It was deep into the night.
For ordinary people who did not work night shifts this was the time to sleep and rest.
But inside the Schicksal Organization's West Asia Branch base quite a few areas still had lights on.
Deep in the underground prison floor, a silver-haired girl stepped out of the cell that had once held Ling Ke.
She wore black-green combat clothes, headphones resting around her neck, short hair framing an expression that was far too calm for someone who had just broken free. No fear. No hesitation. Only the faint electric hum that followed her like a second shadow.
At this moment she was the only one moving in the real world.
The real Ling Ke remained hidden deep inside the Theater of Dominance, watching through her eyes.
"Buzz~"
A soft wave of energy rippled outward as the spatial gate closed behind her.
She was alone now.
Yet not alone.
Every step she took carried the cold certainty of someone who already knew exactly how this night would end.
Right at that moment the thick blast door hissed open.
A squad of heavily armed special forces stormed through, rifles snapping up in perfect unison, every barrel locked on the motionless silver-haired girl.
More than a dozen red laser dots settled on her forehead and heart.
"Don't move. Hands up."
The squad leader strode forward without missing a beat, mask muffling his voice as he immediately keyed his comms.
"Report, sir. Intruder located. Immediate suppression—"
"Shing!"
The sharp sound of a blade sliding out of its sheath cut him off mid-sentence.
Every head snapped toward the kneeling silver-haired girl.
Even with more than ten guns pointed at her she showed not a single trace of fear.
Instead she calmly raised her right hand, gripped the hilt at her waist, and slowly drew the straight black blade.
"Final warning. Do not move."
"Or we will open fire immediately."
The squad leader barked again, but it was already too late.
The short-haired girl had already brought the black blade up in a reverse grip, holding it steady in front of her. Her knees bent slightly, clearly preparing to move.
"Open fire!"
The corridor exploded with deafening thunder.
The sudden roar of automatic gunfire slammed against the concrete walls like trapped lightning, the sound so brutally loud it hit like a physical blow to the chest and made ears ring with painful pressure. Muzzle flashes strobed the narrow hallway in blinding white bursts, turning the darkness into a flickering nightmare as dozens of rounds tore through the air at once.
The short-haired girl exploded forward in a single fluid dash.
The black blade flashed in a whirlwind of silver arcs as she charged straight into the storm of bullets. Every round that reached her was sliced cleanly in half mid-flight, steel parting with bright sparks that trailed behind her like dying fireflies. She never slowed. The blade moved so fast it left afterimages, carving an invisible path through the hail of lead as she closed the distance in the blink of an eye.
"She's a Valkyrie!"
"Fall back! Fall back!"
"Notify the Silver Lotus squad now!"
Seeing the girl closing in, the special forces started retreating while still firing, trying to buy time with suppressive fire.
But nothing could stop her advance.
In the end they were all closed in on.
Then…
"Swish swish swish~"
"Thud!"
The sharp black blade cut through their armor and bodies like tofu, slicing them clean in half at the waist.
It was an undeniably cruel way to kill.
People who had been cut in half did not die immediately.
In Ling Ke's original world there had even been cases where victims were saved.
But for these special forces now collapsing and screaming in agony any hope of rescue was pure fantasy.
"You… what the hell are you?"
The squad leader, still conscious, forced the words out through gritted teeth.
He was clearly a dedicated man.
Too bad…
"Me?"
The short-haired girl mirrored Ling Ke's expression, tilting her head as she looked at him. She spoke each word slowly and clearly.
"Just a demon that hell itself refused to take."
"Oh and one more thing!"
She suddenly smiled again and added
"By the way… the current me is your own masterpiece."
With those words the short-haired girl let the tip of her black blade drag lightly along the ground. As she stepped forward it left a trail of tiny sparks and a teeth-grinding screech.
She murmured softly…
"So now… I've come to repay the favor."
Dead of night.
For anyone not working a night shift, this was the hour for sleep.
But inside Schicksal's West Asia Branch base, lights still burned in more than a few areas.
Down on the underground prison level, one 「Domination Puppet · Anby」 had already replaced the one hiding behind the scenes — that is, Ling Ke's main body, buried deep inside the Theater of Domination — and was now acting alone in the Real World.
"Buzz~"
A ripple of energy spread outward as she activated the Herrscher of Dominance's retained 「Space Gate」 Authority and passed straight through the electronically locked iron bars on one side of the cell.
Ling Ke's existence as a lifeform — this transmigrator from outside the world — had already changed completely, along with his Herrscher awakening and the successful activation and binding of the Player One System.
The current him: 「a thousand」 was 「one」. 「One」 was 「a thousand」.
All consciousnesses synchronized in real time. A true swarm-type lifeform.
His only weakness — his main body — had no intention of leaving the impregnable Theater of Domination ever again.
And as long as he was alive, no matter how many times the remaining 999 Domination Puppets were destroyed, they could all revive inside the Theater of Domination — his 「Respawn Room」 — and come back for more.
In exactly that state...
"This cage that was once a chasm I could never cross — I can walk out of it just like that."
Ling Ke, like a player on the other side of the screen, remotely piloted the 「Domination Puppet · Anby」 and glanced back one last time at the gloomy cell. "Power really is everything in this world... hm?"
