I've already said this isn't a life simulator!

"Hehe...haha...hahahaha!!! You're here? Very good! It seems that priest was right. If it were you, you might indeed satisfy me...Indeed, he's much more likable than that woman!"

"...Did the priest send you?"

Sakura adopted a wary posture and asked softly... It's strange, she sensed a threat from this man again, a threat like that of a wild beast. Is this Twilight Street a gathering place for all sorts of people? How come there are so many strange people here?

"Of course, that guy knew you were coming all along and told me to wait for you here... Hmph! If it weren't for the fact that this battle was enough to satisfy me, how could he possibly command me?!"

"Alright... let's skip all that tedious negotiation! Let's have a truly spectacular battle! A slaughter that can only stop when one side falls..."

After saying that, he rushed forward and threw a punch at Sakura's face.

Sakura dodged accordingly, realizing that she couldn't take this man's punch head-on.

He pressed his advantage relentlessly, relentlessly attacking Sakura until she was forced to stand in the pouring rain outside.

"……Um?"

As Sakura stood still in the rain, she noticed that the burning sensation on her body was gradually subsiding... So that's how it is, as long as she leaves, the "punishment" can be lessened?

"Hahahaha... Not bad! Not bad!!! Come on! Keep going!"

However, at this moment, Sakura couldn't care less about anything else and could only focus her mind on fighting him.

And under the torrential rain, the battle between these two "inhuman" beings... will likely continue for a very, very long time.

…………

………………

"........."

Unbeknownst to Sakura, as she left, a pair of eyes watched her figure disappear into the rain. Immediately afterward, Xiwang silently opened his umbrella, walked out of the church, and walked silently in the downpour.

The raindrops pattered on the umbrella. Outside, the environment was chilly from the rain, but inside, around Xi Wang, it was warm, not scorching, but gentle, like the warm winter sun.

Occasionally, a night breeze carrying cool rain would gently brush against the back of his hand, wetting his clothes and fingertips, but he didn't mind. He simply adjusted what he was holding, freeing one hand to reach out from under the umbrella and touch the rain falling from the sky, letting it gather in his palm and then flow away between his fingers.

As mentioned before, he likes rainy days. The cool and damp environment brings him joy. He doesn't even know if it's because the rain senses his liking, but he can occasionally sense the emotions emanating from the water... For example, right now, it is expressing its care and inquiry to him.

It was concerned about whether it was doing well on "land" and whether it wanted to "go home". It was worried about itself and asked itself why it had the aura of "fire" on it. Although it was not dry, the warm feeling did not match the coldness of the water.

But Xi Wang did not respond to any of this. She simply withdrew her hand indifferently, held up her umbrella, and silently walked toward her destination.

Before long, Xi Wang arrived at a small building. Stepping inside, she could see one after another people infected by the Honkai... They were all patients with "Honkai disease" and were about to die.

"Father..."

Upon seeing Xi Wang arrive, those who were still able to move quickly got up, wanting to go forward to greet him, but Xi Wang stopped them with a gesture.

"Please don't do that yet."

Xi Wang spoke softly, her tone tinged with sadness, but her words remained steady and clear.

“I… am not worth you doing this.”

Xi Wang put the rain-soaked umbrella aside and said this.

“No, how could that be? Father, you have given us a place to live and allowed our lives to continue. We should thank you.”

A patient lying in bed said with a smile... The purple lines had already spread to his neck, and the "Honkai disease" would soon take his life.

"No... I'm sorry, this place of refuge that you placed such high hopes on is about to be destroyed, and I have given you a false hope... This is my fault."

"Please don't say that, Father."

Another person spoke up... He had lost both his legs, and even his upper body was covered with purple markings, but his emotions were calm, even somewhat relaxed.

“I know, I’ve seen… people like us who don’t last long after contracting this strange disease… especially people like us.”

He gestured slightly to the people around him, those patients with similar severe "Honkai disease" conditions... If other doctors or members of the Fire Moths saw this, they would probably be horrified, because their symptoms were already very serious. The purple lines had spread to their chests or necks, and in some cases, the purple lines had even appeared on their faces.

“Look… Father, we are all destined to die. I have seen those who were in similar situations to us… They all went mad, became monsters, or were taken away by a special group of people… We all know that those who were taken away were not taken to receive special treatment, but were killed directly, because if left unchecked, people like us would become monsters and then harm even more people.”

