Rewinding time a little, to earlier.
After landing at Nagazora City's airport, the girl named Yuki passed through the commercial street near Qianyu Academy.
She walked past that shameless couple tangled together.
And finally arrived safely near her home.
Yuki looked at the sky. The sun had already tilted to the west, and darkness would come soon.
"Forget it. I'll ask around tomorrow about where to buy sakura sake nearby."
She had originally planned to go straight home, but just as she was approaching her front door, she suddenly noticed that her neighbor's window was open.
That was her childhood sweetheart who had grown up alongside her—a girl named Yuno.
Back then, due to certain reasons, she had been forced to leave the Far East, and had even left without saying goodbye to this once closest playmate.
During her years in Fire Moth, she would occasionally think of this playmate.
Through the scarce communications between family and friends, she had learned that something seemed to have happened in this playmate's household and that she was currently going through a low point in her life.
So without quite knowing what moved her, she stopped her steps homeward and instead rang Yuno's doorbell.
...
In a tidy bedroom, a girl with purple hair and purple eyes received Yuki as her guest.
"Yuki, where have you been all these years?"
Regarding her friend's curiosity, Yuki naturally had a prepared story.
"I joined a private security company."
"Why do you have time to come back this time?"
Hearing this question, Yuki's face stiffened slightly, sorrow mixed with fear flashing in her eyes. She ultimately maintained her smile and said:
"The company gave me some vacation time. I figured I'd come back and have a look."
Looking at the gentle and soft-spoken Yuno before her, Yuki felt the information she had received might have been wrong.
Although Yuno's temperament was different from her memory, she didn't seem to have gone through the kind of ordeal that the messages from family and friends had suggested.
"It's so good that you're alright, Yuno..."
After that sigh, Yuki looked at the black tea Yuno had prepared. It was crimson like blood, carrying an eerie feeling.
She picked up the black tea and took a light sip.
A warm sensation spread through her mouth, even clearing her mind. Yuki's eyes lit up.
"How is it? Is it good?"
"Without exaggeration, this is the best tea I've ever had. Yuno, where did you buy it?"
She wanted to bring some for her captain. Although the captain loved alcoholic drinks most, Yuki felt no one could resist the taste of this tea.
Besides, her captain had been run ragged lately handling the compensation benefits for their fallen comrades. This tea might help ease her mind.
Hearing Yuki's praise, Yuno showed a sweet smile.
"You can't buy this outside. I grew this tea myself~"
"Oh, Yuno, you know how to cultivate tea leaves?"
Yuki expressed surprise. She never remembered her friend having this hobby. Could she have learned it in recent years?
"Of course... do you want to see, Yuki?"
"Right now?"
Yuno smiled gently, her face still carrying that sweet expression. "Right now."
Hearing Yuno say this, curiosity arose in Yuki.
"If it's not too much trouble—by the way, where did you plant the tea trees? Did you buy a cultivation box?"
In response to Yuki's curiosity, Yuno smiled sweetly and said: "Right here."
Yuki saw Yuno actually take out a fruit knife and without hesitation draw it across her wrist.
Crimson blood dripped to the floor, and from thin air a verdant vine grew up.
The vine rapidly bloomed with flowers. The blossoms were crimson like blood, carrying a sweetly cloying fragrance.
The smile on Yuki's face froze.
Yuno plucked petals from it and dropped them into the teacup. After the hot water was poured in, a cup of tea red as fresh blood was brewed.
Watching this scene, Yuki felt a chill run through her entire body.
The combat instincts cultivated on the edge of life and death over the years urged her to retreat immediately.
She had only seen such bizarre scenes recently—it was a strange girl who could control blood, a target that her own Fifth Squad had been responsible for handling.
In that battle, every member of the Fifth Squad had been drained into dried husks. After that one fight, the originally lively team-building group chat had only her and the captain left!
This was also why she had been granted vacation leave—because the Fifth Squad had been wiped out, the unit existed in name only.
And that monster capable of controlling blood had been named by Fire Moth—a Pseudo-Herrscher!
At this moment, Yuki knew that her former playmate could probably no longer be called human.
"Must leave immediately, then report to Fire Moth's Far East division for an elimination operation against her."
But the moment she stood up, she felt a wave of weakness flow through her body.
"Thud!"
Yuki collapsed to the floor, watching Yuno stand up and walk toward her step by step.
This is it... Yuki thought bitterly, yet simultaneously felt a kind of release.
Actually, that was fine. She should have died in the last battle anyway. Being killed by her childhood playmate might even be fate's blessing.
