Chapter 36 : It Does Not Worth It

My hand is already above her neck. I just need to squeeze it to end the girl whom I just ate lunch with. She might be innocent right now, but I can't risk it. I had experienced the terrors of Herrschers myself. So, I better end her right now so that she won't be a problem in the future.

Just as I was about to end her, I was stopped by someone.

「What are you doing?!」 the other me all but screamed in my head.

『You know exactly what I am doing.』 I answered.

「Are you sure you want to do that?」

『Yes, I am.』

「Heh, I never thought that you had some spark left in you. I was thinking that you got soft after dying back then.」

『Although I still have my memories from the previous life, I am not going to act like an old man. How am I supposed to enjoy my new life if I am still acting like the one from my previous life? But dealing with the Herrschers is different.』

「But I still think you shouldn't kill her, other me.」 The other person inside my head told me with a sigh.

『Give me a reason not to.』

「Do you want to repeat what you had done in your previous life?」

『I...』 I was lost for words. Do I really want to be a person who has sacrificed everything I had for humanity just like what I did in my previous life? I suddenly thought about the family I had in a different world.

「You don't, right?」

『You don't understand anything!』 I screamed internally.

「I do, actually. How do you think I was able to persuade you to become a Herrscher in your previous life?」

『It was… you?』 I gasp.

「Of course! But seriously. You have to go and kill yourself right after I gave you control of the body for a day. You can join your beloved humanity to fight the Honkai, you know?」

『How?』 That was the only word that came out of my mouth. A Herrscher betraying the Honkai to fight alongside humanity.

「Don't tell anyone but the will of Honkai is acting strange. That is all I can say right now.」

『But that doesn't relate to me killing Raiden Mei.』

「It is related, actually.」

『...』

「After living for over 40 years, you can be an idiot sometimes.」

『...』

「Let me explain. The girl having stigmata means that the Honkai will make her a Herrscher without a doubt. Think. What will happen if you kill her?」

『... Honkai will search for a new one.』

「That's right.」

『So, I will need to kill her only after becoming a Herrscher, got it.』

「*Slap*」 I heard the sound of another me slapping his forehead.

『Do you have anything you want to add.』

「Well, you are not wrong. Honkai will simply just choose another host to become a Herrscher if you kill the girl right here. But you forgot one thing.」

『What?』

「You can prevent her from becoming one.」

『Again, what?』

「Someone sealed that stigmata of hers. It won't act up unless she is under extreme stress.」

『So… I just need to make her less stressed about her current situation?』

「... Yes.」

『Why didn't you tell me sooner?! If you tell me that, I don't need to brainstorm on how to dispose of the body without the people in the house noticing.』

「... I never thought you will dismiss the idea of killing her that easily.」

『Well, if it were me from the previous life, I will kill her without skipping a beat.』

「But?」

『But after living through a new life since Day 1 made me realize something.』

「...」

『It does not worth it.』

「Does not worth it?」

『Yes. It is not worth sacrificing all of my being and my precious people for the sake of humanity. Not anymore. Not after what they did to her.』

「I guess your friends from back then will be happy for you.」

『I guess. I will still fight for humanity, mind you. So, stop tempting me to become a Herrscher.』

「Heh, in your dreams!」

『Don't say that. I know you are saying literally as you can use 8th Herrscher's power.』

「Che. Well, the 1st Herrscher had betrayed the Honkai and is now siding with humanity. Bye!」

After dropping another bomb on me, he disappeared. What did he mean that the 1st Herrscher is siding with humanity?!

*Growl*

While I was having a mental breakdown, a growl from my stomach stopped me from continuing it.

"It is already 8:45. I guess I can continue thinking that after the onion soup," I muttered while looking at the neck of Raiden Mei. There is a red handprint on it. Oops? I better get out now unless I want to be seen as a pervert.

3rd POV

Inside her room, Houraiji Kyuushou is writing a mission log. As she was writing, a sakura flower slowly floated and landed on the chair in front of her.

"How was it?" she asked without looking up.

