I already said this is not a life simulator!

"Well, this is another civilian I found... He's pretty good. He didn't follow the sound of the waves to the beach... I'll make a record of him later and keep it on file. After this incident is over, I'll ask the higher-ups to pay more attention to him."

"clear."

"Eh? Ah? No, no, no, I'm just an ordinary citizen. I can't go to the battlefield."

Listening to the conversation between the two, the young man was still a little confused, and subconsciously thought that Elini was going to ask him to do something.

"No, we don't mean to send you to the front line. That's what we should do then... but you are a rare person who can resist the persuasion of the ocean with your own consciousness in this incident... so we want to learn some information from people like you and see what all this is like in your eyes."

Elini explained as briefly as possible, then turned around and motioned for the young man to follow her team members.

"I have other things to take care of. You will stay in this base for now. Don't worry, it's safe here. My team members will stay here to take care of you. There's no need to panic... Just wait for this to be over."

"Oh……"

The young man nodded and walked obediently towards the base that was illuminated and protected by many [lights]. Elini nodded to her teammates, then turned around and walked into the thick fog again.

…………

wow-

The sound of the waves echoed in my ears, and the humid air rushed directly into my nostrils through the thick fog.

【Ire……ne……】

There was a faint call echoing in my mind, noisy, distorted, and full of weirdness... No, that's not right! It wasn't coming from my mind, but from all around me!

"Ugh..."

Elini covered her head in annoyance... Obviously everything in front of her was not real, and the sea in front of her was not real, but why could she still hear this kind of "hallucination"? !

The flame in the [lantern] flickered slightly, as if the wind was trying to blow it out, as if water was trying to put it out, but...

"Hush...huh..."

Elini closed her eyes and adjusted her breathing. When she opened her eyes again, her silver-gray eyes were full of determination. The flame in the lantern instantly stabilized and shone brightly again.

The heat of the flames dispelled the humid air, and the bright light swept away the surrounding thick fog, finally revealing... the sea water less than a hundred meters away from Elini.

"...Sure enough, this distance is still too far."

Elini frowned... However, she did not intend to go back. There were only a few people who were capable of moving in this strange space, and she was one of them... She had to search for civilians who accidentally came here in the thick fog and bring them back to the safe base.

Especially in this area which is getting closer to the sea, if those bewitched civilians are not brought back in time... what will happen, Elini doesn't know, after all, she has not yet escaped from this spiritual world.

But she knew that if she came into contact with sea water, the consequences would not be good...either in reality or here.

"Uh-huh?"

Elini continued searching along the beach, but after a while, she saw another cluster of fire in the distance... no, it should be a ball of fire with a vague human shape.

"……magnificent?"

After getting a little closer, Elini finally saw the true appearance of the fire - it was the flames burning on Hua's hands, but they were burning so violently that they enveloped her entire body.

"Ah...well, it's you, Elini."

Hua seemed to be in a daze, or perhaps she was startled by something. After Elini called her, she slowly withdrew her gaze from the sea and turned to look at Elini.

"...Hua, you should know that you can't get close to sea water. It's too dangerous...even for us."

Elini frowned. Hua's behavior just now seemed as if he was somewhat bewitched by the ocean, so she gave him a warning.

"I know that the ocean is a mutation caused by the collapse, and my relatives, friends, and people I know all left me because of the collapse... I will never forgive it, and I will never be bewitched by it."

Hua raised her hands that were still burning with flames and clenched her fists slightly. The flames seemed to have heard her words and sensed her consciousness, burning even more fiercely, dispersing the moisture around them, and even causing a faint feeling of heat.

"Fighting the Honkai to the end for humanity... This is our duty, and I will never forget it."

"only……"

Hua paused slightly at this time, with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

"I just saw the captain... on the other side of the sea."

"team leader?"

"Yes, that is... the former captain of the fifth team, the one who saved me, Himiko."

Hua nodded and said softly.

"I can't mistake her. That figure and that fiery red hair."

"…But she has already sacrificed herself."

Elini was silent for a while before she stated this fact with some difficulty.

"…Yes, she has already been sacrificed, you know."

Hua also paused for a moment before responding softly.

"... Never mind. Maybe I saw it wrong, or maybe Honkai is tempting us in some new way."

Hua shook his head, reluctantly gave himself an explanation, and turned around.

"I'm going to change the direction of the search... I'll leave the area behind to you."

“…Yes, I understand.”

Elini also knew that after what happened just now, Hua might want to stay away from the area close to the sea, so she did not refuse but just nodded in agreement.

"Thank you."

