Honkai Impact: Dreams and the Holy Grail, but the Servant is Rei.

In the crowd, the monster's enormous figure leaped out of the sea like a whale, rising abruptly from the shadows cast by the crowd on the ground!

Meng Weiyu's pupils constricted sharply. He was extremely familiar with the monster's appearance; it was an alien meme—[What Faces Death]!

This creature is an entity containing specific cognition, formed from fragments of consciousness within the memory domain.

In the storyline, "What is heading towards death," or "Mianmian," is considered a "death" that should not exist in a "beautiful dream."

It roams the Pinocchio's "12 Hours". "Wherever it goes, misfortune follows; it spreads bad news with sharp blades, and casts the shadow of death over dreams"—that's how it's described in the game!

A series of different guesses surfaced in Meng Weiyu's mind: Was it an assassin from the opposing faction? Or was it [Mianmian] summoned by Caster [Gallah]?

As he was thinking at high speed, the meme "What is Directed Towards Death" had already risen to the highest point in the spacious center of the "Morning Dew Mansion"!

No one present, including [Potio] and [Hanunu], dared to attack it at this moment, because at this instant, its body was covered with struggling and writhing human figures!

The moment it appeared and leaped up, sharp blades emerged from its slender, writhing body, piercing through everyone it could reach!

In [What is Towards Death], Meng Weiyu could see these people wailing in pain and helplessness, their limbs struggling like drowning people.

One of them even chatted with him "friendly" for a while. Meng Weiyu had a deep impression of that person. He kept trying to get information out of him from various angles with his mouth inlaid with gold teeth. That person was the embezzler in the company's project department, the future head of the alfalfa family, Lazaka!

Because he had specifically studied the history of Pinocone before his transmigration, Meng Weiyu had no goodwill towards this future head of the family who would betray Hanunu and the resistance. Therefore, he was particularly perfunctory in the previous conversation and did not reveal any useful information about him or Mikhail.

But now, seeing the other person struggling to survive, he saw him as just an ordinary, pitiful person.

【What is Facing Death】seized the moment of everyone's brief hesitation, its black wings and body opened up one after another purplish-red vertical eyes, which emitted a dazzling purplish-red light!

The moment the light shone, everyone felt like they had become a centenarian, experiencing a sluggish feeling of approaching the end of life, and then, taking this opportunity, they fell back into darkness!

The crisis was not over. Meng Weiyu could still feel that indescribable unease, and her body, which possessed the characteristics of a sub-Servant, was frantically giving her warnings!

With the secret help of caster [Xi Lian], Meng Weiyu was the first to break free from that sluggish and decrepit state.

Even without being in the [Emiya Archer] state, with the support of the clear [memories] provided by [Xi Lian], Meng Weiyu managed to project the [Symbol of the Laws of All Things] using a level 110 projection magic after two attempts!

Aside from the Unlimited Blade Works, which is restricted by the Star-Piercing Noble Phantasm Pinocchio, his strongest trump card is currently the gold-attribute "Delusion Slayer"!

He plans to use it at the most crucial moment!

Chapter 87 Dream Death (Part 2)

Inside the Morning Dew Mansion, Meng Weiyu used his curved short sword, the Talisman of Breaking the Laws of All Things, to fiercely pierce the air around him, which was shrouded in purplish-red light. Immediately afterward, he heard the furious roar of "What Faces Death" from some unknown darkness!

The bent short sword was like a dagger encountering a hard solid, unable to advance; the air in front of it seemed like a wall made of purplish-red glass.

In the [Performer's Affix Box], the level 100 affix [Super Strength] shines brightly. This affix was obtained by Meng Weiyu after defeating Saber [Yun Li]'s inner demon during the First Holy Grail War. Each level up grants an additional pound of strength!

If enough [magic power] is infused into it, its effect can be increased tenfold!

At this moment, he possessed true immense power!

The [Symbol of Breaking the Laws of All Things] was propelled by brute force into the solidified purplish-red air in the most direct way. Perhaps feeling that this was not enough, Meng Weiyu added the effect of 110 [Escape Sword] to the treasure he projected.

Cracks began to appear at the tip of the bent short sword, but next to the system panel in Meng Weiyu's mind, Caster [Xi Lian] held the illusory, transparent crescent-shaped ritual sword with a serious expression, the tip of the ritual sword emitting a dazzling white light.

With her assistance, Meng Weiyu, in her current sub-Servant state, can use the power of the [Demigod of Time] during her exertion, and continuously revert to its original state, always maintaining its sharpest peak condition!

