For her, Ling was the most important person, so she was willing to risk everything, even if it meant turning against her former comrades.

Kevin remained silent, gripping his sword. He wanted to persuade the other man, but couldn't find a position to support him.

He could only complete the tasks Mei assigned him.

A sharp blade flashed, and sparks flew from the greatsword. The tension between the two was palpable. Kevin slowly stepped forward, one step, two steps…

The battle happened in an instant, yet it was as if nothing had happened at all. When Kevin regained his senses, there was no one in front of him; Sakura had already brought Seele behind him.

That was a fleeting strike that froze space itself.

Kevin was about to give chase immediately when May's phone rang. She told Kevin that the Lawyer had awakened and he needed to deal with it.

...

“Looking at this scene, don’t you want to say anything, Kevin?” Qianjie said, taking a deep breath. “And what happened next, we all know.”

“I have nothing to say. This is my duty,” Kevin said, as always.

"I wonder if you felt the same way when that woman fell into your arms?" Qianjie's anger flared up as well.

"Heh—" Kevin suddenly felt very cold. He pursed his lips, his expression becoming even colder. A chill spread out, extinguishing the flames on Qian Jie's body.

Seeing that something was wrong, Pado immediately hid behind Alicia, shivering in the air conditioning, her tail wagging back and forth. "Meow—" Pado also chimed in at the opportune moment. Alicia stroked Pado's ears; they were fluffy.

"Aili-neechan, please go and talk to her!" Paddo cried out fearfully, shaking Alicia's arm. What bad intentions could a cat possibly have? She was genuinely afraid of being implicated.

"It's alright, Little Paddo. They're just in normal human bodies now, they can't fight," Alicia comforted, watching the scene unfold.

Ordinary people? Pado looked at her own thin arms and legs, and then at the imposing aura of the two bosses opposite her. She couldn't sense that they were just ordinary people at all!

Bronya stared wide-eyed at the game, then looked at the people around her. If some things in the game were true, wouldn't that mean that the pink-eared girl next to her named Sakura really had a sword technique that could freeze space?

impossible?

Bronya was deeply confused. She thought that being a Herrscher was already the top level, but when she looked at the people around her, they all seemed to be big shots.

"Hmph..." Qianjie knew he had said the wrong thing. Kevin usually wouldn't get angry, but that was only when important people weren't mentioned.

However, he would not condone Kevin's behavior in the video.

"Don't worry about it... Rather, it was indeed me who acted without permission back then," Sakura said softly, easing the awkwardness between them.

But she doesn't regret it; she would have truly regretted it if she hadn't done it.

"Sakura...are you alright?" Alicia looked at the group with concern.

"It's alright, it's all in the past," Sakura shook her head, but a lingering sorrow remained between her brows.

...

During the ensuing search, Seele's stigmata went out of control, and she collapsed to the ground.

Seele said she wasn't as brave as her sister.

Sakura said softly, "Everyone has something they want to protect, and that has nothing to do with strength or weakness."

"I don't want to lose you no matter what, I'd give anything to protect you, Seele, don't you feel the same way?"

"At that moment, you are the strongest person in the world."

Seele asked, "Did Sister Sakura always protect Ling with this kind of feeling?"

Sakura said matter-of-factly, "Isn't that how it is between older and younger sisters?"

After they finished speaking, Sakura and Seele found a hidden room on this floor. Sakura counted the room numbers and anxiously headed towards their destination.

The deepest room wasn't locked, and Sakura quickly went inside.

But what came into view was Ling, covered in wounds, and the air was thick with the smell of blood.

Ling is dead.

Moreover, there was obvious abuse involved.

This scene caused even the most resolute warrior to collapse to the ground. Sakura stared blankly at the scene, her eyes lifeless, as if she had lost everything.

Her blade can cleave through space, but it cannot sever the malice in people's hearts.

...

"See? It's the same old story," Qianjie said angrily, looking at the scene before him.

Damn it? Why did he have to witness this? He felt his anger rising uncontrollably. He looked around; his companions were all around him.

Damn it, those scum died too quickly. Whatever they did... they should pay the price.

Let's put this blame on the screenwriter for now.

Upon witnessing this scene in real life, Ling threw herself into Sakura's arms and sobbed softly.

It wasn't because of the scenes she witnessed; even though some were gory, she wasn't particularly afraid.

Even when faced with the imprisonment of the Moth of Fire, she bravely stepped forward, even though her legs were trembling uncontrollably.

What she couldn't accept the most was seeing her sister, who was so strong and powerful in her heart, lying limp on the ground, her eyes devoid of any will to live.

From childhood, she had always longed for her older sister's image; her sister had always been an irreplaceable idol in her heart. But now, the figure she admired most had fallen to the ground, so sorrowful and helpless, so devoid of any will to live.

She was terrified just thinking about it. Was her sister like that in the previous era?

Did she experience the same pain and sorrow?

In an instant, the soldier collapsed to the ground, unmoved even as the enemy approached.

"Sister, I promise I'll never leave you again. Please, please don't do that. I... I'm so scared..."

Ling held Ying in her arms, inhaling the familiar scent, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes, before she suddenly fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter 22 I Made a Promise to Her, and to Everyone (4k)

"Rin!" Sakura, who had been comforting and soothing Rin just moments before, was horrified and panicked. She could accept the cruel scene before her.

