Notice: A minor change has been made to a major plot point in Chapter 4 and 6, namely that there aren't two separate criminal trials now. It's just one single trial.

Should've known. Goddammit.

"Just a few hours ago, Raiden Ryoma, the former CEO of the Massive Electric corporation, was found guilty of tax evasion and embezzlement, as well as economic crimes and fraud totaling 25.2 trillion yen under the cover of a high frequency EM field R&D project. He has also been found guilty of inviting foreign mischief and unethical human experimentation, though there have so far been no additional details on these crimes provided by official sources. He has received a life sentence with no chance of parole in the nation's most secure prison."

This ominous reporting was then followed by multiple police officers escorting a handcuffed Ryoma out of the courthouse. He was led into an armored prisoner transport van. The door closed behind him immediately as soon as he got into the vehicle, and the van drove off.

Mei continued to stare at the TV. She had been sitting there for multiple hours, watching the channel televise the sentencing of her father. The camera followed the van as it drove down the streets before making a left turn and disappearing from view. This was it. She would never see her father ever again, who was now left to rot in prison for the rest of his days. She didn't know what to do anymore.

She switched off the TV. She couldn't bear to keep watching, and there was no point to. Nothing she did could bring her father back. She curled up into a ball on the sofa, the phrase 'life sentence' echoing in her head.

Rei had been sitting beside her the entire time. He didn't know how to comfort her. All he could do was wrap his arm around her as she began to sob uncontrollably, and hope that she wouldn't do anything drastic.

As time went on, the sounds of her sobbing grew quieter, until it was replaced by snoring. Sighing, he gently picked Mei up, which was quite a difficult task considering he wasn't exactly the strongest, and he was also trying to not wake her up. He slowly carried her upstairs to her bedroom before placing her on her bed. He quickly covered her with a blanket before taking some tissues out to wipe off the residue on her face.

He took a deep breath and was deep in thought on deciding what to do next when he heard Mei's stomach rumble audibly.

The next thing he knew, he was in the kitchen downstairs. It was big and fancy, stuffed with a bunch of kitchen equipment, most of which he had no idea how to use. He opened the fridge to see what was inside, and there was at least enough to make a small meal.

He wasn't good at cooking, but he at least had to try.

\\\

Rei looked at the small meal he had cooked, now stuffed into Mei's bento box. It wasn't anything particularly fancy, and it didn't look too appetizing. Still, better than nothing.

He closed the box before bringing it back upstairs to Mei's bedroom, where she was still fast asleep. He set the box on her desk, and went searching for a pen and a sticky note, which didn't take too long; and he quickly wrote a note before sticking it on the cover.

He sighed as he sat down on the floor, leaning next to the wall next to the door. The sky was dark outside. He did not know how long he had stayed up, but it was most likely a very long time as he fell asleep without knowing it.

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Mei slowly woke up, the sun now shining into her eyes. It took a moment for her to realize she was now in her bedroom, and she was in her bed. She wondered who brought her here since she remembered she had fallen asleep on the sofa in the living room and there was nobody else in the mansion.

She looked to her left and noticed Rei was in her room now, sitting against the wall, asleep. She got out of bed and slowly approached him.

"Rei…?"

He continued to snore. Mei decided to wake him later.

She then noticed a familiar-looking bento box on her desk. On the lid was a handwritten note.

Mei,

I made this for you. I hope it makes you feel better.

Love,

Rei

…

She sat down, not doing anything.

"Mei?" Rei seemed to have woken up. Mei continued to stare at the bento box.

He grabbed another chair and sat beside her. "I made this for you, Mei."

She did not respond.

"Please? I'm worried for you, Mei…"

She still did not respond. He sighed as he opened the box, before using chopsticks to feed her some rice. She reluctantly ate it, tears coming out of her eyes as she did so.

It took a while, but eventually, Rei got her to finish the entire box. Mei seemed to look better now, her face less pale than before.

"T… Thank you…" She stuttered.

He hugged her. "We'll… We'll get through this together, okay? Things will get better… they always do…"

She nodded slowly. "I… I hope…"

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Of course things got worse at school.

"You bitch. You think we'll go easy on you, you criminal?"

Mei was curled up in a ball in a secluded corner of the courtyard, being ganged up on by four of her classmates. There were visible bruises and cuts from the harassment she was receiving from them. She did not dare to utter a word.

"Where's the money?" The most burly one of the group demanded. "We want to take back what your father stole."

