Although Raven had no good feelings towards the sinister and scary Gray Snake, she had to admit that the latter's intelligence capabilities were unparalleled. Therefore, as one of the cadres of World Snake, the faces that appeared in this cafe were almost all unfamiliar to her, who had the support of World Snake's pervasive intelligence system - except for the young store manager who sat behind the bar with a leisurely look on his face.
But it was precisely because she knew most of the people in this cafe that after taking a look around the cafe, Raven felt as if thousands of alpacas were running wildly in her heart.
She clearly remembered that she had been enjoying herself in paradise not long ago, but she never expected that after just a short sleep, the world seemed to have changed completely.
Not only did most of the heroes in Paradise inexplicably appear in the lobby of Paradise, but the famous "Second" who had never appeared in front of her before, also changed into a maid outfit that shattered her worldview early the next morning, and dragged Eden, who had a helpless look on her face, straight to her who was sitting in the lounge leisurely, and then without saying a word, he dragged her, who had a confused look on her face, into the door floating in the air.
As a result, after dragging herself into the door, the "second one" in a maid outfit left her and Eden aside without a care in the world and started chatting with the people in the cafe.
After calming down, Raven finally had the chance to take a closer look around the cafe, and then... then she felt numb all of a sudden.
Theresa, the commander of the Far East branch?
The Herrscher of the Void... No, Kiana is now the Herrscher of Fire?
And... there are several heroes named Hua from the Inscription of Floating Life?
That's the current Herrscher of Reason, Bronya, right? Why are the two doctors of Anti-Entropy here too?
Those two unfamiliar little girls, are they the Stigma Awakeners that the Lord met in the Quantum Sea? ?
What's going on?
The people of Destiny and Anti-Entropy joined forces to attack? And they completely bypassed the strict surveillance of the World Serpent and fought all the way to the Paradise? What does Gray Snake do for a living? !
So what should she do?
In order to protect the safety of the World Snake, we have to fight to the death with these destiny guys?
Can you win?
Chapter 4: Violence is the most effective means of communication (k)
After quietly weighing the difference in power between the two sides in his heart, Raven remained silent for a very long time.
It would be a blow whether he stuck his head out or not. It would be better to explode in silence than to perish in silence. However, the slightly weird atmosphere in the coffee shop, which was completely free of fighting spirit and hostility, did not make Raven suddenly attack on the spot. Instead, he spoke timidly in a tentative tone in a brief gap.
Contrary to Raven's expectations, after hearing her cautious question, those Fate Guys just glanced at her casually and then nonchalantly shifted their gaze to the distance, as if they had not noticed her identity as a World Serpent cadre at all. The one who reacted most violently was a little girl who was busy in the door curtain behind the bar - she looked exactly like the Herrscher of Reason, Bronya.
She was wearing a plain work outfit, with silver-gray hair tied into a bun at the back of her head, and a ponytail casually hanging down from the bun to the back of her neck, looking neat and capable. When the little girl who looked very similar to Bronya suddenly lifted the door curtain of the kitchen with a nervous look on her face, Bronya, who had visited the cafe with Theresa, and the raven who had just spoken were both stunned for different reasons.
It goes without saying why Bronya was stunned. After all, even if she was mentally prepared, she would still feel surprised to suddenly see someone who looked exactly like her. The reason why Raven was stunned was because of the work clothes that the little girl was wearing.
Although the color was slightly different, the style of the overalls was exactly the same as the uniforms she wore at the bar she ran outside, Raven's.
Because Raven's financial resources don't rely much on Raven's sales, the bar is closed most of the time, especially now that she has rehired World Serpent. The only time Raven's has been open this year is probably the few days when she and Mei Raiden visited the seaside city due to missions.
Naturally, it is impossible for any clerk to apply for a job in a store that is only open for a few days throughout the year. So although Raven did prepare a few sets of spare employee uniforms for his bar, those uniforms are still piled up at the bottom of the warehouse, and no one knows whether they have been secretly gnawed by passing rats.
