"Mom, that human named Kevin wants to speak with you."
In the Honkai world, most humans existed within the dream world of the Stigma Space. Only a handful who weren't drawn into it still lived in reality.
Kevin, the executor of Project STIGMA, couldn't dream—naturally, he hadn't entered the Stigma Space's dream world.
"Ignore him."
"I'm not interested in hearing his nonsense about why birds can fly."
Kiana Kaslana couldn't be bothered to deal with Kevin. To her, the MANTIS of the Previous Era and executor of Project STIGMA had nothing worth discussing.
She had no desire to associate with Kevin, nor any interest in saving humanity.
"Understood."
Bronya nodded.
As for the Cocoon of Finality in the Honkai world, as long as no one interfered, handling it wouldn't be difficult.
However, destroying the Cocoon would likely make them enemies of human civilization in that world.
Well... perhaps it would be more accurate to say they would unilaterally be considered enemies by the humans of that world.
Bronya could easily read her mother's thoughts—whether the Honkai world's human civilization survived or perished, her mother simply didn't care.
Though she herself came from the Honkai world, Bronya's years of living as an assassin had stripped away much of her empathy.
After dealing with the endless chaos and corruption of humanity for so long, she sometimes thought—if living was so painful and exhausting, perhaps destruction was a kind of mercy.
...
In the world of Overlord—
Waves of Honkai squads continued to pour in, plunging the entire continent into chaos.
Their actions were nearly all the same: kill, kill, and kill.
Nations collapsed, countless races were hunted down, fleeing for their lives.
The continent's various races united in desperation, but they couldn't possibly stand against Honkai squad members, each starting with a base level above sixty.
Gathering armies only meant sending more lives to the slaughter.
The creatures killed by the Honkai squad members had their souls absorbed and converted into experience points, allowing the members to grow even stronger—and level up rapidly.
It was worth noting that if a squad member's body core was shattered and reformed, they would lose a portion of the absorbed souls—essentially "leveling down," just like in a game.
...
In an orc village—
Saeko Busujima's face was flushed, her blood-stained katana dripping as countless orc corpses littered the ground around her.
So satisfying. This feels even better than cutting down mindless zombies!
"Saeko, are you okay?"
Shizuka Marikawa asked.
"I'm fine. Let's keep going."
Saeko shook her head, feeling the surge of power within her. She opened her status panel and saw her level had increased by two.
"Keep going?"
Shizuka glanced at the corpses around them, hesitation in her eyes.
Since arriving in this world, she'd noticed her friend's mental state growing increasingly unstable—constantly immersed in killing.
Beastmen, demi-humans, countless other races—she must have slain over ten thousand by now.
Of course, ten thousand kills sounded impressive, but compared to the top ten Honkai squad members—whose kill counts reached hundreds of thousands or even millions—it wasn't much.
"Who's there?"
Saeko turned sharply toward the forest.
"Miss Busujima Saeko, we meet again."
The rustle of leaves echoed as Aisha stepped out from between the trees.
After Mushoku Kika had logged off, Aisha had continued tracking the orc presence and eventually found this place.
These two were newcomers from a previous world—she recognized them.
Chosen by God, capable of receiving Sirin's power directly and becoming Herrschers.
"Miss Aisha, why are you here alone?"
Saeko studied the girl carefully, making sure it wasn't an enemy disguise. Normally, Honkai squad captains never acted alone—especially not in hostile territory.
"Kiana went off with someone else, Kika had something to do and logged off. The Dragon Kingdom was attacked by orcs, and while investigating, I tracked them here," Aisha explained. She understood Saeko's caution.
Their instructors had repeated many times in class—never underestimate the weak.
Even if the enemy was just an ant that could be crushed with a finger, they were to be treated seriously.
After all, if that ant—so easily crushed—contained a deadly toxin, the one who killed it would perish as well.
After repeated confirmation that Aisha was indeed an ally, Saeko Busujima smiled faintly. "I see. Miss Aisha, are you joining us to hunt down those man-eating demi-humans and alien species?"
"No, if there's nothing left for me to do here, I plan to head toward the Great Forest of Evasha," Aisha replied.
She knew Saeko Busujima's fondness for bloodshed and violence.
Her gaze turned toward the blonde, busty woman beside her—Shizuka Marikawa, who tilted her head innocently. The woman's airheadedness was serious, but aside from that, she posed no problem.
"The Great Forest of Evasha? Isn't that the domain of the elves? They aren't part of our extermination targets, are they?"
Saeko steadied herself. She knew when to restrain herself and when to kill.
"Elves? I've heard they're all handsome men and beautiful women! Saeko, let's go see them too!"
Shizuka's eyes sparkled as she clung to Saeko's arm.
"Miss Aisha, shall we go together?" Saeko sheathed her katana.
"Alright," Aisha nodded.
...
In the Great Forest of Evasha—
Kiana Kaslana found the legendary sealed Tree of Death within a withered grove.
The Tree of Death lacked consciousness—it attacked and devoured living creatures purely by instinct.
She easily subdued it with Honkai energy, corrupting and taking control of it, then relocated it to the center of Crescent Lake—the capital of the elves.
Floating in midair, Kiana Kaslana observed the towering, hundred-meter-tall tree that continuously drained life and vitality from the land. If left unchecked, it would soon kill every plant and animal in the Great Forest.
This Tree of Death wasn't native—it was an invasive species from another world.
After some thought, Kiana infused Honkai energy into it, beginning a complete transformation—from top to bottom, inside and out.
Some time later, the transformation was complete.
The Tree of Death was reborn as the Tree of Life, capable of absorbing souls, matter, and magic to create new life.
Under Kiana Kaslana's control, a translucent pink fruit grew upon the Tree of Life—inside, a new being was forming.
The Tree of Life's first creation: she infused it with Elysia's memory construct.
From the essence of elves, she created an entirely new race—high elves.
The Pink Elf—Elysia.
Kiana Kaslana was very pleased.
Originally, she had intended to find a female elf and let Elysia's memory be reincarnated into her.
But elves—across the entire world—were flat-chested.
That did not fit the image of the voluptuous Elysia.
So, she transformed the Tree of Death into the Tree of Life and created the high elves.
All just so the grown Elysia wouldn't be flat-chested.