Mei tried to say something, but she was entirely locked up in fear.

He was about to kick her again when he was interrupted by a particular red-haired teenager.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?"

Rei appeared from the corner of the wall, anger written all over his face.

The boy laughed. "Oh, you're sticking up for your criminal girlfriend now?"

"You take that back!"

"R… Rei…" Mei whimpered. "Don't do it…"

"SHUT UP!" The boy kicked her.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Rei shouted before he immediately charged towards the boy and punched him in the face. Unfortunately, he was barely fazed by the punch, and he countered with the same attack, knocking him over to the floor. He then kicked him a few more times and stomped on his leg before returning to his main victim.

Rei felt an agonizing pain in his leg. The boy had broken it, and he couldn't stand up in this state. All he could do was watch helplessly as the boy continued to kick Mei. He saw her cower with each kick, screaming for help that would never come.

…

I have to protect her… I have to…

These bastards… They hurt her… They dared to hurt her… I will make them pay… They will pay for what they did…

They…

They will die.

…

His eyes glowed red. He stood up, the pain from his broken leg being no more.

"You." His voice seemed to have changed, and he spoke in a menacing tone.

The boy turned and scoffed. "What, you want another roun… What the fuck?"

"You…"

A wing made of fire suddenly appeared on the right side of Rei's body, and a wall of flame appeared, surrounding everyone who was in the courtyard.

"YOU WILL NEVER HURT HER AGAIN!"

He suddenly charged forward at an unthinkable speed, leaving a trail of fire behind, and he grabbed the boy's face, pushing him to the ground.

"You hurt her. I will make you pay. I will make you suffer. I will make you die a slow death!"

Flames emerged from his hands, and the boy began screaming in agony as he felt his face melt off. Everyone watched in horror as he flailed about, desperately trying to remove his hand, all while the skin on his face melted away, then the muscles, then the bone. Very soon, the boy stopped screaming and he stopped moving.

Rei removed his hand. There was nothing left of the boy's head except for some ash. It was clear he was dead.

Everyone who was nearby wanted to run away, but they couldn't. The wall of flame prevented them from doing so, and all they could do was hopelessly watch Rei approach the remaining people who had a hand in bullying Mei. He laughed maniacally before snapping his fingers. Their clothes began burning with flames that could never be put out, and he watched as they slowly and agonizingly burnt to death, screaming and flailing around as they did for all the good that it would do.

Despite having killed multiple people, Rei nonchalantly approached Mei, who was by this point in absolute shock. She looked into his eyes, which continued to glow red.

He made her stand up.

"You are everything to me, Mei. I will do anything to protect you. I will burn this wretched world, and I will cleanse it of everything and everyone that has ever wronged you!"

Mei looked in shock and horror. She didn't know what to say or do. She was frozen in place, her mind unable to comprehend anything after seeing her lover just kill several people in front of her…

…

She screamed. It was all she could do. Rei looked at her in disbelief. He couldn't understand why she would react like this.

At least not until his normal personality wrenched back control.

The red glow in his eyes faded, and so did his wing of fire. He recoiled and fell onto the floor.

"W… What… What have I… done…?"

He vomited before passing out. Mei fell to her knees. She hugged him and sobbed uncontrollably.

…

An armored truck emblazoned with the Anti-Entropy logo screeched as it came to a halt in front of the entrance to Chiba Academy. Its arrival was so quick that it almost seemed planned. Immediately after stopping, a squad of heavily armed and armored Anti-Entropy personnel stepped out of the back door and immediately made their way into the courtyard.

"Move, move, move! Get the fucking Herrschers ASAP!"

"Herrschers? I thought there was only-"

"Yes, I said Herrschers with an 'S'! Get them both, NOW!"

The pack split up, with one group grabbing Rei and the other grabbing Mei. She hopelessly watched as he was pulled further and further away from her.

…

But she had to do something.

She yelled as she tried to wriggle free from the soldiers' grasp, and as she did, her eyes suddenly glowed purple.

A wave of purple energy expanded outward at an alarming rate, quickly engulfing the entire city. Purple-colored lightning strikes began to dot all over the city, with each bolt containing enough energy to destroy a high-rise building instantly.

The Herrscher of Thunder flew to a nearby street, noticing several people on the street attempting to run away.

"Die, insects!"

She summoned a bolt of lightning, and with a single explosion, the would-be survivors were instantly vaporized. The Herrscher of Thunder then began moving towards an Anti-Entropy base, leaving destruction in her wake.

