As if she would run. There was no longer a need to.
Mei and Ryn's group were thousands of meters apart, and this distance was enough to buy Mei a moment's time.
The thunderclouds in the sky instantly covered the entire Far East. At this point, there was nothing left to hide.
Mei had originally only wanted to kill the members of Fire Moth without destroying Nagazora City. But since they wouldn't let her, she decided to flip the table and take Nagazora City down with them.
"The magnetic field... begins to turn."
Mei pointed to the sky, and the entire city of Nagazora began to tremble. Whether it was ME Corp's anti-Honkai materials or common plastic bags on the street, everything began to disintegrate into dust.
"Turn what? Stop!"
A black hole thousands of meters wide fully opened above Nagazora City, its gravity completely capturing the city. Ryn altered the black hole's gravitational frequency, twisting and flipping spacetime, freezing time for everything in Nagazora at the exact moment Mei began to turn the magnetic field.
"Since this is my world... I will never let you harm anyone again!"
Penglaiji Ryn reached out her hand toward Raiden Mei, clenched her fist in the air, and then pulled back forcefully.
"I will save this world... and bring everyone... salvation..."
Mei's action of turning the magnetic field paused, and she blanked out for a second or two.
She reached out a hand, sensing the Herrscher power within herself and the Honkai energy around her. Her connection to the Honkai energy of Nagazora City... no, of the entire world, had been severed, preventing the energy from being transmitted.
The rock-armored giant also dispelled at this moment, and Ryn and Penglaiji Ryn landed back on the ground.
Not only was Mei's connection to the surrounding Honkai energy cut off, but Ryn's own connection was severed as well.
Their previous battle had reawakened the Honkai in this world. In a normal world, this wouldn't be a big deal, but in this particular world...
And on top of that, Penglaiji Ryn had forcibly transferred Mei's power to herself...
*Thump—*
The moment she landed, Penglaiji Ryn's strength left her, and she collapsed to her knees. Though she quickly stood up again, her condition was far from good.
Five chaotic energies were rampaging inside her, and signs of Honkai corruption covered her entire body...
Penglaiji Ryn was undergoing Herrscher transformation...
The Honkai energy of Nagazora... the Far East... the entire world began to converge on the death spot in the sky. And when the death spot gathered enough Honkai energy to reactivate, that would be the moment this world was destroyed.
"Five types of energy... Why are there so many! Damn it, she can't handle these powers and is going berserk..."
Ryn quickly laid Penglaiji Ryn down, knelt beside her, and soothed the portion of energy within her that belonged to him. He then used his own energy within her to guide the other four.
But the other four energies each had their own masters, and Ryn's influence on them was negligible. Penglaiji Ryn could only rely on herself to regulate them and gain their acceptance.
Mei floated before Ryn and the others, quietly observing the out-of-control Penglaiji Ryn, Ryn trying to calm the rampaging energies, and the wary Bronya and Theresa.
"The Honkai energy can't be transmitted, the Herrscher's power can't be used, and the Honkai here is disappearing...
Looking at you... did Kiana choose to awaken you to try and change this place?
A desperate move... but unfortunately, it has only accelerated the arrival of destruction... The Honkai energy has already begun to gather at the death spot..."
"It seems I was too hasty... She still hasn't found herself, and instead, the corruption has worsened."
Kiana, who had been watching all along, now appeared before them, but her condition was not good either...
"Only the one who created this dream can change it. It seems my idea was a bit too naive as well."
Mei: "It doesn't matter. No matter the process, the ending won't change."
"Alright... then let's end it together..."
Kiana lowered her eyes with a sigh and took Mei's hand. Then, she threw the Lance of Finality into the sky.
The smoke that filled the sky and blotted out the sun instantly dispersed, and a massive Lance of Finality, hundreds of times larger, appeared overhead.
"Thank you for letting me see the final afterimage of this world. Even though it is still an irreversible tragedy, at least I was able to see the people I once treasured... Farewell."
*BOOM—*
Ryn raised his hand to block the Lance of Finality, his entire arm transforming into dark energy. He stood up, pushing against the lance, a flicker of anger in his reddish-purple eyes.
"One of you is acting like a lunatic, wanting to kill everyone... The other keeps everything to herself, shouldering all the pain alone... always shouting that the outcome can't be changed, can't be changed...
It's just the end of the world, everyone dies eventually! Why are you so obsessed with ending it all prematurely, with killing them! They just want to live, to live until the world ends!
Why not think about everyone working together to save this world, instead of stubbornly trying to destroy it all!"
Kiana: "This is a mistaken world, a continuation of a tragedy that should have ended... This world never had any hope... There's no need for salvation... This is our grave..."
Theresa stepped forward, holding the Oath of Judah, and looked at Kiana with determination and anger.
"I will not let you harm these children again! These children will live on. Even without hope, they will live on bravely! They should not die like this!"
Kiana: "Theresa..."
"Kiana!! The same goes for you two! Live on with Mei! So what if you're Herrschers! So what if it's the apocalypse! As long as you can be together, isn't that the best outcome!"
"..."
"Is it really okay to end it like this! Without even understanding each other's feelings! Living in pain and regret! Since you're alive, you should cherish each other now!"
Kiana looked sadly at the Theresa before her. "Everything here is fake... even you..."
"I don't understand! Even if it's fake! Even if it's a dream! At least in this moment, we can truly feel each other's existence! If we die, we'll never see each other again!"
Tears mixed with blood slowly fell from Theresa's eyes, dripping onto the shattered earth.
"Himeko... Seele... Bronya... and you two... Kiana... Mei...
I just want to see all of you well in this world... to see you by each other's side... I don't care what happens to this world..."