I am a female swordsman.

The shadow of the demon grinned savagely.

Flames mingled with smoke, and exposed fangs were grotesque and terrifying. His body, seemingly formed from the embers of a burnt-out corpse, was being dragged step by step into the abyss of hell by his shadow. Miraculously, the werewolf captain, almost severed in two, did not die immediately; flesh rapidly grew from the massive wound!

The next second, the shadowy figure's gun was locked onto Wolf Lieutenant's head!

The blazing fires of hell offered Wolf Lieutenant a pass to hell; only the dead and demons are qualified to be dragged into hell!

However, the moment after the Shadow finished off the enemy, something happened that he never dreamed of.

Wolf Lieutenant, who had lost his ability to move and was severely injured, disappeared!

The suddenly unfolding spell model, like a giant net, expanded and contracted in an instant, carrying Wolf Lieutenant away to an unknown location. A penetrating beam of flame left a deep, arm-thick crater in the scorched, soft ground; another target, which should have been intercepted by [Raven], appeared there instead.

[The Depriver]!

The man in the military coat with short black hair grinned, his left hand outstretched, fingers poised to grasp. On the Depriver's left hand, a surge of magical power, rising and falling like tides, shone brightly.

"That half-demon actually failed?"

The Shadow Demon's tone was somewhat incredulous; he had personally witnessed the overwhelming combat power displayed by the Raven when it made a move.

"Miss Crow is so kind as to refuse, I can only leave a few tricks for her to play with." The Depriver's eyes flashed with a strange mockery. In reality, neither of them knew the other's true strength, so for now, they could only take a step back and deal with the future later.

"What's that saying again...right, good fortune never comes in pairs." Although the Shadow didn't believe the crow had failed, the facts spoke for themselves, and now standing before him were German superhumans.

Since the crow failed, he should be prepared.

First, they crippled a second-tier enemy, then tried their best to hold off this one. Unsure when Captain America would be able to provide rapid support, Shadow Demon didn't bother with desperately trying to stall the enemy; doing his best was enough.

After all, they were hired, and their real mission and this temporary task don't seem to have much connection at the moment, so it's not worth going to great lengths for them. Helping you is a matter of principle, not helping you is a matter of rule; they were just skirting the rules and taking a shortcut. The hot-tempered Shadow Demon would have retaliated immediately if they dared to show any disrespect!

"Relax, cowboy, I'm not looking for a fight."

"Oh? But buddy, you've blocked my gun."

When someone is deemed an enemy, Shadow Demon has no patience for pleasantries; even with comrades, he's never short of occasional sarcastic remarks.

The Depriver clearly didn't have the habit of wasting time arguing with a native; he was only here to reclaim the werewolf captain. From a transmigrator's perspective, he greatly admired this werewolf captain, so he conveniently saved him from the brink of death. At the same time, through his contact with the Shadow Demon who had been in contact with Huang Quan, he learned about Miss Raven indirectly and realized that she wasn't exactly well-liked.

After doing all this.

The Depriver gave the Shadow a meaningful smile. Before the Shadow could react, the spell model that had been set up under his feet started working again, and the spell, as if cast instantly, made the Depriver disappear from the spot!

In the Shadow's perception, the Depriver and Wolf Captain first appeared several hundred meters away.

Then it quickly disappeared and reappeared a kilometer away.

Following the carefully laid out magical models, a miraculous effect, akin to spatial leap, was achieved. This move by the Depriver completely extinguished the Shadow Demon's hopes of pursuing and delaying. From his perspective, the short-haired black man had set up a large number of magic circles in this area, occupying a strategic advantage, and a hasty pursuit would involve too many uncertainties.

And that man's smile...

Shadow recalled something from the night before he left the West. That old liar, that despicable old charlatan, had come to him and confided a deep-seated worry about Raven.

"Mr. Shadow...! Are you alright!?"

………………

Compared to the earth-shattering battle and devastating scenes between the Shadow Demon and Wolf Knight, the clash between Yellow Springs and the Depriver seemed rather meager. Apart from the bombardment caused by the Depriver's initial large-scale destructive spells, Yellow Springs left virtually no trace.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Huang Quan lacks moves with wide-area destructive power.

