Chapter 54~ Elysian Realm

————[Event: Rain]————

Tick-tock

The rain falls gently, bringing a slightly cool and damp feeling.

"Hmm? it can rain in the Elysian Realm?"

Mei Raiden was a little surprised.

"Ah, please don't be surprised, Mei-san... it sometimes rains here."

Eden, who was sitting nearby, shook his wine glass, looked at the drizzling rain, and spoke softly.

"However, this is not an effect of simulating weather or something like that. It's just... something that someone here does regularly."

"Someone?"

Mei Raiden frowned.

"Among the Flame Chaser I know, no one would do this... So, this is the last one left?"

"Yes."

Eden spoke softly, his eyelids drooping slightly, her gaze fixed on her wine glass, as if she was recalling something.

"You can take this opportunity to get to know him... On rainy days, he will be in a slightly better mood. Of course, the test you will face will be much more difficult."

"If possible, don't call him [HERO]... He himself doesn't like this name."

"Ah... if you are ready, you can ask Elysia or Sakura to take you to see him. Of course, Griseo can also take you there. Otherwise, something... unpleasant might happen between you two."

"It sounds like he's not an easy person to get along with?"

"No, on the contrary, once he accepts you, you will find that he is a very easy-going person, but he is a little... awkward."

Eden smiled as if she remembered something funny.

"Go meet him. As the most special of the [Visitors], you should go meet him. Besides... I'm sure Elysia is looking forward to it too."

"I will."

Raiden Mei nodded in agreement.

————[Event: A glimpse of the ocean (choose Elysia)]————

"Ah~ Mei, do you want to go see Nozomi? That's great~ I just wanted to tell you about this~"

Elysia said happily.

"After all, it's a rare rainy day, I have to go play with him~ hehe~"

"...Nozomi? Is that his name?"

"Yes~ But he wasn't originally called that, but something happened later..."

Elysia's mood was unusually low for a moment, but she quickly recovered.

"But I don't care about that now, so let's go, Mei~"

After saying that, Elysia pushed Raiden Mei forward.

'It seems that Elysia is not very willing to talk about this matter' - Raiden Mei thought so and temporarily suppressed the idea of asking further questions.

But as the two of them moved forward, Raiden Mei became a little confused again.

"Elysia... Is this the [Deepest Place]? Is that [Hero] here?"

"Yes~ Nozomi is here, but he is in a deeper place~ And I am very happy that you can call him [HERO]~"

"I heard from Eden that he doesn't like the name [HERO]."

"Nozomi always likes to belittle himself~ But he really deserves the title of [HERO]~ Once you know everything about him~"

Elysia said this, then quickly walked forward to an "edge" blocked by shadows, turned around, and said with a smile.

"Okay~ This is the entrance~"

"Here?"

Mei Raiden looked at the darkness below that was as deep as the abyss and was speechless for a moment.

"Yes~ Just like this~"

Elysia stepped forward, grabbed Raiden Mei's hand, and then jumped down with her.

The two of them fell rapidly, but after reaching a certain boundary, the sound of the wind that had been passing by their ears turned into a somewhat dull sound of falling into the water. The falling figures of the two people gradually slowed down, and finally landed steadily on the ground.

The dim and damp feeling instantly came over her, making Mei Raiden feel as if she had come to a cave submerged by the ocean... But Mei Raiden was no longer surprised, and she just followed Elysia forward silently.

"Hmmm~ hmmmm~"

Elysia hummed a tune briskly and walked briskly... She seemed very happy.

But soon, Mei Raiden noticed something unusual... She didn't know when it started, but every time Elysia hummed a tune, a few translucent bubbles would appear, as if she was already in the water.

"...Elysia... huh?!"

Just when Mei Raiden wanted to ask, she found that bubbles appeared when she spoke, as if she had walked into the "water" unknowingly... But there was clearly no water around, it was just a little damp at most.

"Ah, Mei, you've discovered it too, right~"

Elysia turned around and said with a smile.

"This is Nozomi's territory. Here you can think of yourself as being in the sea. So, please."

Elysia tapped her toes lightly and "swam" into the air in front of Raiden Mei so confidently.

"Even this kind of thing can be done~ Come and try it~?"

"......"

Mei Raiden was curious, so she also tapped her toes and tried to "swim" into the air in this waterless place... Surprisingly, it was not difficult and she did it easily. But the moment she "swam", Mei Raiden felt an inexplicable fear that made her hair stand on end, as if she was being stared at by something extremely terrifying, and she subconsciously took an alert posture.

"Ah, don't worry, He just observing my new friend. He's a little shy, but once you get familiar with him, he's pretty easy to get along with!"

"......"

To be honest, Mei Raiden was a little bit unconvinced. After all, the gaze staring at her was too terrifying and too abnormal... This kind of gaze, like that of a "predator" that wanted to eat her physically, really made her feel uncomfortable.

"...Elysia, you shouldn't have brought her here."

After a while, from deeper inside, an inexplicable and somewhat sticky sound slowly flowed out and reached the ears of the two. Looking up, they could see a pair of golden, star-like pupils staring at them. Realizing this, Raiden Mei was even more prepared for a fight.

The inexplicable malice and anger emanating from the surroundings reminded her that it was a very scary [thing].

"Don't say that, Mei is a very special and cute girl~ You will definitely like her~"

But Elysia seemed not to notice all this. She just smiled and swam forward, came to his side, swam around him a few times, then patted him on the shoulder and said.

