Her Corpse

Himeko stepped onto the edge of Canghai City once more. Her distinctive white protective suit concealed her face as she gazed at the scorched earth of the distant inferno, her calm eyes revealing no particular emotion.

That child is still too naive.

Even though she might be unmatched in terms of raw strength within the entire Fifth Squad except for herself, her lack of warrior's discipline and vigilance significantly hampered her overall strength.

After Fu Hua blurted out the words, Himeko struck without hesitation and knocked her unconscious.

The girl's resolute tone prompted her to deliberately choose a decisive and efficient approach.

If they didn't do this, there would be no way to get Fu Hua to accept it; this was the judgment Himeko made immediately at that time.

The reason for not allowing the other party to come along is simple.

If the Herrscher's original body is indeed Satou Yunona as I suspect, then given the Herrscher's defensive capabilities, it's quite normal that there are still remnants of a corpse whose original form can be vaguely seen.

According to previous investigations, Satou Yunona is also a friend of Fu Hua.

Allowing Fu Hua, in this mental state, to meet the other party would be a completely irresponsible act in violation of her promise to Su Qing'an.

Most importantly, if Herrscher Su Qing'an's remains were still nearby, then Himeko would not allow Fu Hua to go there with her.

Less than a day after the disaster struck, the girl faced the devastating blows of a broken world order and the unknown fate of her father.

Himeko has always been very good at judging people, and during her conversation with Fu Hua, she was able to grasp a certain fact.

The reason Fu Hua was able to bravely stand up and fight with her sword before this was largely due to Su Qing'an's presence.

Given this situation, it wouldn't be surprising if a modern girl were to witness firsthand the horrific state of her deceased lover; she would likely be devastated.

Humans are often unable to face reality.

Even if one may have already understood what the real answer is, before seeing it with one's own eyes, one's mind will still instinctively deceive oneself in order to maintain a mental state and a tendency towards pleasure.

Fu Hua could know that Su Qing'an might be dead.

But she absolutely cannot confront Su Qing'an's remains right now.

Because the former still harbors some vague hope, giving them the motivation to move forward, these painful experiences gradually become more acceptable as time slowly passes.

But the latter ruthlessly stifles everything.

Therefore, Himeko was willing to knock her unconscious rather than let her return to Canghai City with her.

Fu Hua's reaction was somewhat expected, but Seele Fulei's calmness left Himeko almost speechless.

The little girl's expression was indifferent, her eyelashes lowered. After wiping away her tears, she looked at herself earnestly and said:

[If my brother is gone, could you... please don't let Sister Hua see his remains?]

A long silence followed.

"Okay." That was the only response Himeko could give.

The deafening roar of the Honkai Fission Bomb left an indelible desolation in her heart.

It's impossible not to feel sad.

The curse that would make the person who made this decision disappear from the world is also the dark vortex that surges within Seele's heart.

But for emotional people, one Sister Hua is enough.

Seele Fulei is a frail child who can do nothing but calm down.

If this fact isn't etched into my mind and instincts, life will likely be quite difficult from now on.

Su Qing'an is dead.

Seele had given up all hope and illusions about this most likely outcome.

Such naiveté had long been eroded by witnessing firsthand the corpses occasionally carried out of the laboratory and the [Ashes] reduced to by the Honkai Energy of the Second Herrscher Core.

My brother is dead. We must accept this reality immediately and then make plans for Sister Hua's future.

The Void Sword Qi that her brother taught her gave her enough qualifications to be taken seriously and valued by the higher-ups. If Sister Hua were to show her unstable side at this time, it would not be a good thing.

Even if it's just to make her future less bumpy, Seele doesn't think Himeko's actions were a wrong choice.

As for myself.

The little girl looked at Fu Hua's slightly furrowed brows as she slept, her delicate fingertips stroking her gray hair. She pursed her lips, seemingly already anticipating her own fate.

