K424 of the Collapse World

901 came to an abrupt end >>

Yae Sakura closed her eyes and waited for her fate to come. But strangely, nearly ten seconds had passed since Xilin said she would punish her, and the Herrscher still hadn't taken any action.

In response, she was about to open her eyes to confirm the situation, when Xilin's angry voice suddenly rang out in front of her.

“How dare you…!”

"—?"

Yae Sakura opened her eyes quickly. What she saw next was the purple-haired girl holding the pitch-black spiral gun in anger, wielding the power that distorted the world into the sky, and the darkness completely split the sky and the ground.

What is she attacking?

Yaezakura had no idea what was happening. She only saw that the corridor space, which was completely sealed off from the outside world, was directly cracked by the supernova-level gravitational energy. However, Xilin did not repair the broken space, allowing the cracks to spread all the way down, causing the entire space to be on the verge of breaking...

Click——

The next moment, with the clear sound of shattering ringing in her ears, Yaesakura's vision went dark again, and then she felt the weight from all directions suddenly collapsing towards her!

The dimension layer shrinks after the space collapses, and the final result is enough to crush all the creatures that rely on the laws of the world.

However, before Chongying was covered by the space turbulence, a small hand suddenly grabbed her ear and easily pulled her out of the gap in the corridor where the space law was out of control. Then, in a feeling of traveling through a tunnel, a broken mirror layer shaped like a kaleidoscope appeared in front of her eyes.

After a flash, Yaezakura's vision suddenly became clear again without any warning.

As her feet returned to the solid ground again, Yae Sakura staggered slightly, then quickly found her balance point and stabilized her body. The scene in front of her was completely different from the bizarre endless corridor. The soft light that clearly belonged to the real world allowed Yae Sakura to quickly adapt to the surroundings.

The dark and open cave was the area where she was before she was captured by the laws of space. Apparently, after shattering the world she created, Xilin brought her back to the original coordinates of the real space.

It didn't take her much effort to find the figure of the Herrscher of the Void in the light not far away.

Light?

Yaezakura raised her head and looked upward, only to see that a large hole had been blasted out of the thick rock layer on the top of the cave by something at some point in time. Bright sunlight shone through the gap that was hundreds of meters wide, pouring light equally into this cave that should have never seen the sun.

"......Eh?"

The next moment, Yaezakura noticed that the precision technology equipment set up around them had been covered by the collapsed rocks; the mess of parts and mechanical debris spread on the ground, and the broken crystal plates reflected the falling sunlight. In addition, even the previous cave terrain had changed a lot, as if it was a remnant of something huge that had ravaged it.

what happened?

Looking at the girl with her back to her feet, Yae Sakura looked around with a serious expression, trying to find something from the remaining ruins.

Although we still don't know what happened, we can first rule out that it was Xilin who did it. If the simulated black hole vortex formed by the gravitational law just now really spread to the real space, the destructive power it caused would not be limited to this.

Speaking of which, where was Bella?

Suddenly remembering the Honkai beast girl who was left in this area, Yae Sakura looked around repeatedly without success. Suddenly, she realized something and her pupils shrank sharply.

Bella...could it be that...?

The destroyed stronghold, the collapsing rock formations from top to bottom, and the obvious remaining traces of Honkai energy... Faced with these tragic scenes, it seems that there is only one possible outcome.

Yaezakura cast her gaze again towards Xilin not far away, only to see the petite purple-haired girl squatting on the ground, gently stroking a bloody piece of scale armor, in silence.

It seems that the results are already very obvious.

While the two of them were fighting in the gap, Bella was attacked by an unknown target...

902 Ways of Reconciliation

The two people who escaped from the space crack stood among the rubble and debris of the cave, looking at the destroyed base in silence.

Snowflakes scattered by the mountain wind drifted down from the broken rock walls above. Two girls stood in the open-air cave, one in front of the other. The silent scene was silent, as if the entire snowy mountain had ushered in a brief eternity at this moment.

Yaezakura twitched her ears and looked at the thin back of the purple-haired girl. The slender lonely figure half-knelt on the ground, as if embedded in the dark and cold rock. The slightly trembling back made her look sad and helpless as if she had been abandoned by the whole world.

Indeed, it seems that the only one on this planet who is willing to acknowledge her identity is Benares, the only remaining follower...

Losing a cherished partner in the blink of an eye is enough to break one's heart.

Did she... cry?

Yaezakura raised her hand hesitantly and moved her lips several times, but ultimately failed to break the icy silence.

"Humph--"

Suddenly, with a slightly heavy hum, Xilin finally stood up. The next moment, the dark red ripples surrounding the girl instantly dissipated, and the form of the Herrscher of the Void was lifted, revealing the gray torn coat again.

