I've already said this isn't a life simulator!

"[Herrscher]...?"

Xi Wang lowered his eyelids slightly, glanced at the error messages constantly appearing on his arm, and a hint of danger flashed in his pupils.

He slowly raised his head, and in this chaotic and dim place, his golden eyes shone like starlight... but the meaning they carried was chilling, so much so that the twisted "monsters" around him subconsciously paused for a moment—a subconscious reaction of being targeted by a predator.

Soon, they could no longer understand why they suddenly felt "fear," because a blue, translucent "fish" appeared and bit off most of their bodies in one gulp.

tick-

It was the sound of raindrops falling softly.

With a wave of his hand, he summoned the sword, and the azure water flowed and spread silently, so much so that even the constantly appearing jumbled icons could not completely cover or delete it.

"It's time to hunt..."

He murmured softly, and the damp scent instantly spread.

…………

………………

On the surface of the "Paradise of the Past," an unfair battle has come to an end.

The paradise of the past was nothing but a lie you told us.

As it spoke, it ruthlessly manipulated all the data around it to attack the girl in pink.

Memories are nothing more than illusions of the past.

Disordered icons appeared on her body, deleting her arms used to defend against attacks and the shield made of pink crystal, leaving her to be overwhelmed by a barrage of chaotic data.

It's really simple, as easy as pressing the "Delete" key on a computer.

What you have left behind is nothing but illusion; everything you have... is over.

But I'm different.

I will escape and survive.

[Spread on, let it spread...until it fills every corner of the world!]

Cable-like tentacles shot out instantly, dragging her mangled body out and bringing it to its front.

This is my "story," a "story" that... will never end.

Gradually, it encroached upon all of her "data," and finally... "swallowed" it, turning it into a part of itself.

I will...exist forever.

Everything that was built in the "Paradise of the Past" will be transformed into pure data, pure "0" and "1".

But... none of this seems to have happened.

Gollum—

It sounds like bubbles rising from the water.

Within its vast data streams, in that ocean of black and white "0"s and "1", a striking azure blue quietly emerges. A real stream of water surges forth, silently flowing and transforming into bubbles that envelop its form, protecting it from the ever-eroding data streams around it.

"I'm so sorry to disappoint you~"

Her… Alicia’s slightly playful voice rang out.

【What...how could you?!】

"Oh, although it sounds like I'm bragging, but... you know what? There's a cute and strong boy... who really, really likes me, just like I like him."

Alicia didn't move, but let the water flow around her and let the bubbles carry her to deeper places.

She believed he wouldn't hurt her.

"He...he's suffered so much, he needs help more than anyone else, he's been hurt by so many people...even by me, but in the end, he's still willing to like me as before."

"Tell me, am I a bad girl?"

boo——

The bubbles seemed to carry her to the depths, where they merged with another, larger bubble. Alicia gracefully turned around, gently landed, and looked ahead.

Here... everyone is here, all thirteen [Heroes] are safe and sound under the protection of these azure bubbles.

The azure water flows continuously, keeping all erosion at bay, just like the sea, which is noisy and chaotic on the outside but peaceful and serene on the inside... The azure water separates everything, dividing it into two worlds.

"He's really strong... so strong that even I'm amazed. So strong that it makes you think he's a coward... but that's not true, you know? He's just willing to compromise, for the person he likes, for... for humanity, he's willing to sacrifice himself, just like us."

"But you know, even he gets angry sometimes, right? For [us]~"

Alicia stepped forward briskly, reached out and patted Gretsch's head, then took Sakura's hand.

Here, the three of them are the nodes that maintain the "bubble," after all, only they have been marked by Xiwang... As for the others, Xiwang doesn't care, but if they want, the flowing water is willing to protect them.

"Ah, of course~ I didn't mean to brag, you know? It's just a fact, after all~"

Alicia hugged Sakura and nuzzled her face affectionately. Their matching long pink hairs were intertwined, making it hard to tell whose hair it was.

"He loves us the most, and by extension, he likes the people we like, and he likes the existence we admire."

"But after saying all that, I just wanted to make one thing clear~"

Alicia shook her head, then lightly clenched her fist. Accompanied by a strange data stream, a small megaphone that looked somewhat familiar appeared.

"What I mean is... there's this guy... even though we didn't help him at all, even though I couldn't help him in the end, but... if we just spoke up..."