Seeing that uniform, which had probably never been worn by anyone else, appear on a child who looked so much like Bronya, was truly a novel experience for Raven.
"Xi, Xiola? Why are you here in the store? Why didn't you tell me before you came!?"
At this moment, the words blurted out by the little girl in simple work clothes made Raven's expression suddenly fall into a state of confusion as if he was completely out of his situation.
Theresa, who was sitting at the bar, turned her head subconsciously and looked at Bronya, who also had a bewildered look on her face. Alicia's eyes lit up obviously, and her beautiful pink eyes were filled with surprise, as if she had suddenly seen an Easter egg while playing a game.
After a brief moment of confusion, Raven couldn't help but look at the panicked little girl with some surprise. As the director of an orphanage in a sense, she was familiar with the other's expression, as if she had gotten into trouble and been caught by her elders - but logically speaking, this kind of expression should never be seen on "Bronya", right?
What's wrong with this little girl?
"Little girl, are we familiar with each other?"
"What do you mean by familiar or not? We are not——"
The words stopped abruptly.
The little girl blinked her eyes, and let out a long sigh as if she suddenly realized something. Her arms drooped as if they were completely exhausted. "What? You're not Xiola. Damn it. Don't scare me all of a sudden..."
"What are you talking about? My name is Xiora."
"Yes, yes, you are Xiora." The little girl in work clothes waved her hands. Her panicked face immediately turned into a fearless expression like a female ghost after she fully understood the current situation. "Sir, are you going to drink something in this cafe?"
"...Your arrogant expression makes me feel uncomfortable." Raven narrowed his eyes slightly and crossed his arms. "Do all the employees in your store have this kind of service attitude?"
"What attitude? I'm just a bartender, not a waiter. I just need to provide customers with high-quality drinks at the bar and the cocktail counter." The little girl turned her face to the side and looked at the raven with slightly narrowed eyes with a look of contempt. "Or are you going to interfere with the job arrangement of this cafe? It's better for you to stay out of other people's business."
"Oh, as long as we provide customers with quality drinks at the bar and cocktail counter... You are quite confident, little girl." Raven suddenly lifted his hood, and under the strange looks of the people in the hall, he threw aside the black cloak draped behind him, revealing the mechanical armor and tight combat suit covered with straps.
She twisted her wrist and said in an eager tone, "Since you are so confident, you must understand that if you can't do what you say, then it's just empty talk, right?"
For some reason, even though she had already confirmed that the other party was not the adoptive mother who adopted her, after seeing Raven's eagerness to fight, the little girl in work clothes couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
Of course, with her competitive personality, it was obviously unrealistic to back down here, so she could only stiffen her neck and ask in a somewhat stiff tone:
"……what do you want?"
"It's very simple. Since you believe that a bartender's duty is only to satisfy the needs of customers, then as a customer, I am certainly qualified to taste the drinks you make, right?" said the Raven.
"Then?"
"Then, unfortunately, due to some force majeure, I seem to have to find a way to win the position of bartender in your store." Raven strode to the bar, lowered his head slightly, and smiled at the young face of the store manager: "This store manager... should be able to have a better bartender in his own store, right?"
The little girl in overalls was shocked: "Hey! Xiola, you——!"
"Why, after saying that, this little girl - no, this bartender lady, shouldn't mind competing head-on with others in terms of beverage mixing skills, right?" Raven turned his head to the side, with a teasing and contemptuous smile, "Or does this bartender lady, who thinks she can be fine as long as she provides customers with high-quality drinks at the bar and the cocktail counter, not even have the confidence to beat a customer who accidentally stepped into the store?"
The little girl in work clothes suddenly looked gloomy. "Tsk, I'm really being looked down upon... Store Manager!!"
"Okay, okay, I heard it." The store manager looked at Raven and Brownie with strange eyes respectively, and shook his head helplessly in his heart. He thought to himself that they were obviously not from the same world, so how on earth could these two accurately detonate each other's powder kegs the first time they met?
