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

After a slight pause, Sakura spoke truthfully.

"........."

This time, Hen and the others were truly shocked... So this guy could actually fight against a [Fusion Warrior]?!

"Then who is this?"

Hen turned his gaze to Xi Wang and asked... Surely this "commoner" isn't some kind of unusual being?

and……

Hen frowned, a hint of doubt in his eyes as he looked at Xi Wang… He had a feeling that he and this person would get along very well, and maybe Gretchen would like him too… No, no, how could he think like that?! Gretchen is my lovely daughter, how can I let her meet strange people like that?!

"He... well, it's here, that is, the [priest] of Twilight Street, the person we need to investigate in the mission, and... he's also somewhat [abnormal]."

Sakura answered truthfully as before, but this answer only confused Hen and the others even more... Hey, hey, hey, you find two people with [anomalies] just by conducting an investigation mission, and both of them are in Twilight Street... Is this godforsaken place really that full of outstanding people?

"Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the brief introduction. Please now turn your attention to the disaster at hand..."

“You’re right, Father.”

Upon hearing Xi Wang's words, Hen immediately spoke up, then took the lead and stood in front of Xi Wang, protecting him behind him... The other members also quickly formed a formation to protect Xi Wang... Although Ying had said that Xi Wang was a person with [abnormality], Xi Wang did not show the same powerful combat strength as Qian Jie, so Hen and the others still regarded him as a civilian who needed protection.

Sakura vanished from her spot in a flash, swiftly plunging into the Honkai Beast horde. With flashes of icy blue blade light, countless Honkai Beasts perished in an instant… Compared to Qianjie's exceptionally ferocious fighting style, Sakura's actions were remarkably swift and decisive.

The battle lines began to stabilize, and although the Honkai Beasts surged in like a tide, the situation improved more and more thanks to everyone's efforts.

But... the Honkai Beasts began to increase in number, the surrounding temperature began to rise rapidly, the flames began to boil, and the crimson flames distorted everything around them. The destructive flames seemed to be about to devour everything around them.

The flames reflected in everyone's pupils, reminding Sakura and Hen of unpleasant memories—the recent Seventh Great Collapse.

Even the surrounding environment... has become like the scene when the [Seventh Herrscher] manifested.

The next moment, Sakura keenly sensed an extremely powerful aura... It must be it, that is the most powerful and crucial Honkai Beast in this Honkai event. As long as it is dealt with, the difficulty of this Honkai event will be greatly reduced.

And so, everyone... saw the shape of that Honkai Beast.

It was a bizarre Honkai Beast, shaped like a cross-shaped sword with the tip pointing down and the hilt up. There was a pendulum on each side of the hilt, making it look like a balance scale. It had six broken wings on its back, and crimson flames emerged from the tip of the sword, swirling around it and surging upwards. In this process, the flames seemed to be given an unusually concrete "entity", intersecting and merging with the sword.

It's a very strange feeling, making it hard to tell whether "fire was generated on the sword" or "the sword was generated on the fire".

When it appeared, the surrounding flames intensified, rising higher and higher as if to become a real cage, trapping them all to death.

However, when faced with it, Xi Wang was stunned... It was very similar to a certain "being" beside [Her], but it also seemed to be different in some way... More importantly, it seemed to be conveying a sense of scrutiny and inquiry to Xi Wang.

However, the others didn't care about that. The moment it appeared, Sakura drew her sword, flashed to its side, and struck out in an instant, while Hen and the others' attacks arrived at the same time.

but……

"It didn't work?!"

Sakura was somewhat surprised. Not to mention the attacks from Hen and the others, even her own attacks had little effect. In fact, her sword was almost melted by the flames.

Immediately, Sakura retreated, dodging the flames it manipulated, while Qianjie charged towards it through the flames. After a few rounds of fighting, he was quickly knocked back, fell to the ground, and was engulfed in flames.

The group's attacks seemed to enrage it, causing the surrounding temperature to rise further and the flames to intensify. As a result, the people who had been hiding could no longer remain concealed.

"Meow!!! It's so hot, so hot, so hot!!!"

“…Paddo?!”

A familiar cry came from the nearby building engulfed in flames, and Padofelis's panicked screams quickly drew closer.

"Sister Nia, run! It's...it's going to collapse!"

Then, everyone saw a petite girl, as nimble and agile as a cat, leading a nun as she quickly escaped from the burning building and ran towards them.

Perhaps because Padofelis's cries were so loud that even its attention was drawn to them, it immediately adjusted its body, pointed the flaming tip of its sword at Padofelis and Aponia, and then... moved swiftly toward them.

