i's choice didn't co as a surprise to Ling Ke.
"Heh!"
Inside the spatial gate, Ling Ke, seated in the Theater of Dominance, let out a cold laugh.
"People like you always think that dying will solve everything."
"Such so-called sacrifices are just a way to escape reality while satisfying your own conscience... it's disgusting."
Ling Ke's icy words reached i's ears.
Suddenly...
"But, Miss Raiden i."
His gaze sharpened as he asked, word by word, "Who told you that you could change the rules I set?"
"This..."
i's breath hitched.
"If you want to die, then go ahead and die."
Ling Ke continued, his tone devoid of any emotion.
It was complete indifference, and... disdain.
"But since you're prepared to ruin my fun, then... I'll just deal with both sides!"
"If you won't choose, then I'll force you to make a choice."
He looked at the girl before him with a half-smile. "I'm curious, in this situation, who will you prioritize protecting?"
"Kiana, who still has a mountain of unresolved issues and could fall back into the abyss at any mont?"
"Or Raiden Ryoma, whose combat abilities aren't top-tier and only knows so family sword techniques?"
"Oh, right, Kiana is a Herrscher after all. She might be able to protect herself!"
"Even if she can't, she has so many companions around her... You can feel free to 'abandon' her, the one more important than the world!"
At this point...
"No..."
i was completely panicked. "Don't do this..."
Every word from Ling Ke was a dagger to the heart.
Filled with malice.
Unfortunately, the current Ling Ke was decisive.
He continued speaking as if to himself, "Well then, let the ga begin!"
Inside the spatial gate, he took out his pocket watch again. "Miss Raiden i, from now on..."
"You have one week to make your decision. Plenty of ti!"
Just like with Cocolia, Ling Ke gave i several days to think.
This in itself was a form of tornt...
She couldn't possibly make that decision.
So...
"Have fun!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the spatial gate closed.
Only then did i and Raven realize...
All the "Dominance Puppets: Billy" around them had disappeared.
As if everything that had just happened was an illusion.
But, clearly...
"You should know that guy wasn't joking."
Beside her, Raven spoke in a low voice. "I've seen people like him, those blinded by hatred."
"People like that are utterly insane in how they act."
"And him..."
Raven glanced at the corpses around them. "He's undoubtedly the craziest of them all."
(TL/N: Crazy? I Was Crazy Once. They Locked In A Room. A Rubber Room. A Rubber Room With Rats. And Rats Mak-... Nevermind 🗿)
"..."
i didn't respond.
At this mont, the purple katana nad "Key of Castigation" had slipped from her hand.
Clearly, her mind was in such turmoil that she couldn't even hold onto her weapon.
For so reason...
"I hope the next ti we et, you'll be happier."
She recalled the words Ling Ke had said to her back then.
He had been smiling, his tone utterly sincere.
But now, in contrast...
"Have fun!"
Those were the last words he had just spoken.
He rembered.
He rembered everything.
And precisely because he rembered...
He wouldn't let this go.
******
Anti-Entropy Headquarters, Salt Lake Base.
Not long after Ling Ke and his Dominance Puppets left Giza City, they received real-ti intelligence shared by World Serpent.
The sender was "Raven."
i's current state was not good.
The internal conflict in her heart had left her ntally exhausted.
To the point that...
"A choice between two? I choose (beep~) his stinking (beep~)."
Dr. Tesla was once again furious.
But she quickly offered her opinion. "Why choose? Why not protect both?"
"Our current combat strength isn't that bad... Hey! Why are you all looking at like that?"
"..."
At this mont, Bronya, Kiana, Fu Hua, and Welt were all present.
Dr. Tesla had just returned from dealing with a group of North Arican politicians, so... she didn't know...
"Dr. Tesla, please calm down. I have so bad news I haven't told you yet."
Beside her, Dr. Einstein explained helplessly. "In fact, after the other party attacked the Yellowstone Base and captured Cocolia, Kiana and Bronya, who had encountered him at the ti... their Herrscher powers are now unusable."
