remained silent and did not respond.
Of course he wanted to return to land...that was something he had to do, he had to return to them.
But... this does not mean that he does not recognize Skadi as his [friend], even though it is just a Honkai beast, and is very stupid and silly.
It is indeed very friendly to Xiwang. From the time Xiwang fell into the sea until now, it has always been by his side and has helped him a lot. It is also very active during hunting... It is indeed like a partner, accompanying Xiwang.
Xi Wang is willing to return kindness to those who treat him kindly, and he will show gentleness and favor to those who have helped him... It would be better for him to think about how to dry up the sea than to turn around and hurt those who have helped him, those people he remembers.
But now... it's a difficult situation to decide.
Xiwang must return to them, this is the motivation that has kept him going until now.
But now all the Honkai beasts in the "ocean" have been hunted down by him and Skadi, and it is really difficult to find "prey" again... and he is anxious to return to land.
So what is the most efficient method at this time?
That would naturally be to "eat" Skadi, who had always been by his side, had eaten a large amount of Honkai beast remains like him, and had also become stronger. In this way, perhaps he could break through the shackles of the "ocean" and return to the land.
But this would be equivalent to challenging Xiwang's self-awareness and breaking the "bottom line" he set for himself - to hurt those who have helped him and to attack those who treat him kindly.
But... Skadi is willing to do this, willing to sacrifice herself.
It was simply because it was close to him, it simply "liked" him, "liked" him as a human being, yet he could feel a breath similar to that of a "blood relative" from it, and even directly regarded himself as a "blood relative".
Skadi even found a reason for herself - it is a Honkai beast, it is bad, so it is natural for it to be "hunted" and eaten.
It should have been defeated by Xiwang, a "two-legged beast".
[Look, blood relatives! Like! Hunt, Skadi, eat! Become stronger, return to land, collapse, fight! ]
Skadi gently touched Xiwang's body again and urged.
"........."
Xiwang remained silent and reached out to touch its head. Skadi opened its mouth and showed its tongue out of comfort and habit, and Xiwang also reached out and touched it in response.
He has made his choice.
Then, he gently manipulated the water flow, surrounding Skadi's body, as if he wanted to use the water he controlled to replace his hands and hold it in his arms.
"……Thanks."
Xiwang's hands gently stroked Skadi's head, gently and tenderly.
He leaned forward slightly, his forehead touching Skadi's cool body, his eyes drooping slightly.
"Thank you... Skadi, my friend... no, my "blood relative"."
"嘤——"
It chirped happily with endless joy.
At least in the end, it finally found its "blood relative"...even if he was a "two-legged beast."
The water flowed quietly, taking away its life quickly and silently, and its body was divided into several pieces.
"........."
Xi Wang just remained silent, opened his mouth, and "ate" the remains.
Drops of azure water seeped out quietly from the corners of his eyes, and then quickly lost their own color, and disappeared in a short while... "The ocean" is tolerant and will accept even tears.
He ate voraciously, as if trying to suppress all the tears and sadness that were oozing out.