Undeterred by the consequences, she could flatten a rocky hill about 700 meters high in five minutes by unleashing her magical power. However, Huang Quan, who was used to using a scalpel to precisely concentrate her skills to kill enemies, deliberately stepped over the threshold of showing off her abilities.

When Huang Quan was found by Mo Ying and Lin, she was sitting quietly on a clean patch of ground.

There was absolutely no sign of a battle.

Apart from the faint crimson glow emanating from the pale forehead and the crimson demonic patterns between the bangs, which proved that Huang Quan's condition was unstable, everything else was normal. Even the subtle changes in the expression of that beautiful, expressionless face remained unchanged.

Upon seeing Huang Quan, Lin was both happy and relieved, while Mo Ying remained silent, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

"Thank goodness you're alright."

Young Lin revealed a sincere smile. He had made the decision to undertake this temporary mission on his own initiative, and he would feel remorse if this decision led to any accidents involving the other members of the team.

"I failed to intercept the enemy on this mission."

This is an established fact, and Huang Quan has no intention of making any excuses.

There were many reasons why she didn't stop the plunderers; they were very complex, and others might not understand. Huang Quan didn't elaborate on her persistent nature, so she simply remained silent. That's how the world is; some things can't be understood just by being spoken, no matter how much you explain.

"In exchange, I've learned of the enemy's plans for the [World's Underworld]. You are not ready..."

On the way to the agreed-upon airship landing coordinates, Huang Quan used the most concise and refined language possible to lay out the Third Reich's insane plans that she had learned from the Deprivers: the enemy's ambitions were even greater than Allied headquarters had anticipated. Simply put, in this life-or-death situation, one person had already drawn a knife, ready to draw blood, while the other remained unarmed, unprepared to face the knife.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: History

task:

Golden Dawn

Mission Requirements: Visit the Golden Dawn Society and investigate the key reasons for the mysterious evolution.

Task progress: Completed!

Task Evaluation: In this world, there is no such thing as chance, only inevitability. In situations of inequality, so-called variables are not much different from fixed numbers…

Mission reward: none

……

The planned rendezvous points for the Prometheus team are on an unknown plain bordering the forest.

Three tiny figures sat around a campfire by a stream.

As darkness fell, lighting a campfire would make it easier for the airship to find them upon arrival. Even if a campfire wasn't enough, they had their own methods of contacting the group. Looking up at the magnificent sky at this moment, a faint dark arc could be clearly seen appearing from the other side of the dome.

The three people sitting in front of the campfire had different expressions.

Lin looked anxious and uneasy, and he made the most small movements such as touching his head and gritting his teeth, while Mo Ying, although very calm, still showed a faint worry deep in his orange-yellow eyes.

'Variables, constants...' Huang Quan, with a poker face, sat quietly and dignified on the ground, seemingly resting with his eyes closed, but actually reviewing his system.

The profound impact of the information he had shared with Demon Shadow and Lin Ting on their minds was beyond Huang Quan's consideration. After contact with the [Depriver], a fellow transmigrator, the system, which had been practically lifeless in this world, finally spoke up.

Still, speak up first!

This was a treatment Huang Quan had never received in the ghoul world. Regarding the "Golden Dawn" quest, Huang Quan didn't follow the quest requirements exactly, but he still managed to fulfill the system's needs through an unconventional approach. Furthermore, this quest was completely devoid of any merit, so the system reluctantly accepted the task and completed it willingly, acting as a temperamental host.

What exactly do you want from me?

In the space of consciousness, in front of a magnificent blue floating light screen.

Huang Quan looked at the completed [Golden Dawn] mission and muttered to herself. The system popped up on its own. Did this mean that the key to the mysterious evolution had been found out? In this turbulent and noisy world, what interesting mission would the system assign her next?

The mission text on the transparent and beautiful blue floating screen quickly disappeared.

In response to Huang Quan's questions, the system demonstrated a higher level of human-computer interaction intelligence.

'The divergent paths have become apparent. The host's kind (ID: [Hunter 1]) is causing irreversible deviations in this timeline. The host has a responsibility to stop this behavior, either by banishing [Hunter 1] from this world or by destroying its soul and body.'

