The Fire-Chasing Herrscher Who Destroyed the World

"Ha-hu-ha-hu-ha-hu-"

In the overly spacious elevator, Bronya leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.

Although it was just a few hundred meters of running at top speed, this top speed was for Sakura, not for her.

Moreover, the reason why she had to gasp was not only the almost unbearable speed, but also the air mixed with ice and fire that made it impossible to breathe.

"Bronya, are you okay?"

Sakura lowered her head and wanted to get closer, but for some reason, she kept a certain distance in the end.

"I'm fine, Sister Ying, this alarm sound is..."

"It seems you are not from this base..."

Sakura smiled bitterly.

"Hearing this alarm means that the Herrscher has been born."

Bronya felt that she should be surprised, but her nerves could no longer mobilize such emotions in a short time.

After all, she had seen too many strange and not-so-strange things in just half an hour. It was really not surprising that the warning methods for the same thing were the same.

But just a second later, she remembered something she had almost forgotten, then she swallowed hard, clenched her back teeth, and turned her gaze to Sakura.

"Sister Ying, Herrscher...that is to say..."

The long bangs covered the upper half of Sakura's face, making it difficult for Bronya to see her expression clearly. The number on the elevator jumped from "B13" to "B14", and then to "B15" in the blink of an eye. The machinery is so impersonal, except for malfunctions and power outages, it will not stop running due to any fact.

But for Bronya at this moment, she would rather the elevator exploded directly and never descended to the 33rd floor underground.

She didn't know what Sakura's chances were of winning against Herrscher, but speaking truthfully, she was probably certain to die. She is not afraid of death, but she is afraid of a worthless death and is afraid of losing the only chance to save Xie'er because of her own death.

But the reason is not just in itself.

She was equally afraid, or rather didn't want to see another thing happen.

"Sister Sakura..."

"I know. Bronya, I know."

Sakura also slowly leaned her body against the wall.

"I'm mentally prepared. Didn't I just say that if Ling is not the Herrscher, I will take you out, settle you down, help you find your sister, and then go find the Fire Chaser Moth to surrender. And If Ling has become the Herrscher, then I will fulfill the promise I made to her as my sister, and I will stay with her until the last moment of her life."

"Is there an agreement..."

"Yes... that was an agreement made a long time ago. When we were very young, Ling and I encountered Honkaimon. We both almost died that time, so we made an agreement. No matter who dies first, the other person will accompany her through the final journey, and she is not allowed to leave alone. "

"But...according to what Kevin said, if Ling has become a Herrscher, does that mean she has..."

"no, I can not."

There was no high-pitched but lack of confidence in the voice of ordinary people when arguing. Sakura just said this sentence in the calmest tone, firmly, confidently, and without the slightest doubt.

Even though she knew, what she was denying was something that had been regarded as common sense by everyone for more than two years.

But when human civilization has developed to this stage, is there still little common sense that has been overturned?

Yes, generally speaking, after the Herrscher personality is born, the original personality will die. But at what moment does death occur? Was it the first time the Herrscher personality was born? Isn't there any other possibility?

Are the human emotions displayed by the Sixth Herrscher before his death really the Herrscher's disguise? Were the smiles that the Seventh Herrscher showed to Hua and Kevin really not caused by Himiko's original personality?

No one can explain this kind of thing clearly. Sakura doesn't know whether Dr. Mei and Dr. Mebius have studied this kind of thing, but for the soldiers, they don't need to know this. They only need to know that the Herrscher is the one who must be killed. Kill the Herrscher. It's not like he was killing people, his original personality died at the hands of Honkai, that's enough. More information will only cause unnecessary panic and trouble.

But Sakura thought, if the original personality of the qualified person has extremely strong obsessions, maybe... maybe...

"The bell will be waiting for me."

Hearing a slight choking sound, Bronya turned her head and saw tears sliding down Sakura's cheeks again.

"We made a promise, and Ling will definitely keep her promise."

Looking into Bronya's eyes, Sakura spoke word by word.

"This kind of idealism is too... out of date."

Bronya wanted to complain like this, but... couldn't say it.

I couldn't say it at all.

Even if this is true, it still cannot be said.

