This is not the date I wanted.

Meng Yue naturally knew this too.

"Now we begin the firefighting operation - Phase 3."

After repeating the task she was going to do, Mengyue slowly extended her hand towards Qinli.

Suddenly, Mengyue's hand stopped in mid-air.

She saw that under Qinli's messy bangs, tears were constantly flowing from her dry and empty eyes.

In an instant, Mengyue felt a sharp pain in her heart.

Even though she had lost her mind, the pain and despair of losing her beloved still tormented Kotori like a cruel wound.

And this last tear used to vent sadness was evaporated by the burning flames the moment it overflowed from the eyes.

——Why? You were by my brother's side at that time.

——Why did my brother die again?!

"Ratziel (Sage of the Dawn)!!"

Meng Yue suppressed the guilt that was about to overflow and shouted through clenched teeth.

[Received - Mission started - Target Gokawa Kotori - Spiritual power penetration started - Penetration completed - Synchronization started - Synchronization completed - Spiritual crystal condensation started. ]

In an instant, countless tiny electric sparks surrounded Qinli's body and penetrated into her body bit by bit through her skin.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Under the stimulation of the electric shock, Kotori couldn't help but scream, her expression was distorted by pain, and her struggle became more intense.

【——Mission accomplished.】

Hearing the reply from the Sage of Dawn, Meng Yue said in a cold voice.

"What's coming next will be more painful than death. I'm sorry, Kotori-chan."

The next second, Mengyue's right hand suddenly stabbed out and pierced through Qinli's chest.

And in her bloody hand, she held a dark red gem shrouded in black mist.

08 Fire Fighting (Part )

==============================

Scarlet blood splattered on his cheek.

The fishy and bitter smell filled the entire nasal cavity.

The spiritual crystal in her hand felt sticky and hot, as if what Meng Yue held in her hand was not a gem but a human heart.

“Ahhh!!…”

As the spirit crystal separated, Kotori stopped struggling, her arms fell limply, and the light in her eyes gradually dissipated.

Although Meng Yue's expression did not change, her slightly pale face still revealed her hesitation at the moment.

Unlike the calm feeling she had when she killed Westcott for the first time, hurting her beloved family members with her own hands was undoubtedly the most painful thing for Mengyue.

(but--!)

Mengyue gritted her teeth, pulled her right hand away from Qinli's chest, and withdrew to the coverage area of ​​the "Leaves of the World Tree".

"Juya! Junai! Stop the bleeding!"

[Received! Random domain attribute changed to medical mode! ]

[Generate a sterile environment! Start analyzing the extent of organ damage, and start temporary simulated organ generation! Blood circulation - heart pacing - oxygen supply -]

As the voices of Maria and Juna rang out, the "Leaves of the World Tree" shone with a green light that enveloped Kotori and maintained the shaky fire of life.

"..."

Although Qin Li was not dead, Meng Yue did not dare to relax at all. She knew that this method was not a cure, but simply delayed Qin Li's death.

Placing the dark red spiritual crystal on her chest, Meng Yue whispered.

"…Ratziel (Sage of the Dawn)."

[Received host's command - detected heterogeneous spiritual power reaction - absorption completed - spiritual power filtering task - started! ]

As the computer sound rang in her mind, the spiritual crystal in the piano merged into Mengyue's body.

"—!"

Meng Yue's expression was twisted with pain, her skin was as red as red-hot iron, and the sweat just evaporated into water vapor and dissipated into the air.

Then, pitch-black flames ignited around Mengyue, wrapping her entire body as if to devour her.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

……

At the same time, a piercing alarm sounded in the bridge of Fraxinus EX.

"Commander Meng Yue!? What's going on?"

"Report! Just now, the spiritual wave reaction of Commander Mengyue was detected from him!"

"The E of the spiritual power type is wrong! C? D? B?——I can't determine the correct value!"

"Hey! Ju Ya, Ju Nai. Why did Bili-chan become like this?"

Seeing the changes in Mengyue on the screen, Erya asked anxiously.

[I don't know... but judging from the phenomenon, it should be because the spirit crystal produced a rejection reaction after Meng Yue absorbed it.]

Ju Ya replied with a serious expression.

[What are you panicking about? Didn't we mention this in the plan? If Meng Yue wants to successfully put out the fire, she must absorb the spiritual crystals in the piano for her own use.]

Junai replied.

"But Bili-chan didn't say that absorbing the spirit crystal would turn out like this!?"

When explaining the operation at the beginning, Meng Yue only mentioned that she would be responsible for dealing with Qin Li's spiritual crystal. Since Meng Yue had successfully absorbed Erya's reversed crystal, no one thought that absorbing the reversed spiritual crystal would be such a dangerous thing.

