Herrscher of Reason's Arknights

"Peng!"

Suddenly, a thick, powerful hand emerged from beneath the massive corpse of the beast!

He gave Warfarin a thumbs-up.

It means I'm fine.

"…Quick, someone move the body! Ace is down there!!"

···········

It was several hours later when Ace was finally rescued. Everyone around was extremely nervous, but when Ace was dragged out, she looked completely unharmed.

Aside from his clothes being almost completely torn, his shield was also deformed from the initial impact.

The portable pacemaker on the man's body also ran out of power; they'll have to find a way to replace the batteries later.

Wait, a pacemaker?

Yelena was also standing to the side, staring blankly at the man.

He was the one who threw Yelena out, and then she crashed head-on into the monster that had returned.

As he was being dragged away, he killed the frightened beast with his short sword.

During the process, Ace's heart stopped beating at one point due to the violent impact and the heavy pressure from behind.

Otherwise, the pacemaker wouldn't be able to detect when the user's heart stops beating and automatically activate.

But why?

Why take such a risk?

What if that pacemaker breaks down?

What if the ribs were broken in the initial impact?

Yelena dared not think about it.

But the man survived, and even had the composure to give a thumbs-up to the person who came to his rescue.

"That's... an elite operator?"

Yelena couldn't understand why she would take such a risk.

Mingming...

I almost died.

Yes, Ace just had a close call with death. If there had been even the slightest mishap, it would have been enough to kill this man.

It was as thrilling as dancing on the edge of a knife.

Why go to such an extent?

"What? They're just ordinary people who work a little harder."

Warfarin said from the side.

"Ugh?"

Seeing the group of medical operators approach, Warfarin stepped back from the crowd. He was no longer needed; the medical operators would do a better job.

"Elite operators are nothing special. They can die if they are targeted by concentrated fire, and they will feel pain if they are wounded."

"Then why..."

"You want to ask why we have to face it even if it seems invincible? If I had to say, I could only say that elite operators are all rather foolish."

Work harder than normal people so that you can pick up stronger and heavier weapons and carry more equipment.

And a pacemaker, so I can stand up during shock.

"As for why they insist on going to this extent... perhaps they just want to take it a step further."

These are Rhodes Island's elite operators, even if they are just people who work harder.

What can be done when facing concentrated enemy fire?

"Someone has to step up, doesn't he?"

Warfarin glanced at the girl, who was once again lost in confusion, but didn't say anything more.

She is still very young, and her life experience is not enough for her to understand all of this quickly.

If she really had a nurturer, then that person must have failed.

Excessive pampering will only cause this finely polished glass to shatter into pieces when it hits a rock.

Even if she could be the sharpest shard of glass.

Yelena is indeed sharp for a young girl who has just come of age. She has stronger strength and terrifying Originium Arts than her peers.

But that's all; those who raised her clearly didn't consider the issue of independence or her future.

She wasn't even given enough education or opportunities to interact with her peers.

The girl was like someone who had stepped out of an idyllic paradise, pure and flawless, like an elf.

But the purer something is, the more fragile it is.

She wasn't ready to leave her parents and walk through the desolate wilderness where no one was spared.

Warfarin couldn't help her much; she had to overcome all of this herself, but thankfully...

Rhode Island is a good place to transition.

At least she can learn how to face all of this more quickly before she reaches the end of her life...

By the time I got back in the car and organized the convoy to prepare for departure, it was already afternoon.

Cleaning up the battlefield and counting the number of people took a lot of time. Surprisingly, all the surviving bounty hunters were dead.

For some unknown reason, those who had to stop their madness due to pain all convulsed and died shortly afterward.

The most chilling way to leave corpses exposed in the wilderness is to leave them to die. Such a large-scale mass death is as if someone had given them a death order: they would die if they didn't attack.

However, this group clearly lacked unified command and was simply attacking based on instinct, using the tactics bounty hunters were best at.

The bizarre beginning has made people even more worried about what lies ahead.

Chapter 294 [Fear is the first step to victory]

"You're here? What are you doing hiding here? Are you hurt?"

Late at night, the convoy set up camp on the wasteland. After a long day of marching, even a forced march required rest.

Far from the city, in the wilderness where few artificial lights are available, you can see a starry night sky.

It seemed that the series of events that had occurred in recent days had left Yelena feeling mentally exhausted.

However, when people are down on their luck, even drinking cold water can cause problems.

"I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear?"

A woman's voice, similar to her own yet filled with allure, rang in the girl's ears.

It's that guy again.

"It seems you haven't been doing very well lately. How embarrassing."

The girl simply hugged her knees, curled up beside the cliff, looking down at the dark, wild abyss below, ignoring the demon-like figure.

Her inner demons.

Yelena, with her scarlet eyes, stood by the cliff, feeling the night breeze ruffling her even paler hair.

It was clearly an illusion, clearly just her inner demons, but another version of herself could truly exist before her eyes, even though no one else could see her except herself.

"Not saying anything? Playing the withdrawn little kid again? Oh, it's okay, I'm very patient, after all..."

"I am you."

With her hands behind her back, the girl stepped one step at a time along the edge of the cliff.

"There's good news and bad news. The good news is that I sense a familiar feeling, or rather, a prediction."

what is that.

Yelena buried her face even deeper, completely unwilling to listen to what this guy was saying.

"And the bad news is, that familiar taste..."

This is one of ours alone.

"!"

Upon hearing this, Yelena suddenly looked at her inner demon, the Yelena who was exactly like her but even more evil and alluring, and those blood-red eyes.

"My meaning is very simple, sister, it's in Kazimierz, maybe..."

—She'll be going to the same place as us!

"Ha, so this is the only time you react, huh?"

The next moment, the inner demon suddenly appeared in front of him, lowered its head, and looked down at him.

"Should we run away? Or should we go see her?"

There seemed to be a kind of magic in the eyes of the inner demon, like a scarlet vortex, slowly making people lose their focus and want to say the answer she wanted most.

It brings out the most wicked desires in one's heart.

"You don't mean...?"

Don't you want revenge? Don't you want to confront her? Don't you want to know... why she did such a terrible thing?

"You really don't want to do anything?"

Staring into those scarlet eyes, Yelena instinctively felt her surroundings gradually darkening, as if the light was being sucked away by the vortex.

In his eyes, the scarlet pupils magnified, pulling out even the darkest parts of his heart.

Why don't you want to question them?

Why don't I want to see her?

How could I not want to know what she was after?

What, then, is truly real?

He even wanted revenge.

The small fear in my heart is being erased by an inexplicable force, and what's growing more is madness in my heart!

revenge!

revenge!

revenge! !

"Yes, this is what you wanted. So, would you like to borrow my power?"

The inner demons are subtly tempting me.

It guides this useless original personality to reveal the darkest parts of her heart.

This is the purest form of love.

The most extreme distortion.

Madness was breeding madness, and the emotions and will for revenge were constantly being strengthened. Even the girl's gray eyes were gradually dimming, becoming lifeless, and yearning for revenge against those who betrayed her.

"I will give you power, just a little bit, a very small price to pay, in exchange for everything you want. Why not?"

yes···

Why not?

The inner demon reached out its hand, and Yelena, in a daze, was about to grasp those hands.

"----Oh!!"

The girl only felt a blow to the back of her head!

it hurts!

"You're here? What are you doing hiding here? Are you hurt?"