Himeko's previous actions proved that she truly kept her promise to Su Qing'an in mind, even with the high probability of his death.

She must be a good person.

Even so, for her not to voluntarily hand herself over to the laboratory is already the limit in the current situation.

Unless Himeko joins his organization, Himeko will have a hard time finding a reason to protect him from outsiders.

Joining the Moth to Fire, and using their power and status to temporarily avoid sinking into hell, is already the best option.

But this in itself is a naive idea of having illusions about others.

The relationship between the brother and Himeko was merely a transaction. It was unrealistic and unfair to expect to use this subtle relationship and the other party's sympathy to put pressure on Himeko from above.

Aside from his special physical constitution, which made him suitable for the Sea of Quantum experiment, his other value was zero.

Su Qing'an had once taught her the Void Sword Qi, but the results were somewhat unsatisfactory.

It turns out that mere Honkai Energy adaptability is not enough for someone to learn this technique; Seele's talent in martial arts is not as outstanding as Fu Hua's.

At that time, she was in an unhealthy mental state and was not qualified to develop Kenshin.

This has led to Fu Hua's uniqueness and Seele's complete lack of value in the current situation.

But perhaps it's a good thing that this makes Sister Hua more valuable, she thought.

The only person in the world who could disregard everything and had the ability to protect her has disappeared.

Therefore, Seele Fulei is prepared to return to hell once again.

The Herrscher is a monster.

Why would a monster born carrying the will of calamity have corpses?

It should have scattered into the world like those despicable Honkai Beast, leaving not even dust, instead of dying quietly in its original human form.

This form of existence evokes physical disgust and revulsion.

They trampled on the world's order, ignored human rules, destroyed too many cities, and killed countless humans whose numbers had already become a cold, hard number.

Such monsters are beings that all warriors hate and despise. Canghai City should not have suffered such an undeserved disaster, but because of the existence of the Herrscher, the higher-ups had no choice but to issue the order to drop the Honkai Fission Bomb.

The members of the Fifth Squad were all seasoned and excellent soldiers, but this treatment of survivors as if they were invisible still made them feel unconsciously uncomfortable.

We cannot deny the correctness of the civilization behind it, so the Third Herrscher, which caused this result, is the best outlet for our frustration.

To them, the original owner of the Herrscher's body was already dead; the so-called Herrscher was simply a demon possessing a human body.

It is perfectly justifiable to use any means to deal with demons, and to what extent to utilize corpses.

"How did he survive such severe injuries..."

"Were the survivors on the outskirts of the city lucky enough to escape being affected and killed?"

"He's already dead. The medical team is on the warship; he won't last more than fifteen minutes before the return voyage."

"What bad luck, to be so close to a monster like Herrscher before I die."

"Let's wait for the captain to arrive before making a decision. Let's finish our own tasks first."

I can't hear clearly, it just sounds very noisy.

"Don't block my view," he thought.

In the blurry vision, the girl's skirt was obstructed by the figure of a stranger.

It is incomprehensible and incomprehensible.

Su Qing'an's blurred will and depressed Soul Essence slowed down his thinking, making it difficult for him to understand the current situation.

Special instruments are installed on the ground, and flowing special Honkai Energy conductor metal slowly extends and intertwines to form a silvery-white mechanical arm.

The mechanical prosthetic eye probed out, scanning the corpse whose Honkai Energy fluctuations had dissipated, attempting to pinpoint the exact location of the Herrscher Core. Subsequent processing was then handled by someone nearby who continued to operate the equipment.

The exquisitely crafted silver fingers gripped an incredibly sharp long dagger made of the same material. This meticulous design was intended to preserve the Third Herrscher's remains to the greatest extent possible when the Herrscher Core was removed.

The reason, of course, is to cherish such rare experimental material as the Herrscher.

By utilizing the secrets hidden within, humanity can uncover some of the secrets behind the Herrscher's power and use them to combat the ensuing calamities.

Is it still in the chest cavity this time?

