Poseidon in Arknights

Looking at the scene before her, Sora said, "No matter how many times I watch it, I always feel that when Miss Mostima casually waves her staff, the result is always quite exaggerated."

Croissant pointed to the gangsters around them: "Those mafia members are terrified."

Exusiai casually knocked out the stunned gangster: "Hey, shouldn't we knock out a couple more while we can?"

Mostima smiled at Gambino and asked, "What's wrong? Aren't you going to continue?"

Gambino stared intently at Mostima: "...Perhaps you do have some strength, but I swear I won't let you leave easily."

"Don't always be so menacing, just think of it as post-dinner exercise—hmm." Mostima waved his hand dismissively, but his expression suddenly changed.

"W-what happened? Did those flames just solidify?" A gangster rubbed his eyes, having just seen flames in the air that looked like glass art pieces.

Mostima shook his head: "...It seems Is just passing by. Let's finish this quickly."

Gambino struggled to his feet: "What are you talking about? Face me!"

Mostima dodged Gambino's lunge: "You're getting more and more agitated. As a family leader, this isn't good for controlling the battle."

Gambino glared at Mostima: "Tch! Your nonchalant attitude is infuriating!"

Mostima simply smiled and continued waving his staff, the ring at the top of which shimmered with light.

Wherever the faint light touched, an arc spread outwards, and the gangsters affected by it screamed in agony: "Spell! Get out of the way!"

The gang on the other side wanted to help, but their comrades stopped them: "Don't go and make things worse, let's deal with Penguin Logistics!"

Texas looked at the gang members who were gradually closing in again: "...It seems we've been underestimated. Let's show them what we're made of."

"Yes, sir! Hey—!" Croissant swung the hammer in his hand and slammed it into the ground with force, the visible shockwave knocking down the gangsters who had gathered around.

Exusiai's wings seemed to glow brighter, and the rate of fire of her guns noticeably increased.

Texas's figure flashed past several gangsters, who collapsed to the ground before they could even attack, their fates unknown.

As for Sora? Well, please leave her alone. She's just an idol. Although she's very good at fighting, she's just an idol.

Bison watched Mostima effortlessly casting spells among the crowd: "This is the messenger, Mostima..."

Bison then watched the others slaughtering their way through the crowd and asked, "Messenger... are all messengers like this outside?"

Until tonight, Bison had never imagined that the messenger's job would be so exciting and wonderful. Indeed, Bison did not feel uncomfortable because of it; on the contrary, his previously hesitant shield-swinging movements became more and more nimble.

Suddenly, Bison stopped moving and asked in a strange tone, "Is the wind picking up?"

Just as Bison said, a wind was slowly blowing around them at that moment, and the wind came out of nowhere.

Mostima turned around to feel the sudden gust of wind.

"Wind?" Mostima suddenly shouted, as if he had noticed something. "Texas, retreat, quick!"

Texas nodded, realizing the unusual wind around them: "Understood!"

At this moment, the surrounding buildings seemed to be shaking, and the dust seemed to be stirred up by the shaking and flying in the wind.

"Hey! Why is there an earthquake? What did that warlock do?"

Mostima put away her staff and looked at the dust that was gradually rising around her: "Really, old people are always so impatient."

Xi Yue smiled and glanced back. A halo of light rippled beneath her feet, and the surrounding dust that reached the area of ​​the halo was bounced away.

"It's not so much that the elderly are impatient, but rather that they've caused so much trouble, and it's surprising that they're only now getting involved."

“That’s true.” Mostima nodded in agreement with Yuuki’s statement and stepped back, just in time to avoid Gambino who pounced on him.

"Don't even think about running!" Gambino tried to rush forward, but was stopped by the suddenly intensified sandstorm. The rough sand stung his face. "Ugh..."

Capone only realized what was going on when he saw the suddenly increasing sandstorm: "Tch, that's magic, let's retreat!"

"Sandstorm? Why is it here?" Gambino raised his hand to shield his face from the sandstorm, peering through the gap between his arms at the sandstorm that had almost obscured his figure.

"Isn't this a bit bad?!" Croissant held the shield in front of her to prevent anyone from taking the opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

Xi Yue used water to make a rope and grabbed everyone: "Alright, alright, this is none of our business. The old folks are done here. We should leave now."

Texas grabbed the rope made of water: "Yuzuki! Where are the Bison and the Mostima? Hmm!"

"Xi Yue, they've been separated by the sandstorm. I'm going there!"

Texas, using the faint halo visible through the smoke and dust, noticed that Exusiai seemed to be trying to move towards the center of the explosion and quickly shouted, "Wait, Exusiai!"

"Alright, alright, they'll be fine. You guys should come over here first." As Xi Yue finished speaking, everyone felt the ropes around their waists tighten, pulling them into a circle of light.

Texas stood up and looked at Exusiai, who was rubbing her butt as if she had hurt herself: "Honestly, this guy gets all hot-headed every time it involves Mostima."

"Yuzuki, Mostima and the others..."

Yuuki patted Exusiai's head: "Alright, alright, they've already left from the other side, we should leave too."

As Xi Yue, holding up the halo, was preparing to lead everyone away, she suddenly stopped, thought for a moment, and then threw a crystal into the distance.

------------

Compared to Penguin Logistics, which managed to withdraw smoothly, the gangsters caught in the sandstorm were much more pitiful.

"The ground is collapsing! It's quicksand! Back up! Don't get swept away!"

"Chief! Please give your instructions!"

Gambino struggled to steady himself: "Where are the others! Where's Capone!?"

