The collapse started when Kiana came to the door

Feeling the atmosphere suddenly frozen by Kevin's cold words, Su turned his head slightly, glanced at Kevin with a grim expression, couldn't help shaking his head, and sighed softly in his heart.

He knew his best friend very well. Although Kevin had not had any emotional fluctuations for a long time, Su knew very well that if Kevin was really indifferent to the partner who appeared in front of him, he would not show such resistance.

What Kevin is resisting now is not Alicia and the others...but the feelings that come from his own heart.

Just by watching Alicia playing, Kevin couldn't help but recall the time 50,000 years ago.

In order to get rid of the shackles of the past, he has been desperately suppressing his emotions. Even though he doesn't know whether this method will work, he believes that this is the only correct way to accomplish his mission.

But, my dear friend, have you ever thought that it is precisely because you are trying so hard to get rid of the shackles on your body and the cage of the past that will continue to torture you endlessly.

This way of living will only lead to death in the end.

As he thought about it, Su couldn't help but raise a hint of self-mockery at the corner of his mouth.

However, for Kevin, perhaps... such a path is what he wants?

Well, for someone who has already decided on his own path, it is impossible for him to give up at this point.

After all, even if you see through most things, there are still things that you cannot understand.

"Ah..." Being interrupted so rudely by Kevin, Alicia was not annoyed. She supported her forehead with her right hand and shook her head helplessly, "Kevin, boys with an impatient temper will not be..."

Alicia originally wanted to say that she would not be popular among girls, but halfway through her words, she suddenly remembered that Kevin's descendants were right in front of her, so she got stuck.

“Ahem.” Of course, the lovely fairy lady was not someone who would be embarrassed by such a thing. She cleared her throat, raised a finger, shook it in front of Kevin’s eyes, and said in a serious tone: “In short, don’t put on such an expression that keeps people at a distance. If things go wrong, your descendants will imitate you and turn into ice cubes. What should you do then?”

Looking at the white fingers that suddenly flashed before his eyes, Kevin took a deep breath, clasped his five fingers together, and his arm trembled in a slight arc. His voice of rejection was low and unquestionable: "Enough, Alicia, let's stop here."

“…” Su sighed and shook his head.

"Okay, okay." Alicia spread her hands, "Since you're so anxious, I'll just tell you straight away."

Kevin stared into Alicia's clear eyes and said nothing.

"Kevin, otherwise..." Alicia laughed, "...don't carry out your so-called Stigmata plan."

The air froze instantly.

After hearing Alicia's words as if it was a commonplace thing, not only Kevin, whose expression froze instantly, but even Su opened his eyes in astonishment.

But soon, Su understood.

"...I see. I should have realized it when I saw Miss Bianca." Su breathed a sigh of relief. His fear of facing a great enemy had disappeared. "Since you have passed the test I originally set for you, it means...in a sense, you are all from the future. Since you are from the future, it is not surprising that you know about the Stigmata Plan implemented by Kevin."

Chapter 4: Herrscher of Thunder: Is the Riddler fun? (k)

After Alicia broke through the layer of window paper, which was not very thick to begin with, this isolated island under the sea, which was already filled with the deep colors of death and emptiness, suddenly fell into further silence.

Kevin lowered his eyelids, and the dark shadow covered his handsome and cold face, making it difficult to see his features. He leaned against the Bodhi tree that had been eroded by the cold blue to the point where its original appearance could no longer be seen. His lonely figure was like a meaningful sculpture.

After a long silence, Kevin spoke in a flat tone, as if without any personal feelings: "...Reason?"

"Well...if you're asking why we want to stop you from continuing with the Stigma Project." Alicia tilted her head, raised her arm, stretched out a white finger, and lightly touched her lips with her fingertips. She looked as if she was thinking about something, and then let out a sweet and clear laugh like a silver bell: "Of course it's to protect a bad guy who has been making people feel uneasy!"

In terms of defying other people's expectations, Alicia seems to have her own unique skills.

At least, neither Kevin nor Su expected that Alicia would give such an answer.

Kevin once imagined that maybe, like his best friend Su, Alicia could not stand the mass death of humans, nor could she stand himself going astray; or maybe, there was an irreconcilable contradiction between her ideas and his own... In short, no matter what, in the general direction, it should be based on the consideration of humans in this civilized era, and in the end she made the decision to stop him.

And this is indeed what they think Alicia, who loves humans, can judge.

Kevin had already prepared for an all-out battle. He knew that if he heard these answers from Alicia, it would mean that neither side would be able to convince the other with simple words.

