Chino seemed to deliberately avoid killing anyone. Whether it was The Vermin, True Ancestor, or 009 and his group, he never struck with lethal intent.
The previous spirit attack was merely a demonstration of power.
Facing Queen Bee and True Ancestor, he clearly possessed the strength to detain them, but Chino chose not to; instead, he allowed them to retreat.
Finally, with The Vermin remaining, Chino spared him as well. He openly provided a hint, causing The Vermin to surrender.
Chino's behavior was truly enigmatic. No one knew his true intentions, and no one could predict his next move.
He was like an abyss, forever unfathomable.
009 walked step by step toward Chino. Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, he fell to his knees with a heavy 'thud.'
"I am willing to pledge my allegiance to the Great Emperor!"
"..."
Silence.
The air was deathly still.
The Chaos group looked at each other, stunned. Was this the 009 they once knew?
When did he become so perceptive?
Naira was completely flustered. They all expected that at this stage, 009 would still lash out and seek his own demise.
Instead, he actually knelt?
Looking at the bewildered crowd, 009 paid them no mind.
If there was one thing he had learned during his years as Byakuya's enemy, it was that a true survivor knows when to yield and when to stand firm.
Seeing this, Chino was also quite surprised. "Everything in the world changes, and so do people. You've matured, and you've learned to conceal your talent, Old Nine."
"Hahahaha."
Chino let out a profound laugh, then waved his hand, retrieving Yang Lin's shattered corpse from the depths of the ocean.
He bestowed the Dog Stone and Horse Stone upon him, and Chino also restored Yang Lin's soul.
"Our deal is concluded, Reinhard."
"But I don't mind striking another bargain with you."
"Kitsune needs a true helmsman, and I still require Kitsune to serve my interests."
Reinhard walked to Yang Lin's side. Observing Yang Lin's mended body and returned soul, his pupils beneath the mask flickered.
"It is a great honor."
...
One month later.
This conflict reached its conclusion without any suspense. There was only one victor.
Sea King Chino, with his 5th Step body, dominated the world. All monsters obediently submitted. Although a few resisted, they were all imprisoned in Kitsune's cages.
The departed soul Byakuya, a Lower-Tier, yielded the Chief seat of Kitsune to Reinhard.
Reinhard had officially become the Sea King's accomplice. Chaos Insurgency, Serpent's Hand, Night Watcher, and Kitsune all fell under Chino's command.
Chino finally unified the entire world as he intended. He sat upon the throne of power, and all nations bowed in submission.
However, the era of terror did not end.
Monsters still plagued the human realm worldwide. Among them were Red Mist, Hydra, Leviathan, and the Siren.
These creatures continued to slaughter humans, spreading panic, while humanity's only reliance remained Kitsune.
And their guardian deity, Chino.
Everything unfolded as Chino had planned. Monsters would never truly vanish; they would always linger before the eyes of the public.
The era of terror would never end—not until everyone became accustomed to it.
And Balance, who had seen through the scheme early on, merely smiled at the outcome.
Why didn't he join 009 and the others in the crusade against Chino? Because he had already realized the truth behind the matter.
This was the will of heaven.
Rather than defying the heavens, it was better to follow them.
But it cannot be denied that the ages to follow would belong solely to Chino.
The world was like a giant stage. Villains and heroes alike were merely actors arranged by a single hand.
Watching Balance, who stood with his hands clasped behind his back, Swordsmith followed.
"Where are we going?"
Balance chuckled faintly. "A great master once said, 'A person should be like water. Entering a cup, it becomes the cup. Entering a bottle, it becomes the bottle.'"
"A sage once said, 'The highest good is like water. Water benefits all things without contention, dwelling in places disdained by the crowd, hence it is near to the Dao.'"
"Dwelling in good places, possessing a profound heart, being benevolent, speaking truthfully, governing well, being capable in affairs, and acting at the right time. For only by not contending, will there be no fault."
Swordsmith listened, lost in a fog of confusion. It had been years, and this old man seemed to have achieved a profound enlightenment.
