Raven had communicated with the other mercenaries and read the files thoroughly; she knew exactly what Raiden Mei had endured in her life.
From the young miss cherished like the moon amidst the stars to the lowest of the low in her class—insulted, bullied, and betrayed one by one by the best friends and confidants she used to hold dear.
Then came the leak of intelligence regarding her status as a Herrscher vessel, followed by the hunt led by mercenaries hired by Nagazora City's nobles.
She had finally found someone she thought she could rely on, only to discover that he was a hypocrite. Upon learning that the entire mercenary corps had been mobilized, he didn't hesitate to find an excuse to leave her behind, crowning it with a noble claim: "I'm going to kill the Blood Wolf Mercenary Corps to protect you."
How pitiful. She's all alone again.
This scene involuntarily reminded Raven of her own childhood, when her brother, with nothing but a mortal body, held back a Honkai Beast to cover her escape so she could live.
Raiden Mei remained sitting on the edge of the bed, maintaining the exact posture she held when Li Wu left. Her entire body radiated a deathly stillness.
Raven walked up to Raiden Mei and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Let me guess. Did he tell you not to be afraid, that he's here for you, or something like that? Did he reach out his hand at the exact moment you were at your most wretched? Making you feel like, 'Ah, this person is different'?"
Mei's eyelashes trembled noticeably.
"I've seen too many people like that, Raiden Mei." Raven straightened up and walked to the broken window, her gaze shifting to the heavy night outside as if she could see that disgusting figure disappearing around the street corner. "They say pretty words, posturing as if they could fight the whole world for you. But the moment real danger descends, they run faster than anyone. They even come up with nice-sounding excuses for themselves, like 'I'll go distract them,' or 'I'll go deal with them'... Pah!!"
Raven's brow furrowed, and she spat out that last sound softly yet fiercely, filled with undisguised contempt.
"Good people don't live long. That's because when problems arise, they are always the first to take responsibility, and thus the first to die. And if they are lucky enough to survive, the credit gets stolen by those smooth-talkers."
"Obviously, you found the wrong guy. That boy named Li Wu isn't worth your trust. Asking me to protect you for two hours is just to make himself feel better. After two hours, once you're dead and he comes back, the black card will still be his. How laughable."
Raven sneered.
Moonlight spilled in through the shattered windowpane, illuminating Raiden Mei's pale, small face. She looked withered, devoid of vitality.
Raiden Mei suddenly thought of the takoyaki from a few hours ago. Under the lingering glow of the setting sun, Li Wu had been so dazzling.
"He will come back. Even if he doesn't, it doesn't matter. I was meant to die anyway. Only with my death can this tragedy be completely cut off."
Raiden Mei wasn't swayed by Raven's words; her tone remained calm.
Only her expression was somewhat stiff.
There was no light in her eyes. Hesitation, uncertainty, confusion—various conflicting emotions intertwined in her heart.
Emotion told Raiden Mei to trust Li Wu, to believe that he really went to deal with the Blood Wolf Mercenary Corps.
Reason effortlessly shattered that fantasy.
An ordinary person, taking out an entire mercenary corps? Any single mercenary in that group could easily torture and kill Li Wu, let alone a fully armed battalion.
Precisely because it was impossible, Raiden Mei hadn't stopped him when he left.
Raiden Mei's fingers curled unconsciously, gripping the bedsheet beneath her and crumpling it into a ball in her palm.
Raven saw this small movement and walked back. Looking down at Mei, she suddenly taunted, "Tell me, Raiden Mei. He's gone now, leaving you to me, a mercenary of unknown origin. If I really was just after that black card, if I wanted to kill you right now..."
Raven paused, then asked, punctuating every word:
"What. Can. You. Do?!"
The room fell into a deathly silence.
For a good while, there was no human sound.
Only the wind outside passed through the broken glass, making a whimpering noise, like a girl weeping in her heart.
Raiden Mei slowly raised her head and looked at Raven.
The moonlight reflected no light in the depths of her vacant eyes, only a parched wasteland.
"I can't do anything. I've never... had a choice. No matter what I choose, the outcome won't change, will it?"
The sentence fell lightly, yet it was heavier than any scream or cry.
"Actually, I've always known. I've always known... Li Wu approached me with ulterior motives. Perhaps he coveted the wealth my father left me, or perhaps he coveted my body."
"I never believed in pure kindness. To be honest, I knew better than anyone that there would be no future between us. So, during our time living together, I tried hard to disguise myself as a defenseless little lamb. I wanted to wait for him to reveal his true colors, kill him, and then be buried with him."
"But it wasn't like that. He was clumsy. Clumsy in a way that was somewhat cute."
Raiden Mei looked up and smiled into the bleak moonlight.
"He foolishly thought I liked being abused, so he desperately played the role of an abuser to satisfy my 'preferences.' But he didn't know that his little acts of cruelty meant nothing to me. Compared to what I experienced after my father went to prison, Li Wu's self-proclaimed exquisite acting and abuse felt more like playful flirting between a couple. It was so silly it made me laugh. If I teased him just a little, he would get incredibly shy, then force himself to keep a straight face and pretend to be serious. Sometimes I thought, how great it would be if he truly hated me. That way, the two of us could go to hell together."
"But he didn't... Every time Li Wu 'abused' me, I would act happy. Actually, I wasn't acting; I was truly happy. Because he was the only one who thought his performance was real. In my eyes, he was just like a child deliberately putting on a cool, tough facade."
"You know? I had to use so much effort to hold it in back then. If I had laughed, I would have blown his cover..."
"He really is a fool. He hasn't realized it after all this time. Li Wu is so stupid!"
Even though Li Wu had left, Raiden Mei still clearly remembered every word he said, every movement, every expression...
As she spoke, Raiden Mei opened the wardrobe and took out a pure white T-shirt she had once picked out for him, looking at it with eyes full of nostalgia.
"Feelings aren't like other things; effort doesn't guarantee a good result. My life is even more so. As a Herrscher vessel, I know very well what my existence means."
"An uncontrolled time bomb. No... it would be more accurate to describe it as a nuclear bomb."
"Once the Herrscher Core inside me loses control, the entire Nagazora City will face imminent destruction... I am a disaster loathed by everyone, a tragedy that shouldn't exist."