The Fire-Chasing Herrscher Who Destroyed the World

"ah!!!"

Xi'er suddenly sat up from the bed, panting heavily, as if she was trying to make up for all the breath that was stagnated in the dream.

This lasted for about half a minute, and she suddenly choked up again. For some reason, tears fell uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes and down her cheeks. But she was clearly not sad, nor had she any emotion that could make her cry...

Is it because of that dream? Are you crying for that dream, or are you crying for the person in the dream?

Xi'er doesn't know.

It was dark all around, as if the whole world had died - just as Xi'er was thinking this, a "thumping" sound suddenly came from the window, accompanied by a rough and hoarse crow. It seemed that the world was angry because of her thoughts. , so I use this method to prove that I am "still alive".

Xi'er doesn't want to speak ill of others, let alone the world - if the world really exists.

But she still couldn't help but think: This kind of proof was somewhat superfluous.

It seemed that she had been sleeping for a while, and her throat was dry and tight. She had a premonition that she might have caught a cold just now and her throat would be uncomfortable when she got up in the morning.

"Sister Bronya? Sister Bronya?"

She called out twice in a habitual way, her voice a little hoarse.

But she failed to get a response, and then she belatedly remembered that everyone had moved from the remote sanatorium on the seaside of Okhotsk to the far east. Here, everyone was assigned their own bedroom, and there was no need to Huddled together like before. The climate here is also much warmer than that in Okhotsk. Perhaps it is because of this that she couldn't help but push off the quilt in her sleep, causing her to catch a cold.

Xi'er got out of bed. She couldn't find her slippers for a while, so she walked barefoot to the small table in the bedroom, gently opened the curtains, and let some moonlight leak in through the window, illuminating the table a little.

"Eh...is this?"

There was such a big shadow on the table, how could Xi'er not see it?

She reached out to hug it, and what she felt was a soft touch. It turned out to be a Houmei doll.

"Sister Bronya..."

There is no one else who would buy her such a thing, right?

She buried her face between the dolls, rubbed them, and took a deep breath. She seemed to be able to feel the scent of another girl.

After a while, she put the Houmei doll back in its place and turned her attention to a glass on the table.

"Gudu——"

Xi'er drank all the water left in the cup. The water was originally warm, but it also became cold under the winter temperature. However, the cold water slid into her lungs, and a feeling of heat arose in her chest for no reason.

Xi'er rubbed her chest, and the hot feeling slowly disappeared.

It wasn't that she was so good at predicting things. She had long expected that she would wake up in the middle of the night, so she left a glass of water on the table. It was just a dream like this... Ever since the first night she came to Far East, nightmares like this had haunted her. Fuck her, no exception.

In fact, it's hard to call it a nightmare.

Xi'er held the cold glass in both hands and slowly rotated the glass. She suddenly raised the cup and faced the moonlight. For a moment, the cup seemed to be filled with silvery white liquid.

It's the same scene over and over again, the same choking, the same pain, the same reluctance.

But Xier didn’t understand what this dream meant, especially the only sentence in the dream——

"Brother Mikael, forget Xi'er..."

First of all, who is "brother Mikael"?

She felt that he was probably a very important person, but there was no such person in Xi'er's memory. Naturally, there is no boy named Mikael in Cocolia's mother's orphanage. In the past few days, Xi'er has been searching for more distant memories, including memories of her motherland, Estonia, and wandering from Estonia to Okhotsk, but she still can't think of any. When did I meet a "brother Mikael" in my life?

So, will it be the future? I heard that dreams are prophetic. Does this dream indicate a future that I have not yet reached?

Probably not - this conclusion has no theoretical basis, it is just an intuition from Seele.

But so what? The name Mikael is not a niche name, and there are no more clues about him. The dream was really strange, but it ended abruptly when he raised his eyes and saw the face of "Mikael"...

Forget it, let everything develop naturally. What is supposed to come will always come, and whoever is supposed to be met will always be met, right?

But for some reason, she felt a throbbing in her heart, as if she were a huge cocoon and something was about to break open her body and come out...

"Uh...uhhh!"

The pain was sudden, as if someone had pressed a red-hot iron to her chest.

