I, Kevin, Have Severed All Ties!

Kevin didn't even remember how he left. When he came to his senses, he was far from the hospital, unable to even see it anymore.

Lee had become like that… because of him?

It all made sense. How could the Fire Moth, after so many years of struggling against the Honkai disease, suddenly develop a serum that could even cure the Sixth Herrscher's infection?

The only possibility was that they had obtained something capable of resisting the Honkai.

Some major technological breakthrough? There were no such coincidences in this world. The so-called miracle drug… its source was Lee's blood.

To save the people who died because of his mistake, Lee had…

Kevin had so many questions for Lee. He wanted to ask her how she got hurt, why she was so weak, what she meant by those words back at the camp—but he didn't need to ask anymore. He already had the answer.

It was all because of him.

Kevin gripped his hair, regret and guilt churning within him, sharp as knives.

So that's why Mobius and the others wouldn't talk to me. They knew. Lee must have asked them not to tell me. Even now, she had tried to hide it, pretending nothing was wrong.

"Ha… haha…"

Kevin heard a dry, strained laugh, and looking around at the empty surroundings, he realized it was his own.

Protect Lee? Protect the world she loves?

Kevin, you not only failed to protect anything, but you also shattered it all! Lee had done everything she could, yet he doubted her, causing so many deaths, and in the end, making Lee bear the burden!

To help him atone for his mistakes, to save the people he'd harmed, she had her blood and bone marrow drained countless times…

How much pain she must have endured…

His breath hitched, his body trembling. He wanted to make amends, but there was nothing he could do.

What was the point of being strong? Of surpassing Lee? He was no different from the boy Lee had saved from the Honkai beast all those years ago—no, he was worse. At least that boy hadn't caused Lee such suffering.

More unbearable than the mistake itself was his inability to fix it. He'd felt this powerlessness against the Sixth Herrscher, but now, the pain was even more acute, making him feel utterly useless.

"What… what should I do…"

"Captain Kevin, what are you doing here?"

Kevin looked up blankly. Kosma stood before him.

"Isn't that the hospital where Ms. Lee is? Did you go see her, Captain Kevin? How is she? Are her injuries any better? They looked serious… Us regular soldiers aren't allowed to visit, but I—and Captain Ato and Captain Himeko—are very worried." Seeing Kevin, Kosma seemed quite happy, the usually taciturn young man suddenly talkative.

"…Injuries?" Kevin's eyes flickered, slowly focusing on Kosma. "Did you see her injured?"

"Captain Elysia asked me to take Ms. Lee to the safe zone. She was covered in wounds." Kosma answered honestly. "It looked like some kind of needle attack… To injure Ms. Lee like that, the enemy must have been very strong. If she hadn't defeated them, HQ might not even exist anymore…"

Kevin didn't hear the rest of Kosma's words. He didn't even respond, simply walking away in silence.

No one saw Kevin for a while after that. They only knew that a remote training ground in the mountains had been reduced to rubble.

When he returned to HQ, the Kevin who was serious during training but lively and approachable in private was gone. Only a silent, almost expressionless warrior remained.

He took on missions almost non-stop, immediately requesting another after finishing the previous one, driven by some unseen force.

Because no one could keep up with him, Kevin mostly worked alone. But according to the few who had accompanied him, his approach to the Honkai was ruthlessly decisive.

Regardless of the cost or reason, any Honkai incident was met with overwhelming force. Some admired this approach, others found it heartless.

But for Lee, there was only one thought—that boy hasn't come to see me!

Since that day, Kevin had remotely sent her 100,000 energy, but Lee hadn't seen him since.

After visitations were allowed, she'd seen Mobius, Kosma, even Griseo, but not Kevin. Elysia vacillated between being glad he wasn't there and being angry that he hadn't visited, her emotions fluctuating more wildly than Lee's.

Though her body couldn't recover further, Lee couldn't go anywhere else, so she remained in the hospital.

Despite not wanting to leave, Elysia was eventually reassigned. Such a powerful warrior couldn't be kept at HQ as a bodyguard. She needed to be on active duty. After she left, Lee's room became much quieter. Aside from occasional visitors, the most frequent guest was Griseo.

Since Bianka and Ato were usually busy, Griseo often played in Mobius' lab. But the lab was dangerous, and Mobius wasn't the best caretaker. Now that Lee was free, and the hospital was safe, Griseo practically lived there.

Ato thought it was a perfect arrangement. Bianka felt it was a bit of a burden on Lee. But Lee welcomed Griseo's company, and Griseo adored Lee, so in the end, everyone agreed.

Though Lee wasn't fond of brats, she adored sweet, obedient, and adorable little angels like Griseo.