"So the Sea King is water?"
Balance shook his head.
"Wrong."
"He is not water. He is a surging sea."
...
On the moon, within the 020 Computer, Dr. Otto watched the events unfolding on Earth and fell into deep thought.
"Above one conspiracy lies a deeper conspiracy. Man calculates, and Heaven calculates. There are always variables one cannot foresee, and only one who can calculate where others calculate can truly lead."
"Sea King's grand scheme is established. For now, we must temporarily avoid his sharp edge."
Otto stood up. He had originally intended for 009 to help him collect the flesh and blood of every monster, but in the end, he only managed to gather the remains of The Vermin.
This, however, was a relatively favorable outcome.
Previously, Otto had refrained from acting due to his fear of Ye Long. Even after Ye Long was sealed, his worries persisted. Now it seemed his instincts were correct.
...
Several months later, inside 079 Death Game.
A man stood blankly, clutching a potion in his hand, as a string of Numbers appeared on his arm.
Number 079: Game System.
Unlike other monsters, the moment he decided to meet the Administrator, the Death Game issued him an announcement tens of thousands of words long.
After reading the announcement, 079 felt his mind slip into a chaotic mess.
"Aurora · Keter?"
As 079 finished speaking, he turned his head, only to see the Death Game behind him suddenly shatter!
The fractured space transformed into countless glass-like fragments, spraying outward and piercing his chest!
"Aaaah!"
079 clutched his chest and knelt on the ground, watching as the Death Game was completely buried before him.
Everyone was forcibly ejected from the Death Game. At that very moment, all memories related to the Death Game were erased!
079 reappeared in the outside world. As soon as he looked up, he saw a person standing right before him!
"Potion."
She uttered only that single word. 079 immediately lost all autonomy, his hand moving uncontrollably to uncork the vial before he tilted his head back and drained every drop.
The deed was done.
In that instant, 079's physical form vaporized, collapsing into a shimmering blue sphere of light.
"Do you recognize me?"
At the sound of the man's voice, the blue orb that was once 079 pulsed for a long moment. "You are... Lord Aurora?"
Mei reached out, grasping the glowing sphere in her palm. "Do you remember my face?"
The orb swayed vertically, a silent nod of affirmation.
"Very well. I am sending you back into the past. Do not let the information etched into your mind fade."
Back to the past?
079 was momentarily stunned. "Lord Aurora... you mean you intend for me to return to the era that was?"
"Precisely."
"To... to what end?"
To what end?
Mei let out a faint, amused chuckle at the question. "Simply because I seek a little entertainment."
"Go now. If the 'me' of that era asks why you have come, tell her it is because this path promised to be more interesting."
Interesting?
Before 079 could process the thought, Mei directly tore the remaining half of the Future Chapter from her own being and bestowed it upon him.
However, she added a subtle modification.
079 himself was barred from wielding the power contained within that portion of the Chapter.
Only Mei herself could ever extract its true potential.
With a dismissive wave of her hand, Mei triggered the Future Chapter, casting 079 into the depths of the past.
Consequently, the entity known as 079 vanished from the present timeline.
In the future, there would be no 079; his existence was now confined solely to the past.
Simultaneously, Mei felt the power of that Chapter segment depart. Her command over the rewinding, acceleration, and deceleration of time vanished along with it.
But it was of no consequence. Roughly ten years remained before the arrival of Entropy.
Before that inevitable day, Mei had completed a magnificent act of creation.
Indeed, she had finally utilized the power of the Time Chapter to forge an exceptionally unique and grand world.
...
A certain location in Asia.
Yang Lin stared at his mobile phone, his brow furrowed as he watched the nationwide live broadcast. On the screen, experts provided a running translation of the events.
Everywhere on the street, people were transfixed by their phones, televisions, or computer monitors.
The crowd stood in absolute silence, their expressions intensely focused, as if missing a single word would be a catastrophic loss.
Yang Lin found the sight baffling. Since awakening from his deep slumber, the world he knew had transformed beyond recognition.
