"Fight an Overlord!?"
Shinji suppressed his excitement and pretended to ask in confusion.
At the mention of Overlords, a shadow crossed Heiguang's eyes, and his mood suddenly sank. "You're new, so there are some things you don't know!"
Shinji urged him on. "Tell me about them!"
Heiguang glanced around, then led Shinji to an unoccupied booth. Only then did he slowly begin, "In the vast universe, besides us 'Lantern Bearers,' there's another kind of being known as 'Overlords.'"
Shinji merely nodded, not interrupting.
Heiguang continued, "Overlords feed on worlds. In their eyes, each world is nothing but prey waiting to be hunted!"
Shinji frowned instinctively.
Seeing this, Heiguang asked, "You don't believe me?"
Shinji deliberately played along. "I'm not entirely convinced!"
Heiguang said, "Then have you ever wondered who we 'Lantern Bearers' would be guarding against if there were no Overlords?"
Shinji asked, "Are you saying we exist to fight the Overlords?"
"Yeah, that's currently the most widely accepted theory in the community!" He paused, then added, "A lot of veteran 'Lantern Bearers' believe the Overlords came first, and that we 'Lantern Bearers' appeared afterward."
Shinji hurriedly asked, "So we 'Lantern Bearers' can fight the Overlords?"
"Uh..."
Under Shinji's eager gaze, Heiguang was at a loss for words.
Shinji asked, "What, did I get that wrong?"
Heiguang sighed. "That's the theory, but we 'Lantern Bearers' can't actually fight the Overlords! So the idea that we appeared to fight them is just one of many theories."
Shinji frowned. "Why?"
Heiguang looked at Shinji and shook his head. "You've never encountered an Overlord, so you don't understand! When you finally do, you'll see how foolish your question is."
Shinji didn't answer right away.
He knew that by "encountered," Heiguang didn't mean being targeted by an Overlord, as he himself had been. He