Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

Because the energy within his body suddenly went berserk, an invisible pressure from the sky pressed him directly from the surface into the earth's depths, into the asthenosphere, and even into the upper mantle. The endless energy sustained him, preventing him from escaping even a fraction of an inch.

"The third of the Abyss, named Behemoth, whose duty is gluttony—both the devourer and the devoured. Since you think you can defeat me by relying entirely on external forces… even uncontrollable external forces, then let this uncontrollable external force entangle and devour you."

Near the surface, Alice, her eyes gleaming with a clear light, silently gazed down at the fire-covered ground. Around her, the previously annihilated Tyrannical Commander had been resurrected from the River Styx. Another crimson, bull-like behemoth lay quietly at her feet. And not only that, the remaining streams of the River Styx also manifested powerful and terrifying monstrous forms, converging around her.

“You have truly disappointed me to the extreme, Zheng Zha. I originally wanted to put some pressure on you to see if you could learn anything from it. But now…”

She reached out and pressed her hand to the ground. The gravitational tides, unwilling to be controlled by her, emitted a sharp, almost living sound.

“The ground is bad,” she uttered two cold words.

The gravitational field within the celestial body collapsed under her will. Accompanied by chaotic noises as if the entire world were weeping, the entire Antarctic continent, along with its subsurface continental shelf, and even hundreds of kilometers of crust at the bottom of the shelf and parts of the upper mantle, was shattered under the crushing force of gravitational tides. Approximately three trillion tons of mass were ripped directly from the Earth and propelled into the sky by the gravitational tides!

Her gaze easily pierced through the meaningless debris, focusing on the only thing worthy of her attention—Zheng Zha, trapped in the gravitational tides and the backlash of external energy caused by 'Gluttony,' struggled and rolled among countless thick layers of rock, letting out muffled roars from his throat.

"Margot Lloyd!"

"You're so pathetic, Zheng Zha. You can't even fully develop your own power, and you boldly absorb all kinds of unknown and harmful forces from the outside world without any control over them. You're just too pathetic."

She reached out her hand to Zheng Zha, who was nestled in the rocks, and then clenched it.

"Heavenly Grasp".

A brand new point of gravity was generated directly on Zheng Zha's body. Countless soil and rocks then swarmed in. They used Zheng Zha as a base to construct a brand new star, which was then compressed even more tightly under Alice's will.

Soil was compressed into stone, and stone into steel. Atomic-level physical reactions didn't even have time to occur before being disrupted by the increasingly powerful gravitational current, ultimately creating a pure, active planetary core undergoing continuous, subtle fission reactions!

"You should reflect on yourself properly in this closed 'earth' and 'sky'. Zheng Zha, if even this can't help you figure out what you should know, then I'm completely helpless."

She sat cross-legged in the void, controlling the mutated gravitational tides to lift the nascent iron star a hundred kilometers above the ground. The beasts of the Styx surrounded her, protecting her securely. And then…

She extracted a part of her will and cast it onto another battlefield.

Chapter 40: Another War

As it turns out, within the Resident Evil game-movie hybrid universe, Alexia Ashford is the most powerful—at least after the core swap. When Alice projected most of her computing power, switching this temporary body in Raccoon City from a semi-managed, automatic defense state to full control, what met her eyes was a desolate city ablaze with flames.

The battle among the disguised individuals was over, ending with everyone suppressing their combat power to around the third tier, without revealing any outrageous supernatural strength. Alexia was the ultimate victor, while the others were all defeated. Clearly, the world's will, which was fully supporting Zheng Zha's battle, hadn't devoted much attention to Raccoon City. Perhaps it was because Alice's sudden attack was outside its planned response, and precisely because of this, the enhancement process of the two protagonists who received the empowerment suddenly fizzled out at the last moment. And since they hadn't been able to reach the fourth tier, they naturally couldn't inflict much damage on Alexia.

She moved her limbs and examined her torso—the situation didn't look good at all; this body had suffered severe injuries in the previous battle. Not only were two-thirds of her bones broken, but her internal organs and circulatory system were basically just a mass of rotten flesh. The flesh that formed the body's exterior had also lost nearly thirty percent of its mass; one hand and one eye had completely stopped functioning, and her legs could only move slowly.