Is this the mother-daughter relationship that transcends time and space?
"You can use the bar as you like. As for the winner—" the store manager looked around the hall, "—customers, are you interested in staying in my store for a while? Help judge these two girls. Of course, as a reward, I will waive all your bills today."
"Yes, yes, yes! I want to be it!" Alicia was the first to raise her hand, her face filled with ecstasy of "Wahahahaha, it's fun to watch again."
Eden looked at Alicia lovingly and smiled indifferently: "Then I'll wait with Ali for my business."
The two Herrschers of Knowledge from different time and space put their hands on their hips at the same time and spoke in unison: "Ha! How can such a lively event be complete without the great Herrscher of Knowledge? The judge, right? I won't show mercy to anyone!"
Others also expressed their wishes in their own ways: "It's fun to watch? How can I be left out?"
The fire was rising. Raven and Brownie stood on the left and right of the bartender, staring at each other. Their eyes full of fighting intent crossed each other in the air, rubbed against each other, and sparks flew.
At the same time, in the middle of 2017, in the world where the Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei, is located—
——In the unvisited base of the World Serpent, the air was silent as if it was frozen. On the cold throne, Kevin's posture of resting one hand on his knee and the other on the handle remained unchanged forever.
The rude sitting posture made him look like a statue with a very bad sitting posture.
The concept of time seems to be blurred in this silent atmosphere.
At a certain moment, the slight friction of clothes broke the suffocating silence, and the statue with a very bad sitting posture suddenly came to life. He stood up from the throne, and a trace of extremely subtle confusion flashed in his pair of ice-blue eyes that showed no emotion at all.
He stood there for a long time, as if hesitating about something. After a long while, a sigh with some ice chips suddenly came out of his mouth.
Then, he moved his body towards the depths of the World Serpent's base and walked forward with big strides.
In the same world, outside the anti-entropy salt lake base——
In the dark alley, the Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei, leaned against the wall with her arms folded over her chest, her fingers tapping rhythmically between her wrists.
There is a time difference of about half a day between the salt lake base of Anti-Entropy and the base of World Serpent. After driving Kurikara all the way to a place not far from the salt lake base, it was almost dusk.
The wind was very strong, and I don't know if it was affected by Kurikara, but the sky was clear when they came. When the Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei, arrived at her destination, the dark clouds that appeared out of nowhere in the sky covered the entire area, and a drizzle fell, gently wetting her ponytail that hung down to her back.
"..."
She silently counted the time she had been waiting since she arrived here, and couldn't help but sigh softly. This place was less than a thousand meters away from the salt lake base of Anti-Entropy. If she used the power of the sky, as long as her position could be locked, Kiana would appear in front of her in less than half a second.
But since she sent the message to Kiana that she had arrived nearby, more than half an hour had passed, and there was no sign of Kiana appearing at all.
After encountering the Herrscher of the Thousand and the Herrscher of Constraint, both Anti-Entropy and Destiny had entered the highest level of martial law. Although in the impression of Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei, Kiana was still a lazy dog who could sleep twelve hours a day whenever she was in class, but at this stage when the fight against the Honkai is nearing the end, no matter how unreliable it is, Kiana should have been mentally prepared to accept orders from Theresa and the others at any time.
As long as nothing unexpected happens, her communicator will be available 24 hours a day.
Now, the Herrscher of Corrosion has been caught by the store manager. By handing the Herrscher of Corrosion over to the manager who can almost be regarded as a Ding○cat, the Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei, can be said to be relieved. On the other hand, as long as the Thirteenth Herrscher and the Herrscher of the End of this era have not descended, then, in this world, there will be nothing that can put Kiana, who has already achieved the form of Fire and Flame, into danger.
——Well, if we leave aside the world snakes.
"Really..."
