Chat Group: Starting by Swapping Bodies with Elysia?

While she felt a pang of jealousy, [Elysia]'s intervention had soothed those feelings. It shouldn't have been enough to trigger Wendy's transformation.

She didn't dislike Elysia. After all, Elysia was good at getting along with cute girls like Wendy and Totori.

And Wendy was quite interested in the stories Elysia told.

They chatted happily in Wendy's room at the Fourth Research Department, anticipating the arrival of Totori and the desserts.

For girls, especially Elysia, desserts were a source of pure joy.

But—

Time passed. Ten, twenty minutes… they could still attribute the delay to the distance. But after an hour, they grew restless.

Wendy called Totori, but only heard an unsettling dial tone.

"Something must have come up," Elysia said, blinking. "I'll go check. Wendy, stay here."

Those were MEI's instructions. Given Wendy's instability, even with [Elysia]'s safeguards, it was best to keep her in a controlled environment.

To avoid making her feel trapped, Elysia and Totori were to act as… companions.

Meanwhile, Mobius and Vill-V were preparing for the evacuation. Evacuating an entire country was impossible, so they focused on reinforcing existing shelters and issuing warnings.

But MEI had miscalculated.

The problem wasn't Wendy, but… Totori.

—Elysia learned the location of the dessert shop from Totori's colleagues. But when she arrived, Totori was nowhere to be found.

The owner said Totori had left half an hour ago, looking cheerful.

Elysia frowned, a sense of unease washing over her. She searched the area.

Finally, near the research facility, she found Totori… lying in a pool of blood.

The blood stained the girl's skirt. A bag of desserts lay spilled beside her.

"Totori!"

Elysia rushed to her side, horrified. Thankfully, Totori was still breathing, albeit faintly.

She had the medicine Yunyun had given her.

The large red potion stabilized Totori.

But—

Elysia felt a gaze and turned. It was Wendy, who should have been at the facility.

"Wen—"

She sensed danger, but it was too late. Wendy had seen Totori lying in blood.

Elysia looked down, guilt gnawing at her. "It's my fault. If I hadn't been hungry, Totori wouldn't have gone out, and this wouldn't have happened."

"...It was my miscalculation as well. I didn't realize that girl had such an impact on the Fourth Herrscher." MEI sighed.

She hadn't expected the problem to be with the companion, not the Herrscher. Elysia could have gone with Totori, but MEI had instructed Elysia to stay with Wendy.

"Don't blame yourselves. If someone targeted her, it would have happened eventually." [Wendy] sighed, trying to comfort them.

Even he couldn't have prevented this. He couldn't watch Totori every second of every day.

"How is she?"

"She's stable, but she won't wake up for a while…" MEI said, then added, "The Fourth Herrscher left immediately after. That's why we were able to save Totori."

A newly awakened Herrscher emitted high levels of Honkai energy. Thankfully, Totori had Elysia's protection. While Elysia wasn't aware of her own power, [Elysia] had enhanced her body, making her a sort of… Honkai shield. And Wendy had left quickly. If Totori had stayed near the newly awakened Herrscher any longer, even Elysia's protection wouldn't have been enough.

"Where did she go?"

"According to satellite surveillance, she's in Tonga." MEI pointed at her terminal. "The Fourth Divine Key has been deployed. Thanks to Vill-V's modifications, we can monitor global Honkai activity."

"Currently, Fire Moth is handling the Fourth Eruption."

"But New Zealand isn't the biggest problem—"

She pointed at Tonga. "The ocean currents and wind patterns are changing. If this continues, according to Dr. Relia, the Far East, the west coast of North America, and Southeast Asia will be severely affected. Eventually, the entire world will suffer."

"We have to stop the Fourth Herrscher, Elysia."

"Huh?" Elysia blinked, pointing at herself.

Then, her face turned red as she glared at Jiang Qiao, on the verge of tears.

That jerk, Jiang Qiao!

"Correction, this Elysia." MEI clarified, further infuriating Elysia.

"There's only one Elysia! And that's me!" She glared at [Wendy]. Don't you dare speak!

Impersonating Elysia in her body was one thing, but doing it in another girl's body… that was unacceptable!

"...You can call me Jiang Qiao, or… Wendy. This body's name is Wendy."

"Wendy it is, then." While she preferred 'Elysia', MEI adapted. Like Jiang Qiao, she felt 'Wendy' was more appropriate.

"You can stop this, can't you… Wendy?" MEI stared at [Wendy], her tone certain, despite phrasing it as a question.

Elysia fumed silently.

"Yes." [Wendy] sighed.

He'd intended to use Wendy's core for another scheme. But things hadn't gone as planned.

But it was fine. Even if he couldn't replicate the Nagazora incident, he could still stop this global storm.

After all, he was also a Herrscher of Wind.

"But first, I need to complete my transformation."

Like the Herrscher of Reason and Truth, [Wendy] wasn't a complete Herrscher of Wind. She was just a half-baked version, awakened by the Gem of Desire.

The previous era's Wendy, empowered by the Will of Honkai, was far stronger.

"A Honkai Eruption?"

