She narrowed her eyes, and scanned everyone in the hall one by one. She then focused on the little girl who was eating... the one who was suspected to be the young form of Alicia. Finally, she fixed her gaze on "herself" in front of her and said, "You..."
The words I wanted to say were suddenly choked.
The Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei, looked at her outfit speechlessly: "...Why are you wearing this?"
Mei Raiden remained calm, with a formal smile on her face, and waved gently at the door: "This is our work clothes. I'm sorry if you feel uncomfortable. If you really can't stand it, you can leave on your own."
"Work clothes?" Herrscher of Thunder, Raiden Mei chewed on the words for a moment, then chuckled and put one hand on her waist. "Why don't I remember working in a strange store?"
"Is this an illusion of memory? Let me guess... Given Su's personality, he wouldn't play such a bad joke on me. Alicia doesn't have the ability to create an illusion... So, by the process of elimination..."
The Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei, had completely understood. She raised her neck, and the corner of her mouth curved like a dragon king, as if she had everything under control:
"I never thought that the legendary 'third person' would have the ability to peek into other people's memories at will."
After the words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall fell silent, and little Ai Li looked up curiously.
Ah! Another beautiful big sister!
But why did she know my name? Little Ai Li tilted her head, her face full of confusion.
The Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei frowned, revealing a somewhat dissatisfied expression: "Why? I admit that the illusion you created is quite real, but, even though it has been seen through to this extent, you still don't want to appear in front of me, Aponia?"
The atmosphere in the hall was still silent.
Mei Raiden looked at the confident "self" in front of her and was so embarrassed that she almost dug out a three-bedroom apartment with her feet.
Fu Hua, who was floating in the air, couldn't help but speak: "Wait, Meiyi, we are not--"
"I understand. You don't want to appear in front of me unless you break the illusion, right?"
The Herrscher of Thunder, Raiden Mei, interrupted Fu Hua's words without hesitation.
"……ok, I get it."
Thunder roared, and dazzling lightning splashed in all directions.
The Herrscher of Thunder, Raiden Mei sneered. She spread out her five fingers, and an ancient sword wrapped in the wanton blooming power of thunder appeared out of thin air in her hand:
"This is just an illusion from the past. Let me break it for you to see!"
“Chidori——! Draw your sword——!”
...Three minutes later.
The dusty and disgraced Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei, was thrown back into the hall of Paradise, her face full of confusion.
Why were the monitor and Rita in that illusion so strong? Just as the confident yet defeated Herrscher gasped, she suddenly felt as if her body was covered by a circle of shadow.
She subconsciously raised her head, and saw that the memories of all the heroes she had met and had not met, a total of thirteen heroes, were all arranged in a fan-shaped circle with her body that was thrown out of the door as the center point. Everyone raised their heads at the same time, staring at the wooden door in the air with different expressions.
Chapter 4: All Kinds of People (k)
According to the records of the World Snake, no successor born in the current civilization era, including the current Mei Raiden, has ever seen the memories of all the heroes.
For the world serpent, the meaning of the paradise in the afterlife is twofold.
One is to allow successors to be exposed to more truth.
The vast majority of successors who come to the paradise of the afterlife to receive "baptism" will develop a deeper sense of belonging to the World Serpent after learning more of the truth.
In the real world, the World Serpent is a religious group lurking in the shadows. It has its own dogma and its own object of faith. However, compared with Destiny and other religions, what they believe in is just a concrete "ideal".
Another purpose is to awaken the power buried in the body of the successor.
Most of the heroes from the pre-civilization era possessed superb fighting skills. Although they themselves might not be suitable for teaching, their successors who were able to go to the paradise to receive baptism were all outstanding figures who had been screened through layers of Gray Snakes. Naturally, their comprehension abilities would not be weak.
Moreover, even if one's comprehension ability is not good, as long as one can accept and use the power called "imprint", even if one leaves the paradise of the afterlife, the visitor's body will be strengthened to a certain extent.
But for the same reason, the "imprints" that all successors can access are limited. "Imprints" are like drug hormones that promote human growth, and like most drugs, they will have side effects on the human body after exceeding the dosage.
"Imprinting" is by no means harmless to the human body.
Therefore, the moment the successors enter the paradise of the past, the matching module of the paradise will automatically guide the successors to the heroes who are most suitable for them or have the same will as them.
Apart from this simple objective factor, not all of the Thirteen Heroes are interested in the successors of this civilization.