Without a doubt, this body was finished. If Alice's will hadn't descended upon the husk, forcibly taking over the body's systems and mentally binding the broken flesh and bones back together, this body named Alexia Ashford would have become a corpse, even more destitute than a doll, within ten seconds at most. But because her love for someone arrived just in time, there was still a possibility that it could continue functioning.

Possibility. It's just a possibility, nothing more.

She had no intention of fully repairing and reusing this body. After all, it was just a disguise, and the use of a disguise should follow its rules. Since those characters she defeated, who also had disguises, hadn't resurrected but remained lying dead, she should also show them the appropriate respect.

While flipping the table might feel satisfying, players who do it are generally disliked.

She struggled to her feet from the burning ruins, using her makeshift body as a crutch. She reached out and found a broken iron railing to use as a walking stick. Then, she took a deep breath and walked out of the ruins.

Scorching, burning. As she emerged from the ruins, all she saw in her eyes was a raging inferno. She exhaled a breath tinged with blood mist. Then, the focus of her still-functioning eye gradually stabilized, and a clear image appeared within her field of vision.

The first thing she saw was the sprawling remains of various monsters stretching from one end of the street to the other outside the ruins. These bio-weapons, created using a variant of the T-virus, possessed terrifying power similar to that of mythical creatures. Whether it was an undead wearing a golden mask, a pale-skinned and incredibly strong Wendigo, or a feathered serpent with a near-divine body but still fundamentally mortal, traces of them could be found in the piles of wreckage on the street. Then, atop a mountain of corpses, she saw the last avatar she had killed—Wesker, controlled by Zhao Zhuikong.

As expected, within the Resident Evil universe, Wesker was destined to lose to Alexia. Even with a core swap, Wesker still couldn't defeat Alexia. She reviewed her memories; in the body's records, both Wesker and Alexia were actually covered in wounds during their fight—he had half his body blasted off by Catherine, controlled by Zhao Yingkong, while Alexia had also suffered heavy injuries in her previous battle with Sirin. Ultimately, it was a close contest, but Alexia possessed more bio-weapons.

So Wesker died, and Alexia survived—she turned her gaze to a thirty-story building about a kilometer away from the battlefield, its structure split in half. That was where Miss Sirin was buried. Of course, because she was using her true form, which had suppressed its power, the corpse could only be represented by a plastic mannequin. The real Sirin was probably sulking over juice in some still-open beverage shop.

There was no way around it; her gaming experience had been completely ruined. The loss of a hand and an eye was all thanks to her. Her furious expression as she made her exit was still vividly etched into Alexia's memory—Alexia had used the terrain and environment to trap her and successfully pierced her heart. Then, a frustrated Sirin decisively detonated the homemade bomb she had on her body. The final result was that only fifteen floors remained of the thirty-story building, and after the smoke cleared, Alexia could only find her severed hand, which she had haphazardly stabbed into a mannequin in a fit of rage, amidst the collapsed ruins.

Obviously, according to normal logic, that hand couldn't possibly still be intact. But since Miss Sirin was so considerate in choosing to leave directly, Alexia naturally reciprocated by pretending not to have noticed that the hand could be reattached to her body once it was removed from the mannequin.

She shook her head slightly, and slowly crossed the burning street and the collapsed building, leaning on her cane. The acrid, dry smell lingered in her almost non-functional nostrils. She coughed a few times, exhaling a few specks of soot that had seeped into her lungs.

Before Sirin was Catherine, a pseudonym controlled by Zhao Yingkong. Before engaging Alexia, she had already fought Wesker to a standstill. She blasted off a large portion of Wesker's body, while Wesker barely managed to inflict any damage on her. Whether this was because someone was afraid to harm their own sister, or if there were other hidden reasons, is actually not important. What matters is that the assassin girl seemed to be having a lot of fun.

Naturally, wielding a sword against an opponent with heavy firepower isn't exactly good for one's mental and physical health. While Catherine wielded her katana skillfully, deflecting bullets and even repelling giant beasts with ease, a gun is ultimately far more effective. When Alexia found her, she was engaged in close combat with Alexia's monster horde, even attempting to pull out a heavy revolver to blow Alexia's head off during a melee sword fight. However, Alexia was prepared, drawing a single-shot rocket launcher before she could draw her gun. The end result was a gaping hole in Alexia's waist, while Catherine was reduced to two charred pieces.

