Herrscher of Flame, Deceased / Elysia ...

Herrscher of Flame, Fallen

Seeing Himeko abandon defense and begin attacking him, Kevin did not give up attacking and switch to defense like she had. Instead, he continued his assault on Himeko. After all, his goal was to kill the Herrscher. Defense alone could not achieve that, and he could not give Himeko a chance to catch her breath.

The two exchanged move for move. She scorched him with fire, and he froze her with ice. It sounded almost childish, but in truth, every strike was lethal. They had merely been blocked by the other.

As time passed, Kevin grew increasingly adept at controlling ice and snow. By the later stages of the fight, he and Himeko no longer relied on physical contact, instead unleashing their respective powers against each other.

Himeko gathered all her Honkai Energy, preparing to launch her final attack. Seeing this, Kevin also mobilized the full strength of his ice and snow.

The Australian continent was divided by the two of them. Behind Himeko lay a sea of flames, while behind Kevin, snow filled the skies.

Both of them were charging up, ready to give the other their final blow.

Before long, they charged at each other at the same time. Flames and frost collided, neither giving way as they became locked in an inseparable struggle.

The battle should have continued like this, but Kevin's earlier preparations finally took effect. Just as the two were deadlocked, the cold energy within Himeko's body... erupted.

Himeko's movements paused for an instant as the cold energy erupted. Kevin seized that tiny opening, driving the cold energy into an ice spike. Taking advantage of Himeko's hesitation, he thrust the spike directly into her heart. Himeko's movements stopped, and even the flames created by her authority weakened. Kevin's frost overwhelmed the flames and surged toward her.

The battle was over. The flames had been completely extinguished, while white frost continually spread across the scorched black earth. The entire Australian continent had been freed from a burning hell of fire, replaced by a cold Eternal Frost Land.

At the center of that frozen ground stood a white-haired man in silence.

I won. But there was no one left to celebrate for him. Kevin did not feel happy, either.

There was even a trace of sorrow in Kevin's eyes. After all, Himeko had retained her sense of self throughout the battle. Even after she became a Herrscher, Kevin still regarded her as the comrade he knew, the captain of Fifth Squad.

What saddened Kevin was that, because of the Honkai, he had been forced to personally kill his own comrade.

The red-haired beauty lay quietly on the ground. Warm blood continuously flowed from the wound in her chest where the ice spike had pierced her heart, dyeing the spike a vivid red before the cold stole away its warmth. It slowly solidified, forming a brilliant flower.

Himeko had lost. Though she could not understand why Kevin possessed such immense power, why his ice could even freeze her flames, none of that mattered now. She was merely the loser. Seeing the sorrow in Kevin's eyes, Himeko could not help but smile.

"Kevin, you... won. Why... are you sad?"

Kevin did not answer. He only looked at Himeko with an even sadder gaze.

"You... should be... cough, cough... happy instead. You... killed another... another Herrscher. What a pity. I actually... became a Herrscher. I can't... fight alongside you all... until the end."

Himeko spoke in broken fragments. It seemed she did not have much time left.

"Kevin, I... cough cough... can I ask you... for one last favor? Hua, that child, I didn't... kill her. Could you... please help look after her... a little more? Consider it... the last wish... of an old friend."

"..." Kevin knew Hua. Himeko had once brought Hua to a ball, and Kevin had caught a glimpse of her then. Looking at Himeko, who was barely clinging to life before him—

"I will."

Kevin made his promise to Himeko in a solemn tone.

"Thank... you..."

Upon hearing Kevin's answer, Himeko thanked him. Then, smiling, she closed her eyes and calmly welcomed her death.

Before long, Himeko had stopped breathing. Kevin stepped forward to confirm it, then said,

"Rest in peace."

Hua? I should go look for her. Hopefully she still has a communicator on her. After confirming Himeko's death, Kevin decided to search for Hua. It would be ideal if he could find a communicator along the way. His own had been damaged during his battle with Himeko, and he now needed a new one to contact Flame Chasers headquarters.

Not long after, Kevin discovered Hua's presence with his inhuman senses. It seemed she had been drawn in by his battle with Himeko and was approaching the center of the battlefield. Beside Hua was another distinctive figure, a gentle woman with wine-red hair.

This was... Eden? A trace of color appeared in Kevin's icy eyes, only to vanish immediately.

He was now a Flame Chasers soldier, the first Fusion Warrior.

Having reaffirmed his position, Kevin appeared before Eden and Hua.

