The Fire-Chasing Herrscher Who Destroyed the World

The crowd gathered quickly and dispersed even faster. After Mei gave the "last order", all the heroes had their own thoughts and quickly disappeared without a trace.

How many of them will go to the Second God Key station in three hours? Mei couldn't say, she was completely unsure.

Even...she felt a little regretful.

After all, if she had given the direct order to avoid fighting, no one would have said anything. And when she made the decision to fight, there must be someone, at least one person, who would accompany her in this meaningless struggle - and that person was standing behind her at this time.

May looked back, Kevin hadn't gone anywhere and wasn't going anywhere.

There is currently no third party in the Situation Room, and even Prometheus No. 17 has been sent to assist Velvet in the final maintenance of the Second God's Key.

As a result, two boys and girls who had made a vow to "be together forever" in their hearts a long time ago finally got the chance to be alone that they dreamed of.

Yes, if you calculate carefully, they are the same age as Mikael and Ellie. They are still under twenty-three, and they are still in the category of teenagers and girls.

If all the collapse is just a dream, counting the time, the two of them will almost graduate from college and start working, right?

Mei knew that earlier, Kevin, and even herself, had an indescribable attitude of "gratitude" towards Honkai.

Because if the world hadn't collapsed, they might have been like many high school sweethearts and had to break up after graduation because they were so far apart. Or maybe it's because I live the most ordinary and ordinary life, the end of which can be seen at a glance.

But that's just because they didn't lose enough in the collapse.

When I was young, I was always afraid of being ordinary and expected to take on more responsibilities. It would be great if I could become a hero who saves all mankind.

But when that unspeakable weight really falls on your shoulders, you can understand how naive and childish your thoughts were when you were young.

Now she and now him wish this was just a dream...

There is never any collapse in this world, Mei never has to be a leader, and Kevin never has to be a hero.

Everything just needs to be normal.

But the impossible is impossible and does not become possible just because someone wants it to be possible.

Kevin looked at Mei tenderly, and Mei smiled for the first time in three months.

She raised her hand, as if she wanted to touch Kevin's cheek, but after her fingertips touched the touch of coldness, she hesitated and wanted to retreat.

But Kevin didn't care so much. He gently held Mei's hand and put it against his face. The two of them were speechless for a moment.

"You don't have to worry about me, just make the decision you think is the right decision."

May wanted to say this to Kevin.

She knew very well that even though Kevin was sometimes aloof and sometimes arrogant, he was essentially an extremely unconfident person. Instead of relying on his own judgment to make decisions that were in line with his own will, he was more inclined to directly accept Mei's advice. Order.

That would be the case in the past, but this time, Mei hoped that he would not fight such an almost meaningless battle because of "her request".

She hoped that he would choose to fight or not fight out of his own will.

But the moment Kevin held her hand, Mei suddenly understood——

Perhaps at other times, he would always obey her when it came to other orders. But every battle he fought, his desire to fight, was not because of her orders.

He fought just because he wanted to protect her, just wanted her to be happy, that's all.

So what else is there to say?

Mei's lower lip wrinkled upward, and her eyes were a little sour. She instinctively wanted to look away. She didn't want to expose her weak side to others, which would make them lose hope of moving forward. She didn't want to expose her weak side to others. One side was exposed in front of Kevin because she... didn't want him to worry.

But when she opened her eyes slightly, she noticed something shining in the corners of Kevin's eyes through her blurred vision, and it quickly spread to her cheeks.

She blinked quickly, squeezing the tears out of her eyes, and saw clearly with her clear eyes at that moment - the tears had condensed into frost on his cheeks.

Mei gently wiped the frost off Kevin's face with her thumb, and then smiled.

In the true sense, at the end, the so-called heaviness was still there, but she didn't know whether it was because she had become accustomed to this weight, or because she had reached this point and was able to throw the weight away at all costs. Mei actually felt a sense of relief. .

She knew that Kevin did too.

"Go wash your face and take a good rest... The last three hours have passed."

…………

"Wow——"

Ice-cold tap water spits out from the faucet, and sometimes Kevin feels that it would be great if everything in the world were as simple as draining water - just turn the faucet, and water will definitely come out.

So as long as you keep believing in yourself and keep working hard, will you get the ending you deserve?

Obviously not.

Just like, water will come out when you turn on the faucet. If there is no perfect pipeline and water supply system, will water come out when you turn on the faucet?

Obviously not.

So what went wrong for them that forced them to face such an ending?

This is a question that Kevin has been unable to get out of his mind during this period of time.

But for some reason, after I decided to face the end, this question never appeared in my mind again.