'Hesitation leads to defeat'—Catherine forced out this line even when only two pieces of charcoal remained, staring at Alexia. Alexia didn't quite understand what this was all about, but judging from the atmosphere and Catherine's tone as she left, things seemed pretty good at the time.

So she readily added, "Madam, times have changed."

Thus, Catherine was happily defeated. And Alexia was able to continue her battle.

She continued forward, and some faint sounds reached her ears through the crackling of the flames. Ah… yes, those were the voices of the two main characters. She had dealt with these two before her battle with Catherine—because Zheng Zha's side had attracted the attention of the world's will, these two main characters hadn't caused her much trouble. But they hadn't been successfully eliminated by Alexia either, because although the world wasn't watching them, it was still providing them with power. And precisely because of this, the possibility of completely eliminating them before that favor was exhausted was practically zero.

They were like two flies buzzing around Alexia—annoying, troublesome, and difficult to deal with, but not fatal. Alexia's method of dealing with them was to beat them until they were exhausted and then throw them off the battlefield—Claire, the woman, was swallowed whole by a winged dragon she controlled and then flown away. Leon, the man, was kicked into the ground when the ground collapsed, and she casually tossed a suitcase containing a person with whom he had a deep connection into the pit as well.

Clearly, neither of them will die. Claire won't be digested by the dragon; instead, she'll escape by cutting open its belly. However, when she emerges, she'll find herself trapped in a desolate wasteland with no transportation or human habitation, surrounded by a large swarm of bio-weapons. As for Leon, while he won't die from the sinkhole either, the equally indestructible box and its contents will likely force him into a long and arduous underground journey.

Ah… this outcome wasn't perfect for her. But eliminating the world's weapons was still a victory, albeit not a small one. And after those two unlucky guys were thrown out, there were practically no survivors left in Raccoon City… oh, there were still a few. The group rescued by Sirin, along with the family whose power imprint Zhao Yingkong had left, successfully escaped the now-deserted Raccoon City in their car during the battle. Zhao Yingkong even added a highly targeted spatial distortion to the car after leaving the scene; by the time the people in the car realized something was wrong, they were probably already in Alaska.

Alexia stopped in her tracks.

She took a deep breath; the ultimate goal of her journey had finally appeared before her. It was the starting point of the battle, the heart of the event, the lonely church where the drama had begun. It was here that she had killed Alice and the Red Queen who protected Alice. And it was here that she had received her initial wounds.

She reached her goal, and her final mission was finally complete. With a faint sigh, Alexia's soul, controlled by Alice, was finally freed. Her body disintegrated, her flesh turning to mush. And Alice's unrestrained, obsessive soul set foot on this North American land for the first time.

She blinked; the intangible yet clearly observable hatred of the world still surrounded her. However, compared to its previous vibrancy, the hatred now drooped listlessly, like a sapling in summer. Clearly, the previous support for Zheng Zha and the subsequent defeat had severely damaged the very foundation of civilization in this world. Perhaps it had reached the point of crippling the problem, or perhaps not. But whatever the possibility, it meant that the world's ability to interfere with her in the short term would be considerably limited.

Of course, there's a possibility of traps and bait involved. But that doesn't matter, or rather, Alice actually hopes it's a trap set by the world in a show of weakness. Because that's exactly what she needs right now.

She entered the church, and at the edge of her vision, Patchouli, who had also revealed her true form, was waiting for her with the imp beneath the collapsed icon. The imp stepped back slightly, and then Patchouli's gaze met hers precisely in mid-air.

“Patch,” Alice said softly.

“Alice,” Patchouli replied calmly, then changed the subject slightly: “Was it really necessary to go this far?”

“It’s necessary,” Alice replied firmly. “We don’t have much time, so we have to take a slightly more aggressive approach. Although this increases the risks, I think it’s worth it.”

"I don't like your way of forcing yourself to take on more responsibility."

"Then you can take this opportunity to beat me up."

Silence fell between them again. Patchouli knew what Alice meant, and Alice knew that Patchouli was aware of her will. But just as the one who speaks first always seems to lose, although both knew the whole story and its necessity, neither was willing to be the first to speak.