Everyone seemed strange—even his own mother.
This pervasive strangeness stemmed from a fundamental cognitive shift.
The very concept of a sovereign nation had been erased. It seemed as though the word "country" no longer existed in the global lexicon.
The entire Earth had become a single entity.
This new world order was the Earth Alliance.
The alliance had but one leader: Chino. To the populace, he was the Great Emperor, a supreme existence whose every word was law.
Yang Lin struggled to comprehend the shift. What exactly had gone wrong with the world?
It felt as though he had slept for a mere few months, yet the reality around him suggested that centuries had slipped away.
In the end, he had to wonder: were these people the ones who were broken?
Or was it him?
When an entire world accepts a premise as fact, that premise becomes an unquestionable Truth.
By that logic, Yang Lin had become the heretic.
"Why has it come to this..."
As Yang Lin walked the streets, people around him shouted "Long live Chino" as if possessed.
They described Chino as a handsome, middle-aged man.
Yet, in Yang Lin's eyes, the leader was a monster, lacking even a shadow of human resemblance.
The world he observed and the world they perceived were two different realities.
Yang Lin eventually returned to his post as a police officer. No one questioned his absence during those months; no one seemed to care at all.
Not even his mother.
He traced the root of this madness back to an inconspicuous little statue in his home.
When Yang Lin suggested discarding the idol, his mother had erupted in a terrifying rage, screaming that it was the guardian deity of humanity.
She claimed that if the statue were removed, the monsters would return to their door.
Over time, Yang Lin visited countless families and discovered that every single household possessed an identical statue.
And he alone could see the mental threads extending from the idols toward the heavens.
These threads were so dense and numerous they appeared to weave a gargantuan net across the Earth's sky.
"What on earth is happening, Master?"
At his words, Reinhard, leaning against a pillar in his dark robes, turned his head. "Does it truly concern you that much?"
"How could it not?" Yang Lin countered.
Reinhard shook his head slowly. "Concern is a luxury you cannot afford. This is not like the era of Byakuya. You cannot change this outcome. Your only choice is to adapt."
As Reinhard turned to leave, his vision suddenly plunged into darkness.
Sound bled away, colors drained into nothingness, the sense of space dissolved, and the flow of time became fractured and strange.
Where was he?
Reinhard spun around, only to see a single pinpoint of light ignite in the void.
A second later, that light expanded, flooding the entire chamber with brilliance.
Before him stood a perfectly circular room.
Reinhard looked down at his hands: they were colorless and transparent, devoid of substance—the form of a soul.
No, this was a soul body. He had been summoned here in soul form. Before him was a table, and he was not alone.
Surrounding the room in a large circle were tables and chairs.
Reinhard was in the first row. He looked around, only to see many blurry figures like himself. Before each figure was a table, and on each table was a string of Numbers.
Reinhard lowered his head to check his table. His table's Number was 006. Beside him were two others: one was 007, the other 008. There were 78 tables in total, though several remained empty.
Countless voices whispered. Everyone felt a wave of confusion, unable to fathom what was happening. Only the few in the front row maintained calm expressions.
Among them, 002 was the leader, his mental power the most formidable. His aura, like the ocean, was turbid and highly corrosive, making him the most recognizable presence in the room.
"My god has returned."
Beside him, 001's soul body was dark and relatively small.
"But why drag us here?" she whispered, tiptoeing to look at Chino. "It couldn't be because of you, could it?"
Chino heard this but offered no answer. Although he couldn't rule out the possibility, it seemed unlikely. Why was he so certain? Because Chino had roughly deciphered Mei's intentions.
From the last time Mei rewound time and resurrected all the monsters, it was clear she didn't want the monsters to fight until only a few remained. At least, not for now. Mei currently seemed more inclined to grant the losers another chance.
Thus, Chino had slightly altered his strategy. For example, this time, he allowed True Ancestor and Queen Bee to escape. Moreover, he hadn't killed any monsters during this conflict. In a way, he had actually protected both humanity and the monsters.
