I Am Honkai

Midnight.

The twin moons—one azure, one crimson—hung high in the sky, casting a faint glow across the vast land below.

Crackle—Snap!

Bolts of lightning, each as thick as a child's arm, flashed one after another, growing denser, louder, and brighter. It was as if a thousand fireworks had been ignited in the night, each streak of lightning scattering like falling stars—a dazzling spectacle.

A violet-haired woman hovered in midair, the ring of thunder flickering behind her head, its luminous arcs refracting the lightning's glow. She looked as if she had descended as a goddess of thunder.

"Go."

With a simple wave of her hand, Raiden Mei commanded an unrelenting storm of lightning to descend, illuminating the wildlands surrounding the ranch as though it were daylight.

"Gaaaah! Gagagaaah! Gahhh…!"

The goblin wolf-riders, who had been sent ahead by the Goblin King to set up an ambush, screamed in terror.

There was no escape.

The lightning fell at unimaginable speed, each bolt striking with precise accuracy. Dead or alive, any goblin with an intact body received the full wrath of the storm.

Crackle—Boom! Boom! BOOM!

Lightning serpents tore through the air with a shrill roar, delivering a lethal flash of heat and energy. The struck goblins turned charred black, their burned flesh peeling away, revealing the cooked meat beneath.

Then, like tiny bombs, the goblins burst apart, sending waves of foul, heated air rolling through the battlefield.

...

"First fire, then martial artists, and now lightning... These noble ladies are ridiculously overpowered."

"Seriously. They use swords, magic, and whatever the hell that was—what even is their class?"

"Must be some kind of family inheritance. No point comparing them to us commoners."

"If they're this strong, why are they messing around in the frontier? Shouldn't they be fighting the Demon King's army instead?"

"We rushed over here all pumped up, but we're basically just janitors at this point."

"Eh, at least we get to witness some real power up close."

...

"Hey, 'Strongest in the Western Frontier,' any thoughts on this?"

"Thoughts? My title ain't worth shit."

A lance-wielding adventurer turned to his heavily-armored companion as they casually conversed, while the other adventurers who had come to assist all laughed bitterly.

Sometimes, you never realize how weak you are until you meet true strength.

All roads may lead to Rome, but some people are born in Rome—what can you do about it?

The adventurers had learned a valuable lesson today.

They'd seen lightning magic before, but it always required long chants, rituals, or group formations. Mei, however…

No incantations. No runes. No rituals.

She summoned lightning as easily as one breathes.

No one had ever seen magic performed like this.

The witch among the adventurers adjusted the wide-brimmed hat on her head, her mind racing.

She had just watched a girl fight using only her fists—as if spells and swords were beneath her.

Then, she had witnessed Kiana's flames—devouring goblins in an instant.

And now, Raiden Mei had just casually thrown lightning like it was nothing.

Unlike physical warriors, the witch was an elite among Western adventurers, renowned as the "Sorceress". Her arcane expertise was far greater than the common mage.

And yet—she had never seen elemental magic so direct, so unrestricted.

This wasn't formulaic magic.

This wasn't traditional spellcasting.

It was as if they weren't borrowing power from the world, the ancestors, or the gods—

They were controlling the elements themselves.

"Hu..."

With her legs crossed, the female magician sat atop a cart filled with wheat, holding a long-stemmed smoking pipe between her fingers. She took a deep drag.

"What an enviable ability..."

"Good work, Mei."

"Hmm, class monitor. There shouldn't be any left."

Without even needing to manifest her Herrscher form, Raiden Mei slowly descended onto the roof of the barn, gazing in the direction where Kiana and the others had pursued their target.

"Kiana and the others should have taken care of that so-called Goblin King. Goblins are truly disgusting creatures."

The boundless plains stretched into the distance, and at this moment, the battle had already concluded. Every single goblin that had attacked had been wiped out.

Severed goblin corpses lay scattered everywhere, their putrid stench permeating the air. Coupled with Kiana's earlier "barbecue feast" masterpiece, the burnt, charred scent of roasted flesh lingered.

Breathing in the air here was an experience of unparalleled nausea.

"The real goblins... Sigh, they're nothing like the ones Bronya knows."

Standing up from beside the bonfire, Bronya, having finished distributing food, looked at the survivors who had been rescued from the goblins' "shields." Her expression was heavy.

