I've already said this isn't a life simulator!

After a brief silence, another person shouted.

"I'm guilty!"

He shouted that.

"Father, I am guilty!"

That's what they said.

The reasons were nothing more than "coveting life and clinging to life," or "abandoning wives and daughters and giving up relatives and friends," but... Xiwang pointed out the things they had never said.

Their wives, children, or relatives all perished because of the disaster, not because they abandoned them.

But... they persisted.

They are... "guilty".

"........."

Xi Wang understood, so he stopped asking questions and remained silent.

I simply went up to them one by one, gently embraced them, placed my hand in their palm, and offered them my blessings and strength.

Then...we saw them off.

A bright fire ignited, burning them to ashes, but none of them wailed. They simply smiled calmly, closed their eyes silently, and accepted their fate as "human beings."

The flames gently embraced them, allowing them to depart quietly and happily in their warmth.

"Father, may I... hug you?"

She spoke softly to Xi Wang in front of the last girl.

She had lost an arm and an eye, and there was a noticeable gap in her head. Her long hair only covered half of her head, and her face was ugly because of the wounds. Her legs were covered with purple patterns and she could not walk. She could only move her one arm with difficulty. At this moment, she opened her one arm to Xi Wang with a little shyness and a little frankness.

“I haven’t been here long, and I haven’t met the priest many times or had much contact with him, so… can I hug you? I want… to get to know you a little better…”

"Ah."

Without hesitation, he simply nodded and reached out to hug her.

"Just as everyone said... the priest feels warm... very comfortable..."

She gently closed her only remaining eye, carefully feeling the warmth emanating from Yu Xiwang.

Immediately, she tilted her head slightly, leaning against Xi Wang's profile, and spoke in a weak, slightly trembling, yet exceptionally firm voice.

“Father, I… am guilty.”

Then, bright flames ignited from her body.

"Just as everyone said..."

With her eyes closed, she felt the warmth of the fire, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

"Father... he's such a kind person..."

Then, flames engulfed her, turning her to ashes.

tick-

Outside, the rain had lessened considerably, but it was still falling, and the raindrops seemed to carry a sense of both heartache and comfort.

At this moment, the sky began to glow faintly... Night was passing, and day was approaching.

But... this does not signify the arrival of "dawn," but rather symbolizes... the beginning of disaster.

boom! ! !

A tremendous roar rose from afar, and a unique yet irritating atmosphere began to fill the air.

Special creatures, their colors a mix of white and purple, began to appear out of nowhere, destroying everything in Twilight Street.

The collapse—arrived as expected.

Chapter Fourteen: Everything Was Burned to the Ground (5254)

Flames spread, engulfing the surroundings like waves.

Houses are destroyed, the ground is damaged; one moment this place was so beautiful, the next it becomes a ruin.

The water on the ground evaporated, and the rain falling from the sky couldn't even touch the ground before being directly steamed away by the flames. Even the rain clouds in the sky gradually dispersed, as if they had been driven away by the flames on the ground.

The rain in the sky gradually decreased, the rain clouds gradually dissipated, and finally the brilliant sunshine appeared... A beautiful sunny day had arrived, but the disaster on the ground had only just begun.

The Honkai Beasts frolic, run, and wreak havoc. Although there are no living beings for them to hunt, they don't mind. Let them destroy everything around them to their heart's content. Just wandering around, just lightly gliding with their wings, and the houses will collapse and turn into ruins.

Ah, I found it... I found it! There's still life here! That's amazing!

Attracted by the aura of life, the Honkai Beast quickly approached it, swinging its body to launch an attack.

However, the next moment, a ferocious fist came crashing down.

"Don't get in my way (with swear words)!!!"

Thousand Calamities roared, wantonly slaughtering all the Honkai Beasts that tried to approach him. Even though he had fought with Sakura all night, he showed no signs of fatigue, and his combat power had not decreased. In fact, he had become even stronger, but... he was also more frenzied.

"As expected... the Honkai has broken out..."

Amidst the raging flames, a chilling aura quietly appeared. With a flash of icy blue, thin as ice, several Honkai Beasts instantly disintegrated and were cut into pieces.

"This place...is indeed a very dangerous place."

"Danger? Hmph... Haha... Danger?! Is this place dangerous?! Is it more dangerous than you guys?!"

Even while under siege, Qianjie still had the spare energy to reply to Ying's words.

"Nothing was wrong here before! Nothing could have happened here before! None of this should have happened... It was you! It was all of you!!! You turned this place into ruins!!!"

"Too many patients with [Honkai Disease] have gathered here. With the excessive accumulation of Honkai energy... an outbreak of Honkai is inevitable, it's just a matter of time."

