You don't even want to call me godfather

"Koshei... where have you been... say something quickly..."

Laplande cried and begged, but she could no longer hear anything Koshe said.

It was not until Koshe held her hand that Lapland suddenly stopped crying. She forced herself to raise the corners of her mouth, revealing a smile that was uglier than crying.

She knew that Koshei had not left, but that the problem was with her body.

"It's so dark... I can't hear any sound... I can't feel anything... Koshei, can I ask you for a favor? Don't let go of my hand, I'm... a little afraid of the dark..."

She held Koshe's hand tightly, feeling the warmth of his palm, as if she was afraid that this last person would also leave her.

"Koshei... um... Koshei... don't worry, I... can't feel the pain anymore." After a while, although Koshei's voice could not be heard, Lapland could probably guess his current expression, so he said bitterly, "It's just... I'm afraid that in a while... I won't be able to feel you anymore..."

"Ah... It's so quiet... Am I really going to die now? Ah... It's so scary..." Feeling the gradual loss of his sense of touch, Lapland spoke out his thoughts without any reservation, "But... I have already prepared myself mentally... It's just that I may still feel a little reluctant..."

But... Lapland realized that if she was gone, Koshe would probably choose to die with her.

This wouldn't do. She didn't want this to happen. Koshei had to survive.

But he was the only one left, and life was so painful, why should I want him to keep living?

Suddenly, Lapland seemed to understand something, and she remembered the feelings that she had always buried deep in her heart.

Ah...so that's how it is.

In his last moments, Lapland raised his fist with his last bit of strength, and murmured:

"Promise me, Koshei... to live."

Extra IF: The Storm (I)

Iberia, a ruined city that had long since fallen.

A man leaned half of his body out of the abandoned building, observed for a while, and then made a gesture behind him.

Then, two more people appeared from behind him, one on the left and one on the right, keeping watch on each other's surroundings, and quickly crossed the street.

The leader was responsible for the safety of the rear and followed closely behind the two.

They were fully armed, wearing white plate armor, carrying light bags, wearing helmets, holding guns, and moving forward.

Even though this weapon has been used only a few times.

The hearing of those Hai Si is extremely sensitive, and they generally won't shoot unless it is absolutely necessary.

Because that would lead to the arrival of the "sea tide".

Once they open fire, it means that they will be targeted by Hai Si. In order to prevent maximum casualties, all the people in the survivor camp must immediately move to a new safe place, and the original camp will become the area occupied by Hai Si.

"Raphael, Ben Hong, hurry back after you finish investigating the situation," the man walking behind said to the other two, "It's getting dark soon, don't get involved in unnecessary trouble."

"Yes, got it."

Raphael and Ben Hong responded.

The reason they came out this time was to look for available resources. Not all the survivors dared to face those sea heirs head-on, so only a few courageous people could come out to explore the way.

The second reason was to come to this Iberian city that had been abandoned many years ago and try to find out the source of the emergence of the sea.

In the past period of time, most areas of this dead city were occupied by sea monsters, who liked to run around in groups.

But as time went by, for some unknown reason, the sea descendants gradually shifted their targets and went to other countries and regions. Up to now, only a very small number of sea descendants remain in Iberia City.

Dilapidated buildings, silent streets, and cries for help and screams that seemed to be faintly heard from a distance.

The clouds in the sky... or at least they could still be called clouds, were now stained with a disastrous orange-black color, hovering over the city, as if a natural disaster was about to befall. An unknown fear lingered in the hearts of every survivor in the city.

Since Haisi came ashore, countless countries have been destroyed, human resources have been lost, and countless cities have been ruthlessly plundered by natural disasters. The remains of the cities after the disasters have become a breeding ground for infected organisms and foreign organisms.

Natural disasters surround people, but every natural disaster has its boundaries.

If the ocean had not been polluted by the Originium brought by those natural disasters, and if the Sea Heirs who had fled out in droves had not returned to the sea, could they have tried to find a way out from the sea?

Even though the possibility of success of such a thing is not high, people nowadays would rather believe in such illusory hope than stay in one place and wait to die.

Staying in the city is like being trapped in a jar, which is not a long-term solution. Some people are willing to take risks to find this possibility.

At least for my own sake, I can leave this hellhole full of sea monsters.

It was very quiet along the way, completely different from the city center, and no one could leave there alive.

But thanks to this, the impact on the surrounding cities is not that exaggerated. Maybe you can occasionally see a few lone sea turtles on the street, but as long as you wait quietly for them to leave, they will most likely not appear there again.

But it's just a high probability.

Night had fallen, but they did not dare to use lighting equipment rashly, as that might cause trouble and expose their position.

They could only move forward in the dark.

"Ben Hong!"

Suddenly, Ben Hong accidentally stepped on something and fell forward.

Raphael, who was standing by, quickly caught her before she fell to the ground, but then he reacted and quickly covered his mouth with his other hand as he shouted.