Even though their revenge had been exacted, the harm these women had suffered from the goblins was irreversible. Their eyes were void of life, dead and empty, as they mechanically ate their thin porridge.

"Bronya... They're so pitiful. What will happen to them after this mission ends?"

Holding the edge of her tray, Seele walked up to Bronya, her brows furrowed in concern as she whispered.

Just then, rustling—

"It's Goblin Slayer and the others!"

"Is that... the Goblin King's head in her hands?"

Amid the exclamations, Bronya and Seele turned to look.

"Kiana and the others are back."

"Kiana, how are you? You..."

Leaping down from the rooftop, Raiden Mei started to speak, but upon seeing Kiana's appearance, her voice unconsciously softened.

"Are you... okay?"

Kiana's hands were covered in thick, black-red blood, gripping a grotesquely oversized goblin head. Brain matter mixed with saliva and blood dripped continuously, leaving behind a trail of filth in her wake.

"Mei," Kiana nodded in response, forcing a small smile. "I'm fine."

Without stopping, she passed through the fence and headed straight toward the bonfire in the center of the pasture. Raising the goblin king's severed head, she flung it down at the feet of the pitiful women.

As they stared at the lifeless remains, Kiana lowered her voice.

"It may already be too late... but your enemy is dead. I hope this brings you some relief."

The next moment, before her words had even fully landed—smack!

"I'll kill you!"

No one knew who started it, but in an instant, a chain reaction erupted.

Like a pack of ravenous hyenas on the African plains, they pounced on the goblin king's head, shrieking with unbridled rage.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Their bowls of porridge clattered to the ground as they threw themselves forward with wild abandon. They paid no heed to their tattered state, exposing themselves as they clawed and tore at the severed head with unrelenting fury.

"Die, die, die, die, DIE—!!"

"AAAAAHHHH—!!"

Their faces twisted in madness, voices raw with hatred. Even as their nails peeled away, leaving bloody streaks across their fingers, they did not stop.

The rip of tearing skin.

The squelch of torn flesh.

The crack of splintering bone.

It was a scene straight out of a zombie apocalypse, sending chills down Seele's spine as she instinctively hid behind Bronya.

Even the usually fearless Senti found herself suppressing her usual boastful nature in this moment.

"They..."

The priestess hesitated, mouth slightly open, about to step forward to intervene—only to be stopped by Goblin Slayer.

"Let them vent… It's the only thing we can do for them."

His expression remained unseen beneath his helmet, his tone flat, as though stating an irrefutable truth.

"As long as goblins exist, this will continue to happen."

"But... they're still weak," the priestess murmured.

"Let them release their anger. After what they've endured..."

Kiana suddenly interjected.

"Just keep an eye on them. If any of them collapse from exhaustion, treat them."

Turning her back on the scene, she started walking away.

"Prepare hot water, towels, clothes, porridge... There are still many people who need care."

Saying it was clothing was an overstatement—it was nothing more than a rough piece of cloth. This wasn't a town. A small ranch like this had plenty of food, but even if there were spare clothes, there was no way they could provide for so many people.

After all, before this, the only permanent residents here were three people: Goblin Slayer, his childhood friend the cowherd girl, and her uncle, the ranch owner.

Lowering her head, Kiana walked to the side of the warehouse.

She didn't quite understand.

Was it really as Goblin Slayer said? That tragedies like this, ones that completely destroyed someone's life, were commonplace?

Even with only brief contact, Kiana had already gained a deep understanding of the fate of those women captured by goblins and used as breeding tools.

Perhaps… before they were taken, when their parents and husbands were slaughtered by goblins in the village, that was actually the better fate.

Once they were dragged into a goblin lair, their only destiny was to be violated over and over again by those filthy, foul-smelling creatures, never-ending, an inescapable nightmare.

Unless they were lucky enough to be rescued by an adventurer responding to a request, the only true escape left to them was suicide.

Even then, their corpses would still likely be devoured by the goblins as food.

But compared to eating the rotten scraps provided by goblins, living in such filth, being forced to consume freshly carved flesh from fellow humans, carrying the seed of something they loathed again and again, and being forced to give birth to monstrosities in agony…

In the end, they would either lose their sanity in despair or die from malnutrition and blood loss during childbirth. And then, their bodies would be eaten alive by the very goblin infants they bore.

Dying early… might actually be a mercy.

