Regarding the question of whether one thousand lives are enough to beat Honkai Impact 3rd.

For some reason, at this moment, the man's mind suddenly recalled the snow scene he and his wife had seen in Sapporo many years ago.

They participated in the largest snow festival in all of Japan at that time.

Countless lights illuminated Datong Park in a colorful display at night, with two beams of light forming a giant cross, and countless valley lilies swaying in the wind, bathed in snow and light.

His wife smiled gently and said to him, "The snow is beautiful."

Yes.

The snow in Sapporo that year was beautiful.

I wish Xiaoxi could see such a snow scene in the future. This world is so big, so very big.

She will surely see many, many beautiful things in the future, and if... she can be happy, that would be wonderful.

"Mr. Kambara! Mr. Kambara! You can't sleep now." The girl bit her lip, her hands radiating a hazy emerald light, trying to snatch the man's life back from the clutches of death.

Blood was fabricated out of thin air, the wound on his shoulder began to heal, and his internal organs returned to normal, but the man's face remained pale. The two could feel the Honkai energy clinging to him like a leech, continuing to erode his remaining life.

Sato Yuno's powers cannot make up for the loss of life, nor can they drive away the erosion of Honkai energy; otherwise, why would Su Qing'an need to transplant artificial holy marks?

The two of them already understood that this struggle against death was destined to end in failure.

Shuichi Kanbara once said that he didn't have long to live, but now that he really was going to die, Su Qing'an suddenly felt very panicked.

But why are you panicking? He's just an older man you haven't known for very long.

Even if he dies, you haven't broken the contract.

You only promised Kanbara Yu that you would kill the living doll, and you promised Kanbara Shuichi that you would protect his daughter, and now you have done it all.

Shouldn't we be happy?

But at this moment, he was no longer the calm person he used to be; he spoke almost incoherently:

“Mr. Kambara, Miss Yu is still waiting for you to come back. She is looking forward to you taking her to Himeji Castle to see the cherry blossoms, to the aquarium and the zoo, and to attend Japan’s biggest festival. Didn’t you say you would have time to spend with her after that?”

So, don't die.

Seemingly because his superficial injuries had been powerfully restored by his powers, Shuichi Kambara was still able to speak. He smiled and said, "Su-kun, have you ever heard a saying?"

"Given that life is but a fleeting moment, and death is imminent, at this moment, the seed of enlightenment is filled with regret and sorrow."

“That’s what Oda Nobunaga said, right?” Su Qing’an seemed to be back in the day he was talking to the man in the Maybach. He responded like this, but suddenly felt a little amused and sad.

He thought to himself, "Just how much do you like Oda Nobunaga? Even on your deathbed you're still talking about him."

"Yes. But I've found that even what those kinds of people say isn't necessarily entirely correct, because I don't feel any regret now."

The man's voice grew softer and softer until finally he spoke as if in a dream:

"I kept my promise to my wife... Xiaoxi is a very strong girl, she will be fine... That's all that matters..."

"...I...have no regrets."

Does this mean there are no regrets?

For a long time, the two of them watched like statues as the man's body gradually lost its warmth.

Sato Yuno remained silent, only the light in her hand stubbornly released, as if trying to hold onto something more.

But in the end, its brilliance gradually dimmed and faded, swallowed by the night.

The power has reached its limit.

Tears rolled down the girl's expressionless face.

She seemed to have held onto something, yet it also seemed that some things were still inevitably slipping away like sand through her fingers.

The boy's expression was blank. He did not recite the sword incantation, but his heart resonated with these emotions, and the inner demon hidden in the sword's heart was eating away at the sorrow.

It accumulated little by little into a brand new demon, and when the demon has enough power, Kenshin will once again undergo arduous trials.

Such emotions are undoubtedly very dangerous for Su Qing'an, who is cultivating the divine version of the Taixu Sword Qi. But if you really feel sad and upset, how can you possibly control yourself?

“Principal Theresa, mission accomplished,” Su Qing’an said, pressing the button on the school badge.

This recording will be reported to the Far East Branch within one minute.

Afterwards, Schicksal's logistics forces will arrive at the scene to clean up the battlefield and remove all traces left by the Honkai.

Su Qing'an used her left hand to stroke the man's face and closed his eyes.

He gripped the sword hilt with his other hand, so tightly that his fingertips turned white.

The boy said this in as calm a tone as possible:

Good night, Mr. Kambara.

Sweet dreams.

42. I don't like Oda Nobunaga anymore.

On the Maybach.

