Sakura glanced at the pocket watch hanging from her chest. The hour hand pointed to five, while the second hand ticked softly—ordinary people could not hear it, but Sakura, as a Fusion Warrior, could.
The massive stream of vehicles crawled forward like an old man leaning on a cane, wheels rolling over black asphalt. Clearly, they were fleeing for their lives. As for their destination, the liaison officer in charge of coordination had said only one thing: "Run as far as you can."
They had been roasting under the blazing sun for hours, yet the convoy was still inching along the outskirts of the city. Meanwhile, the wealthy and powerful, afraid of death, had long since boarded private planes and hidden away in underground villas somewhere unknown.
Sakura tightened her grip on the tachi in her hand. Even if she was not the one assigned to deal with the Law-Ruler, the wandering Honkai Beasts still needed her to eliminate them. She stood in the middle of the convoy, where she could respond to trouble at either end. It also reassured the civilians, even though most of them considered Fusion Warriors to be potential Law-Rulers.
There seemed to be a disturbance at the front of the convoy. Everyone was frantically running backward. Judging from most of their expressions, they did not know why—they were merely following the crowd blindly.
"What happened?" Sakura stopped someone who was fleeing. Trembling, he raised a hand and pointed toward the front of the convoy.
"A Law-Ruler! It's a Law-Ruler!" He threw out the words in a crazed panic before running away.
"How could this..." Sakura's expression turned grave as well. She immediately drew Cold Prison Ice Sky from its sheath and raced toward the front of the convoy.
A small golden cross-shaped halo and meaningless golden runes revolved around her. A breeze gently stirred her short silver-white hair, and her soft white dress fell to her knees. The Law-Ruler moved with mechanical steps, her transparent crystal boots leaving mercury-like ripples in midair.
"Hello. May I ask if you know where your leader is?" There was no malice in her words, yet her tone was hollow and mechanical, like that of an actual robot. To a lifeless machine like her, the colorful world held neither color nor ripples.
She could kill everyone in this enormous convoy in an instant. Her nearly unsolvable power could make everyone here die immediately. But that would not be efficient.
The fat official trembled nonstop, his mind racing as he searched for a way to survive. He wiped the cold sweat from his face. "She... she's in the back. I'll go get her for you right away!"
"Okay, thank you..."
The fat official wore a falsely ingratiating smile as he nodded frantically like a pecking chicken.
"O-okay! I'll be right back!" The fat official ran off like the wind, moving at a speed that seemed impossible for an obese man weighing over two hundred pounds.
"Damn it! I should've left with the mayor instead of stupidly trying to claim credit!"
Miss Sakura, save me! Miss Sakura, you mustn't run away... The fat official kept chanting in his heart, using vile, selfish thoughts to pray for noble action. Some were willing to become beasts themselves, defending humanity amid powerful enemies, hoping that kindness and human nature could survive in the dark universe. Yet when they turned around, they found that the compatriots they had fought desperately to protect had already become things worse than beasts, clinging miserably to life.
Cold Prison Ice Sky gleamed with a chilling light. The orange sunset stretched Sakura's shadow into a long, pointed shape. Her feet kept landing atop one car roof after another, leaving behind brilliant ice blossoms. Her light, nimble figure leaped between military and civilian vehicles, her cherry-blossom-colored hair dancing in the wind.
She hoped she could be faster, that she could buy these people more time to evacuate.
"Lady Sakura! Lady Sakura!"
Sakura sped across the traffic, leaving one dent after another in the roofs between the cars with her immense force. The fat official's sharp eyes caught sight of her, and he immediately shouted with all his strength.
Sakura noticed the man waving both hands, but she did not stop and continued leaping forward. The fat official might have been selfish, but he was not stupid. He knew why Sakura would not pay attention to him. A fool could not become a corrupt official; he could only become a foolish official. Those who were both stupid and greedy would not get the chance to die at the hands of good people—they would die on their own.
So he shouted at Sakura, "The Law-Ruler is up ahead! She said that if she doesn't see you, we'll all die!"
Sakura nodded to show that she understood. The fat official ran away without looking back. On the way, he knocked over a child and the mother who tried to help the child up, all while cursing the superior who had escaped overnight by plane.
