Bites the Dust

[After the holiday ended, everyone returned to the base to begin implementing Mei's plan.]

[Mei handed the plan over to everyone for execution, while she herself headed to the moon with the artificial intelligence Prometheus.]

[Through the ruins on the moon, Dr. Mei deduced that there were a total of fourteen Herrschers and that humanity was trapped in a cycle of fifty thousand years, ultimately destined for destruction at the hands of the Herrscher of the End.]

[A few days later, Mei returned from the moon. As soon as she landed, she learned of Ling's suspected status as the twelfth Herrscher.]

[Although Ling showed no outward signs of abnormality, the Flame Chasers had indeed detected abnormal Honkai Energy fluctuations.]

[For a time, everyone in the Golden Courtyard became the target of public anger.]

"Are you trying to harbor a Herrscher! Trying to protect the culprit who will destroy humanity!"

"Hand over the Herrscher! Hand over the Herrscher!"

The remaining Fusion Warriors surrounded the Golden Courtyard, shouting loudly.

Chiyou stood silently at the doorway, suppressing his rage.

"Dr. Mei is back! Let Dr. Mei sort this out!"

"Everyone, please calm down first, let me explain."

Upon arriving at the Golden Courtyard, Dr. Mei soothed the crowd and announced that Ling would be confined for a period of observation.

Although the crowd remained dissatisfied, Mei's prestige was undeniable, and they found it difficult to press the issue further. After Mei gave her assurances, the crowd dispersed.

After dispersing the crowd, Mei sighed and walked into the Golden Courtyard.

"Come on, Ling, open your mouth."

"Ah... Mmm, this cake is so delicious, hehe."

"...Can't you two sisters feel a sense of urgency?"

"Ah, it's Dr. Mei. Did you have any gains from your trip to the moon?"

"...Indeed, I had quite a few significant gains."

Afterward, Mei summoned everyone and shared the facts she had deduced on the moon.

Upon hearing this, the group felt a mix of heaviness and relief.

The heaviness stemmed from the Herrscher of the End.

The relief came from the fact that there was only the Herrscher of the End.

Following this, inspired by the moon ruins, Mei proposed the concept of the strategic weapon 'Moonlight Throne' to Vill-V and Mobius.

"I've finished sharing my findings, so now... is Ling really a Herrscher?"

Everyone nodded in unison.

Mei glanced at Ling, who noticed and grinned foolishly at her.

"Sigh, we'll leave it at that for now," Mei said, rubbing her forehead in exasperation.

Thinking about the fact that there were now two current Herrschers and one former Herrscher in the Golden Courtyard made Mei feel even more drained.

Although she was puzzled by Ling's retained humanity, with Elysia's precedent, Mei simply treated her as another special case.

Subsequently, Mei announced to the Flame Chasers that Ling would be placed under house arrest in the Golden Courtyard, with Elysia as her guard.

Mentioning Elysia's name temporarily pacified the crowd.

Mei, Vill-V, Mobius, and other researchers began the development of the Moonlight Throne.

"Hey, are we really going to do this?"

"Tch, don't you know what house arrest means? I bet that Herrscher is living it up in there every day!"

"Since they don't want to act, why don't we do it ourselves!"

"This is all for humanity!"

"Right, for humanity, let's eliminate the Herrscher!"

Ling's survival had worn down everyone's patience. Fueled by their hatred for Herrschers and amplified by the Commandment, they chose to infiltrate the Golden Courtyard and assassinate Ling.

Perhaps blinded by their hatred, the group moved through the Golden Courtyard without encountering any resistance, not finding it odd.

Following the names on the doors, they found Ling's room.

Seeing Sakura's name on the adjacent room, someone realized.

"Wait! They're the top warriors, how could they not have noticed us!"

"Ha! They must have gotten dazed from their vacation! The Herrscher is inside, let's go together!"

Ignoring the dissuasion from those behind him, the leader impatiently pushed open Ling's door.

"Hmm? Who's yelling so late at night? Huh? How did my door open?"

Ling, woken up by the noise, rubbed her eyes and looked at the empty doorway. Assuming the door had been blown open by the wind, she walked over and closed it.

"No! They're the top warriors, how could they not have noticed us!"

"Ha! They must be so dumb from vacationing that they didn't notice. The Herrscher is inside, let's go together!"

"Huh? Why is someone shouting again? S-scary, could it be a ghost?"

Ling shivered and ran to Sakura's room, knocking on the door.

Sakura immediately opened the door.

Ling scratched her head and said to Sakura, "Sis, I want to sleep with you."

Sakura didn't say anything but moved aside to let Ling in. Ling took the opportunity and slipped inside.

"I heard shouting twice last night, did you guys hear it?"

"Twice? Sakura, you heard it twice?"

Sakura shook her head, "I only heard it once."

Yoshikage Kira said nothing, sitting on the sofa reading a book as usual.

"Killer Queen, third bomb, Bites the Dust."