NIKKE, Swordmaster Ark Succubus Daily

“That’s true…” Isabel smiled with relief.

"Rapunzel, thank you for the emergency treatment during the battle." Noah walked over and said to Rapunzel somewhat apologetically, "Because of my mistake, you almost got into trouble..."

"It's alright," Rapunzel waved her hand and said, "Noah, you were trying to block that laser for me, weren't you? I should be thanking you."

"Saint, Saintess..." Noah seemed to hear the melodious church bells.

"As expected of the Saintess, would you like to come to Paradise? I heard you were Dorothy's former teammate, in that case..."

Before Harlan could finish speaking, Rapunzel shook her head and refused. She not only had to pray for the dead Niki who went to the ground and could not return home, but she also had another thing to do—help the commander recover his memories.

How can a commander who has lost his memories still be considered a commander?

She absolutely has to bring back her former commander.

Now, all we have to do is wait for Dorothy to bring him back.

At that moment, Dorothy returned with Niki, the leader of the counterattack force.

Rapunzel quickly checked them over and found that they were not seriously injured, which relieved her.

But she still didn't see that figure. She asked, "Where's my brother? Hasn't he finished dealing with things yet?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Anis, who had been looking strange, covered her face and started crying. Nien patted her back and gently comforted her.

With a look of self-reproach, Lapi said to the long-haired princess, "The commander, he..."

"To protect everyone, he voluntarily went with the heretics," Dorothy said with some regret. "This is what I've confirmed..."

"Honey!"

Isabel took off in a panic and saw a faint red light in the distance. She immediately activated her maximum power to chase after it.

Dorothy continued, "This is what I confirm..."

'Snapped'

Rapunzel slapped her across the face without any expression.

108. Falling into Hell

"Me too, I'm going too!"

Upon hearing the news that the commander had been captured, Laplace didn't care about anything else and followed Isabel in the sky.

"Laplace, wait for us!"

Maxwell, clutching the laser gun at his waist, walked past Dorothy with a complicated expression, then followed Drake to catch up with Laplace, who had vanished in an instant.

"Dorothy..." Harlan, who usually looked down on the Ark people, also put on an unpleasant expression.

Noah also had her grievances, but she dared not voice them.

Dorothy, who had just been slapped by Rapunzel, kept her head tilted to the side. Her cold gaze swept through her bangs and fell on her companions who were expressing their dissatisfaction with her.

"Gentlemen, why are you looking at me like I've done something wrong?" she said.

"He's already been captured by Nihilista on our side, and you're being attacked by another heretic, almost killed, aren't you? I simply chose the way that could save you all, and..."

This is something I've already confirmed. I did ask him if he needed help, and he neither made any gestures for help nor made any sound.

Dorothy looked at Rapunzel one last time and said, "I did not break my promise to you."

"You're definitely lying!"

Anis rushed to Dorothy, grabbed her collar, tears streaming down his face, his voice hoarse: "You're definitely lying! You must have just abandoned him!"

Nien quickly stepped forward to pull Anis away and calm her down. She could tell that even with NIMPH, Anis was on the verge of a breakdown.

Lapi stood in front of Dorothy, his hands clenched into fists. "Anis is right. We were all knocked unconscious by you and had no idea what happened. That's just your side of the story."

“You’re just looking for an excuse to hit me.” Dorothy looked up at Rabi, whose arm was trembling uncontrollably, and said:

“You know him better than I do, so do I need to repeat what choice he would make in that situation?”

Lapi pursed his lips, relaxed his shoulders, and lowered his head to say, "Yes, that was indeed what he did, but..."

Dorothy saw Labi's figure flash by, and her body involuntarily bent over.

what happened?

Why am I...?

Only then does the intense abdominal pain travel through the nerves to the brain.

"Cough cough cough..." Dorothy clutched her stomach and knelt on the ground, the pain as if her abdomen had been forcibly torn open making it impossible for her to straighten up.

Even if Dorothy turned off the pain sensors, it was to no avail; the various parts and instruments in her abdomen were probably already shattered into a pile.

"I'll go crazy if I don't punch you."

Dorothy struggled to lift her head. In the sunlight, she couldn't see Labi's face clearly, but his bright red hair fluttered in the wind, reminding her of Little Red Riding Hood.

If it were Little Red Riding Hood, knowing that she was deliberately preventing Rabi from unleashing his full power, it might not have been as simple as just one punch.

Damn it, why am I thinking about these things... Little Red Riding Hood is already dead.

The Little Red Riding Hood mode, which she had been preparing for a long time, only lasted for a brief moment. Lapi's red hair faded, but even so, she felt her brain fluid almost boiling.

She staggered over to Anis and Nien and said, "Let's go too. Laplace and the others might need help. The commander might not have been taken far yet, so there might still be a chance."

Although they knew the chances were slim, Anis and Nien didn't say another word and followed her.

Dorothy stood up tremblingly. Although she was in great pain, it didn't matter. Compared to being betrayed by the Ark and learning of the Commander's humiliating death, this pain was nothing.

“Lavi doesn’t seem to have returned after using his abilities just now.” Harlan raised his head and looked down at the hunched Dorothy, asking, “Why didn’t you let her use her abilities? Why didn’t you let her use all her strength to save him? You clearly knew she had special abilities.”

"Do you think she can save him with that?" Dorothy was still unconvinced and retorted, "She only punched me once and she couldn't even stand up. Do you expect someone with such a mediocre ability to save him?"

"What if we can save them?" Harlan's eyes widened.

"My assessment is that the probability is close to zero."

"However, it's not exactly zero."

The two fell silent; this conversation would never end.

