I'm Not a Flame-Chaser - Chapter 375

The soft, moist soil had already frozen into hard clods before anyone could step on it. A man dressed in all black, wearing a hood, steadily walked past one tombstone after another.

If the victim has a body, the Firemoth will be responsible for burying it; if not, it will be engraved in the headquarters' "cemetery".

But Kevin didn't want to do that; at least, it wasn't something a Moth to do.

Let him rest peacefully here, with the people he loved most in his life.

It didn't take Kevin long to find a fresh patch of soil and a blank tombstone.

There were no words engraved on it, which was Kevin's request. He didn't know how to describe that person, whether as a friend or a comrade-in-arms, none of those identities would be appropriate, and he didn't want that name to appear on the tombstone.

This is a form of cowardice and escapism.

Kevin knew very well that he was far from the hero others described. He was confused, fighting only for one person, and he was cowardly, unable to face the sacrifices of others.

There might have been a more suitable candidate for the hero, but that person shook his head and said that what humanity needed was Kevin, not him.

"Rustle..."

In the pool, another person emerged from behind the tree. He seemed to have been there all along, quietly watching Kevin and the grave.

"Only Doctor Mobius attended the funeral."

The enlightened one, who had been keeping his eyes closed, opened them and gazed at the nameless tomb.

"I saw her cry."

"... Mobius won't cry, it's probably because it's raining." Kevin looked up, and the indifferent raindrops slid down his face, turning into ice crystals before they even hit the ground. "Didn't anyone else come?"

"They didn't want to come, Chrono almost attacked me."

"..."

Perhaps it's not that they didn't want to come.

They just need time to process it, and coming here means they have to accept it.

Humans are adaptable animals; once they accept the facts, they tend to let them fade away.

They don't want to forget.

"Kevin, some things have to be done."

The person sat opposite him, their indifferent face softened by the reflection in the glass table.

"It's not that we want to change things, but that we are being pushed by the world. In Aponia's words, we are being driven by fate onto a predetermined path."

He opened his mouth without any apparent feeling. "Do you believe in the destiny that Aponia saw?"

I don't believe it.

"..."

"If lofty beliefs and towering buildings can be summed up in a single word: fate, then the world is left with only slaves, slaves to fate." The man raised his head and looked into the distance. "Would you believe that what you have persisted in, and what you have sacrificed, is merely a predetermined fate?"

Kevin had already gotten the answer by then.

He wouldn't believe it; even if he saw it with his own eyes and heard it with his own ears, it would only be a false illusion to him.

"Over the years, I have met many people: Delta, Anna, the Speaker, Soul, Himiko... Some died because of the Herrscher, and some became Herrscher, but they truly lived as humans."

"They believed that what they were doing was something that someone had to do, so they embarked on their 'destiny' without hesitation, and did not look back until death came."

"If it were my turn, my only hope would be that you would survive."

Kevin heard something unbelievable; how could that person possibly say something like that...?

"You are humanity's hope. As long as you live and fight, humanity is not over. So... whether you run away or hide, keep living."

"You are different from me, a man-made defective product. I believe that one day you will surpass Honkai itself."

The man spoke casually yet forcefully, and Kevin didn't know how to answer him or respond to that expectation.

Doesn't that person know that he is actually the spider web of many people?

He stands on tiptoe, reaching out to grab the spider silk; for many, that is what he is.

"I've thought about what I'll do after the Honkai ends. The first thing I'll probably do is bury those people."

"Those people?"

"In my room drawer."

The man seemed much more at ease after saying it, and a glimmer of light appeared in his dark eyes. "I will watch over them until the day I lie down in one of them."

"You've really been saying a lot of unlucky things lately."

"On the contrary, you seem to be showing some improvement. To be honest, I think your coldness is not like you."

The two seemed to have returned to high school, talking in a lighthearted, joking tone.

"What will you be buried with when you die? A helmet?"

"I don't need it. I'll donate the body. You can keep the helmet and pistol." The man picked up the helmet from the table and walked over. "Want to try it on now?"

"No need, that's too stuffy, and there are ultra-lightweight options available..."

"You'll see once you try it."

Without saying a word, the man put the helmet on Kevin's head.

In the helmet's excellent sound insulation and the pitch black that blocked his vision, he could only hear his own cold breathing, his consciousness like a small boat adrift on turbulent waves, ready to capsize at any moment.

Until the person turned on the helmet's system, and through the bright vision and the viewing window, Kevin saw what appeared to be an almost imperceptible slight upturn at the corner of the person's mouth.

"Don't worry, even if I die, I will always be by your side."

Kevin put the helmet on his head.

Compared to lightweight terminals, Kevin found the helmet's complex systems, redundant functions, and unfiltered information very uncomfortable. He preferred to use his own strength rather than rely on external forces.

However, he realized that it was just that the person had no other choice.

That person couldn't possess Kevin's power; all he could do was continuously train and amplify the areas Kevin neglected.

The two of them see the world differently.

"Don't worry, even if I die, I'll always be by your side."

The figure disappeared from sight.

Kevin turned off the helmet system.

Darkness enveloped him; he could only hear his own breathing.

National Day Special: Spider Silk (Part 3)

"E Zone 697, Side Rotation Half Shaft"

In the vast workshop, only one person's voice could be heard.

