Why can't humans do it too?

"Hey?"

What did I say?

When... ah, at that time?

Finally, he managed to dredge up some remnants of memory from the deepest corner of his mind. To be honest, if Xin Ke hadn't brought it up again, Su Er would have almost forgotten what he had said.

In that cold time when even the thoughts in his brain were about to freeze, his consciousness had already entered a blurred state, and he could hardly remember what he had said or done.

"I'm just repeatedly verifying success, in other words, I'm on the road to success, understand?" Su'er's answer made the woman nod in satisfaction, and Xin Ke finally smiled.

This time, Suer wasn't lying; he truly understood Xinke's words—wasn't this exactly it? It's not called failure, but rather a temporary lack of success; it's not called poverty, but rather a state of waiting to become wealthy.

He has fully understood.

"I understand, I understand," Suer nodded repeatedly, smiling as he said, "Speaking of which, the goblin race thinks the same way, right? According to Okan, they keep training themselves, so it's not considered a failure, but rather a constant process of self-inflicted pain!!"

A pebble, flying like lightning, struck his head, interrupting Suer's next words. This woman was wasting her precious energy on something like this.

With an awkward laugh, Su Er belatedly realized what mistake he had made... It was all because he had just woken up; his reaction was far too slow.

The hatred between this woman and the goblins and the winged races needs no further emphasis.

"True geniuses never fail, I really know that, hahaha," Su Er said with a fawning laugh, then chose to shut up.

The two of them stared blankly at the ever-burning campfire in front of them. The flickering flames seemed to possess a strange magic, lulling them to sleep.

“...That city is where I conducted my first large-scale magical experiment,” Xin Ke suddenly said slowly in this peaceful atmosphere.

After a slight pause, Suer realized that she was referring to the city the two of them were heading to.

Chapter 120 Xin Ke's Will

“That place was once the homeland of a fairy species,” Xin Ke said, glancing at Su Er as she explained further, “which is the spatial dimension ‘Absolute Realm’… Mr. Monkey, just think of it as a small world that was created.”

Although he couldn't understand the technical jargon used by this genius forest elf, Su Er nodded with a serious expression, as if he could understand it.

“We conducted experiments there on controlling life forms composed of pure elves, and we also captured the fantasy species Kuradwatkus…”

What the heck? Are forest elves and fairy species really that powerful?

Capture fantasy species?

Upon hearing this, Su Er's eyes widened in astonishment. He instinctively wanted to write down the information, but then he remembered that he had no paper or pen left.

There's no need to write anymore.

"Mr. Monkey, you probably still remember that spell you tried to use to control me when we first met, right?"

"Ah, I remember," Suer replied immediately. Only then did he realize how powerful the magic Xin Ke had used on him was. But perhaps that was why Xin Ke was so shocked when she found the magic was ineffective.

After all, unlike life forms composed purely of elves, Sull was clearly a weak creature with a physical body, and this shock gave him an opportunity to escape.

"And then?" Su'er asked with great interest, her curiosity piqued by Xin Ke's description.

"It was later destroyed by the Skywings," Xin Ke's short sentence summarized everything, suppressing the curiosity that had just risen in Su Er's heart.

So that's how it is. This is the root of hatred.

"The fantasy species that hadn't been fully controlled was killed on the spot. Only twelve of the winged monsters died, and then all the forest elves in that city were slaughtered... no, several other neighboring forest elf cities also suffered the same fate."

"..."

silence.

"So, do you know what I want to do most right now?"

"……revenge?"

"Ah, I suppose so—I will end this great war once and for all! Forever!"

Caught off guard by this anti-war declaration, Suer listened in astonishment to Xin Ke's suddenly excited tone. Could this really be the conclusion this woman had reached?

Even from those few casual words, he could feel the deep-seated hatred between them, the blood feud of killing and being killed. In this endless war, everyone's hatred was intertwined like a spiral, and no one could untangle it.

If we lose today, we'll fight back tomorrow, continuing the hatred along the bloodline, and end the great war under these circumstances... Just based on the strength of the forest elves?

That's far from enough, isn't it?

"In short, all we need to do is kill all the races on this planet, right?" She said this with ease, a possibility that Suer had never even considered. It sounded completely illogical and incredibly unbelievable, but the way this woman spoke it carried an air of absolute confidence that it would come true.

"Whether it's a divine race or any other race, we just need to wipe it all away with magic that can erase everything... Just like cleaning up the garbage at home, whether it's a living creature or something whose life is uncertain, wipe it all away~ As long as we're still standing safely on the surface of this planet in the end—that's how we win~"

is it?

Yes... as expected, this is exactly what she would say...

Suddenly, the ordinary-looking marrow that the goblins were researching and manufacturing into weapons flashed through Suer's mind.

