"Are you willing to give up the human body?"

"Can I?"

A blue mechanical being appeared before me once again, like a shooting star descending towards me.

"Poor child of humans, you are not worthy of possessing divine power, so – perish!"

My hands seemed to stiffen a lot, pierced by countless thorns as in agony, yet with a touch of poignant confusion!

Accompanied by an extremely painful melody and the blood and tears of a history spanning thousands of years, I once again returned to the intersection of gears between her and me...

Long, long ago, there was a magnificent feudal dynasty on the continent, where a high-ranking general from a royal family was about to embark on a Northern expedition.

"General, be careful on your way and remember to eat on time. Although warfare is crucial, don't overtax your body!"

A woman with a beautiful face and gentle demeanor stepped out from the house, her loose and silky hair covering half of her face, revealing a hint of helplessness and sorrow!

She feared that this parting might be forever.

"General, are you preparing for the expedition right after the winter?"

"Yes!"

The rough voice of the man pierced her heart.

"This servant also wants to accompany you to admire the cherry blossoms. Although spring cherry blossoms are beautiful, they do not wait for anyone!"

After some hesitation, the general finally took off the golden helmet that had been shining in the sun all morning, and his black braids slapped wetly against the man's broad back.

"…General?"

He embraced the woman like a beloved family member, comforting her with great care.

"Don't worry, I will lead the soldiers to triumph and return. Just wait for good news from me!"

"Say goodbye, when I return... cough, I will take you away from here, Yukari!"

Even the battle-hardened general had a hint of shyness.

At that moment, everything he did seemed to convey that even the god of death would have a pure love.

After speaking, the man put on his helmet and armor again, waved goodbye to the woman, and never returned.

Little did they know, their fates had long been inseparably linked, yet precisely because of this connection... their fates could never get close!

In the beginning of the first year of the new era, the Allied Nations and the Imperial Army had been established for a long time. During those days, Elena remained missing, while the Imperial Army in the Southern continent was expanding its territory relentlessly.

However, compared to the cruel and sterile Imperial Army, the greedy and decadent Allied Forces were no better!

"To all residents in Allied territories, we have built various sizes of underground shelters throughout the safe zones over the past year. We remind you once again, the surface is no longer safe. Please hurry to the safety houses in your cities for refuge..."

The Allied Forces verbally used underground bunkers to defend against disasters, but in reality, it was a false order to secure enough survival space for themselves!

"Ah...!"

A new era had arrived, but as everyone was excited, they just realized that someone had meddled from the beginning till now.

Most civilians and soldiers were buried underground, but a few resilient ones survived!

They established their own stronghold in the remaining underground areas, known as the survivors of the Dark Domain, because they all...

(The second year, Western Alliance Dark Zone)

It's been a full week since the abandoned zone was deserted, with fully armed civilians occasionally patrolling the area.

In addition to them, there are squads of Elena mercenaries wearing black outlaw armor, consisting of two to five people, roaming the city's streets and alleys in search of survivors and supplies.

"Phew!"

Two of the lone outlaws suddenly paused in front of an open space, and one of them, more experienced, bent down to pick up a bit of the soil here.

"Activate the quality analyzer..."

As soon as the command was given, a flicker of orange light shot from the outlaw's shoulder directly to the arm touching the soil.

"Ah, sorry, although the soil here is only moderately contaminated, it's no longer suitable for growing crops."

Humans, who have always managed to turn the tide regardless of the difficulties, have finally found themselves in an irreversible position.

...

The highly advanced armed forces of the Alliance, for the first time, seemed so redundant on the battlefield, sacrificing human high-frequency reaction capabilities, making them appear insignificant in the face of battles with Elena.

The Alliance had initially developed a type of combat robot, but unfortunately, its core power source still relied on tank engines, making it extremely fragile against the immensely powerful phantom gods, which were hundreds of times stronger.

"Damn it!"

A middle-aged general with a beard, dressed in a blue war robe, disappointedly turned off the three-dimensional holographic map in front of him.

"How could this happen... bunch of worthless people!"

He clenched his teeth and directed all his anger at the Minister of Defense, grabbing the old man with a white beard and unleashing a torrent of curses.

"For how many months now? What junk have your military research bases churned out? A single enemy mech can wipe out more than 100 of our combat mechs!"

