After dinner, Kiana followed Theresa to her private training room, where she would receive her first set of armor and her first taste of true power.
Meanwhile, Bronya, Mei, and Fu Hua remained in the dorm. Ninti had vanished after dinner, tasked by Snow with guarding the dorm perimeter against an impending pervert. Snow and Kyuusyou, feigning a leisurely stroll, went to intercept their prearranged target.
Don't kill him, Ninti—after Fu Hua appears, assist her against the First Herrscher's clone. Until Kiana arrives, just play your part. If you get too angry, stab him a few times.
If you kill him outright, there won't have any drama to play out~
The petite girl with golden hair and purple eyes sat perched on a treetop, stroking a plump ginger cat as she recalled her mistress's earlier instructions.
"Can't kill him... So troublesome..." She tilted her head, watching an indigo-haired man stroll leisurely toward the dorm.
-
In their dorm room, Mei and Bronya sat on the sofa, controllers in hand, their eyes glued to the television screen as the two small figures clashed in virtual combat.
Mei's body swayed rhythmically, as if she wished she could dive into the screen and become the character herself, her mouth emitting a constant stream of onomatopoeic sounds: Hah! Woohoo! Ee-yah!
Yet all her efforts seemed futile. On the screen, Mei's health bar continued to plummet rapidly, nearing zero.
"Sigh—I can never beat Bronya. I've lost all night..."
"I really wanted to win just once before going to bed..."
Mei raised her controller above her head, striking a pose of melodramatic despair. Bronya, sitting beside her, turned her head and extended her left hand, her fingers landing on the red B button atop Mei's controller.
Instantly, Mei's character unleashed a devastating special move, a bolt of lightning flashing across the screen—
K.O! The victory chime echoed from the television.
"Eh? I won!" Mei exclaimed in surprise.
"But that's so strange... How did I even use my ultimate just now?" She tapped her chin thoughtfully, while a faint smile played on Bronya's lips beside her.
Ding-dong! The doorbell rang, interrupting Mei's train of thought.
"Eh? Is that Kyuusyou and the others back? Come to think of it, what were they doing out all night?" Mei wondered aloud, heading toward the door.
The door creaked open, revealing a man she'd never seen before. His features were obscured by a hooded cloak, casting his face into deep shadow.
"My apologies for disturbing you so late. I'm the newly appointed Secretary Officer to Headmaster Theresa," the mysterious man introduced himself, his gaze sweeping over the two figures in the living room.
"Headmaster Theresa requests Miss Mei's presence in her office." The man pressed a bandaged hand to his chest in a gesture of apology.
"Bronya will come too," the gray-haired girl interrupted sharply, her eyes narrowing at the suspicious figure before them.
"Ah... that presents a problem. Headmaster Theresa specifically summoned Miss Mei alone." A hint of frustration crept into the man's voice, though a closer ear might have detected a deeper impatience.
"Then Bronya will ask the Headmaster directly," Bronya retorted.
...The man's movements stiffened momentarily. Abandoning all pretense, he seized Raiden Mei by the arm, a jolt of electricity flashing across his hand as he knocked the black-haired girl unconscious and hauled her into his arms.
"Tch, such a distrustful little brat."
"If you'd just listened obediently, you wouldn't have gotten hurt!" His face in the shadows grew even darker as a black-purple sphere materialized beside him.
"Looks like I'll have to take her by force—"
"Let go of Mei!"
Project Bunny materialized behind the girl, overturning the furniture in the room. The mech's heavy particle cannon began to glow.
A torrent of orange-white particles erupted from the cannon, stirring up smoke and debris throughout the room. As the smoke slowly cleared, the man stood unharmed by the doorway, a pale purple film-like shield enveloping him.
How is this possible...? Blocking Project Bunny's attack at this range...?
If the attack had any effect at all, it was to make the man remove his hood, revealing his true face: a young man with indigo hair and blue eyes, his face radiating undisguised arrogance.
"Project Bunny! Prepare a second volley!"
"Muda! Muda! Muda! A hundred more shots won't change a thing!" The man spread his palm toward Project Bunny behind the girl.
"I'd love to play with you longer, little bunny, but I don't have time." His outstretched hand clenched into a fist, as if crushing something.
"Goodbye—" The humanoid mech collapsed with a thunderous crash, dissipating into nothingness. With a flick of the young man's finger, the gray-haired girl was hurled against the wall.
"I must... notify Headmaster Theresa..." The girl managed to whisper as she lost consciousness, sending out a final warning.