"According to the data, this remains the case."

"It's just like a heart!"

"Let's cut it open, just use the data from last time."

The magical yet bloody dialogue and images reached his ears and were reflected in the boy's pupils, making him suddenly realize the significance of their arrival.

With the aftershocks of the Honkai Fission Bomb's launch and explosion dissipating, and the Herrscher's Honkai Energy fluctuations disappearing, it's only natural for the relevant forces to come and inspect the results.

That's strange.

I felt neither sad nor indignant, neither absurd nor regretful.

The lake, clear as a mirror, remained undisturbed, and Kenshin maintained his crystal-clear appearance.

What pain, what despair, what sorrow, what hatred.

After experiencing the reality of Satou Yunona's death, these intense emotions seemed to have dried up, as if a torrential rain had poured down all the moisture from the ocean, making it impossible for the boy to feel any emotion at all.

Without hesitation, the long dagger fell, its sharp edge slicing through the soft white fabric in a second, cutting into the withered skin, slicing through the chest cavity to reach its final destination, and removing the Herrscher Core and placing it into the appropriate container.

Su Qing'an's eyes were fixed on the falling dagger, and he felt that time was passing slowly in his hazy consciousness.

This is a dress she cherishes; if it gets damaged and needs mending, it won't look as good as it used to.

The image of the chest cavity being cut open, resembling a hot knife slicing through butter, is utterly devoid of any aesthetic appeal.

So, how could you have made her look like that?

[Soul Essence: 5.80 (78.31)]

Driven by a pure vision and a terrifying obsession, and in a situation where one cannot achieve their desires without pushing beyond their limits, the boy is forced to understand the Soul Essence more deeply.

The 0.1 mark thus transforms into silent greatness, revealing breathtaking beauty in the subtle details.

In an instant, the advance team of the Fifth Squad all grasped the fear between life and death, as if a god had cast his gaze upon them.

Their conversation abruptly ended, their blood turned cold, their bodily functions ceased, their consciousness became hazy and confused, and they almost forgot everything.

The extremely high Soul Essence exerted a complete, domain-like pressure on those below it.

This is essentially the ability that Su Qing'an should know, just like the instinctual hunting and foraging of animals.

However, he has always been habitually restrained so that his abnormality does not affect the people around him, and he rarely encounters conventional enemies, which is why he is unaware of it.

Normal human beings have no right to lay a hand on him; that has been the case for a long time.

But now that the meaning of the soul is being explored more deeply, this fact can continue to hold true even though Su Qing'an is in a life-threatening situation.

The 0.1 increments consumed just now only allowed one's soul energy to emanate outwards. Once one gets used to it, even this small amount of energy consumption will be unnecessary.

The highly precise instruments were incredibly sensitive at every step, which resulted in the silver blade successfully stopping in front of the fabric after everyone was frozen in place, no longer moving.

The entire team of seven collapsed to the ground, falling into a coma.

Su Qing'an ultimately chose to restrain herself; for a target with such a vast disparity in power, soul oppression was nothing short of a terrifying illusion.

If they don't actively dispel the urges, these people may even be deceived by the tremors in their senses until they actually die.

The launch of the Honkai Fission Bomb must have been a decision made by the higher-ups; these soldiers were merely following orders.

Yuno's death had nothing to do with them.

Even though touching the remains was a forbidden zone that Su Qing'an would find difficult to allow, the impression left by the existence of the Herrscher made it difficult to criticize this behavior.

Yes, these are all correct logics and reasonable reasons.

But Su Qing'an was far too calm.

He was so calm that he still had the lingering composure to care about reason and goodness, and to weigh the pros and cons of this approach against the future.

This rationality stems from the temporary aftereffects of previously trading emotions for leverage and burning through energy.

After experiencing Satou Yunona's death, the boy chose to deliberately continue to maintain this aftereffect.

