[A/N: Mfs really be doing "everything" but save a world.]
[TL/N: Same mfs complaining is the same mfs that wrote ts.]
"Third Herrscher!?"
Why is she here... "Wait, don't tell me-those people...!" But then, why hadn't there been any signs until now? How had Raiden Mei and the others bypassed the scanner?
No, what even was going on?
CHINK-!
Mei's hand was now resting over the hilt of her katana, her eyes cold and distant, carrying every emotion and suffering she'd gone through up to this point.
And just as her grip tightened, SHACK-!
A hand stopped her. Lux. He shook his head slowly, and Mei turned to face him. Even then, her lips trembled.
"Laurel would be sad if you did this. He wouldn't want it. Not from you. He cares about you a lot. Luminous and I feel the same."
He lowered his hand afterward, casting a glance at Cocolia who had already drawn a gun from the strap at her side-but a flash of lightning danced through the air, knocking it from her grip before she could fire.
"Ms. Cocolia, resistance is futile. Please surrender yourself."
Lux drew Bahamut's Blade, the weapon appearing from thin air.
He pointed it toward her from inside the car. Luminous had already sealed this area off beforehand, and subtle misdirection had guided everything to this moment.
This was the plan.
"...Fine."
Cocolia clenched her teeth and stepped out of the car. Through it all, Mei remained silent, her eyes cold as ice. The only thing holding her back were the memories.
The pain. Her loneliness. Her father. And... them. They would all be disappointed. Her father most of all. So instead, she quietly looked away, attempting to steady herself.
"You... who are you?"
Cocolia was now restrained by Lux, though the only thing actually holding her in place was the sword hovering by her throat.
Lux raised a brow before letting out a small chuckle. Since Laurel liked doing this sort of thing to him, he figured it was time to return the favor.
"You may refer to me as... Knight. Yes. Just Knight. Unfortunately, you've offended the Queen. And now, the ones who will judge you are the King... and his other Queen."
The knightly tone he used made him cringe inside, but he pushed through. Laurel really was rubbing off on him, and not really in the good way, but he doesn't dislike it either.
Cocolia, for a moment, didn't understand. But recalling the attack on ME Corp, she pieced it together-the two who infiltrated were...
'...Haha...'
So in the end, she'd fallen into their trap. But if anything, it was clear these people weren't mindless killers. Lux had only knocked out her driver. That likely meant she would live.
If she pleaded to the King, then-
"Mm. He's here."
As Lux said this, Cocolia turned to see them-the man and woman she'd seen earlier through the ME Corp security feeds.
Mei looked torn between feelings, and Luminous moved to support her, gently embracing the Thunder Queen, who didn't resist.
Despite her strength, Mei still had a kind heart. Especially now-faced with the very woman responsible for everything that tore her family apart.
"In the end, we got you. Anything to say?"
"...No."
Cocolia simply shook her head. What could she possibly say to four monsters like this?
Looking at Mei, she assumed the girl had already awakened-but something about her didn't feel like Honkai. Not entirely.
And the silver-haired woman... she was clearly the strongest here. But the most dangerous one wasn't her. The most dangerous one was the male in front of her-
"So, you're the King, huh? Then tell me, Your Majesty... what is my punishment? Execution? Torture?"
Her voice held no reverence. If anything, it dripped with sarcasm. And hearing this only made him frown. Thus, Lux pressed the tip of his blade in a little deeper.
"I thought about that. But honestly, what's the point? There's a much better use for you."
Cocolia's eyes widened slightly, and honestly anyone would be curious to hear what came next. After all, wouldn't exacting retribution that causes equal misery be one objective of vengeance?
"A chip. A bargaining chip. To meet who, you ask? Who else but the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy-Welt Yang."
"No way!!!!!!"
Cocolia was momentarily dumbfounded, her mind scrambling to piece everything together, yet no matter how hard she tried, none of it made sense.
"But-wasn't the Lord declared missing?"
Yes. He had been declared missing, which was why she intended to use that absence to claim the vacant throne.
