Humanity / Big Idiot

Those who had no choice but to be dragged into the abyss by the hand of fate transformed into the most cruel, cold-blooded, and inhumane monsters.

Mei recalled the question he had repeatedly asked himself when the Third Honkai War ended.

Has humanity truly won? Has defeating the Herrscher meant victory?

This man dedicated his entire life to paving the way for others, and ultimately buried himself at the end without a tombstone, in exchange for Mei, and the other Herrscher of the present civilization, having the opportunity to choose.

And now, I stand before him.

"... But there's still one question you haven't answered."

"Why did you, at the very end of the Previous Civilization, use the Herrscher of Reason and the Herrscher of Erosion to kill the remaining humans?"

The purple-haired girl asked softly, slowly releasing her hand from the hilt of the sword.

"Lin, please tell me, okay?"

Chapter 81 Humanity

"..."

The man wearing the helmet seemed to be deep in thought; the azure blue viewing window on the helmet was not lit, while the purple-haired girl waited for his answer with gentle eyes.

In this empty space, only the two of them remained, quiet as if it were the last peaceful place in the world.

Perhaps having already organized his thoughts and planned his reply, Lin's hand slid down his chin, and his muffled voice came from inside his helmet. "Raiden Mei..."

"Um?"

Are you looking forward to me saying something that aligns with your thoughts? Something that sounds both inspiring and romantic?

My thoughts were suddenly exposed, and for some reason, my mood, which had been much lighter, tightened up again.

It wasn't the resentment of knowing the truth, but rather a feeling... a warmth that spread from her earlobe to the base of her ear, then slowly climbed up her cheek...

After being stunned for a full five seconds, Mei's face suddenly steamed with a "pop".

Meanwhile, the man with his arms crossed not far away seemed to be observing her adorable reaction with amusement through his helmet.

"You don't need to feel ashamed. After all, humans do yearn for romance. Even Kevin, after joining the Firemoth, often secretly watches magical girls."

This guy suddenly said something really shocking.

"When Elysia's team has team building activities, they will take the whole team to watch tokusatsu together, and they will also require everyone to learn the transformation moves."

Why is he starting to expose his dark past?!

"Wait a minute, what are you talking about!" After Lin interrupted her, Mei, who was already feeling shy, calmed down a bit and stared at him reproachfully.

"..."

Wait a minute, Mei seemed to suddenly understand the meaning behind what Lin had said.

She stared at Lin and asked, word by word, "You wouldn't be trying to say... 'You're not qualified to know these things'?"

"..."

"..."

His eyes turned cold.

The girl's once clear, light purple eyes gradually turned cold as she stared at Lin, who remained silent, which was tantamount to acquiescence. She began to feel ashamed of the complex emotions she had felt for just a moment earlier.

This guy is inherently cunning; how many times has he tried to harm or prank girls in his memory?

Perhaps from the very beginning, he never intended to tell me the final truth of the Previous Civilization.

"Raiden Mei, have you heard Elysia mention this?"

"What?"

The helmeted man solemnly said, "I will answer all your questions if you put on stockings and put your feet into a hamburger for me to eat."

Silence.

The girl's cold gaze had been completely frozen into utter contempt for men. If looks could hurt, she would have already committed the crime of intentional assault.

"If you can't do it, then I can't tell you for now."

"... Next time, just say 'You're not qualified to know these things' directly."

Mei sighed. She knew that Lin was conveying the message that he couldn't tell her the truth yet. However, this was the first time she had met Lin like this, who was more human and... cruel than the cold, helmeted man.

"So, what happened to the other you outside? Were you corrupted by the Herrscher of Erosion?"

"No." Unexpectedly, the matter that should have been clear was answered in the negative. Lin spread out his right hand, "The Herrscher of Erosion wants to attack the Imaginary Tree. She needs to corrupt me to gain access, but she did not come here."

"I see, "Mei nodded thoughtfully.

Is this why the Herrscher of Erosion wanted to use her to get here? The forest in front of her has the highest authority over the Imaginary Tree. As long as the forest is corrupted, she can do whatever she wants to the entire Imaginary Tree.

What exactly was the story behind the shadowy figure and Lin?

"Those Herrscher projections came from outside the Imaginary Tree. Someone uploaded their consciousness data to the Imaginary Tree, and I, on the surface, was also contaminated by that data."

After all, strictly speaking, Lin is the Herrscher of Binding, and his memory is of the same nature as those shadowy figures.

Mei listened attentively to Lin's words. Although he still hadn't explained the biggest problem, this time he was willing to tell her most of the things and the truth, showing enough sincerity. She would give Lin the utmost respect.

But... after saying that, the helmeted man crossed his arms and remained silent as if he were asleep.

"...Then what?"

"And then what?" Lin countered. "Do you want me to give you a hug?"

"..."

"Bang!"

Lin turned around and delivered a side kick to the face of the white-haired man who appeared behind him!

A crisp sound came from the white-haired man's head, like a bullet being kicked away!

"Clatter".

Lin fell beneath the surface of the sea of blood, waiting wearily for his right arm to recover in the deep sea where visibility was limited.

He didn't know how long the battle would last. It might be decided in the next instant, or it might continue until both sides were completely gone without a clear winner.

Neither of their consciousnesses was complete; both had suffered damage to roughly the same degree. Even though the white-haired man possessed the consciousness of Herrscher, his current level of consciousness was almost identical to Lin's.