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Rei awoke in a dark place, which stank of an indescribably horrid smell, causing him to gag. He could make out the various sounds of thunder, and the floor seemed to shake with every lightning strike.

"…Huh? What…"

He got up and noticed two people suited as soldiers slumped over, seemingly dead. Looking down, he noticed a pair of broken handcuffs on the floor.

He then remembered what had happened.

…

As the realization of what he had done hit him, he suddenly heard an ominous groan. Turning to the source of the sound, one of the seemingly dead soldiers slowly and clumsily rose before moving toward him.

"Wha- Wha- What the fuck?"

The soldier roared like a zombie before charging towards Rei, grabbing him. He tried to push it off but it was too strong, and the zombie then threw him to the floor.

Rei managed to soften the impact, though it still hurt immensely. He quickly rolled to the right as the zombie tried to punch him. Quickly standing up, he noticed a pistol lying on the floor beside the other dead soldier, who thankfully hadn't awoken as a zombie yet. He quickly ran to take the pistol and tried to shoot the zombie, who was now stumbling slowly towards him.

Unfortunately, the pistol was jammed.

The zombie then charged towards him again, and he didn't manage to dodge it in time. The zombie tackled him to the floor before grabbing him and throwing him towards the doors. Rei flew out of the "room", breaking the swing doors in the process, before making a hard landing on the pavement.

With Rei now knocked out, the zombie approached him and was about to stomp on him when he suddenly regained consciousness and mustered the strength to grab its leg and throw it against a wall.

He stood up. His eyes glowed red again, and a wing made of fire reappeared. He noticed the zombie was trying to regain its balance and immediately summoned a column of flame to put it out of action.

With the zombie now neutralized, Rei looked up and noticed a familiar purple girl floating in a particular direction, lightning emanating from her.

He clenched his fists and flew into the air.

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"You are no match for me, insect." The Herrscher of Thunder said as she glared at Kiana, who was out of breath, holding a bat. There were many cuts and bruises all over her.

"Give… Mei… back… to me…" Kiana said with a strained breath.

"Hmph. You still haven't learned your lesson?"

"I… I won't give up!"

Kiana used all of her remaining energy to charge forward once again, trying to hit the Herrscher with a bat. The Herrscher simply countered with a ball of lightning, which she tried to block with her bat, but couldn't from exhaustion.

She dropped her bat and collapsed to the ground, knocked out by the lightning.

"Pathetic."

As she was about to finish her off, she suddenly felt an immense heat from behind her. She turned around and noticed the Herrscher of Flame.

They glared at each other, then they floated towards each other.

"You're…" he began. "You're not her…"

He suddenly punched her, and she was knocked back into several buildings. He then immediately chased after her, leaving a massive trail of fire behind him, before launching a large fireball at her. The Herrscher of Thunder, though dazed slightly by the previous attack, quickly mounted a defense against the fireball with a large blast of energy, dissipating the fireball. In response, he fired off a sustained blast of fire, and she countered with a similar amount of lightning. Lightning and flame met in the middle, creating a large sphere containing a mix of lightning and fire which moved back and forth between the two Herrschers as they tried to overpower each other.

Unfortunately for the Herrscher of Flame, he was losing. He backed up further and further, floating over what was left of Chiba Academy as the sphere of energy inched ever closer.

…

The Herrscher of Thunder suddenly felt someone latch onto her and heard a loud cracking sound. She looked over to her shoulder and noticed Kiana had somehow managed to climb onto her and had grabbed her wings.

"No! How is this-"

She could feel her power fading away as more cracks appeared and fragments of her wing began to be lost, and she stopped firing her lightning. The Herrscher of Flame noticed and immediately withdrew his flames before charging forward.

Kiana let go as he moved closer, and he hugged the Herrscher of Thunder, his right hand, covered in fire, grabbing what was left of her wing.

He shouted.

"GIVE ME BACK MY MEI!"

Her wings finally shattered, disintegrating into a rain of glittering purple dust. The Herrscher of Thunder could feel her powers immediately dissipate.

"No… no… How is this… possible…"

He watched as she went limp in his arms. He carried her as he slowly floated back towards Chiba Academy before settling her down on the rooftop.

…

The glow in his eyes faded, and he slumped over beside Mei, his fiery wings disintegrating. He saw Kiana running over towards him before passing out, but not before he managed to utter one last sentence.

