The Tomb of the Heart

Lin immediately checked on Hua, who had been beside him before the Honkai outbreak. After the outbreak, the entire city would become a monster cage fraught with danger. He could already hear the roars of Honkai Beasts coming from afar. As the senior member, he had to ensure his teammate's safety first.

"Team Member Lin, are you alright..." Fortunately, when he turned around, he saw Hua not far away. She also looked delighted upon seeing Lin.

When those streaks of light destroyed the buildings, Lin had sensed the danger and pushed Hua away. As a result, he was struck by debris and blasted away by the impact. Compared to him, Hua had only suffered minor injuries and was otherwise unharmed.

Lin touched the gash at the back of his head. Blood was still steadily flowing from it. Rather than answering, he directly took out his sonar and pistol. "Hua, formation."

"O-Okay." Hua also realized that the situation was far from optimistic. They were within the area affected by the Honkai, carrying only basic equipment. They had to find somewhere to regroup and wait for the Fire Moth's support.

She put on her headset-like communication device, drew her pistol, and quickly crossed the obstacles to reach Lin's side.

As she passed the corpses, she could not bear to look at their miserable state. These lives had been so vibrant just minutes ago, yet now they had become mangled flesh beneath the ruins.

But when she saw Lin calmly checking his equipment, her gaze hardened.

This was not the time for grief. Lin was right—they had to bear the weight of these lives. If they truly pitied them, then they had to do everything they could to prevent more tragedies.

"Head toward the area with lower Honkai Energy concentration. Avoid combat whenever possible. If we encounter survivors..." Lin paused, then said decisively, "Bring them along."

The reorganized Squad Five only had three members. Captain Himiko was absent, so Lin, effectively the vice-captain, was the commander. They immediately began moving according to the Honkai Energy concentrations shown on the detector.

"Roar—"

With that murky roar, the entire city began to awaken in another way.

Lin caught the stabbing claw, held his dagger in a reverse grip with his right hand, and viciously drove it into the undead's eye socket. Then he sliced sideways, shaving off half its head.

No one knew when Fire Moth's technology had begun surpassing its era. Perhaps after discovering the Honkai, they had been forced into a technological explosion, creating a gap between Fire Moth's technology and that of the age.

For instance, the dagger produced by Fire Moth in Lin's hand was naturally no ordinary cold weapon. The chip built into it could increase the blade's lethality through vibration frequencies and heat, allowing it to cut through the skin of ordinary undead and Honkai Beasts.

Lin released the undead's hand and withdrew his dagger. He had killed every undead on this street. To avoid attracting Honkai Beasts, he had killed them all with his dagger, and the results were not much worse than using a gun.

The problem with his body's lack of coordination remained, and his injured head was not in good condition either, but the undead still posed no threat to him.

Hua had also dealt with an undead. She watched for survivors while fighting, but so far, everything capable of moving had been undead. The way they opened their bloody mouths and drooled did not make them look like they needed rescuing.

"The target location is ahead. We'll wait for the transport aircraft on top of that building."

Lin looked toward the building in the distance. Shadowy figures flickered beneath the lights, and nearly every window was stained with blood. There was no need to guess what had happened inside. The road ahead was likely to be just as perilous.

"Beep."

The sonar suddenly detected a target in the small alley around the corner to their right. Lin gestured for Hua to stop, then lightened his steps and walked toward the alley.

An undead?

Most likely.

But Lin was searching for another, slim possibility...

He tightened his grip on the dagger and peeked inside.

"..."

No shrieking undead lunged at him.

"..."

A pair of jade-green eyes met the black eyes behind Lin's sunglasses. The dullness within them seemed to often appear in this person's eyes, but this time it was more vacant than ever, like a soulless doll.

She hugged her knees as she sat at the end of the filthy alley, surrounded by lightless darkness.

Lin stood beneath a flickering, sparking streetlight at the entrance to the alley, silently still.

He was like that beam of light.

Lin recalled her friend calling her name, then softly called out in an even voice, "Hua."

