I really didn't want to burn it.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot. And that little bitch who tricked Ang..."

Ryougi Shiki, who had already walked ahead, turned back, looked at Li Ang's face, and said with a smile, "But you guys have been humiliating and barbecuing her, which seems a bit cruel. So... I'll just let her end it all."

As she spoke, Ryougi Shiki drew her long sword halfway out.

Ritsuka, standing behind, gave a playful smile: "How about this, I'll make her my Servant. Then I'll use a Command Spell to command her to walk on her butt for the rest of her life?"

“How could you be so cruel, senior?” Mashu pointed out seriously. “It would be enough to make her squeak like a monkey for the rest of her life.”

Li Ang: "..."

Although these people were talking about how to deal with Koyanskaya, their eyes were all glancing at themselves.

Li Ang himself wouldn't believe it if he said that those women didn't have feelings for him!

"I'm sorry, but your suggestions probably can't be adopted."

Suddenly, a clear, cold voice came from the steps.

“DD…”

Looking at the little maid standing on the high place, Li Ang called her name with a complicated expression.

"Greetings, Master. And ladies."

The maid bowed slightly to everyone present.

"I regret to remind everyone that only the master can pass through the rest of the journey."

"What did you say!!"

Skadi glared at the maid with displeasure.

Of all the people, Skadi is the only one who has never had any contact with DD, and she is also the one who is most dissatisfied with the maid.

In her view, no matter the reason, it cannot change the fact that DD betrayed Li Ang.

But Skadi's fierce expression didn't sway the maid. She lowered her head slightly and continued in a calm tone, "I'm just relaying her request, after all, I'm her servant now. If Miss Skadi has any personal grievances, please just say so. Please don't doubt my professionalism."

“That’s good.” Skadi pulled out her wand. “I should be able to have some fun with you before we deal with that fox.”

"Wait a minute, Skadi."

Li Ang stepped forward and stopped her.

"I'll go alone."

"Li Ang!!"

Skadi was getting anxious. The fact that they were only sending Li Ang alone was clearly a trap. How could Li Ang possibly agree to go?

"No problem, the sooner we see her, the sooner we can resolve the issue."

Li Ang smiled slightly, showing no hesitation on his face.

"But……"

Skadi was clearly still not entirely at ease.

"If you're really worried about me, then come over sooner rather than later."

Leon winked at Skadi, then said to the others, "I'll leave this to you guys. I'll take care of that big guy."

Li Ang's witty remark didn't elicit laughter from the others; instead, the girls looked at him with serious expressions.

"Please don't look at me like that, like I'm seeing you off..."

Li Ang sighed softly.

[Because they think you're not coming back, host. If that big fox eats you, you'll be torn to pieces! Hahaha.]

"Speak up."

Li Ang snorted coldly and then walked up the steps.

DD did not stop him, letting his master walk up the steps.

As the two figures passed each other, DD didn't say anything, but only glanced at Li Ang out of the corner of his eye.

Li Ang noticed the maid's gaze, secretly gave her a thumbs-up, and then continued walking uphill.

Skadi was somewhat unwilling, and she took two steps forward, wanting to follow behind Li Ang.

Bah!

DD drew his two lightsabers and swung them forcefully, knocking Skadi down the steps.

"Tsk."

Although Skadi blocked the maid's attack with her shield, she was more concerned about the maid's attitude.

Clearly, DD really intends to leave no one behind except for Li Ang.

At this moment, Chloris walked up the steps, and several thick vines had already spread out around her.

"DD, do you remember the first time we met?"

"Of course I remember," the maid replied calmly. "I haven't liked you much since then."

"Great minds think alike. But you probably don't like anyone getting close to Li Ang, right?"

"Clausse said sarcastically."

"Now that you mention it, it reminds me of something." The maid held a lightsaber in each hand. "This is a rare opportunity. Why don't we take care of all of you vixens who are trying to sneak up on our master this time?"

"This doesn't sound like something a vixen's subordinate should say!"

Ryougi Shiki drew her long sword.

In an instant, the fighting spirit of the girls on the steps reached its peak.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Li Ang had no idea what was happening behind him, but he knew the atmosphere was definitely tense.

Perhaps this is the downside of being too popular.

Even now, the mourning system still acts heartless and indifferent.

"You probably never get nervous, right?"

[That's about it. This system is merely a recorder. Even if the host dies, the system will simply find another host to continue recording.]

"You really are..."

Li Ang shook his head slightly, realizing that he really didn't know how to evaluate his system.

Is it cold-blooded and ruthless? Fortunately, the system never took any responsibility for itself from the beginning. On the contrary, Li Ang has been receiving help from it throughout his long journey.

So Li Ang decided to shut up and quickened his pace up the stairs.

Soon, Li Ang arrived once again at the core of the Temple of Time—the Throne.

The place hadn't changed much since Li Ang's last visit, except that the throne, which used to be a normal person sitting upright, had now become as tall as a mountain.

The girl also grew to be enormous; even the joint of one of her fingers was larger than Li Ang's at this moment.

