Why can't humans do it too?

"...Putting aside the question of whether you should use the word 'change of heart' so carelessly, don't learn these weird phrases from Miss Xinke! When did you develop this habit of saying things like 'I'm going to kill you'?!"

Riku's voice suddenly rose in volume.

"Riku...likes it..."

"I don't like it at all!"

"Really?"

"real!"

"Stop nagging... Let's go..."

"...Why do I have to be rushed by you like this..."

While playfully bickering with each other, Riku and Shubi quickly traversed the seabed, catching up with the blue figure ahead.

Chapter 249 The Call

The entire ocean is a playground for marine creatures. Land and sky races have absolutely no interest in anything in the sea, so much so that Shubi can fly at top speed with Riku in the ocean, leaving behind long white waves and bubbles.

The destination was the first elven ocean in the world, created by Krilatetini's last blow before her death. It was a great miracle so unique that even humans could observe it with the naked eye. Without giving it any fancy names, Sull simply named this place Blue Ocean No. 1. The elven oceans that appeared later under the plan were named Blue Ocean No. 2, Blue Ocean No. 3, and so on. It was quite concise and clear.

If viewed from high above the sea, this primordial sea of ​​spirits appears as if it were pierced from the deepest seabed, with blue flames erupting from the core of the planet. However, in reality, it is far from reaching the seabed. It is somewhat like an inverted cone, appearing more than halfway through the sea's depth, and its overall shape resembles a blue tornado erupting upwards.

The first point that was breached was this space. Now there is no room for seawater to move around here. Although it is not the deepest seabed, in theory there should not be any light at this depth. It should only be pitch black. However, even without getting close, Riku can see the dazzling blue light.

Through the thin membrane of air, beautiful blue tornadoes spun in the extremely deep sea, without a sound. But the silence only amplified the unspoken grandeur. No matter how many times Riku had witnessed this spectacle, he was always deeply awestruck by its power.

Beside this blue inverted tornado, in the light, Riku could see many swimming marine creatures. The water in their hands seemed to turn into translucent ropes, binding many enormous shadowy figures. The light from Blue Ocean One could only illuminate one side of them, leaving the other side pitch black.

Riku knew what these enormous shadows were—demons.

Even most of them were placed on land. He only needed to see them from afar and he had to run away. If he was targeted, he would be forced to sacrifice his companions' lives to lure them away in order to ensure that more people could survive. But that was just the past him.

These colossal creatures that once oppressed all human life now float helplessly in the sea, allowing the free-spirited marine life to swim around on them. The demon king who created them did not design underwater breathing, a convenient amphibious function, for them. Although they would not drown directly from the seawater, it would be no exaggeration to say that they were saturated with it.

"How about that~? We did a great job, didn't we? Nobody slacked off!" Molly said proudly, hands on her hips, as she slowly swung her tail fins over to Riku and Shubi.

Behind her, the lively sea creatures were still playing hide-and-seek among the demon creatures' sharp teeth. To be honest, it was a bit... ahem. But for the sea creatures, as long as they could finish their work while playing, even if it was a little slow, it was already something that Sull and Riku should be grateful for.

"Ah, that's amazing, we really owe you all this," Riku immediately nodded and praised. "To be honest, we really wouldn't know what to do without your help. You truly are the best allies!"

Riku's string of words made Jasmine's whole fish almost float up—and it really did float up.

While dealing with the sea creature queen's entanglement, Riku's eyes remained fixed on the unconscious and motionless demon creatures. He could see the sea creatures, having grown tired of playing with them, using ropes to drag the demon creatures towards the Blue Ocean One at the forefront.

Even if some demons could barely react, their power was inevitably diminished in the seawater, not to mention the sea creatures' dominant power in the water. The final result was that the demons were sent into the elven ocean with almost no power to resist—melting, disappearing, until only the purest blue flames remained.

