The Second Clash

But Lin's repeated "don't worry" couldn't put her at ease...

And so, Pardo's good days came to an end from this day forward.

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Second Encounter

"Lift your legs up."

Pardo shakily lifted her right leg and placed it on the stretcher, but Lin shook his head, walked forward, grabbed her waist with one hand and her ankle with the other, and with a sudden pull—

"Gaaaaaaah!"

Pardo almost collapsed into Lin's arms, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at him. "Lin, Brother Lin... please, be gentle, it hurts so much..."

Lin didn't say anything, but he increased the pressure on his hand.

He could tell that Pardo was very resilient; even after a year of inactivity, she still had a good foundation. This level of stretching was just to help her with her rehabilitation.

The important thing is that Pardo comes from Dusk Street, so she should be able to endure hardship... rather than just eat a lot.

"Do 20 push-ups per set, and rest after completing 10 sets."

"No... Brother Lin, I can't take it anymore... There's too much..." Pardo knelt on the mat, drenched in sweat, trying to gain Lin's sympathy with her expression, but all she got in return was Lin's terrifying gaze.

"Don't you think you're too fat?" Lin said sternly. "Even some researchers who sit in offices all the time are concerned about their figure and excess fat. Do you really feel comfortable with having an extra two ounces of fat around your waist?"

"What if I said...it felt good..." Pardo tentatively asked.

"... Then I won't feel comfortable."

"Ughhhhhh!"

Lin had become completely accustomed to the feeling of his consciousness leaving his body and the world he was in after many experiences, but what he cared about was not this uncomfortable sense of dislocation, but the possible attack that might come later.

He landed on the ground, cautiously crouching behind the ruins, observing his surroundings.

Although it might not be very effective, Lin was still willing to give it a try.

Of course, all of this became meaningless when "that person" appeared above him and swung his sword down.

"Bass!"

Lin dodged the attack and aimed his knee at the woman's lower abdomen, but she reached out and grabbed his knee beforehand, then casually tossed him away like a cannonball.

Lin felt dizzy and disoriented, as if he had become a stone skipping across the water, flying more than a hundred meters across the sea before coming to a stop.

When Lin fell into the water, he had only one thought.

Run.

His consciousness was unequipped and had no chance against a Herrscher. He could only escape the woman once he returned to his body after observing the Parallel World for the duration of his observation.

Last time he specifically estimated the time, which was about ten minutes in total. Now seven minutes have passed, which means he only needs to wait three more minutes.

"Crackling and popping."

Suddenly, he seemed to hear some faint sounds coming from the waves in the distance.

No, he saw it underwater: some purple lightning bolts churning in the seawater.

Lin suddenly poked his head out from under the water and saw the woman floating in mid-air with long, silver-white hair moving without wind. An arm made of lightning and covered in armor extended from her back, a divine arm over a thousand meters long, reaching towards him.

The third... Herrscher?

This is undoubtedly the power of the Herrscher of Thunder to control electromagnetic fields, but this woman uses it far more skillfully than the Third Herrscher, and is even more... like a god.

Why did you attack me?

Whether it was because Lin's subconscious whisper was caught, or because of something within the woman herself, the giant arm armor behind her suddenly collapsed.

She silently looked at her hands, closed her eyes, and exhaled.

After a moment's thought, the woman landed about ten meters in front of Lin, and they gazed at each other from the sea.

"... A temporary truce." The woman succinctly stated her intention.

Lin was taken aback, but given the current situation, he had no choice but to nod in agreement.

Of course, even if he didn't agree, the woman probably wouldn't care about his opinion.

"Who exactly are you..." Lin asked that question again.

He was 100% certain that he had never seen this person before. His appearance, voice, and even the hair color, which was even paler and purer than Kevin's, were completely unfamiliar. If that was the case, why would this person keep chasing him?

If the reason is that she is Herrscher, then she is clearly capable of communication, and the situation doesn't seem to be just like that of Herrscher from Parallel World.

"Abaddon Yama Demon." The woman used the same ambiguous title as before. "If you find it troublesome, you can just call Yan Luo."

A piece of ice appeared on the sea beneath Yan Luo's feet, and she stood on it to rest for a while. Lin, however, did not receive such treatment; Yan Luo showed no intention of making him a piece of ice as well.

The Fifth Herrscher...

Lin's gaze grew increasingly solemn. It seemed that Yan Luo was displaying more than one kind of power as Herrscher. What exactly was going on?

"Why are you attacking me? If it's because I came here, then it wasn't intentional. I was controlling..."

"I can't control it."

Yan Luo interrupted Lin, her gaze cold, seemingly unconcerned about what Lin was saying, "After your Hypervariable Surgery, your consciousness frequently entered an observation state, occasionally entering Parallel World, which is beyond your control."

She... knows?

"My killing you is related to this matter, but the main reason is that I intend to save people."

... What was she saying?

"Save... who?"

"Many, many people, some important, some unimportant."

Yan Luo glared at Lin with the most filthy, vile, and disgusting look in his eyes.

"Your very existence is a mistake, and I am here to correct that mistake."

Lin's thoughts were momentarily disrupted. He was about to open his mouth to ask another question, but the dizziness made him close his mouth, and his consciousness disappeared from this world.

After Lin disappeared, Yan Luo knelt on the floating ice, clutching his chest and breathing heavily.

After suffering heavy losses in a battle with the Herrscher of Reason, his consciousness hasn't recovered yet. So, is his consciousness about to collapse? It seems he needs to rest for a while...

Subsequently, Yan Luo's consciousness also disappeared from this world.

