Seeing how insistent Ming Yu was, Bronya said nothing and merely nodded slightly.
Then, she softly called out:
"Project Bunny."
The massive robot, which had originally been nothing more than a vague transparent outline, immediately dropped its disguise and revealed its full form before them.
Ming Yu, who had long known of its existence, showed no particular reaction. Xiaokong beside him, on the other hand, looked surprised once again.
Something she had only ever seen in cartoons before—like the mechs from that famous "Arahato" series—had actually appeared in reality.
Bronya deftly sat atop one of Project Bunny's giant hands, while controlling its other hand to move in front of Xiaokong. Then she said:
"Bronya will take her somewhere safe first, then come back for you."
Ming Yu also bent down and stroked the purple-haired girl's head, saying quietly:
"Xiaokong, go hide somewhere safe. Big brother will be back soon."
From the current situation, Raven was rescuing injured children in Changkong City's East District, while Bronya, who had passed through in search of the Third Herrscher, had also taken out quite a few Honkai Beasts along the way. This area truly counted as relatively safe.
"I... I'll wait for you to come back..."
The purple-haired girl obediently nodded and sat on Project Bunny's other giant hand.
Project Bunny quickly rose into the air, carrying the two of them eastward.
Bronya was remarkably efficient. About five minutes later, she returned alone aboard Project Bunny and motioned for Ming Yu to board it as well.
Ming Yu then stepped onto Project Bunny's other hand, and under the girl's control, the two were carried into the sky.
Project Bunny went full throttle, a streak of light cutting directly across the sky as it raced against time toward Chiba Academy.
Because they were traveling at high altitude, they avoided interference from most Honkai Beasts. Even if the creatures noticed the disturbance, they could not reach them.
The occasional airborne types were unable to catch up with Project Bunny at full speed.
Before long, their destination was already within sight.
This large aristocratic girls' academy on the outskirts of Changkong City had once been an academy dreamed of by all the girls of Changkong City, and even ordinary girls elsewhere in the Far East.
There had even been a saying among the people of the Far East: "As long as you enter Chiba Academy, your path through life will already be smooth sailing."
But now, it had long since lost its former splendor. Only an indescribable dark violet glow flowed throughout the academy.
That was likely the Herrscher of Thunder's power, which she could not fully suppress.
And the closer he got to Chiba Academy, the more Ming Yu began to feel physically unwell.
—The closer one got to a Herrscher, the denser the Honkai energy naturally became. He looked at his arm and saw faint Honkai energy patterns beginning to spread across it.
With his current resistance to Honkai energy, it seemed he would not be able to remain in an environment of this intensity for long.
Suppressing his discomfort, Ming Yu leaned against Project Bunny's arm and looked down.
As the birthplace of the Herrscher of Thunder, and the place where Cocolia had released massive amounts of Honkai energy, there was almost no life left here. It had also suffered the greatest destruction at the hands of the Herrscher.
A great number of Honkai Beasts and Dead Soldiers had gathered in this academy of their own accord. Fortunately, it was an aristocratic academy funded by ME Corp, and its grounds were absurdly vast—large enough to contain so many monsters wandering within.
Ming Yu's gaze swept continuously over the rooftops, and he soon spotted Raiden Mei.
She stood alone atop a raised platform, with no one around her and no signs of battle.
Kiana had not appeared yet... In other words, had he and Bronya arrived here too "early"?
So early that Kiana was probably still inside Chiba Academy, surviving with a baseball bat in hand.
What would happen if Bronya came into contact with Raiden Mei before Kiana could restore Raiden Mei's consciousness...?
Bronya noticed the other girl at the same time and controlled Project Bunny to begin descending.
"Mei... how is she right now?"
Ming Yu asked Bronya in a worried tone.
"...You had better not approach her. Threat assessment: extremely high."
Bronya warned him in an even voice.
It was both a well-intentioned reminder and a fact.
Bronya first set Ming Yu down on the rooftop of a nearby building before approaching Raiden Mei alone.
The black-haired girl standing before her was indeed Raiden Mei, without a doubt. Yet those scarlet eyes proved that the personality occupying this body was not "Raiden Mei," but the "Herrscher of Thunder."
Even so, she simply stood there in silence, seemingly with no intention of taking the initiative to attack.
It looks like she doesn't want to hurt anyone...
Ming Yu pondered.
Though the "Herrscher of Thunder" personality was not known for having a pleasant temper, the fact that she had kept herself "sealed" within Chiba Academy and had not attacked him or Bronya first indicated that she had not become Honkai's puppet, destroying things recklessly. Nor did she possess an intense urge for destruction.
The black-haired girl's scarlet eyes turned toward Ming Yu and Bronya.
Bronya was the first to open negotiations:
"Raiden Mei... Bronya hopes you will come with her."
At the sound of that name, an indescribable emotion flashed through the black-haired girl's eyes, and arcs of lightning rose around her body.
Then, she shook her head in denial.
"I am not Raiden Mei."
"...?"
Bronya tilted her head slightly.
Though they were theoretically both part of Anti-Entropy, she had never actually met Raiden Mei before this.
She had spent her past years living with other children at an orphanage in Siberia, receiving training and experiments from Mother Cocolia;
Meanwhile, this Raiden Mei... the daughter of Executive Raiden Ryoma, had always lived here in the Far East. The two had never met, never had the chance to speak, and had lived entirely different lives.
