Chương 42: Chapter 42: Xiwang's [Painting]

[I must reiterate that it is a killer whale Honkai beast that is nearly thirty meters long. Its huge size means that no matter what it does, it will be very obvious, so... when its huge tongue "touches" you, you have to wake up.]

[After it found you were awake, it called out twice with an apology, exuding a slightly flustered and aggrieved mood.]

[It looks like it's apologizing, and it exudes a very aggrieved emotion. You can't help but be speechless... You thought it was a scheming Honkai beast, and it would stab you in the back after gaining your trust. Now it seems that you thought too much. It still looks silly, and it just wants to "touch you."]

[You can say it has some intelligence and wisdom, but not much.]

[You begin to wonder if you see the world too badly and too darkly, and maybe you should be kinder to other things?]

[But in the end, you gave up the idea... You are not Elysia, and you cannot face the world the way she does. Your experience also prevents you from doing so.]

[But for some special existences, you can also make a little effort.]

[For example... it now.]

[Perhaps because you are about to leave, or perhaps simply because you are influenced by its kindness, you sigh helplessly, step forward a little, and extend your hand.]

[Take the initiative and gently touch its snow-white belly, which is exposed to show friendliness and apology.]

[It seemed a little surprised, but then it was filled with joy. Its tail fin swayed happily, and then it actively stretched out its head for you to touch, and even deliberately stretched out its tongue for you to touch...]

[You don't really understand, but it's always happy, and the joy never stops, so you just let it be.]

[After playing around for a while, you feel that it's about time, so you return to the shallow ocean.]

[The early morning sun shines on the sea, and the light refracts through the sea surface into the blue water. The figures of countless Honkai beasts can also be seen by the naked eye. Perhaps because you two major threats hid in the deep sea at night, there are a lot of Honkai beasts in the shallow sea... In any case, this morning's "hunting" has begun.]

[After enjoying your "breakfast" as usual, you did not follow it to continue "hunting," but just stayed where you were. When it found that you did not catch up, it returned to your side, swimming slowly around you, making soft chirps and exuding a puzzled mood.]

[You told it that you were going to return to land. Although you were not sure if it could understand you, you tried your best to express your meaning to it.]

[It unexpectedly understood, cried out a little sadly, then exuded expectations and blessings, and manipulated the seawater to point you in a direction.]

[You build a "river" in the direction it indicates, and it quickly follows behind you, as if it is going to see you off.]

[You are somewhat amazed that you are so close to an Honkai Beast, but this strange friendship should end here... right?]

[When you come to a place where you can vaguely see land when you say goodbye to it again and want to continue moving towards the land, that feeling comes back—the feeling that the seawater is difficult to control, and the feeling that the seawater is dragging you back.]

[I don't know if it's because you've recovered, but you can vaguely sense the "emotions" of reluctance and worry coming from the sea, just like a mother trying to stop her child from going to a dangerous place.]

[As a "mother," the ocean is naturally much more powerful than you, a rebellious "child." At least now you don't have the power to break free from the ocean.]

[No matter how hard you struggle, you are eventually dragged back into the ocean. After you are far away from the land and can no longer see it, the seawater becomes calm again and flows gently, caressing your body like a mother, as if to comfort you... but you are not happy at all.]

[In order to get back to them, you tried again as if in a rage, but in the end, you were still pulled back.]

[You start to get anxious and irritated and try several more times, but the result doesn't change at all you are still in the ocean.]

[You tried several times, even causing harm to your body at one point, but until the afterglow of dusk fell and the cold moonlight shone, you gave up in exhaustion, lying on the sea, letting the current carry you away.]

[There is an inexplicable feeling of despair hanging over your heart.]

[But fortunately, all the bad emotions from being trapped in the ocean to now have been alleviated by your previous paranoid and crazy behavior. You quickly adjusted your mentality and recovered, and made plans for the future.]

[You are ready to join the strange "ecology" of the ocean, relying on "hunting" to increase your own strength until... you can escape from the ocean.]

[As for whether you will be harmed by Gabriel's genes during this process... you no longer care about it.]

[You will survive, and you will return to them.]

[You believe so much.]