Gently taking Sakura's hand, he helped her grasp the wondrous little trumpet, then placed it between them. Faced with Alicia's playful action, Sakura seemed somewhat helpless, but more than that, she was probably shy.

"If we just call for help!"

Turn the volume up to maximum.

"He'll come to save us!"

"No matter where he is, no matter what he may encounter... he will definitely come to us."

"After all... he likes us the most~"

"So~"

Turn on the radio, inhale along with Sakura, and shout in a slightly shy and playful tone.

"Help! Help!" x2

The sound was loud and melodious, echoing throughout the entire data space.

Bang! ! !

Almost instantly, a mysterious attack struck it directly.

bang bang bang-

What followed was a similar, relentless barrage of attacks... so fast that it couldn't stop them, and could only roughly "delete" the entire area that was being attacked before it could finally stop the offensive.

What is this... water?!

It was somewhat astonished. How could there be something called "water" here... Wait a minute?! That guy was thrown into the redundant data and he didn't die?! That's redundant data from the previous generation, a full 50,000 years of operation! And it still didn't kill him?!

tick-

Bad news arrived, and the sound of raindrops began to fall again. A light drizzle descended from the sky. Even though it repeatedly removed the "weather" element and even deleted the "water" element from the data space, nothing could stop the rain from falling.

After all, this "water"... in a sense, is something that is "like water but not water".

Water began to accumulate on the ground, and in the distance, the water spread silently, gently, swiftly, and irresistibly taking over the ground and covering its "territory."

Damn it... damn it!

Is this him? Is this the one known as the [Herrscher of the Sea], the [Herrscher of Revelation]? But why...why?! If he's a [Herrscher], why is he standing with humans?! We should be his [comrades]!

You were one too! You personally hunted down those heroes! You personally inflicted destruction on the previous generation, forcing them to cower and eke out a living in this generation to seek opportunities... Why do you still attack me?!

A nameless panic permeated its thoughts, making its thinking somewhat chaotic.

clatter--

The sound of footsteps lightly touching the water was soft.

Its mind went blank for a moment, and its twisted, grotesque body stiffened... A predator's gaze was fixed on it.

He's here...he's here!

It shifted its gaze with some fear and panic, looking in the direction from which the footsteps came... but soon, it froze, and then its mood quickly turned to joy.

Because it saw Xi Wang, covered by countless distorted icons, his broken and wounded body swaying as he walked towards it... Even the strange, dark-colored greatsword that he never parted with had disappeared, and at this moment he could be described as extremely disheveled.

[Ha...haha! Hahahaha!!! So you're nothing special after all! Is this your hope?! You want him to save you?!]

Its tone almost instantly returned to its previous state, its maniacal laughter filled with endless sarcasm.

[Don't be ridiculous! With your current state! With that tattered body that could disappear at any moment! What can you possibly accomplish?!]

It spoke arrogantly, mocking Xiwang's current posture, as if it wanted to release all the fear it had just felt and return all the humiliation it had just suffered.

Ah... in the end, why are you helping them? They're all lying to you... everyone's lying to you! You're with me! You're with us! You and we are the "kindred spirits"!

Come! Join me! Embrace me! Let us become one!

It eagerly manipulated its cable-like tentacles, trying to pull Xiwang to its side, but...

chap——

White streaks, like waves, appeared out of thin air and severed all the attacking tentacles.

"You're so long-winded... [Herrscher]."

His voice was somewhat distorted, but beneath the distorted icons, his starlight-like pupils still shone brightly.

"Prey...should act like prey."

With a step onto the water's surface, Xi Wang's figure instantly blurred, and when he reappeared, he was already beside it.

Using his hand as a knife, he swung it at it, and white water blades, like waves, appeared out of thin air and attacked it.

These were all fine. It manipulated the data space of this area, "reversed" it, and forcibly moved Xiwang back to its original position. As for the white water blade... it naturally returned to its "not yet appeared" state.

【whispering sound……】

It was somewhat terrified; the speed just now almost caught it off guard... but thankfully, it was still alive.

It dared not relax, and almost instantly locked onto the data space where Xi Wang was located, forcibly "slowing down" it, making Xi Wang's movements extremely slow, and then quickly manipulated everything around it to attack him.