The battle reached a brief stalemate. A few seconds later, Hanunu, Potio, and the others, who were cautiously searching for "What is Heading Towards Death," suddenly caught a glimpse of Meng Weiyu's smirking lips.

Cracks like shattered glass appeared in the transparent air, and a few seconds later, the purplish-red barrier-like object shattered inside the [Morning Dew Mansion]!

All they saw was Meng Weiyu's upturned lips, and then they immediately felt the feeling of being old and dying disappear...

This round of confrontation is over. [What is Facing Death] has disappeared from everyone's sight. If it really doesn't reappear, then the chances of those few people who were pierced through the chest and hung on the body by it surviving are extremely slim!

Among those present, some stared in astonishment at the boy dressed in pioneer attire who had shattered the "barrier" that the meme monster had placed over everyone in the Morning Dew Mansion with a single blow. Many more, unarmed, looked in terror at the spot where Razzaka and the others had disappeared, fearing that they would be the next to vanish.

Until this moment, no one had discovered where the true form of this meme monster was hidden.

Or perhaps it is the monster that has been living in this synesthetic dream, and this place is its territory.

"It's much better than I expected. Even without [Emiya Archer] status, I can still be this strong with just level 110 [Projection Magic]!" In the tense situation where the enemy was in the dark and I was in the light, Meng Weiyu breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Actually, the smirk he wore wasn't because he was confident of victory, but because he was used to mentally grumbling while working, and suddenly remembered a joke from before he transmigrated:

The fake caster prefers to lurk behind the front-line warriors, chanting spells, while a true caster like Gandalf prefers to use brute force, not caring at all about swinging his staff like a dog-beating stick to inflict physical damage on the enemy.

The thought of myself, also a mage (a Caster), using [Super Strength] to forcibly enchant and strengthen my body, and then using brute force to try to break the "barrier" set up by the other side...

On the other side, [What Faces Death], which was hiding somewhere, had purplish-red eyes that were almost shooting out sparks, but it was useless against brute force. Meng Weiyu wanted to laugh.

Of course, whether in this tense state of "struggle" with the other party, or in the still unfavorable situation where the enemy is in the dark and we have too many people to protect, he has to hold back, both for himself and for others.

Fortunately, he summoned the sword "Slaying Illusions" with the phantom in his mind to cut off his distracting thoughts. Fortunately, the meme monster hiding in the shadows, named "What Faces Death," probably didn't like this fighting style and eventually gave up. Meng Weiyu suspected that he might burst out laughing.

Gathering her thoughts, after the "barrier" was destroyed, Meng Weiyu quickly began to consider the current environment and her own condition, trying to find a breakthrough that could change the stalemate:

Before he, Caster [Xi Lian], and Archer [Potio], who played Mikhail, set foot on this prison border star, they rested for most of the day on the Star Train. Including the previous battles and travel, nearly 24 system hours had passed!

At this moment, there are less than 20 minutes left before Meng Weiyu can use the second effect of the red-word [Projection Magic] again—the ten-minute peak [Emiya Archer] state!

By then, if [What Towards Death] is still hidden in [Asagao Mansion], even if [Anti-World Noble Phantasm: Pinocchio] restricts his use of the special domain called [Unlimited Blade Works], he will have many ways to deal with this meme monster.

If Meng Weiyu had been in the [Emiya Archer] state during the battle, he could have shattered the illusion created by Saber [Yun Li]'s inner demons, just like he did during the First Holy Grail War, by throwing several [Characters of the Laws of All Things] with his [Escape Sword]!

The only problem is that [What Faces Death], hidden in the shadows, cannot become the target of all their attacks!

An uneasy silence began to spread to everyone in the Morning Dew Mansion, but it was dispelled by an inspiring song.

The young lady singing was Asna, the future head of the Iris family. At that moment, she was radiant, which immediately reminded Meng Weiyu of the robin later on.

A strong hand pressed down on his shoulder. Meng Weiyu turned around and saw [Hanunu] standing behind him, on guard against any unexpected events.

"Use your short sword to stab where this meme monster appeared." The werewolf leader pointed to the spot where Razzaka and the others had appeared and disappeared.

"Just go for it. If any terrible consequences occur, I'll take full responsibility," [Hanunu] promised in front of everyone.

