The Sixth Herrscher Appears

Eiri's home.

The moment Eiri closed the front door, a voice came from behind her.

"Oh my~ Eiri, you came back so early today. Did you already buy the book?"

"It's Mom. You scared me." Eiri patted her chest as she spoke to Sawamura Sayuri.

"What's wrong? Why are you being so sneaky?" Sawamura Sayuri asked curiously.

"Nothing. I'm going back to my room first." Eiri started up the stairs, then suddenly remembered something and turned back. "Oh, right, Mom. I ran into Luo Yu today."

Sawamura Sayuri said, "Luo Yu from the Luo Family? The one who ran away from home three years ago?"

"Yes, him. I didn't expect him to be a student at Private Integrated High School too."

"My, my. Then you'd better work harder, Eiri. Didn't you always play with him when you were little?"

"I was only learning drawing techniques from him!"

"Whose personality did this child inherit, exactly?" Sawamura Sayuri watched Eiri flee upstairs, her face full of helpless sentiment.

Inside Eiri's room.

"Honestly, what was Mom even talking about?" Images of her childhood with Luo Yu surfaced in Eiri's mind. "We were just drawing together."

So annoying. I should just read my novel.

Eiri took out Flame Chasers and began reading.

The second volume picked up right where the first one had ended.

Right from the beginning, this volume filled in the Honkai setting that the first volume had failed to explain clearly.

Honkai was born alongside civilization. The more humanity's civilization developed, the stronger the Will of Honkai became. In order to impede civilization's progress, Honkai would also create extraordinarily powerful humanoid beings. They were known as Herrschers.

The moment she saw this Honkai setting, Eiri knew that the background of Flame Chasers definitely wasn't simple. The youthful daily life at the beginning of the first volume had probably all been a lie.

After Kevin and Mei joined Flame Chasers, they were assigned to two different departments. That made sense, though. One was a soldier, while the other was a researcher.

What followed was Kevin's daily training in the military, while Mei went to study under Dr. Mobius.

Eiri stared blankly at Dr. Mobius's illustration. It took her quite a while to come back to herself. Looking at the green-haired woman in the illustration, she praised, "As expected of Prometheus. Her artwork is as outstanding as ever. So this is Dr. Mobius? She feels different from the rumors in the book. Never mind, I should keep reading."

Peaceful days were short-lived. The Fourth Herrscher soon appeared, and Kevin took part in the campaign to eliminate her as a soldier.

After paying a certain price, humanity successfully eliminated the Fourth Herrscher.

After the Fourth Herrscher was eliminated, Kevin returned to his ordinary life. Training, endless training. Gradually, Kevin's simulation training results rose to first place within Flame Chasers. That meant that, at least on the surface, Kevin had become the strongest human in the world.

Mei had also achieved success in her studies during this time. Within Flame Chasers, people had gradually begun calling her Dr. Mei.

To fans, this plot was as classic and orthodox as it could possibly get.

A young man and woman learned the world's secrets and joined a secret organization. The male lead steadily grew stronger, preparing to save the world. The female lead wasn't just decoration either; she was becoming stronger in her own way.

And Kevin wasn't becoming stronger to save the world. Anyone who had read the first volume knew that everything Kevin did was solely for Mei.

The Fifth Honkai Outbreak descended as well. This time, Kevin served as part of a suicide squad, leading his team to be the first to confront the Fifth Herrscher.

However, when Kevin arrived with his troops, the scene was already in complete ruins. Everything around them had frozen over. Only the Fifth Herrscher's corpse lay in the massive crater at the center.

Following orders, Kevin recovered the Fifth Herrscher's body.

The Fifth Honkai Outbreak came to an end there.

To celebrate the successful elimination of the Fifth Herrscher, Flame Chasers prepared to hold a banquet.

And a great many characters would make their debut at this banquet.

"Hua, have you picked out your clothes yet? After today, we'll be attending the banquet."

"I have." Hua had tried on her formal dress. "But, Captain, I don't understand."

"What don't you understand?" Himeko asked.

Himeko was the captain of Fifth Squad and the one who had rescued Hua during the Third Honkai Outbreak.

"Why are we holding a banquet? We never even saw the Fifth Herrscher ourselves." Hua looked at Himeko in confusion, waiting for her answer.

"I see. Hua, what do you think of Flame Chasers' current state?" Himeko asked Hua with a smile.

Hua was stunned by her captain's question, but quickly understood.

Yet before she could answer, Himeko began speaking on her own.

"The other people I met on the way here all had smiles on their faces. Do you know why, Hua? Because they survived! That's why holding this banquet is necessary. Only this way can we truly feel that we defeated the Fifth Honkai Outbreak, even if we weren't the ones who resolved it."

"I understand, Captain."

The day of the banquet.

"A ball... I've already thought of more than a dozen outfits, but I still need to try them on before I can decide, don't I?" The pink-haired girl was trying on clothes.

Knock knock knock knock knock knock!

A rapid series of knocks sounded at the door.

"Hmm, who is it? Is it time already?" the pink-haired girl asked the person outside before opening the door.

"E--ly--si--a--!" A voice gritted through clenched teeth came from outside.

"Oh... isn't this Dr. Mobius? Your dark circles seem even worse than they were a couple of days ago. You really should get some rest, you know?" The pink-haired girl—no, Elysia—smiled at the person outside.

Bang!

Mobius violently hurled a pile of clothes at the doorway. "Were these clothes something you stuffed into my wardrobe again?!"

"Oh my~ Don't be so shy, Dr. Mobius. I went through the trouble of preparing so many clothes for you. You should change things up once in a while."

At that, Mobius wore an expression like she wanted to kill someone.

