The two watched as a familiar figure emerged from the shadows of the stairwell, and the next moment—
That figure vanished again.
The Herrscher of Thunder suddenly sensed something behind her.
How was that possible? She was in midair!
And an arm had already hooked around her shoulders. "Only by overcoming one's childish past can a person grow..."
"Hm? You think so too, don't you, Raiden Mei..."
By the time he spoke the last sentence, it had become a whisper in her ear.
"When did you..."
Only then did Kiana realize that Qin Mo had somehow appeared behind the Herrscher of Thunder. She had no idea how he had gotten up there, but Qin Mo was currently relying entirely on Raiden Mei's support to remain in the air.
But that was not what shocked her most. It was his body...
Dense purple patterns covered every inch of him.
Kiana knew what that was.
Honkai sickness—a condition suffered only by those lacking adaptability. It meant the body had been eroded by the Honkai. At best, it caused unbearable pain and disability; at worst, death. Its most obvious symptom was purple Honkai Energy flowing across the skin in vein-like streaks.
But Qin Mo's condition was no longer limited to his veins. His entire body was covered in purple Honkai Energy, as though he had been soaked in a highly concentrated Honkai Energy solution.
Forget ordinary people—even someone from the Kaslana family would have died in that state.
The Herrscher of Thunder turned her head and saw Qin Mo's profile.
The miserable state of his face made her pupils contract.
The Herrscher of Thunder had always known that her body was not something an ordinary person could approach. Merely getting close would cause them to be eroded by Honkai Energy, and as the Herrscher of Thunder, she was constantly surrounded by an electromagnetic barrier.
An ordinary person would be directly broken down into molecules upon contact.
"You... why..."
Seeing Qin Mo in such a miserable state, the harsh words the Herrscher of Thunder had been about to say were swallowed back down.
She did not know what she was feeling right now.
"My Queen, I ran into a little trouble on the way, so I was late. But I'm sure you'll forgive me. So, will you accept my love?"
A bouquet of carnations appeared in Qin Mo's hand, but the moment it appeared, it began to be continuously broken down.
Clearly, the Herrscher of Thunder's electromagnetic barrier was still active. Anything that came near her would be constantly disintegrated.
"I..."
The Herrscher of Thunder accepted the bouquet from Qin Mo's hand. Though this was something Raiden Mei experienced every day in her memories, for her, it was the first time.
Holding the carnations that were constantly disintegrating, the Herrscher of Thunder wanted to shut down the electromagnetic barrier that was always active around her and preserve the flowers.
But she discovered that she could not do it at all.
Although it was her ability, Honkai Energy was continuously pouring into her at that moment, making it impossible for her to control the power that should have belonged to her.
"No... no..."
For the first time since her birth, the Herrscher of Thunder hated her own power. Ever since she had gained consciousness, she had possessed nothing but a massive tide of negative emotions constantly battering her mind.
She had not chosen to submit to those negative emotions. Instead, she had come alone to a place that was both familiar and unfamiliar to her, pondering the meaning of her existence.
Then she saw Kiana, Raiden Mei's friend. Raiden Mei's feelings toward her were somewhat complicated, and the Herrscher of Thunder could not understand them. But Kiana was the first familiar person she had met. Though she spoke harshly, she did not want to kill Kiana so quickly.
After that, she saw the figure who had left such a deep impression on Raiden Mei. But seeing him in a state that looked close to death, the Herrscher of Thunder felt as if her heart had been tugged.
Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar bouquet, she instinctively accepted the first bouquet she had ever received in this world.
It was not the bouquet from her memories, not one meant for that coward Raiden Mei. It was for her, and her alone...
But this bouquet was about to be destroyed by her own power.
"Don't worry, my Queen..."
A figure invisible to everyone else appeared behind Qin Mo.
Crazy Diamond!
Through Crazy Diamond's power, the bouquet that had been broken down into molecules was continuously restored.
A delighted expression appeared on the Herrscher of Thunder's face, but she soon seemed to think of something.
Her crimson eyes turned to Qin Mo. "You know I'm not that coward, don't you?"
Qin Mo met her gaze without hesitation and said, "But you are Raiden Mei. Even if you have become a Herrscher, the fact that you are Raiden Mei will never change."
Stealing Honkai Energy from a Herrscher
"But that coward and I are not the same person. Human, don't tell me you can't even see that."
"Of course I know. You are the great Queen Raiden, the envoy of the Honkai, and the Third Herrscher of this century."
After realizing that the Herrscher of Thunder had stopped resisting his embrace after her initial reluctance, Qin Mo quietly draped his entire body over her.
He had used time stop to reach her back, then relied on the immense strength granted by his Stand's possession to support himself in midair with one hand.
Fortunately, the Herrscher of Thunder's flying power was strong enough. Otherwise, the two of them might have fallen.
And while the Herrscher of Thunder had not noticed, he quietly wrapped his other arm around her as well.