"Well, he said 'it does not worth it'," the figure appeared at the place of the sakura flower. And if Urien were to hear the voice, he would immediately notice who it was. The figure in front of Kyuushou is a carbon copy of Urien from the Previous Era with different color schemes.

"Does that mean he will stop sacrificing himself?" Again, she asked while focusing on the mission log.

"It was easy, actually. I just need to make him recall some memories from his previous life. Then he will automatically think about the family he has in this life," the man in front of Kyuushou replied.

"That is good news. Thank you for your help," Kyuushou thanked the man in front of her after placing the pen on the table.

"Heh, I am second only to the Herrscher of the End. Of course, I am awesome," the man in front of her puffed out his chest.

"Herrscher of the Sea said hi," Kyuushou smiled a little.

"Geh. Don't compare me with Jyahnar! She is a Planet-class Houkai beast that can easily destroy a planet if she wants to. So, other than her, I am second only to—," the man in front of her made a scared expression when mentioning Herrscher of the Sea. But before he can continue boasting, Kyuushou cuts him off.

"Hold my beer," this time, she smirks at him.

The man can only deadpan at the antics of the girl in front of him. "You are trying to make fun of me, aren't you?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Sigh, I also made him look after the girl. Surprisingly, it was easier to persuade him than I had expected," he said after huffing.

"That is good. Now, she won't have to suffer like back then," Kyuushou nodded.

"You do know that the girl we have in this house and your Raiden Mei are different people, right?"

"Urien is also different from the one I knew. Even then, I still want to protect him nonetheless. I don't care if I have to scheme and manipulate him from the dark," Kyuushou chuckled sinisterly.

"Hey, have you heard about the 70th Herrscher from your world?" Urien's Herrscher persona tried to change the subject. No way in hell he is dealing with this shit. It is the job of his host.

"The one from Era: ZERO, correct?" Kyuushou stopped laughing and looked at the man.

"Yup! Do you know the way she died? It became the laughing stock among the Herrschers. Hell, even the Honkai chuckle at it," he said while laughing a little.

"I think I have read about it," Kyuushou replied while thinking back a little.

"Yeah, Dr. MEI from that world said enough is enough and nuked the South Korean Honkai Outbreak with a Honkai fission bomb and killed the Herrscher in the process. Poor girl cannot even start rampaging before getting killed," he continued while putting a smile on his face.

"Well, they dealt with over a hundred Herrschers in their era. I can't blame them," this time, Kyuushou smiles a little too.

"They have Dr. MEI, KEVIN, and Otto in the same era. Just think about the nightmare it will bring," the man said while shuddering a little.

"Why are you shuddering? You can use the power of the Herrschers you had seen before… don't you think your power is a cheat?" Kyuushou asked with a pout on her face.

"I might be able to use hundreds of different Herrscher powers. But Urien will only be able to use 10 powers as he had only seen 10 of them before he died back then," the man sighed.

"Can't you share your memories or show them to Urien through the 8th Herrscher's power?" Kyuushou argued.

"I can't. There are rules set by the Honkai and me sharing my memories with my host is past the bottom line of it," he answered with a shrug.

"I guess we can do nothing about it. I will show him the power of 1st and 2nd Herrschers for him to copy," she sighed in resignation.

"I will be going and keep an eye on Jyahnar. This world will be doomed if someone like her comes here," the man said while standing up from the seat.

"Don't worry. We can always feed her Kiana if she comes. Kiana with her Yuri power will save us all."

"This is not a laughing matter," the man deadpanned at her.

"Well, I will be counting on you," her face immediately became emotionless, and nodded at the Herrscher that was helping her since she had come here together with Urien.

Then without making a sound, the man turned into a sakura flower again.

"I am sorry, Mei. This is all I can do to help you without changing the future too much," she looks at the photo on her desk. It is a group photo consisting of Kiana, Mei, Bronya, and her together with their teacher Himeko and the principal Theresa.

"And Urien, I hope you will enjoy your normal life because it will be filled with hardships starting this February," Kyuushou muttered.