"You've got some nerve saying that! Went through the trouble? Didn't you stuff clothes into my wardrobe last time too?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"There won't be a next time, Elysia!"

Seeing that Elysia was utterly unfazed, Mobius could only let the matter go. After warning Elysia, she turned and left.

"Dr. Mobius is as shy as ever. It was the same last time too. She just threw the clothes away and left. Huh? This one is...?" Elysia looked at the clothes Mobius had thrown over and pondered one of them.

Suddenly, Elysia clenched her right hand into a fist and struck her left palm, wearing an expression of sudden realization.

"So it was this one. How nostalgic! I wore this outfit to the last banquet. I can't believe I gave it to Dr. Mobius again. Hmm~ In that case, I'll wear this to the banquet again! Everyone will definitely make such lovely expressions."

The Sixth Herrscher Appears

That night, inside the banquet hall.

"Would you like some drinks?" Elysia, dressed in a maid outfit, moved through the crowd with a tray of beverages.

"Thank you." The young boy accepted a drink and politely thanked her.

"Then I hope you enjoy yourselves." Elysia turned and left with her tray.

Then a voice came from behind her.

"Wow! I didn't expect Flame Chasers to be this formal. They even have maids serving everyone drinks."

They don't recognize me. They must be newcomers. "Hmm? Who's that up ahead?" Elysia spotted two familiar figures, so she moved closer for a better look. "It's Kevin and Hen. What are they talking about? I should go say hello."

At that moment, Kevin and Hen were chatting.

Hen said, "I didn't expect you to grow so quickly. When I brought you into Flame Chasers, you were still just an ordinary high school student. Now you've already become an outstanding warrior."

Kevin said, "It's nothing special, but I'm still very grateful to you, Senior Hen. If it hadn't been for you back then, Mei and I might have died in the Third Honkai Outbreak."

Hen said, "Dr. Mei was someone the higher-ups specifically wanted. Even without me, someone else would have gone to rescue you."

"But you were the one who found us," Kevin said seriously.

"Alright, let's change the subject." Hen decided to switch topics. "By the way, I heard a newcomer joined your side, and you directly scolded him until he cried?"

"Are you talking about Kosma?" Kevin awkwardly scratched his head. "It was my first time leading a newcomer too. I didn't expect to scold him until he cried. Maybe I was too harsh."

"Pfft! Hahaha, then you really were too harsh. I've been in Flame Chasers for so long, and this is the first time I've heard of someone being scolded to tears."

"Oh my? What are you two talking about? You seem so happy." Elysia suddenly joined in.

"It's Elysia." Kevin looked at her. "That outfit of yours...?"

"What do you think? Isn't it cute?" Elysia spun in a circle.

"If I remember correctly, you wore this same outfit last time too, didn't you?" Kevin hesitated before asking.

"Mm-hmm~ What do you think? Aren't you surprised?"

"I really am. Now that I think about it, you were wearing this outfit when we first met."

"Oh my, Kevin. You suddenly got so good at talking." Elysia pretended to look shocked.

Seeing Elysia's expression, Kevin didn't know what else to say for a moment.

"That's enough, Elysia. Stop bullying Kevin." Hen stepped in to rescue Kevin.

"Oh my, isn't this Hen? Long time no see."

"Long time no see. I didn't expect you to have grown up so much either," Hen said with a sigh.

"I'm still very young, after all," Elysia said with a smile.

"Elysia, Senior Hen, have you known each other for a long time?" Kevin asked, puzzled by their interaction.

"You didn't know? Well, I suppose I never told you." Hen thought for a moment. "I remember it was a long time ago. Flame Chasers hadn't even appeared yet. We detected a Honkai reaction in a place called Vostok-51, but when we arrived, we found nothing. That was where Elysia and I first met."

Elysia said, "You scared our little town terribly back then. A group of mysterious people suddenly appeared in town and said there might be danger."

"It was just for safety's sake. We had detected a Honkai reaction, so no matter what, we had to inspect the site. But when I went to Vostok-51 for a second time, I didn't see you. Where had you gone then?" Hen asked Elysia.

"I went traveling at the time."

"The second time we met was in Flame Chasers, wasn't it?"

"I remember Hen was very surprised back then."

"After all, the little girl in my memories had suddenly become a beautiful young woman—and even became my comrade."

"Oh my, Hen is good at complimenting people too."

"I'm a married man, after all. I know how to make women happy."

"Hen, Blanca will be unhappy if she hears that."

"Please, Elysia. Don't tell Blanca that."

"Mm-hmm? I'll think about it." Elysia turned around, then turned her head back at a perfect forty-five-degree angle. "You two keep chatting. I'll be going now."

After saying goodbye, Elysia continued moving through the crowd with her drinks, like a real maid.

"That's very like her, isn't it, Kevin?"

"It is."

"Eiri, dinner's ready." Sawamura Sayuri's voice pulled Eiri out of the world of the book.

"Got it, Mom." After answering, Eiri placed a bookmark where she had stopped reading, then closed Flame Chasers.

That was so exciting. So far, aside from the Fourth Honkai Outbreak, most of the story had been daily life. But Eiri could tell that all of those everyday scenes were laying the groundwork. Still, what concerned her most were the illustrations.

Prometheus's illustrations were all so good. Especially Elysia's. Thinking of the pink-haired girl in the illustration, Eiri couldn't help sighing. "She's so beautiful. They're clearly all in the same style, but it feels like Prometheus put more care into this one. This illustration feels even more exquisite than the others."

Of course! After all, she was Elysia! When Luo Yu drew Elysia, he focused all of his attention on doing the best job possible. If you loved Elysia, you had to give her the best!

At the dinner table, Eiri quickly finished her meal and set down her bowl.

"I'm full. I'm going back to my room first."