Thinking of this, the Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei, couldn't help but rub her aching forehead and suddenly spoke in a joking tone:
"…Should I be happy that Kiana has finally matured to the point where she knows how to doubt others…or should I be heartbroken that I have become the one being suspected?"
Just as he finished speaking, two figures, one tall and one short, suddenly appeared at both ends of the alley. The tall one was holding a flaming sword, and the short one had a huge robot floating behind him.
At the same time, on the top floor of the building where the Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei, was leaning against and on the opposite side of it, several figures with different postures appeared at the same time.
Yulandel, Rita Rossweisse, Li Sushang, and even Fu Hua and Theresa... In addition to all the S-class Valkyries of Destiny and the two Herrschers who were the frontline fighters, there were sirens outside the alley, anti-entropy mechas were deployed at every intersection, and countless drones were flying in the sky. Together, they set up a net without any gaps and completely surrounded the Herrscher of Thunder, Raiden Mei, who was leaning against the dark alley with her back.
Chapter 4: The Riddler is finally defeated by the Riddler (k)
At the end of the alley, the flaming sword emitting a bright flame illuminated the ranger in white light armor, and his flame-colored cloak fluttered slightly in the drizzle.
After hearing the teasing words of the Herrscher of Thunder, Mei, a look of guilt and embarrassment flashed across the chubby face of the Ranger. But at this moment, a voice without any emotion suddenly sounded from the other end of the alley: "Kiana, don't be shaken by her words. Don't forget that Mei is now a member of the World Serpent."
The person who spoke was a petite figure with a huge mecha floating behind him.
"Before you are sure of Mei's true intentions, don't let your guard down because of past friendship - especially now that she has thrown out the information about Himeko-sensei as a bargaining chip."
At the other end of the alley, Bronya, suspended in midair, stretched out one hand in the direction of the Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei. Her pair of emotionless silver-gray eyes were filled with regret, yet also with determination:
"We just faced the man who tried to complete the act of 'resurrection'. You and I both know that the dead cannot be revived. The cost of forcibly reversing life and death is something that no one in this world can afford."
"...I know." Kiana, the Herrscher of the Fire, sighed and calmly suppressed the guilt that was rising in her chest.
She raised the sword in her hand, and the flaming blade drew a smooth arc in the air. A strong fighting spirit bloomed from her pupils engraved with diamond patterns: "I'm sorry, Mei, I couldn't fulfill your request."
"Given the relationship between us, you don't need to apologize to me. Rather, I am very happy for Kiana to see that you have finally learned to draw on the strength and wisdom of your companions instead of choosing to suppress everything in your heart and handle it all by yourself when you encounter problems."
In the drizzle, the Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei, leaned against the rough wall with her eyelids lowered. The tone of her voice was as soft and gentle as if she had returned to the days of St. Freya's Academy. The expression on her face was no longer as cold as when she had just left Kiana. The slightly upturned corners of her mouth showed a happy arc in the sight of everyone.
Although she was alone in facing the joint encirclement of Destiny and Anti-Entropy, the Herrscher of Lightning, Mei Raiden, did not show any nervousness at all, and she didn't even have much fighting spirit. This made the Herrscher of Fire, Kiana and the others who were on high alert feel a little unreal. But having said that, they still didn't dare to show any carelessness towards the sudden abnormal behavior of their former partner.
"Don't let Mei drag it down any longer, Kiana. She is alone now. No matter what the World Snake's purpose is, or whether Mei has been bewitched by it, as long as we bring her back, all the truth will come to light."
A childish voice was heard from the top of the floor. The Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei, raised her head slightly. Amidst the dull sounds of breaking through the air, all the front-line fighters who surrounded her fell around her one after another like falling rain.
Theresa's palms were filled with several thin blue dart blades. Her young face was full of seriousness. "Give up resistance, Mei. You should know that no one wants to be your enemy."
"... There's absolutely nothing to discuss?" Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei, asked tentatively, "I just want to borrow Kiana back to the World Serpent for a while, and as for the reason, I'm sure everyone should have seen it from Kiana's communicator, right?"
