Honkai Impact 3rd: The Girl Who Chases the Flame

She's very good at lying, and I often get lied to, but there are some things I won't fall for.

She is not innocent.

I know this very well, but she is more "innocent" than many others.

The world's malice is never reasonable.

It strips away humanity, oppresses the kind, and abandons heroes.

This world has never been perfect, but that doesn't mean there's no beauty in it.

The world in Nino's eyes must be quite beautiful.

Klein's senior sister is dead...

By the time I figured out who the murderer was, it was too late.

Nino, she...

They are not innocent.

But I can't blame her. A girl who was kind all her life did something wrong at the end of her life.

How can I blame her for being so deeply immersed in the past and so decadent to this day?

If Nino wasn't the culprit behind the Thousand-Man Herrscher... things would be even worse now, right?

I know I'm selfish; she should be Klein's enemy, but I still want to protect her.

I know that Nino accepted the identity of the Herrscher because she wanted to find the answer—her own answer to this long yet short life.

Even when she commits unforgivable sins, she still cannot become a truly evil person...

Does that mean she's not actually a bad person?

The answer that a person trapped in lies most wants is just this.

Really, that's all.

…………

When Melutina arrived, she saw that fiery figure standing on the beach, sweeping everything around him away with flames. He stood there...

He is the "only" survivor.

"Come on, Melutina."

"...She's already dead, so there's no point in us fighting her."

Melutina stood there with her head down.

"Fighting is meaningless in itself, but her death cannot be meaningless!"

Qianjie let out a beast-like roar.

"Come! Melutina! Step toward death, step toward...me!"

"...Do you want to carry on the deceased's wishes, or vent your anger?"

Melutina pointed the Seven Thunders of Purification at Qianjie, her pupils slowly narrowing, and those she looked at felt as if they were being stared at by a ferocious beast.

"It's meaningless, Melutina. Your question is pointless."

Qianjie gripped his burning arm and roared.

"I don't agree with this answer! Absolutely not! Come on! Be careful... don't let me tear you to pieces!!!"

"I am not a weak Herrscher who can be defeated by you."

Melutina's hair slowly turned white, and the Seven Thunders of Purification in her hand transformed into a long spear flashing with lightning.

The second collapse, the white dragon Sagara.

"Come on! From the inside out, kill anyone you encounter!"

"boom!!!"

...............

"plum……"

Kevin supported the weakened May, looking at the armor on her body, hesitant to speak.

"The Key to Blank Space? What a wonderful thing. How are the Herrschers who remained in human society doing?"

Vilvi walked over to them and asked.

"Alicia has already wiped them all out, but Qianjie and Melutina haven't..."

Kevin was speaking when a massive Honkai energy reaction in the distance startled them.

"Melutina?! Who is her opponent?"

A fierce battle had just taken place in this area.

Because of John's betrayal, Kevin and the others were lured to annihilate the Herrschers at sea, while John stayed behind to assassinate May.

Although Kevin successfully eliminated hundreds of individuals, he realized he had fallen into a trap and became worried about May's situation, inadvertently revealing a flaw in his plan.

Despite being rendered powerless by Imer, who possessed the power of the Death Law, Kevin ultimately defeated the dying Imer with his superior strength and rushed towards May.

Kevin rushed over and saw Mei wearing strange armor. She took the Judgment of Heavenly Fire, embedded the core into the armor, and then swept away the remaining Herrschers.

But the final result was that, apart from Velvi, everyone present was no longer capable of fighting.

"It is a thousand tribulations."

Vivi squinted, took Mei from Kevin, and began to provide emergency treatment.

"...A thousand tribulations? How could that be?"

Kevin frowned as his communicator rang.

"Beep beep..."

"This is Kevin, who is this?"

"Is Dr. May here at Eden?"

Eden's voice came through, bringing Kevin a slight sense of relief.

"Mei is here, but she is very weak."

"Eden... what is it you want to say?"

Mei lay on the ground, barely managing to muster the energy to ask.

"Yes... there's good news and bad news."

Eden's voice sounded somewhat melancholy.

"The Thousand-Man Ruler is not without a subject as you previously deduced; the subject does exist, but she is very well hidden. Only now have we been able to find traces of her through subtle clues."

This can be attributed to the fact that she was an acquaintance of Metti.

"what?!"

Mei was so shocked that she broke out in a cold sweat.

"Where is she?! We must kill her! If she shows up here now, we'll..."

"Calm down, May, this is what I meant by...good news."

Eden's tone was somewhat heavy, and it didn't sound like he was delivering good news.

"She is dead."

"She...is dead? How could that be? She hid until now, just to deliver a fatal blow at this moment. Why would someone like her die at this time..."

Mei stared blankly at the communicator.

"I don't know why... she seems to have told Qianjie about her identity."

Eden hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

"This was discovered by Medie through residual data in Qianjie's shattered communicator. And Qianjie did find her, but..."

Eden seemed somewhat uncertain as he said:

"It doesn't seem that Qianjie killed her. He's furious now, destroying everything around him, and is currently fighting with Medie."

"...What exactly happened?"

Mei pressed her head, feeling like she was losing her train of thought.

"How could someone like that make such a mistake? What exactly happened...?"

"Based on my and Kevin's experience, Herrschers are actually very emotional beings, so it's not surprising that something can happen that cannot be explained by logic."

At this moment, Vervi interrupted.

"Furthermore... although it's inappropriate to say this, Herrschers are not necessarily evil people. In fact, many times, we are more like evil people than they are. If we look at it from this perspective... Qianjie's actions may be unreasonable, but they are not necessarily unreasonable."

"It's surprising, Dr. Velvet. When did you become so understanding?"

Eden's voice on the communicator sounded somewhat mocking.

"Perhaps it's because of guilt towards a certain child."

Velvi sighed and said softly,

"Sometimes when I'm facing them, I really don't know who the bad guy is."

Chapter Ninety-Two: The Last Will and Testament (End of Volume)

Do you hate her death that much?

Melutina, with a bandage wrapped around her forehead, stood before Qianjie's cage, looking at Qianjie reclining on the bed reading a book, and asked a question expressionlessly.

"...You came here just to ask about this?"

Qianjie put down the book and pursed his lips.

"You say you will never forgive her death, which has become meaningless... So, Qianjie, what meaning have you gained from this?"

Melutina sat down in front of the cage, hugging her knees, staring motionlessly at Qianjie.