Chapter 237
"Then I'll go too!"
Fuse Midori quickly spoke up to Luo Mio.
Yue, who was beside him, also raised her hand and spoke weakly.
"Me too..."
Looking at the two of them, Luo Mio's lips curled up slightly.
"Good."
——
Using the "megalith" as a boundary, humans live in the area surrounded by the megalith, while the area outside the megalith is the "Uncharted Territory".
Tokyo was the only city to emerge unscathed from the Gastrea War.
The neighboring prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba, and Saitama were also divided into fragmented areas because of the "megalithic monument".
Nine years ago, the then-reigning Holy Child renamed Tokyo Metropolis as the Tokyo Area in order to completely unify these territories, and divided it into forty-three districts.
The closer an area is to the center of Tokyo, the earlier its number comes in. Incidentally, the area where "Seiju" is located is the First Area, and the closer an area is to the border ward of "Megastone Monument", the later its number comes in.
The area where Luo Mio, Fuse Midori, and Yue are currently located, known as the Outer Area, is the District 39.
The Outer Area is actually the border region connected to the megalith.
It is also an abandoned area where no one wants to live or reside.
The three walked through this ruined city, surrounded by rubble. Roads and walls were overgrown with weeds and flowers. There were huge footprints left by Gastrea during the Gastrea War, chairs covered in filth and blood, and broken-down cars that had become junk.
On the roads stained with blood and bullet holes, the emergency notice boards still bear stickers of various colors and shapes, even after so many years.
Some were left by husbands to their wives, some by parents to their children, some by sisters to their sisters, and some were notices searching for family members or children...
Because the base stations were destroyed by the Gastrea, cell phones became useless at the time. Therefore, people had to rely on these emergency bulletin boards to find their relatives.
As Luo Mio and her two companions ventured deeper into the area, they drew ever closer to the "giant stone tablet."
The "megalith" in front of us is even larger.
Its azure eyes were fixed on the direction of the "megalith," its gaze seemingly penetrating the "megalith" and looking directly into the "Uncharted Territory," as if it were deep in thought.
Finally--
Luo Mio and the others arrived at the deepest part of District 39.
Luo Mio stopped in front of a manhole cover on the road.
"Here it is..."
Fuse Midori looked at the dilapidated scenery around her.
Luo Mio smiled gently at her.
"The 'Cursed Children' abandoned in District 39 all live here."
After saying that, Luo Mio gently tapped the manhole cover a few times.
Then a little while later...
"——"
The heavy manhole cover made a sound.
The manhole cover seemed to be lifted up, and a pair of crimson eyes appeared from the gap inside.
When those crimson eyes saw Luo Mio.
"Big brother!"
The manhole cover opened instantly, revealing a petite figure inside.
A very young girl, younger than Fuse Midori, Yue, and the others, crawled out of the manhole cover.
Chapter Twelve: Completely Resetting This World
"Big brother!"
The young girl crawled out of the manhole and hugged Luo Mio tightly around the waist.
"Goodness gracious..."
Luo Mio looked at the young girl who was holding her with a gentle expression in her blue eyes.
"I'm sorry, Maria, it's been so long since I came to see you."
"Not long now, Maria knows that it's only been half a month since she last met her big brother."
Upon hearing what the girl named Maria said, Luo Mio also showed a surprised expression.
"I didn't expect Maria to be so smart now; she can even remember the time."
Hehehe.
Hearing Luo Mio's praise, Maria also showed a lovely smile.
Then Maria's gaze also fell on the two women, Fuse Midori and Yue, on either side of Luo Mio.
"They are..."
"Those two are big brother's good friends," Luo Mio whispered to Maria.
Maria stared Fuse Midori and Tsuki, and said something similar.
"So beautiful..."
Hearing Maria's praise, both Fuse Midori and Tsuki blushed slightly.
"Just like an older sister..."
Upon hearing Maria's words, Luo Mio's azure eyes widened slightly, and she subconsciously recalled the girl with her eyes closed and a smile on her face under the tree.
"My sisters, I'm counting on you..."
Luo Mio paused for a moment, then gently stroked Maria's head and spoke softly to her.
"After a while, Maria will grow up to be beautiful too."
