On how PhDs become human evil

A black bow materialized in her hand, and Athena drew the bowstring, nocking an arrow entirely constructed from dark divine power.

"Since you say you want to wrap things up, then I'll shatter your arrogance that you think you've got me cornered."

That arrow was a burst of Athena's full power—Bai Jie could sense it; it seemed his words had truly enraged the Mediterranean queen.

It's alright, though. It wouldn't be bad to keep fighting Athena, but if that happened, Japan would be finished.

"For victory, come quickly before me! Immortal sun, grant me a radiant steed. Spirited steed with magnificent hooves, bring forth the halo that symbolizes your lord!"

Bai Jielang chanted the words of punishment for sinners, and the world, which was originally shrouded in boundless darkness, was suddenly illuminated by a ray of light, and an incomparably dazzling sun appeared in the sky.

“Yu——————————!”

The neighing of the white horse of light resounded throughout the world, and the incarnation that once nearly destroyed Sardinia reappeared in the Far East!

"White Horse... Sun God, you truly use the power I despise time and time again, you god-slayer!" Athena gritted her teeth and glared angrily. "In the name of the Lord of the Underworld, I command: all living beings, offer your power for me, and shoot down that hateful sun!"

Another wave of life energy surged toward Athena from all directions. The dark arrow instantly solidified to its limit, and the temperature of the world gradually dropped due to the plundering of a large amount of life energy.

Now, heaven and earth have been divided into two parts.

The sky above is a blazing firmament dominated by the white horse of light, while the earth is a desolate wasteland of death occupied by Athena.

It truly is a case of extremes, like fire and ice.

As Bai Jie felt the large amount of cursed power draining from his body, his face gradually turned pale. The White Horse was a destructive strike aimed at a major sinner, and its power would change depending on the severity of the sins committed by the target. The more severe the sins of the target, the greater the power of the White Horse.

However, the increased power did not arise out of thin air. All existence must abide by the law of conservation of energy. The source of the increased power of the white horse was Bai Jie's curse power. Now, the curse power in Bai Jie's body is like a reservoir with its floodgates opened, which can be described as a torrent. This also proves how terrifying Athena's arrow really is.

Time passed as both sides continued to build up their strength, with Bai Jie and Athena giving their all in preparation for the next attack.

Finally, just when both of them were as pale as they could possibly be, the silence was broken!

"Zheng—!!!"

Athena released the bowstring from its full length, and the Dark Arrow on it swelled up the instant it left the bow, roaring and charging toward the sky like a giant serpent about to devour it. Its spreading death power continuously plundered the life force of everything around it, and the ground beneath Bai Jie and Athena's feet turned into lifeless yellow sand at a speed that was beyond the sight of the naked eye!

"Yu————!!!"

The sound of horses neighing once again resounded through the sky. The white horse of light, carrying the all-destroying blazing sun flames of judgment, plummeted from the sky like a meteorite. Everything in its path was burned into nothingness, and a vacuum domain without any matter was even created in the sky. The scorching sun flames caused things on the ground to spontaneously combust even before they made contact!

That was a fleeting moment, less than a ten-thousandth of a second, in which the Devouring Serpent and the White Horse of Light traversed the entire distance of heaven and earth—

"—"

The world suddenly fell silent.

It was like the calm before the storm, or the last peace before the end of the world.

At the moment the White Horse of Light and the Devouring Serpent collided, a point of light first appeared at the point of contact. Then, the point of light rapidly expanded in the middle, becoming more and more dazzling and larger. After a while, it transformed into a blinding light that covered the entire world, enveloping the spatial tremors and collapse within it, before exploding outwards.

"boom------------!"

When the blinding light poured down from mid-air, the entire world exploded with a deafening roar, bringing with it an extremely shocking impact that burst forth from mid-air and instantly enveloped the entire area within tens of kilometers!

Buildings were smashed, rivers were evaporated, waterways were cut off, mountains were destroyed...

Within the area enveloped by the white light, everything met its end, and without exception, everything headed towards destruction.

—【The End of the World】

This is the only word that can describe the current situation. The burst of white light is like divine punishment, destroying everything in its path with equal force, and wantonly annihilating the civilized nations built by humankind.

After an unknown amount of time, the radiance that had filled the entire world gradually faded. And when the radiance completely disappeared, the scene revealed was beyond description. If it were captured in a satellite image, only one image would be visible—

A huge gap appeared in the earth, like a piece of a cake that had been scooped out with a spoon.

