I'm Not a Flame-Chaser

At the moment the alarm sounded, Lin and Bronya, who were driving to the airport, suddenly looked up and turned back to look at Coral Island in surprise.

"Prometheus."

As Lin turned his head, Bronya's gray eyes had already switched to red eyes, and Lin suddenly felt a strange mix of emotions.

Fifty thousand years later, when he subconsciously sent Prometheus to investigate, she was indeed here this time.

"Two 3500KW Honkai Energy reactions have occurred in the Coral Island area. The radiation zone is expanding outwards. Cameras in the Honkai Energy reaction area are being searched..."

Based on the coordinates given by Prometheus, Lin took off running.

Two?

3500KW is already Herrscher- level Honkai Energy reaction. Among Honkai Beast, only the Judgment-class Honkai Beast can reach this level. Did two Herrscher emerge from Coral Island at the same time? Or is it that this time the Herrscher's Companion Honkai Beast is the long-unseen Judgment-class?

Pushing through the still bewildered crowd, Prometheus, following behind Lin, continued to report the situation, "It has been confirmed that both Honkai Energy reactions are from Herrscher, one of whom is the Herrscher of Binding, and the other is a member of the Schicksal Coral Island branch."

Lin paused in his tracks.

Is he the one Herrscher of Binding?

Why now, here...?

Closer to Lin and his group was the Schicksal Branch. As they made their way to their destination, Lin felt a sudden, biting chill. His spirits lifted, and he immediately recognized the type of Herrscher they were facing.

No... the Herrscher of the Schicksal Branch, could it be...?

A sense of foreboding arose in Lin's heart, and she reached into her pocket to grasp the necklace.

This time, he avoided his Schicksal when he came to Coral Island. Besides the conflict of positions, he was also hesitant about whether to hand over the necklace to its original owner and help Chen Tianwu finish his business.

This Honkai was like a cruel joke, coming unexpectedly.

"The Honkai Energy reaction of the Herrscher of Binding is rapidly approaching the Schicksal Branch."

What?

Before Lin could react, the Schicksal Branch, which had transformed into an iceberg fortress, suddenly erupted with a deafening explosion, and the terrifying shockwave swept across the entire Coral Island.

The body manipulator reverted to Bronya, and the two watched warily as the iceberg cracked and collapsed.

"... Prometheus told me that one of the Herrscher reactions has disappeared." Bronya's clothes transformed into a gorgeous gown, her hair fell loose, and Heavy-Oni-Rabbit appeared beside her, raising the cannon in her hand and aiming it at the shadow that was gradually appearing in the icy mist.

The dazzling sunlight shone on the earth, and Lin suddenly felt the cold dissipate, and warmth returned to the ground.

The person who appeared in the melting iceberg stood on the ruins, with the blood-red liquid flowing down his feet and the ice crystals resembling shattered corpses. His pale hair was the perfect match for the icy mist that filled the sky.

Prismatic Eyes pierced through the hazy white mist and landed on Lin, who calmly met her gaze with his own black eyes.

A biting wind howled, and the white-haired man's right hand, wrapped with a chain whose luster could not be concealed, pierced through the chestnut-haired girl's chest. He glanced down at Lin and withdrew his hand from the girl's body, whose ice gauze was gradually melting.

"Smack."

The sound of the corpse hitting the ground was deafening.

"Boom!"

The Heavy-Oni-Rabbit's cannon fired a high-heat shell, melting the surrounding ice, and it arrived in front of Jiu in the blink of an eye!

But the white-haired man didn't move an inch, not even shifting his gaze, and the energy projectile vanished without a trace right in front of him, leaving no mark whatsoever.

He continued to look at Lin, and Lin was not surprised by this.

They exchanged countless glances, both fully aware of each other's thoughts. Since Jiu hadn't made a move, it meant he had something to say.

"...I'll give you a chance." Jiu jumped off the ruins, the ice fortress behind him turning into azure ice particles that drifted in the wind. He stood not far from Lin, raised his finger and pointed at Lin, saying calmly, "You know I have the ability to kill everyone here right now, but I won't do it. If you lose next, I will kill the Herrscher next to you first, then kill everyone on Coral Island, and then leave here and kill everyone I see."