[Besides... you are not alone here.]

["Hmm——" It cried softly beside you, exuding a worried mood. At the same time, it placed the remains of a huge Honkai beast in its mouth in front of you, and then moved away, gently waving its tail fin, as if to comfort you.]

[It seems to think that just eating can comfort you... From this point of view, it is quite cute.]

[You are somewhat helpless, but still accept the "food" it gives you.]

[Perhaps, your strange friendship with it can continue for a while...]

——————————

rustle--

In the quiet environment, the only sound is the slight sound of the brush touching the canvas.

In this "deepest place" filled with darkness, the young girl sat quietly in the only light, painting quietly.

The nun was doing handicrafts on the side, and from time to time she looked up at the girl who was immersed in painting, smiling quietly and gently.

"......"

However, the nun's expression made the being hiding in the darkness retreat a little, as if it was afraid of her.

However, all this could not disturb the girl who was painting. She seemed to have finished the last stroke of the painting. She slowly put down the brush and palette in her hand, picked up a small box from the side, and opened it. Then, with her hands still stained with paint, she picked up the cherry-colored pastries inside and stuffed them into her mouth bit by bit like a small animal.

"Griseo, wash your hands before eating..."

A somewhat helpless reminder came from the shadows nearby.

"It's okay, Kosma... the paint is water, you can eat it."

Griseo swung her legs in the air and responded softly.

"No, Griseo."

Aponia, who was beside Griseo, put down her craftwork, wet her handkerchief, and went forward to wipe the paint off Griseo's face. Then she gently wiped her hands, and finally took the snack box, picked up the cherry blossom-colored snack from it, and slowly fed it to Griseo. Griseo ate it bit by bit, looking very well-behaved.

As for Kosma, he was cleaning up the scattered paint to prevent Griseo from stepping on it all over the place.

"...Kosma, I've finished the painting... Can you help me give it to Sister Sakura?"

After finishing her snack, Griseo looked at Kosma who had finished cleaning, and asked softly.

"...Can."

Kosma nodded and agreed.

Although he had to stay in the Deepest Place for a long time due to some special reasons, the Fire Moth would still assign him tasks when needed, and he could take this opportunity to bring the painting to Sakura... However, Griseo's painting had to be handed over to Vill-V first, and then framed in a special frame before it could be taken away; otherwise, the spirits of the Fire Moth's top management would be tense again.

Kosma stepped forward and helped Griseo take the painting off the easel, then he looked at the painting in his arms.

The first thing that catches the eye is a large area of dark blue dotted with some white and pink, like cherry blossom petals fallen in the sea, and under the sea is an unknown woman with wings on her back, holding treasures in her arms, and wearing a strange mask that looks a bit like a fox, except that the ears on both sides of the mask appear long and thin, and the mask itself is broken in half, revealing the woman's beautiful profile.

The woman closed her eyes peacefully, tears quietly seeping out of her eyes, but there was a smile on the corners of her mouth. She held the broken treasure in her arms, and the wings that should have flapped high in the sky no longer moved, but just let herself fall into the depths of the sea, only a few pink petals falling with her.

"......"

Honestly, Kosma didn't quite understand it. Clearly, Rin's request was to ask Griseo to draw a portrait of Sakura, but now it seems... Griseo seemed to have added something else.

Maybe that was Griseo's own idea.

Kosma thought so. After all, he had learned something about it when he was learning harmonica with Eden. In the aspect of "art," whether it is painting or music, the creator will always add something of his own to the work more or less.

And Aponia also said that the paintings that Griseo drew for others always have some special meanings, perhaps because Griseo's way of cognition is different from that of ordinary people.

But Kosma doesn't care about those things too much.

"I'll give it to Sakura the next time we go on a mission."

He just put the painting away and prepared to give it to Vill-V later.

"…Aponia?"

But halfway through, he saw Aponia's eyes linger on the painting in his hand for a long time, as if she cared about it very much.

"...No, nothing."

Aponia slowly withdrew her gaze and shook her head gently, indicating that nothing was wrong, which made Kosma feel strange.

"Griseo, be careful not to step on the paint."

Aponia warned gently as she watched Griseo jump off her chair and run towards the piled-up paintings.