"Really?" Maria asked Luo Mio innocently.
"Um."
"Oh, right." Luo Mio showed the photo to Maria. "Maria, have you met this woman before?"
Maria glanced at the photo, then looked up at Luo Mio.
"Never seen it before." After a moment of silence, Maria shook her head.
"Yeah."
"Big brother, would you like to come in? Everyone misses you." Maria said to Luo Mio.
Upon hearing Maria's words, Luo Mio nodded in agreement.
"Good."
Maria's face lit up with a smile after hearing Luo Mio's reply.
After descending the sewer stairs to the underground area, a strong, foul stench of wastewater assaulted the nostrils.
If an ordinary person came here, they would probably be vomiting uncontrollably by now.
But for someone like Luo Mio who had traveled all over the world, this stench was nothing new.
Meanwhile, Fuse Midori was often taken by Luo Mio to the "Uncharted Territory" for training, where the smell of some Gastrea was even more foul than this.
The moon had been wandering in the Outer Area all along, so this smell had no effect on her at all.
Maria and her friends had been living here for a year, and like Yue, they had been wandering and surviving outside since Maria could remember, so they were already used to this stench.
The pitch-black space made me feel very uncomfortable.
But for Fuse Midori and Yue, the dark space had no effect on them whatsoever.
Perhaps it's due to their own genes.
Cat and wolf.
Once you step inside, you'll find that the space in the sewer is surprisingly spacious, without any cramped atmosphere.
Finally, they arrived at the depths of the sewer, from which a faint glow of an oil lamp emanated.
Luo Mio looked inside and chuckled softly.
"It's been a long time, Mr. Matsuzaki."
Maria then emerged, leading a very old man by the hand.
"Haha, I wondered who made Maria so happy, it turns out it was you."
The man was around fifty or sixty years old. Although he was short, he did not appear hunchbacked. He wore glasses and had white hair, which made him look very learned. He also had a very gentle smile on his face.
In his other hand he held a cane with a rubber cushion.
"Big brother!"
"It's my big brother!"
"..."
Behind Matsuzaki, several girls' voices came from behind.
Several girls, a little older than Maria, ran excitedly over to Luo Mio after seeing her with bloodshot eyes.
Looking at them, Luo Mio also showed a happy smile, and half-squatted down to greet them with a gentle smile.
"Long time no see."
"How are you doing? Have you been Mr. Matsuzaki?"
Yes!
"..."
——
Within the Consciousness Space.
After seeing the smile on Luo Mio's face in the real world through the Consciousness Space, Fu Hua also let out a soft sigh of relief.
"Phew... at least I can finally relieve some of the negative emotions in Mio's heart."
The Book of Cang Xuan, floating in mid-air beside him, also said, "I guess only these brats could make Mio show such a carefree smile."
"Mio has accumulated far too much negative pressure from the beginning until now."
Upon hearing Fu Hua's words, Book of Cang Xuan also sighed helplessly.
"There's no way around it. If it were me, I probably would have reset this garbage world from the very beginning. Why would I have to put up with it until now?"
"Furthermore, if that girl Sora were to come to this world, she would probably have caused a 'Great Honkai' long ago."
The Book of Cang Xuan's irritable tone made Fu Hua shake his head with a wry smile.
"But there's no other way... For the sake of those children, and to completely 'reset' this world, Mio has to endure it..."
Looking at the smile on Luo Mio's face.
"... endure until all Gastrea virus are eradicated."
"However, it's not too bad for Alo."
Behind her, Chong Mio's figure emerged.
"Not bad?" Book of Cang Xuan said irritably in response to Chong Mio's words.
Chong Mio shook her head, her golden eyes watching Luo Mio's smile.
"For Alo, this is something he, as 'The Finality,' will inevitably have to face sooner or later, let alone for him, as a 'Sword Holder' with emotions."
"So, you and the system chose such a garbage world for Mio? To make him suffer such a painful farewell?" Book of Cang Xuan looked at Chong Mio coldly and said expressionlessly.
Fu Hua stood to the side, shook her head, and said with a light laugh.
"Perhaps it is precisely because Mio, as the 'Sword Holder,' possesses emotions that she is able to understand the pain of this separation, and then truly reset this world, allowing those children to find redemption."