The wounds that the soul alone could heal were indifferently torn open again and again, causing the birth of emotions and empathy to fall into an extremely depressed indifference.

The current Su Qing'an is rational, calm, possesses a broad perspective, and is Martial Immortal who is bound to the limit by invisible reins.

The real reason he chose this self-destructive approach was that he couldn't guarantee how far the hatred and anger that would ignite after truly experiencing the pain, understanding the despair, feeling the sorrow, and thoroughly digesting it all would go.

Even for the sake of Seele and Fu Hua, Su Qing'an could only refuse to fall into that vicious cycle.

Facing the entire upper class as an individual is not absolutely impossible for a boy. The combination of pure [power] and [concealment], along with normal-level intelligence, makes him a far greater threat than a typical Herrscher in certain aspects.

Moreover, the development of [Udu-dust • Critical] has brought his frontal combat to a whole new level.

However, this approach amounts to engaging in significant involution amidst an impending Honkai.

Unless Su Qing'an twists his own personality, loses all his ties, and goes completely mad to choose the path of slaughtering the whole world, this is an absolutely forbidden zone that must not be entered.

The boy desperately suppressed his gloomy consciousness, forcing himself not to faint, which resulted in his Soul Essence slowly and abnormally regressing.

If the value reaches zero, in addition to being forced into a coma and having a slower recovery of the Soul Essence, even the potential for further increase will be weakened.

But he cannot faint yet.

Subsequent troops will likely arrive one after another. The higher-ups will not choose to stop until they obtain the Herrscher Core, and attempting to negotiate with them while severely injured is a pointless endeavor.

Even Su Qing'an's survival is seen by some as a terrifying problem.

Having witnessed the boy's scattered combat data, no single human being in the world would be willing to provoke such an existence.

In short, keeping the people who come to retrieve the Herrscher's remains unconscious is not a long-term solution.

Let alone whether continuing like this would allow them to protect the girl's remains, the boy's own injuries did not permit him to be any more willful.

Therefore, Su Qing'an is currently waiting for someone.

Himeko.

Whether it's to find out Fu Hua and Seele's current situation or to find a way to intercept Satou Yunona's remains, Su Qing'an must rely on this person's power.

Himeko and Murata Himeko are one soul.

Even if her later experiences lead to differences in personality and principles, she is now the only person Su Qing'an can choose to trust.

Su Qing'an believed that she had kept her initial promise to him, and he also had to believe that she had successfully taken Fu Hua and Seele away from Canghai City.

Otherwise... even deliberately maintained spiritual aftereffects would find it difficult to withstand such a cruel reality.

Therefore, these advance troops could only be members of the Fifth Squad led by Himeko from Moth to Fire.

Because if it wasn't the Fifth Squad, it already meant that the other party hadn't kept their promise to them.

However, given that Himeko has not yet arrived in Canghai City, the group, who are completely unaware of the Honkai Fission Bomb, will most likely continue to stay in the shelter and wait for their return.

The consequences of continuing to wait in this way are self-evident.

Su Qing'an had no choice but to eliminate all other possibilities from her mind and place all her hopes on this one bet.

The reality he was in made him realize more than ever before how isolated and helpless he was in this world.

In previous timelines, St. Freya Academy and even Schicksal could serve as their support.

Whether it's the friends in the academy or the convenient path paved by Schicksal's funds and power, they are all necessary in crucial moments.

But in the Previous Civilization, Su Qing'an, who had nothing, had to face all the cruel, dark despair and predicaments alone.

Even though he was used to shouldering heavy burdens alone, he still couldn't help but feel lonely when he suffered a crushing defeat and had to wait for others to come to his aid.

Fortunately, he can no longer sense any emotions.

The boy remained expressionless, his eyes, stained crimson with blood, staring blankly into the distance, his gaze lifeless.

If it weren't Himeko who greeted Su Qing'an, he might very well have met that fate.

When Himeko rushed to the scene, the sight before her left her speechless.

