Honkai Impact 3rd: The Girl Who Chases the Flame

"Who can argue with that?"

The middle-aged nun sighed.

"But as you know, since these major disasters, people are living in fear, feeling like they're going to die any day now. Who doesn't want to live a peaceful life in this apocalypse?"

The abbot's methods were somewhat underhanded, but only a monastery could ensure a peaceful existence.

"is it?"

Agnes gave a noncommittal reply, stood up, dusted off her skirt, and walked away without looking back.

"If you really want peace and security... you might as well go and meet the Lord sooner, then you will be at peace forever."

"So young..."

The middle-aged nun shook her head, assuming she was just saying it out of anger.

.........

Dean's Office

"Don't worry! This time it's a beautiful girl, almost an adult, you'll definitely be satisfied... Really! Of course it's true! You ask if it's her first time? Of course it is..."

"Dong dong dong."

"Uh, someone's here. I'll hang up now. Just do as we agreed! No backing out... Ahem, you outside, come in."

The abbot coughed twice, signaling that the person knocking could come in.

"...Dean."

Agnes walked in, bowed slightly, and nodded.

"It's Aegonise."

The dean was a middle-aged man with a small mustache. He saw Agnes nod.

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

"Will the next child be Cass?"

Agnes said, her head bowed.

"...Did you notice? That's true."

The dean was taken aback at first, but wasn't too surprised.

"After all, you're the one who takes care of those little brats every day."

Little brat.

Agnes's hand clenched slightly, but she remained outwardly calm as she said:

“The monastery has been inexplicably losing some pretty children in recent years.”

"Ha, a woman who's blind in one eye, yet her eyesight and memory are quite good."

The dean curled his lip, looking contemptuously at the woman whose left eye was covered by her bangs.

"...Yes, I've always had a very good memory."

Agnes said expressionlessly.

"If you didn't have a household registration, you would be one of them too. I might even have been so heartless as to spend some money to get you a prosthetic eye... Some people actually quite like women with disabilities like you."

The dean pursed his lips and sat down in his chair.

"So, they sold them for money too?"

Agnes asked calmly.

"For money? For survival!"

The dean slammed his hand on the table.

"What era do you think we live in?! Humanity's two continents are gone! The terrorist attacks that swept the world a few months ago... Ha, terrorist attacks, they almost caused a war. Even the 'Moth Chasing the Flame' only mentioned terrorist attacks."

"Who the hell would still be willing to sponsor the monastery now? The meager vegetables you nuns grow won't even get you through the winter!"

"...You're right. If we don't sell them, we're doomed."

"Don't mock me."

The dean snorted coldly.

“I know what you’re thinking. Yes, I’m cold-blooded, but if I sell them… they can still survive, right? At most, they’ll suffer a little.”

"Suffer...a little?"

Agnes stared unblinkingly into the Dean's eyes, which, like a mirror, instilled in him a strong sense of guilt. He subconsciously tried to recognize the face.

"Anyway, they're all things that aren't completely dead... so let's just sell them."

The dean said menacingly.

“They should have died long ago, so let them die for the sake of the living.”

"is it?"

Agnes nodded expressionlessly.

"I see."

She turned around, walked out of the office, and stood in the hallway.

Agnes stretched out her hand; her nails were digging into her flesh, and her hand was covered in blood.

That's not a reason.

She turned around, looked at the office door, and then repeated it softly.

"...That's not a reason."

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

After the tenth Honkai Impact

The human world has faced an unprecedented shock, and with strained social and international relations, the financial system has almost completely collapsed.

When those other than humans once again triumphed over the Honkai, the ensuing aftermath was an economic crisis that swept across the entire human world.

Especially for people in some remote areas, they are even struggling to afford food.

As the fear of the apocalypse gradually takes hold of people's minds, charitable organizations, religious groups, the entertainment industry... all things that contradict the basic desire to "survive" are thrown to the back of their minds.

All that remained were people struggling to survive.

Chapter Ninety-Four: Thank the Lord, Thank You

Agnes was not a saint.

At least that's what she thinks.

She was not a victim of collapse, but an orphan of war.

One day, she lost her name, her identity, and her family.

She was adopted by the priests of the monastery and raised alongside other children, including the priests' own daughter.

Agnes wasn't originally called that; it was the name of the pastor's daughter.

Although she didn't understand why the pastor called her that, she accepted it with gratitude.

"Thank God, thank you."

This was the first thing Agnes said to the pastor after she was able to understand the doctrine.

She felt loved and that she hadn't been abandoned by the world.

But at that moment, Agnes failed to understand the complexity and guilt in the priest's eyes.

If she could understand it, she probably wouldn't have said that.

.........

She was betrayed.

When the pastor was young, he was a soldier who shot and killed a couple on the battlefield, mistaking them for enemy soldiers.

Their child, hidden beneath his parents' corpses, glimpsed the terrified man through a gap and memorized his face.

The pastor was not treated as a hero for shooting civilians; instead, he was removed from the military as a stain on their record.

Although he felt disappointed, he also felt that he deserved what he got when he thought of the couple.

But hatred is the hardest thing to resolve in this world, and the boy still found him.

The pastor's wife died, and he himself was blinded in one eye. He took his daughter to a monastery in the countryside and lived a secluded life.

But the nightmare never left him; the pastor had a premonition that he and his daughter would die at the hands of that man.

He had to take action, constantly adopting homeless children, searching for that one and only chance.

Fortunately, he found it.

Several years ago, a four-year-old child, a child of similar age to her daughter and with the same silver hair, came to his monastery.

He looked at the child with almost excited eyes, but was also worried about scaring the child away.

But his worries were unnecessary; the child misunderstood his gaze, misinterpreting malice as kindness.

"Thank God, thank you."

When the pastor heard these words, only he knew whether he felt guilty or hesitated.

.........

The pastor was right; he ultimately met a violent end.

Since Agnes came here, he has treated her like his own daughter, paying attention to her life and studies every day, praying with her, and taking her with him every time he goes out.

This made Agnes grow even closer to him, and the people in the monastery said that the priest treated Agnes better than his own daughter.

Agnes herself thought so too. She felt that she was the pastor's favorite child, and for this reason, she worked even harder, hoping that the pastor would smile at her more.

But the pastor didn't love her; he loved his own daughter more than anything.