"Okay, Mama Aponia."

Griseo only responded softly, took out a painting from among the numerous paintings, and put it back on the easel with the help of Kosma. Then she was picked up by Aponia and put back on the seat.

"......"

After returning to her seat, Griseo once again looked at the painting she had painted for Xi Wang.

This is a highly completed painting. A boy lies on the grass under the starry night, sleeping soundly in the cool night breeze. The pale pink petals on the treetops beside him fall quietly, and a few complete flowers luckily fall into his palm. There are some lights on in the town in the distance, making the atmosphere of this painting seem peaceful and tranquil.

But the most eye-catching thing about this painting is the hexagonal star that shines the brightest in the starry night, located in the upper center of the picture. If other stars are just lightly dotted in white or yellow in the night sky, then this star was specially drawn by Griseo, and even the brushstrokes were used to draw the brilliance in six directions of the star.

Griseo has spent a lot of time on this painting and has gone through several adjustments and revisions. Every time Aponia and Kosma thought she had finished the painting, Griseo would gently shake her head, indicating that the painting was not yet finished.

"...Kosma, isn't Brother Wang back yet?"

Griseo picked up the paintbrush again and looked at the boy beside her and asked softly.

"Griseo, Captain Wang... won't be coming back."

Kosma hesitated for a while but still told Griseo the answer again.

This was not the first time that Griseo had asked this question, and his answer had not changed.

Because of the destruction and sinking of the Mu Continent, the salvage of related data and resources has never stopped, and the search and rescue of Xi Wang and Hen has never ceased. Although the probability of the two fusion warriors surviving is very low under the circumstances at the time, but... what if? Right?

But not long ago, after the Fire Moth had basically recovered the data and confirmed that the remaining parts had sunk to the bottom of the sea and were difficult to salvage, the Fire Moth gave up continuing this work. After all, there are still too many Honkai beasts in the ocean.

Although the Fire Moths were heartbroken by the loss of two fusion warriors at once, they could no longer continue their search and rescue work. They had to focus on how to make up for the significant reduction in industrial capacity caused by the sinking of the Mu Continent. Some of the original plans to fight the Honkai also needed to be reconsidered, and some plans might even have to be abandoned... The existing industrial capacity and resources could no longer support the Fire Moths to advance multiple large-scale plans at the same time.

As for Hen and Xi Wang, who had no news for a long time, they were naturally labeled as "missing," a status that was almost equivalent to "death," and the search and rescue work was also stopped.

When Sakura heard the news, she became a little dazed. Although she returned to her normal self the next day, anyone could see the fatigue in her eyes.

But even so, Sakura still believes that Xi Wang is still alive, and Griseo's attitude happens to be the same as hers.

"I hope my brother will come back."

Griseo blinked her lavender pupils, and the calmness and firmness in her tone were surprising as if she was stating a fact... She had clearly accepted the fact that Hen would not come back, and that her father was most likely dead, but when faced with Xi Wang, who also had no news, Griseo insisted that he was still alive.

As if this was something that was taken for granted.

"I hope my brother is always there."

As she said this, she raised the paintbrush in her hand and slid it lightly in the air twice, and the conspicuous blue paint appeared on the paintbrush.

She lowered her head slightly, placed the paintbrush on the palette, and mixed together all the remaining colors on it. In the middle, Griseo added a few more colors. What finally appeared was a dark, bluish-green "mixed color," which gave people a "not good-looking" feeling.

At this moment, Griseo stopped, then... raised the palette that was stained with various colors, and slapped it onto the painting in front of her.

"Griseo?!"

"......"

Without responding to Kosma's surprise, Griseo placed the palette against the painting and moved it bit by bit with her hands, smearing the dirty colors all over the painting.

Finally, when Griseo took down the palette, the painting was filled with mixed colors, and the originally peaceful and tranquil beautiful picture was almost invisible. Only the light pink flowers and the stars that Griseo had emphasized on depicting could escape the interference of the mixed colors and could be vaguely recognized.

"I'm done..."

Looking at the mess she had made, Griseo seemed unaware and just muttered to herself.

Or... is this really the final step to complete the painting?