Not long ago, at the Headquarters of World Serpent, Outer Perimeter.
"Fwoosh~!"
A muffled roar tore through the sky.
The Helios soared through a region blanketed in yellow sand.
At that moment, if one looked up, streaks of fire could be seen constantly slashing across the sky.
The Dominators who occupied the Moon were using the powers of the "Law of Reason" and the "Law of the Sky" to hurl giant meteors at Earth.
There was simply no way to intercept them all.
Every passing second claimed countless lives.
Everyone aboard the Helios grew increasingly distressed by the situation.
After all, even this high-speed craft had narrowly avoided being struck multiple times by randomly falling lunar rock meteors.
At that moment, since Kevin had previously defected, Otto remained silent, and Walter decided to deploy a small team to the area to hinder Ling Ke's high-level combat strength. Only ten people.
They were: Raiden Mei, Bronya, Seele, Rosalia, Lilia, Theresa, Fu Hua, Rita, Yulandelle, and… Kiana (K-423), who at the time didn't even know how to address herself properly.
There was no doubt—everyone was in a terrible emotional state.
And yet, they had to bear the burden of being summoned in moments of crisis.
This was evident by the fact that even Seele and the sisters Rosalia and Lilia, who had barely received any relevant professional training under Theresa, had been sent to the battlefield.
Finally…
"There it is."
With the Helios floating in the air, the hatch opened. Ten people lined up in front of it, looking downward.
Immediately, their breath caught, eyes widening.
Because before their eyes stretched thousands of…
Kevins Kaslana.
"How the hell are we supposed to fight that?"
In that instant, they heard the neurotic Rosalia mutter that phrase unconsciously, as everyone felt their breathing grow heavy and dense.
Despair began to saturate the atmosphere.
Suddenly…
"Fwoosh~!"
"Lauder doesn't give a damn anymore!"
Wearing the Kaguya Tsukibura Valkyrie armor, she leapt solo from the hatch, just as she had done countless times before in previous missions.
While still mid-air, she activated her high-energy Sacred Sword: You Lauder…
The power of the Immortal Star Anchor.
Perhaps, in that moment, she wasn't acting solely out of confidence in her strength.
She was also… furious.
She had lost her childhood memories, with her earliest recollections beginning in an orphanage.
Her story was quite similar to Rita's—when she met the Valkyrie named Ragnar Lodbrok… she admired her, yearned for her, and dreamed of becoming her.
Eventually, she joined the Valkyrie forces and rose through the ranks to become an S-rank Valkyrie, one of the strongest of all time.
She had once believed that hard work paid off, and that her strength came from relentless training.
However, today…
She learned from the mouths of her enemies that those ideals she clung to were just hollow words—poison disguised as comfort.
Even her mentor, her mother's killer…
Had control over her fate. And she… Rita Lossweather, her most trusted comrade, had remained in the dark.
Now, Yulandelle didn't want to think about anything complicated.
She just wanted to fight. And in doing so… release the emotions she had bottled up in her heart.
Perhaps… dying on the battlefield wouldn't be so bad.
After all… it had all been a lie.
BOOM!
Completely off-balance.
Not even You Lauder expected that her reckless strike would land directly on the ground… revealing a shocking truth:
Not all the "Kevins" were as powerful as the true Lord of World Serpent.
That was immediately noticed by the others aboard the Helios.
In an instant…
"Yolandelle-sama…"
At the hatch, Rita—wearing the Lunar Soul Blue Knight Valkyrie armor—gazed down with a complex expression at the blonde girl fighting below, clearly venting her emotions, unable to speak a word.
She didn't know how to explain herself to her.
Tell Yolandelle that her feelings were sincere?
That duty is duty, and emotions are emotions?
Who would understand?
Who would even want to hear it?
Yolandelle clearly wouldn't accept it.
Rita knew this.
But even if her mind was in turmoil… at that moment, she knew what she had to do:
Fight by her side!
And end this world-threatening crisis once and for all!
In the end… if the world was going to be destroyed, what did anything matter?
So…
"Her Excellency Lauder and I will clear the path."
She looked at the others, and finally her eyes landed on the short figure beside her with a massive cross.
"Lady Theresa, the rest is in your hands."
With that, without waiting for a response, she jumped out of the hatch as if death were her home.
At this sight, Raiden Mei, Bronya, Seele, Theresa, Fu Hua, and… K-423 looked at one another.
Finally…
"Let's leave unresolved matters for after this battle."
Delisa spoke solemnly.
She looked at the young girl with white hair beside her.
"Foolish niece, you're still part of my family."
"Your identity was recognized by Cecilia and that bastard Siegfried."
"And as a member of the Kaslana…"
Theresa raised her cross with resolve.
"It's time to fulfill our duties as knights!"
Upon hearing this, K-423…
Involuntarily looked down, toward the indomitable blonde figure.
