2014. Changkong City. Senba Academy
On the rooftop of Senba Academy, a young man clutched his head and let out a pained groan.
"Damn... My head hurts... What the hell happened...?"
The young man was named Gu Yu. Ever since both his parents had died five years ago, he had been living alone off the inheritance they left behind.
For those five years, he had lived alone in solitude.
As time passed, the wounds in his heart caused by the news of his parents' deaths had gradually faded.
Unfortunately, Gu Yu, who should have continued living a normal life by himself, suddenly lost consciousness in the summer of 2019.
When he woke up, he found that he had suddenly appeared in an unfamiliar place.
And as he awakened, endless streams of information flooded into his mind.
Honkai Energy, Honkai Beasts, Herrschers, Valkyries...
Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, World Serpent...
This information, which should have existed only in some mobile game, was like tangible blades prying open his skull, causing excruciating pain in his head.
"Ha... Ha... Ha... Ha..."
Still, Gu Yu ultimately endured the torment and did not lose consciousness again.
"The Honkai world... Did I transmigrate?"
Just thinking about the information that had flooded into his mind made another sharp pain shoot through Gu Yu's head.
Enduring the pain, he felt around in his pockets and pulled out a hard object.
"Though I don't know what's going on, this is this body's phone, right...?"
After lightly unlocking the fingerprint lock with his index finger, Gu Yu looked at the weather forecast displayed on the screen.
"2014, Changkong City, sunny... Changkong City???"
The moment he saw those words, Gu Yu felt awful all over.
Before transmigrating, Gu Yu had once played a mobile game called Honkai Impact 3rd to distract himself from the pain in his heart.
Although the game's character models were quite good, its plot was a tangled mess that left people thoroughly confused.
To understand the game's story, Gu Yu had even read its official manga.
According to the official manga's plot, Changkong City would experience the Third Honkai Outbreak in 2014.
Though Changkong City was temporarily fine at the moment, who knew when that troublemaking fox Cocolia would charge into the city and cause Raiden Mei, who had the Conquest Gem embedded within her, to awaken as the Herrscher of Thunder.
If Raiden Mei awakened as the Herrscher of Thunder, the entire Changkong City would immediately be infected by the Honkai because of her awakening.
Some people would immediately be turned into Meele, while others would be killed by those transformed into Meele.
Gu Yu did not know whether he would be corroded by Honkai Energy, but he could at least be certain of one thing...
—In the face of such a disaster, his chances of surviving were basically no different from zero.
"Alright, the official story never said what day it would break out. Now I don't even know how much time I have left."
After stuffing the phone back into his pocket, Gu Yu made his decision.
He could not be bothered with anything else. He would leave this building first.
Other transmigrators had cheat powers. He did not have that kind of crap.
If he was not thinking about running now, how was that any different from waiting to die?
Just as Gu Yu took a step toward the rooftop exit, he suddenly heard movement from the rooftop's iron door.
Then, beyond the opened iron door, he saw a beautiful girl with long black hair appear before him, covering half her face.
"Mm... Is someone else already here?"
"Raiden... Mei?!"
Looking at the girl, Gu Yu felt that something was wrong with this plot.
Raiden Mei would awaken as the Herrscher of Thunder because of Cocolia's scheme, but before Cocolia triggered this Honkai outbreak, no one knew what Raiden Mei's mental state was like.
The Raiden Mei standing before Gu Yu was clearly giving off an air of irritation and exhaustion.
It could only be said that her upbringing as a young lady kept her from saying anything strange to Gu Yu, a complete stranger.
"It's fine. I've stayed long enough anyway. I'll leave now."
After saying that, Gu Yu hurried toward the iron door.
"Sorry, coming through."
"Mm... No, wait."
As they brushed past each other, Raiden Mei suddenly grabbed Gu Yu's wrist with a cold expression.
"You're not wearing a Senba Academy uniform, and I've never seen you before, yet you know my name..."
"You don't look like a good person."
If a beautiful girl had grabbed his wrist under normal circumstances, Gu Yu would not have found it uncomfortable at all.
After all, ever since his parents' deaths, he had never been in the mood for romance. Having never interacted with girls at all, he naturally would not reject such a somewhat intimate gesture from one.
But after Raiden Mei grabbed his wrist, Gu Yu learned that intimate contact with a beautiful girl was not always such a wonderful thing.
At the very least—although the Raiden Mei before him had not awakened as the Herrscher of Thunder, she was hardly some delicate young lady.
She practiced the Japanese sword art Hokushin Itto-ryu. Training in such swordsmanship naturally demanded high physical fitness.
Now that Gu Yu's wrist had been seized by her, he felt as though his right wrist were clamped in iron pincers, completely unable to pull it free from Raiden Mei's small hand.
"Everyone knows the title Queen of Thunder. As for the uniform, I just happened not to wear it today."
Suppressing the impatience in his heart, Gu Yu discreetly gestured toward Raiden Mei with his eyes.
"My Queen, it's not very appropriate for you to grab a man you don't know in broad daylight, is it?"
"That's true..."
Seeing Gu Yu's helpless expression, Raiden Mei gently released her hand.
After regaining his freedom, Gu Yu rolled his wrist slightly and left without looking back.
But the next second...
"Guaaaahhh!"
Raiden Mei behind Gu Yu suddenly let out a shrill scream.
When Gu Yu turned back toward Raiden Mei, he immediately saw a sight that left him utterly shocked.
Raiden Mei, who had been perfectly normal just moments ago, was now surrounded by thick, visible Honkai Energy.
After crying out, her previously normal gaze suddenly became incomparably sharp.
More importantly, the moment he saw the Honkai Energy, Gu Yu felt a stabbing pain on the back of his right hand.
"This is... the place Raiden Mei just touched?!"
Looking at the emblem that had suddenly appeared on the back of his hand, Gu Yu suddenly found it incredibly familiar.
"This emblem... Is it a stigmata? And..."
"Why does this emblem look so much like Decade's Knight Emblem?"
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