Completely different from the painted monsters she had dealt with before, this attack was incredibly cunning.
Fortunately, Mei reacted quickly, twisting her body the instant she sensed the danger. The next second, a tentacle-like black shadow grazed past her hair, smashing the easel beside her into splinters with a loud crash.
Before she could fully react, another attack came.
This time, however, without the element of surprise, Mei was much more composed. She drew her blade smoothly, the arcing lightning like a silver serpent easily blocking the black claw. Then, a surge of current rushed towards her attacker.
A pained grunt sounded, and smoke quickly rose from the claw. But her opponent reacted swiftly, decisively pulling back just before being completely paralyzed. With that, however, the situation was firmly under Mei's control.
To her surprise, the attacker wasn't one of the monsters she'd seen earlier, but a green-haired young man. He wore a hoodie, now tattered and torn.
His right hand had transformed into a claw, still trembling from Mei's electric shock. Most startlingly, four black horns adorned his head.
"Flame-Chaser... or monster?"
To be safe, Mei asked first. But the young man opposite her remained silent, as if unable to speak. The moment his claw regained mobility, he attacked again.
"Seems like you can't talk." Shaking her head slightly, Mei swung her blade fiercely, blocking the attack once more. This time, however, her opponent had clearly learned his lesson. Seeing his attack fail, he immediately retreated, giving her no chance to discharge electricity.
In the ensuing fight, the young man was clearly wary of her abilities, his attacks mere fleeting touches before disengaging. After more than a dozen exchanges, Mei was certain he possessed intelligence. Unlike the painted world monsters, his movements had a distinct style. More importantly, he was strong.
At Mei's current level, ordinary Honkai Beasts, even with enhanced stats, weren't difficult to handle. But fighting this young man, she felt distinct pressure. This pressure wasn't from raw power, but from combat experience. She could sense that although some of his techniques were still unrefined, his overall combat skill was that of a competent warrior.
Could he really be a Flame-Chaser? Doubt surfaced again. But no matter how she probed, the young man remained silent. The only discernible thing was that he seemed to intentionally, yet subtly, position himself in front of Griseo.
Surely he's not like some summoned beast silently protecting a beautiful girl from a fantasy novel. The thought flashed through her mind. Mei's gaze swept again towards Griseo at the end of the studio. The girl lay quietly on the drawing board, a faint trace of pain visible between her brows.
If Mei wasn't mistaken, this girl was indeed connected to the painted world earlier—likely the Griseo Klein had mentioned. However, with the painted world so severely corrupted, Griseo's current condition didn't look optimistic. Mei needed to get her out immediately.
As for this young man... Mei frowned, her eyes fixed on him. He had attacked her on sight, refused to answer questions, and his motives were unclear. If he was protecting Griseo, he shouldn't linger here. But if not, why constantly block her path?
She quickly made a decision. Since he refused to communicate, she would subdue him first. After all, Elysia herself had warned that even Flame-Chasers might betray; incapacitating him seemed the most efficient approach.
With this thought, Mei held back no longer. Her Herrscher authority surged forth, quickly tearing through his defenses. After a violent clap of thunder, the young man, scorched black, slowly collapsed.
Mei glanced at him briefly before stepping past his fallen form. She approached Griseo and checked her condition. Her guess was correct: the girl was in bad shape.
The Elysian Realm was a space formed by cognition; the destruction of the painted world had inevitably caused backlash to its creator. Moreover, the painted world hadn't just been destroyed but corrupted by a peculiar energy, an erosion that could even invade retroactively through the mental domain.
"Need to get her out first," Mei sighed, carefully lifting Griseo into her arms.
Closer now, she noticed the girl bore a striking resemblance to a deceased member documented in The Obsidian Concord's database. However, the girl in the records had blue highlights, while Griseo's hair was pure blue. She gently lifted Griseo's clothing but found no trace of The Obsidian Concord's mark.
"Just a coincidence, it seems."
Mei was unaware that her actions were being watched intently by the boy on the floor. Though he should have been incapacitated, he was now biting his lip, eyes filled with fury.
"Klein, I found a little girl..." Just as Mei started reporting to Klein, an even colder aura surged through the studio. She turned to see the fallen young man staggering back to his feet.
"Give... Griseo... back... to me!" halting words tumbled from the boy's mouth.
Mei raised an eyebrow. "So you can talk."
"Put her down!" The boy's voice sounded strained, as if suppressing something immense. "Blade-wielding monster... get out of here!"
"Blade?" Mei quickly recalled the sword marks in the previous training ground area. Those were clearly left by Sakura. Had Sakura attacked this place too?
Before she could ponder further, the boy lost control. His body rapidly expanded, the four horns extending upwards, and both his arms transformed completely into Honkai Beast claws. This state was familiar; she had seen Mobius use it before.
Artificial Cascade... This boy really is a Flame-Chaser? Now she finally understood the source of the chilling aura from his earlier attacks—it was clearly a horrifying tentacle. And judging by his mental state, he had obviously been in a semi-cascaded state from the beginning.
"No wonder you weren't talking. This place was attacked earlier." Based on the current situation, she quickly deduced that Griseo had been attacked before her arrival, and the boy's semi-cascaded state was a result of fighting the previous enemy.
Though she had answers, the battle demanded her full attention. The fully cascaded boy's combat power surged dramatically; even Mei found him difficult to handle, especially while carrying Griseo, which hampered her movements.
A moment's carelessness, and a tentacle lashed out from behind, striking her heavily in the back. Mei grunted, nearly dropping Griseo as she stumbled. The blow ignited her own anger. Holding Griseo with one arm, Mei's eyes turned icy. "You want to protect this girl? Why don't you look at what you're protecting?"
The incoming tentacle paused abruptly, retracting swiftly as if touching burning coals. It was clear that even in his cascaded state, the boy didn't want to harm Griseo.
Mei wasted no more words. Seizing the opportunity while he was hesitant, she counterattacked fiercely with her blade. It seemed he had mistaken her for an enemy. Fine. She couldn't be bothered wasting time; might as well bundle both of them up and take them back together.
"Mei, the person you're fighting appears to be Kosma. He's also one of the Flame-Chasers. Please show some restraint."
"Sorry, your warning came a little too late," Mei retorted wryly, looking down at Kosma, now reverted to his original form on the ground.