Raiden Mei returned to her room.
The accommodations the World Serpent Organization had prepared for her within the headquarters base weren't bad.
But the decor was far too monotonous.
All this time, Raiden Mei hadn't bothered to change any of it.
So in her room, aside from a bed, there was only a desk with a somewhat technological feel.
Every day, she searched for information there to continue enriching herself.
The power of the Herrscher of Thunder required a broad foundation of physical knowledge to reach a more powerful and complete effect.
As usual, Raiden Mei sat back down at her desk.
It was then that she noticed she was still holding the electronic tablet Jackal had given her.
She looked at the crack on its screen.
"Ugh…"
Raiden Mei massaged her eyebrows with exhaustion and sighed.
Then she set the tablet aside and powered on the computer in front of her.
A high-end aerial projection screen appeared before her.
Normally at that moment, she would open documents and data related to "electromagnetic force."
But today, by chance, she searched the base's ancient civilization files for information on the "Law of Domination."
Then…
"Huh?"
Raiden Mei froze.
She clearly saw the following statement on the screen:
[The Law of Domination, also known as: The Herrscher of a Thousand.]
[The Herrscher responsible for the highest number of human casualties in all of pre-civilization history.]
"The highest number of casualties?"
Raiden Mei continued reading.
[In the pre-civilization era, after the Ninth Honkai Impact, the Mu continent sank due to the 'black hole-like' anomaly created by the Ninth Herrscher, and the global population was reduced by one-sixth.]
[Although there were still internal conflicts at the time due to the persecution of Moth of Fire, this major event caused the global will to fight against Honkai to surge.]
[However, even so, after the Tenth Honkai Impact and before the Eleventh…]
[Over 85% of the world's cities were completely destroyed.]
"From losing one-sixth to over 85% wiped out?"
It was a terrifying figure.
Because that meant that over 50,000 years ago, more than half of humanity perished during the Tenth Honkai Impact.
Billions of lives.
And now, a new Herrscher of Domination had been born in this era.
However…
[The Dominators of the pre-civilization era were composed of a thousand different individuals: of varying genders, races, ages, and physical constitutions.]
[But the Herrscher of Domination in our era…]
Was only Ling Ke.
Even so…
Raiden Mei picked up the cracked tablet and tried to use it.
It still functioned, although its appearance was rather damaged.
She quickly opened the information shared from the Anti-Entropy side.
"Ability to summon multiple combat units."
"Suspected transformation or disguise capabilities."
"And… teleportation ability."
Completely different from the Law of Domination in the pre-civilization era.
In the records, the Dominators of that time inherited individually the powers of one of the nine previous Herrschers.
For example:
"One Dominator had the ability to teleport, which was classified as a power inherited from the Herrscher of Space."
However, they couldn't construct spatial barriers. Their power was singular and limited.
The other Dominators were in similar situations.
They could be considered as a thousand weakened versions of a full Herrscher.
But the abilities Ling Ke had demonstrated…
—Didi~.
Raiden Mei's communicator beeped, interrupting her thoughts.
She took it out to check.
"A mission?"
"Alright."
On the small screen of the communicator appeared Raven's face. "Hate to say it, but break time's over."
She didn't even wait for Mei to respond and got straight to the point.
That's how they interacted lately.
"A few minutes ago, someone attacked the lab we were building in Giza…" Raven reported. "The news came from Jackal. She's furious… well, I don't need to describe it. You can imagine."
"Yeah, that's not hard to imagine."
Raiden Mei nodded.
Jackal still seemed strange to her since their last meeting…
Thinking about the bizarre content of that conversation, Raiden Mei fell silent again.
"Ling Ke…"
She felt guilty toward him.
She suddenly snapped out of it and looked at the communicator.
"Do you know who attacked the lab?"
—Mei asked.
At her words…
"Exactly who you think," Raven replied bluntly. "I read the report too… yep, your 'old acquaintance.'"
Upon that confirmation:
"Just as I thought…"
Ling Ke, now on the continent.
First, the Schicksal branch in West Asia: destroyed.
Then the North American Anti-Entropy organization: he stole the Cacogolias.
Now…
"Is it my turn?"
Raiden Mei felt drained.
As she had said before, she didn't know how to face him.
However…
"If it were Kiana…"
"Hey!"
On the communicator, Raven saw Mei zoning out and called her to attention.
After that…
"I'm fine," Raiden Mei said firmly. "Wait for me in the hangar. We're departing immediately."
She had made a decision.
Regardless of whether he was willing to forgive her or not…
She would ask for his forgiveness.
Meanwhile, elsewhere—
"Well, she's quite resolute…"
Somewhere within the central base of World Serpent, Raven looked at the communicator that had just been hung up on her and smiled helplessly.
"Does that girl see me as her chauffeur or what?"
Since she had also read that information, she understood why Raiden Mei was acting this way. She sighed softly.
"Yeah, I know you're not in the mood…"
"I'll let it slide this time."
Meanwhile—
Schicksal Headquarters, Kolosten.
Clack!
A blond man, elegantly enjoying a glass of premium red wine, suddenly crushed it in a fit of uncontrollable rage.
At that moment, in front of him was an electronic screen showing the record of the massacre.
On it, hundreds of white-haired women in medieval purple outfits laughed madly…
Again and again, they pulled the trigger of their weapons.
Wherever they passed, only screams of pain and rivers of blood remained.
The most shocking part:
They all had the same face.
The face of Kallen Kaslana, the Saint of Schicksal.
"You are truly despicable, new Herrscher…"
At that moment, a furious expression twisted the face of the blond man: Otto Apokalypse.
His only faith in life… defiled.
After so many years, for the first time, he felt anger again.
As if a religious fanatic were confronted by a blasphemer.
And that…
Was exactly the result Ling Ke most desired.