P.S.: Because I couldn't find a suitable background music for this chapter, I stretched a one-hour task into nearly three hours. I had to switch to a suitable background music for each section I wrote, otherwise I just couldn't imagine the feeling in my mind. By the way, I wrote the last section while listening to the theme song "Nuclear Explosion".

P.S.: As requested, Athena won't die. After a couple of transitional chapters, she'll become the Marquis of Vauban... Poor Japan.

Section 208, Question 21: Author: If Singapore is bombed this year, where will it be bombed next year?

"...Next news item: Regarding the massive explosion that occurred in 3-chome yesterday at noon, according to expert investigations, it was caused by a series of explosions triggered by a gas explosion. Two-thirds of Tokyo has been razed to the ground..."

Watching the morning news on TV, Shirasaki Kaori sighed, spreading jam on her bread as she looked at the person sitting opposite her: "That's what the TV said, huh? As the culprit who caused the explosion, what are your thoughts?"

"My thoughts, if I had to put it into words, would be something like, 'It really caused quite a stir.'"

Sitting opposite Shirasaki Kaori was none other than Bai Jie, one of the two who had almost demolished Tokyo.

Last night, Shirasaki Kaori had just finished showering and was about to go to sleep when she suddenly heard people talking in the living room. When she went over to check, she found her parents talking to two people who looked like government officials, and between the two government officials was Shirasaki Jie, whose body was wrapped in bandages.

Although I didn't hear what they said, based on the current situation, it can be said that Bai Jie has moved into Shirasaki Kaori's house and become a long-term guest.

With a heavy hand wrapped in bandages, Bai Jie picked up the milk cup and said, "Well, in terms of the result, Athena, who came to cause trouble, was reduced to an incomplete state by me, the Gorgon Stone sank into the sea, and the battle losses were minimized. I guess the people on the official history compilation committee are probably cheering with relief."

The fact that half of Tokyo was razed to the ground, resulting in a loss equivalent to twenty years of Japan's total tax revenue, can this really be considered the best outcome?

Slowly setting down the bread in her hand, Kaori Shirasaki's face showed a look of incomprehension: "Shaniat, who... exactly are you?"

Why did he fight with that person yesterday? Why did he move into his house? Why does he have such power? After summarizing these questions, the core conclusion is—who is Bai Jie?

"Who am I... Well, I was thinking of finding some time to explain to you, since you witnessed what happened yesterday."

Setting down the milk cup and wiping the milk residue from the corners of his mouth, Bai Jie began to explain to Shirasaki Kaori.

"Shirasaki, first of all, I want to tell you that gods really exist in this world, just like the little girl you met yesterday, who was a god."

"Generally speaking, humans are absolutely unable to fight against gods, but in history there have always been some extremely lucky people who encountered a series of good fortunes, which eventually triggered a probability that was infinitely close to zero, allowing them to kill gods as mortals. Those who know the inside story call such people god-killers, and I am one of only seven god-killers in this world."

Gods, god-slayers.

If someone had seriously said something like this to Shirasaki Kaori before, she probably would have just laughed it off. But after what happened yesterday, Shirasaki Kaori had to admit that what Bai Jie said was true.

"Well, you don't need to think too much about it. Just treat both the god-slayer and the god as monsters," Bai Jie said with a smile. "Yesterday, I fought Athena, the goddess of Greek mythology. Although she didn't seem to be the only Athena, it doesn't matter. And just like the news reported, my battle with her almost completely destroyed Tokyo. That was after I tried my best to take the battlefield to the sky."

During World War II, the two atomic bombs dropped by the United States destroyed Hiroshima, a nightmare for Japan.

Now, Bai Jie and Athena have brought Tokyo to the brink of destruction.

The result of humanity's most powerful weapon was that it was almost accomplished by just two people. In other words, the god and the god-slayer, just two people, could have done what only an atomic bomb could do.

Moreover, according to Bai Jie, what affected the ground was only the aftermath of their battle; the real battlefield was in the sky. It's hard to imagine what kind of destruction would have occurred if the battle had broken out on the ground.

“Shaniat... I heard there was a tsunami in Sardinia too, could it be that there was one there as well?”

"Yes, the result of my battle with another god back then was a desperate fight to the death. I was prepared to die twenty times over before I finally defeated him."

Kaori Shirasaki was so shocked that she couldn't speak. After Bai Jie's explanation, she finally understood why Bai Jie said that she only needed to treat the god-killers and gods as monsters, because the two types of people really were a group of monsters!

