The Longing of a Girl Born into Solitude

Although, Higokumaru's figure emerged upon the lake of his mind.

The black fox was several times larger than him, flames burning endlessly across her fur as she glared at him with blood-red eyes.

Though she had no way of interfering with Yae Sakura's decision, she believed she could still do something.

—She could not influence Yae Sakura, but could she not influence this utterly ordinary human?

While Yae Sakura focused on the possession process, Higokumaru secretly sent some negative emotions and memories into Ming Yu's mind.

In her view, as long as she transmitted those negative things, she could at least affect his state of mind.

Whether it wore down his fighting spirit or made him retreat in the face of difficulty, she hoped for such an outcome.

—She truly, truly wanted to live.

However, Ming Yu's expression remained calm, as though those extra memories had not affected him at all.

After all, as an old Captain, while he could not claim to know every plot point by heart, he had long known most of the stories both inside and outside the game.

"Human... just what are you...?"

Higokumaru spoke hesitantly.

"You should stop worrying about me. You ought to give up resisting already and let the Black Box turn you into a God Key."

Ming Yu spoke casually.

"...!"

Higokumaru was startled, and even the flames burning over her enormous fox body froze for a moment.

How did this human know about that?

Even now, the Black Box that had been used to seal her in the previous era still clung tightly to her, binding her as it waited for the day it could completely subdue her.

If she had not stubbornly resisted for fifty thousand years by relying on the hatred and resentment in her heart, she would have become a God Key weapon through the automated program installed in the Black Box, just like her other eleven "siblings."

An apostle of Honkai who destroyed civilization becoming a blade for humanity to fight Honkai in turn... she absolutely did not want to see that happen.

But how did this human know about it?

Those events had happened fifty thousand years ago. How could he possibly know?

Was he a human from the previous civilization who had survived into this era?

Higokumaru immediately rejected that thought as soon as it surfaced.

—She had infiltrated Fire Moth's internal network system before. Among the Thirteen Flame-Chasers and the other personnel, there had never been anyone like him.

If he was not from the previous civilization, then it was even stranger that he knew about her.

After all, even Yae Sakura, who now shared life and death with her, knew nothing about what had happened to her fifty thousand years ago. There was no way this guy had learned it through Yae Sakura's memories.

The more Higokumaru thought about it, the more wrong it felt, and fear gradually crept into her heart. She had only intended to put on a show and use those memories to frighten the human named Ming Yu into retreating, but his calm reaction and those few words had instead made his origins impossible for her to see through.

Seeing that things were going badly, she immediately decided to flee.

The giant fox let out a savage roar, then vanished and fled.

"She ran pretty fast..."

After driving Higokumaru away, Ming Yu's consciousness returned to reality.

He raised a hand and touched the left side of his neck, where he could clearly feel that an unfamiliar mark had appeared.

This was the symbol Yae Sakura had left on him after possessing him: a three-tomoe pattern.

It probably counted as a kind of stigmata. Although stigmata in the game seemed to be implanted on Valkyries' backs, in reality, they could appear anywhere on the body.

For example, Seele's stigmata was on her collarbone, while Mei's stigmata... if he remembered correctly, should have been around her waist.

Of course, some stigmata did not manifest as visible patterns. At the very least, Ming Yu believed that the Kaslana and Schariac stigmata definitely had no outward markings.

Otherwise, a certain super-dense goose who had lost her childhood memories and grown up in Schicksal would not have failed to discover her own bloodline and origins for so many years.

About a minute later, Yae Sakura had completely possessed his body.

"Let us begin, Ming Yu."

Yae Sakura's voice rang out in his mind.

"Mm. Let's work together and resolve this Herrscher incident."

Ming Yu nodded and began running toward Chiba Academy.

Normally, in such a race against time, there would have been no time to suddenly improve and accumulate experience in this area, but...

In a sense, what he lacked least right now was opportunities to try and time.

Since his body was already prepared, as long as he continued to experience combat firsthand, he could quickly accumulate combat experience.

This was also one use of Time Reversal.

—Although Time Reversal could not bring back a body that had been trained, skills and experience could still be accumulated quickly in this manner.

Control over his enhanced body could be mastered through repeated practice, again and again.

After all, he did not need to fear wounds, nor did he need to fear death.

If once was not enough, then ten times. If ten times were not enough, then a hundred. If a hundred were not enough, then a thousand.

Though it would consume a great deal of mental energy, it could indeed allow him to grow in a very "short" period of time.

As Ming Yu arrived at Chiba Academy's entrance, the Honkai Beasts and Dead Soldiers that had been wandering nearby were drawn toward him.

—Pseudo-Herrscher-level Honkai energy was quite eye-catching and attractive. To these Honkai Beasts that acted on animal-like instincts, he was exceptionally "dazzling."