However, it was too late. An unusual phenomenon occurred. Since there were too few supplies in Ben Hong's backpack, the water bottle on one side was thrown out when he fell.

“Gululululu——”

The sound of the kettle rolling on the ground seemed particularly abrupt in this night. The three of them held their breath and squatted down. No one dared to move, for fear of making another strange noise.

Until the kettle hit a wall and stopped rolling.

"Gudong."

Raphael couldn't help swallowing. He couldn't imagine what consequences he would have to bear if his actions just now attracted Hai Si.

She and Ben Hong both looked at the person behind them.

It's obvious that that person is the backbone here.

After a long time, the man slowly raised his head, which had been lowered, and made a gesture to move forward.

The three men stood up again and continued to move forward, but this time, they obviously slowed down and were extremely careful about their steps.

Ben Hong didn't even dare to retrieve her water bottle, and similarly, she didn't dare to look at that person.

She was afraid of being punished.

Raphael, who was standing by, saw what she was thinking and put his hand on her shoulder, signaling her not to be afraid.

The three of them walked for a while and did not encounter any Hai Si or anything else. Apparently, the kettle did not attract any attention.

At least that's a good thing.

After a long time, they came to the seaside.

Unfortunately, it was still too dark and they couldn’t see the situation on the sea clearly.

"boom!"

At this moment, the lighthouse on the distant coast suddenly lit up and shone straight into the ocean.

Raphael's nervousness that had just disappeared came back again, but the leader made a gesture to keep quiet.

"Don't be nervous, it should be the lighthouse's scheduled light."

Covered by the sound of the waves, the man spoke.

"It looks like the sea here is not polluted. Should we say this is a blessing in disguise?"

Seeing the leader like this, Ben Hong also felt a little relieved and said.

"No, it's hard to say."

The man walked to the beach, letting the waves wash over his legs. He took off his gloves and immersed his hands directly into the sea water.

"Now we can confirm that this place is not contaminated."

After a long time, without noticing any discomfort in his body, he put on his gloves again, ignored the stunned looks of the two people beside him, took off his helmet, and revealed his face underneath.

It was Azazel. After that incident, he had several scars on his face and a burn extending from his neck to the corner of his eye.

The plate armor and helmets they wore were taken off the dead papal musketeers.

It is not heavy, and can resist Hai Si's attacks to a certain extent.

"Now that it's confirmed, let's go back first," Azazel took a few deep breaths of the seaside air and looked at a building not far away. "There's also a hospital there, which may have some medical equipment. There seems to be a gas station on the street we just passed. For safety reasons, it's safer to inspect the rest tomorrow morning."

He put on his helmet again and set out on the return journey with Raphael and Ben Hong.

Extra IF: The Storm (II)

When the three returned to the survivors' camp, the anxious people in the camp finally felt relieved.

The camp was located in an air-raid shelter beneath the Lateran Cathedral.

When the sea creatures came ashore, they seemed very impatient. They swarmed into Lateran, wiped out all living things in the city, and then hurriedly scattered to other countries and even the entire land.

Underground facilities like this one within the city luckily avoided being discovered by Hai Si.

The three men took off their equipment and hung their guns and plate armor on the unified reserve weapon rack.

Raphael and Ben Hong both breathed a sigh of relief at this moment, because Azazel didn't seem to have any intention of holding them accountable for their previous recklessness.

As soon as Azazel took off his helmet, a girl from the camp ran over.

"Ah-sa!"

The girl threw herself into his arms and rubbed her face against his clothes.

"Xiao An, how many times have I told you not to run around in the camp? What if you accidentally fall?"

Azazel squatted down helplessly and said to the girl.

But the girl seemed not to hear what he said. She put her arms around his neck and continued to act coquettishly.

"Asa, you've been out for too long. We were so worried about you in the camp!"

"Be good, Xiao An. I'm just going out to find something. There's nothing to worry about."

He stroked the girl's hair and comforted her.

"But there are so many monsters outside. It's very dangerous..."

The girl pouted, her words full of worry.

"But we are back safely, aren't we?"

"But--"

Just as Xiao An was about to say something, a woman came over and pulled her off Azazel's body.

"An, stop bothering Brother Asa. He's been out for a day and is tired. Let him have a good rest."

She said this to the girl.

"Sorry to trouble you again, Kuler."

Azazel asked this woman apologetically.

"Compared to you guys who often have to go out and risk your lives, I only need to take care of the children in the camp, which is much easier."

Kuler waved his hand and dragged the girl away half-forcefully.

Watching the two people leaving, Azazel was still half-squatting on the ground, and was reluctant to stand up.

"Hey, Asa, are you okay?"

Raphael noticed something was wrong and hurried forward to ask.

"No, I'm fine, Raphael, don't worry."

With Raphael's help, he stood up and said.

"If you feel uncomfortable, go see a doctor. Don't try to be stubborn."

"I'm fine, just a little tired... Raphael, can you take me to the lounge?"

Azazel looked tired, and Raphael was a little worried about his health. She signaled Ben Hong and helped him to the lounge.