The aftershocks could destroy a city, the battle triggered a massive tsunami that submerged a small island, and it could survive being killed twenty times... It was undoubtedly a monster.

Seeing Shirasaki Kaori fall silent, Bai Jie wasn't surprised. Although his purpose in coming to Japan was only to deal with the Gorgon Stone and he was supposed to return to Italy after that, Bai Jie felt he should at least say hello to these classmates he had spent less than a week with.

Especially Shirasaki Kaori, who has touched the real world, Bai Jie should explain the situation to her, both morally and logically—although in principle he should directly manipulate her memories.

"Shirasaki, as I said, don't overthink it. Just treat us like monsters. I'll be returning to Italy in two days, so you really don't need to worry about anything. Just continue living your life as usual."

Hearing Bai Jie say that, Shirasaki Kaori knew he was trying to comfort her, but seeing the smile Bai Jie still wore despite his bandages, and with a surge of courage from who knows where, Shirasaki Kaori suddenly said, "Shaniat... no, Fafnir! I don't think you're a monster!"

Although they had only spent less than a week together, Shirasaki Kaori thought that Bai Jie was a really kind and good person. Not to mention how he helped his classmates in various ways on a daily basis, even yesterday when the enemy was in front of them, the first thing Bai Jie did was to protect her. Even in the life-or-death battle, he thought about not causing too much damage to the ground and took the enemy into the sky.

Bai Jie is definitely not a monster!

Looking into Shirasaki Kaori's eyes, which held a strong will, Bai Jie suddenly grinned and laughed: "Haha! You're really something, Shirasaki. You say I'm a good person? You're the first person to say that to me!"

Demons, demon kings, cold-blooded monsters, devilish scientists... No matter which world Bai Jie was in, these were the kinds of descriptions he heard.

As a scientist of Destiny, he sacrificed the lives of many Valkyries and destroyed many people and families who wanted to oppose Destiny.

As a Kamen Rider, his ruthless fighting style not only strikes fear into the hearts of his enemies but also instills dread in his comrades; Meteor even fought him once.

As a magician, his unconventional way of thinking was completely rejected by the Clock Tower and regarded as heresy. Faced with ridicule directed at him, Bai Jie's reaction was to carry out a major purge within the Clock Tower.

In the end, as a god-slayer, Bai Jie was a true demon king. Sardinia and Tokyo were the places Bai Jie committed atrocities. Magicians all over the world feared him and revered him as the "Demon King" and the "Magic King".

Even Chen, who was inseparable from him and loved him to the core, said that he was definitely not someone who could be called a good person.

Therefore, Shirasaki Kaori is the first person to truly say that Bai Jie is a good person.

Bai Jie suddenly flicked Shirasaki Kaori's forehead with his finger.

"Ouch! What happened?!"

"It's nothing, I just think you're too trusting of others, so I'm just giving you a heads-up," Bai Jie said with a smile. "You've only known me for a few days and you dare to say I'm a good person? I have a feeling you'll suffer a great loss in the future."

"No way, I have a very good eye for people."

"Well, say what you will. Anyway, I'm heading back to Italy this afternoon. Thanks for taking me in last night."

"Huh? Going back this afternoon?"

“Yes, I’m out of work in Japan now. I should have already withdrawn from school by now.” Bai Jie said calmly. “Anyway, like I said, you don’t need to think too much. Just pretend I never existed and continue living your life as usual.”

P.S.: I went to see the Conan movie this morning. I have to say, the movie really turned into an action blockbuster. I could only understand part of the reasoning process. When that squinty-eyed trainee policeman turned against me at the end, I was really stunned—was this guy the villain? Also, I have to mention the scene where Makoto Kyogoku was carrying Sonoko on the rooftop and fighting that big guy. It was supposed to be an incredibly exciting, visceral fight scene, but I just couldn't stop laughing. I even mistook the final straight punch for One-Punch Man!

P.S.: There's also a Mid-Autumn Festival bonus card.

Chapter 209 Mid-Autumn Festival Special: I Miss You So Much

"Time to go home!"

"Everyone has worked hard today, go home early!"

"Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and my great-grandfather even came all the way from Colombia."

"You're actually Colombian?!"

......

At 5:30 PM, the Lungmen Guard Bureau reached its end-of-get off work time. The Guard Bureau members, who had worked diligently at their respective posts all day, began packing up to prepare for going home.

This is a scene that would be normal anywhere, but today, their longing to go home is even stronger.

Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival.