"Mei, do you really intend to become a complete Herrscher? Everyone is doing everything they can. You don't have to take that risk."
Teresa couldn't understand her decision.
Saving Kiana was not Mei's burden alone — it was everyone's mission.
Mei didn't need to throw herself into something so dangerous.
"Thank you for bringing me news of Kiana, Headmistress. But I've already made my decision.
You don't need to persuade me anymore."
Mei turned back and shook her head gently.
From Teresa, she had learned about the reappearance of the Second Herrscher… and about Kiana.
But everything Mei had gone through had already made one truth painfully clear:
If she didn't possess overwhelming power, she would never be able to protect Kiana.
Powerless watching — unable to help, unable to stop anything — that was the reality she could no longer accept.
So she would become a complete Herrscher.
Only then could she protect the one who mattered most.
"Mei… Huh?
Kevin? You're here too?!
Oh—I get it. This is definitely your fault, isn't it!?"
Just as Teresa was about to continue persuading Mei, the Herrscher of Knowledge suddenly tilted her head upward.
Kevin was standing atop a distant high-rise, silent, watching them.
She instantly reached her own, extremely straightforward conclusion.
It must have been Kevin.
It was always Kevin.
Hua…
Kevin frowned slightly.
He would never get used to Hua speaking like this.
"Time's up, Raiden Mei."
He ignored the Herrscher of Knowledge entirely and addressed Mei instead.
"…I understand.
I'm sorry, Headmistress. Everyone… I have to go."
Mei bowed deeply to them — a sincere farewell — then turned to leave.
"Wait, Mei!
I know he's forcing you. But don't worry — your class monitor is not someone who sits back and eats grass!"
The Herrscher of Knowledge pointed at Kevin.
"Kevin!
Get down here and die properly!"
With that battle cry, she shot into the air like a launched missile, aiming straight at the man on the rooftop.
In her mind, the logic was very simple:
Mei wouldn't do this unless she was threatened.
Therefore Kevin must be threatening her.
Therefore he needed to be beaten.
That was how her brain worked.
Efficiently. Aggressively. Incorrectly.
"Class monitor!!!"
Just before she reached Kevin, Mei's voice broke through the wind and halted her.
She turned mid-air—
And froze when she saw Mei looking up at her with tears in her eyes.
"Please… don't.
I chose this myself.
It has nothing to do with him."
Despite her tears, Mei's eyes were steady. Determined.
"…I'm sorry."
With those last words, she left.
"If you insist on fighting, Hua,
you can come to the World Serpent base anytime."
Leaving that behind, Kevin walked away as well.
Mei…
Teresa watched her disappearing figure without speaking.
She knew exactly what Kiana meant to Mei.
She knew that during this entire period, Mei had been forced to endure the agony of watching helplessly.
That pain… Teresa understood all too well.
"Tch… annoying…"
Floating with her arms crossed in mid-air, the Herrscher of Knowledge looked uncharacteristically irritated.
She didn't understand complicated feelings — but she understood power.
Without power, you couldn't protect anything.
That fact she understood deeply.
And that was exactly why she was furious.
She had failed to protect Kiana.
As class monitor, she was ashamed. And angry.
Damn it… Kiana, where are you?
"Teresa!
Do you know where Kiana is?
I'm going to bring her back myself!"
Since she had no idea where Kiana was taken, she turned to Teresa for answers.
Once she knew the location, she would fly there.
And whoever took Kiana?
She would beat them flat, steal Kiana back, and be done with it.
"There's a possibility she's still in this city.
But we don't have confirmation yet."
Einstein answered this time.
Without proof the missing transport truly carried Kiana, they could only assume she was somewhere within Sky City.
"No problem.
I'll find her."
The Herrscher of Knowledge vanished into the distance like a bullet fired from a railgun.
The entire city would be flipped upside down before she stopped searching.
"Well, then.
As the chosen savior, I must act quickly too!
Failing to save Kiana is far too shameful for a savior~~!"
Determination burned across Jiu Xiao's face as she dramatically declared her intent to set out as well.
She fully intended to find Kiana before anyone else.
Beep—
Beep—
Tesla's detector suddenly sounded.
"What is it? Did something appear?"
Einstein quickly moved beside her.
"The Second Herrscher.
She's in this city."
Tesla immediately projected the map.
"That red dot… that's her?"
Jiu Xiao leaned closer.
"Yes. She's at the very edge of Sky City.
Not far from here."
Tesla sent the coordinates to everyone present.
"Then let's go."
Knowing time was running out, Teresa led the charge.
They had to face the Second Herrscher before she disappeared again.
Sky City Perimeter
"You again."
Suspended in the air, Sirin eyed the familiar group with an unreadable expression.
She knew exactly why they had come.
But giving Kiana back?
Not that simple.
Because…
Would the Kiana from that world even adapt to this one?
For a moment, Sirin wondered about the Kiana she had just taken.
But none of it mattered.
"God" had told her what to do.
So she would do it.
"Return Kiana!"
Teresa called out, weapon ready.
No matter how terrifying the Second Herrscher was, they would save Kiana.
"Want her back?"
Sirin smiled faintly.
"Then show me—
whether you have the strength to take her."
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/pikachu614