Chapter 26: Faith and Pride

The Herrscher of Thunder.

Hearing this name, Li Huan's mind began to race. He recalled that in the "Honkai" series, there were currently only two playable games: Honkai Gakuen 2 and Honkai Impact 3rd.

Although he had heard of earlier versions of Honkai Gakuen and upcoming new titles, Li Huan wasn't familiar with them since he wasn't deeply invested in the Honkai universe.

Out of the two games, Li Huan had only played Honkai Impact 3rd, but he knew some details about Honkai Gakuen 2.

In that game, the protagonist, Kiana Kaslana, infiltrated Thousand Feathers Academy, the main stage of the story, with her target being Raiden Mei, another female lead.

Raiden Mei becomes the epicenter of a Honkai eruption and transforms into the Herrscher of Thunder. Kiana continuously battles her, eventually using her own power to suppress Honkai energy, helping the unstable Raiden Mei revert to her normal self.

In Honkai Impact 3rd, Raiden Mei is forcibly turned into an artificial Herrscher by having the Gem of Thunder implanted into her, leading to a complex series of events that Li Huan couldn't fully remember.

When Kiana asked for Li Huan's help, his first response was, "Herrscher of Thunder? What's that?"

He put on a confused look, trying to appear as though he had no clue. After all, he was playing the role of an ordinary person—someone who wouldn't know about Honkai or Herrschers.

"You don't know about Honkai?" Kiana asked.

"What's Honkai?" Li Huan responded.

Kiana sighed and slapped her forehead. "My mistake. I should have explained it better."

Believing that Li Huan truly didn't know, Kiana patiently began explaining Honkai.

She described it as a terrifying natural disaster unknown to the normal world. It's a cyclical catastrophe of mysterious origin, manifesting in unpredictable ways, and to this day, no one can fully explain or understand it. But what is certain is that Honkai is extremely dangerous.

Honkai releases a unique energy known as Honkai Energy. As a power source, Honkai Energy is far more efficient than any existing energy in the world, but it also corrupts living beings, turning them into Honkai Beasts and Deadwalkers—essentially zombies.

Currently, 90% of the population in both Thousand Feathers Academy and the entire Nagazora City had been infected by Honkai Energy, becoming Deadwalkers—those zombies outside.

While Honkai Beasts and Deadwalkers weren't the focus right now, Kiana explained that large-scale Honkai events often give birth to beings known as Herrschers.

When a Honkai eruption's power exceeds 1000HW, there's a chance that a Herrscher will emerge in the affected area.

Kiana had already encountered this Herrscher twice—Raiden Mei, the Herrscher of Thunder.

Before meeting Li Huan, Kiana had already fought Raiden Mei twice, but Mei had managed to escape both times.

"So, if I understand correctly," Li Huan said after Kiana finished her explanation, "You want me to help you defeat this Herrscher of Thunder?"

"Yes," Kiana confirmed.

"Honestly, I have zero interest in helping you," Li Huan responded, picking his nose nonchalantly. "Someone who can control electricity and manipulate Honkai Energy sounds like a powerhouse. If I go, I'm just asking to die."

Kiana didn't respond immediately. Instead, she placed her hand on Li Huan's shoulder and said, "You don't have the right to refuse. You will help me."

"Why should I risk my life for this?" Li Huan protested.

"I've fought her twice," Kiana said seriously. "And we were evenly matched."

"Although," she added, "there's a chance she wasn't fully transformed into a Herrscher and was holding back, but I also wasn't fighting her with everything I've got."

Hearing this, Li Huan couldn't help but think, Here it is—the classic protagonist's 'I haven't fought seriously yet' trope.

"If you weren't using your full strength, why not just go all out and fight her alone? Why drag me into this?" Li Huan asked.

Kiana patted his shoulder again, this time more thoughtfully. "From my observations during our battles, her attacks aren't as powerful as those of a typical Herrscher. I'm not sure why, but with your defensive power—you survived a three-story fall without a scratch—you should be able to withstand her attacks. I think you could be a very reliable me— I mean companion in the upcoming fight."

"You were about to say 'meat shield,' weren't you? Admit it!"

"Enough talking!" Kiana suddenly locked her arms around Li Huan's neck in a chokehold. "If someone can help me take on some of the fighting pressure so I can relax a bit, of course, I'll take the opportunity! Besides, after I helped you with that pointless thing earlier, you owe me one!"

Though Kiana's chokehold didn't actually hurt Li Huan—she could've used three times her strength and still not threatened him—he found it inconvenient, so he relented. "Alright, alright. I get it. Can you let go now?"

"Just to be clear," Kiana said calmly after releasing him, "You don't really have a choice."

"Fine, but I have a question," Li Huan said, rubbing his neck. "Are you planning to kill this so-called Herrscher?"

Kiana shook her head. "No, I want to save her."

"Why? Did you fall in love with her at first sight or something?" Li Huan half-joked, aware that in the Honkai series, Kiana is often portrayed with a romantic interest in Raiden Mei.

"Well, there's a bit of that..." Kiana blushed slightly, looking bashful, but then she straightened up, becoming serious again. "But that's not the main reason."

"When we fought, she was holding back—subconsciously, she couldn't bring herself to fight me seriously. In the end, she ran away alone."

"I can feel it—her heart hasn't fully succumbed to the Herrscher. She's still fighting against the influence of Honkai."

Kiana pounded her chest, her determination evident. "As a warrior of the Kaslana family, when someone is suffering right in front of me, I will extend a hand to help them."

"That's our faith, and our pride!"

---

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