There was no struggle whatsoever, and there was no violent reaction until the end of his life. Riku simply did not believe that melting into the spirits, with every molecule of his body being assimilated into the most basic spirit, would be a painless process, but these demon species always did.

The immense size and powerful vitality combined to make the process seem even longer and clearer. These demons were definitely not just corpses that had lost their lives. This terrifying process was so horrifying that even just imagining it made Riku's hair stand on end.

The power of the sea creatures was naturally insufficient to accomplish this, and often they were too lazy to even bother with such a task. The only thing that truly led these demonic creatures to their deaths without any resistance was the power of the person he knew well—Sul.

What have you become...?

Even Liku himself dared not admit it, but after so many years, he now felt an instinctive emotion when facing Sull... fear.

Perhaps sensing Riku's mood and his suddenly somber expression, Shubi took the hand of the white-haired man beside her and cupped it in her palms.

“These should be the last batch,” Riku shook his head, clearing his mind of useless and chaotic thoughts, and looked at Jasmine, saying, “I am truly grateful for your help over the years. For some reason, Sur couldn’t come in person, but he asked me to say thank you on your behalf. You are definitely not the fools that other races talk about; you are the most loyal and helpful allies.”

"Please stay away from land after this—we'll have some fun together again when the war is over."

Speaking in a light tone, Riku wanted to say goodbye in a way that would be acceptable to the marine species.

"Oh, is Suer not coming? It's been so long since I've seen him..." Jasmine looked a little disappointed, but quickly cheered up, "Well~, it's a deal! You and Suer have to come visit me after the big battle! You'll definitely succeed too!"

The blue-haired sea creature smiled innocently, offering her heartfelt blessings.

"Yes, we will," Riku said with a smile, glancing one last time at the demons destined to perish there.

After such a long period of dormancy, Suer finally uttered the words that all of humanity had been waiting for, and had been waiting for for a very long time—

Preparations are almost complete... I can gradually feel that pulse...

Come back... my fellow countrymen...

Our next plan... is about to begin...

Chapter 250 Heart

From the very beginning, Riku disliked Sur's plan; it was a genuine dislike. Even though he eventually agreed to the man's plan despite Sur's insistence and forcefulness, it did not change Riku's opinion.

It wasn't because his position as the leader of the settlement had been taken away, nor was it because of the six principles he had once proposed... Well, those principles might have a little weight to them, but the struggle for status and power was the least likely thing, and the thing that Liku despised the most.

There was only one reason for his resistance—he cared that his family would suffer unimaginable pain as a result.

Sur.

The boy who initially looked bewildered and lost, whose eyes shone with a clear light yet seemed so naive and unrealistic, as if he didn't belong to this world, the boy who once followed him, listened to his teachings, and discussed and researched together how humanity could survive on the margins of this cruel world, had somehow developed a stronger and more resolute heart than anyone else.

He even persuaded many people with this kind of mentality... Was it persuasion?

What he said was perhaps the deepest desire of all human beings who live in this world and are dissatisfied with the status quo; it was their most genuine thought.

And so he succeeded, like hot steel passing through grease, transforming into a bright light that attracted all those who agreed with him to follow him, without encountering any resistance, not only because of his words, but also because of what he himself did—giving everything.

The images flashing through his mind only intensified Riku's suffering.

Yes, one thing he could never deny was that he had indeed thought about, and even devised, how to sabotage Sue's plans... simply because he could not bear the pain that was almost piercing his soul.

His family, the people he cherished most, had become like that.

However, the plan he devised in the heat of the night was burned to ashes when the lights came back on—something he couldn't bear to do.

Along with his family, all those who followed him and gave their lives for that dreamlike ideal... How could he possibly do something so cruel?

If we try to stop it, wouldn't all the sacrifices made in the process be wasted?

When Riku came to his senses, he found himself tightly bound by invisible threads, almost unable to move. He could only watch helplessly as his loved ones... walked into the abyss.

