Buzz, what's that?

Didn't the maid change the quilt and sheets before, could it be that she accidentally left something behind in the process of cleaning?

Joshua didn't think much about it, he just lifted the quilt - anyway, Hotaru was still asleep and dressed, and there was really nothing worth seeing, so the warrior didn't squint and looked directly at the place where the humming sound came from. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Joshua's eyesight is not the top in this world, but it is also first-class, and with the naked eye alone, it can achieve a similar effect to energy vision. He looked intently, and easily found the source of the humming.

Before the girl fell asleep, the magic condensed was a women's military dress, which had two pockets around the waist for bits and pieces, and at this time, something seemed to be shaking in the pocket on the right side of Hotaru, and the frequency was very high.

Joshua simply reached into his pocket and grabbed the thing.

"I feel like I've suddenly become a very bad person."

The warrior shrugged his shoulders and thought about it, whether it was lifting the girl's quilt or digging out the small things in her personal pocket while the girl was sleeping, it was indeed a very bad thing.

The unidentified object that was constantly vibrating was pulled out of Hotaru's pocket, but strangely, the high-frequency vibrating thing stopped shaking as it touched Joshua's fingers, and at the same time, the warrior felt a strange force suddenly appear, swimming in the palm of his hand, as if trying to enter his body.

“…… What is it. ”

With a fighting spirit burning in his hand, isolating the strange power, Joshua looked down at his palm.

It was a translucent polyhedral crystal, and the black-red light swirled in the thumb-sized crystal, and the faint light flickered along countless small slices like stars.

"Such a beautiful gem? Where did Hotaru get it from? ”

Puzzled to himself, the warrior held the gem in front of him and examined it carefully: "The quality is also very high, both the cut and the crystal quality are above the level...... But where did it come from? ”

The Divine Machine Girl has been following him all the time, and when she hardly acts alone, where is the time to buy it, or to get a gem of this level? And just now, an inexplicable force came from this crystal, what is going on?

"Interesting."

Squinting his eyes, Joshua couldn't help but have an association in his heart.

――Is Hotaru's coma related to this gem?

Although it sounds nonsense, it is indeed one of the possibilities, and since it is possible, he will not let it go.

So a deep voice sounded.

"System, Identification."

Suddenly, countless cyan blue data streams flashed in front of his eyes, and finally condensed into a report.

【… Item identification... Mineral knowledge is successful, ancient knowledge is unsuccessful, and strange knowledge is unsuccessful. 】

[Appraisal Report: Infected Steel Crystals, Ancient Curiosities]

[Minerals: The power of steel is one of the foundations of material existence, and it is combined with other energies in the world to form all things that are seen by all beings today. At some bizarre moments, such as at the beginning of the creation of the world, when the world was on the verge of destruction, the most basic force of the Iron Force would coalesce into crystallized crystals scattered all over the place, and it could take any form, but most of the time it appeared in the form of gems. Steel Crystal is one of the most important ingredients for forging equipment above Legendary, and the weapons forged from it possess incredible abilities. 】

[Ancient: This crystal of steel has existed for more than 1,300 years. 】

[Strange Object: This steel crystal comes from another world, and it is infected by some kind of force, and there may be some sequelae when you touch it. 】

[Synthesis: A rare ore from another world, extremely precious, but with some strange power, you need to consider carefully before using it.] 】

"It's the crystallization of steel?"

Frowning, Joshua muttered, he turned the black-red crystal in his hand over and over and looked at it several times: "It's not like I haven't seen this thing, but isn't the crystal of steel a silver-gray gem?" Why is it red-black now? ”

The reason for the impregnation of that unknown power? It's possible.

"Although Hotaru is usually in human form, in the final analysis, she is also a divine machine and a ......weapon," Joshua pondered the information revealed in these appraisal reports: "She has come into contact with this steel crystal, and she will definitely be more affected than humans." ”

Maybe Hotaru has been sleeping until now, because of the strange power brought by this steel crystal, and it can also explain some of the information that Cleel and Nostradamus said, such as the power of stagnant steel, the inexplicable aura of chaos, and so on.

After thinking for a while, Joshua looked sideways at the silver-haired girl on the bed, Hotaru was now sleeping peacefully, breathing steadily, and she didn't seem to be in any bad condition.

If everything is the same as he thinks, then there is no doubt that the inexplicable force is the main reason.

"You should try what the consequences of this power will be."

This idea of the warrior was not a reckless, but a well-thought-out choice.

"My resistance is stronger than Hotaru, and if it doesn't work, I can also open the gods to expel the bad state, there will be no accidents."

Thinking like this, he let go of the shield of the spar in his hand with his fighting spirit, allowing the power contained in it to touch his body.

