Chapter 73: Clearing the Mist and Seeing the Sun
Because of you, I have been forced to undergo one hundred cycles of rollback.
Each time, dying in agony.
Each time, unable to close my eyes in profound confusion.
Each time, unable to comprehend what wrong I have truly committed.
These words cannot be uttered.
She clenched her teeth, avoiding the contortion of her face in disgust.
If this is all there is, she can endure it.
However, she witnessed even more brutal scenes.
Closing her eyes, she could still recall the cruelty of that scene.
The person I yearned for, the person who saved me from the abyss of despair, the scene where you stabbed him in the heart from behind.
Whenever I think of his falling figure, your grip on the sword, and the spread of scarlet on the ground, a blazing fire of abhorrence ignites deep within my heart.
The teeth clung tightly, making a clicking sound.
The murderous intent cannot be stopped at all!
Nor do I wish to cease it!
She had never despised anyone in such a manner.
Even when faced with that group of cultists, the swing of her blade didn't carry such intense murderous intent.
It was anger.
Frustration at her own naivety.
It was indignation.
Shame and anger at her own foolishness.
Therefore, this is a personal grudge… merely a personal grudge!
With a sword in hand and enemies before her, she suddenly realized that it had nothing to do with the higher moral principles.
I never want to witness such a sight again, nor do I want to experience that level of regret ever again!
With everything at stake, I shall right here… with my own hands, personally sever you!
With her sword held horizontally before her, Kichyō emanated a strong aura of killing intent, as if the raging waves of her deep-seated resentment merged into the blade.
"I loathe you far more than I can express, multiplied by a hundredfold, a thousandfold, and ten thousandfold!"
"Nishino Junko!"
"You can't possibly walk out of my field of vision alive!"
…
"So from the very beginning, you never intended to detonate the tram."
In the burning garden behind the church, Bai Wei stood with a cigarette in hand, flipping through the diary.
He raised an eyebrow and exclaimed in surprise to the charred coal beside him, "You, who clearly appear to be a ruthless character, are unexpectedly a darned dove?"
Within the ranks of the cult of the evil deity, there are no absolute doves; only two distinct factions can be identified: the extremely radical faction and the survival-oriented faction.
The former disregards rules, blindly engaging in destruction for the sake of destruction and seeking revenge just for the sake of revenge.
The latter emphasizes strategizing, developing a network, and expanding the number of followers, as these are what they focus on, resulting in a relatively lower sense of presence.
Precisely because of this, this apostate managed to hide in Yingzhou for a good three to five years without being discovered.
Bai Wei scrutinized the entries in the diary and discovered many blind spots that he had previously overlooked.
"The detonation of the tram is not within the scope of your planned actions."
"On the contrary, due to the recent intensification of crackdowns against cultists of the evil deity in Yingzhou, as well as the marine blockade imposed by the Ashen Tide, these cultists are unable to obtain resources and manpower from the peninsula, leading them to be compelled to implement a comprehensive retreat."
"If a terrorist attack were to be planned at this moment, it would undoubtedly provoke pressure from the shogunate, striking the cultists of the evil deity and bringing about a severe crackdown."
"At that time, the inevitable prospect of the stronghold collapsing has been foreseen, thus necessitating an internal restructuring."
Flipping through a few pages.
"The internal restructuring this time has also become the catalyst for internal disagreements."
"The personnel involved in the recent summoning ritual of the evil deity within Far East University were withdrawn, and the information was leaked in advance, all in order to prevent the reckless and relentless retaliation from the extremist radicals."
"After the confirmation of the death of the extremist radical leader Heihe, the process of clearing out and assimilating the remaining followers has also been remarkably smooth."
"…however…"
"While serving as a private tutor, Heihe had contact with and cultivated subordinates. Nishino Junko, however, refused to accept this reality and embezzled assets within the sect, including the Necronomicon and the blood of the offspring of the dark god. With the funds, she acquired suspected high-explosive chemical custom-made bombs provided by the Shihai Group, intending to carry out terrorist attacks."
