Starting from the Collapse World, I became the behind-the-scenes boss

Starting as the mastermind behind the scenes in a collapsing world. Author: Cat on the Roof.

【brief introduction】

Upon landing in the devastated world, Shihen declared that he was not panicked at all.

These days, who isn't a cheater at some point?

[New Player Quest - Gate of St. Freya: You have already witnessed the madness of this world. It's time to join a secret organization fighting against the Honkai and find a group of like-minded companions to save the world.]

Glancing at the instructions on his system panel, Shihen resolutely pushed open the door to the secret organization World Serpent.

[Main Quest - Path of Destiny: …………]

I understand, so this means he's destined to become the chosen one, right?

Thus, while donning a white mask to mercilessly torment the girls, tempering their bodies and wills, Shihen also became their close friend and guide, sacrificing his life time and again for their growth.

Then, as the dawn of the end appeared, discordant voices arose within the group, discussing how to divide him up. Shihen, his hair slicked back with gel, stood at the very front of the stage:

"I'm sorry, but what you're hoping for has never existed."

From this day forward, I shall stand above the heavens!

Chapter One: The Boy from the Raven's Nest

Autumn 2012, somewhere in Northern Europe, at the Raven's Nest bar.

A loudspeaker installed in the corner plays the theme song of a currently popular movie, and under the orange-yellow light, the furnishings of this small bar are clearly visible.

The dark wood tables and chairs were slightly worn, but there wasn't a speck of dust on them, showing that the owner of the house valued them very much.

Perhaps because it is located deep in a narrow alley, even though it has been open for quite some time now, the huge hall is still empty, without a single customer.

But the gray-haired woman dressed as a bartender behind the bar didn't seem to care. She continued wiping the already sparkling clean glasses in her hands, humming some unknown tunes, as if she was just enjoying the process of wiping the glasses.

crunch--

It's the sound of the glass door hinges rubbing together.

This bar welcomed its first customer of the day.

"A glass of afternoon death, thank you."

The bartender raised his head, his rose-red eyes narrowing slightly, and his gaze naturally turned towards the doorway.

The newcomer was a boy who was no more than fifteen years old. His handsome face, which still retained a touch of childishness, had a strong sense of sunshine about it, as warm as a quilt that had just been aired out. However, his pupils, which matched his black hair, were as deep as ink, like a dark hole that made people unable to resist being drawn to them.

With a smile playing on his lips, the bartender put down the cleaned wine glass, turned around, took a large glass bottle from the cabinet, poured out the white liquid inside, and said, "Selling alcohol to minors is illegal. Consider this a treat. After you finish it, hurry home and don't keep your parents waiting."

Although the bar doesn't usually have many customers, she's not in such a hurry to try and attract business from children.

"That's a real shame. I've heard that Senior Raven is a very skilled bartender..."

Upon hearing this, Shihen sighed, but his face showed little disappointment. He calmly sat down at the bar.

"Oh? So you're a guest from that side."

Upon hearing the name "Raven" from the boy, the bartender's smile remained unchanged, but his body subtly became alert.

While functioning as a bar, Raven's Nest also serves as a meeting point for the underworld, frequented by mercenaries, assassins, hunters, and other dangerous individuals who disregard the law.

Even though the boy in front of her looked harmless, Raven had no doubt that he could pull out a high-explosive grenade from his crotch at any moment.

Of course, as the owner of Raven's Nest Bar, Raven himself is not exactly a saint.

In that shadowy world where sunlight never shines, she is a legendary mercenary who has received countless five-star reviews. People who want to hire her can line up from one side of the earth to the other, making her the undisputed top mercenary.

In a sense, the fact that the boy was able to find this bar was enough to prove that he was no ordinary nobody.

Noticing the bartender's scrutinizing gaze, Shi Hen's expression remained unchanged. He picked up his glass, swirled it gently, took a small sip, and then frowned. "Senior Raven, could I have milk tea instead? Pearl milk tea, three-tenths sugar. I don't like it too sweet."

Raven: “…”

Are you illiterate? Do I have to smash the Raven's Nest Bar sign in your face?

