About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

"Please let me do the containment work."

"Leave it to Rhodes Island, Miss Hei. We are experts in dealing with natural disasters and Originium infections."

"And I am the leader of the Xiosta Security Bureau. I have an obligation to protect this city."

"...I understand. Then, Kal'tsit, Miss Hei and I will rush to your location. Please be careful."

Seeing Hei's resolute attitude, Orson stopped trying to stop him. Meanwhile, Ceylon and Herman also emerged from the sailboat.

"Master - I'm glad you're okay, but now is not the time for me to blame myself or admit my mistakes. Orson and I still have some things to finish."

Hei looked at Herman and just nodded briefly.

"I just heard the general situation. Xiosta's future is in your hands. Orson—if you can save this city-state, I will betroth Ceylon to you."

Herman said to Orson with a smile that he had done a lot of research on Orson before, and now that he and his daughter were under his control, he naturally took the opportunity to make such a "joke" which could be a casual way to liven up the atmosphere or it could be an agreed-upon one.

"--no!"

However, as soon as the mayor finished speaking, the person involved, Ceylon, had not yet expressed his opinion. Instead, Hei, who never contradicted the mayor's orders, was the first to express his disagreement.

"black?"

"Hei--haha, so that's how it is?"

Herman opened his eyes wide, then seemed to realize something and smiled meaningfully.

At first, Ceylon was also shocked by her father's sudden engagement statement, but she soon noticed that before her expression changed more drastically, it was Filin, who had always protected her like a sister, who showed a shy and anxious expression that she had never seen before.

"Well... then go for it, Hei. Please allow me to deny this request, father."

Ceylon also figured out something, and she smiled, but at the same time said that she would not accept such a joking agreement.

"I'm not sure what Mr. Hermann is up to with all of a sudden... Anyway, please leave it to us—RUA!?"

"M-Ms. Hei?!"

Orson, who was confused about the situation, was halfway through his oath when Hei, whose face was flushed red, grabbed his collar and dragged him directly onto the assault boat.

"Don't worry about the master and the young lady. We have more important things to deal with now, don't we?"

"Well, then please turn the throttle to the maximum."

Orson nodded, and Hei twisted the throttle of the assault boat.

boom! !

I don't know if it was the roar of the engine or the sound of the volcano sliding in the distance, but the two of them rushed towards the volcano that was about to erupt at full speed.

28. Shoot Down the God

The coastal city-state of Xiosta.

If you ask people what is the most impressive thing about this city, some may answer "the beach", some may answer "the music everywhere", some may think it is the festive atmosphere at all times, and some may say it is the unique and wonderful obsidian.

Almost no one would attribute the answer to the "volcano" that has been standing quietly since the beginning. People have long accepted the existence of the volcano as if it were natural and regarded it as part of the city-state of Xiosta.

However, the volcano that everyone was used to, which seemed to be in the background, suddenly made a loud roar, as if to vent, forcing everyone to pay attention to this long-forgotten volcano.

Far away from the city of Xiosta, on the other side of the volcano connected to the lake, a Filin tribe member stood on the edge of the coast. Not far away, a small speedboat cut through the water and rushed towards him at full speed.

"Dr. Kelsey, I hope we're not too late."

Black, the director of the Xiosta Security Bureau, who was driving the speedboat, jumped off lightly and walked to Kal'tsit who was waiting on the shore to ask questions.

"Um……"

After seeing Hei, Kal'tsit's expression showed a subtle displeasure. After all, in a sense, this guy was one of the most direct culprits for the failure of her plan.

However, the current situation did not allow Kal'tsit to show too much emotion. She nodded to Hei, then turned her gaze to Orson behind Hei.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh..."

Orson, who was sitting at the back of the speedboat, was half lying on the edge of the speedboat, vomiting continuously in his head.

"..."

"...Well, maybe I was driving a little too fast."

Hei turned her head away somewhat embarrassedly. She never thought that she could actually make Orson vomit.

After all, there is almost no "ocean" in Terra. When Orson came to Xiosta this time, he discovered a new attribute: seasickness.

It's okay for medium and large ships that stay in place, but this small speedboat running at full speed can really make Orson vomit his breakfast.

"Sorry...let me wait 10 seconds..."

Orson pointed a finger at the two of them while D area.

"Are you okay, Orson? Let me help you—"

"Every profession has its own expertise. Let me take charge at a time like this. I'm a doctor, not a murderous bodyguard."

Kal'tsit stopped Hei and went to Orson to check this terrible chimera.

"I also have relevant knowledge of battlefield first aid..."

——He’s actually started talking back. Why does this guy seem completely different from his cool and aloof appearance? Is his progress in the conquest a little too fast?

Kelsey complained in her mind.

Hei grumbled a little unconvinced, but did not continue to argue. After all, the doctor was indeed more professional.

Kelsey came close to Orson, she put her hands on Orson's cheeks, and looked into his eyes for a while.

"It's too late to save him. At this point, artificial respiration is the only option—"

"Wow, that's not possible, Kal'tsit!"

Kal'tsit was just about to have a mouth-to-mouth sex without thinking, but Orson immediately got up in a panic and said he was fine.

"Tsk."

"This kind of sound isn't something a doctor would make to a recovered patient..."

Kal'tsit, whose artificial respiration attempt failed, made a blatant sound of "tsk tsk", while Orson complained in a low voice and got off the assault boat at the same time.

"Well—I already gave you a general overview of the situation when you arrived just now. But to prevent someone from being seasick and not hearing clearly, I'll briefly repeat it here—we still have about 17 minutes."

Kal'tsit led Orson and Hei towards the volcano, and everyone felt through their skin that the temperature around them was rising at an extremely obvious rate.