There was no coldness or cruelty, just the declaration of a fact.

"... Bronya." Lin exhaled and called softly.

"Reject it, this could be a trap." Bronya's cannon remained motionless, her usual calm demeanor replaced by a sense of impending doom. "Bronya can invoke the Oath of Judas to resist for a period of time."

"The Divine Key you recreated doesn't have a rated power; it can't possibly withstand my abilities," Jiu said coldly after hearing their conversation. "You have five seconds to consider."

Bronya wanted to stand in front of Lin, which she saw as suicide. Lin didn't even have a weapon, while she at least had the power of the Herrscher of Reason.

But Lin pressed down on her shoulder.

"It's okay, leave it to me."

"..."

Prometheus's memories of Lin surfaced in her mind, and Bronya subconsciously reached out her hand. She didn't know if it was her or Prometheus's action, but no matter who it was, they couldn't grab Lin's clothes. He had already stepped forward and confronted the Herrscher of Binding.

In the cold wind, Jiu casually tossed something that landed in front of Lin. Lin looked closely and saw that it was a knight's sword with a gold-plated hilt and intricate patterns.

"I told you, I'll give you a chance." Jiu coldly stared at Lin and the sword on the ground with her Prismatic Eyes.

Lin pondered for half a second, then reached out and grasped the golden hilt of the sword, before suddenly being stunned.

A familiar feeling welled up inside me.

This sword contains a portion of the power of the Herrscher of Binding.

Why?

Lin sensed something unusual about Jiu. In the past, Jiu was also obsessed with winning against Lin, but he would not have any obsession with winning fair and square and would use all sorts of means to kill Lin.

A cold wind howled, and two figures, one in black and one in white, stood facing each other on the empty ruins. Their entanglement, which had lasted for millennia, was no longer as simple as hatred.

Bronya clenched her fists, staring at Lin's retreating figure. In her palm was a black duck plush toy.

Without any signal to begin the battle, the two people who knew each other best rushed towards each other simultaneously, and in the dim light of the approaching winter, amidst the blood-red reflections, they began their final fight.

"Who I am?"

"You are Lin, and you are also the captain."

The white-haired man, like an observer, coldly watched the awakened black-haired man and the maid who was gazing at him tenderly from behind.

You forget yourself for the sake of others, and no matter how much time has passed, you will always be like this.

For a moment, the white-haired man paused, and then he appeared before the black-haired man's astonished gaze.

"Don't be surprised, I am Lin, and you are Lin too. I will tell you who you are."

From the moment they were born, they walked back to back, resolutely striding in different directions, never looking back.

Yes, they can only live on, hating each other.

You are Lin.

Who I am?

Coral's "Reversal": Chapter Fifty-One - The Sword God

"Bass!"

"Bang!"

The collapse of the house was accompanied by a sonic boom. Two figures swung their weapons amidst the debris, leaving wounds on each other, before crashing into another house in the blink of an eye.

"Whoosh!"

The knight's sword grazed the white-haired man's cheek, leaving a bloody mark and severing a few strands of hair. The sharp end of the chain grazed the black-haired man's side, leaving a scratch.

Their equally bizarre and deadly fighting styles led them to constantly seek cover for evasion and attacks, like two venomous snakes locked in a deadly battle in a dense rainforest.

Jiu's Prismatic Eyes emitted an eerie light, moving rapidly within their sockets to track Lin's movements.

"Thump!"

The blade burst through the wall beside him. As if he had known what was going on, he retreated and dodged, then opened his hand and shot out the compressed Honkai Energy!

"Boom!"

The terrifying energy sphere disintegrated anything it touched, and Lin, behind the wall, reacted extremely quickly. The moment his skin felt the burning sensation, he used the Great Void Sword Qi's Inch Force - Thunderbolt to collide with the energy sphere, and the two of them were blasted away by the impact!

Bronya watched with unease as the two figures roared through the city like elusive bolts of lightning, leaving ruins in their wake. She wanted to help, but Prometheus's memories told her that if she intervened, the Herrscher of Binding would unleash Binding Barrier, preventing anyone on Coral Island from escaping.