It seems that Raven's Nest Bar no longer offers milk tea.

Regretfully putting down the milk in his hand, Shihen carefully examined the bartender woman in front of him, and couldn't help but smile: "Before coming here, I had heard many people mention the reputation of Senior Raven. But seeing is believing, I never expected that Senior Raven would actually be..."

"Ok?"

Hearing the boy's deliberate pause, Raven's eyes narrowed slightly, and the surrounding air suddenly turned cold.

"So cute, Raven-senpai." Ignoring the murderous intent around him, Shihen exclaimed sincerely, "It's so small, just like a kitten, very cute."

Although her height of nearly 1.7 meters is definitely not short for a woman, and her curvaceous figure cannot be concealed by a mere bartender's uniform, her face is the only thing that reveals her youthful innocence, like a teenage girl who has run away from home after arguing with her parents.

Unfortunately, despite his youthful appearance, Raven is a true legendary mercenary.

"Kid, didn't your parents teach you what manners are?"

Without any shyness, Raven's still somewhat childish face was instantly covered with frost, and the words she spoke were filled with a chilling murderous intent.

Swish!

As soon as he finished speaking, Raven grabbed a fruit knife and stabbed it into the boy's throat with lightning speed.

As a mercenary accustomed to living on the edge, Raven's threat is never just empty talk.

If you dare to provoke a tiger, you must be prepared to pay the price.

"Raven-senpai is also cute when it comes to getting angry and embarrassed~"

As if he had been prepared, Shihen smiled slightly, raised his right hand, and easily pinched the narrow and sharp blade of the fruit knife with just two fingers. A thin layer of white light flowed and lingered on the boy's fingertips, making the blade unable to advance any further.

"Honkai energy? Looks like you know quite a bit about this."

Raven was genuinely surprised to see through the true nature of the energy in the boy's fingertips.

Even in the shadowy world of lawless lands, very few people know of the existence of Honkai, let alone be able to wield Honkai energy so skillfully.

"However, with this level of strength, I advise you to be more honest."

With a light laugh, the fruit knife in Raven's hand suddenly took on a dark red sheen.

Stab ~

The protection created by the Time Mark was instantly shattered, and the sharp blade sliced ​​across the boy's palm, which was covered in black fingerless gloves, leaving a splash of bright red blood that bloomed on the bar counter.

"This is just a lesson for you. Next time... believe me, you won't want a next time."

Raven casually set the bloodstained fruit knife aside and smiled, her youthful face devoid of any coldness, yet her words were more threatening than any sword.

Staring at the blood-soaked stains on his black glove for a long time, as if unable to understand why his attempt to show off had failed, Shi Hen finally sighed and looked up at the legendary mercenary before him: "I will remember the lesson of Senior Raven."

"But, Raven-senpai, could you tell me what Honkai energy is? This is the first time I've met someone who can use the same ability as me."

As he spoke, the boy's face showed great curiosity, like a child who had glimpsed the door to a new world, showing no embarrassment at having his attempt to show off backfire.

"Huh? You really don't know?"

The raven's pupils dilated slightly, and it was even more surprised.

If you know nothing, how did this guy manage to train to this level?

Honkai energy, as its name suggests, is a special type of energy that is extremely destructive.

Take a light bulb with a lifespan of 100,000 hours as an example. If it were powered by Honkai energy, its lifespan would probably only be one hour.

But in that short hour, it can produce a light a thousand times brighter than when powered by electricity.

Terrifying, powerful, yet extremely destructive.

This is the key to why Honkai is both feared and fascinating.

Even though the human body is more adaptable to Honkai energy than ordinary mechanical equipment, the destructive power of this energy on the human body is still not to be ignored.

It should be noted that even within the Schicksal organization, which currently possesses the most advanced technology for applying human Honkai energy, very few members of its Valkyrie squad meet a good end.

Aside from those who died on the battlefield, the Valkyries of Destiny either became monsters who only knew how to destroy due to the loss of Honkai energy, or died from various diseases due to physical weakness. Very few survived to the point of retirement.

