บท 183: Chapter 183: Surprise~

"It's really… troublesome."

Hiding in a secluded corner, Nozomi quickly treated the injury of a team member, removed the crystal and stored it in the "box", and took a glance at the map displayed on the mask... The dangerous butterfly-shaped Honkai beast was slowly approaching.

This was just a minor Eruption. Nozomi led the team here only to search and rescue survivors. Under the order of the "Fire Moth", they observed whether the site of the Honkai Eruption could be turned into an "Originium" mining site after being hit by the "Originium Missile".

Originally, everything was going smoothly. After the search and rescue work was completed, the "Fire Moth" also launched a missile. After the missile hit the target, the entire area was covered with nanometal, which then quickly formed crystals due to the Honkai energy. The Honkai beasts died and became huge pieces of "Originium" waiting to be mined.

Then, a slight sound was heard on the battlefield that should have been silent. A giant "Originium " shattered quietly, like a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon, its wings spread out, and specks of dust filled the air.

It was a strange "butterfly", with a faint "ring" lingering behind it. On its twisted body, there was a circular gap roughly in the chest area, as if something had pierced through it, but now it had disappeared.

At the same time, the instrument that kept sending out alarms let everyone present know that the thing in front of them... was an Honkai beast.

After discovering the Honkai Beast, they naturally launched a crusade, but the final result was...

"..."

Nozomi looked at the team members in front of him who were alert to their surroundings, and then looked at the survivors who were trembling but still trying hard to hold on and not let themselves shout out in fear.

The number of survivors originally rescued... went from nearly three digits to single digits now, and the team members also died one after another. Under its inexplicable gaze, a hole appeared in their chests, just like it, as if something strange had pierced their spines.

Then, the Honkai spread over the body, and the nanometal gathered and wrapped the man, and finally turned into a human-shaped "Originium", and then... bang~

It was shattered. That person, just like that, turned into debris and dust.

Now...

"Irine."

"I'm here, doctor."

"Take these away... and then cover the retreat of other civilians to a safe area."

Nozomi took out the "box" containing medical equipment and most of the medicines from the grid and sealed them in the medical boxes of other members.

"As for this... leave it to me."

"Doctor, you..."

"I've been [targeted], that thing is coming for me... I'll only put you in danger if I stay with you."

Nozomi looked at the map displayed on the mask again, and after confirming that it was still a short distance away, he took away the nanometals and "Originium" carried by other team members and put them into the "box".

"Don't worry about me. I have a way to deal with it and a way to survive. If you stay here, I still have to worry about your safety... Evacuate first, and then come with the main force. Do you understand?"

"Doctor..."

"Trust me, and... obey orders."

"...I see."

Irine finally nodded, called the other team members, and led the civilians to quietly leave from the other side.

"sigh..."

Nozomi adjusted his breathing slightly, and then took out a special potion from the "box" - this was the latest achievement of Mebius and Vill-V before the "ore disease therapy" had problems. It could resolve the Honkai energy in the human body at an extremely fast speed and form crystals, and the whole process would not cause too much damage to the person.

It can be said that if no special circumstances arise later, this thing would even be introduced to combat troops and used as an emergency medicine... Unfortunately, this beautiful idea no longer exists.

However, in this case, this medicine has another use... As mentioned before, the nanometal is like coming alive, and after combining with cells and forming crystals into organs, it is like replacing the organ and allowing people to continue to survive... In other words, in extremely dangerous environmental conditions, this method can be used to "extend life" in disguise, but in the end, there is a high probability that it will become a block of metal.

"But, for an Honkai beast born from the Originium... wouldn't it be self-destruction to use this method?"

Nozomi frowned, with a little hesitation... but in the end, he still injected the medicine into his body.

There was no way, he had to guard against its strange attack, lest it make a hole in his chest and kill him instantly.

With the help of this potion, he can hold on longer and his plan to destroy it will be more successful.

He gently lifted up his sleeves and cut a small wound on himself. The surrounding Honkai energy instantly entered his body through the wound and tried to corrode it... but black crystals quickly spread and sealed the wound.

"…Okay, it works."

He moved his wrist slightly to confirm that the newly formed crystal would not have any effect on himself. Immediately, Nozomi carried the "box" on his back and ran in the opposite direction where he and Irine and others left... Since he was [locked], he naturally had to take advantage of this.

