"Zzzzz..."
"Kiana?"
"Zzzzzzz..."
"Kiana!"
"Zzzzzzzzz..."
"Kiana! We're at school!"
Mei shook her three times but couldn't wake Kiana, who was slumped over in the back seat, trying to catch up on sleep. Michael chuckled and turned to look out the window at the endless stream of traffic. Seele unbuckled her seatbelt in the passenger seat, grabbed her schoolbag, and hesitated, unsure whether to get out now.
"Sigh... That method won't work on idiot Kiana, Miss Mei!"
Bronya clapped her hands sharply next to Kiana's ears.
Clap!
"Ah—Bronya... ouch, you scared me..."
"Idiot Kiana, serves you right for sleeping so soundly in the car."
"Can't you be a little more gentle like Mei?"
"Do you think Miss Mei would have needed me if she could have woken you up?"
"Hehehe..."
Michael chuckled and patted the steering wheel. "Alright, we're running out of time. You girls should hurry up and get out."
"Hmph! You hear that, Bronya? For Uncle Michael's sake, I'll let you off this time!"
"Idiot Kiana, you've never won an argument anyway. And... did you just call Michael 'Uncle' again?"
"Huh?"
Kiana mechanically turned her head. Michael's neck cracked and popped as his head twisted a full 180 degrees to face her, a brilliant smile plastered on his face.
"Aaaaaah—Help!!!!"
Bronya and Seele met the Alin sisters on the way and left. Kiana had wanted to walk Mei all the way to her classroom, but Mei just smiled and shook her head.
Walking into the classroom alone, the closer she got to her seat, the more Mei felt a deep-seated resistance. It wasn't fear, nor was it disgust; it was like the repulsive force between two like charges.
But this was already a significant improvement.
There had been a time when just being near the school grounds would make her whole body tremble uncontrollably. It was laughable to think about; this repulsion hadn't happened in the first few days, but only appeared after she had calmed down.
At first, she had even needed Kiana to hold her hand tightly and lead her to her seat. But after a long winter break, she could now walk here on her own.
"Finally..."
Reaching her seat, she pulled out the chair. Mei took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and sat down.
As for the other students, they wouldn't talk to her anymore, nor did they dare to. It was as if everyone had agreed beforehand to simply ignore Raiden Mei.
And so began a full day of tedious classes. Returning to the classroom after a long vacation was like starting up a machine that hadn't been oiled or maintained for a long time. It was a wonder it didn't just fall apart.
Mei found her vision flickering between black and white. She tried to force her eyes open, even using her thumbs and index fingers to pry her eyelids apart, but it was no use...
After about twenty flickers, her head finally thudded onto the desk with a soft thump.
The teacher on the podium shook her head slightly. From her perspective, only the students in the first two or three rows were struggling to stay awake. This was the norm for the first class back. What could she say?
She could only yawn along with them, but the next moment, she was choked by the dust from the chalk.
Ding-ding-dong-dong—dong-dong-ding-ding—
Mei woke up to the sound of the school bell. The moment her eyes opened, she groggily stood up. Nothing from her dream remained, as if she had time-traveled in the blink of an eye.
"Now... huh? It's already noon?"
She didn't need to look at the clock; the students around her were already taking out their bento boxes.
She was a little confused. Kiana was supposed to come find her during every break, right?
"Don't tell me that idiot got punished by Mr. Kuzuki again?"
Mei smiled, took out the bento she had prepared for Kiana from her bag, and was about to go find her when she saw a familiar figure appear at the back door of the classroom—
Kuzuki's expression was as calm as ever; probably nothing could change it. He stood quietly at the back door, looking as if he had been waiting for some time. When he saw Mei stand up and turn to look at him, he suddenly spoke without warning:
"Raiden Mei, please come with me."
"Uh... me?"
Mei pointed to herself, uncertain. For some reason, she didn't want to. This time, it wasn't the so-called repulsion, but a faint fear that swept through her body.
But it was just a faint fear.
"Is... is it about Kiana?"
Kuzuki paused for a moment, then nodded.
"Phew... I knew that idiot got into trouble again. I'm sorry, Mr. Kuzuki..."
She said as she walked to the back door. The other students glanced over and then paid no more attention.
"Raiden Mei, follow me."
"Where are we going?"
