February 2014...
Nagazora...

As of 10:00 today, all external contact with Nagazora have been severed. The united nations has issued a statement confirming a BH Virus outbreak in the city. It was happening; The Third Honkai Eruption. All that didn't have some form of resistance to the Honkai was affected, becoming what humans call, "Honkai Zombies". Those who had high resilience to the Honkai were doing their best to fight off against the Zombies and Honkai Beasts, with most of those people being young students. A certain black-haired male with a darker complexion was moving through an empty building, gritting his teeth as he glared behind him, spotting multiple Zombies chasing after him.

This male was of course The Onyx Dragon of the Abyss, Aikawa Ryu.

Ryu: "Tch... Damn it Cocolia.. Sacrificing all these lives just to do some stupid test.."  He growled the name of the woman who ran the Orphanage he grew up in. With the metal claw on his left hand, he dashed forwards and slashed through the three Zombies before him, causing them to drop to the ground as blood flew from their sliced open wounds.  "Rest.. And I'm sorry."

He sighed but heard rapid footsteps approaching him from behind. He didn't need to look as around five more Zombies were quickly approaching him. However, with his amber eyes glowing, a familiar white Honkai Eastern-style dragon burst through the walls, ripping the Zombies apart. He glanced back, seeing the dragon look at him.

Ryu: "Good job, Nakith."  He praised it, scratching the underside of its neck before they both heard some gunshots, followed by a particular female's voice yelling,

???: "If you're dead then get out of our way!"

As he looked through a nearby window, he spotted two particular girls. One had long silver hair tied into twin braids and bright blue eyes with a pair of revolvers in her hands while the other had long dark purple hair tied into a high ponytail by a purple bow, bright purple eyes and a shotgun in her hands. Kiana Kaslana and Raiden Mei respectively.

Seeing the two girls, he sighed and shook his head, but smiled a bit.

Ryu: "Goodness, those two really know how to make a show. C'mon, Nakith."

>>St. Freya Arc<<

>Chapter 7: The 3rd Eruption—Thunder's Awakening<

As Kiana led the way through the Zombies with Mei just barely behind her, bullets and pellets flew from the barrels of their firearms, decimating the Zombies before them. But it almost seemed like this was endless.

Mei: "They just keep coming..! Kya!"  She yelped, narrowly dodging one of the Zombies lunging at her, only for Kiana to immediately blast it in the face with one of her revolvers.

Kiana: "Stay away from my Mei-Senpai!"

Mei looked at the silver-haired girl, but before she could even say anything, multiple Zombies had already surrounded the girls. With their backs pressed against each other, the two got ready to fight for their lives.. only for a loud roar to catch them by surprise. In an instant, a volley of magma-colored Honkai energy engulfed the Zombies surrounding the girls and immediately vaporizing them.

Kiana: "The heck!?"

Mei: "That attack.. Was it..?"

Ryu: "You girls alright down there?"  They both gasped and looked up to see Ryu standing on the back of Nakith as she hovered in mid air.

As he hopped off of her, the Honkai Dragon glowed a bright white color and vanished into particles that flew into the dragon tattoo on his left arm. He landed before them, crossing his arms with a smile.

Kiana and Mei: "Ryu!"

Ryu: "Yo! Missed me already?"

Kiana: "You sure took your damn time! And tell that damn dragon of yours to watch where it's shooting that stuff!!"  Ryu deadpanned and rolled his eyes.

Ryu: "Wow... What a way to say, 'Thank you my dear savior!' But I expected nothing less from the Tuna."  A tick mark appeared on the silver-head's forehead as she got in his face.

Kiana: "What did you call me!?"  Before anything could escalate, Mei quickly got between the two and gently pushed them away from each other.

Mei: "Now, now, this isn't the time for fighting, ehehe..."  She sweat dropped a bit before she looked at Ryu, a pleasant smile forming on her face.  "Thank you for saving us, Ryu-San."  He smiled at her and pats her shoulder.

Ryu: "Don't need to thank me, Mei. I can't let either of you die on me now, can I?" 

The purple-haired girl released out a small laugh while Kiana, who was behind her just crossed her arms with a small pout, while quietly mocking what Ryu just was saying.

Kiana: *muttering* "'I can't let either of you die on me now, can I?' Pfft. We can handle ourselves, showoff..."

