Kevin's Birthday Party

"Forget it. Leave him to Moth to Fire. I'm sure they'll be very interested in an anomaly like you... Mobius will probably like you too. At least that'll distract her and keep her from bothering me so much."

Xi Wang shook his head. Perhaps because of their similar traits, he temporarily set aside the thought of killing the man. Handing him over to Mobius seemed like a better choice, and Xi Wang believed Moth to Fire would care greatly as well. The combat ability and traits this guy had displayed were simply far too abnormal.

...He only hoped Poison Chrysalis wouldn't decide that the special man had failed his mission just because he was still alive.

Xi Wang raised his hand slightly. Rain pattered into his palm, carrying a faint chill. The water gradually pooled there, only to quickly slip through his fingers and drip onto the ground, merging with the puddles.

"The rain's getting lighter..."

The torrential rain had gradually turned into a fine drizzle, but it had not stopped. From Xi Wang's senses, it would likely continue until dawn.

"Let's go back... Hm?"

Just as Xi Wang was about to leave with the special man, a blurry figure appeared in the distance. With the help of the few streetlamps still lit nearby, Xi Wang could make out a tall woman holding an umbrella. Judging by her clothes, she seemed to be a nun.

Why was there still someone here?

Xi Wang felt somewhat troubled. According to his memories, he was certain he had cleared out everyone on Twilight Street. So this one was... someone returning from outside?

But it didn't matter. It would just be a little more troublesome. He could simply dig another hole in the cemetery.

However, just as Xi Wang took a step toward the nun, the man he had restrained saw her as well.

"■■■■!!! ■■■■..."

The man's reaction was intense, even more exaggerated than when he faced Xi Wang. Clearly, the two knew each other.

"...Interesting."

Xi Wang raised an eyebrow and changed his mind at that moment... mainly because the man's reaction was so extreme that Xi Wang assumed the nun was some kind of "special" existence like him.

So Xi Wang stepped forward. Before the nun could speak, he waved his hand and manipulated the flowing water into a long whip, knocking her unconscious with a direct strike. To prevent the nun from having a troublesome constitution like the man's, Xi Wang added several more lashes to ensure she lost consciousness. Only then did he summon a sphere of water to wrap around and restrain her body.

"This should be over now, right?"

Xi Wang muttered with half-lidded eyes as he pulled out the Candy box and fed himself a piece of candy.

"...This is Wang."

Xi Wang then brought the two of them to the designated extraction point and opened communications.

"The clearing mission is complete. Also... I found two anomalies. I think you'll be very interested."

"Yes, I suspect they're related to Honkai... Mm, yes."

"Alright, I've reached the designated location."

"...Mm, I understand. But I'd be happier if I got some leave afterward."

"Thank you."

Kevin's Birthday Party

The clearing mission on Twilight Street came to an end. After Moth to Fire took over that strange man and the nun, they no longer had anything to do with you. Rather than worrying about them, you should think about how to deal with Elysia's "whimsical ideas."

...How should you put it? Ever since Elysia recorded what you said to Sakura that time, then wandered around the Moth to Fire base continuously playing it through a loudspeaker, Elysia had come up with more and more "good ideas" involving you and Sakura. It left both you and Sakura somewhat troubled and helpless.

But fortunately, Elysia was still Elysia. She maintained a comfortable sense of restraint in her interactions with you. Those strange "ideas" never made either of you feel troubled or embarrassed. At most, they felt a little... subtle.

Mobius had not come looking for you much lately, which let you breathe a sigh of relief. On the other hand, Danzhu had begun visiting you more often. Fortunately, all she wanted was for you to play around with her for a while, maybe take a few pictures of her, and then she would leave... though most of the time, Mobius came to drag her back.

As for Vill-V, she had completed the first Key of God: a special weapon constructed from the Fifth Herrscher Core—Stasis of All Things. However, after Moth to Fire witnessed its power, they forcibly sealed the weapon away. They believed Stasis of All Things was far too powerful and absolutely could not be activated before a candidate meeting the requirements had been found. The entire Key of God project was suspended as well.

