Falling.
Endless falling
This rapid fall occurred in an instant, almost making her heart jump out of her chest.
Mei Raiden's eyes were wide open, staring at the surrounding environment with confusion
-She is very familiar with this place.
"Is this Chiba Academy?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Chiba Academy changed
It was reduced to ruins, the sky turning a despairing pinkish-red color
"....."
The purple-haired girl's face turned pale, feeling as if countless needles were piercing her heart
This.... scene became the deepest shadow in her heart- the scars left by those people's betrayal, and the destruction that ensued because of her
From the day her father was suddenly arrested, the whole world began to go against her; her past friends not only distanced themselves from her, but also started bullying her.
Then….She became a Herrscher.
Her life turned upside down. She destroyed Nagazora, and killed so many people
Death, destruction, doomsday…
If she had to find an adjective to describe what she had witnessed today, there was only one word that could describe it…
—— Apocalypse
In her heart, she didn't want to believe that this was the truth of the world, the one hidden under its peaceful appearance.
However, the fact remains that what she had experienced was the truth
If it weren't for Adam's existence that brought her a ray of hope, by now, she would be…
"…"
The girl's eyes became firm
She took a step forward, pointing at the ruin of the academy she once held dear
"It doesn't matter anymore. You are just a remnant of the past."
The ruin disappeared immediately, though the ruined sky still remained
-From now on: although the scars of the past will still hurt, they will also make her stronger.
The girl moved forward.
In her mindscape, light and shadow intertwined, forming various pictures made of experiences
It was as if time had gone back to the past. Right in front of her, shadows of people appeared
"Is that the 'Queen of Thunder'?"
"What Queen? She's just a bitch who relies on her family for everything"
"…"
The previous friends around her formed a small group in private to insult and slander her.
But it didn't matter anymore
They were….all dead
After experiencing the destruction of an entire city….She realized that her past troubles were nothing.
-They were unimportant, trivial, inconsequential, insignificant
Forward:
A dojo filled with an ancient atmosphere filled her vision
The huge emblem of a sword on the wall made Raiden Mei realize where she was.
-This is the Raiden family's gym, the place where her father taught her swordsmanship.
In the center of the gym, a girl who looked no different from herself was sitting quietly.
"You..."
"Yes? Me?"
The girl with a sharp and domineering temperament opened her eyes.
-Her purple-red vertical pupils exuded an indescribable oppressive force, which made Mei's heart tighten.
The girl opposite of her was wearing a plain kendo uniform and had a pair of real red horns on her forehead….she seemed like a far eastern demon, or perhaps an oni
Domineering, barbaric, oppressive, fierce…
-All of these can be felt from the Herrscher in front of her
"....."
Mei is convinced that, as long as she defeats her in this mindscape, she will be able to gain control of this power!
The Herrscher of Thunder stood up, the oppressive force emanating from her body becoming more intense.
"Heh. Do you think you can become a magical girl by defeating me?"
Mei's cheeks reddened, her toes curling in embarrassment at the Herrscher's words
"..."
To think that her chunibyo thoughts would be exposed….
Knowing that she couldn't let this woman continue talking, Mei Raiden immediately opened her mouth to speak:
"As long as I defeat you, I can control this power to help others, right?"
With passion and the power of friendship-
This is how all Far Eastern fictional works develop.
The protagonist encounters a powerful enemy and loses one-sidedly; then, he trains and defeats his inner demon in order to reach an inner harmony and surpass himself
Mei's understanding of Herrschers is still limited. Theresa and Himeko had only told her vague information about the honkai because she would learn more tomorrow in class
"You are right. As long as you defeat me, you can gain control of the power of the Herrscher."
The Herrscher of Thunder coldly looked at her as she spoke
"But-!"
The girl drew her sword, and the silver blade reflected her fierce face and her gritted teeth
"Originally, the man outside would have been the stakes of our fight…"
She glared at her
"He has already been snatched. And you didn't even do anything to stop it!"
BOOMMM
Thunder roared, scarlet light flooding the dojo
"W-what?'"
Mei flinched at both the lightning and the Herrscher's words
"They live together. Isn't it obvious what they would be doing now?"
The purple-haired girl froze, biting her lip
Indeed….Though she didn't say anything, she already had her suspicions
Olivia-senpai had appeared out of nowhere…. And she obviously had a close relationship with Adam
She's…hurt that Adam didn't tell her about Olivia-senpai
But…Mei couldn't blame him. She deserved it. After what she did to him, it would be quite natural for him to hate her….
"Coward!"