"At most, it's just a split personality. Even so, you are still Raiden Mei. Even if everyone else cannot accept you, I will always stay by your side."
"..."
The Herrscher of Thunder had never experienced anything like this. Even though she possessed all of Raiden Mei's memories and had been born knowing many things, this was still her first time experiencing such a thing.
Most importantly, this person before her...
"Your body..."
Qin Mo looked at his nearly ruined body and smiled. "Don't worry, I won't die. That's also why I was able to appear here now."
"In that case... human..."
The Herrscher of Thunder embraced Qin Mo. "Then I grant you the right to remain by my side. Be grateful."
The two slowly descended from the air. Kiana, who had been treated like a third wheel nearby, had already been dumbfounded.
His body had been eroded by Honkai Energy, yet he had remained unscathed beneath the Herrscher of Thunder's electromagnetic barrier, and then he confessed just like that!?
It was not the first time Kiana had seen Qin Mo confess with flowers, but this time it was not some young girl—it was a Herrscher! Could a Herrscher really be won over this way?
"But Mei... can you let the other you come back now? Your destructive power is too great right now, and a lot of people will come looking for trouble."
"Hmph!"
The Herrscher of Thunder snorted coldly. "Just now, you said you would always stay by my side even if no one else could accept me. Are you afraid now?"
But before Qin Mo could answer, she continued, "It is no longer something I can control. Honkai Energy keeps pouring into my body because I am a Herrscher. Even if I do not want to absorb it, I cannot stop. And if that coward is to awaken, the absorption of Honkai Energy must stop—unless I am defeated."
The Herrscher of Thunder looked at Qin Mo, wanting to know whether what this man had said was sincere, or merely a roundabout way to save that coward.
"Because of your status as a Herrscher..."
Qin Mo naturally would not use a method that harmed Raiden Mei. If it was because of her status as a Herrscher...
"Even if you are injured, I can heal you in an instant. But when you are hurt, my heart aches."
He took a stack of tickets from his backpack, tore one off, and handed it to the Herrscher of Thunder.
"Here. Once you take it, you should be able to stop absorbing Honkai Energy. But you still need to actively refuse to absorb it."
"What is this?"
The Herrscher of Thunder accepted the ticket, which had not been affected by her electromagnetic barrier.
The instant it reached her hand, the ticket disappeared.
At the same time, the Honkai Energy continuously pouring into her suddenly came to a halt.
Instead, it began flooding into Qin Mo's body.
"Qin Mo! What are you doing?! You'll die!"
Although she did not know what Qin Mo had done, Kiana could see that he was constantly absorbing Honkai Energy, including the Honkai Energy around the Herrscher of Thunder.
But...
That was Herrscher-level Honkai Energy!
An ordinary person! And with his body already eroded to that extent, there was only one possible outcome!
"What an interesting man... I will keep watching you."
After seeing Qin Mo begin absorbing Honkai Energy, the Herrscher of Thunder felt her strength gradually leave her. She did not resist, merely slowly closed her eyes, and collapsed into Qin Mo's arms.
"Stop it already!! Don't absorb any more!"
Seeing the greatest threat, the Herrscher of Thunder, collapse, Kiana rushed over to Qin Mo and tried to use her own body to absorb the Honkai Energy from him in reverse.
"Don't worry... Kiana."
Qin Mo smiled. "Although I have no Honkai Energy adaptability, I will not die because of this."
But absorbing such a massive amount of Honkai Energy was not a good thing either. Qin Mo was preparing to use the Tiger Tally's power to see whether he could balance out the Honkai Energy, or split it off, when a notification suddenly sounded.
A large amount of unowned special energy detected Absorption initiated
Without another word, Qin Mo opened his system panel and saw a progress bar that had suddenly appeared.
The purple patterns on Qin Mo's body rapidly faded, while the progress bar continued to rise.
"What's going on? Qin Mo, your body...?"
Kiana noticed it too, but this was a good thing.
"I told you not to worry, Kiana. I have a way."
Though it was different from the method he had originally intended, the result was good anyway.
Energy fully absorbed System energy overload ???
What the hell? You're this useless? You overloaded? You're not going to explode, are you?
Dungeon module unlocked Energy overload Dungeon opened Energy overload Multiplayer dungeon mode activated! Teleportation begins in three seconds!
"Hm? Hey! Wait—"
Before Qin Mo could react, a dazzling light erupted from his body.
"What is this..."
Within the light, Qin Mo heard Kiana's startled cry and instinctively reached out to grab Kiana, who was right beside him.
When the light faded, the three of them had vanished from the rooftop of Senba Academy.
And at the same time...
"Mother, Bronya has reached the designated location."
Near Senba Academy, a girl with gray Roman curls appeared atop a building.
"Bronya, we finally got in touch! How is the situation?"
Through the chip in her brain, Bronya finally contacted her adoptive mother, Cocolia.
Before you continue