After all, time cannot be turned back, and nothing can be repeated. It is certainly a good habit to be willing to discover and summarize problems, but if there is no chance of doing it again, what is there to summarize?

Kevin picked up a handful of water and patted his face gently, sobering up a little.

He turned off the faucet and looked at himself in the mirror. His appearance didn't seem to have changed much in six years, but it was hard for him to associate himself with the giggling Kevin in school uniform anymore.

In the past six months after lying on Mebius's operating table for an unknown number of times and fused with what she called the "strongest" Honkaiju Brahma, Kevin would always enter many strange dreams.

The owners of most dreams are Honkaimon. I don’t know if it’s because Mebius used Vishnu’s ability to let Brahma swallow the factors of almost all Honkaimon that have ever appeared.

But occasionally, he would see his former self in his dreams and see his past experiences, although those experiences were very vague, so vague that he was not sure whether they were real or not.

He was once so lively, so full of vitality, with such a fiery temperature of life.

He found Aponia and used the commandments to prevent him from dreaming.

He didn't want to have such a dream, it would only make him realize how small, powerless, and cold he was now...

"If you want to make yourself more comfortable, it's best not to think about your past self. Because you will encounter two situations.

"The first one is that you see yourself who is far inferior to you now, which will only make you regret - if I had been as mature as I am now, wouldn't some things have happened?

"And the second type is that you see a much better version of yourself than you are now, but you are unable to turn back time and let yourself go back to the past, so you will suffer even more."

This is what Mikael once said to him.

But there is the second half:

"But...Kevin, it may be easy for some people not to think about their past selves, but that doesn't include the two of us.

"You like to say that - a person's fate is his character. And our character is destined to make us more suitable to live in the past, not the present, rather than the future."

Kevin had to admit that Mikael was the person who knew him best besides May. Even this statement is not quite right.

This senior and comrade-in-arms who had become a hero before he wanted to be a hero has an almost uncanny similarity with him in some sense and in some behaviors.

So much so that he felt that he was unknowingly influenced by him, so that he was imitating him unconsciously?

In any case, regardless of success or failure, Mikael and Alicia did everything they could. So, whether they are the younger generations who follow in their footsteps and try to become heroes, or they are comrades who have always fought side by side. , or a tacit confidant...

He must go to the moon to fight the final battle.

Even if May doesn't decide to fight, he will do so.

Not a care in the world, he just wanted to say goodbye to them.

Moreover, it is not impossible for him to fight the final battle now.

He looked at himself in the mirror, watching the muscles of his two arms bulging, his five claws becoming sharp, and his skin turning blue-black. He saw the horn-like bulge on the top of his head, and felt his tailbone extending outward. …

No, he shook his head, this power is not enough.

It’s not enough to fight the final battle, and it’s not even the limit of my efforts in the past six months.

He closed his eyes and no longer looked at himself in the mirror, but abandoned all distracting thoughts until there was only one voice left in his mind -

"Karma Demon..."

…………

"sorry."

In the men's locker room, Kosmo murmured softly while helping Hen take off his heavy space suit.

His apology voice was very soft, and to people who didn't know it, it might not seem sincere. However, it is not easy for a young man to open up his long-sealed heart, even when facing the closest person in the world. thing.

He wanted to convey his apology to the other party, but he was not sure of the other party's response, so he could only say the words in the smallest voice, hoping that the other party could hear him, but also hoping that the other party could not hear him.

Of course Hen understood this, so he asked slightly provocatively:

"Oh? Then tell me where you went wrong..."

Kosmo's breathing was a little heavy, but before he could answer, Hen slapped him on the head and rubbed it hard.

"You brat! Don't go."

Kosmo tilted his head noncommittally, obviously not accepting Hen's opinion.

"Hey! I'm serious, there's no need for a kid your age to die."

"How can this be called committing suicide?"

Kosmo couldn't help but retort.

"Is it possible that you think we have a chance to defeat the end?"

"How will you know if you don't try?"

Kosmo still said hard to himself. He still remembered the first time he met the Herrscher...Sister Anna...

Kosmo closed his eyes, breathed a long sigh of relief, and buried the sadness that he had not forgotten all these years back into his heart.

The destruction caused by Anna as the Fifth Herrscher is still fresh in his memory. Of course, today is different from the past. He now has stronger abilities and a clearer understanding of how powerful the so-called Endgame is.

Regardless of the final power, one can intuitively feel His terror by just looking at the Honkai energy reaction magnitude, which exceeds the detection limit of 10 million watts - this reaction magnitude has exceeded the current one on the entire earth. The total amount of Honkai energy.

