A crater over 20 kilometers in diameter was an extremely rare sight even in the vast Great Homu Kingdom.
Raiden Mei and Bronya Zaychik ran for a long time within the crater before finally reaching Shu's impact point.
They stared at the deep, bottomless, human-shaped hole in the ground, momentarily at a loss.
That was Shu! The pillar of support in everyone's hearts.
Although they all knew Shu's actual combat power might not match the destructive potential of a Herrscher going all out, his influence and standing in their hearts were absolutely above any Herrscher's!
"As long as Shu is around, no matter the problem, even a Herrscher will definitely be dealt with." This was a conviction deeply ingrained in everyone's minds.
But now, watching Shu fall from the sky with their own eyes, Mei and Bronya felt a faint sense of their belief crumbling.
Fortunately, it wasn't truly blind faith.
Mei picked up a small pebble and dropped it into the human-shaped pit before them.
It wasn't that she wanted to kick him while he was down, but the hole was simply too deep. Dropping a stone was the quickest way to estimate the depth.
Forcing down the chaotic thoughts in her heart, Mei held her breath, quietly waiting for an echo from the bottom.
But after waiting for a long, long time, the sound Mei hoped to hear never came.
Is it so deep that even this method can't measure it?
Mei's heart sank. Taking a deep breath, she prepared to jump into the hole.
However, Bronya, who had been silent beside her, reached out and grabbed Mei's arm.
"Mei-neechan, do you remember the sentence we heard before Shu fell?" Bronya suddenly asked, seemingly out of the blue.
Mei paused, then nodded.
They had both heard the same sentence Shu heard in the air.
["—you'll be punished, 'kay~☆"]
The words had arrived abruptly, received by both of them in an instant. The very next moment, Shu plummeted from the sky, creating this massive crater.
Bronya bit her lip, speaking with some difficulty, "Homusilla kidnapping the princess... That's part of the Homu Brave Fights the Evil Dragon storyline, the very first step..."
Mei's pupils contracted sharply. "You mean..."
Bronya looked up at the cloud drifting in the sky, the one cradling a sleeping king.
Neither of them knew if she was truly asleep, nor if she could wake up at will.
Bronya gazed for a long moment before looking away, her voice low but certain, "If we... a [Knight] and a [Guiding Fairy]... were to rescue the Demon Lord, who is supposed to be on the opposing side... that kind of punishment might very well..."
Fall upon them too? Mei glanced back at the devastating crater. Buildings reduced to rubble and dust, most areas leaving not even ruins behind.
Under such unimaginable force, perhaps only Shu could have survived the impact relatively intact... If it had been them...
Mei couldn't help clenching her fists, biting her lip in frustration.
"Are we just supposed to stand here and do nothing?" When she looked up again, tears filled her eyes.
She looked at Bronya through blurry vision, her voice trembling, "Bronya, what exactly is the story of Homu Brave Fights the Evil Dragon? I need to know everything... including every detail you remember~"
Since everything here was related to that movie, even if she couldn't do anything right now, she at least had to understand what could be done!
Long before, back on the train when she first saw the "original plot," Mei had already made her resolve.
She would never utter the words "I can't do anything"!
She had to do something! Even if it was futile, even if it was like a praying mantis trying to stop a chariot! [Idiom: A brave but hopeless struggle]
Like a moth drawn to a flame... She, Raiden Mei! Was also a member of the Fire Moth's First Pioneer Team!
"The story of Homu Brave Fights the Evil Dragon is..." Seeing Mei's inexplicably resolute expression, Bronya paused for a fraction of a second, then quickly recounted the story.
Mei listened intently, asking questions frequently to ensure Bronya filled in all the details.
Before long, Bronya had explained the entire movie plot.
"Princess, Demon Lord, Evil Dragon, even the Guiding Fairy has appeared..." Bronya frowned tightly, analyzing the current situation with confusion.
"But... where is the protagonist? The brave hero Homu who is supposed to defeat the evil dragon and rescue the princess?" Bronya voiced her concern anxiously.
Fairytales relied most heavily on their protagonists for existence and development. Without a main character, the story had no impetus to move forward.
A child's world always revolves around themselves. The first step into adulthood is often realizing the world doesn't revolve around any single person.
"If there's no hero... then I will become the hero!" Mei declared firmly. "The original story didn't have a knight, and I happen to be the [Knight Who Saves the Homu Princess]..."
Bronya was startled. She looked at Mei standing tall, listening to her determined words.
"Then I am the Hero!"
Mei turned her head, looked towards the horizon, clenched her fist, and pressed it against her chest.
"Kiana... I will save her! And Shu..."
"I will [defeat] him too!"
---||---
On the cloud far away, Sirin had woken up sometime earlier. She vaguely heard the declaration brimming with "heroic flavor," and an involuntary surge of amusement rose within her. Then, rolling over on the soft cloud, she fell deeply asleep once more.
...
This was a vast cavern deep underground, a place never explored by the Great Homu Kingdom dwelling far above.
The Homus' aspirations lay not underground, but in the sky; the stars above were numerous, they had no need to look down at the "sixpence" scattered on the ground. [Reference to "The Moon and Sixpence", implying focus on higher ideals over mundane reality]
So, this was an un-"inhabited" land, yet not truly silent.
And in a small grotto carved from the stone wall, upon a flattened stone slab, a figure wrapped head to toe in bandages twitched slightly.
"Ah..." A slightly lazy voice echoed from the narrow stone cave. A delicate-featured man with long tea-brown hair emerged from the darkness, holding a small, gleaming knife, and approached the bed.
"A total of 19 fatal wounds all over... yet you regained consciousness in such a short time? Should I call you a monster..."
"Or perhaps... this is the quality of a Fire Moth warrior?"