Their banter however was interrupted as something massive busted through the building next to them. Growling, Ryu wrapped his arms around the two girls' waists and dashed backwards with them, barely missing quite a large Honkai Beast crushing them under its feet.

Ryu: "Tch... Damned things are persistent... Let her rip, girls!" 

He backed up as both Kiana and Mei stood before them, cocking their firearms before loading the Honkai beast with multiple rounds of led. However, the Beast didn't seem fazed by it at all. In fact, it only seemed irritated as he lunged its arm at them, but they all jumped back to avoid it.

Mei: "Our guns are not even scratching that thing!"

Kiana: "And this monster won't give up! It's always after pretty girls like us! What a perv..."  Ryu deadpanned at her.

Ryu: "Seriously? That's the best you could come up with, Tuna?"

Kiana: "Hmph, shut it you overgrown lizard!"  He sighed and rolled his eyes once again.

Little did they know, from a roof top, a two petite figures dived down towards the massive Honkai Beast, their eyes fixated on the target underneath them. One of them was a familiar girl with silver hair tied into pigtails that looked like drills and gray eyes while the other had long-white hair with golden eyes. They were Bronya Zaychik and Raiden Ame respectively.

Bronya & Ame: "Target Locked."  The girls and boy next to the Honkai Beast heard their voices and looked up, their eyes widening in surprise.

Kiana and Mei: "Bronya! Ame!"

With a blue glow in her palms, twin SMGs appeared in Ame's hands as she pointed directly down at the Honkai Beast. As she began to spiral around, she pulled the triggers and began raining bullets down onto the beast which roared and growled in annoyance before glaring up towards them.

Bronya: "Project Bunny 19c"

As Ame used the recoil of her weapons to push herself out of the way, the familiar sight of Bronya's robotic familiar materialized behind her, a javelin ejecting from the left cannon arm and a shield forming on its right hand.

As the Honkai Beast looked up, it was immediately met to the javelin in its face, instantly killing it. As Project Bunny 19c dematerialized, Bronya and Ame both landed softly on their feet.

Ame: "Mission Complete."

Mei: "Ame!!"  The shorter girl looked towards her, with her weapons dematerializing. In an instant, Mei wrapped her arms around the white-haired girl, nuzzling her into her chest.  "You're safe! Thank goodness!"

Ame: "Oneechan."  She replied in a bit of a monotone before she gently patted her elder sister on the back. Ryu watched with a smile before he looked at Bronya and walked over to her.

Ryu: "Well look at you showing off."  She turned to look at him, then looked at Mei and Ame before opening one of her arms while the other held onto the yellow Homu toy.

Bronya: "Where's the Bronya's hug?"  Ryu was a bit surprised but laughed a bit before wrapping his arms around the shorter girl, pulling her head into his chest.

Ryu: "Hai, hai. Here you go, bunny."

Bronya's face remained unchanged, though there was a small pink hue on her cheeks as she hugged him back tightly. Feeling her tighten her grip on him caused him to smile and gently pat her head. Hugs like this were very common for the two since the incident with Seele in Cocolia's Orphanage, but Ryu can't help but smile when embracing the silver-haired girl. However, the moment was soon interrupted by a certain Tuna.

Kiana: "What the hell, Bronya!? You can't just show up with that monster robot! Out almost got me killed! Stupid little brat!"  A tick mark appeared on Ryu as he was just about to tell Kiana off, before Bronya came out of his embrace and looked at her blankly.

Bronya: "End protection routine for Subject Kiana. Set Subject Kiana to expendable."  That didn't sit well with Kiana and she was just about to go off before Ame stepped in.

Ame: "Baka Kiana doesn't know the simple expression known as 'gratitude'. She should be reeducated."

Bronya: "Da. Subject Kiana must be reeducated to learn gratitude."  At this rate, Kiana looked as if she about to explode as her head was bright red with steam puffing out of her ears like a steam locomotive.

Kiana: "O you really want a war, Brats!? I'll take you BOTH on!"

Bronya: "The Bronya and Ame has a Victory chance of 99.9999%."

Kiana: "OH YEAH!? I HAVE A 100% OF WINNING!!"

With the three girls now locked into a one-sided argument, with Kiana losing miserably, the only two that weren't bickering, Mei and Ryu stood next to each other, the black-haired male with his arms crossed as Mei put her hands on her hips. They both sighed simultaneously.