"I suspect... no, I'm almost certain that the other party... the Herrscher of Dominance of our era, has the ability to steal the powers of other Herrschers."
"What?"
After hearing this news, Dr. Tesla's eyes widened in shock.
The truth was indeed as stated.
Previously, when Ling Ke captured Cocolia at the Yellowstone Base, he deliberately slowed the closing of the spatial gate.
It was during this ti that Bronya, in her desperation, used the authority of the Herrscher of Reason to try and analyze the spatial gate that blocked everything.
At the sa ti, Kiana was also secretly attempting to use the authority of the Herrscher of the Void to transfer Cocolia, who had already been dragged into the Theater of Dominance, back out.
She even... tried to leave a spatial coordinate within the Theater of Dominance to allow direct access to the enemy's base later.
However, they never expected that there was a special power from beyond this world called the "System."
As a result, their efforts were futile, while Ling Ke didn't miss the opportunity to seize the authorities of these "incomplete Herrschers."
Now, both he and all his Puppets of Dominance possessed the ans to wield the authorities of "Understanding and Replication" and "Spatial Control."
Moreover, the side effects, or rather the strain, of using these authorities would be borne by Bronya and Kiana.
"Is this the authority of 'Domination'?"
Dr. Tesla frowned deeply. "Speaking of which, doesn't the 10th Herrscher have too many abilities?"
"Space, transformation... and now the ability to steal authorities."
"It's like he's cheating."
She was extrely frustrated.
After all, the main reason she had to deal with the North Arican governnt officials today was that... a large group of Domination Puppets had been wreaking havoc across the world.
The number of casualties caused by this had already reached hundreds of thousands.
The group, with the help of those incredibly convenient spatial gates, moved around as freely as a dragon.
Anti-Entropy couldn't track them.
Even if they could, what then?
They couldn't enter the Theater of Dominance.
They couldn't kill all the Domination Puppets
The enemy could always co back again and again.
And their numbers... seed to be increasing.
In contrast, humans were flesh and blood with no second chances.
Currently, global public opinion was on the verge of exploding.
Including the North Arican governnt, high-level officials from various countries were gradually losing trust in these so-called anti-Honkai organizations.
A flood of condemnation from both official and civilian sources was relentless.
It was clear that those politicians didn't want to bear the bla.
Nor did they want to die inexplicably.
So, they resorted to shifting the bla.
Coincidentally, during this period, due to the public announcent of Ling Ke's hunting declaration, many who were concerned about their own lives and the safety of their families chose to resign from Anti-Entropy...
Now, Bronya and Kiana's Herrscher authorities had been stolen.
It was a crisis both internally and externally.
Suddenly...
Beep beep beep~
The communication device in the conference room inexplicably rang.
Dr. Einstein frowned slightly.
She seed to have thought of sothing.
Then, after exchanging a glance with Welt, they nodded at each other.
Under the gaze of everyone else, they answered the mysterious call.
The next mont...
"Everyone, long ti no see."
In the center of the conference room, a holographic projection screen ford.
In the image, the figure of a blond man appeared.
Although he had changed his outfit and hairstyle...
"OTTO!!!"
Dr. Tesla, who had already lost count of how many tis she had reached her boiling point, imdiately started cursing.
"You (beep~) son of a (beep~), look at the ss you've made!"
"I really (beep~) %￥＃@!"
The Lobster Doctor was on a rampage.
However, Otto simply waited calmly for her tirade to end, his expression unchanging.
Clearly, compared to Ling Ke, who had long since lost his heart and now only had his obsession, Dr. Tesla, who still held onto her principles, was no match for soone like Otto.
And now, precisely because of Ling Ke's appearance...
"My old friends, now is not the ti for us to continue targeting each other."
Otto waited until Dr. Tesla had exhausted herself before speaking slowly. "I believe the priority at hand is to deal with the chaos caused by the newborn 10th Herrscher."
"He is very different from all the Herrschers we've encountered before."
"So..."
He smiled slightly. "Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, World Serpent..."
"It's ti for us to engage in a truly aningful collaboration."
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