Eden herself agreed with that view and praised you without reservation, but... you had merely replicated one of her performances exactly, without bringing any emotion of your own into it. That left her somewhat regretful.
It was like playing according to sheet music and hitting every beat perfectly, yet giving none of the notes any variation in weight, pace, or intensity. It certainly sounded good, but in Eden's eyes, music lacking the performer's own emotions could not be considered art. It barely even counted as a performance.
It was as though she had simply looked into a mirror and seen one of her own past performances. Nothing more.
Still, such perfect replication was also a form of expression, like realism in painting, carrying a unique sort of charm. Therefore, Eden did not mind it and instead marveled that you had managed to achieve such a feat.
You, however, did not care much about it. If Elysia had not liked Eden's songs, Sakura had not enjoyed listening to music, and even Ling had not regarded Eden as an idol, you would not have deliberately "learned" such a thing... Even if you showed considerable talent, it was not something you particularly needed.
...Forget it. Saying any more would just be making excuses. That was enough.
In short, though things had been a little awkward at first, Eden's welcome party had ultimately been a great success, and everyone had been happy.
Even Elysia and Sakura, when they returned afterward and learned about it, were quite surprised. Elysia even begged you to perform for her, and Sakura did the same... Was that really unexpected?
After that brief happiness came the usual routine again. To you, it was no big deal.
Only, today, Poison Chrysalis gave you a rather strange assignment...
The mission location was Twilight Street, a place widely acknowledged to be chaotic.
This mission was classified—nothing unusual there. Many of the missions you carried out were confidential, sometimes leaving behind no records at all.
But this mission's requirement was... "clear out."
It was not directed at a particular person, group, or organization. It was simply to "clear out" everyone in that area, regardless of age or gender.
"That day, He fell from the sky. The people on the ground looked up, and thus beheld the stars"... All for the sake of making that nursery rhyme stop being sung. That was all.
...Heh. Disgusting.
Twilight Street Clearance Mission
Click—
The crisp, faint sound of a candy box opening.
Xi Wang had already entered Twilight Street and arrived at the location designated by Poison Chrysalis.
Logically speaking, the weapons supplied by Poison Chrysalis should have been stored here. Although Xi Wang had no real need for weapons due to his own special nature, given the importance of this mission to Moth to Fire—and the need to "clear out" a place widely regarded as chaotic—Poison Chrysalis had still provided weaponry and equipment far beyond standard individual combat specifications.
But now...
"..."
Xi Wang stared at the hidden location, which contained nothing but a pile of miscellaneous junk. His eyes narrowed as he expressionlessly popped a piece of candy into his mouth, using its sweetness to suppress the irritation rising within him.
After inspecting the place, he could confirm that many things had originally been stored here, and they definitely had not been this pile of junk. Most likely, they had been the weapons and equipment placed here for him. But someone had come afterward and taken everything away, leaving nothing behind for him.
Moreover, whoever had taken them had left behind very few traces. They seemed well versed in erasing evidence of their presence, yet had also "carelessly" left a few clues behind, as though they wanted the Xi Wang who came later to know that the supplies had been taken in advance.
But that only made Xi Wang even more irritated... The supplies had already been placed here, so what was the point of taking them away afterward? And they had not left him even a single piece of equipment?
He had indeed said that he did not need weapons, but was it not going too far for all the promised equipment to vanish? Even greed had its limits, did it not?
Or had some bastard stolen everything hidden here? Was that a joke? Did Twilight Street really have people capable of that?
"Tch..."
The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became. Xi Wang could not help clicking his tongue and reached for another candy, only to restrain himself quickly.
"Forget it... It doesn't matter if there isn't any equipment."
Pulling back his gaze, Xi Wang looked up at the sky. The sun was hidden behind heavy clouds, leaving everything dim and gloomy.
Clearly, it was about to rain.
As a Fusion Warrior who controlled "water," he would possess an absolute advantage in rainy weather, when moisture was abundant. He could fully unleash his abilities, and even without weapons or equipment, Xi Wang could clear out this entire area.
...Wait. Could those people have discovered that it would rain today and taken away the weapons and equipment because of that?
"Tch. Disgusting."
Seeming to have discovered the truth, Xi Wang frowned again, unconsciously voicing his disgust for those people. After a brief pause, he sighed softly.
"...It feels like my emotions have been fluctuating more than before."
Had he been influenced by spending too much time with Elysia?
Honestly, that change was not good for him. It could easily affect the completion of his mission... Yet Xi Wang did not dislike it.
"...I'll deal with what's in front of me first."
Shaking his head, he suppressed those tangled thoughts, straightened his clothes, closed his eyes, and carefully sensed his surroundings.
"It should start around dusk... Then I'll survey the surroundings before that."
Using his keen perception of "water," Xi Wang determined when the rain would begin. Opening his eyes again, he swept his gaze over the area. After confirming that no one else was nearby, he slowly left the hidden spot.
Xi Wang wandered along the streets of Twilight Street. Following a seemingly casual route, he gradually explored the entire town-like district. He found even its concealed alleyways, and whenever the opportunity arose, he used the physical abilities of a Fusion Warrior to leap onto rooftops and observe the environment.
A few people tried to cause trouble for him along the way, but he dealt with them all... Of course, he did not kill them. There was no need yet.
In the end, Xi Wang rested and prepared in an abandoned church... Though he was still somewhat resistant to and disgusted by church-like buildings. Being in a place like this made it feel as though those terrible memories from the past would surge back into his mind.