Before arriving, they had sat together in silence.
Neither knew how to break it.
Now…
"I have a name that wasn't mine…"
Kiana clenched her fists.
"And even if I want to give it back, I first need to face you and explain everything clearly."
"But for now, let's fight together!"
With those words, Kiana dove into battle, followed quickly by Raiden Mei and Bronya.
Seele didn't take long to follow her sister.
"Ay~"
Theresa, with the Judas Cross in hand, sighed at the scene unfolding below.
"Why are there so many idiots in the Kaslana family… Seriously…"
"Waaaah! Lilia, why did you push me?!"
A sudden scream interrupted Delisa's thoughts.
Looking over, she saw the Arlene twins had already jumped… rather undignifiedly.
"…"
Delisa's eyelid twitched.
Well… it's fine, seasoned veterans aren't so impulsive.
Like me, and…
"…Fu Hua?"
She looked to her side… huh? Where was she?
Apparently, Fu Hua didn't believe in queues.
After muttering something to herself, she had already leapt solo into the battlefield.
Upon seeing this, Theresa frowned, ensured the Helios hatch was tightly sealed, pulled on Judas's chains and jumped.
"Anyone who harms my niece will be crushed!"
"Judas, let's go!"
"We'll show them the power of the original S-rank Valkyrie!"
Ground.
Thousands of "Kevins" were being taken down one after another by Lauder, who wielded her Phantom Spear of the Abyssal Star without pause.
She had fought against the real Lord of World Serpent before.
She knew he hadn't gone all out that time, but even that base level of intensity was far superior to these "Kevins."
And most importantly:
"Even if their attack methods and skills are identical to the real one, their basic strength is far below…"
"Not even 1%."
That was what Yolandelle's sharp combat instincts told her.
At present, tens of thousands of "Kevin" replicas guarding the World Serpent base each wielded a Judgment of the Celestial Flame.
They could also use ice-based attacks derived from the Emperor-level Honkai Beast Pavanti.
But the power of those elements was vastly inferior to the original.
This only confirmed that while the Dominators weren't particularly strong individually, their average combat level was terrifying.
These "Kevins" were on par with the average S-rank Valkyrie.
That was why Yolandelle could push forward like a storm, while Rita already struggled.
And not just her.
Bronya and Kiana, who had lost their Herrscher powers, were barely holding on.
If not for Raiden Mei and Kurikara, whom she had summoned, the defensive line would've already collapsed.
However, Fu Hua—also stripped of her Herrscher power—and Delisa, long retired, were still fighting valiantly.
They were also monitoring the situation outside headquarters in real time.
"As I thought… the power of a vital traveler is truly practical."
Within the Dominators' battle theater, Ling Ke's body reclined peacefully, wearing a mocking smile.
Obviously, those thousands of "Kevins" had been generated from the same game character template:
[Game Character Template: Hanabi]
[From: "Honkai Impact: Star Rail"]
[Features: Level mechanic, independent HP bar, unlimited stamina, full equipment, quantum attributes…]
[Skills: Basic Attack – Solo Performance; Skill – Sleepwalking Fish; Ultimate – One Person, Thousand Battles; Hidden Skill – Unreliable Narrator…]
[Talents: Masked Madman, Beacon of Synesthesia, Imaginary Storage, Master of Drama, Master of Disguise, Transformation, Doppelgänger, Illusion…]
[Description: A vital traveler who walks the path of 'joy,' carrying thousands of masks and able to take on thousands of faces…]
It was the most versatile character template in Ling Ke's arsenal.
He had obtained it a while ago, and while it didn't have a high rating…
Its talents were incredibly useful—to the extreme.
Most importantly:
Ling Ke was currently using this template for nearly all external dominant figures.
They had all become Dominators: Hanabi.
Thus, as the meteors shattered the defenses of global nations and continued devastating cities, his ruthless role as the ultimate world destroyer not only rapidly earned him points, but also fed massive experience into the Hanabi template.
Of course, with the Ready Player One system, not only the active template gained experience.
All templates with a "level mechanic" could receive accumulated EXP from the system's experience pool, directly allocated by Ling Ke.
At present, as Ling Ke distributed this stored experience…
Those "Kevins" defending the World Serpent base grew rapidly stronger.
Level 1 → Level 23 → Level 39 → Level 55…
System templates didn't require cards to level up.
In just a few seconds…
"Perfect… they now have 1% of the prototype's power."
Ling Ke smiled with anticipation.
"The rest of the EXP… I've invested into the Gilgamesh template."
"Now just 1% remains to complete my 'Zhezhi' plan, which originally required 13 hours…"
"Give me a little more time…"
"Very soon…"
Ling Ke's heart swelled with emotion.
"I'll fulfill the promise I made to myself…"
"And complete my revenge in this world!"