Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers

"Mmm… satisfying!" Kevin finished the last of his broth in one gulp and placed the empty bowl on the track in front of him. Sensing the weight, the machine automatically rotated, taking the bowl away.

He pressed the "one more bowl" button, a green light flashing beside the machine along with a countdown timer. While waiting for his next serving, he turned to Michael, who was meticulously eating his noodles.

"The way you eat ramen… It has no soul!"

Michael raised an eyebrow, detecting the provocation in Kevin's tone, but remained unfazed. This methodical way of eating was necessary in a sense. While it prolonged meal times, it prevented his stomach from filling up too quickly, ensuring he wouldn't be hampered in combat by overeating.

Kevin still had much to learn in this regard…

"While I appreciate the free ramen, I still want to ask, who are you?" Kevin asked, taking a second steaming bowl from the serving robot and fanning it with his hand.

"Me…?"

Michael wasn't sure how to explain. He had been too excited when he saw Kevin and hadn't considered whether Himeko had noticed him abandoning his post…

"Beep, beep, beep… beep, beep, beep…"

Speak of the devil. Michael activated the comms, Himeko's holographic image appearing on his wristwatch. "Michael, what-are-you-doing?!"

"Um… that…"

Michael was trying to think of an excuse when a piercing alarm blared through the air.

A few seconds later, a calm female voice announced, "Esteemed citizens, in accordance with the United Government's mandate, Ruruye City will be conducting an emergency combat readiness drill today. Please follow the instructions of military and police personnel and proceed to the nearest shelter immediately."

"Repeating, esteemed citizens…"

"What's going on?!" Michael's heart skipped a beat. Just as he was about to ask Himeko, the comms cut off.

"Damn it! The United Government is conducting a combat readiness drill? Who are they fighting?" Michael heard someone at a nearby table complain.

He surveyed the other diners. Some took the announcement seriously and hurried out. Most remained indifferent, some even continuing to eat their ramen unhurriedly.

"You…" Kevin, having heard Michael's conversation with Himeko, frowned at him, his chopsticks hovering mid-air.

His eyes widened suddenly. Michael pulled out a pistol and fired a shot into the ceiling.

"Bang!"

"What are you waiting for? Run!"

The diners who had been complaining just moments ago screamed and scattered, leaving only the serving robot, holding a bowl of ramen, spinning in confusion.

Michael tapped the robot's head with his gun. "You should go hide in a shelter too!"

Then, ignoring whether the robot understood, he grabbed the still-ringing Kevin and rushed outside.

Himeko's comms reconnected. "Michael, I'll be brief. Get to Temporary Airfield 003 immediately. We're taking a helicopter to Pohnpei. You have two minutes!"

"Roger!"

Michael lifted Kevin under his arm and sprinted against the flow of people.

"What are you doing?!" Kevin, no longer caring about his undignified position as Michael's speed increased, cried out.

Then, he felt himself become weightless, as if freed from gravity. His restricted view only allowed him to see Michael's legs pushing off the smooth, pale green walls, carrying him swiftly upwards. In just over twenty seconds, the running figures on the ground below became blurry and minuscule, indistinguishable from one another.

Then, his vision spun. In less than half a minute, Michael had carried him to the roof of the nearly three-hundred-meter-tall building.

"Dude, are you even human?" Kevin's waist was still in Michael's grip, his body bent into an inverted U. He'd thought he'd finally be free upon reaching the roof, but Michael proceeded to leap across the rooftops.

"Dude! Please, have mercy! I want to go to a shelter!"

Michael remained unmoved. Kevin's importance went without saying. He wasn't sure if, in the original storyline, Kevin had even come to Ruruye with Mei – most likely not. And the sudden emergency during the academic conference was also probably not part of the original plot!

While he didn't understand the specifics, Michael figured it was the so-called "butterfly effect" of a transmigrator. How could he let Kevin out of his sight? What if this butterfly effect led to his demise?

Besides, it was rather satisfying to bully a pre-peak Kevin – Blame your future self, Ancestor Kevin!

With a few leaps, they reached Temporary Airfield 003 – which was really just a white circle drawn on the rooftop with chalk, a large "H" inside it.

Seconds later, a helicopter descended from the sky, hovering beside the makeshift airfield.

Kevin yelped as he was thrown in a perfect arc, Michael following close behind, landing inside the helicopter.

"Kevin! What… what are you doing here?!"

Mei and Mobius were huddled in a corner of the cabin. Seeing Kevin, Mei's initial joy quickly turned to annoyance.

Kevin was equally surprised to see Mei, but his attention was immediately drawn to the helicopter.

He tapped the cabin floor with his finger, a dull thud echoing. "Mei, I must be dreaming! I'm actually riding in a ZHYM-19 multi-purpose helicopter!"

Mei's annoyance turned to full-blown anger.

Mobius, observing the scene, couldn't help but tease, "Michael, why do you always pick up strays?"

Michael ignored her, quickly scanning the cabin. He saw only Himeko, Elysia, and himself as combatants – the same number as the non-combatants.

Elysia, sensing his confusion, whispered, "It's an emergency. There weren't many helicopters available. Sakura and two other combatants have already gone ahead to Pohnpei. We're the second group. The rest will follow."

"Then what about this girl and Mobius?"

"When the alarm went off, the situation was too chaotic. To ensure their safety, I had to bring them along!"

Michael rubbed his forehead. "What exactly happened?"

He vaguely guessed something was wrong on Pohnpei.

What could it be? The Honkai reactor exploding? But Honkai energy was as stable as TNT. Even in the case of a leak, as long as it was handled promptly, it shouldn't cause a major disaster.

Himeko frowned, looking out the window at the distant sea instead of answering immediately.

Michael followed her gaze. The sky above the entire sea was covered in dark clouds, the gloomy sky merging with the equally gloomy sea at the horizon, their boundaries blurred.

Above Pohnpei, the air shimmered and distorted, forming a slowly rotating spiral, as if a massive object were warping space itself.

"The Honkai energy concentration there has risen to 600 HW, and it's still rising," Himeko said succinctly.

"And if my model is correct, a Honkai energy reaction exceeding 1000 HW will birth a Herrscher," Mobius added ominously.

"Uh… Honkai? Herrscher? What are you talking about? A military exercise against hypothetical alien enemies?" Kevin was completely lost.

Mei, the daughter of a scientist, seemed to know about Honkai. She quickly grabbed Kevin's hand and shook her head slightly.

"No… it can't be…" A bitter smile appeared on Michael's face.

"The Third Herrscher should be born in East Asia… Even if I were a butterfly with a 10086-meter wingspan, I couldn't cause such a huge butterfly effect, could I?"

This was the first time Elysia had seen Michael look so bewildered and panicked.

"Beep!" Himeko's wristwatch chimed, followed by Sakura's calm voice, "Captain, ah, both Squad Leaders are here too. Good news… I suppose it's good news. The Honkai energy readings on Pohnpei have stopped rising and stabilized at around 700 HW."

"What's the situation there? Have you found the enemy?"

"No. We've confirmed that the Honkai energy reaction is coming from underground."

"Underground?" Michael, Himeko, and Elysia exclaimed in unison.

"The Honkai reactor!"

"Is it just a simple leak?"

"What a coincidence!"

"But… what could it be?"

Their gazes met. Finally, Elysia softly broke the silence. "Michael… is the Yaksha… really dead?"