Chapter 242

Luo Mio turned around and looked at Rentaro and Enju.

"The rest is up to you."

Upon hearing Luo Mio's words, the two were immediately taken aback.

Luo Mio then spoke to Enju.

"After what happened today, don't you want to go and vent your frustrations?"

Enju blinked, then the corners of her mouth turned up.

"Then leave it to me!"

After saying that, Enju jumped out of the cabin door.

"Hey! Wait a minute!"

Rentaro also picked up the rope and jumped down.

Watching them jump down, Luo Mio silently turned her gaze back, her azure eyes gleaming as she looked at the Gastrea that Enju had kicked to the ground, her expression suggesting she was lost in thought.

Chapter 18: Your His Highness! Have you gone mad?!

"Are you insane, Your His Highness?!"

On the hospital rooftop, Hoshikage Hisomi angrily questioned Luo Mio.

For Hoshikage Hisomi, Luo Mio was incredibly powerful and kind, and he respected Luo Mio greatly. However, right now, he felt only confusion and disbelief about what Luo Mio just said.

Luo Mio turned around, her azure eyes looking directly at him.

"I'm not crazy, Stardust."

"Then tell me! Why did you do this! Do you know that if Hiruko Kageyasu really summons 'Scorpio,' the entire Tokyo Area could be destroyed!"

Hoshikage Hisomi stepped forward and roared angrily at Luo Mio.

In his mind, he couldn't help but recall the time an hour earlier when he was chasing the target in District 32.

——

"Brother Miohua, we've already reclaimed the 'Legacy of the Seven Stars'!"

Rentaro's voice came through the earphones.

"Um."

Luo Mio simply hummed in agreement.

But in the very next second...

"Thank you for your hard work, see you in Sato."

A voice came through the headphones.

"Aaaaaah—!"

Then came Rentaro's screams.

"Rentaro!"

"Enju! We've found you!"

The sounds of swords clashing and fighting filled the headphones.

Taking off her headphones, Luo Mio spoke to Hoshikage Hisomi.

"I'm going down."

After saying that, Luo Mio jumped out of the helicopter.

The rain soaked Luo Mio's clothes. Standing on the muddy ground, Luo Mio looked around and then fixed her gaze in one direction.

A faint ripple appeared in his azure eyes, his gaze seemingly piercing through lush forests and thickets, looking straight ahead.

Two more figures appeared in their field of vision.

Hiruko Kageyasu and Hiruko Kohina!

At Hiruko Kageyasu's feet, Rentaro lay in agony on the muddy ground, with two very obvious knife wounds on his body. Clearly, Hiruko Kohina's two small dachi had pierced straight through Rentaro's ribs.

Enju saw that Rentaro was injured and desperately wanted to go to him, but was stopped by Hiruko Kohina.

"Um?!"

Hiruko Kageyasu seemed to sense something and looked in the direction of Luo Mio.

Then he said urgently.

"Hina, let's go!"

Although Hiruko Kohina was puzzled, she quickly pushed Enju aside upon hearing Hiruko Kageyasu's anxious tone.

Then he left this place with Hiruko Kageyasu.

"..."

Looking in the direction where Hiruko Kageyasu and Hiruko Kohina had gone, Luo Mio turned her gaze back to Rentaro, who was lying unconscious on the ground, and Enju, who was crying beside him.

I tapped the communicator lightly.

"Contact the hospital and prepare for emergency surgery."

After saying that, Luo Mio ran towards Rentaro's direction.

——

And then time went back to the beginning.

"Your His Highness, I am puzzled."

"Hmm?" Luo Mio didn't turn around, standing behind the fence, looking at the dim scenery in the distance.

"What are you wondering about?"

"With His Highness strength, Your Highness, the moment you land on the ground, you should be able to easily reach the place where Hiruko Kageyasu and Lord Satomi are fighting, and subdue Hiruko Kageyasu and Hiruko Kohina."

"Hmm... that's true."

Upon hearing Luo Mio's answer, Hoshikage Hisomi couldn't help but ask, "Then why...?"

Luo Mio slowly turned her head, her azure eyes devoid of any emotion, her calm gaze intimidating.

"I let them go on purpose."

"... Huh?"

"The purpose of letting Hiruko Kageyasu go was to allow him to summon 'Scorpio'."

Hoshikage Hisomi was stunned upon hearing Luo Mio's reply. He looked at her in disbelief and stammered, "What did you say...?"