Yuki smiled bitterly, waiting for death to come.
"Sorry, Captain. It looks like I won't be able to buy that sakura sake you wanted... but drinking a little less alcohol isn't a bad thing either."
But soon, Yuki realized something was wrong. She found she wasn't dying.
One by one, verdant vines pierced through the floorboards, sliding across her limbs and hoisting her up in an extremely embarrassing position.
And the Pseudo-Herrscher before her didn't seem to be emanating any killing intent either. On the contrary, her eyes seemed to be emanating pink hearts...
And from beneath Yuno's skirt, vines covered in a slippery liquid continuously extended outward, like flexible snakes, beginning to climb up along her limbs.
Yuki's body shuddered, and a chill immediately rose in her heart.
"Yuno?! What are you trying to do?!"
Yuno gave her a slightly strange look, tilted her head, a sickly smile on her face.
"I'm gonna get you~"
"..."
It turned out that in the face of overwhelming speechlessness, a person could actually forget the fear of death.
Just like Yuki had never imagined she would hear the words "I'm going to violate you" from a Pseudo-Herrscher.
As a warrior who fought on battlefields, she had imagined dying beneath the claws of a Honkai Beast, imagined being infected by massive amounts of Honkai energy and turning into a death soldier, had even imagined being caught in the AoE of a Herrscher.
But she had never imagined she might be violated to death by a Pseudo-Herrscher. In both the literal and deeper sense of violated to death.
"You... don't come any closer!" Yuki struggled with a horrified expression, even more so than when she had faced the blood-controlling Pseudo-Herrscher that time.
Yuno gently stroked her face, slippery vines extending from beneath her skirt like countless verdant tentacles.
"I'm sorry, Yuki. I lied to you. These past years have actually been very hard for me."
"Ever since my family died from a strange illness, the people around me isolated me. They all believed I was the one who killed my father and mother."
"I was isolated at school. The nearby neighbors also regarded me as a demon that brings disaster."
"But the ironic thing is, they might not have been wrong. It seems I really did bring disaster..."
Yuno's expression twisted, one hand pressing hard against her forehead, pain and sickness overlapping on her face.
"Recently, I've found that my consciousness seems to be fading. I might be dying soon."
"In my life up until now, I've always been a dispensable minor character. This world wouldn't miss me if I was here, wouldn't notice if I was gone."
"But now that death is approaching, I find that even someone as lowly as me wants to leave a mark on the world. I... don't want to be forgotten by the world."
"I want someone to remember me."
Listening to Yuno's monologue, even in the face of death's crisis, Yuki felt a powerful urge to retort.
"So what on earth do these two things have to do with each other?! If you want the world to remember you, can't you do something good?"
Asking a Pseudo-Herrscher to do good deeds—even saying it out loud, Yuki found it absurd.
But in response to Yuki's retort, a rare aggrieved expression appeared on Yuno's face.
"I did think about using my plant manipulation ability to improve crops and go down in history as a botanist."
"But I was taken to court by the Agricultural Association on grounds of patent infringement, and ended up with a mountain of debt because of it."
"Later I thought about streaming plant control online. It would not only make me famous but also earn some money to pay off the debt."
"The account got banned for spreading false information."
"I encouraged fruit growth to improve the meals for children at the nearby orphanage."
"And then they said the fruits I provided had pesticide residue exceeding safe levels and that I had ulterior motives."
"After that I figured I was probably not suited to doing good deeds. I simply thought about going on a killing spree, being remembered as a murderer."
"But I was too cowardly. I couldn't bring myself to do it..."
Listening to Yuno's account, Yuki felt her worldview being challenged.
But at this point in the story, Yuno's expression became agitated.
"Just when I was preparing to slowly die away in a corner, you appeared before me."
"This must be a sign from God!"
"Even if just one person, I want to ask you to remember me."
Looking at Yuno's expression turning sickly again, Yuki asked weakly: "So what does this have to do with you wanting to violate me?"
"Of course it does!"
"If I want you to remember me after I die, I must give you a memory you'll never be able to forget."
"Even if you hate me, it's better than you forgetting me."
"So, I'm going to do it!"
Listening to Yuno's thought process, Yuki felt an intense urge to retort. But watching the slippery vines about to touch her cheeks, her face immediately turned deathly pale.
"Calm down, Yuno, calm down! You're my good friend. I won't forget you."
Yuno sighed.
"Perhaps. But I can't afford to bet on it. So, it's safer to just do it."
"Help! Someone save me!"
"Captain Himiko, save me!"