"Bastards!"

For the first time, Kiana swore under her breath.

Suddenly, a warm and damp sensation pressed against her forehead.

Kiana lifted her head and saw Raiden Mei standing before her, holding a basin of warm water, her face carrying a soft, reassuring smile.

"Kiana, wipe yourself off. If there's a problem, we solve it together, don't we? Isn't your wish to make the world a better place?"

"Mei…"

Letting Mei gently wipe her cheeks, Kiana's expression remained downcast.

"Am I really so useless? I made bold claims in front of Selene, and now, at the very first trial… I'm already this shaken, this pathetic."

"Maybe… Wanting to make the world a better place, fighting for its future… sounds so grand, so idealistic. Sometimes, I really wish you wouldn't worry so much about these grand affairs of nations."

"Her Majesty Selene might have high expectations for you… or she might not have taken your big words seriously at all."

"But… mmph—!!"

Mei dunked the towel in warm water, wrung it out, and then promptly shoved it onto Kiana's face, cutting off her words.

"There are Astartes Legion commanders, Lord Sebas, and hundres of millions of Imperial bureaucrats handling governance for Her Majesty. Where exactly do small fry like us need to worry about all that?"

"I... mmph!!"

Not giving Kiana any room to protest, Mei wiped her face like a grandmother scrubbing a muddy child clean.

"Tell me, what's the point? What's the use in sighing and overthinking things? First, pass this trial. Let's fix up our own homeland before we start worrying about anything else. At most, once you've passed, you can consider helping this world."

"But… Selene's methods are too brutal. She relies too much on military expansion…"

"Sigh…"

Mei sighed helplessly, tapping Kiana's forehead with the warm towel.

"Let me ask you—is the Empire flourishing now?"

"....Yes."

After a brief hesitation, Kiana reluctantly admitted it.

"Then that settles it. As long as it's going well, that's all that matters. Besides, isn't Her Majesty Selene restructuring the Valkyrie unit so that we function more as a diplomatic force focused on pacification and negotiation?"

The Empire had plenty of legions specialized in riot suppression, conquest, assault, and destruction. However, a friendly, diplomatic unit with a natural inclination for peace and mediation?

The Empire had exactly zero.

Take the Astartes Legions, the Empire's primary combat force—just looking at them, do they seem like they're here for peaceful negotiations?

Even the Sisters of Battle, a female-dominated combat force, lacked such a role.

And as for letting the Imperial Inquisition handle diplomacy… uh… are you serious?

The Sisters of Silence, who belonged to the Imperial Guard hierarchy? Absolutely not.

A bunch of brutes!

"That's just wordplay, it's sophistry."

"Oh? So you actually know what sophistry is, Kiana?" Raiden Mei sighed, spreading her hands. "Back in Saint Freya, I told you to read more books, but all you cared about was eating and playing."

Kiana's face turned red as she instinctively shrank her neck.

"Human history itself is nothing but a history of war, isn't it?"

Raiden Mei pointed toward the surviving women, who were currently being resettled under the coordination of Durandal, Rita, and the adventurers.

"Look at them."

Then, she shifted her gaze to the Goblin King's skull, stripped of its flesh and skin.

"..."

"But..." Mei suddenly changed her tone, flashing a gentle smile.

"Making this world a better place while undergoing the trial—I think that aligns perfectly with General Esdeath's ideology."

After a long silence, Kiana finally relaxed her tightly furrowed brows.

Then, without warning, she lunged straight into Mei's embrace, rubbing herself against a certain soft and wonderful place with reckless abandon.

"Kiana… careful, the water basin is right next to us—"

"Hehe~ Mei, I love you the most!"

"You really are hopeless… How old are you now?"

Mei's face flushed red, but despite feeling slightly embarrassed from Kiana's affectionate rubbing, she maintained her usual graceful composure, letting out a few soft coughs.

"Charge forward and give it your all. That's the Kiana I know."

"Hehe, with Mei by my side, it's like having the strength of a hundred people!" Kiana declared confidently. "I'll make sure Selene sees me shine!"

...

A direct territory under the Empire's Colonial Department, in a certain tourist world.

A white-haired beauty in casual attire held a cup of eastern-style milk tea, sipping through the straw as she leisurely walked toward a nearby rocky outcrop.

Facing the vast ocean, she sat down.

"Mmm… so relaxing…"

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