Despite uttering an arrogant declaration to kill everything, Sur was surprisingly unsurprised... because the goblin race had already embarked on this path, hadn't they?

What's so surprising about the emergence of another madman like him?

"That's really impressive..." With a dry compliment, Suer stretched out his hands and clapped them lightly with little strength. He wanted to add more sincerity to his words, but he couldn't muster any energy at all.

'I still... loathe these races that only know how to kill...'

A deep-seated, instinctive hatred.

Such thoughts floated through his mind. Suer stared blankly at Xinke's face, which was excited by his bold words, as if she were swearing some sacred mission. Her eyes, which housed Liuling, shone with an unwavering and confident gaze—a gaze that believed she could surpass everything, even annihilate the divine species.

Lively and full of energy, even though her body had become difficult to stand up, even though her life was still in danger, even though she could be killed by an attack that suddenly swept through the cave in the next second, Xin Ke was still radiant—a will that had transcended the ordinary.

A steadfast will that is visible to the naked eye.

It's unusual.

The one who seemed out of place wasn't Xinke, but Suer.

In this shitty world, perhaps only someone like Xin Ke is normal, the most compatible with this world, and the most likely to survive and continue—the only one who doesn't fit in is Su Er.

Having clearly realized this, Suer became even more depressed.

"……How about it?"

The glowing red charcoal was being stirred and rolled in front of Suer. He looked up again and saw Xin Ke smiling at him.

"...What do you mean, how?" Su Er didn't understand what she meant. In fact, Su Er hadn't heard what Xin Ke had said at the end.

"Would you like to come with me?"

An unexpected invitation—or rather, a completely ambiguous invitation—stunned by Xin Ke's sudden words, Su Er almost lost his balance and fell headfirst into the fire. He stared at her in astonishment.

There was no regret, nor did it seem like he had said something wrong. In fact, the outstretched hand was still in front of him, and the smile on his face hadn't changed. It wasn't an illusion.

This woman is truly crazy.

The overwhelming amount of information bombarded Suer's brain, and he had already reached a conclusion.

"……I?"

Pointing at himself in astonishment, Su Er wanted to laugh but didn't know where to begin. A mix of emotions clung to his face, making him look utterly comical.

"why me?"

"Ah~, you always need a partner for something like this~, just like in those picture books, heroes have their own companions, right~", Xin Ke's voice was filled with lighthearted laughter, she seemed to be singing with joy, "Since we're looking for a partner, of course it's better to find someone we don't dislike~"

Suer's reaction was exactly what she expected. His stunned expression amused Xinke, who waved her hand happily and spread it out in front of Suer again.

"Want to come together?"

Chapter 121 Invitation

This woman is truly crazy.

Was it because the cold weather damaged his brain?

Or was it because when he dragged himself into this cave with an injured leg that he couldn't move, the pain of his flesh being corroded by the black ash drove him completely mad?

His gaze involuntarily slid over Xin Ke's charred legs. All of Su Er's attempts to avoid the area failed, as if an invisible magnet was there, constantly drawing his attention.

And then there's all this firewood... How did Xinke endure the pain to collect it, and how did she manage to light the fire with such difficulty...?

The more Suer imagined that scene, the heavier her mood became, as if she were carrying a huge, oppressive rock on her back, unable to straighten her back.

“…What kind of hero are you…” Forcing himself to stay awake, even though the topic was supposed to be crazy to the point of being insane, Suer was genuinely at a loss for words. “A hero who kills everyone? Shouldn’t that be called a villain?”

She didn't mention the charred wounds, nor did she mention the complex emotions in her heart. It was as if Xin Ke knew that Su Er had seen her current miserable state, but she acted as if she wasn't injured at all—Su Er knew all of this.

This proud forest elf needs neither his sympathy nor guilt, nor his comfort.

To speak up would be an insult.

"What does it matter? As long as we win in the end, it doesn't matter what we're called. Hero, Demon King, Overlord—it doesn't matter!" Unlike the somber mood of Suer, Xinke's cheerful voice remained unchanged, as if she had already imagined that scene.

She stood above the garbage and the bones of the dead, gaining access to a pure and undisturbed world.

Just imagining that beautiful scene makes me tremble involuntarily, and I feel a deep sense of happiness.

"...Why did you invite me?" Unable to understand Xin Ke's agitated state, Su Er simply raised his right hand and clenched it loosely. "Is there anything I can do to help your plans?"

"Although I can use some strange magic, the price is far too high. I still can't see any elves... To put it another way, considering that my magic can be easily broken by using elf resistance, it's completely useless, isn't it?"

"He's not very bright either; all the achievements he's made so far that can be called accomplishments are based on information asymmetry..."