Huang Quan sensed the system's murderous intent from the ID "[Hunter 1]".

'Responsibility? I don't feel I have a responsibility to maintain the world of Divine Comedy. And if I do, where are the rights that correspond to that responsibility?' No one likes being burdened with obligations, and Huang Quan believes this responsibility is unreasonable. Unless the system can convince her, she won't proactively deal with a transmigrator whose abilities are unknown.

The system's screen cleared, as if it had known all along that Huang Quan would ask such a question and had already answered it.

'This world has shown kindness to the host, and in the face of crisis, the host has an obligation to repay it within reasonable limits.'

'Where is the goodwill?' Huang Quan's sarcastic expression intensified.

'Goodwill manifests as luck: the host didn't choke to death while eating, didn't fall and hit their head on a sharp rock, and wasn't killed by a meteorite while walking. The dimensional consciousness favors the host, welcoming reasonable evolution—this is the greatest goodwill towards the transmigrator.'

The system's cold and ruthless words made Huang Quan suppress his sarcastic emotions.

To respond to absolute reason with rash thoughts is foolish. The system's words clearly conveyed a sense of reason. Assuming the system is not lying, Huang Quan truly owes a debt of gratitude to this world. She has never been targeted in this world; if the Divine Melody world harbored ill will towards her, Huang Quan could not have lived peacefully until now.

Board first, buy the ticket later?

Huang Quan's lips twitched. She wasn't swayed by the system; in her opinion, this wasn't enough.

Why doesn't the world consciousness deal with the "Deprivers" itself?

'I don't quite understand, what is this crisis? And why is it related to me and [Hunter 1]?' If this crisis is directed at the world consciousness, Huang Quan doesn't think the world consciousness would die because of the actions of two mere transmigrators; the two are on completely different levels.

'Both the host and [Hunter 1] come from the downstream of time...'

If we compare time to a long river, it is naturally divided into upstream and downstream, representing the past and the future.

"...Disturbing the upstream of time creates a landscape different from the original downstream. [Hunter 1]'s actions deserve praise for their courage and determination. However, his push for a mysterious evolution based on a one-sided understanding, disregarding his own serious flaws, will become a terrifying standard if he succeeds and history fails to reflect on his actions. The altered, newly arrived downstream intelligent life cannot afford the cost of making up for lost time."

Make-up lessons mean reflecting on one's actions.

Humans learn from history. Although the only thing humans learn from history is nothing, history always progresses in a spiral.

If skipping class means taking shortcuts to avoid historical mistakes, how devastating would the cost of remedial lessons be? Consider a major power's space program: if it hadn't experienced any errors in the preceding stages and was instead propelled to success by a single individual, only to have subsequent support cut off, the scenario would be like Challenger spacecraft launching every day…

Each space machine costs an astronomical sum!

If even aerospace engineering is subject to such conditions, what price will those who skip classes pay for altered history?

Money, human lives, or a regression of civilization...?

Huang Quan pondered this question seriously for a long time, and the system screen even cleared all subtitles to allow her to think quietly. In the end, Huang Quan had to admit that, with her limited knowledge, she couldn't imagine what kind of price would be paid for tutoring, but she believed that people living in such a world must be very pitiful.

'But are you really that kind-hearted, trying to save us from a crisis...' Huang Quan changed the subject, questioning the system's motives.

'All choices made by the system are for the host's benefit; the system's duty is to cultivate a perfect host; the system has never acted selfishly. Host, please save the isolated island downstream in time.'

task:

Divergent Paths

Mission Requirements: With the cooperation of the system and the world consciousness, reverse the mysterious evolution of the Divine Comedy world in a normal direction.

Quest Reward: [Divine Sword] Liang Yue Sword Domain Trial Voucher

Accept the task: Yes/No

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Mirror

Before the pale blue floating light screen, Huang Quan felt a complex sense of respect for the system within his body for the first time.

The respect arose because Huang Quan, through the "Divergent Paths" mission, gained his first understanding of the system's perspective on the world. Undoubtedly, its analytical vision of the world was on a completely different level from Huang Quan's, a transmigrator's; it possessed a high degree of self-reflection and rationality, yet contained an unspoken emotion within it.