Herrscher of Reason's Arknights

P.S.: I stayed up all night writing, and I feel completely out of it. I went out during the day, and started writing as soon as I got back. I'm so sleepy, I need to sleep now, or I'll die. As for the typos in yesterday's update, I'll fix them tomorrow morning. I'm going to sleep now, even listening to the Fate theme song from Evangelion makes me sleepy, sob sob.

Section 76, Chapter 74: [Malice]

"Who...who are you?"

Swire looked at the silver-haired girl standing in front of her.

The two collided as they turned the corner, yet the guy remained standing, while Swire sat down on the ground.

However, when the camera panned down and the other person's attire was clearly visible, Swire guessed something.

Maybe it was just a kid who wandered in by accident, since their clothes looked incredibly cheap.

He's just a commoner's child.

Victorian nobles valued etiquette, and as nobles, they could not be disrespectful to anyone, not even a beggar on the street.

The other person was quite perceptive; seeing that he had bumped into her, he reached out his hand to help her up.

"Sorry, I didn't see anyone just now..."

The silver-haired girl didn't seem to be very talkative.

"It's okay, I didn't see it either. I was running too fast, so..."

Suddenly, just as Shi Huaiya was about to introduce herself, she remembered where she was and then realized what was going on.

What's with the self-introduction? Hurry up and figure out how to get out of here!!

With that, the girl turned to leave.

"What are you doing?"

The silver-haired girl was puzzled as to why Swire in front of her had suddenly become so nervous. He had just been panting heavily, and now he was about to run again as soon as he stood up.

"Tsk! Don't ask so many questions, just come with me!"

As she spoke, Swire made a move to grab the silver-haired girl and leave.

This is an illusion, and it's difficult to determine its exact scale and the actual situation. Moreover, in such cases, it's generally not possible to simply leave an illusion to bind someone; the scale of an illusion is always limited, and it's impossible to trap someone to death.

Half of the casters will have a backup plan.

So we have to get moving first.

However, pulling...

It won't budge!

What's wrong with this guy?!

When Swire turned around, he noticed that the girl in front of him looked very wary.

She looked about the same age as him, but Swire was actually taller. The girl in front of him was thin and small, the kind of girl that could be blown away by a gust of wind, but he couldn't budge her at all!

Moreover, it was obvious from the other person's face that they considered him a suspicious person.

Ordinary people are such a hassle!

"Come with me first, I'll explain later. If you don't come now, you won't be able to leave later!"

However, the singing started again.

The ethereal singing was incredibly desolate, its ethereal quality carrying a hint of distortion.

However, when looking in the direction from which the singing was coming,

Suddenly, two figures, one tall and one short, appeared in the cold, dark alley, blocking the way.

"who!"

Swire shielded the silver-haired girl behind her, one hand clutching the lighter in her pocket.

After all, nobles should set an example for their subjects. The Victorians have always had this duality: on one hand, a brave and martial army, and on the other hand, warm black tea, elegant yet martial. The royal family values ​​military merit, and only those who have been to the battlefield are qualified to be respected.

The royal family was like this, and so were the nobles of the empire. However, because Swire was a girl, her family had no intention of having women join the army, but the inherent arrogance of being a nobleman did not allow them to be content to lag behind.

Even though her hands are trembling uncontrollably right now.

The person was shrouded in thick fog, making it impossible to see their face, but their tall and burly physique indicated that if a conflict were to occur, retreating with the idiot behind them would be the best option.

"Hehe, don't be afraid, I'm not a bad person."

The newcomer slowly emerged from the thick fog; it was a strangely dressed man leading a little girl.

His voice was hoarse and deep, like that of an old, worn-out bellows.

His entire body was covered in clothes with strange symbols, not even the cuffs were exposed to the air.

It was as if I had isolated myself from the air.

"Don't come any closer!"

Swire didn't believe the other person's claim that he wasn't a bad person. Bad people don't write "bad" on their foreheads, but the guy in front of him, even if he wasn't a bad person, wasn't a good person either. From his appearance to his first impression, he was definitely a weirdo.

A guy like that should never be allowed to get close to me.

"Oh, sorry, sorry, hehehe."

A laugh that seemed to be out of control came as the man pulled the girl beside him forward.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just found a homeless girl and I hope you can take her away.”

The man released his grip, then patted the girl next to him on the back, gesturing for her to come forward.

"Hehehe, go, go, embrace freedom, hehehe."

At this moment, Swire shifted his gaze from the strange man to the little girl beside him.

It was a film girl, and her clothes were quite wrinkled, looking like they hadn't been washed for several days.

However, that's not the point. The point is the girl's eyes.

His dim, lifeless eyes were barely focused, merely reflecting the scene before him.

Like a puppet on strings, if it weren't for the sound of the other person's breathing, it wouldn't be strange to mistake it for a mannequin.

