Not the Enemy of One's Enemy

"So, you're living quite comfortably in this illusionary world, living with Elysia and Lilith, and your future colleagues are Mobius and Vill-V, and my homeroom teacher..." Seele said with a cold smile, arms crossed, looking at Zhu Yufeng.

Zhu Yufeng sat speechlessly in her chair, one side of her face flushed, clearly indicating what had just happened.

"Is it possible that I didn't do anything, and that you were the one who initiated it..." Before Zhu Yufeng could finish speaking, he saw Seele's dark face and decided to remain silent.

He had just figured out what this world was like. First of all, Mobius and Vill-V had become his colleagues, one a biology teacher and the other a physics teacher. Then there was also a music teacher, Eden, although Eden was mainly close to Elysia, which was also within Astaroth's understanding.

Then there's Ms. Mei, the elementary school teacher; Kevin, the PE teacher; and I'm the Chinese language teacher...

Seele and Pardo were both students in his class, and after observing them, he realized they were both up to the level of a master... cough cough. Anyway, he just wanted to ask the Eighth Herrscher one question: Didn't she feel that this world was too fantastical when she was creating it? Besides... wasn't it a little too detailed?

He had also investigated the identities of most of the other people in this world. Disaster and Kosma were student council officers, Aponia was Astaroth's homeroom teacher, and Griseo and Rin were both from the same school as Astaroth... Was Elysia and Lilith sisters here?!

Elysia is the art teacher, and Lilith is the English teacher...

When Zhu Yufeng learned of this, he was completely stunned. Did Astaroth think that way?

In short, in this illusion, his relationships with others are far more fantastical than in reality. Even the Eighth Herrscher might not understand or comprehend these relationships and has given up on them. Lilith and Elysia are indeed his... girlfriends.

What do you mean, having two girlfriends?!

Our Miss Seele, in the illusion, only superficially has the same arrogant style as Teacher Mobius, but in reality, she seamlessly switches between the two personalities. Perhaps Astaroth thinks it is the same Seele, so Seele becomes an actress similar to Lilith.

She's aloof and arrogant in public, but becomes an angel when alone with others or when everyone else is a child... Eighth Herrscher, do you really think this doesn't feel out of place? Or have you given up on thinking?

Just now, when Seele came over to collect homework as the class representative, she tripped and fell, whether intentionally or accidentally. Zhu Yufeng reacted quickly and dodged it.

Hmph, you little brat, I knew the plot would develop this way at a glance!

Before Zhu Yufeng could finish feeling smug, "seele" asked him pitifully if he hated her. He almost lost his composure. Just then, he felt a strange fluctuation of consciousness appear, originating from seele. He wondered if the Eighth Herrscher had appeared and prepared to test her.

So he squatted down and patted Seele's head, wanting to see if he could find the Eighth Herrscher directly based on this fluctuation. The next second, Seele's eyes changed instantly. She was stunned for a moment, and then subconsciously slapped herself.

"In short, I've told you the whole story, so why are you here?" Zhu Yufeng asked.

"Heh, isn't it because someone fell into a deep sleep that we're all wondering what kind of daydreams you're having?" Seele glanced at the scattered notebooks on the ground and said, "But it seems you're having a pretty good time in there."

Really? But I just feel several times more mentally exhausted. Even if nothing happens, being used as a body pillow by Lilith and Elysia every night is still torture. However, the nighttime time is skipped because Astaroth goes to sleep. He wakes up and finds himself being used as a "body pillow".

After all, he was not the subject of the dream, and the Eighth Herrscher only wanted to use it to trap him. If it was only to trap him, then the Eighth Herrscher's construction seemed too detailed in the absence of Astaroth.

"Now that you're here, does that mean the outside world is confident in locating the Eighth Herrscher?" Zhu Yufeng asked. "Are you planning a coordinated attack from within and without to take her down in one fell swoop?"

"That's true. The squinty-eyed one and Aponia are both prepared," Seele said. "However, Disaster was attacked by the Eighth Herrscher not long ago and is now in a deep sleep. Kosma doesn't seem to be in good condition either."