"Kekeke. Everyone around here has moved away. Even if you scream yourself hoarse, no one will come to save you."
Just as the tragedy was about to unfold.
"Ding!"
The sound of a doorbell came.
"Excuse me, is anyone home?"
Then, Yuki froze, and Yuno froze too. The two looked at each other, the atmosphere falling into a certain awkwardness.
But soon, Yuki snapped back to her senses and hurriedly shouted: "Run... mmmph!"
She had barely managed to issue a warning before vines wound around her mouth.
Yuno retracted the vines from her body. The sickly expression on her face also faded, as if she had once again become that gentle girl next door.
She smiled at the bound-up Yuki and said: "Yuki, wait here for a moment. I'll be right back."
Then she turned and left the room.
Although her face still carried a sweet smile, her pair of purple eyes were terrifyingly cold.
Ever since her parents had met with their accident, the surrounding neighbors regarded her as a demon. Besides the occasional insurance salesperson, practically no one came to her door.
"I'm sorry, I don't currently have any plans to buy insurance..."
Opening the door, Yuno instinctively replied out of habit, but froze after seeing who was outside.
Because standing outside her door wasn't the insurance salesperson in a business suit she had imagined, but a purple-haired girl in casual home clothes.
She had a flawless face—so perfect that it made Yuno, who had been curled up in the shadows, feel ashamed of herself.
At this moment, she stood outside the door, holding a tray of exquisite sweets in her hands, and on her face was a smile that seemed capable of dissolving all sadness.
Yuno froze.
"Hi, how are you?"
The purple-haired girl outside the door held the sweets tray with one hand and gave a light wave with the other, greeting her.
"You... hello... who are you?" Yuno suddenly felt somewhat awkward.
"I'm a new resident who recently moved in, Ai." The Faded Fairy pointed at the house diagonally across from Yuno's and said with a smile: "From now on we'll be neighbors. I hope we get along well."
"These are sweets I made. Would you mind accepting them?"
Looking at the tray the girl across from her was offering, Yuno felt somewhat conflicted.
Since her family's accident, this was the first time she had encountered someone being so friendly to her. It made her feel extremely uncomfortable.
After thinking about it, she still gave a warning: "This neighborhood isn't a good place to live. If at all possible, please move away immediately."
"Is it because of the rumors about the witch?"
"Yes..." Yuno's expression fell somewhat. "So, if you can, move away soon."
Hearing her words, the Faded Fairy seemed to be pondering, and then suddenly understood.
"I see. The witch they speak of is you, isn't it?"
Hearing this, the coldness that had settled in Yuno's expression rose to her eyes again.
She was just about to shut the door, when she heard the Faded Fairy say: "My, so the legendary witch is actually this cute~"
"Cu... cute?"
Repeating the word, a dazed expression appeared on Yuno's face.
Although her appearance wasn't bad, for some reason her interpersonal relationships seemed cursed—she had always been isolated and despised by others.
This kind of word... she didn't know how long it had been since she last heard it.
For a moment, a warmth rose in Yuno's heart.
At this moment, she watched the purple-haired girl across from her extend the tray. The sweets inside were exquisitely crafted, clearly having required considerable time and effort.
"Cute little witch, I made some sweets. Would you be willing to taste them?"
"Of course, I have one small request—once you've eaten them, we'll be friends~"
Looking at the purple-haired girl before her whose words didn't seem to be faked at all, Yuno felt threads of warmth spreading through her heart, which had been dead for so long.
Even the consciousness that had been continuously fading in her mind seemed to show signs of slowing.
"Oh~ cute little witch, why are you crying?"
Yuno wiped away her tears and said with a smile: "It's nothing. I just thought of something happy."
Then she looked at the tray in the Faded Fairy's hands and asked: "These... are they really for me?"
"Of course... they're not." The Faded Fairy pivoted. "They're for the new friend I made today."
And so, Yuno smiled—a smile without a trace of falseness.
She picked up a sweet from the tray and said with a smile: "Then, I'll dig in."
And then she put it in her mouth.
The next moment, Yuno felt as if a nuclear bomb had detonated in her mouth, her taste buds screaming in agony.
An indescribable flavor surged through her taste buds and into her mind, threatening to blow apart even that ruthless consciousness that was continuously erasing her sense of self.
In that moment, Yuno seemed to see her departed parents waving to her from the banks of the underworld river.
"Thud!"
Yuno collapsed to the ground and didn't get up.
Lucius put away the tray. In his hand materialized a syringe filled with a Honkai energy suppressant.
He aimed it at Yuno's neck and plunged it in.
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