The old butler gripped the steering wheel even tighter, using the fastest and most stable driving skills he had ever possessed to get the girl away from this place.

He didn't want to disappoint that man's expectations.

The king himself went to the battlefield, so how could a retainer live in this world if he couldn't even fulfill that man's last request?

There was a rifle and a knife in the passenger seat of the car.

The old butler was old enough; he had served Shuichi Kanbara's father and witnessed his death.

He was the officiant at Shuichi Kanbara's wedding to his wife and also witnessed Yu Kanbara's childhood.

The old butler had no children in his life, and the Kambara family was his kin. Now, the man he had watched grow up was also stepping onto the battlefield of their family's destiny.

No matter what perspective you take, the elderly find it hard to accept.

He fought alongside the head of the Kanbara family, facing either victory or defeat. Only by making this choice could he avoid leaving any regrets.

But he was asked to do it by that man.

Shuichi Kanbara told him to run with Yuu Kanbara, so he had to run faster than anyone else.

Whether he wanted to or not, he couldn't refuse Shuichi Kanbara's final request.

Anything that hinders this goal and tries to harm Shinbara Yu must first get past the gun and knife in the butler's hand.

The girl sat obediently in the back seat, gazing at the scenery receding into the distance, her expression revealing nothing of her emotions.

"Grandpa Butler, you know that Dad likes Oda Nobunaga, right?"

Kambara Yu's words pierced through the roar of the Maybach's engine; her voice sounded somewhat ethereal and unreal at that moment.

“Yes, Miss Yu. Lord Kanbara has admired Oda Nobunaga since he was a child,” the old butler replied.

Actually, he was lying. Osamu Kanbara started liking Oda Nobunaga ten years ago. Before that, instead of any historical figures, if you asked him about Oda Nobunaga, he would probably only mention anime characters with the name Oda Nobunaga.

However, since Shuichi Kanbara wanted to establish a tall and reliable image in front of his daughter, the old butler naturally chose to cooperate.

It's so good to like Oda Nobunaga.

You see, the end of a hero's life is always so regrettable, making people unconsciously miss the person's deeds and words.

How wonderful it would be if I could never be forgotten like this.

"I see. Butler, I don't know why, but I suddenly don't like Oda Nobunaga anymore."

The girl who once told Su Qing'an that she liked Oda Nobunaga because her father liked him is now saying this.

The old man suddenly felt a pang of sadness, but with a kind smile on his face, as if he didn't understand the meaning behind the girl's words, he spoke of life's philosophy in a persuasive manner.

“It’s alright, Miss Yu. Life is always like this. You won’t like someone for too long, whether it’s a historical figure or a real person. It was the same for Lord Kanbara before. You can always find someone else to like.”

But in this world, you might say that most of the time, life philosophies are used to comfort people.

Why does Kanbara Yu need comfort?

This is a question whose answer can be obtained without thinking.

Because she knew that Shuichi Kanbara might not be able to come back, since the girl hadn't been able to bring back anything she had left behind there during those ten years.

When she came out, she had nothing in her hands, and the trunk of her car was empty, as if she had left Shuichi Kanbara and the past behind in that ancestral home.

It's also like...

After that, the girl's life was without those toys and photos, and without those dolls with various names on them.

And Shuichi Kanbara is no longer here.

She thought she used to hate that ancestral home. Although the girl was very sensible, the feeling of being constantly confined still made her occasionally kick pebbles to vent her frustration when no one was around.

But now she suddenly begins to miss those times when she had complaints in her heart, but also moments of joy and anticipation.

"Ring ring." The old butler's phone vibrated and a ringtone sounded.

The old man hesitated for a moment, but finally reached out and took the phone. His usually steady expression changed, and his fingertips trembled slightly.

The number displayed above is the landline number for the ancestral home in Shinbara.

The call connected. The old butler didn't choose to speak immediately.

The other party remained silent for a while.

“…Butler.” It was Su Qing’an’s voice. The young man’s voice was slightly hoarse at the moment, as if he had just gone through a long and arduous journey and was filled with suppressed fatigue.

“Come back, the living dolls have been killed by us.”

The old butler and Su Qing'an both remained silent and did not continue speaking.

The Maybach gradually slowed down and finally stopped at the side of the road. The headlights illuminated the night ahead, but darkness still enveloped the area like an abyss.

After a long silence, the boy gave the answer.

"...Mr. Kambara died in battle."

"We couldn't save him, we're sorry."

He died in battle.

Shuichi Kanbara is dead.

In the silent space, the old butler and Shinbara Yu received the answer at the same time.