"Before coming here, Lady Cocolia repeatedly begged me not to kill you. Remember to thank your mother properly," the man sneered, stepping on the girl's head.
As the man gloated over his victory, a violent gust of wind and a sudden surge of murderous intent tore through the air toward him.
A pale blue force field shimmered into existence. He calmly turned, a disdainful smile playing on his lips, then—in the next instant, a searing pain exploded in his brain, and the vision in his left eye abruptly turned blood red.
The force field had blocked Fu Hua's fist, but it failed to stop Ninti's pair of black daggers. The pitch-black blades pierced the pale blue force field, slashing across the man's left eye as he turned his head. Blood gushed from the wound.
"I thought Kiana was getting too excited again in the middle of the night, but it turns out we have a burglar," Fu Hua remarked, clad only in a long white shirt. She sidestepped the man's attack and assumed a fighting stance.
"Damn you, Valkyrie! State your name!" the man snarled, clutching his bleeding eye as he glared at the lone gray-haired Valkyrie before him.
Wait! There were two of them just now... Oh no!
The man sensed danger, and his blue force field flared up again, but it was already too late.
The vanished killing intent resurfaced, nearly freezing his consciousness solid.
A searing pain in his left arm jolted his nearly frozen mind back to life. The bandage wrapped around his arm was soaked crimson with blood—the decorative strip now served its true purpose.
"Enough! You Valkyries! Enough!" The man's furious roar echoed through the dormitory.
Boom!
The sound of collapse reverberated through the room as the man stood on the debris of the shattered wall, glaring down at the Valkyrie who had been forced to one knee by an invisible gravitational force.
"Hmph! I didn't expect you could actually withstand my attack... commendable, but nothing more!" The man clutched his left eye, his left arm hanging limp. More dark purple spheres materialized around him.
"Gravity manipulation, then?" Fu Hua murmured, feeling the crushing pressure bearing down on her as she studied the arrogant man before her.
"Exactly! I control gravity. Anything within my sight, I can alter its gravitational force at will—"
"So no matter how powerful your attacks are, they're useless against me!"
Ninti, still lurking in the shadows, struck twice more, crippling the the man's eye and arm. The man howled arrogantly amidst the rubble, his display striking Fu Hua below with a touch of absurdity.
Did we accidentally hit this kid's head just now?
"What?! Valkyrie, do you still dare oppose me, the First Herrscher?!"
"Herrscher? Your current state is utterly pathetic for someone claiming to be a Herrscher. And your abilities are remarkably one-dimensional."
"Manipulating gravity is merely one expression of my power. My true ability lies..."
"What was it again...?" The man wore a puzzled expression.
Opportunity! Fu Hua, facing him directly, and Ninti, lurking in the shadows, pounced again the moment he froze.
"What?! You think you can defeat me with speed? How naive, Valkyrie!" The man swiftly regained his composure and erected another barrier, desperately trying to block Fu Hua and Ninti's relentless, storm-like assault.
...The barrier shattered under Fu Hua's assault. Mei, who had been bound by gravity, was yanked free by Fu Hua. Meanwhile, Ninti's blade scored another deep cut across the man's left arm.
"You talk a big game, but your strength is pathetic." The tables had turned—now Fu Hua held the high ground, looking down at the "Herrscher" whose left arm was completely crippled.
"A true gentleman is concise in speech and diligent in action. Remember that well."
There's no need to waste time on this man. Although Ninti has repeatedly gained the upper hand, part of the reason he hasn't lost control and launched an indiscriminate, large-scale attack is because he hasn't been pushed too far. Right now, we need to find Kyuusyou or Snow and secure their assistance.
Having made up her mind, Fu Hua glanced at the grim-faced man and prepared to leap away.
"You dare underestimate me...?"
"Now—kneel before me!" Blue veins erupted across his face, his azure eyes now glowing with a cyan luminescence.
"I don't recall ever agreeing to let you leave...!"
"If I don't get serious, you'll truly underestimate me. Now—let your arrogance be punished in this hell of a hundredfold gravity! Valkyrie!"
The man floated into the air, fragments of rubble rising with his fury. Fu Hua, who had been leaping away with the unconscious Mei in her arms, was suddenly slammed back to the ground by an immense force.
All of this was of no concern to Ninti, who had long since retreated to safety. Her purple eyes glanced at the distant, shimmering lightning before she silently snapped a photo of the graze on her skin with her phone.
[Compose Message]
[Mom! He hit me! It hurts so much! (Image)]
[Send]
[Recipient: Houraiji Kyuusyou]