Moving quickly, constantly using buildings to avoid the opponent... Few buildings were destroyed in this eruption. Except for when the Honkai eruption just broke out, the only damage caused by other Honkai beasts was the damage caused by the "Originium Missile". It did not cause any damage, but simply "cleaned up" the lives present, as if its only target was humans and other life forms.

And to be honest, its methods can be said to be quite gentle... Although the attack method is very strange, it can instantly cause a penetrating wound in the chest, and then it will turn into "Originium" due to the erosion of the Honkai and the gathering of nanometals, and then shatter... The pain of the whole process is only a moment.

It's good. It's a kind of "relief" to die without having to endure too much pain.

'...No, why think about these things?'

Nozomi focused his thoughts on what was in front of him.

After bringing it to a place far enough away, Nozomi began to prepare.

"Huh... I hope Vill-V won't complain later. Her hard work will be wasted like this."

Nozomi muttered to himself.

Soon, the sound of butterfly wings flapping came to his ears.

"Here it comes…Pfft…"

He wanted to show a confident smile, just like a brave hero in the game who was about to challenge a strong enemy, and show "pre-battle etiquette"... But unfortunately, it didn't think so.

It merely moved its "gaze" to Nozomi, and a hole quickly appeared in Nozomi's chest. The penetrating wound directly shattered his ribs and spine in his chest.

Then... crystals spread, quickly filling it up and sustaining Nozomi's life.

"ah (obscene word)..."

The pain came instantly and faded away instantly, leaving only the residual phantom pain... However, Nozomi didn't have time to care about this. After muttering something to vent his emotions, Nozomi started to drive the "box" behind him.

The hook popped out and nailed to the building, then retracted, carrying the "box" and him into the air.

[...]

During this process, it gently flapped its wings twice, conveying a slightly puzzled expression, as if wondering why he didn't die.

However, facing Nozomi who was approaching quickly, it still subconsciously kept a little distance away... It was nothing more than flapping its wings to make it stand higher.

During this process, holes continued to appear on Nozomi's body, from the chest, along the spine, and continuously downwards... and then were filled with rapidly emerging crystals.

At the same time, because it slightly increased its height, Nozomi was unable to use the hook to swing directly in front of it... If it had been delayed for a few more moments, Nozomi's entire body would probably have been covered with holes, and he would have completely turned into a block of metal.

Well... Speaking of this, he has to thank it a little. After all, it didn't directly make a hole in Nozomi's head. Is there any limitation? Or... don't want to?

It doesn't matter. Nozomi is not in the mood to care about these things.

Nozomi just looked at it, which was so close yet out of reach... with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

Just tap his fingertips and enter commands on the control panel of the "box".

The glow of energy flowed, and the back of the "box" began to flip and fold, forming the shape of a nozzle, and then... energy gushed out, carrying Nozomi to a place higher than it in an instant.

"Thanks so much for your design, Vill-V."

It seemed to be confused by the sudden change and did not react in time. Nozomi even smiled, tightened the "box", separated the "box" from the connecting device at the back waist, and then... smashed it on its body!

Click——

The "box" was fastened on its body!

"Get down here!"

Then... the hook popped out and retracted! the Honkai Beast and Nozomi were quickly thrown to the ground.

Boom!

A dull sound.

Its body was nailed to the ground by the "box", just like an ordinary butterfly nailed by a nail, its gorgeous wings kept trembling as if it was struggling.

Nozomi quickly input the command and used the force to flip over and move away from it... Unfortunately, his movements were not fast enough, and a hole appeared in Nozomi's palm, which was then quickly filled with crystals.

When Nozomi landed on the ground, holes appeared in his legs again, and crystals spread rapidly... At this time, three-quarters of Nozomi's body was covered by crystals. He was basically a "block of metal", and it was difficult for him to move, let alone get away from here.

But... it doesn't matter, the goal has been achieved anyway.

"Huh...what? No other work?"

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

But what responded to him was just a new hole appearing on his body... this time it was on the neck.

The sudden penetrating wound made him lose the ability to speak, but soon, the crystals covered him, allowing him to breathe again.

At least... not dead.

"Ha..."

Nozomi made a sarcastic sound as if to say—that's it?

Bang!

There was a slight shattering sound... The crystal that originally covered his chest shattered again. Obviously, it was its attack again.

Clack, clack—

A teeth-grinding sound was heard; it was the crystals spreading and filling the missing areas... Honestly, it was hard to imagine that Nozomi was still alive at this moment. To this extent... it couldn't be blamed on anyone, right?

