"Bastard! Don't look at me like that!"
As if she had been completely shattered, the girl trembled with rage. She gritted her teeth and glared at Mei. What she found especially unbearable was the girl's gaze, as though Mei pitied her for not having even a single true friend.
You, Raiden Mei, aren't rich anymore. You can't look down on people like you used to.
Now, you're nothing more than a fraudster's daughter. What gives you the right to look at me that way?!
"I get it! I know why those two are willing to be friends with you! They must be taking advantage of how pitiful you are now to win your favor, thinking that if your dad really gets released and your family regains its power, they'll be the first to benefit!"
She suddenly shouted.
"That must be it, it has to be! Otherwise, why would anyone want to be friends with you? Hahaha, those two are pretty smart. Why didn't I think of that back then?"
"As long as they treat Miss Raiden Mei a little better now and make you feel grateful, later on, you'll give them however much money they ask for."
The moment she said that, Mei's demeanor changed.
Just moments ago, Raiden Mei had still been strong yet fragile. But now, she threw herself to her feet without hesitation.
Ignoring the gun barrels pointed at her from all around, unable to break free from the rope binding her hands, she simply rammed her body straight into the girl before her.
"Ahhh!!"
"Ugh—y-you're trying to get yourself killed?!"
No one had expected Mei to make such a move. The normally quiet and elegant girl had actually headbutted someone.
The girl clutched her nose. It felt as though the bridge had been broken, and the pain was unbearable.
At that moment, Mei's eyes were filled with fury, as though purple arcs of electricity were flickering within them.
"I don't care what you do to me. Bully me, badmouth me—I'm used to all of that. But... I will never allow you to slander those two!"
Bai Ge and Kiana,
They were the only two rays of light in her life, Raiden Mei's most beloved and most treasured friends.
Mei could endure people slandering her, but she could never allow anyone to speak ill of Bai Ge and Kiana.
Fourth update. The new bonus update rules are in the comments—remember to check them. Don't worry, they're simple and easy.
Next chapter: Herrscherfication.
The Awakening of Queen Raiden, to Protect Those She Loves
"You can do whatever you want to me, but I will never allow you to insult Bai Ge and Kiana!"
Mei gritted her teeth as she spoke. Even she was surprised by how furious she was. She was nothing like her usual self, the self who was only gentle and weak.
Perhaps everyone had something in their heart that could not be violated, like a dragon's reverse scale—touch it, and death would follow.
If it was to protect what mattered most, even the most timid crybaby could summon boundless courage.
Clearly, Bai Ge and Kiana were the things in Raiden Mei's heart that could not be touched. Compared to being humiliated herself, she could not forgive anyone for slandering them like this!
"Ahhh, my nose, my nose! Raiden Mei, you fucking bitch!! You're dead! I'll never let you go!"
The girl clutched her nose and wailed miserably, her gaze toward Mei growing ever more venomous.
Then, she noticed something on Mei that clearly did not suit the image of such a traditional young lady.
For a girl as conventional and conservative as Mei, the new-style headphones around her neck looked far too fashionable.
So she decisively reached out and snatched them away.
"Y-you, give them back!"
With her hands bound, Mei had no way to stop her. Seeing the headphones Bai Ge had given her being taken away, she anxiously tried to get up and snatch them back.
Anything but this.
She could give her anything she had—her phone, her clothes, even her bank card—but not the gift that person had given her.
"Judging by your reaction, Bai Ge gave these to you too? Damn it, bastard, bastard! Why do you always get such good things? Why?!"
"Give them back. Please, I'm begging you! Anything but those!"
"Huh? You're begging me? Hahaha! I didn't think it would be this easy to make you beg and submit."
The girl wore a vicious smile and waved the headphones in front of Mei.
The next second, she threw them onto the ground and, under Mei's sorrowful gaze, viciously stomped on them.
"Oops, I accidentally broke them~"
"No—!"
The headphones, broken in two, were kicked over in front of Mei. Faint electrical arcs flickered at the fractures. Broken shell fragments scattered across the floor, and the melody within gradually faded away.
As though she still was not satisfied, the girl stomped on them twice more, utterly trampling Bai Ge's gift to Mei into scrap.
At that moment, the light vanished from Raiden Mei's eyes.
"...Why would you do something like this?"
Tears streamed from her eyes as Mei murmured. She did not understand what she had done wrong to deserve such excessive cruelty from this person.
"This isn't over. I might as well tell you: the one who sent your father to prison was Lady Cocolia. You probably don't even know who she is, but that woman's real target was you, Raiden Mei."
"W-what...?"
"I don't know why, but whether it was the bullying and harassment directed at you, or what I'm doing now, it was all meant to drive you into despair."
"..."
Mei was utterly stunned. She had no idea what any of this meant.
Who was Cocolia? Why had she framed her father? And why did she want to drive Mei into despair?
"But it seems this still isn't enough. That's fine, though. I already know how to deal with you. Next time, I'll ask Lady Cocolia to go after those two friends of yours."
The girl revealed the most malicious smile. Mei's entire body shuddered.
"Y-you, what are you going to do?!"
"Hahaha, didn't I already tell you? Drive you into despair. I can't wait to see the expression on your face when those two lose an arm or a leg—or simply disappear from before your eyes forever."
The girl spoke with a vicious expression.
Since Bai Ge and Kiana were the pillars supporting Raiden Mei's heart, all she had to do was get rid of them. She knew exactly how ruthless the woman called Cocolia, who had ordered her around, could be.
"What did I do wrong...?"
Mei lowered her head, heartbroken as she looked at the headphones on the ground. Her hands clenched so tightly that blood flowed from her palms.
At that moment, the endless grief and wave-like indignation in her heart nearly became tangible.
"I only wanted to live an ordinary life. I only wanted to peacefully spend our days with the people I love."
"Why? Why, why, why! Why do you keep coming after me again and again?!"
"First my father, then me, and next... you even want to hurt Bai Ge and Kiana, to hurt the last beautiful things left in my life."
"Unforgivable... This is unforgivable!"
Rumble—!!!
Purple lightning suddenly crashed down from the sky.
It was as though it proclaimed Raiden Mei's anger.
The girl's bangs covered her eyes. Raiden Mei's aura was undergoing a heaven-shaking transformation, while the hemp rope binding her hands was burned apart by electrical arcs.
"W-what's happening?! How did she suddenly break free?!"
"Alert! Alert! The Honkai Energy concentration in the surrounding area is rising rapidly!"
"Alert! Alert! The Honkai Energy concentration in the surrounding area is rising rapidly!"
"Alert! Alert! The Honkai Energy concentration in the surrounding area is rising rapidly!"
The guards Cocolia had sent were all equipped with basic Honkai Energy detectors. At that moment, every device emitted a piercing alarm, but in the next second they overloaded and failed one after another, trailing black smoke.
Everyone turned their eyes toward the girl. Their instincts told them that Mei was responsible.
At that moment, she was like an awakening Queen.
"I won't let you hurt them." Images appeared in Mei's mind.
Because of her, Bai Ge and Kiana were attacked by these evil people.
Because of her, they would suffer cruel injuries, lose arms and legs, lose the sunlight from their faces, and never smile at Mei again.
They might even be killed by these people because of her!
Just imagining it made her so desperate and terrified that she could barely breathe, so furious and anguished that she could not endure it.
"Anyone who wants to lay a hand on those two, I... will never forgive!!"
Mei suddenly raised her head, her purple eyes shining like lightning.
Memories of the past surfaced in her mind. Bai Ge and Kiana had always protected her, and those two had always shielded her from harm again and again.
Before you continue