Relatively speaking, as a replica of the "Lord", [Savior] Kevin is generally the most responsible one. Although he is proficient in the theory of muddle-headedness and is also an icy man who speaks in riddles, he is still a very dedicated "teacher" when it comes to improving the power of his successors.
The complete opposite of Kevin are Alicia and Aponia.
In all the records of the World Serpent, no successor of the current civilization era has even been able to see these two heroes - although this record was broken by the Herrscher of Thunder, Raiden Mei not long ago, this also indirectly confirms how rare and precious it is to have thirteen heroes appear at the same time.
After a brief moment of confusion, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly sounded beside the Herrscher of Thunder, Raiden Mei's ear. She turned her head subconsciously, and saw a small puppet clacking towards her. Its steady voice was like that of an inorganic robot: "Blood pressure...heart rate...body temperature...all vital signs are stable."
"Hello, experimental subject, welcome back to reality. Your body is not damaged, but you are still lying on the ground. Why? Do you need me to conduct a more in-depth examination of your nerve center?"
“…Forget that.” The Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei, then realized that she was still lying on the ground, and her pretty face couldn't help but blush.
She coughed and groaned, then stood up nimbly on her knees.
"Mei Mei, did you just fly out of that door?" Just when she was feeling embarrassed, a clear and beautiful voice rang out without any atmosphere. A beautiful girl with pink hair walked in front of Raiden Mei, bright and shining, with a look of "I'm curious" in her eyes. "What's behind that? You look a little embarrassed, did you encounter a strong enemy?"
Before the Herrscher of Lightning, Mei Raiden, could respond to Alicia's interesting words, the Armed Doll Klein interrupted her with her usual emotionless voice: "I advise you not to be curious about this door. This strange wooden door is not made of the original material. Judging from the way the experimental subject was just knocked away, there seems to be a space behind the door that does not belong to the paradise."
"No one can guarantee what will happen after you leave this only material space."
"Of course, the greater possibility is that you can't even get behind that door."
The cold and rational words, like a bucket of cold water, extinguished Alicia's curiosity - of course it was impossible.
"How can we confirm this kind of thing if we don't try it?" Alicia didn't intend to hide her curiosity and yearning for the wooden door. Or it could be said that it was not just her, but probably all the Yingjie who came here were interested in the wooden door.
During the unchanging 50,000 years, most of these heroes have been bored to death. Not to mention Mobius who had been trying hard to escape to the real world, even Apolonia who had been secluded in the depths of the world had already prepared himself mentally to meet outsiders.
She had already made a plan. If Mei Raiden entered the trial field again after returning to Paradise, she would be able to use her almost omnipotent control over Paradise to guide her target to her side.
As long as the two sides met face to face once, there would be no meaning for Aponia to isolate herself in the depths. At that time, the 50,000-year-long "self-imprisonment" would naturally be lifted.
But she never expected that soon after entering the Paradise Hall, this "Herrser of Thunder" whom she had been quite optimistic about suddenly disappeared without a trace, as if she had died.
In this paradise of the past, Aponia is almost omniscient and omnipotent. Unless Mei Raiden leaves the hall of paradise in a physical sense, as long as her consciousness is locked on the specific location of Mei Raiden, the Herrscher of Thunder, then it stands to reason that even if Mei Raiden, the Herrscher of Thunder, wants to run, she will not be able to escape her observation.
But she disappeared suddenly without leaving the Paradise Hall.
Aponia was not the only one who noticed this. Except for Padofelice, Velvet, Grayshu and Kosmo, all the other heroes who had seen Raiden Mei had more or less focused their attention on her.
Among them, Alicia, who had always devoted all her attention to the Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei, and Eden, who happened to be with Alicia, were of course the first to arrive. Sakura and Hua, who had a good relationship with Raiden Mei, also rushed over immediately. Kevin, the leader, and Su, who was a spiritual perception system like Aponia, were even one step faster than the two of them. Following closely behind were Velvi and Mobius, who were also scientific researchers with a strong spirit of exploring the unknown, and Qianjie, who had noticed Aponia's departure and came all the way over.
Compared to the above-mentioned heroes who each have their own clear purposes, the appearance of Padufils, Greyshut and Kosmo here is more like an accident.
In fact, Kosmo, who was dull and introverted, didn't want to come out at first, but because his territory was next to Grayshu's territory, and Grayshu's territory was next to Aponia's territory, so the moment Aponia left, of course, the only ones who could notice it at the first time were the two heroes who were closest in age.
