The Fire-Chasing Herrscher Who Destroyed the World

"Creak——"

The iron door's shaft lacked lubrication, and the friction sound was shrill and harsh, causing Mebius to smack his lips.

"Tsk! Alicia, can't you be gentler on your hands and feet!"

"Huh? Dr. Mebius, you can actually recognize me without looking up. I'm so happy!"

"..."

Mebius was determined to explain. With his highly recognizable steps and the way his five fingers knocked on the door like waves when he pushed it open, it would be weird if he couldn't guess that it was Alicia. .

But the next second she turned her head away and pursed her lips, looking disdainful of explanation.

"Alas... Mebius, you still like darkness so much."

With a "pop", the lights in the prison room brightened. Mebius's vertical pupils shrank and he said angrily:

"Why did you come to me? Do you also want to taste the feeling of confinement?"

"Don't be so angry, Mebius... No one wants this kind of thing to happen, and Mei has no other way. Mikael's matter has not been resolved yet, and there is such a big mistake on your side. It must be done Give me an explanation."

Mebius didn't reply. Alicia paused for a moment and continued:

"I know what you are thinking, Mebius. What's going on inside the Fire Chaser can't be seen from the outside anyway, right?

"But if Mei doesn't do anything to you, the Twelfth Herrscher can also spread this kind of news...

"Ah, I know you are going to say it again. The Lawyer can fake surveillance and other things to smear your innocence out of thin air, so why is there any need to implement this kind of punishment? You want to say this, right?

"That's true. Mei announced the suspension of all your work and your temporary imprisonment. However, the lawyer immediately released a lot of previous surveillance videos to prove that you were not imprisoned. This was a big deal.

"But let me tell you, Mei is so ruthless to you, not for the outsiders to see. On the contrary, she wants to stabilize the hearts of the Fire Chaser Moth."

"whispering sound!"

Mebius crossed his arms and said through gritted teeth:

"What? Mei can't even control the Fire Chasing Moth? Let me tell you, how can Mei's method be used to appease people's hearts? It will only make the fusion warriors feel cold. Unless those fusion warriors are like those outside. Like a bunch of idiots, they think Vasak and the others became dead warriors because of the Honkai energy I released!"

"Of course not!"

Ellie bent down and tried to get closer to Mebius, but the latter moved to the side, allowing Ellie to jump away.

Ellie shook her head regretfully and said:

"As for the fusion warriors, Kevin, Su, and Aponya have already mobilized and guided us four times, so there shouldn't be any problems. But for the other members of the Fire Chasing Moth... it's hard to say.

"Mebius, don't forget that the Fire Chaser Moth is not just a fusion warrior. There are more than 100,000 ordinary soldiers in the headquarters alone, and there are more than 500,000 family members living in the underground city. Of course there are A large part of them are veterans who have experienced many collapses, but even so, how much trust do they have in the fusion warriors?

"Not everyone is like you, Mebius, and can easily accept the concept of the so-called 'new humanity'. Even Mikael and I took several years to accept our Herrschers in the beginning. identity.

"Among these ordinary soldiers, about 30,000 are survivors of the Seventh Honkai Impact, and most of their family members have experienced the Seventh Honkai Impact. How much trust do they have in the Fusion Warriors and the Herrscher?

"On the contrary, the ordinary warriors who have joined the Fire Chasing Moth in the past two years have not experienced that tragedy. Many of them are even eliminated by the Fusion Warrior Project. Their recognition of Fusion Warriors is even higher..."

"So, you came here and told me a lot just to make me understand Mei's decision?"

Mebius interrupted her tirade. How could she not know what Ellie said?

Yes, she admitted that her stumbling all the way to this point was just out of a selfish idea - she wanted to use her own hands to shape the appearance of future humans.

That is, the so-called ‘new humanity’.

But no matter what, the 'new humanity' must be developed from the 'old humanity'. If even the old humanity itself no longer exists, if the entire human civilization ceases to exist...

So even if she finds a way to evolve, what's the use?

so……

"So, I should also want to protect human...civilization."

Although she hated to admit it, it was the truth.

It is precisely because of this that she feels... betrayal more deeply.

"Alicia."

"Huh? What's the matter? Dear Mebius——"

Ellie sat next to her, and Mebius moved to one side as a habit, but the bed in the solitary room was so long that there was not much room left.