Correspondingly, Moth to Fire increased its investment in the Fusion Warrior Project. Many people had their surgeries scheduled... perhaps that was why Mobius had not been coming to find you lately.

But even with Moth to Fire increasing its investment in the Fusion Warrior Project, the surgical failure rate remained what it was. In the end, only four people gradually became new Fusion Warriors.

You knew three of them: Hen, Cosmo, and Dottore. That gave you some relief. At least everyone you knew had survived.

As for the last one, you could be said to know her as well—Aponia, the nun you had brought back from Twilight Street. You guessed that the people above had put her on the operating table both to silence her and to make use of her. After all, the Fusion Warrior surgery's failure rate was right there. They simply had not expected Aponia to survive.

At this point, Moth to Fire temporarily slowed the Fusion Warrior Project. It was not that there were enough Fusion Warriors, but that the surgery's failure rate was simply too outrageous. Too many people had become "failed products" after their surgeries failed, and were ultimately sent to The Deepest Place for imprisonment or even immediate execution. Such pointless losses had to be reduced.

Perhaps because there were too few Fusion Warriors, or perhaps because the side effects of the surgeries were too obvious on you, many people began seeing you as "different." Even though they knew you were heroes fighting for humanity, their gazes still carried varying degrees of other meanings.

The personnel within Moth to Fire were manageable enough. The soldiers trusted you. But the civilians who did not know the reasons were far less friendly. Many saw you as "monsters," and you Fusion Warriors developed psychological problems to varying degrees as well—especially Sakura.

During one Honkai incident, she saved ninety-six people. She remembered it clearly. At the time, she had rushed around for several consecutive days dealing with the Honkai, and her physical and mental state had already been poor. After exhausting herself to eliminate every Honkai Beast, she used the last of her strength to rescue all ninety-six people from a collapsing building, including children. In the end, she lacked the strength to go downstairs and was sent crashing to the ground from the fourth floor along with the collapsing building. By then, she did not even have the strength to stand and could only lie on the ground to rest.

She still remembered several children curiously coming over to examine her. Just as she wanted to smile and reassure them that everything was fine, the children were forcibly pulled away by the other adults.

She sat up in confusion and looked around. As far as she could see, she alone stood bathed in the pale golden sunset, while the people she had just saved huddled in the shadows of the ruins. They looked at her with terrified eyes, as if she were a Honkai Beast, clutching their children tightly in their arms as though afraid she would harm them.

She got to her feet, intending to tell them where the nearest shelter was. But with every step she took closer, the survivors' expressions changed further—from initial suspicion, to disgust, to hatred, and finally hostility.

At the time, she did not understand. She had clearly just saved them, yet they could show her such unmistakable hostility.

Eventually, she understood. It was because of her "ears."

The survivors' gazes gathered on the pair of slender ears atop her head. A child curiously asked his mother about them, but the mother hurriedly covered the child's mouth and told him, "She's a monster."... Though they were far away, though her voice was soft, Sakura still heard it.

Sakura stood there blankly, feeling exhausted for the first time in her life. Her feet were so heavy that she could barely move them, and even breathing felt somewhat difficult.

At that moment, she could neither leave nor stay. In the end, she could only contact Moth to Fire and have another unit take over the survivors.

After that, Sakura developed a habit. Around others, she hardly dared let her "ears" move at all. She did not even dare let them twitch slightly, as though hoping people would mistake them for an unusual accessory. Unfortunately, it was useless. Civilians who knew nothing about her still saw her as a "monster," and all her efforts achieved nothing.

Now, Sakura could only relax a little in front of you and Ling. At least you and Ling both liked her "ears."

Especially you. You were very fond of her fluffy "ears," and Sakura knew that. Whenever the two of you were alone, she would always take the initiative and ask whether you wanted to touch her "ears." Naturally, you happily agreed, and Sakura would take the opportunity to sit in your lap, showing you a little, measured amount of "weakness."

Sometimes, under your "caresses," she would unknowingly fall asleep in your arms. Her slender ears would unconsciously rest against your neck, twitching lightly from time to time, their fluffy touch brushing against the back of your neck and expressing her affection.

It seemed that only this could lessen the pressure in her heart, if only a little.

