Arknights' Lock of Heaven

"Senior, what are you thinking about, Senior!" Even Eyjafjalla tugged at Xia Yu's sleeve, as if that could stop him from doing something foolish.

"These mutated behemoths are no ordinary Originium bugs. Just as Miss Skyfire said, Rhodes Island couldn't possibly afford to keep them!"

“Um…” Upon hearing this, Provence seemed to want to say something, but was interrupted by Tianhuo.

"Dr. Kal'tsit will be angry, really angry!"

She looked at Xia Yu with a serious expression, "Whether it's the technical means or the actual operation, your idea is unrealistic!"

"How are you going to bring this all the way back? And once you get back, where are you going to keep it?"

"Rhodes Island's main ship can accommodate this behemoth, yes, it can, but what happens after it's in place?"

"How do I convince the operators not to be afraid? How do I control it so it doesn't hurt anyone? How do I..."

Watching their tearful accusations, Xia Yu awkwardly touched her nose.

"That!" Provence spoke up at that moment, forcefully interrupting Skyfire's narration, "Is it possible—and I'm just saying possibly—that the consultant was just joking?"

The sound of the fire suddenly stopped.

"A joke?" She and Eyjafjalla looked at Xia Yu suspiciously.

"Of course it's a joke," Xia Yu sighed upon hearing this. "I'm not stupid... how could I possibly take this thing back and raise it?"

Even if you're going to raise a pet, wouldn't it be better to raise something else?

Pompeii, to be honest... was indeed a bit ugly.

He really wants to have a pet. He now has Tiamat's spirit origin, which allows him to temporarily exercise his powers, and he also has the Holy Grail to provide for him.

Why not just create the monsters from the Absolute Warcraft Frontline?

That thing doesn't look very scary!

"I just noticed you all seemed a bit nervous, so I wanted to crack a joke to ease the tension."

Xia Yu explained helplessly.

"Oh, I see," Tianhuo awkwardly rubbed his nose, secretly relieved. "I thought you really wanted to keep it..."

She and Eyjafjalla were simply taken aback by Pompeii's size, and since few people on Rhodes Island usually joked with them, especially Eyjafjalla, they didn't react for a moment.

“To be honest, seeing your reactions, I almost thought so too,” Provence blinked, then looked at the giant Originium worm.

"...Can that really still be called an insect? Isn't it just a whole moving volcano?"

“Yeah, this thing…” Tianhuo looked at Pompeii in the distance, “It’s huge…”

"How long did it live to grow this big?"

"Hmm... Although there is no detailed deduction, the mutation result is slightly different from what I calculated."

Tianhuo gazes into the distance.

"I never imagined it would grow this big..."

“This…” Hearing this, Eyjafjalla began to analyze seriously, “Although I’m not a biology major, I heard that I can…”

"No, no, no, I'm just curious, curious," Tianhuo waved his hands repeatedly upon hearing this, "I don't really want to study how long it has lived."

"Besides, how could such a big thing be obediently left to be studied?"

Upon hearing this, Provence looked at Pompeii's enormous body and the dozens of cracks on it that shimmered with the light of lava.

Pompeii's body was covered with a hard stone shell, a thick armor accumulated over countless years.

But it continues to grow, and each time its armor closes and heals over the years, it is always torn apart by its ever-increasing size.

Finally, through repeated cycles, it became the terrifying behemoth it is today.

Its body was covered with countless sharp spikes, and the cracks on its thick stone shell constantly emitted the molten glow brought by the powerful energy of Pompeii itself.

This is a mutated Originium worm that can send chills down your spine.

"It's truly amazing, nature," Tianhuo exclaimed as he gazed at the mutated giant Originium worm from afar. "It's incredible that it could give birth to such a miracle."

“It should be the one we’re looking for,” Eyjafjalla said, looking at Pompeii. “While there are many lava Originium worms in Siesta, it shouldn’t have caused the situation in Siesta to deteriorate to such a drastic level.”

"Our previous guesses were either a large population or a mutated individual."

"It's now basically certain that it's the second one."

"It is constantly opening up new habitats. One such giant Originium bug is as destructive as ten thousand Originium bugs."