"Yes. She conveniently prepared one for me. I'll just… borrow it." [Wendy] nodded, sensing the surge of Honkai energy from New Zealand.

"Then, while you're at it, go to Wellington with Elysia."

"What happened?"

"A Judgment-class Honkai Beast has appeared. Fire Moth has named it Parvati. The Ninth Squad is on their way."

"The Ninth Squad is led by Ato. That's a suicide mission." He'd sparred with Ato and knew he was strong, but still human.

"What about missiles?"

"The weather is too chaotic. And you know how effective conventional weapons are against Judgment-class beasts."

Herrschers were vulnerable, but Honkai Beasts had high resistance to conventional weapons. They'd need nukes, or Honkai fission bombs, which Fire Moth hadn't developed yet.

"Elysia was supposed to go to Wellington anyway. Since you need the Eruption, deal with that beast as well. It'll save Fire Moth some manpower." MEI sighed.

"We're stretched thin."

As she'd said, Fire Moth wasn't the powerful organization it would become. They were still struggling.

"I understand." [Wendy] nodded and left the shelter with Elysia.

"The car's not this way." Elysia pointed out. With the extreme weather, they couldn't fly, so cars were the fastest option.

Elysia considered summoning Jiang Qiao's Honkai beast, but it didn't respond.

Well, it's his, not mine.

"That's too slow."

Elysia thought he was going to summon the beast, but then, with a yelp, Wendy grabbed her and spread her wings.

[Wendy] smelled faintly of orchids. Elysia blushed as she felt the warmth of the girl's body.

"What are you doing?! You jerk!"

"Hold on tight. It'll be fast."

Elysia felt a surge of annoyance. So you're not even going to savor the moment? I smell nice too, you know!

But then, she had no time for such thoughts.

Wendy's wings flapped, and a sonic boom echoed.

The scenery blurred.

By enveloping herself in a fluid of ideal form, Wendy minimized air resistance, achieving incredible speed, far faster than any vehicle.

While it had taken [Elysia] a day to reach New Zealand on the Honkai Beast, [Wendy] could do it in a few hours.

—Ten minutes was enough to reach Wellington from the Alps.

"We're… here?" Elysia stumbled as she landed, feeling slightly disoriented. She was still amazed by the speed.

"Yes."

[Wendy] almost said, If you were lighter, we'd be faster, then thought better of it. Elysia would definitely hit him!

"I have a feeling you're thinking something rude." Elysia glared at him.

"No."

Is that a woman's intuition?

"Forget it. Let's find Ato and the others."

Elysia was about to contact Ato, but [Wendy] shook her head.

"No need. I found them."

"Huh?" Elysia looked skeptical. "You didn't even move."

"The wind told me." He raised a finger, a chaotic gust of wind calming down as it brushed against his skin.

While not quite like the Anemo Archon, as the Herrscher of Wind, he could glean information from the wind itself. Wendy just didn't know how to use this power properly.

"Herrscher powers are so amazing…" Elysia sighed enviously.

"Want to try becoming one?" He asked, turning to her with a smile.

The wind paused.

Elysia chuckled nervously. "No, thanks. I prefer being human."

"Besides, it's not like I can just become a Herrscher, right?"

A discordant note echoed through the wind, then faded.

[Wendy] simply smiled, then continued walking, leaving Elysia behind.

…

For Kosma, this peaceful life had ended too abruptly.

He'd believed that after the storm, there would be sunshine. A new dawn.

But reality was often cruel.

His home was in ruins.

His orange eyes reflected the terrifying hurricane and the giant, ape-like figure dancing within it.

He should have followed Fire Moth's instructions and evacuated to the nearest shelter.

But he'd come here instead, to the most dangerous area.

"It's you."

Carrying a backpack filled with explosives, his green eyes burned with determination. Fire Moth's evacuation wasn't perfect. And that's when the Darknight Hero stepped in.

But right now, instead of searching for survivors, he felt that the fastest way to end this disaster was to eliminate the source.

Just like in the comics, once the villain was defeated, everything would return to normal.

He trembled. Reality wasn't a comic, and he wasn't a true hero.

But he was still trying!

"Die!" He yelled, bracing himself against the wind, his body covered in cuts. He used the wind itself to propel himself forward, throwing the backpack at the giant figure.

BOOM!

The explosion lit up the sky.

But as MEI had said, conventional weapons were useless against Honkai, especially a Judgment-class beast. His carefully prepared explosives were like mosquito bites to Parvati.

However—

In this desolate wasteland, the unexpected explosion caught Parvati's attention.

A tiny insect, daring to attack?

For a Judgment-class beast, this was an unforgivable insult.

The storm stopped.

This wasn't a good sign. It was a prelude to Parvati's true attack. The previous storm had been a mere warm-up.

—And for Kosma, caught in the air and falling towards the ground, his fate seemed sealed.

Parvati unleashed a powerful blast, aiming to obliterate the falling boy.

…I… I guess I can't become a hero after all…

Kosma closed his eyes, regret filling his heart.

His dream of becoming a hero remained unfulfilled.

Then, a gentle wind enveloped him.

A green figure.

And a soft whisper—

"Ideal Fluid."