Collapse, but Stand users

In the aftermath of the great collapse of Changkong City, the nameless town ultimately lost all its vitality.

The residual destructive energy in the soil caused crops to wither, and the water source also carried a faint ominous aura.

After Desdobia fully recovered, Kosmo, Desdobia, and her mother silently packed their few remaining belongings and left the land where they had lived for many years.

After several days of trekking, weary from their journey, they finally settled temporarily in a seemingly stable town nestled against a mountainside.

Life seemed to have a glimmer of hope for a fresh start. Desdobia's mother used the little savings she had brought to open a small grocery store, while Kosmo, with his strength and quiet reliability, did odd jobs to protect the hard-won peace between the mother and daughter.

However, this calm lasted only a few months.

The disaster struck without warning.

That afternoon, the sky first took on a sickly, gloomy yellow hue, and then the wind came.

That was no ordinary wind; it was a "storm" carrying a shriek and a destructive intent.

It was like an invisible behemoth, easily tearing off rooftops, uprooting trees, and whipping up people running and screaming in the streets like straw. The town's defenses were as thin as paper in the face of this true natural disaster.

The residents were terrified and rushed to shelters or fled the town.

Desdobia's mother held her daughter tightly, anxiously searching for Kosmo's figure.

They saw him.

The boy stood against the flow of fleeing people in the center of the town square, facing the "storm" that was about to devour everything.

He clutched a steel bar he had salvaged from the rubble, his eyes displaying a determination and stubbornness beyond his years.

He cannot retreat; behind him are the people he must protect.

The storm seemed to have noticed this tiny yet defiant individual, and a more concentrated, steel-tearing wind pressure slammed down on him like a giant hammer.

Kosmo gritted his teeth, holding the steel bar horizontally in front of him, preparing to withstand the impact that would shatter him to pieces.

Just at the critical moment, an ice-blue figure cut between him and the storm with astonishing speed!

"boom--!"

The extremely cold sword energy collided violently with the violent wind pressure, causing ice crystals and air currents to scatter and burst forth.

Kevin, wielding a greatsword that radiated a chilling aura, stood in front of Kosmo. His azure eyes were fixed on the heart of the storm, and without turning his head, he growled at the boy behind him, "Take them away! This is not something you can fight!"

Kosmo was stunned. He looked at Kevin's tall figure and the combat uniform that clearly belonged to the Firemoth, and instantly understood what was going on.

Without hesitation, he took a deep look at his savior, turned around and rushed towards Desdobia and her daughter, pulling them away quickly.

……

Meanwhile, Toulong, who was traveling hundreds of kilometers away, raised his head.

His stone-like pupils reflected a scene imperceptible to ordinary people—in the distance, the "principle" of "fluidity" and "collapse" in the atmosphere was being wildly twisted and ravaged by a tyrannical force.

“The Lawyer,” he stated calmly.

"Huh? It's appeared again?" Alicia asked worriedly.

Toulong did not answer, but with a thought, "Miracle for You" tore through space and sped toward the center of Honkai energy.

Above a distant town, the Herrscher of Wind, suspended in mid-air, revels in the pleasure of destruction, her long, bluish-gray hair dancing wildly in the air currents she creates.

However, the next second, a sense of "calamity" originating from the very essence of existence, making her core tremble, was poured over her like ice water.

She couldn't even see where the threat came from, but the absolute silence and sense of impending doom made her instantly realize that something far beyond her comprehension had made its move.

Her survival instinct, or rather, the Herrscher's instinct for "destruction," led her to make the most extreme choice.

Instead of seeking out or fighting the invisible threat, she let out a sharp shriek, her figure transforming into a streak of light as she broke through the atmosphere at top speed and arrived at the outer edge of the planet.

Then, she detonated herself, along with the cyan Herrscher core.

It wasn't to attack a specific enemy, but rather to transform all her life's power and Honkai energy into the most vicious curse, injecting it all into and disrupting the atmospheric circulation model of the planets she could influence.

