"Boom!"
"噙~"
"Hei!"
In the mountainous forests on the outskirts of Berlin, another fierce, inhuman battle broke out.
Thunder and fire—neither yielding to the other.
In the air, Ling Ke, who had relocated here some time ago, watched everything happening below with an indifferent expression.
Previously, in order to experience so-called "interest," he hadn't fully unleashed the power of "omniscience" and hadn't obtained any information on the Fire Moth's movements… nor even on the core operations of the New World Serpent side.
But now, no matter how leisurely he was, he had to understand.
From beginning to end, the Seele of this era—the sixth Herrscher's body in the original historical trajectory—was nothing more than a pawn used in a multi-party game.
Without knowing it, she had become a bargaining chip, used to gain benefits in the hands of others.
The high-level members of Chasing Fire Moth sought to obtain "immortality" from her.
The high-level members of the New World Serpent used her to buy "time."
Her situation could only be described as… pitiful.
Of course, Ling Ke was well aware of what he had done before, but he never intended to hold others to a double standard.
However.
"So, this is your answer."
Ling Ke, standing on air, muttered to himself.
He had previously asked a similar question to the other party when he sent someone to contact Aponia in Twilight Street:
"If you encounter a situation where 'protecting one person inevitably harms others'… and you can't have both…"
"What would you do?"
Now, Kevin Kaslana… and even many around him had given a clear answer.
That is: "They will do whatever it takes to make use of everything, including those innocent people!"
There's no doubt that the only difference between this approach and the scum of the original West Asia branch is—
They don't bother to speak lofty, beautiful words to mask their actions.
Instead, they "knowingly do evil—and continue to do evil."
This—
"Truly is what a 'Hero' would do!"
Ling Ke lamented.
It was clear that, compared to inner hesitation, Raiden Mei—who appeared strong on the surface but actually had no idea what she was doing—had performed no better since arriving in this era… At the very least, everyone in the New World Serpent already had a clear goal.
They wanted this era to survive—not merely serve as a stepping stone to the next, as in the original historical trajectory.
Call it "inheritance."
In reality—
That's why they valued this "second chance."
So—
"Kevin has given his answer."
Ling Ke's eyes fell on the person below who was fighting him. "What about you, Raiden Mei?"
Și.
In his field of vision, accompanied by Raiden Mei fending off Kevin's onslaught, the unconscious Bronia and Seele were being protected one after another by the reloaded quantum-mode Bunny, escaping into the distance.
To be honest, Ling Ke had taken a liking to this robot who protected its master.
But he had no intention of snatching it.
After all, the heavily armed bunny he had caught would only become another great puppet at his disposal.
And that sort of thing, conversely, made him lose interest.
And besides—
"After 'Silver Wolf's Dawn,' I sketched out several more character templates for the game's 'Bronia Zaychik.'"
"Even… even 'armed dolls' are available."
"There's no need to covet this quantum robot."
Ling Ke's thoughts drifted slightly off-topic.
Also, in the process—
"Woo~"
Reloaded Bunny soon escaped the battlefield.
With some luck, a railway track lay not far ahead.
And a freight train was just about to pass nearby.
"Plop!" ×2
Still unconscious, Bronia and Seele were tossed into one of the train cars by Reloaded Bunny.
They had yet to wake.
Reloaded Bunny activated its quantumization mode and vanished.
Secretly guarding the two maidens from this place of good and evil.
At the same time—
Back on the battlefield below.
"Kevin Kaslana, is this what you call a method of 'salvation'?"
Raiden Mei, face grim, deflected the blazing sword coming at her and shouted, "Killing two innocent girls without hesitation?"
Apparently, she had just rushed over… barely managing to save them in time, without realizing that Kevin hadn't actually intended to kill Seele right now… that "sixth Herrscher's body" on the spot.
But if she knew Kevin's true inner thoughts—that he and those behind him were already using each other and would continue to do so in the future… Raiden Mei would presumably still be furious.
At this moment—
"Raiden Mei, if you want to keep deluding yourself and remain naïve for the sake of the past—by all means, go ahead! It can last as long as you want."
Kevin stood tall once more, expression unchanging, and said, "But we won't stop."