Hua's body jolted, and the numbness in her emerald eyes gradually faded.

Not an illusion, nor one of the living dead... Was she alive?

Seeing awareness return to her eyes, Lin nodded. "Hua, there's a survivor."

"That's great!" At Lin's signal, Hua holstered her gun and jogged over. When she saw the survivor, her eyes widened in surprise. "Is this... Miss Hua?"

"You are... those two people?" Hua only then realized that she had met the two of them not long ago.

After the disaster struck, she had been separated from the white-haired girl. She desperately wanted to find her, but everywhere she looked, there were only corpses. She had watched the living dead rise one after another, and before she realized it, she had been driven into this alley with nowhere to hide but here.

"We can talk later. Leave first."

Lin extended a hand toward Hua. Another target had appeared on his detector, but this one was terrifyingly large. It could not possibly be human.

"Leave... But..." Hua thought of the white-haired girl, and a sudden pain stabbed through her heart. It was not her heart itself, but something deeper that hurt.

The pain left Hua unable to breathe.

Had she died? So easily, as though someone had simply crossed her name off a list... Had she died?

"...Live."

An icy voice pierced through the pain.

Hua numbly raised her head and looked at Lin, who had spoken.

At some point, he had stepped in front of her. He reached out, forcefully grabbed her arm, and pulled her to her feet. Staring directly into her unfocused emerald eyes, he repeated himself. "Live."

"Your friend would definitely want you to live, and I want you to live too."

There were quite a few people in Fire Moth whose minds had been crushed by disaster.

Unable to find a direction in life, they made hating the Honkai and taking revenge on it their purpose in life. Otherwise, even living became meaningless.

He had seen that look far too many times in Fire Moth.

"For yourself, live."

"Beep—"

The wall to their right exploded apart. A massive beast arm thrust out and swept toward them with devastating force.

"Smack—"

Lin grabbed Hua's arm with one hand, flung her hard into Hua's embrace, then bent backward just enough to dodge the attack that could have crushed his body into pulp.

Having missed its strike, the attacker let out a heart-rending roar, smashed through the entire building, and charged out, revealing its true form.

"Chariot-class... With this Honkai Energy concentration..."

Its mountain-like body and the crimson warning displayed on the detector made Lin cautiously retreat several steps to the mouth of the alley. He studied its massive form. It was larger than any Chariot-class Honkai Beast he had ever seen.

The classifications of lower-tier Honkai Beasts were distinguished only by their forms, with no absolute difference in strength. A Charge-type Honkai Beast was not necessarily weaker than a Chariot-class or Knight-class one. Not to mention that even among lower-tier Honkai Beasts, there were many variants, including quite a few exceptionally troublesome individuals.

This Honkai Beast, whose body was large enough to rival an entire building, should have been the pinnacle of Chariot-class Honkai Beasts. Though it was still far inferior to an Emperor-class Honkai Beast, its Honkai Energy concentration and destructive power alone had already reached the standard of a Honkai Emperor.

If this thing got tangled up with them, even the high-rise designated as their evacuation point would be effortlessly brought down.

His thoughts raced in an instant, and Lin immediately made his decision—

"Hua, take the survivor and leave."

Hua had just helped Hua up when Lin's words made her blurt out, "No!"

Lin was injured, his body was unbalanced, and he only had a pistol and a knife. There was no way he could fight a Honkai Beast this enormous. That was no different from throwing his life away.

The Chariot-class Honkai Beast did not immediately continue attacking. Instead, it sized up its prey like a wild beast. This Honkai Beast had even developed rudimentary intelligence and instincts. If Fire Moth were to classify it, it might be given a name to distinguish it from ordinary Chariot-class Honkai Beasts.

"This is an order." Lin tightened his grip on the dagger and watched the Chariot-class Honkai Beast with complete focus.

"You don't have the equipment..."

"Protect the survivor's life. Do you want her to join the fight?"

"..."