"Bella..."

With an almost inaudible moan, the girl squeezed the fragment of scale armor in her hand tightly, and after taking a few deep breaths, she held it in her palm with great care and gently put it into the pocket of her inner shirt.

She turned around and looked straight at Yaezakura not far behind her again.

There wasn't a single tear in his eyes.

"This has nothing to do with you, does it?"

The purple-haired girl suddenly asked softly, and every word of her cold words clearly echoed in Yae Sakura's ears. In response, Yae Sakura shook her head without hesitation and answered immediately in a panic.

"No, I don't know..."

Looking at Yaesakura's slightly panicked purple eyes, Xilin paused for a few seconds and softened her tone.

"Well... I believe you. After all, your body couldn't even move before, so it's obviously not you who did this."

After saying this, Xilin immediately walked over, the hard soles of her boots hitting the rocks, and the crisp footsteps echoed in the cave. In this overly quiet world, such a simple sound was almost deafening.

Looking at the silver-haired girl walking towards her, Yaezakura subconsciously took a half step back. She had never been afraid even when facing the Herrscher of the Star Abyss, but now facing Xilin, whose power had already dissipated, she actually wanted to take advantage of her.

The urge to run away.

But under the control of her own rationality, she did not carry out that instinctive behavior after all. She just stood there like a wooden stake, enduring the torment of a certain fear, watching the purple-haired girl come to her step by step.

"Stubborn Fox, that fight just now... do you still want to continue fighting now?"

“…(shakes head)”

"Okay then. What are you going to do now? Do you want to listen to me explain the matter of Shilis, or do you want to go back to your Far East branch immediately and stop interfering in these damn things?"

The orange-gold eyes stared at Yae Sakura's face, and Xilin's tone was cold and emotionless. Although she did not launch any energy deterrence, in Yae Sakura's eyes at this moment, the pressure brought by this short girl who was not even as tall as her chest was even more terrifying than the Herrscher form just now...

Swallowing her saliva, Yae Sakura straightened her back slightly and mustered up the courage to answer the girl's question.

902 Settlement Methods >>

"Compared to these questions, Sir... Sirin, can you first tell me what exactly happened here?"

"Heh... can't you see? While I was driving the corridor to fight with you, someone came to rob my house, dismantled all the equipment I had installed with great effort, and finally took away my pet... it's that simple!"

As Xilin finished speaking, the girl suddenly turned around and kicked the half-person-high rock next to her to pieces! The fragments flew out at high speed like shotgun shells, smashing the rock layer in front of her and causing another large collapse.

"She is such a loser...isn't she? In less than 20 minutes, she was able to be broken into by an intruder! Not only did she fail to protect the fruits of my labor over the past few days, but she was even taken away by the intruder? If I had known this, I should have let that stupid dragon continue to stay in her crappy academy and never embarrass herself again in this life!"

"..."

"What do you think? Is that guy a useless stupid dragon? Her scales...even the dragon scales in front of the second core on the side of her chest have fallen off, but she still doesn't know how to run away quickly. Will she be satisfied only when I lose them again?!"

The girl gasped for air, and her hoarse roar, close to madness, echoed in the broken cave. Yaezakura just listened silently, letting the Herrscher girl in front of her vent her anger, and her heart-wrenching voice resounded through the cliffs and clouds.

"Hu...Hu...Enough...Let's not talk about that idiot for now. Miss Fox, you haven't answered my question yet. Choose one quickly, either stay or go back. I have things to do next and I don't have time to waste with you."

Xilin rubbed her temple and sat down tiredly against a broken crystal plate, not caring about the broken glass surface scratching her coat. She raised her cold eyes and asked the cherry-haired girl.

In response, Yaezakura paused for a few seconds, as if she had made a decision, and slowly placed her palm on her chest.

How to do it...isn't it obvious?

"......Sir Xilin, although I don't know the details of the matter, I am also responsible for what happened to Bella just now. So, please allow me to go with you and take Bella back from the enemy!"

Hearing Yaezakura's firm answer, Xilin opened her eyes in surprise, was silent for a while, and suddenly responded with a forced smile.

"Oh? Haha... Oh, I almost forgot, you also consider her a friend, how disgusting. But how do you know that stupid dragon hasn't been skinned and tortured to death in the enemy's laboratory?"

"In addition to the two Honkai beast cores in Bella's body, there are two out-of-body cores stored in the encrypted storage area of ​​the Far East Branch. As long as the out-of-body cores are not damaged, Bella will not die easily even if she suffers a fatal injury."

"Hmph...you know a lot."

