"The Emperor-class Honkai Beast is moving! Its destination is... Squad Seven! Relocate immediately!" The monitor's face drained of color when he saw where the rapidly moving red dot was headed.
A garbled transmission came through the communicator from Squad Four: "Bzzzt—Four—bzzzt—receive—bzzzt—open fire!"
Gunfire, roars, the sound of something sliding across the ground, screams, thunder.
A bolt of lightning lit up half the sky—and the monitor's bloodless face.
"Bzzzzzz—"
The prolonged crackle of electricity continued, but there was no further response from Squad Seven.
He felt as though the world were spinning, as if it might collapse at any moment.
He practically forced the words out from his lungs: "Squad Seven has been wiped out. Requesting... reinforcements."
Reinforcements? Where could they possibly come from? Every combatant from MOTH headquarters and the nearest branch was already here. All they could do was watch helplessly as that Emperor-class Honkai Beast devoured the scattered squads one by one.
The original plan had been to use the Honkai Energy conversion device to attack the magnetic field around the Third Herrscher, then kill the Herrscher with a single strike. But now they could not precisely locate the Herrscher's coordinates. They needed combat personnel to visually confirm the target and transmit its coordinates before they could calculate an attack trajectory.
And a squad had to subdue the Emperor-class Honkai Beast before the remaining squads could launch their attack on the Third Herrscher. Otherwise, there was no way they could stop the combined assault of the Herrscher and the Honkai Beast.
But the soldiers were now scattered in complete chaos, barely able to cope. They could not possibly go after the Emperor-class Honkai Beast.
This was the Third Honkai War... more terrifying and more brutal than the Second Honkai War, a despair that descended like divine punishment.
Suddenly, an additional transmission cut into MOTH's channel.
To the monitor, it sounded like music from heaven.
"This is Himiko. Squad Five is providing battlefield support. We have arrived outside Changkong City. Send us the Honkai Beast's coordinates. My squad will subdue the Emperor-class Honkai Beast."
"Lin, don't push yourself. I'll handle the Honkai Beast. You just need to work with Hun to disrupt it."
Inside the transport plane, the red-haired woman in crimson Powered Armor placed a hand on Lin's shoulder.
Lin stared at the thunderclouds in the distance and Changkong City beneath them, tightening his grip around his gun.
Hun, meanwhile, watched Lin's back and quietly clenched the scythe in her hand.
"Squad Five. Himiko. Lin. Hun. Deploy."
It Was Me
The torrential rain was still washing over the world without pause, its density so great that even infrared signals suffered severe interference.
MOTH soldiers struggled through the city with their visibility obstructed. Every squad did its best to hold off the Honkai Beasts in groups. They could not go on the offensive, but at least they had barely managed to stabilize the situation.
"This is Elysia's squad. We will engage the Third Herrscher in approximately seventeen minutes."
Not even the downpour could diminish the girl's elegance. Her waist-length pink hair had been tied into a high ponytail for battle. Her Powered Armor had far fewer components than everyone else's, and she wore no thermal imaging equipment on her head, yet her movements were light, swift, and precise. Whether with firearms or in close combat, she was no worse than anyone else.
Like a tulip still blooming beneath the battering rain.
Thanks to Elysia's efforts, the area around her squad was quickly cleared, allowing them a brief chance to catch their breath.
"Honestly, they can build Titans, but they still can't make an airship?" Elysia raised one hand over her head. It was useless, but she liked the feeling of sheltering herself from the rain. "If we had an airship, couldn't we just fly up there and blast the Third Herrscher?"
The members of her squad all wore strange expressions, feeling that their captain truly had quite the imagination. They had only just developed the Honkai Energy conversion device, yet she was already thinking about building airships.
The break soon ended. Elysia picked up her gun and looked toward the densest part of the thunderclouds in the distance. Narrowing her eyes, she said, "The Emperor-class Honkai Beast may attack at any time while we're fighting the Third Herrscher. This is the most severe operation since the Honkai began, so stay sharp."
Even their usually most carefree captain was being so serious. The other members could not help feeling nervous as they silently prayed for the hard battle ahead.
They would be facing both an Upper-class Honkai Beast and a Herrscher, the two pinnacles of the Honkai. Someone among them was bound to die. There was even a considerable chance that the whole squad would be wiped out.
"Don't look so serious..." Elysia was about to say something to comfort them when a garbled transmission cut in.
"Ely—bzzzt—please immediately—bzzzt—"
Suddenly, thunder exploded. A flash of lightning split the world in two. Elysia's shocked expression had not yet faded when the layered thunderclouds began to move.
Elysia shouted over the thunder, "Everyone, scatter!"
"BOOM!"
One bolt, two bolts, three bolts...
Lightning nearly swept across the ground from where the thunderclouds hung, racing toward Elysia's squad as though erupting volcanoes had formed a single line and were cutting across the city.
Yes, cutting. The lightning linked into a line was like a casual slash from a god.
"BOOM—"
At the very last moment, Elysia grabbed the nearest squad member and rushed into a building beside them. The others reacted quickly and took cover as well. But one member was too slow. Lightning struck her, and all her equipment instantly exploded, reducing her to charred flesh. The smell of cooked meat rose from her body as she collapsed.
"That..." Elysia gritted her teeth and forced herself to look away from the dead squad member. She looked up at the advancing thunderclouds, where a faint figure floated in midair without any support.
The Third Herrscher had started moving?
"Notice to all squads—bzzzt—the Third Herrscher's Honkai reaction—bzzzt—has begun moving—bzzzt—target—bzzzt—Emperor-class—bzzzt bzzzt—"
"Ha... ha... ha..."