"Miracle for You" silently "watched" all of this from space, neither stopping nor able to stop this scale of instantaneous structural destruction.

The mission objective has disappeared; it returned silently.

Inside the SUV, Toulong slowly opened his eyes.

"Is it resolved?" Alicia asked.

"The Herrscher self-destructed." Toru's tone was completely calm. "Before she died, she disrupted the atmosphere."

The car fell silent instantly.

Vervi immediately opened her personal terminal and connected to the remote data stream. A few seconds later, her expression turned extremely grim: "...Abnormal parameters have been forcibly injected into key nodes of global atmospheric circulation...The frequency and intensity of extreme weather will soar in the coming weeks...This is practically poisoning the planet's respiratory system!"

The vote quickly reached a consensus: change direction and head to the scene of the incident.

When they arrived at the town, which had been almost completely flattened by the storm, the Moth of Fire forces were already clearing the battlefield and eliminating the remaining Honkai Beasts and Death Warriors.

With the Lawyer dead, their work has become much easier.

Among the busy soldiers, they spotted Kevin, who had just finished clearing an area.

“Kevin!” Alicia waved and called out.

Kevin walked over, his face showing signs of exhaustion from the battle, but he still nodded slightly in greeting when he saw someone he knew.

The soldiers of the Fire Moth seemed to ignore the strangely dressed and unidentified group of people, including the Dragon, which clearly indicated that their presence was tacitly approved by the higher-ups. However, their gazes toward Kevin held a hint of inquiry and subtle attention.

Toru explained his purpose: first, to assist in dealing with the Honkai; and second, for Alicia to sense the area and attempt to obtain the remaining power of the Herrscher.

In the following days, Alicia closed her eyes and focused her mind, her fingertips shimmering with a pale blue light.

She was indeed absorbing and comprehending this new power—the ability to manipulate the weather. Although she could previously create small-scale rainfall using her own abilities, the potential and scale of the power brought by the Herrscher of Wind's core, which influences atmospheric flow and energy exchange, were far beyond what she had experienced before.

Meanwhile, Vervi received a direct communication from Mebius.

"What's your decision, Vilvie? You've been hanging out with them for so long, it's time to get down to business."

Mebius offered an irresistible deal: all the resources of the First Research Institute of the Firemoth, the most advanced technology database, and... the power to jointly define the specifications of the "Key of God".

Vilvi looked at the chaotic curves of the global weather model on the terminal, then glanced at Ellie, who was trying to familiarize herself with her new abilities, and at Toulong and Qianjie, who remained silent.

She loves the freedom and surprises of travel, but as a mechanic and a creator, the temptation to repair a damaged "world-class precision instrument" is too great.

A few days later, when Alicia had gained a basic grasp of the ability to guide airflow and smooth out localized abnormal weather, Velvi made her decision.

She gathered her precious tools and parts and walked in front of the crowd.

"It seems that the great magician Velvet will have to bid farewell to this adventure for the time being."

She tried to make her tone sound light, a signature sly smile playing on her lips. "There's a big project going on at Möbius's place, and they absolutely need me to be the chief engineer."

She looked at Alicia and reached out to ruffle her pink hair: "Alicia, next time we meet, maybe I can create a sunny day for you that will never rain."

She then looked at Toulong and Qianjie: "Stone Face, Silent One, protect our little princess."

Finally, it was Eden's turn. Wilvi patted her on the shoulder: "If you have any new songs, remember to send me a copy."

Without further farewell, Velvet turned and walked toward the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft bearing the emblem of the Moth of Fire that had come to meet her.

The hatch closed, carrying her and her talent to another battlefield—a battlefield in a laboratory, where she would save the world.

Alicia gazed at the sky, feeling the still-unskilled breeze flowing through her fingertips, and sighed softly.

This is the first time their travel group has been smaller than usual...

But Ellie quickly cheered up. If she missed Wilvi, she could just go find her.

I think Toulong won't refuse me.

"Hmm... If only Virvi could create a simple teleportation device."