Chapter 48: Use and Regret

After a while, Mei took a few sips of the beetroot soup and soon fell into drowsiness, just as Bronya had expected.

Not long after she fell asleep on the sofa, the doorbell rang at the dormitory door.

Bronya was just about to get up and open the door, but she heard a loud bang. The sturdy door was bounced away by some repulsive force and fell directly onto the floor of the living room.

After the thick smoke dissipated, a hooded man walked in carelessly.

He has dark blue hair and eyes, a bandage around his neck, and a frivolous and fearless expression.

For some reason, Bronya hated the man in front of her.

She looked at the sudden visitor and asked expressionlessly:

"You are the one sent by Mother Cocolia..."

"Yes, it's me. You can call me Joyce."

The man responded carelessly.

Joyce... Bronya was no stranger to this name.

It should be said that every person affiliated with Anti-Entropy must have heard of the name of the legendary First Herrscher, Welt Joyce.

Artificial Herrscher... Thinking of the term that Mother Cocolia once mentioned, the man in front of her is a clone of the First Herrscher?

Bronya's mind instantly connected to a lot of information.

Perhaps relying on his extraordinary strength, he did not care that his action of destroying the gate might attract the attention of the monitoring system in the academy.

He walked into the living room, his eyes fell on the purple-haired girl who was already sleeping on the sofa, and then said:

"It looks like you've done a good job. Come on, I'll take you back to Cocolia's territory."

The man who called himself Joyce stretched out his hand, and the power to control gravity poured out. Mei, who was sleeping on the sofa, rose into the air and floated beside him.

"…go back?"

Bronya asked in confusion.

The man replied as expected:

"You don't think that after something like this, you can still stay in St. Freya's Academy safely, do you?"

After the truth was revealed, Bronya had only one choice: to leave St. Freya Academy.

"…"

The silver-haired girl fell into silence.

She liked life here even more than when she was in the orphanage.

But, if it's to find Seele...

"Bronya understands."

The silver-haired girl nodded slowly.

But before deciding to leave, she asked again:

"…By the way, did Mother Cocolia tell you what she would do with Raiden Mei after bringing her back?"

All her mother had told her was to bring Raiden Mei back to Anti-Entropy for research.

As for what to do after taking her back and how to treat Raiden Mei, she has never told me.

"After taking the Herrscher core out of her body, this woman will be of no use to us."

The blue-haired man said casually:

"However, according to Cocolia, if you forcibly remove the Herrscher core from a person's body, the person will most likely die."

'…die?'

Bronya paused as she heard a strange yet familiar word.

She has seen a lot of death, whether as a young soldier or performing missions for Mother Cocolia, the blood on her hands is already countless.

But the death of someone close to her was something she had never experienced before.

The closest person is the blue-haired girl who completely disappeared from this world a year ago.

Bronya originally planned to use her relationship with Cocolia to plead with her to protect Raiden Mei's life after she returned, but now, the consequences of the matter seem to have far exceeded her imagination.

Pursing her lips slightly, Bronya continued to ask:

"...Did Mother Cocolia tell you what she was going to do with the Herrscher Core?"

"Huh? I'm not sure about that..."

The man named Joyce frowned and thought for a moment before answering:

"If I remember correctly, it was probably going to be installed on a giant mecha to be used as an energy source."

Compared to relying on Valkyrie and armor to fight against Schicksal and Honkai, Anti-Entropy has always relied on mechanical armor to fight.

For example, the various mechas of the Titan series are the main combat force of Anti-Entropy and are responsible for clearing out the Honkai beasts in the areas under the rule of Anti-Entropy.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Cocolia's mother is researching even larger mechas.

only...

Isn't the purpose of capturing Raiden Mei to save Seele?

Cocolia's mother had always told me this...

She has been working towards this goal since a year ago.

"…"

In the past, Bronya had always believed in the orders and words of Mother Cocolia and had never questioned them.

But ever since she met the mysterious woman with donkey ears in Nagazora City last time, she gradually began to feel doubtful and puzzled about her mother's instructions.

This time, she finally found the real answer from this so-called artificial herrscher.

——That was the truth that Cocolia's mother would never tell her.

So, Bronya regretted it.

She has already lost Seele, and now losing her friend Raiden Mei... She doesn't want to see this future.

Fortunately, it's not too late to regret now.

Now, we haven't left St. Freya Academy yet. As long as we get rid of this intruder here...

The Honkai energy was mobilized, and the figure of Project Bunny appeared behind her.

Bronya pointed the shiny muzzle of the gun at the back of the man who called himself Joyce and launched the attack.

"Project Bunny, heavy particle cannon mode, fire!"

Project Bunny fired a full-strength attack, hitting the opponent directly and causing a large explosion.

If a sneak attack is carried out at such a close distance, even if the opponent is very powerful, he will not be unscathed.

——Bronya thought so.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.

"interesting..."

After the smoke cleared, the man stood in front of the girl, unharmed.

He looked at the girl who was attacking him with interest, his eyes seemed to be looking at some kind of prey.

There was some kind of energy shield surrounding him, which helped him block Bronya's sneak attack.

"…Project Bunny, immediately load the second round of artillery fire!"

Bronya quickly ordered the mecha behind her to reload ammunition.

But the next moment, it was as if a thousand-pound weight was pressing down on her, pinning her to the ground.

Project Bunny behind her was also instantly dismantled under the influence of the huge gravitational force.

"It's useless."

The silver-haired girl barely raised her head and could only see the man approaching her and stepping on her:

"This is the ability to control gravity. As long as something is within my field of vision, I can change its gravity at will."

With his Herrscher abilities, he easily defeated Bronya.

Since the other party is not honest, knock her out and take her away together.

"Although you have offended me, before coming here, Cocolia told me again and again not to kill you, so I will spare your life this time. Thank your mother."

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