Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers

-Volume VI: The Year of Fire Moths (part 2)-

"Today is the last day of the ninth year of the new calendar. In other words, it will soon be ten years since the First Eruption. Of course, it has also been a year and a half since Fire Moth and Anti-Entropy merged."

Mei paused, her expression serious. "This summary meeting is to review Fire Moth's combat achievements over the past year. After all, everyone's achievements this past year have been quite brilliant."

At that moment, despite her composed demeanor, a small smile broke through.

"After the reorganization, the Anti-Honkai Battalions quelled 187 Honkai disasters caused by lower-level Honkai beasts. They also eliminated the Emperor-class Honkai beasts, Garuda and Frona, within a year. The Fusion Warrior Battalion hasn't even had a chance to fight. You've all truly achieved remarkable results."

Of the eight captains, only Captain Karabiya's squad remained stationed at Fire Moth headquarters. The other seven attended the meeting via projections. Yet, despite the distance, their pride was undeniable. Hearing their achievements, their smiles widened, merging into a collective beam of satisfaction.

On the opposite side, the projection of Michael lounged lazily in his chair, his expression bored.

Yes, everyone was too lazy to attend in person. Besides Mei and Karabiya, only Kevin was physically present in the meeting room.

Technically, for an annual summary meeting, the commander and chief of staff of Fire Moth shouldn't be absent. But at this point, no one was surprised. They had simply gotten used to it.

"Okay! Even so, don't forget—it's been nearly a year and a half since the Fifth Eruption. Based on previous patterns, the Sixth Eruption is highly likely to occur next year. Therefore, each battalion still needs to—"

Woo—

A shrill alarm suddenly interrupted Dr. Mei.

Everyone held their breath, silently counting in their minds.

Five seconds… The alarm stopped.

Ten seconds… No new alarm sounded.

Thirty seconds… The second round of alarms blared.

"Level Three Alert!"

According to the latest regulations, this signified the appearance of an Emperor-class Honkai beast.

Sure enough, the next moment, Elvin rushed into the conference room. Ato, seemingly receiving the same news, stood up as well.

"Abnormal Honkai energy reaction detected on the Mu Continent. Reaction level: around 350 HW!"

Yet, despite the announcement, no one—from Mei to Michael, and even Ato, the leader of the First Battalion responsible for the Mu Continent's defense—looked particularly nervous.

After all, they had already taken down two Emperor-class Honkai beasts with similar energy levels.

Michael glanced at Elysia, then at Mobius, Sakura, Vill-V, and the others. With a smirk, he conjured two trays in his hands.

"I'll be the dealer. Let's bet again—will it be our turn this time? Left hand for 'no,' right hand for 'yes.'"

Without hesitation, everyone tossed their badges—representing chips—onto the tray in Michael's left hand.

Only Pardofelis, still a bit dazed and struggling to tell left from right, threw her badge onto the right tray.

Afraid she might regret it, Michael quickly announced, "Alright! Bets are closed. Whoever loses has to clean for the winners for a week—free of charge!"

Pardofelis blinked. "One week, free of charge… wait! That's a week for each person… Elysia, Vill-V, Snake, Sakura, Hua—Waaaaah! Boss Michael, don't go! Give me a chance to change my bet!"

She lunged forward, but only managed to grab the chair under Michael's butt.

By then, he had already phase-shifted next to Mei.

"No way. Finally, someone is willing to bet on 'yes'..."

As he stepped out of the space rift—bump.

He collided straight into Kevin's back.

"Sorry..."

"My bad!"

They apologized almost simultaneously.

Michael rubbed his now red nose, then, before Mei could turn around, swiftly pulled the two icicles hanging from his nostrils—and stuffed them down Kevin's back collar.

Kevin's eyes widened in horror. "Michael, you—"

Before he could react, Mei's gaze landed on him. He stiffened, stood up straight, and pretended nothing had happened.

"It seems the surgery was a success! Now, as long as I'm not in direct contact with Kevin, the surrounding temperature is bearable."

"Indeed. We have you and Mobius to thank for that."

Mei silently put on a pair of disposable surgical gloves, retrieved the two "icicles" Michael had stuffed into Kevin's collar, and tossed them into a nearby trash can.

"Alright, playtime is over. Ato's battle is about to begin."

Michael and Kevin's expressions immediately turned serious. Even though they had never actually been needed, they had to be ready to provide support at any time.

According to regulations, aside from a few members on rotation, the entire Anti-Honkai Battalion lived on their Sky Carriers, always on standby. If any Honkai energy abnormalities were detected, they could launch directly from the spaceport within minutes. Reaching any location within their defense zone took no more than half an hour.

"Destination: Fuller District, New Mallorca City. Estimated arrival time: seventeen minutes and thirty-eight seconds."

On the bridge of Fire Moth Number Three, Carol reported the destination with precision.

"Headquarters, requesting access to radar detection results near New Mallorca City."

"One moment, retrieving data now."

As soon as the words were spoken, Elvin transmitted the radar detection results to Fire Moth Number Three's terminal. A large projection appeared in the war room.

He was so familiar with this procedure that he could do it with his eyes closed—without any sense of tension.