But after adjusting his breathing a few times and eating another piece of candy, Xi Wang managed to steady himself for the moment and began looking around the empty church.
The churchyard was overgrown with weeds and littered with all kinds of trash. Its iron fence was rusted beyond recognition. Inside, broken wooden benches and windows with barely any glass remaining came into view. The floor was covered in dust and rubbish, shattered wooden boards lay everywhere, bullet holes riddled the damaged walls, and quite a few dark red stains remained where blood had dried.
Within the abandoned church stood a stone statue so dilapidated it was barely recognizable. It was the only thing here that could still be considered relatively "intact." At least its torso and lower body remained. Its head and hands, as well as the parts behind it that seemed as though they should have been wings, had vanished. Xi Wang had no idea whether they had been stolen or simply broken off.
Hmm... Judging by those features, the statue had probably originally been an angel?
A few thoughts flickered through Xi Wang's mind. Perhaps Eden had influenced him too much recently, because he unconsciously began imagining what the statue must have originally looked like.
Then he shook his head, sighing that Elysia had corrupted him again, and that Eden's influence on him had grown along with it... Though it was not necessarily a bad thing.
Further back stood what appeared to be a small residence and a warehouse once used to store supplies. Beyond them was a cemetery.
...Damn it.
Xi Wang frowned deeply and tapped his head, forcing down the emotions beginning to churn within him as he calmed his increasingly rapid breathing.
The similar layout truly gave him a headache, but fortunately, he had expected this. He bypassed the obviously abandoned residence and warehouse, lightly vaulted over the low wall, and entered the cemetery.
There were not many gravestones here. It seemed that few people came here to be buried. But considering the atmosphere of Twilight Street, probably no one came here at all. Even if someone had been buried here, there likely would not have been a marker.
Still, that did not matter. It was enough to confirm that the cemetery was large enough.
Come to think of it... He had seen a building resembling a church earlier... According to the locals, it was a sanatorium, and there were many children inside.
And based on what the others had said, as well as Xi Wang's own observations, the children there lived fairly well... It seemed that it truly was a sanatorium with the nature of an orphanage, without anything else awful hidden beneath the surface.
Xi Wang ate another piece of candy, recalling the building he had found earlier. Then he took out the Simple Honkai Energy Detector he had been required to carry for this mission and pulled up the readings it had recorded.
"It really is there..."
After checking several times, Xi Wang murmured quietly, as though reminding himself. In the end, he could only sigh and put the device away.
Perhaps Poison Chrysalis had anticipated this as well. Because he had shown leniency toward children like Griseo, they had deliberately made him carry the detector to prevent him from softening during the clearance mission... So that he would know the people here, the children living here, were infected with Honkai Sickness and carried Honkai Energy. If they were allowed to remain, Honkai would inevitably erupt here, causing greater destruction and more casualties.
And now, to complete the mission, to prevent Honkai from erupting and avert an even greater disaster, Xi Wang had to suppress that leniency toward children and kill them.
How... disgusting.
"..."
Xi Wang leaned against the wall with his eyes closed. While savoring the sweetness spreading through his mouth, he adjusted his breathing.
The sun gradually sank westward, offering its final rays to a world about to fall into darkness. At the same time, the moisture in the air steadily thickened.
"...It's raining."
Xi Wang murmured softly as he opened his eyes, now calm once more.
Drip—
A faint sound as droplets struck the ground.
At first, there were only scattered raindrops, but they quickly became a torrential downpour.
The storm had arrived as expected.
Whoosh—
Heavy rain battered the windows with a deafening clatter. Even with the doors and windows tightly shut, the violent sound of the rain could not be blocked out. Concealed by the darkness and the storm, everything outside seemed unreal. Even the scattered lights in the distance were blurred, as though another world lay beyond the windows.
Fortunately, the doors and windows kept all of it outside. Inside the room was a safe home, warm light... Even if only temporarily.
"This rain is way too heavy..."
The woman of the house washed dishes while complaining about the storm outside.
"I hope it stops by tomorrow morning. Otherwise, I'll have to rush back to work in the rain tomorrow."
Her husband lay resting on the sofa and answered his wife casually.
"Can't you make an excuse? If the rain is still this bad tomorrow, you won't be able to work anyway, will you?"
"You know those people aren't easy to deal with. And I put a lot of effort into getting this job. I don't want them to seize on some excuse like that and shoot me."
"...Sorry, darling. That's not what I meant."
"I know. They're the problem, not us... And if we want to survive here, we both have to work hard."
"Mm."
The woman nodded gently and said nothing more. She silently put the cleaned dishes into the cabinet, then habitually glanced out the window toward the neighboring house.
"...Hm? Those two brothers next door... They didn't come back today? Their lights are off."
"They probably went to bed early. The rain's been so heavy today, and they had nothing to do... I heard they went looking for trouble with some outsider this afternoon, only to get taught a lesson. They didn't earn anything today, so they're probably still figuring out how to get even with him."
"An outsider?"
"Yeah, a man. He's quite handsome, but the people in the organization said he wasn't a good person and was probably here to cause trouble. Tomorrow, the organization plans to join forces with some others and deal with him first. At the very least, they'll drive him out."
"I see... Just remember to bring back more money."
"Don't worry, I will... I'm going to take a shower first."
Before you continue