Lilith Side Story II: The Origin of the Fallen Angel

"Why?! Wasn't he the person you loved most?!"

"Precisely because he was the one I loved most, I had to return to reality. Because the real him was the truest him, wasn't he?"

The world began to collapse. She watched Feng turn into drifting sand before her eyes and watched this fabricated world perish.

She spread her arms and looked up at the shattered sky. That Herrscher really was something... it had even gotten her tastes wrong. What she wanted to hear were humanity's beautiful cries in despair, the sound of blood flowing across the ground.

But... yes, she had liked this dream the Herrscher had arranged for her too. Because the person she liked was here—the person she loved.

So even a monster like her could fall in love with someone?

Then... when had she started liking Feng? She had clearly wanted to kill him at first.

She did not know the answer. She only knew that she had seen her own heart clearly. She liked Feng, liked him very, very, very much.

So it did not matter even if she went against her nature. As long as Feng was there, that was enough.

"But... it was precisely because your eyes had never been on me that I knew all of this was only a dream..." she murmured, watching the world crumble completely.

Inside a Fire Moth hospital room.

The girl who had slept for so long opened her eyes, a trace of languor still lingering in her violet pupils.

"You're awake?" A voice as emotionless as ever sounded beside her, but it was this very voice that brought genuine delight into her eyes.

"Feng..." She opened her mouth and called the young man's name, only to find her voice weak and breathless. She knew that she had probably been asleep for quite some time. Muscle weakness was perfectly normal.

But she still wanted to turn her head. She wanted to look properly at that person.

Even if his gaze had never lingered on her, even if there had never been a place for her in his eyes.

Feng looked down at her. This was the first time she had seen her own reflection in those obsidian-like eyes. Pale, weak... She despised herself like this, appearing in his eyes in such a state.

But he would not care anyway. After all, the only person he cared about was Elysia, while she herself was merely a mutually beneficial... ally?

"Do you need me to help you sit up?" Feng asked.

"Then I'll leave it to you." She forced a smile.

Feng reached out and helped her up from the hospital bed. One hand supported her back while the other took a cushion and placed it behind her so she could lean against it.

I never thought you could be this gentle too. But she did not say it aloud. She wanted to linger a little longer in the warmth he offered.

Though she also knew perfectly well that he was probably being so gentle because he had something to say to her, or something else to arrange.

Mutual benefit. They were both tools for each other.

"You were unconscious for three days," Feng said. "I thought you might not wake up. After all, quite a few people attacked by the Eighth Herrscher these past few days not only failed to wake up, but became zombies."

He fell silent again before saying, "It's good that you woke up. Rest properly for the next few days. If you need anything, tell me."

Huh?!

She was a little surprised. Was this the first time he had shown her such concern without asking for anything in return? She understood him, so she knew he would not care for her for no reason. He had always followed the principle of equivalent exchange. He would not do anything without benefit unless it was for Elysia.

As for trying to raise her affection for him—given Feng's emotional intelligence, which could irritate her into a heart attack, could he even think that far?

Then came another stretch of silence. She did not mind. As long as she could be with him, it did not matter if neither of them spoke.

But Feng was the first to find it unbearable. He seemed unaccustomed to sitting with a woman without saying or doing anything, just sitting there like a rock. So he decided to make conversation. "Since you've been unconscious these past few days, eating may be difficult. If you're hungry, I'll get a nurse to feed you some liquid food."

They could have injected nutrient solution directly, but liquid food could replenish her body's nutrients while also exercising muscles that had begun to atrophy from disuse over the past few days.

She tried her best to put on the same teasing smile she usually wore and said weakly, "Heh... can't manage without me handling things for you? Are you so eager for me to recover so I can keep fulfilling our contract?"

He gave her a cold look. "If you think so, then so be it."

So that meant it was not, then?

Thinking that, she said, "Then... for the sake of having me contribute more in the future, how about you feed me the liquid food?"

