But the Arbiters of the Current Civilization had a chance to retain their humanity. Sirin could still remain true to herself while wielding an Arbiter's power.
The Second Arbiter, the Arbiter of Void, was far stronger than the First Herrscher.
She could definitely stop him.
"Uh... Destruction? What's Destruction?" Sirin did not understand. She had never even heard the word before.
"It's the power I use. You can obtain it too."
"Oh~ So I can pray to Lord God for Destruction, and Destruction will give me power?" Sirin only half understood, and Ye Chang'an could only nod.
This was already the limit of a pufferfish's intelligence. He could not expect any more from her.
"Then can my power surpass Lord God's?"
"Yes."
"I get it now."
Sirin nodded excitedly, clenching her tiny fists as she made a vow to the starry sky.
"If one day Lord God becomes someone Sirin doesn't like, Sirin will use Lord God's power to surpass Lord God."
"Sirin wants to surpass God."
It was such a strange, childishly innocent thing to say. Ye Chang'an felt that something was off, yet it also seemed perfectly fine.
With a wry shake of his head, he stopped dwelling on it and changed the scenery of the dream world with a thought.
Sirin happily wandered and ran through sights she had never seen before, while Ye Chang'an smiled beneath a tree and played the piano.
Music was meant to be this beautiful.
~
~
They finally arrived at Babylon Laboratory, and the researchers led their group of children inside.
They were assigned cages and changed into prison uniforms. Their lives as prisoners were about to begin.
But they ended before they even started.
"Children, welcome to Babylon Laboratory.
First, allow me to thank you on behalf of all the researchers here. Thank you for volunteering to participate in this dangerous experiment.
Second, I must offer my condolences for your future.
Because every one of you participating in this experiment will die.
But don't worry. Your sacrifices will have value, because the results of your experiments will bring the Valkyries new stigmata and new power.
You orphans will be able to sacrifice yourselves for the Valkyries, for Schicksal.
This is your honor. You may take pride in it.
Lastly, I would like to say... don't even think about escaping.
From the moment you entered this place, your fate was already sealed."
Cruel words spilled from a researcher's mouth in a playful tone. He brazenly spread unease as he stared excitedly at the newly arrived test subjects.
"Come, let's begin your first experiment."
He opened a case, revealing a box packed full of syringes, each one filled with highly concentrated Destruction energy.
"It'll hurt a little at first, but don't be afraid."
"Because this is only the beginning!"
With a savage grin, he grabbed a girl's arm and prepared to inject her, only to be struck by a flute that suddenly appeared.
"This hit will hurt a little, but don't be afraid."
Ye Chang'an, who had been using a computer nearby to examine the laboratory's layout from the start, smiled as one flute after another appeared beside him.
"Because this is only the beginning!"
Every flute struck the deranged researcher again and again.
Ye Chang'an would not beat him to death, but he would beat him half to death.
"Sirin, take care of them. I'm going out to handle something."
Ye Chang'an spoke, and Sirin nodded fiercely.
Then Ye Chang'an dragged the researcher outside to take over Babylon, while Sirin stayed behind to comfort the terrified girls.
Justice would not be absent. It would only arrive late.
But what use was late justice!
Song of World Destruction: Displaced Time: 6. Arbiter Core, Yet the Arbiter of Void
Dragging the half-beaten researcher out of the prison, Ye Chang'an raised his head toward the top of the tower. A flash of golden light once more passed through his red eyes.
"This place should not exist."
Chains appeared out of thin air, tightly binding the researcher before suspending him in the air.
He paced forward, continuously ascending the spiral staircase. Whenever he reached a floor, chains flew inside, bound every living person there, and dragged them over.
"Help, help!"
"What's going on? Where did these iron chains come from?"
The bewildered researchers screamed in terror, completely at a loss over the inexplicable situation.
The noise irritated Ye Chang'an, and he bellowed.
"Shut up!"
His voice carried a natural echo, eerie and strange, making everyone shudder involuntarily.
They had not even seen Ye Chang'an, yet that voice exploded beside their ears like thunder.
It was filled with fury.
They did not dare cry out again, but neither did they wish to wait helplessly for death.
Some tried to contact the security department. Ye Chang'an knew, but he did not stop them.
Come all of you. Wait to be judged!
Fury flickered in his heart.
Memories churned through his mind.
There were the things he had seen today.
The horrific cages in the lower prison, where many girls with bandaged arms were imprisoned. They were survivors from the previous round of experiments.
And there were memories awakened from fragments of consciousness.
Among those millions of consciousness fragments were victims of the experiments from the previous simulation.
Their experimental periods had been relatively short. They were not severely ill patients, but they had been Ye Chang'an's fans.
Like ordinary audience members, they had attended the performance on the night of December 24, then offered him fragments of their consciousness.
Those fragments contained all their memories, yet they had only allowed Ye Chang'an to bear the parts related to music.
They had sealed away all their remaining memories themselves.
Until just now, when that familiar environment in the lower prison awakened them.
Ye Chang'an had never undergone an experiment involving the infusion of Destruction energy, yet the awakened memories made him feel their pain as though it were his own.
Day after day of pain that cut to the bone—this was what the test subjects truly experienced.
And at the bottom of this tower, there were several thousand girls who had been reduced to test subjects.
In three years, only the handful released by Theresa would remain among these girls.
Three years!
Three whole years!
How many innocent girls' souls had been buried here during those three years?
That deranged researcher still had the nerve to say this was their honor, that they should be proud of it?
"You animals!"
An unprecedented rage surged within him, and the golden glow in his red eyes grew increasingly fierce.
Right now, he even wanted to kill.
But he did not kill those researchers. He merely beat them half to death and hung them up.
He had no right to avenge those innocent girls in their stead.
He would return the right of vengeance to those girls.
"You beasts who aid evil!"
Facing soldiers who raised their guns and opened fire, Ye Chang'an cursed with reddened eyes.
Feathers drifted down around him. Every soldier fell asleep, then was bound by chains.
With the complete authority of the Arbiter of Sound Reason, along with the abundant high-concentration Destruction energy within the tower, no one here could stop him!
In the end, he reached the top floor and bound every Schicksal member.
The takeover was complete.
Next, it was time to condense his Arbiter Core.
The Destruction energy reactor was twenty floors below. He no longer descended one floor at a time.
He stepped onto the railing and jumped straight down.
Light as a feather, he drifted down into the massive reactor.
~
~
In the lower prison, Sirin tried to comfort the children crying in fear, but to little effect.
"Hey, stop crying already."
She did not know how to comfort people, nor had she ever comforted anyone.
Before coming here, she had always been the one being comforted.
Her mother would gently pat her back and speak softly to her, while Ye Chang'an would play beautiful music to help her forget her sadness.
Oh, right. Music.
She remembered, but she had no instrument at hand.
Whenever she performed before, Ye Chang'an had always given her an instrument.
Chang'an can just make instruments appear with a wave of his hand. I should be able to do that too.
Lord God, I can do it too, right?
She lacked confidence, but she trusted Ye Chang'an's nonsense anyway.
She prayed in her heart, and the spherical mark within her consciousness responded to her expectation.
A violin appeared in her hands. It was illusory, yet it could produce sound.
Because this was a technique for using the authority of melody.
"It really works! Lord God is amazing."
Sirin was delighted. Then she climbed atop a crate to make herself as conspicuous as possible.
She rested the violin on her shoulder, raised the bow, and drew it across the strings.
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