"Boss, help us!!!"

Padofelis clearly noticed the attack and immediately cried out in panic, tears welling up in her eyes.

The first to arrive was Xiwang, which was quite unexpected. He arrived between the two at a very strange speed, protecting Padofelis and Aponia behind him. It was hard to imagine how he did it.

Immediately, Sakura's figure appeared in front of Xi Wang almost the next moment, protecting him behind her as if it were only natural, and then she drew her sword, about to swing it at him.

But at that moment, as if he had anticipated it, Xi Wang reached out and pressed down on Ying's shoulder, gently pushing her away. If she couldn't be pushed away, a burning sensation would appear on Ying's body, causing her to change her posture.

In the end, it was Xi Wang who moved slightly forward, protecting the three of them behind her.

Time seemed to stretch out at this moment...

When Sakura was pushed away by Xiwang, her eyes were filled with strong surprise and confusion... She was surprised that Xiwang had the ability to push her away, and she didn't understand why Xiwang would do such a thing.

At the same time, when she saw Xi Wang standing in front of her, facing the sword and fire, her heart tightened instinctively, her throat pounded, and she was about to shout out.

Even Padoflis behind him looked panicked, and Aponia instinctively raised her hand, trying to pull Xiwang back and save him.

Even the others around them were filled with surprise, confusion, and...panic.

But in the end, their emotions turned into astonishment.

Because it... stopped a few centimeters away from Xiwang, even the flames stopped there, and... the flames were even rapidly receding, revealing the true tip of the sword.

Then, Xi Wang raised her hand and lightly touched the tip of the sword with her fingertips.

Then the flames reignited, but this time they were bright and warm, slowly burning away its body.

And it... offered no resistance, merely conveying praise to Xiwang before falling to the ground, motionless, seemingly dead, leaving only its remains.

"........."

The scene was so astonishing that no one spoke for a moment.

"...Pado, what are you doing here?"

Finally, it was Xi Wang who spoke first, turning to face Padofelis and asking.

"Ah... well... Nia was worried about you, and I couldn't stop her, so I just came with her... I was thinking of hiding with Nia to avoid causing you trouble, and we weren't hiding far away. I thought if you ran into trouble, we could come out to help, or at the very least, I could run fast and help you escape. I never expected it to turn out like this..."

Padofelis scratched her hair, lowered her head, and said with a hint of apology.

Xi Wang withdrew her gaze and then looked at Aponia beside her.

Aponia's response was simple: she placed her hand lightly on her chest and spoke sincerely and clearly.

“We are sure to be companions on the road... under His gaze and care.”

"........."

Xi Wang understood, slightly tightened his grip on the cross pendant in his hand, as if he had received guidance from "He", and then nodded without asking any further questions.

Then he reached out and pulled up Sakura, whom he had pushed aside.

"Feel sorry."

"...It's alright, I just didn't expect you to have that kind of...solution."

Sakura paused slightly, then suppressed her doubts... In any case, it was good that the most crucial Honkai Beast had been dealt with. Moreover, after it died, the surrounding flames quickly went out, and the originally scorching temperature quickly returned to normal. The remaining Honkai Beasts around were also being rapidly slaughtered by Thousand Calamities.

It seems... this collapse has come to an end?

Sakura and Hen were all somewhat surprised, and some even rubbed their eyes repeatedly, as if to confirm whether they were dreaming.

It's finally confirmed, this is reality. The Honkai here has been largely resolved, the most threatening target is gone, and only a small number of Honkai Beasts remain to be cleared.

But... the original Twilight Street has been destroyed by the Honkai Beasts and burned to ashes by the flames, leaving only a few broken bricks and tiles.

A beloved and satisfying haven, an "Eden" believed to exist by outsiders... just vanished, destroyed by flames in a sudden and seemingly preordained calamity.

Chapter Fifteen: The Fire-Chasing Moth's High-Ranking Officials: ...Huh? (5097)

The Honkai outbreak was sudden, and its end was equally sudden. More importantly, the most threatening Honkai Beasts in this Honkai outbreak... were defeated so inexplicably? This is hard for many to accept.

[A Honkai Beast that controls fire dies in flames... Isn't this some kind of joke?]

However, once the battle is over, it's time to deal with the issues surrounding you... The Firemoth demands that Sakura and Hen bring you, Aponia, Padofelis, and Thousand Calamities back for interrogation.

[Yes, the interrogation. They consider you "sinners" because your wanton acceptance of "Honkai disease patients" led to the outbreak of the disaster known as Honkai. Therefore, you should be "criminals," and you, the priest who changed Twilight Street and accepted the patients, are naturally the "mastermind" behind everything.]