You had once wanted to give Sakura a hoodie with rabbit ears on the hood, so it could cover the ears on top of her head. Sakura gladly accepted it, but she had never worn it.

Compared with concealing them, the enhancement to her hearing provided by those "ears" was more important. They allowed her to detect Honkai Beasts more sharply and hear survivors' cries for help more easily... Though being called a "monster" again and again put immense psychological pressure on Sakura, she still remembered why she had become a Fusion Warrior.

Besides, she had already found a way to ease that pressure...

As for the other Fusion Warriors, they naturally had experiences similar to Sakura's to varying degrees. Some did not care about what others said, like Hen. Others buried that pressure deep inside, like Kevin and Cosmo.

Of course, some did not care at all, like you.

You truly did not care about it. The civilians' opinions did not matter as much as a single sentence from Elysia or Sakura... they did not even matter as much as Ling or Griseo. Why bother caring about them?

As for Elysia, she was a complete "outlier"... Maybe because she was too adorable, or perhaps because of her lively personality. In any case, civilians at least did not see her as a "monster." Though they still kept a certain distance from her, compared to the others, Elysia's situation was far better.

Perhaps because of your similar experiences, or perhaps because you all shared the identity of Fusion Warriors, the nine of you gradually became acquainted and formed a small circle that belonged only to you.

And today, your little circle had something very "important" to do.

"...Elysia, I don't think this is necessary."

Kevin looked deeply troubled, but the pink-haired girl behind him gave him no chance to resist. She simply pushed him forward.

"Oh, no refusing! No talking! Keep walking!"

Elysia said indignantly, then gave Kevin another push. But the extreme cold around Kevin made her shiver involuntarily.

"So cold!"

"...Elysia, we have many more important things to do."

"Huh? The party I'm holding isn't important?"

"..."

Kevin rubbed his brow in frustration... Though the things Elysia did were harmless most of the time, she could truly leave people helpless sometimes. He had no idea how Wang tolerated Elysia.

"A new threat could appear at any moment. We have no idea what form the next Herrscher will take..."

Not knowing how else to refute Elysia, Kevin could only bring up official matters to persuade her.

"Alright, alright! Honestly, how long has it even been since the Seventh Great Honkai? Can't you give yourself a day off? Don't push yourself so hard~"

Elysia seemed rather helpless too.

"Honestly... Kevin, you're becoming more and more like Mei... Hmm, would saying that secretly make you happy?"

"But..."

"You talk too much, Kevin."

A calm voice carrying faint disdain rang out. At the same time, Kevin and Elysia noticed the moisture in the air increasing slightly.

Before Kevin could turn toward the source of the voice, he felt a faintly damp touch against his forehead.

When he looked up, he saw an azure stream of water shaped into a tentacle gently patting his forehead... Clearly, Xi Wang had begun using that "neither-water-nor-not-water" thing of his to touch Kevin again. It was one of the few things that could directly touch Kevin, because Xi Wang could grant "water" the trait of being difficult to freeze.

"Wang, you came too early~ Showing up ahead of schedule will throw off the rhythm..."

Elysia complained in a coquettish tone.

"He was being too long-winded. I came to hurry him along."

Xi Wang replied calmly, manipulating the azure current to shove Kevin hard from behind. Kevin staggered forward and ended up before a half-closed door.

"..."

Why do I feel like you two are working together to trick me?

Kevin looked at the half-closed door and the dark room beyond it, where the lights had not been turned on, and felt rather helpless.

"Sigh..."

In the end, Kevin could only go along with the two of them and push open the door before him.

Then...

Pop—

"Happy birthday, Kevin!"

Several party poppers went off alongside everyone's congratulations, and light instantly filled the entire room.

The sudden "surprise" made this "hero," who had never retreated on any battlefield, take half a step back. But just as his foot moved backward and his body tried to retreat, a faintly damp sensation returned to his back and forcibly held him in place.

"Why are you backing up? Don't tell me you got scared."

Xi Wang's calm voice came again, still carrying faint disdain and a certain exasperating kind of "reminder."

"Also, you're about to bump into someone."