"Creak—"
Panting heavily, Kevin held Mei close as he turned into an alley through the wind and rain. A spear flashing with cold light swept past the back of his head, taking several strands of his white hair before plunging into the ground as easily as stabbing tofu.
"Grrr—"
The Temple-class Honkai Beast let out a strange sound and turned its single eye toward Kevin's retreating back. The white-haired boy happened to glance back and see that massive eye glowing faintly in the darkness.
"Damn it... what kind of monster is that...?"
Kevin covered Mei's head when she tried to peek out. He stumbled and ran through the twisting alleyways, trying to shake off the Temple-class Honkai Beast behind them.
With that explosive speed, they would be skewered like kebabs within minutes if they tried to flee across open ground. Only in these cramped, complicated alleys did they have any chance of escaping pursuit from a monster two stories tall.
Was this the end of the world? Monsters kept appearing one after another. There were not only zombie-like deadwalkers and towering Honkai Beasts, but also those spine-chilling howls coming from somewhere nearby...
The city where they had once lived had become a demon's den, and he still had to find a way out through this familiar yet unfamiliar place with Mei.
No—he still had not managed to shake off that monster.
A dead end lay ahead!
"Grrr—"
Terrifying red light swept toward them from behind. Alarm bells went off in Kevin's mind as he shielded Mei's head and threw himself forward onto the ground.
"Bang!"
The sweeping lance smashed through the wall beside them. On the other side of the wall, a group of deadwalkers shuffled hungrily toward the two delicious meals before them.
They were surrounded.
The deadwalkers and Honkai Beast slowly closed in on the two humans with nowhere left to run.
Kevin bit down on his lower lip and made Mei step behind him. He casually wiped the muddy rainwater from his face, pulled the nearly broken Baseball Bat from his waist, and walked toward the Temple-class Honkai Beast, which towered far above him.
He had to win.
He would win!
The will to survive in his eyes gradually weakened, replaced by a fiercer killing intent.
"Come on!" the human shouted.
"Bang!"
Blood and rain splashed across Kevin's face at the same time.
The blood was flesh-pink and looked especially disgusting.
He froze.
"Grrr—"
The giant monster's single eye flashed once more, then went dark. Its massive body and the arms transformed into a spear and shield collapsed to the ground together.
As it fell, Kevin saw a scorched hole blasted through its chest.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
While Kevin still stood there in a daze, the unbroken gunfire overhead made his ears ring. Every particle round accurately pierced a deadwalker's head. Not a single shot missed.
Those troublesome deadwalkers fell in droves. Within two breaths, more than half of them were dead.
What was happening now?
"Hun, the Honkai Beast reaction hasn't disappeared. Captain..."
"Don't order me around! I'm the captain!"
"Grrr—"
Only then did Kevin notice that the red light, which had gone out, had somehow lit up again. The Temple-class Honkai Beast struggled to stand.
A sharp whistling sound descended from overhead. Before the Honkai Beast could fully rise, a scythe pierced its head and nailed it to the ground.
"Roar!"
Another roar sounded, this time from behind them. The dead end was broken open by a massive arm. A Chariot-class Honkai Beast howled as it reached toward Mei, who lay on the ground, intending to crush her into pulp.
"Mei!"
"Bang!"
A precise shot struck the Honkai Beast's arm, knocking its attack off course. Then a crimson figure dropped from the rooftop. The greatsword in her hand gave off the explosive roar of an engine in the torrential rain, instantly igniting into brilliant flames.
One slash. Two halves.
Organs, blood, screams.
That was what happened when Kevin and Mei first encountered MOTH soldiers.
"Target Mei confirmed alive. Squad Five requests authorization to recover survivors. Number of survivors: two."
It was also a reunion long overdue.
Kevin stared blankly as the red-haired woman and the girl wielding a massive scythe walked toward them. The red-haired woman said something into her headset.
What were these things? Mechs? Powered combat machines?
The chain of sudden events had already made his mind crash.
"Miss Mei, we are soldiers of MOTH. You have already met Doctor Mobius and passed her assessment and recommendation. Though this happened suddenly, it is now an emergency. For humanity's future, we invite you to join MOTH. Someone will escort you to a safe location." The tall red-haired woman walked over to Mei, helped her up, and solemnly delivered the speech she had prepared long ago.
Mei frowned upon hearing that name. She murmured, "Doctor Mobius? Could it be what she meant...?"
The moment it involved Mei, Kevin became alert. He reached for the woman's shoulder. "Wait a second. Who are you? What do you want with Mei?"
She did not move at all.
The power capable of cutting apart Honkai Beasts was not something Kevin, still only a student, could shake. He immediately tried to stand in front of Mei.
"You... Oh~ I get it." The woman looked back at him, a recollective expression appearing on her face. Then she nodded in realization and raised her head to call upward, "Lin! I'll leave this to you!"
"Lin?"
Before Kevin's confusion could even fully rise, a pitch-black figure landed beside him.
His movements were as light as a leaf drifting into a lake.
The azure visor glowed even through the torrential rain.
"You are?" Kevin saw the rifle in his hand and knew he was the one who had shot and saved Mei. Thinking of the word the red-haired woman had said, his heart suddenly began to pound.
At that moment, Mei also looked toward the helmeted figure.
A feeling was about to burst forth.
A feeling that a question which had troubled her for so long was finally about to be answered.
Under Mei and Kevin's gazes, the man straightened up and gave a faint nod.
"It's me, Kevin."
"Moth to the Flame"
Before you continue