I'm in Morioh, just joined a chat group for cute girls.

"Since you know that, then get lost," W said rudely, slinging the grenade launcher over his shoulder.

Rita gave them a deep look, then turned her gaze to Gu Ye, before disappearing into the night as a blur.

"Damn it! We just let her get away like that!" Himeko angrily slammed her fist on the ground. She covered Kiana with her coat, as she hadn't been able to get involved in the fight at all.

Walter stood aside the whole time, like an outsider.

He walked up to Gu Ye, but his gaze wasn't on him. Instead, it was on the purple-haired girl in Gu Ye's arms, who was trembling with fear and self-blame.

“Little girl,” Walter’s voice was deep and steady, “remember, power itself has no good or evil. It’s like a knife; it can be used to cut vegetables or to hurt people. What matters is the heart that holds the handle.”

Mei looked up at the unfamiliar man with teary eyes, seemingly unable to fully understand his words.

"Himeko-sensei, we should go now." Welt turned to Himeko, who was still examining Kiana's injuries, and said, "I will report what happened here to Theresa."

“This child…” Himeko looked at the huddled figure in the corner, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

She wanted to bring the white-haired girl, with whom she had some subtle connection, back to the academy, where she could at least receive the best treatment.

“Let’s not make a fool of ourselves.” Walter reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder, his voice low and calm.

His gaze swept over the black-haired boy who was shirtless and only had a towel wrapped around his waist. Beneath that seemingly casual demeanor lay a threat that made even him feel uneasy.

This boy, who looked to be about the same age as their students, was an absolute master.

"Fine." Himeko gritted her teeth and finally gave in.

She took off her fiery red trench coat and gently draped it over Kiana before standing up, turning around, and following Welt away without any hesitation.

Chapter 22 The Stand Awakens to Destroy the World

The heavy footsteps disappeared into the night, and the villa fell silent once more, with only the lingering smell of burning and ozone in the air.

The powerful self-healing ability inherent in the Kaslana family bloodline began to take effect.

Not long after, Kiana let out a painful sound from her throat, her eyelids twitched a few times, and she suddenly opened her eyes.

Ignoring the burning pain in her chest, she practically scrambled to her feet and stumbled to the bedside.

"Mei!" Her voice was hoarse with anxiety, and her blue eyes were filled with fear and worry. "Mei! What's wrong? Wake up!"

"Kiana-chan, don't panic!" Kitagawa Kaimu picked up the fallen necklace from the ground. It was the ancient beetle-shaped arrowhead. "I saw it! This is what it was! Mei-chan accidentally cut her finger on the tip of this arrowhead, and then... she ended up like that!"

"Be careful." Gu Ye's voice came from the side. He had already settled the unconscious Mei on the bed and covered her with a blanket. "Hai Meng, you must not let that arrow pierce your skin."

"What is this?" Rin Tohsaka walked over. She could sense a strange and ancient power emanating from the small arrow. It wasn't magic, but it was just as dangerous.

“The Arrow of the Stand,” Gu Ye explained calmly, “an item that can forcibly awaken a person into a ‘Stand User’.”

"Stand users?!" Kitagawa Kaimu's eyes lit up instantly, as if she had found a new cosplay theme. "Is it like you, where you can summon a cool guardian spirit to follow you around?"

Her fingers were already itching to try it on herself.

“That’s right.” Gu Ye nodded, then changed the subject, “However, less than one percent of people are chosen by the Substitute Arrow and successfully awaken it. The remaining ninety-nine percent all died, without exception.”

"Huh--!"

Kitagawa Kaimu let out a short scream, her hand trembled, and she threw the necklace away like a hot potato.

Gu Ye reached out and caught it steadily, then hung it back around his neck.

"Although awakening a Stand sounds super cool, my life is more important!" Hai Meng said, patting her chest with lingering fear.

"Could it be that all Stand users awaken through such a life-or-death process?" she asked curiously.

"Of course not." Gu Ye gestured for everyone to leave the bedroom and gently closed the door behind him.

He returned to the messy living room, pulled over a chair that was still relatively intact, and sat down: "In my world, when a person hones a certain skill or spirit to the extreme, they can also awaken a substitute. For example, a friend of mine, his pursuit and love for cooking reached its peak, and so his substitute awakened."

"Awakening through honing skills?" Rin Tohsaka frowned. This sounded similar to a magician's training. "What about your Stand? How did you awaken it? Was it also through some kind of skill?"