No, it's not just that simple, it's an overall pain from the inside out. The inside is also like swallowing a hot coal, and the internal organs are all burning.

She groaned, then put her arms on the table, her upper body trembling uncontrollably.

"Ah...ah...ah——"

She bit her lip until bright red blood flowed down her teeth. She didn't want others to discover her pain, especially...

"boom--"

But some pain cannot be resisted by willpower alone. Xi'er tilted her body and swept down the glass previously placed on the table with her arm, shattering it instantly.

"Oops……"

She held her hands on the ground and tried to get up, but she was hit by glass shards on her hand. Although compared with the pain in her chest, it was not painful...

"Xier! What's wrong with you?"

Less than ten seconds after she fell to the ground, the door was pushed open eagerly. Xi'er looked at the door along the moonlight. She didn't see the familiar drill hair style at first sight. Her eyes couldn't help but darken, but Then she remembered that it was indeed Sister Bronya's voice. After all, it was late at night and the other party wanted to sleep, so naturally he let his hair down.

"Is it okay!"

Bronya ran over quickly. For some reason, Xier suddenly found that the world around her was so clear in her eyes. She saw and heard that sister Bronya rushed over barefoot. She...

"do not come!"

Xi'er suddenly lost control and shouted.

"What's wrong?"

Although Bronya was confused in her heart, her body instinctively obeyed Xi'er's words and stopped in place. Then she realized that there was something in front of her feet, shining in the moonlight.

Thinking about the sound just now, it's hard not to recognize that it was a broken glass.

But what other options are there at this point? Do we still have to run all the way back to put on shoes?

Bronya didn't hesitate at all, just because Xi'er's cry was dulled for a moment. When she understood what it was, she took a step straight, and she didn't care about the insignificant pain at all.

"Don't... uh..."

Xi'er was so anxious that she jumped up from the ground, but as soon as she jumped up, she was stunned again.

"Okay...Okay, sister Bronya."

"Um?"

"I feel like I don't feel any pain anymore..."

"Xier, are you really okay?"

Bronya was about to take another step forward, and Xi'er covered her chest and nodded vigorously.

"Okay, Sister Bronya, Xi'er is fine, go back quickly..."

"No, you just clearly...how could I go back and sleep peacefully at this time!"

"Then...Sister Bronya, can you go back and put on your shoes? By the way, help Xi'er get the broom and dustpan."

"Well...okay..."

Bronya pondered for a moment, then took a closer look at Xi'er under the moonlight. She saw that although her face was covered with beads of sweat caused by pain, her expression was no longer sluggish, and the corners of her eyes and brows were relaxed. , then I knew that the inexplicable pain just now was probably really over.

In this case, she didn't have to let herself feel pain to feel comfortable.

She hurriedly ran back to her room. It was still quiet outside. Why did she feel that no one else was responding to the loud noise just now?

Bronya was stunned. Indeed, breaking a cup was a very obvious sound in this quiet night, but everyone was sleeping soundly, and the sound insulation effect of the room here was also very good, so normal people should not be able to hear it. That's right.

Is she too sensitive to outside sounds? Sure enough, as a mercenary, is it so difficult to be familiar with ordinary life?

Bronya shook her head, ran back to her room, turned on the light, quickly put on her slippers, and went to the corridor to get a broom and dustpan. Everything was done as Xi'er said.

Back in Xi'er's room, she was standing there blankly, with her head lowered, as if she was asleep.

When she heard Bronya's footsteps, she suddenly woke up again.

"Sister Bronya, give that to..."

She originally wanted to clean up the mess on the floor herself, but Bronya was already cleaning it with a broom.

"Okay, Xi'er, go to bed and fall asleep first. I'll just do this."

Bronya cleaned up the broken glass in a few moments. She saw a small amount of water stains on the ground again, and asked again:

"Xie'er, do you want some water? I'll go to the kitchen to get you some."

"No... no need, Sister Bronya!"

Bronya tilted her head and asked uncertainly:

"Then...is there anything else you want me to do?"

Hearing the words, Xi'er said softly, "Ah", then turned her head sideways, pondered for a few seconds, then twirled the hair hanging down from her temples and tentatively said:

"Well, sister Bronya, can you sleep with me tonight...Ah, no! I didn't mean that! I just...can you stay with me for a while..."