Facing the Honkai Beasts and Dead Soldiers gathered at Chiba Academy's gates, Ming Yu condensed a katana in his hand.

Spirit Blade: Sakura Snow.

The true Sakura Snow had long since vanished into the river of history—though it was said to be the Yae family's inherited spirit blade, it was merely an ordinary weapon rather than a relic created by the previous civilization, and could not withstand the erosion of five hundred years.

The one in Ming Yu's hand now had been created through Honkai energy.

The moment he gripped the long blade, memories of how to use it seemed to flow into his heart.

This was also an effect brought about by Yae Sakura's possession.

"Anyway... I'll use you to test my blade first."

These monsters were all his sparring partners.

Ming Yu took a light breath, drew Sakura Snow, and charged into Chiba Academy.

The Longing of a Girl Born from Loneliness

On the rooftop of one of Chiba Academy's school buildings.

A black-haired girl stood there, her expression calm as she gazed at something unknown.

Perhaps to others who knew the truth, this girl who had already been defined as a Herrscher was a terrifying existence. Yet at this very moment, she was actually deeply confused.

—She was not Raiden Mei, the original owner of this body.

Only a few hours had passed since she gained self-awareness and suddenly began controlling this body.

Like the shrine maiden who was currently on her way here, she had no clear understanding of this world.

Even if she wanted to find someone to talk to, she was completely unable to do so.

After all, when she was born, inside that classroom filled with corpses, the only people left beside her were humans who could no longer speak.

Who was she?

She did not know.

What should she do?

On that point, a voice in her mind gave her an answer.

—Her name was the "Third Herrscher."

The meaning of a Herrscher's birth was precisely to eliminate the humans and civilization polluting this planet.

That voice was sincere and earnest, yet the girl still deeply doubted the meaning of her existence.

Therefore, since her birth, she had done nothing.

She had remained here, in Chiba Academy.

Of course, the Honkai energy fluctuations caused merely by her birth had already nearly destroyed the city.

During her time on the rooftop, she had been browsing through the memories of this body's original owner, the girl named "Raiden Mei."

The combat techniques she had honed through years of practicing swordsmanship with the "Homu Swordsman."

The proud young lady born from noble blood and later upbringing, who had always lived surrounded by flowers and flattery.

After her father, Raiden Ryoma, was imprisoned for economic fraud, the classmates who had once flocked around her turned cold, and she gradually became withdrawn and silent.

"..."

Through Raiden Mei's memories, the girl saw all of her past joy and pain. Every sensation was so real.

But those memories did not actually belong to her.

After all, she was not "Raiden Mei."

Having just been born... she had nothing.

All she possessed was the immense power that had arrived alongside that descending "mission."

The girl raised her hand and looked at the lightning flowing between her fingers.

—The power to control electromagnetic fields.

Anything touched by her now would be reduced to atoms by excessively powerful Honkai energy, so she could not touch anything.

And once humans approached her, they would only be infected by Honkai energy and become Dead Soldiers incapable of communication. Thus, she could not speak with anyone either.

She had nothing. All she had was an illusory mission to destroy humanity.

If the girl had any wish right now, it was perhaps for a human capable of communicating with her to appear.

However, after seeing so many other humans show pain and fear before death, she had become somewhat afraid of that hope as well.

Even if a human capable of communicating with her appeared... they would probably become her enemy.

The way she looked now was probably that of a monster in people's eyes.

Monsters would only be shunned.

Perhaps it would be easier to listen to the voice in her mind and carry out the mission of destroying humanity...

Just as the girl hesitated, she sensed someone arriving on the rooftop.

Carrying hope, expectation, and fear, she turned around and looked at the newcomer.

He was a male human who appeared to be around her age. In Raiden Mei's memories, he had never appeared before.

The girl sensed no hostility from him, so she had no intention of acting for the moment.

—Though she was somewhat confused now, that did not mean she would not act. If the other party displayed clear hostility, she would kill without hesitation.

The voice echoing in her mind brought her a considerable urge to destroy.

"...Who are you?"

"I'm Ming Yu."

As he spoke, he returned the red long blade in his hand to its sheath.

He had fought his way up from Chiba Academy's main entrance, repeatedly using Time Reversal to practice and master his swordsmanship. Although it had taken less than twenty minutes to reach this rooftop, he had already experienced countless battles and become completely familiar with this body after Yae Sakura's possession.

However, what he intended to do was certainly not defeat her through force.

—Having previously seen the process from Bronya meeting her to their conversation and eventual battle, and considering Kiana's repeated clashes with her in the original timeline, Ming Yu had formed some guesses about this Third Herrscher's state of mind.

Like his two predecessors, the First Herrscher Welt Joyce and the Second Herrscher Sirin, she, as the Third Herrscher, was not controlled by the Will of Honkai.