Self-Belief

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

A familiar voice made Daniel freeze as he looked at 'Raiden Mei' under him who flashed a smirk before closing her eyes as if she passed out.

This bit—!

"Get away from her!" Kiana rushed forward so fast towards him that he was surprised she could burst out with such speed.

In just a split second, Kiana tackled Daniel to the ground and pushed him off, like a police officer.

Unfortunately for her, Daniel's reflexes were faster and he put her on a guillotine using one arm.

"AHHHHHHH!" Kiana wailed and screamed, "Get off me!"

"Nuh uh."

"Arghh!"

Raiden Mei, who had gained her consciousness, raised her head to see where the sound was.

"Eh?"

"Daniel! Once I get out of this, you're done!"

"More reason to not let you go then." He sneered and locked her head but not hurting her.

"What's going on?" Raiden Mei asked in confusion, her body was still exhausted from practice just now.

Wait, practice?

Raiden Mei looked at herself, wondering when Kiana and Daniel started fighting.

From what she remembers, she rushed into Daniel and she suddenly found herself on the ground,

And then…

Thinking when Daniel was on top of her, Raiden Mei's face turned pink and shook her head rapidly.

Huh? When did that happen?

Raiden Mei was left in doubt. She could remember what happened but for some reason, she also can't.

Is there something wrong with her memory?

"Mei-senpai, help me! Daniel is bullying me again!" Kiana, who has a fierce expression suddenly changed into a pitiful look as she begged.

Daniel's face turned black, and let go.

"Huh?" Kiana was surprised when realized this.

"You're right. It's not right to bully the weak." Daniel stood up and emphasized the word 'weak' to her.

Kiana, who was in joy, felt furious when she heard that.

This guy is getting arrogant!

"Hmph, you dare to fight?"

"On what terms?" Daniel crossed his arms and asked. Did she really think he'll fight for no reason?

"You're just scared."

"Says the one who was getting beaten earlier."

Kiana kicked him in the shin for that.

Daniel just brushed it off and looked at Mei who's still laying on the ground, confused.

"And are you forgetting someone?"

Kiana's face suddenly became anxious and she immediately came to Raiden Mei's side, helping her stand up.

"Mei-senpai, are you alright? What happened?" She asked as she discreetly touched her everywhere, even leaning her face close to Raiden-Mei's cleavage.

"I-I'm fine Kiana-chan, just a little bit tired." Raiden Mei lightly held her down with a flushed face.

Even if it's a fellow girl, she still felt embarrassed to be touched, especially in front of a man.

"It's Daniel's fault! How can he do this to a beautiful girl like Mei-senpai?" Kiana said with righteous indignation. Seemingly furious at the injustice that Mei suffered.

"Don't say that," Raiden Mei shook her head and looked at the man in front.

"I.." She didn't know what to say. In their spar earlier, she heard a lot of things but for some reason she didn't understand them.

"Raiden Mei, what exactly do you want to do?" Daniel approached her, ignoring Kiana who was jumping like a gremlin.

"I can feel it… you're frustrated, sad, annoyed, angry, and a lot of other emotions but for some reason, you're bottling it up, causing yourself to fall into a quagmire, doing more harm than good."

"I…" Raiden Mei wanted to answer but the words were stuck on her throat.

"Hey, I think we should stop this…" Kiana, who saw that Mei couldn't answer, wanted to stop Daniel.

Daniel's eyes softened and was about to just wave it off but..

"No, Kiana-chan," Raiden Mei took a deep breath, "Daniel is right, I really am running away." She let a self-deceprating smile.

"When I was young, my mother died early and I only had my father by my side. Despite this, he didn't show any sadness and raised me as hard as he could and I have never lacked anything."

"Then I was kidnapped and had to undergo therapy for three years before finally being able to move on from trauma. Despite my father's position, he was still there for me to help me recover, he didn't lose his patience and waited for the day where I would be okay."

"Although he has his difficulties, for some reason, I always felt that he's here beside me." Raiden Mei wiped a few tears from her eyes.

"I eventually entered Chiba Academy and with my dad's schedule, we can rarely take but I didn't feel lonely because I knew that he's always supporting me and I have a home to go to."

"Even when my friends abandon me, I always believe that my father is innocent and that he would never do things such as embezzle funds for his own selfish gains."

"It's just that…. I feel so useless, I can only practice kendo, attend school and interact with people I don't even like while he's out there somewhere, feeling helpless." Raiden Mei clenched her hands, her nails digging to her palms as blood leaked bit by bit.

"I'm sorry if I'm saying this to you two but when I heard that Daniel said I was holding back, I just couldn't help it. I… am not as strong as you think." She hung her head low, afraid that the two would see her crying directly.

"Mei-senpai…." Kiana hugged her shoulder. She can sympathize with the feeling of losing her father and not being able to stop it.

"... You are stronger than you think. People may doubt you but don't ever doubt your own strength." Daniel turned around and proceeded to walk away.

"Huh?" Raiden Mei raised her head and was about to ask what he meant but when she saw he was leaving, she decided not to.

"Where are you going?" Kiana saw him leaving and asked.

"Going to rest, it's late now. You two should rest as well, especially you Mei." Raiden Mei's eyes widened hearing that.

It seems that it's the first time Daniel called her without any formalities.

"Ahhh! You're right! It must be dark outside." Kiana checked her phone and exclaimed.

Ignoring what Kiana was saying, Raiden Mei saw Daniel leave and she looked in her hand and thought.

'Don't doubt myself… huh?'

