I am Möbius's sister.

While listening to the system's reply, Sirin looked around. She was currently in the center of a large altar, and around the altar were four dark purple torches with purple flames dancing, containing a very high concentration of Honkai energy.

Below the altar were mountains of highly concentrated Honkai energy crystals, so concentrated they had become liquid, flowing through the patterns on the ground. Such an environment might be deadly for ordinary people, but it was a very comfortable one for Sirin. Because the space wasn't large, she felt even more comfortable here than in the city center of Changkong City.

only……

Sirin looked at the cultists who had formed a circle around her. She was very curious about how these people could withstand such a high concentration of Honkai energy radiation. A normal person would definitely die in less than a minute in this environment, but these people were not wearing any protective equipment and were still alive and kicking. This completely shattered Sirin's understanding and she learned something new.

After observing for a moment, Sirin's eyes darted around, and a slight smile appeared on her lips. She had come up with a fun plan. Since these people mistook her for a messenger sent by the Honkai Will to help them, why not play along and become an undercover agent?

Just as Sirin was thinking this, a violent coughing sound suddenly came from behind her. Sirin looked over and saw a girl in a white robe lying on the ground behind her. The girl had large, cold shackles on her feet, and a pool of bright purple blood on her hand—it was what the girl had just vomited.

If you look closely, you can see blood flowing from the corner of the girl's mouth.

The girl in front of Sirin looked extremely disheveled. Her pure white robe was covered in dust and looked drab. Sirin could tell that the girl was in very bad shape. Her face was haggard and she looked withered. There was a large amount of Honkai energy inside her body. Sirin could even feel Honkai energy crystals inside her body.

It's a miracle that the girl has survived this long, but it's clear that she won't last much longer. A large number of purple lines have appeared on her body, which are symptoms of severe corruption by Honkai energy. If Sirin doesn't help, the girl will probably die in agony due to the severe corruption of Honkai energy.

After a moment's thought, Sirin decided to help the girl. Perhaps it was the girl's pain and misery that moved her, or perhaps it was the kindness deep within Sirin's heart. In any case, Sirin didn't hesitate for long before preparing to use her powers to manipulate the Honkai energy, causing it to leave the girl's body and completely isolate her from the surrounding Honkai energy.

Just as Celine was about to do so, the system suddenly issued a warning to her.

[You'd better not do that. According to the system's detection, the other party is a Herrscher body. The cultists' prayers are probably meant to communicate with the Honkai will and make this girl the Fourth Herrscher to deal with the encirclement, but...]

"But I accidentally interrupted this ceremony, right?"

Yes, due to the break in the connection, the large amount of Honkai energy within the girl's body has begun to backfire, which will lead to her death. My advice is to give her a quick death, or at least not let her die in agony. As for helping her, I suggest you don't do that, because it might create an enemy for you.

The system's loyal admonition still echoed in her ears. Xilin looked at the girl in front of her for a long time without saying a word. Without a doubt, what the system said was correct. It was the most rational choice and the most beneficial choice for her.

After a long internal struggle, reason ultimately prevailed over emotion. Sirin sighed helplessly, and with a wave of her hand, a Void Spear appeared beside her. Her choice was clear: to avoid future risks, she decided to kill the girl.

Celine's gaze gradually turned cold, and she heard the frenzied cheers of the cultists.

At that moment, the weak girl slowly raised her head. Her emerald green eyes were dim, but upon closer inspection, there seemed to be a glimmer of light. Her gaze fell on Sirin, and then she seemed to sense Sirin's undisguised killing intent towards her.

As Sirin expected, fear, panic, and hatred filled the girl's eyes, but even more striking than these emotions was a glimmer of light in her eyes—a yearning for life.

She opened her mouth but only managed to make a hoarse, unpleasant sound. Finally, as if resigned to her fate, the girl closed her eyes.

At that moment, Celine saw a tear of resentment slide down the corner of the girl's eye.

This is yet another pitiful person...

The cheers and praises of the cultists sounded so disgusting that Celine felt extremely uncomfortable. They were like rotten, evil, ugly chunks of flesh twisting their filthy bodies.

The Spear of the Void fell, and at the moment of its fall, a crisp sound rang out.