So what ability will it have in the end? Other kosmo are not sure, but if he takes over Mikael's body and fights in Mikael's way as speculated...

Kosmo shook his head imperceptibly. In a sense, this battle was indeed... unwinnable...

But just because you can't win doesn't mean that if you still choose to fight, you're "sending yourself to death."

If possible, he would prefer to use sacrifice to describe this determination. Besides, doing something you know you can't do is what a hero should do. And escaping is something a hero will never do.

Hen patted his head again, "Give up. Instead of dying in such a meaningless battle, escaping is an option. Especially for children of your age, you still have a lot of good things that you haven't experienced yet." , you deserve your own future...at the very least, if you plan to go to the moon, what will Destobia do?"

Seeing that Kosmo kept his head down and said nothing, Hen continued to ask:

"Are you going to let her go to the moon and die, or are you going to wait here for your body to come back?"

Hen's words were merciless. Kosmo wanted to say, "We are not in that kind of relationship," but even he couldn't say this.

"Okay, no more talking nonsense with you brat, bye!"

Hen walked straight to the door while taking off his aviation suit, then turned around and waved to Kosmo, who was still considering his words.

Kosmo's pupils shrank suddenly:

"Hen, you!"

"Well! For a kid of your age, the past is too short and the future is very long. For me, it's just the opposite."

Hen smoothed his long flowing hair with one hand, and already twisted the door handle halfway with the other hand.

"What about Aunt Blanca and Gracie?"

"Snapped!"

The door handle bounced back.

"Well..."

Hen smiled and said, "You and Destobia, remember to help me take care of them..."

"After all that, aren't you still the same as me?"

"This is different, Kosma."

"What's different!"

"The demise of every era requires someone to bury it. This is what people of my age should do. Children of your age should be retreaters and live on our behalf in the next era. And Daisy It would be nice for Dobia to give birth to a little fat baby to be Graciu’s little brother!”

"mark!"

Kosmo was ashamed, angry and excited, and stood up immediately, but Hen just walked back to him and flicked his forehead:

"Okay, remember to take care of them for me, bye!"

Just as he was about to turn around and leave, Kosmo grabbed his wrist tightly:

"Hen, it's undeniable that you are indeed a hero."

"ha?"

"But don't underestimate me just because I'm young! I'm also a warrior, and I also have the consciousness to become a hero! There's no way I'm going to back down at a time like this!"

"No... Kosma, I mean, human sacrifices are enough, you..."

"boom!"

Before the two of them could reach a conclusion, the door was suddenly pushed open violently.

Destobia and Blanca stood outside for who knows how long.

"Well……"

"Well……"

Hengan smiled and pulled Blanca over, and ran away quickly, leaving Destobia slowly approaching Kosmo.

"Uh...that...I..."

Kosmo kept retreating with a guilty conscience until there was no way to retreat. He looked at Destobia's red and swollen eyes and didn't know what to say, let alone whether he should say anything.

Destobia pursed her thin lips tightly, stared at Kosmo with her eyes fixed for a long time, then suddenly took out an almost brand new watch from her arms and stuffed it into his hand.

"This is……"

Kosmo glanced at the familiar dial, and his eyes quickly became moist.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't find a good gift to give you on my birthday before, so I fixed it for you."

"Thanks."

Kosmo put the repaired watch on his left wrist. It was just the right size, but apart from "thank you", he really didn't know what to say to express his gratitude and... that kind of feeling that could be said to be guilt, but not entirely. .

Finally, it was Destobia who spoke first:

"I know you want to be a hero, but you promise me one thing."

"Um."

"Let me go with you!"

"Um?"

Destobia boldly took the boy's hand and said, "We are all heroes, aren't we? Only heroes who dare to face adversity can be called heroes."

Kosmo opened his mouth slightly, and he could finally understand Hen's previous mood.

…………

The fifth divine key makes all things sleep.

It had not yet fully activated, so Mei only felt a little cold, not even as good as the time when Kevin had just completed the super-transformation surgery, but given her physical condition, she still sneezed subconsciously.

I sniffed my nose, which was already a little clogged. I looked down at my watch again and saw that there were only the last thirty minutes left before the agreed "three hours".

But she did not leave in a hurry. Instead, she turned her attention back to the two culture cabins in front of her. There were two children with few hairs suspended in the orange juice-like culture fluid.

"Adam...Eve..."

Mei instinctively stretched out her hand and pressed it against the wall of the training bulkhead. The gloomy look between her brows slowly opened up until it was filled with love.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and turned to leave.