However, he had to continue, and Lin had to win. Even if he obtained the white-haired man's Herrscher ability, he couldn't stop the repulsive reaction of the Quantum Sea. He still had to try.

"Whoosh..."

When Lin surfaced, his right arm had fully regenerated. He stared coldly at the white-haired man who was also rising from the sea. The man didn't look well either; the blow had almost blown his head off. Now, his white hair was disheveled, making him look like a demon.

"So, you're going to abandon your past for people who have nothing to do with you and for a tiny possibility?" The white-haired man's Prismatic Eyes dimmed considerably, and his voice faltered. "Even if it might not be able to stop the destruction of this world, you still want to kill me, the only one who knows about your past?"

"Yes."

Lin answered calmly without any hesitation.

"Just as stupid as before..."

The white-haired man scolded him lightly, but he did not rebuke Lin any further. His Prismatic Eyes shone brightly again, as if he had squeezed out the last bit of strength.

What is he anyway?

Is he a Herrscher has been on the opposite side of this person since birth?

In those stories, there must be a "villain" to prove that the protagonist's will is unwavering and that he will eventually be defeated.

"...Come on, Lin."

"..."

But what does it matter?

The white-haired man stared at "him," the "him" who was completely different from himself.

Just like the beginning of the story, he lived as Herrscher and he died as Herrscher.

As the black lightning struck, a human and a Herrscher engaged in their final battle above the sea of blood.

Chapter Eighty-Two: The Big Idiot

From fierce battles to tedious brawls, almost all wars and battles in human history eventually degenerate into the most primitive animalistic biting and tearing. Whether driven by nuclear bombs, cannons, or stones and spears, humanity is ultimately driven only by instinct.

Raising his right leg, he lashed it like a whip across the white-haired man's most vulnerable neck, while two chains pierced Lin's chest from a blind spot.

This attack, which seemed to deliver a fatal blow to the opponent, was actually just a minor injury in the battle between the two. Their mental state had reached its limit, and what followed was nothing more than a contest of who could survive longer.

"You..." The white-haired man who had fallen into the sea with Lin looked at Lin's Prismatic Eyes with mockery, disgust, and... pity. He chuckled weakly, "You think you wield weapons for the weak... but from the very beginning... you placed yourself in the position of the strong... only you can save the world... save humanity..."

"You're just offering charity from a superior position."

"... You are Herrscher." Lin stared into the other person's eyes, and the other person's unusual pupils were proof that he was not human.

The two sank into the endless depths of the sea, unable to muster their consciousness any longer, their spirits reaching their lowest point.

"Yes, I am Herrscher." The white-haired man forced a mocking smile from his expressionless face. "But what... what are you? Do you think that just because you fight for humanity, you will be accepted by them? Don't you want to know... about your past?"

"You have been abandoned by your world, by the people you love..."

Lie.

Lin Cong never believed the white-haired man's words.

But this time, the man did not continue to use various half-truths and half-lies to bewitch Lin.

He didn't utter another word, merely maintaining his insistence on his identity as Herrscher and mocking Lin's human identity.

Just like before, two different consciousnesses born from the same body fell into the deepest part of this sea of blood.

"Hello."

Theresa sometimes spaces out.

She had read in a book that people who are lost in thought are either reminiscing about the past or dreaming about the future.

But she didn't really think that much about it; she just felt that it was nice to clear her mind occasionally.

After all, her past was brief and isolated, and she couldn't imagine her future.

"Hello."

"Huh?"

A sudden, cold gaze snapped Theresa out of her daze, and she realized that "another Theresa," who had been sitting not far away also lost in thought, had moved closer to her.

This was the first time Theresa had ever looked at the "Herrscher of Erosion" so closely. Even though Lin had explained it before, when Theresa was really close to Yue's figure, Theresa still felt like she was looking in a mirror.

The only thing that made her realize the person in front of her was different from herself was the coldness between his brows.

What are you spacing out about?

"Um... what's wrong?" Theresa was a little flustered. The two of them looked exactly alike, but their personalities were completely different. And she didn't think Yue was that similar to her... but the other party showed strong hostility as soon as they met!

"I want to talk to you about something." Yue's indifferent face exuded an aura that kept strangers at bay, but this contradicted her current behavior, giving Theresa a sense of incongruity.

What do you want to say?

How do you view humanity?

"Ah?"

No matter how you look at it, Yue's question sounds philosophical, which made Theresa's brain freeze for two seconds. She originally thought that Yue was going to "discuss" Lin's problem with her again, but she did not expect Yue to ask such a question.

"What are you surprised about?" Yue raised her beautiful eyebrows and looked directly at Theresa without any attempt to hide her gaze. She never felt like she was looking in a mirror, but... she really wanted to know what was going on in the mind of this girl whose fate had intersected with her own. "The human said you've also drunk blood, but he also said you're different from me, so I want to know exactly how you're different."

"No the same?"

Frankly, Theresa doesn't think she has anything to be praised for. She has hurt innocent bystanders, sucked their blood, and learned from Lin that she has killed people in the cycle.

However, Yue saw something in her changing eyes.

"... Do you feel that because you've hurt others, you don't deserve praise?"

"Huh? What else?"

The question was asked in return, and the answer was given in return. Yue took a deep breath. At this moment, she understood why Lin always said that she and Theresa were different.

Theresa cannot stop herself from hurting others, and she does not take this harm for granted, even though she and humans are not the same kind of beings.