"Faster, faster, faster..." Sakura did not even realize she had muttered her thoughts aloud.
There! She stopped and looked toward the Law-Ruler in the sky. The Law-Ruler's figure blocked out the sun against the evening clouds.
"Hello. May I ask if you know where Dr. Mei is?"
"..." Sakura silently watched the Herrscher of Binding, her gaze as sharp as the cold-glinting blade in her hand.
"Hello. May I ask if you know where Dr. Mei is?" She assembled the sentence from hollow words.
Sakura closed her eyes, slowly raised her sword, assumed a starting stance, and took a deep breath.
"Why won't you tell me..."
"You can go find her yourself." Sakura still had her eyes closed, using her senses to take in every piece of information carried through the surrounding air.
Sakura's body tipped slightly.
A dazzling flash of cold light streaked past.
Sakura instantly appeared directly behind the Law-Ruler!
She raised her blade and slashed!
The Herrscher of Binding dodged to the side, but it was already too late. The tip of the blade carved a long arc across her back, and golden blood burst forth.
"Why is answering always so difficult..." the Herrscher of Binding sighed.
Get angry. The angrier, the better, Sakura thought silently. That way, your attention will be on me.
"Everything you do will ultimately be in vain. I will find Dr. Mei, and your death will be meaningless." She spoke to Sakura with sorrow and pity. Wings of light carved with golden cross patterns appeared behind her. The Herrscher of Binding did not unfold her barrier. Though her power was deadly, it also consumed enormous amounts of Honkai energy. She did not need to deploy a barrier merely to deal with one Fusion Warrior.
Sakura pressed her advantage, thrusting Cold Prison Ice Sky toward the Law-Ruler's chest. The Law-Ruler shifted slightly aside and evaded the thrust. Unexpectedly, she grabbed Cold Prison Ice Sky's blade, then delivered a fierce side kick at Sakura's waist. Sakura swiftly raised an arm to block it, and the powerful impact sent pain shooting through her arm.
Sakura twisted the blade with force and pulled it free from the Law-Ruler's grip. She kicked the Law-Ruler hard in the abdomen, quickly widening the distance between them. At this range, Sakura could easily make full use of the tachi's advantage in length.
"Perfect!"
Sakura spun and swung, sending Cold Prison Ice Sky toward the Law-Ruler's neck. The Law-Ruler ducked away, and severed strands of white hair drifted down.
"You fell for it." Sakura's voice sounded beside her ear. Taking advantage of the moment the Law-Ruler dodged and lost track of her, Sakura had closed in.
The Herrscher of Binding had ultimately been nothing more than an ordinary human who had become a Law-Ruler. In terms of combat experience, she likely could not even compare to an ordinary soldier, much less a battle-hardened Fusion Warrior like Sakura.
Sakura drove her knee fiercely into the Law-Ruler's chest. Excruciating pain spread from her chest as the powerful blow launched her several meters into the air. The Law-Ruler barely stabilized herself, a trace of golden blood uncontrollably spilling from the corner of her mouth.
"Ah..." The Law-Ruler sighed deeply and touched her face with a bloodstained palm. Blood welled from her hand, flowing down her arm in a thin golden stream that gathered at her elbow.
The Law-Ruler's attacks became fiercer. There was no defense, only relentless offense. The tachi's advantage in length was completely offset by that beastlike, desperate assault. Yet the Law-Ruler, utterly lacking combat experience, was still being beaten back even in this situation. The Herrscher of Binding was relying solely on the brutal strength and powerful body granted by being a Law-Ruler to fight head-on.
Her attacks are getting fiercer. I just hope those people can get out before nightfall. Sakura had never expected to kill the Law-Ruler alone. She knew her own strength well. Even if she could suppress this young girl who had only just become a Law-Ruler with her fists and sword hilt.
Sakura's combat experience allowed her to bring the tachi's advantage in length to its fullest with ease. If this Law-Ruler did not use her power, losing to Sakura was inevitable. But Sakura did not do so. She abandoned her own weapon advantage and experience, pretending that her exchange with the Law-Ruler was evenly matched.
Sakura was stalling, and she was gambling. Stalling long enough for the evacuation, and gambling that Dr. Mei had already prepared a way to deal with her.
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