They Said This Isn't a Life Simulation Game! Part 48

"I am his private property. He would never want to kill me, much less keep deliberately weakening me like you."

Drip—

Fresh red blood still dripped down.

"He would only toy with me. That's all... you impostor."

Drip—

Suddenly, a streak of deep blue mixed into the bright red liquid dripping downward. It was a blue like seawater, and it swiftly stained the surrounding red, eventually transforming the blood in the basin into a pool of deep blue liquid of unknown nature.

"..."

Priest remained silent, then smiled indifferently. From some unknown method, he pushed a pile of flammable materials out from the dark corner of the room.

Clearly, it no longer wanted to keep pretending—and no longer needed to.

Right in front of Xi Wang, it slowly spread planks, charcoal, oil, and other flammable materials across the floor, then arranged them in a circle around Xi Wang. It poured oil over him, the thick oily liquid mixing with the deep blue fluid and flowing into the basin beneath him.

Finally, it walked to the door. Before closing it, it leisurely looked at Xi Wang, who was still hanging there, and said with a soft laugh.

Whatever. After all... I won.

It locked the door, cut the power, casually lit the house with a match, then stood some distance away and leisurely watched the flames gradually rise.

Drip—

The dim room was gradually engulfed by flames, yet the sound of dripping liquid continued.

"I'll survive..."

Xi Wang murmured softly. The dark patterns on his body quietly flowed, and one of those "patterns" silently strayed from its original path, beginning to trickle downward like the blood on his body.

"I'll survive..."

Xi Wang whispered again. The "pattern" that had deviated from its path began to quietly crumble, splitting apart bit by bit like the wounds on his body, before seeping dark "blood."

That "pattern" quietly drained away like this, eventually vanishing without a trace.

Below him, the pool of deep blue liquid also began to pulse quietly. It flowed back of its own accord, climbing Xi Wang's body and returning along the paths it had originally taken, back into the wounds on Xi Wang's body, back into his body.

Rumble—

The house was destroyed by the flames. The beam overhead burned through and collapsed in a blaze, burying Xi Wang beneath it.

But a similar sound rang out from the other side. Shifting its gaze, it discovered that a Honkai Beast had appeared beside it at some point, and it was rolling away in a rather disheveled state.

What's wrong with you?! I didn't tell you to come out?!

It was furious. While it had indeed prepared Honkai Beasts as its final "trump card," for them to appear without following its orders—and even turn around and attack it—were they trying to die?

It had spent no small amount of effort and thought dealing with the huge problem that was Xi Wang. Success was right in sight; all it needed was to see the corpse, to make him believe he was dead. Why was there another complication?!

Then...

Drip—

It was the sound of rainwater falling.

Wait... what?!

It began to panic. It knew very well just how terrifying Xi Wang was when he had the home-field advantage of "rain," to the point that it had needed to first remove the "rain" setting before it could suppress him.

Drip—

Yet the rain continued to fall.

Damn it! Damn it! Stop! I'm the master of this mental world! Why won't you listen to me?!

That gray-haired newcomer, and this troublesome bastard too—why was every single one of them such a pain?! I'm supposed to be The Strongest here!

It used its power, trying to stop the "rain," but could not halt it. It could not even make it lighter. It could only watch helplessly as the rain grew heavier and heavier, until it finally extinguished the fire consuming the house.

Then, in the somewhat gloomy distance, a beam of light shone through the clouds and onto the ground. That brilliant gold was blindingly conspicuous in the depths of the night.

A faint sound like a horn drifted to its ears, along with the barely perceptible sound of wings beating. The fragrance of lilies lingered beneath its nose.

In a daze, it could see a woman dressed in white robes. Yet beneath the dazzling radiance of her wings, her face could not be made out. Only her long white hair behind her and the two rings above her head—one gold, one blue—were visible.

But in the blink of an eye, she lost that beautiful form and became a horn with six shattered wings. After blinking again, it found that she was still the beautiful woman.

It stared in a daze, not because of her appearance, but because of her identity.

She was a Honkai Beast—absolutely, without a doubt. Yet that was exactly what made it strange.

Holding a pure white lily, she slowly approached Xi Wang, who was struggling to rise from the ruins, and naturally extended a hand, wanting to help him up.

As for the lily in her hand, it seemed to be a gift she had prepared for Xi Wang.

Slap—

She undoubtedly succeeded. Xi Wang's hand was caught and held in her palm, while the bouquet of lilies naturally ended up in Xi Wang's grasp.

