Chapter 266

The so-called Valkyrie was originally a type of angel imagined by the Norse after they were influenced by the Christian concept of angels.

They love heroes, select heroes, and guide their souls to burn brightly.

Lin is a flame. Fire does not grow cold before the wicked, nor does it burn brighter before the good.

…But whether those guided by the light can truly rely on it to reach the end—to become Heroic Spirits and ascend to [Heaven], or to wither away in mediocrity—ultimately depends on their own personal efforts.

Just like Plato's Allegory of the Cave—if mediocre people truly insist on staying in the cave, refusing to walk toward the light until the flame goes out, then even the most merciful angel cannot save them.

"Do as you please, Lin."

Thus, the [King of Hell] laughed heartily, "You are the grim reaper who guides Heroic Spirits; you are worthy of being the vanguard of [Heaven]."

Upon hearing this, Lin, much like Sasa, wore an expression of great displeasure and disagreement.

The [King of Hell]'s expression, conversely, softened.

"You are, after all, my daughter. Before you leave, go see your mother. It has been nearly a year."

These words finally made Lin hesitate: "…Mother doesn't seem to want to see me."

"An illusion. She just still doesn't know how to be a mother."

The [King of Hell] shook his head, his tone revealing a rare hint of helplessness.

"Since coming to [Heaven], her state of mind has improved significantly."

Thus, after a moment of hesitation, Lin nodded with a trace of nervousness and went to visit her mother.

In [Heaven], Asuka was naturally no longer the sickly person she had been before.

"Kid Qi Xing, next time we meet, gather all the [silver coins] you can, conceive the form of the paradise you desire—and then come fight me."

After delivering these words to Qi Xing, the [King of Hell] turned and left, walking leisurely away from the observation deck, his back view dashing.

Qi Xing, of course, would not follow Lin to see her mother, nor did he intend to speak further with the [King of Hell].

He stood on the observation deck at the pinnacle of [Heaven], scanning the entire [Heaven] with his clairvoyance, his state of mind slightly complex.

Mediocre people and heroes?

What exactly counts as a mediocre person? There are 2.1 billion people in this [Heaven], and in fact, the vast majority are ordinary people without combat power, or even extraordinary courage and willpower. If that is the case, where does the line between ordinary people and mediocre people lie?

The [King of Hell] and Lin, those two god-like beings who were born with knowledge, seem completely unconfused by this concept. They seem to have an absolutely clear standard in their hearts.

And what about Qi Xing? He had transmigrated to this world eleven years ago. He had seen many heroes, good people, bad people, truly foul-smelling evil heretics, and the masses of the common folk.

Qi Xing knew very well what a rabble was, and what the evil of mediocrity was.

Especially recently, as the whole world was becoming a wasteland of desire, he had guarded Europe and protected the Mediterranean region, seeing too many rotten people.

A large number of refugees flooded into Italy. But even after witnessing the supreme power of [Venerable Leipu] with their own eyes, they did not offer loyalty like the people of [Heaven] did to the [King of Hell].

Their reactions, instead, were mostly like this:

— "You are a hero, so of course you should save us. What's with the posturing?"

— "You are a god, so of course it goes without saying that you should save everyone. What's there to be arrogant about?"

If [Venerable Leipu] was unable to be in two places at once and someone unfortunately perished, then even if thousands of other mortals hadn't lifted a finger, they would still complain righteously, feeling that it was [Venerable Leipu]'s duty to save them.

It was as if that were a tax Qi Xing had to pay, and the masses were like princes accepting his tribute, even sneering at him for being late.

"I am the weak, so it is only natural that I should be saved by the strong"—why don't these people look in the mirror and see what kind of people they are?

Qi Xing looked at them, and it was as absurd as seeing those common masses in Japanese manga who use moral blackmail against the strong.

Why on earth hadn't he just blown them away with a single punch?

"…Content with mediocrity rather than pursuing excellence, yet acting righteous; haggling over petty self-interest, yet never willing to step forward. It's as if being weak gives them some sort of justification."

Sasa, who was being held by him, spoke up at this moment,

"If something happens to others, it has nothing to do with me, but when I'm unlucky, someone must come to save me. If one day I become strong, then it's my turn to be a social Darwinist—no need for morality, what do the lives of others have to do with me?"

"I actually think my brother is right about this—Qi Xing, this is what a mediocre person is."

With Christ not present, Sasa suddenly had much more confidence, even having the energy to sneer,

"Since when is there such a good thing in the world?"

Her saying this, and that sneer, reminded Qi Xing that the reason Sasa had created this knock-off universe in the first place was because she wanted to create a [Superman].

The [Superman] in Nietzsche's writings is a spiritual idol who breaks through the mediocrity of the masses and refuses to follow blindly.

Similarly, the "Last Man" in Nietzsche's writings seeks only comfort and sustenance, fears all danger and sublimity, is satisfied with the self-deception of "we have invented happiness," fears taking responsibility, and takes pride in mediocrity.

In this world, those who are truly willing to admit their powerlessness and strive to change are, in the end, in the minority.

The vast majority of people are just hiding behind the shield of "mediocrity," making excuses for their own cowardice and inaction.

But is this something to be proud of? Is being content with mediocrity something worthy of praise?

And ironically, once they truly obtain power, the first to look down on "mediocrity" are often these very people.

"I don't agree with my brother's view of 'heroes.' Because the 'heroes' under his command still seek to worship him as the 'King of Heroes'; they are not independent or autonomous enough."

Sasa curled her lip and continued,

"His 'heroes' are not the [Superman] I want."