"But here, we can live, retain our consciousness as human beings, even if it is difficult, even if it is short, but... that is enough for us."

He said so.

"Yes, Father."

Another person spoke up.

"I've had a wonderful few days here... Everyone is so nice and speaks so sweetly, I love it here!"

"Father, thank you so much for your care these past few days... It's a pity we have nothing to repay you with..."

“Father, speaking of which, where did you learn to cook? Your food is surprisingly delicious… Could it be that [He] taught you? [He] knows how to do this? He's surprisingly a very down-to-earth person…”

"Father..."

"Father..."

…………

They talked a lot, their tone was relaxed and steady, and their words were simply expressions of gratitude. But in the end… they all said that one sentence—

"Father, please, please leave, please leave here."

They spoke, pleaded, and begged.

“Go quickly, go to a safer place, a better place... You deserve better, and you should live on, instead of staying here with us.”

"No, I will stay here until the very last moment."

Xi Wang shook her head and refused.

"Father, please go quickly..."

"Please leave... I beg you..."

"Father..."

…………

They began to persuade him again, expressing concern for Xiwang as if they themselves were indifferent to their own inevitable demise.

But... as time went on, Xiwang could hear a tremor in their voices, and a faint sob in their tone.

Finally... someone couldn't hold back any longer, and a faint sob was heard, which quickly reached everyone's ears.

What followed was silence, and then... tears.

"I don't want to die... Father... I don't want to die..."

A person next to Yu Xiwang looked at him, tears streaming down their face helplessly... His body was still relatively intact, but the purple markings had spread all over his body, and there might even be some around his eyes. As a result, he had basically lost all sensation in his body, and could only move his eyes and mouth. He could only cry helplessly by himself.

Warm tears streamed down her numb skin, dripping onto the bed and leaving a few water stains on the pillow.

Xi Wang remained silent, and could only hold him in her arms, wiping away his tears with one hand and gently placing the other hand in his palm to give him some warmth... even though he could no longer feel it.

Yes... when you know you're destined to die, who wouldn't care? Their earlier gratitude towards Xiwang, and their urging her to leave, were merely to prevent her from seeing them in this pathetic state...

He was diagnosed with an incurable disease from the very beginning, and then he desperately fled and endured exploitation before finally entering what others called "Eden". However, he unexpectedly discovered that he seemed to have a way to survive here, and his originally desperate heart was filled with hope again. But in the end... he found that this hope was nothing but a dream in the water.

What a blow and what despair this must have been for them... Indeed, a "false hope" is worse than a "real despair".

"........."

Xi Wang remained silent. All of this was because of him. He had given everyone a false hope, but in the face of the inevitable outcome, any words he uttered seemed so powerless and pale.

However, no one spoke ill of Xiwang here, nor did anyone complain... because they all knew that they were able to live a few more days thanks to Xiwang and the "miracle" of this place. They could not and should not complain about Xiwang.

To speak ill of the being that saves one's life is blasphemous and goes against the conscience of everyone.

Therefore, they simply cried, merely venting their inner fear and unease.

After a while, the crying gradually subsided, and after a brief silence, the person being held in Xi Wang's arms spoke again.

“Father…I am guilty.”

“I coveted life and tried to survive, abandoning my wife and children.”

"I am...guilty."

“You are innocent. Cherishing life is human nature and a matter of course. Besides... your wife and children died because of the disaster, which has nothing to do with you.”

Xi Wang shook his head and softly spoke of something he had never said before.

"No, Father, I am guilty!"

he said firmly.

“I should have died, I should have followed them, but I am living alone. I am guilty.”

"you……"

"Father!"

He interrupted Xi Wang in a rude and impolite manner, his words carrying a hint of pleading.

"I am...guilty."

he whispered.

"I just don't want to... become a [monster], I just want to... die as a [human]."

"........."

"Father, I have sinned."

he said again.

"........."

Xi Wang closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them as if making a decision. Her golden pupils shone like starlight in the rainy night.

"You...are guilty."

As words of hope fell, a bright flame ignited from his body, not scorching, but gentle, like a campfire on a snowy night.

"Thanks……"

He smiled and closed his eyes in the flames, as if at that moment he could feel his body again and feel the temperature of the flames again... No, not as if, he truly felt the warmth from the fire.

"You...are still so kind..."

Before he turned to ashes, his murmurs echoed in the silent room.

"...Father."