Starting with the Herrschers, I Cut Down All

Elysia groaned inwardly, but after the reminder, she did indeed find the Herrscher.

Outside the city—more precisely, beside Kevin's corpse.

[Please select an attribute]

Attack 0→1

Elemental Overflow 0→1

Ascension 0→1

An Yu slowly typed out a question mark. Was this because of the boss? Or because of his own luck?

He'd always thought this lousy game had pitifully few evolution branches.

"Let's go in order. Elemental Overflow."

[Please select an attribute]

Elemental Overflow 1→2

Health 0→1

Attack 0→1

An Yu curled his lip. He knew this lousy game's randomness was terrible.

[Elemental Overflow 2]

Active: Efficiency of residual energy utilization increased by 40%

Passive: Initial magnitude increased by 500*2hw

"That's more like it. I knew it—who are you trying to fool with such tiny numbers in a mowing game?!"

There was no level-up, and the Boss had indeed dropped only two attribute cards. An Yu turned to look at the distant defensive line, and his figure vanished once more.

Inside the defensive line.

"We won?"

Vill-V fiddled with the broadcast equipment. Beside her lay the unconscious supreme commander she had knocked out.

"Don't raise a death flag!"

The indispensable communications officer's voice trembled. He felt as if the rest of his life was over. His boss had been elbowed unconscious, and he was forced to come aboard and submit to a lawless person like Vill-V.

Murphy's Law was on full display at that moment.

The sky suddenly darkened. Viewing it through the broadcast feed, Vill-V looked toward the high heavens.

A meteorite? Don't make her laugh. It would've been shattered in midair. Did they really think Sister Vill-V had spent all that money just on appearances?

Apparently not. The ripples in the sky continued expanding. Outside, Elysia felt the damp air and the hard, solid raindrops striking her face. There was a salty ocean scent to them, and her face instantly went pale.

"Vill-V! Where's the Herrscher?!"

Forget it, there wasn't time!

The Flawless Flower Cluster shot toward the ripples like a meteor flying in reverse, shattering the still-charging passage ahead of time. Yet the effect was minimal. After tilting for a moment, the 'solid' seawater stopped again and returned to stillness.

This technology was originally meant for the Infinite Corridor, but bro had plenty of mana! Even if she drained it all, she could just rest for a while!

Vill-V stood frozen for a long while. Damn it, was that cheating?!

"Elysia, in three seconds, shoot at the sky above the westernmost tower!!!" Vill-V screamed with all her strength.

You had such absurd stats, but you wouldn't fight us head-on?

Have some shame!!!

Three! Two! One!

The precise arrow disrupted the stability of the spatial ripples. The ever-expanding Imaginary passage finally came to a halt, and everyone's vision darkened.

That wasn't the color of night. It was the color of the deep sea.

The curtain of rain filling the sky... no, the seawater poured down like solid matter beneath the immense pressure of the deep sea. Several deep-sea fish could vaguely be seen within it—fish not recorded anywhere. There were only a few of them, likely because they were 'shallow-water fish' swept along with the seawater.

Vill-V was completely dumbfounded. What?

You wanted her to withstand the Atlantic Ocean after only a few months?

That was equivalent to fifty times the load-bearing limit of the Divine Land's most important hydraulic dam!

Clinging to an impossible hope, she trembled as she looked skyward. "Elysia, can you do it..."

But the only superhuman capable of reacting at that speed could only maintain the Flawless Dome for a few seconds. Before an absolute mechanic, raw stats collapsed in an instant.

There was no need for continuous impacts. The stacked pressure of the deep sea could destroy everything in an instant, until the ground sank and compacted completely into a solid mass capable of bearing that pressure.

In the end, outside the defensive line.

Vill-V looked at Elysia, drenched in blood. Her lips moved, but no words came out. It felt as though her throat was blocked, and tears fell uncontrollably.

Why were you crying?! Pull yourself together! Your friend was dying to save you, so move! Move already! Don't let that damned inferiority and cowardice rear their heads at a time like this!

"Go... find the Professor." Elysia's voice was as thin as a thread.

"Vill-V, you can't die. Go find the Professor..."

The downpour stopped, but not because the Herrscher had shown mercy. With the physical knowledge displayed by the Herrscher of the Void, she clearly understood what a joke a so-called defensive line was when every square centimeter had to withstand an impact of several tons.

This was the power of the planet itself—or perhaps the charm of physics.

She was still flesh and blood. Competing with a Herrscher through mechanics was simply too difficult. Perhaps the miracle the Professor had initially envisioned was the true path forward.

"Don't... cry."

Elysia forced out a smile. Her bloodied fingers rose and carefully wiped away Vill-V's tears. Yet no matter how careful she was, her tiny blood-smeared hand still left blood on Vill-V's face.

"You're... the greatest inventor..."

Neither said they would leave together. They both knew that was a luxury. Elysia's hazy consciousness caught the scent of the coastline once more, but the Herrscher seemed to have gotten confused in the deep sea. After reaching land, she searched for the right direction and paused for a moment.

"Vill-V!"

She raised her voice, pleading.

One minute later...

An Yu arrived before the boss.

"Long time no see. I'm here to fulfill our agreement, boss."

P.S. For the nitpickers: the Third Herrscher died to a nuclear bomb. It was shown in the manga.