Hua fell silent, but she unwillingly stared at Lin's back. Hua also stared blankly at that utterly unwavering figure, as frail as a blade of grass beneath that colossal monster.

The light had already been completely swallowed by the giant beast. Filthy dust fell from the sky, shattered remnants scattered around their feet, and the fallen streetlamp let out its final crackling wail and murky glow.

Light could not reach the corners of darkness.

"I have a friend."

A ray of light cut through the darkness.

Lin held the dagger forward and pointed it at the Honkai Beast. This provocative gesture undoubtedly enraged it. Amid its roar, the earth trembled, yet Lin stood firm and resolute like a fallen leaf amid raging waves.

Every part of his body screamed in discord, yet Lin remained standing.

"He's a complete idiot."

"If it were him, even with only a Baseball Bat, he would never take a single step back."

The image of that white-haired boy's back appeared in Lin's eyes.

"This is an order. Escort the survivor away, then wait for my contact and rendezvous with me."

Hua clenched her teeth and stared at Lin. Her rationality told her that she had to obey the order now, but...

She had only just begun to understand Lin—his thoughts, the sentiment he hid beneath his exterior—and now she had to watch a companion... throw his life away?

Hua lowered her head, her bangs covering her eyes.

Her hesitation was brief.

"Go." Hua grabbed Hua's hand and began running.

Seeing its prey flee, the Chariot-class Honkai Beast roared as its entire body began to move.

Lin's expression remained blank as he raised his dagger and charged forward, meeting that gaping maw.

Heart's Grave

Thunder crashed down. Within violet-blue lightning, all who dared defy heavenly punishment turned to ash amid the roar.

One person moved alongside the lightning, their blade cutting down the evil beast.

In the reflection of the cold blade, the final Honkai Beast was split in two. Before it even hit the ground, it had already vanished.

"Whew..."

The tall girl slowly rose and sheathed her sword. A floating door appeared before her, and beside it stood someone who had been waiting for a long time.

The pink-haired girl smiled and waved at her. "Hi~ Mei, did you miss me? We've been apart for a full half hour already."

"Elysia... What are you doing here?" Mei clearly had not lowered her guard around this mysterious girl. She furrowed her beautiful brows and questioned her.

"What am I doing here... Hmm... I don't plan on doing anything. I just want to witness this historic moment." Elysia stepped forward and smiled at Mei with a heartwarming smile. "After all, you're about to reach that place. Every successor goes there, but your identity is so special that it's full of dramatic irony."

"That place?" Mei froze upon hearing this. "My identity... a Herrscher?"

But wasn't she already the most unique among the successors when she became the first Herrscher to enter the Imaginary Tree?

Elysia nodded, trying to find suitable words. "How should I put it? Mei, do you remember what the first Schicksal Commander you killed looked like?"

"How could I remember something like that?" Mei found the question baffling.

"Exactly. I don't remember either, but you definitely remember what the first Emperor-class Honkai Beast and Herrscher you killed looked like."

"..." Those words brought back some unpleasant memories for Mei, darkening her expression.

"Mm, it seems I accidentally poked at some bad memories of yours. Sorry, okay? Forgive me just this once?"

"Is there anything else you want to say? If not, I'm leaving."

"Oh, don't be angry. As compensation, I'll tell you why your identity is special."

Elysia grinned and grabbed Mei, but Mei quickly broke free, folded her arms, and waited impassively for her to continue.

Elysia shrugged. She looked unconcerned on the surface, but a trace of sadness surged in her eyes. It was not for Mei, but for someone else.

"The first Herrscher Lin killed was the Third Herrscher, who was also the Herrscher of Thunder."

"..."

That was somewhat unexpected.

It was already strange enough for the memory of an ordinary person who was neither a MOTH Hero nor a Flame-Chaser to appear in the Imaginary Tree. Yet he had actually killed a Herrscher, and it had happened to be a Herrscher of Thunder like her.

In other words, beyond that door was the place belonging to that helmeted man?

But even so, that did not seem special enough to warrant Elysia personally coming to witness it.