Once Again / A World Without Light

Number Three's eyes were filled with tears. She was Armed Puppet, an artificial being, perhaps not even a living being, but her eyes were glistening with tears.

"Are you going to use the Herrscher Core?! Are you just going to give up?! What are the people you know doing this for? What have you been fighting for all this time?!" She was still dragging Lin along, her voice trembling with sobs as she growled, "My family and friends are dying... To make you live... you have to live..."

Lin was dragged through the battlefield filled with the Honkai Beast and Armed Puppet. He heard heartbreaking cries in his ears, the cries of those Armed Puppet who lived carefree here.

He saw an Armed Puppet who liked to sleep in the sun jump onto the back of Honkai Beast. Before it could fire, it was swept off by a shot from Temple-class Honkai Beast. It reached out its hand towards its companions, and was then trampled into pieces by the Honkai Beast.

One after another, they marched toward death without hesitation, solely for humanity, solely for... him.

Why would these manufactured Armed Puppet die for the humans who once used them as tools?

Why do humans themselves go to such lengths to kill their own kind?

Just as Rita was about to plunge her scythe into the core of the giant Honkai Beast, several beams of light surged forth. The Honkai Emperor, the pinnacle of the lower-level Honkai Beast, emerged from the portal. Unable to dodge in time, she was struck and fell to the ground, blood dripping from her arm.

Two Armed Puppet ran up to her and dragged her behind the defensive line, while other Armed Puppet bravely covered them.

The weakened Rita turned around and met Lin's gaze. He didn't know what he saw in Rita's eyes, but he felt a piercing pain in his heart.

Chapter Sixty-Nine Once Again

I hate it when people die for me.

I'm a coward, always afraid of losing what I've gained, so I don't know how to reciprocate other people's kindness. I'm afraid they'll leave me, so I can only accept everything.

But there are always people who will give their all for someone as insignificant as me.

I could only watch them leave me helplessly.

It's like the whole world has abandoned me.

And every time I wanted to go with them, someone would always pull me back.

I fear that the dead will wait for me too long, and I also fear that the living will die because of me.

So, I'm just a coward.

"Let me go..."

Lin suddenly struggled to break free from Number Three's grasp. His face slammed to the ground, blood spreading beneath him. His eyes were bloodshot, and his breathing was so weak it was almost imperceptible.

"You..."

"Leave it to me... let me handle it..."

Lin swayed and propped himself up with his hands. His vision was blurry, and he couldn't feel anything in his body, as if he were paralyzed and unable to control himself.

"Are you going to use Herrscher's power? You're insane! You'll completely become Herrscher in this situation!"

For someone who has given up almost everything to protect humanity to become Herrscher who destroys humanity is unacceptable to Lin himself and others.

But Lin pushed her away as she stepped forward.

"Think about Number One!" Number Three roared at him urgently, "I'm also Artificial Intelligence! I can understand her thoughts! Your world is rich and colorful, but her world only has you!"

"... Then let's make it more colorful."

The man clutched his chest, feeling his heartbeat, and turned to Number Three, speaking softly.

Because of you.

"Like me..."

Bianca in the sky was pierced through the shoulder by the Imaginary Spear, and a massive Honkai energy struck her head-on. The phantom holding the shield was shattered, and she fell straight down a short distance away, unconscious and covered in wounds.

Lin stared at the stubborn girl and said he would tie her up and take her back to the blonde girl 50,000 years in the future.

"You will die, killed by humans."

So that's how it is...

Lin lowered his head, reached into the wound on his chest, and tore open the flesh. As if he had grabbed something, he pulled it out with all his might.

"Sizzle—"

Some golden energy leaked out from the hole in his chest, and the things that Yan Luo had injected into his body dissipated. At the same time, the world in his eyes turned back into a dim black and white, and the taste of blood in his mouth gradually disappeared.

A fiery rainbow color emerged deep within his eyes.

The Herrscher of the Void admired her masterpiece. She was Herrscher who acted on instinct. After arriving in this World Bubble, she obtained the second Herrscher Core from the warship docked in the rift.

Using the power of the second Herrscher Core, she sealed Bianca's holy sword, which she had come to investigate in this World Bubble, and marked it. She sensed a familiar aura in the World Bubble, and after completely absorbing the second Herrscher Core, she descended into the World Bubble.