One thousand five hundred years ago, Su failed to convince him, and now, it is naturally impossible for Alicia to make him change his decision through words.

But now Alicia said...she just wanted to protect someone?

Not only Kevin, but even Su couldn't help but slightly open his eyes full of astonishment after hearing the words of the Fairy Lady.

Su subconsciously looked around at Eden and the others, but found that no matter who they were, they all looked calm and had no doubts about what Alicia said. He pondered for a moment and asked in a calm voice: "Excuse me, the person you want to protect... is he an ordinary person who has no resistance to Honkai energy and therefore has difficulty awakening the stigma?"

"Of course not." Alicia answered immediately, "Although in terms of pure strength, he may be slightly weaker than Kevin... or even me, but if it were him, even if Kevin activated the Stigmata Plan, he would undoubtedly be the one who could survive well."

"Since the Stigma Project cannot affect the person you mentioned, then why are you trying to stop me?" Kevin asked coldly, "If you just want to protect a single individual, there seems to be no need to go against me. Even in extreme cases, I can personally protect his personal safety."

Although his tone was still as cold and emotionless as usual, Su couldn't help but turn his head and glance at Kevin, who had an expressionless face, because of these frosty words.

Kevin... is actually willing to make such a big concession, Su thought secretly. It seems that in Kevin's eyes now, Alicia and the others do have the ability to stop him from carrying out the Stigmata Plan.

"Oh, let Kevin be the captain's bodyguard?" Alicia smiled, "It does sound like a very tempting proposal. I can't help but feel a little moved. If the captain knew that the lovely fairy lady had done so much for him, he would probably be so moved that he would cry bitterly."

Captain? Kevin silently memorized Alicia's name in his mind. He glanced at Eden and the others who were still waiting for him, and said calmly, "So, what is your answer?"

"Hmm...what should I do?" Alicia narrowed her eyes and looked quite conflicted.

Finally, the Herrscher of Thunder couldn't bear to watch it anymore and sighed: "Alixia, have you had enough fun?"

The moment the Herrscher of Thunder's cold voice fell, the atmosphere suddenly became quiet.

Including Alicia, everyone couldn't help but reveal subtle expressions and stared at the face of the Herrscher of Thunder.

Only then did the Herrscher of Thunder come to her senses. It seemed as if Kevin had just said that to her a few minutes ago. She covered her forehead and weakly defended herself, "I didn't learn to speak like Kevin."

After she finished saying this, even she herself felt something was wrong. It would have been fine if she hadn't said this, but once she said it, wouldn't it be even more obvious that she was trying to cover up the truth?

But the Herrscher of Thunder really had no other choice. In this situation, no matter how she looked at it, it felt like she had re-entered the paradise of the past. The painful memories of the Thirteen Heroes in the paradise of the past made her a little unsure of how she should deal with these heroes.

Kevin took a look at the Herrscher of Thunder. His extremely familiar appearance made him raise his eyebrows.

The Herrscher... and there is more than one...

Although the momentary loss of speech just now made the Herrscher of Thunder feel a little embarrassed, she quickly got rid of the embarrassment.

She coughed as if nothing had happened, and said in a flat tone: "In short... we can't let you continue to implement the Stigmata Project in this civilized era."

"Why?" Kevin asked, "Since Aponya and the others didn't react to your presence, it means that even as a Herrscher, you are not an apostle of Honkai. Similarly, as a Herrscher, you should be more aware of the essence of Honkai. If you want to defeat Honkai, the Stigmata Project is the only feasible solution. No matter how you look at it, you should have no reason to stop the Stigmata Project."

The Herrscher of Thunder raised his eyes with bright eye shadow, glanced at Kevin who looked serious, and said lightly: "This is not something you should know now."

Kevin: “……?”

“Pfft… heh… hahahaha…” Looking at Kevin’s confused reaction, even though Alicia covered her mouth immediately, a series of clear and pleasant laughter still flew out from her soft lips uncontrollably, “Hahaha, cute Mei, you still said that you didn’t learn Kevin’s way of speaking, hahaha, look at Kevin’s confused reaction… it’s really interesting.”

"I just plagiarized a few of his lines. After all, the feeling of guessing a riddle is not that wonderful." The Herrscher of Thunder said expressionlessly, "In Su's words, this is probably the so-called 'there is a destiny between cause and effect'."

Kevin looked at Su silently, while Su, who was inexplicably implicated, scratched his hair and shook his head helplessly.