"You seem to have plenty of strength to talk. Your voice may be weak, but your words are still clear." As he spoke, he stood up. "Just don't regret it."

Because I was talking to you, how could I possibly slur my words?

She maintained her teasing expression as she watched Feng leave. Only after he vanished from her sight did her face become expressionless, her gaze shifting to the television mounted on the wall.

After a while, he returned carrying the liquid food Fire Moth specially prepared for patients. "You're one of the few people who woke up after being attacked by the Eighth Herrscher. Even though you seem fairly energetic, I still asked Dr. Mobius to postpone her investigation of you so you can recuperate a little longer."

This time, she did not choose to mock him as she had before. She knew that if she kept mocking him, she might truly have no chance at all. She had to change slowly and could not let Feng feel that her change in attitude toward him was too abrupt.

She knew what kind of person she was in Feng's heart.

So she could not rush.

To be honest, Feng was truly terrible at feeding someone liquid food. Put bluntly, he was practically shoving the spoon straight into her mouth. Even though he was trying his best to be gentle, as a Fusion Warrior who had to endure side effects while acting like a normal person, it was difficult for him to control his strength.

She looked helplessly at the young man with the grave expression, badly wanting to tell him that his expression and technique made it seem like he wanted to kill her with a spoonful of food.

After feeding her, Feng gave her some instructions, watched television with her for a while, then lowered her back down and told her to get plenty of rest before leaving.

Before Feng closed the door, she caught sight of a flash of pink.

And Elysia's voice: "Wow, Feng, did you feed Lilith yourself? How thoughtful~ You'll definitely become an excellent captain..."

The rest became unclear as the door closed.

If it were you, he... probably would not even be embarrassed to feed you. He might not even dare say much before fleeing in panic.

Come to think of it, did that mean she had experienced something Elysia would probably never have the chance to experience?

She smiled and closed her eyes, looking forward to their next meeting.

A few days later, she had finally regained the ability to move normally for the most part. She cooperated with Fire Moth's investigation, and the Eighth Herrscher Incident soon came to an end.

Fire Moth lost several psychic Fusion Warriors as a result.

At that time, Hypervariable Surgery had still not become widely available. Its mortality rate was terrifyingly high.

Once she had fully recovered, she submitted a request to the higher-ups to volunteer for Fusion Warrior surgery without any hesitation, specifically naming Mobius as her surgeon.

"First that guy, and now you. Although the surgery's success rate has improved quite a bit, the mortality rate has not reached a point where ordinary people can ignore it. And I can't guarantee you won't suffer side effects." Mobius studied her with an inquisitive gaze. "So what are you doing this for?"

"Me? Of course, because it's interesting~" she said with a smile. "Wouldn't becoming a Fusion Warrior be much more interesting than being a weak ordinary human?"

How could she admit that she was doing it for him? It was not yet time for her feelings toward him to change so openly. Mobius and Feng had a fairly close relationship too, so she could not leave behind any leverage.

Moreover, in order to make Mobius believe she understood her own motives, she had even catered to her tastes, implying that she believed the Fusion Warrior project was an evolution for humanity.

Mobius indeed asked no further questions. Instead, she picked up Lilith's volunteer application and said, "If that's what you think, then I won't say more. As for the Honkai Beast you'll fuse with, which one do you want? If you want a higher success rate, I can arrange one for you."

"If I'm going to become a Fusion Warrior, how could I fuse with an ordinary Honkai Beast?" Smiling, she chose the first Honkai Beast she wanted to fuse with under Mobius's astonished gaze.

The accompanying Honkai Beast of the Sixth Herrscher, a Judgment-class Honkai Beast: Yanluo.

Afterward, she intended to apply to Mobius for the Chimera Project as well. She wanted to catch up with Feng. She wanted to be with Feng.

