Crack.
The sound of the lock being unlocked echoed as the heavy automatic doors slid open, revealing a pair of pristine, bare feet stepping onto the floor.
This was a dimly lit hall, where flickering lights illuminated shadows of various sizes. Some were as large as mountains, while others were just ordinary humans. Thick layers of lead alloy sealed the terrifying Honkai energy within.
The Herrscher of Death raised her hand, brushing aside the burning bone wings that came toward her, still wearing a smile on her face.
"Don't rush, Garuda. You can't just burn this thing down," she said.
Orange flames flickered, and a creature with a double-horned skull resembling that of a bird or beast appeared in the corner, instantly brightening the entire hall.
It lit up other monsters, the two figures in the corner, and the gentleman on the giant ice-blue beetle's back. If Ryan or Mei saw this, they would feel a chill down their spine.
The reality was even worse than they had estimated. The changes that began with the Wind Lord had already taken shape, and that organized force was constantly expanding, absorbing everything that could be used, like a man-made countermeasure.
These changes even surpassed the "evolution" of the Herrscher themselves, because no matter how they learned, their core and objectives would never shift.
Just like the Herrscher of Death had become more alive, she even smiled as she tossed the documents in her hand.
"I admit you're right. Humans are indeed better at self-destruction, and all we need to do is give them a little push from behind."
The gentleman sat upright on the beetle's back, even using his authority to create a shiny chair, reaching out to receive the documents, reading them while asking:
"How did you respond to humanity's request? Don't underestimate them; when it comes to wisdom, we're no better than them."
"One could say the original Herrscher never really had 'wisdom' to speak of. They were just humanoid Honkai Beast. But now I can even feel 'interest,' and I want to explore what might exist beyond us," said the Herrscher of Death, sitting in a corner and extending a slender hand to gently stroke the soft face of a gray-haired girl.
Her touch was light, as if caressing a treasure.
"Don't worry. I didn't just kill him; I brought him back to life. Humans' greed won't notice any issues. But human curiosity is quite interesting, and I'm preparing to give them a 'treasure' to study."
"What treasure?"
"A piece of flesh and blood containing my authority. They'll definitely come up with something interesting," the Herrscher of Death chuckled, looking like a little girl seeing a doll.
"You're learning fast, even surpassing me," the Herrscher of Ice glanced at the two girls in each other's arms, speaking softly, "No matter how we learn, the essence never changes."
"Of course. We won't fall into the boring thought of 'who am I.' All destinies point to the end."
"In the end, we are completely different creatures from humans."
This answer was a consensus because the Herrscher didn't have a "destiny," and could never be called human. Because of this—
"What's going on with this Psedo-Herrscher?"
The Herrscher of Ice raised his head, showing a human-like expression of confusion. He was indeed puzzled because the intelligence clearly stated: the first Psedo-Herrscher hadn't died and was suspected of joining the human side, heading to a place called "Sundown Alley." All signs pointed to him forming some kind of alliance with Ryan.
This was impossible. Even a Psedo-Herrscher couldn't have the option of 'betrayal' because there were no emotions, hence no betrayal.
"Quite incredible, isn't it? It's even taught me something new," the Herrscher of Death said.
Incredible was, in itself, a form of learning. The two Herrscher stared at each other in silence, unsure of where to begin. It didn't make sense, yet reality was so precise.
Appearances could be mimicked, and authority simulated, but the Herrscher were vastly different from the Fire Moth. They knew a terrifying piece of information without even needing to look at the subsequent analysis reports.
"Is it him?"
"It's possible, but according to their intelligence, he's still on the peninsula."
Intelligence was indeed useful; just being in this valley allowed them to know what was happening outside, preventing the possibility of being caught.
The Herrscher of Death slightly tilted her head, showing a mocking smile. "Don't forget, he's devious and also has the authority of the Wind Lord. Crossing thousands of miles isn't difficult."
"That's true. Those humans don't know how terrifying he is. They're too naive."
"They don't need to know, or else they'll develop strange ideas." The Herrscher of Death shook her head in silence. This secret was too terrifying and would even shake their already fragile beliefs.
Another silence followed. This problem had no definitive answer. Whichever result occurred, it would be troublesome.
If the Psedo-Herrscher could still return to the human side, the entire plan would have to be reset. If it was Ryan, then this person must be plotting something, because according to reports, Sundown Alley still had a powerful figure who was not a fused warrior.
"The conditions for the Seventh Lord's arrival have already been met. Any accidents now would be troublesome," the Herrscher of Ice seemed more composed, leaning toward dealing with each party separately.
No matter what scheme Ryan had, he only needed to use those humans as cover and hide well, waiting for their kin to arrive.
The end was merely a concept. If he could gather five or six Herrscher, bring dozens of high-ranking Honkai Beast, simulated Herrscher, and human traitors, then the day the war started would be the day of the end.
