Last Toast to Death

Gheros's crimson figure in the sky grew increasingly bright. It projected its form into this world from beyond it, making it possible for everyone on Waterblue Star to see it regardless of whether it was day or night—an utterly unscientific phenomenon.

Although its image was completely distorted after passing through the projection and being blocked by the world barrier, preventing people from seeing its true form, it still brought immense panic. It was teasing that thing humans called reason.

Those who stared directly at the star of destruction and death had a greatly increased chance of going mad. Coupled with the atmosphere of apocalypse and the spread of memes, three out of every ten people on Waterblue Star were now insane, while five were on the verge of madness. Even the remaining two who were technically normal displayed symptoms such as agitation, depression, and withdrawal.

If this continued, then even if C Plan succeeded and Gheros was driven back, human society on Waterblue Star would need a century, perhaps even several centuries, to slowly restore humanity's mental state.

Led by the nine major memes, countless memes were spreading through human society. Fortunately, the arrival of the apocalypse had limited the large-scale spread of information. Otherwise, given how convenient communication was in modern society, these memes would likely have become uncontrollable long ago.

Even so, the damage memes inflicted upon society was terrifying. Take carriers of Woman's Fragrance, for example. Wherever they went, the scent they emitted made people become obsessed with it, then madly exchange bodily fluids until they were deeply infected by the meme and their own bodily fluids were transformed into Woman's Fragrance.

So long as a meme carrier was not eliminated in time, they could quickly infect a large number of people. As social creatures, humans were