Even if the entire Knights of Favonius were mobilized, it would still be difficult to quickly suppress the situation.
Lucas was already struggling just to keep moving, let alone avoid the alchemical marauders that could appear at any moment.
By the time he finally arrived near the hospital, he realized the area had also been surrounded by minions of the Perfect Creation.
These alchemical creatures didn't have much intelligence and operated solely on simple commands. Now that the Perfect Creation had been destroyed, they continued to follow their last orders relentlessly, with no signs of stopping.
Suddenly, an explosion erupted from one of the hospital rooms in a high-rise building.
Lucas's heart skipped a beat—the room that had exploded was precisely where Alice was staying.
Had he still been too late?
But before he could process it, several broken alchemical dolls were flung out of the window, crashing hard onto the ground below.
"Full firepower!"
To Lucas's surprise, he heard a familiar voice. He looked up just in time to see Klee jump out of the window, landing gracefully on the ground.
In her hands, two bombs appeared from nowhere, and she quickly hurled them at the remaining alchemical dolls.
In the fiery explosion, Lucas saw that same familiar smile on Klee's face—madness, excitement, and adorableness, all at once.
"Dad, you're so slow!" Klee waved at Lucas with a grin. "Mom and the baby are perfectly safe! Isn't Klee amazing?"
Lucas finally felt a wave of relief wash over him.
It turned out Klee hadn't come to the hospital to harm Alice, but to protect her.
Whether she had seen through the Perfect Creation's disguise or simply forgiven Alice, it no longer seemed to matter.
Even though Klee hadn't used her powers for years, it was clear she hadn't forgotten her combat experience.
"Jumpty Dumpty!"
"Kaboom!"
Thanks to her Vision, the bombs she created were incredibly powerful, and the clumsy alchemical dolls were no match for her. In no time, they were all reduced to ashes.
Klee wasn't just protecting Alice and the hospital—she was also venting years of suppressed urges to cause mayhem.
By the time Jean, the Acting Grand Master, arrived, Klee had already wiped out all the alchemical dolls surrounding the hospital.
"Lucas, Klee, I'm glad you're both safe..." Jean breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing them unharmed. But when she glanced at the sea of flames around them, she frowned. "This level of explosion feels... oddly familiar."
"Is... is that so?" Lucas stammered, a nervous expression crossing his face.
After all, both he and Klee had once been Jean's top targets. Her familiarity with Klee's explosives, second only to Albedo and Sucrose, made it hard for her not to notice something.
"Klee... Klee doesn't know what you're talking about..."
Klee instinctively took a step back, a little fearful. Just then, there was a light "ding." A dormant Jumpty Dumpty slid out of her backpack, rolling across the ground until it stopped at Jean's feet.
"What's this..." Jean picked up the bomb, her face showing a trace of surprise.
There was no mistaking it—this was the signature weapon of the "Evil Sun," a criminal who had once given her endless headaches.
The atmosphere grew tense.
Jean wasn't naive. The moment she saw the bomb, everything clicked into place.
"So, it's like that..." Jean gave the two a complicated look but then asked, "Does Alice know about this?"
"No, she doesn't," Lucas sighed. "And yes, as you've guessed, I... am the Evil Sun. But Klee, she knows nothing about any of this."
Since he was already a dying man, taking the blame for Klee seemed insignificant.
"What are you talking about?" Jean suddenly shoved the Jumpty Dumpty back into Klee's hands and said calmly, "It's just a cute little toy. Here, take it back."
"Huh?"
Klee, still confused, cautiously accepted the bomb.
"Klee, go check on Alice," Jean said, patting her head with a smile. "I need to have a talk with your dad."
"Is Captain Jean going to take Dad away?" Klee asked, a rare hint of sadness in her voice. "It's all my fault... I won't do it again..."
"Klee, go on," Lucas said gently. "Don't worry, nothing's going to happen to Daddy."
After Klee left, Jean's expression turned serious as she addressed Lucas. "I need an explanation for all of this."
Knowing there was no point in hiding anymore, Lucas explained what had happened between him and Klee over the years, mixing truth with lies.
"That's my confession," Lucas finished with a bitter smile. "Whatever punishment I deserve, let me bear it alone."
"You've committed serious crimes, no doubt. And Klee's involvement... well, that's complicity," Jean paused before continuing. "But considering your years of service to Mondstadt and your role in protecting it today, I'm willing to offer some leniency. I'll dock ten years of your wages as punishment."
"Wait, wait... isn't that a bit like abuse of authority?" Lucas couldn't help but retort.
"You've got plenty of money anyway," Jean said with a rare smile. "Ten years of service to Mondstadt seems a fair way to atone for your sins."
Jean knew deep down she couldn't truly punish Lucas. His wife was Alice, after all. If she publicly sentenced him to a long prison term, Alice would likely blow Mondstadt to smithereens and then take her family and vanish, holding a grudge against the city forever.
"It's certainly lenient, but unfortunately..." Lucas's voice faltered, his steps becoming unsteady. "I don't think I have that much time left."
As he spoke, Lucas's body gave out, collapsing into Jean's arms.
His heart, which had been beating erratically, finally gave in under the immense pressure and began to fail.
His skin started to disintegrate into fine dust, blending with the floating ashes created by the flames around them.
He was burnt out... turning to pure white ash.
'Too bad I couldn't see Alice one last time...'
....
Just as Lucas braced for the system's notification signaling the end of the simulation, time within the simulator accelerated rapidly.
When he opened his eyes again, he wasn't in the real world but in a hospital room.
Standing by his bedside was a green-haired, golden-eyed girl wearing glasses, staring at him silently, like a statue.
"Sucrose?" Lucas exclaimed in shock. "Are you alive again?"
