Raiden Mei returned to her room.
The accommodations World Serpent had arranged for her at headquarters weren't bad.
But the décor was monotonous to the point of emptiness.
She hadn't had the heart to change it.
So her room contained a bed, a tech-loaded computer desk, and nothing else.
On most days, she'd sit here and study. The Authority of the Herrscher of Thunder genuinely required deep knowledge of physics to wield at its full potential.
Today, Mei sat down at the desk as usual.
Only then did she realize she was still holding the tablet Jackal had handed her.
She looked at the cracked screen.
"Sigh."
Mei pinched the bridge of her nose, let out a long exhale.
She set the tablet aside and opened the computer in front of her.
A high-end aerial projection screen materialized before her eyes.
Normally at this hour she'd be reading materials on electromagnetic force.
But today — as if guided by some unseen force — she found herself searching the base's Previous Era archives for information on the Herrscher of Dominance.
Then——
"This..."
Raiden Mei froze.
Displayed clearly on the screen:
[Herrscher of Dominance. Also known as: Herrscher of Legion.]
[The Herrscher that caused the highest human casualties in Previous Era history.]
Highest casualties?
She kept reading.
[After the Ninth Eruption in the Previous Era, the Mu Continent sank due to the Pseudo-Black Hole generated by the Ninth Herrscher. Global population dropped sharply by one-sixth.]
[At that time, although the Flame-Chasers still had internal conflicts, this catastrophe elevated their collective resolve to resist Honkai to the extreme.]
[However, even so — from the full eruption of the Tenth Eruption until the onset of the Eleventh——]
[More than 85% of cities worldwide were completely destroyed.]
From one-sixth to over 85%?
The number was staggering.
Because it meant that more than half of all humanity had died during the Tenth Eruption — over fifty thousand years ago.
Billions of people.
And now, this era's Herrscher of Dominance had been born.
However...
"According to the archives, the Previous Era's Herrscher of Dominance was composed of one thousand individuals — different genders, races, ages, physical conditions."
"But this era's Herrscher of Dominance..."
Was Ling Ke alone.
On that basis——
Mei picked up the cracked tablet and tried using it.
Still functional, though the viewing experience suffered.
She quickly pulled up Anti-Entropy's supplementary materials...
"The ability to deploy multiple combat units."
"Suspected transformation and disguise capabilities."
"And... spatial teleportation."
Completely different from the Previous Era's Herrscher of Dominance.
In the archives, each of the Previous Era's Herrscher of Dominance individuals had mastered a single ability drawn from the first nine Herrschers.
For example: one of them possessed spatial teleportation — an ability falling under the Herrscher of the Void's Authority.
But that individual couldn't construct spatial barriers. The ability was extremely limited.
Every other Herrscher of Dominance individual was the same way.
Think of them as one thousand weakened versions of complete Herrschers.
But the abilities Ling Ke had displayed...
"Beep beep beep~"
The communicator on Mei's body rang.
It broke her train of thought.
She pulled it out.
"A mission?"
"Yes."
The palm-sized screen showed Raven's face. "Sorry to say — your brief rest period is already over."
She didn't wait for Mei to respond and got straight to the point.
That was how the two of them had been working lately.
"A few minutes ago, someone attacked the laboratory we built in Giza City... the report came from Jackal. She's currently so angry that... actually, never mind. I don't need to describe it. You can imagine."
"Mm. Not hard to imagine."
Mei nodded.
Jackal had just been mocking her to her face.
"..."
Remembering the content of that mockery, Mei went quiet again.
"Ling Ke..."
Toward this person — guilt filled every corner of her heart.
Then, suddenly, she snapped back. She looked at the communicator.
"Do you know who attacked the laboratory?"
Hearing the question——
"Exactly who you think."
Raven didn't keep her in suspense. "I've seen that document too... that's right. It's your 「old acquaintance」."
As expected...
Ling Ke had reached the African continent.
First — Schicksal's West Asia Branch. Annihilated.
Then — Anti-Entropy in North America. Cocolia taken.
Now...
"Has it come to my turn?"
Raiden Mei was mentally exhausted.
Just as she'd said — she truly did not know how to face him.
But——
"If it were Kiana..."
"Hey."
Through the communicator, Raven saw Mei spacing out and called her back with a word.
After that——
"I'm fine."
The expression on Raiden Mei's face became resolute. "Wait for me at the hangar. We leave immediately."
She had decided to face it.
Whether he was willing to forgive her or not——
She had to express her apology.
Meanwhile, on the other end——
"Heh. Truly decisive and swift."
Somewhere inside World Serpent's headquarters base, Raven looked at the disconnected communicator in her hand and smiled helplessly. "This young lady — is she treating me as her driver?"
Having also read the dossier, Raven understood exactly why Mei was like this. She sighed softly. "Whatever. I know your mood isn't great right now."
"I'll let it slide this time."
At the same time——
Old Schicksal Headquarters. Kolosten.
"Ka!"
A blond man who had been elegantly sipping high-grade red wine suddenly crushed the glass in his hand with violent force.
Before him — an electronic screen showing live footage of a massacre.
In the frame, hundreds of white-haired women dressed in medieval purple were laughing as if thoroughly deranged... pulling the triggers in their hands again and again and again.
Wherever they passed — wailing. Blood running like rivers.
And most importantly——
Every single one of them had the same face.
The face of Schicksal's saint, Kallen Kaslana.
"You really are unscrupulous to the extreme, newborn Herrscher."
On the blond man's face — Otto Apocalypse's face — a terrifying expression of fury surfaced.
The only faith of his life had been desecrated.
After many years, he felt the emotion of anger once again... no. Violent fury.
Like a zealot encountering a blasphemer.
And this...
Was precisely the result Ling Ke most wanted to see.