Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers

"Is this… the power of a Honkai?" Himeko stared at her pristine hand, momentarily stunned.

Though not the first time she'd wielded this power… she was still awestruck.

She had believed she could use flames to counter the Yaksha's "space freeze," but she hadn't known the extent of its effectiveness.

Just like she hadn't expected to so easily kill a ten-meter-tall Chariot-class Honkai beast.

That's why, until the moment the Yaksha appeared beside her, despite her confidence, she had mostly felt apprehension.

She never expected the power of her strike to be so terrifying.

"Doesn't this mean… my combat strength is now comparable to Michael's… no, to Elysia's?"

As the captain of these two prodigies, Himeko felt a certain amount of pressure, especially after witnessing Michael slay the Second Herrscher. So, the two months she'd spent away from Fire Moth weren't entirely for treating Honkai sickness.

She had also been exploring how humans with high Honkai resistance could utilize Honkai energy in combat – the blackened lump at her feet was the result.

"No, it's not just my power, but also Surtr, this Honkai-forged greatsword."

She quickly snapped out of her self-satisfaction. Having witnessed a true Herrscher and humans with even higher Honkai resistance, she had to admit that compared to Michael and Elysia, the amount of Honkai energy she could utilize was minuscule.

Her powerful attack was largely due to Surtr. While she hadn't channeled much Honkai energy, this special material, called Honkai-forged steel, maximized its power!

And according to the researchers, this was merely "a first-generation experimental prototype with infinite upgrade potential"!

For the first time in years, Himeko felt such hope for humanity's future.

But her reflection was fleeting. Seeing the Yaksha stumbling away, she immediately gave the order, "Elysia, Sakura, I've heavily wounded the Yaksha. Intercept it from the north and east, and drive it towards the sea!"

"Michael, you've been waiting, haven't you? Move! Don't give it a chance to absorb a large amount of Honkai energy!"

"What? The captain injured the Yaksha alone?" Sakura was astonished. She knew better than anyone how powerful the twice-evolved Yaksha was.

But she quickly noticed that Michael and Elysia simply acknowledged the order, as if they had expected this. She didn't dwell on it, breaking into a run.

The Yaksha glanced back at the fiery woman. Seeing the distance between them closing, it roared, turning slightly, and suddenly, countless icicles, like a scattering rain of needles, shot towards Himeko.

Himeko dodged five or six icicles, but more struck the asphalt in front of her, releasing a chilling air that glazed the road with a thin sheet of ice.

Himeko stumbled, barely managing to steady herself with Surtr.

Seeing this, the Yaksha abruptly turned and charged, its remaining claw raised, preparing a strike.

Himeko smiled. Honkai beasts were, after all, beasts, even in their thinking.

Seeking advantage and avoiding harm didn't equate to intelligence. Look, she had simply feigned weakness, and the Yaksha had readily fallen for it.

As Himeko thought this, flames flickered once more across Surtr's rough surface.

As she swung the heavy greatsword in an arc, the small flames instantly erupted into a raging inferno.

At the last moment, the Yaksha sensed the danger, halting its charge and hastily erecting a wall of ice.

But the flames devoured everything. A violent explosion rocked the area, obliterating buildings and streets for hundreds of meters.

Immer removed his headphones, looking towards the abandoned blocks. Half a street was engulfed in flames. Soon, the fine dust triggered a secondary explosion, even more violent than the first. Even in the darkness, a miniature mushroom cloud was clearly visible.

Immer's jaw dropped, but he quickly regained his composure and immediately called Ruruye City Hall. People in the surrounding blocks must have noticed the explosions. Someone might have already called the fire department. They had to suppress this quickly.

"Cough, cough!"

The rubble from the collapsed buildings formed a small mountain, blocking the road. Himeko coughed, using Surtr as a support to climb to the top.

The Yaksha had been flung back by the force of the explosion, landing at a crossroads hundreds of meters away, its condition unknown.

Looking down the street, the sea, indistinguishable from the night sky, was less than two hundred meters in front of it.

Himeko's hair, usually tied up, had come loose, her face blackened by soot, her armor almost completely destroyed, leaving only the black bodysuit underneath. She gasped for breath, her vision blurry, her legs weak. She stumbled, half-kneeling on the ground.

"Should be… over, right?"

She rested for a few seconds, forcing herself to stand, only to see several Chariot-class Honkai beasts charging from the side – but not towards her.

"Damn it!"

She was exhausted, barely able to walk, let alone stop Chariot-class Honkai beasts!

But she set her jaw, holding her breath, and hurled Surtr with all her might.

The greatsword spun, its heavy blade cleaving one of the Chariot-class beasts in two. But the other two continued towards the Yaksha.