Because she herself had crawled out of hell, she absolutely could not accept Ling slipping away from her again.

"It's alright, she's just too emotional and exhausted today. She'll be fine after a while," Wilvi said calmly.

"So...this is what really happened?" Alicia asked, her brows furrowing, her large eyes filled with sorrow and indignation for her comrades. The whole story was laid bare before her, and she didn't like such a tragic tale.

Most of the heroes were unaware of the specific facts of what happened back then; they only knew about the birth of the Corruptor Herrscher, Sakura's death, the loss of Kevin, and the announcement of the heavy losses suffered during the victory against the Corruptor.

When all the scenes were recreated in a game format, Sakura's anxiety and the disappointment of her last hope became the final straw that broke her back.

The stark contrast between hope and despair resonates with everyone, and a sense of despair washes over you.

A large group of enemies attacked on the screen, and Seele was almost overwhelmed. She called out to Sakura, but Sakura didn't respond and stood there blankly.

She just kept muttering to herself, "If only I had been a little faster..."

Just as Seele decided to hold on a little longer, a storm of fire erupted from the field, instantly incinerating all the enemies. The white-haired man who had initially blocked their path reappeared in the arena.

He called out Sakura's name sadly, but Sakura still did not respond.

Her face showed no surprise, no doubt, no anger, only a deathly stillness, as if only a physical body remained, her consciousness unwilling to awaken again.

Kevin shook his head, unsure why he chose to explain to Seele, which was also an explanation of the plot, revealing the truth of what had happened...

Rin was a Herrscher who released the virus into the air only after her death. The Moths of Flame didn't target the wrong person; those two soldiers executed Rin without authorization. And now, with the base damaged... Sakura must also take responsibility for her actions.

"But, Sakura-neechan only wanted to protect her younger sister, and..." Seele said anxiously, not wanting the person in front of her to continue attacking the grieving Sakura-neechan.

"Even if this hadn't happened, sooner or later someone or something else would have been the straw that broke her back," Kevin said calmly in the game.

"Is this your reasoning? Didn't those soldiers also do what you, Aponia, did?" Qianjie was even more enraged upon seeing this.

"The environment of the pre-civilization era... made Ling's tragedy inevitable," Kevin said, his eyes fixed on the unconscious Ling, offering no further explanation.

"Stop giving me that nonsense. I'm just asking, don't you think you did something wrong? Kevin? Aponia?"

“We…have no choice,” Kevin replied succinctly, just as before. A person’s character is their destiny, and they are powerless to resist the mockery of fate.

“Thousand Calamities, if I can atone for this, I don’t mind doing whatever I can.” Aponia clasped her hands together in front of her chest and prayed devoutly, her voice trembling as she watched the scene unfold and recounted her sins.

She was already deeply sinful, something she knew from the beginning; she... couldn't deny it...

"...I'll be watching you." Qianjie didn't continue to get angry. He knew that Aponia tried to help Ling regain consciousness every night.

His anger stemmed less from blaming the two men and more from blaming himself, because... he was the one who had done nothing, the one who had nothing, the one who could do nothing.

A hint of self-mockery flashed in Qian Jie's eyes; he inexplicably wanted to burst into laughter.

"What happened back then was especially cruel. You two shouldn't argue anymore. Ling is doing well now."

Alicia said she knew about the discord among her partners, but she also knew that no one was feeling good right now.

Xier also secretly wiped away her tears. She was very moved by the scene. She felt sorry for the two sisters, Ying and Ling, and made up her mind to spend more time with Ling in the future. She was really too pitiful!

Bronya, meanwhile, fell into thought. She was also very moved, as Anti-Entropy had told her a lot about the Honkai over the past few days, and it seemed they were truly grooming her to become the leader of the Honkai.

She also had to start thinking about how to defeat the Honkai, even if it was a bit of an overreaction.

"Spreading a virus after death...this Herrscher is quite troublesome," she pondered.

"The white-haired man inside wasn't wrong. Faced with an enemy that one cannot fight back against, the first reaction is to ostracize, distance oneself, or even harm them. Given the circumstances, it's hard to avoid."

She pondered silently, trying to come up with a solution.

She wasn't the only one thinking this; Kallen was too. She had more information and understood even better how troublesome the Herrscher of Corruption was.

"If... St. Freya Academy really became a Herrscher Academy, then this oppressive environment could be eliminated."

She thought for a moment and said to herself with a self-deprecating smile, "Could this be considered a scheme that Luo Mo had set up in advance?"... However, it only stated one of the conditions for the Herrscher of Corruption to erupt, and it was unclear whether it would affect the main body over time.

The outbreak of the Herrschers of the previous civilization's corruption was inevitable, so is it now as well? Kallen wondered.

...

After explaining the situation to them, Kevin tried to take them out.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing that Rin had transformed into a Herrscher, Sakura's emotions recovered. She firmly stated that she wanted to see Rin, even now, even as a Herrscher.

"Ling must be very lonely right now; she has always been a child who is afraid of being alone."

"You won't stop me, right, Seele?" Sakura's voice was slightly choked with tears, a testament to her grief over Rin's departure.

Now, she has no choice but to take a desperate gamble.

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