The team members who had fainted were being hurriedly checked by the others to determine their exact physical condition.

The woman's attention was completely drawn to Satou Yunona's corpse and the mangled body of a boy not far away.

The blade of the long dagger was only a few centimeters away from the fabric of the corpse, but those few centimeters seemed like an insurmountable chasm, making it impossible to strike.

Su Qing'an is still alive, and this miraculous survival shows that I underestimated him a little.

Perhaps it was his survival that prevented anyone from harming the remains of the Herrscher's physical body.

Himeko didn't understand what kind of profound and special meaning Satou Yunona represented to Su Qing'an, but at least she could understand that this person was very important to the boy.

It was so important that even if the other party became the Third Herrscher, he was willing to risk death to entangle with them.

So important that even though he was on the verge of death, he didn't want anyone to desecrate the other person's remains.

When Himeko saw Satou Yunona's remains with her own eyes, she vaguely realized the thoughts she had had back then.

Herrscher... so they're not much different from humans after all.

This is a pure sentiment, yet it is also a seed destined to sprout.

Himeko took out a vial from her protective suit and, while examining the boy's battered body, deftly injected it into his veins.

The woman gazed into those scarlet, lifeless eyes and felt a profound chill.

Just how terrifying is the willpower and self-control to maintain such a frighteningly calm in the face of such an event?

Su Qing'an's state of mind was completely different from the age data obtained from his genetic sampling. Even Himeko himself could not guarantee that he could maintain this level of restraint after encountering the same situation.

But what lies hidden within this restraint is like a dark shadow that blocks out the sky beneath the floating ice, exuding a chilling temperature.

The woman realized that even setting aside all personal feelings and her own feelings for Su Qing'an, the sheer pressure and the ability to cause her team members to fall unconscious for no reason did not allow her to treat the current situation casually.

She whispered in the boy's ear:

"Hua and Seele are on a warship 15 minutes away from here. Carole, Shiyu Qiluo, and your other students are also fine, so you can rest assured."

Even after seeing them and realizing they were probably safe and sound, Su Qing'an's tense nerves only relaxed slightly after Himeko said it herself. He gazed at the woman with deep eyes but remained silent.

Himeko continued:

"You know, with my power, there's no way I can protect the Herrscher Core of the Third Herrscher; that's a waste that the entire civilization cannot allow."

"No matter how important she is to you, in your severely injured state where you are unable to move, any threats or requests you make will only become a reason for your superiors to get rid of you."

Reasoning with Su Qing'an now is useless. Perhaps he understands this, or perhaps he feels guilty about the boy's current miserable state and wants to make amends.

Himeko said this:

"But I will keep your remains. I will announce that the Third Herrscher's body was completely annihilated by the Honkai Fission Bomb, leaving only the Herrscher Core at the scene."

Su Qing'an did not answer; he could not answer.

However, the solution suggested by Himeko is indeed the most ideal solution at present.

The existence of the Herrscher Core was something Su Qing'an didn't care about.

What others would treasure as a Herrscher Core was, to the boy, merely one of the culprits who caused Satou Yunona's death.

However, allowing others to touch the other person's remains was still unacceptable to Su Qing'an, even if that person was Himeko.

She hesitated for a moment and asked:

"... Are you going to personally retrieve the Herrscher Core?"

The boy's eyes flickered, indicating his agreement.

"You should also know that I once learned some information about your body through certain means."

"Although we don't know the source of your strength, it's a fact that your Honkai Energy adaptability is very poor. Getting close to the Herrscher Core in person would only make things worse for you in this critical situation."

"I'm not trying to persuade you not to do it yourself, but in this situation, any way you can move your body even briefly would be very painful and could even worsen your injury."

"I have now fully informed you of all the risks and consequences."

With a sigh, Himeko opened a corner of her protective suit, revealing the armor underneath.

The armor she wears inside still has the ability to defend against the contamination from the aftershocks of the Honkai Fission Bomb, but its effectiveness is rather poor.