As an outsider and a bystander, this matter had nothing to do with her. She just wanted to find Xier. If I had to say it, it would be more in her interest to abandon Sakura at this time and run to contact Kevin. Although she did not expect that Cocolia would push her into the Quantum Sea, based on Dr. Mei's attitude, this should have been his intention. Let her enter the quantum sea to find Kevin.

But now...she really wants to see Ling's ending. But... I'm afraid of seeing this ending.

Such worry about gain and loss, so nosy, this is not a sentiment that should appear in a seasoned mercenary and killer.

But that was the past tense after all... Bronya suddenly no longer wanted to dwell on her past identity, nor did she want to be bound by past experiences.

She only has one thought now - I hope... things can go as smoothly as Sakura said.

Because people always unconsciously compare the things that happen around them to themselves, Bronya hopes to see Sakura and her sister have a good ending. If so, she and Xier must also be able to...

The numbers on the big screen jumped from "B21" to "B22" and then "B23" with the last ten floors left.

"Hurry up... hurry up..."

Sakura prayed silently, but Bronya felt that while she was praying "hurry up", she should also be praying that time could be frozen at the moment before the elevator opened.

"B28" is still short of the last five floors.

"Huh...Bronya, maybe I should leave you at Kevin's place."

"Well?"

"He is the strongest among all the fusion warriors, and... I was actually a little excited just now. He... is actually still an innocent boy in essence. He must be in the most painful situation when he is caught between his comrades and his lover. That one. If you stay with him, he will give priority to protecting you. It is...dangerous to follow me here."

"But I can only escape by following you, right?"

Bronya replied expressionlessly.

"lie."

"!"

"You actually don't care what will happen to you. Rather than whether you will die here, you are more worried about what will happen to your sister after you die here, right?"

"..."

Sakura forced a smile and put a wakizashi into Bronya's hand.

"Perhaps it's because we are both sisters. I always feel that if we were you and I, we would have many common ideas. You may encounter danger next, so hold this. I can see you have traces of training."

"Um."

Bronya did not shirk. It was indeed inconvenient to have no weapons. She originally had two daggers hidden in her boots, but the attack range of the wakizashi was much larger than that of the daggers.

Taking the wakizashi, which was about as long as her own arm, Bronya put her thumb against the blade and pushed it gently, and the scratched blade slipped out of the sheath. What surprised Bronya was that she had thought that a warrior like Sakura would carry better secondary weapons, but this wakizashi looked like it was made of ordinary manganese steel or carbon steel. She was worried before , if it were a weapon of the same level as the sword on Sakura's waist, she wouldn't be able to use it if she got it.

"This is a gift that Ling gave me a long time ago. He saved me many times in critical moments in the early years, so I always carry it with me. I originally had another knife, but that was for doing dirty work. To be precise, It is used to eliminate traitors, but now I am a traitor..."

"Very good. Even if you give me better weapons, I still can't display the corresponding strength."

Bronya slashed twice at the void, making a sound of "huh-huh-huh-".

"So, Bronya, do you understand?"

"Um?"

"This wakizashi is a gift that Ling gave me many years ago. I'm just lending it to you. When this matter is over, you have to return it to me. Do you understand?"

"Um."

Bronya nodded vigorously.

"Sister Ying, too. My memory is not very good. If you don't come to me to ask for it, I will forget to return it."

"uh-huh."

Sakura smiled, although her smile was full of exhaustion and far-fetchedness, but...

Bronya suddenly had a bad premonition in her heart...

I always felt that this would be the last time I saw Sakura's smile.

"By the way, Bronya, there is one more thing."

"What?"

"You must have never been to Ling and I's hometown, Jidong, right? The cherry blossoms there are very beautiful... I still remember the cherry blossom tree in my yard at that time... Counting the time, it's almost there It’s the open season...Bronya, let’s make a promise. When the time comes, you will return this wakizashi to me under the cherry blossom tree at my house..."

Bronya's lips moved twice.

Far East… Far East…

Bronya has been there for three years, and she has long been tired of watching the cherry blossoms wither and other things. She organizes viewings every spring.

She was not the kind of person who would be saddened by the withering of cherry blossoms. But this time, she felt...

!