"While they were gone due to the sandstorm, some of our men mingled with their ranks..."

A gangster was horrified to find that the ground beneath his feet seemed to be becoming unstable: "Boss! This place is going to collapse too!"

“…Let’s go, we still have a chance.” Gambino looked at the surrounding sandstorm, gritted his teeth, and said, “Damn it! What on earth happened!?”

Suddenly, the sound of a cane tapping the ground rang out, and a figure appeared in front of Gambino and the others from the sandstorm.

"Opportunity, opportunity... ah..." The Rat King gripped his cane in one hand, while something in his other paw seemed to be shimmering with light. Looking at the gangsters before him, his tone was strange, "How strange... I don't remember what opportunities you have left?"

Chapter 43: The Law of Noise (Part Six)

————On the street————

Mostima dusted himself off and looked at Yuuki and the others who had walked through the dust to stand before him: "Is everyone alright?"

Bison fiddled with his hair, removing some sand from it: "N-nothing, the whole building is gone... What was that...?"

Mostima nodded, then looked at Exusiai who was staring at her: "And you? You were just about to walk right through the center of the spell, weren't you? Always so reckless."

"Pfft, I just realized, why did I cut my long hair short?"

"Hey, you just laughed!" Exusiai immediately pounced on her.

Mostima laughed as she caught Exusiai lunging at her and reached out to brush the sand from Exusiai's hair: "Your head is covered in sand. Even if you have short hair, you can't not cherish it."

Exusiai stood up: "I'm fine, thank you."

Mostima listened to Exusiai's apology, but remained silent for a moment: "...Thank you? Have we become that estranged?"

Exusiai turned her head away: "This just shows that I am civilized and polite."

Mostima laughed as he watched Exusiai's actions: "Heh, you're right."

“If you don’t always sleep during work hours, put on rock concerts outside churches, and then mess things up and have the notary office chasing you for three blocks,” Mostima began, recounting Exusiai’s dark history. “Your alma mater, which you accidentally blew up, had a banner on the day you left Laterano: ‘Welcome Exusiai to Lungmen.’”

"Tsk tsk tsk, what top-tier problem child?" Xi Yue muttered behind her back, but the fact that she said it aloud made it clear that she was doing it on purpose.

Exusiai blushed as she listened to Yuuki's complaints behind her. She wasn't ready to let her colleagues know about this embarrassing past.

To ease the awkwardness, Exusiai stared at Mostima and said, "What? Is this an essential part of old friends' gatherings where they reveal each other's scars? Alright, my turn!"

Mostima smiled and looked at Exusiai, gesturing for her to proceed: "Please go ahead."

"Judging from Exusiai's appearance, she probably doesn't have any scandals." Seeing Exusiai's stammering, Yuuki had already made up her mind. She turned to look to the side and found Texas rubbing her tail vigorously.

"Hmm, Texas, why are you rubbing your tail?"

"There's sand in it, it's uncomfortable..."

"You should have said so earlier." Xi Yue nodded, lightly snapping her fingers. A halo quickly spread out, dispelling the sand and dust from the people around her.

"It's probably because we pulled you in too quickly. The barrier of the Dustless Land only managed to keep the surface dust out, and the dust that had already blown into the gaps between your hair didn't have time to get out."

Meanwhile, Exusiai, who was standing nearby, pondered for a while and then said, "...Oh no, now that I think about it, I don't seem to know much about your dirty secrets!"

Mostima nodded: "Good children shouldn't know so much."

"Are you my older sister!?"

Mostima feigned surprise and said, "Well, more or less."

At this point, the two looked at each other and fell silent for a while.

Exusiai took a deep breath: "Um... Mostima. I still have a small question to ask, just a small one."

"Ok?"

Why did you come back at this time?

Mostima thought for a moment and then said, "Well, there are quite a few reasons, how should I put it."

“First, it’s work. Second…” Mostima pulled out the folk food guide from his clothes, “There are always promotions during the Lungmen Requiem Festival, so I’m going back to Lungmen to join in the fun.”

Exusiai curled her lip: "...You've been missing for so many years during Requiem Nights, but you have to come back this year?"

Mostima sighed as she looked at Exusiai, who seemed hesitant to speak: "Actually, that's not what you wanted to ask, is it?"

"Hey... if you noticed, you could have just told me."

"Hehe, it's rare to see you looking so conflicted, it makes me nostalgic." Mostima simply stood to the side and said to Bison, "Besides, no matter what, we can't talk about those complicated topics in front of the people who come to visit and learn."

Bison realized he seemed to be used as a third wheel and spoke up decisively: "Ah...it's okay, I'll go over there, please go ahead."

“That won’t do. We can’t rule out the possibility of snipers or other ambushes nearby.” Mostima shook his head decisively, seemingly determined to use Bison as a shield.

"Ah! Using Bison as an excuse is too cunning!"

“With so many scary Mafia members still lurking around, this isn’t a good time for chatting,” Mostima said, glancing around. “Do you guys always cause this much trouble when I’m not around?”

After thinking for a moment, Exusiai said, "It's not exactly often, is it? About four, five, six, seven, or eight days a week?"

Mostima paused for a moment: "...Well, not very often indeed."

"And what about you? Where did you go?" Exusiai quickly changed the subject, "You know, when I first met the boss, he said you had already left Lungmen. Do you know that feeling of tripping and falling just before the finish line in a long-distance race?"

“Many places, too many to count.” Mostima struck a nostalgic pose. “I would come to a deserted village, accept a letter, and then head to the other side of the mountains, chasing after a mobile city, and that was it.”