Xilin said this in a cold voice, her scrutinizing eyes sweeping back and forth over Yae Sakura, quietly revealing a hint of mockery.

"However, your strength should be similar to Bella's, right? How can you have the confidence to be a match for an enemy that could defeat her miserably in a short period of time?"

"Although I can only offer a small contribution, you will surely help me, won't you?"

Yaezakura continued, looking at the purple-haired girl with a slightly complicated expression, she mustered up the courage to take a step forward and gently grabbed Xilin's thin shoulders.

"Please tell me what to do, Lord Xilin."

903 trust

"Oh wow...?"

Suddenly, Yaezakura came close to her and pressed her shoulders. Faced with the bold action of the cherry-haired girl, Xilin was stunned for a moment, then her eyes narrowed and her expression quickly became intriguing.

An unsolicited follower? Interesting...

"I reject."

"Eh......?"

"Don't you understand? I said, I refuse!"

"Then please give me another reason."

"I just don't want to. Why would I give you so many reasons?

If I say that, it means that I feel unlucky when I see you, that's all."

Shaking off Yaesakura's hands violently, Xilin turned around with her arms folded. Her smart eyes swept across the face of the cherry-haired girl, and she snorted in a pretentious manner.

"And you're so shameless that you're planning to run after me now? Have you forgotten that I was planning to beat you into a paraplegic state just now? You were trembling with fear when you witnessed my true power... Are you not afraid anymore?"

"I haven't forgotten. It's just that compared to this fear, I am more concerned about the safety of my friends."

"Huh? Where's your persistence and faith? A few minutes ago you said you would never collude with the Herrscher and wanted to conquer me, and now you give up so quickly?"

"As you said, I am indeed hostile to all Herrschers. But if it is for Bella, no matter who you are, I am willing to help you unconditionally."

Yaesakura responded without any hesitation, and her resolute tone seemed as if she had prepared the answer long ago and was just waiting for Xilin to question her.

(What an unpleasant feeling...)

Xilin obviously noticed Yaesakura's fluent response, and puffed up her cheeks in anger, somewhat dissatisfied that the other party saw through her thoughts. But soon, the girl suppressed these immature instinctive thoughts and turned back to Yaesakura, who was serious.

"Let me confirm again, are you serious?"

"I don't joke in this kind of situation."

"Do you know that there are no traces of energy left by the invaders here? This means that the person who launched the attack did not even use his own Honkai energy, and relied entirely on his own physical strength to defeat Bella, who had transformed into a demon dragon, and was able to escape in a few minutes. Even the Herrscher's energy could not track him... Do you really have the courage to face such a monstrous enemy?"

"Is Lady Xilin afraid and not going to save Bella?"

"What if I say 'yes'? I'm afraid of such a strong enemy and I plan to be a coward. What are you going to do?"

Xilin curled her lips and focused her eyes on the cherry-haired girl with annoyance and a little expectation to see how Bella's friend would respond.

However, Xilin only responded with three simple words.

"I do not believe."

"...?"

"As far as judging people is concerned, my intuition is quite accurate. Although you are a Herrscher, there is no doubt that you are also a person who values ​​friendship and loyalty, and you will definitely not ignore Bella."

"..."

"I thought I had already made my decision clear. How much more time are you going to waste, Master Xilin?"

Looking at the cherry-haired girl's determined eyes without any ripples, Xilin frowned tightly, hesitated for a long time, and finally sighed deeply.

To be honest, when she realized that Yaezakura truly regarded Bella as a close friend, Xilin even regretted involving this girl. If she had known this, she should have cured her corruption and placed her in the Far East Branch.

903 Trust >>

She had planned from the beginning to drive Bella back to the Far East at the final stage of the plan, rather than dragging her former subordinates into such a life-or-death battle. Now, the same thing happened to Yae Sakura. If something happened to her, wouldn't Bella be alone again?

But... facing a warrior who showed his awareness, I still couldn't trample on his determination...

"Here."

Xilin suddenly waved her hand and threw a black shadow forward. Yaezakura subconsciously grabbed it and found that this black long sword was the Jizo Soul that was taken away from her.

"Big sister! Big sister, you are finally here! Oh, oh, oh, oh...! I thought I would never see you again..."

Just as she grasped the hilt of the Key of God, the cherry-colored little fox girl jumped out and lay on Yae Sakura's cheek, crying bitterly. The familiar noisy voice made Yae Sakura twitch the corners of her mouth. In the end, she put aside what she wanted to ask Xilin and gently touched Hiyumaru's little head.

"I'll return this sword to you first. Don't try to fuse the Herrscher Core of the Key of God with yourself again."