Early morning. A ragged homeless man leaned against the doorway of a long-abandoned shop, his eyes vacant as he stared blankly at the sky. Lost in thought, or perhaps simply emptying his mind completely, he seemed oblivious to the world around him.
Normally, no one would have paid him any mind; such figures were a common sight in White Eagle. But today was different. A pink-clad figure approached from afar and stopped before the man.
Elysia raised an eyebrow, studying the disheveled old man with a puzzled expression. This was the location the Prophet had given her: a specific shop doorway in a particular district of a certain city.
When Elysia had first received the address, she'd been surprised. Could a Monster really be lurking so brazenly in plain sight? But now, it seemed this homeless old man was the "Monster" they sought.
Though it was still early, pedestrians had begun to trickle onto the streets. Spotting Elysia, they froze in their tracks and whispered:
"Wow! It's Lady Elysia! She's even more beautiful in person than in her photos!"
"Ah, I can't take it anymore! I'm going to die! Sniffle I've seen Lady Elysia, I can die happy now!"
"Damn it, can that homeless bum just scram? Even seeing him near Lady Elysia makes me sick to my stomach."
"What's Lady Elysia doing? She's not actually taking pity on that homeless guy, is she? No... truly worthy of being Lady Elysia!"
Notably, all the speakers were women.
Ignoring the surrounding chatter, Elysia was about to speak when the homeless man, who had been sitting on the ground, suddenly contorted his face into a ferocious grimace. "Why?! Why won't you leave me alone, even after I've given up?! Why do you keep coming after me?!"
In an instant, the man's appearance underwent a shocking transformation. His skin turned blue, and his body rapidly swelled to over two meters in height, bursting his shirt and leaving him clad only in shorts. He now resembled a smaller, blue version of the Hulk.
The Big Blue Man's face twisted in agony, but his movements showed no hesitation. With a violent gust of wind, he swung his massive fist at Elysia.
Though Elysia had never doubted the Prophet's information, witnessing the homeless man's sudden transformation still startled her.
Having escaped the Manor Lord's clutches and remained hidden for so long, Elysia had no intention of holding back. She immediately transformed into her Herrscher form and pulled the Big Blue Man into her unique Honkai energy space.
The space shimmered with countless stars, illuminating every corner with their brilliance. The Big Blue Man's punch naturally missed its mark, as Elysia had instantly created distance the moment he was pulled into the space.
Seeing this, the Big Blue Man's face twisted with even greater terror, even before Elysia had made a move. "No, no, no! Why? Why?!"
Gritting his teeth, he glared fiercely at Elysia and let out a deafening roar.
Then... blue blood erupted from his mouth and nose, and he collapsed to the ground.
Elysia was speechless. What's wrong with this guy? He can talk, he seems intelligent, but he's acting like a raving lunatic!
Screaming incoherently, then vomiting blood and collapsing? Is he insane? Is he even going to fight?
She slowly floated over to the Big Blue Man, poked him with the Key, and, after confirming he was genuinely unconscious, paused to consider her options. A Little Herta Puppet materialized in the space and began casting healing magic on him.
Seeing that a fight was unlikely, Elysia decided to try communicating with the Big Blue Man, hoping to glean some information.
Moments later, the Big Blue Man slowly regained consciousness. When he saw Elysia standing so close, he recoiled in terror, scrambling backward several steps on all fours as if his soul had fled his body.
Elysia smiled warmly. "Um... you understand me, right? May I ask you a few questions?"
The Big Blue Man trembled even more violently. "I'll tell you everything! I swear! I'm so sorry! We shouldn't have coveted your world!"
Elysia frowned. Coveted our world? What does that mean?
As the Big Blue Man slowly explained, Elysia gradually pieced together the truth. The Dimensional Rift within the Manor Lord's territory wasn't an accident—it was a deliberate invasion orchestrated by another civilization!
This "Big Blue Man" was merely an advance scout, but he was also his civilization's strongest warrior, possessing a multitude of Super Abilities, including superhuman strength and speed, energy absorption, disguise, mind manipulation, and danger sense.
In his first battle after arriving in this world, the Manor Lord completely overwhelmed the Big Blue Man. It felt less like fighting a person and more like battling the sky, the earth, and even the world itself.
His super strength paled in comparison to mountains rising from the ground, his super speed couldn't match the sudden appearance of colossal tornadoes, and his energy absorption ability proved utterly useless. Even when he tried to retreat, he discovered the Manor Lord had sealed the Dimensional Rift.
Completely demoralized, the Big Blue Man chose to flee.
Later, when the Manor Lord sent his men to seek the Prophet's aid, the Big Blue Man's danger sense kicked in. He secretly altered the memories of the Manor Lord's subordinates, making them believe they had completed their mission report. In reality, the Prophet remained completely unaware of the situation.
The Big Blue Man had been hiding near the Dimensional Rift ever since, clinging to any glimmer of hope for returning home. Until today, when Elysia came knocking.
Now, his despair deepened. Since dawn, his danger sense had been screaming incessantly, yet he couldn't pinpoint the source of the threat. It seemed to emanate from all directions, leaving him nowhere to hide, nowhere to escape.
After Elysia dragged him into this space, his energy-absorbing Super Ability could tap into its boundless power. Even if he pushed himself to the brink of collapse, he couldn't deplete even one percent of the space's total energy.
It was precisely because he was so powerful that he truly understood the terrifying strength of his enemy, plunging him into deeper despair.
In a final act of desperation, he attempted to influence Elysia with his mental Ability. For a fleeting moment, he glimpsed the vast expanse of the cosmos!
Since Elysia and Herta were one and the same, invading Elysia's mind meant invading Herta's. The consequences were inevitable.
The sheer volume of inspiration flooding Herta's mind in a single second could shatter an ordinary person's brain. In this respect, breaching Herta's mind was akin to staring directly into the eyes of an Evil God.
Without exaggeration, this battle was even more psychologically devastating for the Big Blue Man than his previous confrontation with the Manor Lord.
"Are all the people in this world... this terrifying?!"