Unless a Herrscher reached the level of Finality, they were all fragile. No matter how strong Binding's mechanics were, once they broke, Kevin could still split it apart with one Heavenly Fire.

The Herrscher of Death theoretically had the power of creation. The Fourth Herrscher of Death was killed at close range by non-Fusion Warrior Kevin after a brief burst.

Not to mention Honkai: Star Rail. Everyone had seen how Dan Heng, who could repel a planet-devouring beast with one shot, performed on Jarilo-VI.

Elysia: See You in the Next Cycle

"An Yu..."

Hearing the boss's weak voice, An Yu froze for a moment. Only after a while did he remember that he'd entered the game using his real name.

"Destroying the world so wantonly... don't you have any companions?"

Elysia staggered to her feet. She didn't rush forward to fight for her life, because she still had to stall for time. Every extra second counted.

An Yu pondered for a moment, barely making out what the boss was saying. He lowered his head. "Funny."

When the boss's bloodied hand hovered in midair, An Yu had already taken two steps back, denying her the chance to get close.

"For the sake of survival, can you even say something like companions?"

Out of respect—or perhaps for the strange sense of ritual gamers had—An Yu drew his spear, preparing to give the boss the final blow.

The boss's crystal-like eyes made him pause again. Come to think of it, those eyes were really beautiful. When he got back, he definitely had to discuss making a character with those kinds of eyes with the boss.

"Goodbye."

The spear pierced her heart without the slightest ripple. An Yu was about to move on when the boss grabbed his arm. Her grip wasn't strong; it was even somewhat weak.

An Yu didn't mind the bloodied palm. After all... players always ought to give a big boss some special treatment.

"We..."

For once, that pixelated face held a trace of emotion. The resentful gaze seemed to defy the girl's underlying code...

Who knew? In any case, An Yu liked characters with distinct personalities. Bosses of this new era were easy to exploit.

"See you in the next cycle." The girl stared fixedly at his face, as though she wanted to engrave it deep into her memories.

An Yu gave a mute laugh. He didn't know whether the boss was supposed to say that according to her settings, or whether she still retained data from the previous stage.

"I'm looking forward to it."

Standing upon that barren land, he pushed the spear in once more. Honkai energy swirled around the girl in full force, yet it couldn't change reality.

[The New Maginot Line has completely collapsed.]

[Vill-V should have been treated as a deserter, but... no one cared anymore.]

[They had thought this would be the darkest era, but a new turning point arrived.]

[Every major continent revealed their true military reserves. Though it was barely enough, it was still a shot in the arm for most people.]

[Elysia died. The smiling girl could no longer show even the slightest beauty. Under the crushing pressure of the deep sea, flesh and blood ultimately couldn't hold on. In a universe where output far exceeded the body itself, being killed by cheap tactics was far too easy without some kind of mechanic.]

[And the newborn Herrscher seemed to have no intention of abusing the bloodied corpse.]

[Elysia's remains became the final piece of the Stigmata Project.]

[Alaya underwent a major evolution. As the anchor connecting Stigmata space and reality, the Stigmata Terminal—that was, Alaya—truly gained possibility and the power of equivalent exchange after Origin joined it.]

[With no restraints and no restrictions, Vill-V, as Alaya's chief designer, ignored everyone's opinions.]

[The only fortunate thing was that the Herrscher truly lacked any large-scale destructive capability, so humanity still had time to struggle.]

"But the Stigmata Project isn't without selfish motives."

Mei sneered.

As a girl forced into being single, she had her own resentment and obsessions. Naturally, she had gathered at this research institute as well.

Mobius didn't answer. She merely sat quietly to one side, staring at the blankly gazing Alaya in the distance, as if trying to find traces of an old acquaintance in her.

"Why can't there be selfish motives?"

Vill-V, dark circles beneath her eyes, said, "I want to watch Honkai die with my own eyes."

Mei continued sneering. Based on what? Based on you?

The great inventor whose Maginot Line had gotten Elysia—the greatest possibility humanity currently had—killed?

Of course, she only sneered, because she couldn't beat Vill-V.

"Enough. Stop arguing."

Mobius slowly stood, rubbed Alaya's head, and Alaya responded vaguely.

"The selfish motive was my decision."

Mei froze. As a senior she'd met at the Mu Continent symposium years ago, Mobius still commanded some of her respect.

"The body will perish, and the soul naturally will as well. But while the body takes tens of thousands of years to perish, the soul takes even longer."

"We can hardly reverse this process. We can only record and gather the dust left behind by dying souls, but we cannot return it to their bodies."

"Because of Elysia's possibility, these exiles of the soul will once again bring forth miracles."

Without Elysia, this process would have been delayed again and again. Finding that point of connection was simply too difficult.

"Through the Stigmata Project, the power of souls will once again answer expectations. I only hoped that everyone could reunite once in the future... that was all."

That was her selfish motive. She wanted to witness that era with her own eyes.

And perhaps let her friends, as well as those who might continue to shine in the next cycle, take part in building an age of paradise.

"Even an evil doctor can have such innocent thoughts?"

Mei continued to retort and pick at her words. Did she know how many exiles' responses would be wasted, under the principle of equivalent exchange, for that single word—reunion?

Mobius quietly looked at Mei. Mei stubbornly lifted her chin and met her gaze without the slightest fear.