At this moment, Seele mustered her courage and stood in front of Sakura.
"What are you doing? Don't hurt Sister Sakura…"
"She just wanted to protect her sister, and her sister was innocent." She glared with her clear blue eyes, trying to intimidate Kevin with a show of defiance.
Little did she know, such a display, in his eyes, was like a kitten with its fur bristling.
Kevin was expressionless, explaining in a cold, condensed tone:
"The ability of the 12th Herrscher is to release a large amount of airborne corrosive virus at the moment of death."
"Without our knowledge, the soldiers in the base unilaterally executed her, which awakened the Herrscher."
"This Death Soldier crisis started because of her."
In the base, everyone alive had family and friends who died because of Herrschers and Honkai.
The fear of Herrschers was deeply ingrained in the genes of the previous generation of humanity.
So they feared Herrschers, until they finally destroyed them with their own hands.
"Sakura was wrong, Rin was a genuine Herrscher," Kevin said, crossing his arms, his cold eyes devoid of any pity or anger.
Rin's death, to him, was merely hearing of an irrelevant person's demise. "Sakura must take responsibility for her invasion."
This was perfectly normal; in his eyes, Herrschers… should die.
Even if the soldiers unilaterally executed Rin, the mistake he made was merely disobeying orders, not the act itself.
Those outside, listening to these words, couldn't help but glare angrily.
"Because of her? Heh~ heh! What kind of logic is that? Idiot, moron, fool!"
Kiana's small face turned crimson with rage, sputtering curses like a boiling kettle. She clenched her fists, wishing she could give that man two solid punches!
"Yes, everything is because of the Flame-Chasers. They don't have the ability to judge a person's right from wrong."
"Kevin had previously promised to trust that Dr. Mei, and they had pledged not to harm Rin."
"But the result… was Rin's death, and now Rin is supposed to be responsible."
Mei gritted her teeth, her eyes flashing with anger.
If possible, she would kill all these beasts, leaving none behind.
Both Kiana and Mei knew they were Herrschers, so they were particularly sensitive to Rin's feelings.
In addition, Rozaliya, Liliya, and the Yae Sakura sisters were all in an unstable emotional state.
That was the shock of seeing injustice, the anger at the ignorant and cruel murder of the young girl.
At this moment, the Sakura Fubuki at Yae Sakura's waist hummed softly. Her eyes were already streaked with blood from overwhelming resentment.
"It was the Flame-Chasers who arbitrarily imprisoned an innocent girl, locked her in a cold cell, and didn't even let her reunite with her sister."
Yae Sakura's cold voice echoed in everyone's ears.
Listening to Yae Sakura, who looked just like Sakura, a scene appeared in their minds:
The girl finally hid alone in a corner, in that darkness where everyone treated her as a monster.
Every day, people cast angry and hateful glances at her, wanting to kill her.
The girl didn't understand what she had done wrong. All she wanted was to reunite with her sister, to see the cherry blossoms of her hometown once?
Was that wrong?
Cold, lonely, desolate.
But the girl couldn't wait for hope, only tomorrow, day after day.
Just as her sister was about to arrive, when the tender sprout under the soil could break through.
On this very day, soldiers corrupted by Honkai and stripped of their sanity executed the girl.
Until her last moment before death, Rin didn't know what she had done wrong?
Why did the Flame-Chasers, who represented humanity, instead want to harm a weak girl like her? Why were those adults so happy to see her die?
That smile of vengeance, in Rin's resentful memories, lingered and solidified into a curse.
"This is the birth of the Twelfth Herrscher, a tragedy personally brought about by the Flame-Chasers, by humanity."
"And now, as a leader, what reason does Kevin have to say—"
"It's all Sakura and Rin's fault? Why?!!!"
"Just because he has the power to stop Sakura from saving Rin, and then pompously shirk all responsibility!"
Yae Sakura's voice was icy cold, stirring up waves of shock in everyone's hearts.
The truth was indeed so; from beginning to end, Sakura and Rin had done nothing wrong.
If Kevin hadn't stopped Sakura just now, but had gone with Sakura to check on Rin's condition first, without wasting time.
Things wouldn't have turned out this way.
"Ultimately, all of this is the dereliction of duty of the Flame-Chasers."
"Such a civilization, destroying it would be no big deal!"
After Yae Sakura finished speaking, her teeth gnashed, and she closed her eyes, her chest heaving violently.
Listening to these words, Fu Hua remained silent, unsure of what to say.
Gazing at Kevin's figure, she could only feel a sense of unfamiliarity.
The Flame-Chasers, in their final stages, had indeed fallen to the brink of collapse.
In the scene, Seele was confronting Kevin.
Even though she knew she was no match for the man in front of her, Seele still mustered immense courage.
"But this isn't Rin's original intention!"
"If those soldiers hadn't killed her, this tragedy wouldn't have happened."
Seele looked at him in disbelief, but his subsequent words completely shattered her hope.
Kevin's gaze shifted, as if looking at the end of the river of time, his tone calm: "Even if those soldiers were stopped, sooner or later, someone else, something else, would become the last straw to break her."
"When Rin was chosen to become a Herrscher, her fate was already sealed."
"This is Honkai."
These light words easily decided the fate of an innocent girl.
Kevin's eyes flashed with fierce light, his tightly clenched fists seemed as if they would bleed at any moment.
He tried hard to keep his voice calm, but the trembling of his body exposed his pain and anger.
But little did he know, it wasn't the last straw that broke the camel's back, but every single one.
If there were fewer ignorant straws, things wouldn't have turned out this way.
Just then, Dr. Mei's voice came through Kevin's communicator.
"Kevin~ Kevin! Can you hear me? Something's happened, the Herrscher hasn't been eliminated yet."
Kevin was astonished at her words: "What did you say?"
"The system in the base has been attacked by a virus, and the defense program has been completely breached."
"All equipment and robots have fallen under its control, and it is now further seizing control of the nuclear missile silos."
"The 12th Herrscher is an ultimate virus with self-awareness. This is the true form of the Herrscher of Corruption."
At this moment, all communication systems were paralyzed!
All the doors in the room were also shut!
Kevin helplessly put down his communicator.
"Rin—is she still alive?"
The sudden voice froze the air.
Sakura stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly at Kevin.
"Rin... must be very lonely now, she's always been a child afraid of loneliness."
"...She needs me."
Outside, Yae Rin pursed her pink lips, shocked.
Even as a Herrscher, Sakura still wanted to protect Rin?
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