She was suppressed.
A person who was entirely inferior to her in strength and speed was suppressing her in combat.
"Clang!"
The blade sliced through a strand of hair, and the force was just right to deflect her sword edge.
She could see every single trajectory of Lin's movements clearly.
It wasn't a problem with speed or strength. Was it a gap in experience?
No, Mei believed her combat experience and intensity were definitely not inferior to Lin's.
But why did she feel so much "strain"?
She couldn't retract the sword she had slashed out. Her left hand formed a hand-blade and chopped towards Lin's neck, but he let go of the sword in his left hand one step ahead and struck her left elbow joint with an upward punch. The crisp sound and breaking pain caused her to stall, and then she was kicked in the abdomen, flying backward.
"Bang!"
Mei gritted her teeth and bore the pain, plunging her sword into the ground to stop her backward flight, then waved her hand to command Kurikara to attack.
"Howl!"
Flapping its wings, a massive, dark-red hurricane mixed with lightning blew towards Lin. However, the funnels beside Lin emitted particles of the same color as his visor, converging around him and firing a concentrated volley, forcefully tearing a rift in the hurricane before dispersing it.
Failing in one strike, Kurikara once again condensed Honkai energy, spewing out a beam that could destroy half a city.
"Boom!"
Mei's eyes widened.
Again, a pre-emptive attack?
Kurikara's beam and the funnels' beams collided in the air at almost the same time. The funnels' output should have been absolutely incapable of resisting Kurikara, yet a "perfectly timed" force and angle deflected Kurikara's beam.
If the funnels had attacked too early, they would have hit Kurikara's body directly and wouldn't have caused much damage. If they attacked too late, there wouldn't have been enough buffer to deflect it.
To block a Judgement-class Honkai Beast's attack with just six funnels?
Mei understood where the feeling of strain was coming from.
Lin was able to use the most appropriate method and the least effort to neutralize her every full-strength attack. When she used a large-scale attack, it was when her vulnerability was greatest, and if it missed him, she would have wasted energy for nothing.
It wasn't relying on other abilities; it was simply calculating and countering her attack pattern after a few exchanges, utilizing the information he collected.
What kind of calculation and processing ability is this? Can a human being achieve this level?
No, she must keep attacking to find his flaw—
"Think."
Lin, who had repelled Mei, suddenly spoke, causing the charging Mei to stop and look at him calmly.
Lin maintained his starting stance but didn't attack. He stood still and asked, "Do you consider yourself human, or a Herrscher?"
"Human? Herrscher?" Mei was momentarily stunned by the untimely question, then composed herself. "What's the meaning of this question?"
She was fighting for humanity. Did the identity of Herrscher or human really matter?
"..."
However, Lin didn't answer. He just quietly stared at Mei, without a hint of impatience.
Human, or Herrscher...
This question had troubled Mei for many years. She, who had transformed into a Herrscher and caused the Third Eruption in Nagazora, was undoubtedly a heinous sinner. Millions of lives were extinguished in an instant.
Everything was done by her Herrscher self, and she chose to evade, pushing the fault onto the so-called Herrscher personality.
But deep down, Mei knew clearly that it was herself. Whether it was the Third Herrscher or her, they were both "Raiden Mei."
The day-by-day evasion, the year-by-year neglect, all vanished the day she awakened for Kiana.
So, at this moment, having bid farewell to her timid self and accepted her sin and weakness, she was...
"I am a Herrscher," Mei stated firmly. "And I am human!"
Even with the body of a Herrscher, her heart remained human. She would not evade either identity. Choosing to face it, and then moving forward—that was her answer.
...
"Oh my."
Elysia's lips curled slightly, and she smiled gently.
Both Herrscher and human.
Like a stopped clock, turning once more, everything moves forward.
...
Upon hearing Mei's words, Lin didn't speak. Instead, he observed her, this "Herrscher," as if seeing her for the first time, scrutinizing this young yet resolute girl.
Just like they once were, embarking on a journey of no return.
"Then think like a human." The funnels around Lin rotated, circling him at high speed. He pointed a single sword at the space between Mei's eyebrows. "Stopping to think in combat, driven only by instinct, is not human."
"Think..." Mei murmured.
"Countless [Nameless] ones are buried beneath these ruins."
Lin stood on the ruins, and in Mei's eyes, the scene blurred, and she saw him standing in a cemetery.
That cemetery again.
Where the black rain never stopped.
The burial place of countless sacrifices.
And a small, unassuming nameless tombstone.
Lin stood before that tombstone. Black raindrops slipped from his chin, dripping into the puddle at his feet.
"They are human, they were human, and they remain human in death. And I am their mourner, and the executor of their will."
