In the exquisitely furnished office of the Raiden President, Mei, still in her panda mascot suit, stood gracefully before the floor-to-ceiling window at high noon.
Looking down from several hundred meters up, even the Titan mechs patrolling the streets below were nothing more than tiny dots.
Compared to that, the girl was more concerned about the tall building to the southwest.
It was because of that obstruction that she couldn't see the small two-story house where Fuli and Kiana had rested last night.
I wonder if they saw the note I hastily wrote in the courtyard.
Pressing her palm against the highly tempered bulletproof glass, Mei murmured to herself.
After being threatened by the vile and despicable adult with her father's life, the girl had no choice but to head to ME Corp as Cocolia had instructed.
Along the way, she used her newly-mastered lightning powers to interfere with multiple electronic signals in Nagazora City, preventing Anti-Entropy from using her route to deduce the villa's location.
It was surprisingly easy to do. Before the girl, who had partially awakened her abilities, the heavenly thunder, known since ancient times for its ferocity, was like a lowly servant before its queen. Her meticulous energy control even allowed her to secretly wrap two currents of electricity around her Stigmata and heart, so she could either go berserk and wreak havoc when the worst-case scenario occurred, or welcome a grand death in the most dignified manner.
She wanted to see what was faster: the lightning, second only to the speed of light within the atmosphere, or Cocolia's actions.
She also believed that, at such a juncture, her imprisoned father would surely support her choice.
Of course, this was all under the premise that she still couldn't save her father even after going berserk.
Fortunately, Cocolia didn't intend to provoke an uncontrollable Herrscher of Thunder just yet. After welcoming Mei to ME Corp, she arranged for her to stay in Raiden Ryoma's former office and then left.
"The higher you stand, the farther and more you see," a voice suddenly came from the corner. "To see a thousand li further, climb one more story higher. That's how you say it in Shenzhou, right?"
It was Yuya, who had been assigned to watch Mei. This youthful and beautiful girl of Far Eastern descent was still dressed in her cool custom outfit with a naginata. Her golden hime-cut had a diagonal princess-cut at the bangs, which, combined with her elegant face, looked both handsome and sharp.
Seeing her surveillance target shift attention back to her, the adjutant spoke eloquently, "But the higher you stand, the blurrier the details of each point become. You can see people's faces clearly on the ground, but when you reach the highest point, their faces are just blurry dots to you. You won't care as much about them as individuals."
Mei, who cherished quiet, frowned slightly, but a smile suddenly bloomed on her elegant lips.
If Fuli and the others were here, they'd definitely quip, "Is she from Dunhuang? Her walls of text are like ancient murals!"
Based on her aristocratic upbringing, the girl still responded politely, "My father has mentioned something similar. He said it was a necessary price to pay. If a person in a high position still cared about every little detail of every person as they did at the bottom, they wouldn't be able to make any decisions."
"Sounds like something a trashy politician would say," Yuya said venomously. "Your father must have very few friends."
Mei wanted to retort.
After a moment of reflection, she changed the subject. "I'm curious. Since I, the main target, have been 'acquired,' why are you still staying in Nagazora City?"
"You think we don't want to leave?" the person questioned rolled her eyes.
"Could you elaborate?" Mei adopted the posture of a listener, clearly probing for military intelligence.
Yuya didn't hold back, sitting down at the conference table in the center of the room.
Crossing her two long, white-stockinged legs on the tabletop, she hugged her naginata and began to complain, "It's mainly those vermin from the Far East government who won't let us go. They can't bear to see ME Corp, the top taxpayer and technology source in the Far East, move back to North America. Plus, the commotion you guys caused this time was too big, giving them another excuse to interfere."
You might not believe it, but Cocolia no longer planned to initiate the Third Eruption in Nagazora City.
The reason was, as Yuya said, the commotion was too great.
When Bronya was defeated, the staff at ME Corp immediately extended the Magnetic Field Canopy to cover the entire city to prevent the important target from escaping their grasp.
Even though Nagazora City could almost be considered an exclave of Anti-Entropy now, this act-first, report-later behavior was too eye-catching.
If it were just that, it would have been fine. They could have just made up some excuse.
For example, the equipment was in disrepair and detected a natural gas explosion in the neighboring Fuyuki City.
But then Fuli started sending his Trailing Shadow phantoms to stir up trouble everywhere, plus the commotion caused by the mecha units chasing Mei and Kiana through the streets and alleys.
