"Higu Maru, Higanbana, Twelfth Herrscher, Ling..."
Xu Yanwu placed the phantom of the Black Box into the final Saint Mark Space while murmuring every identity that could represent Higu Maru.
"The previous era really was cruel."
Xu Yanwu spoke softly. "To force such a kind child into becoming the Twelfth Herrscher..."
"Humanity of the previous era took the wrong path."
Xu Yanwu muttered to himself.
Xu Yanwu knew that MEI had existed in the previous era. He had a deep impression of this alternate-universe counterpart who resembled Mei.
A genius—a genius capable of leading an entire era.
That was Xu Yanwu's personal assessment of MEI.
MEI had been an extraordinary genius. The plans to fight the Honkai and the Herrschers, as well as those that had continued into the present day, all bore MEI's mark.
Though almost no one in this era knew MEI's name, anyone who had come into contact with the Honkai had heard of the precious legacy she left behind to resist it.
Divine Keys, Saint Marks, Valkyries created from Artificial Saint Marks derived from Saint Marks... and so on.
Knowing all that, Xu Yanwu could hardly deny that MEI had been a genius.
But for all humanity in the previous era, perhaps the path itself had been wrong.
Perhaps it was only Xu Yanwu's personal impression, but the previous era gave him a feeling of... indifference.
He was not referring to any particular person or event... but to the entire civilization.
Perhaps, in a sense, the path Otto had taken was the correct one instead.
Or rather, once the first Herrscher of this era chose humanity, that path became possible.
Using humanity, human emotions, and the bonds between people to restrain Herrscher power; using humanity to control Herrscher power...
On that point, Xu Yanwu shared Otto's