After saying this, she wanted to bury her head in her chest.

Bronya tilted her head and did not respond immediately.

Just when Xi'er was anxious and regretful about waiting, and wanted to say forget it several times, but couldn't make a sound, a cold hand gently pressed on her head.

"ah!"

"Xier, are you having nightmares again?"

Xi'er swallowed, her lips kept moving, and finally nodded silently.

"All right."

Bronya chuckled:

"It's not a big deal anyway, the bed here is big enough."

She gently held Xi'er's hand, "Relax, Xi'er, I will stay with you. Now, slowly lie back on the bed, I will put the things back, and I will be back soon, okay?"

"good……"

Xi'er's voice was as thin as a mosquito's, but Bronya heard it and gently rubbed the top of her head again.

When Bronya returned to Xi'er's room again, the room was so quiet that she almost thought Xi'er was asleep, if it weren't for her sudden rapid breathing because she opened the door.

"Xie'er?"

"Yes, Sister Bronya."

Bronya crawled into bed in the dark, and Xier made some room aside, and gave half of the pillow and quilt to Bronya.

"Dumb—dumb—dumb—"

The annoying crow seemed to be no longer planning to sleep, and began to make unpleasant cries again. Bronya lay flat on the bed, feeling that Xier's arms gradually changed from cold to warm, and she slowly closed her eyes. The thoughts in my mind gradually become empty...

For mercenaries who have to respond to situations at any time, forcing them to fall asleep at any time is a basic skill. It doesn’t matter if they can’t learn it. There were two uncles in Uncle Maxim’s former mercenary group who couldn’t do it, so they both died. .

Well, that's what mercenaries are, and that's what the battlefield is. Of course, you can't learn many things, but those who survive can.

But what Bronya can't accept is...it seems like she can't do it today?

Well, she had to admit that the reason why she was the only one who heard Xi'er break the cup may not be a "mercenary's alertness", but just because she was the only one who didn't fall asleep at this point.

She tried to clear her mind, but she just couldn't. This kind of situation had happened in the past, so she began to follow the method taught by Raven, trying to construct blue sky, white clouds, grassland in her mind...

The blue sky appeared and white clouds appeared, but she did not see the grassland, only the forest and snow fields.

"boom!"

It was the dull gunshot of the Tokarev pistol. Bronya lowered her head. A man with an unshaven beard and whose age was not clear at all fell backwards in the snow. The 5.5-gram 7.62×25 Tokarev bullet ejected from him. It shot into the connection between the neck and chin, and then shot out from the top of the back of the head. In just a few seconds, the snow that was the size of three or five basins was dyed blood red.

The man's injuries looked like he had committed suicide by putting a gun to his chin, but Bronya knew that wasn't the case.

The Tokarev pistol was still too heavy for a three-year-old girl. She was clearly aiming at the heart, but her hand trembled as she pointed the muzzle upward. Coupled with the huge recoil of the Tokarev pistol, it made her The target's heart escaped unscathed.

Fortunately, if the final result is good, then that's fine.

Bronya would not be frightened by this memory, nor would she have unnecessary emotions such as regret. She just sighed softly and opened her eyes weakly.

It is true that there are no unnecessary emotions, but it still disturbed me so that I couldn't sleep.

But why?

Bronya was silent. She suddenly wanted to go out and look at the moon. There was no reason, it was just a whim.

But as soon as she moved a little, she noticed the sound of breathing beside her that was sometimes long and sometimes rapid.

After a long time, it was the owner of this bedroom who broke the silence first:

"Sister Bronya, can't you sleep either?"

"I...I just drank a cup of coffee because I was afraid of getting distracted when I was on a mission."

Bronya argued. Did she drink coffee? Maybe, she couldn't remember clearly, but she must have drank it, otherwise why couldn't she sleep?

"Yeah?"

Xier chuckled lightly, but suddenly asked:

"Sister Bronya, you can't sleep because you think about going to school tomorrow, right?"

"No, it's not. I just met an interesting guy during my mission in the past two days and was thinking about him."

Xier chuckled again:

"But, Sister Bronya, you just said that you couldn't sleep because you drank coffee before performing the mission."

"There are two reasons..."

