I, Master of Lightning

As expected of a Dali Temple official—her way of speaking reeked of the Yan Kingdom.

Or maybe she was just getting anxious.

Hoshino turned around, violet lightning flickering in her eyes. She said nothing, letting Jingzhe question her.

She happened to need someone to test the Lightning Empress's power on.

Both wielded lightning. Jingzhe's was bright yellow, while the Lightning Empress's was a solemn deep violet. Strength could not be judged by color alone, but as a longtime Honkai Impact 3rd player, Hoshino honestly had little confidence in how strong the Lightning Empress was.

What if she was actually terrible?

After their limited interaction, Hoshino had gained a rough understanding of Jingzhe.

If she spoke, Jingzhe might hold back.

So she simply stayed silent. They could talk after this exchange. Jingzhe's lightning strikes seemed limited in power anyway, and Hoshino was betting that she could not electrocute someone to death.

Let's try it.

Hoshino extended a hand toward her, deliberately giving her time to react.

Lightning flowed.

Jingzhe sensed danger and nimbly flipped away, yet she could never shake the uncomfortable sensation of being locked onto. Her brows furrowed slightly as her hair stood on end again, crackling around her body.

"Fivefold Thunderous Might, arise!"

Lightning flashed over her staff, red and blue intertwining, seemingly more powerful than before.

A bolt of lightning descended from the heavens.

Hoshino looked up. Her oni-mask hair ornament glowed blue, and amid the blinding radiance, all noise instantly faded away. Nothing else remained in her sight.

In that instant, she understood what the Queen of Lightning meant.

Control.

Control over lightning.

It was difficult to explain, but to use the simplest example: in Honkai Impact 3rd's Memorial Arena, after absorbing the Gem of Conquest, the Herrscher of the Void, who controlled lightning, was completely immune to lightning damage. The Lightning Empress also possessed the Gem of Conquest within her body, which was why she was called the Queen of Lightning.

It was an incredibly mysterious sensation.

The relationship between her and Jingzhe was like that of a queen and her subject.

With a casual wave of her hand, the thunderbolt descending from the sky vanished completely. The staff that summoned lightning suddenly became incomparably heavy, and even Jingzhe's body could no longer move.

Hoshino stepped forward, one step at a time.

Jingzhe stared at her. Torn black stockings, a tattered schoolgirl skirt—she looked rather young.

Why was this happening?

With that question in mind, Jingzhe watched helplessly as the Queen of Lightning approached.

She raised her hand, lightning flowing around it.

Everything fell silent.

Jingzhe's body was heavier than Hoshino had imagined. Especially when she fell over—Hoshino did not react in time and nearly had her waist snapped beneath her.

"Something seems off with the plot?"

Hoshino climbed to her feet, scratching her head as she muttered to herself.

She had discovered another ability of the Lightning Empress. By striking the air with high-voltage electricity at different frequencies, she could produce piercing sounds. Through that resonance, she could create an immensely imposing voice, as though a god resided within her body.

It did not seem particularly useful.

Hoshino experimentally cleared her throat.

"Jing⚡zhe⚡."

Using that method, she called Jingzhe's name. Thunder exploded like the majestic might of heaven.

Jingzhe did not wake up from that shout. Feeling somewhat bored, Hoshino began studying the Lightning Empress's abilities again. This character was actually quite powerful, not nearly as underwhelming as she had seemed in the game.

Perhaps the Lightning Empress really was powerful. She had simply been inevitably weakened after becoming a playable character.

Hoshino found another useful application.

She reached out.

Jingzhe's staff rose into the air. After a burst of crackling, it came to a complete stop in midair, as if held in place by an invisible force.

Magnetization.

Aside from those few aspects, there did not seem to be much else to uncover.

Then she would wait for Jingzhe to wake up.

Jingzhe suddenly jolted awake.

The back of her neck throbbed with pain. Even after sleeping, she vividly remembered that person.

"You're awake?"

She raised her head and saw the shrine maiden's face.

So close.

Only then did Jingzhe realize that she had been resting on the shrine maiden's lap. Her neck hurt terribly, but beneath her head was softness. The other woman had her legs pressed together, fitting neatly into the gap formed by Jingzhe's qilin horns.

"Hm?"

"????"

Before Jingzhe could discharge electricity in agitation, Hoshino kicked her away, barely avoiding the shock.

What a farce.

Jingzhe stood up while rubbing her forehead. Instinctively, she searched for the girl in torn black stockings, but after looking everywhere to no avail, she turned to Hoshino with a puzzled gaze.

"Where is that person?"

"She's a little shy. She thought you were too noisy, so she hid."

"Ah?"

Hoshino spun the lie with an innocent expression. "I'm confused too. I only went out for a while, and when I came back, you were lying on the ground asleep. If purple lightning hadn't been lingering around you, I wouldn't have known she would arrive so quickly."

"Who is she?"

"The Queen of Lightning. Unlike me, a shrine maiden who defies the gods, a god lives within her body."

That cryptic explanation was naturally not meant to give Jingzhe an answer. It was meant to lead her thoughts astray so she would not keep asking questions.

A god lived within her body?

That sounded more like a euphemism.

Judging by the Queen of Lightning's appearance, she did not use weapons, yet her arts possessed thunderous might nearly equal to a god's. She seemed powerful, but she must have paid a terrible price. That person was definitely in the late stages of Oripathy, the kind who did not have long to live.

If she were deployed to a battlefield, she would surely become another walking catastrophe.

If that were the case, then as a Dali Temple official, Jingzhe should not have been so unfamiliar with that person. Her name should have been known far and wide.

So...

She looked up at Hoshino, her eyes filled with respect.

"You took in a critically ill Oripathy patient and did not throw her onto the battlefield. On my own behalf alone, I offer you a measure of respect. This respect carries no legal weight, nor does it represent the official stance of the Yan Kingdom's Dali Temple."

Hoshino was somewhat confused.

Had this woman misunderstood something?

The Lightning Empress was the one who had knocked you unconscious with a chop to the neck. As a Dali Temple official, could you show a little backbone?

Have some shame!

"I respect your wishes. I will not mock such a meaningless act."

Jingzhe continued, "I hope you will not come to regret this small act of kindness. Helping others often brings good fortune, but helping an infected person destined to die will most likely bring no reward."

Hoshino's eyes shifted, and she suddenly understood what Jingzhe was thinking.

So she had mistaken the Lightning Empress for an infected person.

Indeed, the Lightning Empress's appearance did resemble that of an infected person, and one in the late stages at that. It was no wonder others misunderstood.

With infected people involved, Jingzhe clearly did not want to pursue the subject. She quietly picked up the rice ball from the ground, intending to flee back to the Yan Kingdom's interior overnight, far away from Lungmen, this troubled land full of right and wrong.

Watching Jingzhe's retreating back, Hoshino nodded thoughtfully.

She had thought of a good idea.

If Officer Ch'en came asking about information on that hooded person, Hoshino could first transform into the Lightning Empress and electrocute her unconscious, then let Officer Ch'en wake up on Yae Sakura's lap.

Wouldn't that be perfect?

When everyone encounters advertisements like "Are you a real person?", there is no need to pay attention to them. Just close them. Do not scan QR codes or send text messages!