Shigure Kira stood atop an abandoned building.
She looked down at the zombies and Honkai Beasts roaming the streets below, her brows slightly furrowed.
Had humanity in this world already lost the ability to resist?!
Why had everything gone silent?!
Although she knew humanity definitely couldn't defeat Kiana and the others sent by the Will of Ruler, this defeat had come far too quickly.
"What are you thinking about!"
Kiana stood with one hand on her hip, leaning forward slightly, a mysterious smile on her face. "Are you wondering why humanity lost?"
"Humanity hasn't completely lost yet. They will definitely resist."
Shigure Kira turned around, determination shining in her eyes. "I believe in the power of humanity."
"Mm-hmm!" Kiana nodded with a smile. "When humanity unites as a group, their collective strength is indeed impressive."
"If humans truly unite and rely on collective strength, they can accomplish many things. Unfortunately, without an exceptionally outstanding leader, they are nothing but a scattered heap—more likely to ruin things than achieve them.
"With just a few small tricks, humans will slaughter one another and destroy themselves."
Many high-ranking officials in various countries didn't even know who the enemy was, yet they inexplicably began fighting other nations, plunging their own countries into chaos.
Shigure Kira let out a sigh and asked, "When will all of this end?"
"Not sure. Iselin is working on something called full-domain control. When the time comes, she will forcibly link and control the consciousness of all humanity to complete the objective."
Kiana shrugged.
Control all of humanity?!
Shigure Kira froze.
"You..."
Shigure Kira didn't know what to say. From a human perspective, the Kiana before her clearly had a deeply flawed worldview.
But.
The situation on the side of the Will of Ruler could not be measured by human values and understanding.
For humans, they only had one life. Once they died, everything was over.
But on the side of the Will of Ruler, death could be reversed. And after humans died, they would descend into hell to face judgment.
Since the Will of Ruler began interfering with this world, places resembling heaven and hell had come into existence. Death no longer meant the end for the humans of this world.
"Everything happening now is a trial for humanity. Under the collapse of order, humans will reveal their truest selves."
Kiana spoke calmly.
"So you're using this method to eliminate the humans who don't meet your standards?"
Shigure Kira's tone was icy.
Kiana lifted the corner of her lips into a smile. "Yes. What's wrong with that? If we want a beautiful world, it's important that they aren't part of it."
Greed and generosity, betrayal and perseverance, cowardice and courage—all became especially glaring and especially moving under the most primitive question of all: survival.
"Humans from different worlds may look the same, but in essence, most of them are quite different. The same goes for individuals."
"..."
Shigure Kira took a deep breath, irritation surging in her heart. Those words sounded especially harsh to her ears, yet she found herself unable to refute them.
"Hm?" At that moment, Kiana turned her head in a certain direction. "The Honkai is being absorbed. They're here?"
Hearing this, Shigure Kira also looked up.
In the distance, a Chariot-class Honkai Beast the height of a five- or six-story building collapsed with a thunderous crash, rubble scattering everywhere.
At the spot where the Honkai Beast fell, a girl stood atop its corpse. Her body had mutated, one arm transformed into a claw like that of a Honkai Beast. She was covered from head to toe in blood.
"Kill kill kill, I'll kill kill kill!!!"
The girl muttered continuously, fury and hatred blazing in her eyes.
Her face was twisted with ferocity and violence, like a madwoman.
Around her lay the corpses of Honkai Beasts and zombies.
"An absorption-and-evolution type ability user, turned into a biological weapon by humans?"
Kiana narrowed her eyes, a hint of interest flickering within them.
At this moment, an armed helicopter from the Far East military circled overhead.
Inside the helicopter, a researcher in a white lab coat, accompanied by two soldiers, observed and recorded everything happening in the city.
About an hour later, the researcher pressed a remote control. The girl who had been slaughtering monsters suddenly froze, stopping like a puppet whose power had been cut.
He issued an order through the communicator. "The experimental subject is nearing her limit. Recover her."
"Yes, Doctor."
Elsewhere, a squad of fully armed soldiers received the command and immediately moved out, driving armored vehicles toward the experimental subject.
Along the way, the streets were littered with the corpses of zombies and Honkai Beasts.
On the helicopter, the researcher examined the experimental subject's results this time. Most of the monsters in the city had been cleared out.
By plundering the energy within those monsters and absorbing it to strengthen herself, the experimental subject's power continued to grow.
"As expected, only monsters can deal with monsters."
The researcher muttered to himself. The experimental subject's original ability had not been particularly strong. She had merely been able to adapt to environments more quickly. But after that mysterious energy appeared and she absorbed it—combined with certain stimuli—her ability underwent a qualitative transformation.
The experimental subject could now continuously evolve.
Thus, the military high command had decided to cultivate her as an anti-Honkai weapon, deploying her into cities heavily afflicted by Honkai. She would not only eliminate zombies and Honkai Beasts, but also absorb Honkai energy and evolve further.
As long as everything went smoothly, humanity would surely defeat those witches who had thrown the world into chaos.
Just as the researcher was indulging in this thought, gunshots erupting from the communicator shattered his fantasy.
He frowned and demanded, "What's going on? Did the experimental subject lose control and go berserk?"
"Enemy attack, enemy attack! Ah! My leg—"
Hearing the soldiers' screams through the communicator, the researcher aboard the helicopter decisively restarted the halted killing machine.
In the city, the soldiers were ambushed by an environment that had itself mutated into a monster.
The ground suddenly split open, revealing a mouth filled with sharp teeth that clamped down on a moving armored vehicle.
Even though these soldiers were elite, when even the air around them had become their enemy, the guns in their hands were utterly useless.
Some quick-reacting soldiers leaped out of the vehicles.
However.
What awaited them was not solid ground, but gaping mouths.
Some had their legs—or half their bodies—bitten off. Others were swallowed whole.
Those whose legs were severed screamed wildly, firing at the ground filled with mouths.
Bullets punched holes into the surface, but the mouths on the ground were barely affected, continuing to chew raw flesh.
Stripped of any ability to escape, the soldiers could only wait in despair for death.
The battle ended quickly.
From beginning to end, the enemy's shadow had not even been seen before everyone was already dead.
After dealing with the soldiers, Kiana heard an explosion nearby and rushed over immediately.
At that moment, facing the reactivated experimental subject, Shigure Kira had prepared herself for battle—yet she was still sent flying by a single claw strike.
The opponent's strength exceeded her expectations!
This kind of power!
While being blasted backward, Shigure Kira slapped the ground with one hand, shattering the surface. She flipped backward several times to disperse the force and landed steadily.