It wasn't until Lux spoke about "them" that she began to suspect-they weren't from Anti-Entropy Headquarters at all.
Then where? Definitely not Schicksal. So, were they from some long-hidden Anti-Honkai organization?
"At least, that's what the official records would say, right?"
"Heh! Even if that's true, do you think he'd be willing to come to the table just because I'm the bait?"
"You're not exactly valuable. You're just bait to draw him in. We have the necessary means to contact him, but never wanted too. But if it's for Mei, then why not?"
The audacity! She would've yelled, but in her current state, with a knight's blade at her throat, she had no room to protest.
Sure, they could storm a prison and free Ryoma-but what then?
Doing so would instantly alert all three major Anti-Honkai factions, and neither Mei nor Ryoma would be safe anymore.
So then, what was the real solution?
Simple. Get the superior to the table, resolve things diplomatically. And more importantly, offer Anti-Entropy a proposition-to officially hire Mei and work together.
That way, she'd be protected.
And Lux was confident that scientists like Einstein and Tesla would benefit greatly from studying the energy Mei carried-something far beyond Honkai. "Negentropy."
Capturing Cocolia was just an added incentive. With this, he could slowly piece everything together. Despite the change timeline.
Things could still be aligned to produce a desired outcome.
And this was also one of the skills of [Singularity]. The ability to reach a desired outcome despite being cut off from the fate of the world.
"...So, you know where he is?"
"Naturally."
Laurel's words were confident. Meanwhile, Luminous scoffed quietly, then vanished without another word.
There was no need to search blindly. After spending hours here, Luminous had long since attuned herself to the frequency of Honkai energy around.
She could sense it now. And that's exactly what she followed-targeting the nearest source of Honkai energy from their location.
Soaring above the clouds, she focused. Within seconds, her senses latched onto various Honkai signatures, no matter how faint, her [Magic Sense] could perceive them all.
Additionally, Laurel had told her to focus on the Far East. But this was Luminous. She went beyond that. She scanned everything, not just the island, but the world.
In doing so, she also noticed something peculiar. A few beings had sensed her gaze.
Or rather, it was more like they felt a creeping instinct, as if something was watching them which brought a smile to her face, to say the least.
Saint Freya.
No maps marked its location. Located on a reclaimed island in the Far East, which was given to Theresa by Schicksal Overseer Otto Apocalypse.
Thanks to its location, it is also referred to as the "Far East Branch" of Schicksal.
Its structure was more grandiose, boasting several massive facilities and towering megastructures. Numerous dormitories and bulidings filled the grounds, making it feel more like a university than anything else.
Inside a certain Lecture Hall.
At the front of the class stood a brunette haired man with matching brown eyes.
Elias Joffrey.
He wore the name like he wore his disguise: comfortably, convincingly. His features were softened by age, but his presence was unmistakably composed.
Today, he wore a dark high-collared coat, sleeves neatly cuffed, no insignia. His voice, when he spoke, was measured.
"Historians, tend to romanticize the Collapse. Secondly," he continued, adjusting the projection behind him with a twitch of his finger, "was assuming it had a beginning."
The newly accepted valkyrie's looked hyped to learn more about Honkai and its history, to which he was more than willing to teach them about.
And the students on their part were listening closely which he was quite satisfied with.
Then, he paused. It was subtle. A hesitation in breath. His fingers stilled mid-gesture. "Elias's" eyes drifted toward the far window. Not sharply. Not dramatically. But drawn there.
Something had changed in the room. Or perhaps not the room itself, but him. He felt it. A gaze, more so, seemed to be targeted at him, watching him, which puzzled him.
"Elias's" brow furrowed slightly. He didn't turn his head further, nor did he speak. He merely seemed to listen.
Oddly, the gaze wasn't threatening; it simply lingered, as though waiting.
A message?
No words were spoken. And yet, he seemed to understand. His lips thinned. He adjusted his stance, casually glancing down at the time.
"Class is dismissed," he said.
There was a beat of stunned silence. Some students blinked, confused. A few murmured. No one dared question him.
He gathered his materials calmly, already moving toward the exit as the room began to buzz behind him.