The shackles... broke.

With a cold expression, Sirin manipulated the Honkai energy, extracting all the Honkai energy from the girl's body that was constantly eroding her. At the same time, she manipulated the Honkai energy around the girl, causing it to move away from her, thus clearing out a Honkai energy-free zone.

Celine didn't speak; she simply carried out her task silently. The girl on the ground, her eyes tightly closed, didn't feel the expected pain. She opened her eyes and looked at Celine with utter astonishment. She couldn't understand why Celine hadn't killed her. Her eyes clearly contained immense killing intent, so why hadn't she killed her? The girl was bewildered; she simply stared blankly at Celine before her.

"Don't move!" Sirin's voice was cold, but the girl showed no trace of murderous intent or anger. At this moment, Sirin grabbed the girl's wrist, preparing to wipe out all the Honkai energy within her.

Celine's hands were soft and cold, but to the girl, they felt incredibly warm. Was it just her imagination? The girl felt the warmth emanating from Celine's hands seep into her heart. She stared blankly at Celine, wanting to say something but only opening her mouth without uttering a sound.

You still did it.

The system's words remained completely calm, as if she had anticipated that Sirin would do this.

Xilin didn't answer, but the system didn't seem to care and continued to press for an answer.

Can you tell me why you did this?

This time, Sirin paused in her movements, as if she were thinking. After a long while, she answered in her heart, "Don't you know? I've never been a rational person. This time, it's probably because she reminded me of Sirin from another timeline. Back then, she must have been in pain and fear, and... longing to live. Well, let's just say I was being willful this time."

Chapter 123 The Tragic Girl

This time the system didn't reply, and Sirin didn't continue speaking either, but silently helped the girl in front of her.

As the excess Honkai energy was extracted from her body, the girl's pained expression visibly eased; she realized that Sirin was helping her. The girl didn't understand why Sirin was doing this, why she was going to such lengths, why… she wasn't killing her.

The murderous intent in Sirin's eyes was unmistakably real back then, so why didn't she kill her? The girl was very curious, but she didn't dare to ask. She simply kept her question hidden in her heart. After all, her long and miserable life had taught her that curiosity often resulted in a beating.

The girl's body was covered in scars. Her thin body under the dirty white robe was covered with marks, including whip marks, beating marks, countless needle marks of all sizes, and... an indelible brand—a strange pattern.

That was the emblem of the cult, and this mark represented the girl's identity—an experimental subject, or rather, a slave. It's hard to imagine that in such a technologically advanced era, slavery still existed.

The girl actually had companions, but they were all dead, killed by her. The girls were obtained by cult members through deception, violence, or other means. These girls became the cult members' experimental subjects, and they injected Honkai energy into their delicate bodies.

Those who survived would engage in periodic life-or-death battles, and only the girls who survived the fighting could enter the next round of experiments. During this process, the cultists watched as if they were watching a performance of wild animals, sometimes cheering and applauding.

The girl hated them to the extreme; she had already imagined tearing them to pieces a thousand times, ten thousand times in her mind. But it was all in vain. Imagination is just imagination; she had no power. She could only watch helplessly as her best friend, who had survived to the very end, smiled and grabbed her hand, plunging a dagger into her own heart.

Hatred is the driving force that keeps the girl alive; blood for blood is her only wish.

In her eyes, Celine was one of the cultists; after all, when Celine appeared, the cultists cheered and seemed incredibly excited. She had thought Celine would kill her, but Celine didn't. Instead, she alleviated her pain and helped her survive.

Although she knew curiosity could kill, she still couldn't help but secretly observe Celine. Even though Celine's gaze was cold, the girl didn't sense a trace of malice towards her. On the contrary, she only felt tenderness.

This familiar yet strange feeling hadn't appeared in the young girl's heart for a long time. Xilin reminded her of her older sister who had been captured and brought here with her, and who had once gently treated her wounds.

But in the end, she died. She died right in front of her, and to this day, the girl still remembers that vibrant red—a memory she will never forget.

"Sister... Sister..." the girl said unconsciously, her voice a little hoarse.

"Hmm?" Sirin, who was treating the Honkai energy inside the girl's body, glanced at the girl after hearing her call her "sister" and frowned in confusion.

