Himeko Murata felt those purple eyes the moment she landed on the ground. The indifferent and cold eyes indeed looked like those of a Herrscher who destroys worlds, but the way she stood there, seemingly protecting Kiana, made it hard for Himeko to associate her with a Herrscher.
Afraid of provoking the Third Herrscher and causing harm to Kiana, who was extremely close to her, Himeko chose to approach Evan.
"You..."
Originally, Himeko wanted to ask why Evan, who was obviously just an ordinary high school student at Tachikawa Academy, possessed such strength. But on second thought, she felt there wasn't much time for idle chatter right now, as the Third Herrscher was still standing there. So, after helping Evan clear out the few remaining zombies, she glanced at the Third Herrscher in the distance and asked in a low voice.
"What's going on with that Herrscher over there? Why is Kiana there?"
"Kiana was knocked unconscious by the shockwave when Raiden Mei awakened as a Herrscher. Raiden Mei is the Third Herrscher you mentioned. We are friends."
"Friends? She is no longer your friend. She is the Third Herrscher. A Herrscher is..."
"Is an apostle of the Honkai, a disaster that destroys the world. Is that what you want to say?"
Evan looked at Himeko Murata, who was close at hand, and continued.
"Raiden Mei now has two personalities. One is her usual self—a kind girl who lived and grew up in an environment where her mother died early, her father was imprisoned, and she was isolated by classmates and teachers, yet she could still treat everyone gently. The other personality is the Herrscher. But her Herrscher personality inherited the memories and most of the emotions of her normal personality. So, please don't treat her as a disaster that destroys the world."
Himeko Murata looked at Evan, who said these words with a serious face, and gradually frowned.
"You... don't tell me you want me to ignore this Herrscher? You want to protect her?"
"Yes."
Evan gave an affirmative answer, causing Himeko Murata to immediately distance herself from him and aim her weapon at him alertly.
As a Valkyrie, Himeko Murata knew very well what kind of disaster the Honkai brought to the world. As for Herrschers, although the former Himeko Murata had no experience facing a Herrscher directly, countless materials and countless words told of the terrible nature of Herrschers during her training as a Valkyrie.
That was the terminator of human civilization, the Honkai's most powerful weapon.
Now, Evan actually wanted to protect her?
Himeko Murata almost laughed in anger.
"Do you know what you are saying?"
"I know. I know very well. Also, my previous wording seemed a bit too polite. I am not discussing this with you; I am making a demand of you, Miss Himeko."
"On what grounds?"
Himeko smiled, a smile full of anger because of Evan's rampant and rude demand.
Evan turned around and looked at the street in front of him. If Honkai Beasts and zombies didn't dissipate after being eliminated, it would be very crowded there. Even now, there were still many Titan wreckages. The asphalt ground of the street itself had long lost its original appearance, as if it had been plowed thousands of times. The stone floor tiles on both sides of the road were shattered. The atmosphere of doomsday was everywhere. This was a ruin, a dead city.
"Miss Himeko, do you know what role you are playing right now?"
"?"
"A character who arrives late after a large-scale Honkai eruption and then puts on the airs of a superior wanting to handle everything. Clearly, you didn't put in much effort before, did you? Or do you think eliminating those dozen or so zombies just now counts as a great achievement?"
"..."
Himeko Murata's face showed astonishment, unable to give any response. Evan wasn't waiting for her response anyway and continued.
"If you think that is a considerable achievement, then I, who eliminated hundreds or thousands of zombies, should be the savior, right? In the army just now, there were also more than a dozen giant Honkai Beasts and several Titans. Besides that, I also killed hundreds of giant Honkai Beasts at the edge of Nagazora City as a member of the garrison."
"What?!"
Facing Himeko Murata's surprise, Evan closed his eyes.
"The garrison was a group of ordinary people. It's simply a fantasy for ordinary bodies using conventional weapons to stop giant Honkai Beasts dozens of meters tall. They went there with the determination to die, just to delay the time when the Honkai Beasts generated from the source of the eruption invaded the urban area of Nagazora. They never longed to live, nor did they long for reinforcements. I couldn't achieve a decent rescue, but I tried."
"..."
"I was the only reinforcement. I tried hard to let the garrison survive, tried hard to kill the Honkai Beasts, and let the citizens of Nagazora City evacuate safely. You should have counted the number of survivors in Nagazora City, right? Do you think that was entirely your credit?"
"..."
"I made a promise to Raiden Mei, the Third Herrscher you speak of, and tried hard to fulfill it. She also believed in me. From the moment she became a Herrscher until now, she hasn't hurt a single person. Even the pillar of lightning that soared into the sky earlier only targeted a Honkai Beast. Isn't this enough?"
Himeko Murata, who hadn't spoken for a long time, looked at Evan in front of her, then at the expressionless Third Herrscher in the distance. Only after a long while did she speak.
"However, this large-scale Honkai eruption did cause a large number of casualties and unimaginable economic losses."
"The Honkai is inherently like this. You seem to want to attribute it to Raiden Mei. But the Honkai erupts first, and then selects a Herrscher. As a Valkyrie, don't you have such common sense? That the kind Raiden Mei became the Herrscher in this eruption is precisely the best news in this disaster."
There were still some hidden facts about Raiden Mei becoming a Herrscher that Evan didn't say. However, the result was the same. Even considering those hidden facts, Raiden Mei could not be defined as a sinner in any way; she had always been a victim.
Reason told Himeko that she should refute Evan's words, but emotion prevented her. In fact, Himeko Murata didn't know how to refute him at all.
"You have indeed left me speechless, Evan. It's just a pity that I am not the real person in charge. Next, I will contact St. Freya Academy, which is the principal of the management organization of this Far East region—Theresa. You should have met before. If you want to fight for something for that girl, talk to Principal Theresa."
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