The other party lay on his side on this enormous throne, his nine golden tails swaying gently behind him, while the fox woman looked down at Li Ang.

"Is this your true form, Meiniang?"

Li Ang, who had just climbed the steps, asked the fox woman in a cold voice.

“Yes, this is the true form of the Beast—the Human Evil Nine-Tailed Fox,” Koyanskaya said with a smile.

Although the other person's size had become enormous, her voice did not have the deafening roar of a behemoth; instead, it sounded like a soft whisper in Li Ang's ear.

"DD just said you wanted to see me. Can I know why?"

Despite Skadi and the others' obvious worry, Leon wasn't too concerned about his own safety.

If Koyanskaya really wanted to kill him outright, then DD could have done so during the Imperial Rank battle.

The fact that they called me over undoubtedly means they have something to say.

Therefore, Li Ang did not believe that the other party would kill him directly—at least not until the conversation ended.

However, Li Ang was also aware that his wife, Meiniang, was not a kind-hearted person, so he had prepared necessary precautions.

Don't be fooled by Li Ang's simple stance; he can launch a counterattack should Koyanskaya make any move.

"Your Majesty, your cold tone is so hurtful... *crying*, *crying*."

Koyanskaya covered her face with her sleeve and made a crying sound that even a fool could tell was fake.

"Enough, there's no point in us continuing like this." Li Ang rubbed his temples, his head aching. "Tell me, what are your thoughts?"

"Your Majesty, what kind of person am I in your eyes?"

Koyanskaya gently stroked the armrest of the throne and asked softly.

"you……"

Li Ang's lips twitched twice. He originally thought he could easily give the answer, but in fact, he couldn't say it so easily.

Because Leon didn't know whether he should reveal his true thoughts or give Koyanskaya the answer she wanted to hear.

"Don't you want to talk about it? Or are you afraid to talk about it because you're afraid of upsetting me?"

Koyanskaya smiled and tapped Li Ang's head with her fingertip.

The enormous fingernails nearly knocked Li Ang to the ground.

"Then let them say it themselves." Koyanskaya licked her fingertips. "They're the villain, you know~ that's their place in this world."

"Villain? Meiniang, you're not..."

Li Ang was taken aback.

He never expected Koyanskaya to say such a thing.

"Doing bad things, causing world turmoil, and then being defeated by the protagonist of justice—that's the fate that she (the nine-tailed fox) must always follow."

Koyanskaya looked up at the sky above the Temple of Time, a mocking smile on her face.

"It's ridiculous. They have the power to destroy the world, but the world dictates that they can only follow its script. No matter how much they resist, they can't escape their predetermined fate, just like everyone else in this world."

“Long before time began, long before everyone came into the world, everyone’s fate and destiny had already been predetermined.”

"No, Meiniang."

Leon interrupted Koyanskaya.

“Human destiny is not predetermined. Isn’t the existence of the Second Law and parallel worlds the most powerful evidence?” Li Ang argued. “We can make choices!”

Koyanskaya turned her gaze to Leon, her eyes narrowed as she sneered, "Then do you know how big the gap is between parallel worlds? Has history ever changed significantly because of parallel worlds?!"

"This one……"

Li Ang thought about it carefully, and then he realized that there really wasn't much difference.

Even between FSN and FHA, the only difference is the magicians and the Holy Grail War, but the events that will be recorded in history remain the same.

“History is history, and it cannot be changed.” Koyanskaya grinned. “The Age of Gods will inevitably end, Rome will inevitably split, two world wars will definitely happen, and the victor of the Cold War will always be the United States… These are all facts that history has already determined!”

"People think they've made choices and changed the world, but in reality they're just following a predetermined path."

"Even if they actually made some changes, they would only be small branches on the tree of history. Because history (the restraining force) does not allow them to make changes, just like how they (the nine-tailed fox) must be the villain in all the stories."

Leon didn't know how to answer Koyanskaya. Having experienced countless timelines, he understood the so-called historical inertia better than anyone else. However, Leon either went along with and utilized historical inertia, or he used the Mourning System to forcibly reverse it by using a cheat code.

"It's like someone wrote a script, and even as Beast, I'm part of that script, pushed forward by the words, unable to have any of my own ideas."

Upon hearing this, Li Ang awkwardly touched his nose.

Koyanskaya's intuition was quite accurate; wasn't she just playing the role of some kind of fungal emperor?

Moreover, her role is exactly as she sees it: a villain who blocks the protagonist.

"So, according to you, the singularities I created are all historically incompatible and need to be censored?"

Instead of refuting the other party from the perspective of the script and the character, Li Ang changed the subject.

"No, quite the opposite. Your Majesty, you are the only one who can make changes but will not be corrected by history (the restraining force)."

"Goyanskaya said softly, her eyes filled with admiration as she looked at Li Ang."

"That's why the Historical (Counterforce) had to use Goetia to prune the history you created, because if it didn't, it really couldn't do anything. Unfortunately, it didn't work. Your Majesty, your timelines are still there. The Historical (Counterforce) miscalculated."