Come to think of it, the image of a certain pink-haired girl clinging to Eden while whining, "Eden~ Eden~ My dear Eden~~ please help me~" was actually kind of hilarious.
Most crucially, Elysia really would do something like that.
Which, in a way, just made it even funnier.
Fortunately, Mei wasn't having such strange thoughts at the moment.
Otherwise, the Elysian Realm might've turned into a very different kind of story.
After Eden left—
Mei continued wandering through the Elysian Realm.
She was deeply intrigued by this world built from Elysia's memories.
As she wandered…
Several magician's top hats, each about the height of a person, suddenly appeared around her.
The moment players saw the hats, they froze briefly before reacting.
This was… Vill-V?
So...
It's happening again, huh?
Ugh, why again?
Sure enough—
The top hats around Mei vanished, replaced by a swarm of bomb-strapped Howlers darting everywhere in chaos.
The scene quickly turned hectic.
"I knew it. There's no way you wouldn't show up."
Mei, seasoned as ever, showed no signs of panic at Vill-V's magic show.
Players weren't surprised by the absurdity either. Calmly dispatching the Howlers, they guided Mei to Vill-V.
After a brief exchange—
Mei didn't ask Vill-V anything about the Herrscher of the Thirteenth.
For good reason: every Vill-V persona was different. Even if she questioned the current grand magician, it'd be meaningless.
Might as well go ask another Flame-Chaser.
Just as she thought that—
Pardofelis's distant cries rang out: "Help! Somebody help! Save me!!"
Hearing her cries, Mei immediately abandoned Vill-V and rushed to Pardofelis.
And then discovered...
Pardofelis looked quite unique at the moment.
She was stuck in a treasure chest in an extremely awkward pose, unable to move.
Like a rookie adventurer in an RPG who rushes to open a treasure chest only to get swallowed whole by a mimic.
Except… the chest that "swallowed" Pardofelis wasn't even a mimic!
All that could be said was—well, it is Pardofelis.
Combat power: negative five.
She actually got taken down by an ordinary treasure chest.
"Pardofelis…"
Mei looked at her, speechless.
She truly could not comprehend how Pardofelis managed to get herself stuck inside a treasure chest.
Seeing Mei arrive, Pardofelis cried for help.
"Boss Mei? No, President Mei! Quick, help me!"
"Don't just stand there, President Mei! Aren't we comrades through thick and thin?!"
Mei replied honestly, "I just can't understand… how someone could get stuck in a chest…"
Pardofelis clutched her chest in pain: "Wah! Isn't opening treasure chests the sacred duty of an adventurer?! Isn't it natural to crawl in and inspect after opening one?!"
"…Indeed, it fits you perfectly. Curiosity killed the cat. I'll remember that."
[Treasure chests—natural Pardofelis traps (works in both 2D and 3D)]
["Curiosity Killed the Cat"]
[Cats are creatures full of curiosity.]
[Every Pardofelis-related scene is so fun.]
Seeing Mei still had the mood to joke around, Pardofelis started to panic.
She even offered to pay Mei for help—though the stingy cat couldn't bear to part with her coins in the end, the fact that she brought it up showed how desperate she was.
Mei saw this and stopped teasing.
Instead, she unsheathed her weapon and dismantled the chest in a few clean swings.
The sound effects were still those of the Herrscher of Thunder's basic attacks.
Mei, the kind who uses power-saving mode to fight monsters, now swung like a Herrscher just to break open a chest. Tsk tsk tsk.
If players didn't know better, they might've thought Mei was taking personal revenge—trying to split Pardofelis into [Pardo] and [Felis].
After rescuing her, Pardofelis, to "thank" Mei, offered to split the chest's loot with her.
However, as soon as she grabbed the item—
More monsters appeared.
It was another one of Vill-V's "surprises."
But for Mei, these Honkai Beasts were no trouble at all.
She quickly wiped out the few in front of her.
Except…
The one farthest away—a creature shaped like a video camera—suddenly turned and ran the moment Mei pointed her weapon at it.
Mei gave chase without hesitation.
A new quest prompt popped up: [Pursue the Faded Monster].
Originally, the prompt had read [Pursue the Eroded Creature], but perhaps Honkai Impact 3rd thought that was too obvious, so they later revised it to [Pursue the Faded Monster].
Hokuto, naturally, used the revised version.
After all, if players figured out it was related to the Herrscher of Corruption too early, the coming Elysian Realm impostor game wouldn't hit as hard.
...
Players controlled Mei through the pursuit.
Several more Honkai Beasts appeared along the way, interfering with her chase.
Eventually, Mei lost track of the strangely-shaped creature.
It puzzled her—how could she, of all people, lose a Honkai Beast?
Something was clearly off.
[That monster seems… suspicious.]
[Probably just another Flame-Chaser messing around. Don't overthink it.]
[True, come to think of it, a lot of them could pull that off.]
"Eden~ Eden~~ what do you think?" Elysia asked Eden after reading the audience discussion.
"What do I think?"
Eden pondered briefly, then replied with a graceful smile, "Perhaps it's one of your pranks, Elysia."
"Ah!"
Elysia faked surprise. "You figured it out, Eden? You're amazing~~"
She paused and chuckled. "Hehe~~ Let me tell you~~ you saw how the quest was titled [Faded Monster], right? Well, later on, a [Faded Elysia] will pop out and give everyone a huge scare!"
"Faded Elysia?" Eden repeated, rolling the phrase in her mouth. "So that's how the plot unfolds next?"
"Pfft~~"
Seeing Eden actually believe it, Elysia couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Of course I was joking! How would I know what's going to happen next?"
"'Otto'-san would never be willing to spoil anything."
She added with a sigh, "He even refused my 'Elysia Gossip Mega-Pack' offer. I mean, that was such a tempting deal, and he still wouldn't leak anything."
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