"Of course I saw it." Directly opposite Theresa, Yulandel, who had also surrounded the Herrscher of Thunder, Raiden Mei, with other frontline fighters, said in a steady voice, "In your World Snake base, a cafe that can connect different time and space appeared. By chance, the people in that cafe found the unconscious body of Senior Himeko, so you need to let Kiana, who has merged with the Plague Gem, return to the World Snake alone with you, so that the fragment of Senior Himeko's consciousness that remains in the Herrscher core can return to her own body - that's what you said in the message you sent to Kiana, right?"
"Let's not talk about whether these ridiculous statements are true or false. If Ms. Himeko's body was really found by the so-called 'store manager', why are you so persistent in wanting Ms. Kiana to follow you alone to the World Serpent? Bringing Ms. Himeko's body directly to everyone seems to be a more convincing approach, right?" Rita narrowed her eyes slightly, and the drizzle around her condensed into mist-like ice crystals under the low temperature emitted by the pale blue sickle. "Even if Ms. Himeko's body is not easy to move, you can choose to invite everyone to follow Ms. Kiana to the World Serpent base, right?"
"After all, everyone here is very curious about where the World Serpent's base is located~"
Doubt, coercion, hostility, distrust, and a little bit of guilt... Amidst all those thorny gazes and words, the Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei, raised her palms, slightly spread her five fingers to support her forehead, and a helpless sigh came from her mouth.
"As expected... rather than frankly telling the truth that no one would believe, it would be more effective to use the most direct means to forcibly bring Kiana back... right?"
"It has come to this, how dare you say such things in front of everyone?"
As soon as the childish voice with anger fell, the thin blue dart blade was shot out at a swift speed, aiming at the hands, feet and shoulders of the Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei.
Although she felt deep down resistance and pain about "attacking her own students" in her heart, Theresa was also very clear that compared to her, Kiana and Bronya, who had been with Raiden Mei for several years, would feel worse at this moment.
Mei Raiden is the captain and senior who once risked her life for them, and is also a partner that the two of them trust from the bottom of their hearts. For Kiana and Bronya, it is undoubtedly painful to go against their former companions with swords. As their current leader and elder, all Theresa can do is to prevent the two of them from facing Mei Raiden in person as much as possible.
In this way, their guilt and grief can be alleviated to some extent.
Therefore, the moment Raiden Mei's arrogant words fell, Theresa attacked her former student without hesitation.
Of course, considering the difference in combat power between the two sides, Theresa, who attacked Raiden Mei with lightning speed, was not prepared to kill the other party.
As long as Mei Raiden is still alive when she is dragged back, the rest can be left to Tianming Medical Technology and Heiyuan Baihua.
Theresa's speed of action was not slow. As a legal lolita in her 50s, although her brain was somewhat problematic, her combat skills were very high.
——However, facing the Herrscher of Thunder who was known for his "super speed", this speed was still as slow as a turtle.
In less than a millisecond, an invisible airflow that was almost like an explosion suddenly spread out with Raiden Mei's body as the center point, and the blue dart blade suspended in the air immediately escaped from Theresa's control.
Theresa's pupils shrank slightly, and she said in a lost voice: "The power of the Herrscher of the Wind? How is it possible?! Aren't the Gem of Desire and the Key of the Fourth God still under the control of Destiny?!"
Yulandel's face was solemn. The moment Theresa lost her voice, she rushed towards Raiden Mei's body without hesitation, and the pitch-black aurora quickly condensed in her palm.
"break--!!"
The power of Tianyuan was vented out without reservation in the roar that was as steady as a rock. Although the essence of those air currents was ideal fluid, which should have been able to easily repel all the "force" directed at Raiden Mei, those ideal fluids themselves were still condensed by Honkai energy, and were easily dispersed by the power of Tianyuan that could treat Honkai energy as nothing.
