Faced with the young man's declaration of victory, the surrounding crowd chose silence. There were no moved tears, no passionate cheers—only a silence as still as water.
"."
Feeling the calm gazes cast upon him by the entire crowd, Ye Chen slowly clenched his hands into fists.
"."
"But."
"I'm sorry."
After a long while, the young man slowly lowered his head and confessed sorrowfully to everyone present:
"What I can do... is limited to this."
"No matter how powerful I may be, in the end, all I'm good at is killing people, not saving them."
"Your lives, your suffering, your endings..."
"As for tragedies that have already become established reality..."
"I simply have no way to undo them."
"Besides... besides..."
"At one point during this battle..."
"The pressure became too much, and I briefly went mad."
"I mistook some of you for utterly vicious people, and then subjected you to excessive abuse..."
"For that, I am truly sorry."
"Everyone, I'm terribly sorry."
"Now, all I can do... is watch you leave."
"May you find peace in heaven."
With that, Ye Chen closed his eyes, bringing his speech to an end.
"."
The crowd surrounded Ye Chen, watched Ye Chen, and remained in quiet silence.
"."
"."
"."
Then, all of a sudden, somewhere within the crowd, a pair of hands rose and broke into crisp applause.
Clap!
It was Hao Wan, captain of the Hunter Guard, the first to step forward and respond to Ye Chen's words and actions alongside his teammates.
Clap!
Immediately afterward, Lifa, leader of the Knight Guard, also led her teammates in applauding Ye Chen.
Clap clap clap!
More applause followed, wave after wave reaching Ye Chen's ears.
Clap clap clap clap clap!
The rising applause was like waves spreading across the sea, growing more