"But even taking a step back, his [Heaven] has indeed picked up most of the decent stuff from the human world. What kind of garbage is left?"

"Qi Xing, I actually agree with you just blowing all these Last Men away. Why play this self-imposed restraint game like White-Headed Man?"

Qi Xing could indeed understand what she was saying.

After all, the [King of Hell] does not only select the strong, warriors, and higher beings to enter [Heaven]. He had said before that even a teacher who is willing to protect students first during an earthquake, rather than running away first, can enter [Heaven].

The end times have already arrived; how could there be a lack of opportunities on this earth to step forward and become a hero?

If they haven't stood out by now and haven't been picked for [Heaven], then they are either people like Qi Xing, who don't want to enter [Heaven] and have other plans;

Or…

Even Qi Xing had to agree that Sasa had a point.

However, despite this,

"…You really have the nerve to say that."

Despite this, Qi Xing still had to reach out and grab Sasa's head.

"Gwah?!"

Sasa never expected Qi Xing to react this way and was immediately shocked!

"Why are you squeezing my head?!"

"What do you think is the main reason I haven't just blown these unruly people away, and even protect them? Is it just because I'm kind-hearted?"

Applying force to tighten his fingers, squeezing Sasa's head until she cried out in pain, Qi Xing said coldly,

"I've been less and less inclined to kill people indiscriminately lately, and often even think—'Sigh, it can't be helped that they're mentally challenged'—do you know why? Isn't it because of you?"

"Ah?! How could this have anything to do with me?!"

Sasa was in so much pain that tears were about to come out, yet she still looked confused.

Stupid Sasa.

Qi Xing had already spelled it out, yet she still hadn't figured it out; she was truly hopeless.

The answer was actually obvious:

The reason he was willing to protect these people was because he partially believed they were not entirely to blame.

At the very least, the responsibility for these people was fifty-fifty with Samael. Because they were, after all, creations molded by stupid Sasa.

Now the [King of Hell] had even revealed a shocking secret:

All sentient beings in this universe were simply twisted products of Samael's paranoid desires, all reflecting a part of her psyche.

Could Qi Xing then truly blame them for being unruly?

Probably not. At least, not entirely.

Qi Xing could only say that they were truly born of a bad mother.

It was better to say that the fact that such a large portion was still salvageable was already something to be thankful for.

(…But thinking about it from the other side, if all soulful beings in this world were essentially reflections of a part of stupid Sasa's personality,)

Some things, even if you tore Qi Xing's mouth open, he wouldn't say to Sasa, but at this moment, he was indeed silently thinking in his heart,

(Then since a part of the soul is still salvageable, then Sasa, as the template for the soul source, should also be salvageable.)

If one believed Sasa was hopeless, it was essentially the same as Papiyas turning dark and only thinking about killing all of humanity.

The only question was, how exactly could this "salvageable" part be saved?

Qi Xing didn't ask the [King of Hell] because he already knew this matter had to be resolved by himself.

Just like, if he couldn't fully agree with the [King of Hell]'s philosophy, Qi Xing had to conceive his own heaven.

The other two ancient demon kings, the [Sage] of the [Peacock Disciples], and the first-born demon king, they were not fish on a cutting board, nor were they enemies Qi Xing could just blow away with a wave of his hand.

What a pain.

…

…

On the other hand, don't look at Sasa being squeezed by Qi Xing, wailing under Qi Xing's hand,

Actually, this devil sometimes had some cleverness.

Qi Xing had forcefully saved her from the [King of Hell], and even agreed to fight God in the future for this sake,

If one were to say Sasa had absolutely no feelings about this, that she was completely heartless, then she would truly be hopeless.

Not long after, when Lin had finished visiting her mother, Qi Xing, just as he had come, carried Sasa and flew back to Rome with Lin.

Along the way, Lin and Qi Xing were silently thinking about their own concerns, saying nothing.

But Sasa, who was being carried like a cat by Qi Xing, couldn't help but let her imagination run wild.

Whether it was angels or devils, the feelings that a pure spirit wouldn't have made her snap out of it, only to realize her heartbeat had accelerated a little.

Oh my, the feeling of being pampered, it seems quite nice, doesn't it?

— — — — — — — — —

Ten days later,

The envoy of the [Peacock Disciples] attacked Rome.

— — — — — — ( = – ω – = ) — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

So hungry

Really want to eat meat.

Feel like I've fallen into a confusing period of not knowing what to eat lately, meow.

Even if I say I want to eat meat, I actually don't know what kind of meat to eat… anyway, I don't really want to eat steak…

Maybe I still kind of want to eat a hamburger…

Volume 7: The Era of Apocalyptic Dharma: 244: The Inverted World

Defeat the two ancient demon kings,

Defeat the [King of Hell],

And also, goddammit, defeat the whole world.

However, although these things sound very serious, at least for the moment, they aren't things that are immediately thrust under Qi Xing's nose, and he doesn't have to do them right away.

Everyone at least has time to go home first and properly digest the secret revealed by the [King of Hell] internally.

In Rome, upon hearing about the current state of [Heaven] and the soul connection between the sentient beings of this universe and Sasa, Xue Ning and Elaine were even stunned.

However, Elaine calmed down faster than Xue Ning, or perhaps it could be said that Elaine was just more realistic; soon, she was seen frowning in worry:

"I had originally thought that if we could form an alliance with [Heaven], defeating the remaining two ancient demon kings would certainly be much easier. I didn't expect the Lord's behavior and thoughts to be so unpredictable."

The Battle of the Moon has passed for more than half a year.