This Chat Group's Vibe is a Bit Off Chapter 9

Do you think you're a cute girl, Kiana?

Kiana: I think I am.

After pulling out two tissues to wipe Kiana's face, Qianyi stopped paying attention to her, pulled the blanket over himself, and went to sleep.

Tomorrow, he planned to explore the television world here, so it was important to stay well-rested.

Besides, he had a theory. Since the television world could somehow connect to the Herrscher of the Void within Kiana's consciousness, then in Changkong City, could it connect to Raiden Mei's Stigmata Space, Koschei within Talulah's consciousness, or even Ksitigarbha's Stigmata Space?

He didn't know. He would have to explore deeper to find out.

Seeing that Qianyi had fallen asleep, Kiana simply crawled into the covers with him, tugged half the blanket over herself, and drifted off to sleep.

At the same time, a black helicopter swept across the skies of Europe like a giant bird, entered the airspace of the Far East, and flew straight toward Changkong City.

Heavenly Mandate's strongest combat force, an S-rank Valkyrie, was about to arrive on the battlefield.

I'm Here to Disband the Dimensional Chat Group

March 1, 2014. Saturday. Clear turning cloudy. Northerly winds at Force 2 to 3. Suitable for travel.

Qianyi shared his plans and thoughts with the others.

Upon learning that there was a chance to enter her own mental world and kill Koschei, Talulah became unusually excited. She immediately woke everyone else up, practically itching to head into the television world at once.

Koschei! I'm bringing my teammates to kill you! Where the fuck are you?!

And when Raiden Mei learned that, like Kiana, she possessed hidden power—and that she could unlock it by either defeating her other self or reconciling with her—she excitedly packed her gear and prepared to depart.

She carried two enormous suitcases in her hands, stuffed full of all kinds of weapons: a katana, dual blades, pots, pans, and more. Together, they weighed nearly as much as she did. A cheaply made pot-lid shield was tied to her arm, and she had even brought along a gas cylinder, intending to use it as a bomb.

Qianyi froze when he saw the fully armed Raiden Mei. "What are you doing?"

"Reporting, Captain! I am prepared to subjugate the Herrscher of Thunder!" Raiden Mei smiled, revealing a mouthful of gleaming white teeth.

"...Have you watched Naruto?"

"I have. Captain, are you saying that I'm like Naruto Uzumaki? That we both have the hidden power of the Nine-Tails—of a Herrscher—inside us?"

Raiden Mei stared at Qianyi, excitement gleaming in her eyes, her heart filled with an indescribable joy.

She could barely wait to smash the Herrscher of Thunder to pieces and transform into Raiden Mei: Herrscher of Thunder Honkai Energy Mode, just like Naruto's Nine-Tails Chakra Mode!

Qianyi fell silent. He wanted to say that her behavior reminded him of Danzo trying to stab Susanoo with a kunai. If anyone thought they were stupid, they only needed to look at Raiden Mei, who actually wanted to blow the Herrscher of Thunder to death with a gas cylinder. But when he saw Raiden Mei happily awaiting his answer with that Don Quixote-like smile, he couldn't bring himself to say something so cruel.

"Mm. Mei, I believe you can change the world just like Naruto. But your situation is a little special. Rather than resorting to violence, it would be better to communicate more with the Herrscher inside you."

"Truth must be built upon the edge of a blade!" Raiden Mei said solemnly. "If I don't beat up the other me first, why would she submit obediently? I don't have the power to suppress her, so why would she listen to my therapy talk?"

"That makes sense."

"Besides, Captain, don't you think fighting your other self to decide who's the mount and who's the King sounds cool as hell?"

"Very trendy. Keep up that momentum. By the way, where is everyone else?"

Qianyi looked around the living room and found that only Raiden Mei and Talulah were up. Everyone else was still in their rooms.

Could they all gather before nine? Qianyi had his doubts.

His doubts were correct. After Talulah notified them, Tina, Artoria, and Shoko got up—but one of them was clearly in a terrible state.

"Phew... phew..." Toyokawa Shoko panted heavily, fine sweat on her forehead glimmering with exhaustion. She barely raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her temple, but then weakly let it fall back to her side. After that, she practically crawled toward the sofa, finally collapsing onto it like a limp rag doll.

Her face was filled with despair, radiating the feeling of, "I've never once felt happy participating in Dimensional Chat Group activities."

"Shoko, you don't look too good. Did something happen?" Qianyi poured a glass of water and handed it to her.

Shoko grabbed Qianyi's wrist, looking exhausted yet serious. "I got up today because I have something very important to say. I—I want to end the Dimensional Chat Group."

"Why? Did something happen? Or is there some special reason? Could it be because of us?" Qianyi asked.

"No. It's my own problem," Shoko said quietly.

