Humans are in chaos, despicable outsiders.

--

As night fell, the campus hustle and bustle receded like the tide with the rising moon. Everyone who had been busy outside returned to their dormitories. In the cafeteria, Mei had already prepared dinner.

However, because a red-haired woman was missing from the table, the group's mood seemed to have cooled considerably. Only Ningdi and her two guardians, who were not quite sure what had happened, focused intently on their meal.

"Kiana, who usually eats like a starving ghost... tonight she didn't even eat six bowls of rice, she only ate two and couldn't eat anymore," Bronya and Mei muttered to each other as they sat together.

"Her mindset is growing and changing, Snow."

"This is a good thing. When people stay in a comfortable environment for a long time, they become too lazy to use their brains because of the ease of life."

"But if you take people to dangerous environments, they will mature after experiencing challenges and pain."

Seeing Kiana's gloomy face, Snow and the others sitting on the other side whispered among themselves.

"Kiana... don't worry too much about Himeko-sensei. The academy has such advanced medical technology, they'll definitely be able to cure her."

Mei, seeing Kiana radiating a low mood, offered words of comfort.

The dormitory door creaked open, and the dean walked in with a somber expression.

"I have bad news for you. Thirty minutes ago, I received a notification from the medical emergency center—"

"Major Himeko, she..."

The room fell silent... while Ningdi looked at the headmaster with a strange expression.

"Hmm... why are Lady Theresa's shoulders shaking...? Is she trying not to laugh?"

Theresa, exposed by Ningdi, scoffed, instantly casting aside her gloomy expression and revealing a happy one.

"The major is completely out of danger!"

"Although I can't get out of bed yet, I'll regain my mobility after a month of rest."

"What a pity. I was hoping to teach that bomb-wielding girl a lesson for her fiery temper by seriously injuring her... but it seems I won't have the chance this time."

Snow, Mei, and the others listened to Theresa's complaints, their faces showing a mixture of reluctance and something else.

I really want to complain... but I don't know what to say.

Theresa noticed Kiana, who sat there with a gloomy expression.

He reached out and poked the white fluffy ball with his finger.

"Kiana, my niece, are you alright?"

"I was just trying to make you guys laugh, don't be angry...?"

Kiana twisted her head sharply to one side, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"Back in the Nine Netherworlds, I was right beside Himeko, but I couldn't save her at all," the girl said, her voice trembling with tears.

"It's not your fault... Everyone's abilities are limited..." Theresa comforted the fluffy little ball of fur.

"What about Jiuxiao and Snow? I heard from the Valkyries on the Hyperion that they hijacked the entire Anti-Entropy air fleet, thereby saving Canghai City and us in Chiyouli."

"I swore to my dad that I would protect the people I care about... I can't afford to be lost any longer...!"

"Auntie, I want to become stronger quickly!"

"Then wipe away your tears, Kiana Kaslana."

Before Theresa could respond to the white-haired girl's request, Snow's voice rang out beside her, his azure eyes, just like the girl's, now fixed on her.

"At least the strong never believe in tears—"

"it is good--!"

[Finally starting to grow up...]

Chapter Thirty-Five: Mom, he hit me! .jpg

After dinner, Kiana followed Theresa to her private training room, where she would receive her first armor and her first power.

Only Bronya, Mei, and Fu Hua remained in the dormitory. Ninti disappeared after dinner, tasked by Snow with keeping watch around the dormitory for a certain approaching perverted man. Snow and Jiuxiao, on the other hand, went out for a walk under the pretext of intercepting their pre-arranged target.

【Don't kill him, Nindi—after Fu Hua appears, assist her in fighting the clone of the First Herrscher. Before Kiana arrives, just keep acting. If you're angry, just stab him a few times.】

【Just kill him, and then Jiu Xiao's mother will have no chance~】

A petite girl with blonde hair and purple eyes stood on a treetop, petting a chubby orange cat and recalling her parents' previous instructions.

"I can't kill him...it's too troublesome..." The girl tilted her head, looking at the indigo-haired man who was slowly approaching the dormitory as if taking a stroll.

--

In the dormitory, Mei and Bronya were sitting on the sofa, holding game controllers and watching the TV screen, controlling the two little characters on the screen to attack each other.

Mei's body swayed constantly, as if she wished she could crawl into the screen and become that little person, making continuous onomatopoeic sounds like "Ho!" and "Ooh!"

However, all of this seemed to be in vain; Mei's health bar on the screen continued to drop rapidly, nearing its limit.

"Sigh—I can never beat Bronya, I lost all night."

"I really want to win a game before going to sleep..."

Mei raised the controller above her head, adopting a posture of self-isolation. Bronya, standing beside her, turned her head and, watching Mei's reclusive sister, extended her left hand, her fingers landing on the red B button on the controller above Mei's head.

Then, the little Mei character on the screen unleashed her ultimate attack, a flash of lightning—

The sound of victory came from the television in front of "KO".

"Huh? We won!"

"But that's so strange... how did I just unleash my ultimate move?" Mei poked her chin with her index finger, deep in thought, while Bronya beside her wore a faint smile.