“Me?” Gu Ye smiled and shook his head. “I’m not one of the lucky ones who was stabbed by the substitute arrow, nor have I honed any skill to its peak.”

His gaze swept over everyone present, his tone as calm as if he were stating a trivial fact.

"I awakened my Stand because I was determined to destroy the 'world'. That's why my Stand is 'Weather Forecast'."

The air in the living room froze instantly.

"Destroy...the world?" Kitagawa Haimu's mouth slowly opened into an "O" shape. Her brain seemed to have been paused, and she was unable to process this information overload for a moment.

Rin Tohsaka tensed up instantly, staring intently at Gu Ye as if reassessing the danger level of the man before her.

"Ha!" W let out a low, ambiguous laugh. She licked her lips, her bright red eyes gleaming with excitement. "I didn't expect you to be so cunning, looking so serious! I'm starting to admire you a little."

"Yes, I did destroy the 'world'." Gu Ye nodded frankly, acknowledging the fact.

Kitagawa Kaimu instinctively took two steps back, bumping into Bronya, who remained silent behind her.

Her mind was in complete confusion; what on earth was going on with this chat group?

Why are they bringing in just anyone?!

If it were a man, I could forgive him, since he was quite handsome.

But he was actually a super villain who destroyed the world!

"Destroying the world... isn't that too horrifying?" Rin Tohsaka's voice was a little hoarse, but she forced herself to calm down and analyze the situation. "With your abilities, it might not be impossible for you to do this. But why would you do it? Could it be... that the world has done something unforgivable to you?"

“Of course,” Gu Ye replied matter-of-factly. “That guy not only tried to kill my parents, but he also attempted to rule the entire world. Why wouldn’t I destroy such a bastard?”

Seeing the horrified expressions on everyone's faces, he belatedly realized what had happened and slapped his forehead.

"Ah, sorry, I misspoke."

“I didn’t explain clearly.” He explained somewhat helplessly, “‘World’ is the name of a stand-in, not the planet we’re standing on. Its owner is an absolute villain with pure evil, which is why I said I would destroy ‘World’.”

"Huh?!" Kitagawa Umi and Tohsaka Rin exclaimed in unison, their expressions shifting from fear to astonishment, and finally to an awkward mix of laughter and tears.

"After all that, 'World' was just a code name!" Hai Meng breathed a sigh of relief, patting her chest. "That scared me to death! I thought the final boss had infiltrated the group!"

"I see." Rin also loosened her clenched fist, feeling that her tension just now was a bit unnecessary.

"Tch, this is so boring." W curled his lip, looking disappointed. "I thought there would be some big scenes to see."

She immediately became interested and asked, "Hey kid, what abilities does that Stand called 'World' have? It sounds pretty powerful."

"Time stops."

Gu Ye's voice was very calm, as if he were saying, "The weather is nice today."

But as soon as those four words were spoken, it was as if the air in the living room had been sucked out.

①澪漌樲２⒏彡○玖８

Chapter 23 Another Raiden Mei

"Time...stopped?!" Rin Tohsaka and Haimura Kitagawa exclaimed almost simultaneously, their expressions showing identical astonishment.

For Rin, this was a realm that touched the very roots of magic, a realm of infinite contact with "magic," a miracle that countless magicians could never fathom in their entire lives.

For Hai Meng, this is simply the most overpowered and unsolvable ability in the world of anime, usually only possessed by the final boss or the male protagonist of certain special themes.

"Really?! Time stopped! Doesn't that make you invincible?" Hai Meng's eyes gleamed with a mixture of admiration and fear. "How can anyone possibly beat that?"

"So how exactly did you kill him?" W wasn't interested in how outrageous her ability was. She licked her sharp fangs, her eyes full of curiosity. "If you can stop time, even if he stood right in front of you and let you hit him, you wouldn't be able to touch him, right?"

"It's very simple." Gu Ye shrugged, his tone as casual as if he were sharing a recipe. "The master of the 'world' is a vampire who has lived for hundreds of years. If he comes into contact with even the slightest bit of sunlight, he will instantly turn to ash. Given this weakness, destroying him would be a piece of cake, wouldn't it?"

He spoke casually, but W and Rin's expressions became even more serious.

They were well aware that there was a huge gap between "knowing the weakness" and "using the weakness to attack an enemy who can stop time".

Just as Rin was about to ask for more details about the battle, Kiana's excited shouts suddenly came from the bedroom.

"Mei! Mei, you're awake! That's great!"

Everyone rushed into the bedroom and saw that Mei had already sat up in bed. Apart from being a little pale, she looked no different from before.