Ryu and Mei: "Children..."  The two fell silent and blinked before looking at each other as they realized that they said the same thing simultaneously before the two shared a small laugh. "But you aren't much diff—... Stop that..! No you!"  They both fell silent before sharing a slightly awkward laugh.

Mei: "Well, that was unexpected."  She said with a sheepish smile and a faint blush on her face as Ryu chuckled.

Ryu: "That it was."  He said before closing his eyes but soon his smile vanished.  "I doubt we're finished here though.. I can't shake this feeling that more are on their way here.."

Mei: "I know... I have that same feeling.. We should stay on our guards."  Ryu hummed and nodded. The purple-haired girl covered her mouth with her left hand and let out a cute yawn. Ryu glanced at her for a moment, before noticing a cut on Mei's arm.

Ryu: "Mei, you're injured."  In an instant, the bickering between Kiana, Bronya and Ame halted and they all quickly looked at Mei, as if in a state of panic. Mei looked at them all before smiled as she held up her arm.

Mei: "Oh, I'm fine! It's just a scratch."

Ryu: "That may be true, but even just a scratch turn into a dangerous and infected wound. Here let me treat you." 

He gently took hold of Mei's hand, causing her face to heat up as a crimson blush coated her face, just from the contact alone. She was honestly surprised about how smooth and warm his palm felt. As Ryu was inspecting her wound, he began to reach into his pouch for any medical supplies he had on him... only to be suddenly knocked out of the way by a certain silver-haired girl.

Ryu: "Hey! What the heck!?"

Kiana: "Leave it to me! For injuries like these..."  She held up Mei's arm before she began to slowly lick it with her tongue while winking at her.  "My tongue is the best remedy!"

Ryu: *deadpans* "No... That's like totally unhygienic..."  Mei's blush was just as strong, but it was more from the feeling ticking her as she began to squirm and attempted to get her to stop.

Mei: "S-Stop! I'm ticklish! Kiana, please stop! K-Kyah N-No.. stop!"  However, Kiana felt a chill down her spine as Ame pushed the barrel of a revolver she materialized right into her side, with her eyes glowing in a threatening manner while Bronya active Project Bunny 19c.

Kiana: "E-Eh!?"

Bronya: "Project Bunny 19c. Lock on target: Subject Kiana. Mei has given a negative response to Kiana's action. Subject Kiana must let go of Mei, or The Bronya will commence attack protocols."

Kiana: "What what?? Why aren't you targeting that lizard boy!?"

Ame: "Are you dense or just mentally stupid?"  A tick mark appeared on the silver-haired girl's head as she glared at the shorter girl.  "Oneechan's reaction wasn't that of a negative one to Ryu's actions towards her. And also, Oneechan has a cru—mmph!"  Before she could continue her sentence, Mei immediately stopped her by covering her mouth with her hand, her blush returning but stronger than ever.

Mei: "D-Don't say it, Ame!" 

Ryu: "What the heck is happening again...?"

Kiana: "But who said Mei doesn't like my treatment? She love it! Just look at her!"

Mei: "Huh!?"

Bronya: "The Bronya requires Mei to confirm nature of response."

Kiana: "Mei, it felt great right? WAYYY better than that lizard boy, right??"

As the two girls continue to pester Mei about her feelings on the situation, she was beginning to feel overwhelmed as the blush on her face was becoming. She was attempting to tell them to stop before she just couldn't take it anymore. As Ryu walked towards them to try and deescalate the situation, she immediately ran behind him and hid behind his back all the while yelling..

Mei: "There's no way I like that kind of stuff!!!"

..............................

Kiana: "(-.-)"

Ame: "(-_-)"

Bronya: "Response confirmed. Subject Kiana is an unhygienic Idiotka."

>>Short Time Skip<<

After the shenanigans, the group moved into an abandoned apartment, with the streets outside littered with Honkai Zombies. Leaning against the slide door that led to a balcony was Mei and Ryu, the latter just finishing up on treating Mei's wound by defecting it and putting a band-aid on it After that, Ame and Bronya respectively went towards them and lied down in their laps before falling asleep, with Ryu running his hand through Bronya's hair. Mei lets out a slightly relieved sigh.

Mei: "We can finally take a break..."  She closed her eyes for a brief moment before hearing a mumble from Kiana, who was sitting on the floor in front of them, leaning back into a couch.