"Sakura and the withering of cherry blossoms are really unlucky..."

Before she had time to say this complaint, the elevator finally slowly and leisurely completed the last five floors.

"Click——"

Amidst the noise of "boom", the door to the thirty-third underground floor opened.

A large amount of white steam spewed out from the power pump, and the line of sight was completely obscured for a while.

Bronya and Sakura lowered their bodies at the same time, but... nothing happened.

Regarding the current situation on the 33rd floor underground, both of them had many versions of their speculations.

The soldiers here may be notified and ambush the two of them. Or maybe the collapse happened here, and this place has become a battlefield.

However, the reality is...

Nothing at all……

There were no bullets that broke through the white mist and were fired at them. There were no gunshots, cannons, or vibrations. There were no soldiers' battle cries, nor the screams of the injured. Even the sound of Honkaiju trampling everything. Doesn't exist here.

If there is anything else that exists here...

Sakura and Bronya sniffed their noses at the same time and smelled the strong smell of blood.

"The worst case scenario, has it happened..."

Bronya muttered in a low voice. The wakizashi had been inserted and pulled out too many times, and the mouth of the wakizashi was so loose that the blade could slide out directly. However, she still followed Sakura's example and pushed the knife out half a thumb's distance in advance, so that she could pull it out. This step saves nearly tenths of a second. Although the naked eye cannot even accurately grasp such a short moment, sometimes, this is the difference between life and death.

The white fog that obscured their vision gradually dissipated, returning the silent darkness to the two of them.

"Bronya."

"clear!"

After looking at each other, the two of them jumped out together.

"These are... dead soldiers!"

In the darkness, a vaguely human-like silhouette could be seen about to move. As soon as Bronya's warning voice came out, the sharp sword light completely illuminated the surroundings like moonlight.

"These dead soldiers are still wearing the uniforms of Fire Chaser. They are the soldiers guarding this place. Could it be..."

Sakura's voice deepened. Sometimes, the distance between people and the truth is not far. What determines whether people can dig out the truth is not whether their brains are good or not, but... whether they have the courage to accept the truth.

"Where is the bell...where is the bell!"

Sakura shouted hysterically while swinging the knife without hesitation.

But... sometimes, even if you think you have the courage to face the truth, when the truth is really revealed in front of you, you will feel caught off guard and unable to accept it.

"Sister Ying! Where are you going!"

Bronya could hardly keep up with Sakura's speed. Fortunately, the dead soldiers along the way had already turned into pieces of flesh flying everywhere under the sword light like a net, otherwise she would have been overwhelmed by the dead soldiers.

Sakura seems to be quite familiar with the structure of the 33rd floor underground. Although she shouted "Where is the bell", she was shouting subconsciously when her spirit was almost broken. In fact, she knew very well that the 33rd floor underground, as a Where the Eighth Herrscher was once imprisoned, there was only one prison cell.

"bell!"

The door to the prison cell was open, and Sakura rushed in without even having time to think.

"ah--"

Sakura was mentally prepared.

She had already prepared for the possibility that Suzuma would become a Herrscher.

Especially after discovering that all the Fire Chaser soldiers on this floor had become dead warriors, she knew very well that Ling might really have become a Herrscher.

Then all she had to do was to kill Herrscher as her sister, which was considered a different kind of thing, accompanying Ling until the last moment of her life.

However, she never thought of such a possibility——

In the dark prison room, the body of the girl in torn clothes was soaked in dark red blood.

Her long hair and the entire scalp were shaved off with a knife and thrown on the ground. Every strand of her originally pink hair turned as red as the highlight on her forehead. The girl's limbs were twisted in unnatural postures, with irregular cuts at her wrists and ankles. One of the girl's severed hands was stuffed into her own mouth, and the other hand and two feet were thrown around the prison room. The white shirt was covered with long blood holes, like hundreds of bloody locusts crawling on that piece of clothing - if only this weren't a metaphor.

"Boom——"

Sakura took a step forward, but she seemed to have kicked something round. Upon closer inspection, she saw that it was one of Ling's eyes.

"Ah……"

"Ah……"

"Hehehehe..."

"Boom!"

Sakura's thin body knelt down in front of Suzu's body. (End of chapter)