After a moment of silence, Kevin said, "Are you determined to stop me no matter what?"

"Wrong." The Herrscher of Thunder said calmly, "From our current standpoint, we are asking you, are you determined to stop us?"

The hostility was revealed.

With the words of the Herrscher of Thunder as the boundary, Kevin could feel that several sharp gazes were locked onto his body at that moment.

Among these sights, there are also several of his former comrades-in-arms.

...Except one person.

"Su?" Kevin turned his face slightly and looked at his best friend who was standing shoulder to shoulder with him in silence, with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Clearly, fifteen hundred years ago, in order to stop him from continuing the Stigmata Plan, Su even sacrificed his own life to stop his fatal Skyfire from being unsheathed for the Second Divine Key, Qianjie Yicheng. But why is he standing by his side now?

"My opinion has not changed." Su seemed to have noticed Kevin's confusion and said softly, "Until now, I still don't think that the Stigmata Project is an option that should be implemented at this time."

"Then why are you standing by my side at this time?" Kevin asked, "From the perspective of wanting to stop the Stigma Project, you and them should stand together."

"I don't think we have the qualifications to act recklessly towards people of this generation." Su opened his eyes, his bright irises revealing an unprecedented determination. "Similarly, I don't think you, as outsiders, have the qualifications to act recklessly towards my best friends!"

The moment Su finished his words, several dazzling golden lines like circuit boards flowed from the tree trunk behind them, spreading rapidly from bottom to top to each branch.

The next moment, a bright totem formed by golden beams of light bloomed like a huge flower on the lush Bodhi tree.

The dead and quiet ice-blue color was instantly dispelled, and replaced by the lush and dense green color that represented infinite vitality.

This is what this world bubble should look like.

The [Sumeru Mustard Seed] was originally created by Su. With the help of the Second God's Key, it finally revived in the deepest part of the Quantum Sea.

Seeing this scene, the first person to react was Tianyuan Qiying, who had faced a similar scene once before.

Her expression changed slightly, and without hesitation, she injected explosive power into her feet, and her body suddenly rushed towards Su almost immediately.

"Hah--!!" He did not choose to use his own weapons and lance, nor did he call out Krishna. In order to stop Su's behavior as soon as possible, with an angry shout, Tianyuan Qiying's punch with huge force fell straight on Su's chest without any fancy moves.

If an ordinary person was hit by such a force, it would not be surprising if the chest was instantly shattered. However, it was easily blocked by another hand wearing a black glove.

Kevin broke into the space between Su and Tianyuan Qiying with a punch speed faster than his opponent, and caught the fist with his palm just before it reached Su.

A punch, a palm, it was obviously just such a simple contact, but the ground could not bear the weight and a large crack spread out. The huge air wave spread out, making the Bodhi leaves on the tree rustle.

Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and amid a sharp and piercing thunder whistle, the Herrscher of Thunder, whose body was wrapped in lightning, slightly crouched down on his knees. The figure that was moving forward at a high speed like a flash of light quickly crossed the place where Kevin and Tianyuan Qiying were confronting each other.

The Herrscher of Thunder, who had bypassed the two of them, came to Su without any hindrance. She raised her face slightly, held the Herrscher weapon that she had summoned long ago in both hands, and slashed towards Su's neck from bottom to top.

Ding! The blade of the Heavenly Strike Realm came into contact with Su's neck without any hindrance, but it made a hissing sound similar to the collision of metal and iron.

It's this guy's ice! The Herrscher of Thunder's pupils shrank slightly, and he let go of the sword in his hand without any hesitation.

Just as she expected, with the help of the Realm of Heavenly Strike as a medium, the gushing extreme cold froze the space where the Herrscher of Thunder had just been in within a millisecond. If she had not reacted in time, she would probably have been completely frozen in place at this moment.

"What an amazing reaction speed." Looking at the solemn expression of the Herrscher of Thunder not far away from him, Su smiled faintly. "It seems that this lady of Herrscher has not had the first direct confrontation with Kevin."

“Even though I praised him so much, I still couldn’t break through his defenses, didn’t I?” The Herrscher of Thunder sighed softly, “Seeing you standing there motionless, you didn’t think I could take your life from the beginning, did you?”

"It's Kevin after all." Su smiled. "If I can't even trust him, who else can I trust in this world?"

"I understand. After all, it's Kevin." The Herrscher of Thunder also smiled. "So, from the beginning, I didn't intend to rely on such a simple attack to interrupt your ability."

Su was stunned for a moment, and then in the next second, he seemed to sense something and suddenly turned his body around.