Bronya turned her head away with some guilt and turned the back of her head towards Xi'er.

"Sister Bronya, do you want to go to school or don't you want to go to school?"

"I...I don't care. Going to school is also a mission, and not going to school is also a mission. It doesn't make any difference to me."

"Is this so..."

Seele wisely did not ask more about the "mission". Cocolia did not take the initiative to reveal the identities of Bronya and Natasha, but she also did not try to hide them. The two of them disappeared from time to time, and sometimes they would come back with injuries. If you think about it, you can tell that the execution was not ordinary. The mission...well, Sister Arlene probably really didn't know, and thought Natasha was taking Bronya out to play, and for a while she even pestered Natasha about it.

Xi'er fell into silence for a long time, and Bronya also breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling inexplicably relieved.

But she still couldn't sleep. Although people can deceive others, they can't deceive themselves. This is just deceiving others.

Fortunately, Xi'er's breathing gradually became calmer, and she would probably fall asleep soon.

Bronya, on the other hand, was planning to run to the roof when she fell asleep. She didn't know why she wanted to see the moon so much that she would go crazy. The more she didn't go, the more she thought about it.

But just when she was relaxing, Xier suddenly spoke again in a daze:

"Sister Bronya wants to go to school, right?"

"..."

"Even if Sister Bronya went to school because of a mission, the fact that she is in school will not change, right?"

"..."

"Sister Bronya is just afraid that she can't adapt to school life, right? That doesn't matter. Xi'er will help sister Bronya, and Xi'er can only help sister Bronya in this regard...sister... Already..."

"..."

Bronya pursed her lips tightly and said nothing until Xier's breathing became long and deep.

"Xie'er? Xi'er?"

She shouted a few words under her breath, but Xi'er didn't react at all.

She quietly took her hand out of Xi'er's hand, tiptoed out of bed, and walked outside quietly.

The visibility in the yard was not good, so she easily climbed to the roof, but unexpectedly, a figure occupied the roof first.

"Natasha? What are you doing?"

Bronya recognized the outline of her partner at a glance, but when the other party heard her call, he just turned his head blankly and stared at it for a while before speaking:

"Well...it's Bronya..."

A strong smell of alcohol hit her face, and Bronya's brows wrinkled visibly.

"You...why are you so drunk? Didn't Cocolia's mother not allow you to drink?"

Natasha raised a finger unsteadily:

"First, I turned eighteen half a year ago. Cocolia's ban...hiccup...has expired...hiccup!"

"Please, don't you only remember the date of birth, but not the year of birth? You can't prove how old you are at all, right? Wasn't your document forged by me hacking into the household registration system for you?"

Facing Bronya's series of questions, Natasha just giggled twice "hehe" and continued to talk to herself:

"Second, you can buy Houmu...Hiccup...Why can't I...Hiccup...buy wine?"

Bronya helplessly supported Natasha, who was burping while talking. Bronya was still afraid that she would accidentally fall from the roof. Even if a Stigmata Awakener falls from the second-story roof without any precautions, there is a chance that he will suffer fractures, right?

"You don't have to go on a mission tomorrow?"

"What kind of mission are you carrying out... Uh-huh, uh-huh... I have nothing to do tomorrow, so I can take a day off... It's so miserable for you, you still have to go to school..."

Natasha stretched out her index finger and lightly tapped Bronya's forehead, she was so jealous that she almost gritted her teeth:

"Kokolia is really not a good thing. School is so tiring and boring. School is not a good place. It's really hard on you, unlike me! You can sleep for half a day tomorrow, and then go to the city for half a day to play whatever you want. What! I can drink if I want...drink...wuwuwu..."

The corners of Bronya's mouth kept twitching, and she no longer had the intention to look at the moon.

After she spent a lot of effort to send Natasha, who was drunk and making trouble, back to the bedroom, she originally thought and should have gone back to her room, but by some strange combination, when she opened the bedroom door, there was still a familiar figure lying on the bed. silhouette.

She walked back to the bed softly, climbed onto the bed carefully little by little, moved a few times, felt the warmth of Xi'er's shoulder, and somehow fell asleep all of a sudden.

Then, under the quilt, Xi'er's hand trembled and he gently held her hand.