"Brother Lin, you're awake? We're working out seriously, aren't we? Really!"

As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Pardo strolling slowly on the treadmill. She quickly ran a few steps, pretending to be serious.

However, you could tell from her face, which was completely free of sweat, whether she had actually worked hard during this time.

Lin shook his head, too lazy to continue lecturing the guy. He walked out of the gym, closed the door, and leaned against the wall.

"Your very existence is a mistake, and I am here to correct that mistake."

If the world Yan Luo inhabits is a Parallel World with a later timeline, what did he do in the future that caused the deaths of many people, which is why he is being hunted down by Yan Luo?

But why is it Yan Luo, the Herrscher? And what does that mistake refer to?

The Daily Life of a Flame-Chasers High School Boy - An Introduction

"Something terrible has happened!"

While playing Street Fighter 6 with Kevin, Lin took advantage of the moment when Kevin's attention was diverted and unleashed a spectacular Shoryuken attack, taking away Kevin's health bar.

"Cheating! Aaaaaah!" Kevin screamed in disbelief, but Lin had already calmly put down the controller and turned to Kosma had rushed into the dormitory, asking—

"What's wrong? Dessidobia finally come to her senses and dump you?"

"No... when have we ever been together! We're just childhood sweethearts!" Kosma blushed and argued impatiently with Lin, who was picking his ear.

"Childhood sweethearts often end up being like riding horses."

"Where did you come to that conclusion about 'often'? Which website? The one you shared last time?"

Kevin couldn't stand it any longer. He loudly stepped between the two who were throwing yellow waste at each other and asked Kosma, "Kosma, what's going on? What terrible thing has happened?"

Kosma, reminded, immediately slapped his forehead, his face burning with anxiety. "Chrono, he..."

"You got into a fight?"

Lin and Kevin immediately stood up at the same time. Lin grabbed the chair that had warmed up from sitting on it and weighed it in his hand. "Hmm, not bad."

Kevin casually grabbed a broom from behind the dormitory door, and the two of them, looking menacing, prepared to leave.

"No! It's not a fight!" Kosma quickly stepped in front of them, preventing a bloody incident from happening.

"What is that?" Lin asked Kevin, putting down his chair in confusion. "Besides fighting, what else happens Chrono?"

"Hmm..." Kevin stroked his chin, also quite confused. "That's all, right? Does using his photo to stop a baby from crying count?"

"What exactly is Chrono like in your minds?"

Kosma covered his forehead and complained, shaking his head helplessly. "Besides, it was clearly the two of you who did the thing of using his picture to scare people."

"So what exactly happened? Did he create crop circles on the playground?"

Kosma's expression was off, and he stammered, "Um... well, that's a long story..."

"Reduce it to one sentence or less," Lin Satuo commanded.

"Someone is going to confess their feelings to him."

"..."

"..."

Lin hefted the chair, exchanged a glance with Kevin, and together they gave each other a bloodthirsty smile before walking out.

"Hey! Wait! What are you doing?!"

Lin licked his lips, gave a wicked smile, and then burst into laughter with Kevin: "Of course, it's to make our best friend see the error of his ways!"

"How could you..."

"Shut up, you pervert!" Kevin, his eyes bloodshot, grabbed Kosma by the collar, his gaze pressed against Kosma's, and roared hoarsely, "How could you, a guy with a childhood sweetheart, possibly understand our feelings! Lin was right, all childhood sweethearts eventually turn into riding horses! We've already shown the greatest leniency by not judging you, how can we watch yet another friend go astray!"

"Ah... that's certainly the best course of action to stop him..." Kosma's eyes darted around, his lips twitching. "Otherwise, he might really go astray..."

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Lin sensed the different meaning in Kosma's tone. "Is she very beautiful? A rich young lady? Does she want Kosma to marry into her family? Or is she a gangster's rose? Was she captivated by Chrono fighting prowess?"

"That..."

Kosma's eyes were filled with gloom as he spoke the truth through twitching lips.

"That person was a man."

"..."

"..."

Suddenly, the entire dormitory fell silent.

"In the end, you two could easily find girlfriends if you dressed up a bit, so why are you so resentful?"

Kosma couldn't help but make a few sarcastic remarks about the two otaku who had just taken a shower, changed their clothes, and looked completely refreshed.

"Hmph, what a joke." Lin slicked his hair back, leaving a tuft of black hair standing out sexy on his forehead. Hearing Kosma's words, he sneered, "You think we would stoop so low as to dress up like a social butterfly to pick up girls? That's not pure love at all."

"How much do you misunderstand pure love... and why are you dressed like this now?"

Kevin was styling his hair with a hairdryer, picked up the conversation. His neat, medium-length white hair looked energetic after the greasiness was removed. He stared intently at himself in the mirror. "It's very simple. It's just preparation for solving the problem of Chrono."

"No... I find it hard to connect the two."

"So, those who are successful in life because they have childhood sweethearts don't understand love," Lin mocked mercilessly.

"Well, you've never been in a relationship either..." Kosma was almost speechless at all the flaws Lin had to offer. If he didn't see Lin for half an hour, he could come up with countless things to criticize about his words, actions, and appearance.

"Who says I've never been in a relationship?" Lin's expression suddenly turned sacred, and he reverently clasped his hands together. "I'm a relationship master with over ten thousand relationships under my belt. My romantic partners have been incredibly diverse, including swords, death gods, angels, and witches..."

"Aren't those all visual novels? And you've only played games from one company!"

Kosma let his hands fall limply and sighed weakly, "So... what's the plan?"

"Smack."