So where did he go wrong? Of course, whether it was "wrong" or not, no one's opinion mattered. Only Mei's did.
As the whispers continued, a solid figure suddenly appeared in the very center of the circular room!
An unprecedented surge of mental power washed over everyone's perception. It was a magnitude they had never encountered—a height approaching divinity. They couldn't even gauge the level of that mental power, because most of them didn't even know the standard for 5th Step strength.
But one thing was certain: that was not the mental power of any monster. It was the mental power of a True God, and they were witnessing only a fraction of the iceberg.
Chino, upon sensing this surge, instantly stood up.
"Welcome, my god, back to us!"
As Mei's figure solidified, the rest of the crowd reacted, following Chino's lead. They stood in unison, their voices echoing through the chamber:
"Welcome, my god!" xN
Mei opened her eyes, appearing before them in the guise of Death.
"Sit."
Mei spoke only that single word, and the crowd was uncontrollably forced down, everyone returning to their respective positions.
"Some of you may have never seen me before, so I will provide a basic introduction."
Mei spoke, and with a slight wave of her hand, a series of floating characters appeared above her head:
Number 000: God!
"It was I who granted you abilities beyond those of humans, and I who created you. Therefore, I am your creator."
"Now, back to the main topic. It has been a long time. Did everyone have fun?"
As Mei spoke those words, the room fell into a deathly silence. No one dared to utter a sound. Chino, seeing the silence, eventually spoke up.
"Thanks to my god's favor, everyone played their part, and we all had a great deal of fun."
Playing...
Some of the monsters' souls trembled at the word. Was this a game? They had wagered their lives, struggling desperately just for a sliver of a chance at survival. But in the eyes of Mei and Chino, all of this was casually dismissed as a game.
Mei's gaze swept over each trembling soul, followed by a hoarse laugh. "Haha, it seems everyone didn't get along as happily as you suggest."
"So, who is responsible for this?"
Mei spoke, then suddenly pointed at Chino. "Let me ask you a question. Do you think 002 is detestable?"
The monsters looked at each other, unable to guess what Mei was planning. Do they find 002 detestable? How should they answer?
If they answered honestly, would they face the Sea King's retaliation later? But this was, after all, a direct question from Lord Aurora.
The group hesitated, unsure how to respond. Mei saw this and sneered.
"Worried?"
"001, you speak."
001 blinked, caught off guard. "Huh?"
"...I think... he's not very detestable?"
Hearing 001's hesitant answer, Mei shifted her gaze to 003.
"003, what do you say?"
Han heard the summons and stood up. "My god, I have very little interest in this game. As for 002's character, I am not entirely clear, and thus have no valuable opinions to offer."
Mei shifted her gaze to Queen Bee. "004, you speak."
Queen Bee rose. "I believe 002 is utterly detestable. Of course, that is merely my personal conviction."
"Next, 005."
005 The Metallomorph stood solemnly upon hearing his name. "Lord, seeing you once more has overcome me with such emotion that I am weeping bitterly—"
"Is that the question I asked you?" Mei interrupted with an indifferent expression.
005 froze. "Uh, well... I was only recently released. As for whether 002 is hateful, I actually find Kitsune to be more loathsome."
"Next..."
Before Mei could finish, 009 stood up with a heavy 'thud'!
"My god, 002 is truly and profoundly detestable!"
Mei's gaze turned cold. "Did I call upon you?"
At those words, 009 immediately swallowed his remaining thoughts and sat back down without a word.
"006, you speak."
At the mention of 006, every eye in the room focused on Reinhard.
One must understand that 006 was no ordinary monster; he was Mei's former chosen representative.
Reinhard stood up. "If you ask for my perspective, I believe 002 is detestable."
"He utilized his mental power to brainwash all of humanity, subverting countless established orders solely to achieve his goal of absolute dominion."
"Simultaneously, he used brute force to compel all monsters into submission. He achieved a state of peace, but in doing so, he stifled the necessary conflict between all monsters."