The wards that separate the mundane from the supernatural weren't omnipotent. In such a big city with such a developed network, so many eyes were watching.
To cause the Third Eruption here now... what? Were they afraid people wouldn't know that the deaths of several million people were related to Cocolia?
Doing it in private was one thing; even if some flaws were left, no one would pursue it too much.
The Herrscher of the Void who caused the Second Eruption in the new millennium was clearly forced out by Schicksal's Tower of Babel laboratory in Siberia. Look how few people have openly exposed this point afterward.
Even the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy was fully aware of this. Why did he have to remain silent?
And don't say that the Great Eruption happened in the vast, sparsely populated Siberia and few people died. When that little master was throwing meteorites from the moon to Earth for fun, the casualties were in the eight digits!
This was the unspoken agreement between superpowers. Whether it was Schicksal or Anti-Entropy, everyone had skeletons in their closet.
As long as it didn't happen on their own turf, if something happened, everyone would help cover it up.
But to act recklessly and openly was a completely different concept.
Even if Cocolia was the leader of the reformist faction, acting stubbornly would only make her a target of public criticism, her crimes too numerous to list, becoming a target for her other colleagues to righteously cut ties with, and leaving behind a legacy of infamy.
To insist on pushing for the Third Eruption in Nagazora City when the disadvantages far outweighed the advantages? Yo, who gave you the guts to be so brave?
If a master strategist heard this, they'd have to spit and say, "Disgusting! Even I turn off the lights when I'm doing dirty deeds!"
Therefore, after obtaining Mei, this humanoid Gem of Conquest, Cocolia was already preparing to withdraw.
The Third Eruption didn't have to break out in Nagazora City. Weren't there international metropolises all over the world?
Manila in Luzon looked pretty good. If not, then New Delhi or Buenos Aires?
The world is so big, with so many cities; there's always one that fits.
Unexpectedly, with everything ready and only waiting for the opportune moment, after a series of operations, they were stuck at the step of leaving Nagazora City.
"The Far East officials are haggling and won't let you leave? The mighty Anti-Entropy Enforcer is being held up by a few toothless wild dogs?"
Mei was stunned, a sense of schadenfreude instinctively welling up, followed by confusion.
With a top-tier powerhouse like ME Corp about to leave, the vermin in the high echelons of the Far East should be popping champagne. Why were they haggling and not letting them go?
"The dispute isn't complicated. It boils down to two points."
Yuya rocked her chair, which creaked. "First, even if ME Corp withdraws, we still have garrisons in several ports in the Far East. One dog leash or two, it doesn't make much of a difference."
Instead of watching the big moneybags pack up and leave a mess behind, it was better to try and get more benefits before they left.
"Secondly, it's because of their fear of the people from Schicksal's Far East Branch."
"I see," Mei understood instantly. "With ME Corp here, they can at least check Schicksal's branch and curb its vast influence on the Honkai side."
"The child is teachable," the adjutant clapped. "Previously, Anti-Entropy's policy towards the Far East has always been 'I want both the mundane and the Honkai side.' The representatives of this are the port garrisons and ME Corp, which rose to prominence a decade ago."
"If ME Corp really leaves, then this land will inevitably form a dichotomy where Anti-Entropy reaps the mundane world and Schicksal dominates the Honkai side. Once the two sides, with no core conflicts of interest, become content with the status quo and shake hands, then the Far East would truly have to cry on someone else's territory."
When the boss and the second-in-command are both making money peacefully, then you, the third party, are the money.
Yuya, who had said so much, gestured with her eyes for Mei to pour her a glass of water to soothe her throat, but was completely ignored by the girl who was deep in thought.
She pouted. The storage cabinet under the nearby water dispenser automatically opened, and a paper cup floated to the water outlet and began to fill.
The originally expensive tea bar had long since been cleared out by employees who'd stripped it for parts. The cheap water dispenser that was temporarily placed there made an annoying gurgle-gurgle sound.
Noticing Mei's raised eyebrows, the adjutant caught the full cup with her hand, her expression calm. "Just a small application of psychokinesis. Anything else you want to ask?"
"Not really, but you seem to be looking forward to leaving the Far East?"
Just from the way she kept talking, the girl felt that this person had been impatient for a long time.
"Don't get me wrong, Raiden Mei. I am indeed looking forward to leaving this terrible country, but not to the point of playing the role of a warm-hearted big sister answering questions for a prisoner."
