Hero Kaden. The protagonist of the previous Kanterbury game. The man who single-handedly brought an era of peace to the human world.
Practically everything the current protagonist's party possessed—the Innkeeper, the Champion's Sword, the Floating Castle, the MK series robots—came from this legendary hero and his companions.
But this very same legend, driven to despair by the cruel fate of the world, had transformed into the Plague Doctor, a merciless being who had sacrificed the entire Demon World in his mad quest to break the cycle of despair.
When Mo Wang had first learned the Plague Doctor's true identity, he had been utterly shocked.
So, there's not a single sane person in this world, is there?
The saintess from the previous game had gone insane, Queen Lili was a pervert obsessed with stealing the queen's body, and now, even Hero Kaden had become a boss.
The game's marketing was a complete lie.
Advertisement: A world filled with joy and adventure!
Reality: Adventure, yes. But is it really joyful when someone dies in every single main and side story?
Advertisement: Every character in our game is full of charm!
Reality: And every single one of them is a certified lunatic.
Advertisement: We've even brought back characters from the previous game!
Reality: And they're all bosses.
What kind of game developers hate their own previous work so much that they turn every single returning character into a boss?
...
"You... how do you know who I am?" Kaden demanded, his rapier pointed at Mo Wang.
"Heh, who are you trying to fool?" Mo Wang said with a smirk. "Don't think I don't know that you can't actually kill me."
The one constant in this godforsaken world was that he, the protagonist, was indispensable. If he were to die, the higher beings who were watching this whole show would be in a world of hurt.
"So, the current hero is this troublesome, is he?" Kaden muttered to himself.
"By the way, old man, your body isn't human anymore, is it? Are you some kind of virus collective now? And what's with all those Innkeeper clones? Did you have a thing for her back in the day?"
"Enough!" Kaden roared, his rapier trembling with rage.
"Wait... he's... Kaden? The Hero Kaden?!" the princess gasped, her world turned upside down.
"Hmph, you have a glib tongue. But while I may not be able to kill you, I can certainly defeat you and erase your memories to set things back on the right path."
"You're telling jokes again, senior," Mo Wang said, unfazed. "To be honest, I might even be stronger than you."
"Hah, is that so? Then let us see what this new hero is made of."
In a flash, Kaden was upon him.
"Whoa!" Mo Wang dodged the attack with ease. "Hey, old man, you're a senior, you shouldn't be sneak-attacking people."
"I have long since abandoned such notions."
"This is bad... I don't have my exclusive weapon. Fighting this old man with an iron sword is a bit of a disadvantage," Mo Wang thought, as he dodged Kaden's relentless assault.
"Well, if I don't have Libera, I'll just have to use... this."
From his pocket, he pulled out a baseball bat, studded with iron nails and wrapped in barbed wire.
Just as the Honkai: Star Rail Mo Wang's true form was a baseball bat, so too did the Guardian Tales Mo Wang have his own. This was the Bat of Causality, a weapon that could one-shot any enemy, even a god, as long as it was a sneak attack from behind.
"You... you intend to fight me with that?" Kaden scoffed.
"Die, old man!" Mo Wang yelled, and in a blur of motion, he was behind Kaden.
What?!
Kaden's instincts screamed at him, and he dove to the ground. The bat slammed into the spot where he had just been, creating a massive crater.
"Tch, the old bastard is fast," Mo Wang grumbled.
Kaden broke out in a cold sweat. That attack would have been devastating.
He's been hiding his true strength all along.
"You—"
Mo Wang vanished again. Kaden parried an attack that came from an impossible angle, the impact sending him stumbling back.
"Have you been hiding your true self all this time?" Kaden gritted his teeth.
"How else was I supposed to lure you guys out? I was hoping to take out a few of the Observers, but I didn't expect you to be the first to bite."
"Damn you!"
"Don't talk nonsense, old man! I'm going to kill you today! Who do you think you are?!"
Mo Wang activated the Path of [The Hunt], his speed increasing to a godlike level.
"The same trick won't work on me twice—" Kaden sneered, and thrust his rapier behind him, only to find that he had pierced an afterimage.
An illusion?!
CRACK!
The spiked bat slammed into the back of his head. His mask shattered, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
"Heh, finally got you, old man!" Mo Wang said, and gave him a few more whacks for good measure.
"Mo Wang... defeated Hero Kaden?" the princess stared, dumbfounded.
Wait a minute... if Mo Wang is stronger than Kaden, why did he always pretend to struggle during boss fights?
He always came back covered in dirt and grime, but... he was never actually injured, was he?
So... he's been acting all this time?
A horrifying realization dawned on her.
"Now what? I just defeated the main boss of the second arc. How is the story supposed to progress now?" Mo Wang wondered, a sinking feeling in his stomach.
He had just created a whole new timeline.
"Oh crap, I just used up all my future knowledge. Am I going to be targeted now?"