But she never expected that the familiar aura was actually from a human.

Regardless, she exists to destroy humanity, so this World Bubble will also be destroyed by her.

She had already defeated the strongest Bianca, and she still possessed inexhaustible power and unprecedented authority, making her feel omnipotent.

She opened her arms, and a portal unfolded behind her, about to unleash a torrent of Honkai Energy to cleanse the land.

"Whoosh!"

But at that moment, something with a speed similar to Bianca's crashed into her Imaginary Barrier.

The ability to suppress energy was frantically neutralizing her barrier, and it was even faster than before, tearing a small hole in it almost instantly!

A hand passed right through the barrier and grabbed her neck. The Herrscher of the Void reacted immediately. Before the energy-suppressing ability could affect her, Honkai Energy and Imaginary Energy erupted from within, shaking the hand away!

The Herrscher of the Void teleported a hundred meters behind her and saw the "person" whose clothes were tattered but whose wounds had all healed. At this moment, the person was holding a golden chain in one hand and the other hand was empty, which was the hand that was choking her neck.

Chain?

Before she could think it through, the golden cross shattered her barrier and struck her body!

"Cough--"

The Herrscher of the Void was sent flying backward. She managed to stabilize herself after a few dozen meters, but Lin's figure was already charging towards her again. At this moment, the Herrscher of the Void felt that the familiar feeling in this person's body had completely disappeared, replaced by a kind of "oppression" that made her instinctively feel fear.

With a swift wave of her hand, a portal swallowed Lin whole, and she herself disappeared into the portal behind her.

For a moment, the sky was clear, and the portal that had been continuously transporting Honkai Beast closed.

"Bang!"

Lin fell into a purplish-black world. He picked up the Oath of Judas and turned over. The world was filled with irregular blocks, like building blocks floating in the air.

In the distance, a figure with luminous wings slowly descended. With a flick of her finger, a prism protruded from the block beneath Lin's feet, pinning him against the wall above his head!

"Bang!"

The sound of bones cracking echoed throughout his body. Lin manipulated the chains binding the prism, pulled with all his might, and shattered it!

He fell to the ground... if those purplish-black platforms floating in the air could be considered the ground.

The Herrscher of the Void extended her five fingers, and three seemingly flexible white ribbons shot towards him from behind her like arrows!

Oath of Judas automatically ejected two spears that fell into his hands. Lin Mai lowered his body, took a step, and sprinted to appear dozens of meters away. He leaped up and jumped over the ribbons with extremely strong cutting and penetrating abilities, attacking the Herrscher of the Void!

But the Herrscher of the Void merely flicked her finger, and the ribbons turned around behind him and chased after him again.

Information.

Sound.

Light.

Lin's brain was working at lightning speed. He turned around at the limit and threw two spears that collided with the ribbon. Then he punched the Honkai Energy torrent that was gushing towards him!

The power to suppress energy within his body was at work at this moment. Lin's arm shattered and reformed in an instant, while the Honkai Energy was continuously consumed by him until it disappeared completely.

Lin landed on the ground, chains flew past his side, and together they rushed toward the Herrscher of the Void in the sky!

As long as I can get close...

However, everything in the Imaginary Space is under the control of the Herrscher of the Void, including the place where he can stand.

"Bang!"

A hundred-meter-high platform rose up in front of him, blocking his way. Before he could even leap up, he was hit by a pillar that popped out from the side of the platform!

"Bang!"

Chapter Seventy: The World Without Light

Lin's hands were bound with the chains of the Oath of Judas. He used the weight of the cross to stabilize himself, but as soon as he stopped, more purplish-black prisms crashed into him from all directions. He was like a ping-pong ball being hit repeatedly in this space, unable to even identify the direction or position.

"Bang!"

Four prisms fell, like a cage slamming him to the ground, and the raised walls sealed him in a small box.

The sounds and images of the world were lost here. Lin could only hear his own heartbeat and breathing. Apart from that, all his perception of the outside world disappeared completely.

But there is something else that can be manipulated outside the box that seals him.

The Oath of Judas had an unknown connection with him; even outside his sight, he could sense its exact location. A golden spear of light descended from the sky, shattering the cage that bound him.