Is it an inescapable fate...?

Zhu Yufeng pondered for a moment, then said, "I've been observing here for a while now, but I haven't found much of value. It seems the Eighth Herrscher just wants to trap me here. Besides, she only tested me at the very beginning. Although I only found some subtle traces of her in this world later, it's not enough to track her down."

"Even you can't find the Eighth Herrscher's whereabouts?" Seele frowned. "Never mind, I'll stay here a little longer. Everyone else will try to locate the Eighth Herrscher following the information that has been corrupted by her. If she wants to avoid us, she will have to take some action. She will definitely be able to sense her fluctuations in this world."

"Is that so..." Zhu Yufeng lowered his eyes. In fact, he had a feeling that the Eighth Herrscher was gradually perfecting this dream world. This world was becoming more and more real. At first, he could not go anywhere other than the school and home. Moreover, there were no words in the books. When he tried to talk nonsense in class, the students did not react. They only knew to say that the teacher taught well.

Now, not only are there words in books, but he can also go to other places, and at the same time, the students are gradually beginning to become more like a person...

It feels like, apart from his interpersonal relationships being neglected and abandoned by the Eighth Herrscher, everything else in this world is being gradually improved and filled by the Eighth Herrscher.

He also tried to remind Astaroth, who was the subject of the dream, but to his surprise, Astaroth was also awake, only a little late, on the "first day".

"Because... I know better than anyone that this is a dream I can't even hope for," Astaroth said. "Everything about it is something I want, but... I know I can never have such a home..."

But even after Astaroth regained consciousness, the dream world did not collapse; instead, it continued to improve, which was strange... Given the Eighth Herrscher's personality and modus operandi, once the main body of the dream regained consciousness, she would immediately switch to the next scene, and the main body would "wake up" again in the same way as waking up in a dream.

And... she's really too kind... Generally speaking, the Eighth Herrscher uses a one-day cycle to gradually succumb to the effects on others. Once the subject's consciousness truly merges into the world, his consciousness will disappear along with the world, and he will either die in the outside world or have his body taken over by the Eighth Herrscher.

The current situation is that the world is not like that...

"Hmm? Why are your students leaving their homework notebooks all over the place?" Mobius's voice rang out from the doorway. "Hurry up and tidy up, your class meeting is coming up soon, and a transfer student is coming over."

"A transfer student?" Zhu Yufeng was stunned. What? There are transfer students?

The Eighth Herrscher shouldn't be able to conjure up a non-existent person out of thin air. Transfer students are reasonable for a school, but the Eighth Herrscher is a variable in this world and shouldn't exist.

"It came suddenly, so I wasn't surprised. This is the student's file." Mobius shrugged. "You're the homeroom teacher; how you arrange things is your business. Oh, by the way..."

Mobius smiled and then said, "You should have time at noon today, right?"

"Uh..." Zhu Yufeng glanced at Seele, who seemed not to be looking this way but was picking up the scattered notebooks on the ground. "Excuse me, my student said he had some questions he wanted to ask me at noon."

"Is that so?" Mobius glanced at Seele and said with a forced smile, "Perhaps you have ulterior motives?"

"What do I want from him?" Seele said irritably, but didn't look up.

Mobius shrugged. "Alright, then I'll book the time slot for tomorrow noon."

Zhu Yufeng thought for a moment and replied, "No problem."

Because the Eighth Herrscher was constantly perfecting this world, the entire dream world was fluctuating. In addition, the Eighth Herrscher had handled her own traces very well, so Zhu Yufeng was unable to find the Eighth Herrscher among the fluctuations.

And... Mobius is starting to resemble her more and more in real life... What should I do?

Speaking of that transfer student, is it possible that the variable is the Eighth Herrscher herself?

Zhu Yufeng glanced at the transfer student's file. Her name was Remiel... Okay, I won't think about it anymore. This transfer student should be the Eighth Herrscher herself.

Having witnessed the romance between Uriel and Michael, both Herrscher, Remiel still remembered them; they seemed to be one of the angels as well...

The names of the Herrscher are the names of angels... Heh, that does fit their "setting" as apostles of God.