But…

"Huh?"

Soft murmurs of surprise rippled through the war room.

"This..."

Even Mei paused. She turned to Michael, who was frowning.

"Is this the same situation as the Yaksha in Ruruye?"

Michael didn't respond right away. His eyes were locked onto the radar image.

On the screen, the small red dots, representing lower-level Honkai beasts, were rapidly disappearing—one after another. Meanwhile, the large red dot in the center, marking the yet-unnamed Emperor-class Honkai beast, continued to expand.

At the same time, the Honkai energy readings were rising at an alarming rate—500 HW within ten minutes.

"Elvin, bring up the satellite imagery."

Michael suddenly spoke, bypassing Mei entirely as he gave the order.

Elvin hesitated for a brief moment, stunned. But as soon as he came to his senses—before Mei could even formally respond—he swiftly operated the console. A small window opened on the screen.

Within seconds, the satellite image of the corresponding area appeared.

Without waiting for instructions, Elvin immediately began zooming in, until New Mallorca City filled the entire screen.

And then—

"Wh-what is that thing?!"

The war room erupted into chaos.

On the satellite feed, the Fuller District was the most striking feature. Or rather—what was left of it.

Because it was empty.

Truly, completely empty.

The flowers, trees, asphalt, concrete roads, cars—gone.

The lower-level Honkai beasts and Honkai zombies that should have been swarming the streets—gone.

The densely packed high-rise buildings that once filled the city skyline—gone.

Everything had vanished, leaving behind only a grayish-brown wasteland.

Civilization had been erased—neatly, swiftly, without a trace.

Forget ruins. There wasn't even a single shrub.

No, not even a withered blade of grass remained.

This wasn't destruction.

This was erasure.

The room fell into a stunned silence.

Everything Fire Moth had accomplished up until now felt insignificant in the face of this disaster. The impending fall of New Mallorca City had begun.

And at the center of it all—

A Honkai beast. Not particularly large, but undeniably monstrous.

From its abdomen, countless blue, thread-like tentacles shot outward, wrapping around everything in reach—buildings, roads, vehicles, even the very ground beneath it. Each strand pulled its captured prey inward, vanishing into the beast's body, which pulsed and warped as if connected to another dimension.

Wherever it moved, the world disappeared.

Not destroyed.

Not consumed.

Simply... gone.

"Is that… Vishnu?"

The name surfaced in Michael's mind as he stared at the screen.

A creeping sense of unease took hold. The shape, the way it moved—this "Emperor-class" Honkai beast felt too familiar. It had to be Vishnu.

His instincts screamed at him. He had to go. Now.

Michael was already preparing to open a space rift when—

A firm hand stopped him.

"Follow protocol, Michael."

Mei's voice was steady, her grip unyielding.

Michael clenched his jaw. "Mei, if I go now, maybe I can still—"

"Maybe you can save a few more people?"

She frowned, studying him. Why is he so restless today?

A quick glance at the others confirmed that no one else was paying attention to their conversation. Lowering her voice, she continued:

"You might be able to easily defeat this Honkai beast, but you're not just a soldier anymore, Michael. You're a leader."

Michael remained silent.

"First—can you fight every battle alone?" Mei's voice sharpened. "Humanity needs to hone its own combat power, not rely on you every time."

"Second—Ato hasn't requested reinforcements. That means the situation isn't out of control yet."

Her tone softened slightly, but her words carried weight.

"It's not wise to play your trump card too early. It's almost time, Michael. You understand what I mean, right?"

Michael's lips twitched. Of course he did.

She was right. If he burned himself out fighting an Emperor-class Honkai beast, then when the Herrscher finally appeared—he wouldn't be there to stop it.

Still, something gnawed at him.

He turned to Kevin for support—but Kevin just blinked and silently stood behind Mei.

...Seriously? Not even a word?

Michael sighed, running a hand through his hair. "However—"

Mei released her grip.

"I'm just saying that you, as our leader, shouldn't go," she said lightly. "But if you're really worried, you can choose two warriors from the Fusion Warrior Battalion to send instead."

Michael blinked. Wait—was that her plan all along?

A slow chuckle escaped him. "Vill-V, use the Second Divine Key and send Elysia and Sakura to the battlefield."

Meanwhile, at Headquarters—

"The First Battalion is about to reach the battlefield. Civilian evacuation in the affected area is complete. Requesting permission to implement a fire blockade."

Mei didn't hesitate.

"Approved."

Out of sight, countless missiles soared into the sky, leaving behind long trails of vapor as they arced toward New Mallorca City.

Then—impact.

A wall of fire erupted along the city's perimeter, an inferno sealing off everything inside.

The Honkai beasts were now trapped within.

So were hundreds of thousands of civilians who might still be alive.

Inside the fire-blocked zone, a space rift shimmered open.

Two pink figures stepped out onto the battlefield.

As the rift closed behind them, Elysia's combat recorder flickered, briefly picking up strange interference.

Tiny, gnat-sized black specks scattered across the surrounding space.

Nothing unusual. Spatial turbulence often caused these anomalies.

Elysia didn't give it a second thought.