What to do...

Bronya, who was standing there pondering what she could do, caught something out of the corner of her eye, paused for a moment, and then stepped forward.

"This is..."

Lin searched for Jiu's weaknesses. Their fighting logic was the same, so the best solution was to think from Jiu's perspective.

"Whoosh!"

A dark shadow appeared in the thick smoke, making one's heart tremble. Lin instinctively raised his sword to defend himself, but when it was right in front of him, he realized that it was just an ordinary brick.

He immediately changed his posture and fell forward. Less than half a second after he fell, three chains slid across his back.

After dodging the attack, Lin thrust his sword forward without turning his head, but halfway through the thrust, his arm was caught under his armpit and he couldn't break free. Then, a piercing pain was accompanied by the sound of bones breaking!

"Snap!"

Lin immediately raised his other hand and placed it on Jiu's shoulder, and the blazing fireball exploded at point-blank range!

After the explosion, the two retreated separately. Lin's right hand was bent outward and hung limply at his side. He switched to holding the sword with his left hand, while Jiu's entire left arm was severed at the shoulder, leaving his left shoulder completely empty.

Neither of them paid attention to their injuries. Several chains extended from the gruesome severed flesh on Jiu's left shoulder, emanating an eerie, sacred yet terrifying aura like golden tentacles.

No the same.

Lin sensed that the person in front of him was different from before, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what had changed. However...

No matter how this Herrscher disguised himself, his extraordinary Prismatic Eyes always held a deep affection for Lin. But now, Lin felt that all that remained in his eyes was a vast fog.

I can't see his movements clearly...

There was no time to catch their breath. The battle between the two gradually evolved from a warm-up melee into a clash of Honkai Energy. The area affected was constantly expanding, but thanks to their proximity to the Schicksal branch, the people here were the first to hear the alarm and evacuate, so only the buildings were damaged.

Jiu was stabbed in the right leg and was trying to break free when Lin punched him in the face and then stepped on the sword hilt, pinning him to the ground. Jiu gritted his teeth, and the chain on his right side pierced the ground. Lin, who was about to continue attacking, realized the danger when he saw Jiu's Prismatic Eyes light up and retreated.

"Boom!"

The intertwined and surging chains resembled a giant dragon head emerging from the ground, biting Lin's right hand. Just being next to it, Lin felt a strong sense of lag when controlling Honkai Energy.

At the critical moment, Lin drew his knight's sword and severed the chains with a single stroke. In the clash of powers, he successfully pulled out his right arm, but its bloody, twisted, and deformed appearance made it unrecognizable.

The two stopped at the same time, catching their breath and observing each other.

"Do you remember what you asked me before?"

"..."

Jiu suddenly spoke.

"Is the destruction of human civilization necessary for me?"

No matter how you look at it, Jiu is different from other Herrscher. He is rational, intelligent, and indifferent, yet he has a strong inclination to destroy civilization. It is not for revenge, nor is he merely an empty shell; it is simply an incomprehensible sense of mission.

Jiu's answer was the same: no reason given.

"Of course it's not necessary."

But this time, the answer was completely different.

Lin looked at him in disbelief, while Jiu spat out a broken tooth and said indifferently, "However, after humans become Flame-Chaser, no matter how well they disguise themselves as ordinary people, even if others can't tell, they themselves can no longer consider themselves human."

"..."

The existence of humans and non-humans has been irreconcilable from the very beginning, and this contradiction has always existed.

Everyone pretended that nothing had happened, as if not seeing or thinking about it meant it didn't exist.

Lin sighed softly, "You are wrong."

"If that's your opinion, then correct this mistake yourself."

Are they at odds?

No, at this point they may have understood each other's thoughts. The two who had been separated since 50,000 years ago have finally reached a reconciliation.

That is why the fight must continue until one side is completely defeated.

"Boom!"

The two figures began to collide head-on at an even faster speed than before!

They didn't dodge, nor did they continue the chase.

It was just a battle of blows, with each strike aimed at vital points, the black pupils and Prismatic Eyes filled with the other's image.