Honkai Star Rail: I must live a peaceful life

A cold, twisted voice echoed from directly above Coluo, startling the old man.

He's behind the dome!

What fell through the originally transparent dome wasn't merely light—it was mysterious radiance that had gathered the preserved concepts within the museum. In theory, the dome could be considered a one-way glass. Given the museum's interior was filled with obstacles every three steps and traps every five steps, nobody should have been able to get up there. But Ralph had dismantled all the security measures when he arrived!

Theoretically, having someone propose to keep you alive should be a good thing, but the intuition that had guided Koro to make the right choices multiple times kept warning him. This newcomer harbored more malice; their level of danger was even sharper than the imminent death at hand.

Ralph's reaction was much quicker.

"La!" The ancient and sacred word was compressed into a single syllable, yet Koro could see within it the legend of the holy son bringing light and fire to the underground tribes in distant ages. It was magnificent and divine, almost moving one to tears.

Pure white flames erupted overhead, transforming into a brilliant halo that swept in all directions. Phantom light blades danced and cut through the light domain rapidly, becoming beacons to guide their companions after touching the enemy.

"You're being quite rough with me, aren't you? Why go to such lengths? After all, we're the same kind, aren't we?" The black-robed figure wearing a bird-beak mask hung upside down on the dome's glass, speaking in an exaggerated, sing-song manner. A colorless light membrane rippled like water around their body, deflecting the light blades upon contact.

"Se!" Another sacred chant came as the response. Streams of light converged into trajectories surging toward the masked figure. Ralph himself moved along one of the light tracks toward his opponent, his short sword extending into the shape of an Executor's blade in the gathering holy light.

Intersecting light blades cut through the surrounding light membrane, and the numerous light trajectories directly sliced the black-robed figure's bird-beak mask into dozens of pieces.

The remnants fell like a broken-winged bird, shattering into four pieces upon impact, before wobbling back up on its limbs and piecing itself back together.

"How cruel." The neck beneath the bird-beak mask bent backward at an unnatural angle, before being forcibly straightened by an outstretched hand. "Do you want to kill me that badly? Although I admit my identity isn't exactly virtuous, you're not much different, are you?"

"Or perhaps..." the voice beneath the bird-beak mask deliberately drew out the words. "You've decided to kill all of your kind? Given your obsessive demeanor, it's not entirely impossible."

"Heh heh heh..." The black-robed figure laughed strangely, their voice gradually trembling and growing into laughter, then into maniacal cackling.

Their entire body arched dramatically, as if doubled over in pain from laughing. "What a naive thought! Do you think shattering the vessel will destroy what's inside?

Even if I die, my corpse is hung on streetlights, or even burned to ashes, the lies won't disappear. They'll just attach themselves to new sinners. You should know this better than anyone."

Ralph frowned slightly, remembering some of Jessica's cryptic words, understanding dawning in his heart.

"Wait, you don't know." The masked figure looked at Ralph's reaction with astonishment, their voice growing even more malicious. "Hahaha, how interesting, you're actually the first generation."

"BANG!" The masked figure's laughter was interrupted by a thunderous noise. Ralph had somehow appeared beside the black-robed figure, his limbs wrapped in intertwining rings of pure white formed from sacred word incantations of light and fire. He lifted his leg in a sweeping kick that struck the figure's body.

The black-robed figure flew backward like a broken doll, but before they could hit the ground, Ralph had already caught up, appearing at their side.

His silver hair dancing, his expression no longer gentle but frozen in cold indifference, carrying a fierce and murderous intent.

The pure white rings of light and fire on his limbs suddenly blazed, the sacred word incantations contracting to skin-tight as they spun faster. Ralph raised his fist expressionlessly, then brought it down with crushing force!

The black-robed figure's backward trajectory was forcibly interrupted, becoming a straight downward fall. Their body crashed into the floor, making the ground tremble.

Watching all this, Koro's heart grew bitter, filled with shock and helplessness.

The shock came from his deeper understanding of the museum's structure and design. When his friend who designed the museum wanted to ensure it wouldn't deteriorate after his departure, he had incorporated certain designs into the ritual. The effect was that any damage to the museum would be treated as damage to the whole. So this single punch had actually shaken the entire museum.

As for the helplessness, it was because the attacker's combat ability exceeded his imagination. York City, being on the outskirts of the chaotic zone, rarely had powerful individuals staying long. Under the tacit agreement between various forces, the biggest local power was him, a neutral and friendly ordinary merchant. Koro had seen Third-Order beings before, but normal Third-Order beings couldn't shake the entire museum with pure force like this.

If the venue he had maintained at great expense hadn't been sturdy enough, that single blow would have killed him in the aftermath. At this point, Koro didn't even care about hearing these dangerous words that would prompt assassins to act directly. After all, regardless of who was left to deal with him, his life and death wouldn't be his to decide, would it?

"Ha, ha, are you planning to replace me with a new lie because I'm not to your liking?" The black-robed figure's words came in fragments, yet that irritating smile hadn't changed one bit. "Have you considered that even if you replace me with someone else, they won't be any better? In fact, because of the blood debt from you killing me this time, your factions would be natural enemies."

"That would be quite an unfortunate possibility, wouldn't it?" An affected voice of regret came from beneath the bird-beak mask, the insincere voice somehow carrying an irresistible allure. "Why not choose me? After all, I'm very willing to cooperate with you."

Ralph didn't directly answer yes or no, but the pure white rings of sacred words entwining his limbs noticeably relaxed.

"It seems you're willing to give me time for a few words." Though weakness was evident in the black-robed figure's laughter, their smugness was particularly distinct. "Let's start with introductions then. My name is Pazi."

The snake draped in black feathers offered the red apple to the believer.

The young man calmly swallowed this sweet fruit.

End of Chapter