But down below, all the balloons floated up, replaced by a stone, one-to-one replica of the Skytree...

A stone monument?!

"That night, faced with the incident, Hitomi couldn't do anything, all she could do was watch Spencer be devoured by tentacles while saving her, watch An Le and the President grow close...

"So, to prevent Hitomi from hiding in the shadows, endlessly blaming herself, I had to take it upon myself to kill her..."

She glanced at the several Sakuragis above, shivering, and smiled faintly,

"But don't worry, I understand the lessons of the past...

"You are both sides of Hitomi's flaws and merits, so once I've killed you, you won't just disappear...

"Instead, you'll become a part of me, distilling the essence and discarding the dregs...

"Just like the sickly Sakuragi and the others!"

The petite Sakuragi shuddered at her eerie voice, but noticed something out of the corner of her eye, and secretly tapped the shoulder of the reckless Sakuragi.

At this moment, she was still angrily pointing at the perfect Sakuragi, arguing,

"What a joke! Both the flaws and merits were originally part of Hitomi!

"Even if you can absorb the merits by killing us, as you say, that part of Hitomi will be gone forever!

"In the end, you, a monster who decides what's a merit and what's a flaw, will take her place!"

The perfect Sakuragi once again raised her axe, aiming at the timid Sakuragi's head, while smiling and questioning,

"What's wrong with that? Everyone living in an environment is continuously changed by it...

"How is a self that changes because of past memories and sudden events necessarily better than one that I proactively change using a modifier?"

Having said this, she suddenly raised the axe in her hand, about to throw it.

"Jump!"

At that moment, the petite Sakuragi suddenly commanded, leaving the perfect Sakuragi slightly stunned.

In the next second, she watched as the three of them jumped onto a...

Yan Huan-headed hot air balloon! 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"President?!"

Upon seeing that balloon, the axe she was about to throw halted abruptly.

She hurriedly reached out to steady her trembling right hand, unable to bear harming even a part of Yan Huan.

"Ha, I knew it! All the Sakuragis love the President, she won't harm the President!"

The petite Sakuragi stood on Yan Huan's hot air balloon, lightly embraced it, and then said,

"President, please! Take us to the gate, let us find you at Linmen!"

"Alright, let's set off then."

Below, Yan Huan's balloon smiled gently, taking them up into the air, flying towards the gate that was open in the Barrier.

And from the moment they boarded Yan Huan's balloon, the perfect Sakuragi below finally stopped throwing flying axes, only able to watch them escape.

They're...

They're going to successfully escape!

The three Sakuragis looked at the approaching Light Gate and couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you, President!"

The Yan Huan-branded balloon docked steadily on the shore, and the petite Sakuragi leapt off, quickly urging the others towards the open Light Gate,

"Hurry, as long as we pass through we'll be at Linmen!"

"Mm!"

But just as the petite Sakuragi relaxed watching the other two running towards her, she turned back, about to step into the Light Gate first...

A roaring engine sound heralded its approach from within.

"Vroom... vroom vroom!!"

The terrifying roar accompanied by a spinning silver chain emerged from the Light Gate, followed closely by the grinning face of the perfect Sakuragi wielding a pink chainsaw,

"Didn't expect, did you? The Sakuragi behind the door was already killed by me! And I've never tried using a chainsaw to kill a Sakuragi, they say this chainsaw is very sharp..."

With that, she abruptly lifted the chainsaw, swinging it towards the petite Sakuragi.

"Ugh!"

The petite Sakuragi was so frightened her whole body trembled, frozen in mid-air, unable to move.

"My chainsaw is no less sharp!!"

At that critical moment, another engine roar echoed from behind.

Before the petite Sakuragi could figure out what was happening, two chainsaw blades collided fiercely, sparking bright flashes.

"Sizzling!!"

"Crack crack!!"

The petite Sakuragi's eyes widened, finally noticing that the reckless Sakuragi had somehow taken out a crimson chainsaw, struggling against the perfect Sakuragi.

"Ha... finally a chance to use it, my secret weapon!"

And the petite Sakuragi suddenly recalled that the reckless Sakuragi had rummaged for something a while after leaving her Barrier.

When asked, she called it a secret weapon.

Turns out, she had brought a sharp chainsaw too.

"Clang clang clang!!"

But with a bit of a grapple, the reckless Sakuragi's body was slowly being pressed down.

The perfect Sakuragi watched the brave Sakuragi with interest, complimenting her while mercilessly pushing the chainsaw towards her neck,

"You're quite impressive, can't imagine you haven't eliminated the sickly one, I never knew you before?"

"Because... Hitomi never once had courage for the President! Damn it!!!"

The reckless Sakuragi gritted her teeth, then suddenly exerted force, pushing the perfect Sakuragi away slightly, while shouting to the petite Sakuragi and the others,