"Your time no longer exists, and insisting on a so-called 'win-win' now is even more ridiculous."
"You can't even say who you should consider your 'enemy.'"
These last words, Kevin didn't say aloud.
He was unwilling to continue "reminding" Raiden Mei.
After all, the two sides were no longer on the same front, but on completely opposite poles.
If that's the case—
"You said last time that I couldn't do it."
"Then today, I don't mind letting go completely and giving it my all here."
Kevin's tone was low.
After all, Mei wasn't present today.
On the contrary, she had fallen into her previous awkward situation on the Changkong city side.
So—
"Do you want to stop here? Raiden Mei?"
Kevin raised his sword forward, and the "Celestial Fire's Judgement" in the form of annihilation and calamity… its blade tip pointed directly at the deceptive violet-haired girl before him.
Hearing this—
"You're insane."
Raiden Mei knew that the city of Berlin wasn't far from here.
As one of Europe's major cities, it had a permanent population of over 3.7 million.
If the two fought here—
Just look at the "tunnel" nearby that stretched thousands of meters long.
That degree of topographical alteration would radiate throughout the perimeter.
In the end, at least several hundred kilometers in radius would be reduced to a purgatory of thunder and fire.
By then, not only Berlin would suffer severe damage.
But most of the territory in the current country would be affected.
Thinking of this—
"No matter what you say, I have no reason to fight you to the death."
Raiden Mei had no intention of continuing this entanglement with Kevin and said coldly, "At least not now."
She knew that if she and Kevin… the strongest fusion warrior—fought with all they had, then even if she used that strange power regardless of the consequences…
The outcome—win or lose—was still uncertain.
And she couldn't die here yet.
Kiana… and the others, haven't arrived yet, but they definitely will.
She must even save that bit of time for herself.
Presumably, just in terms of physical strain, the other side… Kevin's condition was more or less the same as hers.
But why could he be so decisive?
Raiden Mei didn't understand.
But now she would neither speak nor ask more.
Because she knew that opposing him would no longer yield any answers.
At that moment, she sheathed her sword and prepared to leave.
Just then—
"You're all so fierce! I'm so scared I don't even know if I should approach!"
A crisp female voice reached the ears of Raiden Mei and Kevin.
That voice—both of them knew very well.
Footsteps approached.
Sure enough, familiar figures appeared.
"Alicia!"
...
Raiden Mei's reaction was unlike Kevin's.
However, unlike the silent latter, just as the former was about to say something—
"So scary."
From another direction came a male voice the three of them would never forget.
The finely sculpted figure of Ling slowly approached under the bright moonlight.
In an instant, Raiden Mei's right hand moved back to the hilt of her traitorous blade.
Not just her.
Except for Kevin, who didn't make any extra moves from start to finish—even Alicia… had pulled out an unusually long bow with a strange design.
Faced with their stance—
"Wow~ So scary, so scary."
Ling said with a smile, even raising his hands in mock surrender.
"Let's not be hasty, friends…"
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly. "I'm not here today to fight and kill."
"Of course."
His gaze chilled. "If you think that's more fun, I don't mind using my half-baked fists and kicks."
"Why don't you take a look around first?"
As soon as those words fell—
"!!!" ×3
At that moment, the expressions of the three others present—including Kevin—showed surprise.
Because at that moment, in the mountainous forest surrounding the few of them, the ground and trees were filled with figures.
Countless.
And most importantly—their appearance.
They were all identical.
All of them—
"This…"
Raiden Mei's eyes widened.
Because what she saw at that moment were one after another—
But those "selves" were clearly far more mature than her current self.
In particular, all of them had a touch of divinity.
Meanwhile—
"This…"
Alicia was also stunned.
Because among those "Raiden Meis," she noticed something strange—something only she could sense.
They—
All carried her aura.
Yes.
Appearing in the perimeter at that moment, all the "Raiden Meis" wore a white skirt-style armored outfit, silver highlights within their violet hair, and a large wheel suspended behind them.
This was a new character template Ling had recently drawn for the game.
A template he hadn't even liked much before crossing worlds.
But today—used here—it was perfect.
Its name was——
"Herrscher of Origin" Raiden Mei.