"I… love you, Mei…"

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The Third Honkai Eruption occurred on the ██th of █████, 2013 in Nagazora, Japan, with the ground zero located in what was formerly Chiba Academy. Unlike previous eruptions, the ambient Honkai levels within Nagazora were twice that of typical eruption levels. Additionally, it is the only Honkai Eruption that has birthed two Herrschers instead of one — The Herrscher of Thunder, and the Herrscher of Flame, with the primary Herrscher being the Herrscher of Thunder.

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Rei vaguely felt a dull sensation. He couldn't quite touch on what it was, though it didn't take long for him to realize as it slowly grew stronger and more defined, and a part of him wished it hadn't as the sensation transitioned to a splitting headache. Every part of his body felt sore as if he had been hit by a truck.

A muffled sound came through his ears. He tried to pinpoint where it came from, but it was too unclear and his mind seemed to be always one step behind, but he could hear someone saying the word "wake". It was at this moment he realized his eyes were closed, and he slowly opened them. His vision was still blurred, but he could roughly see a classroom, or at least what was left of it. He found himself sitting against a wall, with a bunch of what felt like glass fragments digging into his butt.

As his mind slowly got back up to speed and his senses finally started registering, the first thing he tried to do was stand up. He almost lost his balance, but he managed to stay up without falling.

It didn't take very long for him to fall back onto the cracked ground, now hyperventilating as his slowed mind struggled to fathom what was going on. No words could describe the magnitude of how much things had gone wrong.

…

"R… i-!"

"-senpai!"

"Rei-s…!"

"REI-SENPAI!" He was jolted awake by a familiar high-pitched voice, and he noticed some white hair enter his field of view.

"…Kiana?"

Kiana let out a sigh of relief. "Rei-senpai! You're okay!"

"I… I guess…?" He rubbed the back of his head and attempted to remember what had happened.

…

Rei's face suddenly showed concern. "…Where's Mei?"

"Uhm…"

It was at this moment that he noticed the brief appearance of purple hair from a hole in the wall opposite him. Without any hesitation, he immediately got up and gave chase.

"Rei-senpai!" Kiana yelled out. "Where are you going?"

She tried to go after him, but he had seemingly disappeared.

\\\

Mei couldn't stop crying. She didn't know why everything had gone so horribly, and she didn't know what she had done to deserve any of this. Was there a god that she accidentally angered? It was the only logical conclusion she could come up with, considering all of this happened so quickly and so soon after the happiest moment of her life.

She continued to cover her eyes as she stood on the rooftop of what was left of Chiba Academy. She wished that all of this was simply a bad dream, a nightmare that would end soon, that she would wake up and find out none of this had ever happened. But no matter how many times she tried to deny what was happening, the situation remained the same.

So she decided to do the only thing she could.

Mei hesitated as she hovered her right leg over the ledge. She knew that Rei and Kiana would miss her immensely, but she felt that it was necessary. She was a danger to both of them. At any moment she could lose control again and revert to what she was for the worst 30 minutes of her life. Even if committing suicide was going to hurt them, it would be better off as she wouldn't be able to hurt them anymore.

She closed her eyes and leaned forward, letting gravity run its course.

…

She felt something pull on her arm. She briefly wondered if she was in the afterlife, but then realized she was very much not dead. She opened her eyes and slowly looked up.

"Mei! Grab my hand!"

"R… Rei?" A tear rolled down her cheek. "No… Let me go… please…"

"No!" he cried out, shaking his head profusely. "I'm not going to! I refuse to let you go!"

She looked down. "It's for your own sake… and Kiana's… please… I don't want to hurt-"

"No!" He interrupted her. "You won't fix anything by doing this! You'll only hurt me and Kiana more if you die!"

"B-But-"

She was interrupted again, this time by the sensation of warm tears falling onto her face. Rei was visibly crying.

"P-Please…!" His voice was getting more and more shaky. "I-I love you more than anything else in this world, Mei! I-If you died, I… I don't k-know what I w-would do a-anymore… S-So please… grab my hand… for m-my sake, if… if n-not yours…"

I'm such a fool… Mei thought as she felt another one of his tears fall straight onto her face. Slowly but surely, she finally mustered the will to grab onto his arm.

I'm so sorry for hurting you like this, Rei… I should've known…

…

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity and a half, Rei managed to pull Mei back up to safety. They sobbed in each other's embrace, unwilling to let go even for a second.