Looking at a scene that seemed as ordinary as usual, Raiden Mei's heart surged with raging waves.
"That just now… didn't 'happen' at all?"
Aponia raised her gaze and said softly, "I told you, I won't hurt you."
"...That anger, was that just your disguise as well?"
"How could I ever lose my composure like that with you?" Aponia said, "...That was not an illusion, but the true future. If you take out your weapon and aim it at me right now, what you just saw will 'play out'...
If you wish to experience it again, I won't stop you either."
Feeling the undeniable exhaustion within her body, Raiden Mei felt a wave of helplessness rise in her heart.
Except for Mobius, almost every Flame-Chaser from the previous civilization had troublesome abilities...
With such powerful warriors, why did they still lose to the Honkai...
Thinking of this, she took a deep breath, "So, in the end, I still fell into a trap. With such a simple method, you avoided an accident that might have happened... You win, Aponia."
"Please don't say that, Mei... We didn't come here for victory or defeat. Those 'arrangements' truly went beyond my expectations."
Raiden Mei asked, "What do you mean?"
Aponia suddenly looked into the void, her gaze carrying a strange depth, "Griseo's painting... that was your plan?"
"That wasn't a plan, just an accident." Raiden Mei met her eyes. "I only understood what had happened when I saw it."
"Is that so? That's good, then." The expression on Aponia's face returned to calm.
"Defeating me... even killing me, doesn't matter. But if you were deliberately using that child..."
At that, a flash of crimson flickered in Aponia's eyes. "Even if it goes against my conscience, or her expectations... I would still have to remove another Herrscher for the sake of future generations."
But then, Aponia shifted the tone of her voice, "But look, now that you've told me the truth, stopping you has become much simpler, hasn't it?"
Seeing the speechless look on Raiden Mei's face, Aponia continued, "Just a joke, please relax. And since the end is near, Mei, can you tell me why you are so obsessed with 'stepping into it'?"
After thinking for a moment, Raiden Mei said, "I just want to prove one thing, even if you can see the fated ending, the process... can still be changed."
"In your eyes... the ending doesn't matter?"
"I believe it can be changed. And even if it can't... then, I want to decide the process of reaching that ending myself."
"Mei, you know, once... someone said the exact same thing to me." Aponia lifted her head, golden eyes rippling slightly,
"You... all made the same choice in the end."
In the hazy light, Raiden Mei seemed to catch a glimpse of sadness flashing through Aponia's eyes.
"'Even if the future cannot be changed, I still want to decide the process of reaching that ending myself.' How admirable those words are."
"But, when that helplessness truly descends upon you, can you still say those words so calmly?"
"Rather than discussing such uncertain things with me, you should... go and meet your 'companion.'"
As Aponia's words fell, twelve pure white steps unfolded from the air, and at the very top stood a sacred door.
"Go. The answer you've been seeking, the secret preserved within the Elysian Realm... the Thirteenth Herrscher is waiting for you."
As Raiden Mei stepped onto the first step, pure white particles of light scattered like stardust.
At that moment, she suddenly turned back to look at the woman still kneeling in prayer at the center of the sanctuary. "Aponia, one last question, that hatred... was it sincere?"
"If I were to give you a definitive answer... it might make you lose faith in the Flame-Chasers. But... think of it as my way of thanking you in Griseo's place."
As she said this, the sharpness that had receded from Aponia flared again, and her azure eyes were once more tainted by crimson.
"Heroes sacrificing themselves for the despicable... that is the source of my deepest anger, especially when those despicable ones... include myself."
Raiden Mei had never seen the ever-serene nun show such an expression.
"You seem... very dissatisfied with that."
"Because I am not a 'hero,' only... someone who, occasionally, believes that everyone deserves to be saved," Aponia said,
"All right, please set out quickly. This Elysian Realm... is about to meet its final 'fate.' Let us... say goodbye, for now."
With Aponia's final whisper, Raiden Mei took a deep breath and stepped onto the pure white steps.
Just then, Aponia's voice suddenly echoed again from the void, now carrying a solemn, hymn-like tone,
"Before me, no creation existed in this world. If there is anything eternal and undying, then it is descending within my flesh. Open the door that marks the end, O pure and noble soul..."
The voice seemed to pierce through time and space, reverberating by Raiden Mei's ears.
By the time she returned to her senses, she realized she had already arrived at a courtyard filled with fluttering cherry blossoms.
And there, a girl as radiant as a drifting blossom sat on a bench, looking at her playfully.
"You've finally made it here~ Then, let me introduce myself once again~"
"Elysian Flame-Chaser, No. 12, True Me, Elysia. And as for my other identity, you've already guessed it, haven't you?"
"But now that you're truly standing before the Thirteenth Herrscher, so~ how do you feel?"
At that critical moment, the video screen suddenly went black, followed by those infuriating words...
[To be continued...]
———
[In the Real World]
When Elysia revealed with her own lips that she was the Thirteenth Herrscher, the internet had already erupted into a storm.
After all, in the eyes of the audience, Herrschers were the enemies of humanity in the story.
Didn't this mean that, in the end, Elysia would stand in opposition to the protagonist group?
Some clear-headed viewers, however, said, [If Herrschers are enemies, then what about Kiana, Mei, and Bronya? Aren't they Herrschers too?]
Of course, others argued back.
[Based on the previous plot, the only Herrschers fighting for humanity exist in the present era.]
[But Elysia existed in the previous era, and with Mobius having once called Elysia a 'traitor,' doesn't that say enough?]
Both sides refused to concede, and in the end, it once again exploded into a heated online debate.
Of course, beyond the bustling chaos online, Van felt the same atmosphere in the screening room.
Even though the video had already ended, not a single person stood up from their seats.
Such a quiet atmosphere gave him an eerie sense of 'the calm before the storm.'
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.