Chapter 385: Poor Wendy~ she's lived her whole life in a cage she built herself.

Meanwhile, in the livestream room, Fu Lin looked at the length of the video with a gloomy expression, pacing back and forth restlessly, muttering in his heart,

'Why isn't Fu Shi saying anything anymore? Even if she keeps scolding me, it'd be better than this!'

Fu Lin shook his head, brushing aside the messy thoughts in his mind, then said,

"Kiana☆ already knows where I am, so she'll probably be arriving at St. Freya Academy soon… Tch, why is this video so long? Might as well speed it up."

With that, Fu Lin reached out and tapped the screen, adjusting the playback speed. As the scenes rapidly changed, time flew by quickly...

----------------------------------

[ After the video is sped up, the figures of Rita, Mei, and the others flash by, and the final scene freezes on Wendy confronting Mei.

Wendy stared intently at Mei before her. From their brief exchange just now, she clearly realized that the person in front of her was different from her previous opponents.

So, not wanting to waste any more time, Wendy irritably ran her hand through her hair and said,

"But I don't want to fight you anymore! It's such a waste of time!"

After all, all she wanted was freedom. Destroying human battleships was merely an order from the "Will of Honkai." Killing a few ants was just something to be done in passing.

But now, the situation had gradually gone beyond the scope of what Wendy could easily handle, which made her start thinking of retreating. ]

Kiana, 〈Wow! Mei drove Wendy back all by herself! So strong! So cool! So beautiful! I love it!〉

Elysia, 〈Indeed~?〉

Mei, 〈....〉

Mei☆, 〈.....〉

[ Miss Lily ] Otto tapped the table, his sharp eyes locked onto the armor on Mei's body, squinting as he examined it, 〈That armor is the real reason Mei could go toe-to-toe with Wendy, but I'm afraid the burden on the user is also quite immense...〉

[ Magical Girl ] Theresa, 〈Then if Wendy drags it out, wouldn't Mei be in danger?〉

[ Miss Lily ] Otto, 〈I believe Raiden Mei is also thinking of how to withdraw from this battle. Fighting Wendy to the death is definitely not a good outcome.〉

Just as Otto said, Mei was also contemplating countermeasures and did not respond to Wendy's words.

[ Seeing Mei ignore her, Wendy couldn't hold back anymore. Her voice involuntarily rose several notches as she loudly asked,

"Are you listening to me or not!"

At that moment, a familiar voice rang out.

"If you want to leave that badly, why not just go?"

"!?"

Wendy's eyes widened as she stared at Jyahnar emerging from the shadows, her face full of astonishment. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out, as if stunned by what the other had said.

Jyahnar smiled as she looked at Wendy's shocked face, her gaze tinged with a trace of pity, and said,

"Hehe, poor little bird. Why not go home?"

At this point, Mei slowly raised her head, looked at Jyahnar, and calmly said,

"Jyahnar, what are you doing here?"

Jyahnar spoke bluntly,

"I was moved by the sight of your back, so I wanted to come take a look. Is that reason convincing enough for you?"

A look of surprise crossed Mei's face,

"Huh?"

Seeing this, Jyahnar lightly shook her head. Her voice carried a faint sense of hope, and an almost imperceptible emotion flickered in her eyes,

"On you, it really seems like I can see a trace of 'hope.'"

Seeing she was about to be ignored, Wendy spoke up in dissatisfaction, interrupting their conversation,

"Hey, hey! Don't ignore me!"

Jyahnar turned her gaze to Wendy and said calmly, "You still haven't answered my question."

"Uh, be... because..."

The usually fearless Wendy suddenly became shy under Jyahnar's gaze, like a child. But as if she suddenly thought of something, her expression turned serious and she questioned,

"No, wait—you were sent by that so-called 'god' to eliminate me, weren't you?" ]

Elysia, 〈Hmm? So that "god" ruling the Herrschers in that world really exists?〉

[ Embarrassed Herrscher ] Wendy, 〈Does our world not have something called a 'god'? Then what were those voices in my head before?〉

Elysia, 〈At least I haven't seen any so-called 'consciousness' in me—just a "cocoon" waiting quietly to be reborn. As for the voice in your head...〉

Mei☆ suddenly interjected, 〈You can think of it as another personality born within you...〉

Mei, 〈Um, may I ask—how did you resolve that consciousness inside you?〉

Mei☆, 〈...Watch the video.〉

Elysia, 〈Looks like Mei☆ doesn't want to talk about it~?〉

Back when she was a cat in Mei's house, she was often exploited by the Herrscher of Thunder. Even during the last Elysian Realm, 'she' didn't seem to show up...

With that thought, Fu Hua couldn't help but ask curiously, 〈Ahem, so Mei☆, what happened to that other consciousness inside you?〉

Mei☆ pursed her lips and said, 〈Fu Hua... she... she committed suicide.〉

Mei, 〈?〉

Kiana, 〈?〉

Everyone, 〈???〉

Mei paused to think, then quietly negotiated with the Herrscher of Thunder in her mind, "I know you can hear me. How about you go commit suicide too?"

However, the Herrscher of Thunder gave no reply—only silence.

Kiana☆, 〈Hmph, does she think suicide will earn my forgiveness?〉

Mei☆ slightly opened her mouth, letting out a long sigh.

[ In response to Wendy's words, Jyahnar chuckled. She suddenly found the Herrscher of Wind in front of her to be almost adorably foolish.

But having grown to this point, Jyahnar didn't mind sharing a bit more, so she deliberately put on a disappointed face and looked at the wary Wendy, playing hard to get as she said,

"Here I am, kindly offering to tell you an interesting story... and you don't want to hear it?"

Wendy's curiosity had already been piqued, and she eagerly asked,

"Interesting...?"

Jyahnar gave a soft laugh and continued,

"Heh... little bird yearning for freedom, you were never truly bound."

Wendy slowly clenched her fists, her eyes locked onto Jyahnar, filled with confusion and unease.

She didn't know whether Jyahnar's words were true, but deep down, she wanted an answer. So she asked again,

"What do you mean?"

Jyahnar smiled, seemingly enjoying Wendy's reaction, and then explained,

"You were never trapped in any cage... because Honkai—the 'god'—cannot directly interfere with our actions."

A trace of shock flickered in Wendy's eyes. All this time, she had believed she was constantly under the control of this so-called 'god.' Hearing Jyahnar say this now left her shaken and bewildered.

Wendy seemed unable to accept this truth and urgently asked,

"But! In my head, I definitely—then, what were those voices!?" ]

Elysia, 〈Poor Wendy~ she's lived her whole life in a cage she built herself.〉

Mei☆, 〈Fortunately, now that she knows the truth, there's no need for Wendy to keep fighting.〉

[ Miss Lily ] Otto, 〈That's not necessarily true. Never underestimate the dark side of humanity—selfishness, greed, hypocrisy. They won't just let the Herrscher of Wind leave.〉

Tesla's tone was full of sarcasm and hostility, 〈Selfish? Greedy? Hypocritical? Aren't you describing yourself?〉

[ Miss Lily ] Otto, 〈Hehe, I've never claimed to be a good person.〉

Tesla, "..."

Faced with Otto's shameless honesty, Tesla was at a loss for words and could only swallow the insult on the tip of her tongue.