"That person," spanning fifty thousand years, now stood small yet resilient before "humanity."
"So, Raiden Mei, come and prove it to 'us'."
"How dazzling the future of humanity truly is!"
The soul-piercing sound of rain echoed over the ruins, washing away the remnants of civilization.
There was no light in the rain, yet brilliant radiance was everywhere.
Raiden Mei's horns and armor dissolved under the rainwater. Kurikara soared into the sky, engulfed by the clouds and disappearing from sight.
She raised her sword with both hands, her mind calm as still water.
Lin held his sword with one hand, unmoving and towering.
Merely human.
She was facing the will of the Previous Era's humanity, a will that neither Herrschers nor the Honkai could crush.
Destroy their body, but their heart is eternal.
The dual swords met.
...
"Ah, it's over."
Elysia watched Mei being sent flying, sighed, and stood up.
"Brother Lin won after all." Pardo's cat eyes watched Lin put away his sword and walk towards Mei, who was lying in the ruins, saying with a tone of inevitability, "If Brother Lin had Boss Kevin's power, no one would be able to stop him, right?"
Then she thought of something, and her expression changed.
"No... this is probably better."
Elysia smiled when she heard Pardo's self-muttering. "Hehe, little Pardo still doesn't understand some things. Actually, Mei won... though Lin did it on purpose."
"Huh?" Pardo checked again to confirm that the one standing was Lin, not Mei.
Then why did Sister Ely say Raiden Mei won? And that Brother Lin did it on purpose?
After a brief moment of thought, she came to the conclusion to abandon thinking.
"Forget it, I don't get it. I am the [Reverie] after all."
Carefree and lighthearted.
...
"You won."
Lin looked down at Mei, who was struggling to stand up, and extended a hand.
Mei took his hand, using the leverage to stand up, and looked at Lin with calm eyes.
A terrifying crack was cut into the armor in front of Lin's chest. The scorched crack and flickering sparks narrated the severe situation.
As Mei was sent flying, she turned in the air and used her hidden left hand, wrapped in lightning, to slash his chest. If she hadn't controlled her strength, this blow would have sliced Lin into two halves diagonally.
This was a "sneak attack" she learned from Lin.
"You held back," Mei said without showing much joy. She stood firm and looked at Lin's "wound." "Given the reaction ability you showed, it's impossible for me to have landed that strike."
"No, I didn't dodge. My nerves were simply paralyzed by the electric shock, nothing more."
It was impossible to tell if he was trying to save her dignity or if his nerves were truly paralyzed.
In any case, Lin's goal had been achieved, and Mei had won, so he would give Mei her deserved reward.
"This is the Signet of [Nameless]. Since your neural response can withstand [Setsuna], this gift should not cause you much additional burden." Lin folded his arms, his indifferent gaze shifting from her to the other side. He called out, "Pardo."
The cat-eared girl appeared exactly where she should be. "Woo! Did you call me, Brother Lin?"
"Take care of her." After saying this, Lin left without looking back.
"What does that mean?" Mei looked at the "Signet" in front of her, confused.
"Hehe, hello there. You must be the guest this time." Pardo's ears twitched, and she smiled brightly. "I'm Pardofelis. You can call me Pardo or Felis, no need to be formal. Brother Lin and Sister Ellie have both told me your story. Something about becoming everyone's favorite the moment you entered the Realm, Sister Ellie designated teasing... oh no, playmate..."
"Those two words... don't seem to have a difference."
"Oh, don't mind that. Anyway, I saw your battle just now. That was amazing! Even though Brother Lin isn't a MANTIS, even a hundred of me put together couldn't beat him, but you won against Brother Lin! So I'll call you Sister Mei."
Pardo stood smiling in front of Mei and pointed to the Signet next to her. "Although I want to promote my merchandise and information, let's finish the current task first. I've never seen Brother Lin give his Signet to anyone, but Sister Ellie said that it's difficult for ordinary people to bear."
"So you're here to... take care of me?" Remembering Lin's words before he left, Mei's expression wasn't very good. The "gift" in front of her had become poison in her eyes.
"Ahem, well, actually, I've been expanding my business recently, like the business of taking care of people... Seeing as Sister Mei is a new client, I can offer you a 20% discount! A 10% discount is fine too, if you prefer!"
"..."
Sure enough, hoping for a normal person in the Elysian Realm was ultimately Mei overthinking things.
Speaking of which, she was clearly supposed to be asking Lin questions about the Elysian Realm. How did it turn into getting a Signet?
...Never mind.
Mei sighed, then focused her attention and placed her hand on the Signet.
"————————"
A deep darkness descended.