Thunder crashed. In the purplish-blue lightning, all who dared to defy the heavenly punishment were reduced to ashes in the roar.
A single person walked with the thunder, a blade cleaving through the monstrous beasts.
Reflected in the cold steel of the blade, the last Honkai Beast was split in two. Before it even hit the ground, it vanished.
"Hoo..."
The tall girl slowly straightened and sheathed her blade. A floating gateway appeared before her, and next to the door, a person who had clearly been waiting for a long time stood ready.
The pink-haired girl smiled and waved to her: "Hi~ Mei, miss me? We've only been apart for a whole half hour, you know."
"Elysia... what are you doing here?" Mei clearly hadn't dropped her guard against the mysterious girl. She frowned at the beautiful girl and questioned her.
"Doing here... hmm... I don't plan to do anything, actually. I just wanted to witness this historic moment," Elysia walked closer, speaking to Mei with her Seele-healing smile. "After all, you're about to go to 'that place,' aren't you? Although every successor goes there, your identity is so special that it's full of drama."
"That place?" Mei paused at the words. "My identity... the Herrscher?"
But wasn't her status as the first Herrscher to enter the Elysian Realm already the most special among the successors?
Elysia nodded, trying to find a suitable explanation: "How should I put it? Mei, do you remember what the first Honkai Zombie you eliminated looked like?"
"How could I possibly remember something like that?" Mei felt baffled.
"Right? I don't remember either. But you definitely remember what the first Emperor-class Honkai Beast and Herrscher you killed looked like."
"..." That sentence brought back some unpleasant memories, making Mei's expression darken.
"Ooh, looks like I accidentally poked at a bad memory, Mei. I'm sorry, alright? Will you forgive me just this once?"
"Do you have anything else to say? If not, I'm leaving."
"Aiya, don't be mad! As compensation, I'll tell you why your identity is special."
Elysia chuckled and reached out to hold Mei, but was quickly shrugged off. Mei stood with her arms crossed, her face calm as she waited for Elysia's next words.
Elysia shrugged, feigning indifference, but a shade of gloom flickered in her eyes. It wasn't for Mei, but for someone else.
"The first HerrscherLin killed was the Third Herrscher, who was also the Herrscher of Thunder."
"..."
This was somewhat unexpected.
It was already strange that a memory entity of an ordinary human—neither a Flame-Chaser nor a Fusion Warrior—appeared in the Elysian Realm. It was even more surprising that he was someone who had killed a Herrscher, and one who happened to be the same Herrscher of Thunder as her.
Did that mean the door led to that helmeted person's domain?
But even so, this still wasn't anything special enough for Elysia to personally witness.
Soon, Elysia reached the key point: "Mei, you said you don't remember what the first Honkai Zombie you eliminated looked like, right?"
She smiled broadly.
"But Lin does."
"..."
"Whether it's a Honkai Zombie or a Herrscher, Lin remembers every single life that once lived vibrantly in this world that he killed."
Elysia tossed out this profound statement and stepped back to the side of the door. She did not make her usual playful gesture of "after you." This time, she was solemn and dignified, standing by the door like...
The master of ceremonies at a grand funeral.
Mei stared at her, took a deep breath, and stepped into the door.
"Drip."
After passing through the gate, a drop of rain fell upon her cheek.
"It always rains here."
"This is where his comrades, his enemies, and everything he held is buried."
"This is his heart."
Desolation.
As far as Mei could see, the world was composed of an endless, dense cemetery that stretched to the horizon.
It was filled with gravestones of all sizes. Each one was inscribed with a name or held a photo. Just as Elysia had said, there were human ones, and there were Honkai Zombie ones.
There was only one exception.
As Mei was stunned by this world made of tombstones, Elysia stopped before a small, inconspicuous gravestone tucked away in the furthest corner, her eyes filled with sorrow.
When Mei saw the gravestone, she looked confused: "That gravestone is..."
At first glance, it was no different from the others. In fact, it was the smallest and shabbiest one Mei had seen, easily missed if one didn't look closely. But when Mei saw the place where a name should have been carved, she froze.
It had no name. It had no photo.
After a moment of sadness, Elysia looked at the grave, remembered something, and gave a serene smile.
"That is Lin's gravestone."
She said as such.
The ground shook, mixed with terrifying roars. A hill pursued an ant. Each impact from the grotesque arms demolished a building, scattering bricks and dust. Yet, the ant managed to perfectly dodge every one of those fatal attacks, skillfully evading while searching for an angle to counter.
The Chariot-class Honkai Beast leaped high. Its scarlet cyclops eye replaced the moon, becoming a bloody, gruesome spectacle. Lin stepped onto a wall, pushed off, and made a slight diversion to avoid the landing, which was no less impactful than a meteor strike. He was blown away by the air current.
Lin only stopped after tumbling a few times on the ground. His sunglasses and mask had been flung off his face, and bright red blood streamed from the scrapes on his cheek. His emotionless black eyes stared at the Honkai Beast as it slowly rose again. His legs felt somewhat numb.
His words were brave, but the fact that Lin was in poor condition was undeniable. The side effects of the leg replacement continued to slow his movements. His injured head affected his thinking and reflexes. His dagger couldn't pierce the Honkai Beast's outer shell, and all he could do was lure it in the opposite direction, away from Seele and Hua.
And the most crucial issue was that Lin didn't know how long he could last in this Honkai energy concentration.
The gear he usually wore wasn't just to increase his combat ability; it also served to prevent and slow Honkai energy corruption. If it weren't for that, given Lin's ridiculously low Honkai adaptability, he would have long since become a "cyber psycho" who needed dozens of inhibitor shots prepared for his shoulder every day.
This time, Lin wasn't wearing any protective gear. If he stayed in this environment for long, he would quickly be corrupted by Honkai energy, so he couldn't afford to stall.
He was a classic example of having completely compromised equipment, time, and physical condition—everything was against him.
Was there a chance to win?
Lin scrutinized the disparity between them relentlessly. A giant beast and a human—how could the human win?
To kill the Honkai Beast, he had to destroy the Honkai core inside its body, which functioned like a heart. He knew the location of the Chariot-class Honkai Beast's core, but his weapon simply couldn't reach it.
As he thought, the Chariot-class Honkai Beast swung its right arm again. Lin easily dodged with a simple side step. He followed through, gripping the dagger with both hands, and fiercely stabbed into the part of the Honkai Beast's skin that was not covered by carapace.
Pale-pink blood splattered, but the Honkai Beast, seemingly feeling no pain, raised its arm again and smashed down where he was.
"Bang!"
Just as Lin moved to dodge, the discordant feeling of his uncoordinated body resurfaced, causing a momentary delay in his action.
It was this short pause, less than half a second, that nearly cost him his life.
With a crisp sound of bone shattering, Lin's left shoulder was grazed by the Honkai Beast. He was sent spinning through the air, and his entire left shoulder was twisted into a grotesque shape.
Crashing into a wall finally stopped him. Lin slumped against the wall, blood oozing from his nose and mouth.
He coldly glanced at his immobilized left hand. He struggled to his feet, staring at the Chariot-class Honkai Beast that roared triumphantly, having hit its target.
Don't stop thinking. The reason humans can defeat animals stronger than themselves is precisely because humans can think.
Once thought is abandoned, humans will also face death.
A smell of gasoline cut through the familiar scent of blood and entered his nostrils.
Lin snapped his head around and saw a gas station not far away. The smell of gasoline came from the uncapped fuel tank of a nearby car.
He glanced at the Honkai Beast, then started running toward the gas station.
Dangerous, but worth a try.