Chapter 218

'Beep! Annexation mode activated.'

'Starting calculation...'

'The world of Highschool of the Dead is a purely physical world without magic.'

'To annex this world, the host's "original magic ring" will add some physical laws.'

'The "World Power" of the Teyvat Universe will increase by 6%.'

'The total mass of matter in Teyvat's universe will increase by 9%.'

'The quality of Teyvat's human power will increase by 3%.'

'Teyvat's universe will expand by 9%.'

'Calculation complete. The barrier between the two universes is now opening.'

Before the Teyvat world can become a small universe, it still needs to be pulled into the "Sea of Princes" to form a fragile attachment relationship. That attachment can easily be broken by the waves of the quantum sea.

But things are different now. The annexed world is directly pulled into the structure of Teyvat's small garden. On the periphery of the small universe, the world of Highschool of the Dead slowly emerges from a white vortex into the garden-like space.

Nearby is the world of "Demon Slayer," another Earth. Since both are Earth-like, they can be considered parallel worlds.

In the Hakoba-style universe, there's something peculiar: the further to the periphery of the universe structure, the lower the quality of the rules and the level of the world. This results in time flowing faster the farther one goes outward.

However, the universe isn't too large yet, and the time difference between the main world of Teyvat and the outermost world is minimal—one day in the main world is equivalent to seven days in the outer world.

Takumi sighed in boredom, resting his cheek on his hand. "As I expected, but I didn't think that the rules provided by the demon-free world would be so minimal, and even the power gained from it would be so little."

"The increase in total matter is the main gain..."

But then again, this is a purely physical world, governed by physical laws alone. Unfortunately, those physical laws are weak, limiting development to the peak of the information age at best. The strength of physical rules affects how far technology can evolve.

"Well… I shouldn't be so dismissive. I want both mystery and physics to coexist. Every bit counts."

Takumi shifted his gaze to the second world.

"The dark world… the only solution there is to cleanse it entirely."

"Venti's choice to personally cleanse the world is straightforward and effective. If he had chosen to bestow favor upon humanity and let them fight against the Gastroenterovirus, I would have been disappointed in him."

The demon gods in the Teyvat world inherited Phanes' concept of "loving humanity," but they often misunderstood what it means to truly care for people. In many dark worlds, the demon gods would be 90% inclined to share their divine power with humans, enabling them to gain the strength to fight threats like Gastroenterovirus.

However, in the process, many evil people who should be eradicated would slip through.

The "Gate to the World" appeared in front of Takumi, and he stepped through.

"In an apocalyptic world, I could forgive leniency, but in the dark world, I won't allow any evil person who harmed innocent lives to survive."

When Takumi first watched "Black Bullet," he was depressed for an entire day and even called the author heartless. The cursed children in that world were innocent—they were kinder and more innocent than anyone else—yet they faced harsh discrimination and violence simply because they carried the genes of the Gastroenterovirus.

They were abandoned at birth, and if they managed to survive, they faced constant hatred. Many people would rather vent their anger at these children than confront the real threat—the Gastrea monsters—because taking on the monsters was too dangerous.

Takumi could hardly bear it, and he was sure that even Phanes would have wiped out such a twisted civilization and forced them to start anew if they had seen it.

---

**A Dark World**

The civilization in this world wasn't completely destroyed. The population was still around 750 million, concentrated in large cities. There were more than twenty such cities worldwide, each with populations ranging from several million to tens of millions. It had only been over a decade since the Gastroenterovirus outbreak.

Each of these cities was a "country" of its own, surrounded by enormous thousand-meter-high stone monuments made of "Iridium Metal." The magnetic fields from these monuments kept the Gastrea away. Outside the stone walls, the world belonged entirely to the Gastrea. Except for plants, the original ecosystem had been replaced.

In this island country, there were five areas protected by metal stone monuments—Tokyo, Sapporo, Sendai, Oita, and Hakata. While the cities were isolated, large aircraft still connected them, making the skies the safest means of travel.

The Tokyo area was the leading producer of "Iro Metal" and the de facto center of this world, where most of the "Black Bullet" story took place. Despite the declining population, technology hadn't regressed. Cities were modern, and all expected amenities were present.

Takumi stepped out of the "Gate to the World" and looked up at the sky, a smile touching his lips.

Rumble, rumble—

The wind element began to spread out, centered in the Tokyo area. The blue sky turned completely cyan, and the clouds scattered, leaving a vast emptiness above. Seen from space, it seemed as if a drop of cyan ink had spread across the planet.

Venti intended to envelop the entire world in divine power and mark those—humans or Gastrea—that needed to be eradicated. Though Venti had only enough power to destroy the entire territory of a world power in a single blow, covering the world with divine energy to mark targets wasn't difficult.

Once the marks were set, eradicating one area after another could be accomplished within half a day.

The sudden change in the sky left people in different areas astonished as they stared upward.

"The sky suddenly changed! What's happening?!"

"The clouds vanished in the blink of an eye! What's going on?!"

"Mom, the sky looks so scary!"

In the center of the Tokyo area, within the "Holy Residence," someone shouted.

"This is bad! Your Highness, the Holy Emperor! The sky… the sky suddenly changed color!"