"Ding-dong—" The doorbell rang at that moment, interrupting the girl's thoughts.

"Huh? Jiuxiao and the others are back. Speaking of which, what were those three doing going out last night..." Mei walked towards the door.

The door was turned and opened, revealing a man I'd never seen before, his face obscured by a hood, casting a shadow.

"Excuse me for disturbing you so late at night. I am the newly appointed secretary to Dean Theresa," the mysterious man introduced himself to the two people in the living room.

"Headmistress Theresa needs Miss Mei to go to her office..." The man placed the bandaged hand to his chest in an apologetic gesture.

Bronya was interrupted by the gray-haired girl, who gave the suspicious man a sharp look.

"Oh dear... this is a problem. Headmistress Theresa only summoned Miss Mei." A hint of helplessness crept into the man's voice, and upon closer listening, one could detect a hidden impatience.

"Then let Bronya ask the headmaster."

The man's movements stiffened for a moment, then he stopped concealing his actions, forcefully pulling Raiden Mei towards him. A crackling current flashed in his hand, knocking the black-haired girl unconscious and holding her in his right arm.

"Tsk, what a suspicious brat."

"If you had just behaved, you wouldn't have gotten hurt!" The face in the shadows grew even more somber, and a dark purple sphere appeared beside the man.

"It seems the only option is to take her away by force—"

"Let go of Mei-neechan!"

The heavily armored bunny appeared behind the girl, overturning the furniture in the room, and the heavy particle cannon in the mecha's hand began to glow.

A torrent of orange-white particles shot towards the man, creating a cloud of smoke and debris in the room, which slowly dissipated as the smoke cleared.

The unharmed man stood at the doorway, enveloped in a pale purple thin film shield.

[How is it possible... to block Heavy Bunny's attack from this distance...!?]

If the attack had any effect whatsoever, it was probably that it made the man remove his hood, revealing his true face—a young man with indigo hair and blue eyes, his face radiating undisguised arrogance.

"Heavy Armored Rabbit! Prepare for the second artillery strike!"

"No way! No way! No way! A hundred more shots won't help!" The man opened his palm towards the heavily armed bunny on the girl's back.

"I really want to play with you a little longer, but unfortunately I don't have much time left, little bunny." Her outstretched hand clenched again, as if she were crushing something.

"Goodbye—" The humanoid mecha collapsed and vanished with a roar, while the gray-haired girl was flung against the wall by the young man's flick of his finger.

"We must... notify Headmistress Theresa..." In her last moments before losing consciousness, the girl issued the alarm.

"Before coming here, Lord Cocolia repeatedly begged not to kill you. Remember to thank your mother properly," he said disdainfully, stepping on the girl's head.

As the man triumphantly declared his victory, a gust of wind and a sudden burst of killing intent swept towards him.

A pale blue force field barrier rose up, and he calmly turned around, a disdainful smile on his face. Then—the next moment, excruciating pain surged through his brain, and his left eye suddenly turned blood red.

The force field blocked Fu Hua's fist, but not Ning Di's pair of black daggers. The dark blades pierced through the pale blue force field, slashing the man's left eye, which he had just turned his head to the side, and blood gushed out.

"I thought Kiana was getting excited again in the middle of the night, but it turns out it's a thief breaking in!" Fu Hua, wearing only a long white shirt, dodged aside after her attack failed and assumed an offensive stance.

"Damn Valkyrie! State your name!" The man, clutching his injured eye, stared at the lone, gray-haired Valkyrie before him.

[Wait! There were just two of them... Oh no!]

The man realized something was wrong, and the blue aura reappeared on his body, but it was too late.

The murderous aura that had vanished without a trace reappeared, almost freezing his consciousness.

The sharp pain in his left hand jolted the man's almost frozen thoughts back into focus. The bandage wrapped around his arm was stained crimson with blood; the bandage, which had originally served only a decorative purpose, was now fulfilling its true function.

"Enough, you bunch of Valkyries! Enough!" The man's angry roar echoed throughout the dormitory.

boom--!

A sound of collapse echoed through the dormitory. The man stood on the rubble of the wall, looking at the Valkyrie who had just been forced to kneel by an invisible force.

"Hmph! I didn't expect you could actually block my attack... You deserve praise, but that's all!" The man covered his left eye, his left hand hanging limply at his sides, and more dark purple spheres appeared around him.

"The ability to control gravity?" Fu Hua felt the pressure being applied to her, looking at the arrogant man before her.

“That’s right! I have the ability to control gravity. I can change the gravity acting on anything within my field of vision at will—”

"So no matter how strong your attacks are, they are ineffective against me!"

Ningdi, still lurking in the shadows, delivered two consecutive blows, destroying one of her eyes and an arm. The man, now groveling amidst the ruins, roared arrogantly, a sight that Fu Hua below couldn't help but find somewhat comical.

Did we accidentally hit this kid on the head?

"What?! Valkyrie, do you still want to be my enemy, the First Herrscher?!"

"A Herrscher? You, as a Herrscher, look quite pathetic now, and your abilities are rather limited."

"Manipulating gravity is merely one manifestation of my ability; my true ability is..."