Seeing the figure suddenly appear before them, Hua and Eden both became alert. Only after recognizing him did Hua lower her guard. Though they were not very familiar, Hua knew Kevin as Flame Chasers' strongest soldier. She asked, "Captain Kevin, why are you here? And Captain, how is she? Did she... really become a Herrscher?"

Kevin looked coldly at the confused girl and said, "The Seventh Herrscher has been defeated. The Seventh Herrscher was undoubtedly Himeko, former captain of Flame Chasers' Fifth Squad. That is all I can tell you. Is your communicator still usable?"

Taking Hua's communicator, Kevin ignored the still-confused Hua and connected to Flame Chasers' internal communications.

"This is Kevin. The Seventh Herrscher has been successfully defeated. You can send people to search for survivors now." Ignoring the cheers from the other end of the communicator, Kevin turned his gaze back to Hua and Eden.

To be honest, Kevin did not know how to arrange things for the two of them. One was someone he had promised Himeko to take good care of, while the other was his idol.

He truly could not just leave them here. Fortunately, his mission had only been to defeat the Seventh Herrscher. Now that the mission was complete, staying behind to protect them would not count as neglecting his duties.

However, since Eden had survived the Great Honkai, she presumably had decent Honkai Energy resistance. Kevin asked her, "Miss Eden, I am Kevin, a Flame Chasers soldier. Would you be willing to join Flame Chasers?"

"Join Flame Chasers?" Eden fell into thought upon hearing the soldier's question.

Eden knew of Flame Chasers. After all, she had donated most of the proceeds from her charity performances to the organization.

To ensure her donations were being used properly, Eden had used her connections to investigate the organization. Naturally, the information she found was what Flame Chasers had made public.

For example, Flame Chasers was an international medical research organization established by the United Nations, dedicated to researching how to cure a severe illness that had emerged in recent years, known as "Honkai disease."

Eden

In Eden's previous understanding, "Honkai disease" was merely an unknown global medical mystery. As an organization created to overcome it, Flame Chasers must have gathered countless medical experts. Naturally, it also needed a certain armed force to protect those unarmed doctors.

Yet along the way, Eden had not seen any other Flame Chasers soldiers until Kevin appeared.

The being that had set the entire Australian continent ablaze overnight was called a Herrscher, based on Kevin's conversation with Hua, right? Yet a Herrscher had been defeated by Flame Chasers' armed forces. So was this so-called medical organization, Flame Chasers, really a proper medical organization?

But that was not the most important matter. Looking at the icy plains around her, then at Kevin, who could not properly control the cold after his battle with the Herrscher of Flame and was constantly radiating it outward, Eden realized something.

Where were Flame Chasers' other combat personnel? Even the most highly trained soldiers could not possibly have all withdrawn in such a short time, unless...

Eden was startled by her own thought, but she still asked Kevin in an incredulous tone,

"Mr. Kevin, did you defeat the Herrscher all by yourself?"

"Yes."

Kevin nodded calmly, as though soloing a Herrscher was as simple as making a cup of instant noodles. Still, considering Kevin's accomplishments, perhaps killing a Herrscher alone really was that simple.

Unfortunately, the current Kevin would not entertain such arrogant thoughts. Perhaps he merely used that calm expression to hide the sorrow in his heart.

"That is truly... astonishing." Eden could not help but sigh. Did the young man before her have any idea how shocking what he had just said was? But joining Flame Chasers... As an artist, she should have vanished into the sea of flames alongside that theater. The art of this era had been burned away by the Herrscher of Flame's fire. Yet she had survived. Perhaps it was because this world still wanted her to do something.

Therefore, "If I can join Flame Chasers, I should still be able to accomplish something with my abilities. But can one really join Flame Chasers so easily?"

"How should I put this... The person currently in charge of recruiting newcomers in Flame Chasers is sort of my... friend?"

Thinking of that quirky pink-haired girl, Kevin considered their relationship with some difficulty before barely settling on those words. Yes, they were probably friends? Even Kevin himself was not entirely sure, because that girl seemed to be friends with everyone.

"Is that so? Then I will join."

Eden nodded in understanding and agreed to join Flame Chasers.

Seeing Eden agree to join Flame Chasers, Kevin also breathed a sigh of relief. Publicly and privately, he hoped Eden would join Flame Chasers. After all, Eden was his idol. He had once skipped class and flown halfway around the world just to attend one of her concerts. All right, Kevin admitted it. Wanting Eden to join Flame Chasers was indeed a selfish desire.