After downing the water in the paper cup in one gulp, Yuya said, "The reason I'm doing this is entirely out of respect for your father's diligent contributions to the cause of fighting the Honkai."
"...Heh!"
Hearing this, the girl couldn't help but sneer.
She said with sharp sarcasm, "By 'respect,' you mean throwing a great hero who fought against the Honkai into prison on trumped-up charges, and then using his personal safety to lure his only daughter here and imprison her?"
"Regarding the imprisonment of his daughter, my answer is 'yes.'"
Yuya's expression didn't change. "I can't be bothered with what those feudal remnants think, but our Cocolia faction has never acknowledged the so-called 'son inherits the father's business.' What does your father's fight against the Honkai have to do with you, his daughter? Are we supposed to indulge the descendants of heroes because of their ancestors' great achievements, and watch them grow up on the blood of their predecessors to become a new generation of nobles oppressing the people? We respect heroes, but that doesn't mean we'll give a green light to other individuals who simply inherit the hero's DNA."
"The most direct example is Miss Bronya. The reason she can lead a team is entirely because she conquered us with her own strength (A-rank) and charisma (loli body type). Otherwise, you think anyone would listen to her?"
"As for the former," she averted her gaze unnaturally, "Lady Cocolia naturally has her own thoughts. I won't interfere in that matter."
"Right, right. Use arrogant dogma to justify your unjust actions. If it doesn't suit your fancy, you slap a big 'feudal remnant' hat on it and criticize it. In the end, it's just selfish, revisionist double standards. Just what you'd expect from the team brought up by that Soviet revisionist remnant, Cocolia."
Mei, sitting opposite her, sneered, resting her cheek on her hand and casually looking out the window.
The adjutant pretended not to hear. "Besides, if you're talking about using Raiden Ryoma's personal safety to lure you here, then I can only say you're just stupid."
"What, can't win the argument with reason, so you're resorting to sophistry now?"
"No, I just want to say that after obtaining the desired information, Lady Cocolia sent Raiden Ryoma on a plane to the Americas two days ago."
Yuya clasped her hands under her chin. "The flight was a civilian one, with negligible security. Right now, he should have safely returned to the conservative faction's territory under the arrangement of Dr. Einstein and the others."
Lieserl Albert Einstein, one of the greatest scientists in human history, formerly a scientist at Schicksal's Imperial Research Institute's Lab 42, now one of the founders of Anti-Entropy and an Anti-Entropy Enforcer.
Also the leader of Anti-Entropy's conservative faction, at least on the surface.
When all was said and done, if Cocolia truly held Raiden Ryoma's life in her hands, why would she, with victory in her grasp, only threaten Mei at the end of their conversation, instead of playing the filial piety card from the very beginning to hit her where it hurt?
She was bluffing all along!
Using a backup blood sample left over from when Raiden Ryoma had his blood drawn for a test to fool her!
Realizing this, Mei's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't help but stand up and probe, "You'd be so kind?"
"When humans lie, their brainwaves emit a different signal. Since you're of the lightning element, you should be able to sense whether I'm lying about this."
"Not necessarily. At least I can't tell if that vixen of yours (Cocolia) was talking nonsense."
"That's because you were communicating by uploading your spirits to a platform. We are face to face now."
"..."
Super-electromagnetic induction + the Tengan-tsu of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū. Both were now telling Mei the reality that "the other person is not lying."
After a moment of silence, the girl couldn't help but approach again. "Why?"
"As I said before, it's based on Raiden Ryoma's contributions to the great cause of fighting the Honkai," Yuya said calmly. "In terms of policy, as the leader of the reformist faction, Lady Cocolia is at odds with the conservative Raiden Ryoma. But that's just a matter of approach. In the great cause of fighting the Honkai, the loss of every outstanding talent is regrettable. We're not so far gone as to actually kill a colleague."
She added in a low voice, "It's precisely because of this way of doing things that we, the marginalized, have united under that lady, becoming the sharp sword in her hand that cuts through thorns."
"I see."
Mei, who had come to Yuya's side during her explanation, seemed to understand, but suddenly, a cold light flashed.
It was the Escape Dagger hidden in her palm. Although its teleportation ability was disabled due to the anti-air barrier, that didn't stop it from becoming a sharp blade for the girl to pierce her enemy with lightning speed!
Since her father was safe, Mei naturally had no reason to stay here any longer.
