Hua Yi didn't force a battle with the Herrscher Persona of Raiden Mei. When he rejected her proposal to destroy the world and instead invited her to save it with him, the Herrscher gave him a long, deep look before retreating. Control over the body was immediately handed back to Mei's normal personality.
Knowing that the Honkai eruption would soon attract the attention of the authorities, Hua Yi immediately escorted Mei back to the city after finishing off the remaining giant Honkai Beasts. It was fortunate that the Herrscher hadn't forced a conflict and that Hua Yi moved quickly enough.
The alarms in Nagazora were just beginning to wail as they returned. Any slower, and the city would have entered a state of martial law. While returning from the outskirts wouldn't have gotten them barred from entry, they would have been forced to register their personal information a thread that someone might eventually pull to uncover the truth.
Mei wasn't an ordinary girl who knew nothing of the Honkai. As the daughter of Raiden Ryoma, she was well aware of its existence despite her father's attempts to keep the details from her. She just hadn't expected to be the one to trigger it.
She remained silent throughout the trip. Perhaps because Hua Yi had awakened the Herrscher Persona ahead of schedule, the nascent personality hadn't been strong enough to force Mei's own consciousness into a deep sleep.
Instead, she had witnessed everything from the perspective of an observer. She had seen Hua Yi wipe out the Honkai Beasts with overwhelming ease, heard the dangerous rhetoric of her other self, and listened to Hua Yi's invitation to save the world.
So much had happened in such a short span of time, and Mei needed a moment to process it all. However, because of the reliability Hua Yi had displayed throughout the ordeal, she didn't feel much anxiety about the future.
As long as Hua Yi was by her side, she felt that any hardship could be overcome.
Right now, her biggest concern was that dangerous Herrscher Persona. No one would find it easy to accept that another personality was living within their own body.
"You've given me your trust, so now it's time for me to work hard," Hua Yi said. "Don't worry, Mei. If your Herrscher Persona ever wakes up again, I'll just have to use my looks and sell my body to trade for world peace while waiting for you to wake up."
"What kind of boy sells his looks to a girl!?" Mei retorted. She poked fun at his half-serious, half-joking comment, but then her body stiffened as she caught the weight of his previous words.
"A Herrscher? Isn't that..."
"An Apostle of Honkai, a destroyer of worlds? Is that what you were going to say?" Hua Yi interrupted. "You aren't a true Herrscher, at least not yet. When I spoke to that nascent personality earlier,
I could sense her confusion even as she talked about destruction. Everything can be changed. Besides, even among true Herrschers, there are those who fight to protect the world. It's just power, Mei. You should be happy to have it."
"You seem to know a lot of things," Mei said, her eyes blinking with curiosity.
Hua Yi scratched his cheek. "I do indeed know many things I shouldn't. I'm currently trying to come up with a plausible excuse, so please be patient and wait for it."
Hua Yi was making it quite clear to Mei that even if he gave her an answer later, it would be a lie.
Mei puffed out her cheeks in slight annoyance before letting out a helpless sigh. "Fine, I won't ask. I'll do as you say and act like nothing happened. But... will that Herrscher Persona wake up again without warning? If that's the case, I think it might be better if I dropped out of Senba Academy."
Mei was still that kind-hearted girl who was willing to restrict her own life for the safety of others.
"Based on what just happened, no," Hua Yi replied. "Your Herrscher Persona seems influenced by your own emotions. If your will not to harm others is strong enough, there shouldn't be any danger."
"...Shouldn't be?"
"Mei, what you need to do isn't worry about potential dangers, but believe in yourself. And please, believe in me."
Although Mei had much more to say, Hua Yi had already escorted her to Senba Academy. If she wanted to maintain her peaceful life, she needed to be in the right place at the right time. At the very least, she needed to be seen at school by classmates or teachers to establish an alibi.
Hua Yi had to leave as well. A small-scale Honkai eruption had occurred on the outskirts of Nagazora, and Theresa was bound to send people, even if it was just to look for Kiana.
Hua Yi needed to be seen as well to clear any potential suspicion, though under normal circumstances, he shouldn't have been a suspect at all.
After offering Mei a final few words of comfort, he began his return to his dorm.
This time, although a true massive Honkai event hadn't broken out, the Herrscher Persona had awakened and Honkai Beasts had been born. In Hua Yi's eyes, the Third Honkai Eruption had already begun in secret.
The future would not be peaceful; more and more Honkai would descend until that final, catastrophic eruption occurred.
Although he hadn't fully resolved the issue with Mei's Herrscher Persona, there were two pieces of good news.
The Herrscher hadn't made world destruction her absolute goal and still possessed a sense of humanity; at the very least, she had no intention of hurting Hua Yi.
Furthermore, St. Freya Academy was sure to be on high alert now. They would likely deploy advanced Honkai Energy concentration sensors throughout Nagazora.
Even if a massive eruption occurred in the future, the citizens would likely receive an early evacuation notice. Hua Yi's original goal of preventing mass casualties was, in a sense, already achieved.
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