Chapter 016 : One Person, a Thousand Roles

Mei returned to her room.

The living arrangements World Serpent had provided for her at the headquarters weren't bad.

But the room's decor was rather plain.

Recently, Mei hadn't had the time or energy to spruce it up.

So, aside from a bed, the only notable piece of furniture was a high-tech computer desk.

On normal days, she would sit here, researching and expanding her knowledge.

The Herrscher of Thunder's abilities indeed required a deep understanding of physics to unleash their full potential.

Today, Mei habitually sat down at the computer desk.

Only then did she realize she was still holding the electronic tablet "Jackal" had handed her.

Looking at the crack on its screen...

"Sigh..."

Mei pinched the bridge of her nose, exhaling deeply in exhaustion.

She set the tablet aside and turned on her computer.

A high-end holographic projection screen appeared before her.

Normally, she would open up materials related to "electromagnetic forces."

But today, almost as if guided by some unseen force, she searched the pre-civilization archives within the base for information on the "Herrscher of Dominance."

And then...

"This..."

Mei was stunned.

On the screen, the displayed information clearly stated:

[The Herrscher of Dominance, also known as: The Herrscher of a Thousand.]

[The Herrscher responsible for the most human casualties in pre-civilization history.]

The most casualties?

Mei continued reading.

[In the pre-civilization era, after the 9th Honkai Eruption, the Mu Continent sank due to the "pseudo-black hole" created by the 9th Herrscher, reducing the global population by one-sixth.]

[At the time, although internal conflicts persisted within Fire Moth, the organization's resolve to fight the Honkai reached its peak following this catastrophic event.]

[However, even so, between the full-scale outbreak of the 10th Honkai Eruption and the 11th Honkai Eruption...]

[Over 85% of the world's cities were completely destroyed.]

From a one-sixth reduction to over 85%?

The numbers were horrifying.

This meant that over 50,000 years ago, more than half of the global population had died during the 10th Honkai Eruption.

That was billions of people.

And now, the Herrscher of Dominance of this era had also emerged.

But...

"The records show that the Herrscher of Dominance in the pre-civilization era was composed of a thousand individuals of different genders, races, ages, and physical conditions."

"But the Herrscher of Dominance of our era..."

There was only Ling Ke.

However, on this basis...

Mei picked up the cracked electronic tablet and tried operating it.

It still worked, though the crack did affect the viewing experience.

She quickly pulled up the information shared by Anti-Entropy...

[The ability to summon multiple combat units.]

[Suspected transformation and disguise abilities.]

[And... spatial teleportation abilities.]

Indeed, it was completely different from the Herrscher of Dominance of the pre-civilization era.

In the archives, the Herrschers of Dominance of the pre-civilization era each possessed one of the abilities of the previous nine Herrschers.

For example: One Herrscher of Dominance had the ability to teleport, which fell under the domain of the Herrscher of the Void's authority.

But on this basis, they couldn't construct spatial barriers. Their abilities were highly specialized.

The other Herrschers of Dominance were the same.

They could be seen as a thousand weakened versions of fully realized Herrschers.

But the abilities Ling Ke had displayed...

Beep beep beep~

The communicator on Mei's person rang.

Interrupting her thoughts.

She took it out and looked...

"A mission?"

"Yes."

The face displayed on the palm-sized communicator screen was "Raven's." "I regret to inform you that your brief rest period is over."

Without waiting for Mei to respond, she got straight to the point.

This had been their dynamic recently.

"A few minutes ago, someone attacked our laboratory in Giza City... The news came from 'Jackal.' She's already furious... Well, I guess I don't need to describe it. You can probably imagine."

"Yeah, it's not hard to imagine."

Mei nodded.

"Jackal" had just been sarcastic with her earlier.

"..."

Thinking about "Jackal's" sarcastic remarks, Mei fell silent again.

"Ling Ke..."

She felt deeply guilty toward him.

Suddenly, she snapped back to reality and looked at the communicator...

"Do you know who attacked the lab?"

Mei asked.

Hearing this...

"Just as you thought."

"Raven" didn't beat around the bush. "I've seen the information too... Yes, it's your 'old acquaintance.'"

Hearing this answer...

"Of course..."

Ling Ke had come to the African continent.

First, it was Schicksal's West Asia branch, completely annihilated.

Then, Anti-Entropy in North America, with Cocolia being taken.

And now...

"Is it my turn?"

Mei felt utterly drained.

As mentioned earlier, she had no idea how to face him.

But...

"If it were Kiana..."

"Hey!"

From the communicator, "Raven" called out, noticing Mei's distraction.

After that...

"I'm fine."

Mei's expression grew resolute. "Wait for me in the hangar. We'll head out immediately."

She had decided to face him.

Whether he would forgive her or not...

She needed to express her remorse.

Meanwhile, elsewhere...

"Heh, she's really decisive."

Somewhere in World Serpent's headquarters, "Raven" looked at the disconnected communicator in her hand and chuckled helplessly. "Is this young lady treating me like her chauffeur now?"

Having also seen that information, "Raven," who understood why Mei was in such a state, sighed softly. "Forget it, I know you're not in a good mood right now."

"This time, I won't hold it against you."

******

At the same time...

The old Schicksal headquarters, Kolosten.

Crunch!

A blond man, who had been elegantly sipping high-end red wine, suddenly crushed the wine glass in his hand with a violent burst of anger.

At this moment, an electronic screen displaying a live feed of carnage was before him.

In the footage, hundreds of white-haired women dressed in medieval purple attire were laughing maniacally... pulling the triggers of their guns over and over.

Wherever they passed, cries of agony filled the air, and rivers of blood flowed.

Most importantly...

All of them had the same face.

The face of Schicksal's Saint, "Kallen Kaslana."

"You really are as reckless as they come, newborn Herrscher."

At this moment, the blond man—Otto Apocalypse—wore an expression of terrifying rage.

The one and only faith of his life had been defiled.

For the first time in years, he felt anger... no, fury.

Like a fanatic encountering a blasphemer.

And this...

Was exactly the outcome Ling Ke had hoped for.