Kiana: "Hmph, liar! I know you liked it!"

Mei's thoughts: *sweat drops* "She's still mulling over that..."

(A/N: "Serious question!.......... Does Bronya dream of electric rabbits??")

Kiana: "How can Ame sleep on Mei's lap? We shouldn't have picked her up! And why does stupid Lizard boy get to sleep on Mei's shoulder!? We should have rejected him instantly! Not fair not fair not fair not fair NOT FAIR!"  Mei glanced to her right as she spotted that Ryu had also fallen asleep, with his head leaning against her shoulder. She then looked up at the ceiling.

Mei: "Kiana, Ame's my sister..."

Kiana: "Hmph... Then what about Ryu??"

Mei: "Be honest, Kiana.. without Ryu's help, we would not have made it this far. Plus, you have the sofa for yourself..."

Kiana: "Yeah yeah... Ryu is sooooo incredible! Of course Mei loves him most! And leaves me by the side..."  She sulked.

Mei: *smiles* "Yep, I love him best!"

Kiana: "What!?"  Her cheeks become puffy, her eyes moistening from building up tears.

Mei: "I love Ame and Bronya too! And I love Kiana too!"  In an instant, Kiana's moody expression brightened up into a childish grin as she shot up in excitement.

Kiana: "Oh really!?"

Mei: "Of course! You and Ryu are the ones that saved my life, after all!"

Kiana: "Hehe, that's right!"

Mei: "Don't you think it's amazing...?"  She took a glance at the sleeping Ryu and Bronya, while stroking her little sister's hair.  "We've only just met, yet it feels as though we've known each other for a long time... Hopefully we can leave this place safely..."

Ryu: "Well you don't gotta worry about it."  Both girls glanced towards him as he was sitting up straight and yawning slightly before he looked at them.  "We're ALL gonna make it out of this city alive. Even if it costs me my life, I'll protect ALL of you."  He declared as he rubbed Bronya's head

The sheer resolve in his voice surprised both of the girls, with a faint blush forming on Mei's face.

Mei: "Ryu..."

Kiana: "That was my line!"

Ryu: "Then say it faster, Tuna."

Kiana: "Lizard Boy!"  He rolled his eyes before he looked at Mei.

Ryu: "And by the way Mei..."  She looked at him, blinking as she tilted her head in confusion.  "I love you too."  As Kiana's eyes went wide, Mei continued to blink for a while before suddenly her face became overtook by a massive red blush.

Mei: "O-Oh my.. Hehe.."

Kiana: "I'm supposed to say that!!"

Ryu: *deadpans* "Then say it before me."

Kiana: "WHY YOU—!!!"

However, they were suddenly erupted by a large Honkai Beast's spear bursting right into the building they were in. As Bronya and Ame awakened, all five teens escaped the building unscathed. As Mei lets out a few coughs from the dust and rubble, Kiana and Ryu glared daggers towards the towering beast.

Bronya: "Project Bunny: Activate!"

Clutching onto her Homu plushie, Bronya stepped up as her mechanical familiar materialized behind her, spear in hand. With the Honkai Beast towering over them, they both clashed their spears, the shockwave being enough to destroy surrounding buildings. However, the beast proved to be too strong and sent both Bronya and Project Bunny through three buildings.

Ryu: "Bronya!"  He called out to her before gritting his teeth.  "Crush it, Nakith!" 

He yelled as the dragon tattoo on his left hand glowed before the Honkai Dragon materialized above him. Roaring viciously, the Dragon Familiar flew towards the Honkai Beast, biting down on its left arm as it lets out a pained roar and began to thrash around, slamming Nakith into the ground and buildings in the process. As the two Beasts battled, Ame materialized a long sword into her hand before leaping up to the Honkai Beast, which had pinned down Nakith to the ground. But, it lets out a pained roar as Ame gad driven her blade right into its back. The Honkai Beast arched its back and began to thrash around, trying to pry the young girl off its back. Unfortunately for Ame, its movements were too violent and she ended up being flung off, but thankfully, she landed onto Nakith's back. Fully enraged, the Honkai Beast unleashed a powerful beam from the eye on its head, to which Nakith wrapped its body and took the blast for Ame, but ended up with the two of them being sent flying back into a skyscraper, to which Mei widened her eyes.