Prometheus No. 17 has been waiting for her for a long time. She followed Mei silently. Although she is an artificial intelligence, logically she should not have "intuition", something that only humans have...

But she felt inexplicably that this might be the last time she would follow Dr. Mei...

"Has the Moonlight Throne entered the moon's orbit?"

"Yes, but in order to prevent the final destruction of it first, I didn't let it get too close..."

Sensing a figure in front of her, Mei instinctively remained silent, but then she smiled to herself. How much more concealment was necessary now?

"What's the matter, Apponia?"

"I just came here to say one thing - Mei, just as you and Mikael agreed, the thread of fate has been cut. I just looked up at the night sky and could no longer see anything."

Mei pursed her lips. She had no doubt about this because she had Mikael's "script", but...

"It's just that I don't think Mikael did it alone, because I saw it a long time ago. This is Alicia's fate."

"Apponia, what do you want to say?"

However, when Mei looked in front of her again, Aponya had disappeared without a trace. But it doesn't matter, the information she needs has already arrived.

"No. 17, can I...please ask you a favor?"

Mei asked without looking back.

"Doctor, please speak."

Mei then turned her head and took a deep breath again:

"You still remember our 'Fire Thief' plan a long time ago, right?"

"I see."

Prometheus nodded without hesitation.

She is an artificial intelligence life, and she does not understand the fear of death.

…………

The Second God's Key was originally in the shape of a door, but due to Mikael's dissatisfaction and the subsequent merger of Anti-Entropy and Fire Chaser, with a large amount of money to squander, Velvet modified it into A locomotive is built, and after later optimization, a "carriage" can be added to complete the task of transporting multiple people at once.

Corresponding to its shape, Velvet also designed a huge platform for it, just like a real train platform. It can accommodate tens of thousands of people at a time without any problem.

But when Mei walked to the platform, Kevin was the only one standing with a sword.

The two looked at each other, and they no longer needed to use words to express concern for each other or to strengthen the other's determination.

"Ten minutes left."

May said.

"They will definitely come."

Kevin replied firmly.

As soon as he finished speaking, there were chaotic footsteps behind him——

The first ones to come were Hua, Pado and Ying. Pado was obviously the most scared, but even though her legs were trembling, she was still crying and pulling her to the front with a smile.

Then came Aponya, Eden and Su. Qianjie, who had become particularly quiet at some point, and finally He, who had half his face swollen, brought Kosmo and Destobia, who stood silently next to Mei and Behind Kevin.

Mei pursed her lips and looked at the time.

The second hand ruthlessly jumped, jumped, and then jumped again, until less than half a minute was left before the agreed time. Suddenly, the sound of an engine was heard beside the platform. Velvet drove a large truck and rushed directly to the platform. The parking space of the Second God's Key.

Then she quickly opened the car door, jumped out, and clapped her hands exaggeratedly:

"Qiang Qiang! Guess what I brought here? All the keys to control. I bet you haven't fought such a rich battle in so many years!"

However, Mei ignored her and asked:

"Where's Mebius?"

Although she said that coming was entirely voluntary, Mebius's absence was obviously beyond her expectation.

Fortunately, it's not that Mebius didn't come, it's just...

Velvet pointed behind her, and everyone looked along her line of sight, only to see a petite figure slowly walking towards everyone under the dim light.

"Hiss-hiss-"

The sound of metal rubbing against the ground was particularly harsh. When she got closer, everyone realized that it was actually the key to the sixth god, the Black Abyss White Flower.

It was also the weapon used by Alicia and Mikael.

"Okay, now all the God Keys that can be used are used. Let's go! I won't charge for the ticket this time!"

Vivi didn't wait for Mei's order, waved her hat, and jumped onto the carriage first.

Mei chuckled twice, and just when she was about to give the order to set off, there was another noise behind her.

All the Yingjie turned their heads unexpectedly at this moment and looked at the source of the bustling crowd——

Behind them, more and more people gathered, led by Blanca and Ling who were holding Gratius.

"Everyone……"

"We know we can't do much to help."

Blanca glared at Hen, then smiled helplessly:

"But... regardless of success or failure, we will be here waiting for you to come back."

Whether it was Kevin, Mei, or the heroes who were about to set foot on the moon, their eyes were moist at this moment.

That is a poem that was circulated among humans a long time ago. It was born in the ignorant childhood of human civilization, but now it is perfectly suitable to be used to describe their end—

Hector knew that the kingdom would eventually fall, and Achilles knew that he was heading for death.

But the two of them still stepped onto the battlefield without hesitation.

In this story that was destined to be a tragedy from the beginning, no one hesitated or wavered.

They are like this, and so are we.