"This... Well, even if you say that, we have done our best, but the enemy's power source for the machines is quite unique. We can't even analyze any of its elements!"

"What?"

The general instantly flared up, pointing his finger at the old man's nose and continued to berate him.

"You stupid fools can't even use high-speed vehicles to transport these mechs?"

"Please calm down, Your Excellency. The enemy's mechs, whether in power, defense, or attack capabilities, surpass ours, and it's not something that a simple high-speed transport can solve!"

"Tsk!"

In the end, this matter was left unresolved, and they were unaware that they were about to face an enemy even more terrifying than Elena.

In response to the sudden upheaval, both the Alliance and the Empire gained preliminary knowledge of the scientific technology of the phantom gods and found another power to replace the divine blessings - the God of Injustice!

"Warning: S-level Evil Entity reaction detected in Zone D5, military-grade armed personnel evacuate the area quickly, Phantom Gods deployed!"

The area was shrouded in snowstorms like a disaster, extending even beyond to distant continents!

Many Phantom Gods were already on high alert, and their pilots may not even realize the type of adversary they were about to face!

The monster capable of plunging half the planet into an ice age was certainly not an opponent to be taken lightly. This individual, confirmed by official sources, seems to transcend all words to describe... a god!

"Oh, what to do, I can't hold it any longer!"

Early in the morning, I went mad near the dormitory, searching for the dream garden so desperately that I didn't even have time to put on my pants and shirt before starting to sprint down the hallway.

"Damn it——ah!!"

Where is the bathroom?!

Blurry sleepy eyes affected my vision, and the entire corridor became a confusing maze where I couldn't find my way.

Where on earth could it be hidden?!

Like a headless fly wandering back and forth in every floor's hallway, yet still unable to find any trace of a restroom.

"Wow, where the heck is it?"

I cursed in my heart the old man comfortably seated in Elena's first-class throne, who had built this base so big that I couldn't even find a bathroom!

Tsk, I still have that annoying training and class today. I don't want to waste time here on top of a boring classroom... Ugh!

"You brat who's still wet behind the ears, don't treat this place as a place to mess around like in school!"

Huh?!

Before I could properly see the situation in front of me, I blissfully ran into a soft, fluffy fist from a girl, only to have my bliss abruptly end after a mere 0.1 seconds!

Tch, how could an attack of this level possibly... hurt me?!

Thud~smack!

With a pitiful cry, a shadow crossed the entire hallway, eventually landing on the wall and leaving a mark.

"What... what in the world is this?"

"What in the world?"

Yuanhui, who had vanished without a trace, suddenly appeared behind me with an expressionless face, warning me.

"This is our Elena's chief student council president, Princess of the Night, speak with respect, you know whose territory this is!"

"Whose territory... Yukari sister?!"

A punch sent the girl who had the same flowing hair, the same pupils, the same face as Yukari sister, which was none other than... herself!

"Wow, look!"

At that moment, the hallway was already crowded with people.

Both boys and girls were discussing Yukari sister.

"Look there, that's the president who goes by the title of the Dark Queen with the strongest initial machine!"

"Newcomer, if you have any objections, we'll see you in the duel arena another day!"

After suavely saying a provoking remark, Yukari sister elegantly turned and returned to her room, leaving me with a heavy door slam for free. Only then did the remaining students start to disperse slowly, leaving Yuanhui and me alone in the corridor.

"Bro, it's best not to accept Princess Elena's challenge, all challengers end up in the hospital due to severe injuries... and you won't be an exception!"

"Hmph, I figured it out."

I didn't accept his helping hand, instead licked the blood off the corner of my mouth and struggled to stand up from the ground on my own.

"Haha, don't worry, I'm perfectly fine!"

"That's good... oh no!"

Yuanhui inadvertently glanced at the time displayed on the bracelet – half past eight!

"Early training is about to start, being late will leave a bad impression on the teacher."

"This is strange..."

After being the queen in the academy for so long, Yukari today felt the first taste of defeat from this person.

"Hmph, in the academy, even the strongest big guys can be taken down in one punch, and I guarantee that no one will be able to stand up within the next month. Me, impossible!"

"Phantom Deity's Operations Guidelines: Never be too confident to challenge opponents whose strength far surpasses your own, as you could end up dead."

"Is that so? Thanks for the warning, but I refuse!"

"Haha, suit yourself!"