"We're back…" Shun looked at the ruins before him. It was indeed the small building that had been demolished by the Titan mechs… though perhaps it wasn't the Titans that destroyed it?
Looking at Kiana, who was still being supported by Mei and had not yet woken up, Shun felt momentarily uncertain.
"Misteln, help me to a place nearby where I can sit… Also, Cocolia probably won't let this go easily, so stay alert to the surroundings."
"Don't worry. Before entering the bubble world, I had already sent out many Seeds of Reason to keep watch. It's very safe around here."
With Misteln's assurance, Shun felt relieved. He casually walked over to a pile of rubble and took out his phone from the Cosmic Juggernaut.
He wondered if signals could still be transmitted within the Honkai range… Shun turned on his phone, but the "no signal" displayed on the screen dashed his hopes.
However… he had other methods. Shun beckoned to Mei, signaling her to come over.
"Mei, can you help transmit the signal out?" Nagazora City was enveloped by Honkai energy, so satellite signals couldn't be received at all. But if the Thunder Herrscher helped transmit the signal…
"Alright, I'll try…" Raiden Mei nodded. She activated her Authority and guided the signal emitted from Shun's phone into outer space, casually linking it to a communication satellite.
"It really works." Seeing the phone's signal bars return to full, Shun couldn't help but smile. The Thunder Herrscher's Authority was truly convenient.
Modern society was an information society built on electricity. In such a world, a Herrscher with the Authority to control electromagnetic waves could do far too many things.
Fortunately, nothing major had gone wrong and Mei was still on humanity's side. Otherwise, even without any high-level operations, if the Thunder Herrscher one day hacked into the electronic control systems of various countries' nuclear weapons, it would be game over.
First, he should call Theresa. The Far East was her territory. If nothing unexpected happened, the Hyperion should have already set off. It would be best to coordinate with her side in advance to avoid mistakes.
Not long after, the call connected, and Theresa's cute, slightly childish voice came through again.
"What's up? Calling me now? Do you have intel on the Third Eruption? Hmph, you're late this time. I've already sent the ace of our Far East Branch to deal with the Third Eruption!"
Theresa said proudly. Shun could only think that Theresa was truly bold. Sending just one nearly-retired A-rank Valkyrie with a battleship to solo the Thunder Herrscher—who gave her that courage?
Even in the original plot, if Kiana hadn't powered up and torn off the Thunder Herrscher's wings, Himeko would have received her early retirement ticket two years ahead of schedule. She really treated Herrschers like mere side dishes!
"Theresa, I'm currently in Nagazora City. I just finished dealing with the Third Herrscher. Kiana is also by my side. Got it?"
"…" There was silence on the other end of the phone for a while before Theresa's flustered voice came through.
"What!? You're actually in Nagazora City!" In Theresa's view, Shun being in Nagazora City was something she had completely not expected.
"Uh." Although Shun had told Theresa not to check his location, she really didn't check. She was a bit too pure. After all, Kiana was still in his hands.
"The Third Herrscher has already been dealt with by you? Are you injured? Is Kiana okay?" After a while, Theresa sorted through the chaotic information in her head and asked.
"As for the Third Herrscher, it's complicated. You can think of her as being in the same situation as the Anti-Entropy Sovereign. Anyway, she's one of us now. As for Kiana, aside from possibly feeling dizzy for a while, she's fine."
Shun explained it this way. Regarding Raiden Mei, although there were deviations, the closest similar example was the Herrscher of Reason. It was enough for Theresa to know that Mei could be communicated with.
"That's good… Wait, Kiana is fine, but what about you?" Theresa spotted the blind spot.
"I got a bit injured. I won't die for now…" As Shun spoke, he felt an overwhelming headache and nausea. Fortunately, Misteln reached out to soothe his mind.
It seemed to be the effect of particle radiation. This arm had to be cut off, otherwise if it spread to his chest and abdomen, Shun would truly become the first male protagonist killed by nuclear radiation.
"…" Theresa fell silent on the other side, probably unsure what to say or from what standpoint to show concern for Shun. As his collaborator?
"Anyway, have the Hyperion return first or stay outside Nagazora City, either is fine. You come over personally. Also, don't let Ana come to Nagazora City. That's all. The address is…"
Shun didn't want Ana to know he was injured. He was afraid she would worry, and he didn't want Ana to worry.
"How is it?" Misteln gently placed her hand over Shun's forehead, and her expression changed.
"I have a fever, right?" Shun smiled helplessly. In truth, a fever wasn't a big deal, but for someone like Shun, a fever was a sign that his body's immune system was about to collapse.
Normally he was immune to all diseases, but once he got sick, it meant his body had reached its limit. Since he began his training, Shun hadn't even had a sneeze, let alone a fever. Now he had symptoms of fever, dizziness, and nausea, which was enough to explain a lot.
"What should we do next?" Misteln had no experience with this, so she could only look to Shun for him to make the decision.
"What else can we do? Misteln, seal off my sense of pain. I'm afraid I'll cry out later and lose face…" Shun looked into Misteln's pink-blue beautiful eyes and said seriously.
"Teacher Shun…" Mei had been silent the whole time, but that didn't mean she was deaf. She understood that Shun's current weakness was all because of her. It was the Thunder Herrscher who had injured Shun using her body.
"It's fine, Mei. It has nothing to do with you. Don't feel guilty about it. In the end, it was still my own carelessness. I was a bit too optimistic."
Shun had always taken pride in knowing the plot and believing he could change the course of events toward the direction he desired. This time, he had simply learned a lesson.
After this battle, Shun estimated he wouldn't be so arrogant as to think he could dictate the direction of everything anymore. One must learn from setbacks.
"You… Alright, I understand." Misteln understood Shun's determination and cooperated fully by sealing off his sense of pain.
Once Misteln's preparations were complete, Shun took out the rarely used white flower short dagger and aimed it at his right arm. He took a deep breath.
"Slice!" Accompanied by a hair-raising sound, the sharp blade flashed across the air like lightning and precisely cut into Shun's right arm. In an instant, the incomparably sharp blade easily tore through muscle tissue and mercilessly severed the hard bone.
At the severed end of Shun's right arm, blood gushed out like a broken dam, surging violently. The scarlet blood formed a column in the air, shooting up like a fountain before heavily splashing onto the ground, splattering eye-catching blood flowers.
Fortunately, Shun had already let Misteln seal his pain nerves beforehand. Otherwise, it was hard to imagine what kind of excruciating pain he would be enduring right now. He probably would have been rolling on the ground in agony and wailing non-stop.
Because Shun was not a medical student and didn't understand human anatomy very well, the wound he cut might not look very neat. However, the moment his right arm fell, he immediately let the white flower begin healing the wound. Before long, the bleeding had stopped.
"One arm in exchange for a Herrscher…" Under the dual effects of radiation sickness and hemorrhagic shock, Shun slowly closed his eyes.
The moment he completely lost consciousness, the entire world seemed to blur, but even so, he could faintly hear two extremely anxious voices echoing beside his ear.
"Seriously, I didn't die. Let me rest first…"