A shrill sound of tearing air echoed in the room. Accelerated by the electromagnetic lightning, the forearm-length dagger was like a coiling dragon of lightning, striking at the woman's slender throat, making it clear it was going for her life!
However, before that, the nameless naginata, long prepared, had already taken flight.
Layers of psychokinetic energy formed an invisible wall to block the incoming blade, while the cold, gleaming naginata, with the speed of lightning, flicked the dagger away and came to a light rest before Mei's throat.
The successful counter-attacking adjutant said flatly, "The Hokushin Ittō-ryū is indeed a very good sword style, but its requirement for weapon length is a critical weakness."
Mei didn't speak. On the first day she learned the family sword style, Raiden Ryoma had told her: this style is suitable for two-handed weapons that can be held with one hand. The blade length is best over 1.5 meters, with a curve similar to a zanbatō but lighter and thinner. The more standard forms that fit this are the miao dao or the nodachi.
The Escape Dagger undoubtedly did not meet this condition. The fact that she could force herself to use it was thanks to her Menkyo Kaiden mastery.
"Furthermore, your dagger's attack power is too low," the victorious Yuya held up a second finger. "The reason this weapon is rated D-class is because of its special spatial ability, not its sharpness. With my level of psychokinesis, it's not difficult to block its hasty surprise attack."
"Finally, remember not to have such strong killing intent next time you strike."
She pulled the naginata from Mei's neck and put it back behind her, casually patting the girl's thin shoulder. "Menkyo Kaiden, you say? Who isn't?"
B-rank psychokinesis, mastery of the transcendent ancient sword style Musōjin Kyōryū. This was the confidence Cocolia had in sending Yuya to watch over Mei, a C-rank Breaker (after awakening a very small part of the Gem of Conquest's power).
In fact, there was more.
But before that, at the very moment she sheathed her naginata.
"Shoot to kill, Shinsō."
Along with the strange smile that appeared on Mei's lips, a low murmur from a third party came quietly from the adjutant's left rear blind spot.
Faster than the sound was the white blade that arrived in an instant.
The Trailing Shadow Sword madly extended and expanded outward from the tip of Mikazuki Munechika, increasing the length and attack range of the tachi by dozens of times.
And the timing was especially precise, right at the moment Yuya sheathed her blade, when her new strength had yet to be generated!
As a skill known for being the most imaginative, the Trailing Shadow Sword had long been played with by Fuli in various ways.
In his previous timeline, he had a nickname: "A one-man Gotei 13." As long as it involved a change in form, not to mention Shinsō, even the Thousand Demon Daggers, Malevolent Shrine, or the even higher-level Kamishini no Yari: Butō Renjin, he could pull them off with ease as long as he had enough Honkai energy.
"Musōjin Kyōryū Intermediate Art—"
If it were anyone else, facing a surprise attack from a forty-meter-long blade would mean death or serious injury.
But the sword master named Yuya, at the first moment, held the hilt behind her back and rotated her body violently one hundred and fifty degrees on the axis of her right foot.
"Sunder Iron, Cleave Gold!"
She lowered her body, and the nameless naginata slashed out with the force of inertia!
The moon-fang shaped blade qi, enhanced by psychokinesis, howled like a tidal wave, destroying and crushing the incoming sword tip!
Yuya, who had successfully counter-attacked from a desperate situation, secretly thought things were not good, because reflected in her golden pupils was Fuli's meaningful expression from dozens of meters away.
It was as if to say, 'Guess why I'd deliberately shout out my attack name during a sneak attack?'
"Rules! Are made to be broken!"
A stern and fiery shout suddenly sounded behind the blonde beautiful girl. Yuya, who finally had an opening after exerting her strength a second time, barely managed to turn her head, only to see the newcomer raising a baseball bat that looked dangerous and was in fact even more dangerous, and smashing it down on her.
The noon sun shone through the floor-to-ceiling window behind Kiana, not only making her figure appear incredibly tall, but also blurring her originally delicate features, leaving only a pair of bright eyes that shone with a soul-shattering light.
Like a god or a demon.
'No wonder they could invade here so silently. So it was a yōkai...'
With this thought, the adjutant, who had taken a heavy blow to the back of her head, rolled her eyes and fainted cleanly.
It seemed like an easy kill, but it was actually meticulously planned.
A C-rank Breaker deliberately distracting, two close-combat B-rank Breakers launching a joint surprise attack, and they specifically chose the moment when Yuya's old strength was spent and new strength had yet to be born.
It was, to say the least, not an unjust loss.
...