Hua also understood that Elini was taking care of herself, so she nodded and continued to walk into the thick fog with the flame... As for her safety, Elini was not worried. After all, Hua's ability as a fusion warrior included fire, so it was easy for him to dispel the thick fog around her.

"But... an illusion? A new way of bewitching?"

Elini frowned, and looked towards the sea again in the direction Hua had just looked...but she saw nothing, only the increasingly dark sea fog.

"……never mind."

Elini withdrew her gaze and continued to move forward with the [lantern].

What is more important right now is to find the civilians who are lost here.

【Irene……】

In a trance, Elini could hear someone calling her name in the water, on the other side of the ocean...

It was a very familiar voice, a voice she remembered.

"……teacher?"

The familiar voice made Elini subconsciously turn her gaze and look towards the ocean.

And then... Elini saw it, it seemed like it was standing on the sea, its lower body was covered by thick fog, only its upper body was relatively clear... Xi Wang?

Relying on the enhanced vision of the fusion warrior, Elini could indeed vaguely see that it was indeed Xi Wang's face, the face of her teacher, but... the hair color was wrong, the pupil color was wrong, and more importantly... the expression was wrong!

Her teacher didn't have such white hair like waves, and the gold and scarlet colors in his pupils wouldn't be so numerous and bright.

More importantly... her teacher would never laugh so weirdly, so "evil" like some big devil!

Absolutely not!

"hiss……"

Elini closed her eyes, blocking out her visual perception, her hands unconsciously clenched, and the flame in the lantern flickered gently a few times.

【Irene……】

"shut up!"

Elini let out a low roar, and the [lights] suddenly lit up, dispersing the thick fog that was approaching.

"No, you are not allowed to use my teacher to deceive me!"

Elini warned the ocean in a low voice, her silver-gray eyes filled with anger, and even her other hand was on the sword at her waist, as if she would pull it out at any time.

Unfortunately, when she opened her eyes again, the figure of Xi Wang had disappeared, as if it was just an illusion that Elini saw.

"call……"

Elini was silent for a moment, slowly retracted her expression, and adjusted her breathing.

She now understood why Hua had that expression just now.

but……

"I will do it, Sensei."

Elini whispered to herself, as if she was making a promise to someone, or as if she was encouraging herself.

Immediately, she held the [lantern] in her hand, and continued to walk forward with a firm look and steps.

Maybe there are still people lost in this area, and she wants to bring them back to a safe place.

……

…………

"She is as determined as you expected, Xiwang."

Somewhere along the coast shrouded in thick fog, Aponia stood gently on the shore, with her hands folded in front of her, her body slightly leaning forward, and spoke to Xiwang with a hint of respect.

"Well, of course, I know she can do it."

Xiwang said with a smile.

"The lights are prepared for her."

"…You seem to have made plans."

"Haven't you seen it? Through the [thread] on my body."

“Indeed… that’s the case.”

Aponia paused for a moment, hesitated for a while, and then spoke again.

"But I still want to..."

"do not."

Xi Wang interrupted her bluntly.

"If you want to [move forward], you must pay a [price]. This is inevitable... Aponiya, you can no longer continue to show your mercy at this point."

"Especially, you can't use 'commands' to make people maintain their own understanding of people...any similar 'commands' are not acceptable."

Xiwang warned seriously.

"...I understand. If this is your expectation and your decision, I...will definitely follow it."

Aponia hesitated...but finally nodded and agreed.

"Ah That's good."

Xi Wang's tone softened again, and his expression returned to his usual relaxed and cheerful look.

"After that, go help Dobia. She's being received by my 'blood relative'. She might be in a lot of trouble... Just help her out and she'll leave on her own."

"After that, I will evacuate this area... This incident will be over for now."

"You have to work hard for everything that follows, okay? After all, your position is also crucial in "this time", my [Miss Nun]~"

There was a hint of frivolity in Xiwang's tone, which made Abonya stunned for a moment.

"This time... Come to think of it, you seem to have a lot of special [threads] on your body. No, have they become more?"

Aponia thought for a moment before asking softly with a hint of uncertainty and inquiry in her tone.

"I can see that the [thread] between you, that Eden, Sakura, and Dr. Mobius seems to be very special."

"Besides this, there is another more special and increasingly conspicuous [thread]... Is it the 'blood relative' you mentioned?"

"No, why are you asking this?"

Xi Wang's expression looked a little strange.

"No... I'm just confirming something."

Aponya shook her head slowly.

“Although I cannot see the path you have taken, I know that you must have stepped on thorns and waded through hardships to finally get here, to this moment, and finally make up your mind.”

"Because of this, I am more and more convinced that only they, only those who have a special connection with you, can support you to this moment... It is they who give you the motivation and will to move forward."

"I am... increasingly convinced of this."