No matter how much Shubi calculated, the probability of Suer's plan succeeding was infinitely close to zero. Even reaching one percent would be incredibly difficult. To be more precise, the probability of every step in this plan, which had been stretched out over such a long period of time, succeeding was logically zero.

For a time, Riku was almost kidnapped by Shubi, but he eventually managed to persuade Shubi.

"The calculated probability is correct, but the calculation process can go wrong. The result you calculate can change out of thin air due to a sudden piece of news or condition. The probability can suddenly rise from zero to one hundred, or drop from one hundred to zero... As long as it can cause a miracle, probability theory becomes nothing but far-fetched nonsense."

"All we need to do is awaken miracles."

At that moment, Riku looked at Shubi with unwavering conviction, as if this was the thing he believed in most. Such logic was undoubtedly absurd. But for some reason, the machine race, which always acted based on calculation, abandoned the rational thinking it had always used and embraced Riku's answer with emotion.

She defied her own logic, simply becoming interested, which eventually evolved into an emotion called longing. Shubi wanted to see the kind of future that Riku and Sull wanted to achieve. She struggled because of need and desire, and changed herself because of this yearning, taking the ideal as her goal.

When she realized this in her thought process, Shubi suddenly realized an incredibly surprising fact—could this be the "heart"?

What she is pursuing.

This proves that she is no longer a cold, mechanical answer that exists solely based on logical operations.

Treasures possessed by humankind.

"Shubi... also wants... to see a miracle..."

This was the answer given by the small, machine-type robot at that time, an answer that almost brought Riku to tears.

Only he himself knew, and he would probably never tell Shubi, his thoughts—for so many years, only something called a miracle had allowed him to blur everything he saw, hoping that the miracle called victory would soothe all the pain.

Humans are foolish, but it is through foolishness that wisdom is honed, through foolishness that stubbornness is born, and through foolishness that miracles can be created. So... let the most foolish person succeed as well.

His younger brother, Suer.

A torrent of thoughts surged through his mind. He had been to this hidden cave countless times before, but even if he came back countless times, Riku could not soothe the pain in his heart. He could not accept it as soon as he saw it, and he could not bear it as soon as he saw it.

Now that you're back... why not come in?

An ethereal voice drifted from the cave, but the familiar male voice now had an inhuman quality; it was no longer a voice produced by the vibration of the vocal cords in the throat.

As if sensing fear, Shubi, who was standing next to Riku, suddenly reached out and grabbed Riku's forearm.

Taking a deep breath, Riku suppressed his discomfort, patted Shubi's head with his other hand, and then led her slowly inside.

It felt soft and yielding, as if I were stepping on damp, soft grass. This cave was no longer the pitch-black place that Riku had seen before. A light, devoid of any heat, shone here, illuminating the darkness.

From the spot where he and Shubi stepped, a bright blue tide of light surged rapidly into the depths of the cave. As if breathing, the places the light passed through were awakened. Blue, green, and red glowing grass leaves, like underwater coral, swayed throughout the entire field of vision. Although there was not a breath of wind in the closed cave, they were swaying gently, as if they had gained independent life and were saying words of welcome to Riku and Shubi.

In an instant, every tiny corner of the pitch-black basement was illuminated, yet the light was not at all dazzling. Riku could clearly see the man in the very center of the basement.

That...person.

If he could truly be called a human being in his current state.

Chapter 251 Delusion

As if growing from the earth, enormous roots twisted and coiled, yet also resembled thick vines twisting together. These vines occupied the very center of the entire cave, completely engulfing the man.

It is Sur.

After such a long time apart, Riku suddenly realized that Sull had become even more... terrifying than when he last returned.

His lower body was not visible; it was as if his flesh and blood had merged with the lifeless tree. Riku could not see Sull's body below his chest and abdomen, where it had grown seamlessly with the huge vines beneath him, as if this life had always been like that from the beginning.