However, when she tried to pull Xi Wang to his feet, Xi Wang merely clenched his fist fiercely, crushing the lilies to pieces. A single white petal fell silently, lonely and pitiable.

Then, with Xi Wang as the center, the standing water within a hundred meters transformed into sharp azure spikes, piercing both her before him and it in the distance.

"Get lost."

That was Xi Wang's response to her.

Yet she did not seem surprised in the slightest. Her aqua-blue eyes were even filled with relief and joy, as though she were exceptionally pleased by his reaction.

His mind was slightly dazed, but all he could see was the horned Honkai Beast pierced through by azure spikes, as though everything that had just happened had merely been an illusion.

Then, the dream disappeared.

Being Able to Keep Each Other Company Was Happiness

"..." x2

In the medical room, Xi Wang and Mobius stared at each other.

"Though I know you dislike me, there's no need to point a blade at me the moment you wake up, is there? Or did your own nightmare scare you, White Rat?"

Mobius narrowed her Snake Eyes, paying no heed to the azure blade pressed against her throat.

"To wake you from the Dreamscape, I put in quite a bit of effort..."

"...What did you do to me?"

"You really hurt my feelings. I've been working so hard to save you, yet you still suspect me. Do you think I'm the sort of bad woman who secretly conducts experiments on people while they're asleep? Sob, sob—"

"..."

Xi Wang half-lidded his eyes and said nothing.

"Though I did give you a physical examination and conduct a tiny little experiment while I was at it... Ah, and by the way, nice figure, White Rat~ Even more captivating than last time~"

Mobius spoke as though nothing were amiss, turning around to begin organizing her documents.

As for the blade pointed at her... she did not care. Xi Wang would not attack her. Mobius knew that very well. As long as she did not touch Xi Wang's "bottom line," she could do whatever she wanted to him. This guy was easy to handle.

Ah, though going too far was no good either.

"Your condition is far better than the other one's. Be grateful for your uniqueness, White Rat. Your trait has saved you once again. Though the Herrscher of the Eighth inflicted considerable damage on you, you recovered quickly. At the very least, your body will not be left with any aftereffects."

"As for Dottore, whose situation was similar to yours... her mind suffered a severe blow. Though her abilities themselves have not weakened, the moment she uses telekinesis, she has to bear an abnormally heavy mental burden, and her body will also develop abnormalities... If she uses it for too long, she may even drive herself to death."

"You truly are a very lucky person, White Rat."

Mobius picked up the organized paper records, slipped the terminal containing the electronic data into her pocket, and prepared to leave.

"Therefore, I must remind you once again, White Rat."

At the doorway, Mobius turned back to look at him and said, "Eat less of that stuff. Throw away those things that defile life as soon as possible, and cherish your uniqueness."

"..."

"...Hmph."

Seeing no response from Xi Wang, Mobius merely snorted and stopped paying attention to him, striding away.

"Oh, right. One more thing."

Mobius, who should have left, returned. Her sudden voice made Xi Wang, who had just been about to get out of bed, freeze.

"The Herrscher of the Eighth has been dealt with. Considering the condition of you and Dottore, the higher-ups have permitted you to rest for a few days... Be grateful. You've been granted a rare vacation."

Mobius spoke to herself as though she had not noticed Xi Wang's tensed body.

"One last thing..."

Mobius paused unusually. A faint shadow fell over her eyes at that moment, but it lasted only briefly before she returned to her usual tone.

"Come by the lab in a few days... Griseo misses you a little."

With that, she left without looking back.

Xi Wang was briefly taken aback. When it came to Griseo, Mobius had always held some sort of prejudice against him, yet now she had brought it up herself... Surely she was not planning to use this excuse to lure him onto an operating table?

But Xi Wang quickly shook his head and dismissed the thought.

...No, probably not. Mobius would not joke about Griseo. That was her "bottom line."

So, had something happened to Griseo after all...

He should go see her.

That was what Xi Wang thought.

However, when Xi Wang arrived at Mobius's laboratory, he was denied entry. Klein told him to come back in a few days.

There was nothing Xi Wang could do after being refused, so he had no choice but to leave. As for Griseo's exact situation... Mobius would surely explain it clearly to him in a few days.

Right now, he wanted even more to see Elysia... Unlike the others, his memory of the dream was far clearer. He still remembered what would have happened if he had failed to meet Elysia... even though he knew it had only been a dream.

Then, he received one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.