Mei asked instinctively, but Kuzuki stopped in his tracks. After a full three seconds, he turned his head and said flatly, "How about the rooftop?"
Now it was Mei's turn to be stunned. The rooftop... that was where she and Kiana ate lunch every day. No one usually paid attention to that place. Had she thought they had been hiding it well?
Was Kuzuki's sudden mention of this place a hint at something?
Mei frowned, thinking.
Today's events weren't exactly strange, but she had slept through the whole morning, and Kiana hadn't come to find her. And as soon as she woke up, the most enigmatic teacher in the whole school, Mr. Kuzuki, had come looking for her...
Sleeping in class was normal. Kiana not coming to find her was perhaps surprising, but with her personality, she probably got into some trouble and was being punished.
As for Kuzuki, the homeroom teacher of the class next door, coming to find her was indeed a bit puzzling, but a teacher probably didn't need to give a reason to talk to a student, right?
Everything had a reasonable explanation, but everything also had a hint of strangeness that made Mei feel repulsed.
"Um... Mr. Kuzuki, is Kiana there?"
"Kiana... oh, the principal saw her sleeping in class. Right now, she should be cleaning the sports field."
"Oh... so... the rooftop? Just the two of us?"
"Yes."
A sense of vigilance immediately rose in Mei's heart. She had no ill will toward Kuzuki, but she wasn't a fool. In this situation, her safety was not guaranteed.
But... she didn't suspect him too deeply. If she had to, she could come up with many reasons. For example, on the day of the incident, even though Kuzuki knew about her father, he hadn't kicked her when she was down like the other teacher had.
And for another, although everyone gossiped behind his back about how strict he was, they all had to admit that he was a dedicated teacher...
And for Mei, the reason she ultimately let down most of her guard in front of Kuzuki was... laughably simple—because Michael hadn't told her to be careful of him.
In Mei's memory, the two of them had met on the day of her father's incident.
She trusted Michael. He had probably already investigated the backgrounds of most of the people at Chiba Academy. If there was someone he couldn't investigate for the time being, he would have told her.
As for Kuzuki, Michael had neither told her to be wary of him, nor had he put him on the list of trustworthy people. But Mei had only remembered the former and forgotten the latter...
"Okay," she nodded.
The two of them soon arrived at the rooftop. The scenery was not unfamiliar. Mei walked quickly to the railing and looked down at the sports field below. Sure enough, she saw a white-haired girl with a dustpan and broom, sweeping the rubber track.
Kuzuki didn't approach. From the moment they arrived on the rooftop, he had been silently blocking the stairwell door. He gave Mei enough time to observe Kiana, and he was also quietly observing Mei.
Behind the thick lenses, his black pupils slowly rotated until they became scarlet. His unusually brilliant mind began to spin rapidly. Although he had already simulated countless versions of the conversation in his mind, he cautiously made a final revision based on his observations of Mei just now.
"Mr. Kuzuki, you wanted to talk to me alone... what is it about?"
The girl watched the idiot sweeping the sports field for another half a minute, then turned around and initiated the conversation.
Kuzuki, or rather, Gray Serpent, gave Mei a deep look, his lips stretching into a grin, and then he spoke:
"Miss Raiden Mei, you actually still have a choice—what I'm about to say involves some truths that won't do you much good. If you don't want to hear it, you can leave."
"Playing mysterious."
Mei gritted her teeth and was about to leave, but after taking a step or two, she stopped.
"The truth? What truth?"
"About you."
Mei looked confused.
"About Michael..."
Mei's feet unconsciously took half a step toward Gray Serpent.
"About your father."
"What do you mean?!"
Something related to herself, to Michael, and to her father... Mei could only think of one thing that connected all three, and that was not long ago...
No, Mei clutched her other wrist—there was one more thing, eight years ago!
She panicked, inexplicably panicked.
But she quickly came to her senses. Both her father and Michael were trustworthy people. This wasn't just something she said; it was a judgment she had made based on their actions.
"If you're trying to sow discord, then you can save your breath."
She looked coldly at the man in front of her. He looked back at her with the same expression, until a hint of confusion appeared:
"Sow discord? No, you may have misunderstood my meaning. Do you think I'm going to speak ill of your father and Michael? No, no, quite the contrary. When it comes to you, I admire them both greatly."