—

"How's the situation my dear daughter? Did something happen to Raiden Mei?" A blonde woman wearing a military uniform opened her mouth and asked.

Under the ME Corp, various machines and mechas are surrounding the large facility and in front of her are various screens, seemingly monitoring something.

"... Nyet Matsukha." The gray haired twin tailed girl shook her head, her voice blank and her face expressionless like a robot.

"I see, don't worry about it, Bronya. Raiden Mei would eventually erupt, especially now that her classmates are bullying him." Cocolia was used on the expressionless face of her daughter and comforted her.

Maybe just like herself, she's anxious and wants to meet her other daughter who's trapped somewhere in the Sea of Quanta.

Bronya didn't reply but just put her chin on her knees.

Aside from observing Raiden Mei, she has no particular assignment from her mother.

Whether it's cutting off Raiden Mei's funds, spreading humors, and even paying students in order to intensify their bullying, all of it is done by Cocolia.

According to her, this will make her turn into a being called Herrscher faster and when she does, rescuing Xi'er would just be out the corner.

She really doesn't have any opinion on this, she doesn't know Raiden Mei at all.

But…

If Xi'er is here, would he approve of what she's doing?

She doesn't know… but considering her timid personality, she would not likely agree.

This made Bronya confused but for the sake of rescuing Seele, she would do anything.

"Bronya, how is that…. Daniel? Have you seen any signs of him turning into 'that'?" Cocolia asked her daughter, her voice which were usually confident are now tingling with nervousness.

Hearing this, Bronya replied almost immediately, " Nyet Matsukha, the Bronya has observed him this past month."

"After being discharged in the hospital, he just continued his job in Chiba Academy, even when Bronya met him on Christmas Eve, he was normal."

"... Is that so? Don't make any moves on him. I don't want you to get hurt." Cocolia took a deep breath and touched Bronya's head.

Bronya didn't resist her mother and thought deeply.

Just like the Anti-Entropy have gained the video of what happened behind Chiba Academy, Cocolia has also got a copy herself.

After all, she's the one that is monitoring the city currently and even the one who sent the reinforcements to 'clean' the Herrschers.

At first, she thought she won a jackpot by finding a Pseudo-Herrscher but after realizing what happened, she postponed her plans first and continued to observe.

Just like Einstein and Tesla, Cocolia has also seen the video and naturally saw how that person Daniel became a 'different' person and easily took down a Pseudo-Herrscher.

Normally, this wouldn't faze Cocolia, she has fought tooth and nail in the military and even survived the Second Eruption.

But after seeing that figure, even if it's just on the screen, it still gave her goosebumps.

Originally, she was planning on killing that janitor who's near Siegfried's daughter or at least, threatened the one armed man so that he wouldn't get in way of her plans

Siegfried cares for his daughter very much, if he finds out that his daughter's friend is going to get killed, then he'll surely step down.

Siegfried was an S Class under Schicksal back then, even Cocolia who was arrogant wouldn't underestimate him.

As for Siegfried fighting back? She didn't think much of it, although she doesn't know the entire reason, she at least knows that he's avoiding his daughter and only watching him from afar.

This gave her enough confidence that Siegfried wouldn't resort to violent methods.

He can cause trouble but he needs to worry about his daughter who's in the city.

That's why she planned on threatening him.

Although they are in the same group, their ideas conflicted with each other and she's sure that if given the chance, Siegfried wouldn't mind getting in her way.

Knowing his friendship with Raiden Ryoma, he must be on his way here, rather, he's probably already here,either to demand an explanation for Einstein and Tesla, or for himself.

This is normal, Siegfried is part of Einstein's faction so they are naturally at odds with each other, if they didn't have the common enemy called Otto, they would have started fighting among themselves.

It was only after seeing that 'thing' did she decide to change her mind.

"Matsukha, what's our next plan?" Bronya hasn't seen the video unlike her mom and Cocolia isn't really planning on showing it.

She didn't want her daughter to see her expression that time.

"We're going to launch the plan. Siegfried is probably already here, either for us or for his daughter. When he comes here, we won't have the chance to start an eruption." She held her forehead.

She can't predict that guy and it also doesn't help that he's an idiot and therefore cannot be reasoned with.

Bronya nodded.

"By the way, I heard you made a new friend, Kyuushu Houraiji?" The orphanage is far away from here in the East, so she's glad that her daughter is making friends.

"Da.." Bronya nodded slowly. Although Kyuushu can be weird such as shouting "I'm the Savior." Or "The reason why my hands are bandaged is because they are hiding a power that can destroy the world." She's a good person and can be considered a friend.

Add to the fact that they have the same hobby about Homu and video games.

"Hmmm." Cocolia just smiled and rubbed her head.

Just wait a little bit longer, Bronya, once we get Xi'er back, we'll return to the orphanage to be a happy family again.

After some time, Bronya left, leaving her mother alone in the facility.

Cocolia turned her head and looked at the screen and there, Daniel and Raiden Mei's faces were displayed.

The person named Daniel is dangerous and if he's around Raiden Mei, then the plan might fail. Therefore, they need to find a way to distract him or even eliminate him.

Bronya can't do it and she didn't want to put her in danger, as for the Titans, Cocolia may be proud of those mechas but she didn't think it would be enough to stop that kid.

Add to that the fact that she'll need it when the Third Herrscher eventually wakes up.

Tapping the screen, Cocolia clicked at the logo that looks like a snake biting its tail and called:

"Gray Snake, I need your cooperation."

---

Been a long time but the first arc is about to end

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