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

"……What's the meaning?"

"Ah, you don't understand? Hmm... that's true. Come to think of it, I haven't explained to you why I brought you here... Alicia, it seems your guidance wasn't very effective~"

"Oh dear, oh dear~ Alicia is being silly again in this respect..."

"Stop trying to be clever, Alicia, continue with your duties."

"Okay~"

Sensing that Mebius was somewhat displeased, Alicia clapped her hands lightly, drawing the attention of Raiden Mei and the others to herself.

"Although we didn't explain in detail how we could have gotten you here..."

"Alicia."

"...Okay, I guess it's my fault for neglecting my duty?"

Alicia stuck out her tongue, trying to fool Mebius with her cute appearance, but it was clear that Mebius wasn't buying it.

"However, the reason I brought you here is to help you deal with some of your problems, okay?"

"What are the problems within us?"

"Yes, I believe you've already felt it, haven't you? As Herrschers, since arriving here, haven't you felt your power become somewhat unstable, and your minds starting to become restless?"

"Indeed...that's how it is...so this isn't your problem after all."

"Of course not, Mei, why would you think that?"

Alicia tilted her head in confusion, then followed Raiden Mei's gaze to look at Mebius and Velvet beside her.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

Mebius narrowed his eyes slightly, his snake-like pupils revealing a hint of danger.

"Oh dear~ Mebius and Velvet wouldn't do such a thing, um... this is actually related to your other [senior]~"

"...It's Xi Wang, isn't it?"

"Yes, I believe that you, as the [Herrschers] of this era, should be able to feel it. The [Song] that often protects you, the [Song] that often accompanies you... that is his power."

Alicia said with a smile.

"Through this, the [Herrscher Core] within you will become more stable and easier to control. Similarly, your ego will not be directly overwhelmed... Finally, through continuous efforts, you will gradually adapt to and learn how to control this power."

"Hmm, and finally... a Herrscher like me, who also loves [humans] and fights for [humans], appeared~"

"Unfortunately, most of his [Songs] circulate on Earth, and very little of his power remains on the Moon... Furthermore, his power can at most help you stabilize the state of the [Herrscher Core], but it cannot allow you to completely control it."

"So now... hmm~ we need to help you overcome this problem~ so that you can truly master your power as [Herrschers]~?"

"...So, according to you...what we possess now doesn't count as the true power of a Herrscher?"

Raiden Mei asked, somewhat surprised.

"Of course, you are still missing a process of [ascension]."

Mebius said casually.

“A true Herrscher… is not like you… weaklings.”

"........."

Some wanted to object, but sensing the danger emanating from Mebius, they fell silent.

"So what? What exactly do you want to do?"

"It's nothing major... it's just a matter of taking back the power that belongs to him, or rather, his [song], from you."

"Vilvie spoke slowly... She had already completed the final adjustments," she said.

"At that time, you will face a test of consciousness and spirit. If you successfully overcome it, you will be able to truly master the power of the [Herrscher]... Considering that this process may not be very safe, that's why we brought you here."

"Fighting here...won't harm innocent people, right?"

"That's pretty much what it means."

"Vilvie said casually, while patting the cabin next to her to drain all the liquid inside, and then arranging the person inside... or rather, the body.

"And we can also use this to achieve some small goals."

"A small goal... huh?"

Raiden Mei stared at the body for a moment, then realized what was going on.

"You want to... resurrect him?"

"Oh dear, little lab rat, how can you call it 'resurrection'?"

Mebius responded in a somewhat strange tone.

"It's just about providing him with a suitable body... Hmm... It took me quite a bit of effort to replicate his body back then~"

Mebius reached out and touched the chest of the body, feeling the skin of the body he had built bit by bit, and squinted his eyes with a kind of fascination.

"Alas, it's a pity that we still couldn't figure out what the [Ocean] child truly represents... Even with the help of that Honkai Beast, we still couldn't find out. What a shame~"

"...Mei, who...whose body is that?"

"You could say I'm your [senior]~ the owner of the [song]... Hmm, well~ let's use easier-to-understand terms to introduce me~?"

Alicia's gaze lingered on the body for a moment before she smiled and spoke.

"His name is [Dawn], he's like the [Herrscher of the End] of our era~"

"...Are you kidding me?"

"No, Miss Kiana?"

"...Are you serious?"

"That's right~ Mei~?"

"........."

"Alright, are you done chatting? I've finished setting it up here, now it's time to..."

Velvi walked towards Raiden Mei and the others, carrying several devices that looked like headbands, seemingly intending to proceed to the next step.

At this moment, Velvet was far from the body and the equipment, and Alicia was always by Raiden Mei and the others' side. Now, there was only... Mebius by that body's side.

Moreover, whether it was because he was too casual, or because there were several Herrschers in front of him that Möbius was quite pleased with, Möbius was facing Raiden Mei and the others, with his back to that body.

then……

Clapping—

A soft, subtle sound, like the movement of a puppet, came quietly.

Along with that came the sound of something cutting through the air from behind.

And the target... is naturally Möbius, who is closest to him.

"Oh? So you finally couldn't hold back and started doing it?"

【Um? ! 】

However, his... no, his attack missed. As if he had expected it, Mebius slightly tilted his head to dodge the sneak attack from behind, and then... with a flick of his tail, a dark green "serpent tail" emerged from the ground, bringing with it a series of mud-like substances that slapped backward.

【whispering sound--】

Unfortunately, it dodged the attack.

But then came the artillery fire, and pink crystal arrows flew in, making it quite flustered in its response.

"Hmm? Huh?"

Raiden Mei and the others were not quite sure what was going on... but soon they noticed the strange, puppet-like movements and the faintly visible threads on the body.

They immediately realized what it was… the [Thousand-Man Herrscher]! They were very familiar with it! Especially Kiana, who remembered it vividly!

"Weren't they completely eradicated back then?"

"No... there were indeed only 999 [cores] when the initial inspection was conducted..."

"Now it seems that our initial guess was correct. The number of [cores] should be 1000... but we only recovered 999 at the time, and this is the one we missed."

"But how did it get here?"

【Of course I came with Kiana and the others~】

"Um?!"

Oh dear, really! They went to such lengths to make me appear, setting up such a grand spectacle... I guess I'm quite the popular one!

It controlled the body, striking an exaggerated and bizarre pose, and spoke in a narcissistic and sarcastic tone.

"Let me see... Wow, that's really impressive. You actually went so far as to release such a body just to capture me... I remember you were planning to use this to revive him, right? And you're just giving it to me like this?"

[What's wrong? What's wrong? What's wrong? Why aren't you attacking? Are you reluctant to let go? Let me think... This body isn't the last one you've prepared, is it? If it's destroyed, it's gone forever? You won't be able to fulfill your wish to resurrect him? Right? Right?]

"...How do you know all this?"

How did I know? It's simple—I heard it from you guys!

"From what we... told you?"

Still haven't realized? I've been following Mei the whole time~ just like another fellow countrywoman~

Its sound was slightly smug.

[After all, your mind-controlling guy's ability is really useful, isn't it? It allowed me to possess Mei's body and see so many, many things~]

"...No, you...wait a minute, don't say anything yet!"

For some reason, Alicia suddenly became a little nervous.

"For your safety's sake, I think you'd better not..."

Oh? What if I insist on telling you?

It suddenly became interested.

I'm especially grateful to Mei-san for letting me learn about the events of the previous era and for allowing me to witness a glimpse of his power.

[What was his name again? Oh… “Xi Wang”… Pfft, “Hope,” that’s a rather interesting name, but in the end, didn’t you guys destroy it? By yourselves~]

Clapping—