"What on earth do you mean?"
Mei's voice was already a little faint, lacking confidence. She regretted trusting this guy so rashly, but then again, if he was determined to tell her these things, there were too many ways, too many opportunities. What if she refused this time?
Even so, she still decided to leave first. At least she had to go back and ask Michael who this Kuzuki was.
But just as she took a step, Kuzuki slammed the stairwell door shut with a bang.
"Mr. Kuzuki, didn't you say I still had a chance to leave if I wanted to?"
"I'm sorry, Miss Raiden Mei. If I remember correctly, your answer to my choice was—'playing mysterious.' Wasn't it?"
Mei's cheek twitched. She understood. He was never going to let her leave.
In that case, it didn't matter.
"Say it, your so-called truth. But don't expect me to believe you. I'll judge your words for myself."
"Hehe..."
Kuzuki's lips curled up bit by bit.
"I said, Miss Raiden Mei, you seem to have too many misunderstandings about what I'm going to say. But... if you insist on me speaking ill of Michael and your father, I can do that. After all, in my opinion, they are quite stupid. Especially Michael. It's been a whole month, and he still hasn't made up his mind to kill you."
"You..."
Mei was about to say something when a sharp pain shot through her heart. Her whole body grew weak, and she collapsed to the ground.
"This is..."
"Oh, looks like it's too late."
Mei struggled to look around. The originally clear spring sky was now completely covered by thick, dark clouds. Streaks of cold light flashed between them, and the ensuing thunder echoed Mei's heartbeat, leaving her nearly breathless.
"Look, what a beautiful scene. The same city, a different era, hehehehe..."
Amidst his laughter, a black and purple mist began to churn in the sky. It only took a few seconds to gather into a huge vortex directly above, and then it was pulled into Mei's body at an even faster speed.
"No... get away... what is this stuff!"
Mei struggled with her limbs, crawling backward on the rooftop floor, but her body was like a dry sponge, absorbing the surrounding Honkai energy radiation without reservation, almost frantically.
"Aaaaaah—"
Every muscle in her body was convulsing violently. Her struggling limbs unintentionally carved dozens of gashes into the concrete floor of the rooftop. Her long purple hair floated up, strand by strand, until Mei couldn't even scream anymore.
In a daze, she heard footsteps. She saw the man, who had lost his originally stern face, standing beside her.
"Now you have to listen whether you want to or not. Raiden Mei, if you want to blame someone, blame your father and Michael's mercy. Eight years ago, to save you from a serious illness, they implanted a Herrscher Core into your body. They only wanted to save your life, but they didn't expect the core to fuse with you so perfectly. Before that, humanity had experimented for twelve years, using tens of thousands of test subjects, and still hadn't achieved what happened so easily... hehe... your value is self-evident.
"But is that a good thing? It's not a good thing. If this had never been discovered, it would have been fine. But unfortunately, it was only hidden for eight years. That's right, your father's case, in the end, it wasn't you who was implicated by him, but him who was implicated by you. Cocolia is just a clown pushed to the front of the stage. What they really want is you...
"Ah, yes, 'they.' They want to snatch you from Michael's hands, which is as difficult as reaching for the sky. But unfortunately, I'm different. What I want to do only requires simple destruction. To be specific, I just need to input some Honkai energy into you, who carries the Herrscher Core, like this... and the gate connecting you to the Imaginary Space will open. The power of the Herrscher of Thunder... after fifty thousand years, the power of the Herrscher of Thunder can descend upon the mortal world once again.
"And the price is that you will completely lose yourself, become a puppet of the Honkai, a monster that only knows how to destroy. Your father and Michael certainly knew this possibility. But unfortunately, their best choice was to kill you the moment this was exposed. Otherwise, just like now, the entire Chiba Academy, the entire Nagazora City, the entire Far East, and even the entire world will have to pay for your and their womanly benevolence!
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Your father is one thing, but Michael, a man with no blood relation to you... tsk! A man who kills like he's mowing grass, actually showed mercy to a child like you. Did he play house for too long and get infected with childishness? Hahahaha... hahahahaha..."
Mei's vision was filled with darkness. Only the man's mechanical laughter lingered in her ears.
But the next moment, it was quiet. Only the continuous thunder and a voice identical to her own remained:
"Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! And then... destroy everything!"