"And without conflict, it is impossible to demonstrate the true value of other monsters."
"In other words, 002's radiance is too blinding. He deprived all other monsters of their opportunity for self-expression. For that, I find him detestable."
Mei smiled. "An objective evaluation."
An objective observation did not necessarily represent a subjective truth. It was a diplomatic answer—a collection of fine words that anyone could recite.
"This is not merely an objective perception, but my subjective one as well," Reinhard added.
"Well said."
Mei looked toward 007, then purposefully bypassed her to look at 008.
"What do you think?"
007, having been skipped, was stunned.
"Huh?"
During the previous roll call, 007 had been meticulously organizing her thoughts, finally composing a perfect response. She was even preparing to stand up unprompted.
Instead, Mei had looked right past her...
007 suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to cry; she felt like nothing more than thin air.
My god didn't even grant me a glance.
Why?
Ignoring 007's plight, 008 True Ancestor stood up. "I also believe 002 is extremely detestable. In this game, there can be no true victor."
"Because only my god is the eternal winner. How can a mere chess piece on a board claim victory for itself? Victory belongs solely to the player."
"For a piece to usurp the master's role and claim a so-called triumph—how utterly ridiculous is that?"
Mei shifted her gaze back to 009. "Your turn."
009, looking as though he had been suppressed for an eternity, stood up forcefully. "My god, to describe exactly how detestable 002 is would be a very long story!"
"Then keep it brief."
"Huh?"
"Uh... understood."
009 took a deep breath. "First, I completely agree with everything said thus far, but I believe it doesn't go far enough!"
"Since 002 attained the 5th Step, his arrogance has grown steadily, becoming more and more conceited—like a scorching sun!"
"If this continues, I fear there will come a day when even you are beneath his notice!"
"So, my god, for a person of his sort, you must quickly..."
Before 009 could finish his sentence, Mei cut him off.
"That is enough."
"But..."
"Sit."
"Ah."
009 obediently sat down again. Mei did not continue the questioning further down the line; instead, she looked directly at Chino.
"Why don't you say something for yourself?"
Chino stood up. "You understand me. If you deem me detestable, then I am detestable, for your word is absolute."
"What exists in your thoughts is what exists in mine."
Mei grinned. "Well said. Then let me ask all of you: for what reason do you each claim to be kings and overlords?"
"Is it to fulfill the desires of your hearts, or simply to suppress others and become an existence that stands above all else?"
"Or is it both?"
The group remained silent, but their souls had already betrayed them.
The emotions radiating from their soul bodies laid their innermost, truest answers bare before Mei.
Everyone desired to be superior. Everyone wanted to stand atop the rest.
Everyone harbored desires. Everyone had things they craved.
So in the end...
"You are still human."
"Even if you don the guises of gods and devils, your core remains human."
"So what if you become emperors? So what if you become gods? Is it not all just violence, slaughter, and greed—a spectacle of the absurd?"
Mei's blatant sarcasm ruthlessly tore away the crowd's veil.
From a long time ago, she no longer required the clash between monsters, for her experiment had already reached its conclusion.
However, the disputes between monsters had not ceased.
Instead, they had gradually intensified during Mei's absence.
Stripped of their divine and infernal exteriors, they were still just like humans—chasing profit and fighting for power.
Even if Mei demanded nothing of them, they would ultimately create all sorts of sparks on their own.
"I detest the weakness of human nature, yet I relish the pleasure that human nature provides. And the climb toward power compels me to discard parts of that nature in exchange for divinity."
"This is the price of power."
"The 6th Step Sanctuary is divided into five stages, each representing a qualitative transformation. These five stages are the process of nurturing divinity."
"However much divinity you wish to obtain, you must discard an equal amount of humanity. It is like a bottle with a limited capacity."
001 raised her hand. "Lord... My god, is this not a bit too far-fetched for us?"
Mei smiled. "Far-fetched?"
"I have returned now. I have come before you and summoned you to this place precisely to grant you a chance."
"A chance to become a god."