"Kiana?" Mei looked at the white-haired girl who had rushed to the bedside with a worried expression, then glanced at the concerned people in the room. Her purple eyes were filled with confusion. "I... what happened just now? I think I had a really scary dream..."

"It's more than terrifying! You were incredibly powerful just now! Like the Queen of Thunder, crackling and popping!" Kiana gestured, but quickly asked anxiously, "Is there anything else that's bothering you? Is anything in pain?"

Mei looked down at her body, moved her arms and legs, and shook her head: "No... I feel... like I have more strength than before."

“This is the typical state after a Stand awakens.” Gu Ye’s voice broke in. He leaned against the door frame and pondered, “I once saw a guy whose heart was pierced directly by a Stand arrow, but after successfully awakening his Stand, all his injuries were instantly healed. Your current situation is very similar to that time.”

"So that means! Mei-chan is a Stand user now too?!" Kitagawa Kaimu immediately came over excitedly, her big eyes sparkling.

"Stand user? What's that?" Mei was completely confused.

"That's right, Mei-chan, listen to me!" Haimeng immediately grabbed Mei's hand and, in an extremely excited tone, gesticulated wildly as she quickly explained everything that had just happened, as well as what a Stand is, how Stand users are born, and so on, using her set of two-dimensional theories.

"It sounds... amazing." Mei was stunned. She looked at her hands in disbelief. "So, I also have something called a 'stand'?"

"You can try to feel inside your body, concentrate your mind, and see if you can call it out," Gu Ye suggested.

"Okay, I'll try." Mei obediently closed her eyes and tried her best to feel according to Hai Meng's vague description, but after a few minutes, apart from feeling a warm power in her body, nothing like a "guardian spirit" emerged.

"It seems...it won't work." She opened her eyes with some disappointment.

"No, it's already out." Gu Ye's gaze passed over Mei and looked at the air behind her. Beside him, a white "weather forecast" quietly appeared.

“Come out, the other Raiden Mei,” Gu Ye said calmly.

"Another me?" Mei tensed up instantly, instinctively hugging Kiana's arm tightly, her voice trembling. "Who? Is it... is it that terrifying Herrscher from before? Is it still inside my body?"

You spotted me?

A voice suddenly sounded.

The sound came from Mei's mouth, but the tone was completely different.

Cold and crisp, devoid of any human emotion, like icicles striking each other in the dead of winter, carrying an innate arrogance and majesty.

"Ah!" Kiana and Haimeng were startled.

"W-What's going on?!" Mei panicked completely. She could clearly feel her mouth speaking uncontrollably, "My body!"

"Don't worry, she's not an enemy." Gu Ye's voice remained calm, as if he were soothing a frightened kitten. "You can think of her as another personality of yours, a manifestation of the power deep within you. She won't hurt you."

“Another personality?” Rin Tohsaka frowned. She stepped forward, a gem already clutched in her hand, her eyes sharply fixed on Mei. “Are you sure she’s not the Herrscher of Thunder? That overwhelming power just now can’t be explained by ordinary split personality.”

QQ:⑧1 490 379 8

"I am not that kind of lowly being." That cold voice rang out from Mei's mouth again, tinged with disdain. "A mere will of decay dares to compare itself to me?"

“I told you, she isn’t,” Gu Ye said definitively. “Although she can wield the power of a Herrscher, I’m certain that she is fundamentally different from a Herrscher. She and Raiden Mei are two sides of the same coin.”

"Two sides of the same coin..." Rin was still processing this concept.

Gu Ye pointed out incisively, "I once said that before becoming a Herrscher, Mei first became a kind of incomplete, even self-harming, Stigmata Awakener, and you are precisely the product of that disease being rendered harmless."

"So, she's another version of me?" Mei asked uncertainly.

"You could say that you're both Raiden Mei, there's no fundamental difference between you." Gu Ye nodded.

"I'm not her!"

"I'm not her!"

Two distinctly different voices rang out simultaneously from the same direction, using the same resolute tone.

“Look, isn’t this just like a split personality?” Gu Ye sighed slightly and spread his hands. “If there’s any experience that could cause such a huge rift in Mei’s mental world, it would probably only be the moment she awakened her Stigmata, right? I know a lot about your future, but it’s hard for me to make you understand that feeling just by talking about it. But one thing is certain: Raiden Mei has never changed.”

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Chapter 24 Men, call me Your Majesty!

"Ha, what do you know!"

That cold voice was filled with disdain.