As for whether Eden could join Flame Chasers, Kevin had never considered that question from beginning to end.

Not to mention the enormous benefits Eden could bring as a world-class star by joining Flame Chasers.

With that pink-haired girl in charge of recruitment, Eden would not be getting away anyway!

Before long, Flame Chasers soldiers finally arrived at the scene and began clearing the battlefield and searching for survivors.

Kevin brought Eden and Hua back to Flame Chasers' base.

As soon as they returned to the base, Kevin took Eden to find Elysia, intending to hand Eden over to Elysia to handle her entry procedures.

However, before Kevin could make a move, Elysia came looking for them first.

"Hi, Kevin. How do you feel?" As always, Elysia greeted him the moment they met.

"Elysia, I need your help with something." Kevin did not beat around the bush and directly stated that he needed help.

"Oh my..." Elysia was slightly surprised. "That is rare. Kevin, you actually came to me for help."

Elysia noticed Eden behind Kevin. Her eyes shifted, and then she smiled. "Let me guess. It has something to do with the beautiful young lady behind you, right?"

"That is right."

Kevin turned and introduced her to Eden. "Miss Eden, this is the friend I mentioned to you, Elysia. She will handle all of your entry procedures from here on."

Hearing that, Eden stepped forward and introduced herself to Elysia. "Hello, Miss Elysia. I am Eden, and I intend to join Flame Chasers. I will be relying on you from here on."

"Just call me Elysia. That is what all my friends call me." Elysia said with a smiling expression. "Joining Flame Chasers? Of course that is no problem. Leave everything to me."

Seeing that the matter had been resolved, Kevin said, "Elysia, I will leave Miss Eden to you. I need to go write my mission report."

Watching Kevin's departing back, Elysia still asked with concern,

"Kevin, are you all right?"

Kevin's steps paused for a moment before he continued forward. Kevin knew what Elysia wanted to ask, so he gave this answer:

"I am fine, Elysia."

"How does that look like being fine?" Elysia said indignantly as she watched Kevin disappear from sight.

"Miss Elysia." Eden spoke up, hoping to get Elysia's attention. She certainly succeeded.

"Call me Elysia."

"Miss Elysia."

"..."

Looking at the pink-haired girl before her, who said nothing and merely smiled at her, Eden sighed softly. "Elysia."

"What is it, Eden?" Having finally heard the form of address she wanted, Elysia responded.

"It is like this..." Eden decided to trust her instincts. "I am an artist, and I can vaguely sense the emotions of those around me. Although it does not show on the surface, Mr. Kevin seems very sad."

"You could tell, Eden?" Elysia looked at Eden with some surprise.

"Yes, but I do not know where Mr. Kevin's sadness comes from."

"Of course he would be sad." Even the smile on Elysia's face vanished as she spoke.

"Eden, do you know who the Seventh Herrscher is? Oh, sorry, I almost forgot that you do not know what the Seventh Herrscher is."

"Mr. Kevin has already explained the concept of Herrschers to me. The Seventh Herrscher you mentioned is the one who burned down the entire Australian continent, right?"

"That is right. So do you know her identity?"

"I do not." Eden shook her head. "Even the identity of the Herrscher was told to me by Mr. Kevin."

"The Seventh Herrscher was named Himeko. She was the former captain of Flame Chasers' Fifth Squad. In other words, she was Kevin's and my comrade."

"Could it be..."

Eden seemed to have finally realized something. Her eyes widened.

"That is right..." Elysia sighed. "That means Kevin personally... killed his own comrade."

Transition

"So that was what happened."

Eden was also stunned by that cruel truth for quite some time.

"Right? It is cruel, isn't it?" Elysia put her smile back on. "Kevin used to be a boy who loved to smile. Now, it is already rare to see a smile on his face."

"That Mr. Kevin used to smile often?" Eden imagined a smiling Kevin in her mind. "I am sorry, but I cannot imagine what that would look like."

"Enough about Kevin." Elysia decided to change the subject. "Eden, I will take you for a physical examination first."

"I will be troubling you, Elysia."

"It is no trouble at all." Elysia clasped her hands behind her back and walked backward while facing Eden. "After all, cute girls have many privileges, you know?"

Looking at the playful and adorable pink-haired girl before her, Eden's mood improved as well. At that moment, the two girls officially formed their bond.

Let us congratulate the Great Pope on finding the lord she was meant to serve.

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