Chapter 4 "I'm not Raiden Mei"
It detected human presence, and so it gathered all its strength and rushed toward the direction where the three people were.
Seeing the monster appear, Sora hid behind Kirataka in fear, but Bronya didn't even raise her head and controlled the project bunny to shoot a laser.
With a wail, the advancing-level Honkai beast fell to the ground, unable to get up again.
It was indeed a very unfortunate thing for the Honkai beast, but for Kirataka, it was like God helping him.
—He was worried that he had no excuse to bring up the topic of Raiden Mei to Bronya.
Although he guessed that Bronya was most likely looking for Raiden Mei, if he mentioned her name so abruptly and without reason, it would be very easy for Bronya to become suspicious.
So, he had to make up an excuse.
Since he had witnessed her powerful strength with his own eyes, he wanted to ask her for a favor... maybe this would work.
Kirataka took a deep breath, showed a surprised expression, and asked the silver-haired girl in front of him:
"Um, I'd like to ask, have you defeated all the Honkai beasts here?"
Bronya nodded silently, stood up, and prepared to leave.
"I have a friend who seems to have some strange problems and is in some kind of crisis... I'm very worried about her and want to go see her again. Can you please help me?"
Kirataka requested in a very sincere tone.
"…"
Bronya wanted to refuse; after all, she had a very important mission to perform.
But when her grey eyes met Kirataka's 100% sincere gaze and the weak, pitiful, and helpless Sora beside him, she changed her words and said:
"…Who is that person and where is she?"
If it's not too far, it's okay for her to help out.
Anyway, she couldn't find Raiden Mei's location now, so it would be the same wherever she went.
It is not impossible to meet Raiden Mei on the road.
The only task that Cocolia's mother gave her was to "recover Raiden Mei," and the rest was up to her own ideas.
Seeing that Bronya did not refuse, Kirataka threw out the bait to lure her in:
"She is a student at Chiba Academy and also my friend. Her name is Raiden Mei."
"...!"
For a moment, Kirataka seemed to see a flash of light in the eyes of this petite girl.
For Bronya, finding Raiden Mei is a very important thing.
The sooner they can find and recover Raiden Mei, the more likely they are to avoid interference from the other Organization.
——The Far East Branch of the Schicksal still doesn't know when it will arrange for the Valkyrie to come and defeat the Herrscher, so she must act as soon as possible.
"When I escaped, she was still in Chiba Academy... She should still be there now, right?"
Kirataka said in an uncertain tone.
After Cocolia released Honkai energy, causing the power of the Third Herrscher to fully awaken, the girl did not leave Chiba Academy to wreak havoc in the city.
On the contrary, she chose to stay inside Chiba Academy to avoid her presence spreading to a larger area and causing more damage.
In other words, the current invasion of Honkai beasts in Nagazora City is merely the aftermath of her awakening of power.
If the Herrscher of Thunder really intended to carry out large-scale destruction, then this Nagazora City would probably have been completely reduced to ruins long ago, and it would not have been his turn to survive here.
Well, of course, if he guessed wrong, and the Herrscher of Thunder was not in Chiba Academy for some reason, then he could just use backtracking to erase this future and then look for Mei's location again.
"...Bronya promised you that she would take you to find her."
The girl said silently.
Because of her special speaking habit, Kirataka skipped the step of pretending to ask her name.
Now he really doesn't know what the situation is at Chiba Academy, for example, whether Kiana has already found Mei Raiden and started "exchanging hearts through martial arts."
If he could catch up, it would be a feasible option to sneak into St. Freya Academy with the three major families.
Regardless of whether it works or not, it is always a good idea to have more information and intelligence at the moment, leaving him with more feasible options and more paths to choose from.
Now Kirataka can only explore a limited scope on his own, so he needs to rely on Bronya to see a wider world.
Now that they have the ability to go back in time, they should make the best use of it.
"...But Bronya cannot guarantee your safety. Your friend is probably in a bad situation right now."
Bronya then added.
Her mission is to find and retrieve the Third Herrscher. Considering the influence that is currently displayed in Nagazora City, a fierce battle is likely to break out when they meet.
Putting aside herself, she has already put life and death aside. In her eyes, Kirataka is just an ordinary person, and it would be difficult for him to survive a battle of that magnitude.
"You don't have to worry about that. Um... I must see her."
Seeing that Kirataka was very persistent, Bronya didn't say anything but just nodded slightly.
Then she called softly:
"Project Bunny."
The huge robot, which originally had only a vague transparent outline, suddenly removed its disguise and showed its complete posture in front of the two people.
Kirataka, who had known about its existence for a long time, did not show any special emotions. Instead, Sora next to him once again showed a look of surprise.
This kind of thing, which she had only seen in cartoons in the past—such as the mecha in the famous "Arahato" series—actually appeared in reality.
Bronya skillfully sat on one of Project Bunny's giant hands and controlled the other giant hand to come in front of Sora, and then said:
"Bronya will take her to a safe place first, and then come pick you up."
Kirataka also leaned over and touched the purple-haired girl's head, whispering:
"Sora, just hide in a safe place. Big brother will be back soon."
Judging from the current situation, in the East City District of Nagazora City, not only is Raven rescuing injured children, but Bronya, who passed by here looking for the Third Herrscher, also defeated many Honkai beasts. This area is indeed a relatively safe place.
"I...I'll wait for you to come back..."
The purple-haired girl nodded obediently and sat down on the other giant hand of the Project Bunny.
The Project rabbit quickly took off into the air, carrying the two of them towards the east.
Bronya was very efficient. About five minutes later, she flew back by herself controlling the Project Bunny and signaled Kirataka to also take over the Project Bunny.
