The Second Eruption, it could be said that the strongest Herrscher of them all, the Herrscher of the Void, possessed six cores.
And yet, wasn't she defeated because of her own arrogance?
Levi could feel the abundant power surging through his body.
Space itself was like a toy in his hands, freely twisted and manipulated at will.
If he wanted to, he could instantly create a spatial rift at the Herrscher of Thunder's waist and split her in two.
Levi looked down at his own hands, and behind him unfolded the wings belonging to a Herrscher.
Spears of subspace formed from his authority floated at his side.
"Just one core alone is this powerful, how on earth did Sirin lose back then?" Levi muttered to himself.
'With six cores, even my grandma could've won that fight.'
'But somehow, Sirin still managed to lose it.'
Thinking back to her performance during the Second Eruption, it was no wonder all the captains liked to joke about her being a pufferfish.
Meanwhile, Kiana, who was watching the battle from close range, felt a little strange after hearing Levi's muttering.
"Why do I feel like he's talking bad about me…? Maybe I'm just imagining things," Kiana mumbled.
This was their first time meeting, and she hadn't complained about him using her body. Even if Levi did want to insult her, he had no reason to.
Levi looked up at the Herrscher of Thunder across from him, and when he saw her shocked expression, he secretly chuckled.
"What's wrong? Surprised that I'm a Herrscher too?"
"You're a Herrscher too?!"
Before the Herrscher of Thunder could even respond, Kiana shouted inside his mind.
Levi replied in thought, "You should be saying, 'I'm a Herrscher too!' That's what fits."
"???"
Kiana was utterly confused. "I'm a Herrscher too? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Literally!" Levi said out loud.
After her initial surprise, the Herrscher of Thunder saw Levi talking to himself and assumed he was just speaking with another version of himself.
"To be distracted while fighting me!"
Levi sidestepped the incoming slash, his golden eyes locking on the Herrscher of Thunder. He pointed a finger forward.
A spear of subspace shot out from behind him, streaking straight toward the Herrscher of Thunder's face.
Such a simple attack naturally couldn't subdue her, it was barely capable of even scratching her.
But as a fellow Herrscher, Levi's powers were amplified by the system, allowing him to fully wield one hundred percent of the Herrscher of the Void's strength.
The Herrscher of Thunder before him, however, had only just been born. Levi estimated she probably didn't even understand what her own abilities truly were yet.
"So what if I'm distracted? To deal with you, I only need one finger!" Levi taunted her.
And hearing those words, the negative emotions the Herrscher of Thunder had only just suppressed flared up again. Her mind went blank.
Blue veins pulsed on her forehead as the Honkai energy around her boiled with rage.
Sensing all this, Levi smiled faintly to himself.
Just a few words and she loses her cool, this Herrscher of Thunder is really easy to deal with!
Or maybe, it's just that he's too strong.
Still, this couldn't go on forever. He had to think of a way to turn her from enemy to ally.
Without hesitation, the Herrscher of Thunder swung her blade again, but just as the strike was about to hit Levi, the attack suddenly vanished into thin air.
Sensing danger behind her, the Herrscher of Thunder's pupils shrank.
She flashed away just in time to avoid a counterattack.
Staring at the crater in the ground, having just escaped the brink of death, the Herrscher of Thunder calmed down slightly.
Feeling the negative emotions swirling in her head, she couldn't help but frown deeply.
"To dare get distracted while fighting me!"
Levi's voice came from beside her, ironically, the exact same words she had said to him earlier, now thrown right back at her.
The Herrscher of Thunder realized something was wrong. The Levi in front of her vanished.
'Not good!' she thought.
Without thinking, she swung her lightning-forged blade backward under her arm.
Clang!
The attack was blocked, Levi was surrounded by a faint golden barrier of spatial energy that stopped the blade cold.
Lowering his gaze to glance at the blade in her hand, Levi raised a finger.
Snap!
A crisp sound echoed.
The Herrscher of Thunder tried to attack again, but suddenly found her hand empty.
Her hastily constructed weapon had been teleported away with a snap of Levi's fingers.
"Still want to keep fighting, Miss Mei?"
Looking down at the Herrscher of Thunder's cold, beautiful face, Levi grinned playfully.
"..."
The Herrscher of Thunder didn't reply, clearly realizing just how vast the gap between their strengths was.
After her weapon was taken, she didn't bother making another.
Seeing this, Levi smiled.
Inside his body, Kiana was still mulling over what Levi had said earlier. "What does he mean by 'I'm also a Herrscher'? Am I really? Impossible! If I were a Herrscher, I'd know it myself!"
Kiana shook her head firmly. There's no way. A Herrscher who doesn't even know she's a Herrscher? That'd be the shame of all Herrschers.
Their first battle ended with Levi's victory.
The two slowly landed on the ground. Levi didn't seem bothered by the Herrscher of Thunder's earlier attacks. Smiling, he stepped closer.
"Mei-chan, could you tell me what happened during this time?"
The Herrscher of Thunder took two steps back, frowning slightly at this so-called 'kindred.'
She didn't understand what he was trying to do.
Then, her tense brows relaxed into a wicked grin.
"What else could've happened? Revenge, of course!"
"Do you know how beautiful the screams of those people were when they died?"
Levi's expression didn't change, still the same cheerful smile.
"Don't joke like that. Mei-chan is way too kind to ever kill anyone."
Seeing his teasing look, the Herrscher of Thunder scoffed.
"Besides, those who bullied you, if they ended up dead, they only got what they deserved."
"To bully such a sweet, kind girl like Mei, honestly, that's a crime worthy of death!"
The fastest way to get close to someone is to take their side when they're angry, and join them in condemning whatever hurt them.
Especially for someone like Raiden Mei, who was already on the edge of despair but hadn't yet fallen completely.
Even the faintest light, she would desperately reach for it.
Hearing his words, the Herrscher of Thunder stared blankly at the person before her, this 'kindred' who seemed to share her hatred and pain.
In the shadowed corners of her heart, the real Raiden Mei looked up toward that single light above her.
Looking at the "Kiana" who had said those words, "If… only a little earlier… that would've been nice…"
Even if it was just an act, she wished someone could've stayed and played along with her.
But no one ever did.
Seeing the stunned Herrscher of Thunder, Levi couldn't resist poking Kiana. "For your future, I'm really putting everything on the line here!"
Having a man pretend to be a cute girl, if his friends back on the Astral Express ever found out, they'd probably be laughing all the way through Levi's funeral.
"Oh? Oh! Thanks, thanks!"
Still thinking about the Herrscher question, Kiana snapped out of it and noticed the Herrscher of Thunder's softened expression.
Putting Levi's words together, she instantly understood his intention.
Helping her complete missions and helping her win over beautiful women, Levi really was a saint.
"Don't just flatter me, if you ever need help, you better think of me first!"
"Definitely! Definitely!"
BOOM!
A cannon spewing fire interrupted their conversation.
The Herrscher of Thunder's eyes narrowed, instantly forming a new lightning blade and slashing forward.
Levi turned his head slightly, locked onto the target, and opened a portal before him.
The incoming shell and the Herrscher of Thunder's strike were both teleported away to a nearby location.
Seeing both attacks disappear, the quick-thinking Bronya, hiding in the shadows, immediately dropped her rocket launcher.
"Project Bunny, deploy!"