Starting with the Herrschers, I Cut Down All

[In the operating room, she skillfully started the heart-lung machine... She had only learned it today, but at least she really was skilled at starting it.]

[Do you need anesthesia?]

[An Yu quietly shook his head.]

[But he still secretly turned Sensory Sharing down to the minimum. Turning it up during fights could make his blood boil, but there was no need for that during surgery.]

[Mei's gaze held a little more admiration. What a ruthless man.]

[He really was fucking ruthless. Without any anesthesia at all, Mei painstakingly opened his chest cavity, exposing his heart. Faint scars were still visible, along with currents of electricity flowing through it.]

[The heart-lung machine temporarily replaced the heart's function. After confirming that the extracorporeal circulation was normal, Mei let out a long breath under An Yu's hesitant gaze.]

[You can do it, Mei. Believe in yourself.]

[Cough, cough. Carefully remove the heart. Her nearly photographic memory allowed her to constantly recall the major blood vessels that had to be preserved.]

[She then replaced it with a normal heart and slowly sutured the major blood vessels together.]

[The entire process took around four hours. For Mei's current body, it was truly no small test.]

[But geniuses always received certain privileges, just as the fate of villains would never come to an easy end.]

[As she turned to retrieve an instrument and stimulate the replaced heart, the heart-lung machine stopped working, and electricity surged through An Yu's body.]

"Feels pretty good."

An Yu looked at the interface, which was no longer glowing red, and briefly checked his stats. None of his attributes had dropped by much, and even his growth potential had increased considerably.

Mei sat nearby, breathing in short gasps.

No wonder An Yu was a Herrscher. Judging purely by his endurance, he had not even frowned when his chest had been opened and his cardiac vessels cut apart.

Monster.

[Why do you want to destroy the world?]

"Because it's fun."

An Yu lay on the bed, quietly watching all his attributes rapidly recover. This was probably one of the traits of being a Herrscher.

Otherwise, an ordinary person would need to lie in bed for at least a few days before being able to move normally.

Mei took a deep breath. [What's the real reason?]

An Yu answered casually. "It really is fun, and it feels great."

The game world had no restrictions whatsoever, and he was even a divine envoy meant to destroy the world. Mowing down enemies was just awesome.

The bosses were well designed too, the battles were decent, and most importantly, Sensory Sharing could be turned up to 100%.

An Yu had almost never enjoyed such pure combat pleasure in reality.

[Then what's the fake reason?]

"The fake reason?" An Yu chuckled twice.

"If I had to give one, then it's a trial."

"Honkai is an examination aimed at civilization, and Herrschers are examiners one after another. How does that sound?"

He pushed himself upright. The surgery had ended only minutes ago, yet he seemed unable to feel any pain.

"Humanity has already gone down the wrong path. Earth's resources cannot support them continuing to fight among themselves, so you must unite as one, let go of your grudges, advance the tech tree beyond Earth, and then... seek that sliver of hope."

Of course, he was just making it up.

After all, it was the fake reason.

[Then can I understand it as, once our civilization reaches a certain height, this trial will naturally come to an end?]

An Yu pondered for a moment. "Just take it that way."

After all, Honkai no longer had much grandeur to it. The big boss had been too young back then and insisted on giving the ending a clear setting, making Honkai nothing more than Earth's god in the end.

He got out of bed. The operating room had no windows.

Mei followed behind him.

Herrschers were villains. There was no doubt about that. But at least for now, he was completely capable of communication.

An Yu stood at the end of the corridor and pointed toward the distant starry sky.

"Remember this: every star in the sky is an enemy."

Mei: ...

The universe's Dark Forest Law? She had seen it before when reading novels.

[If it's for humanity's evolution, then why are you so cruel?]

"Because it's fun."

Did that even need asking?

And hadn't he just said that was the fake reason? She didn't actually believe it, did she?

In reality, this place was just a mowing-down game. Maybe after he cleared every stage, there would even be a second sequel.

[What's the fake reason?]

Mei paused for a long time before typing that line.

The fake reason? An Yu thought for a moment. "Of course it's because you failed this stage. If you do something wrong, you have to be punished."

"And there are still people in this world doing wrong, so naturally, the punishment will not end."

How could despair possibly not exist in this world?

Things like an Elysian Realm existed only in fairy tales and fantasies... Mei suddenly stopped breathing. She remembered! That Prophecy!

So the Elysian Realm really did exist?

But such a false utopia completely defied the logic of reality!

[What exactly is the source of Honkai?]

This was a question An Yu could really spin a story around.

"The Cocoon of Finality. You can understand it as an unconscious source of divinity. Everything that currently exists originated from that source."

Though An Yu preferred the original version, when it was still the examiner of civilization and the setting had not been fully established.

Mei's thoughts stalled. Wasn't this getting a little strange?