As if reading her thoughts, the Herrscher of Thunder sneered, mocking her
"Come back and challenge me when you have taken back my man!"
Scarlet red lightning flashed all around her, and with another boom, Mei felt a strong repulsion acting on her-
The mindscape trembled, and she felt herself slowly waking up to reality
"....."
…
..
.
Adam opened his eyes.
Feeling a faint warm breath on his chest, he looked down…
-Only to be greeted with Olivia's sleeping and peaceful face.
Indeed, she had buried her head in his chest, while hugging him tightly like a pillow
'...I suppose I went too hard on her'
He inwardly thought, recalling the previous experience
It felt….amazing. It satisfied him on both levels- physically, and 'spiritually'
"Mmm…"
Eyes still closed, Olivia made a faint sound in her sleep as she felt his hand gently stroking her hair
Of course, she couldn't compare to him in terms of physique- so she still needed to rest after such an intense session
"Oh?"
Adam blinked, feeling the presence of someone approaching his house
-And he knew exactly who it was
"Hm…."
The silver-haired boy closed his eyes in contemplation
Certainly….He wasn't shameless enough to let her see him in such a state
"...."
Puff
With a faint popping sound, an identical 'Adam' appeared beside the bed in a standing posture
Of course, everything was identical- after all, it was a clone made with chakra
Adam's perspective split, his field of vision being torn in two parts
This clone was obviously under his control. He doesn't know the details behind a shadow clone's consciousness….
But judging from the anime, they had their own independent thinking.
How does that work? No idea.
Yet, he would never risk it.
Adam closed his eyes, snuggliup ng to Olivia as he focused most of his mind on the clone
…
..
.
It was….weird
That was what was currently going through his mind as he went towards the front door with his clone body
While yes, Adam could use the energy that he had split off himself during the creation of this clone…. The body itself was very weak and fragile
'I guess I shouldn't be surprised….'
In fact, he was the one who created this clone 'technique', by himself
[....]
-With Great Sage's help, of course!
So…Perhaps he had to develop his chakra further and research techniques- the so-called jutsu- more.
Hm… Yes, now that he will be experiencing the Academy life, he can focus on researching all his energy sources more thouroughly
Knock….Knock…..
A very soft, almost silent knock reverberated from his door
Already knowing who was behind that door, Adam directly opened it
"Come in, Mei"
Looking at the surprised yet ashamed purple-haired girl, Adam smiled gently
…
..
.
"Do you have anything to say, Mei?"
The silver-haired boy sat opposite of the girl, on a couch.
Despite having a girl visiting him at night, he was acting very casual
"Um…"
The purple-haired girl flinched at his words, hesitation written on her face
She opened her mouth to speak, yet, despite looking as if she had thousands of questions-
"Are you…okay?"
-This is what she ended up asking in the end
"....."
Adam raised an eyebrow at her
"I'm feeling great, what about you?"
Though confused, he still replied
"I'm…"
Before Mei finished, her light violet eyes turned blood red in an instant.
"..."
The Herrscher of Thunder, who forcefully occupied Mei's body, stared at him with intensity
"Do you…."
She spoke slowly, an unusual expression appearing on her face
"-Hate me?"
Adam's eyebrows shot upwards in surprise
Looking at her fragile expression that was contrary to her usually domineering one….he didn't have the heart to say yes
After all….Though her blow hurt like a bitch, it was indeed his decision to do that
"...."
Seeing his silence and thoughtful face, the Herrscher clenched her fists, a panicked look flashing through her eyes
"No…. I don't"
Shaking his head, the silver-haired boy smiled
"...Really?"
She asked once again, seeking confirmation
"Yes"
He stood up, moving towards her direction
"I don't hate you"
Sitting down next to her, he slowly wrapped his arms around her
"...Eh…?"
After hearing his words, the other Mei was a little dazed at first
-But after finding herself in Adam's arms, her cheeks quickly turned red.
She exerted a little force with her hands, as if she wanted to break free- but as soon as she started to exert force, her strength disappeared for some inexplicable reason
"Don't you like it?"
Adam asked with a gentle smile still on his face
"…You obviously know the answer."
The Herrscher looked up and glared at him. Then simply stayed still and stopped moving, like a docile little anime
…
Damn it!
She obviously wanted to come out and assert her dominance, but when she actually met him again face to face, fear couldn't help but rise within her heart
And such contact…. Hearing his words and making such intimate contact with him…. Her heart couldn't help but start racing
….
"Well, of course I do."
….