“Your Holiness, John is still unconscious, so I’m leaving him in your care for now,” Harlan said to Noah. “Noah, let’s go and help him too.”

"oh oh……"

Noah also left with Harlan.

"Why...why don't you all understand me? Aren't we the same kind of people?" Dorothy gasped for breath, her pupils trembling, her once neatly styled hair now disheveled, looking like a hysterical madwoman.

"Didn't Fang Zhou betray us? If we let him go back..."

Dorothy really didn't understand.

“Back when I was in the rehabilitation center, a senior once asked me this question.”

John had woken up sometime earlier. He slowly sat up, his nearly collapsing body occasionally shedding fragments of broken parts, and said to Dorothy:

"Do you truly despise the Ark? Do you really want to kill those people living on the Ark who know nothing? If not, what is it about the Ark that you despise?"

The extra movements added a few more cracks to John's already chapped face. He said, "I said I hated those despicable Ark high command members, and I wanted to kill those vile scoundrels who tarnished humanity's glory. I... wanted to reclaim the surface for humanity."

“But today I understand.” John stared at Dorothy’s face, which now seemed somewhat ugly to him, and said, “What I truly loathe is your rotten mind.”

Although Dorothy said she didn't want him to go back and correct the Ark, she actually just wanted to kill the Ark's future star to satisfy her desire for revenge.

“These guys are going out one by one, not in formation. Even if they find the fire dragon, they won’t be able to fight it. I need to take command.”

John left, dragging his crippled body.

Now only Rapunzel and Dorothy remain.

After slapping her, Rapunzel just stared at Dorothy without any expression.

"Not going to slap him again?" Dorothy laughed, her hair disheveled and her expression maniacal. "He's already finished anyway, so it won't make a difference how many times you hit him."

Lord, I should help people reduce their troubles and avoid their suffering...

"Don't you think you have any responsibility?! Long hair!"

Dorothy suddenly yelled at her:

"Didn't you like the Commander too?! Why were you so indifferent when you heard about his death?! Why are you still focusing your attention on a stranger?!"

Choosing to focus on someone else is your way of escaping?! Then what becomes the Commander?! So I want to see the look on your face when you know he's dead, you bitch nun!

Stop talking, Dorothy...

“Red Lotus only thinks about drinking, Snow White lost most of her memories due to the shift in her mindset, Little Red Riding Hood and Captain Lilith are dead… I don’t ask you to fight the Ark with me, but…”

"Why have you become indifferent to the Commander's affairs? Why did you betray him?" Dorothy asked, her face filled with sorrow, almost using all her remaining strength. "Answer me, long hair!"

"answer me!"

"answer me!"

"answer me!"

"answer me!"

……

Dorothy walked step by step toward Rapunzel, repeating herself over and over. Her once exquisite makeup was now a mess, her neatly styled hair was disheveled, and her elegant figure was distorted by the pain in her body.

Seeing Dorothy like this, Rapunzel's usually unmoved eyes finally welled up with tears, like a river bursting its banks, which she could no longer stop.

Lord, forgive me for bringing more suffering to those who are already in pain...

"Dorothy, I did not betray the commander."

Dorothy, her lips cracked and eyes filled with disdain, walked up to Rapunzel. "You're saying such things now..."

"Because he is the commander."

"Eh?"

Looking at the tearful Rapunzel, Dorothy was momentarily stunned and didn't understand. "What are you talking about?"

"The one taken away by Nihilista... was the Commander."

Dorothy, her mind blank, forgot to breathe. Her eyes gradually lost focus, and her lips murmured, "The Ark..."

"No!" Rapunzel grabbed her shoulders, crying out in despair, "The commander of the Goddess Force! Our commander!"

"..." Dorothy stared blankly for a moment, her mouth agape, then abruptly shook off her hand and took several steps back. "Impossible... This can't be, you're lying..."

"I won't mistake it!" Rapunzel said with her eyes closed.

"How could I possibly mistake it when I used to help the commander restore his mental energy? It's not a familiar feeling, nor a similar feeling, but exactly the same!"

“Impossible! He…he…his blood, yes, his blood!” Dorothy seemed to have found a loophole, and she forced an ugly smile. “His blood can’t be used to make an antidote. I’ve already had Cecil test it! Cecil wouldn’t make a mistake on something so simple!”

Rapunzel immediately shattered her illusions, saying, "The test results won't be wrong, but Cecil can lie."

Dorothy, have you told anyone in Paradise that you're a member of the Goddess Squad?

“…No.” Dorothy answered blankly, “We don’t ask about the details of the past because we think it’s pointless, because we are all people betrayed by the Ark…”

“That’s probably the reason,” Rapunzel said to her, “because you weren’t fully trusted.”

Devastated, Dorothy immediately contacted Cecil.

"Ah, Dorothy, we've finally made contact! How are you all? He..."

“Cecil! Tell me the blood test results I had you check before, is that real?” Dorothy, still clinging to a last glimmer of hope, said tremulously, “You…you’re not lying to me, are you…?”

"that is……"

“Cecil, please tell her the truth,” Rapunzel said.

"..." A sigh came from the other end, "I'm sorry, I did tamper with it. His blood is really rare, it's exactly what you need as a raw material for the antidote... I'm worried that you and John might harm him, because you're a bit extreme, so..."

Dorothy's body went limp, and she knelt on the ground. She could no longer hear any sound, only the endless roar in her mind.

He... is the commander...

She looked down at her palms, her whole body trembling uncontrollably. "I... gave the Commander to the Heretic?"

The reason for all of this was that I wasn't trusted...

And those who trusted him from beginning to end...