How had they suddenly shifted to gods?

"You can seek individual power, inherit divine authority, or use this transformation to make everyone as mighty as dragons, truly allowing your civilization to reach beyond the Solar System."

[Then what about what you are doing now?]

An Yu suddenly grabbed Mei and pointed out the window.

"Individual power—conquer the sea of stars!"

Just kidding. He simply thought this forbidden game was fun, and it felt great.

"Goodbye, miss. The next time we meet, I won't hold back."

Mobius's People? Then It's Normal

[Mei pressed the alarm button, but the alarm that should have sounded gave no response.]

[As expected, had they still discovered it?]

[Fortunately, she was not alone. As someone Mobius had selected to stand at the forefront all those years ago, she could not possibly be alone.]

[The alarm's buzzing suddenly rang out. As the senior to them all, Mobius had always possessed keen observation, at least enough not to be too late.]

[In the darkness, a massive snake shadow flashed past. Only the Herrscher's cheerful voice echoed through the air.]

[Thanks for this. The heart of a human hero is really useful.]

[The foundation gradually collapsed, and this shelter, built only days ago, completely caved in.]

[On the international stage, a problem far more dangerous and lethal than Elysia had emerged.]

[Someone was colluding with a Herrscher.]

[The same old saying: the world would not stop turning because of one person.]

[Mei was brought before a military court. This would not affect the construction of the defensive line.]

[Because the defensive line's original starting point was Nagazora City, this defensive line was called... the Nagazora Wall.]

The towering wall divided the Far East in two. As usual, An Yu set the game to automatically save and exit after three hours, then prepared to get some proper sleep.

He had found a more interesting way to play. He turned Sensory Sharing extremely high, though his vision occasionally lagged when it was set that high...

An Yu could understand that. After all, the current market did not support settings that high. It was probably somewhat incompatible with the virtual system.

Though he really wanted to mow down some enemies, tomorrow was a day off, and days off still came with work... Sigh.

[Of course, someone's dream had not ended yet.]

[At that moment, Elysia felt like the sky was falling. The front line was strained, while the rear line was busy eating, was that it?]

[Execute Mei? Then who would understand Imaginary Numbers? Who would analyze the essence of Honkai? Rely on Mobius?]

[Professor Mobius was no longer young. She had even been unable to withstand Elysia's repeated pleas, temporarily postponing her own goals to actively research Fusion Warriors, Stigmata Warriors, and the Stigmata Project she had long dreamed of.]

[She truly had no time left.]

[The others?]

[Elysia truly hoped everyone would unite and become as mighty as dragons.]

[But Imaginary Numbers were like mathematics. Other people might spend their entire lives working, only to shorten a genius's verification time by one afternoon.]

[Dr. Einstein, Mobius, Vill-V, Mei—Elysia's past dreams told her that, in a sense, the four of them possessed the greatest learning of this era.]

Mei's expression remained calm in the military court.

She looked toward Mobius in the distance. The senior had her head lowered and did not seem worried. Dr. Einstein sat on the other side, supporting her cheek with one clenched fist, her head bobbing slightly.

Elysia had not come. She could not come.

"...Are you sure she's still normal?"

Einstein nudged Mobius beside her.

At the Mu Continent symposium back then, it had been Mobius who communicated with Mei. Unfortunately, the world was unpredictable, and no one had expected today to come.

"I believe in Mei."

"So you can only trust her emotionally?"

Einstein nodded and closed her eyes again to rest.

The debate over the verdict continued below. This was not a question of guilt or innocence, but of the severity of the sentence.

"Everyone!"

Mei's voice was calm as she interrupted her own defense attorney. Speaking of which, Einstein was quite impressive. The lawyer she had found could actually debate to this point despite being at such a huge disadvantage.

"Nagazora City is my hometown. With what has happened now, I believe no one here is more heartbroken than I am."

Someone immediately refuted her. "Miss Mei, but you helped the Herrscher. That is irrefutable evidence. You aided evil and trampled everything in your hometown."

The other party's words were relatively restrained. Mei had thought they would speak much more harshly... Perhaps because they saw what she looked like, they unconsciously softened their tone somewhat.

"I am using my hometown's blood in exchange for humanity's chance to end Honkai."

"Reason, Void—could either of the first two Herrschers communicate normally?"

"Or are you going to gamble that Honkai will never give birth to another Herrscher?"

That was impossible. This was already the Third Honkai, and each one had been more serious than the last.

No one knew when these days would end. There was no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days. Too many people were researching how to drive out Honkai.

"The disaster has already happened. No one wanted to see it, but rather than burying your heads in the sand and putting on a show of regret afterward, only to look away and change the subject whenever asked about Honkai's essence..."

Mei looked around, raising her chin. "Since no one is willing to be the villain, then I will be."

[She should be convicted, but the surveillance footage from that night had no audio.]