Ellie grabbed her cold little hand, held it in her palm and covered it, which made Mebius feel heavy.

"Alicia! Can you let go first?"

"cannot."

"you……"

Mebius struggled symbolically twice, and when he couldn't pull his hand back, he let out another cold snort.

But in the end, she didn't say any more unpleasant words, but said in an unprecedented calm tone:

"Alicia, tell me, if even the people we have been protecting don't trust us, hate us, and want to be our enemies, then what's the point of everything we do?"

"Huh? Mebius, you actually think that? I'm really surprised!"

"Humph...what do you mean? What do you think I should think?"

"Well...let me think about it..."

Ellie still held Mebius tightly with one hand, and put the index finger of the other hand to her mouth and sucked:

"It should be like this; 'Huh! Stupid human beings! Since you don't know what is good and what is good...then come to my operating table!' How about it! Can I learn the same thing?"

"..."

Mebius lowered his head and said nothing, but held Ellie's hand, unconsciously tightening it.

Yes, she did have such thoughts.

But having this woman express her thoughts word for word was an even bigger blow to her.

"To be honest, if the person sitting next to me now is Mikael, then I won't be surprised. But... Mebius, are you also so desperate?"

"What's wrong with this?"

Mebius shook his head in disgust.

"Alicia, don't be too arrogant...think that you understand all people, think that you really understand human beings."

"Oh, little Mebius is starting to say something I don't understand!"

Ellie smiled and ruffled Mebius' hair.

"Take your hands off me!"

Mebius shook his head in disgust. Ellie got her long-cherished wish and gave up.

"Humans... haha. Since we are human beings, we must not be able to escape the bad nature of human beings themselves, because all these negative things originate from the most primitive desire in every living thing-survival.

"The greatness of human civilization is that we expand this obviously selfish desire, and we realize that we should not live just to live, but what we should live for. This is the so-called 'meaning', or Say it's 'value'.

"Although I know very well that I am a very selfish person. No, it is precisely because I am selfish - I want to find my own meaning and gain the value of my existence, so I want to use my hands to create a new Humanity, and for this goal, I must protect the old humanity.

"So my behavior, the meaning of my fighting was never noble, it was just out of one's most selfish thoughts. It is precisely because of this that when they told me, 'We don't need your protection anymore, we don't agree with you either. The moment I became human, the 'meaning' and 'value' I sought were completely shattered.

"If human beings face the end in this state, then we will never be able to cross it. And civilizations that cannot cross the end... You have seen the traces they left on the moon, and you should know better than me. Then What kind of fate - death, everyone will die, even me."

"Huh? Mebius, are you also afraid of death? Aren't you unable to die? Besides, it seems that Velvet is already working on transforming the fifth god's key, right? Don't tell me that you don't know anything about it?"

"Hmph! So I said, Alicia, you don't understand humans at all."

"Don't say that, Mebius, if you deny me completely like this, I will be very sad!"

Mebius snorted and withdrew his hand. This time, Ellie didn't stop him.

"Can't die? Maybe, Kevin, Qianjie, they can't kill me, and the Herrscher who appeared before can't kill me. But facing Mikael and you... I dare not make such a conclusion. As for In the end...hehe.

"The only absolute thing in this world is that it is not absolute. 'Absolute immortality' does not exist. Besides, you don't understand human beings."

Mebius shrugged his shoulders:

"For humans, fear of death is a normal thing, even if the person 'cannot be killed' - just like when a person rides a roller coaster knowing that he will not die, he is still afraid.

"Speaking of this... Alicia, you are not human after all."

"Mebius...what do you mean?"

"Stop pretending!"

Mebius's voice suddenly rose. She stood up, took two steps in the small confinement room, and then stood back in front of Ellie, looking straight at Ellie:

"Alicia, everyone is afraid of death, are you afraid?"

"Of course I'm scared!"

Ellie answered immediately without thinking, and then silently looked away, no longer looking at Mebius.

Mebius stared at Ellie in silence for a long time before uttering the next sentence:

"Alicia, you and Mikael are actually different, right?"

"Oh? In what way is it different? No, it must be different! I am Alicia, he is Mikael, I am a beautiful girl, and he is a handsome boy."