——

Despite this, when faced with Hoshikage Hisomi's angry questioning, Luo Mio's eyes remained cold and indifferent, as if she didn't care about people's lives or deaths at all.

Looking into those eyes, Hoshikage Hisomi could not believe it and staggered back a few steps.

"You... are you really His Highness?"

In his memory, Luo Mio was not only powerful, but also had a perfect personality.

Gentle, kind, steadfast, strong...

Luo Mio's existence is as if she descended into this world specifically for these words.

This is the kind of great being he admires and pursues, the one he wants to follow forever and stand by his side...

Seeing Hoshikage Hisomi begin to doubt himself, Luo Mio sighed softly.

Upon hearing Luo Mio's sigh, Hoshikage Hisomi immediately snapped out of his daze, breathing softly and trying to calm himself down.

As the person who followed Luo Mio the longest, Hoshikage Hisomi knew Luo Mio better than anyone what kind of person she was.

She lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment before raising her head again to look at Luo Mio.

"Your His Highness, do you have a plan for doing this?"

"..." Luo Mio silently turned around, looked at the sky, and pointed in a direction.

"Interstellar space, do you know what's over there?"

Hoshikage Hisomi was taken aback upon hearing this, and then looked in the direction that Luo Mio was pointing.

Looking in that direction, Hoshikage Hisomi's eyes slowly widened.

"The Stairway..."

He muttered to himself.

"The Stairway," also known as the Linear Electromagnetic Projectile Device!

It is a superorbital cannon module that can accelerate metal flying objects with a diameter of less than 800mm to sub-light speed before firing them.

However, it was never put to use at the end of the Gastrea Wars, and was forced to be abandoned and withdrawn without ever being tested due to the failure of humans.

It can be said to be a colossal weapon that watched humanity's day of defeat unfold!

Even so, Hoshikage Hisomi still couldn't understand why Luo Mio did this.

"You should know about the changes in each stage of Gastrea, right?"

"Um."

Starting with the earliest Gastrea, from Stage I onwards, they evolved through Stages II and Stage III. With each evolutionary development, the size of the Gastrea would grow larger, and their skin and shell would become increasingly hard.

During this evolutionary process, Gastrea absorbed genes from various organisms. It can be said with certainty that the higher the stage of Gastrea, the more unique their appearance becomes.

Luo Mio explained to Hoshikage Hisomi.

"Generally speaking, stage IV Gastrea are already Perfected Form, so theoretically, stage IV Gastrea will not evolve or grow further."

"But when the Gastrea War broke out, Stage V appeared. No one knows how they were born or where they came from. Compared to Stage IV, the existence of Stage V is a natural disaster in itself. They have huge bodies that far exceed those of Stage IV, and in order not to be crushed by their own huge bodies, their muscles, skin, bones, and internal organs are greatly strengthened by the Gastrea virus, making them extremely tough."

Looking in the direction of the "The Stairway to heaven".

"Even so, any metal made of ultra- Varanium Steel can be destroyed by the power of the 'The Stairway.'"

Hoshikage Hisomi was puzzled after hearing Luo Mio's words.

"But the 'The Stairway' was originally designed as a weapon for use in space. Using it on the ground would cause completely irreparable damage, rendering the Stairway utterly unusable!"

Luo Mio turned around and looked at Hoshikage Hisomi.

"Interstellar, what do you think the 'The Stairway' is?"

"Huh?"

"That is the symbol born from the hatred of the 'Promised Child'!"

"What do you think a country possessing such a terrifying and horrifying weapon would do with it? It's a weapon capable of completely annihilating even the 'Zodiac Palace'!"

Upon hearing this, Hoshikage Hisomi's eyes slowly widened.

Nation...

"But... but His Your Highness Holy Child would never do that!"

"That girl is kinder than anyone else, of course she wouldn't do that."

"But the Far East still has four other major regions! Can't you guarantee that the rulers of other regions won't do the same?"

Looking at Luo Mio, Hoshikage Hisomi slowly spoke.

"So, Your His Highness, you intend to destroy the 'The Stairway' at the same time as eliminating the 'Scorpio'?"

When asked a question by Hoshikage Hisomi, Luo Mio did not answer, but turned away.

To completely eradicate the inner presence of "Scorpio," it's not enough to rely solely on the "The Stairway"...

Luo Mio, with her back turned, had a faint golden light gleaming in her azure eyes.

Chapter Nineteen: Meeting

"Clatter..."