And this is the result of Destiny's selection of the best of the best for the Valkyrie squad, along with the support of various advanced technologies.

If it were someone else using unorthodox methods, they would be extremely lucky to have survived their first encounter with Honkai energy.

In the brief exchange just now, Raven easily broke through the boy's defenses, but she was a legendary mercenary, one of the strongest in that secret organization that lurked in the shadows of the world like a snake.

It can be said that even on a global scale, Raven is one of the top experts, and is in no way inferior to the top Valkyries of the Destiny Organization.

Moreover, although Raven had the upper hand in the previous exchange, he could clearly sense that the boy had not used his full strength.

If it really came down to a fight to the death, she dared not speak lightly of victory or defeat.

Therefore, when it comes to competition, it's best to stop when you've reached a point where you've reached a point where you've reached a point where you've reached a point where you're at ...

She wouldn't be willing to clash with such an enemy without a significant enough benefit.

It's not worth it; you'll lose a lot of money.

Seeing the woman's shock, Shihen simply nodded slowly and said, "I only recently obtained this power myself, and I always thought it was an awakening of supernatural abilities or a revival of spiritual energy."

But now it seems that the Raven Elder has a deeper understanding of these things.

"how long?"

The raven couldn't help but ask curiously.

Shihen simply smiled slightly.

He wouldn't so easily reveal his secrets.

"Senior Raven, could you tell me about Honkai energy?"

He handed over a thick stack of euros and said with a smile.

"also."

After feeling the thickness of the banknote, the raven was immediately delighted.

Raven's Nest Bar is also an information exchange, so she naturally wouldn't refuse business coming to her.

Moreover, the boy gave a lot.

"Kid, listen up. The strange energy we're using is called Honkai Energy, and it's related to a disaster on Earth called 'Honkai'."

The accumulation of Honkai energy leads to the occurrence of "Honkai," which in turn gives birth to a kind of mindless monster that only knows destruction. You've probably already seen them, haven't you?

Since the boy was able to wield this power, he must have encountered events related to the Honkai. Raven was absolutely certain of this.

"...Are they those monsters with white shells and red stripes?"

Shihen thought for a moment and then answered.

"Their official name is [Honkai Beast]," Raven corrected. "Even today, no one can understand the principle of Honkai Beast's birth. All we know is that places rich in Honkai energy are more likely to produce these monsters."

Shihen nodded slightly and asked, "Then... what about those zombies?"

“That’s called a ‘Death Warrior,’” Raven explained. “In this world, most people who come into contact with Honkai energy will turn into mindless monsters, and only a very few will undergo a transformation, just like us.”

As he spoke, Raven opened his palm, and a dark red light gathered and appeared on it, adding a touch of mystery to the bar.

Seeing this, Shihen also opened his palm, mobilizing the energy within his body to make it display a light white light like that of a raven.

For a moment, the two beams of light shone brightly, like two stars echoing each other in the night sky, or like two hedgehogs huddling together for warmth in the cold wind.

This is not a particularly advanced technique. As long as the body's adaptability to Honkai energy reaches a certain level, a little training is enough to make Honkai energy materialize and be released externally.

But for the two of them at this moment, this was solid proof that they belonged to the same world, a world hidden under the sunlight of order, a world that was even more insane and broken.

"The chosen ones, huh... Hah~"

Lost in thought, Shihen stared at the two clusters of Honkai energy that displayed different colors due to the different aptitudes of the individuals. He couldn't help but let out a deep sneer, as if he had thought of something.

This guy must have lost someone very important in that collapse...

Seeing the complex expression on the boy's face, Raven couldn't help but recall his own past, and felt a sudden pang of emotion.

Although they gained immense power compared to ordinary people through the Honkai, the Honkai also meant loss for them.

Not everyone can survive the Honkai.

It is an extraordinary talent, but also a curse of loneliness.

Moreover, even those with talent often behave no differently from ordinary people when first encountering the Honkai.

Everything familiar has turned to ruins, and the surroundings are filled with countless killer monsters... For most people, this scene will be a nightmare that accompanies them for a lifetime.