No one knew what Grace was thinking. When she realized that Abonya seemed ready to leave, she suddenly raised her head for no apparent reason and shouted to the sky, "Mom Abonya, can you take me with you?"
Aponia, who doted on Grace to the extreme, certainly could not refuse the call of "Mom". So, the socially anxious boy, who thought he could never lose to Aponia in valuing Grace, naturally became an innocent bystander and had no choice but to follow.
As for Padofelice, it was even worse. She had just "fumbled" in Velvi's workshop for a few months, and then counted the silver coins left by a wave of customers after returning to her own shop. To be honest, even though she was a fusion warrior and a memory body, she was so tired that she couldn't move a finger. Just when she was about to have a good sleep under the beautiful sunshine, she suddenly found that her colleagues in the paradise... at least these people she thought were colleagues actually ran out of this data space one after another.
There was nothing she could do, as she couldn't possibly beat these colleagues, so in order not to appear so out of place, Padua Felice, who was as tired as a cat that was suddenly woken up in broad daylight, could only drag her exhausted body, forced a smile, and reluctantly followed the others to the Paradise Hall for the round-up.
As a result, as soon as she saw the door, her eyes suddenly lit up and all her tiredness was thrown behind her.
During these fifty thousand years, it could even be said that Padufils had already explored all the places she could go to in the Paradise of the Past - these places she had explored thoroughly even included the "deepest place" which was said to be the most dangerous in the entire Paradise of the Past.
From a certain perspective, apart from Aponia who is a cheater, Padofelice is the person who has the most comprehensive understanding of the Paradise of the Past. Even Aponia may not be able to find out all the secret passages that she secretly dug out.
Of course, having figured out all the "accessible areas" of the paradise of the past in these fifty thousand years also meant that the "purchase locations" that could be "touched" by her were also rapidly decreasing. So when she saw the suspected new areas, Padre Fili's saliva was almost flowing.
Compared with other heroes, Kevin was not very interested in the door in the air.
He who stood here was just a memory. Everything that happened in the real world had nothing to do with him. With his strength, he was confident that he could solve all the changes that happened in the paradise. However, out of his sense of responsibility as a leader, he still asked calmly:
"What did you encounter back there?"
In fact, the Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei, really wanted to retort, "This is not something you should know right now" to vent her anger at being tormented by the Riddler, but considering that not all of the thirteen people present were telling her riddles, in order not to AOE innocent people, she answered honestly, "A coffee shop, and a few people who looked familiar."
"Is it your enemy?" Kevin asked calmly.
"Uh... that shouldn't count, right?" Herrscher of Thunder, Raiden Mei said hesitantly.
"Then you fell out by yourself?"
The Herrscher of Thunder, Raiden Mei, suddenly felt guilty: "It's just a small misunderstanding."
"I see. You were the one who started the trouble." Kevin nodded and concluded calmly.
"..."
Mei Raiden·Mei Raiden was speechless for a moment. Although strictly speaking what she said was not wrong, why did it make her feel so uncomfortable?
"I won't ask who it is specifically. Since it's someone you know, you can handle it yourself."
After saying that, Kevin turned his head without any concern, and his entire body disappeared like a phantom.
"Hmph, boring."
Qianjie glanced at Aponiya coldly, and disappeared on the spot just like Kevin.
"Grayshus, let's go too." Kosmo patted Grayshus shoulder and said softly.
"No." Grayshu shook her head. For some reason, after arriving at the hall, this master painter who had been silent all this time had been staring at the door in the air. "The color of that door is very beautiful, blue, pink... and a little yellow, which makes people feel very comfortable. Kosmo, can't we go in?"
"Uh, this..." Kosmo didn't know how to explain these technical matters to Greyshu. He first glanced at Klein, then hesitated. Perhaps he knew that if he couldn't understand, Greyshu probably wouldn't understand either. So he turned his eyes to Alicia for help, hoping that this pink-haired fairy who was the most trusted by all the heroes and loved Greyshu very much could stop Greyshu from stepping into danger.
But it was obvious that Alicia had betrayed his expectations, because she also wanted to run behind that door: "It's okay, Grayshu, even if you encounter any danger, this sister with horns on her head in front of you can definitely protect you! Am I right, Mei?"
"…But Klein has already said that there is a high probability that you won't be able to enter that door at all."