However, before coming to Changkong City for this mission, Bronya had reviewed Raiden Mei's file, and Project Bunny's database had also been loaded with photos of Raiden Mei.
After comparison, the black-haired girl before her was undoubtedly Raiden Mei.
"No matter what, Bronya needs to take you away from here, regardless of... what methods she must use."
A glimmer appeared in Bronya's usually calm gray eyes, while the giant mech behind her stood ready to strike.
She was not particularly skilled at negotiation. Having been raised as a child soldier and assassin since childhood, she was more inclined to solve problems through violence.
To her, the last hope of saving the vanished Seele stood right before her.
Even if she had to use force, she would bring Raiden Mei back to Anti-Entropy, back to Cocolia's laboratory.
Plan adjusted. Now, Raiden Mei had to be incapacitated and taken captive—
"By you?"
Sensing Bronya's hostility, the black-haired girl sneered. Countless arcs of lightning blossomed around her, and a half-wing of purple energy formed entirely from pure Honkai energy emerged, unleashing the pressure of a Herrscher.
There was no point in talking further. A fierce battle was clearly about to unfold between the two girls.
Bronya slowly floated into the air as Project Bunny behind her activated every attack module.
"Target locked. Project Bunny 19C, full armament deployment!"
At her command, countless cannons and lasers fired in unison from Project Bunny.
However, every attack was blocked by an electromagnetic barrier generated before they could reach the other girl. After a cloud of smoke drifted away, she remained completely unscathed.
Then, the black-haired girl's eyes narrowed. With one hand, she sent a streak of lightning directly at Bronya in counterattack.
"Who allowed you... to stand above me?"
Divergent Path: Bronya's Death
Bronya had misjudged one thing.
Although she had constantly trained her combat skills and Honkai energy control, and although she possessed a combat mech like Project Bunny 19C that allowed her to easily defeat ordinary Honkai Beasts and Dead Soldiers, and easily deal with ordinary people—
There was still an enormous gap between her and a true Herrscher.
She truly had no proper understanding of just how powerful a Herrscher could be.
After all, when the previous Herrscher, the Second Herrscher, had ravaged the world, she had not even been born yet.
As for a Herrscher's combat capabilities, she had only occasionally heard some rumors from Mother Cocolia, who had personally experienced the crisis of the Second Honkai Eruption.
—One of those abilities was the power to summon enormous numbers of Honkai Beasts across a vast area to wreak destruction.
It was said that during the Second Honkai Eruption, the Second Herrscher had summoned over five hundred thousand Honkai Beasts across all of Siberia.
As for any other intelligence... there was none. Mother Cocolia had never personally seen the Second Herrscher either.
There was also the First Herrscher, Anti-Entropy's leader, Welt Yang, but Bronya had never seen him fight.
Thus, this battle against Raiden Mei was the first time she had truly faced a Herrscher.
And the combat power displayed by the Third Herrscher had far exceeded Bronya's imagination.
It was a power no human could possess—the ability to manipulate lightning through flesh and blood alone.
And, most crucially, the compatibility between her abilities and those of the Third Herrscher... was simply far too poor.
"Is this mechanical doll what you rely on?"
Along with the black-haired girl's mocking words, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky and struck the massive mech behind Bronya.
The excessive current overwhelmed Project Bunny's normal functions, destroyed its internal circuits, and sent it crashing to the ground, unable to rise again.
—Her ability to control lightning and electromagnetic fields made her extremely difficult to deal with.
"..."
Without hesitating further, Bronya immediately bent down, pulled a dagger from beside her mechanical exoskeleton, and charged fiercely at Raiden Mei.
Even without Project Bunny, she still possessed other combat abilities—for example, the close-quarters fighting skills of a special forces soldier.
She had been observing her opponent's patterns. From the beginning, the Third Herrscher had only used long-range attacks, either summoning lightning strikes or firing bolts of electricity.
If she could drag the fight into close combat, perhaps she could still find an opportunity.
A real fight was not merely a contest of raw power. Even against someone far stronger than oneself, it was not impossible to overcome the great with the small.
However, just as Bronya charged at the black-haired girl, the other girl gathered lightning in her palm and instantly formed a katana.
...Is she also skilled at close combat with weapons?
Bronya had clearly read Raiden Mei's records. Having lived in a major Far East city and been well protected, she should not have been forced to learn all kinds of killing techniques from childhood like Bronya had.
There was no time to think further. Bronya's dagger clashed with the lightning-wreathed katana.
In a single exchange, she was sent flying, slamming heavily into the wall of the raised platform. As cracks spread across the wall, the current transmitted through her body in that instant severely numbed her.
Even so, Bronya adjusted herself again and endured the pain as she tried to attack once more.
"...Hmph."
The black-haired girl snorted and turned her gaze toward Bronya's legs.
This overconfident insect relied on those machines to move, did she not?
At a thought, two currents struck Bronya's legs, destroying the functions of her mechanical exoskeleton.
Bronya fell to the ground with a thud.
—Without the exoskeleton assisting her movements, she could not even move normally anymore.
"Bronya, hold on for a few more minutes! I've already deployed tactical mechs to support you! They'll arrive soon!"
Cocolia's voice entered Bronya's ears through the biochip implanted in her brain.
Titan Mechas... Anti-Entropy's proud technological achievement...
Before you continue