Skyfire pointed to the swarms of ordinary Originium worms beside Pompeii, "With these races added to the mix, it's no wonder the volcano is so volatile."

"Now, all we have to do is stop it."

At this point, Eyjafjalla's face lit up with excitement, her hands gripping her staff tightly. "I've studied many volcanoes, but I've never experienced anything like this before..."

“Let’s defeat it,” Tianhuo said, turning to Xia Yu. “It’s time for our advisor to make his appearance.”

"Don't worry, we will provide fire support."

“No, there’s no need to attack,” Eyjafjalla shook her head upon hearing this. “We just need to turn it around and prevent it from heading towards the center of the volcano, thus disrupting the fragile balance.”

"The eruption of Siesta volcano is inevitable; we just need to buy enough time to evacuate."

"No, you're all wrong."

Just then, Xia Yu spoke up.

"We don't need to attack it, nor do we need to stop it."

He turned to look at the girls and asked, "Even if we manage to buy some time, how many days will we have?"

"Didn't all of our Rhodes Island group holidays get ruined?"

"How can this be done?"

“I finally get a vacation, and then I run into such a fun music festival,” Xia Yu shrugged. “I’m not going to let my vacation end like this.”

"Everyone finally gets a vacation."

"So," upon hearing this, Skyfire retracted his staff, "is the advisor preparing to take action?"

"Use an unknown spell to completely drain the Originium particles from inside the volcano, directly reducing one of the factors that could cause a volcanic eruption and greatly increasing the time required for the eruption."

“If so,” Skyfire said earnestly, “I look forward to your performance.”

“Yes, I do intend to do that,” Xia Yu nodded and said with a smile, “but not now, and not here.”

He looked in the direction of Pompeii.

“We need to go a little further in.”

Go and set up a small ceremony.

"Go further in?" Tianhu blinked upon hearing this.

"Wouldn't that mean we'd have to fight this big guy again?"

“Of course,” Xia Yu nodded.

“Sigh,” Provence sighed, looking at the crossbow in his hand with a troubled expression.

"I... can only clear out the ordinary Originium bugs around here. As for this big guy," she shrugged, "I'm afraid I'm powerless."

"The stone shell on that giant Originium worm might be thicker than the length of my arrow..."

"My magic is quite good..." Skyfire muttered upon hearing this, "but... alas, I'm afraid my clothes are doomed again..."

“I can do it too,” Eyjafjalla volunteered, hugging her long staff tightly. “My Originium Arts are actually quite good at combat…”

“No, Eyjafjalla, you shouldn’t,” Skyfire said with concern. “I heard your Oripathy is quite severe. Even though you’re using a staff to cast spells, it’s inevitable that…”

"Alright, alright, no need to argue," Xia Yu interrupted her. "Leave it to me."

"Besides, there's no need for you to fight right now. I have a plan."

"Leave it to me, you all wait here for me to come back."

After saying that, he jumped down from the stone platform where he had been hiding.

Upon seeing this, Tianhuo and the others looked extremely horrified.

"Wait, there are Originium Bugs down there... Huh?"

The three of them lay on the stone platform, staring in disbelief at the scene unfolding more than ten meters below.

Under the faint red light emanating from the lava Originium worms, Xia Yu strolled around as if she were in her own home, stepping on one Originium worm after another as she moved forward.

And those Originium worms... these naturally wary and belligerent lava Originium worms completely ignored him, as if he didn't exist at all.

He walked up to the giant mutated Originium worm and even curiously reached out to touch it.

"How...how did he do that?"

Skyfire stared in disbelief and said, "Originium bugs...aren't Originium bugs supposed to have super-sensitive senses? And we're in their territory, so why can't we detect him at all?"

“I don’t know…but…” Eyjafjalla recalled her experience in Wolumond, “Perhaps it was an illusion?”

"An illusion? You mean we're under an illusion?" Provence asked blankly.

“No, no, it’s senior’s illusion…” Eyjafjalla stared intently at Xia Yu, but still couldn’t find any trace of Originium Arts.

"Senior's illusion magic... is incredibly powerful!"