“Hmm.” Having said that, Meng Weiyu no longer hesitated. With the blessing of the [Escape Sword], the [Character of Breaking the Laws of All Things] transformed into a stream of light and pierced the location indicated by [Hanunu].

To everyone's astonishment, the [Symbol of Breaking the Laws of All Things] did not crash into solid ground, but instead stuck into some kind of soft soil.

Under the cover of Hanunu, Potio, and others, Meng Weiyu cautiously approached the location of the Symbol of Breaking the Laws of All Things, preparing to pour a massive amount of magical power and brute force into this treasure to see what the effect would be.

He approached the abnormal ground, held the [Sevenfold Blazing Heaven Ring] in front of him, and put on the projected armor.

To everyone's surprise, before Meng Weiyu could even pierce the ground with the [Symbol of Breaking the Laws of All Things], a sharp forelimb protruding from the ground pierced through his body, ignoring his defenses!

Chapter 88 Foreshadowing and the Red Thread

A piercing pain shot through the wound in her chest. Looking at the intact yet easily pierced [Sevenfold Heavenly Covering Ring] and the armor projected onto her body, Meng Weiyu's eyes widened in surprise.

At the very moment the anomaly occurred, the already highly vigilant Archer [Potio] immediately fired several shots at the forelimb-like object.

The bullet pierced through the black forelimb and struck the solid ground of the [Morning Dew Mansion] behind it, passing straight through as if it were attacking an intangible ghost!

"What the hell is this?!" the sea patrolman shouted.

As soon as she finished speaking, Meng Weiyu was pulled into the ground by the black forelimbs and disappeared from the [Morning Dew Mansion] under everyone's gaze.

The crowd that had been celebrating just moments before fell into dead silence, and veins bulged on Hanunu's hand as he gripped the rocket launcher.

The feeling of sinking into the deep sea returned, and Meng Weiyu felt as if she was being lifted by something and submerged into some extremely deep place.

There were no light sources like the sun, moon, or stars around, yet everything in the surrounding environment seemed to be a source of light, emitting a faint glow.

The faint light illuminated the only colossal object that did not emit light—it was [What Faces Death]!

This meme monster, as long and slender as a dragon or snake, was currently covered with many human figures, and Meng Weiyu was one of them!

He tried to resist, but clearly felt that his limbs were as heavy as lead. In this strange place, he had lost contact with the caster [Xi Lian] hidden in his [memory].

Fortunately, the system panel in his mind called "The Performer's Dictionary Box" was still there, giving him a chance to fight back!

“Thirteen minutes left, and I’ll be able to use [Emiya Archer]…” Meng Weiyu looked at the second effect of the red [Projection Magic] item and fell into deep thought.

Although he was too weak to resist at the moment, after using [Super Strength] to strengthen his body again, he was 100% certain that he would be able to fight back!

Should we wait until then to make our move, or strike now?

Meng Weiyu hesitated briefly, but then he made up his mind. The outline of the [Symbol of Breaking the Rules of All Things] appeared faintly in his clenched left hand!

This apparent projection and his inability to exert any strength are merely illusions. If [What Faces Death] reveals a weakness or if a suitable opportunity arises, he will use the [Delusion Slayer] sword to sever the forelimb that pierces his chest and give this not-so-intelligent meme monster a surprise!

"Don't move. I mean you any harm." A calm, languid male voice came from the head of [What Faces Death].

"Gallach?! You really are the Black side's caster!" Meng Weiyu's pupils shrank.

"You guessed wrong. [Mianmian] is the Black team's assassin, and I am not Galakh. It chose my side over the other side." The male voice with the same tone as Galakh continued.

"Are you that fictional historian?"

“Young man, you’ve guessed wrong again.” Assassin [What Towards Death] glanced back at Meng Weiyu, a hint of mockery in his voice.

"But in this scene [script], you've taken the place of that fictional historian!" The caster [Xi Lian] appeared out of nowhere in my mind, and she actually spoke!

"What a perceptive young girl. Not only did you discover that I replaced him, but you also discovered that even though I was hidden in your memories, I could still sense you."

Even though it was Xi Lian speaking in Meng Weiyu's mind, the man with the same voice as "Galach" could still hear it.

The unidentified man uttered his praise in a languid tone, as if everything was under his control.

Meng Weiyu canceled the projection of the [Symbol of the Laws of All Things] and clenched his fist slightly. He hated this feeling, as if his fate, that of Caster [Xi Lian], and countless others, was being manipulated and toyed with by the other party.