However, children don't tend to be suspicious like their peers, especially since the other party seemed genuinely sincere. Not only did they let go of his hand, but they also took the initiative to back away, as if they were sincerely trying to exchange the lost child for an unknown monster in the real world.

Protecting the weak and women and children is a virtue of knights.

Although this is just a fabricated belief, children are always very likely to believe these seemingly wonderful things.

The girl slowly walked towards them. The strange man, indeed, didn't make any move, just stood at a distance, appearing quite sincere.

Just as Swire was about to reach out, she felt herself being suddenly pulled!

"Ah!! What are you doing!!"

Unexpectedly, the girl behind her had such great strength that Swire instantly lost her balance and fell backward.

Just as she was about to question her, the thin, small silver-haired girl who had been hiding behind her suddenly leaped forward as swiftly as a cheetah the moment she fell backward!

The next moment, white ice mist exploded in front of the girl, and along with the white ice mist, the girl's body also exploded.

Because the girl's upper body suddenly fell to the side, as if something had split her in two from the middle of her stomach, with flesh and blood bursting out between her fallen upper body and her still standing lower body.

It was a monster emitting a high-pitched, shrill scream! Its clawing tentacles suddenly lunged at the two girls!

The scene, which resembled something out of a nightmare, nearly terrified Swire!

No one is immune to fear; for a moment, she even forgot to dodge and breathe.

However, when she fell backward, she just sat down on the ground with a thud.

Because in the next moment, the white, exploding ice mist left white frost on the flying tentacles.

The explosion at extremely low temperatures caused the monster's activity to drop instantly, but it was only a fleeting opportunity.

The silver-haired girl ignored the monster behind her, grabbed Swire, and ran away.

She was clearly just a frail girl, even younger than me, yet she unleashed astonishing power as if it were a joke!

P.S.: I'm so conflicted about whether to continue writing about the little girl or about Frostnova as an adult.

Section 77, Chapter 75: [Flag Time]

That girl is dangerous.

When Yelena saw the girl approaching, she instinctively sensed something ominous.

When she was already very close, she saw strange marks on the other person's neck.

It was like a corner of a tattoo peeking out from under the collar, but the tattoo looked like it had been burned on.

Yes, it's a mystical magical inscription applied by branding with a hot iron!

Of course, Yelena didn't recognize what it was, but driven by an instinctive sense of crisis, when a corner of the tattoo on the girl's neck emitted a blinding flash of blood a moment ago, she subconsciously pulled the girl in front of her back sharply.

Meanwhile, he simultaneously unleashed icy mist forward.

The extremely low temperature generated by the sudden compression and burst within a certain space is sufficient to suppress any crisis situation.

Even if it were to explode, it could be stopped in an instant.

That split-second decision saved the lives of both girls.

Because in an instant, the girl's expression of despair vanished.

The next moment, tentacles and a monster's face burst out of the girl's body!

The death zone created by the cold air did not completely stop the monster's attack, but the two girls narrowly escaped the almost fatal blow.

Yelena reacted quickly, turning around to grab the girl behind her and run in another direction.

However······

Infected person?

Swire didn't think she had misjudged the situation. The silver-haired girl in front of her didn't have any mineral crystals on her body. However, when the girl unleashed her Originium Arts, it was as if a veil had been broken, and small pieces of Originium crystals suddenly appeared on her body!

Is this some kind of way to hide Oripathy?

However... Oripathy is contagious.

Even in Victoria, there were people with Oripathy. These people were generally poor and vicious, and they were one of the main groups that increased the crime rate.

She is infected.

It's like having an untouchable disease patient; nobody wants to touch them.

Swire's outstretched hand froze in place; he wanted to retract it, but didn't.

That is the chasm of prejudice and identity, the thin veil between the infected and the uninfected, a barrier that no one dares to casually puncture.

However, a delicate, fair hand, with a touch of innocence, tore through this barrier!

The hand that was frozen in place was suddenly grabbed by the silver-haired girl, and then she started running in another direction.

···············

"You actually escaped?"

His eyes, covered by repeatedly wrapped bandages, watched the two girls' retreating figures, and he actually managed to avoid them.

"Hehehe, Sisi, interesting, you really hit the jackpot."

The man's hoarse voice chuckled in a low, harsh tone, like the grating sound of sawing wood.

He had witnessed everything that had just happened, and his bloodthirsty, twisted desires burned like wildfire.

Interesting, very interesting. Originally, he was just following that adult's orders to torture and kill children, which of course suited his interests.

Only the despair before death was the truth he had been searching for, and he was curious about just how desperate a person could be.

The lord ordered him to kill and cause trouble everywhere to attract the attention of the Royal Guard. It was simple; those weak mortals wanted to track him down.