"But if it's the first outcome, our direction would be wrong." The Herrscher of Death shook her head again, glancing at the men and women in the hall. "Simulated Herrscher are ultimately creations of humans. If there's a chance of betrayal, we will lose."
Given the current situation, the Corruption side's power was weaker, but it had the advantages of 'unity' and 'concentration.' Therefore, Adam's appearance was very critical. Even the two true Herrscher couldn't understand the reason behind it.
"Then let's handle it simply. Let those humans spare no effort to figure out the truth. If it really is that Psedo-Herrscher, we'll try to bring him back and figure out what made him stand with the humans."
"What if it really is him?"
The gentleman leaned back slightly, his eyes full of mirth.
"We'll just keep waiting, until the day humanity's potential runs dry, when power shifts from one side to another. You must know—"
"Our limits are far above those of humans!"
...
"Luckily, it hasn't been exposed, and I had Kalpas divert some attention."
Sundown Alley, Ryan lay on his back on the roof, his hands behind his head, gazing at the green moon.
The night was clear, and Sundown Alley had no industry. He could comfortably gaze at the starry sky, but his mind never stopped working.
The black night was like a chessboard, and the stars like chess pieces. Ryan thoughts seemed to go all the way to the outer atmosphere, standing on the moon, gazing down at this blue planet.
Having done so many things, the power of the Fire Moth was certainly stronger than that of the Honkai side. It could be said that if the two sides openly clashed, those two to three Herrscher would be beaten to a pulp. Even Mei felt that the situation was favorable.
But unfortunately, there were two huge flaws.
The first was the humans themselves. No matter how close to the end of the world, they would never truly unite. This could be seen by flipping through the original world lines.
Even if there were only thirteen fused warriors left, even if humanity only had a few thousand people, some would still be desperately holding them back, causing Elysia to secretly organize the Thirteen Heroes.
The second flaw was the ebb and flow of power. In short, fused warriors were just desperately squeezing humanity's potential, and populations and resources were not infinite. It would eventually hit a peak.
Honkai also had its limits, but that limit was too high. Even Mei would exhaust all efforts, only to leave hope to future generations.
"The efforts I've made have only reduced internal friction and raised humanity's potential a bit, but we're still far from the end."
Ryan sighed, turning his head to see Pardofelis sleeping soundly in the room, a thin trail of drool hanging from the corner of her mouth, occasionally mumbling in her sleep.
He unconsciously smiled, then slowly clenched his fists.
Not enough, far from enough. What I need to do is not just add a little to the surface. Without me, tragedies would only increase, and the end would still be resolved in fifty thousand years.
So, these two points must be solved to find the faintest hope. Otherwise, it's better to stay in the underground fortress in New York, joking around with Mei and the others.
The first point he was already working on. Being ruthless wouldn't be a problem. The second point, however, was more troublesome. Crossing the end was not something you could boast about.
"This only variable is me. Only I can approach the end, even if Kevin were raised, it wouldn't work."
Ryan was very clear, and the thing he feared most was if the Herrscher put up a peace treaty. If that happened, there would be no way to increase the limit. After all, this was not simply about killing and leveling up. Every type of authority required vast time to master.
"I have to force the Herrscher out, even if it's just one, and open new paths, drawing strength from all dimensions."
With that thought, he suddenly sat up, immediately taking out his phone, not willing to wait even a second longer.
After a brief busy tone, a cold female voice finally answered:
"They're watching closely. You shouldn't have called."
"You always have a way to bypass the surveillance. I just want to know, how does the headquarters react to a surprise?"
In the lab, Mei waved her hand, handing over her observations to an assistant, then adjusted her glasses and replied in a jumbled manner.
The subject, verb, and object were all scrambled. It sounded like some new language, even Ryan struggled to interpret it.
"Two Punishment Sword teams have already gone to Southern Europe, and a secret intelligence group has also set off. It's expected they'll arrive at Sundown Alley."
"Mm, that's an added bet. What else?"
"Sakura reported back, surveillance has been strengthened, and the 'Black Dog' has surfaced. Do you know how he surfaced?" Mei didn't like to keep things in suspense, answering herself, "He sent assassins, but they've already been dealt with by Sakura. From the captive, we learned the whereabouts of the Black Dog."
Ryan fell silent for a moment, his tone disdainful: "Too deliberate."
"Yes, it seems like a counterattack from a desperate person. But now that it's exposed, it's too obvious. I think they're observing your subsequent reactions."
What reaction? Mei didn't need to explain. Even though there was a lot to worry about, they couldn't fool Mei and Ryan.
"Going to such lengths, even a bit hasty." Ryan waved his hand, and the spreading shadows dragged a small person in front of him, watching their bulging eyes as the sound of their neck being squeezed echoed.
"It seems they really want to figure out where I am."