"Correction," Sucrose's voice took on a mechanical tone. "This model is Sucrose Mk-75 Isomorphic Version 2. The subject has awakened. Core synchronization is at 72%. No fatal errors detected. Vital signs are stable. In short, you have been revived."
It was then that Lucas noticed Sucrose looked much younger than he remembered—she appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen years old.
"Dad!"
At that moment, the door to the room burst open, and Klee and Alice rushed inside.
"You…!" Alice's expression was dark as she spoke. "You hid something this important from me."
"You've… figured it out?" Lucas asked weakly, his face downcast. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to deceive you."
Of course Alice had figured it out. She had every right to be angry, maybe even to leave him.
"This is serious!" Alice crossed her arms, pouting angrily. "You didn't tell me that Sucrose was an alchemical doll! Do you have some kind of strange hobby or something?"
"Huh?"
Wait, this is what she was concerned about?
Lucas hadn't caught on yet, but Sucrose remained expressionless as she explained, "My creator designed me solely to assist with alchemy and manage the shop. I have never been used for anything dirty or improper."
Hey! That explanation is just making things sound worse!
"Is that so?" Alice gently cracked her knuckles and smiled. "Since you're still recovering from your injuries, I'll hold off on punishing you for now."
"Sucrose, but haven't you..." Lucas was still confused.
According to the Perfect Creation, he had continuously made new versions of Sucrose to deceive him, making it seem like she was growing.
But weren't all the discarded versions destroyed? Where did this Sucrose come from?
"I was created by the original and share her memories and knowledge," Sucrose answered. "Upon the original's destruction, I automatically activated."
"But..." Lucas glanced at his body. His skin still showed traces of the powdery disintegration, but the damage hadn't worsened. "Shouldn't I have exploded due to the bodily enhancements?"
"I took the damaged core of the Perfect Creation and refined it, using it as material to craft an artificial heart for you," Sucrose explained. "It's even healthier than your original heart. Additionally, the rest of your organs can be replaced with alchemical ones if needed."
"Biological alchemy has advanced that far?" Alice mused thoughtfully. "Maybe you should just replace his kidneys too—they might last longer."
"Eh?" Klee asked curiously, "Why would they last longer?"
Klee's innocent question caused both Alice and Lucas to look a little embarrassed.
"Allow me to explain," Sucrose began, her voice as neutral as ever, "Human experiments show that kidney function affects sexua—mmph!"
Alice hurriedly clamped her hand over Sucrose's mouth, flustered. "Let's stop that discussion for now. Sucrose, Klee, why don't you step outside? I have something I want to talk about with your dad alone."
"Huh? Why does Klee have to leave again?" Klee pouted. "It was the same with Captain Jean last time..."
"Let's go," Sucrose said calmly, taking Klee's hand. "Some conversations aren't for children."
"But Sucrose-sis is a kid too now!" Klee protested, her little lips quivering. "She looks about the same age as me."
Indeed, since the "Sucrose Mk-75 Isomorphic Version 2" was modeled after Sucrose's younger self, she didn't appear much older than Klee, who was now sixteen.
In fact, Sucrose was even shorter than Klee, making her look more like the younger sister.
Still, Klee was understanding enough. After a little grumbling, she left with Sucrose, though she made sure to say one last thing before leaving: "Mom and Dad, you better not fight!"
Once Klee was gone, Alice's smile instantly vanished.
Lucas felt a deep sense of foreboding.
"I didn't spell things out earlier because I didn't want Klee to worry," Alice said, placing a worn-out storybook in front of Lucas, her expression complicated. "Was your plan from the start to kidnap Klee and push her to seek revenge against me?"
The storybook was none other than The Hero Klee vs. the Demon King. While Klee saw it as a simple fairy tale, Alice—shrewd and perceptive—had quickly realized the secrets hidden within.
"Yes," Lucas admitted, a dark look in his eyes. "Kidnapping Klee, letting her appear before you, marrying you... it was all part of my revenge plan."
"I don't understand." Alice clenched her fists. "During my pregnancy, you had the perfect opportunity to strike. Why didn't you?"
"I don't have the right to forgive you on behalf of my dead wife and child," Lucas sighed. "But Klee... she already lost one mother. I couldn't let her lose another."
"Klee can't lose her mother, but our baby can't grow up without a father either," Alice's smile slowly returned. "Besides, this all started because of my own mistakes. So let's spend the rest of our lives making up for it together."
---
[Mission Complete]
[Task Accomplished: End Everything]
[Reward Earned: S-Rank Item: Philosopher's Stone]
[Effect: When performing alchemy, this item can substitute for any alchemical material (as long as at least two materials are required). Can be used once per day.]
These rewards don't seem to be randomly distributed.
Since the theme of this simulation was alchemy, he was given something related to alchemy.
However... He knows practically nothing about alchemy in the real world. If he wants to make full use of this item, he'll have to learn.
---
[Age 41: You expected elves to have longer pregnancies, but perhaps due to being half-human, Alice gave birth to a daughter after ten months. You named her Roland, meaning "sun" in ancient Mondstadt Language.]
[Age 42: Sucrose was right. After receiving your new "heart," your body became even healthier than before.]
[Of course, this only made Alice more eager for you to get alchemical kidneys—not that she was dissatisfied with your current performance, but she simply wanted to ensure she could exhaust you every single day. According to her, it was part of your "punishment."]
[Age 43: Klee officially joined the Knights of Favonius and quickly rose through the ranks thanks to her outstanding abilities. She was soon honored with the title of "Spark Knight."]
[However, due to her unpredictability and immense destructive power, people privately preferred to call her the "Fleeing Sun."]
---
Author's Note: We did not reach 800 yesterday... Now extra chapter at 1200! Deal with it hmph!
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