"Hey, don't be as rigid as Klein. Didn't I tell you that beautiful girls can do anything?" Alicia said dissatisfiedly, and then she showed a mischievous smile, "Even if we really can't get in, it's just us who can't get in. Didn't you just come out of there? Who did you see in there? Was it your old friend? A beautiful girl you know? Or is it something you are embarrassed to tell everyone?"
The Herrscher of Thunder, Raiden Mei sighed: "You as a child?"
"Ugh?"
"I mean, I saw you as a kid."
For an instant.
Kevin and Qianjie's bodies, which had just disappeared not long ago, suddenly appeared.
Chapter 4: Ai Lishia·Tangtang withers! (5k)
In the lobby of Hyperion Café, Rita closed the door of the café with impeccable elegance. The gorgeous sickle that exuded a dangerous aura turned into a purple mist and slowly dissipated. The corners of her mouth curled up happily, and her eyes turned to Fu Hua who was floating in the air: "Thank you for your assistance, Miss Fu Hua. This troublemaker customer is unexpectedly tenacious. If it weren't for your help, I alone would really have no way to deal with her in a short period of time."
Little Ai Li took a sip of the hot milk, smacking her pink lips and tongue. Although her big eyes were filled with curiosity and confusion, she did not feel much fear or uneasiness about the sudden conflict in the hall.
Although she is kind by nature and has seen all kinds of ups and downs in the world but still maintains her pure true self, she has never been a brainless person from the beginning. On the contrary, her IQ is actually very high and she understands the common sense of human society.
So, although the beautiful big sister who was suddenly thrown out looked a bit pitiful, since she was the one who started the trouble, as the one who started the trouble, she should have been prepared to be killed in return - based on this common sense, little Ai Li naturally had no idea of feeling unfair for the big sister.
Compared to that unreasonable older sister, what she likes more now is the cup of sweet and fragrant milk in her hand.
Then again, this was the first time she had come across such delicious food and drinks. Could it be that this was the standard that all restaurants in big cities had?
Alas~ If I can't experience this taste again after leaving this city, it would really make me feel a little reluctant...
Little Ai Li sipped the sweet milk, thinking with some regret in her heart.
The journey was not easy, Ellie sighed.
On the other side, Fu Hua, who was specifically thanked by Rita, did not say anything, but just stared at Rita with a meaningful look. In the depths of her eyes, which had always been so dull that it was difficult for others to see the depth of her personality, there flashed a trace of extremely strong fear.
If Fu Hua found it difficult to understand how "strong" the manager of this cafe was, then this isomorph of "Rita Rossweisse", who had extremely high attainments in both consciousness and physicality, was a level that Fu Hua herself could reach or even barely surpass at her peak.
However, precisely because Fu Hua herself could reach Rita's level, she could understand more deeply that if she used all her strength, it would not be difficult for this "Rita Rossweisse" to defeat "Raiden Mei" who seemed to have fully awakened the power of the Herrscher.
The moment the Herrscher of Lightning, Raiden Mei, took action, Fu Hua saw with her own eyes the sickle that Rita took out in an instant. The blade of the sickle had beautiful irregular patterns like a blazing flame, and the handle was a European-style high-pole lamp emitting a dim light.
In the glowing glass lamp, Fu Hua felt a rather terrifying energy fluctuation.
The deep and mysterious energy fluctuations even surpassed the power of an ordinary Herrscher's core. Before this, Fu Hua had only felt similar power in Youlandel.
It is hard to imagine what effect would occur if Rita completely released the energy source in the lamp.
Therefore, in order to prevent Rita from using her full strength and to protect the personal safety of "Raiden Mei" who suddenly broke into the cafe, Fu Hua could only rush forward and knock her out.
In the hall, the solemn atmosphere disappeared in an instant. Although the power displayed by this long-haired Rita made people like Fu Hua feel difficult, the other party was not her enemy. Although Fu Hua was not good at talking, she was not the kind of person who would make enemies outside casually, especially now that she, Kiana and Mei were still in a position of relying on others, it was even more impossible for her to be hostile to the other party just because the other party showed extraordinary power.
However, before she could say anything, the door that Rita had just closed was suddenly opened again from the outside.
A head with pink hair sneaked into the crack of the door. She didn't look into the store, but kept her head down. She stepped her toes on the wooden floor of the hall very slowly and carefully, while muttering softly:
"Be careful~ Be more careful..."