If disbanding CRYCHIC had been something she was forced to do, then disbanding the Dimensional Chat Group might be something she truly wanted from the bottom of her heart, because her teammates really were God-kin.

Children, I used to be a keyboardist, not a Gundam pilot! And I'm not some central figure in the Justice League either!

"Is that so? I understand." Qianyi nodded. "What do the others think?"

"Shoko's abilities may indeed not be suitable for participating," Talulah said, understanding Shoko's difficulties.

"I... think playing in the Dimensional Chat Group is fun, so I don't want to disband it," Artoria quietly said from the corner.

Seele, who had no idea what was going on as she passed by, merely kept stuffing herself with Cherries from Mei's refrigerator.

"Shoko, you should withdraw," Hiiragi Tina said gently as she looked at her.

Everyone in the group stopped what they were doing. No one was angry or troubled by Shoko's sudden selfish declaration. There was only comfort and support.

Shoko looked around. There wasn't a trace of blame in her teammates' eyes. Instead, they were filled with gentleness. Clearly, no one could bear to watch her continue suffering here under such immense pressure.

What was with those looks...?

Was I really that pitiful?

Shoko froze. Her teammates' gazes felt strangely familiar, and in an instant, her thoughts were pulled back to a rainy night.

Through a glass window covered in droplets, Shoko's driver opened a huge black umbrella over her head. Shoko took off her sandals, and the driver crouched down to help her change into rain boots. Shoko followed behind him, stepping through puddles toward the pitch-black sedan waiting in the rain, its hood bearing two overlapping "M"s in a triangular frame like a mountain—a Maybach.

Her mother was waiting for her in the car.

Along the way, office workers held briefcases over their heads as they trudged through the rain. They paid no mind to their soaked trouser legs, scrambling across the street through puddles and blocking the cars from moving forward. She instinctively frowned, feeling deeply uncomfortable.

Noticing her expression, her mother stroked her head.

"Little Shoko, why do you look so unhappy?"

"They look so dirty."

"Because simply staying alive already takes everything they have. Their lives have long been crushed beneath endless pressure and hardship. They run themselves ragged every day just to make a living—where would they find the strength to maintain so-called decency and dignity? That's why Mother hopes you'll have a compassionate heart..."

She still remembered what her mother had said, as well as the gazes of the people by the roadside. Those weary-faced people stared hard at her through the car window, yearning to fly like birds, yearning for the day they could live a life like hers.

What kind of looks had her mother and she worn at the time?

She did not know. But at this moment, her teammates' gazes and tones were practically identical to her mother's back then. Only, the object of that pitying gaze had become her.

So this was the compassion and charity of those above? To people who had already exhausted themselves merely trying to survive, the sympathy and aid showered down by high society did not fill their hearts with gratitude. Instead, it brought a deep, stabbing pain. That pity was more like a merciless shackle, reminding them just how weak and powerless they were.

Am I... really going to quit?

Cocolia, Death

So this was what it felt like to be pitied...

Shoko could clearly feel that, in everyone else's eyes, she was a weak person in need of pity—a "poor thing" whose protests and dissatisfaction would be regarded as perfectly natural. It was utterly at odds with how she saw herself deep down.

This state of passively accepting pity made her feel suffocated, as though she were invisibly losing her dignity and self-respect.

Something faint in Shoko's eyes seemed to slowly extinguish. After a long silence, she spoke.

"I've changed my mind. I won't quit."

"I'm taking part in the next operation!"

Shoko clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her skin. Instinctively, she felt that if she quit, she would never be able to join the circle of "monsters" again. For the rest of her life, she would only be a pitiful ordinary person, unable to keep moving forward.

She could no longer stand her weak, powerless self!

"Shoko, we're a group bound by a shared fate. You don't need to force yourself."

Qianyi acknowledged Shoko's resolve, then said, "In that case, let's split into two groups for now. Having everyone move together would be too much of a waste of time. Kiana, Talulah, Raiden Mei, and I will form one group and explore the television world first, to see if we can find the palaces corresponding to Raiden Mei and Talulah."

"As for the rest of you, a Divine Key named Ksitigarbha is buried beneath Changkong City. Please find her. If anything dangerous happens, you can communicate through the chat group. While you're at it, keep an eye on Heavenly Mandate and Anti-Entropy's movements."

"That's all."

The issue of splitting into groups was temporarily settled. However, since some members had yet to wake up and no one had eaten breakfast, the operation would likely not begin until ten o'clock, or perhaps even noon.

Still, none of them were a professional team. It was only their first mission, so it was perfectly normal for there to be one problem or another. They just needed more time to work together in the future.

Now that things had come to this, they might as well eat first.

In contrast to the harmonious atmosphere at the Raiden Residence, things were not looking so good over at ME Corporation.