Then, Kirataka stepped onto the other hand of the Project Bunny, and under the girl's control, the two were taken into the air.
The Project Bunny opened fire at full power, a beam of light streaked across the sky, and flew towards the direction of Chiba Academy in a hurry.
Because it was moving at a high altitude, it avoided interference from most Honkai beasts. Even if they noticed the movement, it would be difficult for them to reach it.
Occasionally, there are types that can fly in the air, but they cannot catch up with the Project Bunny moving at full speed.
Soon, the destination was in sight.
This large aristocratic girls' school located on the outskirts of Nagazora City was once the dream school for all the girls in Nagazora City and even ordinary girls in other parts of the Far East.
Even among the people of the Far East, there is a saying that "as long as you enter Chiba Academy, your life will be smooth sailing."
But now, it has long lost its former glory, and only an indescribable dark purple light flows throughout the academy.
That is probably a force that is difficult for the Herrscher of Thunder to suppress.
The closer Kirataka got to Chiba Academy, the more physical discomfort he began to feel.
——The closer to the Herrscher, the higher the concentration of Honkai energy. He looked at his arm, and it seemed that there were faint lines of Honkai energy spreading out.
With his current Honkai resistance, it seems that he cannot stay in an environment of this intensity for too long.
Enduring the discomfort, Kirataka held the arm of the Project bunny and looked down.
As the birthplace of the Herrscher of Thunder and also the place where Cocolia released a large amount of Honkai energy, there is almost no life here, and it has suffered the greatest degree of damage from the Herrscher.
A large number of Honkai beasts and death warriors gathered spontaneously in this academy. Fortunately, this was an aristocratic academy invested by ME Company, and its area was extremely large, so it could accommodate so many monsters roaming around.
Kirataka's gaze kept moving between the rooftops, and soon he found the figure of Raiden Mei.
She stood alone on the platform. There was no one around her, and there seemed to be no signs of fighting.
Kiana hasn't appeared yet... Does that mean that the time he and Bronya arrived here was too "early"?
Kiana was probably still holding a baseball bat and trying to survive in Chiba Academy.
What would happen if Bronya came into contact with Raiden Mei before Kiana brought her consciousness back?
Bronya also discovered the other party's figure at the same time and controlled the Project Bunny to begin to descend.
"Mei...how is she doing now?"
Kirataka asked Bronya in a worried tone.
"…You'd better not get close to her now. The threat level is judged to be extremely high."
Bronya warned in a calm voice.
This is a friendly reminder and also a fact.
Bronya first put Kirataka on the roof of a nearby floor and then came to Raiden Mei alone.
The black-haired girl standing in front of her was indeed the real Raiden Mei, but her scarlet eyes proved that the personality occupying this body at this moment was not "Raiden Mei" but "Herrscher of Thunder."
Despite this, she just stood there, saying nothing, and seemed to have no intention of launching an attack.
"It seems that she doesn't want to hurt others..."
Kirataka pondered.
Although the impression is that this "Herrscher of Thunder" has a bad temper, judging from the fact that she has always "sealed" herself in Chiba Academy and did not take the initiative to attack him and Bronya, she has not become a puppet of Honkai, wantonly destroying, and does not have a strong desire for destruction.
The black-haired girl looked at Kirataka and Bronya with her scarlet eyes.
Bronya took the lead in negotiating:
"Raiden Mei... I hope you can go with Bronya."
Hearing this name, an indescribable emotion flashed in the black-haired girl's eyes, and lightning flashed around her body.
Then, she shook her head and denied:
"I'm not Raiden Mei."
"...?"
Bronya tilted her head slightly.
Although they were both members of Anti-Entropy in theory, she had never met Mei Raiden before.
In the past, she had stayed in an orphanage in Siberia, living with other children and receiving training and experiments from Mother Cocolia;
And this Mei Raiden... the daughter of executive officer Ryoma Raiden, has always lived in this Far East. The two have never met each other and have never had the opportunity to communicate. They each have completely different lives.
However, before coming to Nagazora City to carry out the mission, Bronya had already read the information about Raiden Mei and also entered Raiden Mei's photo into the database of Project Bunny.
After comparison, the black-haired girl in front of him is definitely Mei Raiden.
"No matter what, Bronya needs to take you away from here, no matter... whatever the method."
A glimmer of light appeared in Bronya's gray eyes, which had been calm until now, and the huge mecha behind her was ready to go.
She is actually not that good at negotiation, and having been trained as a young soldier and killer, she is more inclined to use violence to solve problems.
For her, the last hope of saving the disappeared Seele is now right in front of her.
Even if she has to use force, she must bring Raiden Mei back to Anti-Entropy and back to Cocolia's laboratory.
The plan has been adjusted. Now, we need to make Raiden Mei lose her fighting power and make her surrender.
"Just you?"
Sensing Bronya's hostility, the black-haired girl sneered, and countless lightning bolts began to bloom around her. Half of the purple wings formed by pure Honkai energy emerged, and the pressure at the level of a Herrscher was revealed.
It was obvious that a fierce battle was about to break out between the two girls.
Bronya slowly floated up, and the heavily armed bunny behind her activated all its attack modules.
"Target locked, Project Bunny 19C, fully deployed!"
Following her order, countless artillery and lasers were fired from the Project Bunny.
However, all the attacks were blocked by the electromagnetic barrier she generated before reaching the opponent, and after a burst of thick smoke, she was still unharmed.
Then, the black-haired girl's eyes brightened, and she swung a bolt of lightning with one hand to counterattack, shooting directly at Bronya:
"Who allowed you to... be above me?"
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