There were other Herrscher whose names Feitian, but Uriel and Michael were undoubtedly angel names he knew well before he transmigrated. Now, suddenly there was a Remiel whose name he didn't recognize at all but was an angel. No matter how he thought about it, he could only associate her with Herrscher.

With this in mind, Zhu Yufeng and Seele picked up the notebooks from the ground and then left the classroom.

He decided to skip the negotiations and go straight to the attack.

If I accidentally hurt someone... well, it's just a dream anyway, so what if I accidentally hurt someone?

Zhu Yufeng and Seele arrived at the classroom door and saw Remiel standing there. In a moment, a golden spear appeared in Zhu Yufeng's hand, while a ferocious scythe appeared in Seele's hand.

Remiel was puzzled for a moment, then looked at Seele with some understanding. She stretched out her hand, and the light and shadow split apart, instantly moving Zhu Yufeng and Seele to two different places.

"Why?" Remiel asked Zhu Yufeng, somewhat puzzled. "Why do you want to kill me?"

Strange, Uriel wanted to kill him from the beginning, so why is Remiel suspicious instead?

Zhu Yufeng frowned. He didn't sense any hostility from Remiel, who seemed to genuinely not intend to be his enemy. He dared not be careless, but for the time being, he refrained from taking any action and waited for Remiel to continue.

"I can sense that you and I are the same," Remiel said, as if talking to himself. "No, you and I are not the same. You and I are similar, but... you should be my kind. Why do you want to kill me?"

Similar but not the same?

In other words, he is actually a fake Herrscher resembles Herrscher? Or rather, Pseudo-Herrscher?

"You want to protect them?" Remiel asked, as if suddenly realizing something. "You want them to live, right?"

All I want is for Elysia and the others to live well.

Zhu Yufeng thought to himself, then said coldly, "If you are the enemy of humanity, then I am your enemy."

Remiel tilted her head. Unlike Uriel, she was a will born purely of Honkai, and moreover...

She thought for a moment, then asked, "What is the enemy of mankind?"

Zhu Yufeng paused for a moment. Why did he feel that this Herrscher was a bit simple-minded? Moreover, she was different from the Eighth Herrscher in his memory. The Eighth Herrscher that Lilith mentioned was not this simple-minded; she was purely cowardly and stupid.

He replied, "If you threaten the survival of humanity, you are the enemy of humanity."

"Threatening the survival of humanity?" Remiel thought about it seriously for a moment, then said earnestly, "I will not threaten the survival of humanity."

"?"

Zhu Yufeng was dumbfounded. What was wrong with this Eighth Herrscher?

"You are very strong, I can feel your power," Remiel said. "I cannot see your thoughts, I cannot see your memories, but I still know that you should be my kind."

"Explain your actions first," Zhu Yufeng said. "You're using your power to pollute information and put humanity into a deep sleep."

"But that's what they wanted," Remiel said. "It's the world they dreamed of. They dreamed of being free from illness, of being rich, of having a wonderful family, and I fulfilled their wishes."

"But they will die because of it."

"They won't die because of this." Remiel shook his head. "Their consciousness will remain in this world forever, and they will live the lives they love forever. There is no Honkai here, no natural disasters, a world that exists only because of their dreams. Therefore, I am not humanity's enemy. Therefore, I am not your enemy."

Zhu Yufeng remained silent. It made a lot of sense, yet it also seemed like a fallacy... The key point was that he couldn't refute Remiel.

No wonder this dream world is gradually improving; it seems that Remiel is constantly absorbing and understanding human thought and cognition to perfect this world.

This is a situation that never occurred in the previous life.

In fact, the Herrscher he was facing might be even more powerful than the one in his previous life.

Remiel had no goodwill toward humans, but she also had no malice. She simply followed and satisfied the desires deep in their hearts.

Then, human civilization will also perish in a fleeting dream.

In other words, Remiel remains an enemy of humanity, regardless of her stance; her thinking fundamentally adheres to the nature of Honkai.

The answer is obvious: if you can't win with words, then you should just start fighting!