More importantly, the "abnormalities" you and Qianjie have exhibited... are far too alarming.

However, a minor problem arose during the "arrest" of you.

[Leaving aside the fact that you just fought alongside Sakura and Hen, and are now, in a sense, "comrades-in-arms," ​​it's disheartening to suddenly put you under such circumstances... More importantly, even if we wanted to put you under such circumstances, it would be very difficult.]

[Let's not even talk about Qian Jie. He's so violent that he doesn't care about any reason. Anyone who tries to get close to him will be sent flying. Any restraints will be torn to shreds by him. If you hadn't stopped him in time, Qian Jie probably would have started fighting with them... Even with Sakura right next to him, Qian Jie wasn't afraid.]

As for you, the restraints would inexplicably begin to melt as the soldier approached you, eventually turning into a pool of molten iron. If you hadn't warned the soldier in time, and if he hadn't reacted quickly enough to discard the restraints, his hands would probably be gone.

[Aponia and Padofelis were shielded behind you, clearly demonstrating your intention to protect them. Even if someone tried to negotiate with them, Qianjie would forcefully intervene and drive the others away.]

[To be honest, your and Qianjie's resistance and your terrifying behavior before have made many people even more convinced of your "abnormality," and even subconsciously judged you as "monsters"... Just like those Honkai, no, maybe you are "Honkai creations"?]

[If it weren't for Sakura and Hen's intervention, someone else might have pointed a gun at you, and things would have been much worse then.]

[Then, you asked them to negotiate with the Firemoths. After a moment's thought, they agreed... Mainly because they couldn't do anything about you, and if a fight broke out, it would be difficult to resolve. Plus, you had indeed shown friendliness, so negotiating was the best option.]

You expressed your thoughts to the Fire Moth, stating that you were willing to accept it taking you and all of you back, as it was "His" arrangement. However... the Fire Moth must abandon its pursuit of the departed patients and cannot go to the other "leaders" to kill them.

[You directly pointed out that the Fire Moth was already arranging for teams to go to the various "leaders" to kill the patients you had arranged to leave early. Therefore, you stated that the Fire Moth didn't need to lie or hide anything, as "He" had already informed you of this.]

[The Firemoth naturally doesn't believe your statement; they only think your intelligence network is too powerful, to the point that it can even receive the Firemoth's messages... However, during the current negotiations, they have naturally made some concessions, readily agreeing to your conditions and indicating that everything is negotiable.]

However, they did not back down on the issue of you taking in "Honkai disease patients." They accused you of gathering these patients, causing the Honkai, and ultimately destroying your home, the original Twilight Street, with the disaster.

[The root of the problem lies with you, with all of you—that's what they say.]

However, you directly pointed out something that the Fire Moth hadn't mentioned—the Fire Moth had previously concealed the existence of the Honkai from the world in order to maintain overall world order, and therefore hadn't popularized knowledge about the Honkai.

Therefore, those unaware of the characteristics of Honkai can unknowingly contribute to its formation... For example, your act of taking in "Honkai patients," though well-intentioned and benevolent, ultimately brought about disaster.

Logically speaking, the root cause of this problem should be the moth drawn to the flame... because "knowing but not reporting is a crime."

[Furthermore, as I said before, according to the research of the Fire Moth, the number of patients you took in at Twilight Street reached the threshold for a Honkai outbreak two months ago. So why didn't a Honkai outbreak occur then? And why didn't a Honkai outbreak occur even though Twilight Street continued to take in patients during those two months? But it just so happened that a Honkai outbreak occurred when the Fire Moth sent people over.]

[In response to your rebuttal, the Firemoth remained silent. Then, it switched to a friendly tone, suggesting that perhaps your situation was unique and required special discussion. It also apologized for its previous harshness, explaining that its tense demeanor stemmed from the fact that this concerned humanity and civilization, forcing it to act accordingly.]

"Everything for humanity... Hah, what a high-sounding reason."

If you calculate carefully, the number of humans killed by the Fire Moth itself is not much less than that of the Honkai; and the troubles caused by the Fire Moth itself are not much better than those caused by the Honkai.

However, we can leave that aside for now. After all, the current Flame-Chasing Moth... is indeed working hard for human civilization, something "He" has confirmed. Therefore, you obeyed "He's" will and went to the Flame-Chasing Moth.

As for the others... Qianjie will inevitably be taken away, because his combat power is simply too abnormal; Aponia chose to follow you, saying that as those who are both watched by "He", you should travel together; and Padofelis also chose to go with you.