The smooth metal surface of the armor suddenly became undulating, creating a groove in a mere second.

As the cold air filled the air, a special nano-reagent was launched.

The woman explained as she injected it into Su Qing'an's body.

"This is the standard nano-reagent for Moth to Fire."

"The Nanobots inside will ignore most extreme injuries and temporarily and precisely reconnect all the nerves in the body, correct distorted bones, and create corresponding materials to replace those broken parts that cannot support the human body structure, forcibly restoring a certain degree of mobility."

"But the consequence of doing this is that the pain will be dozens of times greater than what you would normally experience from an injury, and the subsequent recovery and surgical treatment will be much more difficult."

Himeko gazed at the boy's body, which was surging with unsettling activity, like countless lumps moving beneath his skin, and said softly:

"Most of the soldiers who survived using this reagent would rather die than be injected with it again."

Su Qing'an felt his bones being straightened one by one, and the tiny organs and bone fragments being directly crushed and used as materials to shape a brand new human body structure. These pain sensations dissipated like a light mist.

The boy's gaze was indifferent. The precise control State of Still Water was even more terrifying than that of Nanobots. He silently followed these external forces and began to make auxiliary corrections. The sudden intensification of pain could not shake him.

Su Qing'an was already used to this level of suffering. The process of trying to learn [Thousand Stars] and the feeling of his whole body Honkai Energy corroded into [Ashes] by Honkai energy were far more torturous than this.

Himeko looked at his indifferent expression, feeling a mix of unease and worry.

How are you feeling?

Su Qing'an gradually brought his actions back under his control. He didn't respond to that question, but instead said softly:

"Make them turn their backs."

Himeko said softly, "Okay."

Her prestige in the Fifth Squad far exceeded the cohesion of a normal squad, and the squad members obeyed without question, taking their unconscious comrade and leaving first.

The boy carefully tried to clean his hands with his clothes, then gently embraced the slender girl who had fallen into eternal sleep.

He stared at Satou Yunona's face, whose outline he could barely make out, for a while at the curve of her withered lips, his face expressionless.

The corpse was so light, like an empty cicada shell buried in the winter snow, exuding a desolate and lonely chill.

There was no more blood, and no more filth.

Su Qing'an broke off the long dagger from the instrument and put it aside.

He followed the lines of the fabric until he found a way to remove the white dress intact, then untied and took it off.

The boy silently apologized to the girl, closed his eyes, and awkwardly unhooked the complicated bra that resembled a Rubik's Cube.

Su Qing'an's slender fingers carefully counted the bones and ribs in front of her heart, one by one. The touch was like the rough and cold bark of a tree covered in frost.

Himeko observed the boy's movements and gaze, her manner as if she were treating a living, breathing girl, polite and proper.

This scene inexplicably made her a little sad.

Su Qing'an sensed the exact location, pressed his fingertip on that spot for a long time, and took a deep breath, saying to himself.

It's okay, Su Qing'an.

It's okay.

The Herrscher Core is so dirty; she wouldn't like anything related to Honkai Energy.

It is not pure at all, and it goes against all good things.

So, with trembling fingertips, he cut the blade along the bone into the soft human tissue, until the long dagger touched something hard, and then he traced a beautiful arc along the corresponding trajectory.

The boy reached into the bloodless, organless body and carefully extracted the Herrscher Core, which was as beautiful as a jewel.

Su Qing'an tossed it aside like trash, ignoring the spiderweb-like purple lines spreading across his hands, and carefully dressed the girl step by step.

The boy brushed the dust off his skirt, remained silent for a moment, and then said softly:

"Please help me bury her."

"Buried in a place where no one can find it, but it's not so lonely."

Himeko realized for the first time that a person's sadness could truly fill the air with a suffocating sorrow.

But his eyes were so cold, so very cold, like a lifeless lake in a frozen wasteland.

"... Okay," she said.