Realizing what she had said, the girl quickly looked away: "N-nothing..."

Seeing the girl's tense expression, Xilin assumed that her cold face had frightened her. So Xilin sighed helplessly, pulled the girl up from the ground and hugged her, and said in a very gentle voice in the girl's ear, "It's okay, it's all over. I will help you. I won't hurt you. Don't be nervous."

Perhaps it was the effect of Celine's gentle voice that made the initially tense girl relax noticeably.

So warm... So nostalgic...

Holding the girl in her arms, Sirin prepared to use even greater force to eradicate the Honkai energy in the girl's body and completely eliminate the root cause of her illness.

However, not long after, Sirin's actions were met with unprecedented resistance. There was a high concentration of Honkai energy crystal in the girl's body, which looked like a half-finished Herrscher core. Because of the strong resistance of this high concentration of Honkai energy crystal, Sirin was unable to completely eradicate the Honkai energy in the girl's body.

Just as Sirin was about to give up and try again, the system stopped her in time.

[Give up. You can't peacefully retrieve that unfinished Herrscher core. Forcing it will only hurt her. Although you've decided not to kill her, I must remind you—act carefully. Even an unfinished Herrscher core carries a significant risk of becoming a complete core.]

Upon hearing the system's words, Sirin, who had been somewhat agitated, immediately calmed down and abandoned her plan to retrieve the unfinished Herrscher core.

Although it's a bit of a pity, at least apart from the unfinished Herrscher core, all the Honkai energy in the girl's body has been extracted. The girl is now basically out of danger, but her body is very weak.

Withdrawing her senses and releasing the girl, Sirin touched her thin, bony body and couldn't help but feel pity.

What a poor child, his thin body covered in scars.

When Celine touched a peculiar scar, she froze, her gaze shifting in that direction. The scar she was touching was a strange pattern; having done her research, Celine immediately recognized it as the emblem of this cult.

Just as Xilin was about to ask the girl in front of her what the brand meant, the girl shrank back in fear, flung Xilin's hand away, and covered the location of the brand in a panic.

Seeing the girl's appearance, Xilin became even more curious, but she also knew that what this mark represented might be more complicated than she imagined, so she did not ask.

Celine simply reached out and placed her hand on the girl's head, gently stroking it in a comforting manner. She also softly coaxed her, "Since you don't want to talk about it, then I won't ask..."

As it turned out, this method was quite effective. The girl quickly returned to normal.

Seeing that the girl had calmed down, Sirin's face showed satisfaction.

Touching the mark on her body, the girl's expression was complicated. She wanted to tell Sirin, to confide her suffering. But she didn't dare to utter a word; she was afraid.

After struggling internally for a while with her lips pressed tightly together, the girl finally made up her mind and told Sirin the meaning of the mark.

However, before she could even utter a word, unexpected events occurred one after another.

The frenzied, fanatical cultists below the stage fell completely silent at some point, and the eerie quiet made the atmosphere somewhat strange.

Chapter 124 Let Me Be the Leader of a Cult?

Suddenly, the cultists took two steps back in perfect unison and made way for them.

A black-robed man with jet-black hair and an old-man-like face walked towards the altar, leaning on a cane. At the top of the cane was a beautiful purple crystal, which was filled with Honkai energy and was a highly concentrated Honkai energy crystal.

Seeing the old man walking towards them, Xilin frowned slightly, but did nothing. Instead, she stood up and quietly looked at the old man in black robes.

The old man's face was aged, but his body was not old at all. Every step he took was very steady, and the cane in his hand was not used to help him walk, but rather as a weapon.

When the old man came to within three meters of Xilin, he stopped and knelt down in front of her.

"This old man pays his respects to the divine messenger!"

Seeing the old man's actions, Xilin remained silent, currently pondering a countermeasure. Judging from the behavior of those cult members, this old man must hold a transcendent position within the cult, possibly even being its leader. Since this man treated her as a divine messenger, she had to act in accordance with his status.

As Celine pondered, the old man before her was also considering his options. He had been kneeling for some time, but Celine had neither told him to stand up nor to continue kneeling. For a moment, he was puzzled by the thoughts of the divine messenger before him. He didn't know whether to stand up or continue kneeling. After much thought, he decided that continuing to kneel was the most appropriate course of action.