Ultimately, Alice triumphed in what could be described as a standoff. Before she could speak, Patchouli spoke first.

“Since you want to use this momentum to force yourself to grow, then I won’t hold you back. Besides, it’s been a long time since we’ve truly fought each other, so it’s nice to rekindle old memories.” She said clearly and firmly, word by word. “However, there’s one condition.”

"If you lose this battle, afterwards, I'll come after you with the little devil!"

Alice's ethereal eyebrows twitched violently.

"What if I win?" Her voice was a little dry.

"Then you can choose between me and the little devil to go first."

Section 41. I'm not targeting anyone in particular...

"…………"

Alice pressed her temples, rubbing them hard. She thought for a while before organizing her thoughts, then answered her companion's problematic negotiation proposal. "Patch, you and I both know this isn't the point. At your age, playing these childish jealous games... don't you find it boring?"

“Based on cell records, I’m 736 years old this year, and you’re 734. I don’t think we’re that old right now…” Patchouli replied seriously. “A witch’s lifespan can’t be judged by normal standards. And after becoming a supernatural being, we’re not so much children at our current age. And since we’re children, I think it’s my privilege to be unreasonable.”

"I just don't want to reason with you because I'm very angry."

"If you're angry, you can come and hit me. I'll even give you a handicap."

“I can’t beat you, and I don’t want to be cursed,” Patchouli replied without hesitation. “Unless you agree to my conditions, no way. If you’re not willing, we’ll just keep wasting our time here.”

"Do you believe I can perform a corruption ritual right now, reincarnate you into an ancient evil creature, and give you a month-long, comprehensive brain-intervention package of phagocytic brachiopod-like attacks..."

"Come on then! I'm afraid you don't have the guts!"

"How come I don't have any left!"

"Then what are you standing there for? Do it!"

Alice felt like her head was about to explode. She'd spent so much time preparing and arranging everything. She'd finally managed to utterly defeat the world's principles of civilization, given that well-punished Zheng a free Heavenly Dao Initiation, and provided a comprehensive upgrade to the others who had fallen behind. Now, all she needed to do was execute the final step: push both the world and herself to their limits to maximize the world's fortune and potentially elevate herself to a higher level—everything was ready, but she was stuck at this last hurdle!

It's like you've got a perfect hand of fun decks, ready to unleash a combo that's so rare you might not even win, but at least it'll be fun for a year. And then suddenly your opponent inexplicably disconnects and leaves! I've got a pure Rose Fairy deck with all the finishing moves, a combination you might only see once a year, and you just disappeared!

Alice felt an irresistible urge to prepare a ritual that began with the word "fall," and then give this ungrateful little servant a monthly package of "touch"—before, Patchouli would at most endure it for a week before crying and begging for mercy. Now, although time and feelings were meaningless after becoming a transcendent being, doing so would at least be incredibly satisfying!

She eventually calmed down.

“Patch,” she said slowly, enunciating each word clearly. “I once swore that I would not spare even a fraction of my affection for any other organic or inorganic, living or inanimate being besides you. I would not even do anything half-hearted, because my heart can only hold you and I have no intention of expanding it even a little bit.”

"This is my decision, and I have no intention of changing it in the slightest."

“But the little devil is also a part of me.” Patchouli dragged the little devil, who was standing there like a log, over. She pinched her cheek and lifted her hand as if playing with a doll. “The little devil is an AI, lacking a real thought process, but she has now integrated into my power system and become a part of me. She is me. Being with her is no different from being with me…”

"Then why do you still distinguish between 'me' and 'her'?" Alice interrupted her without hesitation. "Save your breath, Patchouli. Whether the little devil has his own will or not, whether he can be considered an independent individual, is perfectly clear to you and me. Just like I would never let Shanghai and Penglai participate in our lives—they are our friends, our brothers, our indispensable helpers, but they are definitely not ourselves."

“I will not agree, because I know very well the real meaning behind your elaborate and incomprehensible operation—you want me to accept the little devil, and then use this as an opportunity to plant the seed in my heart to accept Luo Ye as well. Admittedly, this might actually be somewhat effective, but I refuse. I will never coexist peacefully with her. In the end, only one of us will be left.”

