About ten minutes later, a travel-worn Mei finally rushed to the St. Freya classroom. As she hurried through the main doors, she spotted Shu standing near the entrance, staring blankly into space.
"Shu," she called out, jogging over to him. "What are you doing out here? Where is everyone else?"
Shu glanced back at her with an awkward smile and pointed toward the inner doors. "They're all inside taking a class..."
"Taking a class..." Mei paused. "What about Kiana? Why isn't she keeping you company?"
That was exactly what Shu found so awkward. He offered a helpless smile and pointed again. "Yeah... Kiana went to class with Bronya and the others, too."
Mei blanked. Did she mishear him?
"Did you say... Kiana?" she asked hesitantly, needing to confirm. "Kiana went to class with Bronya?"
Shu pressed his lips together and gave a solemn nod.
"Did the Principal catch her and force her to join the study session?" It only took Mei a single second to rationalize the impossible.
Honestly, Shu himself still found it hard to believe, even as the words left his mouth. Fortunately, he knew the context beneath the surface.
"No, Kiana volunteered."
"Huh?" Mei's brain short-circuited again. "Volunteered?"
Kiana volunteered for a class? Was the sky falling?
"Is..." Mei stammered, her mouth hanging slightly open as she stiffly tried to process the situation. "Is this class... really fun?"
Shu nodded earnestly and gave her a thumbs-up.
As expected of Mei. She immediately guessed the real reason behind Kiana's sudden "change in character." Kiana hadn't changed at all—it was the traditionally boring classroom that had changed.
BOOM!
Right on cue, a faint tremor shuddered from within the classroom. Mei looked toward the source of the noise. Shu simply sighed.
"Let's just go inside and take a look." He beckoned for her to follow, glancing back with a teasing smirk. "Who knows, maybe you'll want to take this class, too."
Mei tilted her head in confusion but took his words to heart.
"Haaah—!"
CRASH!!
It wasn't until Shu pushed open the inner doors that Mei realized just how incredible the classroom's soundproofing truly was. The moment they stepped inside, a cacophony of fierce battle cries and ear-splitting collisions washed over them.
Up in the spectator stands, Joachim was the sole occupant, clutching his briefcase laptop and staring at the arena below with dull, vacant eyes. The lunchboxes were piled high on a nearby seat, completely untouched.
Mei stepped up to the front row of the stands, taking in the sheer chaos below. Half the girls were running for their lives from simulated, metallic Honkai beasts, while a select few absolute powerhouses were doing the exact opposite—chasing the Honkai beasts around the arena.
Kiana was clearly having the time of her life.
With a vicious punch, she sent her metallic prey flying. She watched the simulated "Catapult-class" Honkai beast soar through the air—along with the massive ball it was clutching—before tumbling across the ground in a pathetic heap. Kiana let out a long, satisfying breath.
The badly dented Honkai beast twitched, struggling to push itself up on trembling limbs. It honestly looked a bit pitiful.
"Phew!" Kiana planted her hands on her hips, her eyes automatically scanning the room for her next target. Instead, she spotted Mei and Shu up in the stands.
"Shu! Mei! Come down and play! It's super fun!!"
"How is this fun?!"
After all, the only ones capable of one-shotting a simulated Honkai beast were Kiana, Theresa, and Bianka. Of the remaining girls, only Bronya and Li Sushang were handling things with relative ease. Everyone else was running away in sheer panic.
Even Sirin and Sin Mal were currently fleeing for their lives, hands over their heads.
Sirin did possess some miraculous powers. The minuscule fraction of the Authority of the Dream left within her body was enough to solve most problems. If she had her scepter from the base, she would unquestionably be the Herrscher of the Dream.
But right now, she was scepter-less. Trying to draw out enough Authority to fight the simulated Honkai beast on her tail was impossible with her meager reserves of Honkai Energy alone.
Relying purely on her own strength, Sirin could at best "breathe life" into a couple of Homu dolls to fetch her drinks, turn the pages of her books, or do her homework. If she actually sent those Homu into battle... they'd instantly be reduced to Homu jam!
Therefore, to defeat the beast chasing her, Sirin needed Honkai Energy—high concentration, high quality, and a massive quantity of it!
She needed Frélle!
Only Frélle, a Pseudo-Herrscher, could sustain her energy consumption! The two were an inseparable duo; they could only bring out each other's full potential by working together.
So, where was her practically joined-at-the-hip partner right now?
Far across the classroom in another corner, Frélle was desperately dodging a completely different simulated Honkai beast. Instead of scrambling away on all fours like a madwoman, she maintained her aristocratic bottom line—executing precise, miniature hops and graceful twists to evade the attacks.
To an outsider, it might have looked like Frélle was playfully toying with the simple-minded beast using minimalist movements. But Shu could tell at a glance just how screwed she really was.
Being a Pseudo-Herrscher had greatly enhanced Frélle's physical attributes, but she was a little too self-aware of her role. Aside from the one time she was mind-controlled by the Herrscher of Desire into fighting Sin Mal right after her awakening, Frélle had always viewed herself strictly as an "accessory."
She was Sirin's personal power bank. Her only job was to follow Sirin around and pump out Honkai Energy on demand.
Because of this, Frélle had never actually learned how to fight with her enhanced specs. She had mastered controlling her strength in daily life, but actual combat... especially exaggerated, high-octane combat? Yeah, she was way out of her depth.
Though, to be fair, she did look incredibly elegant doing it.
So, how were Sirin and Frélle supposed to rendezvous?
By defeating the Honkai beasts currently chasing them, obviously.
And why did they need to rendezvous?
To get the power needed to defeat the Honkai beasts chasing them!
What the hell! That's a literal infinite loop!
Up in the stands, Mei offered a small wave back to Kiana, then turned to look at Shu.
Shu chuckled. "Go ahead and jump in if you want. You guys are a team, after all."