"Partner, the other side's stance seems quite peculiar. The people he took from [Morning Dew Mansion] all appear to be traitors who betrayed the resistance and joined the Interstellar Peace Corporation in Pinocchio's future history," [Xi Lian] warned in a deep voice.

Meng Weiyu immediately thought of Razaka, the future head of the Clover family, with whom he had shaken hands, and his followers who were attacked by Assassin [What Towards Death].

“Not bad, very perceptive. I’m also quite surprised that, ten Amber Ages later, someone still has such a clear understanding of Pinocene’s past history.” A hint of surprise crept into the languid male voice.

"This memory was shared with me by a partner; you should praise him. In this world, besides the survivors who experienced it firsthand, there are very few people who fully understand the truth of all this," [Xi Lian] said meaningfully.

"Don't worry, little girl. I understand what you mean, and that's why you've survived until now." Galakh's voice chuckled.

"Next, I'm going to send you to a place where a tough battle awaits you. Only if you win will you be qualified to talk to me about the next step of the deal."

"Are you going to sell us to Interstellar Peace Corporation?" Meng Weiyu sneered.

"【Mianmian】was originally from their camp, so how can it be considered betrayal?" A lazy male voice sighed.

"And if I go too far, the two rulers will step in." Assassin [What Towards Death] humanizedly raised his head, seemingly gazing at the sky above the surface of this "deep sea".

"Ruler?! There really is a Ruler!" Meng Weiyu said in disbelief. He noticed that even the Caster [Xi Lian] in his mind was showing a shocked expression.

"By the way, someone asked me to pass on a message to you." The meme monster turned to look at [Meng Weiyu].

He said, "If fate has always been on your side, would you still rebel against it?"

Inside the conference room-like screening room, Meng Weiyu, the "Masked Fool," frowned, her face as cold as frost as she watched this scene.

"That fictional historian really did hold back when he gave me 'Pinocchio's Past,'" he said wistfully.

“He has crossed the line. Should I and Ragwalker (the Arbitrator) intervene?” Ruler [Gopher Wood] pushed up his black-rimmed glasses.

"You two can decide for yourselves. Since our Lord has allowed him to use this memory to build the [stage], it means that the developments that follow will be interesting enough for Him to accept." [Meng Weiyu] returned to her expressionless state.

"So, his existence is just a reason for our fate?" [Gopher Wood] pressed on.

“Yes, this is an opportunity to perform. As for whether you will observe as an audience member or perform as an actor, that is entirely up to your own discretion, and I will not interfere,” the young man in white said calmly.

Chapter 89 Moving in the Predetermined Direction

"Then I'd better not [appear], I have no intention of taking action. In the current situation, I'd rather be an [audience member] than an [actor]."

In the conference room-like screening room, Ruler [Mikhail] slowly shook his head.

This script, which in some cases "followed" the trajectory of history, once again clearly deviated from history after Meng Weiyu and others went to the Synesthetic Dream.

As someone who experienced this part of Pinocchio's history firsthand, Mikhail can sense that the current development of the story is following a certain predetermined logic, moving straight forward as if heading towards a pre-calculated endpoint.

Perhaps Meng Weiyu and the others still couldn't truly evade the calculations of the Wisdom Star God, the Learned One; perhaps within His calculations, everything that happened in this Cup War was inevitable...

Just like when Pinocchio defeated the Interstellar Peace Corporation and was beset by internal and external troubles, he and Tirnan and others appealed to the entire universe for help. The only one who responded to them was the Tongxie family of the Montor system, which had plotted Hanunu's rebellion, and sent Gopher to respond.

Mikhail sighed softly. Under the gaze of the Star God, everything seemed to be a predetermined fate. If he had to repeat himself, he could only repeat the same path and accept his past destiny. If he had to choose again, he would not let Gopher hold power, and Pinocchio's future would most likely be even worse.

In the short time he spent searching for help, the infighting among the various factions released the star core, almost leading to Pinocchio's destruction.

Compared to Gopher, he and most of the future family members who resisted the company were never good politicians. They were just a loose alliance of passionate pioneers, ambitious academics, fighting hounds, ambitious people who wanted to gain some benefits, and artists who only knew how to play the flower, bird and sing.

If Gopher hadn't persevered through those most difficult days, there wouldn't be the Pinocchio we know today.

The question the fictional historian asked Meng Weiyu, "If fate has always been on your side, would you still rebel against it?" deeply moved Mikhail. But even if he were to have a second chance, this watchmaker would still not abandon his principles!