They were quickly drained into husks. Fortunately, the Honkai energy from two small Chariot-class beasts wouldn't be enough for the Yaksha to fully recover.

But its injuries had clearly been healed. It glanced back at Himeko, struggling to climb from the rubble, and flew towards her again, wings flapping.

Life was full of such dramatic reversals. The hunter and the hunted could switch places in an instant.

But Himeko was undaunted. She drew her electromagnetic pistol and rapidly emptied a magazine at the Yaksha.

The Yaksha weaved and dodged, but it was a large target. A shot struck it squarely in the face, scattering chunks of solidified Honkai energy.

Provoked, the Yaksha waited for Himeko to reload, then flapped its wings, sending a gust of cold wind that blew her away.

But just as it left the ground, preparing to attack again, a flash of pink appeared behind it.

Elysia leaped high, delivering a swift kick to the Yaksha's back.

The Yaksha crashed into a building. As it emerged from the rubble, another pink figure appeared before it.

Sakura's katana remained sheathed. The Yaksha swung its remaining claw, but she ducked, slipping under its arm.

She quickly closed in, gripping the slightly damaged but still firmly embedded rib dagger in the Yaksha's shoulder, and yanked it free.

Dense, almost solid fragments of Honkai energy sprayed onto her face, blurring her vision.

Just then, she heard the whoosh of an attack. Her ears twitched, she twisted her waist, flipping onto her back in mid-air, the reversed rib dagger meeting something solid. Sakura exerted force, severing whatever it was.

Opening her eyes, she saw it was the Yaksha's claw.

"Now, where will you run…?" Sakura retrieved her dagger, her spirits lifted.

"Sakura, finish it!" Elysia, supporting Himeko, called out from the rubble.

Sakura nodded, glancing at the whimpering Yaksha, her gaze lingering on its long, animalistic ears.

A strange feeling washed over her. She quickly touched her own head. Thankfully, there was nothing but soft, pink hair.

She raised the rib dagger, aiming for the Yaksha's heart.

The Yaksha roared, tears seemingly welling up in its mesh-like eyes. It shook its head at Sakura, as if begging for its life.

Sakura hesitated, the tip of her dagger hovering in the air. But she quickly snapped out of it – she couldn't afford to be merciful.

But it was too late.

The Yaksha flapped its wings. Sakura strained, trying to plunge the dagger into its heart, but space froze, her efforts futile.

The Yaksha, seemingly using the last of its strength, took to the air, flying unsteadily towards the distant sea.

The spatial freeze dissipated. Sakura's forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Filled with regret, she stamped her foot, about to give chase.

But she noticed Elysia and Himeko below, still looking surprised, but not overly concerned.

Elysia even yawned nonchalantly.

"Aren't… aren't we going to chase it?" Sakura pointed towards the sea, her voice small.

"It's fine. Someone's waiting for it there."

"Squad Leader Michael?"

"Who else? Do you think he's the type to just stand by idly?"

"Stand by idly?" Sakura tilted her head, confused by the expression.

Himeko listened to the two girls' conversation and chuckled, climbing up the rubble and discreetly pocketing the Yaksha's severed claws while they weren't looking.

The sea and the night sky blended seamlessly, almost indistinguishable without the flickering neon lights in the distance.

Severely injured, the Yaksha flew for who knows how long before crashing into the sea.

It created a platform of ice with its power, collapsing onto it, grateful for the respite.

But it quickly noticed a pair of boots on the ice in front of it.

Michael looked exhausted. He glanced around, the familiar silhouette of Pohnpei visible on the horizon.

"We're only a few hundred meters from Pohnpei. That long-distance spatial jump almost drained me dry!"

"Hold on, let me rest for a bit!" Michael closed his eyes, Honkai energy flowing through the gate on the Imaginary Tree and into his Herrscher core. The Yaksha, barely clinging to life, could only whimper.

A moment later, Michael opened his eyes. He stretched out his hand, blue lines converging to form a shape the Yaksha knew all too well.

"Let me try out Surtr's power too!"

He didn't aim for a fiery explosion like Himeko. Instead, he heated Surtr's blade to its maximum temperature, the flames on the verge of igniting.

Then, the blade easily sliced through the Yaksha's white exoskeleton, cleaving it in two. The ice platform dissolved, and its body sank into the depths.

"Damn! I forgot to save some tissue samples… What about Sakura's augment core later?" Michael smacked his forehead, realizing his mistake.

But he soon had no time to worry about it. As the ice melted, he plunged into the freezing seawater.

"Glub, glub, glub… Help… glub, glub, glub… me…"