The moment Murata Himeko landed on the ground, she felt the gaze of those purple eyes. Cold and indifferent, they were indeed the eyes of a world-destroying Herrscher. Yet, the way the girl stood there, seemingly protecting Kiana Kaslana, made it difficult for Himeko to reconcile her with the image of a monster.
Fearing that provoking the 3rd Herrscher might lead to Kiana who was far too close for comfort getting hurt, Himeko chose to approach Hua Yi instead.
"You..."
Originally, Himeko wanted to ask how a boy who had been a mere high schooler at Tachikawa Academy just days ago possessed such power. However, she realized there was no time for idle chatter with the 3rd Herrscher standing right there. After helping Hua Yi clear away the few remaining members of the Deadwalker army, she glanced at the distant figure and whispered her inquiry.
"What is going on with that Herrscher? And why is Kiana over there?"
"Kiana was knocked unconscious by the shockwave when Raiden Mei awakened as a Herrscher. Raiden Mei is the person you call the 3rd Herrscher. We are friends."
"Friends? She isn't your friend anymore. She is a Herrscher, and a Herrscher is—"
"—An Apostle of the Honkai, a disaster that will destroy the world. Is that what you were going to say?"
Hua Yi looked at Himeko, who was standing right in front of him, and continued.
"Raiden Mei currently possesses two personalities. One is her usual self a kind girl who, despite losing her mother early, having her father imprisoned, and being isolated by her peers and teachers, still treats everyone with gentleness. The other is the Herrscher personality, but it has inherited the memories and most of the emotions of the original. So, please, do not treat her as a world-destroying disaster."
Looking at the serious expression on Hua Yi's face as he spoke, Himeko gradually began to frown.
"You... you couldn't possibly be asking me to ignore this Herrscher, could you? You want to protect her?"
"Yes."
Hua Yi's blunt confirmation caused Himeko to instinctively pull back, training her weapon on him with a look of extreme caution.
As a Valkyrie, Murata Himeko knew all too well the catastrophes the Honkai had brought upon the world. And the Herrschers... although she had never faced one in person before, her training as a Valkyrie had involved endless files and countless words describing their horror.
They were the terminators of human civilization, the ultimate weapons of the Honkai.
And now, Hua Yi wanted to protect one?
Himeko almost laughed out of sheer anger. "Do you even know what you're saying?"
"I know. I know perfectly well. Furthermore, I believe my phrasing earlier might have been a bit too polite. I am not negotiating with you, Miss Himeko; I am making a demand."
"On what grounds?"
Himeko laughed, a sound filled with fury at Hua Yi's arrogant and disrespectful request.
Hua Yi turned his back to her, gazing out at the street. If the Honkai Beasts and Deadwalkers didn't dissipate into dust upon death, the area would be piled high with corpses.
Even now, the wreckage of several Titans littered the path. The asphalt had been churned up as if by a thousand plows, and the stone tiles on the sidewalks were shattered. The air was thick with the scent of the apocalypse. This was a ruin, a city of the dead.
"Miss Himeko, do you know what kind of role you are playing right now?"
"?"
"You are the character who arrives late after a massive Honkai eruption, assuming a posture of superiority to handle everything. You barely contributed anything to the fight, did you? Or do you think eliminating those dozen or so Deadwalkers just now counts as some grand achievement?"
"..."
Stunned, Himeko's face froze, unable to find a response. Hua Yi didn't wait for one.
"If you think that was a great feat, then what does that make me? I've wiped out hundreds, thousands of Deadwalkers. There were over a dozen giant Honkai Beasts and several Titans in that army alone. Beyond that, while acting as a member of the Defense Force on the outskirts of Nagazora, I killed over a hundred more giant Honkai Beasts."
"What?!"
Facing Himeko's shock, Hua Yi closed his eyes.
"The Defense Force... they were just ordinary people. For normal humans using conventional weapons to try and stop Honkai Beasts tens of meters tall is nothing short of a suicide mission.
They went anyway, driven by a resolve to die, just to delay the invasion from the ground zero of the eruption. They didn't expect to survive, and they didn't expect backup. I couldn't save them in the way they deserved, but I tried my best."
"..."
"I was the only one who came to support them. I fought so the Defense Force could live, I fought to kill the beasts so the citizens of Nagazora could evacuate safely. You've probably already tallied the number of survivors from this city, haven't you? Do you honestly think that was your doing?"
"..."
"I made a promise to Raiden Mei, your 3rd Herrscher, and I am working to fulfill it. She chose to trust me. From the moment she awakened until now, she has not harmed a single soul. Even that pillar of lightning earlier was aimed solely at a Honkai Beast. Is that not enough?"
Himeko remained silent for a long time, looking at Hua Yi and then at the expressionless 3rd Herrscher in the distance. Finally, she spoke.
"However, this massive Honkai eruption has indeed caused heavy casualties and unimaginable economic loss."
"The Honkai is simply like that. You seem intent on pinning the blame on Raiden Mei. But the Honkai erupts first, and then it selects a Herrscher. As a Valkyrie, do you not even have that basic common sense? The fact that a kind person like Raiden Mei became the Herrscher this time is actually the best news we could have received in this disaster."
There were other circumstances surrounding Mei's transformation that Hua Yi didn't mention, but the conclusion remained the same. Even taking those hidden factors into account, Raiden Mei could never be defined as a sinner; she had always been a victim.
Reason told Himeko she should refute him, but her emotions held her back. In truth, she didn't even know how to begin a rebuttal.
"You've certainly left me speechless, Hua Yi. Unfortunately, I am not the one truly in charge here. I will contact St. Freya Academy and inform the Overseer of the Far East—Theresa Apocalypse. You've met her before. If you want to fight for that girl, you'll have to take it up with Principal Theresa."
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