Mei: "Ame!!"  She yelled, however it seemed like the already enraged Honkai Beast was drawn to her voice and loomed over her. As Mei's eyes widened, she watched as the Honkai Beast was bringing its lance down on her. But then, she felt a weight push against her body and push her out of the way.

Ryu: "How am I gonna keep my promise if you end up dying on me..."  She looked at him in bewilderment as he had gently grasped onto her shoulder while applying his body weight to her, pushing them both out of the way of the attack. A smile on his face as he stared into her eyes.  "Senpai~?" 

He winked at her before the tearing of flesh could be heard, causing both Kiana and Mei's eyes to widen from horror. The Honkai Beast's land had struck, tearing a gash right down Ryu's back, causing blood to fly out from the serious wound.

Kiana: "Ryu!!!" She yelled out as both he and Mei were sent crashing to the ground. She quickly  bolted over to them, sliding onto her knees as she began to shake the unconscious male.  "R-Ryu?? Ryu! Don't you dare die on us now you stupid Lizard Boy!! Ryu!!!"

However, he didn't respond. All he did was lay against Mei, his blood staining her clothes and Kiana's hands. As the purple-haired girl remained deathly silent, her eyes staring down at him with visual horror and tears falling down her eyes, Kiana gritted her teeth out of frustration with her eyes burning before the ground shook. The Honkai Beast was now standing right over them, prepared to finish them off. Letting out a cry of frustration, the silver-haired girl stood straight up and glared up at the Honkai Beast.

Kiana: "Hey you! How DARE you do that to Ryu and make Mei-Senpai cry! I'm gonna make you pay, YOU HEAR ME!?" 

It only let out a roar as it began to bring its lance down on the Kaslana. But before that could happen, a loud cry of despair and rage echoed through the city, followed by Crimson Lightning Bolts erupting and striking the Honkai Beast, causing it to stumble backwards, but at the same time, the impact sent Kiana flying back into a wall, with blood flowing down her nape. She groaned before she looked up, her blue eyes widening in surprise as she realized the culprit..

Kiana: "Mei... Senpai...?"

The girl name Mei had completely snapped, her eyes becoming a darker, more sinister purple color and her pupils glowing a crimson red color. Lightning sparked around her as she held the unconscious Ryu closely to her body. From the torn bits on her uniform, a particular red Stigmata was seen on her left hip and thigh while her left arm was coated in a dark purple color with white veins. As she slowly began to rise into the sky with the black-haired boy in her arms, the same Stigmata that was on her hip appearing behind her, glowing purple lighting geometric objects that resembled wings appeared on the left side of her back, giving her a more godly appearance.

Ryu's action and Kiana's willingness to attempt to fight the Honkai Beast by herself, finally caused Mei to unleash the Stigmata of Thunder, unleashing the power that had been sealed inside of her by her father... The 3rd Herrscher had awakened...

The "Herrscher of Thunder".

As she glared down at the Honkai Beast, which had suddenly stopped attacking, she narrowed her eyes in absolute disgust, with lightning accumulating above it.

HoT: "𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕕𝕠𝕖𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕒𝕔𝕔𝕖𝕡𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕔𝕖, 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕞!"

In an instant, the lightning which bundled into a sphere crashed down onto the Honkai Beast as it squealed in pain. From the sheer overload of power, the Honkai Beast's body itself began to boil and become bloated before eventually, imploding from the inside out, causing a pillar of raw Honkai Energy to shoot right up into the sky.

Approaching the city of Nagazora, was the Schickal Battleship known as the "Hyperion". In the ship's bridge, the alarms blared from the Honkai Energy spike.

"Honkai Energy spike up ahead! Honkai Energy level rising rapidly All Honkai Beasts in Nagazora are moving towards the Energy Spike."

A red haired woman wearing a captain jacket over a clearly fancy dress stood with one arm crossed under her chest while it supported her other arm which was stroking her chin. This woman was known as Murata Himeko, the leader of the Hyperion Squad.

(Murata Himeko)

Himeko: "Hmph, looks like we hit the jackpot this time."

Hyperion Operator: "There is still time to retreat, Major!"

Himeko: "Nonsense!"  She grinned, her body itching in excitement.  "I will not let go of a prey I've set my eyes on. Level 1 alert! All crew to battle stations! The War has begun!"

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