"The illusion created with the power of the Second God's Key is indeed very powerful. Because it is not a single ability, but a combination of the power of the void and the power of spiritual perception. If you complete the construction of the illusion, even Aponya and others who are also spiritual perception-types will find it difficult to effectively crack it." The Herrscher of Thunder said, "But on the other hand... if the power of the Second God's Key is terminated before you complete the construction of the illusion..."

"As a fusion warrior of the spiritual perception system, I certainly can't be compared with you who possess both Aponia and Hua." Su continued the words of the Herrscher of Thunder and shook his head helplessly.

Suna raised his eyes and looked at the branches of the Bodhi tree with some melancholy.

There, the Herrscher of Fire and Flame stepped calmly between the branches of the Bodhi tree, with a flickering black hole suspended in his white palms covered with white arm armor.

Chapter 4 Snake: Goodbye (k)

As the black hole held in the hand of the Herrscher of Fire and Flame flickered gently, the golden lines on the branches of the Bodhi tree that represented the power of emptiness also became illusory, as if they would disappear in the next second.

What the Second God's Key can do, the Herrscher of Fire and Flame, who also possesses the power of the Void, can naturally do as well. Since Su can use the power of the Second God's Key to further improve and strengthen the power of his spiritual perception system, similarly, the Herrscher of Fire and Flame can also make the Second God's Key lose the role it was originally supposed to play by offsetting the power and ability.

At the moment when the Herrscher of Fire and Flame offset the power of the Second Divine Key, Kevin's palm and Tianyuan Qiying's fist were separated from each other by a huge wave of cold air. The strong reaction force made both of them take a step back.

After taking a half step back, Kevin didn't hesitate at all. He raised his legs high, turned his body, and swept across the direction of the head of the Herrscher of Thunder who was standing next to Su.

The Heavenly Strike Realm was instantly frozen by Kevin's extreme cold ability, and despite the Herrscher of Thunder's physical strength, he was unable to fight Kevin physically. However, as the fastest Herrscher of Thunder among all the Herrschers, only in terms of speed, even if he fought against Kevin, the Herrscher of Thunder would not be at a great disadvantage.

In addition, at the very beginning, the Herrscher of Thunder was already prepared that Kevin would attack him in order to protect Su.

Kevin's sweeping kick was dodged by the Herrscher of Thunder with incredible swiftness, and... it was rude to not reciprocate. At the moment when their bodies intertwined, with the sharp and piercing sound of thunder, fine lightning suddenly dominated the space between the two people, and the high-voltage current that was enough to kill any creature instantly pierced Kevin's body mercilessly.

After the attack hit the target, the Herrscher of Thunder did not even look at the results she had achieved. Her figure and Kevin's body, which had been stiff for a moment due to the high voltage current running through his whole body, intertwined and moved away from each other.

The Herrscher of Thunder did not expect that his power could cause substantial damage to Kevin in an instant, and without a knife in his hand, he had no means to break Kevin's defense.

So, after the attack, the Herrscher of Thunder left Kevin and Su without any regrets.

Now, she is not alone, and when facing the enemy, she certainly does not need to bear all the pressure alone.

There is nothing wrong with relying on companions, and all the members of the Hyperion are excellent comrades whom she can trust wholeheartedly on the battlefield.

Not only the Herrscher of Thunder, but all the members of the Hyperion present were well aware of this fact.

Seeing the Herrscher of Thunder quickly leaving the battlefield, Kevin's expression couldn't help but slightly darken.

If this Herrscher with the same appearance as Mei was a little more greedy and took advantage of the paralysis of her body to pursue the victory, Kevin would have a way to make her lose her combat ability immediately in that second.

However, in terms of the result, in this brief confrontation just now, Su on his side lost the blessing of the Second God's Key, while the price paid by the opponent was just a Herrscher's weapon that could be regenerated at any time.

Kevin has a clear self-awareness of the gap in ability between himself and his opponents. Although Kevin does not think he will lose to the Herrscher of Thunder and the Tengen Knight, even though he has lost most of his power now, he has not forgotten that his opponents are far more than just the Herrscher of Thunder and the Tengen Knight.

He didn't know why Alicia and the others hadn't taken action until now. But he also knew very well that since these former comrades had chosen to stand on the opposite side of him, there was no way they would watch him hurt their companions.

After Su lost the ability to use his mental perception to fight against Aponya and the others, there was no hope for him and Su alone to defeat all these people together.

So, defeat is inevitable.