"Inevitable? Haha... It is indeed inevitable! Then tell me, why didn't it erupt earlier or later, but only on the second day after you arrived?! Why was there nothing wrong before, but something happened immediately after you arrived?!"

Qianjie grabbed the Honkai Beast that was trying to attack him, then slammed it to the ground and tossed it aside, letting it smash through the building. He then turned to look at Sakura.

"tell me!!!"

He roared and questioned, his anger seemingly merging with the surrounding flames, filling the area.

Even with the mask in the way, Sakura could imagine the twisted and angry expression on his face beneath it.

"........."

Sakura didn't answer, nor did she know how to answer... because she hadn't expected that the Honkai would break out so coincidentally the day after her actions; it was too much of a coincidence.

She recalled Xiwang's earlier advice and warnings. Xiwang had told her that the arrival of the Fire-Chasing Moths would bring disaster to this place... At first, she didn't believe it, but now she was starting to waver.

Because it was such a coincidence.

But right now, she should focus on eliminating the Honkai Beasts around her and ending this Honkai... Wait, that priest!

Sakura suddenly remembered that the key target that the Fire Moth had asked her to keep an eye on was still there, and she should go and check it first... Okay, no need.

Because Sakura saw Xiwang's figure.

He slowly walked through the ruins, his hand adorned with a cross pendant holding the unusual Bible. His eyes were level, his steps slow yet firm. The surrounding flames seemed to have no effect on him, and even the Honkai Beasts that roamed around seemed to avoid him.

"Disaster has struck... You two, please allow me to join you. [He] will give us the power to resolve this calamity."

Xi Wang walked up to the two of them, bowed politely as always, and then spoke softly.

"Hmph... That sounds nice... But you did a fairly satisfactory job this time, Father."

Qianjie snorted coldly, not directly responding to Xiwang's words... anyway, those words weren't meant for him.

"You...forget it."

Sakura originally wanted Xiwang to leave and go to a safe place, but recalling the "abnormality" about him, she hesitated for a while and gave up.

However, she still subconsciously moved a few steps to protect Xi Wang behind her.

He was, after all, a key target of the Fire Moths, so Sakura thought to herself, "I should protect him more."

Immediately, the surrounding flames intensified, and the Honkai Beasts, which had been silent for a short time, became active again, attacking the three of them... But before Sakura could make a move, accompanied by a series of attacks, the attacking Honkai Beasts were killed, and then came the sound of rapid footsteps.

"……mark?"

Sakura turned around and found that her comrade had brought a squad of people to provide support, and the weapons they were carrying... seemed somewhat familiar.

"Hey, Sakura, we've come to your aid."

After giving a casual greeting, Hen began to briefly introduce their situation.

"The higher-ups think this place could collapse at any moment, so they've arranged for us to stay on the perimeter, ready to provide backup... If your mission goes smoothly, then there's nothing for us to do, but if any special circumstances arise, we'll come to help..."

After saying that, Hen gestured slightly to the equipment he and his teammates were wearing.

"A little girl gave us these things, saying we'd need them... It seems they've really been a great help. But that girl shouldn't be one of the Fire Moths, right? Why would she have this kind of equipment?"

"........."

Sakura didn't respond, because those were all equipment placed in advance by the poisonous pupae. Although theoretically they still belonged to the Fire Chasing Moths, due to the nature of the poisonous pupae, the mission Sakura was carrying out... was somewhat inconvenient to reveal, especially since Xiang Hen was a regular Fire Chasing Moth warrior, so Sakura couldn't say anything.

Moreover, several of Sakura's missions this time required secrecy; publicly, her only mission was to investigate Twilight Street and the "priest"...

"Never mind, these aren't important. Let's deal with this Honkai first. And these two... civilians? Please stay behind us and be careful not to get attacked by those [monsters]."

Fortunately, Hen did not dwell on the topic too much, or rather, as a veteran, he had already noticed something amiss, and thus quickly shifted the conversation to Xi Wang and Qian Jie.

But soon, Hen changed his mind... What kind of civilian would grab a Honkai Beast and smash it around on the ground?

"Hahahaha!!! Come on! Again!!! Let's see if your flames will be extinguished first, or if my anger will subside first!"

"But just think about it! You will be the first to perish!!! Because your flames will eventually end, but my wrath... is endless!!!"

"Hahahahaha!!!"

"........."

Watching Qian Jie slaughter the Honkai beasts and even have time to let out a maniacal laugh, Hen and his team members were speechless for a moment.

This guy... is a "commoner"?!

Where can ordinary civilians possibly chase after a Honkai Beast?! Could this thing possibly even hold its own against a Fusion Warrior?

“That was an entity with an ‘anomaly’... He and I fought from last night until dawn, and in the end we fought to a draw, and... I was unable to suppress him.”