160. Defeat Her!
Yun Ling lightly bandaged Kiana's wound with a bandage, then looked at the battlefield.
Even among Herrschers, there are differences in skill. 'Mei' was practically dominating Yuna, who was completely powerless to resist.
The toxins that had invaded Mei's body were neutralized by her lightning the moment they entered.
With the most powerful poison gone, the thorns Yuna could manipulate were no longer a threat.
As a bolt of lightning struck, Yuna completely lost consciousness, collapsing to the ground, while most of the surrounding buildings were destroyed beyond recognition.
After the fight, 'Mei' saw Yun Ling still holding Kiana in his arms, with faint crackling lightning around her, and her expression turned somewhat violent.
"As my fiancé, you're holding another woman in your arms." 'Mei' grabbed Yun Ling's collar and lifted him.
Yun Ling's expression shifted for a moment upon hearing this, unsure of Mei's current state.
So he decided to play dumb for now.
"Mei, have you agreed to marry me?" Yun Ling feigned surprise.
"Tch…so it's still different, isn't it?" 'Mei's expression held a hint of melancholy.
Hearing this, Yun Ling instantly understood. This wasn't some Stigmata Will or Herrscher Personality; this was clearly the Mei from the simulation, the one he was betrothed to!
Yun Ling swallowed hard, his thoughts a jumbled mess.
"Don't make such a sad face, my dear cook." Yun Ling took a deep breath and gently stroked her cheek.
Yun Ling did indeed possess the memories from the simulator—everything he had experienced, but that was all.
Everything that happened after his death and madness was completely unknown to him.
Those were all experiences he had personally witnessed, not something he saw from a god's-eye view.
In the second simulation, after rescuing Raiden Ryoma, Yun Ling went to Schicksal to complete his deal with Otto.
Then he ended up in a mental hospital, waiting to be embraced by Cthulhu.
He knew nothing after his SAN value reached zero, only that he seemed to have survived for a while before dying.
Mei's expression froze for a second, then she grabbed Yun Ling's hand, her eyes filled with excitement.
"You..."
"I am him, but he...is not me." Yun Ling looked into Mei's eyes and slowly spoke.
"What do you mean?" Mei asked, confused.
"I experienced everything about him, but he's just a fragment of my memory, do you understand, Mei?"
Yun Ling had revealed one of his biggest secrets, but...Mei deserved it.
Mei's eyes flickered, her expression complex as she looked at Yun Ling, then she hugged him and bit his shoulder hard.
"What's this..." Yun Ling chuckled, patting her back, gently comforting her.
"This is your punishment for hiding it from me... No matter what happens, we'll face it together, okay?" Mei's voice held a hint of pleading.
She didn't want to experience the same scenario as in the second simulation again.
"I promise, that's the last time," Yun Ling nodded.
"If you lied to me... I'll stab you to death again," Mei spoke in a seemingly coquettish tone, yet her words carried a terrifying undertone.
Soon, Yun Ling felt a dampness on his shoulder; Mei was licking the bite mark he'd just suffered.
Not long after, the lightning around Mei dissipated, and she collapsed into Yun Ling's arms.
The three of them lay unconscious. Yun Ling could only lift them together and then use his sword to carry them away.
The effects of the Honkai Impact continued to expand.
It seemed that the excessive concentration of Honkai energy around her, coupled with the emotional stimulation, had caused the Conqueror's Gem within Mei to become unstable, leading to her becoming Herrscher of Thunder.
In terms of sheer power, Mei is the true Third Herrscher, while Yuna can only be considered an unexpected accompanying Herrscher, or a pseudo-Herrscher.
Although both Yuna and Mei have fainted, the dissipation of Honkai energy actually follows the second law of thermodynamics.
It is impossible to transfer heat from a low-temperature object to a high-temperature object without producing other effects; or it is impossible to completely convert heat from a single heat source into useful work without producing other effects; or the minute increase in entropy in an irreversible thermodynamic process is always greater than zero.
The process of Honkai is akin to the phenomenon of entropy increase in the universe; the greater the entropy, the more disordered the system becomes.
Currently, there is no good solution to this process other than eliminating Honkai Beasts and killing Herrschers.
However, this does not mean that achieving the above two points will restore the eruption site; it is a continuous disaster.
If a point erupts with a Honkai energy concentration exceeding 2000 HW, then the Honkai energy concentration at that point will dissipate outwards.
The spillover process gradually stops within a certain range, and within this range, the Honkai energy concentration decreases in a gradient from the initial point to the maximum distance.
The initial point is like a persistent source of pollution, extremely difficult to eliminate.
This makes rebuilding the city after a Honkai event a pipe dream.
Yun Ling led the three back home. Fortunately, the area was undamaged, though they could vaguely see many assassins along the way.
After 'cleaning up' the surroundings, Kiana woke up when they returned.
"Kiana, is anything else bothering you?" Yun Ling asked worriedly.
Yun Ling had removed most of the toxins from her body, but who knew if any remained?
"My head feels a little dizzy..." Kiana rubbed her head and shook it slightly.
"Then rest a little longer, I'll take care of things here." Yun Ling told Kiana to lie down, and then stayed on the balcony.
On the balcony, Yuna lay down, and after about two hours, she slowly woke up. The pain emanating from her body contorted her delicate face.
"Yuna," Yunling called her name from beside her.
"Yun Ling!" Yuno's face instantly lit up with joy.
"You've disappointed me." Yun Ling's expression lacked its usual playfulness, replaced by a cold indifference that kept people at a distance.
Yuna panicked instantly. She struggled to her feet, wanting to explain, but Ruoshui blocked her way.
"You were conscious, yet you still hurt Kiana and Mei."
"I…" Yuna was speechless.
At that moment, the greed and desire within her were magnified many times over.
Even if it was just a fleeting thought, the Herrscher personality seized the opportunity to manipulate her into doing such a thing.
"If you don't want to listen, then leave."
"No!" Yuna shook her head desperately, tears streaming down her face.
"Now you have the power to protect yourself. Even without me by your side, you won't be bullied. Since that's the case, there's no need for you to stay with me."
"Let's pretend we never met."
Yun Ling closed his eyes, a hint of severing ties in his expression.
He was gambling, gambling on how much he meant to Yuna, whether that longing and love could help her overcome her Herrscher personality.
Yuna was too ordinary. Before becoming a Herrscher, she was just an ordinary person.
Moreover, she was insecure and timid.
To overcome her Herrscher personality, the only thing she could rely on... was love, her love for Yun Ling.
Although Yun Ling didn't really believe in idealism, it did exist in reality.
Love could create miracles!
"Yun Ling… I was wrong, I'm sorry, please, don't send me away. I'll listen to you, please…" Yuno pleaded tearfully.
Yun Ling was the light in her life; she couldn't lose him. "...Defeat Her, and you can stay by my side. This is your last chance."
...