He paused, tilting his head toward a corner diagonally above.
A surveillance camera.
Its lens swiveled toward the Domination Puppet's position——
"Beep beep beep!"
"Heh. Careless of me."
Ling Ke's eyes narrowed. "Found already."
If someone had been watching the 「Domination Puppet · Anby」 at that moment — reading the expression synchronized from his main body in real time——
They would have seen a smile that was ice-cold and absolutely unhinged.
Extremely dangerous.
So...
Was this really carelessness?
Obviously not.
The current Ling Ke — call him inflated, call him brainless.
He only wanted to let loose.
Vent every last drop of the negative emotions that had piled up, day and night, over nearly four years.
So after confirming that his main body could guarantee absolute safety inside the Theater of Domination, he hadn't even considered sneaking out.
Stealth kills? Quietly picking off the researchers one by one?
No, no, no.
He wanted to smash out of his cell in broad view and carve a path straight through the entire West Asia Branch.
Then keep slaughtering without stopping.
Kill! Kill! Kill!
Until he got bored.
And with that decision made——
"Tap~ Tap~ Tap~"
Ling Ke synced his consciousness remotely, steering the 「Domination Puppet · Anby」 down the route he remembered from being hauled to the laboratory, step by step.
At a certain point, he arrived before a massive reinforced blast door.
Then, quietly, waited.
He didn't wait long...
"Shhh~"
The blast door opened from the outside — by that pack of self-righteous idiots.
"If you people were a little smarter, getting out would've cost me a lot more effort."
Ling Ke sneered inwardly.
Right at that moment——
"Clank clank clank!"
The gate opened. A squad of fully armed special-ops poured through, every muzzle trained on the 「Domination Puppet · Anby」 standing in place.
More than ten laser dots settled on her forehead and chest.
"Don't move. Hands up."
The one in front... the squad leader, presumably.
Like the rest of his team, he wore tactical gear that covered his face.
He really was a little too sure of himself.
So much so that before Ling Ke's side had even moved, he was already reporting in: "Commander, intruder located."
"Immediately suppress—"
"Shing!"
The sound of a blade scraping against its sheath cut his report short.
Every pair of eyes snapped to the 「Domination Puppet · Anby」.
What they saw was this: even with more than ten guns aimed at her, she didn't show the faintest trace of panic.
Instead, she casually reached her right hand back and reverse-gripped the hilt at her waist.
Drew it out slowly...
"Final warning. Don't move."
"Otherwise we shoot to kill."
The squad leader barked.
Completely useless.
The short-haired girl in their sights had already drawn a straight black blade, holding it reversed in front of her.
Her legs bent. She was about to move——
"Open fire!"
"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!"
The squad leader made the call without hesitation.
His subordinates obeyed instantly.
For a moment, muzzle flashes strobed through the surrounding darkness.
However——
"Ding ding ding ding ding~"
A scene that shouldn't have been possible.
The short-haired girl — legs already coiled, ready to spring — charged straight into the hail of bullets, head-on, directly at the defensive line formed by more than ten special-ops.
She didn't fear the incoming fire at all.
Because every round that got close was sliced out of the air by the black blade in her hand.
She was slicing bullets.
Like the original-version Deadpool — back when his looks were still intact — she danced the black blade until afterimages blurred the air. Not a drop could get through.
Sparks erupted around her body in cascades as steel met steel again and again.
Against pressure that, for her, was no different from a light breeze...
"She — she's a Valkyrie!"
"Fall back! Fall back!"
"Get Silver Lotus Squad on the line, NOW!"
...
Watching the short-haired girl close the distance without slowing, the special-ops retreated in a hurry, firing as they went — trying to use suppressive fire to buy time.
It didn't matter. Slicing bullets did nothing to her sprint speed.
That was precisely the effect built into the 「Anby」 Game Character Template during a dash.
In Zenless Zone Zero, several other characters could do the same thing.
Some could even slice missiles.
And right now——
!!!
The combined firepower of more than ten special-ops could not suppress the charge of this mysterious short-haired girl.
In the end, she closed in on every last one of them.
Then——
"Shua~ Shua~ Shua~"
"Thud!"
The sharp black blade sliced through their body armor and the flesh underneath, waist-level, one after another. Like cutting tofu.
The method was unspeakably cruel.
Because people cut in half at the waist don't die immediately.
There had even been cases back in his homeland of someone surviving the injury.
But for the special-ops now collapsed on the ground, screaming — that was a luxury they'd never see.
"You... what the hell are you?"
The squad leader, not yet unconscious, forced the words out.
You could tell he was a dutiful man.
Unfortunately...
"I ah..."
The short-haired girl synced Ling Ke's expression, tilted her head to look down at him, and spoke one word at a time: "Just a demon that even hell won't take back."
"Oh — right."
She smiled again, suddenly, and added: "By the way..."
"The current me? That's your masterpiece."
After that, the short-haired girl dragged the tip of the black blade lazily across the ground. As she walked, it threw tiny sparks and made a sound that set the teeth on edge.
She murmured softly...
"So I've come to 「repay the favor」."