Chapter 610: She Cried

The Invasive Lawgiver's smile began to look forced.

"So angry? What did I say? I only spoke a few truths, didn't I?"

A Xing's footsteps did not stop.

"Those heroes, I didn't kill them. I just—well, helped them find an early release."

A Xing's steps quickened.

"Besides, you don't even know them. Those Memory aren't yours. You're just—a copy."

A Xing rushed to her.

Flame Gun thrust forward!

That shot employed no fancy technique, no superfluous movement, just the most direct thrust.

The gun's tip whistled with wind, carrying the burning Flame, the shattered pipes, and all of A Xing's Rage, pain, and silence from these days, thrust straight at the Invasive Lawgiver's chest.

The Invasive Lawgiver raised her hand, and the pipes in front of her interwove into a thick shield.

The Flame Gun pierced the first layer, the Flame burned through the second, the shockwave shattered the third—

and then pierced through.

The tip emerged from the opposite side of the shield, stabbing the Invasive Lawgiver's shoulder.

Blood spurted from the wound, splashing onto A Xing's face, warm and viscous, sliding down her cheek.

The Invasive Lawgiver let out a muffled hum, stepping back a pace, but A Xing gave her no respite, drawing the Flame Gun and firing another shot!

This time it hit the arm.

Flame erupted at the tip, burning the sleeve on that arm to ash, revealing the pale skin beneath.

The skin reddened in the Flame, blood seeped from the fissure, dripping to the ground with a sizzle.

The Invasive Lawgiver's complexion finally changed.

She tried to retreat, to block A Xing with pipes, but the pipes barely formed before A Xing's shot tore them apart.

She tried to speak, to taunt A Xing with venomous words, but A Xing gave her no chance to speak; the Flame Gun rained out like a storm, shot after shot, each aimed at vital points.

Shoulder, arm, side, thigh—each shot precisely pierced her body, leaving a charred wound each time.

The wounds were small but deep, deep enough to see the charred muscle and stark white bone inside.

The Invasive Lawgiver was forced to the edge of the high platform.

She lowered her head, gazing at the wounds on her body, her expression turning complex.

Not Rage, not fear, but something… indescribable.

"Is this how you want to kill me?"

A Xing gave no answer.

"For those—people you don't even know?"

A Xing gripped the Flame Gun tightly.

"For those—memories that never existed?"

A Xing surged forward!

This time, she poured all her power into that single shot.

The deep crimson Flame Gun burned even hotter in her hand, Flame spewing from its tip, drawing a long trail across the night sky, like a meteor streaking, like blood flowing from a wound.

The Invasive Lawgiver raised her hand, trying to block that shot.

But she was too slow.

The Flame Gun passed through her raised palm, through the arm she held before her, through her chest, and emerged from her back!

"Sss—!!!"

The sound was muffled yet clear, like a blade slicing ripe fruit.

The Invasive Lawgiver's body stiffened.

She lowered her head, watching the Flame Gun that pierced her chest, watching the Flame surge from the wound, scorching the surrounding skin to black.

Her lips moved, trying to speak, but only a mouthful of black blood came out.

A Xing did not stop.

She held the Flame Gun, pushing the Invasive Lawgiver forward as they surged.

The two fell from the high platform, passing through the shattered pipes, through the drifting ash, through the night sky torn by war.

The Invasive Lawgiver's body was nailed in midair by the Flame Gun, Flame spewing from the chest wound, leaving a long trail behind her.

The trail passed through a ruined building, leaving a huge charred hole in the remaining wall.

Finally, the Invasive Lawgiver was nailed to a remaining wall, the Flame Gun passing through her chest, its tip embedding in the concrete behind, fixing her whole body in midair.

Her limbs dangled weakly, her head drooped, the violet‑black pipes fell from her body, turning on the ground into a puddle of black liquid that slowly seeped into the cracks between the stones.

Her body was covered with charred wounds; the hole in her chest was the largest, big enough to see the charred bone and the now‑still organs inside.

Her face was also smeared with ash and blood, yet on that face identical to Ailixiya's, the corner of her mouth still held a faint, lingering smile.

A Xing landed on the ground, standing there, watching the figure nailed to the wall.

In her hand the Flame Gun was gone; the gun still lodged in the Invasive Lawgiver's chest, its Flame gradually fading, leaving only a few wisps of blue smoke drifting in the night wind.

Her clothes were covered in ash and blood, indistinguishable as her own or the enemy's; a few gray strands of hair fell across her forehead, clinging to her skin with sweat, and shallow bloodstains marked her face, from shards of stone that had splintered earlier.

She reached out, touching her eye.

Her fingertip met a patch of moisture.

She watched the tear slide from her fingertip to the ground, leaving a small dark mark.

She cried.

A Xing stood on the ruins, looking at the damp spot on her fingertip, her eyes full of emptiness.

Her face still had no expression, her eyes still calm as two deep wells, but where did that tear come from?

She didn't know.

She only knew that at that moment just now, at the moment she stabbed the Flame Gun into that guy's chest, at the moment she watched the face identical to Ailixiya's being engulfed by Flame, something inside her chest shattered, light and fine, like a string that had been wound too long finally snapping, like a stone that had been pressed too long finally breaking.

Robin walked down from the ruins, her steps light, making almost no sound on the rubble.

Her face was still pallid, her lips lacking much color, the corroded clothing shimmered with a dull sheen in the moonlight, the sash on the hem dragging on the ground, picking up much dust.

She walked to A Xing's side, stopped, and looked at the purple-haired woman nailed to the wall, her lake-green eyes full of complex emotion.

"Just like that... it's over?"

Her voice was soft, as if afraid to startle something.

A Xing did not answer.

Robin turned her head, looking at her, at that face identical to the one in Memory, those golden eyes, those few strands of gray hair scattered across her forehead, that silent, tranquil demeanor.

"Is it a star?"

A Xing turned her head, looking at her.

That gaze was unfamiliar, not the bewilderment of amnesia, nor the joy of a long-awaited reunion, but pure unfamiliarity.

She looked at Robin, as if looking at someone she had never seen before, then tilted her head.

"Who are you?"