After violently breaking open the titanium alloy door, Byakuya and Kiana finally entered its interior.
The style was completely different from the outside; the inside of the door was full of technological sense. Byakuya's eyes lit up, thinking, 'As expected of a force related to Anti-Entropy, cool~.'
And in the deepest part of this hidden space, three very conspicuous weapons were suspended in mid-air.
Kiana: "These are Honkai Energy weapons?"
Byakuya nodded, also recognizing them at a glance.
Three-star weapon: Pulse Katana 19th Type.
Three-star weapon: Ion Resonance .
Four-star weapon: Plasma Shadowblade.
Two katana-type weapons, one greatsword-type weapon. Byakuya had owned them in the game before, so he didn't feel unfamiliar, although aside from the last one being stored in the warehouse to collect dust, the other two were directly disassembled upon acquisition.
Because these three were either developed by Raiden Ryoma himself or secretly developed under Welt's orders, Cocolia was unaware of their existence.
Byakuya happily took them all, his expression like a child who had received a favorite toy.
After all, although they were only low-star weapons in the game, they were still full of sci-fi style. Moreover, these weren't just appearance models; they were real items that could actually be used in combat!
As a boy, it would be strange if Byakuya could refuse such cool weapons.
"These, these are all Honkai Energy weapons? What exactly is going on? Why are there Honkai-related weapons in this place!"
Paramecium beside him had long lost her composure. Kiana's eyes were wide, and her little brain, which had been offline for a long time, couldn't fully comprehend the meaning for a moment.
In her opinion, she had merely infiltrated Mei's father's company with Byakuya to find evidence that her father was framed, only to 'unexpectedly' discover traces of Honkai.
Kiana's brain, which had been offline for a long time, was starting to emit white smoke, clearly overloaded.
"Sizzle!"
And just as Byakuya was thinking about how to fool, err, no, how to explain to Kiana, the display screen next to them lit up, quite coincidentally.
"Wh-what's going on?"
"Don't be scared, that's not a ghost, that's father-in-law."
Kiana was so scared she almost shot, but thankfully Byakuya pulled her back in time.
Because he recognized that the person appearing on the screen was Mei's father, Raiden Ryoma!
And this wasn't a communication, but a recording, documenting a father's silent devotion to his daughter.
"Father-in-law? What father-in-law? Byakuya, when did you... Could it be Mei's dad?"
Kiana finally reacted. Byakuya nodded.
"Yes, that's right. He is Mei's father, Raiden Ryoma. This video seems to have been recorded before he was imprisoned, and luckily, it was preserved along with this hidden armory, avoiding discovery by outsiders."
Presumably, because it detected someone entering this hidden armory, the video automatically started playing.
The content of the video was all about Mei, which saved Byakuya from having to make up excuses, because... Raiden Ryoma in the recording really spilled everything.
He explained that Mei had been born with a Stigmata, and as she grew older, the Stigmata even awakened, but that immense power brought great harm to Mei.
So, in order to suppress the power of the Stigmata and protect Mei, Raiden Ryoma accepted Cocolia's proposal and conducted an experiment called 'Project-Mei'.
The specific content was to implant a herrscher core called the conquest gem into Mei's body, which had an awakened Stigmata, and use the core's power to seal the girl's Stigmata.
Ultimately, the experiment succeeded. Mei's Stigmata was suppressed and sealed by the conquest gem. She completely recovered and became a 'normal girl'.
But Raiden Ryoma later realized that this was actually just Cocolia's scheme.
That woman had already secretly planned to artificially trigger the Third Honkai Eruption, and Mei was the chosen Herrscher vessel.
By the time Ryoma wanted to stop all this, it was too late. Once the herrscher core was embedded in Mei's body, removing it without harm was practically an impossible task.
Therefore, he took a desperate gamble, using a large amount of ME Corporation's funds to develop Honkai Energy weapons.
But his purpose was not to eliminate his daughter, who would awaken as the Herrscher of Thunder in the future, but to possess the power to stop and save his own daughter.
However, Cocolia caught him red-handed and had him sent to prison on charges of economic fraud.
"...How could this be? Mei is actually the vessel for the third herrscher."
