Bai Qian held the Herrscher of Thunder's hand in a death grip.
The Herrscher froze.
Instinctively, she tried to yank her hand back—but his grip was iron. Worse, there was this terrifying illusion that if she didn't agree, the six-winged black monster behind him would crush her fingers into paste the very next second.
Her mouth twitched. Her violet pupils shook violently as her gaze ping-ponged between Bai Qian's face and the gun barrel beside him that was still watching her like a hawk.
Do you even hear what you're saying?!
Inviting a Herrscher to form a band? To become an idol? A celebrity?
Why not just say "save the world with rock music" while you're at it?!
She suspected her auditory system had been damaged in the beating.
"I am… the Herrscher of Thunder. The origin of the Third Eruption. Humanity's judge."
She took a deep breath, trying to reclaim even a sliver of villain dignity, but her voice wobbled anyway.
"And you want me… to be an idol?"
Bai Qian didn't let go—he squeezed even tighter and even shook her hands up and down like a deranged fan meeting their favorite cosplayer at a convention.
"Don't sell yourself short! Look at you! You're gorgeous—Mei's face is officially certified beauty, you've got horns, and you're tsundere!"
"Yeah, tsundere's 'out of meta,' but the kids are retro now—they LOVE that!"
He turned to the equally stunned white-haired girl nearby.
"Kiana. Tell her."
Kiana only snapped back to reality when he called her name.
Wait—why is this suddenly my problem?!
"Huh? Me? Am I becoming an idol too? Why am I involved? We were just fighting! Do I have to go in there and get punched too?!"
Bai Qian stood up, looked at her like she was hopeless, and flicked her forehead.
"Obviously. I already fixed Mei—might as well do the rest while we're here."
He pointed at Kiana's chest.
"You've still got the Herrscher of the Void inside you. That thing's got a worse temper than this electric eel. You wanna just ignore her?"
"What, wait until she feels cranky one day and starts blowing up the city?"
Kiana rubbed her forehead, blinked those bright blue eyes, and then—click—the realization hit.
But… becoming idols with Mei… means more time together, right? More time seeing Mei… right?
Does that mean she can start the romance route immediately?
How many kids? What names? Which kindergarten?!
Her eyes lit up like someone flipped a switch.
"With Mei?! Even if it's… this horned Mei?"
She even put on a thoughtful face, studied the Herrscher seriously for a second, then nodded hard.
"If it's for Mei, I'm in! Singing, dancing—this lady is a GENIUS!"
The Herrscher stared at that idiot grinning at her and felt a deep, spiritual exhaustion sink into her bones.
This is the bloodline I was trying to kill? This… is a Kaslana?
She's not even a person. She's a walking empty skull.
"I refuse."
She gritted her teeth and tried again to pull her hand free—still couldn't move an inch.
So she turned to the real Raiden Mei, looking at her like a drowning person seeing a life buoy. Even being threatened by her "original" was better than being tortured by these two lunatics.
"Say something! This is ridiculous! Do you actually want to see yourself hopping around on stage?!"
Mei was still crouched, arms around her knees, watching the scene—and somehow, she looked more relaxed than she had in days.
"I think it's… pretty nice," Mei said softly.
"At least it's lively."
"Just like Bai Qian said… it's to fight the people who want to use us."
She stood up, patted the dust off her skirt, walked to the Herrscher's side, and gently held the wrist Bai Qian was gripping.
"Even if it's just for me," Mei leaned in and whispered, voice light as wind, "become an idol."
The Herrscher's entire body stiffened.
She was weak to this. Completely helpless against it.
Damn it… why are you so loyal to yourself?!
"What's the big deal?" Bai Qian pressed, shaking her hands again. "Even the Schicksal Archbishop and the Anti-Entropy boss—hell, even 'world-saving heroes'—have been idols before! If THEY did it, what are you scared of?"
"And don't you want to see Mei shining on stage?"
"Now picture this—YOU burn your life out on stage, glowing brighter than anyone else, and Mei looks at you with pure gratitude…"
"…but she doesn't know you've already burned down to ashes."
"And then after you two argue again, you're so exhausted you get isekai'd by a truck—"
"Mei cries her eyes out, regrets it forever—don't you want to see that?!"
Mei crying? Regret forever?
The Herrscher's brain short-circuited.
…I want to see it—No, I want to refuse!!
She looked around.
The red-jacket twin-tailed girl was muttering, "Is this some magical girl training program?"
The blue-haired girl looked like she was dying inside but also radiated "I WILL go home and I WILL complain."
The horned woman with a sword—who had exactly zero softness—was thinking intensely, like she'd draw her blade again if the Herrscher said no.
And that weirdo in the hat was probably already imagining turning her into research material.
That's right.
If she refused, she'd suffer the worst humiliation imaginable—being tied up here and made to endure ultimate disgrace.
Every single one of them was evil.
They were ALL evil.
She had no choice.
"…Fine. I get it."
"But—only if you don't make me wear some… some weird dress."
"And how am I even getting out? Do I share a body with Mei?"
The Herrscher deflated like a punctured balloon. Her invincible aura collapsed completely.
She stared down at the hands that were supposed to destroy the world—now condemned to hold a microphone—her voice full of existential confusion.
"I have a plan," Bai Qian said smugly. "Using Mei's body for now works too. We're not rushing it."
With the Herrscher finally agreeing, Bai Qian turned to Tallulah, who'd been silent in the corner, arms folded, eyes deep and steady.
"Dragon sis—how about you?"
Bai Qian raised his eyebrows.
"If you want, I can go yank that old fossil named Koschei right out of your head through the 'internet cable.' That guy's nastier than both Herrschers combined. Keep him around for New Year or what?"
Tallulah shook her head gently.
"Just call me Tallulah. Thank you—but my issue isn't the priority."
"His whispering is annoying," she admitted, voice calm. "But I've learned to live with it. At least for now, he can't truly control my will."
"More importantly…"
She lowered her gaze.
"My people. Reunion… many are still starving. Still freezing. Still surviving on fear."
"What I want is simple: more people to live, to eat, to have somewhere safe."
Bai Qian looked at her, then nodded without pushing further.
"Understood. Then we focus on the immediate disaster first."
He pointed straight at Kiana.
"And next…"
"Kiana—time to deal with the pufferfish in YOUR chest."
The Herrscher of Thunder visibly shivered.
"W-Wait… you want me to fight her too?"
Right now, she desperately wanted to crawl back into Mei's heart and never come out again.
The outside world…
…was way scarier than she'd imagined.
-------
Enjoy 20% off our Patreon membership to celebrate Christmas. You can join starting today
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (180 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (110 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (190 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (78 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (130 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (80 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (140 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (50 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (60 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (110 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (54 Chapter)
DanMachi: Why Did My Dungeon Turn Into a Soulslike Game? (63 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (77 Chapter)
I'm Gotou Hitori—Who Are You? (40 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (58 Chapter)
Moon Project: A Full-Time Love Adventure for the Lobotomy Corporation (60 Chapter)
The Leisurely Days of the Hyuga Main House (50 Chapter)
Arknights : A Draco Surviving in a Matriarchal Terra (56 Chapter)
Arknights: What if My Luck Is Too Good? (74 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it