"G section 479, with the rear half-shaft of the clockwise rotation placed horizontally."

She was assembling a massive object according to the design drawings in her hand. Perhaps to avoid sweat soaking into her hat, she unusually didn't wear her top hat, and her distinctive hair swayed with the clanging of the mechanical gears.

"Dr. Vill-V, you have not rested or eaten for more than 29 hours. I suggest you rest immediately."

The person who was humming a cheerful song stopped what they were doing, seemingly quite distressed by the error in the design. After hearing the words of the mechanical girl floating in mid-air beside them, she smiled and shook her head, "Sigh, Number Seventeen, can't you learn from your sister? I still prefer Number One's style."

"..."

"Okay, okay, I'll take a break. I just had a burst of inspiration, so I worked a little longer. I used to spend much more time on each project than I do now..."

As Vill-V rambled on, she walked out of the Spiral Workshop. With the departure of the only "person," the lights in the workshop dimmed, leaving only the mechanical girl alone inside.

"Hey! So early? You're having lunch too?"

With a plate of food in hand, a bright smile spread across her beautiful face as Vill-V sat down opposite Kevin.

"That's rare. Mei told me you usually like to eat instant noodles. How come you have time to eat in the cafeteria today?"

There were plenty of empty seats in the cafeteria; the large empty space behind Vill-V alone was enough for her to eat one bite and then move on to another.

But she didn't want to go anywhere else.

Kevin silently ate the food on his plate, which had long been frozen into chunks of meat by his cold aura, but he still chewed it up and swallowed it silently.

After finishing the meat in his mouth, Kevin calmly raised his head to look at the smiling Vill-V: "Aren't you the same?"

"Me? I come out to eat whenever I have time. I'm not like you busy people; I'm very relaxed and happy."

Are you alright?

"I'm doing great. I feel like I have an endless supply of inspiration. The 'engineer' only needs to draw up the design and then I can do the rest of the work. I feel like I'm going to take her job."

Vill-V's eating posture and movements were quite exaggerated, consistent with her usual theatrical desires. After finishing her meal with satisfaction, she stood up and stretched. "Hmm... full of energy! I'll go back to work now!"

"... He wouldn't want to see you like this."

"..."

Vill-V's gaze suddenly changed. She turned her head and gave Kevin a strange, aggressive look, while Kevin calmly lowered his head and continued eating.

Her gaze vanished in an instant, as if it were just an illusion. She waved cheerfully and said, "I'm not like you guys. I'm a genius. How could I be as sentimental as 'ordinary people'?"

"This is the project's outcome report. Sometimes I wonder if we have too many projects for the Moth Chaser project? The Research and Development Department alone issues hundreds of them every quarter. We are saving humanity and are busier than office workers."

Vill-V sat down casually at Mei's desk, who was reviewing documents, and placed the thick stack of documents on top of the pile that was taller than a person. Mei glanced at it indifferently and nodded slightly.

Don't overwork yourself.

"Haha, you should say that to yourself. I've never seen you rest. You work even harder than me, a Flame-Chaser." She put her hand on her hair, her bright, sunny smile unchanged. "There is someone who is worried about your health, but he's just too cold and embarrassed to say it."

"He'll have the nerve to speak up, and I'll listen to what he says. But you, you're the one who won't listen."

"Having a unique personality is the privilege of geniuses."

Is it because the 'cold' person who cared about you is no longer here?

"..."

"Tick-tock".

The clock on the table ticked away, second by second.

It will never turn back, and even if someone smashes it and turns its clock hand backward, nothing will ever change.

As time flows by, Vill-V's face is still beaming with smiles.

"He's really useless. He left so early. I thought I'd be the first one to leave." Her mouth opened and closed unconsciously, her stiff and numb expression performing. "He wouldn't want to see us sad, so why act so heartbroken? Why not just go with the flow like me?"

Everyone dies eventually; it's just a matter of time.

Vill-V saw things very clearly. Life is like a grand magic show, with climaxes and an ending. Even she couldn't make a magic show last forever.

Therefore, to live thoroughly, to live alone, and to live happily—that is what a genius who understands the truth of life should do.

Moreover, she knew exactly what that person wanted to do and say. Back when that womanizer was chatting happily with so many girls at the dance, she had already analyzed the nature of their relationship and realized that someone like him would inevitably disappear like fireworks once he reached his limit.

He was well aware of this, so he tried his best to live, keeping his spiderweb taut so that everyone could grab onto him until the day it broke.

Yes! As long as you've mentally rehearsed everything, there won't be any problems!

After all, she was never so greedy as to hope that others wouldn't grab onto that spider silk; she only needed to lean on it slightly...

It will be over in a second.

Pushing open the door, the pitch-black Spiral Workshop remained as cold and lonely as when she left.

Vill-V didn't turn on the lights. With her head down, she slowly walked past the floating Prometheus XVII. The 17, which was on standby, lit up its pupils and mechanically asked, "Dr. Vill-V, should we continue with the project development?"

"..."

A slight smile played on Vill-V's lips as she snapped her fingers, and the lights came on. "Of course, how could I, Vill-V, possibly stop here!"

"..."

"..."