[What's the point of saying it? It will only distract you from the battle because of unnecessary things. ]

Sighing helplessly, Junai pointed at Qinli's position on the screen and reminded her.

[Also, you should be more concerned about your Commander Kotori than the situation on Mengyue's side. The medical limit of the manifestation device is to reconnect the broken limbs at best, but it cannot repair the damaged organs. Junai and I only temporarily maintained her life, and the time is only three hours at most. If Mengyue cannot purify the reversal crystals and use the healing flame within this period of time, then Gokawa Kotori will really be powerless to save her.]

"How long will the purification take?"

[I don’t know. After all, we don’t have any comparative data analysis. It’s better to say that whether it will succeed is still an unknown.]

This is a race against time. The key to victory or defeat depends on whether Meng Yue purifies the reversed spirit crystal first, or whether Gokawa Qinli's life fire is extinguished first.

【Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!】

At this moment, Meng Yue's crazy roar was heard in the command room.

"Commander Mengyue..."

"Gu..."

Hearing Mengyue's wailing, the crew members couldn't help but feel heartbroken. Some of them lowered their heads as if they couldn't bear to look at such a tragic scene.

"Don't look away!!"

Kannazuki Kyouhei shouted loudly.

"Commander Meng Yue chose to stand there and fight in pain in order to save the commander! There is no reason for us to look away! No matter how sad or powerless we are, we have the obligation to face the reality in front of us!"

"--yes!!"

As if enlightened by Kanbutsuki's words, everyone raised their heads and answered in unison.

"And we can't just stand there and watch. Send out small drones to monitor the surrounding situation thoroughly. No one is allowed to disturb Commander Mengyue."

"learn!"

(Bili sauce, sister sauce, you must be safe.)

Swallowing the anxiety and unwillingness in his heart, Erya kept praying in his heart.

……

It’s so hot! The scorching heat is constantly tormenting Meng Yue’s consciousness.

It was as if a flame was spreading from the inside out, the dark flame burning fiercely, torturing Mengyue as if it was going to burn her body and soul to ashes.

In her body, Qin Li's spiritual power was as wild as a horse that had broken free from its reins, constantly trying to break free from the control of the "Sage of Dawn" and run away.

And at this time, Meng Yue has to fight against not only the runaway spiritual power.

——Destroy it!

——Destroy as much as you want!!

——Evaporate the sea water! Set the earth on fire! Destroy all life before your eyes! Until the whole world is devastated!

If Meng Yue felt a negative negation of herself when she absorbed Erya's reverse crystal, then Qin Li's reverse crystal contained an extremely violent destructive impulse.

If Meng Yue relaxes her mind for a moment, this destructive impulse may take away control of her body.

(Really... you want to destroy the world just because your brother died... How much of a brother complex are you, Kotori-chan...)

Meng Yue thought helplessly.

(And then... leaving your sister like this behind all by yourself... Shidou... you are really terrible...)

As if hearing Meng Yue's dissatisfaction, the spiritual power in his body became more violent.

“Ah—Ahhhhhhhh—”

Sight, hearing, taste, touch - the senses faded away as if the body was burned up, and the only thing left was the hellish heat.

(Calm down!)

Meng Yue roared in her heart.

(I will neither hide nor run away! Your anger, your despair! I will bear it all! So just give me your strength!!)

Just like that, time passed by minute by minute.

At 3:39 pm, the crew of Fraxinus EX suddenly discovered that the black flames surrounding Mengyue were shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye. Black particles were slowly discharged from Mengyue's body and dissipated as black smoke.

Finally, the last trace of black flame was extinguished, leaving only the scarred Meng Yue standing on the ground.

"Spiritual power type detection - level B."

"Confirmed that the reversal spiritual power has disappeared."

"……Did you make it?"

Looking at Meng Yue who had no reaction, everyone's faces were filled with anxiety.

[…Cam…ael (Scorch the Devil)…]

Suddenly, a faint voice sounded through the speakers in the command room.

At the same time, a faint pure white flame ignited from Mengyue's hand.

【elder sister! 】

【I know! 】

After noticing Mengyue's actions, the Ormori sisters reacted immediately and manipulated the "Leaves of the World Tree" to teleport Kotori to Mengyue.

Just like that, the pure white flame slowly floated to Qin Li's chest, repairing the damaged organs and flesh bit by bit.

[Confirm that the wound has been repaired, and breathing, heartbeat - all life values ​​have reached the safe range. ]

After seeing the report displayed on the screen, the huge rock that had been hanging in everyone's heart was finally put down.

[Success! Success!]

[Commander Mengyue! You succeeded! The commander is fine! ]

"Really? That's really... great..."

The moment she heard everyone's cheers, Meng Yue, who was already on the verge of collapse, fell to the ground helplessly and fainted, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.