"In that sea of fire, you tread upon the flames, step by step, entering the street."

Yun You spoke calmly, and before her eyes, that memory she never wished to recall slowly surfaced.

"Everyone cheered, believing that the heroes bathed in fire had come to save them—they had been trapped here for a long time, neither the authorities nor the Nest City Council could rescue them. Moreover, the Council wouldn't spend money to save them; this place was too poor, of no rescue value, it was abandoned from the start."

"Many people went to the street, clutching treasured possessions and valuables from home... perhaps meticulously crafted scrap metal toys, some were pickled meat and vegetables, others were love letters just written..."

"After all, those Apprentice Death Gods were indeed very handsome, stylishly fashioned with high-tech armor, and their heroic deeds were promoted on TV every day; it was only natural to like and support them."

"But all this glamour shattered completely at the moment that little girl offered petals to you."

"You didn't take the flowers, nor did you crouch down with a smile like on television, pat the little girl's head, and say 'thank you'."

"Ah, no, to be accurate, you did touch her, but it was to grab her head, while the other hand pressed against her shoulder, with a slight force—"

"She was torn apart like a rag. You left her with only one sentence."

"So dirty, truly filthy, every time I smell the stench on civilians, I feel like vomiting."

"..."

Listening to Yun You's narration, Yang Lie's expression momentarily froze, his memory also harking back a year ago.

That was when he had just 'made his fortune,' and it was the event that allowed him to rise rapidly.

"Looking at the girl still gasping for breath, still struggling, everyone was stunned... after a long while, I remember at least a minute passed before screams erupted, and then people scattered."

Yun You closed her eyes.

"Back then, everyone prayed, hoping the girl's death was just an accidental injury from an Apprentice Death God being displeased. But it was clear, everyone was wrong."

"You weren't there for rescue, but to complete the massacre that the monsters failed to achieve."

"Everything happened too suddenly."

"As humans, you know better how to find your kin and kill efficiently than monsters."

"Each person trying to hide was dragged out by you, then tortured to death using various methods."

"Grandparents who always gave little fish and shrimp when selling fish; the chef uncle who often gave pancakes to poor children like us to eat; the vigilante brother who maintained street order despite having nothing himself..."

"You indiscriminately slaughtered, not sparing anyone... not a single one."

"Your faces even carried smiles throughout, smiles that show complete disregard for life, smiles of ignorance for your evil acts, smiles of contempt that treated it as nothing."

"You even organized murder competitions, comparing who killed more, who killed with more 'creativity'."

Yun You's tone gradually grew heavy.

She gasped for breath, straining to suppress the fire of rage within, though this flame had completely consumed her heart, she had to reveal the forbidden truth.

"In the end, when perhaps tired of killing, the others no longer tortured civilians, instead swiftly ending the victims' lives."

"But only you, only you Yang Lie, continued enjoying the abuse."

"You skinned a child alive, carefully tailored, then displayed it before her collapsed parents."

"You arranged dismembered limbs into patterns, shamelessly admiring your 'art'."

"And finally, at the very end, you found a couple."

At this point, Yun You paused slightly, her steps hesitating.

She tore open the scab on her wound, the immense pain leaving her momentarily dazed, the cracks within her heart widening once more.

Yet ultimately, she resumed her speech, and resumed her steps.

"The couple hid at home but didn't deliberately find a place to hide; they sat face-to-face at the dining table as in their usual, simple life, savoring their last supper—a bowl of plain noodles, plus a serving of strawberry pudding."

"They had long anticipated this result. Hiding from the Apprentice Death Gods had no meaning, as your dog noses would eventually sniff them out. Rather than hiding and awaiting death in terror, they'd calmly enjoy their last meal and then embrace death."

"You suddenly understood their thoughts, perhaps jealous of their bond, you put away your smile, tossed out a knife, ordering the man to kill his wife with his own hands."

"In your view, everyone fears death; the so-called love and kinship meant nothing before death."

"But that man disappointed you."

"He merely glanced at you quietly, not acknowledging you, refusing your demand with silence."

"And the woman never answered your words, she merely held her husband's hand."

"You were furious... with the knife... you pierced the man's heart, then strangled him."

"Afterwards, you vented by wrecking that small house... the woman, in order to protect her husband's body, tried to catch your knife bare-handed, but ended up dying at your hands as well."

"You felt rather depressed, unable to smile for a long while, yet smiled again upon leaving, saying something like 'once dead, everything is meaningless'."

"Indeed."

"Emotions, these things, rely on people to exist. If the carriers of emotion are dead, if everyone who remembers them is completely gone, then it becomes meaningless."

"That's how you think."

"But while leaving, you made a mistake."

"You didn't carefully search that house again, nor did you inspect that somewhat suspicious wall crack—you should have, but the couple's sacrifice distracted you."

"So you merely set a fire, thinking no one could survive in the flames, thinking that once tonight passed, everything here, including the emotions you despised and envied, would completely vanish."

"But you were wrong, because a child survived through the crack in the door, eternally recording every moment of that night with his own eyes."

"Pain, resentment, anger."

"Massacre, struggle, survival."

"Love, and hate."

Yun You slowly removed her contact lenses, her blood-red eyes like a brilliant full moon, engraving all emotions beneath that deep gaze.

"I will never forget."

"And now, you too should remember everything."

Yun You re-summoned the Red Scale Scimitar, pointing at Yang Lie's nose.

"I want to hear you confess before you face execution."

"Tell me."

"You killed him."

"You took her life."

"You caused their child to lose everything."

"Tell me with your own mouth!"

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