"As long as you kill that Originium Worm during this time—it's called Pompeii, right?—and incapacitate it, the volcanic eruption that was originally expected will be temporarily suppressed."

"I get it. This is the first time I've encountered someone stopping a natural disaster by suppressing a living creature... But how are we going to 'incapacitate' that Originium Bug? Is it just a matter of throwing a Poké Ball?"

Orson asked curiously how he could subdue the incarnation of the volcano.

"You're just like the Doctor, always saying strange things during strange events—use this."

Kal'tsit complained softly, then took out two small-looking glass bottles, about the size of eye drops, from her pocket.

"This is a highly concentrated anesthetic. Just one bottle should be enough to calm it down temporarily. Of course, to be on the safe side, mix it with some of your Chimera blood in advance to multiply the dosage."

"I understand, but why would you carry something like this with you, Kal'tsit..."

Orson nodded and took the small bottle, then grumbled quietly.

"? What are you talking about? As a doctor, isn't it normal for me to carry anesthetics with me?"

Kel'tsit glanced at Orson. Orson wanted to complain, but time was running out, and he suspected that if he pressed the issue further, it might trigger the "falling asleep and waking up with a sore butt" scene...

"I've asked the Ghost Sister who was stationed nearby to assist Miss Hei's remaining men in evacuating the crowd. At least for the next 10 minutes, we won't find any good-natured passersby near the volcano who would shake off the vodka/firecrackers."

"Very good. I have also prepared your equipment. Since time is tight and protective suits are hard to come by, you don't actually have much time to act."

Kal'tsit led the two to the surveillance equipment and tossed them a bag. The surveillance equipment was beeping non-stop, repeatedly informing everyone that in less than 20 minutes, this place would become a molten hell, like a death-dealing ghost that kept repeating, "The car is ready."

"That's enough. Thank you, Dr. Kelsey."

Hei assembled the crossbow from the suitcase and put it on his back, while Orson put the folded knight sword back into place and held it in his hand.

"Orson, due to your physical condition, you probably can't withstand higher temperatures. I'll be in charge of this operation. We also need to hack your sniping abilities."

Kal'tsit assigned the personnel for this battle.

"I understand."

Hei nodded to show that he understood, while Orson waved his hand to show that he disagreed with Kal'tsit's arrangement.

"No, Kal'tsit. My [Curtain Call] can suppress Pompeii's heat source to a certain extent. It would be better if I participated."

"Then the three of us will go together—"

"That won't work either, Kal'tsit. Your fighting style is to summon M3, right? If I use Curtain Call, M3 will become limp, and you, Kal'tsit, will be affected too. Unless you have other fighting styles. Of course, crazy grabbing doesn't count. Aa ...

Before Orson could finish his words, he was hit by Kaimao's crazy scratches, and the effect was amazing!

"I understand... Then I'll continue to monitor the values here and provide you with support and command."

Although Kal'tsit's face was full of reluctance, Orson's arrangement was obviously more reasonable than a head-on confrontation, and she had no time to refute it now.

"You're a bodyguard, right? If so, remember to protect yourself... and Orson."

Kal'tsit looked at Hei and gave serious instructions to the film.

"Well, don't worry."

Hei nodded to Kelsey.

After sorting out the current situation, organizing their equipment and obtaining anesthetics, Orson and Hei began their journey.

Kal'tsit quickly guided Orson and Hei to the vicinity of an inconspicuous cave through the distribution map of heat radiation on the monitoring device.

"Well……"

Although the two had not encountered Pompeii yet, Hei was already sweating profusely due to the continuously rising temperature. She had originally only worn a very thin white shirt, but now under the continuous baking of high temperature, the shirt had already been tightly attached to her skin, becoming like transparent white silk, revealing the outline of Hei's body, which made her look much more sexy than if she were wearing nothing.

Of course, neither Hei nor Orson had time to pay attention to these things, because continuous sweating meant that they might be dehydrated, and the "countdown" in front of them was more than just a heat issue.

The other point is the so-called "fear".

"..."

Hei slowly moved forward along the cave. The area she could see was not very far, but with every step she took, she could feel the fear multiplying and eroding her heart.

Hei is not a coward. As a former mercenary, it can be said that her courage exceeds that of 9% of people.

But even so, on the road to confronting the "god", every time she took a step, she would feel a tremor in her heart. It was the manifestation of instinct and reason in a crazy warning, but it was manifested in the form of "fear".

But - unlike himself, the young man beside him, who was also sweating profusely, had an incomparably calm expression on his face for some reason.

"Orson, you... don't feel fear?"

Hei couldn't help but ask Orson.

"Huh? Of course I'm scared. After all, what I'm about to face is the wrath of a volcano."

Orson responded by smiling at Hei.

"Then why did you..."

"Because the 'Doctor' must be like this, forcing himself to suppress his fear all the way against various 'Gods'. So, I absolutely cannot give up."

Orson said lightly. Although Hei didn't know who the 'Doctor' Orson was talking about was, she vaguely felt that the existence of the 'Doctor' might be the signpost like a morning star in the boy's heart that would never dim.

——Strangely, I feel like I’m a lot less afraid.

Coming back to his senses, Hei realized that his steps were no longer trembling.

"Well……!"

As the two continued to move forward to a black cave, Orson suddenly let out a brief cry of pain, and a blister suddenly appeared on Orson's arm.

"Orson! Is it a burn? The air here is already burning...!"

[You have arrived at the center of the heat radiation. Get ready. Pompeii should be here!]

Kelsey's voice came from the headset.

"But all we can see is blackness—wait."

Hei was swallowed by the scorching airflow before he could finish his words.

There was originally a dark cave in front of the two of them, but suddenly a red 'bright spot' appeared in the center.

Then, starting with that 'bright spot', more and more dark red textures emerged from the darkness, spreading and flowing outward like blood vessels.