Hua Yi's abrupt words caused Raiden Mei to freeze for a moment. She pulled her gaze away from the odd guitar case on his back and looked toward him, her eyes wavering.
"Is this... a formal confession?"
"I'd love to just nod and smile, but the truth is, this is a heavy topic. For now, this is all I can say. If I go into any more detail, I might alert the people who are monitoring you. You can take it as a confession, but it is also my promise. If you are willing to believe in me, I will do everything in my power for your sake."
"..."
The smile Mei had been wearing gradually faded. After carefully studying Hua Yi to ensure he wasn't joking, something seemed to click in her mind.
"Back then, during our first sword practice... was the pressure you seemed to be under related to this? Because of me?"
"Yes."
Hua Yi nodded after a brief pause. He hadn't expected Mei to still remember that. Dozens of days had passed since then, and he had long since corrected the slips in composure he had shown in the beginning.
Initially, Hua Yi expected Mei to interrogate him further, questioning his ulterior motives for approaching her. He had even braced himself for an emotional outburst. But he was wrong.
"Thank you."
"?"
While Hua Yi stood speechless at her unexpected reaction, Mei, who had lowered her head, looked back up at him.
"Thank you for being willing to silently shoulder such a heavy burden for me. Even though I still don't know exactly what is happening, I want to believe in you. Now, and in the future, I will always believe in you."
Hua Yi took a deep breath and nodded.
Half an hour later, they arrived on the outskirts of Nagazora.
Mei looked at the unremarkable meadow and the distant woods, a look of confusion crossing her face.
"If we were coming here, why did we take such a roundabout way earlier?"
"To avoid the cameras. If anyone asks later, I hope you won't mention coming here. It's best if you don't even mention leaving the center of Nagazora."
"I understand."
Mei nodded without prying further. She showed no signs of nervousness despite being brought to such a desolate, remote area. Just as she had said, she trusted him.
"You might feel some pain, or you might not. But I'm not doing this to hurt you."
As Hua Yi spoke, he reached out and pressed his hand against Mei's back.
What was it like for the Valkyries of Schicksal who possessed Artificial Stigmata or even Natural Stigmata? Hua Yi wasn't entirely sure. But what he did know was that the seven Stigmata he possessed not only enhanced his physical attributes but also contained a power the power of Honkai energy. And that power was controllable.
Beings known as Herrschers were entities born by chance in disaster zones whenever the instantaneous power of a Honkai eruption reached over a thousand HW.
A Herrscher was a transformation of a human with an extremely high adaptability to Honkai energy. Such a human might even be born with certain traits indicative of Honkai abilities. Research institutions speculated that the locations of Great Honkai Eruptions were not random; rather, they occurred because a human with Herrscher potential was present in that area.
Generally, a human with Herrscher potential would first trigger a Great Honkai Eruption. Then, a massive concentration of Honkai energy would gather, forming a Herrscher Core inside that human's body, transforming them into a true Herrscher.
But Mei was different. She already had a Herrscher Core inside her. It was a fragment of the power split off after the 2nd Herrscher had been defeated the [Gem of Conquest].
Mei, having been implanted with the [Gem of Conquest], wasn't a potential Herrscher in the traditional sense, but she still possessed the possibility of awakening. She was a ticking time bomb. The moment Mei became a Herrscher, the resulting burst of Honkai energy would be enough to destroy everything she held dear.
Hua Yi wanted to try and make this random event controllable. At the very least, he wanted the relevant organizations to be prepared before it happened.
If Mei knew how many lives would be lost because of the Honkai she triggered, how would she feel? Would she accept death willingly, or would she fall into total despair?
Hua Yi intended to use the Honkai energy provided by his seven Stigmata to try and stimulate the Herrscher Core within Mei. He wanted her to become a Herrscher at the right time and the right place, so he could defeat the persona and allow her to return to normal.
As for simply extracting the [Gem of Conquest], that would cause Mei physical harm. Besides, as a former gamer, Hua Yi knew that some of the Valkyries under his command back then had been Herrschers themselves.
Starting the Third Honkai Impact with his own hands and then ending it himself... sounded pretty cool, didn't it?
Because his own Honkai energy was highly controllable, even a plan that seemed whimsical began to look feasible.
As Hua Yi injected energy into the [Gem of Conquest] within Mei's body, the air began to change.
The Herrscher Core was beginning to grow active. The concentration of Honkai energy in the vicinity began to skyrocket. Although Hua Yi had chosen a location where no other humans were present, the city outskirts were never lacking in animals.
Aside from the Deadmen that humans transformed into, the other entities closely tied to the Honkai were animals that mutated into beings called Honkai Beasts.
Boom!
In the nearby woods, a tall tree nearly a meter in diameter was snapped and sent crashing down. The sheer force of the impact was enough to make one's skin crawl.
The owner of that strength charged out from the forest toward Hua Yi. It was a giant Honkai Beast, over ten meters in size. The massive tree that an ordinary person couldn't even wrap their arms around looked like a mere toothpick under its feet.
Carrying the momentum of something capable of crushing everything in its path, the Honkai Beast launched a charge.
And it wasn't just one. Deeper in the forest, several other equally massive figures could be seen. These Honkai Beasts, primarily white in color, galloped toward them, making the very earth tremble beneath their stride.
"So, they've come."
Looking at the monsters that would drive an ordinary person to close their eyes and wait for death, Hua Yi grinned and reached for the guitar case on his back.
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