Through the gap, Lin heard a series of rapid popping sounds as the air rubbed together. A sense of crisis pounded in his heart, and without thinking, he leaped into the air!

"Sizzle—"

Two white lines appeared where they had been before. The cage was cut into tiny squares by the white ribbons. He stepped on the shooting chains and rushed toward the Herrscher of the Void of the Void who was manipulating the ribbons in the distance.

"Da, da, da!"

Lin's speed was already at its limit. Even if the Herrscher of the Void could teleport to a distant place instantly, her reaction time to open a portal might not be faster than Lin's attack speed. The Imaginary Barrier could also be neutralized by its suppression ability.

But the most troublesome aspect is that the Imaginary Space is completely under the control of the Herrscher of the Void. In this space that does not belong to any world, she is even more difficult to deal with than the outside world.

Dozens of imaginary spears shot out from all around the forest, his eyes shimmering with iridescent light, and the golden spears in his hands radiated a brilliant glow.

"Click".

He heard the sound of a bullet being chambered.

"————"

The illusion of disorientation flashed by, and Lin turned around, using the spears as swords with both hands. He spun around and slashed, shattering all the imaginary spears!

In the aftershocks of the explosion, a figure wielding light flew with lightning speed to the Herrscher of the Void. Bloody gashes appeared on his body and face, but they healed in the blink of an eye. Wielding his light spear, he slashed down!

"Smack—"

The Imaginary Barrier was split in two, but this also gave the Herrscher of the Void a moment to breathe. She frowned, and instead of dodging, she struck Lin in the chest with her palm!

"Bang!"

The massive Honkai Energy slammed into Lin's body, piercing through his chest, and he was sent flying like a tattered rag doll, embedding himself in the purplish-black platform.

The gaping hole in his chest had nearly shattered him into pieces, with only some skin and flesh connecting him. He gasped for breath, and within a few breaths, the lost flesh and blood regenerated automatically, and in the blink of an eye, he was completely healed.

But even self-healing has its limits. In the battle with Yan Luo, Lin's Honkai Energy was completely depleted, and in the end, he was unable to heal his wounds.

Lin was bound by the chains of the Oath of Judas. He had to use the Oath of Judas's ability to completely nullify all Honkai Energy around him at a certain distance before the Honkai Energy in his body was exhausted!

The Herrscher of the Void gave him no time to rest. Her wings of light extended like blades in an instant and, under her control, slashed at Lin, cutting through all the imaginary cubes in her path.

Lin Deng, riding on the imaginary block behind him, transformed into an arrow and charged forward, his spinning spear colliding head-on with the light wings!

"Bass----"

Even the sound of friction was swallowed up by space after it rang out. The Soul Steel Spear and the Light Wings in Lin's hand shattered at the same time. His pupils shrank to their limit, and the thought modules in his brain quickly absorbed and sorted out all the information.

"Splash."

An enormous cross flew from behind Lin as he pulled on it. The moment the spear in Lin's hand shattered, three more spears popped out from the unfolded structure!

The Herrscher of the Void was also manipulating space. The golden light in her eyes was even brighter than Lin's. A portal exuding a shattered aura blocked her way, and countless Void Spears rained down like a storm!

"Bang!"

The core within Lin roared as he threw out a spear with one hand, then turned and grabbed two spears that radiated light. The Oath of Judas instantly shrank and embedded itself in the back of his hand, and a large number of chains shot out from the back of his hand!

Chains and spears of the void collided in space, and a dazzling explosion, like fireworks, echoed in this desolate space!

Lin's Prismatic Eyes moved and locked on his eye sockets, and the chains that shot out became faster and faster. They even pierced into the portal before the Void Spear was launched, weaving his surroundings into a dazzling spider web.

The Herrscher of the Void gathered purplish-black Imaginary Energy in her hands. As the Soul Steel Spear flew towards her, she once again hurled that terrifying Imaginary Lance. The spiraling drill devoured space, and almost instantly, Lin's chains and the Soul Steel Spear shattered completely!

Lin's Prismatic Eyes lit up as if burning, and his right fist was pulled back like a bowstring. All the Honkai Energy in his body gathered into his fist at this moment, and then touched the Imaginary Lance that made him look like a tiny insect!

"————"