Raven's Betrayal

Zzzzt.

Amidst the sandstorm that danced with swirling grit, a crimson flash of lightning suddenly tore through the air. Accompanied by the crackling sound of electricity piercing the atmosphere, a thunder-wielding blade plunged straight into the massive beast's thick carapace.

Instantly, the movements of the Honkai Beast, towering dozens of meters high, froze as if paused mid-action. The next second, countless arcs of electricity, carrying an irresistible power, burst forth from within its body.

With a deafening boom, the Judgement-level Honkai Beast didn't even leave a corpse behind, exploding directly into innumerable fragments.

Amidst the rolling dust, Raiden Mei didn't spare it a second glance. With a light tap of her toes, she floated down gracefully from the air. A flick of her wrist sent swathes of dark purple blood sliding off the Seven Thunders of Retribution, adding another dark stain to the yellow sands beneath.

"One thousand nine hundred and eighty..."

Silently counting the number of Honkai Beasts she had slain, Mei couldn't help but sigh. Looking into the distance, her eyes met only a desolate desert, dust-filled skies, and, hidden within the sandstorm, countless swarms of Honkai Beasts surging towards her.

This was the Sahara Desert in North Africa, also one of World Serpent's bases.

Theoretically, Honkai Beasts should only converge on areas with high Honkai Energy concentrations. A place this remote shouldn't be experiencing a beast tide. However, as Project Stigma progressed, this base was selected as a core area for Version 15 of the plan. Consequently, Mei was dispatched here, tasked with guarding this branch base alongside Raven.

With Mei's current strength, dealing with ordinary Honkai Beast tides wasn't excessively taxing. However, the sheer number of beasts in this tide far exceeded her imagination. More importantly, her partner—Natasha Cioara—had yet to show up.

Such prolonged, high-intensity combat left even her, a Herrscher, feeling deeply fatigued. She even began to suspect that World Serpent might be deliberately using these Honkai Beasts to weaken her, aiming to eliminate her, a Herrscher, effortlessly.

Buzz buzz.

Just as Mei's thoughts began to wander, the ringing of her communicator suddenly sounded from the pocket of her skirt.

She pulled out her phone and saw the call was from the long-missing Raven. Her expression softened slightly as she glanced towards the approaching beast tide. Confirming she still had some time before the next wave hit, Mei answered the call.

"Hey, Mei."

Raven, on the other end, seemed to be in a good mood, her tone surprisingly casual and familiar. This contrasted sharply with Mei's face, which was rapidly darkening.

Especially hearing Raven's relaxed, almost vacation-like tone, Mei's expression turned completely black. "You have thirty seconds. Come up with an excuse I can accept. Otherwise, you know the consequences."

"Sorry, Mei. I know it's wrong to leave you alone with the mission, but I have things I absolutely must deal with right now." Raven, knowing she was in the wrong, sounded sincere, readily admitting fault.

But Mei wasn't about to believe her so easily. "Hah. You know what this mission entails, right? Abandoning your teammate is tantamount to leaving them for dead. Have you forgotten what happened on Coral Island?"

Back on Coral Island, Chen Tianwu's betrayal had nearly gotten Raven killed by Kiana, and subsequently captured by Rita. If Mei hadn't intervened, Raven might have spent the rest of her life in prison.

"...I know," Raven said after a moment's silence, her voice low. "But I have to go bring my children home."

Mei paused, subconsciously asking, "When did you have children?"

Then it hit her. Raven's children must refer to the orphans she had previously adopted. Raven had mentioned them before, but hadn't she said she didn't know their whereabouts?

"You found them?"

"Yes. So, I have to entrust this mission to you. As compensation, I'll give you all the intelligence and resources I've accumulated in World Serpent. Additionally, I'll explain the situation to World Serpent and have them send backup for you as soon as possible."

"And what about you?"

"Me..." Raven hesitated, then spoke with a sense of release, as if a burden had been lifted. "I've defected!"

Fearing Mei might misunderstand, she quickly added, "World Serpent only exists to gather resources for Project Stigma. Now that the plan is underway, we executives don't actually serve much purpose anymore."

"Also, I told you before that I helped World Serpent because I supported their plan. That wasn't entirely true. Version 15 of Project Stigma involves erasing human existence. While it might allow survival through the Finality, the cost is something civilization absolutely cannot bear easily. If possible, it's best to pray that Version 16 succeeds perfectly."

After warning Mei, Raven hung up immediately. A large batch of data was then sent to Mei's phone, along with the savings Raven had accumulated in the half-year since her island base exploded.

Skimming through it, Mei found detailed action logs, including those related to Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical, and layouts of many branch bases. It was clear that if this information leaked, World Serpent would suffer significant losses.

But just as Raven said, World Serpent's purpose was to serve Kevin. Even if the organization itself were destroyed, it wouldn't affect the execution of Project Stigma.

At the very end, there was a message from Raven: Everyone who enters the Elysian Realm finds their reason to fight. I have now found mine and am about to give everything for it. I hope, Miss Mei, that you too can find what you yearn to protect.

"..."

"What I yearn to protect... huh?" Raiden Mei murmured to herself, switching off her phone.

She closed her eyes. The image of the white-haired girl who had saved her from nightmares gradually surfaced, followed by the pink-haired elf buried in the past within that flawless Elysian Realm. But when she opened her eyes again, she saw even more.

I couldn't do anything.

Perhaps her reason for fighting was simply to save the past self who couldn't do anything.

Mei smiled, relieved, then suddenly frowned. "Did that woman forget to give me the bank card password?"

As she pondered, the sandstorm in the distance drew closer. A new wave of Honkai Beasts surged forward. She focused her mind, fully immersing herself in the battle.

Buzz buzz.

Midway through the fight, her communicator rang again. Mei frowned and answered casually.

"What now? Didn't you defect? Why are you calling me again?" she asked coldly.

"..."

"Mei? It's me, Kiana."