- Then, Joshua's vision went into chaos.

……

fog, and darkness.

When Joshua broke free from the guidance of the inexplicable power with his iron will, he opened his eyes and saw such a scene.

Barren hills with gray-black rocks, huge rocky mountains looming in the mist, dry and depleted earth, strange rocks in the crystalline jungle of shadows, and in the dark, cloudy sky, there is only a faint glimmer of the sun.

With a breath of decaying air, the warrior felt it, and the power of stagnant steel that was familiar to him was all around him, but unusually uncomfortable.

The strange atmosphere spread in silence, Joshua looked around solemnly, but found nothing, although the mist mixed with thick black particles could not block his full vision, but it could obscure all the information brought from afar, and the darkness seemed to move, slowly converging towards the warrior's side.

Here, where is it?

Bang!

Just as this thought flashed through Joshua's mind, a sudden thunderclap sounded.

This is the place where no one has survived, this is the wasteland where all things are destroyed, this is the apocalyptic world where the light dissipates, the flames go out, and the abyss of bottomless chaos sinks.

A strange voice seemed to answer his question at the same time, but it was not noticed by the warrior.

With the thunder, the gray sky dome bloomed, the faint lightning released a little light, and countless translucent particles that seemed to be rain fell from the sky, washing away the mist.

Reaching out and taking a translucent particle, Joshua found that the object that seemed to be ice and crystal brought an incomparably chill, but it would not melt, he threw the particle on the ground, then raised his head and looked into the distance.

As the gray-black mist around him was expelled by the crystallized rain, the warrior's vision suddenly widened a lot, and at the end of his vision, on the hills, at least a dozen kilometers away, there were the ruins of an ancient and huge temple.

The doors of the temple were completely open, and the walls had collapsed nearly halfway, and the sanctuary had been covered in dust and crystals for an unknown amount of time.

A shadow flickered.

"Someone seems to be moving?"

Because it was too far away, even Joshua couldn't be sure if what he saw just now was an illusion, he frowned and looked around: "Although I don't know why I came to this place, I will take a look first." ”

After determining the path to be taken, the warriors set off.

The thunder ceased, and the crystalline rain gradually weakened, and a gray-black mist once again emerged from the depths of the earth, enveloping the surroundings.

Time passes.

Woo woo -

A whistle that pierced the sky sounded in the distance, and then passed to the ears of Joshua, who was walking through the darkness with the path of his middle age, which made the warrior stunned, but then, as if the sound of some huge object moving, it was like the sound of a machine running and the gears clinking.

"Boom!"

Another flash of thunder illuminated the gray mist, allowing Joshua to see inside the temple, which was already very close.

This time, the warrior was sure that there was indeed a figure wandering in confusion in the ruins of this temple.

As if sensing movement outside, the figure stepped out of the inner part of the temple, and behind the open ancient gate of the temple, there seemed to be silver hair flashing.

Seeing this scene, Joshua was stunned for a moment, and then said in surprise: "Hotaru? ”

Then the warrior's will was regained to his senses.

As if waking up from a dream, Joshua's eyes were still a little confused at first, but then he immediately returned to Qingming, and he immediately used his fighting spirit to wrap the steel crystal in his hand, isolating the power in it.

“…… Just now, is it a hallucination? ”

Sure that his body was still sitting on the edge of Hotaru's bed, without even moving a little position, Joshua, who had ruled out the possibility of his body crossing through it, had a solemn expression, thinking about the previous experience that seemed like a dream.

It's not an illusion.

The warrior looked at the palm of his left hand, the rotten and uncomfortable smell of the air, and the cold temperature of the crystallized rain made him remember deeply, this is by no means an illusion can do, he whispered to himself, "That shadow just now, is it Hotaru?" ”

She also fell into that dream?

Standing up in silence, Joshua lowered his head and took a deep look at Hotaru's beautiful face that was sleeping.

This,Is this the truth about Hotaru not waking up?

"It seems that things are more complicated than I thought...... I can only try to see if the method that Nostradamus said is useful. ”

- The next day.

The cemetery in the west of the city, among the churches.

Joshua, dressed in a black military uniform, stood in the study of the cemetery church, stepped on the black granite floor, looked at the golden glowing fluorite shards on the ceiling, and then walked to the special floor with a gap.

Without hesitation, he pressed his hand up.

The magic pattern flickered, and a low, rigid machine sounded.

"Energy Detection...... Frequency band match, target: Joshua van Radcliffe, head of the family, supreme authority, door open. ”

"Born from fire, born from steel, wisdom is immortal, and order is eternal."

With the ancient hymn, the black rock slowly unfolded, revealing a narrow passage into the ground.

And Joshua walked into it without hesitation.

(To be continued.) )