However, the sudden attack still caused Nozomi's body to lose support and balance, and he fell to the ground.

"Ahem…"

He coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood with crystal fragments in it... It was hard to imagine that at this moment he still had something called "blood"... After recovering, Nozomi slowly, firmly, and proudly stood up again.

"Hahaha!"

'I'm still alive! You never expected that!'

The sarcasm in the laughter was almost overflowing.

Then, Nozomi clearly sensed "emotions" from it, an Honkai beast, and sensed emotions of doubt and confusion.

It was wondering why Nozomi was resisting so much... it just wanted to give him "relief".

It didn't understand why Nozomi was so persistent... There were too many sufferings in the world, and it just wanted to take him away from here.

What's more... death is the destination of everyone, why resist it?

Death is not the end, but... "liberation".

However, Nozomi didn't care about this and just murmured softly.

"It's really surprising that there are Honkai beasts with such clear consciousness and can convey such complex emotions... If Mobius knew about this, she would probably be excited for a long time."

Nozomi slowly raised his hand... Although most of it was covered by crystals, Nozomi still managed to make the gesture with four fingers bent and thumb raised, as if he was still holding something in his hand.

"Also... these designs of Vill-V... Hey, you know what, they are really useful."

Nozomi looked at it, and the smile on his face became more and more strange.

"But this self-destruction design... is still a bit strange."

"Well... never mind. It doesn't matter. Anyway..."

Nozomi quickly pressed his thumb down, as if he was pressing a non-existent detonation button.

"Surprise~"

[Surprise Mother (obscene words)!]

Along with Nozomi's whisper and a slightly funny sound effect coming from the "box", the brilliance of energy shone, and then...

Boom!!!

The huge impact force directly knocked Nozomi away... After everything was a little more stable, Nozomi barely got up from the ground amid a series of crackling metal collisions. After confirming that its body was completely shattered and dead, he breathed a sigh of relief.

But... before it was on the verge of death, Nozomi always felt something strange.

Because it conveyed to him some emotions of joy and regret... happy that Nozomi was able to defeat it and kill it, but also regretful that it could not bring "relief" to Nozomi.

How strange...

"What a mess, really..."

Nozomi lowered his eyes slightly, putting those complicated thoughts behind his mind...

"Doctor?!"

However, just when he was about to close his eyes and wonder whether he should take a break, a panicked voice sounded from a distance and woke him up directly.

"Doctor..."

"Ah… it's you…"

Looking at Irine who quickly ran to him, Nozomi forced a smile... Nozomi was still very gentle towards his "student."

"Why did you come back again?"

"I came back with the other troops, but I was just a little faster..."

Irine wanted to reach out to support Nozomi several times, but she didn't know how to start. She looked a little flustered and at a loss... But even so, she still gathered her mind and quickly answered Nozomi's questions.

"So..."

Nozomi understood what was going on, and then raised his hand, which was mostly covered with crystals, and used his index and middle fingers, which were still human, to push aside her hair and look at her left eye.

"Why are you still injured?"

Nozomi gently touched the crystal at the corner of her left eye... If it was a little more to the side, her left eye might become blind, and if it was deeper, there might be problems with her brain.

"When we were evacuating to the periphery, we encountered several battles..."

"Really... Was it finally solved? Where are the survivors?"

"They were all sent to the hospital safely and are fine."

"That's good..."

It seems that the coverage of this Eruption is far less than expected... Or maybe because of its appearance, the scope of the Eruption has become larger? But... no matter what, at least it was successfully resolved.

Now...

"Doctor?"

Irine carefully grasped his hand. Although most of it was covered by crystals and felt icy cold, she still held his hand carefully, not caring about the Honkai energy emitted by the crystals, as if she was afraid that it would shatter suddenly.

"Ah... I'm fine. I'm fine... When we get back, I'll perform surgery to remove the crystal in the corner of your eye to prevent it from affecting your left eye... Be more careful next time."

Nozomi seemed to come back to his senses suddenly and spoke in a halting manner.

"Now... let's go... home."

He raised his leg and took a step, but what he heard in the end was the sound of crystals shattering. His sight fell downwards as if he had lost the support of his body.

"Doctor!!!"

Irine quickly hugged his still broken body.

Ah... it's over...

Nozomi thought so before his consciousness fell into darkness.