"The leader of the followers suspects that she has further sinister motives and is being manipulated by someone else. Determined to follow the lead and uncover the hidden forces behind her, they are committed to completely eliminating them and purging the internal ranks of the sect within their jurisdiction."
"So far, there have been no updates or progress…"
Bai Wei took out the diary and threw it into the fire, watching as the paper swiftly turned into ashes.
"Hiss, puff…" Exhaling a cloud of smoke, the young man reached a conclusion.
"So, Nishino Junko was the direct catalyst for the tram explosion."
"She and Heihe are devotees of the same faction of evil deities, extremely radical, and have chosen the cult of evil gods as a means of revenge against the Yingzhou Shogunate."
"She planted a bomb on Line 4, and the button to detonate it… was none other than herself!"
"At the moment she stepped onto the tram, everyone was destined to perish in the inferno with her. However, as long as she refrained from boarding the tram, the subway line would remain safe. This is also the reason why the tram has not been detonated, except for the initial one or two incidents."
"Actually, during the second time loop, I prevented her from boarding the tram, and at that time, I didn't see any news about the tram being detonated… I just overlooked this fact and instinctively assumed that the tram would still explode without further investigation, thereby shifting my focus to other directions."
"Originally, these were clear and easily comprehensible situations, not expected to become so intricate."
Bai Wei pressed his forehead, feeling a slight ache.
"The reason the situation became complicated is because Nishino Junko is no longer the same person, she has changed."
"Kichyō."
"She, completely unaware of the situation, is an inexperienced heiress who has taken the place of Nishino. Thus, her actions are unpredictable, disrupting the expected course of events."
It is not difficult for Bai Wei to deduce that Nishino Junko and Kichyō are not the same person.
If it were just one person, there would be no need to go around such a big circle.
There are several possible scenarios, such as dual personalities, memory loss, or perhaps…
"Soul exchange."
Bai Wei thought of Daizuke Nishimura, whom he had indeed witnessed a soul exchange firsthand.
"If that is indeed the case, then where has the true Nishino Junko gone? It is impossible for two souls to coexist within the same vessel, unless they share a common origin."
"Similar to the situation with Daizuke Nishimura, he took over the life of Guan Tuoren, but where did the real Guan Tuoren go?"
"Did he go into another body or simply cease to exist altogether?"
He brushed off the dust from his knees, appearing to have a slight bloodstain, but the injuries he sustained were much milder than the previous time.
Furthermore, he came alone.
"We must find Nishino Junko, otherwise this cycle is destined to never end… My power has already recovered to the point where I can solo the den of the evil god. Continuing like this will yield no further improvement."
Bai Wei parted the railing, walked along the path, hands calmly tucked into his pockets, taking leisurely strides. Behind him, a ancient church was fiercely engulfed in flames.
…
"Make way for me!"
"Get lost, get lost!"
Nishino Junko hurriedly fled, blood dripping from the wound on her shoulder as she ran, staining her clothes a vivid red.
Upon seeing this, the tram station staff hurriedly approached, but she was solely focused on vigorously pushing through the crowd.
Having crashed into the tram, she then glanced around, frantically trying to ascertain whether the fleeting figure was chasing after her.
She breathed heavily, her gaze sweeping over the startled and perplexed crowd, repeatedly confirming that she didn't catch sight of the figure in the white dress.
Only then did she slightly let her guard down, thinking that she had managed to shake off the other person.
She collapsed onto the chair, gasping in terror.
Thank goodness she didn't follow me. What is the matter with that woman? Why does it seem like she knows everything!
She gritted her teeth, and suddenly, out of the blue, she heard a voice coming from the side.
"You are awfully slow in arriving."
Nishino Junko's expression suddenly froze upon hearing the sound. She slowly shifted her gaze to the other end of the row of seats, where a girl dressed in pristine white maintained a noble sitting posture. From beneath her spacious and fluttering sleeves came the sound of a vibrating blade.
"You!" exclaimed Nishino Junko in a state of panic, "How did you end up here!"
"The Line 4 tram, I knew you would board it," Kichyō rose slowly, drew her sword towards her enemy, and declared, "Everything begins here, and it ends here as well!"