Celine, unaware of the old man's thoughts, looked at him kneeling on the ground, a slight smile playing on her lips. A rather interesting idea suddenly formed in her mind. Instead of telling him to stand up, she said, "I'm keeping you kneeling because you've made a mistake. This is God's small punishment for you. God says that the Holy Son is God's incarnation on earth; those who harm the Holy Son should kneel in repentance. You... do you know your mistake?"

"I...I know I was wrong..." the old man replied repeatedly, while slightly raising his head to look ahead. At this moment, he was completely bewildered, having no idea who the Holy Son that Sirin spoke of was, nor how he had suddenly received divine punishment. But if the divine messenger said so, then so be it; as a messenger sent by the gods, he should not lie.

Seeing the old man's flustered appearance, Xilin couldn't help but laugh inwardly. Then, she put on a stern face and shouted, "You must not lie before God! If you know you are wrong, you should immediately repent to the Holy Son and make amends to atone for your sins!"

Xilin's sharp shout was like a thunderclap in the old man's ears, making them ring. However, he didn't have the energy to care about that; Xilin's shout had filled him with panic. Where was the Holy Son?! Who was the Holy Son?! The old man was almost going crazy.

When he saw the girl behind Sirin, he seemed to realize something. So she was the Holy Child! No wonder the divine messenger acted that way towards her. If she was the Holy Child, then everything made sense.

Damn it! These idiots! How could they make the Holy Son suffer like this! Now he has to be punished too, just wait until he cuts them down as sacrifices!

After finding his target, the old man scrambled to his feet, walked up to the girl, and gave her what he thought was a kind and benevolent smile. He then pulled her up from the ground and took off his black robe, draping it over her shoulders.

"My apologies, my old eyes are failing me. I failed to recognize the Holy Son's identity, causing him to suffer so much in the mortal realm. It is truly a sin. I hope the Holy Son will not mind. I will have those fools prepare clean clothes for the Holy Son and treat his body." The old man smiled obsequiously, offering his services with his hands.

However, his attitude did not win the girl's favor at all; on the contrary, it made her even more disgusted. If she hadn't known the old man's true colors beforehand, she would have really been deceived by him.

She remembered that the old man's biggest hobby was smelting copper. If she and her sister hadn't been covered in dirt and looked weak when they were captured, they might have been taken down by this pervert.

Thinking of this, the girl disgustedly pushed the old man's hand away and moved closer to Xilin. Because of her special experiences, she had developed an excellent ability to read people's expressions. She clearly understood that the old man was afraid of Xilin. As long as she was with Xilin, the old man would not dare to do anything to her.

Although she didn't know whether Celine was a reliable person, based on her intuition and Celine's actions and words just now, the girl felt that Celine could be trusted to some extent.

Seeing the girl brush away the old man's hand and lean towards her, Xilin's lips curled up slightly, then she put on her icy expression again and looked at the old man: "It seems the Holy Son doesn't want to forgive you. If you can't be forgiven by the Holy Son, you will have to suffer the punishment of being pierced by seventy-two arrows to atone for your offense. You should know that offending the gods is a serious crime. After death, your soul will be burned by raging fire and you will be reborn as an animal in the next life."

Upon hearing this, the old man was instantly stunned. Seventy-two arrows piercing him—wasn't that a clear death sentence? And the punishment after death was terrifying. Reincarnation as an animal? This was a scene he couldn't imagine or accept.

A profound fear and chill crept into his heart, filling him with immense dread and terror. Sirin's icy gaze and the powerful aura emanating from her intensified the pressure. Without a second thought, he knelt before the girl, kowtowing twice with resounding thuds, pleading, "Holy Son, please forgive my offense! I sincerely repent!"

The old man kowtowed until blood trickled from his forehead, but the girl still wouldn't let go, and the old man continued kowtowing without stopping. As for dignity, what does dignity matter when you're about to lose your life?

At first, Xilin found the old man's repeated kowtowing quite amusing; if she weren't worried about being exposed, she would have even taken out her phone to record a video. However, she soon grew tired of it.