"Tsk tsk, looks like we've dug up a big scoop. It seems quite bad."
"Byakuya, things are not that simple. My rotten old dad told me that Herrschers are very terrifying. They are the embodiment of disaster, they are Honkai... Ugh, how should I explain it to you? There's too much to explain."
Kiana hugged her head in distress, her not-so-smart little brain working hard to organize her words.
Because she saw Byakuya's calm expression, Kiana thought he didn't know what Honkai was, or what kind of disaster Herrschers were.
After all, Bai's performance during this period was just that of an ordinary person unrelated to Honkai.
But now that he had come into contact with the truth of the world, Kiana no longer intended to hide it.
She wanted to quickly explain the seriousness of the situation to Byakuya, and then persuade Byakuya to leave Changkong City.
Go as far as he could.
And as a warrior of the Kaslana Family, Kiana decided she must stop the Third Honkai Eruption.
Unfortunately, this white-haired lump didn't know that when it came to understanding what Honkai was, Byakuya dared to say he was second, and only Kevin dared to say he was first in this world.
(Byakuya: What's the big deal, Herrschers? What's so surprising about Herrschers? In this day and age, who doesn't have four or five Herrschers on their battleship? Paramecium, you yourself are the future Herrscher of the Void, Herrscher of Flamescion, and Herrscher of Finality, calm down~)
As an old captain, he couldn't be clearer about what Honkai was and what Herrschers were.
"Alright, Kiana, try to copy the recording, and take the weapons. We should leave."
"Wait, are you even listening to me?!"
"I am. But isn't it already clear? It's just that Mei is being used by bad people and is turning into an incredible monster, which will likely bring about the destruction of the entire Changkong City," Byakuya said with a shrug.
"Since that's the case, what we need to do is very clear… stop her, help her, save her."
"..."
It was such an obvious statement that Paramecium was stunned. She blinked her innocent eyes… it really seemed to be the case.
Byakuya toyed with the Plasma Shadow Edge in his hand, drawing half of the blade from its sheath. Instantly, the dark blue plasma blade illuminated half of the young man's face. (
"Byakuya, you…"
Kiana's pupils contracted. She realized that Byakuya's eyes held a will and resolve no weaker than her own.
"In this city, we are Mei's only companions, right? If that's the case, if we don't help her, then who else can help her?"
Byakuya said with a smile. These words immediately struck a chord in Kiana's heart. Her eyes widened, then she forcefully slapped her own cheeks.
"...Ahhh! You're right! If we don't help Mei, who else can help her? But Byakuya, I, this Miss, will definitely not let you die!"
"Heh heh~ Kiana, don't be too arrogant."
"Byakuya, you're right, if we don't help Mei, who else can help her? But Byakuya, remember this, I, this Miss, will definitely not let anything happen to you!"
Kiana said with extreme seriousness, as if it was a promise to the young man, and also a reminder to herself.
Although involving an ordinary person like Byakuya in Honkai-related incidents, especially Herrscher-level ones, was extremely dangerous, as she herself had difficulty even protecting herself.
But Kiana already understood that with the look in Byakuya's eyes just now, she couldn't possibly persuade him to flee far away before everything ended.
'You used to say I was stubborn, but Byakuya, aren't you just as stubborn? Hmph~'
Moreover, after spending time together, Byakuya always gave Kiana a very reliable feeling, even surpassing Siegfried to some extent.
Kiana deeply admired and super liked this good friend who was willing to share lunch with her, cared about her, and even applied medicine to her wounds.
Therefore, the answer was already very simple.
She had to protect them all!
Whether it was Mei, or Byakuya, or this entire Changkong City, she would stake the honor of the Kaslana Family and definitely prevent the tragedy from happening!
If Cocolia and Otto were here, they would surely mock Kiana, mocking her ignorance, weakness, and overestimation of herself. With her current power, which couldn't even defeat a B-Rank Valkyrie, she wanted to protect everything from a Herrscher-level catastrophe?
It was simply wishful thinking.
However, Byakuya felt that Kiana at this moment was dazzling. Regardless of whether she possessed power, this girl's determination, will, and belief were genuine.