Cocolia was currently meeting with a very important guest, a partner who had provided many conveniences for her operation.

In truth, Cocolia had never regarded the other party as a partner. She only saw them as useful tools. Once the plan was complete and she had gained control of the Herrscher of Thunder, the first thing she would do was kick these "snake"-like partners hiding in the shadows aside!

But with the plan not yet complete, she still had to show these World Serpent partners some respect.

"Gray Serpent, what brings you here this time?"

"Only to confirm whether your plan is proceeding smoothly."

A figure flickered in the shadows, dressed in a black hoodie accented with green lines. He wore a white mask that revealed only his right eye, adorned with a black pattern of two crossed daggers. Gray Serpent's outline gradually became clear. Even indoors, he still held a black umbrella aloft, radiating a suffocating sense of pressure.

The awakening of the Herrscher of Thunder concerned whether the Sovereign could return, and the Sovereign's return concerned the grand plan to save all humanity. He had to ensure the plan succeeded.

Yet to Cocolia, such caution was undoubtedly a form of doubt and distrust.

She walked over to the sofa opposite Gray Serpent without paying him the slightest heed, then sat down. Her fingertips casually brushed through her loose, curly golden hair. Her full figure, tightly bound by her dark military uniform, swayed faintly with her subtle movements. The pale, sharply contoured curves at her chest were vaguely visible, while her legs stretched out beneath the hem of her uniform and crossed at the thighs, sinking into shadow. Her reply was equally careless.

"Gray Serpent, I've been overseeing this plan from the start. I can tell you very seriously that it is proceeding smoothly, without a single unexpected development. To ensure its completion, I even sent my daughter, Bronya, to keep an eye on the Third Herrscher's host body."

"Put away your arrogance, Cocolia. As an executor of Anti-Entropy, you know very well how powerful Heavenly Mandate is."

"Ha. Heavenly Mandate probably doesn't even know what's about to happen in Changkong City."

"Never underestimate that man. As Heavenly Mandate's Overseer, his nose is sharper than a hyena's. No disturbance can escape his eyes. That is why we must be even more cautious before the plan is complete."

"Tch."

Cocolia clicked her tongue in annoyance. Though she was reluctant to admit it, Heavenly Mandate's Overseer truly was an exceptionally troublesome man.

If everything here were exposed, she would have to face Heavenly Mandate's sharpest spear and sword—Blade of the Unbroken.

She was confident, but without the Third Herrscher, the outcome of facing Blade of the Unbroken's S-rank Valkyrie went without saying.

Falling into the hands of Heavenly Mandate's Overseer would be more painful than death.

"I'll be careful." Cocolia cleared her throat and told the central console to activate. A cold blue light flashed through the conference room, and the screen lit up.

All information concerning Changkong City was displayed on it.

"Communications technology is Anti-Entropy's specialty. Every scrap of news from Changkong City remains under my surveillance. Any intelligence related to this place that wants to reach the outside world must have my approval. In Changkong City, aside from me and my daughter, the only person who can directly contact the outside world is you, Gray Serpent." Cocolia spoke smugly.

Neither she nor her daughter would ever collude with Heavenly Mandate, so who she was targeting with those words was self-evident.

"I hope so." Gray Serpent's voice remained utterly flat as it turned and left.

Since there were no problems with the plan for the time being, this snake needed to continue lurking in the shadows. Until the Sovereign returned and the plan began, World Serpent still had to remain hidden.

It was not like that fool Cocolia, who thought a Herrscher of Thunder alone could stand against Heavenly Mandate.

Only prudence and caution could keep them out of Heavenly Mandate's sight and secure victory.

Just as it was about to leave, a tremendous roar came from outside ME Corporation. Gray Serpent and Cocolia turned their heads to see a massive black shadow approaching at low altitude.

It was an armed helicopter, its sides and nose emblazoned with silver symbols resembling wings.

"Impossible!" Cocolia cried out.

The next moment, the armed helicopter crashed straight into the ME Corporation building, charging directly at Cocolia and Gray Serpent.

Sensing danger, Gray Serpent silently shielded Cocolia in front of itself.

But a lance slicing through the air shattered its dreams of escape, pinning it to the wall in a single blow.

Cocolia drew her gun to retaliate, but a heavy blow suddenly struck her abdomen. Like Gray Serpent, she was embedded in the wall. After coughing up a mouthful of blood, she passed out on the spot. Before losing consciousness, she saw the attacker's true face.

She was a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl with long, wavy golden hair, dressed in casual summer clothes as though she had come on vacation.

The strongest S-rank Valkyrie, Durandal.

After effortlessly resolving the matter with a punch and a lance strike, the girl who looked like she was on holiday took out her phone and dialed a number.

"Rita, I've arrived in Changkong City."

Durandal.jpg