Adam was obviously aware of Mei's, and subsequently the Herrscher's feelings
Especially, after what happened on that rooftop…. He would have to be a dense beta Japanese protagonist to not notice Mei's intense feelings towards him
The purple-haired girl might think that she has hidden them well….But to him, they're quite obvious
As for why she chose to hide them? He doesn't know. A woman's mind is too complicated!
Originally, he thought that with this 'night' visit, Mei would confess to him….But it seemed that this wasn't the case
Or, was she originally planning to do so, but didn't because she got overwhelmed with shyness?
…
"...Am I, a Herrscher, worthy of love?"
'Mei' leaned her head against him and asked- not him, but herself
"If you hadn't come at that rooftop, the… coward would have chosen to commit suicide….And I….wouldn't have objected"
From the moment she came to be, she was confused about her own existence.
The ravings in her head that were ordering her to destroy this world were ignored by her
-Even though she ignored the voice of 'god', she still had no positive feelings towards this decadent world
"This world is still very beautiful"
The silver-haired boy raised his hand, extending it in front of her
"Let's discover it, together."
"...Um."
The girl nodded softly, intertwining her fingers with his own
"So…. what am I? Am I really the will of the Third Herrscher?"
The Herrscher frowned, confusion dawning on her face
"I…don't feel that's the case."
….
To this day, she still doesn't know what she is.
If she were the will of the Third Herrscher….Then this malice towards the world was too tame
Although she did feel that this world was corrupt and it would not matter even if it was destroyed, she had never thought of doing it herself.
If these ravings and this 'compulsion' were imposed by the honkai…Then is the honkai so weak?
....
"Technically speaking, you should be the will of the stigmata on Mei's body. But it is very probable that the gem of conquest affected you somehow."
Adam said with uncertainty, shrugging
"...I see…"
Her eyes lowered downwards
"What you had said to Mei..."
The girl started speaking with hesitation, without finishing her sentence
"The same goes for you." Adam winked at her "After all, you are Mei too, right?"
"...Humph, that's more like it."
She snorted, satisfied with his answer.
Though with the tips of her ears being in a red hue, her shyness couldn't be hidden
"Heh…"
Adam chuckled, amused. Thunder-chan's Tsundere 'attribute' is quite intense!
"What about that woman?"
The girl's scarlet eyes sharpened, glaring at him
"...What about her?"
The silver-haired boy smiled stiffly, acting ignorant
"...."
Her grip on his hand tightened.
Adam felt a faint tingling from his palm, as if electricity was running through his arm-
"...."
He stared at the scarlet-eyed girl, unmoved
"You know…." The Herrscher let out a breath, gritting her teeth "That coward is a coward. She thinks that she's unworthy of you, so she hasn't made a move."
"...Huh?"
The silver-haired boy blinked, dumbfounded by her words
"And when she learned that that woman will live with you…." She narrowed her eyes "Do you know what was going through her head?"
"...."
Adam closed his eyes, letting out a sigh
"I could probably guess"
…
Something like….'It's better this way. Adam will be happier with her'
This went unsaid, and the Herrscher didn't say anything.
But considering Mei's unstable mental state and vulnerability…..This isn't surprising
Despite what Adam said to her….Words are never enough.
Mental trauma takes time to heal
And for Mei….Coming to terms with her situation and harmonizing with the 'self' inside her is the best 'first step' that she can take
....
"You also like me….right?"
Opening his eyes, Adam stared at the girl in his arms with his dazzling blue pupils
"....."
The Herrscher fell silent
"How convenient…." His lips curled upwards "I also like Mei, and I also like you."
As he said that, there wasn't any trace of shame on his face.
After all, why would he be ashamed to say this? Adam is always open with his desires
"....Scumbag"
The girl pursed her lips, her face scrunching. However, her scarlet eyes softened
The world of Honkai had too few men. Although the man having multiple partners wasn't standard or common…It was more widespread and 'normal'
Despite that-
"I don't care about that blue-haired woman" The girl's scarlet eyes narrowed once again "I will make you fall for me. And then, you'll belong to me."
She leaned forward, her grip tightening further. Her aura had turned domineering, like a true Queen of Conquest
"Oh…?"
Tilting his head, Adam resisted the urge to chuckle
"If this is the case…." He smirked, "Do you want me to give you the same chance as Olivia?"
"Yes"
'Mei' nodded
"Alright. I'm a fair person. So I'll just give you the same 'contract'."
Adam lowered his head as he spoke.
"Huh? Wait... um..."
Soon, the girl's lips were blocked by the silver-haired boy's own lips
"From this moment on….You are 'Raiden'."
-And so, because he found referring to her as 'Herrscher' tiring, he named her.