Just like in the game, although she was usually silly and unreliable, at critical moments, Kiana Kaslana would never back down and would always be the first to charge forward.
Even if it meant putting herself in danger, she would never stand idly by!
"Well said, Kiana! Then take this greatsword. Although its quality is just so-so, it's still much better than the two small pistols in your hand."
"Oh, oh, what about you, Byakuya?"
"Of course, it's this~"
Byakuya shook the Plasma Shadow Edge in his hand, then looked up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, thinking.
'Ryoma, my father-in-law, rest assured, Mei will be protected by me from now on. Thank you for the Plasma Kagehide you rewarded me with, it's a four-star weapon after all. And I hope your spirit in heaven will bless the relationship with Mei and me .'
However, at this moment.
Suddenly, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and a dazzling bolt of lightning shot up from a distance. Kiana's eyes widened. She clearly felt the Honkai Energy concentration rising.
"How can this be? This Honkai Energy concentration… Byakuya, this is bad, the Third Honkai Eruption is about to begin."
"Huh? Why now of all times? Did something happen to Mei while I wasn't with you… Damn it! That bastard Cocolia, even killing you a thousand times in the future wouldn't be enough!"
With such an unexpected turn of events, Byakuya knew it was Cocolia's fault even without thinking.
The two quickly ran towards the lightning. Although the Honkai Energy concentration was soaring, it was still far from reaching the minimum threshold of 1000HW required for a Herrscher to be born.
And if it were other Herrschers, Byakuya really wouldn't be confident, but only with Raiden Mei, only with the Herrscher of Thunder, did he feel that there was still a chance to turn the tide!
......
Half an hour ago.
Just as Byakuya and Kiana were exploring the ME Corporation branch, Mei without a word, headed straight for the supermarket after school.
If she didn't hurry, she would miss the discount period.
Ever since the Raiden Family fell into decline, Mei transformed from a pampered young lady who never lifted a finger into a capable and virtuous woman, skilled in all household chores.
Although her family's assets were frozen, Mei still had a considerable amount of living expenses, but even so, she needed to be frugal. Thus, she learned how to snatch discounted ingredients from the aunties at the supermarket.
"It's a good thing I came early today. I bought a lot of good ingredients cheaply. I can go back and practice properly. Tomorrow, I'll make the Shenzhou cuisine Byakuya mentioned."
As the image of the young man happily enjoying his meal and the scene of him and Kiana fighting over fried chicken flashed in her mind, Mei couldn't help but curl her lips, filled with motivation.
She really liked those two.
Compared to when she was the 'Raiden Queen' and had friends who seemingly liked her but were actually just after her reputation and family background, these two people now taught Mei what true friendship was.
As long as Byakuya and Kiana were there, Mei wouldn't feel pain, even if everyone else ostracized her.
Now, her favorite thing was cooking, and seeing those two happily eat the bento she made was Raiden Mei's greatest joy.
"Beep beep! Beep beep beep beep beep beep!!"
It was getting late.
The constant flow of vehicles on the road indicated the prosperity and congestion of a big city during peak hours, but the incessant honking made Mei frown.
She subconsciously put on the headphones hanging around her neck and turned up the music volume. Immediately, the noisy honking disappeared from Mei's world.
"Speaking of which, why have I never heard these songs before? I can't find them online either. Could it be that Byakuya wrote them all himself?"
Although the world was different, music and technology were boundless. The music Byakuya brought from Blue Star to this world was still excellent art.
Soon, the beautiful melody completely filled the girl's hearing. Mei's steps became lighter, and at the same time, she softly sang her favorite lyrics.
"A sorrowful smile stained with blood
Your body temperature fades away
Caught in a vortex of noise
Living in this Honkai world
On the last day, as starlight vanishes
I gently offer my body.
Red moonlight illuminates the apocalyptic streets
The Diva sings a mournful lament
Sweet dreams in memories
Until the end of the world~!"
The song was called "Honkai World Diva." Although the melody sounded tragic and resolute, like a sinner singing a requiem.
The moment Mei first heard it, she felt a current spread throughout her body, and then she looped the song for an entire night.
Until now, she could sing it perfectly.