She reached out, gazing at her fingers as she gently clenched her fist. She felt the restrained power within her unwavering resolve, and the subtle, almost imperceptible, way of thinking deep within her. Her gaze and expression grew increasingly resolute.

“Loye is the past, the thoughts and ideas of the individual Alice Margotrovid before she became Alice Margotrovid. She was conservative and unwilling to change because she herself represented the concept of immutability. And it is precisely because of this that she and I have one major difference.”

She looked at Patchouli.

"Before becoming Alice Margotrovid, Luo Ye knew nothing about Patchouli Knowledge. Perhaps she would feel the same affection for Patchouli because of shared memories. But in her mind, Patchouli wasn't the most important one—she had a vast inner space, and she didn't mind expanding the inner chambers of her heart to some extent. If I choose to accept her, or devour and assimilate her instead of completely eliminating her, then I will inevitably inherit that trait as well."

"Patch, by then you will no longer be the only one in my heart. Perhaps I will casually start one or a few fleeting romances while traveling to another world. Perhaps in the distant future I will abandon this love between us for various reasons. And such a thing... I will not tolerate it. I cannot tolerate even the mere possibility of it happening."

"Alice, if you choose to do this, your chances of overcoming your inner demons will be extremely low. And even if you manage to succeed by chance, you will never be able to control and sever your obsessions to reach a higher level—you will stagnate there for hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years without making any progress. More likely, you will meet your end when the final battle of the cycle of reincarnation arrives."

A subtle smile appeared on Alice's lips.

"Someone once wanted to help me overcome my inner demons. At that time, all I needed to do was give up thinking and wait a few days to easily gather the light of my soul and advance to the middle stage of the fourth tier without any aftereffects—I refused. And I am the same now. Although I represent a 'change' that is completely opposite to Luo Ye's, there is one thing I don't want to change! Perhaps this contradictory behavior will become the reason why Luo Ye defeats me in the future, but I don't care!"

Before she could finish speaking, Patchouli, in a fit of rage, shoved her to the ground and then grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up.

“But I care, Alice Margotrovid!” Patchouli’s face contorted in a rare, ferocious rage. Her slightly parted lips revealed teeth that sent chills down her spine. “Listen to me, Alice. I won’t allow you to treat your life so carelessly! Love doesn’t matter. So what if you hook up with an entire army of lovers in another world? I don’t care about such baseless nonsense. I just want you to live, to live a full life, with every single part of you intact!”

Alice, however, simply watched her quietly.

“I understand your thoughts, Patchouli. If you were in my situation, I would also hope that you would treat all the vows you made in the past as bullshit. As long as you can live a healthy and complete life, that is more important than anything else. But you are different from me, Patchouli. You don’t have a past life that is completely unbroken like mine. You won’t develop a twisted and distorted inner demon like Loyal. You don’t have an invisible hand pushing you from behind the scenes, forcing you toward some goal whose future you don’t know. You are not me, you will not, and cannot, encounter a similar predicament to mine.”

"Therefore you cannot persuade me, nor can you change me—I will not break my vow. Even if you beg me, I will not back down in the slightest on this matter."

"...You're really selfish, Alice." Patchouli released her grip on her collar and said softly, "You pushed Zheng Zha to this point, pushed the world to this point, and dragged everyone else into this upheaval, and that's partly the reason, isn't it? You yourself know that you might be blocked at the barrier of your inner demons or lose your potential for progress after breaking through them. That's why you tried to elevate everyone else to a high enough level before the world that the Supreme God would inevitably arrange for to target inner demons arrived... because you didn't know if you would die there, or if you would still be useful in that world, right?"

“I don’t deny it,” Alice replied, “and love is inherently selfish.”

"Can't you change for me?"

“…Love is inherently selfish. And…” Alice repeated what she had just said. Her gaze remained calm as always. “And how do you know I haven’t made any changes?”

"How do you know?" Patchouli raised an eyebrow, looking almost laughing with anger. "Yes, pushing yourself to this extent is indeed a change. You're forcing the world to advance, forcing the world to favor the 'savior' you've prepared for it. At the same time, this action is also forcing yourself... You want to push yourself to the limit to make a change. After all, 'Loye' and 'Alice Margotrovid' are one. If the whole is destroyed, then the individual will also disappear. You want to use this method to force Loye to compromise?"