As for why she had chosen a Judgment-class Honkai Beast with such a low survival rate, she had her own considerations. Since Feng could choose a path with no chance of survival for Elysia's sake, how could her feelings for Feng possibly lose to Feng's feelings for Elysia?

Originally, she had wanted to choose Maheshvara, but since Elysia was the only successful case, it had been banned from further surgeries. Then there was Vishnu. Too ugly. No thanks.

Before the surgery began, Feng naturally learned what she was about to do as her captain. He was somewhat surprised and came to find her. "Didn't you kill your family and fiancé for a brand-new life? The risks of Judgment-class Honkai Beast fusion surgery will decrease in the future. There's no need for you to undergo it now, is there?"

She could have used the same excuse she had given Mobius to brush Feng off, but she did not want to. Yet she still could not honestly confess her feelings to him, so she answered, "I told you, that was for my own freedom. And now that I've chosen to do this, that's my freedom too."

Feng said nothing more. He was not a man who liked to waste time arguing over meaningless matters, except when it came to Elysia.

"Then, Feng, before I undergo surgery, and to prevent there being no one to help you if I never come back, how about I teach you a few more tricks for pursuing Miss Elysia?" she said with a smile.

Feng glanced at her, then looked away. "She won't fall in love with anyone, because she likes everyone. I gave up long ago, so there's no need."

"But you should make plans for the future too, shouldn't you? If I never return, who will deal with other people for you? Besides, isn't it necessary to learn how to make use of other girls' feelings for you?" She chose to seize Feng's weakness directly. He might not care how Elysia felt about him, but the core of his actions still revolved around Elysia. For that goal, he could resort to any means, even use everything at his disposal.

Sometimes, she felt Feng was actually quite similar to her. Neither of them cared whether others lived or died. But unlike her, who liked conflict and upheaval, Feng was almost entirely without desire. Though he seemed to have some special purpose too. In any case, it could not be wrong to understand it as being for Elysia.

This unusual "date" did not exceed her expectations either. Feng's hopeless straight-man behavior was still enough to make someone die of a heart attack.

"What should you do at a time like this?"

"...Hold an umbrella for you?"

"And then? How did your umbrella end up covering only yourself?"

"..."

"Feng, I think it's a little hot."

"You're so troublesome."

"Can't you be a little gentler?"

"Then... how about standing in the shade over there for a while?"

"...Shouldn't you be buying me an ice cream or something?"

"Can't you buy one yourself?"

"..."

Feng was probably the only one who could drive her crazy. Yet although she looked utterly exasperated, her heart was satisfied. Things Elysia had, she might not have. But what she had, Elysia might never have.

The surgery went even more smoothly than she had expected. Or rather, perhaps Yanluo was remarkably compatible with her?

After the surgery was complete, she easily defeated Xila in the training grounds. Experiencing that unparalleled strength, she became even more certain that she had taken another step closer to Feng.

After that battle, Xila also submitted a volunteer application for Fusion Warrior surgery. To Xila, she was Feng's sword. But a sword that could not kill its enemies had no meaning in existing.

Lilith did not care much about that. Instead, she focused on Feng's upcoming birthday. By chance, she had overheard Elysia and Kevin saying that they wanted to throw Feng a birthday party.

For Feng, who liked Elysia, this should have been a good thing. But that would mean delaying the change in how she showed her feelings for him. Besides, love had never been about who came first. Since Elysia did not have those feelings for Feng while she loved Feng, then there was no problem with her taking this chance to host the party, right?

As for the reason, she could say it was to thank Feng for taking care of her during the days she had been unconscious.

That way, Elysia would have no grounds to say anything further.

And after that, she had already decided what to do. She would formally establish a squad consisting only of Fusion Warriors. That way, Feng's future birthdays could rightfully become squad-building events, and Elysia would have no chance to join.

Only by reducing Elysia's contact with Feng could Feng possibly turn his gaze toward someone else.

As for the squad's name, she would call it the Fallen Angel Squad.