However, until she finished speaking, Mebius rarely took over the topic, but stared at her relentlessly, making her feel panicked.

"Oh, dear Mebius, do you like to see my face so much? How is it? Isn't it beautiful?"

However, Mebius remained silent, as if determined to respond to Alicia's teasing with the utmost silence.

After a while, Alicia completely gave up the idea of ​​joking. Mebius nudged forward again, and she actually leaned back slightly.

"Alicia, you should know exactly what I mean by 'different'."

"Don't be so sure, Mebius, I really don't know."

She lowered her head and fiddled with her nails to avoid Mebius's ghostly gaze.

But it was obvious that Mebius didn't want to let her go.

"If we say that Mikael is both a Herrscher and a human. Alicia, are you a Herrscher or a human?"

"I……"

"What? Are you really not clear about it yourself?"

This was the first time Alicia was at a disadvantage in front of Mebius.

In a sense, she somewhat understood Mebius' previous unhappiness.

"Mebius, how did you find out?"

"It's very simple. Because Mikael emphasized that your power is special, I didn't think about it for a long time. Until I communicated with Mei not long ago, she mentioned it - you have no core, right?"

"...If there is no core, it doesn't mean anything, right?"

"No, this explains the problem very much. The core is far more important to the Herrscher than the heart is to humans, because that is the singularity connecting the Herrscher and the Tree of Imaginary Numbers. The Herrscher obtains a steady stream of energy from the Tree of Imaginary Numbers through the core. And if there is no core, what is the difference between the Herrscher and ordinary people?"

"...But I really don't have a core, nor do I have any special powers."

This is indeed a doubt that Alicia has been lingering on for a long time.

If she is not a Herrscher, why can she communicate with Mikael in the so-called "depths of the Herrscher's core"? Although she does not have as clear and powerful power as other Herrschers, what about her innate and absolute control over Honkai Energy?

But if she really is the Herrscher, what about her core?

The core is an irreversible passage between the Herrscher and the tree of imaginary numbers once opened. Even if the "entity" of the core is lost due to some accident, you can still use your own strength to reconnect with the imaginary number and generate a new core. , to replace the lost core.

However, Ellie can't do this on her own.

"Just like no one can stipulate that human beings are limited to ordinary humans, no one can stipulate that the core must exist in the form of gems like Herrschers like Mikael, isn't it right?"

"Well……"

"If something that should exist does not exist, then there is only one possibility: that thing is in front of us, but we have not been able to discover it, and we dare not discover it - Alicia, is it possible that you yourself, Is it the so-called Herrscher Core?”

Ai Li forced out a forced smile and waved her hand:

"How is this possible?"

She paused, and then said before Mebius:

"Besides, Mebius, is it really that important whether I have a core or not, and whether I am a Herrscher? Or, even with your broad definition of human beings, I cannot be called a human being. ?"

Ellie's tone was a little lonely, which made Mebius realize that he might be too aggressive and convey the completely opposite meaning to his original intention.

But for her to apologize and admit her mistakes, or to Alicia?

How is that possible?

She even thought that this misunderstanding was quite good. Who allowed this woman to put strange clothes in her wardrobe all day long?

"It's up to you. Whatever you want to think and do, it really has nothing to do with me."

She pursed her lips, and a lot of the information was just conjecture in her mind without any evidence to support it. After weighing it up, she still didn't intend to put it into words.

Besides, with that woman's IQ, she might be able to guess some, right?

If you can't guess it, forget it.

"stand up!"

"Don't be so heartless, Mebius!"

"Stop talking nonsense, I'm going to bed! Remember to turn off the lights before leaving!"

Mebius got into the bed, squeezed Ellie under, then wrapped himself in the quilt and fell asleep facing the wall.

"……I am leaving?"

Mebius didn't answer.

Alicia walked to the door angrily and turned off the light with a snap.

"Squeak——"

The sound of the door seemed to be more shrill than when it came just now. It seemed that as time passed, the rust became more and more serious, until there was a "clang" and iron and iron collided together.

After a while, a hand passed through the gap in the iron fence, stretched out again, and turned on the light with a click.

Mebius moved on the bed but said nothing.

"Snapped!"

The lights turned off, accompanied by the sound of footsteps getting further away.

After a while, the hand passed through the fence again - "Crack!"

"Alicia! Do you want to die!"