The Vixen's Gambit: Tonight We Hunt

"Lee, why are you doing this....."

Even if his heart was filled with sorrow, Kevin still wanted to know the answer to this question.

She wasn't a Herrscher, so why did she kill all of humanity?

Even if she was pessimistic and believed that humanity didn't even have a one in ten thousand chance of winning, there was absolutely no need for Lee to slaughter humanity before that.

And even in the worst-case scenario, they still had The Great Hibernation. Even if they were completely wiped out in the battle with the Herrscher of Finality, humanity still had a chance to send some of the last tiny hopes to the future – instead of being wasted in the yellow sand like now.

"Because, everyone shouldn't die." Lee tried to smile, but the forced smile on her blood-stained face looked extremely weak.

"The Great Hibernation can't save humanity. Even if wisdom and technology are brought to the next future, so what.....? We still lost, our civilization is already dead..... But why should we die?"

"Since there is a possibility of survival, everyone should live, not just a few lucky ones....."

When she said this, Lee already felt that it was a little difficult to speak.

Now that the power of the Herrscher Core was isolated, the extraordinary senses that were originally suppressed by the power of Elysia's core had gradually intensified their backlash. If it weren't for the divine skill of pain control, Lee would probably have fainted from the pain.

And even though she was not affected by the pain itself, Lee could still feel the inconvenience caused by the severe pain to her body.

"Lee, you....." Kevin's eyes flashed with a trace of pain when he saw this. After hesitating for a moment, he still retracted the Might of An-Utu that was against Lee.

Lee now had no ability to resist. Even ordinary people could easily kill her, so there was no need to make such a threat.

And looking at Kevin's behavior, Lee just smiled helplessly and closed her eyes.

"Kevin, after merging with the Herrscher of Sentience Core, I realized one thing. The containers of this world cannot collect dissipated consciousness, but consciousness can match new containers."

"The Great Hibernation cannot accommodate so many people, but if I collect their consciousness..... I can do it." Lee said softly, her tone full of unspeakable melancholy. "In this way, we just need to wait until we get through the Herrscher of Finality, and then match everyone's consciousness into new containers, and everyone can continue to live."

"I originally wanted to wait until everyone had gathered the people, and then kill everyone and collect their consciousness....."

Kevin didn't know what to say.

How could he have imagined that Lee, who seemed to be active and determined at that time, as if she had endless confidence in the future of humanity, had already determined the failure of humanity at that time and gave up resistance to the Honkai?

And when Lee smiled and deceived everyone at that time, what was she thinking in her heart.....

"Then why didn't you do it?" Kevin asked in a dry voice.

".....I was afraid." Lee's voice was so soft that it seemed to be blown away by the wind.

"Afraid?"

"Yes, to collect everyone's consciousness, I have to kill everyone's life....."

"I was afraid." Lee repeated in a low voice.

Afraid – Kevin had never heard this word from Lee's mouth.

Lee seemed to be never afraid, whether she was fighting the Herrscher alone in her girlhood, or insisting on her own choice under everyone's suspicion, Lee had never said she was afraid. Even when her blood was drained and she became a cripple, when she was pierced through the heart by the Herrscher, when her ordinary body faced the Seventh Herrscher.....

Kevin just recalled everything Lee had experienced, and found that any of these things was enough to make an ordinary person collapse – but Lee never did.

But Lee was just a human being, how could she not be afraid?

She just never showed it, and never changed her decision because of this fear.

And the only time Lee changed her decision was still because she was afraid to kill others..... Kevin suddenly thought of the moment when Lee personally killed Sakura.

Did she make up her mind at that time?

"I kept thinking, maybe there's another possibility..... But, there isn't."

"If I hadn't hesitated at that time, if I wasn't such a coward....."

Lee's eyelashes trembled slightly. She tried to breathe, as if to calm her emotions.

"But it doesn't matter anymore, everything is over..... The consciousness of the remaining humans has been collected by me. In the next era, our civilization will continue."

Lee's voice paused, as if she had thought of something that made her happy. A rare trace of ease appeared on her tired face. "Maybe when they wake up in this world, they will be greeted by a world without Honkai."

"So Kevin, have you decided what to do?" Lee slowly opened her eyes and looked at the silent Kevin. "If you don't kill me, I will kill the rest of the people..... There are too few slots in The Great Hibernation, and there are too many remaining people. If you kill me, I hope you can give my core to Elysia..... I borrowed something from her, and I haven't returned it yet."

"Elysia is not dead?"

"After being injured by me, she was put into a slot in The Great Hibernation. In the next era, she will wake up with you."

"Then what about you?" Kevin asked.

A few people entered The Great Hibernation and greeted the next era, and the remaining people were preserved by Lee in the form of consciousness – so what about Lee herself?

".....I don't know." Lee smiled lightly. "I never, thought about this question."

Did she not consider this question, or did she never think that she would survive?

Kevin looked at Lee, who seemed to have put down a heavy burden, and remained silent.

Lee knew from the beginning that she was not his opponent, otherwise she wouldn't have deliberately lured him away. And he would eventually come back and see all this.

If he hadn't trusted Lee with his intuition at that time, and had really regarded her as a Herrscher, then the only thing waiting for Lee would be – death.

She was ready for death, and had even decided who to give the core that preserved the consciousness of hundreds of millions of people to.

Since she knew she would die, there was naturally no need to consider things after that.

So what should he do?

Lee couldn't resist him now. Even if Kevin forcibly stuffed her into the hibernation pod, Lee had no way to resist. In this way, he could undoubtedly save Lee's life.

But what's the point of this? Lee's heart was still shrouded in darkness, because the huge fear had crushed her!

If he wanted to save Lee, just saving her life was not enough.

So, the only thing he could do was.....

"I will eliminate the Herrscher of Finality." Kevin said resolutely.