"Please don't be like this~ Or are you shy?"

"...sigh."

A helpless sigh was heard, and the dim environment around was gradually illuminated by a faint blue light, giving people a unique beauty similar to that of the deep sea.

Looking up, you can see a man wearing a "hunter's suit" next to Elysia, holding a dark, slender, strange sword in his arms. His short white hair like waves is particularly eye-catching.

But what concerned Raiden Mei more was his pair of distracted, star-like golden pupils... This dying look made Raiden Mei stunned.

"Elysia, I should have said that you should not bring outsiders to my place. I do not welcome them, nor do I like them... and they will not like me either."

"If they come to me, they will only be [hunted], and then resist and fear entering the [Elysian Realm] again... As for my [Signet], it is not so necessary, is it?"

"Don't say that~ Mei is a very special person~"

Elysia didn't seem to be giving up.

"I know. She is a Herrscher."

Nozomi closed his eyes and looked at the girl indifferently.

"Same as me."

"...?!"

Raiden Mei was really surprised this time. In the Elysian Realm... there was actually a Herrscher. And a Hero?

"Oh, that's right~ So if it's Mei, she would have a lot to talk to you about, right? And if it's her, maybe she can also bear your [Signets]?"

"......"

"Please, just give her a chance for my sake. How about that?"

"… only one chance."

"Great! I knew you liked me the most~"

Elysia excitedly went forward to hug Nozomi and rubbed her face affectionately, which surprised Raiden Mei... Although Elysia showed "like" to everyone, she was so intimate with the opposite sex... It seemed that the only person is in front of her.

'Could there be some strange relationship between these two people?' Raiden Mei couldn't help but think so.

"Ah, don't tell Sakura about what happened just now~ Although Sakura probably won't be jealous... this can be considered our little secret okay ~"

"???"

Listening to Elysia's slightly naughty words, Raiden Mei's eyes twitched... Are there any elements of strange love TV dramas in this? For example, a love triangle or two-timing?

Could it be that the [HERO] in front of me is a "scumbag"?

"Then I'll leave first~ Hehe~ Mei, you have to work hard~ Nozomi's assessment is very strict~"

Elysia said this and quickly "swam" away, and no one knew where she went.

"......" x2

After losing the middleman Elysia, the two people present had nothing to say. They just remained silent and looked at each other... or rather, Raiden Mei was looking at Nozomi unilaterally.

"You were thinking something very rude just now, weren't you, Herrscher?"

Suddenly, Nozomi spoke first, but the topic was a little strange.

"For example, the relationship between me, Elysia, and Sakura."

"…I'm just a little curious."

Raiden Mei was a little embarrassed, but she admitted it openly.

"After all, judging from the performance of the other Flame Chaser... they don't seem to want to mention you, but you seem to have a good relationship with them."

"good? Huh... Where did you come to that conclusion?"

Nozomi chuckled, with a hint of sarcasm in his tone... Raiden Mei wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but after Elysia left, he seemed to have changed, becoming a little... crazy, as if he had lost some kind of restraint.

"How can my relationship with them be [good]? It should be [hostile]... No, except for Elysia, Sakura, and Griseo, everyone else is my [prey]."

"It sounds like you are a Hunter? But why... in Flame Chaser, your title is Revelation?"

"Ha...you'll find out why, but not here."

Nozomi's voice suddenly turned cold.

"Also, haven't others told you that I don't like the name [Flame Chaser]?"

Nozomi turned his head to look at her, and at the same time let go of the dark sword in his arms. A stream of azure blue water began to appear, flowing in the air with the sword.

It's getting more humid around here...

"Or do you think that a Herrscher, an existence that killed six Flame Chasers... can be called HERO like them?"

?!

Raiden Mei was stunned for a moment.

"Alright, Herrscher."

Nozomi's voice was calm, like water.

"Since I promised Elysia to give you a chance to take the test, you only have this one chance. Cherish it. If you are ready, tell me."

"...Can I ask first what [Assessment] is?"

Raiden Mei felt it again, that feeling of being stared at by a predator... She couldn't help but grip the hilt of the knife.

"It's simple, just survive, that's all."

"It sounds no different from Kalpas... If it's just a fight, I'm willing to accompany you."

"Kalpas? Haha..."

Nozomi chuckled again.

"You have to understand one thing, Herrscher. This is not a battle. It is just a hunt. It is my hunt for you. All you have to do is to survive. That's all."

"Is that so? It seems that I am your new [prey]... Be careful not to get hurt by the [prey]."

Raiden Mei is no longer surprised by Nozomi's weird personality... Anyway, all the [Heroes] are weird, and Raiden Mei just wants to see what the gap is between the two generations of [Herrschers], and what it's like to be able to kill six [Heroes].

"Well... I'm ready. Let's start your hunting... Puff——"

However, before she could finish her words, a mouthful of blood mixed with azure water gushed out of Raiden Mei's mouth, and then her entire body was directly split apart, and countless tiny azure water blades poured out of her body and cut her.

Before Raiden Mei lost consciousness, she could only see a blue shark-like creature opening its mouth to bite her...

The Hunt is over.

When Raiden Mei returned to reality, she looked a little dazed, and her body still felt the phantom pain of being cut from the inside by water and being eaten by sharks.

[After re-entering the "Paradise of the Past", you will meet Elysia who is waiting for you, and receive her comfort. After letting Elysia lead you into the "Deep Sea" again, you will receive Nozomi's affirmation and open the "Revelation" mark.]